Beaute tips for Women

As the festive season is upon us, wardrobes are refreshed with new clothes from scarf to saree. E-commerce has changed fashion-consumer behaviour drastically. Buying clothes is now a year-long activity as opposed to being festival-centric, as it used to be in India. Still, we are not immune to the festival discounts and the temptation to flaunt a new wardrobe.

The big fashion franchises roll out their carpet, and we shop off the rack, only to come out on the conveyor belt looking fashionably homogeneous. Each with Shakespearean bloodied hands that we cannot wash off easily. Fast fashion is bad. That is something most of us have accepted in theory. But sustainable choices end up being the responsibility of the other person as we continue to stuff our overflowing closets. And for the more guilt-prone consumers, fast fashion brands now have their own safe and sustainable options! Sustainability – what does this vague term of political correctness entail? Are fast fashion brands making “conscious” efforts towards change? Or are our answers in our roots?

So what is this big fuss against fast fashion? The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world. This basic need – clothing, has now become a 91.23 billion dollar fast fashion industry. How is it polluting? As per the 2019 World Bank report, this industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions. To paint a more vivid picture, that is more than all international flights and maritime shipping emissions combined. It is also accountable for 20% of waste-water production, globally. These numbers are not new nor is this conversation, yet our insatiable thirst for fashion is both quenched and propelled by this industry. Fast fashion is killing the natural conditions of this planet faster than it ought to be. But that is only half the picture of this beast.

Fast fashion has not only been harming the ecology but causing humanitarian concerns. The 2013 incident of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh is one such example that brought up the rotting mess of fast fashion to the surface – the working conditions of the sweatshops behind the bling and glamour of these brands. 1,134 people died and 2,500 were injured as an unsafe building caved in on the workers who were forced to work under precarious circumstances for peanuts.

Also read: Why Sustainable Fashion Is A Feminist Issue

Which brands were these workers working for? Benetton, Primark, Walmart and Mango are only four out of the 29 identified brands. A huge soup demands a respectable ladle. Soon followed the official signing of Bangladesh’s International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry by major international brands, including big names like H&M helming the queue.

H&M sells approximately three billion articles of clothing per year. Amongst the 40 countries that produce clothes for this brand, guess who is the first-bencher? Bangladesh. To win the race for sustainability they now have a “sustainability tab” that lets you check where your clothes were made. One wonders if there is a way to check on the living conditions of these workers through the magic eye of the big (brand) brother. This show of transparency can only do so much. Can such high production ever be conducted in a sustainable way? 3,781 litres of water for a pair of jeans. How many pairs do we own at a time? Sustainability in fashion means environmental protection, social justice, economic fairness and cultural validity. There are many fashion brands that are using the term to provide a guilt-free experience without really providing sufficient information about what ethical practices they are following.

One of the fundamental characteristics of fast fashion is high productivity in sample sizes. Fast fashion is fast because styles don’t last. Everything is dispensable at a moment’s notice. And each turnaround costs a hefty amount to our ecology. Slow fashion takes a u-turn from that industrial peak and looks back at our traditional practices. The aim is to take into consideration all aspects of the supply chain and deliver with the utmost respect to human beings, animals and the environment. The idea of more – abundance is a consumer bait that the fast fashion industry has manufactured. Slow fashion asks us to do exactly the opposite – slow down, notice the clothing we are choosing to buy or commission, pay attention to utility, aesthetics and everything in between and then invest.

The cheap fast fashion tropes make us feel like winners of a lottery. The design is market-oriented where the product becomes less important than the transaction. How many times have we caught ourselves buying an unnecessary t-shirt just because there was a sale or a skirt we liked on the window shop mannequin but never wore? Slow fashion is a behavioural change that asks a user to be more intentional in buying their clothes. It emphasises curation and customisation – making the design more user-oriented.

But is this a new concept or a new coinage? Slow fashion is very much part of our traditional practices as is circular fashion. Tailor-made clothes used to be the norm, especially for any valuable article of clothing, as were hand-me-downs and recycling art traditions. If we can replace mass production with mass customisation we can bring about the revolution that we have been on the brink of for the past decades.

