Jak & Jil Model Moments

Ash

Some of my favorite photographs taken by Tommy Ton of Jak & Jil are those of the models he captures en route to their shows in New York, London, Milan, and Paris during Fashion Week. It should come as no surprise that even out of their element, these models are naturals in front of any camera-- whether it be on the runway or on the street. See for yourself!

Sacha

Karlie

Lyle

Ash

Ash, Tyler, & Crew

Garrett

All images courtesy of Jak & Jil

Here's to You Patrik!

vcuStyle wants to give a HUUUUGGGGGEEEEEEE congratulatory shout out to one of our favorite designers, Patrik Ervell, who was selected 1st runner-up of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Prize at the 6th Annual CVFF awards in New York City earlier this week. The winner of the $200,000 award was French designer Sophie Théallet (last year's winner was American superstar Alexander Wang), but Patrik was still able to take home a cool $50,000. If his recent collections (gold oxidized suits, anyone?) are any indication, I know he'll put the money to good use. See you in the Spring, Patrik!

Patrik with Vogue's Hamish Bowles and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarté

The amazingly cool (and always fly) Mark Ronson rocking the oxidized S/S 2010 Ervell suit

H&M Winter Magazine shot by Terry Richardson

If there are two things I love in this world it's (a) Cole Mohr, only one of the best male models of our generation, and (b) oversexed photographer Terry Richardson, the only man in the world with the ability to make a bag of garbage look ridiculously seductive. At first, the pairing of Richardson and H&M seemed a strange one....a low to mid range fast fashion retailer and the same guy who shoots for Purple, V, and French Vogue? REALLY??? But fortunately (and not surprisingly) the images that resulted from the project proved me wrong. The campaign is very exciting and very rock and roll. A+

Images Courtesy of The Fashionisto

Patrik Ervell S/S 2010

Patrik Ervell S/S 2010 from Patrik Ervell on Vimeo.

Company of We

I'm honestly not sure I can say enough about how friggin awesome this label is! Based out of New York City, the Company of We was founded by partners Jayzel Samonte and Christoper Crawford as the answer to high priced menswear in a tough economic climate. In their own words, Company of We was "launched in 2009 to alleviate the Bergdorf Blues—a malady inflicted from a growing inability to justify the price tags lurking within those synonymous lilac shopping bags." In my personal opinion the design, quality, and fit of their garments rival that of high-end menswear labels such Band of Outsiders, Rag & Bone, and even Thom Browne!

Ironically, Company of We has garnered so much press and attention (in addition to a tremendously loyal fan following--myself included) that the line has been picked up by some of the finest upscale retailers like Sak's Fifth Avenue, Fred Segal, Holt Renfrew, and more! Check out their Fall 2009 campaign below and visit the site to buy (honestly, guys, the merchandise couldn't possibly be more affordable).

Runway to Reality: Louis Vuitton S/S 2010

Louis Vuitton S/S 2010

It hasn't even been 5 full days yet since they debuted on the runway and fashionistas are already rocking looks from the Louis Vuitton S/S 2010 collection! While the select few who actually have access to the pieces can be called lucky, they've also got to be among some of the ballsiest people I know. Marc Jacob's collection for LV was crazy! I mean come on. Shoulder bags with rabbit tails! Neon colors! Furry kitten heels! Afros!?!? Don't get me wrong, the collection was great and forward thinking but I didn't imagine that the pieces would translate from runway to ready-to-wear with such ease. I can't wait to see exactly how much influence this particular collection will have on apparel and accessory trends come Spring.

Real-life street shots from the street courtesy of Jak & Jil:

As seen on the Vuitton runway:

Don't Quote Me

“Us Weekly putting me on a worst-dressed list? I couldn’t care less...if Karl Lagerfeld called me an ugly hag, then I’d be upset. Because it’s Karl Lagerfeld.” - Lady Gaga to V Magazine

Ash + Cole for Barney's Co-Op Denim

ELLE's Kate Davidson Hudson Prepares for Fashion Week

To kick start New York Fashion Week, ELLE magazine has created a 5-part documentary-style video series showing how 5 different industry insiders (a model, an editor, a publicist, a designer, and the CDFA's Director of Programs) prepare for the chaos that is Fashion Week. Starting with Kate Davidson Hudson, the magazine's Executive Accessories Editor, they'll be posting one video a day. Check it out: ELLE's Kate Davidson Hudson Prepares for Fashion Week

Inspiration or Imitation: W vs. Vogue

"My Grandma Vogue & Grandma W, what similar features you have!"

In the midst of our current recession, the fashion industry is scaling down significantly. Magazines are reducing their budgets and cutting back on editorial expenses (i.e. photo shoots). Well, apparently cutting back means printing an editorial spread that looks eerily similar to a competing magazine's spread from years past (...including the same photographer). For their September issue, Vogue had fashion photog duo Mert & Marcus shoot Natalia Vodianova for a Little Red Riding Hood themed spread called "Into the Woods". Well, call me the Big Bad Wolf because I'M CRYING FOUL!!! Word on the street (and by the street I mean a select few fashion forums, hehe) is that Vogue blatantly copied a similar editorial done by W magazine back in 2007 which ALSO happened to be shot by Mert & Marcus. I'll let you judge for yourself how similar the two spreads are, with shots from the W spread on the left and ones from the Vogue spread on the right:

Mayer's Tricked-Out Pad

...your dorm, too, can look like this!

In the September issue of Elle Decor (which I do not read, by the way...you know, just in case you were wondering), the magazine features a spread of John Mayer's apartment. As you can tell from the resulting photos, the conditions were absolutely horrendous. The musician's 2,5000 square foot apartment located in SoHo was decorated by Armani Casa, of whom Mayer is a fan (who knew!) The feeling was mutual, and Armani was more than happy to lend his magical hand saying, "I wanted to create a sophisticated environment for John, one that will bring as much pleasure to him as his music brings to us." Visitare mia camera, Giorgio!

Poor Man's Blues

In poor taste?

Today, our favorite street-style photographer, Scott Schuman (a.k.a The Sartorialist) took the above photo of a homeless gentleman who Schuman described as "someone who, while down on his luck, hasn't lost his need to communicate and express himself through style." I just can't decide how I feel about the picture. On the one hand, I don't see anything wrong with Scott shooting this guy who seems to be trying to make the best out of his situation by demonstrating a unique sense of style and, in effect, maintaining a sense of self. Too, inspiration comes from a wide variety of sources, this situation being no exception. However, on the other hand I see it as being exploitative on Schuman's part by using this poor man's misfortune to benefit himself (whether it be through increased blog hits, to garner more attention and publicity, who knows). While I truly doubt (or at least hope) that isn't the case, I still think the photo was tasteless. Sorry, Scott.

The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman

The Sartorialist Flick Through from Susie Bubble on Vimeo.

GO OUT AND BUY THIS BOOK!!!

Inside Rachel Zoe's Studio

Ummm, yeah, can you say BANANAS! Talk about a sea of shoes! The celebrity stylist has hundreds of pairs of shoes lined up for her clients, with everything from Louboutin and Zanotti to YSL and Blahnik. We can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to open the door to the studio everyday and come face to face with the fiercest heels in the world! You know Rachel and Taylor (heck, probably Brad, too) are always tempted to slip on a pair. WERQ!

BONUS: Let's see how many styles we can identify! I know the photo is pretty small and each shoe looks miniscule in comparison to the whole collection but let's try. I've spotted a D'Orsay Pump by Manolo.