My latest contribution to the ACCESS magazine
At the Academy Awards ceremony last February Helen Hunt did not make the best dressed list of the Oscars fashion police. Instead she made fashion history. The actress eschewed an haute couture creation in favour of an H&M dress. The strapless navy blue gown with a train though perfectly on trend was not a ground breaking fashion statement. But its “fair” credentials were statement worthy.
Shu Uemura a make up and cosmetics brand founded by Shu Uemura in the fifties in Hollywood is known for its extraordinary palette of artistic colours and textures. Very much an insiders’ brand it counts Karl the Magnificent and the Omnipresent among devoted fans. And when Karl is a fan, there is definitely a collaboration project.
A limited edition make up collection to be released soon is symbolised by the cutest cartoon character Shu girl, sketched by Monsieur Karl himself. Take a look and enjoy. It will certainly make you smile.
Feel good and positive emotions — great marketing strategy and another feather in the cap for Mr. Lagerfeld
My latest contribution for the ACCESS magazine, The Hague based expat publication
They say fashion is a cultural barometer of our times. It gauges the zeitgeist of an epoch. In the 60-s, for example, the mini skirt and the flower power became the symbols of liberation, and in the 80-s it was all about “excess-orising” a la Dynasty – big hair, big shoulders, glitzy jewellery, only to be followed by Japanese minimalism and the deconstruction ushered in by the Antwerp six.
As society’s mirror, fashion reflects the cultural and social trends prevalent at a given time. So it is not surprising that when the financial crisis hit in 2008, the fashion world turned from bling and logo mania to sobriety and restraint.
Three years on and at the backdrop of sobriety a new trend is emerging: a flowering garden of earthly delights. Exotic blooms, prim roses, wildflowers and all sorts of floral prints ranging from huge motifs to stylized graphic patterns ruled the catwalks from New York to Paris, from London to Milan heralding the return of the pretty and the feminine. The trend has been so pervasive that even menswear has had a healthy injection of floral cheer.
With the advent of sunny days in The Hague gardening enthusiasts rush to their gardens and flower watchers get on their bikes to admire the blossoming bulbs: tulips, hyacinths, daffodils. Planted in orderly strips when in bloom they form a luscious carpet of vivid colours.
It seems that the fashion world got caught up in the flower garden as well. Check this season’s fashions, floral patterns bloom on everything: tops, bottoms, accessories. And not for ladies only! Menswear collections display an impressive assortment of floral delights.
In addition to the cliche trinity of cheese-windmills-tulips the Dutch can boast having an open mind, influential design aesthetic, so many other things and now even a nail polish collection. Nail polish collection?
I see eyebrows raised and question marks multiplying with lightning speed.
Yes, indeed! Nail polish collection called Holland. Courtesy of OPI, a family owned nail care company.