Scandinavia — more known for its pine trees, meatballs and big box furniture stores — is having a fashion moment with its Danish brand Minimum. Already stocked in Europe, Asia and Australia, Minimum is now hoping to make its entrance into Canada with collections available in boutiques across the country come this February.
What started out as a small retail shop in 1997 by Peter Tang in the center of Aarhus, Denmark, has grown into a collective of 40 dedicated individuals who live and breathe Minimum. The line, for both men and women, focuses on contemporary designs, matching undertones of Scandinavian coolness with a metropolitan edge. It is inspired by the urban pulse, evolving into sharp designs reflected by the upcoming and current trends. Building an unexpected bond with colour and texture, this season specializes in the art of unconventional layering, graphic tees and surprising patterns.
It's typically Scandinavian street style: effortless and, well, minimalist. Designed for comfort yet with a twist of deviance, which we Canucks generally lean towards. Choice pieces in the Spring 2013 collection include the Lido jumpsuit and Vega jacket for woman; while for men, how can you ignore the peach Samden shorts and baby blue Edi blazer?
Well this is awkward. Lara Bingle and Isabel Lucas both attended the launch of Dior’s new store opening in Sydney last week, and one was significantly better dressed than the other.
Normally at events like this, it’s considered common courtesy to wear the designer you’re there to celebrate, however Lara opted instead for a baby pink Christopher Kane dress from the designer’s Resort 2013 collection. The rather demure look (it has pleats!) is a refreshing change for her, and the only thing she could have improved on is the tone of her spray tan. Baby steps, we figure. Though the red lipstick and dewy skin do, somehow, make the orange look a little more natural.
Glowing in a slightly different way was Isabel Lucas, who was gift-wrapped in a piece of leftover ribbon from Dior’s Spring 2013 collection and who unfortunately agreed to have her photo taken standing next to Lara. Even perfect genes can’t rescue this sartorial disaster, her otherwise enviable mermaid hair and waifish frame instead leaving her looking in desperate need of a hair tie and some complimentary hors d'oeuvres. It’s a bit disappointing considering Isabel normally looks great dressed in Sienna Miller’s leftovers from 2003, and that the Dior dress really did look great on the runway.
Let me just start out by saying that I do understand why Diet Coke would want to tap Marc Jacobs for its Creative Director position, a role previously held by Karl Lagerfeld in 2011 and Jean Paul Gaultier in 2012: he's perfect for the brand. If I imagined Diet Coke in human form, it would probably look like a freakishly fit fifty-year-old who is impossibly charismatic despite his massive ego.
The news broke in WWD this morning: the American designer created three cans, three bottles, and three ad campaigns for Diet Coke. These are set to launch in Europe (*sad face*) next month. The whole concept revolves around references to "iconic looks and female empowerment" from the Eighties, the Nineties, and the Naughts/Aughts/Two-Thousands.
The ads were shot by Stéphane Sednaoui (because no one knows how to capture female empowerment better than two men) and samples were teased online today. Here's the concept: What gets young women all hot and bothered? Marc Jacobs in a photo booth with a can of Diet Coke.
As a young woman, I say: ha ha ha.
“I think glamour and sex sells just about everything,” the designer told WWD.
"Enjoy his nod to the iconic 'Diet Coke Man' — hunky!" says the Diet Coke copy which accompanies the video.
Ha ha ha.
“I still think it’s hysterical people want me to take my shirt off," the designer said.
But upon reflection, I don't know whether Diet Coke's attempt to sell us Marc Jacobs as an object of desire is more "hysterical" or "depressing." How did this become an international campaign? Is the world really so confused about female desire? The unattainable is only appealing when it's hypothetically attainable and Marc Jacobs is not that. There's only one older gay male designer that's sexually attractive to straight women and that's Tom Ford, for reasons that are impossible to identify.
This whole thing is so upsetting to me because it's such a missed opportunity: They wanted to give us a Diet Coke Hunk, instead we got a creepy alternate universe.
If ever there was a cover that signifies a fresh start or rebirth of a publication, it’s Kristina O’Neill’s debut cover as Editor-in-Chief of WSJ magazine. Featuring a redesigned logo, the cover photo by Mikael Jansson is awash in bright white light, giving model Kati Nescher a luminescent glow. The caption of “Pure Elegance” feels especially fitting.
“So pure! One of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen! Gorgeous!!!” TashaRosa exclaimed.
Marc10 posted, “Seriously stunning picture, so captivating.”
The cover is striking, straightforward and fresh – which are doubtless all things O’Neill wants this magazine to be in every way. Though she’s a veteran of the magazine industry (coming off of 12 years at Harper's Bazaar), she’s now in a position where she’s taking on a publication in its infancy and she can mold it into its long-term form.
Whatever she’s doing so far seems to be working. The cover alone makes me want to crack open this issue and see what she’s got in store for us. Well done.
Marie Piovesan may not be the most conventionally beautiful of models, but her quirky look is well-loved in the Fashion Spot forums and apparently it’s well-loved by Russh as well. Marie graces the cover of the magazine’s February/March issue in a shot by Tung Walsh, and she also features in two editorials. She makes a fitting choice for this offbeat Australian mag.
“Gorgeous, she’s always amazing in print,” TREVOFASHIONISTO commented.
|PerfectTonight| posted, “Fantastic, love Russh magazine and their vision.”
There’s something modern and simultaneously retro about Marie and the cover feature for Russh. There’s this constant drive to be cutting edge and futuristic in fashion, which the magazine does with its sharp lines and styling, but the contrast of the ratty, tattered couch and the graffiti-spattered walls? Those elements root the editorial firmly in today’s world, keeping the whole vibe from moving in an overly sleek and chic direction. The imperfections of our world are still on display, and that’s what keeps things interesting – and weird – in a good way.
The first episode of the seven-part season will air next week on February 12. The format pits Campbell, Rocha and Kurkova against each other as model coaches, competing to see who can better mentor young women hoping to carve out careers in the modeling industry. "Helping people" is not commonly the stuff of competition, so kudos The Face!
The show's competition occurs on two levels: 1) Twelve contestants compete along the conventional reality modeling show lines of, I don't know, challenges and eliminations in hopes of becoming America's next top model the "next supermodel," as the PR copy puts it and winning an ULTA campaign; 2) The three modeling industry icons test/display their mentorship skillz.
This format is one of the main reasons why, when asked how she would differentiate The Face from America's Next Top Model and herself from Tyra Banks during a publicity conference call on Monday, Campbell thought there shouldn't even be a comparison:
I am different. I am before Tyra and I have a lot of respect for Tyra and what she’s done with America’s Next Top Model and taking it all over the world and what she’s done for young women out there who want to be in the fashion industry. I don’t like to compare anything that I do. This show is a completely different type of format. I’ve not really watched it.
Campbell doesn't like to compare anything she does, but Nigel Barker's role as host of The Face will make it difficult to set aside the comparisons. The photographer owes his celebrity primarily to an eighteen season/nine year tenure as a judge on ANTM, but was fired last year as part of a big rebranding effort. His departure had many longtime viewers (like this one) pledging to never watch America's Next Top Model again. If The Face's contract with the former ANTM judge was an attempt to woo disappointed former fans of Tyra's I-guess-let's-call-it-pioneering modeling competition, it's not a bad move — but it does make the comparison mandatory.
Well this is awkward. Lara Bingle and Isabel Lucas both attended the launch of Dior’s new store opening in Sydney last week, and one was significantly better dressed than the other.
Last night, stars 
