ON THE STREETS OF MANHATTAN: COLOR AT ANTHONY LEONARD, MATTHEW WILLIAMSON’S PUCCI FOR H&M, DOLCE & GABBANA MAKEUP, & TIPS WITH PAT MCGRATH AT SAKS

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Images, Richard Spiegel

SOME GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK”, CROONED ROD STUART FAMOUSLY, IN HIS SEVENTIES HIT RECORD. IN THIS CASE, LADY LUCK WAS ON OUR SIDE. A LAST-SECOND WALK-THROUGH AT SAKS RESULTED IN SOME SURPRISE ONE-TO-ONE TIME WITH EDITORIAL MAKEUP QUEEN, PAT MCGRATH AND A MAKEOVER WITH HER NEW DOLCE & GABBANA PRODUCT. FASHION DOESN’T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THAT!

THE ITINERARY
COLOR CONSULT
AFTER GETTING OUR RED HAIR TOUCHED-UP WITH ANTHONY AT THE ANTHONY LEONARD SALON, WE HIT A FEW MORE SPOTS IN THE MIDTOWN AREA. ANTHONY’S THE GUY WHO GIVES MADONNA THAT GORGEOUS GOLDEN BLONDE THAT ALAS, IS “NOT FOR YOU”.
HE’S THE EDITORIAL STAR HE IS BECAUSE HE HELPS YOU FIND WHAT’S PERFECT FOR YOU. SMALL WONDER MANY OF THE CITY’S TOP NEWS BABES RELY ON HIM TO KEEP THEM LOOKING THEIR BEST FOR THEIR VIEWERS.
AS ANTHONY HAD DONE THE COLOR FOR THE WIG SCARLETT JOHANSSON WORE IN THE DOLCE & GABBANA ADS, WE HAD TO HIT SAKS TO SEE THE LINE THE AD WAS PROMOTING. WE KNEW THAT SAKS HAS AN EXCLUSIVE ON THE LINE, WHAT WE DIDN’T KNOW WAS THAT PAT MCGRATH WAS THE GENIUS BEHIND IT.

OUR 5TH AVE DESTINATIONS:
•THE NEW JUICY COUTURE STORE
•H&M
•SAKS 5TH AVE.

JUICY COUTURE
WE TOOK A PASS AT VISITING THE NEW JUICY COUTURE STORE – TOO MUCH OF A TEMPLE-LIKE ATMOSPHERE AND TOO MANY TOURISTS MOBBING IT.

EN ROUTE – FASHION GONE BAD
We got labeled as “my first rude New Yorkers”, by two pretty twenty-something girls [clearly from O.O.T.] when my associate Richard Spiegel, of www.thefashiontribune.com, noticed that the blonde’s Louis V. bag had upside down LV’s on it.
I exclaimed, probably a tad too loudly, “wow, you’re right!” while leaning in to take a closer look.
After the mine tongue-lashing we received, we pushed North to see scrutinize Matthew Williamson had done and to hopefully pick up a scarf or pair of sunnies. Our guess – we’d drop around $14.99 for a pair of oversized sunglasses.

H&M
THE CAFTAN IN THE ADS WAS ON A MANNIQUIN, STRATEGIALLY PLACED FRONT AND CENTER IN THE WINDOW. THE OFFERINGS ON THE TABLE WERE NICE, BUT NOT ENOUGH SO TO PART WITH WHAT WAS IN OUR WALLET. WOMEN WERE SWARMING AROUND THE LOW TABLES LIKE FLIES AT A PICNIC, BUT NOONE WAS BITING.
OUR RECOMMENDATION - LOWER THE PRICEPOINT ABOUT 33%, AND THE CHANCES OF DOING A GANGBUSTERS BUSINESS GO UP CONSIDERABLE.

THE BEST FOR LAST -
A saleslady greeted us within a yard of the 5th Avenue door and swept us off to “the special area” where the product was displayed. We weren’t expecting the lush all-gold dressing room complete with crystal chandeliers that greeted us. Nor were we expecting the party like atmosphere, photographers, and electric buzz present on the floor. The reason soon became clear – Pat McGrath was in town doing a one-time only P.A. to promote the color collection she’d created with Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana.

