Inside the Birkin Bag

My first week at Vogue Mexico… WOW. What a week!

From what I can say… My main task until now is to research, write and read during most part of the day. Because you’re constantly updating yourself with the latest news, during lunch breaks and spare time, you better be reading as well.. But this time, is you very own choice, and hopefully you’ll choose something related to the fashion industry.

My choice for this week was «Bringing Home the Birkin» by Michael Tonello. During the four years that I spent in college, most of my fashion teachers recommended the book. I was so stubborn most of the times, and by the time they told us this, I didn’t want to listen or keep in mind what I was missing. What a fool. Turns out, I loved the book so much that I read it in less than a week.

Basically, the book is about how Michael Tonello, the author, made himself a millionaire by reselling Hermès‘ luxury goods through eBay. It sounds so simple and even boring when you put that way, but when you start reading all the stories behind each and everyone of the goods that Tonello sold, and how many amazing and recognized people he got in contact with, it is simply fascinating.

The book is easy to read and completely enjoyable, and as usual, I wrote down a few quotes from the book that I thought might be interesting or useful at some point. And, as usual, I’ll list them as ten things you probably didn’t know about Hermès and a Birkin Bag.

Enjoy!

1. Hermès, the French manufacturer was established in 1837, at Paris, France.

2. What is a Birkin bag? The Birkin bag is a leather handbag. It was named for the actress Jane Birkin, and designed by Jean-Louis Dumas Hermès in 1984.

3. A Birkin bag, range in price from about $7,000 on up to about $100,000.

4. If you don’t know a good formula for buying a Birkin bag, you might get into a two-year or even three-year waiting list to get one. Even if you have all the money in the world or you are a celebrity of high recognition you won’t get one as easy as you think.

5. Hermès has created other famous bags such as the Kelly bag in 1935, named after the formal famous actress and princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly.

6. A Kelly bag, range in price from $10,000 to $30,000

7. During Hermès‘ design history, there’s one name that stood out from the crowd, and it was the name of Jean Paul Gaultier. Gaultier was Hermès‘ creative director from 2003 to 2010.

8. There are people around the world obsessed with the Hermès luxury goods, and this is why there is something called the «Artcurial» event, which is a 2-day Hermès vintage auction hosted every year in Paris.

9. If you ever get to buy one of these bags or any luxury good from Hermès you’ll see that the tissue paper is nothing you’ve ever seen before. Why? Hermès has its own tissue custom-made paper, to make sure it is acid free and make sure as well that it won’t affect any of the luxury goods you buy.

10. Aside from the famous bags, Hermès has other famous and high-demand luxury goods such as the square-form scarves, the Chaîne d’ancre bracelet, and the Ulysse notebook.

“Laugh! Kiss! Have Fun!”… It’s a D&G ad!

-“Finally! A twist on a high-fashion ad!”

This is the reaction that I think Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce were aiming for when coming up with this fall/winter ad campaign’ ideas. If this was the reaction they were aiming for, they definitely achieved it and successfully.

What’s even more beautiful about the ads is that they still keep that D&G touch that never goes out of fashion. The ad acts as a beautiful classical Italian movie. Each image tells a story, but leaves a perfect space for personal interpretation. If you look closely and take a moment to check out the details of each scene, each person has a role, each person is using a fascinating facial and corporate expression.

The expression on their faces is what keeps me fascinated. The use of the expression, I think, was something so risky, but so beautifully achieved, that if you think again, few designers, creative directors or fashion houses have taken that risk before, maybe because of the fear of loosing the high-fashion aesthetic. This type of ad is what makes the fashion house unique.

Just a few extra details… They selected their eternal muse as one of the main characters on each scene, Monica Bellucci. And, they’re bringing to the light three more girls for a perfect contrast plus a little touch of drama, Bianca Balti, Kate King and Andreea Diaconu.

En Español… La Magia del Vestido

Después de terminar de leer El Símbolo Perdido de Dan Brown, novela que recomiendo muchísimo y que me trasnochó hasta la última página, dije… Definitivamente tengo que irme por algo más suave en el siguiente libro que lea y ojalá en Español para ir variando de uno a uno. Cuando desempaqué mis libros, vi que tenía el libro El Baúl de Viaje de Bianca Turetsky. Lo compré porque lo vi recomendado en una de mis revistas favoritas pero nunca lo abrí. Cuando fui a abrirlo no sólo me di cuenta de que la fuente era bastante grande, pero que las márgenes eran bastante generosas comparadas al texto. Creí que era un libro para pequeños, lo ojeé y vi los fashion sketches tan increíbles que tenía y no pude cerrarlo más. Decidí abrirlo y empezar a leerlo porque como dicen… Nunca juzgues a un libro por su portada.

