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Interview with Naeem Khan, New York Fashion Week Spring ’16 Show

Interviews

New York

FWO
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February 17, 2016
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This story is a part of ABC News and Fashion Week Online’s partnership for NYFW FW16.

Naeem Khan NYFW Fall / Winter 2016

ABC News and Fashion Week Online were privileged to go backstage for a very special Naeem Khan show this season. ABC reporter Charli James interviewed Naeem — as well our Editor-in-Chief Chris Collie — about the collection, as well as his creation for the beautiful Trinity Moran, living her dream of being a runway model thanks to Make a Wish and Glam4Good.

Interview by Charli James for ABC News

Q: I’m Charli James, you’re watching ABC News Digital and I’m here behind the scenes with Naeem Khan. He is a well-celebrated women’s wear and bridal designer. We’re backstage right before his show here at New York Fashion Week. So first off, tell us a little bit about the inspiration for this beautiful collection. I’m sensing a lot of royalty; a lot of metallics and reds.

It’s the New York reality. So having grown up in New York, I spent most of my life in New York being involved with Halston; a lot of the grand dames of New York that I’ve come across.

If you look at New York architecture — which is predominantly a lot of Art Deco — which I love. So if you look at all the buildings or the ornate work, we did a study on that, and I love that.

If you look at New York architecture, it’s a lot of Art Deco, which I love.

So it’s New York City, the beautiful life of New York in the ’30s and ’40s. Architecture, Art Deco, lots of gold, all the metals. You know, all that kind of stuff.

It’s the beautiful life of New York in the ’30s and ’40s.

Q: Do you have any favorite pieces? I’ve seen a couple of jumpsuits also here. It seems that jumpsuits are just one of those pieces that just continues to be cool no matter what.

It’s so great because I started doing jumpsuits about 4 or 5 seasons ago. And I thought it might last for like maybe a couple of seasons. But every time I’m out I see lots of people buying jumpsuits and wearing jumpsuits. So we continue the tradition of jumpsuits. A little different: different embroidering, different colors, different cuts.

I see lots of people buying jumpsuits and wearing jumpsuits.

Q: And you designed for the red carpet — as we are in awards season — and just this season for the Critics’ Choice Awards, and for the Grammys …

Yes, you know my collection is predominantly red carpet because I love that kind of look, and I made a name in that world.

So to me ,I can do it with my eyes closed, you know. So it’s almost like a chore, this collection, because that’s my next thing that I want to do: in a couple of years I want a show or two in Paris. So I’m just practicing right now.

In a couple of years I want a show or two in Paris.

Q: Can you explain for our viewers who might not know the differences and similarities between designing for an actress or designing for the runway?

For the runway or the actresses, it’s the same actually, there is no difference.

Because when you’re designing for the red carpet of course it’s a lot of glamour, it’s different techniques, how much skin you show that’s important. And it’s a dress that makes a statement. It makes you feel like a million dollars when you arrive. I mean you’re on the top of the world. So you’re designing clothes that make you feel like you’re on the top of the world.

It’s a dress that makes you feel like a million dollars when you arrive.

Q: And finally I want to ask you about a very special guest, a model that you have walking today. You collaborated with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Oh my God, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Glam4Good are two causes that are so close for my heart because it’s like our job — you know, fashion is great but we also influence children, people, women, we empower women.

Fashion is great, but we also empower women.

So when Mary Alice [Stephenson] came to me with the idea: that she has this beautiful girl Trinity who wants to be part of the fashion show. I said, like, there is no two ways about it. So she’s going to be walking the runway with me tonight, and I created a dress for her.

Q: It’s a beautiful dress, too. We’ll be taking you over to speak with her hopefully soon: a beautiful little red dress that also kind of matches the collection, as well.

I wanted to make her happy, I think red would make her happy. So that’s why I designed a red dress for her.

Q: Thank you so much for seeing you at ABC News Digital.

Thank you.

Learn more

Make-A-Wish: Make-A-Wish
Glam4Good: Glam4Good
ABC News: ABC News
With love,

FWO

(Transcription by Fiona Luvell for FWO.)