THE MAKEUP LESSON & TAKE-HOME TIPS
Pat remained gracious and unruffled despite the countless picture requests and friends and fans who wanted a word with beauty’s reigning makeup queen. She even set us up with ALBERTO, who shared some fast and easy TRICKS OF THE TRADE with us while applying our makeup.
TIP #1: BROWS ARE A MUST, THIS IS NOT NEGOTIABLE.
“Even if you don’t have time to do your eyes, the brows have to be filled-in”.
HOW & WHAT: Use a liner brush and a gray-brown powder. Start at the highest point, and go AGAINST the hair growth and fill-in.
GOOD FOR EVERYONE BROW COLOR: D&G “CHAMPAGNE 100”

TIP #2: USE A HIGHLIGHTER, NOT CONCEALER TO GET RID OF DARK SHADOWS
This one makes sense, light reflects.
D&G’s Highlighting foundation goes on even better when applied with a wet makeup sponge.
PRICE: $59

TIP #3: IF YOU’RE GOING TO FOCUS ON YOUR EYES, USE A QUAD – YOU’LL NEED ALL 4 COLORS

TO PICK YOUR COLOR PALETTE: go with what is OPPOSITE to your eye color for max effect.
[Our eyes are hazel, Alberto used a burgundy palette]
TO CREATE A LARGER-LOOKING EYE
Insider Trick: Hold a makeup sponge extended from the outer corner of the eye. With a shadow brush, draw a “7” in the corner of the eye w/ the 2nd darkest shade in the quad.

FOR DEPTH
Insider Trick: Apply the darkest shade to fill in the “7”. Make sure you blend.
PRICE: $59

Don’t have any good brushes? *Dolce & Gabanna brushes are coming to counter soon.



ON OUR SHOPPING LIST
“Stromboli” nail polish. This green and gold polish was already doing well.
At $20 a pop, you can get one for yourself, and one in whichever shade a lucky friend likes.

“Shine Naked” lipstick – the perfect nude tone for spring 09.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE EXPERIENCE
-PAT stopped by to see the result and pronounced us “beautiful!”

To view and shop the Dolce & Gabanna Makeup Collection, visit
www.dolcegabbanamakeup.com

Additional photo credits
Images of Scarlett Johansson photographed by Solve Sundsbo & product images, from the Dolce & Gabbana website

BEAUTY POWERHOUSE L’OREAL CONTINUES ITS REPRESENTATION OF MULTICULTURAL BEAUTIES.

TEXT, VIVIAN G. KELLY

Freida Pinto AKA “Latika” TAPPED AS L'OREAL PARIS SPOKESPERSON


The gorgeous Pinto is best known for her performance as “Latika” in the Oscar winning film, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE,the film that won eight Oscars. After Julian Schnabel’s movie she’s currently shooting, she will be filming this summer in Woody Allen's next film.
Says Pinto, "I am very moved to be joining the great L’Oréal Paris family and all these personalities: a family I am now proud to be a part of".

KUDOS to L’Oreal for continuing to what we’ll call its campaign for racial diversity. Okay, if you’re a cynic [which we admittedly are around 80% of the time] you’d be justified in calling it smart biz-sense. While we love the current Chanel ads for the Lumieres Celestes Collection on a mysterious blonde beauty, we’re equally impressed with L’Oreal’s across-the-board campaign strategy.

HITTING THE STORES
Towards the intent of keeping it “real”, we hit our local Walgreens to see who L’Oreal has pitching various products at this point in time.

THE PLAYERS

DOUTZEN KROES [blonde, blue –eyed Dutch cover girl]

-BEYONCE KNOWLES


-LINDA EVANGELISTA [90’S supermodel – Steven Meisel’s darling]


-PENELOPE CRUZ

-EVA LONGORIA

-ANDIE MACDOWELL [of “Green Card” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral” fame]

ABOUT THE PRODUCTS
At under $10 a pop [and often less thanks to a generous promotions program] L’Oreal makes it easy to experiment without breaking the bank for a costly cosmetics mistake that happens when you’ve picked the wrong shade of $30+ lipstick, used it once, and can’t take it back.
Some of our favorites that earn a space in our [very small] go-everywhere cosmetics bag:
- Bare Naturale gentle lip conditioner in 815 “Soft “Spice” = super-moisturizing, much prettier than Chapstick!
- HIP Bright Shadow Duo in 514 “Reckless”= fun “out there” color
- Crayon Petite Automatic Lip Liner in “Plums Wines” = truly long-lasting, we use it as a base underneath the lip conditioner for our own custom wine-red shade.

