BREAKING RECORDS

In the very beginning, I knew absolutely nothing about Blogging, I just knew I should be doing it, and here I am. I mean I am no Rumi Neely or Bryan Boy, but I am doing my own thing, I only have 66 followers, which if I know me by year’s end, well.

In the beginning, I did not know what Stat’s were, and never looked at them. So I never knew how many hits I received. The first day I started HAMILTONMODE I got 1,500 hits but after that is was certainly downhill for a year. I would get 16-22 hits here and there. Then suddenly I learned what Stats were and well now I check my Stats every hour, almost obsessed with how many hits I have gotten. When I saw I had 1,500 hits that first day back in July 2009 I said I want to reach 1,000. Now how I was going to do that I had absolutely no idea, so I left it to the universe. It took absolutely two years to the month that I received 1,613 for the month of July 2011, so I set my eyes on two, then three, four and said I will have done it if I reach five thousand, well as of September 20, 2011 I have 5,555 for the month, so far, so now my eyes are on six thousand.

To the likes of BB and Rumi, this is nothing, they get this daily, I read Bryan Boy gets one million hits a month.

But I have said all this to say…THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERYONE WHO HAS TAKEN A LOOK AT MY LITTLE BLOG.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

 Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows. He is also known for having worked as chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001 and for founding his own label under the name Alexander McQueen His achievements in fashion earned him four British Designer of the Year awards (1996, 1997, 2001 and 2003), as well as the CFDA's International Designer of the Year award in 2003.


McQueen's death was announced on the afternoon of 11 February 2010. He was found that morning by his housekeeper at his home on Green Street, London W1, hanged. Paramedics were called and they pronounced him dead at the scene.

Lee’s accomplishments are far too many to list, suffice it to say, his is a talent that shall be missed, and in fact is. I blogged on his Savage Beauty exhibit at The Met, which I saw twice, an awesome exhibit. Showing now is the Daphne Guinness exhibit at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) which showcase many pieces from McQueen, running September 16, 20011 – January 7, 2012.

MARK SCHWARTZ

Mark Schwartz began his career in New York City in the early 1980's where he was hand picked by legendary French shoe designer Roger Vivier to assist him in shoe design. Vivier was so impressed with Mark's ability to design and sketch that he called his friend Andy Warhol to visit Schwartz one day and soon Warhol took to Schwartz's whimsical approach to shoes and for the last 3 years of his life he tutored Schwartz and mentored him , both Schwartz and Warhol painted shoes on a monthly basis exchanging ideas which eventually became the style that you see today in Mark's work. After Warhol's death Schwartz went on to live and work in Paris and Milan , designing for such houses as Chanel, Lacroix, Hermes, Balenciaga, Gucci and Prada to name a few.


Upon his return to New York ( 1995 ) Schwartz opened his own boutique debuting his own shoe line Mark Schwartz in the SOHO district of NYC. Schwartz then displayed the paintings he did with Warhol on the walls of his shop and found out that they soon started to sell as well if not more than his physical shoes . ( Thank you Andy! ) Schwartz has gone on to define the shoe as an art form ( High Heeled Art- Artistic Renderings of Shoes )

I think I will have to give the visionary a visit to bring you more on this incredible art form.

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI (born Vivienne Isabel Swire on 8 April 1941) is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. When she met Malcolm McLaren, it signified the end of Westwood's marriage to Derek. Westwood and McLaren moved to a council flat in Clapham. Westwood continued to teach until 1971 when Malcolm decided to open a boutique at 430 King's Road called "Let It Rock" (later known variously as "Sex", "Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die", and "Seditionaries"). Westwood created clothes which McLaren conceived, drawing inspiration from bikers, fetishists and prostitutes. During this period, McLaren became manager of the punk band Sex Pistols and subsequently the two garnered attention as the band wore Westwood and McLaren's designs. Whilst living in their flat in Clapham, Westwood and McLaren had a child, another son named Joseph.


Westwood has five exclusively-owned shops; three in London, one in Leeds, and one in Milan. Franchise stores are located in Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, three in Manchester and most recently, in FH Mall, Nottingham (20 March 2008), and in Blake Street, York (11 September 2008). She also has showrooms in Milan, Paris and Los Angeles.

I have dubbed Dame Westwood as the Queen of British Fashion.

HOUSE OF HOLLAND

Henry Holland (born 26 May 1983) is a fashion designer from Ramsbottom, Lancashire, England. He hasattracted notice with his bold, '80s-inspired T-shirts with catchphrases such as "I'll tell you who's boss,Kate Moss". He is well known for his work with model Agynes Deyn. His latest collection features a number of tees with acronyms such as 'waysb', meaning 'what are you sayin babes'.

In spring 2009, Levi Strauss & Co debuted a denim collaboration with Holland.

He formerly worked for the fashion section of teenage magazine Sneak.

In Autumn 2008 and Spring 2010 he co-presented T4's flagship fashion and music series Frock Me alongside Alexa Chung and Gemma Cairney.

In September 2009 he agreed a deal with the British retailer Debenhams to create a fashion line, H! by Henry Holland, which went on sale in their stores from spring 2010.

For Spring/Summer 2010 he designed a pink wedding dress exclusive to LA-based boutique REVOLVE Clothing under his House of Holland line.

He states that Nicola Roberts, of Girls Aloud fame, is his muse and hero.

My most fave collection is his Granny Square crocheted jackets, scarves, and Granny Square print dresses and silk pants.



OSCAR DE LA RENTA

 Mr. De la Renta whom I have dubbed America’s couturier, Mr. De la Renta this season at New York Fashion Week left his East Side Park Avenue digs opting for an industrial space on West 42nd Street, with a runway that would put any French runway to shame, well maybe not to shame, but I have always maintained that Paris runways are in fact the longest.


The star studded show played host to Justin Timberlake who chatted with Anna Wintour, Ashley Olsen, Valentino, and embarrassingly Nicki Minaj in a get up more Betsey Johnson than Oscar de la Renta, but then again that would not be fair to Betsey.

Below are my faves from the collection, the whole collection I absolutely loved, but give me a Ball Gown and I am in heaven. De la Renta’s day looks were very Coco Chanel

PRABAL GURUNG

 Prabal Gurung launched his first collection under his own name during New York Fashion Week in February 2009 at the FLAG Art Foundation in Chelsea. For Fall 2010, he staged his first runway show in the Tents at Bryant Park. Gurung's designs have been worn by Michelle Obama, Demi Moore, Zoe Saldana and Oprah Winfrey. Gurung resides in New York City.

After Parsons, Gurung spent two years with Cynthia Rowley’s design team. Soon after, he became the design director at Bill Blass. Following five successful years at Blass, Gurung launched his own collection PRABAL GURUNG. In 2010 he was the recipient of the Ecco Domani Fashion Fund Award and received a nomination for the 2010 CFDA Swarovski Womenswear Award. He was also chosen by prominent fashion editors, retailers, designers and business people for the {CFDA Fashion Incubator} for 2010-2012. In November 2010, Prabal was awarded runner up for the 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.