yohana reni p

Jean Paul Gaultier’s Amy Winehouse-inspired couture collection has many feeling uneasy | Hollywood yohana




The inspiration for yesterday’s Jean Paul Gaultier couture show has many feeling a bit uneasy. Walking to a barbershop rendition of Rehab, the models were total Amy Winehouse doppelgangers, complete with beehives, lip piercings, and thickly winged eyeliner (not to mention exposed bra straps and cigarettes). Considering the news-making songstress died just over six months ago, it seems like a case of too much, too soon.
At the forefront of those who are decrying the show is Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, who just this morning tweeted: “We don’t support the Jean Paul Gaultier’s [sic] collection. It’s in bad taste.”
It is pretty clear Gaultier had only the purest of intentions—he told WWD he wanted to celebrate Winehouse because she was “truly a fashion icon.” We’re surprised the Gaultier camp didn’t think to make sure the collection was okay with her family—or at least give them a heads up first. As it stands, it’s disappointing that the beautiful clothes can’t be fully appreciated because of this poor timing.
THEY SAID:
WWD: “Unlike Alexander McQueen’s sober, soulful runway tribute to his friend Isabella Blow, this felt at best ill-advised: a young woman who died tragically less than a year ago the fodder for an oh-so-feisty fashion show.”
Mr. Paparazzi: “Some thought the collection was a fitting tribute to the late star, while others thought it was done in incredibly bad taste (as was evident when hardly anyone clapped at the end of the show when Gaultier himself took to the runway).”
The Independent: “Monday marked the six month anniversary of Winehouse’s death and her father broke news of a forthcoming memorial concert only days ago. Gaultier’s tribute was well-intentioned, clearly, but gave rise to a palpable sense of unease.”
WE SAID:

Caitlin Agnew, assistant editor/research: “Gaultier is a lightening rod for controversy and this collection is no exception. Heartfelt tribute or grab for attention? I’d say a little bit of both.”

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yohana reni p

The story behind the explosion of the Cambridge Satchels | Hollywood yohana




 This past summer and into the fall, identical brightly hued satchels in every colour of the rainbow began popping up everywhere from style blogs to outside of Spring 2012 shows. No label, no glitz, just simplistic construction and straight up utility. Unlike often-unattainable It bags, The Cambridge Satchel Company satchels don’t break the bank, with styles ranging from just $100 to $200 a pop. A surprise hit with street stylers and editors alike, the bag’s success was somewhat of a shock to its creator, the U.K.-based (Cambridge, to be exact) mother, Julie Deane, who started her business with her mother as a means to send her daughter to private school. Although her former manufacturer saw that Deane had hit upon something special (they stole her designs and she’s pursuing legal action), she still can’t believe her satchels “appear on such stylish people and in such amazing stores. I feel very honoured,” she says.


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yohana reni p

Jeanne Beker announces Fashion Television’s final days | Hollywood yohana




After 27 years of bringing some of the best/most vibrant/most in-your-face/most decadent fashion show, news and creative coverage to television sets across the country, Jeanne Beker announced this morning via Twitter that Fashion Television has ceased production. We’re having a McQueen moment. Can this be?
After tweeting about its demise, Beker followed up with: “But life’s about change! We have to embrace that. NEW dreams now. Looking forward to working with Bellmedia + evolving the FT brand.” While we’re still trying to turn our major sad faces upside down, we’re going to channel the longtime host’s optimism. We wish Beker and the entire team all the best in their future endeavours.

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Gossip that rhymes: Pilati for Armani? | Hollywood yohana

What with Raf Simons now officially at Dior, Hedi Slimane officially at YSL and Jil Sander officially at…Jil Sander, it seemed the fashion-land rumour mill was as good as retired. But how silly of us.
(Re)enter Stefano Pilati, who was replaced as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent in late February. Sources (namely Jim Shi) are saying a stint at Giorgio Armani with “full creative reigns” may be in Pilati’s future.
It does make sense. Septuagenarian Armani (he’s 77) may be ready to retire from the creative helm of his luxury empire soon. And while names like Narciso Rodriguez have also been thrown into the hat, we think Pilati could do some great things for Armani.


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yohana reni p

Make CONTACT: Our essential guide to the photography festival | Hollywood yohana





One month, one bajillion photo exhibits. What to see? Here, I’ve picked a handful of shows I think you should like. For so much more, go play around the official site, scotiabankcontactphoto.

Larry Fink: Paradise
Fink, a Beat photographer with a poetic sense of composition, documented postwar youth in soft black and white. At the opening, guests tried to suss out which of the tough, innocent faces and half-dressed figures were famous; I concluded none of them were. It’s just that Fink could made cool nobodies look iconic.
At Neubacher Shor Contemporary (now through May 31, 5 Brock, 416-546-3683, neubachershor)


Chris Curreri: Model in the Sculptor’s Studio
A surreal, sly provocateur, Curreri treats his models as found objects, contorting or (conceptually) mutilating their bodies. The photos are clean and beautiful, but disturbing; powerful work.
At the University of Toronto Art Centre’s Art Lounge (now through May 31,15 King’s College Circle, utac.utoronto)

Hermann & Audrey: Exhibit.

This is Hermann & Audrey‘s second cool collective show. I like the minimal portraits of clean-faced, wide-eyed models by Steve Carty; moving images, he calls them, implying a double meaning. There’s also a 3D installation by Javier Lovera and Simon Rojas, starring the National Ballet’s first principal dancer, Jillian Vanstone, in a black cloud of chiffon.
At the 99 Gallery (now through May 22, 99 Sudbury, hermannaudreyexhibit)


Extended Breathing Against the Branches, 2009, by Suzy Lake (Courtesy of Paul Petro Gallery)
Suzy Lake: Political Poetics
If you haven’t read my profile of this quiet, revolutionary feminist artist in our May issue, can you please? Then go see her retrospective, in which she’s both master and subject, by curators Matthew Brower and Carla Garnet.
At the University of Toronto Art Centre (now through June 25, 15 King’s College Circle, utac.utoronto.).
Drake Hotel: I’m Not Here
Robyn Cumming, Sara Cwynar, Daniel Gordon, Alex Prager, Geoffrey Pugen: if you’re even a little bit into art, you’ll recognize a name or two here. I love Prager’s retro, cinematic sets; they make you stare, waiting for something to break out of the frame. Cumming’s work is creepy and sublime. And Cwynar, a Toronto girl making good in New York, is one to watch.
At the Drake Hotel (now through June 20, 1150 Queen St. W, 416-531-5042)

Jessica Eaton and Lucas Blalock: The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
The Gestalt aim of Montreal’s Jessica Eaton and Brooklyn’s Lucas Blalock is achieved by revealing the parts that form the whole. Eaton uses a complicated in-camera system to break out her colours into Divisionist dots (they also have a lit-up Impressionist quality). Blalock makes visible his layers in Photoshop, creating a fragmentary, reality-challenging perception. None of that craftiness would mean anything if the photos weren’t pretty and arresting, but they are.

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yohana reni p

Project Runway All Stars recap: Gelato gowns for Miranda Kerr? | Hollywood yohana




 Things took a porcine turn last episode, so I was thrilled to see the Project Runway producers go a little softer (or maybe soft serve?) on the All Stars this week, plying them with stupidly named gelato flavors before slapping them with their dubious challenge.

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yohana reni p

Adam Brody and Chace Crawford compare teenage heartthrobs notes at the Soho House, while we spill a drink on Harvey Weinstein | Hollywood yohana

sept11-tiff-soho4



The tagline on next year’s Grey Goose Soho House invites should seriously read: “Four nights, four million celebs,” because it’s not normal how many are inside this place at one point on any given night. Last night, just as Madonna’s W.E. dinner was clearing out, we moseyed on over to catch a glimpse of our maker but, alas, she had slipped away. It quickly became apparent, though, that one Material Girl lost meant a million teenage heartthrobs gained. Or, should we say, a million teenage heartthrobs interacting with each other. In one corner, Adam Brody and Chace Crawford were chatting, most certainly trading notes about how to be a Josh Schwartz–moulded babe. In the next (or rather, upstairs), Justin Long and Michael Fassbender were busy at the ping-pong tables. As we mentioned earlier, Fassbender should probably stick to his day job, since his entire game consisted of running back and forth to catch his balls. (One landed near my foot. He touched it. And then apologized.) Channing Tatum was there somewhere too, but we didn’t spot him, or his dance moves. Back downstairs, Gerard Butler chatted with several, several ladies, one of who was Olivia Wilde in a body-hugging mega-sexy black dress. Peppered in among the youngsters, former heartthrobs (still, kinda?) Ralph Fiennes and Val Kilmer worked the room. They both have lots of hair at the moment.

And for a bit of fashion plateage? Jessica Chastain was in a mustard-yellow stunner, Jennifer Garner wore a lovely and ladylike dress, Abbie Cornish in a Grecian gown, Kate Mara in a purple mini, Zoe Kravitz in her signature punk look, and Juliette Lewis rocked a creation from hometown-boy Todd Lynn. (She was really shocked that I knew that, but little does she know how much we cling to Canadian talents.) “He’s really into structure and softness,” she said.
Oh, and one last detail: as Harvey Weinstein chatted with my friends and Toronto Life writers Lia Parsley and Fraser Abe, I attempted to pass a drink and spilled it down Weinstein’s back. He seemed not to notice, so I cried on the inside. As I left the still-pumping packed house at around 2:30 a.m., Chace Crawford followed, and was mobbed by “Chace!” “Chace!” “Chace!” and a paparazzi crush as he attempted to flag a cab. I think I stole his, so I guess that means no xoxo for me!


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yohana reni p

We talk Britney and Bowie with It girl and M.A.C. Viva Glam Fashion Cares performer Sky Ferreira | Hollywood yohana




“It’s a blessing and a curse,” Sky Ferreira opines about the conflicting aspects of her sound, a duality in tastes that has seen her through gritty Debbie Harry–esque melodies to raw Jon Brion–produced ballads. The 19-year-old singer is a bit of a dichotomy herself: she will unabashedly profess her adoration for Britney Spears in the same breath as her love for David Bowie, and makes no apologies for being tricky to label.

“It’s hard to get people to understand me because of it, because people want to pigeonhole someone, like I have to have this ‘sound,’” she told FASHION in a phone interview.
That refusal to simplify herself hasn’t stopped the fashion and music world from noticing her, though; if anything, it’s this diversity that has the big names in the industry knocking at her door.
Terry Richardson has become a pal (he even shot the music video for her new single “Red Lips” off of her upcoming album I’m Not Alright, which is slated for release later this year), Mario Testino captured her for a Madonna-inspired feature in V Magazine, Garbage singer Shirley Manson signed up to collaborate with Ferreira for her new album and now she’s joining Elton John in Toronto for M.A.C. Viva Glam Fashion Cares 25, which benefits the AIDS Committee of Toronto and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
“It was definitely hard work but it was also a bit of luck, somewhere between both of those,” Ferreira said of landing the gig. “Elton is a big supporter, so that helps, and I’ve also been really involved in a lot of fashion too, so it kind of works out perfectly.”
The singer’s foray into the fashion industry has quickly become one of the things Ferreira’s most known for. Her self-confessed “grungy” style is normally an effortless brand of laid-back chic, but she loves dressing up in everything from Givenchy to Yves Saint Laurent as well, and finds sartorial inspiration in Tilda Swinton and the singer Grimes.
“[Tilda’s] very chic, like effortlessly chic and not too fashion-y. You know what I really admire? Anyone who looks amazing without having to look like a stylist did it for you.”
If you were hoping for any of the styling secrets behind Ferreira’s famous, mermaid-esque mane though, you’re out of luck. “My hair looks gigantic no matter what I do and I can never have a hair cut because it’d just go everywhere and be huge. I use Moroccan Oil, that’s pretty much it. I guess I’ll start using more [products] if I ever land a hair contract,” she said with a laugh. “I’m keeping my options open. I feel like my hair has become such a part of me that I might as well make some money off of it.”
Ferreira will be joining Elton John on September 9 for M.A.C. Viva Glam Fashion Cares 25 alongside fashion legend Jeanne Beker and John’s partner David Furnish, with tickets on sale now at Ticketmaster.


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yohana reni p

Celebrate Canada Day with a trip to Toronto’s pride parade, Montreal’s jazz fest and Calgary’s pop ups | Hollywood yohana




 A long weekend means an extra long to-do list. Whether you’re escaping the city for a lazy afternoon at a vineyard, playing the hep cat at a jazz club or watching Michelle Williams on the big screen, fireworks are guaranteed. Happy Canada Day.


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yohana reni p

Pack light for the long weekend: 5 travel-sized hair products you’ll want to add to your suitcase | Hollywood yohana



 Long weekends can throw some beauty curveballs. (What do you mean there’s no running water in the cottage?) Hair can be the biggest challenge, because, yes, you want your go-to products with you, but not if it means dragging around a hockey bag’s worth of them that makes you look like Guido Palau ready for a day on set. We’ve found some pint-sized versions made for summer travel so you can covertly deal with everything from frizz to flatness.


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yohana reni p

Has Anna Dello Russo unintentionally spurred an overhaul of the street style photography industry? | Hollywood yohana





While we have always been fans of authentic street style photography, we do have to agree with some points its critics make; namely, the fact that what used to be a chance encounter between photographer and subject on the streets has devolved into a deliberate spectacle, with some industry types spending weeks meticulously planning trend-laden outfits in the hopes of getting snapped at fashion week.
A Telegraph interview with Anna Dello Russo, one of street style’s most-snapped stars, pretty much sums up the direction street style is now headed in: “In the beginning it was a little embarrassing. But sometimes now I think: ‘Oh, if I do not get photographed I will be miserable,’ or ‘Oh my God, the outfit does not work anymore,’” she told Telegraph.
Fashionista recently tasked a couple of psychology experts with delving into the psychology behind that quote. Their observations seem to link the desire of ADR types to be photographed with a sense of relevance (something that used to be tied with their work, not their Internet fame).
Stuart Fischoff, the senior editor of the Journal of Media Psychology, told Fashionista that many attention-seekers base their self-worth on how others perceive them, so if they’re photog-bait, their sense of well-being goes up. The issue is that the thrilling moments in the spotlight can become addictive—if you become old news, it can feel like being cut off cold turkey.
Not only that, with industry heavy-hitters like GQ, The Cut and Fashionista publishing critical pieces about the “media circus” surrounding fashion week, it will be interesting to see what happens with Anna Dello Russo et al if street style photography ends up puttering out.  Will the street style stars’ industry presence take a hit if they’re not “relevant” as judged by street style blogs?
What do you think: has street photography (and its subjects) lost that authentic edge that once made it so appealing, or is it simply due for an update?
THEY SAID…

Hayley Phelan, Fashionista news editor: “Industry wannabes, dressed in over-the-top fashions, walk by ‘casually,’ desperately hoping to catch the eye of a photographer. . . fashion week used to be a civilized industry event.”
Will Welch, GQ senior editor: “It was fresh, it was democratic, it was inspired. But now it just feels lame. Here’s why: When the street-style trend went nuclear, all the accidental ‘Who, me?’ un-self-consciousness that once made it so fresh was tainted.”
WE SAID…

Nicole Stafford, photo editor: “The great thing about the oversaturation of street style photographers and the narcissists (haha) who love the cameras outside of shows is that when it comes to doing their jobs—be it as photographers or editors— true talent and style will always rise above the rest.”



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