To view more of L’Oreal’s products, visit
www.loreal.com

PHOTO CREDITS
Images of Freida Pinto by Manmeet Bhatti, courtesy of Bratskeir & Company

MEL ODOM’S GENE MARSHALL DOLL - the Epitome of the Hollywood Glamour Girl

Text, Vivian G. Kelly

IN ALL THINGS IN LIFE, THERE IS A HIERARCHY – EVEN IN DOLL LAND.
BARBIE IS TO A “CONTEMPORARY” CLOTHING LINE WHEREAS GENE MARSHALL IS TO CHANEL COUTURE.

BELOW, the 4-1-1 on this doll who’s really the stuff that Hollywood dreams are made of.

Gene’s been around for 14 years, a remarkable feat in the doll world. Her creator, MEL ODOM, quips, “Doll years are like dog years, a lot of them come and go.”


GENE MARSHALL - VITAL STATISTICS, as per Mel:
STAT #1: Gene is a fictional movie star, she’s a composite – she could be anyone she wants to be - a very empowering idea.


Mel is also a renowned fashion illustrator hailing from North Carolina. Some of his work is currently on display at the Society of Illustrators in NYC. He works with white hot designer, JASON WU, on the collection.
www.societyillustrators.org
To read more about Mel, visit www.cartage.org
STAT #2: Gene is a high fashion comfort doll. “Collectors tell me it reminds them of their mother, a movie star, themselves when they were younger.”


STAT #3: There are 5 characters and there was a man named “Trent” that we did with Jason Wu. Trent's Gene's leading man.


STAT #4: Gene and friends are bigger than Barbie [by about 4”].
Price range: AT $70 to $200, surprisingly reasonable, considering their collector potential.


TO FILL-IN THE PICTURE, AFTER SEEING GENE AND FRIENDS ON EXHIBIT AT “THE LINE OF FASHION” EXHBIT AT THE SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS GALLERY, WE ARRANGED A PHONE CHAT WITH MEL ODOM.


THE FASHION EXAMINER: You’ve got to get the inevitable comparison to Barbie and Ken.


MEL ODOM: Oh sure, we did something that we thought was really clever
Gene came out 1st and then rather than bringing out Trent; we brought out her archrival Madra Lord. It’s an anagram for “drama” and Celtic for “fox”.

T. F.EXAMINER: How are Gene and Madra different from Barbie?

MEL: Barbie is 11 12 inches. Gene and her girls are 15 1/2 inches, which gives you enough length to drape fabric on them nicely. Gene and the girls spawned a whole generation of dolls, which has affected us financially.
Collectors are addicted to it and I’m the pusher, ha ha!

T.F. EXAMINER: Where did the name “Gene Marshall” come from?

MEL: Her birthday is April 17th; it was the date I really decided I was going to do this. My boyfriend’s name was Gene; I was out at a nightclub seeing “Song of Singapore”, a forties musical. I went out to check out my messages and got the call that we were going forward with the project.
That was 1991. She debuted at Toy Fair 4 years later at the Javitz Convention Center.
The director is me, and the producer is Jason Wu. He works with Integrity Toys and invited me to do this.

T.F.EXAMINER: What’s he like? Is he different after his recent incredible success?

MEL: He’s been working since he was 15, working for Integrity Doll.
I still enjoy our collaboration; I don’t see a change.


T.F.EXAMINER: How did you choose the dolls that were in the Society of Illustrator Exhibit? Why those particular dolls?

MEL: When I get some new dolls, I stand them around and look at them and analyze them and see what works and what doesn’t.
I liked the way these worked together. I was really thrilled to be in that show. Where ELSE do you see so many beautiful things in one place at one time?


