Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I like things that look like things that are really other things. For example, a ceramic grenade that is actually a bank, or a lollipop made of plastic that’s actually a speaker for my mp3 device. It’s no wonder then that I have loved Molla Space for a long time now.
3 of the nicest men you’d ever want to share a beer with, (insert your favorite uncle image here) got sick of the machinery of corporate fashion. Having all worked together at one point in their illustrious careers or other, Jack Steinweis, Mark Kane and Kevin Crowley finally decided to put up or shut up and Unstitched Utilities was found. Hailing from New Jersey, Baltimore and New Hampshire, the men connected to hatch a vision that their individual talents, know how and charisma might be the building blocks to launching a truly environmentally thoughtful brand.
Step one, find a truly remarkable, environmentally friendly, durable material for manufacturing footwear.
While mindlessly glancing around the Burbank airport, waiting to board a flight to Las Vegas for the Fashion industry trade show, MAGIC, something shiny caught my eye. Super slick, hot pink, patent leather sneakers graced the feet of a rather unusually understated Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas. I noticed the shoes first, the superstar second.
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High-fashion thrusts tattoo art onto the runway and into the spotlight
First it was Ari Marcopoulos’s short film “No Way Back” for Yves Saint Laurent men’s spring/summer ‘11 collection, featuring famed tattoo artist Mark Mahoney in action. Then – or perhaps simultaneously – it was tattooist-to-the-fashion-elite Scott Campbell’s SS’11 collaboration with Louis Vuitton, and the accompanying “video diptych” part one and part two.
China Robinson, mother of Chanel Iman, a supermodel that requires no introduction, has teamed up with business partner Candance Simmons to open The Red Bag Boutique. The Culver City-based shop carriers a variety of accessories and designer brand clothing including current trends as well as one-of-a-kind vintage threads.
When I stopped in to check out The Red Bag Boutique for myself, Chanel Iman was behind the counter ringing up customers and signing autographs for her fans. Whenever the globetrotting model is in town, she makes it a priority to pop into the boutique to oversee the merchandise and help her mother out. “I just come in every once in a while to help her out. I mean…it’s my mom. I support her in anything that she does and I’m just really happy for her and excited,” exclaims Chanel.
From stylish shoes and accessories to The Sexual Politics of Meat, vegan haven MooShoes has a little something for everyone.
Hey, all you vegans out there – have a hard time finding 100% cruelty-free motorcycle boots? Or party-appropriate heels that consist of absolutely no animal products whatsoever? Then let us introduce you to MooShoes.
Started by sisters Erica and Sara Kubersky in 2001, the online and brick-and-mortar store in NYC will not only hook you up with handpicked vegan lines (including their own called Novacas – Spanish for “no cows”), but also with handbags, wallets, belts, tees, and faux leather jackets that look as good as the real thing. They even carry books with provocative titles like The Sexual Politics of Meat, along with vegan cookbooks so you can whip up the best dairy-free, gluten-free cupcake ever.
We sat down with co-founder Erica Kubersky for a little Q&A. Read on to find out about factory farms’ symbiotic relationship with the leather industry, those crap Davy Crockett-style hats, and advice on going vegan (if you aren’t already). Make sure to check out the image gallery for Erica’s holiday gift suggestions from the store!
It’s really annoying when the fashion industry declares something to be having “a moment” – the implication being that the other 51 weeks out of the year, that “something” has not even entered their minds (like healthy runway models). So let’s not say that Scandinavia is having “a moment;” rather, it’s more like an avalanche of fashion, art, music, and design talent sure to become household names like stereotypical stalwarts H&M, Ikea, Bang & Olufsen, and Abba.
Like most anything even vaguely fashion-related, when it comes to nail polish, you’ve got those for whom it’s just a passing pleasure, and then you’ve got the fanatics. They have blogs about nails where they preview the new collections; they line up outside Chanel to get the Khakis. They’ll tell you all about their disappointment in NARS’s failure to bring back Midnight Express in the first round of vintage re-releases, and how ecstatic they are that it’s in this season’s line-up. They talk about “3 Free” and brush strokes and polish brands so indie you wonder if they’re made up.
I, sadly, fall into that latter category. Yes, I’m saying it loud and saying it proud: I am a nail nerd.
“Where’s the Marc Jacobs?” a frantic fashionista yelled from across the room, while sockless Thom Browne groupies modeled button-ups and demanded, “Is purple my color?” People were indeed changing in the aisles, despite the available dressing rooms (sample sale habits die hard); at one point we tried to add a fellow shopper’s unattended coat to our pile of wares. Oops! Welcome to the Housing Works 7th annual Fashion for Action sample sale, which kicked off this past weekend in Housing Works’ Chelsea location with cute fashion kids, plenty of booze, and a store full of primo merchandise.