Lo empecé a leer y para mi mayor gusto, la cantidad de lecciones de la historia de la moda eran frases breves y perfectas para anotar por algún lado. Las anoté primero en mi página de tumblr (click aquí) para poder editar el post cada vez que encontrara una o dos y resultó siendo que el libro es un cuento donde la magia está en el vestido y en la prenda que mencionan. Es un libro breve y fácil de leer y muy recomendado para los más pequeños, pero para los amantes de la moda es un descanso de lectura que vale la pena tener en cuenta. Para los que no tienen tiempo de leer o les da simple pereza aquí les listo lo que anote y algún día de pronto lo tendremos en cuenta. También pongo las fotos de los dibujos que me encantaron del libro.

“…el termino vintage hacía referencia a la ropa hasta principios de la década de 1980…”

“…distinguir un traje Coco Chanel de otro Karl Lagerfeld para Chanel. (La falda de Karl, el diseñador actual de la casa Chanel, llegaba por encima de la rodilla…”

En referencia al vestido flapper… “… Madeleine Vionnet genuino, un diseño de la modista francesa de los años veinte y treinta que inventó basicamente el corte al bies…”

“…imaginando que era Marilyn Monroe, el icono rubio del cine de la década de 1950, llevando su vestido blanco con escote halter…”

“No puedo entender que una mujer salga de casa sin haberse acicalado un poco, aunque sea por cortesía. Y además, nunca se sabe, quizás ese día tenga una cita con el destino. Y conviene estar lo más guapa posible para este.” – Coco Chanel

“… Lady Duff Gordon y Sir Cosmo están a bordo. Viajan a Nueva York para abrir su primera tienda Lucile en Estados Unidos.”

En referencia a Lady Duff Gordon o Lucile … “Fue una de las primeras diseñadoras de moda que creó prendas más femeninas y prácticas para la mujer: atrevidos escotes y faldas largas con abertura con las que se podía caminar con comodidad, por no mencionar una exitosa línea de lencería.”

«En palabras de la inimitable diseñadora francesa Coco Chanel: «La moda pasa, solo el estilo perdura.» »

Louis Vuitton goes Jurassic

Who knew that dinosaurs and fashion could go together so well? Louis Vuitton, the well-known and recognized French fashion house, on its latest window display located at one of the most famous avenues in the world, the 5^th avenue in New York City, is now showing this fantastic combination between Jurassic pieces and the latest fall/winter 2013-14 pieces.

When watching at the images online, I thought… Why choose dinosaurs from all the extinct and living species until today? According to different online sources, the display wants to make a tribute and a historical reference to one of their native cities’ museums, the Natural History Museum in Paris, Les Jardins des Plantes. We can find gilded in gold skeletons’ references such as tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurus, velociraptor, triceratops, spinosaurus and dimetrodon. With this type of visual merchandising displays, we can clearly see how art and fashion can be achieved successfully with almost any altered and available media.

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Sofia Coppola

Lately, the Internet allows us to access almost any document of research, either if it is from a formal newspaper or an acclaimed magazine. Now, you can find online the main cover stories of some of the most famous fashion newspapers and magazines such as W Magazine, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. On the latest edition of W Magazine, one of the main stories features an intimate interview to the film director Sofia Coppola (click here for the full article). When I was reading it, I thought… Instead of writing down the highlights of the interview for myself, I should definitely post it as a new entry on my blog. Enjoy!

1. Coppola is the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather Trilogy.
2. Coppola’s a photography graduate from CalArts University in L.A.
3. Coppola is the director behind the films: The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie-Antoinette and The Bling Ring.
4. If you take a closer look, the majority of the main roles on Coppola’s films are female leads.
5. Coppola is currently married to Thomas Mars, the lead singer of the band Phoenix.
6. Coppola has two daughters, Romy and Cosima.
7. In 2008, Coppola designed a capsule collection line for the acclaimed fashion house, Louis Vuitton.
8. After 2008, in 2012, the acclaimed creative director and fashion designer Marc Jacobs invited Coppola to design the Louis Vuitton’s resort collection.
9. Coppola is NOT a loyal follower of the online world/community.
10. Her first role as an actress was in 1972, in the first movie of The Godfather, as an infant in the christening scene.
11. 

Let’s Hear It For The Prada Men!

During this summer break, wondering around the web, through the different Social Media Portals, I found through Tumblr the recently released images of the latest Prada Menswear Fall/Winter campaign. The pictures caught my eye immediately not only because Prada always brings the best of its advertising strategies, but because the faces featured on the latest campaign are Christoph Waltz, better known because of his roles in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds and Django, Ezra Miller, better known because of his role in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Ben Whishaw, better known because of his roles in 007’s Skyfall and Cloud Atlas.

The three of the actors were the perfect choice not only because of their unique roles through the film industry, but because the whole theme of the campaign is “60’s New Wave Cinema”. The pieces by Prada that they’re wearing on each of the pictures contemplate that subtle menswear style used during the decade of the 60’s, and the photo shoot is as simple as the elegance and chic style that defines the brand. The photo shoot was realized at a London’s studio and the photographer David Sims took the amazing pictures.

