A sneak peek of Marni's Summer 2013 capsule collection, entitled SATURDAY MORNING (sounds very Ivana Helsinki, right?) is pretty cute, every summery, fun and light. Cute. ♡
scarves for the marni summer 2013 capsule collection.
The other day I got into what felt like a huge debate with a fellow blogger and friend (though she was pissed) about this new "menswear collection" for Opening Ceremony that Yoko Ono designed. This said blogger ripped it a new one, liking Yoko to Kim Kardashian (as in celebrities have no business designing) and the sketches that Yoko had for the line as sucking or "they suck". I didn't understand the rant at all. And I had a bit more to say because I actually did a huge story/interview and fashion shoot with Yoko Ono for Oyster magazine when I was an editor there. I spent the entire day overseeing the shoot with Marc Baptiste and I got to hang out with her alone for an hour or so (she kicked everyone out of the studio when it was time to do the interview). I found her to be amazing. Also, I love her as an artist. In addition, I also knew Carol and Umberto from Opening Ceremony, covering their store opening back when it was just a baby and frequently seeing them at events or attending their private parties on Crosby Street in New York, which always had the best designers, artists, magazine kids and all the Downtown people I love. They were my favorite parties really.
little sketches from yoko and john's wedding night in 1969...a gift from her to him.
At the time I had not seen nor read anything about this supposed menswear line, except for said blogger's post. But late last night, I read the Associated Press story on it and I just could not believe how worked up she had gotten. First of all, this isn't a real or "real" menswear line. It's more like an art collection. Anyone who sees it and knows anything about Yoko and OC would know that. Second, these sketches that she said "sucked" were actually these cute little doodles that Yoko had done for her new husband (John Lennon) and given to him on the night of their wedding in 1969 (1969 people!). They're CLEARLY a little inside joke about their sexual attraction and you can see how hot she was for her new hubby. I mean, they're hilarious. But when you think she drew them for him on their wedding night, they're really sweet (and still funny, too). You know they were probably shacked up having the greatest honeymoon ever. These aren't serious design illustrations at all. Where's the fire? I didn't read that info in my fellow blogger's post. I doubt she even read it herself. I can't imagine her reading that and still calling them terrible design sketches. They're more like silly love notes to John.
i think these outfits just say, "i want you, john..." and nothing else.
I personally think it's a fun and funny and cool idea to actually produce them. They, I'm sure, really mean something special to Yoko. When I interviewed her, you could see and hear how much she still loves John Lennon. And how she hasn't really ever let that go. And you know what, fashion isn't supposed to be all about serious stuffy judgements and perfect things and stagnant silhouettes and boring color. It's about freedom and expression and FUN. Uh, yeah...I said fashion is supposed to be fun.
The Associated Press story I read (and some others that followed) and the writers/journalists who wrote them seemed to get it, with headlines like, "Oh, Yoko! Ono's fashion line gropes for Lennon" and "Yoko Inspired by Lennon's 'Hot Bod'". They see the sex, the love, the art and....the humor in it. If anyone thinks it's anything else, my advice would be this:
LIGHTEN UP...it's just fashion.
(In her defense, she's a great fashion enthusiast and about to pop a child out, juggles career, family, et al...but I still think she missed the point of this collection.)♡
Alice Roi is back. But it feels like she's been gone for a very very long time now. Some of you might not even know who she is. Well, I started following her back around 2000-ish. I was in San Francisco and OBSESSED. I would comb through Ebay looking for pieces from her first or second collections. She was one of the super cool designers that we loved, like Liz Collins and Wink (both are not designing but I still love those lines, too). I'll try to find an image of my favorite Alice Roi top. It's amazing.
alice roi spring 2001
alice roi spring 2001
alice roi fall 2001
When I moved to New York, one of my best experiences was when I got to meet Alice. We were doing a story on her (I did a few) and a big fashion shoot for a magazine called Anthem. She even gave me an amazing top at that shoot from her then-current collection. (But sadly it was taken away by a nasty girl who never gave it back to me!) I'll post some of the images from that shoot down below.
spring 2002 (looking a little buffalo gal)
fall 2005
fall 2005
Recently, a dear photographer friend whom I've on Nancy Girl a couple of times emailed me that she had done a new video for the return of Alice Roi. I was so excited! I guess Alice had taken time off to have a baby and now she is back. You can't see the clothes too too well in the video, but it gives you a pretty decent look at it.
