HAUTE COUTURE WEEK

In France, the term haute couture is protected by law and is defined by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris based in Paris, France. Their rules state that only "those companies mentioned on the list drawn up each year by a commission domiciled at the Ministry for Industry are entitled to avail themselves" of the label haute couture. The criteria for haute couture were established in 1945 and updated in 1992.

To earn the right to call itself a couture house and to use the term haute couture in its advertising and any other way, members of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture must follow these rules:
Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.

Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.

Each season (i.e., twice a year), present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five runs/exits with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.

However, the term haute couture may have been misused by ready-to-wear brands since the late 1980s, so that its true meaning may have become blurred with that of prêt-à-porter (the French term for ready-to-wear fashion) in the public perception. Every haute couture house also markets prêt-à-porter collections, which typically deliver a higher return on investment than their custom clothing[citation needed]. Falling revenues have forced a few couture houses to abandon their less profitable couture division and concentrate solely on the less prestigious prêt-à-porter. These houses, such as Italian designer Roberto Capucci, all of whom have their workshops in Italy, are no longer considered haute couture.

YOHJI YAMAMOTO

Yamamoto became an influential fashion designer after making his Paris debut in 1981. His commercially successful main lines, Yohji Yamamoto (women/men) and Y's, are especially popular in Tokyo. These two lines are also available at his flagship stores in New York, Paris, and Antwerp, and at high-end department stores worldwide. Yohji Yamamoto Inc. reported in 2007 that the sales of Yamamoto's two main lines average above $100 million annually.

Yamamoto is known for an avant-garde spirit in his clothing, frequently creating designs far removed from current trends. His signature oversized silhouettes in black often feature drapery in varying textures.
Yohji is by far my favorite designer...the king of layers...when Yohji hit Paris in 1981 I had just stopped modeling but as one can tell have never given up on Fashion...my closet in the 80's was mostly Yohji and Kansai Yamamoto with  some Matsuda and Issey thrown in for good measure.

UNREST IN TUNISIA

I know this is not Fashion...nonetheless...I feel it is worthy of attention...rioting has grown over unemployment in Tunisia...drastic measures have been taken to restore peace...to no avail.  PLEASE watch the interview...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/news/2011/01/110113_tunisia_riot.shtml

SUPER MODEL PAT CLEVELAND

Pat was so hugely popular that during Pret a Porter week shows were shown around her schedule as she was to appear in all shows in Paris in the mid to late 70's
To raise money for the restoration of Versailles, five American upstarts were invited to show their clothes alongside an equal number of what some journalists termed the “lions” of French fashion. The New York contenders were a decidedly motley lot: the gifted and imperious Halston; the industry stalwarts Oscar de la Renta and Bill Blass; Anne Klein, the sportswear pioneer; Stephen Burrows, a relative unknown then being touted as the future of American design. The French team, if that is the word for a collection of arch-rivals, comprised Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior (the label was designed at the time by Marc Bohan), Hubert de Givenchy, Emanuel Ungaro and Pierre Cardin.

What made our show different was that in Paris no one had ever seen a black model on a runway,” Oscar de la Renta said last week by telephone. And while there are those who might dispute the assertion (the designer Paco Rabanne, for one, employed black models in the 1960s), there is no arguing with contemporary reports that described the presence of black models as a major factor in the transformation of American fashion, which the French had derided as mass-produced goods, into a global force.
Looking back on the Versailles show, Ms. Blair said: “I realize that that was my time in history. I was this skinny black girl, taller than Jesus, with no boobs and no booty, but for the first time I was really proud of what I was and where I came from. I was recognized.”
While the Grand Divertissement was far from her first exposure to Paris, said Pat Cleveland — as it was for modeling neophytes like Alva Chinn and Charlene Dash — it was nevertheless a chance to “learn how to express myself and to be bigger than the whole world.”
This was taken from the New York Times January 12, 2011.
What this article did not report was that Yves Saint Laurent and Hubert de Givenchy both had stables of just black models.  My favorite models in Paris at the time were of course Pat but also African goddess Mounia.

FURS OUT AND ABOUT IN NYC

Funny...this young lady last night at an Art Gallery Opening Reception...when I asked if I could take her picture for my blog asked...this is not an anti fur campaign is it...I assured her it was not.

Today was absolutely beautiful...women were out with fur shawls….I saw much more but some of the ladies were flying down the Sidewalk and I could not get to them…another DRATS.