Tailor-made clothes as we all know are time-consuming. And the instant-gratification-seeking babies that consumerism has produced cannot wait for that long. If we can train ourselves to grow up to be more patient we will not only be able to attribute better fees for the labour and effort that goes into making a single piece of clothing but also value it as an article thereafter. Would we throw out a piece of clothing if we had invested time and money in it?’ Customisation can train consumers to change their relationship with clothes in an industry where wastage is greater than production.

Companies running customisation supply chains also can solve the problem of overproducing as everything is made to order. Indian brands like CloudTailor or P N Rao are exploring this route, bringing the traditional slow fashion of customisation and eCommerce on the same platform. It will also be able to meet humanitarian needs as tailors or workers have better chances of getting paid fairer wages. But this model can only work long-term if customer behaviour can be changed and each of us is a capable changemaker.

In today’s many conversations around body image, it is important to note that fast fashion plays an important part in building these insecurities with sample-size fashion. Slow fashion takes into account the unique needs of the user. Customisation provides the space for a person to get clothes made according to their requirement and not (un)make themselves according to the need of the clothes. As we shove ourselves down a painfully tight pair of trousers that cost us cleaner air and water – what do we gain, save capitalist validation? The idea of getting the most value for money needs to be replaced with paying money for the right values. It holds true for every consumerist behaviour, but let us start with fashion; a change we can propel as individuals.Read more at:robes de soirée | short formal dresses

New York based designer Kobi Halperin loves women. He loves to design for them, bringing them joy and strength through his fashions. He also enjoys providing a touch of beauty into a world that is currently not so beautiful. These are just a few of the personal revelations that the Israeli-born designer shared in conversation with PaperCity during a recent midday presentation at Tootsies.

Halperin was accompanied by a brilliant collection of both his namesake label Kobi Halperin and his relatively new venture as creative director for Ungaro, reviving the French heritage label of Emanuel Ungaro.

“I just love the idea. For me Paris is always a source of inspiration,” Halperin says of his year-old partnership. “So when this opportunity came I thought it’s amazing because the truth is I’m in love with this woman that is basically representing Ungaro.

“Every time after a war or after something happens that is meaningful, there is a celebration of getting dressed again. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to bring back this brand in combination with being respectful to the heritage of the brand but brining myself into it also.

“It was the perfect opportunity to bring something new to the market . . . Ungaro is a brand that makes you smile.”

Halperin allowed that as the father of two girls and as a fashion designer it can sometimes seem difficult to justify designing beautiful clothes.

“So I really kind of took it to heart and I was really trying to understand what I do, why I do it and especially coming from Paris Fashion Week,” he says. “Here we are in Europe while there is so much suffering happening but still the Eiffel Tower is sparkling. So I thought about it a lot and I realized that we can actually bring some beauty to the world.”

That beauty was reflected in both collections displayed on the racks in Tootsies— Kobi Halperin a bit more casual, “but not in the LA way of casual,” and Ungaro more sophisticated. It boils down, Halperin points out, to how the subject feels after dressing.

Champagne flowed and the ladies swooned over the designs, many scooping up several pieces to take home.

“You stand proud. You feel good about yourself. It makes a difference,” Halperin says. “When you feel confidence and beautiful you are making everybody around you feel better. So I think it’s giving some power to what we do. So that’s the way I can justify what I do.

“I am working and designing for a woman who celebrates getting dressed every day. Bringing this energy and good spirits to the world which I think is meaningful in these days.”

Before launching his eponymous label seven years ago, Halperin had served as creative director of Elie Tahari and Kenneth Cole.Read more at:Formaldress au | white formal dresses

Heavy hitters from the music world also made waves in NYC during the week.

Lil Nas X took his opportunity to grab the spotlight, modeling during Coach's show and then performing at the Vogue World showcase. His bestie Jack Harlow also took to the stage on Friday at Bloomingdale and Harper’s Bazaar's event. Doja Cat appeared in some outrageous lewks at outings throughout the week, including sitting with pop star Madonna at Saturday's Marni show.

Tommy Hilfiger's runway return made a splash in the rain at the Skyline Drive-In movie theater in Brooklyn, as models Winnie Harlow, Ashley Graham, and Julia Fox reportedly strutted to tunes by Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, and Megan Thee Stallion. Seated front row were John Legend, Shawn Mendes, Kate Moss, Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, and her husband Travis Barker – who was pulled onto the runway and gave the audience a surprise drum set to close out the rain-soaked show.

