Arizona, the "Muse"

Once in a while, a name comes along that screams “I was born to be a star”. Arizona Muse is such a name. The 22-year-old progeny of a British mother and American father began modeling at 18, while still in high school. Growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the fashion industry was a far cry away from her surroundings as she tells Dazed and Confused, “I didn’t have any contact with fashion or media. I’m only just learning now how it works”. It was by chance that she met her agent, a former model, who offered to help her into the industry.

She began slowly, not gaining much notoriety. After a year, she became pregnant with her son Nikko, and left modeling. This short hiatus created a change in Muse, who decided to return to modeling when Nikko was 1, and to give it a real try “If I’m going to work again then I’m going to do it properly this time”. And properly she did. Her long natural blonde hair was morphed into a short brown cut. Ever since her reemergence, she has been whole-heartedly welcomed by the in-crowd.

Each season, there is a model, either a newcomer or an established model, who overtakes all the runways: she walks in every show, is an exclusive for certain designers, will open or close major shows and put herself above and beyond the rest. Spring Ready-To-Wear 2011, her first runway season, Muse managed to do just that. She opened BCBG Max Azria, walked for Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez and Proenza Schouler, all within the same week. She then proceeded to open and close the Prada show, the Miu Miu show, and opens for Rochas as well as Kenzo. No newcomer can even imagine or hope for this type of success within their first catwalk moments.

But then again, not every newcomer is Arizona Muse. After her runway triumph, she became the face of Prada. It certainly did not hurt that the affectionately called “Monkey Business” Prada show she opened and closed was considered one of the most influential and directional shows of the season. Appearing in their short promotional fashion film followed.

What is most interesting about Muse is her luck and talent. She has been fortunate enough to see everything she touches turn into pure gold. Her success seems predetermined; being the face of Prada and Yves Saint Laurent, walking the Valentino, Elie Saab and Chanel couture shows all the while appearing in editorial after editorial in the most prominent of fashion press does not just happen. Or does it?

Facebook?

Facebook is actually like a jail, no?

You sit around and waste time,

write on walls,

get poked by people you don't know.

I seriously need a restriction order from my PC!

7th September

September 7 is the 250th day of the year in the calendar.
There are 115 days remaining until the end of the year.

Something beautiful, please pop up anytime soon...

Bonjour!

I'm in a long distance relationship:

I live here and how,

You live somewhere in my future.

Every night I'm talking to the moon, trying to get to you,

in hopes you're on the other side talking to me.

And maybe someday we will meet.

This story will resume.

We will turn back time, we will find each other, fall in love, get married and live happily ever after.

Happy Autumn!

From the 26th of August to the end of 2nd of September, throughout this anxious but memorable week, there is a spell of the extraordinarily beautiful autumn weather that always takes us by surprise, when the low sunshine is warmer than in spring; when the air is pure and thin, everything sparkles enough to sting the eyes; when you breathe deep and feel refreshed, drinking in the fragrant autumn air; when even the nights are warm, and on dark, warm nights like these golden stars startle or delight us by scattering themselves endlessly down the sky.

The weather was like this at ten o'clock on the 2nd of September. The morning light was magical. A strange and magnificent moment...

Anorexic Obsession.

I wanna be so thin that people talk behind my back of how skinny I've become.

Céline, Fall Winter 2011

UPDATED: new images photographed by Juergen Teller.

Monika Sawicka and Kirsi Pyrhonen are the new faces of Céline for their Fall Winter 2011 campaign replacing Stella Tennant and Daria Werbowy lensed once again by Juergen Teller.

White Fairy Tale Love Ball 2011

Every year since 2005, Natalia Vodianova brings together renowned designers and celebrities for a large charity event in favor of the Naked Heart Foundation (NHF), an association that helps underprivileged children in Russia.

It was the Besian school siege in 2004 that spurred the top model and philanthropist to set up the NHF. Their mission is to provide safe outdoor Play Parks in Russian cities where more than 25% of all families raise children below the poverty line. The Love Ball is the main fundraiser for the Naked Heart Foundation.

On Wednesday night July 6th 2011, Valentino Garavani and Natalia Vodianova invite you to experience one of the most magical nights of summer ever imagined in your wildest dream -this year's Love Ball.

In the atmosphere of the XVII century Chateau de Wideville, residence of Valentino Garavani near Paris, a fairy tale will unfold.

