Written by emesika
May 20, 2008 Hits: 121  0
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Desperation and luxury are mortal enemies. Fear and power do not peacefully coexist. It follows, then, that she who wishes to reach the most rarefied and potent ranks of fashion, whether in dealmaking or designing, must have a certain serenity. A certain above-the-fray quality. And a flat-out disregard for what you think. Which brings us to Miuccia Prada. The rise of Mrs. Prada, as she is known to her Italian staff members, is a well-known tale—your basic story of a onetime communist and mime student from Milan who takes over her family's dusty luggage company and, with the help of her go-getting husband, turns it into a luxury conglomerate that in 2002 had revenues of about $1.9 billion. Her power, first manifested in the minimal black nylon backpack draped over every influential arm in the '90s, also became incarnate in such celebrities as Uma Thurman, twirling down the red carpet in ethereal Prada-designed Oscar gowns.
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Written by emesika
May 20, 2008 Hits: 110 0
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The twin icons of popular rebellion—rock music and biker chic— are combined with good tailoring and attention to detail to make John Richmond’s designs a success, commercially and critically. He is one of the most business-minded of his British counterparts, steadily building up his clothing range while others have fallen prey to financial and production problems. His designs have developed along the lines initiated during his partnership with Maria Cornejo, with certain motifs being carried through. These make his work instantly recognizable and, he says, justify the use of the “Destroy” slogan as a brand name for his cheaper lines, instead of promoting it as a diffusion range.
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Written by emesika
May 20, 2008 Hits: 129 0
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“Sonia Rykiel: First I destroyed, undid what I had made. I wasn’t satisfied with it, it wasn’t me. It didn’t relate to me. It was fashion, but it wasn’t my fashion. I wanted to abolish the laws, the rules. I wanted to undo, overflow, exceed fashion. I wanted to unfold, unwind it. I wanted a lifestyle appropriate to the woman I was…this woman-symphony who was living the life of a woman mingled with the life of a worker. I wanted airplane-style, travel-style, luggage-style. I saw myself as a woman on the go, surrounded by bags and children…so I imagined “kangaroo-clothes,” stackable, collapsible, movable, with no right side, no wrong side, and no hem. Clothes to be worn in the daytime I could refine at night. I put “fashion” aside to create “non-fashion.” French ready-to-wear designer Sonia Rykiel is a compelling presence whose intellect and individuality are apparent in her clothes. With her small bones and trademark mane of hair, she is probably her own best model, projecting assurance andenergy. She began designing with no previous experience when, as thepregnant wife of the owner of Laura, a fashionable boutique, she wasunable to find maternity clothes she liked. Continuing to design knitwear for Laura, she soon carved a niche for herself designing for well-to-do and sophisticated modern French women.
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Written by emesika
May 20, 2008 Hits: 112 0
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Stylist for photographer Steven Meisel and junior sportswear firms in New York, 1970s to 1981; sportswear designer, Simultanee, New York, 1981; also designed own line, from 1980; formed own company, New York, 1983; first runway show, 1991; added menswear line, opened in-store boutique Macy’s, 1992; first freestanding store, SoHo, New York, 1992; opened shop in Hollywood, 1993-95; launched bridge line, SUI by Anna Sui, 1995; opened two boutiques in Japan, 1997; formed Anna Sui Shoes and added cosmetic line, 1997; introduced first fragrance, Magic Window, and opened Los Angeles store, 1999; introduced jean collection and second fragrance, Sui Dreams, 2000. When Anna Sui started her own apparel company in 1980, her mission was to sell clothes to every rock ‘n’ rollstore in the country. “It was right after the punk rock thing and I wasso into that,” said the designer, who has earned a reputation forbringing a designer’s sensibility to wild-child, rocker clothes with a vintage spin.
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