Beth Honig Gives the Scoop: Milan Fashion Week 2016

Of course one of the major headlines coming out of Milan this week was Gigi Hadid’s red-carpet attack. Hadid was accosted while leaving the Max Mara show on Thursday morning. Her reaction to being man-handled? Fight back. She fought off the aggressor, who was later identified as a known red-carpet crasher who has targeted celebrities like Jada Pinkett-Smith and Bradley Cooper. Later, Hadid took to Instagram to say, “I’m a HUMAN BEING and had EVERY RIGHT to defend myself. How dare that idiot think he has the right to man-handle a complete stranger.”

Hadid’s frightening encounter  aside, Milan Fashion Week has boasted some of the most exciting shows of the year so far. The New York Times has said “There’s a balmy wind of minor rebellion sweeping along the catwalks of Milan, making unlikely allies of normally opposing aesthetics, and drawing a line in the sand. The insta-fashion that so defined the start of the season in New York (the way, arguably, insta-everything so defines modern life) is finding little purchase here.”

There are several reasons why Milan Fashion Week is an unmissable event on the fashion calendar, but two of the biggest reasons Miuccia Prada and Giorgio Armani. Armani’s breakthrough fashion moment came in 1980 whenRichard Gere wore the designer’s clothes in the film American Gigolo. Gere’s well-clad and handsome screen appearances “generated a lot of interest for the label and gained Armani popularity in America,” according to The Telegraph. “Soon after many celebrities were spotted wearing his designs on the red carpet. The Armani brand now includes Giorgio Armani Privé, Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, EA7, Armani Collezioni, Armani Jeans, Armani Junior and Armani Exchange.”

The rise of Miuccia Prada has been a bit more unconventional, much like Prada designs are. “She received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Milan , and began training to be a mime,” The New Yorker has said. “Prada doesn’t sew, embroider, sketch, etc. Instead, she surrounds herself with talented people who translate her themes, concepts, and taste into clothes. This unusual approach has made her one of the most influential designers in the world, and one of the most powerful women in Europe.”

As for Prada’s presentation this week in Milan, one critic said: “One woman who has cornered and pioneered the market of covetable bad taste is Miuccia Prada. Her show at the close of the day in Milan was a masterclass in being shown items that you never knew you’d lust over.”

 

 

 

 

90s-era Supermodels Make a Stunning Comeback

90s-era Supermodels Make a Stunning Comeback

Break out your dark lipstick, choker necklaces, Doc Martens boots and floral skater dresses. The 90s are back!

Fashion rags and trend-spotters have been spying nineties fashion in street style and on runways for a while now. But in January, Marie Claire officially announced: Indeed, nineties fashion isn’t just having a brief Renaissance: it’s here to stay and it’s even trying to persuade us that buffalo trainers are a good idea again.

Suffice it to say it’s Nineties Fever. Just the other week, Glamour compared the current wide leg denim trend on spring runways to the cartoonishly oversized jeans that were made infamous by the 90s skater brand JNCO.  (And, if you need a laugh at JNCO’s expense, do check out this hilarious headline over at The Onion and this funny sartorial experiment by Buzzed last month.)

The nineties comeback that I’d like to draw your attention to, however, isn’t about the styles from that era, though 90s fashion is definitely enjoying a renaissance (see Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin wearing matching chokers).  

No, I’m heralding the resurgence of the women who made the nineties fashionable:  Models Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Veronica Webb, Stella Tennant and others. These were the women who defined the word “supermodel.” They once ruled runways and magazine covers—and, recently, we’ve seen that they’re still going strong.

On the cover of the April issue of Vogue Paris, Cindy Crawford graced the cover with her daughter Kaia Gerber. Looking more like the 14-year-old’s older sister, Crawford is every bit the stunner, not having lost any of her beauty at 50 years old. Though Crawford is proudly passing the baton to her daughter, she surely hasn’t lost any of her photogenic allure. Wearing matching bomber jackets, the mother-daughter duo are the envy of women of every age. Gerber is following in her mother’s footsteps having scored an IMG modeling contract and a campaign with Alexander Wang.

In the nineties, not only did supermodel Veronica Webb represent high-end labels like Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Lauren, she was also the first black model to land a major beauty contract. In February, Webb returned to the runway for a cameo appearance on stage for Yeezy Season 3, Kanye West’s sold-out fashion show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Webb is also one of the “Legends” signed to Trump Models, along with Cheryl Tiegs and Beverly Johnson.

