The Magic of Fashion with Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) @ Harper’s Bazaar October 2008 Issue

The U.K.'s top designers show Harry Potter's brightest girl, Emma Watson a.k.a Hermione Granger, how to cast a sartorial spell in the upcoming October 2008 issue of Harper's Bazaar. Check out some of the bewitching spreads as Emma got styled by Alexander McQueen, Christopher Bailey, Viviene Westwood, Marios Schwab, Philip Treacy, Matthew Williamson, and Giles Deacon.










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Nano-Chromatic Fashion with Apple's iPod Nano

I love these new nano-chromatic colors of Apple's iPod Nano. Now, it's possible to use one of these iPod nano as a fashion accessory that would go with your color code of the day. Take note, color isn’t the only brilliant new iPod nano feature.

1. It is a musical Genius - with the "Genius", it's like having a virtual DJ because it finds the songs in your music library that go great together and makes a Genius Playlist for you.
2. It has better viewing options - you can listen, watch, and play by tilting or turning the iPod on its side. You can flip through your album art with Cover Flow or see more albums and artists on the screen at one time.
3. It offers interactive games - you download games made especially for iPod nano and the accelerometer. They respond to the way you move, so they’re immersive, addictive, and a blast. iPod nano comes with Maze, which lets you work your way through vast mazes by tilting and moving.
   
4. It can pull hundreds of photos - hold iPod nano upright and see your photos in portrait view. Turn it on its side to see them in landscape. Photos are in 320-by-240-resolution display.
   
5. It finds music faster - you can view your album art in Cover Flow or just press and hold the Center button to browse by album or artist. When you find the right song, press the Center button to add it to your on-the-go playlist.
6. It can shuffle music through shaking - give iPod nano a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library.

Fashion War: PETA vs. Burberry

Burberry is not only famous for its distinctive plaid but it is also known that the design house is using real fur. With this issue, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is having a campaign against the fashion house. The "Bloody Burberry" campaign aims to let the Burberry pledge to stop supporting cruelty to animals and adopts a permanent fur-free policy.

PETA advises their supporters to boycott the chain and convince other people to do the same. They also created disturbing posters of models wearing Burberry products with dead and skin-peeled animals (minks, raccoons, and foxes).







A flash game was also created in relation to the said campaign. It allows the user to choose his or her preferred avenger who will make way into Burberry Headquarters and paint as many furs as you can.

According to PETA:

Burberry continues to use fur in its designs despite the fact that leading clothing retailers like J.Crew, Ann Taylor, Polo Ralph Lauren, and others have pulled fur from their stores forever.

Animals on fur farms spend their entire lives confined to cramped, filthy wire cages, where they are exposed to all weather conditions. They often go without adequate shelter, clean water, and veterinary care, and they are denied the opportunity to engage in natural behaviors like climbing, burrowing, and swimming. The intensive confinement causes many of them to go insane.

Fur farmers use the cheapest and cruelest killing methods available, including suffocation, electrocution, gassing, and poisoning. Many animals are electrocuted by having rods inserted into their rectums and 240 volts sent through their bodies. The animals convulse, shake, and often cry out before they have heart attacks and die. Crude killing methods aren't always effective, and sometimes animals "wake up" while they are being skinned.

Burberry knows about the suffering that goes into every fur-trimmed coat, hat, and bag, yet the company continues to use fur in its designs. With so many fashionable, comfortable alternatives available, there is no excuse for Burberry to continue using dead, tortured animals in its designs.

Monique Lhuillier's Spring 2009 Collection Makes Every Filipino Proud

During the 5th day of New York Fashion Week, Monique Lhuillier again proved to everyone that Filipinos can excel and compete with the best in the world. For her Spring 2009 collection, her reference points were the farmlands: wheat, corn and wicker. Yellows and browns held their own among bright turquoise, nectar, rouge, and navy.











Diane Monique Lhuillier is a Filipino (from Cebu City, Philippines) fashion designer based in the United States. She was raised to a family engaged in the jewelry business and they have been famous for their chain of pawnshops known as M. Lhuillier, all over the Philippines.

She attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and upon graduation, took a job at a small French firm. But it was the process of designing her own wedding to future company co-founder Tom Bugabee that cemented her vision of her future firm. In 1996, she launched her first bridal collection.

Since then, Lhuillier’s bridal, evening gowns and dresses have been worn by an ever-expanding list of Hollywood’s top celebrities and are favorites of Angelina Jolie, Sarah Jessica Parker, Reese Witherspoon, Mischa Barton, Jennifer Aniston, Sharon Stone, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Debra Messing, Jennifer Connely, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Diane Lane, Jessica Alba, Alicia Silverstone, Ashlee Simpsons and many others.

