YStyle Picks
Written in the stars
MANILA, Philippines - Local jewelry and minaudiére designer Bea Valdes makes an international splash once again, this time for German Vogue. The glossy tome has teamed up with Swarovski Elements to produce a series of images for their stunning 2013 horoscope calendar. An impressive collaboration among Russian photographer Lado Alexi, Hamburg-born stylist Dennis Blys and Ukrainian makeup artist Natalie Franz, the calendar features Swarovski crystallized jewelry pieces by select international designers, including two cover features with pieces by Valdes.
Wearable Art
Vogue.co.uk reports that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have teamed up with iconic British artist Damien Hirst to create a range of luxury backpacks for their label, The Row. The 12-piece collection features The Row’s famous Nile crocodile rucksack treated with various Hirst makeovers from prescription pills to spot motifs. Each piece is signed by the artist himself. This is the first in a series of “curated artistic partnerships” spearheaded by online fashion retailer Just One Eye. “We are thrilled to be part of this project with Just One Eye,” said the Olsens. “Their unique approach to artistic collaborations is inspirational.” While the original Nile backpack, which sold out online and in stores, carried a price tag of $35,000, the Hirst designs are rumored to be $55,000 each, with a portion of the proceeds from each sale benefitting UNICEF. “We are long-time admirers of both Damien and The Row work,” said Just One Eye co-founder Paola Russo. “Our main focus here is to nurture work between artists working in different mediums. We couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to debut this series of partnerships.”
SKA goes preppy
It’s a little difficult to imagine the prepsters behind Brit streetwear label Fred Perry digging ‘90s ska punk, but that seems to be the only explanation behind their latest collaboration with No Doubt, their second partnering with musicians since Amy Winehouse. With a new No Doubt record just out, this pair-up is timely, especially since frontwoman Gwen Stefani has more than proved her prowess as a fashion icon and designer. The collection will go on sale starting in January with a $95 slim-fitted shirt, followed by punk-inspired $170 tartan-check V-neck sweater, and $250 Fifties bomber to hit stores in the spring.
Career-making wins
Brit designers Simone Rocha and J.W. Anderson recently won the British Fashion Council’s NewGen sponsorship, which is the UK’s equivalent of the CFDA/VogueFashion Fund, WWD reports. As such, both Anderson and Rocha will receive money to stage bigger runway productions during London Fashion Week. NewGen has helped launch the likes of the late Alexander McQueen, Jonathan Saunders and Christopher Kane. Anderson was recently named by Donatella Versace as Christopher Kane’s successor at her lower-priced line Versus and did a collaboration with Topshop, who underwrites the NewGen sponsorship. Rocha, on the other hand, daughter of designer John Rocha, has a collaboration with Opening Ceremony and is up for a nomination at the Emerging Talent British Fashion Awards.
In living color
An and En Estrada, the photographer/blogger twins behind Your Evil Twin, have teamed up once again with New Love Club, a London-based T-shirt brand, for a new shirt design carried by Topman UK. You might recall the pair’s earlier collaboration with New Love Club a year ago, which resulted in shirts with a print of Ornusa Cadness in a Star Trek shirt, undies and oversized glasses while holding a plate of French fries. This time, the new shirts feature two pairs of mystery legs with the words, “Easily led astray...” For now, there’s no telling if the shirts will reach Topman stores on our shores, but they are available for orders online at Topman.com (look for them under the men’s branded T-shirts category).
Pretty stocking stuffer
Every Christmas season, Jewelmer Joaillerie releases a new design of its signature Noel Pendant. Worn by the likes of Anne Curtis, Kaye Tinga and Stephanie Kienle, the Noel Pendant is awaited by avid collectors, along with ladies who are just beginning their love affair with pearls. Offered at a very special holiday price (which is available upon request at store, as it varies from pearl to pearl), a lustrous golden South Sea pearl floats from a newly-designed 18-Karat gold pin for a beautiful expression of understated elegance all year round.
Job insecurities
Very few people will claim that their jobs are “perfect” and in case you aren’t one of them, this bit of news might make you think twice before you complain: Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion journalist Robin Givhan was recently laid off by The Daily Beast and Newsweek editor in chief Tina Brown. Brown announced that Newsweek would no longer be running in print and instead, would be merged with online news website The Daily Beast. This has resulted in a lot of staff being let go, with Givhan being one the staff members caught in the crosshairs. In the meantime, Givhan told Daily Intel that she would use her newfound unemployment to work on her book on the “Grand Divertissement à Versailles,” the 1973 fashion show conceptualized by CFDA-founder Eleanor Lamber that pitted American designers Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Anne Klein, and Bill Blass against French couturiers Yves Saint Laurent, Dior’s Marc Bohan, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, and Emanuel Ungaro. The book will be published by Penguin Press.
