ARE YOU AVANT-GARDE OR DERRIERE?
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PATTI! GET INSPIRED by the prodigious Patti Smith THE PALM BEACH STORY: Fall Fashion Film Noir Style • PUNK! Up your style MOMENTS OF CLARITY: Elegance made affordable DEMOISELLE: by Chesley McLaren • ARTSY SET: Q+A WITH COLIN KILIAN PLUS FALL FASHION REPORTS FROM PARIS TO NEW YORK!
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
FALL/WINTER 2011
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ho is the Avant-Garde woman? She is a trend-setter, loyal friend, super brainiac and a true fashionista! She wears what she likes, not what is dictated by celebrities or, ahem, the fashion media. She is a metropolitan woman who practices yoga in the morning and plays Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at night. The Avant-Garde woman is just as comfortable traveling on a G6 as she is grappling with anxious commuters on the subway. Her iPod shuffles between Placebo, Edith Piaf, Metallica, Nina Simone and the Wu-Tang Clan. She is an artist, entrepreneur, investment banker, athlete or lawyer. She easily floats between art parties in Williamsburg to gallery openings at The Met. She is not defined by anyone. The Avant-Garde woman defines herself. Tell me, are you Avant-Garde or Derriere? Warmly, Paul Lange
Folana
EDITOR IN CHIEF/FOUNDER folana miller ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER matthew rippetoe
BEAUTY EDITOR gil aldrin
FASHION EDITOR renessta olds ashe davis
AVANT-GARDE MAGAZINE www.avantgardemag.net info@avantgardemag.net
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TOC >> fall/winter2011 Fall runway report
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Patti Editors picks
10 Punk
Demoiselle
Colin Kilian - artist Q&A
Film noir
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Moments of clarity
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Beauty editorial
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www.avantgardemag.net www.avant-gardemag.tumblr.com
shibumi PR always look good with us! www.shibumiPR.com
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FALL2011
FASHION REPORT W
HAT IS THE AVANT-GARDE WOMAN WEARING THIS FALL?
Lots of leather, denim, fur and hats! Choosing the top looks for the Fall was really quite easy. We know you want to be super comfortable and mobile (moving easily from day to night) however you don’t want to sacrifice comfort for style. Designers from Paris to New York managed to merge flexibility with panache. The designer who made us swoon: Dsquared2 completely knocked our socks off! Perhaps it is our crush on Clint Eastwood or maybe it’s the way they perfectly blend our faves: denim, fur and black leather! So what should you be wearing this Fall? Four looks from the Fall RTW 2011 Runway that (with a little creativity and mixing/matching) will carry you straight through Spring. Let the drooling commence!
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DSQUARED2 PHOTO BY: KARL PROUSE
DSQUARED2 PHOTO BY: KARL PROUSE
ALEXANDER WANG PHOTO BY: KARL PROUSE
PRADA PHOTO BY: CHRIS MOORE
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FOLANA
MILLER
Fashion Photographer
www.folanamiller.com
2011 FALL EDITOR’S PICKS
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Eric Ryan
ssential pieces for your Fall/Winter wardrobe inspired by the uber-rocknroll-parisien-chic de French Vogue Redactrice en chef Emmanuelle Alt.
