Stella McCartney’s stock-in-trade is offering up pieces that strike the right balance between being effortless to wear, but actually additive to one’s wardrobe. There’s often a tomboyish influence that makes her women’s line always seem just a bit cooler than the rest on the fashion block. It wasn’t a total surprise that she announced this summer that she was working on a menswear collection. The first sneak peek of McCartney’s new line was seen at the Spring/Summer 2017 fashion show in Paris last month, when her husband Alasdhair Willis wore a four-button double-breasted jacket and matching trousers. The first impression conveyed the mood of her menswear: streamlined, uncomplicated, and…
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Adidas’ Revival : How The Three Stripes’ Brand Is Fighting Back.
Founded in 1924 by two German brothers, Adidas is the original sportswear brand, originally making shoes for soccer, track-and-field and tennis. From then on, the brand grew exponentially, expanding beyond footwear to become a leading player in both the sportswear and streetwear markets. Becoming one of the most successful corporation in the world, Adidas had to deal with its increasing spectrum of products and countries, which, as one may have guessed, required a few adjustments from the company. Adidas has been much heard of over the past few days, following the announce of their positive financial results over the third trimester of 2016.
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The Cleavage Gate: Vogue Under Fire
According to British Vogue, cleavage is “out.” In Kathleen Baird-Murray’s Desperately Seeking Cleavage, featured in the December issue of the magazine, she notes the distinct lack of pertinently pushed-up breasts everywhere from runway to red carpet. “The tits will not be out for the lads. Or for anyone else, for that matter,” she states. In the edition she explores the history of a “bosom focused” fashion industry and analyses the different approaches women of today take cleavage. As per usual, the Internet was not having it, with articles being published left and right, attacking the magazine for dictating the closets of women and seemingly degrading a woman of a certain body type.…
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Fashion Photography: Telling a Story about Storytelling
Storytelling about evolving lifestyles. This is the essence of fashion photography. From a more practical point of view, it is a mean to show and describe what is going to be offered to public, to persuade people to desire it, to make us fall irremediably in love with the Zeitgeist. Due to the fluctuation of people tastes and the happenings influencing society, fashion photography has to keep itself up-to-date. How is it possible? Thanks to its Bards. The strength and effectiveness of a fashion image is due to the ability of the one who stands behind the camera and the editor supporting him/her, whose mantra is: “everything or anything for…
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From London, With Love!
I was lucky enough to pass the week in London! As it’s my first time in the city, I have to say I’m really enjoying myself. As an American girl living in a fashion capital, Milan, my eyes of course went immediately to the fashion of the locals. From afar I’ve always said that the London fashion was a bit daring for me personally. The animal prints, the oversized jewels, the colors and oh so many textures… I could never pull it off. Now that I am up-close, I’m able to reanalyze and recognize that there is a really elegant spirit underneath the loud exterior. I noted that Britain seems…
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A chat over dinner with Alberto Baldan, CEO of La Rinascente
You may think that I am exaggerating, and to some extent it is true. I did not dine privately with Mr Baldan, but this is how the evening felt like to me. When I saw the event promoting a tasty aperitivo with the CEO of the most famous department store in Italy, I thought of one of those networking events where the guest awkwardly speaks for 5 minutes and then has to rush away. But I couldn’t be more wrong: organised by Hub Giovani, a group of inspired young students and professionals who get together to discuss about work, culture, innovation and much more, the aperitivo with Baldan was so enjoyable…
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Il Nuovo Gucci: in the Backstage of the Italian Empire’s Rebirth.
We’re in December 2014, and the mutli-brand luxury group Kering announces the departure of Patrizio di Marco and Frida Giannini, respectively Gucci’s CEO and artistic director. This wave of departures from Gucci comes as no surprise, and marks the beginning of a fresh start for the Florentine brand. Set up in 1921 by Guccio Gucci and acquired in 1999 by the ancestor of Kering, PPR, the double G brand was, at the time, going through a rough patch. 2013 has proved to be a downturn in the brand’s sales, a situation that worsened in 2014, with lower sales volume of 1.8% at 3,49 billion euros. Considering that Gucci is the…
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Decades of Fashion: the 60s
“Hey mama hey mama – Look around -Everybody’s groovin’ to a brand new sound” Welcome to the 60s, Hairspray At the beginning of the Sixties, the world felt that something was changing. A rush of optimism was spreading around cities and, with the election of the new president of US, John F. Kennedy, in 1961, people believed that a new golden age had to start. The key actors of those years where those who were born after the World War II, also called the baby boomers. Having reached the teen age, the joyful, lighthearted youth embraced the pleasures of life without the knowledge of the dreads of past wars. They…
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The power of East: how Asian designers do MFW
Finally we are back at Bocconi, back at BS4F, and back at Milan Fashion Week. The new year calls for new experiences, so we decided to try something out: while the members usually attend events organized by Italian brands, this time there were also emerging asian designers added to the busy schedule. Today we will discuss the fashion show of Atsushi Nakashima, Japan, along with the presentation made by Samuel Yang from China, and see what they do to make the fashion-saturated Milan find place for newcomers from the east. Atsushi Nakashima The Japanese designer Atsushi Nakashima studied Fashion Design in Nagoya Fashion College, Japan, and claims to have been…
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Chiaja: a New Luxury Brand Rising
With a few weeks of delay, Milan is finally blossoming, trees are green again and summer seems to be finally coming. The time to make a choice about the look to wear on the beach this year is approaching, and with it the birth (and fast death) of many aspiring and unstructured swimwear fashion brands. But one seems to be different from the others, and has its roots in places very close to where we all study every day.The startup I want to tell you about today is Chiaja, born from three Bocconi students, Alessando, Umberto and Gabriele, with the dream to re-invent the way men’s swim shorts are worn…
