Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations

While the Met gala exhibition has come and gone, the book is one worth keeping for years to come. The exhibit, conceived by Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton as a series of imaginary conversations between designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Mucci Prada, focuses on the similarities and differences between two Italian designers, known best for their use of unorthodox materials, unexpected colors, imaginative details and fresh prints.

Both women described as feminists with a disdain for conformity, are represented through personal quotes which are used to create conversations between the designers, read in small inserts within the book between imagery of their designs.  The conversations focus on chic in various manifestations (hard, ugly, naïf) and the body as carrier of narratives (exotic body, classical body, surreal body and waist up/waist down). Creating a window into the ideas of the designers, one most interesting difference between the women is found in their opinions of fashion design as a form of art. Schiaparelli being pro and Prada con.

Among the conversations of great designers of different eras the real treasure comes from the over 200 vintage and newly photographed images that bring fashion history to life. Not only does this book present the progression of complimentary female designers, its imagery and fashion excellence make it truly a work of art (although Mucci Prada may disagree). 

My Statement Pieces: Bianca 

Maxstudio model Bianca shares her favorite looks from the Maxstudio/Leon Max Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection.

Cocktail Hour: indigo asymmetrical cocktail dress

Trendy Daytime: fur vest

Weekend Shopping: swing wool melange coat

Black Tie: chiffon and lace dress

Shop the Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection

Editor’s Picks: Deep Kailey

Deep Kailey, Fashion Director at Tatler Magazine, shares her favorite looks from the Autumn/Winter 2012 Leon Max Collection.

Cool fall nights are complete with the metallic jacquard cape, a chic cocktail cover-up. Pair with a sheer blouse and trousers for modern edgy look. A fur vest is the ultimate statement piece. Ideal for upcoming holiday parties, it adds glamour to every look and pairs easily with a pair of trousers or your favorite dress. For chilly afternoons a wool cape with leather pants makes the ideal pairing. Finish with a pair of booties for the ultimate cold-weather look.

Shop the Fall Collection

London Fashion Week City Guide

In celebration of the start of London Fashion Week we asked industry locals, including model Katia Elizarova, actress Margo Stilley, and columnist Richard Dennen, to share some of their favorite London hotspots. From must-visit restaurants and nightclubs to hotels and museums we have the entire week covered.

Follow this guide to ensure a first class London experience complete with all of the fashion, eats, drinks and comforts that a fashion gal needs.

New York Fashion Week: The Parties

It was all about old-school uptown Swan glamour when FIT’s couture council honoured Oscar de la Renta. The man’s clearly still got IT though. The Bush sisters turned up, as did SJP, Nada Swarovski as well as his great fashion contempories, Donna Karan and Diane von Furstenburg. There’s no stopping those silver surfers.  

As if not to be out done by the golden oldies it was a far younger set when the Proenza Schouler boys were opening their Madison Avenue store, the dinner was thrown at a private apartment resplendent with a first class art collection and a first class crowd; although it was debatable which was more interesting with all those IT girls like Olympia Scarry and actresses Kate Bosworth and Elizabeth Olsen with which to feast the eye. It wasn’t just for the spring chicken though, super-stylist Rachel Zoe got a look it too.

Karlie Kloss kept things beautiful at the Jason Wu après-party but if that was great then French editrix Carine Roitfeld’s party at the Frick was a ‘moment’. She was launching her new book, CR Fashion Book, and the crowd was premier cru, made up of a model pack including a repeat performance from Kloss, as well as Karen Elson, Bar Refaeli as well as a tryptich of designers, Wang, Tisci and Altuzarra. The Frick party was a mini Met Ball, the sort of stuff that fashion week wet dreams are made of. 

The Vreeland documentary premiere was the intellectual moment of the week. Made by a Vreeland a couple of gens down from the legendary Vogue editor, it was no doubt what she would have described as having ‘pizzaz.’ But it was Marc Jacobs’ afterparty that closed off things roundly. How clever to hire out the WASPy environs of the New York Yacht Club and fill it to the brim with the most fabulous of things. The Strokes dj’d and when actress Rose Byrne walked in she cried, “I feel like I’ve arrived!” And in more ways that one she had. 

Contributing Editor: Richard Dennen

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Behind the Scenes: LINLEY & Maxstudio

David LINLEY recently shot the Holiday gift brochure at the English home of Leon Max featuring the Leon Max/Maxstudio Collection. The two brands converged to represent the epitome of British lifestyle. The brochure will be released in October, and we have a glimpse of “behind the scenes.” In the statement below LINLEY explains why they felt Maxstudio was the perfect partner for their shoot:

‘LINLEY was thrilled to shoot their most recent Gifts and Accessories Brochure in the elegant surroundings of Easton Neston owned by fashion designer Leon Max. One of the most beautiful houses in Great Britain, the refined architecture, immaculately restored interior and splendid grounds provided the ideal setting for a brand which prides itself on superlative quality and quintessential British style. We were also delighted to work with clothing from the Leon Max  Collection. The Leon Max range projects an elegance and sophistication which complements the LINLEY brand and ethos.’

