Coco Rocha

I Just came across this past interview I did with Coco Rocha for Fashion File. I remember her at ease and not phased at all by the overwhelming amount of people, cameras and rather demanding schedule. I do remember however, how concerned she seemed to convey a responsible image of herself throughout the entire interview–and what was even more telling?…The behind the scenes look at  how much of her career is orchestrated by the powerful agents at Elite Models. What is undeniable, is her IT factor…take a look at this two part series following Coco from a major cover shoot for Fashion Magazine, to kicking off the opening at Toronto Fashion Week.

Story Produced by: Jesse Barkley

*click on the orange links below to see videos

Part One: A Day in the Life-Coco Rocha

Part Two: Cover Shoot Coco Rocha

Virile, image obsessed, glossy and provocative, 40’sh Tyler Brûlé has made “enigma” his job description. The native Winnipegger and footballer’s son achieved his first publishing coup as creator of the much-lauded Wallpaper* magazine. Not content to stick with a sure thing, Brûlé sold the glossy in 1997 and embarked on writing for the Financial Times, The New York Times and the like. In 2005, he tackled television, hosting BBC’s The Desk. His current endeavour, Monocle, is not as cerebral as it sounds. The international monthly magazine navigates the globe with ease, using current affairs, business, culture and design as its compass points. Now, if we could just steer Brûlé in a more personal direction …

Adrian Mainella

You travel upwards of 240 days a year, which begs the question: Can you be a jetsetter and have romance in your life?

Tyler Brûlé

“You can. I think that is part of the fantasy, though, as well.”

AM

And so many designers try to emulate that lifestyle.

TB

“People still try to emulate Halston.”

AM

I imagine that the idea of romance has changed quite a bit since then, especially in the media.

TB

“Yeah, it’s the watching of media and the conventions of media…Take Tom Ford’s current campaign or the last campaign, where there is a sort of vulgarity…part of our brand is not sort of touchy feely sexy, you know.”

AM

There are some incredibly sexy elements in what you do.

TB

“Sexy elements, but what we want to show is a nice narrative in fashion, with great clothes on a good-looking guy. We want to say, if you want one evening dress or one bag, this is what it is, and put them on people who are—I wouldn’t say fuckable—just attractive-looking people.”

AM

What is sex appeal to you?

TB

“Let’s come back to that. I have to think.”

AM

What do you think your reader finds sexy?

TB

“Come back to that as well. It’s one and the same.”

AM

One and the same? You’re that in touch with your reader?

TB

“I think so. I think I read the room pretty well. [Brûlé points to a marketing sheet outlining the demographics of Monocle readers. An attractive man and woman are pictured in the middle of the page.] Like this document is not how we present ourselves normally, but…”

AM

You’re the man who judges the best cities in the world to live in—which do you believe to be the sexiest city?

TB

“If the sun is out, I think Copenhagen is a sexy city. I love that people are cycling, but not dressed for a purpose — elegant bicycle, elegant outfit as opposed to being on some Cannondale like you’re going to hurtle down a mountain even though you’re just commuting to the office. Sexy cities afford you the maximum amount of experiences across the course of the day, which means you get the minimum amount of friction between your Pierre Hardys and whatever’s under your foot. And I think that’s what makes Copenhagen.”

AM

Would it also have the sexiest people?

TB

“I think Danes are pretty good-looking, you know?”

AM

If you were given $25 to romance somebody, how would you spend it?

TB

“Canadian dollars? It’s all the same now, isn’t it?”

AM

£25.

TB

“£25. I won’t accept that. That’ll be five copies [referring to the cost of a Monocle issue]. I would buy a book and it would be E.H. Gombrich’s A Little History of the World.”

AM

Why that book?

TB

“Because it’s a great adult’s storybook and it’s got this childlike quality even though the topics are very grown-up. It’s a great refresher course on humanity and romance.”

AM

Would you define yourself a little bit like that as well—a grownup with childlike qualities?

TB

“No, just childlike qualities.”

Adrian Mainella talks to the Toronto-based designer about ego, survival of the fittest, and why fashion shows are boring.

On a recent trip to New York Fashion Week, I spoke with one Canada’s most revered young designers during the presentation of his latest collection. At 30, Jeremy Laing has become one of Canada’s greatest fashion exports, and a fixture in the NYC fashion scene.

Adrian Mainella

Typically designers are sensitive people.

Jeremy Laing

Yes but they are also typically egotistical people.

AM

Would you consider yourself egotistical?

JL

Sure. It takes a lot of ego to think you have something to put out there to occupy people’s time with…but there is also an equal amount of insecurity that follows.