fall 2002
fall 2007
Alice is very very New York and very chic, which is natural for her as she grew up in New York City. I'll try to do a little interview with her after the holidays. I hope I get to pick up some of her new pieces eventually, too. See the video below done by Heidi Hartwig (and the rest of the credits are at the end). See more about Alice at aliceroi.com (not sure this site is up and running yet!).♡
alice roi, photographed by margo silver and styled by masayo kishi (i was the editor of the story)
one of the shots from the alice roi story (i think this was one of her last collections) photographed by margo silver and styled by masayo kishi (i was the editor of the story)
another shot (the boy model is also wearing some alice roi, though she does womens wear), photographed by margo silver and styled by masayo kishi (i was the editor of the story)
Now normally I just cover silly little things, bits of fashion history, favorite eye makeup looks, really talented women (and men). This normally isn't a serious blog...I don't have the head or the patience to cover the heavy stuff seven days a week. BUT I do think it's VERY VERY important for us to reflect on what's happened in Bangladesh in garment factory that belongs to one of the biggest money makers in fast fashion...and how for the sake of making money, most likely paying their employees peanuts and forcing them to work even under strenuous conditions which normally goes hand-in-hand with these kinds of billion-dollar companies supplying what we think is a "really good deal" on a sweater or a coat, have neglected humanity for a fast buck (too many of these fast bucks) and safety and now at least 124 people are dead. Just so people in the States and some of the other countries they supply to can go buy some dumb tops or jeans.
If you haven't already heard, the story is here...on the New York Times site. But in a nutshell, a fire broke out in a factory owned by Tazreen Fashions.
Here is an excerpt from the above story:
The weekend fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory ranks as one of
Bangladesh’s worst industrial accidents. Witnesses described a desperate
scene, as workers leapt from the upper floors of the factory, trying to
land on nearby rooftops and escape the smoke and flames. Others
suffocated inside the factory building, as the blaze apparently rendered
stairwells impassable.
Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi labor leader, said she toured the factory
after the fire was extinguished and found labels for a variety of global
retailers, including Faded Glory, a brand she said was manufactured for
Walmart. Ms. Akter said she also found labels for brands sold at
leading European retailers.
“These international, Western brands have a lot of responsibility for
these fire issues,” said Ms. Akter, the executive director of the
Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity. “In this factory, there was a
pile of fabrics and yarn stored on the ground floor that caught fire.
Workers couldn’t evacuate through the stairs. What does this say about
compliance?”
Bangladesh is a garment powerhouse, with more than $18 billion a year in
exports, ranking second behind China. More than three million workers
are employed in the country’s 4,500 garment factories, most of them
women. The industry has become an essential engine for the domestic
economy, and a critical source of foreign currency that helps the
government pay for imported oil.
and here is a bit more:
The Clean Clothes Campaign, a European group that opposes sweatshops,
said that more than 500 Bangladeshi laborers had died in factory fires
since 2006. In 2010, 29 workers died from a fire inside a Bangladeshi
factory making clothing for Tommy Hilfiger.
If you recall, during the Olympics, Tommy Hilfiger came under immense fire after it was made public that the US Olympic team's uniforms were made in China. Tsk Tsk.
What's even more interesting is the time of year this is all coming to light. You know right now millions of people are frenetically going through tables piled with cheap tops, pants, sweaters, socks, etc that most stores lay out during the holiday season. They ramp up the deals and push the crappy clothes onto customers. And customers, like sheep, flock from one sale to another. Never once looking at the label, understanding why or how these garments run so inexpensively, or who is suffering to produce these pieces. One promising thing about Internet shopping is that customers can take time to read about the clothes. They aren't subject to high frenzied shopping that happens in malls and big store chains like Walmart (who always ends up being the villain in most garment issues...and other issues, too). I have to say that as much as I dislike brands like American Apparel, at least we know it's made right here. At least we know these factories are protected. Another thing to consider is that you might end up paying more for a garment at a better shop that doesn't deal with sweatshops in other countries, but at least you know what you're paying for. You're not contributing to the ill abuse of innocent workers at the hands of big fat money makers who could care less about them as long as the money comes in.
Really, it's early enough. I know I myself don't shop very much for clothing. I get some pieces here and there. But I'm not innocent of buying or featuring products made in factories like the one that burned down in Bangladesh. But at least I'm trying. It's early enough that everyone can take a couple more minutes and either buy from sites like Etsy, go to small designer shops that only house pieces made by smaller designers where you know they are making the items on a smaller scale or shop vintage, which is what I tend to do.
I feel so sorry for those poor workers who tried to leave but were met by either managers who told them to ignore the fire alarms and get back to work or an emergency exist door that was locked on the outside. It's almost 2013, people. Things have got to change.
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