She was awarded with Presidential Medal of Merit by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for her extraordinary achievements in the world of fashion design.

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Fashion War: PETA vs. DKNY and Vogue

The war, or shall I say the drama, between the fashion industry and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) still continues. Despite the fact that Donna Karan has promised to stop using fur in her designs in the past, PETA has learned that she continues to use and sell fur. PETA has asked Karan to join other top designers and retailers including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, and others who have already adopted permanent fur-free policies. To show that they are sincere with there campaign against DKNY, some of the PETA activists jumped into the runway flashing signs that says, "Donna: Dump Fur" near the end of the DKNY show for New York Fashion Week.




The Security immediately escorted the small group off the catwalk who continued the protest outside the show's tent with a bigger crowd dressed as animals covered in blood. They shouted: “Stop the insanity! No blood for vanity!” and “D-K-N-Y! How many animals have to die!”




It can be recalled that PETA was also angered by Vogue Paris when the magazine features Daria Werbowy wearing a fur coat in the cover for their August 2008 issue. Worst, the magazine also included images a fur-laden Raquel Zimmermann who flips the PETA protester with a sign that says, "Fur is Dead".




For sure, tons of tofu pies will be smacking on the faces of the fur-lover individuals. Just like what happened to Anna Wintour last 2005.



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New York Fashion Week - Spring 2009: Day 4 Recap

Marc Jacobs

High-waisted apron skirts were a bustle away from suffragette; wide-leg cropped trousers, motorcycle jackets, and sundresses, accessorized to the hilt. Flattened boater hats, espadrilles, plaid sashes, quilted bags, chunky necklaces.




Ports 1961

The collection is composed of fitted skirt suits, printed dresses, and light and airy trousers in metallics, cobalt, scarlet, and taupe. Statement accessories were also in the mix-ballet flats, sculpted wooden wedges, corset belts and an array of chunky necklaces.



Diesel

Zippers, chains, leather, and stone wash were together for Diesel's look for spring. Faded pinstripes and Civil War caps lent an air of debauched Bohemia. Little blue capelets, blazers, and sexy minis were highly wearable.




Thakoon

For Spring, Panichgul delivered a number of options for dyed-in-the-wool Thakoon-ocrats, among which an organza seamed dress with a surreal print of roses sprouting legs and a black tulle-trimmed trench stood out as surefire hits. Applied to sheer chiffon skirts and vinyl corset dresses, prints like "winking" (eyelashes) and "kisses" (subtle lipstick marks).




Chris Benz

Benz's inspiration for his collection started with the beginnings of American sportswear. It's all about that tailcoat proportion, shorts, with a sans-culottes, French Revolution thing. Bright yellows, chartreuses, and mustards stood out for spring, with details like paint-splatter prints, off-the-shoulder tees and dresses and colorful flat Oxford shoes that Benz paired with evening gowns.




Malandrino

Catherine Malandrino's inspiration for this Spring 2009 collection was a new dawn-the sun rising and the woman awakening. Graceful, mermaid-like looks and symbols of Americana abounded throughout the show.The pale palette together with the beading and embroidery kept things sophisticated and perfect for modern patriots with jet-set sensibilities.




Isaac Mizrahi

The collection was heavily inspired by the metamorphosis of bugs, as most of the clothes were named after animals. Lacy looks were paired with sheers and he wasn't afraid to use the shimmer and shine. Mad Men inspired looks matched the Hitchcock looking coats, while biker stretch shorts peeked out under sheer dresses.




Luca Luca

Raul Melgoza designs are in more sportswear-driven direction. Vents, panels, and slits—notably, in a lovely liquid-silver gown at the show's end—added interest to basic shapes. A few pretty lunch-to-cocktail dresses had the illusion of being more than one piece, and appeared in places to float off the body.




Peter Som

Peter used neutrals and oasis colors, offset by bright saturated oranges and reds, for a sexy twist. The desert and azure colors, the beading, the flowing dresses, the print minidresses-count on a Som-ulent spring.




Proenza Schouler

Jack and Lazaro took their collection to new heights-outer space, to be exact. Jumpsuits in tech fibers, belted or beaded, drew adoring stares. Bra tops and knit dresses were front and center. Optic white, ivory, bonded silver and black dominated the palette, with sequins and beads providing the sparkle.




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