Photographer Chen Man’s boundary-pushing imagery make their way into a M.A.C collaboration | Hollywood yohana

Fashion photographer Chen Man | M.A.C.


 “Those girls started riots, because Chinese people thought they were ugly,” says Phillip Ing, vice-president of global retail and special events for M.A.C. He’s describing the public’s reaction to a series of images by Beijing-based photographer Chen Man, published in 2003 on the covers of Vision, an avant-garde Chinese fashion and art magazine. OK, so they weren’t actual riots, but there was plenty of hate mail; resistance is a common repercussion when one is blazing a beauty trail in a conservative country. Her images were arresting and fantastical, and they instantly garnered attention, as did the artist herself. At the time, she was only 23 and still in school, but she represented the next generation, who no longer felt constrained by many of the limitations their nation imposed.


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Photographed by Chris Nicholls for FASHION’s September 1996 issue | Hollywood yohana



 “There’s a sense of anticipation and excitement that leaps out of this photograph. I almost feel nervous for them waiting backstage,” says art director Maarten Sluyter, who joined FASHION in February 2011. “Part of the mystery of this scene is you don’t know which fashion show this could be or where it might be held. It gives the reader a glimpse into this world and allows them to dream. The black and white works extremely well because of the way the light comes into the shot from the stage. I love the models’ hair—the updos highlight their necklines beautifully. The clothes are simple. They will never lose their appeal, similar to a little black dress.”
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Calgary It girl: Kara Chomistek | Hollywood yohana

It girl: Kara Chomistek

 The word “designer” permeates Kara Chomistek’s world from head to heels. This cool 24-year-old biomedical engineer designs orthopedic equipment and her own namesake clothing line. In her spare time, she dances with a semi-professional salsa troupe, in addition to teaching cha-cha, tango and jive. She is also the co-founder and president of PARK (Promoting Artists, Redefining Kulture), a non-profit organization launched in 2008 that promotes local designers and artists through designer forums, industry mixers, and fashion and art shows. When attending evening affairs, this glam go-getter slips into spotlight-stealing labels, including Lanvin, Miu Miu, Valentino and local designer Paul Hardy. “Fashion allows me to achieve balance in my life,” she says. “It’s another medium for me to use my creativity. Similar to art, I like to wear unique or unusual pieces that can spark a conversation.”

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Daily steal: Suedette oxfords, $30 | Hollywood yohana



This season, Haider Ackermann is all about the oxford shoe—further affirmation that this polished design is forever in style. Put a bit of spring in your step with a more affordable pair from Forever 21. ($30,  


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Ellen DeGeneres is the new JC Penney spokesperson and a Christian conservative group is not happy about it | Hollywood yohana





Conservative group One Million Moms has a bone to pick with JC Penney and its decision to hire Ellen DeGeneres as the department store’s spokesperson.
The disapproving anti-gay group writes on their website, “Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families” and goes on to claim “DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store.”
However not everyone on the group’s Facebook page seems as troubled by JC Penney’s decision. Comments in support of DeGeneres include: “Being gay is only a part of who she is […] she is modest in her dress and behaviour.”
The CEO of JC Penney, Ron Johnson, has also gone on the record to defend the choice, explaining, “Ellen is someone we all trust. She’s lovable, likable, honest, and funny, but at her soul, we trust her.”
Perhaps this trust can be traced back to DeGeneres’ stint as a JC Penney sales associate in the ‘70s? Or maybe it’s just as simple as knowing that she’s one of the most popular stars of the moment; The Ellen DeGeneres Show has an average of 9 million viewers, and DeGeneres herself has over 6.5 million Twitter followers. One Million Moms couldn’t have picked a more universally liked person to protest. We have no doubt that their “concerns” will be overshadowed by support for the comedian.
THEY SAID:
E! Online: “None of the million should hold her breath, because JC Penney is standing strong behind DeGeneres.”
Fashionista: “Allow us to rant for a moment here. Ellen is a pretty beloved figure on the American pop culture scene, and we actually can’t think of a more wholesome TV show than her daytime show. And shouldn’t moms be teaching their children tolerance about different lifestyles? (Ellen’s also been the face of Cover Girl for a while now, but no one has protested that. Maybe conservative moms don’t wear makeup.”

