YStyle Picks

Fitted to a T

MANILA, Philippines - After getting a shout-out on Style.com from fashion writer Marina Larroude last September, Betina Ocampo’s eponymous T-shirt line, Betina, is finally stocking in Barneys New York. In the short feature, Betina explained that her decision to start a line of T-shirts was inspired by her father, Rico. “I’m following the path my dad took in the beginning of his career — dropping out of college at 17 to hand-paint one-of-a-kind T-shirts,” she offered. Though she didn’t drop out (she just finished her final year at Parsons, NY), she does appear to have the design sensibilities to join the family business. After all, she is the daughter of Celestina designer and fashion muse Tina Maristela-Ocampo. “My inspiration comes from all my travels around Southeast Asia, watching my parents work with skilled artisans who specialize in many different techniques,” she said. As they say, like mother, like daughter.

Fresh prints

Months after their partnership was announced, Hermés has finally released its scarf collaboration with Comme des Garçons. A limited edition of six scarves with just 200 prints each, if you’re an Hermés carré scarf collector or a disciple of Rei Kawakubo, this is one collection you wouldn’t want to miss out on — if you have $493 to $2,076 to pony up, that is. The scarves will be available in Paris on Feb. 6, New York on Feb. 7 (just in time for #NYFW) and in Tokyo on Feb. 8. No word yet when — or if — they will make their way to our neighborhood Hermés store, though. High fashion not really your thing? Well, you could always check out Commes des Garçon’s second Star Wars collection.

A man’s touch

Nearly a century after Vogue appointed its first male editor in chief comes the news that the celebrated fashion tome has allowed yet another man to rise up the ranks: 46-year-old Kullawit Laosuksri for Vogue Thailand. (The first male Vogue EIC was Michel de Brunhoff of French Vogue in 1920.) Laosuksri was formerly the editor-in-chief of Elle Thailand, and also owns a flower shop and designs jewelry for his own brand, Curios. So far, he’s off to a good start with his newly-minted editorship at Vogue — his debut issue reportedly sold out within days. But Laosuksri isn’t about to let his initial success go to his head. “We know we’re one of the smallest magazines in Vogue‘s family in terms of budget and bargaining power,” he told Thai publication, The Nation. “So despite beingVogue, we have to be prepared to be ignored.” The inaugural issue featured a model wearing a chada crown, a Thai traditional headdress, by Philip Treacy on the cover.

Boy trouble

After raising close to $500,000 for President Obama’s re-election campaign last year, it was pretty much a done deal that US Vogue EIC Anna Wintour would be appointed to the US ambassadorship to the UK that she was supposedly angling for. Until Obama appointed his top fundraiser, Matthew Barzun, instead of her. Nobody could figure out why she wasn’t in the running anymore until reports surfaced that Wintour’s long-time boyfriend (ooohh, boyfriend!) J. Shelby Bryan owes the US government $1.2 million in taxes. Yowza. Bryan, who has been in a relationship with Wintour since 1999, was said to have had a fortune of $30 million after he left his second wife for the Vogue editrix. However, his personal finances took a hit and the Telegraph.co.uk reports that he’s been staying at Wintour’s $10 million Manhattan townhouse. Wintour’s appointment to the UK ambassadorship position is said to be affected by her partner’s financial woes, as the US Senate has objected in the past to irregularities in the tax affairs of nominees and their partners.

Best hits redux

Ever wanted a Chloé Paddington, but couldn’t because of the insane waiting lists in the early ‘00s? Too afraid to scour Ebay for one because it’s gotten too difficult to tell the difference between a genuine Paddington and a AAA one? Well, sigh no more because Phoebe Philo’s best hit during her tenure at Chloé is making a comeback, along with 16 other iconic designs by the luxury brand’s former artistic directors, like Stella McCartney’s 2001 pineapple T-shirt to Karl Lagerfeld’s 1978 printed maxi dress. The exclusive line is being launched in celebration of Chloé’s 60th anniversary, which the brand celebrated last year with a retrospective. Can’t wait? Unless you live in Paris, you might not have a choice. The collection was made available in Printemps last Jan. 24 and will also be available in Selfridges in London, Barneys, New York and online at Net-A-Porter (whew!) in March. If you can wait that long.