Eco Fashion Week!

I can barely keep my schedule together this week, what with Eco Fashion Week debuting in town amongst all other events.

It's been exciting, not only having someone like Myriam Laroche and her unstoppable team at the helm of EFW, but having the opportunity to see people like WGSN's Carly Stojsic speak about eco as a movement and not a trend, Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Andrew Weaver educate fashion folk on climate change and to witness the incredible, granola stigma-smashing designs coming down the runway from Nicole Bridger, Lara Presber, Kim Cathers of Kdon, Nixxi, Lav & Kush and more.

Gisele Bundchen also come on board with EFW, designing the Sigg water bottle being given out during the events, which will also be sold at all Aveda Institutes across the country.

And it's also been exciting having some of the first-year fashion students I spoke to about the fashion writing industry a few weeks ago come up to me to say thank you for the talk I gave them. It sure makes what I do that much more worthwhile, knowing I can inspire or help those breaking into their fledgling careers.

Must dash, but look out for the post I'm writing for Flare Magazine on Eco Fashion Week this Friday!

Besos,
Haute Hippie

Happy Friday! Rah-Rah, Rodarte.

Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte are geniuses.

Here are a few standouts from their recent tree and wood-inspired collection at New York Fashion Week.

Wood has been getting a lot of love lately, I'm finding, with an increased interest in jewellery made from it (check out Henderson Dry Goods, as a perfect example) to furniture made from it being reclaimed or repurposed.

It's all wood in this hood.

Happy Friday! Another post to come soon.

Besos,
Haute Hippie








* Photos property of style.com and are used solely for commentary purposes

NYFW, Spring 2011: Backstage at 3.1 Phillip Lim.

NARS is continuing to dominate makeup at NYFW.

Here are some shots from backstage at 3.1 Phillip Lim.

The makeup was barely there, to match nicely with a neutral, fairly minimal clothing collection. Not too many frills from the designer in this one, save for some tassel belts here and there on a trouser or two. A very chic, grown up look for Lim.

By the way, he's streaming the entire show online on his official site (the track playing is a crazy-cool, haunting, looped one).

Enjoy the shots!







* Photos courtesy of NARS and are used solely for commentary purposes

Tribal Counseled.

Oh my, how far Nicole Richie has come.

Everyone knows her story, ie. daughter of Lionel Richie, former BFF of Paris Hilton, former drug addict and now mother-of-two, happy wife, designer, philanthropist, novelist and style icon.

Following a business and fashion trajectory much like the Olsen twins, Richie has defied odds, naysayers and skeptics to produce two very good, commercially successful fashion brands: House of Harlow and Winter Kate, both equally reflective of her well-known haute bohemian style.

On that note, I must say her House Of Harlow collection for Summer 2010 (I know, it's almost over!) is fiercely tribal. I'm wholly in love with the fingertip ring, which -- by the looks of it -- is the jewellery equivalent to the guitar pick.

This has Richie is written all over it.






I'm Lovin' it: More images from the folks at NARS! This time from the Sophie Theallet show. Modern geisha much?






I'm Over it: Okay. I get that it's Fashion Week, so online traffic is probably on a high, but if I see one more intrusive pop-up ad on a fashion site or blog today...I don't know what I'm going to do, but it's not pretty.


Track of the Day: "Ready for the World" by How To Dress Well out of Brooklyn. It's a lo-fi, whimsical reworking of "Love You Down" by Ready For The World from 1986. It's like daydreaming about wanting to seduce or be seduced -- not something happening in the immediate present, but a really, really nice thought.

How To Dress Well - "Ready for the World" from Jamie Harley on Vimeo.

* Photos property of Nicole Richie, NARS and are used solely for commentary purposes

NYFW, Spring 2011: Backstage at Marc Jacobs.

I was sent a few snapshots from NARS (who did the maquillage) from backstage at Marc Jacobs' show in New York, a collection that was decidedly '70s.

The colors were rich -- I loved the butterscotch! -- and the models' eyebrows were bleached to match.

Enjoy!

Besos,
Haute Hippie








*Photos courtesy of NARS

Laugh of the Day: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.

My buddy Double A wrote a Facebook status last week that spoofed on the hilarious "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" commercial for Old Spice.

Too funny!

NYFW, Spring 2011: What's Up, Bra?!

I recently saw a shot of model and photo-blogger Hanneli Mustaparta wearing overalls with nothing but a white Alexander Wang bra underneath.

The gazelle that she is, of course Hanneli looked stunning.

