Du Juan & Philip Huang: Vogue China February 2010

Fashion Music

As much as I’m paying attention to the clothes during a fashion show, you can bet that I’m taking note of the beats as well. The right music timed with the right model wearing the right clothes can be a powerful thing. The standouts were Yigal Azrouel's Fall 2010 show that played “We Are The People” by Empire of the Sun, with models Alana Zimmer and Bruna Tenorio walking down the runway – it was a moment.

(Thank you, Bryan, for Shazamming it during the show – you rock!)

The other was at the Michael Kors Fall 2010 show finale, when he played “Native New Yorker” by Odyssey. It was one of the those cheesy Mary Tyler Moore moments that had us in a nostolgic, dream-like state for a hot second.

Anyway, here is some of the music from the shows at New York Fashion Week Fall 2010:

“House of Fun” by Madness – heard at the Ducke Brown Fall 2010 Show
Alberta Cross and Guns N’ Roses – performed live at the L’Uomo Vogue / John Varvatos Party (pictured here)
“We Are The People” by Empire of the Sun – heard at the Yigal Arouel Fall 2010 show (featured below – sorry about the video quality. I promise to buy a new camera.)
“Impossible” by Daniel Merriweather – heard at the Simon Spurr Fall 2010 show
“She Loves Everybody” by Chester French – heard at the Simon Spurr Fall 2010 show
“Helicopter” by Bloc Party featuring Peaches – heard at the Michael Bastian Fall 2010 show
“Native New Yorker” by Odyssey – heard at the Michael Kors Fall 2010 show

New York Fashion Week Fall 2010: Men's Trend Report

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Written for AskMen.com, click here for the full article (with images)
Written by Sachin Bhola

Remember when men ardently awaited New York Fashion Week -- a time when newsstands experienced the onslaught of guys fighting over the latest copy of a fashion magazine and who had spent the last week forecasting future trends rather than forecasting stock prices? Neither do we.

Men don't relate to fashion with the same zeal as they do the Super Bowl, so attempting to glorify fashion week would be as convincing as Tiger Woods' statement tomorrow morning.

So, why should you care that, say, tweed is a major fabric for Fall 2010? Well, for starters, it's moisture resistant and durable -- something we look for in clothing. Check. A tweed blazer can easily be worn with gray flat-front trousers for the conservative; it can be fused with resin leather sleeves as seen on the jackets at Yigal Azrouel for a cool streetwear look; and it will be available at your local mass retailer next fall. Versatile, accessible and affordable? Check. We think these are pretty good reasons to care.

New York Fashion Week: Fall 2010 wraps up today and, after a week of countless shows, live tweeting, partying, and throw in a snow storm for good measure, AM is here to break down the trends you should look out for later this year.

Combat Boots: Fall 2010 Trend

Michael Kors Fall 2010

“All about ease… Relaxed glamour… The quintessential American sportswear wardrobe… Urban casual vs. country luxe… Tactile texture mixes… The juxtaposition of crisp tailoring and languid softeness…”

“Languid softness?” Are you kidding me?

Let me just say that I hate it when people in fashion make fluffy statements – like “relaxed glamour.” They’re cliché, insubstantial and reinforce the notion of fashion as a social enclave to non-fashion people because we throw around terms like “languid softness.” FYI: It’s nothing but empty jargon.

Another example – why not? On my way out of the Timo Weiland Fall 2010 show during New York Fashion Week, I overheard a fashionista commenting on the presentation: “I really liked the range of the collection; there were a lot of good separates, you know?”

No shit, Sherlock. Of course there would be separates. I could take the economic position by arguing that in today’s highly volatile market, not producing a range of clothing that would appeal to a wide demographic means retail suicide – especially if you are operating on high margins. However, the common sense in me (you know, the one that urks when I hear “languid softness”) says: “Of course they’re separates. What else would they be? Pants that are restricted to one specific top? Shoes that are incapable of being worn with, say, a different pair of jeans?

But I digress.

The opening of this blog entry was taken from Michael Kors’ Fall 2010 print-out. One of the strongest looks during the show was a knitted crossfox fling, smoke tissue cashmere pullover and camel suede trouser (pictured above). Did I mention this was worn by Frankie Rayder? Bonus. It was nice to see Michael cast some of the girls I grew up on – Frankie and Angela to be specific.

