The Buzz
- Tory Burch has a new boo. The designer is allegedly coupled up with LVMH chairman and CEO Pierre-Yves Roussel. [Page Six]
- Wearing red makes people think you’re hot-to-trot because science. [NYMag]
- Choupette Lagerfeld, Karl Lagerfeld’s cat just scored a beauty campaign with Shu Uemura for its feline-themed fall collection aptly named “Shupette.” Somewhere in Belgium, an ex-L’Oreal model weeps. [WWD]
- First Lady Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez addressed the Leauge of United Latin American Citizens…and took a super-adorable selfie together. [Bella Naija]
- In light of last year’s Rana Plaza disaster and several others, it’s become pertinent for brands to find ethical ways of producing their clothes to make them more safe on the environment–and the workers tasked with putting them together. [Fashion Globe]
- Meet the shutterbugs who are changing the fashion of fashion photography. [Dazed]
- Karlie Kloss reveals her workout routine with a little help from her friends at Nike. [Teen Vogue]
- Derek Jeter’s taking a page out of David Beckham’s book, having delved into the underwear market. The slugger has a stake in Frigo RevolutionWear, but don’t expect to see him in any ads for the brand, since the slugger is keen on taking a more quiet role endorsing the label. [Page Six]
- Looking for a little sartorial inspiration? Check out 55 Instagram accounts you need to be following. [Popsugar Fashion]
We might still be mourning the loss of sexy fugitive Nicholas Brody on Homeland, but my, oh my, has Damian Lewis made up for his absence with his new move into modelling as he stars in British heritage brand Aquascutum‘s new campaign shots.
Looking brooding and delicious, 43-year-old Lewis stars in the sultry black and white campaign with the beautiful Eliza Cummings. Photographed by the renowned Alasdair McLellan, the shoot took place in London, with the pair embracing under the beautiful bridges by Regent’s Canal. Not wanting to stray far from the brand’s traditional outdoor-wear aesthetic, the two are pictured looking sultry, hiding from the great British rain under a signature plaid umbrella with Lewis in the seam-sealed navy wool single breasted Howell coat and Cummings looking incredible in the oversized cloud-coloured Baxter coat.
The brand describes the shoot as “an intimate stolen moment, just steps away from the hustle and bustle of the city” but aside from being dramatic and romantic, the images also signify a triumphant return for Aquascutum as it celebrates the 100th year of its trench.
Initially launched in 1851 by John Emery as a luxurious British retailer, Aquascutum was the brand that made trench coats for officers in the First World War, although it has had some troubled time in recent years. After falling into administration in 2012, the brand was bought out by Chinese fashion retailer YGM Trading.
If it means we can see more amazing pictures of Damian Lewis, let’s hope Aquascutum’s 100th year of the trench is a good one.
ESPN The Magazine‘s annual body issue hits newsstands today, and of of all the covers (featuring Venus Williams, Jamie Anderson, Michael Phelps and a few others), Texas Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder‘s has been getting the most attention, simply because he doesn’t have a six-pack. We guess fat-shaming isn’t limited to women — what a shitty step for gender equality.
 Image: ESPN Seeing the player’s tattooed body sans uniform sent the Twitteratti into a fat-shaming frenzy, sparking a fleet of Internet memes, many of which poke fun at Fielder’s weight. He’s pictured as Jabba the Hut, in the midst of mountains of donuts and ice cream, even with cake and cookie emojis superimposed onto his tummy.
Obviously, people find the sight of this athlete’s naked body simply hilarious. TMZ caught up with Cuba Gooding, Jr., who compared the image to “two midgets in an arm wrestling contest with a bag of knuckles.” Whatever that means.
Regardless of how you feel about Fielder’s shape, he doesn’t seem to give a damn if his body challenged your personal notions of what an athlete is supposed to look like: “You don’t have to look like an Under Armour mannequin to be an athlete. A lot of people probably think I’m not athletic or don’t even try to work out or whatever, but I do,” he told ESPN. “Just because you’re big doesn’t mean you can’t be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn’t mean you’re going to have a 12-pack. I work out to make sure I can do my job to the best of my ability. Other than that, I’m not going up there trying to be a fitness model.”
Fair enough. But possibly the most bewildering thing about this reaction is that people are even worried about the athleticism of a paid professional baseball player at all. Obviously, the Texas Rangers have deemed Fielder athletic enough to run bases, bat and catch balls. They continue to employ and pay him–wouldn’t a baseball franchise, whose sole purpose is to win games and make money, avoid recruiting someone they don’t think could handle the physicality of the game, much less win? How interesting that the world overlooks Fielder’s toned, strong thighs (mmm…those thighs) and powerful, sturdy batting arms once he takes his clothes off to reveal them.