Kravis made their main appearance later in the week at the High Line for the Boohoo x Kourtney Kardashian runway show, which experienced a power outage amid the showcase of the reality star's new sustainability-focused collection.

Ex-Kardashian hubby and fashion mogul Kanye "Ye" West didn't let this year's NYFW pass by without making his mark. The rapper reportedly hosted an impromptu party for his YEEZY line on Tuesday night promoting his YEEZY GAP SHDZ sunglasses, one of his recent over-the-top collaborations with Gap. It had some starry special guests too, including comedian Chris Rock.Read more at:white formal dresses | formal dresses melbourne

Ecriture de l'article en cours.

For its September 2022 “Icons” issue, Harper’s Bazaar announced a celebrity-filled roster of cover stars featuring public figures whom the magazine describes as “a new generation of artists, athletes and activists redefining what it means to make an impact.” In total, 21 people all under the age of 30 are included in the lineup, four of whom snagged the cover spots for the US print edition: Hailey Bieber, Amanda Gorman, Bad Bunny, and Florence Pugh.

All were shot by photographer John Edmonds, and Samira Nasr styled Bieber in a suit from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello and a Fleur du Mal bra. Gorman was styled by Yashua Simmons and wore a pink Chanel skirt suit. Pugh, styled by Kelly-Ann Hughes, wore a mesh Dior dress and briefs. Bad Bunny was outfitted in a jacket, a shirt, a couture skirt, and boots from Louis Vuitton. All four wore Tiffany & Co. jewelry.

“The late-millennial/early-Gen Z crew sometimes gets a bad rap,” said Nasr, the magazine’s editor in chief, in a press release sent out on Tuesday. “They are constantly accused of being entitled, impatient, and unwilling to pay their dues the way older generations did to earn their place in the world. But what we’ve all come to realise – and they innately understand – is that everyone deserves a place in the world. They’re ambitious in a different way: They see the preciousness in opportunities and expect change in more immediate ways – and maybe that’s a good thing.”

The “Icons” issue also includes Jack Harlow, Qualeasha Wood, Oscar Yi Hou, Asha Grant, Tomi Adeyemi, Giveon, Saweetie, Emma Chamberlain, Evan Mock, Moses Sumney, Ella Emhoff, Mika Schneider, Indya Moore, Xiye Bastida, Jadé Fadojutimi, Ziwe, and Nathan Chen. Ahead, get glimpses of all the cover stars, and you can read the full stories online, as well as in the September ’22 issue, which is available on newsstands now.Read more at:formal dresses for women | long formal dresses

Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor Khan and superstar Aamir Khan will be seen as the next guest in filmmaker Karan Johar's popular tongue-in-cheek show 'Koffee With Karan'.

Raising the laughter quotient in the new episode, Aamir and Kareena, who will be seen together in the upcoming film 'Laal Singh Chaddha' will be seen opening up and letting their funny side out.

In the latest promo, Karan is seen asking Kareena: "Quality sex after babies myth or reality?"

Kareena funnily gives it back and says: "You wouldn't know."

Karan then replies: "My mother is watching this show and you all are talking badly about my sex life"

To which, pat comes a cheeky reply from Aamir: "Your mother doesn't mind you talking about other people's sex life".

In a segment, Aamir asks Kareena what do you tolerate about me that you wouldn't tolerate in others.

Kareena says: "Taking 100-200 days (to make a film) - Akshay Kumar finishes in 30 days."

Aamir then asks Kareena to rate his fashion sense, to which the actress channels her inner iconic character Poo from 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' and says: "Minus".

Shocked by the response, Aamir funnily says: "Whenever you do your show, someone or the other cries".

'Koffee with Karan' Season 7 streams exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar.Read more at:pink formal dresses | green formal dresses

US singer and actress Sofia Carson paid tribute to her new film “Purple Hearts” on the red carpet by flaunting a deep purple gown by Lebanese couturier Elie Saab at the movie’s premiere.

