It appears from what I've read in the news this morning, Lady Gaga is going to become a 'Fashion Columnist' for V Magazine! The magazine was launched in September of 99' and was a spin off of the limited-edition quarterly mag 'Visionaire'. Visionaire was more of a couture fashion mag whereas V is all about what's 'ready to wear'. The mag also focuses on art, music, film & pretty much all things creative...
She will begin her new gig as columnist writing about 'fashion & art' and her first article will hit the news stands this Summer around mid-May. Gaga may have very well found a new niche' to add to her long diverse resume, as the 25 year old Grammy winner is best known for her eclectic Fashion choices and outrageous ensembles! She even has her own fashion design creative team called the Haus of Gaga...
It seems cliche' to keep saying 'what's next' for Lady Gaga because I don't think she's ever going to run out of ideas!...
Since 2004, pop rock chic Gwen Stefani has been designing clothes to suit herself and not the general public under the designer name label 'L.A.M.B.' which stands for 'Love Angel Music Baby'. She fashions her pieces after her own unique look and personality and has no regard for what the general population thinks about them as she has been quoted for sayings..."Fashion is not something you should take as super deep, it should just be an expression of yourself, it's just clothes, it's just fun"...
She started her band 'No Doubt' when she was 17 and shortly thereafter had a desire to create her own styles because after all, music and fashion usually go hand in hand. She didn't know how to sew but used a glue gun and velcro in an attempt to make things work.
She admits she has no technical qualifications to design clothes and has no problem confessing that she will never be Vivienne Westwood. Her desire to design simply comes from having a knack or a vibe for what seems right at the time she's creating and her lack of a 'theme' for her Fall designs seen here at Fashion Week 2011 makes that statement more than obvious.
In an interview with CNN Entertainment, Gwen did say that the honest reason behind her starting her L.A.M.B. fashion line, close to a decade ago was due in part to the realization that she didn't know if her music career would survive in terms of longevity and she knew she wanted to continue pursuing her creativity in one way or another...
It's MOD Monday here again at Retro Threadz and this week we're discussing the origin of the 'baby doll dress' since it was a fashion staple of the 60's. The baby doll style started out as a sometimes sleeveless, comfortable, usually nylon fabric, short, loose fitting night gown that shortly thereafter migrated into a dress.
The name given for the garment style 'baby doll' was popularized by the movie of the same name in the late 50's which portrayed the title female character as a young and sexy nymphet and the whole idea of that set off the garments popularity amongst young women.
Both Twiggy and Goldie Hawn were most associated with the baby doll style of the 60's...
The style faded a bit through the late 70's and 80's but made a resurgence in the 90's when grunge goddess Courtney Love gave it a new spin and the birth of the punk rock style called 'kinderwhore' was born! Basically it's a baby doll dress that has been torn, ripped up or cut low in the front paired with platform Mary Jane's.
The trend had died down again a bit but popped up in the 'here and now' as designer Julien MacDonald fashioned up quite a variety of baby doll dresses circa 2011 as he showed his collection at the Spring Fashion week.
If you notice, there hasn't been too much evolution regarding the shape of the style with the baby doll dress, just a lot more variety where color and textures are concerned.
Action Hero & movie star extraordinaire Sylvester Stallone was in the news this weekend because he's decided to launch a new men's clothing line inspired by his hit flicks Rocky and Rambo. Since Rocky wore hoodies and sweat pants and Rambo went shirtless in camouflage, that ought to be interesting! His designs are said to be in production and will be making their debut in 2012 at mid range stores such as Macy's making it affordable for the 25 to 40 year old age bracket he's targeting.
The 64 year old Stallone said he became truly interested in style after filming Rambo II at which time he had shed 25 pounds and none of his old clothing fit him anymore. He ended up turning to custom tailored pieces and when collaborating with tailors in Italy he got a feel for fabrics, textures and patterns. He definitely has the bucks to invest his efforts in this endeavor so if it flops it's definitely not going to hurt his bank roll, however I personally don't see him ranking up their with Hilfiger anytime in the near future...
In addition to our Mod Mondays, we're going to be doing Fashion In Film Friday's here at Retro Threadz. Each week we'll be picking one movie that inspired the world of fashion. Fashions of every era have always been motivated by movie costumes since way before there was even color or sound in films. For example the German stage and silent film actress Marlene Dietrich was a fashion icon of the 20's and was considered a scandalous rebel in her time due to her love of masculine attire. She wore a top hat and tuxedo in the 1928 vintage film Morocco which raised eyebrows and more than likely began the dawn of sexual ambiguity in clothing styles.
In regards to her style she was quoted as saying... "I dress for the image, not for myself, not for the public and definitely not for men"...
Rose McGowan was in the news today because she's taking on a new role in the popular hit t.v. series 'Law & Order SVU'. She's been known since the beginning of her acting career back in 1992 for playing the bad girl femme fatale.
She made it more than obvious at the MTV Music Video Awards in 1996 that she was the 'real deal' when she pushed the envelope to the hilt by wearing a barely there, see through string dress and a t-back thong minus the bra as she accompanied then fiance' Marilyn Manson down the red carpet! After viewing these pics, it's pretty hard to believe she suffers from agoraphobia (fear of wide open spaces, crowds or uncontrolled social conditions) as well as an anxiety disorder given the nature of her extrovert risque' and raunchy persona eh? By the way, I'm pretty sure that no designer would stake claim to this mess!
This fashion disaster, poor judgement call and lack of good taste didn't cost her anything of course because this is Hollywood after all, and she went on three years after the fact to play Paige Matthews in the popular WB television series 'Charmed', taking over the role of Shannon Doherty's character opposite Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano.
Her acting career was at a stand still for a bit after she finished the film 'Grindhouse' written by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. This gig shot her to cult icon status after she aced the leading role as the Texas go-go dancer Cherry Darling who became a one legged zombie killing heroine...
It is said that the reason for the lag in her career was due to the fact that she was in a car accident in 2007 in which she endured serious injuries to her face and she attributes that as the reason behind her undergoing plastic surgery to repair the cut under her eye caused by her glasses at impact. Really? take a look at these before and after pics of Ms. Gowan. Seems to me that more than than her eye got nipped and tucked!... It couldn't be more obvious that it was either her extremist sense of self or misplaced vanity that cost her the soft curves of her once youthful look and replaced it with the "I just got done walking through a wind tunnel" look because seriously...no one ages 20 years overnight!
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor...known to the world as Liz Taylor, passed away this morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles California. In spite of her wealth, fame and star status, she had a lifetime of ill health, failed romances and personal tragedies through which she always remained consistent in maintaining an air of grace and dignity...
Not only was she a two time Academy Award Winner, she was also a devout humanitarian and dedicated AIDS fundraiser who helped start The American Foundation For AIDS Research.
Her 1st major screen role was in the 1950 film 'A Place In The Sun' opposite Montgomery Clift but it wasn't until thirteen years later that her rise to fame began to take off, as her role in the 1963 movie Cleopatra opposite soon to be husband Richard Burton sealed her spot in the ranks of Hollywood movie starlet status.
As a Fashion Icon, Elizabeth Taylor had the ability to turn simple into sexy with her ability to make mundane clothing seem magnificent with accessories. She quoted "Enough is never enough" in describing her personal style. She was such a force to be reckoned with, so much so that she made the simple white slip she wore in the 1960's film 'Butterfied 8' seem like a haute couture dress!
In 1989 she said..."I think I'm becoming fantalistic...too much has happened in my life for me not to be fantalistic." And that she was...completely and utterly fantalistic as she leaves us with her legacy of strength & beauty.
Elizabeth Taylor ~ February 27th 1932 - March 23rd 2011
Spring fashions this year are rolling in with a 'blast from the past' ladies so if you're old enough to have been able to store away your vintage clothes..."go get em" and if not, you can always hit up your mama or your auntie's closets!
A-line skirts, wide leg pants, billowy ankle length dresses and wedge heeled shoes are taking 'front and center' as 'That 70's Style' is back in a big way!
Fashions are going back to a simpler time when less was best and definitely less overtly sexy. The 70's were all about femininity with a subtle hint of sensuality...
To achieve the liberated yet ladylike look of the 70's you need to focus on interesting fabrics and patterns and throw away the idea that stripes and florals are 'old fashioned'. The 70's was a comfortable yet fashionable time, so you can cut yourself loose from anything tight fitting because that was so yesterday. Make sure you put them away somewhere for safe keeping because you just never know...it might be back in style next year ha! Designer Marc Jacobs pushed the return of the 70's style at Fashion Week 2011 as he saturated his designs with lines & pattern/color schemes so much so that he put us in a time warp!
If you're looking for a muse to copy fashion styles of the 70's from, check out Bianca Jagger & Farrah Fawcett as these two women were on the top of their game as icons of an era gone by...
We've decided here at Retro Threadz that every Monday we're going to be doing a flashback of popular vintage fashions or fashion models from the era of the 60's because seriously...we 'love love love' the fab & funky mod styles of that era so with that being said, when it comes to mod, "what goes around comes back around" as this colorful, versatile style isn't going anywhere soon!
Mod fashions and the models who wore them were brash and daring and definitely ahead of the times! The styles of the 60's were owned by England but it wasn't too long before Americans hopped on board!
The term 'Mod' is derived from the word 'Modernist' and is defined as... mod 1(md)
n.
An unconventionally modern style of fashionable dress originating in England in the late 1950's & early 1960s.
adj.
1. In or characteristic of this unconventionally modern style.
2. Fashionably up-to-date, especially in style, design, or dress.
In and around the 60's, two youth subcultures became ground breaking for mod fashion; the bongo beating bohemian beatniks with their berets and turtlenecks...
And the Teddy Boys with their spiffy dandy narcissistic style that made a man having interest is fashion socially acceptable...
From the mid 60's and on, the term mod was used to describe anything that was thought to be 'popular' & the 60's will always be known as defining Mod as the 'cult of the super cool'. Today's fashion trends still continue to incorporate that concept into designs.
There is a bevy of 60's styles, fashions, fads, icons and trends to cover and we look forward to bringing them all to light for you... So make sure you stop by next week for our MOD Monday 60's retro rewind!
Japan was scheduled for Fashion Week 2011 from March 21st through March 25th but of course the unexpected tragedy with the earthquake and tsunami last week puts this event at the least of their concerns and rightfully so!
Every aspect of business as usual remains crippled in Japan and the fashion industry is in that mix as the domino effect is taking place. Textile factories are shut down, no one is able to get back to work in design houses and there definitely isn't any buying or selling going on... Although Tokyo wasn't directly effected, the decision to shut down there as well was due to fears of a diminishing electrical supply and the very likely probability that a black out would occur. Also factored in is the issues with transportation and the safety threat of possible attendees.
The designers who won't get to show their far east fashions for Fall/Winter 2011 will have to rely on the Fashion Week Tokyo producers who have suggested that they would help in the best way they can by showing select collections via the web or perhaps at more 'less formal' presentations with hopes that buyers worldwide would go the extra mile to view these Japanese lines wherever they are shown...
I send my prayers and healing vibes that there is a resolve to the issues at hand amidst the tragedy that Japan has been dealing with in the aftermath of last weeks devastation.
Please take the time to make sure you click the link above 'For Japan With Love'...even a $1.00 donation for the sake of 'unity & humanity' would make a world of difference!
Mother Teresa quoted..."If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other"...
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