At the end of the day, whatever you think of Fielder’s body, it’s strong, and it’s helping him rake in the millions. Can he run? Swing a bat? Is he helping win games? Then it’s time to shut up about his belly and let his cover be the beautiful, arresting, even sexy image it is.
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Doing much this weekend? Got a spare couple of hours on your hands? Why don’t you come join the fun in theFashionSpot‘s Cover Challenge Thread? One of the forum’s most loved threads is finally back after a hiatus and it’s better than ever. Come on…I know you’d just love to redesign some of your favorite (or least favorite) magazine covers or even create a cover out of a beloved fashion image.
 IMAGE CREDIT: MARK E The thread, which was started back in 2008, gives members a chance to design and recreate a magazine cover of their choice each week, participating and engaging in some healthy competition while they’re at it. Each week a theme is selected by the winner of the previous round and this week’s round is the theme of “The REDESIGN,” chosen by MON. The aim is to think of a magazine and then redesign it. Think outside-the-box. Do not limit yourself to just changing the fonts and the amount of text included. Play with the masthead, create a new layout or, better yet, create a new logo (change the fonts for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, etc!). It’s even better if it doesn’t look like how it looks today. The twist? Should you place a second entry, the second entry has to be exactly the same as your first entry (layout and creativity wise to show consistency). This is to see if your redesign really works or if it just worked on the first cover image you used.
So come on over to the revived Cover Challenge thread and participate, or just post a message of encouragement and check out entries already posted by our creative forum members. You never know…your entry just might win. Good luck!
Anja Rubik is no stranger to Vogue covers and this month marks her sixth cover of German Vogue. For its August 2014 issue, the magazine enlisted Camilla Akrans to capture the Polish model wearing a curly hairstyle and a chunky baby blue knit teamed with a white shirt underneath. Styled by Nicola Knels, the shoot was inspired by Kim Basinger‘s hit movie 9 1/2 Weeks, with Anja portraying the blond actress to perfection inside the issue.
 IMAGE CREDIT: THE DIGITAL EDITION OF VOGUE GERMANY’S AUGUST 2014 ISSUE VIA TFS FORUMS Our forum members have mixed feelings regarding the cover and accompanying cover story. “WOW, very 80s but in the BEST possible way, and even though I hate when text touches the masthead, HATE IT, love this cover!” writes Miss Dalloway.
“I’m not a fan of Camilla Akrans’ soft focus/high key style, but this ed (which obviously isn’t soft focus/high key at all!) is simply PHENOMENAL,” added Zorka, who has kindly provided the thread with digital HQ’s of the entire issue.
Wolkfolk was also in favor of the cover: “Fantastic cover and great editorials. Anja looks stunning here and I love the styling in all the eds.”
Not all members were interested, though. “Everything bores me to death. It’s so bland and not eye-catching; the only pic I like is the b&w shot of Hilary,” commented an unimpressed Bertrando3.
A.D.C. feels that another publication has done the concept better: “Anja’s shoot looks a bit like J. Lo‘s recent one for Billboard but J. Lo did it better IMO.”
View the thread for the fashion stories inside the issue and join the discussion here.
Chanel‘s Fall 2014 supermarket-themed show went over well with audiences and on social media. Who could forget the week our Instagram feeds were littered with those images of Rihanna, Cara Delevingne and Joan Smalls playing in a shopping cart from a million different angles? We thought we’d see something similar for the campaign, but it looks like Karl Lagerfeld decided to go in a different direction, taking models Binx Walton and Cara Delevingne to the boxing ring instead. Wait, what?
To say our forum members were disappointed with the change in theme would be an understatement.
“The boxing club is totally random,” LylaScans wrote. “Next will be Prada in a rock-climbing venue and Givenchy in a Pret-a-Manger toilet.”
“After such a fun concept of a show we get this garbage as a campaign?? Using a shot of the models shopping in the supermarket during the show would have been 100x better than this,” commented shanhug.
Several others simply don’t think Cara and Binx fit the bill for the ‘Chanel girl': “Karl needs to get Freja back and deliver that magic he used to deliver with her during her Chanel campaigns reign,” TeeVanity offered. “I am absolutely disappointed with this. We got a Chanel supermarket theme for the collection showing and this is what the campaign looks like? I am annoyed they fade Baptiste and Jarrod in the background, might as well hire extras!”
“This looks like a ‘Lindsey Lohan for Ungaro’ campaign,” Vitamine W put it simply.
Though the reaction was overwhelmingly negative, there were still a few people who liked the images. AlonsoJonathan seemed a little more optimistic about the campaign: “Nice ad. Cara looks good, I wanna see more of this! Looks very simple, yet elegant I like it so far!”
“The first pic is nice. Cara makes things look cool and covetable,” JeanAvril wrote.
But the positive feedback pretty much stops there. Guess you can’t win ‘em all…
Are you feeling Chanel’s latest? Or is it a total disaster? Sound off and join the discussion in our forums.
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