T. F. EXAMINER: How many dolls ARE in your collection?

MEL: My private collection is at the University of Cincinnati College of Design Architecture Art and Planning. That’s also where designer Bonnie Kashin left her Estate. She designed the costumes for my favorite movie, “Laura” by Otto Preminger.

I don’t have an exact count, I’ve been giving them all away – there were hundreds, there were 2 of everything. As a designer I try to keep 2 as a reference for archival purposes but the storage gets out of control. At the University, I have access to any dolls I might need to work with.
Next year is the 15th anniversary, I’m thinking of doing a big party/gala.

T.F. EXAMINER: Do you have a favorite?

MEL: I have current favorites; it changes. Right now it’s a platinum blonde. ZITA
All the dolls have every color hair.
I’m crazy about their accessories. The shoes are so good you want to eat them! Vaughn Sawyers is the head designer. I’ll send him pics of handbags and send them to him after I’ve looked at vintage sites. It’s very back and forth.

T.F. EXAMINER: What else are you doing?

MEL: I’ve been painting lately, the dolls in oil. I’m hoping to get a really snazzy gallery to show my work.

To Read More About GENE MARSHALL, pick-up a copy of Mel’s book, Gene Marshall, Girl Star, a biography that tells “Gene’s story”, published by Hyperion.
It’s a visual treat, and lives-up to Mel’s criteria that the book be beautiful, first and foremost.


WHERE TO BUY GENE + FRIENDS
Gigi in Chicago, FAO Schwartz in NYC are a few of the fine retailers who carry the dolls.

PHOTO CREDITS
All images of dolls, courtesy of Mel Odom
Image from Otto Preminger’s Laura, from www.imbd.com
Image of Jason Wu, from www.newsday.com

REBECCA TAYLOR FOR BILLY’S BAKERY-CUSTOM CUPCAKES FOR MOTHER’S DAY

Text, Vivian G. Kelly

STUMPED NO MORE!
REBECCA TAYLOR’S COUTURE CONFECTIONS ARE YOUR MOTHER’S DAY SOLUTION
Remember when you were a kid and used to bake your Mom a cake – the gooier the better – for Mother’s Day? We’d stand by Maman's bed and not leave until she’d had at least a forkful and pronounced it “delicious!”
One of the great things about Moms is that they’ll lie to make you feel good. She won’t have to lie this year, if you give her the grown up version, dreamed-up by Rebecca Taylor and Billy’s Bakery. This year, they’ve partnered to design limited edition cupcakes for Mother’s Day.

ABOUT THE CUPCAKES - WHAT'S SPECIAL
Rebecca’s inspiration for the design of each cupcake originated from her Spring/Summer 2009 runway collection. “The Rebecca Taylor girl for Spring/Summer 2009 is a bohemian world traveler,” says Rebecca. The collection includes mixed ethnic prints with a feminine twist in pretty, dreamy colors.
THE OPTIONS
Vanilla Twinkle by Rebecca Taylor - made of Billy’s yellow daisy cupcake topped with blue vanilla buttercream and a sprinkle of white crystal sugar and silver dots. It imitates the blue dot chiffon dress from the runway.

Mocha Meow was created from Billy’s chocolate cupcake and special Mocha-flavored buttercream with dark and light chocolate sprinkles. Resembles the leopard printed pieces in the collection.

THE COST + WHERE TO GET IT
The cupcake: $2.75/piece. Available beginning May 1st at Billy’s Bakery 184 9th Avenue New York, NY 10011.
Tel: (212) 647-9956
To see more, visit their website at "www.billysbakerynyc.com"

The dress: Dresses fall in the $185 - $425 range – reasonable, by designer standards.

To see Rebecca’s latest collection, visit "www.rebeccataylor.com"

ENDNOTES
Even if you’re not a Mom, pick-up one of these couture confections for yourself.
If you’re feeling really flush, get Mom [+/or yourself!] the dress to match, and she’ll think you’re the cat’s meow on May 10th.

