Lectura de sambata dimineata

First things first.  De ieri se deruleaza un concurs super fain pe StyleDiary, via TShirt Factory: „carui personaj de poveste/ roman/ film/ benzi desenate i-ati face cadou un tricou cu mesaj, de Valentine’s Day?”  Puteti fi cat de creative, romantice, excentrice doriti pentru ca, va spun cat se poate de sincer, ma voi bucura de fiecare comentariu: sunt portite deschise catre lumea voastra, pe care o impartasiti cu mine. (Pregatiti-va pentru inca cateva concursuri foarte, foarte faine in urmatoarele doua saptamani!)

Second things next. Anul trecut, in primavara, am organizat prima serie de cursuri de stil la Cluj, Timisoara, Iasi, Constanta, Brasov, pe langa cele din Bucuresti… Acelasi lucru se va intampla si in primavara aceasta, incepand cu sfarsitul lunii martie. Asadar, daca sunteti interesate si tentate sa participati, lasati-mi un semn pentru ca sa va pot trimite detaliile din timp.

Si in sfarsit, un citat interesant, descoperit in cartea lui Holly Brumbach, „A dedicated follower of fashion”: „We interpret physical features to be a manifestation of the character traits we particularly admire. Not so long go we favoured women who were rail-thin and flat-chested not simply because we like their looks, but because their looks connoted someone streamlined, who lived a fast and active life, making her way into what has been a man’s world, unencumbered by the old conventions of femininity.

This idea is being supplanted by that of a woman whose body is more emphatically female, shapely but solid and lean, well exercised, as our notions of womanhood and women’s place in the world are changing. If we haven’t yet come around to finding fleshy, heavy-set women, like those in the 18th century paintings, attractive, it may be in part because they signify for us docility and lethargy, and these traits we just can’t bring ourselves to sanction.”

And after the jump, recomandarile pentru lectura saptamanala.

The world of Joan Burnstein – “Joan Burstein, 86, is the owner of the Browns boutique in South Molton Street, London, a business she founded with her late husband, Sidney, in 1970. An influential fashion buyer, she is credited with making the British reputations of brands including Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani and Comme des Garçons.” In The Telegraph.

First look at Deborah Needleman’s T Magazine – „The cover is Lee Radziwill. Needleman said the idea to do a story on Radziwill began while she was still at The Wall Street Journal. She’d met Radziwill last April at a design conference in Morocco and, though the aging socialite and sister of Jacqueline Kennedy doesn’t sit for many interviews, she agreed to a profile with WSJ.” In WWD.

Menswear that men really wear – “The menswear shows that drew to a close in Paris on Sunday were all about progress: the unrelenting financial progress of the two French conglomerates LVMH and PPR, whose current menswear focus is a major background driver of many of the week’s key collections; and aesthetic progress, which is an altogether more personal – and complicated – issue that centres on a designer’s work, and how they allow it to evolve.” In Financial Times.

Why some labels sidestep fashion week – “New York’s calendar has become noticeably more crowded as labels squeeze in with entrepreneurial zeal. While fashion shows used to be limited to high-style labels, midprice contemporary labels and menswear brands are now muscling into New York. One reason: no official body controls the calendar, unlike in Milan and Paris, where just a few dozen labels are invited to show in each fashion week.” In Wall Street Journal.

Hubert Burda Media blazes a digital trail – “The German publisher of the magazine, Hubert Burda Media, takes a similarly practical approach to its own business. While there is plenty of fashionable talk in the publishing industry about the digital future, Burda has already stitched together a strong Internet arm.” In NY Times.

Hong Kong retail: as the rich go to Paris, the rest go mid-market – “The very wealthy Chinese appear to be travelling to shop at Galeries Lafayette in Paris instead of Causeway Bay and Canton Road in Hong Kong. So is it gloom and doom for Hong Kong’s retail sector? Spencer Leung, an analyst at UBS, says the best may be yet to come – but only for Hong Kong’s mid-priced retailers.” In Financial Times.

Nothing vague at Vogue – “Vogue, arguably the world’s most influential fashion magazine, put its Thai edition on news stands last week, and within a few days every copy was gone. Quite a feather in the cap for Kullawit Laosuksri, Vogue’s first male editor-in-chief anywhere in the world, and that now includes 21 editions, and for the publishers, Conde Nast Asia-Pacific and Serendipity Media.” In The Nation.

The greatest shoes on earth– „Somewhere between Carrie Bradshaw’s high heels and the upcoming Halle Berry film Shoe Addicts Anonymous (about a support group for shoe addicts), lies Shoe Obsession, an exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s museum that examines our love of fabulous footwear.” In Financial Times.

West Berlin back in style – „West Berlin’s Kurfuerstendamm, the city’s answer to Paris’s Avenue des Champs Elysees, is in fashion for the first time since Germany’s reunification as luxury brands snub the east, pushing rents higher. ” In Business Week.