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Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour

Filed under: Books


British photographer Norman Parkinson's name may not be terribly well known today, but his influence on a subsequent generation of fashion photographers is obvious from a new survey of his work just published by Rizzoli. Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour is a lavish portrait of Parkinson's long career from the 1930s through the 1980s, produced in a unique collaboration with the Norman Parkinson Archive in London. Parkinson got his start at Vogue in London, was a protégé of the great Alexander Lieberman at American Vogue when he came to New York, and did some of his most innovative work in the Diana Vreeland years there. In a career that spanned more than four decades, Parkinson worked with the greatest models, from Carmen Dell'Orefice, often called the first supermodel, who was Parkinson's early muse, to the young Jerry Hall, whom Parkinson shot for her first Vogue cover as well as in an historic 1975 shoot staged in the USSR. His iconic photographs for the likes of Vogue, Queen, and Harper's Bazaar are reproduced in the volume alongside a trove of previously unpublished fashion work.

The Fashion Statement: New York Fashion Week Wraps Up

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

bryant park

How many countless man hours of work goes into New York fashion week? It's particularly impressive that publicists can check in hundreds of people in less than 30 minutes and all the while weed out gate crashers, deal with seat stealers and accommodate divas.

There are certainly more difficult tasks then sitting in the audience. Still, being shuttled through show after show-and trying to retain what you've seen-is exhausting. Today, it all comes to an end.

So what's the best thing about fashion week?

"For me? When it's over!" quipped Fern Mallis, Senior VP IMG Fashion, who organizes Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. "It's such an exciting week. It's like school reunion twice a year."

"Renewal," answered Linda Fargo, Bergdorf Goodman's Senior VP of Fashion.

"People watching for me," said Genlux magazine's creative director Stephen Kamifuji.

And my favorite answer came from André Leon Talley, Editor at Large, at Vogue. "My bed!"

The Fashion Statement: Bryant Park Tents, the Spectacle

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

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On any given minute of any given day, rain or shine, lookie loos crowd the entrance to the Bryant Park tents during fashion week. Who are they hoping to see? Do they see them? And how much time do they spend hanging out?

Here's what a few said as the Max Azria show let out this afternoon:

"I read my fashion magazines and I find it quite fascinating--the whole excitement around it," said Clare Payn, an investment banker and photographer from London.

"I don't know what's really going on, but it's exciting. I just saw [a pair of] super heels." said Jenni Lanfear, a personal assistant in Australia. "New York fashion week is huge...especially coming from Australia.

"I'm hoping to see Anna Wintour [Editor in Chief of Vogue]," said another Aussie Jimmy Mouzakiotis, buyer for a supermarket chain. Mouzakiotis had already seen The September Issue (which, BTW, is more than I can say).

And, finally, I approached Noreen Young, a makeup artist brandishing a camera. "Wait. Wait. I'm trying to get Linda Wells [Editor in Chief of Allure magazine]." She got her shot as well as that of InStyle's Fashion Director Hal Rubenstein. "He was just kissing somebody," she beamed.

Average hanging-around time, according to my informal poll? 10 minutes.

Great sightings like Mickey Rourke and Lucy Liu were at the show, but publicists make a point of letting celebs know how to slip out the back way.

Vogue India Fashion Spread Stirs Controversy

Filed under: Apparel, Journeys

For Vogue India's latest issue, editors decided to shoot some of the country's poorest citizens modeling such luxury goods as a Hermes Birkin bag and a Burberry umbrella. An older woman -- missing her upper teeth -- held a baby wearing a Fendi bib which cost as much as she might earn over a several month period. (Remember most of India still lives on little more than a dollar a day.) The juxtaposition has a number of Vogue readers (and non-readers) astir.

In a place polarized by caste and an exceptionally apparent disparity of wealth, one would think Vogue might have been a little more discreet. Perhaps most infuriating about the photo spread is that Vogue didn't even get the names of the men, women and children posing. They are simply referred to as "lady" or "man" while the cutline goes into great detail about the various objects they model -- people as props, handbags as the main story.

The real shame? That somehow poverty never quite goes out of fashion.

Kate Moss Builds Her Brand

Filed under: Apparel


On the heels of Kate Moss' already impressive fall ad campaign successes comes news of more coups scored by the eternally gorgeous supermodel: two more major contracts and some serious magazine exposure. On the ad campaign front, her latest big bucks gigs come courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent's beauty line (above) and renowned jeweler Bulgari, both shot in classic black-and-white.

In addition, she appears on the covers of the latest issues of both Vogue and Interview; in the latter she poses totally nude, and she also appears topless (yet again) in a stunning spread for the September issue of W magazine. All this comes as she launches her new clothing line for British retailer Topshop, to great fanfare. We predict the Kate Moss brand will develop into an extremely profitable luxury goods enterprise, with many more product lines to come.

J. Herwitt's Insect Jewelry

Filed under: Jewelry

I came across the unique jewelry designs of Jennifer Herwitt in May's Vogue. I am always a sucker for a designer who turns the unusual into something beautiful and her J. Herwitt designs turn bugs the creepy crawly into diamond-studded beauties. Herwitt, who is also a set decorator and an interior designer, is inspired by the insect world and while she creates adorable diamond and gold pieces shaped like butterflies and dragonflies, she also gives scorpions, ants and spiders the same treatment. This large spider necklace which is 14K white gold set with13 brilliant cut diamonds sells for $5,660 and is a favorite of the singer Pink.

Other gorgeous bug-themed pieces we love
Nancey Chapman's Beetle Bracelet
Nicole Landaw's Gold Spiders
Theo Fennell's Busy Bees
Alishan Spiders
Zadora's Queen Bee Watch

Wal-Mart in Vogue

Wal-Mart, in its continuing quest to make its image more fashionable, is running ads in May's Vogue magazine. The ads were shot by photographer Patrick Demarchelier and the models worked with a stylist from the magazine. Because Wal-Mart's core audience is comprised of "real" people, they opted not to use professional models over real, everyday shoppers. And by "everyday shoppers," they meant women like Kristina Deignan, pictured, who was Mrs. Virginia in 2003 and first runner up at the Mrs. USA pageant.

Mrs. Deignan said that she shops for "basics such as T-shirts, tank tops and workout wear" at Wal-Mart, while the rest of her closet has designers including Kay Unger and Nanette Lepore. The skirt and bracelet in the photo are her own.

[Image Patrick Demarchelier]



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