Shop the Fall/Winter 2012 Collection

Campaign Photographer Torkil Gudnason Presents Electric Blossom

Edelman Arts presents a fragrant bouquet of ‘Electric Blossoms,” by Torkil Gudnason. The exhibit will be on view from September 11 - October 27 with an opening reception September 11, 6-10pm.

Torkil Gudnason has a successful commercial career behing him being a leader in beauty, fashion and still life photography. He has shot Maxstudio / Leon Max campaigns and his work has appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Surface and Allure. 

His inspiration to work with flowers came from his childhood in Denmark, seeing long cold winters followed by spring filled with flowers and colors. “It felt like an explosion,” he remembers, “an enormous burst of energy.”

Torkil works with sophisticated studio lighting techniques with the flowers to “translate them into my fantasy world.” His extraordinay eye and incandescent imagination allow us to experiene the crazy power, sensuousness, energy and strength that flowers exert.

Burning Man: Part 2

by Margo Stilley

Sitting down to write what my experience at Burning Man this year is daunting… It usually takes weeks to put into perspective what happens in the desert and the rest of the year to put into practice everything that you’ve learned.  

Leaving home without my factor 100 sunscreen, a litre of water, goggles and dust mask and straw hat would have been a mistake. But the addition of the neon pom poms (which I picked up amidst the craftiest desperate housewives of Los Angeles County at my local arts and craft store earning me the nickname The Polka Dot Princess) were my masterpiece. I chose to hit The Playa this year not with the friends that I arrived with, but with the dusty strangers that make up Black Rock City or ‘my new friends’ as my newly excavated inner hippy would rather call them.  

There was something about enjoying the art exhibitions, talks and dance parties without the expectation of the future or revelations from the past that spoke to me this year and kept me floating from one camp to another making new faces familiar ones.  

In order to really squeeze everything you can from Burning Man you really just have to follow one rule, if you see it and it looks cool then it probably is so go and look at it!  Ask questions about what it means and where it’s from and enjoy yourself.  This can take a while to implement but once you do, inevitably that thing that was so mesmerizing a few moments ago will be beside another thing as equally beguiling.  This can mean that the original point of interest that you were heading for can take a couple of days to get to, but the journey along the way is where the essence of the week lies and inevitably leads you back into your camp dusty and exhausted with stories that start like “Did you see the guy laying in the fish tank giving out watermelon sno cones??”

Unfortunately, ‘re-entry’  into the real world after relearning to be curious and childlike can sometimes be harsh.  

When we exited Black Rock City into the depths of the far West of Nevada, I found tears welling up in my eyes. I missed the free quinoa soup from our next door camp and the cyber techno that I never listen to outside of Burning Man.  

After an experience that should have left me exhausted, I have the energy of a teenager at the mall without her parents for the first time. I’ve been out of the desert for three days now and already I’ve talked to my neighbors for the first time, learned the name of my local gas station attendant who I’ve been seeing for about the same amount of time and proactively cleaned out my closets and kitchen cupboards.  If there is something that I see that needs to be done, I’ve done it and I’ve done it with a smile on my face.  

New York Fashion Week City Guide from the Fashion Elite

In celebration of the start of New York Fashion Week we asked fashion hard hitters to share the go-to places during fashion week to grab a drink, get glamorous for fashion shows and after parties, grab a bite between the two and where to get a massage when it is all said and done.

Follow this guide to the city, straight from the fashion source, to guarantee a fashion week complete with all the glamour New York has to offer.

A Model’s Styling Tips for NYFW: Danica

Maxstudio model Danica shares her favorite looks for New York Fashion Week from the Fall 2012 Leon Max/Maxstudio Collection.

For a street style day look it’s a double breasted jacket with black trousers and short boots. A structured jacket with hints of the fashion favorite military trend is perfect for an afternoon prepping for shows.

A blush blazer and belted dress are a complete and feminine look for a long day of shows and networking. Finish with a loafer pump for a womanly sophistication that’s influenced by the boys.

Quick change for dinner with fashion folk into a printed chiffon long sleeve dress that hugs all the right curves and is a comfortable transition between the tents and the parties.

The LBD is the perfect after-party look to finish off the day. The pleated sleeve adds a bit of edge while being tailored to perfection. Finish with a peep toe mary jane pump for a classic sophistication.

SHOP THE FALL 2012 COLLECTION