For this event, 45 unique dresses have been created especially for the NHF, by some international designers such as Riccardo Tisci, Calvin Klein, Olivier Theyskens, Ulyana Sergeenko and more... The highlight of the evening will be a chance to bid for one of these gorgeous pieces through auction over an exquisite dinner. Profits from the sale will be donated entirely to benefit the Naked Heart Foundation.

Must-Have: LV Speedy

Your bag collection shouldn’t be missing a Louis Vuitton Speedy, but if it is, we’ve got a few things you might want to consider.

1. In the world of designer handbags, they’re relatively affordable

Despite the fact that the price of a Speedy has gone up by over $100 over the year, they’re still something of a steal in the great scheme of designer bags. Speedies start at $665 for the 25 cm monogram version, and for an iconic bag from one of the biggest luxury companies on the planet, you’re not going to find a better deal. Bags with similar storied histories and famous followings will set you back thousands of dollars.

2. Don’t like monogram? There are dozens of other options

Monogram canvas may be the most popular material, but that’s certainly the only one. Damier and Epi leather options always available, as well as whatever graced the runways that season. Fall/Winter 2010 will be of particular interest to Speedy lovers – Vuitton showed nothing but dozens of different Speedies in a variety of leathers and exotics. If you want logos, Vuitton comes up with a new version practically every season – watercolor, roses, cherries, pop-art pandas, graffiti. You get the idea.

3. Louis Vuitton bags are practically indestructible

This one requires little explanation for a true bag lover – even people that aren’t Vuitton fans know that their bags are historically very well-made, particularly the traditional styles. Also, if your Speedy were to require repair, Vuitton has great service for those kinds of things.

4. The shape can fit in any woman’s wardrobe

Speedies range in size from petite to quite large, and if you’d rather not wear a bag on your arm, Vuitton offers a crossbody strap to keep you hands-free. The brand’s purists will caution against using it, but crossbodies have become so very modern in the past year that wearing a Speedy as a messenger might actually be a good way to update it. Once you’ve decided how to carry it, even the 25cm version has plenty of room for all of your daily essentials.

5. If it was good for Audrey Hepburn, it should be good enough for us

Grace Kelly may have been a fan of Hermés, but Audrey Hepburn was continually photographed wearing her favorite Louis Vuitton Speedy.

Some people may say that the bag is played out, but don’t let people who chase labels dissuade you from enjoying a bag that has an important historical place in the lineage of the luxury handbag. With all of the different size and design permutations, there’s a Speedy out there to suit every style.

a Grand Affair

Natalia Vodianova met Justin Portman, a British property heir, former artist and chess organizer at a Paris dinner in 2001. They married in November 2001 when she was eight months pregnant. In September 2002, over nine months after registering the marriage in the UK, they had a wedding ceremony in St. Petersburg, where Vodianova wore a dress designed by Tom Ford.

The couple have three children: sons Lucas Alexander (born 22 November 2001) and Viktor (born 13 September 2007), and daughter Neva (born 24 March 2006). Viktor is named after Vodianova's grandfather, who had helped raise her after her father's departure. Neva is named after the Russian river Neva.

They separated from February 2010, Vodianova and Portman announced their final separation in June 2011.

What a shame...

pureDKNY, pure good will

The pureDKNY -the environmentally conscious fragrance from DKNY, takes small steps to make a big difference.

A drop of vanilla sourced from Africa, a drop of goodwill. The fragrance bottle is 100% recyclable, the box is biodegradable and for every tree used in the packaging, a tree is planted in its place. DKNY Fragrances is donating 10% of the proceeds to CARE, to help fight poverty in Uganda, where the fragrance’s key vanilla ingredient is sourced.

Here's a nick of interview with Angela Lindvall -the face behind Donna Karan's new fragrance, plus some beautiful and candid behind-the-scenes shots from the pureDKNY advertising campaign which she stars with her adorable son, Sebastian.

How did you feel when you were asked to be the face of pureDKNY?
I am so honoured to be the face of pureDKNY. It feels great to represent something I truly believe in.

What do you like about the fragrance?
Besides being an amazing pure smell of natural oils, I like the fact that the brand has made responsible decisions as a company while launching this new product. The vanilla is harvested in Uganda, which helps support the nation of Uganda and biodegradable plastics and recycled papers are used in the packaging as well. Mostly, I like what the campaign represents, which is all the little moments in life that make life special - the pure moments and relationships in our lives.

Who do you think the pureDKNY woman is?
A strong multi-dimensional woman. A woman who is confident in herself and sets trends, not follows them.

What did you enjoy the most when shooting the advertising campaign?
I love all the DKNY team, Nathaniel Goldburg, and being with my son was a plus. It was very easy going, you wouldn't have even known it was a job - it was more capturing pure moments.