Then I began sifting through images of the initial collections at NYFW, where the exposed bra (mostly halter or bandeau) seemed to be popping up in collections across the Lincoln Centre. The look is more sporty, than trampy, though.

I've been known to wear an exposed black bra strap or two under a tank, but I'm not sure I can do the full meal exposure deal.

These models, like Hanneli, look amazing. But they're paid to be amazing, right?







I'm Lovin' it: Same prints on the top and bottom, but in different colors. Love!




I'm Over it: Tom Ford is being so secretive about his new womenswear collection. The suspense is killing me. And all I have to get my through until images are officially released are these illustrations, courtesy of The Cut.




Track of the Day: "Crave You ft. Giselle" by Flight Facilities. They're from Australia, which accounts for this song's danceable catchiness.





* Photos property of nymag.com and are used solely for commentary purposes

New York Fashion Week's New Home.

Yesterday, I attended an event where the PR gatekeeper signed me in via iPad.

So it didn't surprise me in the least to find out that shows at New York Fashion Week were signing in editors, buyers, media and everyone else with an "in" through an electronic kiosk, where everyone scans a barcode on their invite for entry.

This new way of running things goes along with a new (and bigger) home for NYFW: the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. For years, NYFW was at Bryant Park, where white tents symbolized a sartorial world of glamour, the elite, sometimes excess and sometimes minimalism (depending on the economic climate).

But, times change, and so did the venue (wi-fi in all spaces now) and producer IMG's website (tailored now for live blogging, live streaming, real-time news updates).

It's an exciting time for fashion, as the gap between it and the digital world becomes a mere sliver.

I can't wait to see what Richard Chai, Alexander Wang, Prabal Gurung, Tommy Hilfiger, DVF, Donna Karan, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Narciso Rodriguez, Anna Sui and Calvin Klein have in store for SS '11.





* Photo property of shefind.com and is used solely for commentary purposes

Happy Friday! It's Chilly Out.

Canadian-born, Paris-based musician and producer Chilly Gonzales (or just Gonzales sometimes) is dropping his Boyz Noise-produced new album Ivory Tower, which also serves as the soundtrack to his new film of the same name, starring himself, rapper Tiga and singer Peaches.

His electro albums are amazing, but what's really amazing is that he's a phenomenally gifted pianist with a knack for being an MC (he's part of Berlin-based hip hop group Puppetmastaz, ja). The first track "Knight Moves" off the new album is particularly killer.

Ivory Tower (the film) -- directed by Adam Traynor -- is a battle between Gonzales and Tiga, who play two brothers and chess champs vying for the affections of Marsha, played by Peaches. And the film trailer also doubles as a music video for the track "I Am Europe". So cool.

Check mate, Gonzales.

Happy Friday!

Besos,
Haute Hippie

On Fire.

If you haven't yet participated in Arcade Fire's "We Used To Wait" interactive music video -- created from the efforts of director Chris Milk and Google (as in Earth and Chrome) -- here is my advice to you:

GET ON IT.

Download Google Chrome, close all unnecessary browsers (or else your Safari will crash, like mine did), think long and hard about what your childhood address was again, then type it into the box on the screen.

CLICK HERE NOW FOR A GOOD RIDE (or run, as you will soon see).





* Photo property of Arcade Fire and is used solely for commentary purposes

The Business of Fashion.

On Monday night, I had the privilege -- along with other local fashion media -- to attend the "Business of Fashion and the Digital Revolution" talk at OPUS Hotel, hosted and moderated by Searching For Style's Alexandra Suhner Isenberg.

I also had the privilege of meeting Calgary-born, London-based Imran Amed, the very kind, eloquently-spoken and dandily-dressed founder (not many men can wear an orange sport coat and get away with it) of the Business of Fashion.

He spoke to the crowd about how digital technology and social media has impacted the fashion world, naming Burberry (and its forward-thinking creative director Christopher Bailey) as a fashion house that has embraced and used digital initiatives and social media in the right manner. Imran cited the brand's Art of the Trench campaign as a highly successful endeavor because it took something as storied and iconic as the Burberry trench and married it with technology and a partnership with popular fashion photo-blogger Scott Schuman (otherwise known as The Sartorialist).

The BoF man also noted that social media is not something to be simply tacked onto the overall marketing of a fashion house, but it must actually be embedded into its business strategy.

A big thanks to Imran for taking the time out his holiday to speak to us, and another huge thanks to Alexandra from Searching For Style for putting together a fantastic, informative evening!

Besos,
Haute Hippie






* Photo property of Bronte Robertson, Searching For Style and is used solely for commentary purposes