Beauty Pick: The Benefits of Benefit High Beam

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Ya right! Beauty comes in a small bottle, otherwise known as High Beam by the cosmetic line Benefit (you can easily find this at Sephora). So basically I came upon this much needed beauty product after gazing through magazines and wondering how do the models do it? They arrive at their destination sleep deprived and likely starved (kidding), yet here comes time for the photo shoot and they’ve all got this healthy glow! What gives?! It’s this pink shimmering lotion! You can apply it alone or mix it in with your foundation, it gives a warm, dewy, sexy look, perfect for any complexion. The key to this fun lotion or luminizer, is to apply it around the cheeks, edges of your eyelids and near the brow. This shimmery lotion is sure to give you a radiant, soft, and healthy glow, winter ready and alive!

Paris Couture Week - Chanel

I know we might be a little late to post on this, seeing as Paris Couture Week is over now, however there were definitely some shows worth mentioning. One of which is the Chanel show. I will be quite honest with you, I never really enjoyed Chanel under Karl Lagerfeld. I have to agree with anyone and everyone (and there are many) who mention the fact that the state of the house would cause Coco Chanel to roll in her grave. (I wonder what Mlle. Chanel would think of all these 13 yr old girls running around with pink quilted purses emblazoned with the house's logo on their arms...) So imagine how surprised I was when I first saw the designs from their Spring/Summer Collection. Some of the designs definitely hearkened back to Chanel's original concept for the house; classic and timeless. Lagerfeld clearly drew upon the ocean for inspirations, with seashell clasps on jackets that are unmistakeably Chanel, and in the shapes and colours as well. I love that they decided to put the models in flats, which to me is very french, and it adds to the class of the designs.

The models emerged out of a giant replica of the classic Chanel jacket.

Interview: Adrienne Butikofer

Anyone acquainted with Toronto’s fashionable indie boutiques has probably come across the stylings of Adrienne Butikofer. Her cozy and practical Caninja is sold in stores throughout Canada and beyond –– not to mention her ‘urban prairie’ sensibilities that won her NOW Magazines title of Toronto’s Up and Coming Designer Award for 2007. Despite being voted Toronto’s number one, the lady that rocks a leather jacket like no other, took the time to show me her new studio, and chat over some lemon tea.

VL: So, now that you’ve got this new studio space, what are you working on these days?

AB: Right now I am working on outfits for the New Label Competition. It’s stressful because I have to come up with 15 outfits that are juried by some big names like Rita Sullivan, and most of Canada’s big name designers were made through this competition. It’s challenging and there’s a lot of pressure, but it’s a good way to get feedback and to get my name out there.

VL: Are competitions a big part of what you do?

AB: It seems that way. My friends are always telling me that I always seem to be in one competition or another, but I see it as a really good way to get my name and my business out there.

VL: I think it was last August you won NOW magazines award for Toronto’s Up and Coming Designer, how did that feel?

AB: It’s funny, because I really didn’t do much. I was getting married around the same time and all my attention was on getting everything ready for that. So when I got the call that I had won, it really came as a surprise.

VL: I did some reading up on you, and I noticed that you talk a lot about the influence of prairie themes on your work, and I wondered how living in Toronto, such an urban setting, has affected that?

AB: I like to think of my work as being sort of ‘urban prairie’, sort of rock and roll with some hard and soft elements. When I say prairie, I don’t mean some hippy aesthetic, it’s about the strong women that I watched growing up in Winnipeg who worked so hard and strained themselves everyday. I like to think that my work combines the two.



VL: With such a strong connection to these rural themes, why did you decide to move to Toronto?

AB: Well I studied fashion design at Fanshawe in London, and Toronto seemed like the next step. And I have always thought of it as the place where you either ‘make it or break it’.

VL: How important do you think going to school for fashion is, if someone wanted to someday be a designer?

AB: Very. Fanshawe was great. Very skills based, I can sew some pretty wonderful things, but sometimes it felt like I was working in a factory. I had initially studied science, but I don’t think that was for me. I realized that I was different from the cookie-cutter mould of fashion that I found there. And I had always been making my own clothes, all throughout highschool. Reconstructing old clothes.

VL: Tell me about the Caninja, I’m sure there must be a good story behind that.

AB: Uhm. Not really. I think it was my first year in Toronto, and it was snowy and cold, and I wanted to wear something that would be warm. Practical design is key. And people just started asking me to make one for them. I also have a few new designs coming out soon.

VL: So what advise do you have for those of us out there who hope to one day have a future in the industry?

AB: I know that I have made a lot of mistakes, but the most important thing to remember, is that you have to treat this as a serious business. You have to understand it as a business, things like making sure you get a receipt from the store when you drop things off. Paying attention to your details and keeping things organized. This has always been about my business, not about my ego. I’ve always wanted to have a strong business. Not necessarily to see my name up in lights. For those on the marketing side of things, what independent designers could really use is some sort of agency that represented them. That way designers weren’t faced with having to do everything. The designers could let go of the sales aspect and focus more on their work.

Check out Adrienne’s website at www.butikofer.com, for a list of independent boutiques that carry her line.

Introducing Mila

Who says Levis isn't cool?