Manus X Machina: The Met Explores Fashion and Technology

New York

Nick Gomez
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February 17, 2016
1

(Story by Nick Gomez. Intro by Pablo Starr.)

The Costume Institute’s Manus X Machina: What to Expect

Love it or hate it, technology is woven into the very fabric (no pun intended) of our daily lives. Or, as Daft Punk once sang via vocoder: “Harder, better, faster, stronger.” Indeed, the whole idea of technology is a fierce thrust forward.

But it strikes home nowhere quite like in a field like fashion, born of work done entirely by hand (in Latin, manus), and now principally by machine (machina).

Technology strikes home nowhere quite like in a field born of work done by hand.

Like the apocryphal John Henry — racing against a steam-powered hammer — or Kasparov vs. Deep Blue, we’re constantly reassessing where technology is making our lives better, and where it may be creating a hidden sacrifice.

We’re constantly reassessing whether technology is actually creating a new sacrifice.

Just as books like The Omnivore’s Dilemma are forcing us to reassess the way we’ve traded nutrition for convenience, there’s a movement toward handcrafted and bespoke clothing quietly gaining momentum beneath the über convenience of quasi-disposable “fast fashion” (some of which, we admit, we’ve gladly purchased ourselves).

The very presence of technology in an artisanal-based industry engenders many questions:

How significant is the distinction between haute couture (exclusive custom-fitted clothing) and ready-to-wear (mass produced in standardized “sizes”)? How has technology changed fashion, and where is it going?

How has technology changed fashion, and where is it going?

This spring, some of the debate around technology will be brought to the forefront with Manus X Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology, opening May 5 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

At the Press Preview

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At the press preview this morning, Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, shared that one of the inspirations behind the exhibit was Fritz Lang’s sci-fi film Metropolis, with its themes of technology, separation, and love — where the mediator between opposing forces is the heart.

One of the inspirations behind the exhibit was Fritz Lang’s sci-fi film Metropolis

The exhibit will present an opportunity to observe the oppositional relationship between haute couture and ready-to-wear, both separately and as a blended approach.

Viewers will get a close-up look at how the industrial revolution created a marked difference between the hand and the machine. With more than 100 pieces dating from the 1880s to 2015, the story of tech in fashion will be told, but also pushed forward.

Collection Preview

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So where has fashion been … and where does it go from here? Come to the exhibit May 5 and decide for yourself.

(from left) FWO Editor-in-Chief Chris Collie, Vogue Editor-in-Chief and Artistic Director of Condé Nast Anna Wintour

Learn more

metmuseum.org

Share with

#ManusxMachina
#CostumeInstitute
#MetMuseum

With love,

FWO

Photos Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art/BFA.com

Back in Black: The Case for Black Lipstick

Lifestyle

Claire Stemen
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February 15, 2016
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Black to the Future: Bringing Black Lipstick Into a Modern Ensemble

The Hadidster rocks black lipstick. Photo via: @Jennifer_yepez
The general reaction black lipstick garners is never quite positive. In a world where lips can be any shade of red, purple, or orange, the spectrum of acceptance is surprisingly narrow.

It’s one thing for runway models to sport gold-leafed lips or for wine-colored pouts to be hailed on account of Lorde. This is recognized as an expression of art.

But black lipstick? It’s the facial flag waved for counter-culture, the punctuation to a punk outfit or a gothic ensemble: never for a self-respecting fashionista.

It’s the facial flag waved for counter-culture.

Rihanna and a handful of other celebrities have begged to differ, wearing the controversial shade with class and aplomb.

Maybe the ever-shocking black lipstick doesn’t just need to be paired with a Victorian corset or spikes, maybe it just needs a makeover — an identity change.

It’s hardly a matter of pulling off the shade, as the rule in fashion is to pull off what you want to pull off — confidence being the necessary ingredient here. It’s a difficult color to take on, but approaching the shade at a new angle can make it fresh.