The actress, who stars in the Netflix film, attended the premiere at The Bay Theater in Pacific Palisades, California, wearing a gown from Saab’s Fall 2022 collection.

The dress boasted a tightly pleated purple skirt, along with a floral-embellished bodice with a statement high collar in black.

The 68-look ready-to-wear collection from which the gown hails was unveiled in Paris in March and was “about strong women, strong characters, a little rock ‘n’ roll,” the designer told Vogue US at the time.

It’s only fitting then that the dress was shown off by singer and actress Carson, who is signed to Hollywood Records and has a number of singles under her belt.

The multi-hyphenate most recently starred in Netflix’s “Purple Hearts,” which tells the story of an aspiring singer-songwriter and a soldier who fall in love against all odds.

In spite of their many differences, protagonist Cassie, a struggling singer-songwriter, and Luke, a troubled Marine, agree to marry solely for military benefits in the film — but when tragedy strikes, the line between real and pretend begins to blur.

“My purple heart is full. To infinity and beyond,” Carson posted on Instagram on Saturday, adding a heartfelt note to director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum that read: “Five years ago, we started this journey together. Five years of dreaming, believing in, fighting for and creating our world of ‘Purple Hearts,’ hand in hand every step of the way. My heart thanks you, forever. We’ve been dreaming of this night for five years…My Liz, we did it. And I cannot wait for the world to see the magic you captured.”

Besides dressing Hollywood stars on the red carpet, Saab has had a stellar month and recently unveiled his first-ever menswear collection at Paris Haute Couture Week in early July.

The men’s collection was majestic and featured capes and royal velvet suits that blended smoothly with the women’s line. The designer stayed true to his style and ensured the menswear offering was equally opulent with its embroidery and luxurious embellishments.

Inspired by the pearlescent sheen of twilight, the designer’s new couture collection was marked by shades of vermillion, pink, metallic gold and deep blue, mirroring the sky as the sun makes its hazy descent for the day. Showcased in Paris’s Le Carreau du Temple, the gowns competed with the dramatic surroundings and came out on top with their geometric embellishments, feathers, shimmering beads, crystals, gemstones and sequins.Read more at:long formal dresses online australia | formal dresses online shopping

Banna Nega and Shelby Macklin are the it-girl-founders of Glazed NYC.

At surface level, their brand is a sophisticated clothing and accessory studio, but there's much more to the story underneath.

This Black female-founded business looks to mesh culture, art, and fashion -- as well as be a vehicle to give clients the ability to be their own designer.

The vision started to form during a harsh 2015 winter storm. Nega and Macklin found it burdensome to step out and look chic in the almost subzero temperatures and inclement weather. They knew there had to be some way to fashionably wear winter apparel.

That day, the idea for Glazed was born.

The duo began with creating ski masks and cold weather accessories, stemming from the “we have nothing cute to wear in this weather” focus. They continued expanding until they had the opportunity to move into their own space: Glazed Studio.

The physical studio gave Nega and Macklin area to expand their creative horizons. Once just making accessories, they decided it was time to level up their brand.

Glazed Studio is quickly gaining a reputation as a fashion oasis and one of the only ateliers where your clothes are transformed and designed into a piece made just for you, by you.

Nega and Macklin understand that not everyone wants to wear what other people are wearing. By letting their clients create a one-of-a-kind piece — like having their designers hand sew a dress into a skirt set — they set themselves apart from the fast fashion empires that have taken over the industry.

News 4 New York got the chance to talk to Nega and Macklin about their journey and what sets Glazed apart from the rest.

Liz: Tell me about Glazed. How and when it began, who created it, what makes it unique?

Macklin: Sure, so Banna [Nega] and I had created it together back in December 2015. We actually lived together at this time. There was a huge snowstorm in New York, and it was literally less than 5 degrees outside, and we were still outside trying to go out one night, and I think I got the idea of, 'why is there nothing cute to wear right now?' I understand it’s freezing, but it shouldn’t be this hard to look cute and go out. So that’s where the whole concept of Glazed came from.

It’s basically rooted in bridging the gap between function and glamor. So, we started off making ski masks, it was all like cold weather accessories, then we kind of moved into just a focus of specifically headwear, like berets, and then we’ve expanded into bucket hats, scarves, and just like all accessories. Then, we got the opportunity this year to move into our own space, which is now Glazed Studio, and then that's where we were like instead of like creating collections, why don’t we create with our community?

What inspired the name Glazed?

Macklin: The name? It’s kind of like the topping.

Like the cherry on top?

Macklin: Yeah, exactly!

Nega: Yes! We had a whole collection called “Cherry on Top.”

What would you say a consult looks like? Or a design day?

Macklin: So basically, right now it’s been super relaxed, which we love. Our client will just come in and we usually talk for the first 10-15 minutes about how their day was, how their week is going, how they’re doing and if they want something to drink. It’s very relaxed. We have music on in the studio, we have our Glazed TV visuals, and, you know, the energy of Myrtle Broadway. Then, we start to get into what they’re looking to have done, which is really exciting because some people will bring a huge bag of clothing that they want to rework and then others will just want their pants tailored. Especially for the larger orders, it’s so fun. The client will be like, 'I have these jeans I’m seeing as a different pair of pants, and I’m seeing this top as a skirt,' and then we just brainstorm for the next hour, hour and a half. We’re coming up with completely original designs, we’re getting their measurements, we’re letting them know 'OK, so this piece is going to take this much time,' and we’re giving them a quote of how much everything will be within the next day, so there’s a clear expectation of when [they'll] get everything back and how much it’ll be. It’s just a lot of fun, [and] we haven’t had one appointment that was low energy. It’s a really fun experience.

How long does it take for a typical piece to be made?

Macklin: We’re saying 15 to 30 business days, but we can turn around quicker, like two weeks is the usual. But we like to give the extra padding of 30, depending on how intricate the design is. Our designers are extremely advanced. [Sometimes] they’re using couture level seams and sewing. It’s not all done on the machine, there’s a lot of handwork, and a lot of repairing, but typically 2 to 4 weeks.

Do you do any of the hands-on working of the pieces, or do you send it all off?

Macklin: Yeah, it’s all being sent off. We have a team of about 3-4 designers right now, who are either working in studio doing the consultation, focusing on pattern-making, focusing on creating the pieces, or just doing alterations. Everyone kind of has their own lane. But right now, we’re not sewing. I was taking classes last year but I’m not nearly good enough to tackle people’s clothing.

On your website you write: “Glazed NYC is a multidisciplinary studio excavating Black History within the realms of fashion, film, and music while utilizing design as a vehicle for storytelling and community building.” Tell me more about that. How does Glazed excavate Black history? How do your designs tell a story?

Nega: Well, I think telling history through our lens has been our way of connecting the past to the present. Having that connection is important so that we can create a better future ultimately together and really be more open about what has influenced us and our ethos, our style, and every aspect of it. Our collections have historically been centered around this history, like naming the actual pieces after specifically Black women who have paved the way for us in the creative spaces. It's also just for us to be able to express ourselves creatively at the level that we do and to perpetuate that energy and pass that information forward, so that these figures aren’t hidden and really, you know, giving them their flowers.

For example, we had a studio muse series where we got really specific about what we’re doing – which is Glazed Studio and having an atelier – and we went into a deep dive of research at the library, at bookstores, obviously online as well, really excavating the history of Black ateliers and Black women and men who had their own studios and what their experiences were and a lot of them had amazing accomplishments. Their stories were so sad too because they experienced a lot of racism and monetary issues as well. So, I think it’s important to learn these stories, not only to pay homage but to learn from what challenges they faced and how we can do better. It’s so much more than representation, you know? We really want to dig into their stories and be open about the influence that we’ve received from them.

Glazed started before the pandemic. How has the pandemic affected you, your creations, turnaround time, and communicating with your clients overall?

Nega: I think during the pandemic it really offered space for us to get into our inspiration about the people and the movements that we wanted to pay homage to and that really influenced us. So, we partnered with Locally Grown, which is an amazing media platform, and we had a Glazed TV channel where we put in all of our information, interviews that have inspired us, musical performances, dance performance, films, and a Glazed movie of the week.

Could you take me through the process of creating a piece or what you go through to design something for a client?

Macklin: It really depends, so now that we’re not really creating a collection, each one is specific to what the client is looking for.

