Fashion Copious

Good Reads | Panos Yiapanis Interview

Interview

Style File: Panos Yiapanis On Love And His Creative Evolution

To add to his accomplishments, last week, Katie Grand tapped him to become Love’s fashion director-at-large. Here, Yiapanis talks to Style.com about the new gig, the state of fashion, and staying true to his look.

Why did now feel like the right time to join a magazine?
I feel like I’ve come full circle in terms of what I do. I’ve kind of been nomadic, which is putting it nicely. I’ve been a gypsy, going from one magazine to another. I feel like I’m back to where I was aesthetically when I first started out in terms of what I want to say, so having this position now gives me a new way of conveying that message. When I first started out, a lot of what I did was very personal and I had evolved away from doing that. People would say, “Well, maybe that’s a little too creative for us,” so I started to clean up what I did, which didn ‘t work for me. I’m happier doing what I enjoy, so it felt right to go back to my messier aesthetic.

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How do you feel about the state of fashion at the moment? Are you happy with what you’ve been seeing?
I guess not, for the reasons that I mentioned earlier. I think the commerce has overtaken the creativity. But I’m not so negative about it because I can still go ahead and do what I want to do, and there’s plenty of great clothes out there. I don’t have to be so altruistic about it. Me moaning isn’t going to affect any change.

Good Reads | Good Ideas Are Good Ideas

Technology / Film

WSJ: From Talkies to Texties

Hollywood is grappling with the storytelling challenges of a world filled with unglamorous smartphones, texting and social media.

The revolution in communicating via text, often on tiny phone screens, is presenting filmmakers with a huge challenge: How do you show it on the big screen?

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"House of Cards" creator Beau Willimon says that he views text messages as a modern embodiment of playwright Harold Pinter's notion that action stems from what is left unsaid.

Mr. Willimon says he wrote the episodes with the texts shown as dialogue without thinking much about how the interactions would be displayed on screen. Executive producer David Fincher, who directed the first two episodes of the show, decided that he wanted the texts to appear almost as text bubbles with a pale blue or gray background, depending on who was sending the message, as opposed to showing close-ups of phones. After he proposed the caption idea, Mr. Willimon showed him some clips from "Sherlock," which depicts texts on screen as white subtitles in a Helvetica font, and asked "Is this what you had in mind?" Mr. Fincher "was a bit bummed that it had been done before," he says. "But good ideas are good ideas."

★ Good Reads | John Casablancas Speaks

Interview

Models.com: John Casablancas

What do you think represents the future of modeling?

JC: I think that the golden years are gone. Some agencies have made it a policy to cut commissions in order to appease their demanding models. The rates are getting worse by the day, and clients know that anything is negotiable. Bookers from all agencies rent a room and a couple of phones, steal a few models and open shop. Rich Oligarchs or Sheikhs are buying agencies as trophies. Young models are rejected if their career doesn’t take off quickly enough. Also, the new technologies available for scouting and for representing models allow just about anybody to act as an amateur model agent. With the economy as tough as it is and with this particular environment in the modeling industry, I think the future of modeling is flat at best but that there will always be a few models who continue to make top dollars. The fact that so many campaigns are still being shot with the supermodels who are now in their mid-30’s and early 40’s tells us, (in spite of the miracles of photoshop,) that it will take a long, long time before the glory days are eventually back. If I were a young man again and had to start a new agency, I would certainly differentiate myself by having, off the bat, a stake in recruitment, promotional projects, and reality-based TV and Internet programs, but I would definitely associate our image with a zest for life, a provocative attitude and the firm belief that classical, traditional beauty is eternal…and will always work regardless of trends.

Good Reads | Kristen McMenamy

Profile

Style.com/Pring: "It Was Always Kristen"

"I will always try to be better," McMenamy says. "At 48, I think I can be better. I'll think I can be better than at 28. I will be better! And I will always feel like that. Modeling has been my life. I love acting as well, but this has been my life."

Kristen McMenamy's life as a model began 30 years ago, when she dropped out of college at age 18. Her parents still have not quite come to terms with her career choice, despite her legendary status within the field. "I was the bright one in my family," she says. "Out of seven kids, I was the A+ student. So they expected me to go on and be a 'businessperson' of some kind. To this day they don't like what I do. They still expect me to get a job as a secretary at L'Oréal or something!"

Good Reads | Rei Kawakubo

Interview

Style.com/Print: Chaos Theory

Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons says she isn't out to break the rules. That doesn't mean she hasn't left plenty of them crumbled in her wake

MS: Do you believe there are rules in fashion? Do you consider yourself to be a rule breaker?

RK: I'm not interested in rules, or whether they are there or not. I do not consciously set out to break rules. I only make clothes that I myself feel are beautiful or good-looking. People maybe say that this way of feeling is against the rules.

MS: You've spoken occasionally about the constant need for newness in your work. Is newness the ultimate goal of design? How would you rank it relative to function and beauty?