Speaking of the Yeezy Season 3 presentation in February, there was another nineties supermodel making a special guest star appearance that night: Naomi Campbell. Campbell, who was once one of the highest paid models in fashion, has been on a comeback trail for a few years now. In 2013, she returned to the catwalk as fierce as ever, vamping it up for Versace (a performance for which she prepared by doing a 10-day juice cleanse). In June 2015, she helped relaunch the Givenchy label after its three-year hiatus and walked the runway with fashion’s new “it” girls Kendall Jenner and Joan Smalls. That same month, she modeled for La Perla in what was called her “swimwear comeback.”  (Campbell, for the record, is 45 years old. And she doesn’t look a day older than 22, the age she was when she starred alongside Michael Jackson in his “In The Closet” video.)

Naomi Campbell was also one of the stars of a recent Balmain campaign that reunited Campbell with fellow 90s supermodel Cindy Crawford as well as Claudia Schiffer. Schiffer, of course, was the buxom beauty who became synonymous with the brand Guess. In 2012, Guess tapped Schiffer for an ad campaign to celebrate its 30th anniversary

Lately, whenever mature models appear on runways or in magazine spread it’s a fashion event. In an excellent commentary on Vogue.com entitled “We Need to Talk About Fashion’s Ageism Problem,” the writer Janelle Okwodu says, “Given the rarity with which they appear, every mature model sighting becomes that much more impactful.” The legendary Stella Tennant was one of the highlights of the Prada Fall 2016 show in February. Tenant, like Crawford and Campbell, has been hailed as one of models who defined the nineties.

Whether they were starring in music videos (lest we forget George Michael’s iconic supermodel-studded “Freedom” video) or simply defining street style, the models of the nineties are the gift that keep on giving. 

Four Fashion Tips From Provo Fashion Week

Provo Fashion Week

This past weekend the second biannual Provo Fashion Week took place at the Provo Library. Provo Fashion Week, which was founded in Utah in Spring 2014, aims to bring together independent fashion designers, style bloggers, industry insiders, photographers, and most importantly – the fashion-lovers.  Throughout the show, there was a noticeable pattern of similar materials, prints, and designs used by all of the designers.  So if you’re looking for the next mainstream fashion trends that are soon to be emerging, here’s what was seen at Provo Fashion Week:

1. Fringe

Fringe acts as an accent to most articles of clothing, and gives the ensemble flavor – whether it be geographically or for movement purposes, fringe was hot on the runway at Provo.  Brandon Perry debuted his designs this Friday, adding fringe to many of his pieces.  He said he used his own Native American and Spanish heritage to impact and guide his particular style trends – mostly seen through his use of fringe.

2. Small Sequins

Perhaps fashion is reviving various sequin use from the 1960’s, whatever they’re doing, we like it.  Sequins were included on evening gowns, high-waisted skirts, and even on simplistic-styled t-shirts.  Fashion designer Rebecca Fenton noted that sequins add femininity to any type of clothing – they spice things up.  Especially with the holidays rolling around the the corner, sequins are a great way for women to vocalize their femininity while still remaining bold; they turn any outfit into a powerful one.

3. Textured Pieces

The fashion industry seems to be moving into a direction that uses a vast assortment of materials.  From leather to lace, designers were constantly adding texture to various articles of clothing.  You may have noticed leather sleeves on many outfits this fall, but prepare for more.  Neoprene, a wetsuit-like material, is making its big debut.  Keep your eyes peeled for different textures when you’re shopping in the next few weeks, they’ll be everywhere.

4. Floral

Especially when dressing formally, floral designs (like silk flowers) are big this season.  Many designers at Provo Fashion Week used floral as a way to accessorize dresses, hair pieces, and evening wear.  Floral in small prints was a huge hit on this runway, it added just the right amount of “girly” to any outfit, meshing perfectly with the more sophisticated ensembles.  But be careful not to over-due floral, or your outfit could be mistaken for a favorite summer dress.  Use floral sparingly, just a touch is enough for this season.

Provo

Overall, Provo Fashion Week was a huge success and offered a variety of style tips that you should take into consideration when shopping these next couple months.