AM

How do you handle criticism? What happens when you read someone’s critique and they just didn’t get it?

JL

Or what they got was totally inaccurate, which is usually the case… I mean, it doesn’t matter, very rarely does it have an effect that is directly related to our business, at least that we’ve noticed. Either way, if it’s good or bad you have to let it roll off your back, because even if it’s good I don’t believe it. You can’t let the applause or the slaps to your face go to your head. I appreciate when someone who writes about fashion actually makes an effort to understand what goes into making the clothes rather than a superficial assessment.

AM

Has the demise of the U.S. economy created an even playing field with your fellow New York-based designers?

JL

(Laughs) Not really. Even when they are constricted they still have a staff of twenty. I don’t have any, really, so it’s a little hard to call it an even playing field. What I do have to compete with are my ideas and those are as good or better than a lot of people’s.

AM

Does if frustrate you when your end product is compared to those designers who have greater resources than you?

JL

Perhaps a little bit, but at the same time, what can I do about it except do the very best that I can do. Maybe it’s because I just turned thirty and I’m feeling a little more like an adult, I’m a little less concerned with what others are doing and I can’t judge myself against much bigger machines.

AM

Does that make you more competitive?

JL

All I can do is find a way that makes sense for me. I try to idealize my brand like that of designers such as Comme des Garçons and Dries Van Noten; big small companies.

AM

Since you’re a Toronto based designer but you only stage your collection in New York, let’s talk about Toronto as a fashion city.

JL

Well it’s not, and it doesn’t have to be.

AM

Is that your reason to not show at Toronto Fashion Week?

JL

No, the reason is by the time we’re done with New York and Paris I don’t want to think about the season anymore, nor do I have time or money left for another fashion show. Also, I don’t think fashion shows are all that interesting. Typical runway shows can do all sorts of shit to try and make them seem interesting, including making all kinds of crazy clothes that no one is going to wear, but I don’t think it is a particularly contemporary approach. It doesn’t seem like it’s the most right thing right now. Editors are tired of going to twelve shows a day.

AM

Since you only show in New York, why not relocate there?

JL

The cost of doing business here is much easier to swallow, and I couldn’t afford to be there with my current circumstances. Plus, I don’t know if I really want to go there, I don’t want to get sucked into the New York machine particularly.

AM

What is it about that machine you dislike?

JL

It’s never been my ideal, I’d be much more interested in relocating to Paris than New York. The history is different and their values are different, I mean I don’t really feel like part of an American sportswear tradition which is what New York is known for. I mean, I’m not obviously part of any real tradition (chuckles).

For over thirty years, Diane Von Furstenberg has been setting trends that have changed the world. From Commoner to Princess by 22 (through her first marriage to Germany’s Prince Egon of Furstenberg), to Studio 54 revolutionary, this famous American Fashion Designer is one of pop culture’s original influencers. Born in Belgium, Diane moved to America in the seventies and by 1975 made her mark in the fashion world with her iconic wrap dress. Today Diane continues to influence fashion as head designer of one of America’s most successful fashion houses, DVF. If that weren’t enough Diane further influences American Fashion with her prestigious role as President of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America).

AM: There almost seemed to be a nomad quality to your spring collection…

DVF: There is always a nomad quality to all of my collections. Spring was
called Oasis but the inspiration was taken from Pre-Raphaelite
paintings that looked to antiquity for inspiration. The fabrics are very fluid, very liquid. The colours are very much sunset colours, there are a lot of knits and
a lot of macrame.

AM: You’ve been surrounded by people with great influence on pop culture. How did friends like Andy Warhol have an effect on you?

DVF: Everybody wants to know about Andy Warhol! Andy was really a voyeur
you know. He was somebody who was taking pictures and taping you, but Andy Warhol understood our time better than anyone. He understood branding before anyone really knew what branding was.

AM: Did you know that this group you were involved with was going to set
trends that would change pop culture forever?

DVF: You don’t think like that, you just do your thing. It’s like you
can’t tell history while you’re living it. It’s only when you look back, and even then you don’t say: “Oh look at what I have done”. Youjust live it.

AM: At the time, did you have any idea what kind of impact your wrap dress
would have on the fashion world?

DVF: I don’t know, you don’t know. You don’t sit and analyze it. I
mean did I know that this wrap dress would last for so long? No you
don’t know those things, and those are not things that you decide,
it’s the public that decides it.

AM: Let’s talk about the very idea of trends, Why does the fashion world need
them in order to successfully make change?