This is my first in a series of women and men sporting fur whether real or faux...I took a picture of  a lady in a beautiful fur on the subway...unfortunately the photo came out fuzzy...drats!
Stay tuned...

FEELING ROMANTIC

Joseph Hayden softly playing in the background and me doing homework...feeling a bit romantic...my paper is on the Social Web for Computer Lit 103.  Me in Gray sweat suits...chilling out.   Oh yea did I mention I have my Hamilton Fashion Blog business cards...now to generate some followers....and people are always asking me for a card...well now I can offer them one.
Where to take this Blog?  Should it be both Men and Womens fashion...or just Women or just Men?  I am thinking a nice balance of the two...I must say because womens fashion changes so often I am thrilled about that and mens fashion rarely really changes.  But there are very interesting Menswear designers doing extraordinary things...I am for ever talking about Yohji Yamamoto...only because he is my most favorite...but Givenchy and Dior do some really nice designs and not to forget Dolce and Gabbana and YSL and Bottega...just to name a few...so we will see where this goes and just how far I can take it.
Well...it is five in the morning and I have been up all night and morning doing homework and playing on Facebook...lol.  So see this paper on the Social Web will be a breeze.
BONJOUR OU BONNE NUIT... as the case will be for me when the sun rises...Vampire hours.

WHAT DO MEN WANT...

What is it men want? Do men even really follow Fashion Blogs? Of course they do…are they compelled like women to comment? It appears not so much…How then am I to get the men in my audience to participate? I feel as though I am just spinning my wheels here…like I don’t know how to capture my audience…what keeps them interested?


I thought Fashion and Fashion News…but they seem more interested in my daily life…should my blog become like a personal diary? What I am wearing…what I am eating…etc I seem to get more interest when I make these post…the only thing with that is I do not want to come across as conceited or really shallow…though I am a little…lol

Seriously…I am a guy that wants to turn my blog hopefully into an all male fashion blog…so I am testing the waters so to speak with my little Facebook blog…actually it is not little at all…830+ followers or fans as they called them on Facebook. What to do what to do… this goes back to what must I do to become a famous blogger? I have absolutely no idea…it is hard to give the people what they want because so many do not comment…so one is at a lost for thoughts around this whole blogging thing. Do men care about male facial products and just how many use them…and how often…daily or just on special occasions? Do men really care about the layering of fashion by say Yohji Yamamoto…hmmm just thinking out loud is all. Are men interested in the latest trends? A ride on the subway tells me yes they are…is this something unconscious…or do some guys actually read GQ and say yes I want to look like that or to wear that.

Anyway, it goes back ultimately to…good things come to those who wait. After all…my blog is not even a year old yet…really. It is really like I just recently  have gotten started actually blogging. So to want a million followers and all the advertisers known to mankind is a mere dream that I know takes time. Time that precious commodity…either you have it or not…time that is.

FIRST SNOW STORM OF THE SEASON

Not at all fashionable…borderline insane actually…LOL. But I felt daring and very California-ish. I have spent the last 18 years in Los Angeles and though this is my second snow in those many years…it is still surreal…to say the least. I got absolutely NO sleep in anticipation of this storm…I was like a little kid waiting for the snow. I photographed it from its beginning…to this…the finally hour of the storm.

Funny…this is my first picture of me on my blog…sorry for not being completely fashionably laid out for you…but honestly I am not always so elegant…If I have a Gallery Opening to go to then I will get as they say DONE…this was not one of those moments…LOL

BLOGGING...

Again fashion blogging “for me” has got to be the most…well…I do not know how to put it. During Fashion Weeks it is absolutely fabulous…but the in between times I find myself in a sort of lull. Fashion and especially trends are for ever changing and to stay on top of them is arduous to say the least.


How does one become famous in the fashion industry? Hard work my friend…and patience…as the old saying goes…good things come to those who wait. My question is how long must one wait? LOL But seriously…this industry is so very cutthroat and if you do not have the thick skin to deal with…let’s say the cattiness of fashion insiders then you most assuredly will not make it. I saw a famous blogger during New York Fashion Week…introduced myself and asked him what one must do to be famous as a blogger? His reply was…”Time…and to pull and absolutely fabulous fashion stunt.” Well I am much too dignified to pull stunts not to say too old to be pulling STUNTS…but I do have time. I read somewhere that fashion blogger Bryanboy waited six years before he got an invite to a show. I will just continue what it is I am doing and paying the 100 dollars a show to get in then maybe I will get an invite…LOL