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1 MATT BERNSON BOOTS $218, WWW.ZAPPOS.COM
5 ISABEL MARANT BOOT $770, www.lagarconne.com
9 ETOILE ISABEL MARANT $385, www.net-a-porter.com
13 MOTO SKINNY JEAN $75, WWW.TOPSHOP.COM
2 ELIZABETH AND JAMES BOOTS $285, WWW.ZAPPOS.COM
6 FAITH CONNEXION $1,330, www.net-a-porter.com
10 BOY BY BAND OF OUTSIDERS SHIRT $470, www.lagarconne.com
14 KITTY KITTY GOLD CHAIN $195, WWW.STEPHMANTIS.COM
3 NANNETE LEPORE CLUTCH $255, WWW.ZAPPOS.COM
7 SONIA RYKIEL JACKET $3,235, www.net-a-porter.com
11 DION LEE $600, www.net-a-porter.com
15 GRAYMATTERCO HANDBAG $250, WWW.GRAYMATTERCO.COM
4 RAG + BONE BOOT $595, www.lagarconne.com
8 MAJE DRESS $650, www.net-a-porter.com
12 CARVEN COAT $1140, www.lagarconne.com
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DEMOI SELLE By: Chesley McLaren Written by: Folana Miller
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Jeff Brown
IOMED ELLES CHESLEY MCLAREN has a Napoleon Complex. Not in the “I’m short so I
have to be mean” sense. “I am inspired by Napoleon’s style.I love Louis XIV too.”
McLaren’s meticulously assembled garments are as fun and theatrical as they are landmarks in fashion history. “I love to tie in the historical elements to my clothing.” The racks in Chesley’s Upper West Side studio are filled with one of a kind silk gazaar petticoats, silk tafetta dresses, mini poof shorts made of duchess satin and wool satin garbadine knickers with ribbon lacing. Although the stand-out piece is clearly the Footman Coat made of dressmaker muslin and satin organza with bound seams in red silk worn by a form in the corner. “Oh this was an idea I came up with while I was working as a fashion illustrator. Louis Vuitton, my client at the time, held a cocktail party introducing their new line. I was there signing my drawings for the guests. I figured I needed an official artists smock for the occasion,” recalls McLaren. The garment is so beautiful in its simplicity and detail. Not only a great piece to pair with a pair of blue jeans but a real work of art and architecture. “This piece is really one of my favorites,” McLaren says of the Smock coat which has two red paint brushes elegantly peeking out of the pocket. “I made a total of five coats from muslin with the thought that the customer could buy this version or the coat could be remade in another fabric.”
Although McLaren custom designs couture pieces for the most photographed socialites in New York City, she has never received the retail attention or the financial backing needed to expand her line. “I am working now on expanding Demoiselle to a ready-to-wear and accessories line.” Although that would mean working with a manufacturer with which she has not had great success. “I am extremely picky about how every seam is stitched so I really only trust my two dressmakers with the line. The detachable ruffles on this smock coat take a full day to sew.” It has been difficult explaining this fastidious process to clients who are becoming more and more accustomed to getting everything now. McLaren now more than ever understands the need to push the fast forward button on her RTW collection although she will continue to create her romantic couture line for her most decadent customers. “I am an artist who makes clothes,” says the lively McLaren with a childlike whimsical energy that makes her designs so special. Bette Midler, a loyal client, says it best “Chesley is a heroine at our house. Her designs are mischievous, beautiful, provocative and most important great, great fun.” See more from Demoiselle at www.chesleymclaren.com. AG
AG Aude Boissaye
Karen Odyniec
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artist profile
Colin Kilian visual artist
“All art is autobiographical. The pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.” - Federico Fellini
When did you realize you wanted to pursue art as a life time study/occupation? Colin Kilian: I have been doing it compulsively since I was very young. I decided to pursue it as a career when I was 14 years old. I had become angry with the stifling, institutional nature of my surroundings going to public high school. I judged society as a whole to be this way and attempted to escape. I stopped going to school, ran away from home and did a lot of ridiculous things. It became rapidly apparent that I did not have anywhere to go given my resources at that age of a skateboard, $14 and half a pack of AVANT GARDE:
cigarettes. I realized that I had to accept my surroundings and do something with them. I decided then to take artwork seriously and make that my way out so to speak. This pretty much remains to be my strategy and outlook. Why art? Did you like any other subjects in school? I was naturally capable with it. It had a visceral kickback and a cerebral, expansive feeling. I enjoyed making paintings of my dreams and things like that. I also enjoyed the accomplished feeling of making accurate still life drawings and portraits - although today that type of thing seems completely inane to me. I guess it feels rewarding to really dig into and learn anything, so I enjoyed that sensation. No I was not interested in the other subjects at school in this way. AG: CK:
Why not? were taught in an uninspired and banal way. The purpose of the classes seemed to me more geared towards getting you used to taking instruction and being subservient than about any sort of content. There were some exceptions; you can’t really present math in any way other than what it is, so the content speaks for itself. But for the most part the level of instruction was basically just insulting. It was very difficult to take anything seriously in that environment. AG:
CK: They
AG: CK:
What was your first medium? I have no idea. Thinking.