PHOTO CREDITS
Image of Rebecca Taylor, Dan Lecca, Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Newsgroup
Images of Collection and cupcakes, Courtesy of Rebecca Taylor

FUR DESIGNER DENNIS BASSO: WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A FASHION DESIGNER

Text, Vivian G. Kelly


One of the highlights of attending last night’s FIT on the CATWALK, [Fashion Design Senior Collection 2009] was finally meeting fur king, designer DENNIS BASSO.
He was front row, with fellow FIT supporters/critics Nicole Miller. We took the opportunity to ask the jovial designer about his advice for graduating students and his various collections.
Like his contemporaries, Douglas Hannant and Ralph Rucci, Mr. Basso is uncompromising about the quality of his Collection garments. The “ladies” would never make do with less, after all.
Mr. Basso’s mission statement on his official website reads as follows,
“ …the combination of only the highest quality treatments on exotic materials and the most advance finishing techniques in the industry are generating limited products of unsurpassed standards and quality”.
THAT pertains to the Collection that Mr. Basso shows twice annually at New York Fashion Week. Then there’s the thriving QVC biz.


THE FASHION EXAMINER: It’s no secret that it’s tough out there. What advice do you have for graduating students?
DENNIS BASSO: That’s true, interestingly enough though; it’s not easy to be graduating in ANY profession, whether you’re a fashion designer, or an MBA.

TFE: Who’s going to make it?
D Basso: The most aggressive and talented will make it. It’s survival of the fittest.

TFE: Let’s talk about you. Are you toning down what you’re doing due to the times we’re going through?
D BASSO. No, I’m not toning it down. If anything, at this time what I make has to be even more fabulous and more interesting for her to get past her hesitation to spend. And the rewards are worth it, the rave reviews she gets about how great she looks.

TFE: A bank teller we know is in love with your Dennis Basso line for QVC. Are you enjoying doing that?

D BASSO: Yes! I’ve been doing it for 16 years, and that business is up. It’s extremely affordable and a great value. Where else can you get a Dennis Basso coat for $100?



To view more of Mr. Basso's work, visit
www.dennisbasso.com
www.qvc.com

A PROPER INDULGENCE – ORIBE’s Gel Serum – A product for the hair obsessed

Couturier Hubert de Givenchy famously said, “Hair style is the final tip-off whether or not a woman really knows herself.”


We’re admittedly hair-obsessed and recession or not, we haven’t given up on wanting to look beautiful. After seeing the Marc Jacobs fall 2009 show, we’re back in LOVE with big hair, eighties style. When it wasn't that, we opted for the slicked-back hair every "power-luncher" on Wall Street favored. Back then, like every other club going girl or guy, we used STIFF STUFF, which held any style you wanted from 8:00AM to 2:00AM, after breakfast at the FLORENT diner downtown.
Fortunately for us, ORIBE CANALES has developed a new product that makes even the laziest of us appear as if we know what we’re doing. ORIBE’s GEL SERUM is “Stiff Stuff”, only BETTER, and the packaging is what couture is to Walmart.


Oribe‘s GEL SERUM. It promises “Radiance, Magic, and Hold”. That’s a tall order but this product holds and conditions, at the same time. By “radiance” we mean SHEEN, not SHINE aka “greasy”. Our unruly short hair stayed firmly in place – all day, with no pins, no clips, and looked as polished at 6PM as it did at 7AM. All that’s required is to massage a pea-sized squirt into your palms and tousle your hair into the desired position and DONE.


THE TECHNOLOGY
These sexy products are the result of 30 years of custom-blending lotions and potion. Oribe and his crew tested them ON SET, IN THE SALON, AND ON HOLLYWOOD’S A-LISTERS. These glamorous test rats got to try and use these paraben-free shampoos, conditioners and styling products way before they hit the market, but now we can all get in on a little bit of the glamour usually only reserved for the jet set.
KEY INGREDIENT in the GEL SERUM: Corn, Wheat and Soy Microproteins are actually anti-aging. The product coats the hair’s surface, also protecting it from blow-drying and irons, in case you get ambitious.
15 fl. Oz - $58
WHERE TO GET IT: The Adam Broderick Salon, Ridgefield, CT
Tel: 203-431-3994
www.adambroderick.com

If you happen to be in Miami, you can drop into Oribe’s salon, and book an appointment to have your hair restyled and leave with just the right product RX for your new coif.
The Oribe Salon is located on 1627 Euclid Avenue, Miami Beach. Tel. 305-538-8006
If not, there’s always the website, www.oribe.com


COMING SOON: The review on the ORIBE Shampoo and conditioner.

