blood, sweat and dior?

Most people would shudder at the thought of spilling something on their favorite designer dress, let alone grinding a grass stain up and down one side. Professional athletes train for 100's of hours a week striving to be the best in their chosen field. They bleed, they sweat and they fight for every inch of success... now imagine they do that all over a Calvin Klein tank?  Sheer force, power and adrenaline typically categorize an athletes focus.. rarely do you evaluate them based on their outfits. That is no longer the case. 


As I've written about before, fashion and technology work hand in hand to create some of the most exciting pieces of techno-art out there, but it's increasingly apparent that athletes want in on the action. 
Vera Wang and Ralph Lauren have been leading the charge for years, outfitting some of the world's top ranked olympians and occasionally the Olympic team as a whole. 

For Wang, godmother of all things bridal, skating was her first passion and even though she walked away after failing to make the Olympic team, "It's a very special sport," she says. She keeps close by designing costumes for some top contenders, including outfits for gold medalist Evan Lysacek, Nancy Kerrigan and Michelle Kwan. 


With Awards season serving as the world cup of fashion, most designers rarely worry about an actual wardrobe malfunction. In sports, the stakes are different. "You wouldn't want someone to lose Olympic gold because their sleeve ripped off," Wang says.

Other considerations: The outfit has to sparkle like eveningwear but function like workout gear; it has to stand up to the considerable wind generated by skaters' speed; and it must be show-stopping from every angle, unlike a Hollywood-starlet gown that is usually photographed straight from the front or back. It has to move with an athletes body, not hinder it. 

In 2012, Stella McCartney will work with Adidas to design the British team's Summer Olympics uniforms. The designer will not only outfit the athletes, but will also release four lifestyle collections "inspired by Team GB" before the games. This isn't McCartney's first dive into the game. In the past McCartney has partnered with Adidas on athletic apparel and clothed Caroline Wozniacki for Wimbledon. She called her new project a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."


Tasked with combining form, function, and fashion for the host-country’s Olympic team has more challenges then one might expect. McCartney says she plans on working with “incredibly technical fabrics” to compliment each individual and their sport. Admittedly she recognizes that fashion can’t take precedence over winning medals. “The main thing I want do is not in any way get involved with making their performance not its best.” 

My favorite designer/athlete "collaboration of love" as of late is Christian Louboutin and eccentric skater Johnny Wier. Louboutin is giving his iconic red soles a cutting edge with blades attached "I love me some red soles," Weir told New York Magazine,  citing that the custom Louboutin skates "will be a first, and exclusively for me." 

But what came first? The red sole or the calloused foot? 

In 1933, French tennis legend Rene Lacoste founded the now iconic brand bearing his name. While the brand reached its height in the late 80's as the symbol of all things posh, preppy and wall street worthy, some 75 plus years later the label , which started strictly as sportswear is still enjoying success both on and off the court. 

Tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have both taken a stab at designing lines in collaboration with better known sporting stores. 


The best designers in the world manage to walk the fine line between form and function. Carefully creating pieces that effortless move yet manage to stay in all the right places. It only made sense that sports, a world where form and function are cornerstones to success and class and style in movement are what set you apart would follow suit. If designers are throwing their rackets in the ring and their soles to the track, is gold the new black? 

silently screaming

A few months ago I saw an event posting on Facebook that the NOH8 campaign was coming to Chicago. I thought it could be a great way to be a part of something and to get a cool photo taken. When I was putting the photo in a frame last night I started thinking a bit deeper about it all and began to truly appreciate what this campaign was fighting for and how incredibly inspirational Adam Bouska, the photographer, activist and hero who started it all, really is. 

On November 4, 2008 Proposition 8 passed in California, amending the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. To most people it was an unfortunate blip in an otherwise pleasant news day but to hundreds of thousands of people all over the United States it was one more reminder that separate really don't mean equal. 

The NOH8 Campaign is a photographic silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska (http://www.bouska.net) and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of Proposition 8. The photos feature subjects with duct tape over their mouths symbolizing their voices being silenced by Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world, with "NOH8" painted on one cheek in protest.
Two years since its inception, the NOH8 Campaign has grown to over 8,000 faces and continues to grow at an exponential rate. The website which houses all of the photos as well as news, blogs and heartwarming stories of why individuals chose to pose is a tribute to the type of work which can be done when you use humans rather than hate to make a change. 