Adding black lipstick and maybe a string of pearls to your LBD, brings your classy ensemble from classic to daring.

Adding black lipstick to your LBD brings your ensemble from classic to daring.

Or, spicing up a casual, neutral look with the shade makes you look more refined than the actual effort of the look would normally dictate. Browns, denim, black (obviously), and other neutral tones look fantastic with the shade.

If you want to ride a little closer to the edge with black lipstick (as if it weren’t daring enough), it does well as the final touch to a daring look.

The key with black lipstick is to carry it as the audacious anti-color it is: with confidence and ferocity. And as a rule, erring on the side of neutral color with it is always a safe bet.

Erring on the side of neutral color with it is always a safe bet.

Whatever you do, never be afraid to paint it black!

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With love,

FWO

Tattoo You: Tadashi Shoji Spring ’16 Show

New York

Melanie Sutrathada
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February 13, 2016
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Tadashi Shoji: Because You Are Beautiful

Live coverage streamed 9 AM, February 12 at FWO and ABCNews.com.

Awards season is a busy time for designer Tadashi Shoji. After all, dressing actresses and singers (everyone from Oscar winners Octavia Spencer and Helen Mirren to musicians like Katy Perry) is just one of the notable achievements of the Japanese-born American designer. (And for anyone counting, he’s also dressed Michelle Obama and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe.)

For Fall / Winter 2016, FWO and ABC News came backstage to live-stream the events behind-the-scenes, for a collection that was a bit of a departure for Shoji, involving “tribal, tattoo, bodypainting, and henna. But [unlike a tattoo],” the designer said, “you can wear my body suit, and at night you can peel it off.”

Unlike a tattoo, at night you can peel it off.

The collection marks a transition from more formal evening wear to bodycon suits that would be at home on an Hervé Léger runway, but with Shoji’s masterful cuts and a decidedly youthful aesthetic, evident from the first moments of the North African-inflected techno that kicked off the catwalk.

As award-winning hairstylist Frank Rizzieri explained, the look was “rock and roll cool. We started with something that was very sleek, and it just started to evolve from that.”

True to form, the fall / winter collection involves a painstaking process of creation, with fait à la main elements. “We create it for the body,” explains Tadashi, “and then we put on the rhinestones and studs one by one.”

But one of the most exciting things about Tadashi Shoji is the fact that he has a plus line — something not seen in many high-end designers.

One of the most exciting things about Tadashi Shoji is the fact that he has a plus line.

When asked (by ABC reporter Charli James), “Why do you think it’s important to dress women of all sizes?” Tadashi says:

“Women are all made different sizes. Why discriminate? Small people and large people equally want to be beautiful. I have a background in patternmaking and draping, so I have confidence that I can cut a pattern to any type of figure, to look beautiful and be comfortable. And because of that, they keep coming back.”

Small people and large people equally want to be beautiful.

This trend to the plus size is very one of the most exciting trends in ready to wear, and part of the larger inclusiveness movement we (and others) have dubbed the “fashion revolution.”

Tadashi’s latest collection shows that the down-to-earth designer is involved in a relentless process of reinvention that continues to keep him firmly in step with the times.

But as you can see from these pictures, stunning patterns and pairings bring a timeless elegance to the collection.

In other words: pure Tadashi Shoji.

The Collection

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The Show

Tadashi Shoji FW 2016: FWO Goes Backstage with ABC News

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With love,

FWO

Sound and Vision: BCBGMAXAZRIA Spring ’16 Show

Interviews

New York

Chris Collie
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February 13, 2016
0

Lubov Azria: Interview FW 2016

Lubov Azria: BCBG Interview FW 2016

It’s not difficult to compliment Lubov Azria on another terrific collection. As we told her the next day, when we interviewed her for Max and Lubov’s all-knitted sister brand Hervé Léger, BCBG’s runways are everything a fashion show should be. No celebrity vocal lip-synch performances. No “cirque du soleil” moments, or moonwalking vampires. (Okay, we admit, we’ve never actually seen moonwalking vampires on the runway. And not that quirky moments don’t sometimes have their charm, because they do.)