So, say it’s just an alteration for pants. The client would come in, and we have a space in the studio where they can actually put on the pants, like a dressing area. They can try on the pants, show us where it’s not hitting, and in studio we’ll clip where it needs to be adjusted. There’s been times where we’ve [said], 'Wouldn’t it be cool with your jeans, instead of ending at the same length, maybe this side extends, and this side is shorter?' We create – like even down to the alterations – something new and different for this pair of pants, and we’ll clip it on the spot and then we give them a mock-up of what the pants would look like. And that’s the same for if they wanted to do a completely new item. Once they confirm it, it will go into production. And then it’s the same for reconstruction. If someone gives us a dress, they can turn the dress into a skirt.

Every appointment is different, but we follow the same protocol of having them okay it first, making sure each person sees exactly what the design will look like, and giving them a quote upfront about the cost. This way, there’s no surprises because we like to have as much transparency as possible so they’re understanding that it’s not going to be the same as just going out and shopping. You’re creating this from scratch.

What were both of your favorite pieces you’ve ever designed for Glazed?

Macklin: I think it’s so hard because there’s been so many. I have to give a disclaimer because there’s been a lot that I love but right now I would say it’s the Bailey bucket hat. It’s our bucket hat that has ruching all around it at the top. I just find it extremely classic, especially the black satin version. It’s easy to wear, you can wear it day or night, and it’s perfect for a bad hair day. I have worn it for that. I’ve worn out my Bailey bucket and the girls and our clients love the hat so that’s my favorite.

Nega: I had a moment – I’m very family-oriented and just kind of obsessed with my parents and my family – when this woman brought in her grandma’s dress, which was like this gorgeous silk that was made in India, like a beautiful, printed dress, but it just wasn’t her style. She brought it in and [said], 'I don’t really know what to do with this,' and we decided to make it into a spaghetti strap dress that she could wear to a wedding she was going to. The process was amazing because it was one of our first clients and it was really cool to see our design team step up to the plate. It was a very intricate piece and so delicate, but the designers really loved the challenge. We had a fitting with her in between the piece being done and just seeing the process as well as seeing her really happy at the end of it was honestly so beautiful. That’s my favorite piece that we’ve probably ever done.

Did you plan on doing design when you were younger? Did you go to school for design?

Macklin: I’ve always loved fashion design and always knew that I would do something with fashion. I tried sewing in 7th grade and I wasn’t patient, so unfortunately, I stopped. Then once it came time to go to school, I was like okay let me do fashion merchandising because I don’t have the patience for sewing, but I do want to be involved in fashion. So, I did study fashion merchandising, and now that we have the studio and even before we had [it], I always regretted not being consistent with it when I was younger because now, I’d do anything to just have all the skills to be able to sew. I was taking some sewing courses during quarantine a little bit and now I’m just learning everything at the studio which is such a blessing.

Nega: I went to school for fashion marketing actually and I was the President of DECA [a student organization for future leaders and entrepreneurs] at my high school. DECA was like my thing in high school, and it was funny because I felt like that was the only thing I was really good at. I did sports and other things, but it was just something that I felt naturally good at. I went to LIM [College] for fashion marketing and that’s where I met Shelby in an entrepreneurship class, funny enough. So, my mom’s dad started a factory in the 60s in Eritrea [East Africa] where my parents are from and they made logos, patches, uniforms, for all different people in Eritrea. I grew up going there in the summers and hanging out with my grandpa and looking at fashion books, helping them with orders... so I got really into the business side of it being there in my childhood.

I wanted to be a fashion designer, but then I realized I couldn’t draw, and I couldn’t sew. I was like, 'You know what? I just want to be like my grandpa and do something that’s more behind the scenes.' I’ve always felt more comfortable like that.

What are your goals for Glazed? What’s next and what goals have you already reached?

Macklin: Us having the studio is probably the biggest goal that we’ve reached as of late. We’ve talked about having our own space since we started Glazed so this has been so amazing to see come to life because our friends helped us create it and we threw a huge launch party that so many people showed up to. It was a legendary party. We’ve got so much support and we’ve had so many appointments since then so that’s definitely our first big accomplishment.

