With Paris Fashion Week a recent wrap and New York runways at the ready for opening late next week, Friday READ turns to—what else?—the far-reaching world of fashion. Links to full articles are embedded in the headlines.
Runway to room: takeaways from couture week
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| Vogue/Kristofer Johnsson/Vogue/Richard Powers |
Ever wonder how fashion impacts interior design? Here’s your primer, pairing up looks that debuted at the Paris Haute Couture shows with rooms dressed in the same aesthetic.
D&G gets standing ovation at La Scala
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| Vogue |
Not styles you’d wear everyday, but so lush and elegant you can’t miss the slideshow. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbano took over the stage of La Scala opera house in their hometown of Milan to honor the heritage of Italian couture. Their inspiration? The Puccini operas Tosca, Turandot, and Madame Butterfly, as well as the Milanese dressmaker Biki, a Puccini granddaughter who fitted aristocratic women of the city with opera finery.
In an interesting turn, the audience occupied the stage while the models rocked the rest of the theatre. An ecstatic crowd brought D&G back for THREE standing ovations.
I’d love to see a “runway to room” post on these stunners. Maybe I’ll do one next week!
Don’t miss any of 2016’s new styles:
- Bookmark the Council of Fashion Designer’s Fashion Calendar.
- View all the collections at Vogue.
Mayhem shows us where magic happens
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| Via Domino |
Sydney “Mayhem” Kesier, 6, is a fashion designer in the making. In her current medium of paper, she makes small-scale versions of colorful gowns—some for herself, some for her dolls. She doesn’t have a runway (yet), but follow the link to check out the walls of her home design studio and learn more about what inspires her. Stay up to date with Sydney’s creations on mom Angie’s Instagram site.
Bergdorf Goodman tries to sell paper bag for $500
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| Fortune |
Barbie’s new shapes: tall, petite and curvy
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| Mattel |
Mattel calls them “Fashionista Barbies,” which is a bit of a stretch, but at least it’s a start toward bridging the gap between ideal and real. The Mattel video detailing the redesign process is interesting as well. You’ll find it here.
Agency swears off ads objectifying women
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| WSJ |
We couldn’t talk about Barbie AND fashion in one READ without at least mentioning the objectification of women in the world at large, right? A 2½-minute video entitled “We Are #WomenNotObjects,” has been around a few months but went viral this past week. It features a montage of ads for well-known brands that show women scantily clad or in suggestive poses.
Ad exec Madonna Badger, pictured above, created the video in memory of her three daughters who died in a fire in 2011. She admits to being part of the problem, as creative director for Badger & Winter, an agency whose clients have included Avon, Vera Wang, Diane von Furstenburg, and Nordstrom. But she says her agency will no longer create ads that use women as props, objectify women, or airbrush women’s images “to the point of perfection.”
READ ‘EM & LINK: Strictly House and Home
- 5 Decorating Mantras to Live By (Good Life of Design)
- What Chasing Trends is so Last Week (French Country Cottage)
- Instagram stories: @JANDGDESIGN (Lonny)
- Another Instragram rec: A-list designer Miles Redd
- 8 Indie Embroidered Patch Companies (Design Sponge) for those of you interested in the trend of sewing patches on your furniture for a boho look (yes, it’s a bonified trend).
- Lonely houses @sejkko
CAT MEWS: Scientists test who loves us more
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| The Telegraph/UK |
Spoiler alert: Dogs.
Scientists tested the presence of oxytocin in both dogs and cats after owner encounters. Dogs have been tested before but cats have long been maligned as incapable of love without proof. Now we can compare kibbles to kibbles, so to speak, and find felines are indeed capable of love, but canids out-gush them nearly five times over.
The story doesn’t end there, however. A further examination of fossilizing remains proves cats more adept at survival than dogs’ wild counterparts (fox, wolf, coyote, jackal, etc.). No dog species has ever wiped out a cat one, but cats have played a significant role in the extinction of 40 dog species.
And they’re just getting started, according to Miss Maisie.
Picture of the week: 2015 ugly lamp contest winner
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| Via Better After |
Meet Lampocalypse. Follow the link to see all entrants, past winners, and a 360 Lampocalypse assault. In case you’re interested, an enlargement revealed the asking price at $295. An incredible bargain for a gift that keeps on giving: The more you look at it, the creepier it gets.
That’s the full lid, folks. Don’t overdo on beer and Super Bowl munchies, K?
XO,
