Posts tagged with: Alexander Wang
At the Alexander Wang show with Nonie, Anna, Agy, and Tavi
Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 15, 2010 at 11:50AM
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Tags: fashion week, Butter London, Alexander Wang
New York Mag wants Butter London’s beauty secrets
Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 15, 2010 at 06:30AM
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Love this New York Fashion Week video of New York Magazine’s Aja Mangum chatting with Butter London’s Nonie Creme about nail trends at the Alexander Wang show. (And I love that Nonie is representing another Seattleite, Kimberly Baker. Love the mixed metal chains and home-base support!)
This season, the cult designer’s look was a lot more, well, polished, so it makes sense that he’d seek out the best in polish to provide the finishing touches.
How to get the look: two coats of Butter London’s Yummy Mummy and a matte top coat.
Tags: fashion week, Alexander Wang, Kimberly Baker,
Congratulations, you’re (virtually) going to Fashion Week! Stay tuned for backstage videos!
Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 11, 2010 at 07:30AM
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Nevermind the snowstorm, your boss, or the airport; You’re on your way to New York Fashion Week. In fact, you’re already there. Or rather, veteran Style Counselor and Butter London mastermind Nonie Creme is, along with Seattle’s leading trend forecaster, Shannon Kelly of In Your Head. And they’ve invited you—via Wear What When—to be in their back pocket.
The former is, of course, overseeing three-free lacquer applications and working out color theories with some of today’s most exciting designers, and the latter is directing all things social- and media-oriented. Starting tomorrow and continuing into next week, they’re taking you behind the scenes with videos (half-dressed models, stressed-out stage managers, next fall’s most important silhouettes being tossed over shoulders), interviews, and more.
The premiere you-are-there virtual backstage pass goes out tomorrow, Friday Feb. 12. If Vena Cava’s fall looks are as paint-splattered, sludgey/sexy, and wearable as their spring stuff is, it ought to be quite the video. Tune in tomorrow!
Next week: Expect behind-the-scenes sneak peaks from Creme and Kellly as they hit none other than Alexander Wang (!!!) and Calvin Klein.
And: follow me on Twitter for of-the-moment pics and notes.
But first, a chat with Creme and Kelly about what all of this — social media for the runway, back stage videos, live streaming shows, bloggers in the front row — means for color, for Seattle, and for fashion.
Wear What When: Nonie, tell us about the collaboration process with the designers.
Nonie Creme: A few days before each show, there is a meeting called the “test”. It’s when the designer meets with the senior hair stylist, make up artist, and nail technician to discuss the look for the catwalk. A fit model is present to try on the collection for us, and the designer talks us through his/her inspiration and thoughts about who his woman is that season. It’s an incredible thing to be a part of, and a huge honor to be invited to the test meeting. At that time, I might sneak off and custom mix a palette to show the team and designer, and eventually we arrive at a final look for the show. It can take HOURS! After everything is decided, I race back to my hotel and get mixing!!
WWW How many nail techs do you bring with you for something like this? And how soon before runway time are the nails being done? One just imagines the Butter London station as the most hazardous thing in the world this side of a bucket of paint. Tell us about how it all comes together.
Nonie: This season my team will consist of nine technicians, including myself. There are definitely times when the nail colour changes at the last second. It’s terrifying! I keep a stash of empty bottles with me for last minute custom mixes, but pray that we switch to a stock Butter London colour! The nail team works simultaneously with hair and makeup, so we are usually found crawling around under the table, desperately trying to stay out of the way of sharp stilettos, flying iPhones, and film crews scrambling to interview the top models.
WWW: How does the experience ‘color’ (sorry!) your vision in terms of your next season … is this a highly creative time for you?
Nonie: Absolutely. The shows directly influence what I create for Butter London each season. I wait until shows in London, Paris, and Milan are done so that I can review all the shows that inspire me, and then I contemplate key trends, colour palettes, and general mood. After that I think about how to marry all those things to nails and nail colour in a way that ensures our customers are truly getting what’s in fashion.
WWW: Can’t wait to see what takes shape. Shannon! Let’s talk networks. What’s your take on the bloggers-in-the-front-row thing? Just a trend? For designers and their press agents, is it desperate or just good business?
Shannon: Personally, I’m a fan of any form of media that gets consumers excited about fashion—from daily bloggers to seasoned editors. While I understand the concern about true editorial reporting, there is something familiar with the questions around who should hold clout within the fashion community… It wasn’t that long ago that food bloggers came across similar scrutiny among the gastronomical elite.
As information overload exhausts the average person, bloggers, brands and traditional media need to collaborate to wield influence. And cultivating new talent may ruffle feathers but it also might nurture a new generation. Today, the front row is THE place for evolution and ultimately innovation— I’m excited to see what kind of response we get from our behind-the-scenes backstage daily diary for Butter London.
WWW: What is fashion currently not doing in terms of new or now media that they should be doing?
Shannon: The biggest gap for fashion in terms of “now” media is the ability to adjust campaigns or strategies ever so slightly based on the anthropology gained from social media. Due to the gigantic investment of most fashion campaigns, brands rarely are able to use insights gained from social media in “real-time” and valuable content about brand awareness or sentiment is not immediate. There may never be a silver bullet for unlocking consumer culture or label loyalty but by listening and responding to online conversations, brands can better understand where fashion will go.
WWW: Who’s your pick for Designer Making the Best/Most Use of Current Media Trends?
Shannon: Burberry and Chanel have put some interesting things out but Dolce & Gabbana have really embraced avante-garde technology and are looking to push the limits. The presence of bloggers at D&G in Milan for S/S 2010 was a defining moment for fashion and just last week Stefano Gabbana “let his inner Fellini come out” by directing a raw YouTube video from the set of the brand’s S/S 10 men’s campaign. I think that Stefano Gabbana told WWD that he wanted to create his own social network. They really understand the opportunity and tailor appropriate messaging that adds an extra dimension to the brand regardless of if you are a loyalist or an occasional shopper.