DVF: That’s the mystery of fashion—those things you can’t determine. Why
all of a sudden everybody thinks yellow, why all of a sudden all young
kids wear combat boots? It’s not always the designers that make the trends. Designers interpret the trends. The trends come from the streets, the mood comes from the streets, and that’s why fashion is a reflection of our time–it’s a very mysterious thing. Even if you made nothing new and there were no more designers designing, there would still be fashion, and there would still be trends.

AM: Are there any trends in fashion today that you are gravitating towards?

DVF: Freedom, the trend of freedom through prints and colour.
Colour is very good for me—I’m riding that wave right now. I
have always designed with colour–I am the most colourful of them all.
Imagine a garden in black and white! What I do is always right on trend.

AM: Freedom? What other trends unfolding in fashion right now are a good
example of that?

DVF: Well the shoes that we are doing right now aren’t liberating women except breaking our legs!

AM: Do you feel trends have the power to liberate women? The wrap dress could arguably be described as a liberating moment for women at the time.

DVF: And it still does.

AM: How would your closest describe you as a friend?

DVF: That I am generous, and that I take time for them.

AM: What do you think they would say your biggest downfall is?

DVF: I don’t know, (laughter) I have no downfall.

The grey trouser is as base to European men as blue jeans are to us. They are a staple in every man’s wardrobe across the pond helping to anchor his entire wardrobe. Grey is the most neutral of colours, and is easily matched to almost every other colour in a man’s closet. More importantly, a simple wool grey trouser can easily be dressed up for cocktail attire, or dressed down for casual weekend wear.

Tis the season for endless cocktail parties. A full suit outside of the office seems a bit out of place for a cocktail event–lacking a sense of imagination or personal style, which can be better achieved through separates. Nothing looks sharper on a man than pairing a grey trouser with a pair of dark brown or oxblood brogues, a matching belt, and a crisp white button down shirt. Frame this ensemble with a well tailored double vented blazer for that truly polished look. When not wearing a tie there is no need to match your pocket square to your shirt, so have fun with your pocket square and add a vibrant colour or print which best reflects your mood. If you really want to add a little Savile Row to this look, match your socks to your pocket square.

For a dressed down approach, pair your grey trousers with a light blue button down shirt and a colourful jumper (wool sweater). Whether it is yellow, orange, purple, navy, or forest green, colour is a great way to personalize any look. Consider light or dark brown chelsea boots and venture away from those reliable black shoes. Men in Europe tend to avoid black shoes and wear brown shoes in their place. A rust, brown, camel or navy blue driving coat will really complete this look and elevate your fashion status to new heights. For real European flare, try the same driving coat in a diamond quilt fabric and everyone will think you just stepped off the plane from Milan.

Anna Wintour with Candy Pratts Price at Narciso Rodriguez for F/W 2008

It was at Narciso Rodriguez’s F/W 2008 show where I was first tested by Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. Anna wasn’t about to give me a much needed interview without making me earn it. Click below to watch my recent vlog on how one of my most stressful moments at Fashion File unfolded.

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Holt Renfrew's Natalie Lecompte & Brent Weisgerber, with Style.com's photo blogger Tommy Ton

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I began Toronto Fashion Week today by missing my very first show, non other than winner of Project Runway Canada Sunny Fong. Ok no excuses since it did start at 4pm, but I had to haul ass from uptown downtown to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) which is inconveniently located in the heart of bustling China Town (right in the thick of rush hour traffic). 10 minutes late grew into a half hour later while trying to find parking– I decided to call time of death at 4:30 pm while making my fourth trip around the gallery. Showing offsite from the tents definitely has its perks? Well not for anyone other than the designer, sponsors and  the family and friends of the designer who only have that one show to attend for the day. It did piss me off to miss Sunny’s collection, since he is more than just pyrotechnics or Canadian design tenure.

Later I decided to make an appearance at the annual Holt Renfrew Opening Night Launch Party . Typically a short and sweet soiree  hosted by Holt Renfrew’s Fashion Director Barbara Atkins, and FDCC President Robin Kay. Tonight however was more than just formidable speeches and crisp chardonnay, it was an actual party that got people in the mood to celebrate Canadian fashion. As I entered the third floor of the downtown Holt Renfrew Department store Whitney Houston’s latest dance track was in play with young and old alike caught enjoying its uplifting tune. Packed with good looking scenesters, heiress proportion socialites and fashion insiders, this was one party that did not disappoint. After two surprisingly tasteful and short speeches from both Barb and Robin (Robin’s shockingly precise and concise) a hot and well edited fashion show quickly ensued.