In the future we would love to just expand on what we have already, [by] having a larger version of Glazed studio but more of like a community space where there can be co-working space and a library. I think people use our Instagram now as a resource for inspiration, but we want to have a physical space inspired by our book collection, our visuals that we’re doing, and then we can also see a garden in the back where people can garden together and create together. We see a stage where people can have performances, just like a whole space of inspiration and design and then upstairs would be the atelier with the design studio. So that’s the big goal, to have a way bigger space where we can just offer so much more.Read more at:formal dress | formal dress shops

Nearly 40 years after it was first released, Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” has become the hottest song of the summer. Playing a prominent role in the dark new series of Stranger Things, the offbeat ballad has become a global hit, as endless streams by a new generation of Bush fans propelled it to the top of the UK charts. First appearing on Bush’s 1985 album Hounds of Love, the track is a rallying cry for extreme empathy that explores what could be achieved if two lovers swapped places to understand one another better – themes which feel just as timely and pertinent as they did back then.

Despite her fame, Kate Bush has managed that rare thing as a mainstream musician – retaining a cult-like aura that still makes listeners feel like insiders sharing a secret. To those in the know, this appreciation extends far beyond the music. A great foreshadower of the slick pop package expected today, Bush’s work has always been led by an understanding that a great singer uses all her available tools. From taking lessons with David Bowie’s dance teacher Lindsay Kemp to devising music videos that cover every genre from sci-fi to macabre fairytale, Bush’s vision was, and is, multi-faceted. Clothes have played an integral part in this creative odyssey, cementing Bush as an idiosyncratic fashion icon in the process.

Here, we look back at the way the musician has utilised fashion throughout her career, and her subsequent influence on the way we dress.

KATE’S KEY LOOKS

Let’s reverse to the beginning. Bush burst into the limelight in 1978 with her debut album The Kick Inside. She was just 19. The lead single “Wuthering Heights” remains one of her best known to this day, its high-pitched, broken-hearted register still a favourite among brave karaoke-goers. Two separate music videos released to accompany the Emily Brontë-inspired track featured Bush fluttering around a field and a stage in flowing gowns: one red, one white. Often, this is the Kate Bush we still imagine, all big hair and ethereal seventies regalia.

Away from her videos, Bush was frequently pictured wearing rustic knits, silk blouses, waistcoats, colourful tights, thigh high-boots, and a further succession of diaphanous dresses. Her style suggested not only hippyish ease but a particularly English kind of eclecticism: all thin fabrics and big woolly socks. She wasn’t afraid of high fashion drama either. A series of photos of her taken in the late ‘70s by Claude Vanheye see her in various jewel-coloured Fong Leng pieces, with one ritzy yellow number worn to walk a leashed crocodile.

The needs of dance also influenced Bush’s love of glittery bodysuits and tight lycra – all the better to move in. Her 1979 show The Tour of Life was a heavily costumed affair, featuring outfits including a magician’s top hat and tails, a veil, wings, leotards, and WWII army attire. Always ahead of the game, she was also the first singer to perform with a wireless microphone headset, her stage sound engineer Martin Fisher devising it from a coat hanger.

During those early years, Bush was prodigious. The Kick Inside and Lionheart were both released in 1978, Never Forever came in 1980 (featuring a brilliant futuristic look complete with chainmail bikini for “Babooshka”), and The Dreaming in 1982. The latter, which marked her most experimental work to date, received lukewarm reception but has since been recognised as a classic. Bush then stormed back onto the charts in 1985 with Hounds of Love.

Forever a shapeshifter, across the course of the album’s music videos and shoots Bush fashioned herself into a small boy complete with knitted jerkin for “Cloudbusting”, an overcoat-clad dancer for “Hounds of Love”, and an Ophelia-style figure in a life jacket framed by flowers for the album’s B-side telling the story of a slowly drowning woman. For “Running Up That Hill” she opted for grey leotards and hakama – draped Japanese trousers – ideal for the video’s soft purple light as she and fellow dancer Michael Hervieu (dressed identically) grappled together in a series of motions that rolled between intimacy and distance.

