Cat de frumos e citatul acesta? Lasand la o parte faptul ca e roz (not my fav), nu va face sa… nu stiu, sa faceti ceva? Vorba aceea, tot a trecut prima luna din an, au mai ramas doar 333 pe care sa le faci fabuloase, doar vreo 40 de saptamani…  Ca tot vorbim de saptamani, cea de Haute Couture deja a trecut, iar eu abia am avut timp sa prind cu coada ochiului imaginile catorva colectii. In schimb, in mod paradoxal, venirea zapezii si a sfarsitului de ianuarie imi dau senzatia de promisiune a unui inceput de primavara, change and excitement are in the air, si nu se pot intampla decat lucruri minunate, dintr-acelea care va fac sa tipati wooooo hoooo! Si uite asa, ne intoarcem la living the life we imagined Invitatia e deschisa, faceti la fel printeselor!

Prada displays its star power - “It was a red carpet, and it had to be, given the stellar lineup on Prada’s runway Sunday: From Adrien Brody in a rich red coat to Gary Oldman in a spiffy black morning coat, and the rest of a star-studded cast… What the designer seemed to be saying, after her dynamic but simplistic racing car theme for her last women’s collection, was that if men like cars, they like power, with all the trappings of formal tailoring and linear coats even more.” In International Herald Tribune.

Marc Jacobs: “I dont know what the key to happiness is” – “I don’t know, I don’t know what the key to happiness is. Happy is just a feeling like every other feeling. I certainly feel happy some days and in general I am pretty happy, but I have all the other feelings as well. So I don’t know if there is a key.” In The Talks.

How long can Dior last without a couturier? -”Ten months after John Galliano was sacked over a racist outburst, Dior has yet to name a new chief designer — but sales are booming. Which begs the question: how long can the French fashion house thrive without a couturier at the helm?” In France 24.

Northern exposure: new Canadian fashion brands looking to build a worldwide presence – “Canada has many assets – commodities, natural resources, space, poutines – but most people would not count fashion among them… Yes, the Canadians are coming. And no, it’s not all lumberjack shirts and ice hockey jerseys. Their arrival marks a sense of maturity for retailers on both sides of the border.” In Financial Times.

What it takes to be editor in chief of the web – “Tavi Gevinson started her first blog ‘Style Rookie’ when she was 11. She was shopping at thrift stores, taking pictures of her outfits and writing about music, images and movies that inspired her… Now Tavi is 15 and has started her own web magazine for teenage girls, RookieMag.com, that counts 4 editors and 40 writers, illustrators and photographers.” Pe BBC News.

Military, front and center – “Is it the bitter, battling winter following the Arab spring that has created a march of the military in men’s fashion? A soldierly influence was an undercurrent in the winter 2012 Milan men’s show, which closed Tuesday. The idea of smartening up and shaping up may be a response to Europe’s gloomy economic situation” In International Herald Tribune.

Lady Amanda Harley: “I really like getting my hands dirty” – “Lady Amanda Harlech is the victim of many misconceptions. First and foremost is the fallacy that fashion really isn’t much work at all – something with which a hard-nosed professional working through nights to pull together not one but two major collections for a four-week catwalk circus can wholeheartedly disagree.” In The Independent.

Fashion’s beautiful relationship with art – “There’s a real buzz about the vivid, almost saccharine sweet pastel shades that will define spring/summer 2012 fashion. That, and of course the other huge trend of the moment: thrilling prints and 3D textiles. Sometimes it’s hard to tell one from the other because the surface is textured, which heightens the overall trompe l’oeil effect of the print.” In The National

Worst of times prove best for luxury brands – “Luxury brands, including fashion label Burberry and vehicle manufacturer Rolls-Royce, have all enjoyed bumper years, recording slump-busting profits that may raise eyebrows among consumers forced to tighten their non-snakeskin belts. Such income surges will dispel doubts raised when markets first began to falter over the resilience of the high-end market.” Pe CNN.