But BCBG is pure fashion: amazing clothes, glamorous models with spot-on makeup and hair. The kind of fashion show you can imagine seeing on the runways of 1960s Paris, only with clothes that are 2016-ready.

And the all-Bowie remix soundtrack was not only poetically appropriate, but — even more poetically — was actually envisioned during the genesis of the collection itself.

With that, enjoy this interview with BCBGMAXAZRIA doyenne and creative director Lubov Azria — partner of Max — with our own Editor-in-Chief Chris Collie.

Q: What was the inspiration behind this year’s collection?

Well we started for fall — can you believe it’s Fall 2016 already? It’s too much.

So we have a board of inspiration in our office, and for some reason we kept putting up David Bowie’s pictures. Four decades of David Bowie’s pictures. And nothing to do with his costumes. It was the idea of performance, The idea that performance gives us hope. Gives vitality. Gives inspiration to us all. And we took that performer into our collection.

For some reason we kept putting up four decades of David Bowie’s pictures.

So every model that’s going to walk down the runway has something that’s Lurex [yarn with a metallic appearance] on her. She had leggings that have like a slash. We also watched Bandstand. Remember Bandstand? Do you remember all of those people who wanted to be on camera? Wearing something that’s Lurax or something that’s shiny.

So there’s a little bit of ‘80s in the collection, just a little bit. But that idea of the performer, never giving up. Living your dream.

You know, when I was a little girl, you couldn’t get me out of like sequined leggings. I had to have them. I would wear them. They were like … me. Without them, I wasn’t myself.

And I’m sure for a lot of other people, whether it was the Member’s Only jacket .… Or the Micheal Jackson ….

When I was a little girl, you couldn’t get me out of like sequined leggings.

Q: Oh I loved it. I had to have that.

Or a tutu for a little girl. But the idea is to never give up hope for yourself.

So this collection kind of has this metamorphosis between being structural, where you have a lot of very menswear cut tailoring in the collection, and there’s graphic cuts, there’s volume in the sleeves, volume in the dresses.

Fabrications are heavier a little bit. They’re wool / alpaca. They’re beautiful, sumptuous. However, the little girl is in there. She’s in there, and she’s celebrating. And I feel like at any point she could just rip her clothes off and be ready to dance. But the idea that she’s not.

The idea that you live in this beautiful world. In this tough world. And you are still keeping that hope and beauty alive.

So this collection kind of has this metamorphosis between being structural … but the little girl is there. You are still keeping that hope and beauty alive.

Q: Okay, I know you have to run, so I’m going to ask you another quick question. Where do you see fashion going in the next 5 years, as far as fashion week and the retailers. Everything is so: They want it now. They want it right now. How do you feel that transition is going to play into your designs and your collection?

It’s been coming up for years. But there are two calendars. There’s a fashion calendar. And there’s the retail calendar. So fashion follows the retail calendar. The retailers are people like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Bloomingdales, the large department stores and the small. They dictate that in January, you ship spring. So until that calendar changes, fashion is going to stay similar.

Until that retail calendar changes, fashion is going to stay similar.

I mean I know that Burberry and other people are changing. But the point is, unless the buyers are willing to buy winter clothes in January, it doesn’t matter what we show. We want to make it a big deal, but in reality it’s retail the retail calendar that has to make the changes.

BCBGMAXAZRIA FW16: The Show

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With love,

FWO

NYFW Tickets Winner!

New York

FWO
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February 12, 2016
0

The Winner is: Liz Ward!

You came, you saw, you entered. 2,217 of you, to be exact!

Our wonderful friends at Savoteur.com have picked the lucky winner: Liz Ward, who will be attending the FTL Moda NYFW runway presentation on February 15th!

Liz will attend the FTL Moda presentation at NYFW!

Liz, originally from Boston, has lived in Astoria NYC for the past 5 years and says she “sees herself as a New Yorker for life!”

You can follow her on Instagram @liz68898.

Congrats, Liz!

With love,

FWO

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