The outerwear for men was another highlight. Simon Nessman opened the Michael Kors Fall 2010 show in a camel crushed garbadine anorak (pictured below). Terron Wood (my new obsession) wore a tobacco distressed leather flight jacket and Max wore a leather cargo jacket.

When it was time to process all of this with my fashion editor hat on I struggled to unify the aesthetic. It was New York… It was urban yet country… It was luxe sportswear…. It was relaxed glamour… Uh oh.

Michael Kors Fall 2010 Video

I captured the very end of the Michael Kors Fall 2010 finale on video. Last season, I remember the woman sitting beside me saying: “The longer the runway, the bigger the designer’s ego.” I thought that was funny.

New York Fashion Week Fall 2010

Flying into New York in the middle of a snow storm -- kind of intense. Ours was the only flight that was not canceled. Of course, being from Montreal, I figured a "snow storm" in New York would be a joke. Wrong. I didn't bring any appropriate winter shoes, slipped and fell on my ass and am (still) freezing... but the best part about this was that I was able to sound off on winter fashion for NY Mag -- check it out (I'm at the end):

Fashion Week Vs. The Blizzard - NYMag.com




Stay tuned for coverage on New York Fashion Week Fall 2010.

Lakshmi Menon: Model Moment (Video)

New York Fashion Week (Fall 2010) is around the corner, but before I look ahead I'm looking back to a video diary by my favourite model, Lakshmi Menon. I hope I see her at the shows in two weeks.

John Varvatos Interview

Guys really don’t like shopping, now do we? As kids, we deferred every dressing decision to our moms who, bless their hearts, would costume us in some dorky pair of corduroys and suspenders (apparently, Little Rascals chic was a big theme for Gap Kids back in the day). We would throw the most inflated tantrums just to avoid shopping.

Fast-forward a decade or two and the game really hasn’t changed much, has it? We let our girlfriends weigh in on our looks and finding the time to shop between overtime and, well, more overtime is as likely as the economy bouncing back in 2010.

The solution? The good ol’ internet. “Guys don’t like to shop or don’t have the time to shop. The not-having-time thing is big right now; people are busy and times are crazy,” says men’s fashion designer John Varvatos, whose online store launched in September. “I shop a lot online… and just the ease of it makes a lot more sense.” While e-commerce isn’t exactly new, his site is a good example of what guys are looking for online: It’s user-friendly, aesthetically appealing and, best of all, Varvatos’ elegant, urbane take on menswear makes us want to buy, say, a pair of grown-up corduroys and suspenders -- without leaving the comfort of our homes.

Kelly Kopen: Model Moment

Please note that my blog has moved. Check out the upgrade at: http://www.sachinbhola.com/blog - Sachin Bhola


Raise the topic of fashion models with anyone outside of fashion, and prepare to take the defensive. No, they're not (all) suffering from an eating disorder; no, they don't all earn $10,000 a show and; no, they don't all look the same (read: are from Eastern Europe).

Every now and then a model breaks the mold. We call them "oddballs." Think Kate Moss breaking the industry standard with her 5'7-inch stature, Alek Wek with her baby-like features (and 36-inch inseam - 36 inches? dang) or Omahyra Mota with her androgynous look.

The latest conteneder? Enter Kelly Kopen, the tomboy with a personality that is just as "oddball" as her distinctive look.

I had first met Kopen during the production of the Chanel Cruise 2008 show. Her style? Totally stood out from the other girls (check out the Models Own Clothes feature I did with her in my blog archives: December 2008). Her vibe? Too cool for school. Let's just say that if it weren't for her teaching me how to do "the monkey" at the Chanel after-party, my moves wouldn't be as fresh on the dance floor.

Fast-forward a year later, and I bump into Kelly Kopen at the Alexander Wang after-party (pictured above). OK, so what prompted me to feature a model moment with Kopen? Last week I walked into H&M, happy to see that its Spring 2010 visuals were up. The usual crop of girls were featured in the lastest campaign (Liya Kebede, Anja Rubic to name a few), but there she was: Kelly Kopen. Congrats.

Watch for her growing importance this year. Just sayin'.