Astazi am doua sfaturi pentru voi. Unu: alegeti-va un cuvant care sa va fie compas, Steaua Nordului, mantra, whatever, iar daca va simtiti generoase scrieti-mi cuvantul in zona de comentarii. Doi: mergeti sa vedeti Happy Feet 2. Totally worth it!

Nu va mai tin din treaba (lectura, mai scurta azi), pentru ca sunt atatea lucruri de facut, saptamana a inceput si s-a terminat cu un vartej de proiecte, idei si spectaculosi pasi inainte, agenda ma asteapta sa o completez cu Plots & Plans & Dreams, weekendul incepe cu petreceri, rochii vaporoase si un Orange Cookies Tea de la Bernschutz si se termina cu sclipirile luminitelor de Craciun (inca agatate prin casa….). Cum se poate sa nu fii fericita, cand totul merge asa cum visezi?

Straight talk: A new breed of Fashion Bloggers – “Not every fashion blogger is a 15-year-old girl with an unhealthy obsession with Rei Kawakubo. Some are older. And some are men… Some are old hats who have embraced the digital age to spread their dandy message. But many more are fashion newbies — videographers, publicists and everyday retail hustlers who speak for a new generation of style-conscious men.” In NY Times.

How Crocs moved from fashion trend to $1 Billion phenom - “If they weren’t exactly running out to buy a pair of those bulbous bright resin (please don’t say rubber) clogs sprinkled with holes, investors sure are clamoring to snap up stock in Crocs Inc. The company whose fugly footwear has been the foundation of its business just announced it expects its full-year revenue to exceed $1 billion for the first time in its 10-year history. The news made share prices jump 17 percent this morning.” In Forbes.

Virtual dressing room eliminates need to take off clothes - “At the Consumer Electronics Show this week, a Calabasas company was giving demonstrations of Swivel, a real-time virtual dressing room that takes a lot of the hassle out of shopping — no more long waits in the fitting room line loaded down with an armful of clothes, or the tedious process of getting dressed and undressed several times during one trip to the mall.” In LA Times.

Parallel lines – “When Dolce & Gabbana announced in September that its spring/summer 2012 collection for D&G would be its last, it seemed like the death knell for diffusion lines… Yet this season also sees a new generation of what might be called ‘alternative’ lines, created to stand alongside high-end catwalk collections, not exactly as peers but not as second-rate cousins either.” In Financial Times.

Women cut their way into the manly world of London tailoring - “If London’s historic bespoke tailoring has traditionally been an almost excessively male environment – all calculated deference, pinstripes and chesterfield sofas, with the puff of cigar smoke lingering in the air and a special, often intimate relationship between a gent and his cutter, much as between a man and his barber – then the pioneering Hall, if only for her sex, might seem out of place.” In The National.

The pre-autumn leaves start changing color – “Now that the presentations of pre-fall collections are being treated as a major event and not just a warm-up for the fall runway shows, the idea that these are supposed to be more commercially friendly designs seems to have gone out the window, and no one seems quite sure what to make of them.” In NY Times.

The inside story of a couture dream in the making - “Few dare to focus on a blank page, even if it has a gilded trim, or to imagine that a cover could be made from gros grain, with the texture of a couture dress and no sign of a title — until you find the names embossed on the gilding: ‘Lanvin’ and ‘Alber Elbaz.’… ‘I didn’t want to make it a retrospective, the beginning of the end,’ says Mr. Elbaz, who is celebrating covertly his first decade at Lanvin.”   In International Herald Tribune.

Sa fie asta vantul schimbarii, e felul naturii de a ne “impinge de la spate” la inceput de an? Nu stiu si nici nu stiu cum e vremea acolo unde sunteti voi, dar de azi-noapte in Bucuresti bate un vant desprins din romane gotic-romantice. Gone with the wind este planul pe care il aveam pentru weekend, o plimbare lunga pe Kiseleff (nothing special, dar nu se poate face pe uraganul asta), declansata de lectura Ioanei Parvulescu.

Am sa va las sa cititi recomandarile saptamanii acesteia, dar nu inainte de a va bate usor pe umar, ca pentru a va reaminti: stiti ce vreti sa faceti anul acesta? stiti unde vreti sa ajungeti, ce vreti sa invatati, cine vreti sa deveniti? Ce carti vreti sa cititi, cum vreti sa va aratati iubirea familiei, copiilor, prietenilor? Ce big thing va propuneti sa realizati in fiecare luna? Ce decizii luati, ce planuri va faceti, ce vise aveti, cum vreti sa arate viata voastra anul acesta? Stiti vorba aceea: “aveti in fata 366 de zile fabuloase, ce faceti cu ele?” (au ramas deja mai putine…)

Fashion review of the 2011 – “From blushing brides to dramatic falls from grace, Susannah Frankel charts the highs and lows of the international style set in 2011.” In The Independent.

In with the new: a look at 2012 - “The publishing world is all about what’s new and what’s next, so 2012 should be right up its alley. There are lots of changes ahead in Media Land.” In WWD.

Topping up with a top hat - “Although it’s been the accessory of choice for history’s most dapper statesmen and coolest entertainers, today the top hat seems, well, over-the-top. One fan risks ludicrousness and tries one out (yes, in public).” In WSJ.

Sophie Theallet on running a fashion business – “Sophie Theallet worked under masters like Azzedine Alaïa and Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris before decamping to New York City to start her own label, which launched in 2007. Since then, she has racked up acclaim — including the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, which she won in 2009 — and has dressed everyone from Jessica Alba to Michelle Obama.” In Thread NY.

The J in J.Crew – “The first thing you notice about Lyons—after her height—is that she doesn’t look much like anyone else in fashion. She has an emphatic jaw, flower-bud mouth, and warm eyes. Unlike many of the J.Crew employees’ dark tans, hers looks incidental, not cosmetic, and the overall effect is of a woman who knows the might of her presence and handles it carefully. ” In NY Mag.

How Gucci got its groove back – ““Today she’s happy being the woman behind the brand, unlike Ford, who was ultimately bigger than Gucci, which is why, in part, he’s no longer there. (Ford declined to comment for this article.) ‘After almost ten years, it’s difficult to divide myself from Gucci,’ she says. ‘I love this company, and I have such respect for its history.’” In Departures.

Azedine Alaia, a furious fashion talent – “Basking in the knowledge that he occupies neutral territory – it is not uncommon for M Alaïa to be seen front row at many of his competitors’ shows, or indeed for other designers to wear his clothes – this is not a man who has been overly worried about what others might think of him and that, too, in fashion circles, is most unusual.” In The Independent.

Mr. Zeitgeist - “In the world according to Monocle, Mr. Brûlé is the walking cynosure of the good life. In addition to his global media company, he writes a column, Fast Lane, in The Financial Times, in which he chronicles his adventures as a globe-trotting connoisseur, bent on unearthing the rarefied and idiosyncratic.” In NY Times.

China Luxury trends in 2012 – “The pace of transformation in China’s luxury market is stunning, yet it is unique. Due to its size and diversity, China can not be viewed simply as one market, but as many smaller markets with different degrees of maturation. Therefore, China requires different approaches.” In Red Luxury.

The consignment business booms with 2nd hand luxury – ““While most retailers have yet to recover from the recession, used luxury handbag businesses are thriving. Reema Al Khomeiri, founder of Toujours Chic, launched her second-hand purse business in 2009 – in the midst of the global downturn – but she isn’t complaining. Almost three years later, her venture has flourished, with hundreds of loyal customers. ‘The recession has definitely whipped us into being disciplined and responsible buyers,’ she adds.” In The National.

… si in sfarsit, e posibil sa va intereseze, tot pe Style Diary, un modo-scop sau previziuni astro-fashion pentru 2012, partea 1 si partea 2; vedeti daca v-ar placea sa ne intalnim la cursul meu despre evolutia frumusetii si modei feminine, Un secol de frumusete, de la Fundatia Calea Victoriei; iar daca aveti in plan sa deveniti anul aceata cea mai frumoasa mireasa dar nu aveti chef sa va inghesuiti la targurile respective, recomandarea mea este sa va rezervati timp miercuri 11 ianuarie, de la ora 17.30, ca sa vedeti colectia Rhea Costa Bridalissima (evenimentul este la Marriott, sala Constanta).

Mai bine spus, din dimineata “de dinainte de Craciun”, dar nu puteam rata un astfel de titlu. Nu stiu ce v-as putea ura, care sa nu va fi fost deja urat, dar hai sa incerc totusi…

Sa fiti bune si generoase, pentru ca sunt calitati mai importante decat frumusetea, kilogramele sau lipsa celulitei. Sa invatati sa va descurcati singure – ca e vorba de o pana de masina, de mers neinsotite la o petrecere, de o conversatie inteligenta sau de scris o scrisoare de iubire.  Sa va pierdeti mult timp prin librarii, parcuri si muzee, sa abordati shoppingul ca o forma de arta, fara graba, iar imbracatul drept forma suprema de flirt si expresivitate proprie, ca si cum ati fi pictorite, balerine, actritele,  regizoarele si scenografele propriilor voastre vieti.  Sa vi se faca dor, din cand in cand, sa stati de vorba cu voi insiva.  Sa fiti feminine, nu doar femei.  Sa construiti si sa cresteti ceva anul acesta:  interiorul vostru, o relatie, un business, un proiect, un copil.

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

In sfarsit, va fac si un cadou, va promit ca il veti gasi duminica dimineata in sosete/ ghetute/ botine/ cizme/ inbox.  In fiecare iarna, ca sa intru in atmosfera sarbatorilor, ascult tot timpul, zi si noapte, colinde mai putin traditionale, pana acum am strans vreo 200. True, e genul de muzica care ma binedispune pe mine: The Killers, U2, The Pretenders, Coldplay, Barenaked Ladies, Sarah MacLachlan, The Pogues, Rilo Kiley, Dave Matthews, Sting, Abba, Dido… Asta ca sa va faceti o idee. Anyway, ca sa va pot face cadoul, lasati-mi numele sau macar o adresa de email la comment-uri, la noapte cadoul va aterizeaza in inbox, iar tot Craciunul o sa va aveti ce asculta   Cred ca va va placea…

PS: nu uitati ca puteti primi un cadou si de la Mimo, aici.

Pana una-alta, pana va treziti cum trebuie, cititi cateva articole.

Red hot- “The colour is everywhere in the world of style and fashion – and its symbolism is not just for Christmas. It’s the colour of the Aids ribbon, now in its 20th year as a symbol. It’s the subject of a fashion lawsuit in New York between Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent. It’s the name of a room in the recently-launched Valentino Garavani Virtual Fashion Museum ” In Financial Times.

Putting a price on Michael Kors – “The fashion designer Michael Kors is seeking a luxury price tag on his stock. His company’s initial public offering, expected this week, would value it at up to $3.6 billion. The metrics are in line with Prada, which listed earlier this year. But Michael Kors Holdings may struggle to sustain the growth needed to stay in style with investors.” In NY Times.

Tweeting without fear – “By now, even the stodgiest companies have found their way onto Twitter. They have discovered it isn’t just another marketing channel with a funny name, it’s more like a conversation they need to join or risk losing influence over how consumers view them or their brands… But there’s a flip side… Ill-considered tweets or hacked Twitter accounts have caused plenty of embarrassment.” In Wall Street Journal.

5 top retail success stories for 2011 – “Sustainable, savvy, and stylish could best describe the business moves made by certain retailers now winding down the year in stellar fashion.” In Forbes.

Fake paper bags are the latest buzz in the malls – “It’s not only fake designer handbags that are attracting bargain hunters. Nowadays, the fever is spreading to fake paper shopping bags featuring famous brands. A random search using the keyword combination of “paper bag” with any famous brand name will find dozens – sometimes more than 100 – of results on Taobao.com, the most widely used shopping website in China.” In China Daily.

Scion of a clothing empire- “A graduate of Harvard Business School, Mr Alessandro Benetton shares a restlessness for personal achievement with Italy’s other young scions such as John Elkann at Fiat and Roberta Armani, who carry the weight of dynasty on their shoulders. ” In Financial Times.

Q&A with Rupert Sanderson – “Rupert Sanderson never planned to be a footwear designer. It was only after an ill-fated career in advertising that he decided to pursue the career. But 10 years after launching his eponymous line, he is now firmly planted in the shoe industry. Not only has he established a high-end label, but Sanderson has built a vertical business as well.” In The Telegraph

Hermès and the secret of luxe appeal – “Hermès is a phenomenon: probably the most successful, perhaps the most creative, certainly the most respected and one of the most profitable luxury-goods companies of all time. After a brief blip from 2009-10, the tur­bulent economic times seem to have, if any­thing, accelerated its success.” In GQ.

Pearls gone wild – “Throughout history and mythology, the pearl has represented innocence, royalty and matrimony. Fabled to be the tears of love goddess Aphrodite, they are also said to line the gates of heaven, and are one of the oldest forms of adornment.” In Wall Street Journal.

InStyle takes editorial to retail – “The line between fashion magazine editorial and advertising? Getting blurrier by the day… Next up: taking a fashion magazine, combining it with a digital experience… InStyle will take over a 19-by-42-foot storefront… Collages, in a similar vein to Polyvore’s model, can be created and instantly sent as a digital postcard to smartphones. Essentially, these cards provide a detailed shopping list, with special offers and a photo stamp.” In WWD.

Rise: Helen Bullock – “For anyone who thinks a Mark Rothko piece too depressing, fashion textiles designer Helen Bullock’s MA collection is like a fresh breath of life. Bold, bright, glittered shapes and blocks of jarring floral, the Central Saint Martins graduate debuted with a collection in February that seemed to evoke the abstract expressionist’s Seagram Murals – on acid.” In Dazed Digital.

The 9 lives of Carine Roitfeld – “Despite having given up the powerful editorship of French Vogue last December and being replaced by Emmanuelle Alt, a colleague she once considered to be her ally, Ms. Roitfeld has had any number of occasions this year to measure her worth — or rather, more correctly, to flaunt it. ” In NY Times.

Building an empire of her own – “It’s a distinctive pedigree, all right, lofty enough to have secured the younger Ms. Julia Reiston Roitfeld a flurry of modeling gigs, invitations to the coolest parties and the fawning attention of scores of bloggers. But not lofty enough, evidently, for Ms. Roitfeld herself. ‘I want to be known as me,’ she insisted the other evening… ‘I want to be known for what I can do on my own.’” In NY Times.

Power party suits – “For winter and into spring, designers have harnessed the fearless fun of the party suit once more, with matching trouser-and-jacket combinations in flower prints, metallics and saturated colors. Whether the silhouette is a ’70s-style wide leg, or slim and short, these cocktail-ready pairings are made for anything but business.” In Wall Street Journal.

Stars, stripes and selling clothes – “It’s not only blogs about celebrities that are having an impact. Bloggers writing about everything from watches to their own lives are becoming more influential. As Martin Raymond, co-founder of the Future Laboratory, a London-based trends consultancy, puts it: ‘The influenced are influencing.’ And when it comes to moving product, fashion bloggers are increasingly pulling our strings.” In Financial Times.

Astazi fara introducere, pentru ca nu am imaginatie, va lasa doar sa cititi. Dar tot nu uit sa va invit la doua evenimente, se pare ca aceasta sambata este foarte aglomerata: Unveiled 5 editia de Craciun (un loc in care puteti intalni tineri designeri romani, organizat in nou-deschisa cafenea a Danei Nalbaru de la Hi-Q, str. Gen. Dona Nicolae 18) si JAFF (la Institute The Cafe, sos. Stirbei Voda 104-106).