The photos aren't just gay men and women or even outspoken activists who spend their lives fighting for change and equality... they're couples, they're siblings, they're celebrities and news personalities, they're individuals...every day people who believe in good and in the fairness of having the right to live your live however you see fit. 

So looking back, why did I pose? I posed because I fell in love, and because I think others deserve the same chance. I posed because the idea of telling someone what they should eat for lunch let alone who they should marry seems utterly insane to me. I posed because it didn't hurt anyone. I posed because not posing seemed to make a bigger statement than posing. I posed because it was fun and a memory I'll be able to cherish forever. I posed because it felt right and when I took the train home, people saw my tattoo and started talking. I posed because everyone needs to start talking. 

There's something sweet about the idea that some day every one, regardless of who they love, or in what part of the world they choose to love them, will have the same ability to just go about their day without worry or fear of being prosecuted, tormented or bullied. It's a bold thought, but hopefully, if campaigns, programs and amazing people like this continue to stand up and force people to take notice equality will be the new black.

crazy ugly beautiful

Sometimes I find myself watching the runway in complete and utter awe as some of the most intricate, beautiful or just fascinating pieces of art find themselves walking by. Other times I find myself just staring... staring at clothing that (in fairness, at least to me) doesn't seem to make much sense at all. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I thoroughly enjoy art without a purpose, but even those photos, painting or installations manage to filter a sense of light or inspiration other than just attempting to shock. 


So in looking at the most recent collection from famed, albeit whimsical designer Vivienne Westwood, I find myself just thinking... why? Each piece seemed slightly more ill fitted and slightly less appealing than the one before. As a fan of the classics, I can't deny the beauty of something that manages to take something simple and make it new or even something less classic, that finds a way to be sensational. I'm not sure, however, that I'll ever understand making things so far-out that they never seem to connect. 

At another show, set in the avante gard world of Paris Fashion Week, Thierry Mugler and Lady Gaga have teamed up to create a video launching both his newest line and her newest song. The song, from her album due out this May, titled "Born this Way" is just the base pumping background you might expect to hear at a fashion show created with Rico, the skeleton-looking face-tattooed mega model,  Formichetti used as his designer muse. 

Some runway witnesses seemed to feel the show was more of a display, a stylish installation rather than a fashion revelation. While fashion reviews admitted, there was slight disappointment regarding the slightly minimalist approach, they recognized that Nicola is trying to refashion a brand, not stage an exhibit. 

Lady Gaga, never one to shy away from the outlandish, speaks highly of her close friends latest line. "His brain throbs with misfit royalty, glamour as punk survival, attitude as liberation, style as revolution. Thierry Mugler has a way with legendary lifestyle and Nicola is just that: Epic Lifestyle, Freakdom, Gorgeous or Die, the 'fuck' in future poetry, the street in High-Fashion. Nicola Formichetti is Fashion's Freedom."

Taking it one step further, past the clothes, past the music, past the scene,  one modeling agency in NYC is touting their ability to take fashion a bit more tongue in cheek. Challenging the idea that anyone is too ugly to model, the firm, suggestively titled Ugly, founded in 1969, looks for unique models who are not considered traditionally beautiful. According to agency founder Simon Rogers, "beauty really does come in all shapes and sizes," and in the modeling industry, there's room for all. Looking to cover their bases, the firm does, against their creed have a sister agency, Rage which focuses on more traditionally beautiful models. 

Art is open for interpretation and fashion and design are definitely no different but if the goal becomes more to shock than to inspire, is fugly the new black? 

...to the MAX

On a scale from one to crazy, these guys are jalapeno-covered ding-dongs. Taking place today in the land down under, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2011 saw 13 athletes go head to head and more importantly feet to water. With stops all over the world, Red Bull has inspired athletes, dare devils and thrill-seekers alike to throw caution to the wind peering over the edge of a jagged cliff some 100 feet above the water. 

The talent might be the same as many olympic-style sports, but the prep (chugging redbull and hitting one another) and the celebration (crushing champagne bottles) is certainly a bit different. 

Additionally at the end of this month, the Winter X Games 15 returns to Aspen for its 10th year. The competition, which often features new tricks (such as Tony Hawk's 900 in skateboarding, Anthony Napolitan with the first double front flip on a bicycle, Travis Pastrana's double backflip in Freestyle Motocross, and Levi Lavallee's double backflip in Freestyle Snocross) is the most respected semi annual event in this world of high octane, no nerve sporting.