A LASTING INFLUENCE

To some degree, it’s hard to write about Kate Bush’s ‘style’, because so much of it exists in service to her music. Take her 1993 album The Red Shoes. There it’s all about the scarlet ballet slippers, used to reference Powell & Pressberger’s 1948 film of the same name – itself nodding to Hans Christian Andersen’s gruesome tale of a girl cursed to dance forever. For Bush, clothing is both kinetic and character-forming. It frees or accentuates the body. It allows the wearer to play role after role. Often, her vision has extended beyond the merely human. In her promotional images you can find her dressed as both a bat and a lion.

This exhilarating malleability has made the singer a firm favourite in the fashion world. Designers including Kim Jones, Phoebe Philo, Clare Waight Keller, Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Luella Bartley, and Craig Green have lined up to declare their love for the grand witch-queen of pop. The latter recently described his first encounter with her work aged 13 to AnOther, saying “I was spending a lot of time alone in my bedroom, working, and I started listening to her over and over… I love that she can find music in anything – from mother-and-son love, to pigeons and snowflakes.”

There is a narrative that exists in the fashion world – that of the slightly awkward kid who spends their adolescence sketching in their room and grows up to create clothing that fulfils their hunger for beauty and fantasy. No wonder Bush appeals to that cohort. It’s one of the reasons why she’s so beloved. Yes, there’s the emotional precision of her lyrics and the expansive reach of her sounds. Yes, there’s that fantastic willingness to be intelligent and daring and strange. But there’s also an implicit suggestion about the galloping power of the imagination, particularly when combined with an outsider-ish sensibility that leaves you dreaming about literary ghosts or the merits of the mathematical symbol Pi.

That’s why her fashion choices are so memorable too. It’s not just their ethereality or eccentricity, but the stories they tell. Designers love to throw around vague statements about creativity, but in someone like Kate Bush you see the full force of an active, searching mind – and an understanding of what the dressing up box can do. Really, it’s a very simple fashion philosophy. To become someone new, all you need is a costume change.Read more at:purple party dresses | robe de soirée rose

On Friday, Naomi Campbell, after over four decades in the arts, has earned an honorary PhD from London’s University of the Creative Arts for her work in fashion.

Though she adorned a cap on the special day, Dr. Campbell has worn many hats since arriving on the world stage. She’s been a supermodel, actor, activist, singer and businesswoman and most recently, a mother.

Dr. Naomi Campbell is a cover model like no other

With her natural hair blown out while holding her baby on Vogue’s cover, Campbell unabashedly promotes Black motherhood and lives what she speaks. Drawing from her own experiences in the fashion world, Campbell was vocal during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. In an interview with Reuters that year, she expressed hope that “change” was, at last, coming as brands made promises to better recognize and value Black lives. This included hiring more Black talent “as designers, stylists and make-up artists,” as well as in editorial and executive roles.

Naomi Campbell advocates for Black models, though she wishes she’d done more sooner.

Dr. Campbell has modeled in campaigns for labels like Versace, Givenchy and Calvin Klein. The “Empire” actor has also walked in runway shows for brands like Alaïa, Valentino, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs. Though she’s rolled with the heavy hitters of fashion for years, she hasn’t let the bright lights blind her from the realities of racism and discrimination.

“When I was younger, I encountered this same issue. I would be backstage at shows and there would be stylists who didn’t have any experience working with Black models,” she told Teen Vogue in a 2016 interview. “It’s disappointing to hear that models of color are still encountering these same issues all these years later.”

Campbell uses her platforms for good

Dr. Campbell recently spoke with the BBC, adding: “I’ve always spoken because it’s what my experience is and I am allowed to speak of my experience and what I’ve gone through, and how I feel, and how I’m going to deal with it, fair enough, if I’m going to accept it or not. And I didn’t accept it then and I won’t accept it now.”

She continued, “And they always tried to shut me up, to be honest, in many different ways. [They said I was] difficult. Okay. But the people who knew me, knew that’s not who I was.”

At the commencement ceremony, she remarked, “Never let anyone change the way you feel, change the course of what you and your vision and what you want for yourself.”

Campbell also noted how she was raised by a group of “very strong women,” including her mom, sisters and grandmother, as well as “three Ds” for success: dedication, determination and drive.Read more at:navy formal dress | dark green formal dress australia