RK: What new means to me is something that doesn't exist already and that I haven't seen before. The image I have made once is already no longer new to me, so you could say the goal is not to be found in eternity. Beauty and function are different things, but luckily they have a mutual connection. But the fundamental values around which I built CDG, i.e., creation and new, have no connection to beauty and function.

Marc Jacobs On Acting In 'Disconnect'

Interview

Huffington Post: Marc Jacobs Talks Psychotherapy, MySpace And Winona Ryder

How did you become involved in "Disconnect"?
"I met the director, Henry-Alex Rubin, years ago in Paris via a mutual connection, an actress named Winona Ryder. He was shooting a mockumentary around her shoplifting scandal and wanted to shoot in my showroom."

Years later, in July 2011, the director reached out to Jacobs again, this time regarding his first feature-length film.

"I never wanted to be an actor, so for me, it didn't matter that the role was a porn baron. It could've been a circus clown; it would've been no different. It was the fact that someone wanted me to act that was the real 'draw' to this film. To this day, I have no idea why he'd want me to be involved. It must have been something humorous or perverse about having me in that role."

What was the difference between creating a fashion show and filming a movie role?
"Firstly, I don't speak the language of movies. I didn't understand 90 percent of what they were saying, so I really felt like I was in a foreign land where I didn't speak the language. There are some similarities in putting on both productions, especially when it comes to the tedium.

I'm used to the tedious aspects of putting together a fashion show. I can spend eight hours in a room discussing the width of an elastic on the hem of a skirt. I'm not used to freezing my ass off in a parking lot while filming with heating pads strapped to my torso. I couldn't wrap my head around filming one scene over the course of eight hours. So I guess it's the devil you know versus the devil you don't."

Bert Stern Wants To Photograph Kate Upton

T Magazine: Talking Talent | Bert Stern

What inspired you to agree to make “Bert Stern: The Original Mad Man”?

The girl, Shannah, who made the movie, is a girl I met when she was 13 and I spent about 20 years photographing, and when she grew up she decided she wanted to make a movie about me. She got interested in films. It wasn’t too hard with her because I like her and she was around a lot, and so it didn’t bother me. I just don’t like being photographed very much.

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But it seems like the shape of women today is so very different than it was back then, or what’s glamorized.

Well, I don’t know, there’s always some girl. Now it seems to be this girl Kate Upton. She looks interesting to me. I’ve never met her, but I would like to photograph her, if you asked me if there’s anybody I would like to photograph.

Crazy White Bitches

Interview

Chasseur Magazine: Chasseur Interviews Crazy White Bitches

Your blog is mostly about being sarcastic, foul, witty, exploring creative avenues, fashion and various obsessions.  What was the idea behind it?

We didn’t want to get addicted to Farmville, so we started a blog as a way to procrastinate in a useful way. It started at the same time as our infamous sales/parties, and started to interlink. We eventually learnt how to check out stats and realised that we had a strangely huge following on our hands. The blog is an explosion of our internet obsessions, our lives in Cape Town and the work we put out.

You guys seem to have a large amount of support in your hometown. Who is your current pop culture obsession In Cape Town that needs more exposure?

Jana Babez. She was recently snapped topless with Lady Gaga, and the photo made its way onto the Daily Mail and The Sun. She’s an aspiring real-life Barbie Doll, and there’s talks of a reality show coming soon.

What do CWB bring that differs to every other second-hand stall?

We only sell clothes we would wear ourselves, and we’re usually pretty drunk at our sales/in our lives. We’re selling a lifestyle rather than just some dead people’s clothes.

Kevin Carrigan on the Modern Man

WWD: Calvin Klein's Kevin Carrigan on the Modern Man

Carrigan is one of five creative directors at Calvin Klein, who each oversee different parts of the brand. Francisco Costa designs the women’s Calvin Klein Collection line, Italo Zucchelli does men’s Collection, Ulrich Grimm oversees men’s and women’s shoes and accessories and Amy Mellen is responsible for the home business.

“We are all drinking from the same source. There’s a vast [Calvin Klein] archive,” said Carrigan. “Since 1968, we have every collection — hundreds and hundreds of garments — that Mr. Klein designed himself over 30 years. It’s overwhelming. It’s kind of intimidating to see that body of work over 30 years. We all use it and use that creative inspiration.”

Hollywood is a continuing touch point for Carrigan in his efforts to remain current with the tastes and preferences of male consumers. “If you look at modern-day Hollywood, you look at Leo DiCaprio. What Ben Affleck did with ‘Argo.’ It’s about how they act, what they’re interested in, their charities. That’s the modern man. Those guys are always on my mind,” he said.

Fashion Communicators

WWD: Talking the Blogosphere With Scott Schuman

Schuman also talked about the early days of blogging and how difficult it was initially because brands were scared of “unfiltered public reactions.”

“Now brands are unfiltered and are going after blogs because all they want is reaction,” Schuman said. “In the future, blogs will get better. We’re getting ready for a new generation of fashion communicators.”

To him the notion of a “fashion writer” today is “quaint” — and he prefers to use the term “fashion communicators” to describe this growing segment of individuals who he said will one day be able to shoot a runway shot or a video, edit it and have it posted on their own site within an hour.