During my marketing communications class last week my prof asked if students liked Levis. The french exchange student sitting beside me was as surprised as I was to hear the students' response: an astounding no. Apparently Diesel and Guess are the denim brands of choice among teenagers these days. Now, I know that Levis has been going through some tough times (on the business side of things) but I feel that they have been much more creative lately than say, oh, I don't know, Diesel and Guess! I heard about the Levis X Andy Warhol X Damien Hirst collaboration in the fall but obviously a lot of people haven't, so please visit the following links and you'll see for yourself: http://video.nymag.com/?&fr_story=b4aad52ba8b199b8229bbf3e73d908ed9536d124 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgBWPgJaO3M

Kate Moss

Harper’s Bazaar along with Vanity Fair has named her one of the best dressed women over the years. We are referring to Britain’s “It Girl” -Kate Moss. One of her trademark looks is the skinny jeans. I would’ve never thought that they would come back from extinction, but, leave it to Kate to pull it off. As soon as Miss Moss strutted the streets of London in her fav pair of Sass and Bide grey slacks (seen above) a new trend was immediately born.

Kate definitely knows how to wear her skinny jeans and we can take a few lessons from her. Coordinating with the right top and boots you can get so many versatile looks. Throw on a pair of flats or Uggs and you’ve got a casual look. Need to spice up your outfit? Add a pair of leather stiletto boots and a fitted blazer and voila! You’ve got a classy and sexy look for going out.

Prada Fall 2008

As I was looking at the first few pictures of the Prada show nothing really surprised me besides the double collars that some of the models were wearing, but gradually, as I continued going through the show, the outfits seemed to get more and more feminine. Miuccia Prada dressed her models which what appeared to be a manlier version of female undergarments. There was a sort of bikini bottom sticking out of the pants sometimes matched with a bra-like top. Before long the models were walking out with mini skirts on, over their trousers. The outfits got shinier, more sparkly, more glamorous and more androgynous. I usually like androgyny but for some reason this wasn’t working for me. It just didn’t seem right. Of course, the suits were impeccable (I especially liked the purple and black metallic coloured oufits) but I just thought that the masculine bikinis (I don't know what else to call them) were an unnecessary distraction. However, I guess that I should have expected this from a designer who is known to provoke, for the sake of provocation.

P.S. I know that the Prada show happened long ago (in fashion terms) but I’m new at these fashion critiques and I’m a full time student, so bear with me.

Leggings as pants

Okay, look. I understand that fashion and style are entirely subjective and may differ according to different people's tastes, but there are some things that people should not do. Like wearing leggings as pants. First off, those leggings under skirts and dresses were not cute, but they were tolerable. Now it's winter, and people have traded wearing leggings with skirts and dresses and flats and started wearing tights, but THE LEGGINGS HAVE NOT GONE AWAY. I do not understand why girls think that it's okay to wear these leggings as pants. If your shirt is not long enough to hit mid-thigh, you need to put some pants on. It's winter now, you live in Canada. It's cold out. Don't your ankles get cold? Doesn't your butt? Are you going to the gym? Does anyone wear spandex leggings to the gym any more? I can see your underwear under that, you know. Don't think that just because you wear your Uggs with them, I can't see that they end mid calf. Did you forget to put on pants this morning? The only way that these leggings are okay to wear with just a shirt as a top, is if you wear them as an extra layer under your pants. Actually, I don't care even if it's warm out. Listen to me: LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS. No, I'm sorry, it's not okay to wear them as pants. THEY AREN'T PANTS, THEY WEREN'T MEANT TO BE WORN AS PANTS, PLEASE STOP WEARING THEM AS PANTS. I don't care if they are comfortable. It looks like you forgot to put on pants in the morning.

Case in point:

Lindsay Lohan.

not attractive.

Summary: Leggings = NOT pants.

Burberry Prorsum Fall 2008

The English Designer in charge of this iconic English label chose (you guessed it) an English artist, L.S. Lowry, as the basis for his FW 2008 collection. After seeing the silk scarves and button-ups paired with the hobo gloves and sock hats, one can’t help but think of a cleaner and more chic version of a working man from the 1930s. Christopher Bailey decided to make the switch from skinny to flared pants this year, which I must admit (after some getting used to), works quite well. He used England’s traditional autumn colours and took us to the countryside by littering the runway with leaves. Tim Blanks says that Mr. Bailey has become a "master of mood", but I dare say that Mr. Bailey has found his inspiration for this mood from one of Toronto’s more well known labels: (http://www.bustleclothing.com/bustle_site.html). I don't know what to think.

WELCOME TO FAY

Thank God it’s January! As some of you may know, the Fashion Association at York struggled last semester with the “not yet an official York club” status and all of the other difficulties that starting a new club entails. We still have certain things to work on, however, we have surmounted the past challenges and are now more than happy to officially launch the first ever fashion club at York! We have a lot planned for the new year including a scene in the Charity Association Fashion Show, an intern discussion panel, a fashion design competition and of course the blog. The FAY blog will cover everything from street style to ready-to-wear to beauty. We are by no means fashion experts but we do have opinions about fashion that we think are worth sharing. We also want to take this opportunity to encourage you to participate and to give us your thoughts and comments. This blog is meant to be the meeting place for all things fashion related at York. If you want to write an entry for the blog or submit pictures for our street style section don’t hesitate to send us an email at fashionatyork@gmail.com. I think that I’ve said enough. Read and enjoy.