Tags: fashion week, Butter London, Trends, New York, Alexander Wang
Plus, the local version of the It Tee
Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Aug 28, 2009 at 08:30AM
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Image from mmhclothing.com
View Slideshow » Illustration:Image from Meet Me Here Clothing
View Slideshow » Illustration:Image from Meet Me Here Clothing
There’s never been a better time to be a tee-shirt. From designer-centric department stores to neighborhood boutiques, you can’t shop in this town, or any other, without colliding head first with a gang of slouchy, drapey, semi-sheer, jersey slip-overs. Most unisex, or close enough.
And I’m not complaining.
There’s this Helmut Lang specimen at Blackbird, there are a few wonderfully drab shades of the Nation Ltd version at Merge, and Mario’s has a couple by Organics and other vendors.
I don’t know that it matters who started it, but I don’t think it was the economy. After all, prior to all of this, we had that whole Alternative Burnout thing, the Alexander Wang take-over started pre-global collapse, and all those long-sleeve James Perse numbers were way before that.
What matters is that we all seem gung-ho to keep it going. And not just for spring/summer. Again: I’m not complaining. It’s curious though, because on one hand we have retailers telling us that basics don’t sell, and on the other, we’re making cultural and scientific study out of what used to be an undergarment.
I’m studying my newest culturally significant tee-shirt as we speak. It hangs like a dream and feels like cotton blended with liquid silk. The neck is wonderfully wide, and two tiny tucks on the shoulder make lovely folds. I ordered one from Meet Me Here designer Jonas de Varona when we photographed him for our July Style Counsel page. You can see it – Jonas’ version of the It Tee, that is – in action in the slideshow here, or on the Meet Me Here site.
Or, you know, you can meet me for lunch.
In the market for something like this to call your own? You’d be hard pressed not to find something comparable if you’re out and about at all these days, just keep in mind that you can also order from Jonas on Etsy, and thereby feel extra cool knowing your must-have was made by artisan hands in Georgetown.
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The unBasic Basic T
Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 23, 2009 at 08:00AM
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You’ve noticed that knits and jersey are not just for Sunday afternoon couch lounging anymore. Decidedly non-slacker tee-shirts, skirts, cropped pants, leggings, even cocktail dresses are showing up in silk jerseys and luxe knits, and one designer responsible for elevating these kinds of materials and pieces to new places of drape-, shape-, and sex-appeal is New York’s Alexander Wang.
The Wang look is young, yes, and in many cases, you would not be wrong for feeling only a size 0 or 2 can wear this stuff (waifish model-turned-muse-turned-stylist Erin Wasson is the ultimate Wang girl), but when you see the line on retail racks and can look beyond how it’s styled for the runway, it’s versatile and supremely wearable. (Check the baby blue-n-black runway spring/summer 09 runway look above, from style.com, You can be slouchy without looking like a slouch.) The CFDA thinks so too; the 24-year old designer is the latest winner of their annual Vogue-sponsored $200,000 Fashion Fund award. Folks, that’s a big deal.
Adding to Wang’s appeal + approachability is his new diffusion line, T by Alexander Wang — in fact, I added a piece to my wardrobe this weekend.
Pat at Merge in Fremont has a great selection of the not-at-all-basic tees; the necklines are deep and feminine, the armholes are stretched wide and just a little fluttery, and they’re all pleasingly tunic-length—though not in a uniform way. The medium I tried on hit just below my waist, the small was as long as a mini-dress, and the x-small was a fewer inches shorter, and just right. Weird, but who cares. I also love the just-barely-sheer quality (made way more sheer in this window pic), which conspires with the draped, lived-in shapes to give the tees, tanks, and tee-shirt dresses essential, day-to-night appeal.
Obviously, you can wear a piece like this with just about everything in your closet, but I’m most excited about pulling mine on over cropped, boxy, knit pants. I was wearing the ‘pants’ below, a pair of ‘vintage’ pre-drop crotch fad numbers (probably mid-80s so that term isn’t entirely accurate) by cult Japanese designer Issey Miyake when I scored the Wang tee at Merge, but Pat has some great options if ‘baggy’ and ‘cropped’ are what you’re after. I’m thinking specifically of a great new Philippines-based sustainable line called Eairth that’s new to the store. Pat has some of their olive drab short pants, the crotch of which is just barely dropped. Perfect if you like the trend but you’re unwilling to endure MC Hammer comments. There’s next to nothing online about Eairth, but it’s great stuff—earthy, yeah, but modern and super Brooklyn-meets-Bombay—so you’ll just have to get to Merge to see it.
As I was finally tearing myself away from Pat’s collection of tailored-yet-comfortable and luxe-meets-loose pieces, an incredibly chic frequent shopper entered and delayed my exit. I just couldn’t stop checking out her look; a couple of loose layers on top of skinny skinny ankle-zipper leggings and open-toed medium-heeled oxfords. Everything she had on was either black, black, black, or charcoal, and her short, waxed-but-messy hair (also black) was a key accessory. Gorgeous. I’ve already established what a fan I am of the open-toed anything, (see previous Spring Training posts here and here if you can stand any more on the subject) so I’ll just let the picture below illustrate how perfectly Pia paired hers with those obsession worthy leggings.
Tags: Fremont, Merge, Alexander Wang
As style editor at Seattle Metropolitan and editor of Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom, Laura Cassidy shops for a living. Seriously. She and her team of expert hunter-gatherers bring you trends, store events, and the best of local shops.
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Wear What When is a blog about living a life of style in Seattle.
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