Pink Tartan, Greta Constantine, Jeremy Laing, Mickael Kale, and the genius Denis Gagnon all had their shining moments on the catwalk showcasing their latest offerings for spring summer 2010. Out front hundreds of people enjoyed the fashion and music unfolding onstage–I even caught the fashion Empress herself  the Hon. Hilary Weston stomping to the fashion beat, smile on face and a camera recording in hand. Backstage was a celebration of camaraderie  with designers working in harmony to ensure a successful event.

I took the liberty to video the fashion designers backstage celebrating, so you too can see just how much fun this evening really was.

Jeremy Laing with Model, wearing one of his creations

Kimberly Newport Mimran designer for Pink Tartan dancing backstage

Kirk Pickersgill half of the design duo from Greta Constantine

Mickael Kale saluting fashion

Model wearing a plunging number from Mickael Kale

Holt Renfrew's Marlo Szellos with Socialites Stacey Kimel and Vanessa Miedler Mulroney

Daria Werbowy

Attending the grand opening of The St Regis Room last night felt a bit like a Hollywood premiere. Red carpets lined the sidewalks at the back entrance of downtown’s Hudson Bay Co. department store –  guiding Toronto’s “who’s who” to see the much anticipated transformation of what was once their grandmother’s fashion destination.

The St Regis Room (better known to Torontonians as “The Room”) is a retail fashion institution which has brought top designer labels to Toronto’s high society women for over 70 years. In recent years, as high fashion relocated uptown to Bloor/Yorkville, this small salon in a dark, back corner of the Bay’s second floor (sadly) began to mirror its aging clientele.

Last night however, this grand dame got a facelift that left many speechless. As we entered the party, I couldn’t help but notice how the Room was visually sectioned off from the Bay’s more affordable areas by using countless walls of black felt. This segregation left me thinking: how will this luxurious space compliment its less lustrous community on the other side of the retail floor?

Impressively, the first section we passed through was completely dedicated to Canada’s very own Pink Tartan, where designer KImberly Newport Mimran stood smiling like a proud mother, graciously acknowledging her fortunate real estate. London based Canadian designer Erdem was not far off,  promoting his latest collection and upping the evening’s fashion cred – along with Supermodel Daria Werbowy. I also spotted other notable Canadian designers Jeremy Laing, Wayne Clark, Brian Bailey, and Juma enjoying champagne and remaining hopeful that their collections may too land in this expansive new space. And Expansive it is.

This once 5000 sq ft space has more than quadrupled to over 22 000 sq ft –  in a time where sales of high end designer clothes are struggling on a global level. With this expansion The Room would need to achieve unprecedented sales to remain profitable. In a department store where the average woman’s dress costs under $200.00, HBC will need to capture shares of an outside market in order to exist. In other words:  they are coming after the Holt Renfrew woman.

Similar to Holt Renfrew’s white modern aesthetic, The Room’s luxurious new space was designed by acclaimed design firm Yabu Pushelberg. I overheard one socialite suggest that it looked very much like Lane Crawford in Hong Kong (HBC’s newly appointed CEO Bonnie Brooks’ previous posting), only to then have a waiter turn to me and say “it sure looks a lot like Holt Renfrew if you ask me”….and that may be a good thing if the Bay wants the Holt’s customer to feel at home in their space.

Designers such as Ungaro, Balmain, Erdem, Hugo Boss, and Armani grace its floor, but the overall fashion-buy seems aspirational for even the iconic Room. How many Toronto socialites are going to pay upwards of $20,000.00 for one dress?

Speaking of Socialites, last night had no shortage of them. Stacey Kimel, Suzanne Rogers, Kelly Barnicke, Amoryn Engel and many more of the city’s affluent were there to support the very room where their mothers and grandmothers used to adorn themselves with sumptuous offerings. I had the chance to speak with Vonna Bitove who smiled and said  “…you know Adrian, I am the third generation in my family to shop here at The Room, and it is so exciting to see this transformation”. These woman will be key to the Room’s success, therefore pleasing them is top priority.

From a completely marketing perspective it struck me as odd that The Bay would undergo this massive renovation at their Queen St store instead of moving The Room altogether to their Bloor Street location–which happens to be located right in the heart Toronto’s high end shopping district. There is something completely sacred about respecting the historical space of The Room, however I wonder if nostalgia will be enough to motivate the new guard of fashionably affluent to travel that extra mile.