WE SAID:
Rani Sheen, copy/health editor: “It’s telling that even the most likeable woman in America can’t take on a job like this without attracting ire from Christian conservatives. The retailer will hardly be hurt by the controversy: DeGeneres’s role as Cover Girl spokesmodel certainly hasn’t hurt the brand, nor will the past week’s wildly viral clips from her TV show of Kristen Bell freaking out about a cute sloth and the push-up contest with Michelle Obama.”

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The details on Valentino’s fairytale hit and Azzedine Alaïa’s super-secret show | Hollywood yohana




Couture Week in Paris came to a close today with Azzedine Alaïa showing his first presentation in ages. As we’ve been reporting, the past few days have been marked with highs (Givenchy) and lows (Dior). Regardless, the overall messages of unabashed luxury and attention to detail, inherent to haute dressing, were unanimously heard loud and clear from the handful of couturiers who showed.
It was a success story at Valentino, where designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli made a solid argument for the relevance of couture. The collection was inspired by the flight of the Russian aristocracy after the breakout of revolution, but it sometimes felt more like a medieval fantasy. Sheer, light fabrics, gilded ornamentation, and house signatures such as vibrant red, bows, and lace felt youthful not stuffy, proving that haute couture can still be fresh and exciting when modernized.
At Alaïa, things were more secretive. Showing during an organized fashion week isn’t usually the designer’s style, and today’s presentation wasn’t an occasion to attract endless media attention. Images of the clothing have yet to be released, however Jeanne Beker described strict lines, croc coats, and some pieces in Mongolian lamb. If the move towards exclusivity sounds strange in today’s world of democratized fast fashion, it does make sense in terms of couture’s traditional exclusive nature, only being accessible to a select few. Despite the scant media coverage, big names like Kanye West, Donatella Versace, and Sofia Coppola were in attendance. You can bet there were no members of Vogue present as Alaïa’s feud with Anna Wintour rages on.

WHAT THEY SAID:
Sarah Mower on Valentino: “Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli are really cracking it.
Beker on Alaïa: “Crowd is clapping incessantly at Alaïa, and he’s finally literally dragged out. SUCH shyness and humility!”
Julia Robson, Telegraph UK, on Valentino: “These were clothes fit for a Princess: Step forward, the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlene of Monaco, two women who could slip into Valentino couture and find they fit as snugly as Cinderella’s slipper.”
Jim Shi on Alaïa: “At Alaïa couture show, models strutted 2 Beyoncé’s ‘Girls Who Run the World’ (luv!); not a single Vogue editor attended.”
WHAT WE SAID:
Rani Sheen, features director, on Alaïa: “Just imagine being one of the select, lucky few attending the first ever Azzedine Alaïa haute couture show today: You show up to his home in the Marais, mingle with Donatella, Sofia, and Kanye on the sidewalk, and speculate about whether you’ll see his possible-nemeses Anna or Karl. Oh, and the clothes!”

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Are Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth too young to be engaged? Do you care? | Hollywood yohana




It’s official: Hannah Montana is all grown up. The 19-year-old singer/actress said “yes” to Liam Hemsworth last week, when he proposed to her with a 3.5 carat Neil Lane sparkler after three years of on-and-off dating.
“Thank you for all the love today :) I’m happy to share this news with you all. I feel like all my dreams are coming true. ❤ have a great day,” Cyrus tweeted earlier today. Twenty-two-year-old “Hunger Games” star Hemsworth may be young, but he’s apparently all class: the vintage, cushion-cut diamond he got for his new fiancée came in at a hefty $100,000. While the reaction to the couple’s engagement has been mostly supportive, there’s definitely a pink elephant in the room: the couple’s exceptionally young age.
With articles like this recent one from Jezebel, which details 10 good reasons why some people choose not to get married, and an ever-increasing focus on careers over families for women, it’s a bit strange to think of someone as young as Cyrus already planning her forever. And of course, if we learned anything from Sex and the City, it’s that women who “settle” like Lainey (remember the pregnant one who stole Charlotte’s baby name?) or get hitched early like Natasha (“the stick figure with no soul”) were probably setting their relationships up for failure, or, at the very least, setting themselves up for an unfulfilling life.
We’ve got to admit that even if 19 is a bit on the young side for us, this People slideshow of the couple’s PDA is pretty endearing in a slightly nauseating way, and their overt love for one another does give us hope that they might make it. On the other hand, we are a bit jaded on Hollywood love, especially of the young variety (K-Fed and Britney…enough said). Even celebrity couples who marry in their late 20s or 30s usually wind up breaking things off—how can someone who hasn’t even hit their 20-year mark be expected to sustain a lasting relationship in Hollywood?
What do you think: are Cyrus and Hemsworth setting themselves up for an early Kardashian-Humphries-style breakup?