So why do people take the risk? The competitions themselves present a multitude of dangers with the promise of intense pain, let alone the hours of training that also put you daily at risk... The X-games and the series of Redbull sponsored sporting competitions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this world. In doing a bit more digging I found thousands of athletes who are constantly pushing the boundaries of what our bodies can do and the damage they can endure. The Extreme Sports Blog is home to some of the most ridiculous and cringe worthy videos on the web. 

If we are so easily bored by what we've seen before and feel the need to test the unknown or attempt the unexpected, is pain the new black? 

Shades of Dark

When did the ballet (and really art for that matter) turn so dark? This past year Tim Burton, the king of turning the whimsical on its head, brought us Alice in Wonderland, a dark look at Alice's return down the rabbit hole and made us question what's really behind the sweet stories we've grown to love.

This winter, in dark and icy theaters across the country, Blackswan, a movie just released yet already promising to be a cult classic, takes the story of Swan Lake, a slightly jilted tail of a mistaken identity and love forever-longing and throws it into the oncoming path of a tornado. Mistaken-identity becomes multiple-personalities, and love-longing becomes a mixture of sexual identity confusion and frustration. The dances, while incredible to their core and in the same romantic and powerful style of the original become clouded with hostility, jealousy and rage. While, in all honesty I spent the parts where Natalie Portman's mother cuts her nails and the section where Mila Kunis finds herself stomach deep in shards of glass, looking into my popcorn, the power of the dance scenes, ballet or otherwise were incredibly strong and full of that sense of dark beauty you see when looking at something that seems utterly wrong yet utterly perfect. 

Next up on this path of "has the world turned a darker shade of gray", the Royal Ballet in London will stage the world premiere of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a gothic production that follows Alice once again down that rabbit hole  but this time into a strange Victorian world full of the usual suspects—a mad hatter, a psychedelic caterpillar—as well as a few twenty-first-century twists, such as a tap-dancing tea party.

If life imitates art and art is a reflection of a moment in society, what does that mean that audiences are no longer engaged in the simple beauty of a story but now demand a twist, or a black feather to make something seem approachable or new. While comedies are my forte and horror flicks my literal nightmare, I'm fascinated by the ability of a film maker, choreographer, photographer or other master of media to take a subject and turn itself on its axis, and offer something new.

If consumers need intrigue to pique theirs, is the psychological thriller the new black? 

Family in a Flash

Entering the family business can be risky. There are mammoth expectations and countless naysayers who challenge the authenticity of nepotism.  The Trumps did it in business, the Douglas's and Redgraves owned film and now the Demarcheliers have aimed their lenses on photography. 

"Eyes" Patrick Demarchelier

Many people remember Anne Hathaway's character looking more than a little dazed as Meryl Streep screeched, "Get me Demarchelier" from her office, but few knew the man behind the name as one of the most noted and successful fashion photographers of his generation. Patrick Demarchelier has had a storied career and now he's looking to pass the torch to his son.... Just 25 years old, Victor Demarchelier may be as well known for his romance with leading model Caroline Trentini, often the subject of both his and his father's work, as for his art, but over time has been consistently building his resume. 

Victor and Patrick Demarchelier

Victor, who has photographed for Vogue Paris, Interview, and 25, only minimally retouches his images: “I like when they’re rough. I don’t always spot them; that way they’re more like a piece of art. Having completed his first solo exhibition (along side fellow rock royal and star child Alexandra Richards) early in 2010, the stage is set for the next generation of artist to snap the world beautiful. 

Victor Demarchelier (and Caroline Trentini) Self Portrait

Vogue Brazil

The two photographers share a studio space to feed off of each others energy and insight but when asked what he's learned most from his father, Victor had the following response: He taught me to be nice to everyone. Especially the models." To which his girlfriend quickly shot back, "Too nice, apparently!"


As my high school motto declared, here's "to one generation introducing the next to a higher plane of life," and, as seen below, that it's never too early to introduce a bit of the family business. 

Josiah and Asher

Beauty and the Geek

I have yet to jump on the iPad bandwagon  but when I do, I plan to be fully prepared. In an organized environment we'd all like for  things to seamlessly work together and I think travel and accessories should be nothing less than equally compatible. With the ultimate level of luxe travel, in my humble opinion at least, being a complete set of matching luggage (fully monogrammed or not) the iPad is the next level of the extreme.

