YStyle Picks

Like a bawws

MANILA, Philippines - Few fashion editors actually leave publishing for a raket, but that’s what former fashion co-director of British Vogue, Kate Phelan did in 2011 after 18 years with the mag to become the creative director of Topshop. The move shocked the industry and Kate explained her decision to The Telegraph last September 2012, saying “I had achieved so many of my dreams but I wanted to know if I could survive without Vogue as it had carried me all my working life. I needed to take the risk.” However, earlier this year, she expressed a tinge of regret in a tweet to hair stylist Sam McKnight: “@sammcknight1 you too! I really miss our lovely shoots, I was so jealous to see you in St. Barts with the dream team xxx.” But if you’re truly talented, you can have the best of both worlds, which Kate demonstrated: 20 months after leaving Vogue, Condé Nast announced she will be returning part-time and Topshop confirmed that she would still retain her role at the company. Oh, to be in-demand.

Eco cow-alition

Have you ever stopped to wonder how much it really cost to make your favorite designer handbag? In 2009, Greenpeace revealed that cattle ranches were illegally clearing rainforests to make room for more cows — the same ones used to make leather. Now we know how you feel about faux leather (read: it’s gross), so Gucci decided to make eco-ethical versions of their best-selling Jackie, Hobo and Tote bags, according to Dailymail.co.uk. Crafted exclusively from cattle on Rainforest Alliance-certified ranches, the process ensures that grazing cows have in no way affected the fast-disappearing Brazilian Amazon forest (a.k.a. the “lungs of the earth”). To ensure buyers that the animals have been treated in an ethical way, each bag comes with a “passport” detailing the bucolic life of the cow that was used to make the leather. Talk about Laughing Cow! Or not.

Hitting the stick

The quick turnover of seasons mandates that fashion remains a fast-paced industry, so you can’t blame those who work in it for suffering from short-term memory loss. What was a “don’t” last season and a “must” for this one! Or as Hedi Klum put it, “One day you’re in, the next you’re aus!” The Internet is quick to catch on to these inconsistencies as seen with the case of Carine Roitfeld who famously promised back in August 2011 that she would never use another cigarette in her fashion editorials. “It’s totally stupid,” she told Vogue. “It’s an easy solution to make a picture more interesting, but it’s not the only solution. And now it’s like, forgive me for all these cigarettes I’ve put in all these issues.” Fast-forward to this issue of CR Fashion Book wherein an editorial called “Once Upon A Dance” features model Daria Strokous holding a cigarette in three different shots. We’ll chalk this up to a relapse.

Pimp daddy

Marc Jacobs in dad jeans and disco shirts? For his film debut in the dark indie thriller Disconnect, directed by Henry Alex Rubin, he totally went there for his role as a badly-dressed “porn baron.” The film is about online child pornography — which is no laughing matter, unlike the outfits that the costume department had him wear. “When they had the fittings for the movie... my design team was all in hysterics. I had these really tacky suburban disco shirts with crucifixes embroidered on them, and the worst-fitting dad jeans... these were just bad and acid-washed with flannel zip jackets sewn to the side. And they put big silver rings on my fingers and earrings. So they just couldn’t stop laughing,” Jacobs told Entertainment Weekly. Jacobs stars alongside Jason Bateman, Alexander Skarsgård, Paula Patton and Max Thieriot.