THEY SAID…

The Undateable Girl: Miley Cyrus is engaged at 19 and I couldn’t pay a guy to date me #COOL”
Skeery Jones: “19 year old @MileyCyrus & 22 year old Liam Hemsworth’s marriage has about as much chance of making it as an iPhone left on the subway.”
WE SAID…
Lesa Hannah, beauty director: “Godspeed.”

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Nail Corner: A Louis Vuitton-inspired sugary pastel and lace manicure | Hollywood yohana



Cotton candy colours and oversized lace flowers were all over Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2012 collection, as well as many a trend report. But unlike other delicate prints, Louis Vuitton’s take on femininity seems almost animated: pale shades of saccharine colours get a bit of bounce with large lace eyelets. As inspiration for Nail Corner, the pastels were right in line with many new nail polish shades—it was definitely hard to choose just five colours to use!
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Beauty trend: Flushed cheeks, glistening skin and hit-the-showers hair did laps on the Spring 2012 runways. We take a closer look at athletic-inspired beauty| Hollywood yohana

Athlete’s world



Drenched hair and skin, cheeks flushed from exertion—with clear eyes and full hearts, Kari Molvar contends this season’s beauty can’t lose.
Gearing up for fashion week is always a sport in itself, but this season designers and backstage beauty pros went for a literal interpretation. With slicked-back hair and rosy cheeks flushed as if they’d just come in from a run, models strode athletically down the runways in mesh tracksuits, neoprene zip-ups and jerseys ticked with racing stripes. But even if you’re not in training mode, the look is just as chic. With that in mind, we asked the elite hair and makeup pros to give us a few pointers on pulling off the trend.

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Nail art can’t get better than this: You can now put Ryan Gosling, Joe Jonas and Robert Pattinson on your nails! | Hollywood yohana



 We’re totally wearing our hearts on our… er, nails… with Rad Nails’ newest addition to their nail wrap collection, the Hot Man-icure. The illustrated nail wrap set features the faces of our favourite Hollywood hotties—Ryan Gosling, Robert Pattinson, Joe Jonas, Zac Efron and Pharrell—printed on easy peel and stick decals, meaning you can create a perfect ten manicure without having to visit the salon. Each wrap set comes with twenty nail designs that you can mix to your liking, and it’s worth mentioning that the thumb wraps (a.k.a. the biggest picture of them all!) showcases the face of our favourite Canadian cutie, Ryan Gosling. (We even liked him during his Breaker High days.) Hooray for cute boys who make for even cuter nail art!


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Fashion’s finest (Zoe Saldana! Olivia Palermo! Coco Rocha!) take to the polo pitch at New York’s Liberty State Park for Veuve Clicquot’s Polo Classic | Hollywood yohana




As the Statue of Liberty looked on, some of fashion’s finest took to the polo pitch at New York’s Liberty State Park, where Veuve Clicquot rang in their fifth annual Polo Classic. From Poppy Delevigne’s floral sundress to Coco Rocha’s silver-embellished blush dress, the star-studded attendees were decked out in full summer wear as they mingled in the marigold yellow VIP tents. On the pitch, Rachel Zoe sported her signature brand of boho chic in a maxi dress and floppy hat as she threw out the ceremonial ball to start the game. This year, the Polo Classic supported Work to Ride, a non-profit organization that aids disadvantaged urban youth by getting them involved with equestrian activities. Polo star Nacho Figueras, who co-hosted the event alongside his wife Delfina Blaquier, actor Clive Owen and the president of Veuve Clicquot U.S., Vanessa Kay, led the polo game. Once it wrapped up, the polo players celebrated by shooting off a Veuve spray (of course) and toasting the day with raised flutes.

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