Good Reads | New Standard Bearer For Print Magazines On Tablets

AppleInsider: New York magazine's new iPad app looks to define the future of print + digital publishing

Timed with the magazine's 45th anniversary, New York is set to launch a newly redesigned iPad app that takes full advantage of Apple's iOS platform, and could serve as the new standard bearer for print magazines on tablets.


AppleInsider was given an early hands-on look at the revamped New York magazine for iPad this week at the publication's New York City headquarters. While New York has had an iPad edition available to subscribers for years, NYmag.com General Manager Michael Silberman admitted the previous software hadn't used Apple's tablet to its full potential.

That's why in 2012, they partnered with developer The Wonderfactory to build a new iOS Newsstand application based on Bonnier's Mag+ digital publishing platform. The result is New York's completely revamped software, which is scheduled to hit the App Store April 1, with a few twists that make it a standout experience for the iPad.

Céline Is The "Pinnacle ‘It’ Brand"

Business of Fashion: On the Wings of Céline

“[Céline] is the perfect storm of a truly original fresh voice, absolute perfection of quality, utter standards, disciplined brand stewardship and good timing,” Linda Fargo, senior vice president and fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, told BoF. “Céline operates on all these cylinders all at once. And if imitation is any gauge of success, then clearly Phoebe Philo’s Céline is universally recognized as the pinnacle ‘It’ brand.”

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Fargo, for one, isn’t worried: “Dare I say it, they may well become the modern-day equivalent of the standard bearer of non-perishable luxury: Hermès.”

Good Reads | Nasty Gal's Story

Profile

NY Times: Naughty in Name Only

In 2006, Ms. Amoruso was a 22-year-old community college dropout, living in her step-aunt’s cottage, working at an art school checking student IDs for $13 an hour. Then she started a side project, Nasty Gal, an eBay page that sold vintage women’s clothing.

Last year, Nasty Gal sold nearly $100 million of clothing and accessories — profitably.

For the last seven years, Ms. Amoruso has been courting a cult following of 20-something women. Nasty Gal has more than half a million followers on Facebook and more than 600,000 on Instagram. But it is not yet well known beyond that base. At fashion trade shows, the company’s name still gets strange looks.

★ "I’ve Been Seeing A Lot Of This One Guy Who Runs A Fashion Company."

Who might the person in the 2nd paragraph be!

SlutEver: Am I Normal? – High Class Escort

Madeline is a 23-year-old prostitute. She’s been selling sex for more than two years, primarily sleeping with men she meets through sugar daddy websites. She talked to me about her life fucking Saudi princes, having orgies with CIA agents, and the truth about men who pay for sex.

So do you have a reliable SD now?
I’ve been seeing a lot of this one guy who runs a fashion company. He wants to dress me up as his doll and put me in high fashion shit, so that’s cool. He’s really fun to hang out with, and actually sort of has a gay vibe. He texted me today with a plan for our next date saying, “We’ll go to the spa and get mani/pedis and then we’ll go home and have sex and then we’ll go shopping and get you all dressed up and then we’ll go to Book of Mormon and then we’ll go to a fabulous dinner.” LOL. Like, can’t complain there!

★ Good Reads | The Nielsen Family Is Dead

Excellent article by Wired, looking at the state of TV Today.

Wired: The Nielsen Family Is Dead

THE NEW RULES OF
THE HYPER-SOCIAL, DATA-DRIVEN, ACTOR-FRIENDLY, SUPER-SEDUCTIVE PLATINUM AGE OF TELEVISION

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All of your favorite shows are ratings dogs. Breaking Bad, Girls, Mad Men—each struggles to get a Nielsen score higher than 3, representing about 8.7 million viewers. And it’s not just cable. NBC’s 30 Rock struggled to top a score of 2.5, and Parks and Recreation rarely cracks Nielsen’s top 25. There are two possible conclusions to draw from these facts: (1) All these shows should be canceled, or (2) maybe the ratings are measuring the wrong thing. Since the 1970s, television has been ruled by the Nielsen Family—25,000 households whose TV habits collectively provide a statistical snapshot of a nation’s viewing behavior. Over the years, the Nielsen rating has been tweaked, but it still serves one fundamental purpose: to gauge how many people are watching a given show on a conventional television set. But that’s not how we watch any more. Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Roku, iTunes, smartphone, tablet—none of these platforms or devices are reflected in the Nielsen rating.

And the TV experience doesn’t stop when the episode ends. We watch with tablets on our laps so we can look up an actor’s IMDb page. We tweet about the latest plot twist (discreetly, to avoid spoilers). We fill up the comments section of our favorite online recappers. We kibitz with Facebook friends about Hannah Horvath’s latest paramour. We start Tumblrs devoted to Downton decor. We’re engaging with a show even if we aren’t watching it, but none of this behavior factors into Nielsen’s calculation of its impact.

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Rule #2
Sex Makes Shows Smarter

So forget sex. It’s “sexposition” now—a way for cable writers to keep your attention while educating you on plot, background, and character.