ENDNOTES: If you’re curious about Stiff Stuff, it’s still out there! www.americarx.com


*Additional photo credits: Product image from oribe.com
Image of Oribe product family, www.scottbarnestv.com
Image of Adam Broderick, www.salonawards.com

PART II of the Douglas Hannant Bridal Report – Company President, FREDERICK ANDERSON’s assessment on the luxury retail picture

Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Interview: VGK and Richard Spiegel


We were fortunate to grab Frederick after the show for what we thought would be a 2-minute Q +A. To our delight, what resulted was an in-depth conversation, in which Mr. Anderson, gave us his frank assessment on where retail is at, what works and what doesn’t.

VGK/RS: We absolutely loved how Douglas showed only 12 looks this time, and 14 last time. Talk about editing!

FREDERICK ANDERSON: Yes, you have to edit yourself, no question.

VGK/RS: Where is DH Bridal selling?

FREDERICK: It’s at Mimi’s in New Orleans and we’re working with Kleinfelds too. Now, we’ve got inquiries from Spain about it.

VGK/RS: Who’s buying your bridal collection, and how are you pricing it at retail?

FREDERICK: Our client is not going to get married looking like a fairy princess. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look like a fairy princess, but that’s not what we’re doing here. Our client’s in her twenties to thirties and she’s looking for a little more design. We just had one who flew over from Ireland for a dress, word is getting out.
Gowns go from $2,800 – 9,000. The average price is between $3,000 – 6,000.

VGK/RS: It’s no secret that the social girls love you and Douglas. Was this line created for your regular RTW customers?

FREDERICK: Actually, this bridal show you just saw was not about social. With bridal, we’re expanding our brand. Our couture clients will call us if they’re getting married though.

VGK/RS: What else are you doing to expand the brand, it’s a process!

FREDERICK: We launched the INSIGNIA COLLECTION last season. It’s at Nordstrom’s, Lord & Taylor, and Bloomingdales’. It retails in the $500 – 900 range.

VGK/RS: What plans do you have in the future pertaining to your brand expansion?

FREDERICK: We’d like a freestanding store. It’s good it’s been a slow year so we can find where the holes are in the industry and we can come in and fill them. The editorial we’ve been getting has been out of control for us. We can’t keep the samples in the showroom. It’s great!

VGK/RS: A lot of people are saying that luxury is dead. What direction do you think luxury retailing is headed in?

FREDERICK: Joe Boitano at Saks recently said that it’s now about “a new level of sophistication”.

VGK/RS: You and Douglas are like Mr. Blass was – you spend lots of time with your customer; you really know her. What is the luxury customer’s biggest complaint?

FREDERICK: Our women want quality, they’re used to it, they live with it, and they know when it’s not there. They may pick up a cute girly thing that’s in the stores, but that’s it. The stores are not clued-in enough about the fact that what women want more than all else is quality when they come in to buy.

VGK/RS: Retail is slow in the USA, but as Kramer on CNBC says, “somewhere out there, there’s a bull market”. Where are things hot right now?

FREDERICK: At ALOthman in Kuwait. They just opened a huge store there. They have Parisian Couture, Oscar [de la Renta], Carolina [Herrera].


To hear our entire interview [raw and unedited] with Frederick, you can listen to the pod cast at the following address: www.thefashionmarketreport.com

ENDNOTES: To get a better idea of the DH style esthetic, read his CFDA DESIGN STATEMENT
Douglas Hannant strikes a balance between modernism and romanticism with an ease that is decidedly American. He succeeds in juxtaposing sportswear and couture, day and evening with a youthful regard. Hannant’s designs are simple in shape but rich in fabrication and texture.


To learn more about the Douglas Hannant brand, visit the official website,
www.douglashannant.com
PHOTO CREDITS
Image of Frederick Anderson,VGK
Runway images, courtesy of Douglas Hannant
Photos from the Saks Launch of the Insignia Collection, Matt Carasella, www.patrickmcmullan.com
Image of ALOthamn, from the official website, www.alothman-fashion.com