Latest Fashion Blog & Dress Up Tips

 At the beginning of this year, East London-born Lukhanyo Mdingi showcased his African-inspired collection, Bodyland, at the Autumn/Winter 2022 collection at Paris Fashion Week. While LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers Thebe Magugu unveiled a collection titled Banyoloyi A Bosigo at the Autumn/Winter 2021 at Paris Fashion Week in 2021. Therefore it’s undeniable that there’s an abundance of creative talent in our country but the challenge however is to get the world to see more of it. Businesswoman and the founder of IFW Business, Nkano Senyolo, is determined to change that. IFW Business is a company which assists upcoming and registered South African Fashion Designers in educating them on how to build their businesses through multiple resources such as educational workshops, masterclasses, trade fairs, exhibitions, retail and showcase. Senyolo, a fashion design graduate from the faculty of Art Design and Architecture at the University of Johannesburg and who has o...

 After stints in fashion design and fine arts, Violette Serrat finally found her calling in makeup. “Colours have a story to tell,” she says when I reach her over Zoom. The professional makeup artist is a social-media sensation, heads her own makeup line, Violette FR, and, following sought-after gigs at Dior, Sephora, Estée Lauder and La Mer, is now the creative director of makeup at Guerlain. It’s a tailor-made role for Serrat, who sees the luxury house as a part of French heritage. “It’s as if Guerlain had participated in writing the history of France,” says the Paris native, who now lives in New York. “Ours was one of the first buildings on the Champs-Élysées, and our brand created the first lipstick in a tube. It’s incredible! We even had a Guerlain street in France. I wish we could get it back!” Her love for the brand goes way back. As a child, she would admire the case containing the Météorites light-reflecting complexion pearls that all the women around her used...

 Iconic arts school, Idyllwild Arts (www.idyllwildarts.org) announces the hiring of LA-based fashion designer Kentaro Kameyama as the Chair of Idyllwild Arts Academy’s Fashion Design Department. The position commences this fall and the winner of season 16’s Project Runway, Kentaro Kameyama, will be living between West Hollywood and Idyllwild so he can teach his classes in person. In his new role, Kentaro is determined to help foster the next generation of fashion talent. According to Abbie Bosworth, Chair of InterArts and Fashion at Idyllwild Arts, “Kentaro was chosen for the position of fashion chair because of his conviction that he can inspire young people in their journey to success in the fashion industry. When searching for a fashion chair she felt that they needed someone with an understanding of more avant-garde or conceptual fashion to balance the already practical and industry-savvy fashion faculty”. Idyllwild Arts fashion alum include Quoi Alexander – who’s h...

 First things first: If you haven’t heard about Saratoga Living‘s Racing & Rosé brunch party with TV personality Carson Kressley (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, RuPaul’s Drag Race) at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, get your tickets immediately. The July 30 soirée will feature a VIP meet-and-greet with Carson, followed by the main event featuring food and drink by Mionetto, La Crema, Bocage, Sweet Mimi’s and Uncommon Grounds; a best-dressed competition (with prizes!) judged by Carson; and the main event—a fashion show featuring racing-themed designs by Jen Marcellus, owner of Saratoga’s Miss Scarlett Boutique. Many Saratogians who shop at Marcellus’ store may not know that, in addition to running a downtown boutique full-time, the Saratoga native is also a designer herself, working with Valerie Clement of Clement Stables under the label Chateau du Cheval, which specializes in designs for the horse racing industry and counts Breeders’ Cup, Keeneland...

 For those on the outside of fashion, it may seem like the only thing’s designers do is make clothes, and they and the people around them live glamorous lives. And while it’s true that designers make clothes, and they are a part of some really cool moments in time, their work is hard and deep. Fashion is influenced by the world around us. What happens politically, socially, and societally affects styles. French Haute Couture designer Julien Fournié’s AW22-23 collection was just this. It’s a reaction to all the things that have happened the past couple of years from the pandemic and from social issues. For Fournié to be able to express all the emotions he has been feeling in all this time was both easy and a feat, all the while showing a positive way for the future. The frills of fashion were not the forefront but were there, as he calls it “the foolishness of fashion trends”- refinement, cut, and beauty” were tools to send a message. That message is one of being able to...

 Reviving long-dormant fashion houses to turn them into profitable brands has become a recipe for success in the luxury industry.In the early 1990s, labels such as Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta – even larger ones like Louis Vuitton and Dior – had been largely relegated to the dustbin of history. It was thanks to the business prowess of groups like LVMH and Kering that they ended up becoming global household names.The journey to success, however, is often fraught and rarely happens overnight.Schiaparelli, the French couture house founded in 1927 by Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli, was once a competitor to Chanel and one of the most revered fashion names in the first half of the 20th century.Her pioneering collaborations with Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau are part of the canon of modern fashion. From her use of “shocking pink” to creations such the “lobster dress” and the “shoe hat”, she built a rich and irreverent vocabulary that, at one point...