Yesterday’s much anticipated McQueen fashion show came as a huge disappointment to millions of his ticket holders who were denied access to their front row seats. Apparently, shortly before McQueen’s SS 2010 show was about to stream live on his website, Lady Gaga announced on twitter that her latest single would be released during his show. A major convergence of audiences that even the finest technology couldn’t support. Many disappointed fans (including myself) struggled to gain access to the show as their computers disappointingly only offered a blank screen.

Live streaming fashion shows are nothing new or groundbreaking, in fact they have become increasingly popular since yesteryear’s global economic meltdown. Their initial objective was intended to remedy the elaborate costs of staging a fashion show. A virtual show lends an almost in-the-flesh look at what the designer has to offer, displaying it to a broader audience at a fraction of the cost. In theory this is a pretty good idea, in practice it’s at best an expensive look book. What we seem to forget is that fashion shows are nothing more than trade shows necessary for industry insiders to view the latest products being offered. However, unlike selling other inanimate objects, the intangible feeling of a runway collection plays a significant role in its success. How do you convey this feeling via a virtual portal? Quite simply, you can’t. Since fashion is all about the moment, sitting in your pajamas thousands of miles away cannot replicate the energy created when, hair, make up, music, models, and invitees merge under one roof. Even the most respected fashion critics fall victim to the moment.

Except this season McQueen discovered how to effectively utilize virtual fashion while not disrupting the sacredness of a live runway show. This season McQueen decided to use his elaborate runway production as an opportunity to tap into a different sector–the pop culture one. Aside from his undeniable talent, it is McQueen’s notorious theatrics which have helped maintain his popularity over the years–and what a shame it would be to restrict such spectacular operas to only the royal fashion court. By partnering his latest collection with the debut of Lady Gaga’s latest single,  McQueen virtually tapped into a newer and younger demographic that otherwise could never gain access to his show. Branding himself to this younger audience is not only key to his longevity as a designer, but an incredible opportunity to gain unchartered sales. Something a single ad page in Vogue could never achieve.

What is most interesting, is that McQueen’s latest attempt to live stream his recent show is actually bigger than any marketing deploy concocted by the Gucci Corp. McQueen has quite possibly engineered a new platform for fashion events–the dawning of the live fashion show. More than simply a virtual “look book” intended for buyers and media, virtual fashion shows can now become like live sporting events tapping into different end user markets. In a world where newspapers and magazines are struggling to capture these same very eyeballs, the staging of live fashion events may very well be the antidote to failing magazine and newspaper subscriptions. And much like real live sporting events, where there are large audiences large advertising dollars follow (not a coincidence to see IMG’s logo placed on McQueen’s site during the download).

Where McQueen failed on a technical level to reach his anticipated audience, he triumphed in pioneering a new platform to disseminate fashion to the masses. A method I firmly believe will revolutionize the fashion world as we know it.

For those of us who spend each day submersed in fashion, we often find ourselves promoting creativity over the formalities of wearability. We tirelessly defend collections that often meet their demise at the front lines of retail stores. However, every once in awhile we stumble upon a talent whose artistry breathes hope into the evolution of fashion, and successfully appeals to women who crave such uniqueness.

Haider Ackermann is a name if you don’t already know you soon will. He is considered part of the second wave of Belgian designers–The first of which became famous in the 90’s for their unique and often dark esoteric designs. I recall attending his second collection in Paris where an early-in-attendance Cathy Horyn was asked to return at a later time because Haider had not yet completed his rehearsals. Just before the show I saw the the NY Time’s Editor sitting front row and asked her why she returned. She replied “I have been anticipating his work since last season”. With such grueling schedules during fashion week, most editors would have been off to the next show. Her commitment to return spoke volumes.

For those women who find themselves suffering clothing that lack imagination, individuality and spirit of strength, Ackermann may be your remedy. Haider effortlessly delivers on all of these counts while always maintaining the presence of femininity in each of his pieces. For SS 2010 Ackermann challenges his woman by designing a collection that to most may seem difficult to wear. His often dark collection was refreshingly lighter this spring adding steel blues and jewel tone yellows to the mix–however it was his volumes this season that seemed difficult, placed in areas that challenge even the most proportionally blessed woman.

Shoulder defining bolero’s gave way to more feminine cross gathered halters. Pounded silk fabrics were layered to create volume along the hip and mid sections, a technique of his that we have grown to love, but this season  seemed overindulgent. His Indian inspired sheath wrapped minis along with his trumpet paneled front split skirts may leave little to the imagination, but where they lack in coverage they make up for in beauty. His finale of gowns never disappoint with their bias hugging silhouettes, but covering one of your breasts with your hand at any party may be a bigger commitment that most are willing to make.

You can find Haider Ackermann’s latest collections at 119 Corbo.