Enter the marriage of designer goods and Apple ingenuity. When LV first threw their hand into the technology wave, my friends joked that I'd rather have the case than the product it was intended to create a home for (jury is still out) but in doing a bit more research I found tons of examples where designer brands have entered the business of technology accessories, which begs the question what came first the brand or the bot?

Apple has created a new opportunity for fashion to take focus and for consumers to spend. The next must-have item now has must-have counterparts. Fashion is often a result of a trickle down effect. A season's newest colors often show up in paint samples, art and furniture swatches, while the style can often be influenced by political events, environmental research and population unrest. Fashion can take form and form can be a result of fashion.

While I doubt Apple engineers heed to the needs of the editors and designers who take refuge in Vogue for product inspiration, I don't doubt that the general consumer's desire to spend and to have a synergy between products both tech based and otherwise may have played a part.

Here's to always hoping the geek finds its beauty.

Yves St. Laurent

Burberry

Chanel

De Bruir

Salvatore Ferragamo

Gucci

Louis Vuitton

Oscar de la Renta

resolve to resolution

I stumbled across the blog "Hungry For a Month" a little bit ago and was inspired by the idea's simple ability to a) save money, b) serve as a kick ass diet and c) force yourself to stick to an insane regiment. In doing a bit more research I found hundreds of articles just like this one ranging from those who stock piled potatoes and costco-sized boxes of hamburger helper in an effort to stick to a savings savvy regime, to those who were just looking to try something new and challenge themselves. 


The concept, for "Evan" was fairly simple: 


For the month of November, I’m only spending $30 on food. The only exception will be things that are freely available to the average person (salt taken from restaurants, sauce packets from Taco Bell, free coffee from an office). Buying in advance is fine, but at the end of the month, it all has to add up to $30 or less.


But could you do it? I briefly considered this challenge in May when I closed on my condo and realized my once slightly sturdy savings account was now much more barren. Beach season was coming...why not kill two birds with one stone, right? Not so much. It's amazing how suddenly the flurry of BBQ's, Birthdays, celebrations, pot lucks, office get-togethers and other amazingly fun festivities will throw you immediately off of your game. 


What about thinking about Hungry for a Month in the larger sense? Beyond this specific challenge, I'm constantly amazed by the self-imposed tests we line up for ourselves on a daily basis. In my office alone today I heard one girl who had decided to go Vegan for a month to see how it may change her body, a guy who isn't drinking in an effort to cleanse from a week long hangover post NYE and yet another who has made it her goal to plan her wedding for just under what an average person makes in a year. At brunch yesterday some friends and I were discussing New Year's resolutions... promises we know we likely won't keep but our attempt to remain optimistic and make a happy change. We all do it, there's no shame in knowing you'll fail but being bold enough to say... watch me try.  


I started a bucket list earlier this year and every few months I throw something else on there. Something I've always imagined trying, something I've seen someone else accomplish, or just something that seems cool no matter how plausible or implausible it may be. 

The window at lululemon on halsted dares you to try something every day that scares you... whether it be living on a $1/day, eating nothing but leaves and bark or tumbling like a lunatic out of a plane at 15,000 feet, take a step, go forth boldly and be willing to spend an extra buck when you've done well, made it part way and you really just need a cupcake. 

Model Musing

In the past few years I've become increasingly fascinated by models...not in a perverse way, but legitimately in  a "how do they do it!?" sort of way.  Soo, they're famous for being pretty? They're rich, because they're pretty? They get invited to things, photographed and showered with free gifts... because they're pretty. I mean, cool, right? They have stories, families, friendships, passions and loves and yet all we know about many of them is the way they walk or how they pout.


Much like the 15 minutes enjoyed by Antoinne Dodson or the Cast of Jersey Shore, models often are in-and-out in the blink of an eye. Some, however manage to capture the attention of the nation and build an entire brand of lifestyle around who they are and how they look. Often with the help of a famous photographer, like Steven Meisel (photo below), a designer who has taken them on as their muse (Karl and everyone) or the infamous Anna Wintour, these chosen few manage to become iconic and untouchable images that never quite seem real, yet live on in infamy within our favorite magazines, books and movies.

As we take baby steps in to the new year, I can't help but look back at the year that was in the world of modeling.. Here it is, the best, the brightest and the most audacious that made it to print.

Plus a few of my most recent favorites: 

Jessica Stam - the one with the bag

Lindsay Ellingston 

Karlie Kloss - ruling the catwalk