Big “O” Birthdays for generation of designers – ““The loss of François Lesage, the beating heart of Parisian embroidery, at age 82, marks fashion history. A mighty tree in the landscape of haute couture has fallen… Fashion has a way of holding up a mirror to the wider world. But in the fading days of 2011, the bellwether is not about changes in style. It’s about designers themselves and a seismic generational shift.” In International Herald Tribune.

A Danish fairy tale gone awry – ““It was a feat that made even skeptics believe in the power of a charm bracelet: a selection of 600 charms, in various combinations of gold, silver, wood and glass, cast in intricate shapes and designs, imbued with gems or semiprecious stones, transformed Pandora from a family-run jewelry shop in Copenhagen to a multibillion-dollar international brand.” In NY Times

Reclaim your identity – “It might be a cliché to call necessity the mother of invention, but when it comes to fashion it describes a powerful truth. It explains the rebirth of the cardigan (Coco Chanel didn’t want to mess up her hair, so she sliced her boyfriend’s sweater down the centre and shrugged it on); the trenchcoat (made for soldiers in, well, the trenches); and Spanx (whose creator Sara Blakely cut her tights off at the ankle so that they would have a clean line under trousers).” In Financial Times.

The fashion show must go on – “Italy’s fashion chamber, the Camera Nationale della Moda Italiana, issued its latest proposal with regard to the Fashion Week Scheduling Scandal of 2011. The brouhaha, which bubbled up in early October, started when Italy announced it would move up the dates of Milan Fashion week… Now, the Italian fashion council appears to have reverted back to their regularly scheduled programming.” In Wall Street Journal.

Time for a new shirt? - “Fashion can be exhilarating and trendy, but it’s also often fickle and fleeting. In order to attract attention and drive sales, apparel companies must continually design new and exciting products for demanding and fussy consumers. Apparel industry investments translate into value for shareholders only when they generate revenue growth.” In CFO

Too much demand, too little space: Vogue China – “The diminutive Angelica Cheung presides over Vogue China from her office in one of Beijing’s many tower blocks… This is a woman who – in the midst of a crisis that has pitted publishers against each other in a to-the-death fight for advertising ink – actually needs to continually increase editorial volume to keep up with advertising demands.” In Forbes.

Hall of fame: Patricia Field – “Patricia Field has always done things her way. With a career spanning 45 years and counting, the designer, stylist and boutique owner built her reputation by creating her own blueprint. ‘If you asked me who I looked up to from the beginning of my career, I would say no one,’ Field said. ‘I didn’t see fashion that way. I felt fashion.’” In WWD.

The pluck of the Irish: Orla Kiely – “The Irish designer known for her quirky, signature, retro stem prints, still gets excited when she sees someone wearing her brand. ‘It is nice that people like it enough to buy it,’ she says, sipping black coffee at her London store in Covent Garden, the first one to open in Europe in 2005.” In Wall Street Journal.

Opening the doors of Dior – “Saint Laurent, Chanel, Dior: the names of the most famous Paris houses sort of dance off the tongue. Their histories defeat the idea that younger generations might be bored with old things. And a stream of books and films helps to assure that they won’t be. “Dior Couture” (Rizzoli), by the photographer Patrick Demarchelier, is far and away the most gorgeous book on the house…What Mr. Demarchelier offers is a personal view of fashion from a great Paris house.” In NY Times.

One step beyond – “A range of brands is trying to inject some fun into the footwear universe by encouraging men to design their own shoes. Appealing to the special occasion-dresser and the repressed designer alike, these build-your-own concepts cost more than regular ready-to-wear styles but far less than a full bespoke service because they use a ready-to-wear last.” In Financial Times.

Black and white on black tie – “Where men’s formal dressing is concerned, a traditional and classic tuxedo just can’t be bettered. Columnist Tina Gaudoin offers several simple rules for black-tie purchasing and dressing.” In Wall Street Journal.