Esta vez en Español – El Tiempo Entre Costuras: Desde Elsa Schiaparelli hasta Mariano Fortuny

Rara vez tomo apuntes de un libro que leo. Esta vez, después de terminar de leer “El Tiempo Entre Costuras” de la autora española, María Dueñas, la cantidad de lecciones aprendidas indirectamente sobre la historia de la moda son casi todas memorables y merecidas de ser escritas y recordadas. Desde el estilo tenista originalmente diseñado por Elsa Schiaparelli, hasta los infinitos pliegues en los vestidos de Mariano Fortuny, la historia de la protagonista Sira Quiroga lleva el encanto no sólo por el hecho que la descripción de cada traje es tan detallada que la mente logra visualizarlo, sino porque la aventura entre Madrid, Tetuán y Tánger es llevadera y mantiene al lector en una curiosidad constante. Me encantó este libro y lo recomiendo para el que tenga gusto por los detalles de la costura, la moda, el viaje, Europa, y por el romance imposible. Ya E.L. James nos dejó a Christian Grey como la reunión de una fantasía americana, pero esta vez, María Dueñas nos deja a Marcus Logan como la fantasía inglesa resistente en medio de la segunda guerra mundial.

Streetwear – Menswear – TRAVIS MANN: The Next Big Name in the Fashion Industry

Here in Savannah, at the Savannah College of Art and Design, we’re saying goodbye to spring and hello to summer by attending amazing day and night events. These events include the Sidewalk Arts Festival, where all art majors come together to participate on an outdoor activity, the Open-Studio events for selected majors displaying the best productions by the local students, and the Annual SCAD Fashion Show at the Trustees Theater, which this year concluded with more than a charmed audience because of the wonderful work by the fresh fashion design alumni that soon will be the next big names in the fashion industry.

At early summer, from all the SCAD community, the fashion graduates have been displaying the majority of their work all across the city and previously at the fashion show. Eventually, Savannah transforms itself from a small city to an extensive open gallery. And as a plus, the fusion between the exclusive productions and the street-wear style is a treat that the locals and tourists get to enjoy.

During the past weeks, while I was walking around the main street of the beautiful city of Savannah, in Broughton St., I ran into a person who is not only a very close of friend of mine, but the next big name and personality in the fashion industry, Travis Mann.

Travis is a fresh alumni from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a B.F.A in Fashion Design, and if you ever have the luck to get into a good conversation with him you’ll get to know the amazing story behind the journey of how he got to be who he is today, and I promise he will leave you absolutely breathless. For having such a young age, he has been the main talk around Savannah after his stunning presence at the Annual SCAD Fashion Show, not only because his menswear collection was breathtaking, but also because some of the most distinguished guests among the show, such as Francisco Costa (article featuring Travis Mann’s name in WWD), requested some of his exclusive designs, in this case, his iconic cropped-pleated trousers for their own and personal wardrobe.

When I ran into Travis, he was wearing a pair of his own designed and sewn black cropped-pleated trousers, which I completely fell in love with. He completed his outfit by wearing a white dressing shirt from Marc by Marc Jacobs, and as we all know the outfit from such a fashionista, he will never miss the accessories. In this case, a beautiful pair of black leather shoes by ALDO Shoes. Only by starring at him wearing this fantastic outfit, you are able to see how his style reflects as very elegant and subtle for the city of Savannah. But the potential that Travis has as a designer is absolutely priceless and I just can’t wait to see how he explores this wonderful gift of originality and design, when soon, he’ll hit the big runways at the capital of the world, New York City.

From Hollywood to Fashion, Helena Bonham-Carter’s Chameleonic Style leads the Cover and Main Story of British Vogue’s July Issue.

Since almost three decades ago, when Anna Wintour initially took the lead of editor-in-chief of British Vogue before heading to American Vogue, the main idea of the cover image changed from lead model to lead Hollywood star. Different faces went through the different monthly issues, taking the risk that the audience will react negatively or unexpectedly, but British Vogue clearly had no fear on bidding strongly this July on one of the most recognized Hollywood faces, Helena Bonham-Carter.

If you ever saw Big Fish, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Alice in Wonderland, the King’s Speech or Sweeney Todd, you’ll be more than surprised to know that the face on this July’s cover is Helena Bonham-Carter. Her chameleon style is just astonishing and her course through Hollywood has been more than memorable not only because her roles have been incredibly different one from the other, but also because most of her main roles have been casted by her current husband, Tim Burton.

A sneak peek of the main story can be found on the British Vogue’s official website, with a couple of additional pictures complementing the whole spread of this July’s issue. Helena wears a Ralph Lauren dress and an Agent Provocateur corset. Photos were taken and edited by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott.