“Complimentary magazines” in retail and department stores are getting tremendously popular because it’s a cheap and easy way for stores to promote themselves. H&M’s magazine has been available for customers for a long time, it’s “the” prime example among free papers. They always have interesting interviews mixed with several editorials, a small trend report and the feel is ultimately very close to a commercial magazine.

The Swedish retailer Monki is expanding in the UK and they are the most recent addition to the free magazine trend. But in many ways their focus lies much less on promoting what they’re selling: instead, it’s a cultural and esthetically beautiful paper. Each page’s thickness indicates that they haven’t scrimped on the quality. They’ve collaborated with a bunch of popular bloggers and street style photographers like Susie Bubble, Rike Döpp, Jools Hunter and Yvan Rodic (FaceHunter). There are drawings of stars like Florence Welch and blurry analog photos displaying a Bob Dylan record and a bunch of LPs in the background. You might say It’s the perfect combination for a “hipster”, it’s certainly appealing to the Monki customer.

Even though the ultimate goal is to promote the garments in the best possible way and display their price for the readers, many stores make the mistake to have just a catalogue with some additional text. But H&M and Monki knows this isn’t what the customer wants to take home in their bag, they want more out of it.

“It's often much cheaper than an ad campaign, and arguably just as effective,” Alice Litscher, a fashion communication professor at the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris, tells the Times. “Why spend €40,000 a page to advertise in Vogue when, for the same amount of money, you can publish an entire magazine?”

Acne is another example, in a class of its own: they have put so much effort into their cultural A3-paper that they sell it in bookstores and other magazine shops. Because it’s such a beautiful piece many purchase it to have on their coffee table.

Dior just recently launched their online magazine, DiorMag, in its inaugural issue you can read eight articles. They will explore topics ranging from a look back at the history of the house from 1947 until now to updates on new products. The objective is to give readers an insider’s view of the brand.

Don’t forget that we at TellusFashion have our very own online Magazine, which keeps you up-to-date with our designers, all fashion weeks, exhibitions, and plenty more.

After Metropolitan Museum of Art’s beyond successful exhibition “Savage Beauty”, featuring Alexander McQueen’s creations, this year you can look forward to the exhibit “Impossible Conversations” -  Elsa Schiaparelli’s and Miuccia Prada’s similarities. The Costume Institute focuses on the correlations between the two iconic designers, even though they didn’t work under the same era they both have an Italian heritage. Their clothes will be displayed side by side all in connection with seven different subjects. For example “Waist Up/ Waist Down”, which will show Schiaparelli's use of decorative upper-body garments and Prada's below-the-waist focus on symbolic expression of modernity and femininity.

Another theme is “Ugly Chic”, you might be able to guess what will be shown under this title: it’s of course how the two seamstresses played with good and bad taste through color, prints, and textiles.  “The Classical Body” is not as easy to figure out, which also incorporates "The Pagan Body," and explores the designers engagement with antiquity through the gaze of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Then there’s a subject that surely will be a favorite, “Neck Up/Knees Down", which will showcase the immensely beloved Schiaparelli hats and Prada's footwear.

The curators were inspired by Miguel Covarrubias's "Impossible Interviews" for Vanity Fair in the 1930s. Because of this all of these subjects will be accompanied by a fictional "conversation" between the two women, as imagined (and simulated through cinematographic hoodoo) by film director Baz Luhrmann.

An early prediction can, certainly, be false as there are still a lot of great shows to come, but Milan fashion week started off quite slow. It hasn’t been as breathtaking as it usually is.

Francesco Scognamiglio has in only three years developed quickly, shown spectacular collections that are worthy the massive competition in Italy’s fashion capital. Today he’s the talk of the town with the show everyone wants to attend. The looks that came down the runway this time were more safe than ever, not as bold as last time. But still, the collection was made to sell and will definitely do so, for the every-day fashionistas this is the perfect wardrobe: a lot of leather both skirts and dresses, shirts with stunning prints and over-sized coats.

Behind Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi, two skill-full designers combined their talents and created a modern collection. The models wore an unusual accessory: belly-shields, it’s hard to say how flattering one of those would look with the clothes you have in your wardrobe. But with high-fashion garments such as these you can get away with it. Fendi has become known for colouring fur in the most striking nuances and this time was no exception: at the end of the show yellow appeared in two looks. It’s safe to say that colourful furs will be a trend next season, seen at quite a few shows in London like Matthew Williamson and Meadham Kirchhoff.

It’s hard to forget Prada’s memorable menswear show in January; this time the models walked over the same fitted carpet though in a new colour - purple. The mesmerizing embroidery consisting of gems attached to the clothes made the collection a success, because it could easily have been dragged down by the pajama-suits in retro prints which weren’t as beautiful. After the show Miucccia Prada said:

    “Everyone has a theory about their collections these days, but I'm sick of theory. This collection is about the pleasure of fashion.”

Prada A/W
Image Courtesy of Style.com

After seeing the V Avenue Shoe Repair’s show at Stockholm fashion week, and reading an article recently titled “3D no longer only in cinemas”, I got intrigued and fascinated by the part 3D printers will play in the fashion industry and for the consumer. The Swedish brand mentioned above used one of these printers to create jewellery for their collection - gold-coloured, claw-like creations. This is not the first time the technique has been used, last year the brand Continuum created the very first bikini in nylon with a printer which is currently on sale (on their website).

If you’re wondering how all of this will works, you’ll download a three dimensional “print”, and then the printer will do the rest of the work; re-creating it layer by layer (an item can also be scanned in a 3D-scanner). You will be able to colour parts of the object but not in any material. In the near future people will be able to have 3D-printers at home, they’re getting cheaper as times goes by. Which means people who enjoy creating DIY-accessories will be able to print everything from necklaces to sunglasses - even a pair of heels.

There are endless possibilities for the creative mind but there’s unfortunately a negative aspect to it as well: it will be big business for people who make a living copying designer handbags and other accessories. Of course there are limits to which designs are in the danger zone, not everything is made in materials which can be copied. It’s hard to say how widely it’s going to affect the market and what the consequences will be for the industry.

I don’t want to speculate if there’s any similarities with what the music industry has gone through during the last decade, losing roughly half of their sales to downloading. It seems far-fetched to say a 3D-printer will make more people productive also wanting to print the things that are more easily bought. Many people buy fashion items for the quality and others for the brand name, which can never be replicated with a printer.

Nick Knight is known all over the globe for his fashion editorials, and for this he’s been awarded countless times. Knight is undeniably a British national treasure when it comes to fashion photography and film. He’s also the director of the website SHOWstudio, which is dedicated to online fashion broadcasting. He started the site in 2000, long before everyone else was doing it, and since then it has revolutionized live interactive projects and fashion films.  

If you were lucky you popped by the site and watched a live stream when he was standing behind the camera shooting a fashion film starring super model Karlie Kloss. The film celebrates a decade of Topshop sponsoring the British Fashion Council's NEWGEN scheme. Showcasing the very best of ten years of talent with garments from the one-off collections created for Topshop by some of the greatest of British fashion. (TIP: don’t forget Mary Katrantzou’s stunning collection for Topshop launching today in their stores.)

To stay informed we suggest you follow SHOWstudio on Facebook; then you can see when they’re live streaming. Another great stream they recently had was from the photo-shoot with Lara Stone called “ Power-dressing”, styled by Carine Roitfeld. If you sat in front of the computer that day, you got to see Roitfeld live in action when she picked out outfits for Stone to wear. Such a rare occurrence that ordinary people never get to see up-close and behind the scenes.

Mary Katrantzou for Topshop
Image Courtesy of Graziadaily.co.uk
 

This is not the only reason we highly recommend you to check out the site, they also have a lot of interesting “In Fashion” interviews. Today just in time for London fashion Week A/W 2012, which starts with Central Saint Martins MA show, they befittingly uploaded an interview with renowned Professor Louise Wilson OBE. She’s influenced designers as diverse as Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou. There’s a rumor that if you don’t get on her good side then you won’t make it to the top class of the fashion industry. There might not be any truth to it, but it makes it even more intriguing to watch WIlson discuss her work with journalist and author Hywel Davies.

Watch the interview here.

It would have been easy to quickly dismiss Robin Givhan’s piece in Newsweek, headlined “Lagerfeld is Overrated”,  with its sole purpose not to inform but to sell copies. Then there’s the fact that the article itself is built on no strong arguments; the things the Pulitzer prize winner writes are only backed up by a few hand-picked sources (one should reflect long and hard on why she selected these people to out their opinions). A large group of the fashion industry would have nothing else than praise for the multi-talented artist Lagerfeld.

Foremost one can see why somebody would want to write an article about Lagerfeld's choices in business. One can ask the question why he does so many collaborations as the one with Coca Cola and Magnum ice cream... He doesn't need more money, so why? But this story is not written about the businessman Lagerfeld, but about the designer. When you're heading into deep water and you know you're in a rowing-boat you should be careful. Givhan is clearly fishing for people to purchase a paper magazine that's losing income. As Karl himself put it:

”I feel sorry for Tina Brown that her paper is really going down. It’s so skinny, it’s really what we call a ‘diet issue’ because it has no advertising and she certainly will not get advertising with this kind of article.”

This is what Givhan writes about Lagerfeld's work for Chanel:

"What Lagerfeld did not do is add to the vocabulary itself. If a great designer is judged by a silhouette he has popularized, a sensibility he has nurtured, or an aesthetic that is unmistakably his own, then Lagerfeld has failed."

As she mentions early on, Lagerfeld has worked for both Fendi and Chloé as well as Chanel, and more importantly, has his own brand. Is she deliberately ignoring the fact that if you take over a fashion house like Chanel, with a former iconic master such as Coco Chanel, you must keep the legacy and essence of her work alive? You must never fail to represent the founder's work with a new twist. If this is removed from an old fashion house it should no longer wear its founder's name.

Chanel Haute Couture
Image Courtesy of urfunked.com

 "Lagerfeld is the personality who guides the Chanel brand. But the designer has never shifted Chanel away from the all-consuming presence of Coco... not in the way in which Sarah Burton is moving Alexander McQueen away from the emotionally freighted yearnings of the individual and toward a more dispassionate corporate entity,” Givhan writes.

It will be impossible to cover all of the brilliant and innovative things Lagerfeld has done during his long stay as creative director. Set aside the religion that surrounds the man, he has never failed to create the most talked-about and admired collections, praised for keeping the essence of Coco with a modern and new twist while mixing in his own dream-like creations.

Image Courtesy of Initials D.B. (blogspot.com)

Givhan is ignoring what Sarah Burton is really doing with McQueen's brand: giving the collections a more feminine touch which means making it more her brand. To cut a brand's bond to its origin is a dangerous path to embark on. She's still kept the craftsmanship of Lee McQueen, which is very important, but has removed the political statements McQueen was known for.

The question is: should we even compare two designers who are different in so many ways and say one is better than the other?
 

There is coming in loads of content from New York fashion week, and not everyone might have the time to look at the live streams from the shows or the massive amount of photos. To make it easy for you, we at TellusFashion have picked the hottest shows that has impressed so far.

First and foremost BCBG Max Azria made a much better collection than in several seasons, even though it resembled the last one’s, it topped them all. They had succeeded in a class of their own with the details of each garment, especially the flaring pleats but also the square pattern. Starting the show by sending out a model in a cool trench with leather pockets made one more intrigued about what to come. The looks that came out after were at first modest, than the heavy artillery came: a lot of color-blocking. As usual all dresses are in knee-length, but if you thought that would remove the hotness think again because see-trough fabric is attached cleverly to hint what might be underneath.

Derek Lam released his Lookbook for the diffusion line 10 Crosby Derek Lam, which had more every-day wear and only a few party dresses. Several wine-red garments, trendy pajama pants and knitted sweaters, which initially means the perfect selection for the fashionable woman. The lower price range makes it more accessible, compared to his other line.

We will end this post with some edge from Libertine who always gives the audience a collection with a feeling of rock’n’roll. The use of grey branches printed on black was reoccurring throughout the show, which looked arty, especially on an all-black transparent top (see photo below). A small selection of cool furs came down the runway, a red one that definitely will stand out in the dark autumn season. But there was one thing that stole the show - the red and black glittering boots.

Almost all of the shows are held at Berns
 

After looking through the photos I took during the three days that Mercedes-Benz fashion week lasted, I evaluated all the looks from the different shows. I came to the conclusion that the two best were Dagmar in first place and secondly Tiger of Sweden. The three sisters behind the brand Dagmar should be tremendously proud of the outcome, every single look stands out and Style.com was as impressed when they wrote:

    "Dagmar was the highlight of the day, if not the week."

Image Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Stockholm Fashion Week
 

Take a closer look at Dagmar’s long dresses, all art-deco inspired, with a slit showing a lot of leg, some of them with long stripes of transparent fabric revealing skin, another hot element. The knitted sweaters all look as if they could be worn as dresses, one of them stunned the audience when it appeared with Yeti-like arms. In Scandinavia we need warm garments, therefore a fluffy vest is not unexpected, but what was was that it reached down to the feet of top-model Frida Gustavsson, but nevertheless it looked stunning. A black and fierce leather-cut top, suiting for a warrior princess, was the garment that received most attention. This was the only A/W collection that successfully combined daywear and evening wear.

Tiger of Sweden’s collection consisted of more all-around wear than Dagmar’s; a lot of tailored coats, of course a couple of pairs of leather pants and black furry jackets. Many of the models wore black hats which gave a cool effect to the looks, it might also had something to do with that the models walked out in a trio (very powerful). One dark orange colour was returning during the whole show, combining perfectly with black. If one had to choose the best look it must have been a suit in the magnificent orange nuance mentioned above.

If your going to choose what to import from Sweden for next season, it should be any dress or garment from Dagmar’s triumph collection.

Two of my looks at Fashion Week:

All of the press, buyers and guests are seated and staring at a shining U-shaped catwalk in bronze. A film starts playing showing the jury of the H&M Design Award discussing and motivating their choice. Then they present the honorary.
 
With all of the nominees from different countries attending, the prize of €50,000 went to Stine Riis, recently graduated from London College of Fashion. The moment she realises she's the one they've picked, among so many other striving designers from six top design schools, you could not only see the happiness by the smile on her face but by the eyes shining, not being able to hold back tears of joy.
 
Then the models walk out wearing Riis’ label. The first one in striking blue and red; after a few looks you can see there’s a mix of at least two nuances in every outfit. Elegant furs and skirts with plastic details, half of the pant in one colour and the other leg in another. It is modern and sophisticated and the focus lies on the combination of high-waist pants and sweaters.
 
One could spot Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M's Head of Design, looking satisfied while sitting with her legs crossed on the front row. And rightly so, the collection is a prime example of well-tailored garments, with cool details like cut-out pieces of PVC. The show ended quickly but the clothes will definitely stay in one’s memory until sold in selected stores this autumn.
 
If we sum up the great outcome of this award it has blessed an up-and coming designer like Riis with both a budget and the media attention that few receive. It is a splendid initiative from one of the most successful retailers in the world which has now given back to the design community.

Front-row from left to rigth: Susie Bubble, Hilary Alexander (The Telegraph), Ann-Sofie Johansson, unknown man, Margareta van den Bosch