What was it like having your son Sebastian feature in one of the campaigns? And your partner also?
My partner was just there to help with Sebastian and ended up getting booked on the job, so he was super excited. Sebastian and I just hung together and without even knowing we had our picture captured. We all had a really fun trip to NYC.

How was the pureDKNY campaign different from all the other work you’ve done with DKNY?
This was very raw in the sense of the style. It wasn't so much about clothes, but more about a feeling. It was very intimate. This also represents something much bigger and a message that is much needed in the world in which we live today.

Was it important to you that this fragrance supports environmental sustainability?

Absolutely. The industrial revolution opened a lot of opportunities in the past, but those ways are no longer sufficient and sustainable to evolution. There are new ways to do things. But, it is necessary to implement them into existing structures and procedures. I’m very proud that pureDKNY has made these steps and I’m also proud to be a part of it.

Worthwhile

"I understood the danger of focusing only on what isn't there...

What if I came to the end of my life, and realized that I had spent

everyday, watching for a man who would never come to me?

What an unbearable sorrow it would be to realize:

I never really tasted the things I had eaten,

or seen the places I had been;

because I thought of nothing but the Chairman,

even while my life was drifting away from me.

And yet, if I drew my thoughts back from him,

what life would I have?

I would be like a dancer who had practiced since childhood,

for a performance she would never give."

-Sayuri Nitta,

Memoirs of a Geisha

Stella McCartney, Las Vegas

Located within The Crystals City Center project, the Las Vegas Stella McCartney store nestles between two inclined thirty storey ‘crystal’ towers. Like huge glass shards they create a landmark space in their shadow within the Daniel Libeskind designed building. This is the new epicentre of Las Vegas – a complex cluster of angular forms which houses marques from around the world under thirteen (lucky for some) twisting rooves.

The Stella McCartney store sits next to Cartier, close to the Aria Casino entrance – a simple brass facade. Formed with rhombus ceramic tiles defining two large display windows, the central entrance opens with a colourful threshold. This is the beginning of Stella McCartney’s Vegas.

Stella McCartney have collaborated with architects APA from Soho, London with whom they also worked for stores in Paris and Milan, (in association with an experienced local team) to propose the ambitious new store which houses a remarkable crystal horse at its very centre.

Imported from a Scottish Castle, the horse ‘Lucky Spot’ is named after Stella McCartney’s mother Linda’s own horse. Hanging within a vast fourteen foot ceiling space, the crystals are suspended mid air to describe in light the form of George Stubb’s famous equestrian painting ‘The Whistle Jacket’. It is an act of theatre combined with design artistry and a slightly wicked but healthy sense of playfulness. The horse is surrounded by the Stella McCartney latest collection on an array of sculptural sweeping clothes rails and with geometric cubes housing her accessories merchandise. A subtle sense of joy is, we hope, evoked.

On the floor, a traditional Herringbone (designed by Raw Edges with Established & Sons) has been commissioned which subverts the classical feel in beautiful nude tones to depict an enormous sweeping curvature guiding the customers though the collection. At the back of the store, the pattern becomes a classic dotted check plaid subtley merging to a warm luxurious lounge punctuated by brass clothes rail and English furniture.

The fitting rooms go a step further in spectacular tones of veneered maple of warm red, azure turquoise and deep rich flannel grey ; a further inflexion of the traditional, this time in timber panelling set within a room of deep Hague blue.

The new environment mediates between design, artistry and the bravura of Las Vegas in a confident and uncompromising manner.

Chanel Crocs Biarritz Aligator

Chanel loyalists, feast your eyes on the Chanel Croc Biarritz, an oversized (literally huge) Chanel tote designed with black crocodile. Forbes reports that there are three of these in Chanel NYC, two in Chanel LA, and three more wandering around select Neiman Marcus locations.

There is a simply understated external zip pocket with a CC silver pull and dividers on the inside. Not sure if the bag can be found anywhere now, but the Chanel Croc Biarritz deserves fuss and press and spotlight.

The line is inspired by the world-famous holiday resort on the Basque coast of south-west France where Coco Chanel opened her boutique in 1915. The Kaiser designed the line for the Parisian jet set who loves the resort in addition to paying homage to the original jet setting mademoiselle, Coco Chanel.

Coming in at $43,150, this bag is sure to be exclusive not only because of the limited quantity made, but also the exorbitant price tag. Any of you get one of the eight known beauties?

OFF