AG: You
attended Pratt after high school. What made you choose Industrial Design as a major as opposed to Painting? CK: The energy of the design department was very high and the work being produced there was dynamic and intriguing. I was drawn to that intensity without having any interest in the subject of Industrial Design. I still have no interest in that field and have since become a visual artist. I think that the principles I learned in the design department along with the drawing skills were a good foundation to explore the general scope of visual art. I have trouble shaking the highly stylized instruction from that place though. It is like trying to get rid of an accent or something. It is very annoying. Being in a regimented educational structure in college caused a lot of frustration for me. I have since exploded wanting to express certain things that I had no outlet for there and this formed a major driving force behind my visual art practice . Maybe if I had gone into the fine art 14
department I would have been frustrated in a different way and become a designer. Who knows. It all leads to the same place in the end if you keep pushing it.
Unfortunately I experienced a succession of projects that didn’t go anywhere. I poured tremendous heart and effort into these situations only to have the plug pulled and be left with absolutely nothing. This became maddening after several years. The breakAG: What artists have had the greatest emotional impact on you? ing point was working as a technical director for a downtown Which artist influences your work most? Why? theater production. I put in something like 15 - 24 hours a day CK: Anybody doing anything at a high level in any field is what for 4 or 5 months and received payment of $1,500. This was after impacts and influences my work most. I am not influenced by being off and on homeless for a number of years largely due to aesthetic concepts any more than I am by other concepts. There my interest in theater. The total package just became too ridicuisn’t a specific artist with an outstanding influence on my work. lous for me. I made more money and encountered more intellecThe impetus for new ideas can be triggered by many things. A tual stimulation in two weeks of working for a moving company rainstorm has the same level of impact on me as a museum ex- than I did working on that last production and I was able to eat hibit, if not more. food while doing it. I discovered that the day to day process of making theater is largely clerical work, basic manual labor and AG: What did you do after you left Pratt? technical in a not very interesting way. It’s also unnecessarily CK: I went to work with a production designer for large scale stressful given what you are actually doing. I decided it would theater. It was very inspiring. He was extremely driven and be a more enjoyable path towards realizing heavy hitting creative talented and was a living example of achieving something of a work to build myself up as an individual through the gallery high magnitude through a creative medium. I got to design for system. The concept of a field of work is completely arbitrary to intense projects with astronomical budgets at a young age. This me anyway. I enjoy being a visual artist tremendously. There is had a huge impact on me. I also learned how to fabricate from a certain flare to theatrical productions that is incomparable to highly skilled people which was inspiring in another kind of anything else so there is always that pull. The problem is that way. Learning about the reality of how to bring ideas to fruition. theatrical productions require a lot of scut work and the reliance Learning a structural/mechanical vocabulary to work with. This on other people and institutions. This makes a large portion of kind of opportunity is very important to someone at that age. I the process non creative and the structure and security of the hope to offer the same to younger artists when I am more estab- project volatile. lished. There is no replacement for it. On the other hand I did do one successful production with a multi media dance company that was immensely rewarding. I AG: When and why did you decide to leave the theatrical design also realize that doing something at a large scale in any field refield and do more fine art? quires a lot of uninteresting process. It’s all just a funny equation CK: I entered into theater by accident and stayed there cause I about daily quality of life vs. creative magnitude. Trying to figure thought it was a good place to realize my creative ambitions. out the sneakiest way to be happy while being creatively chal-
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lenged. I may get back into theater. But not now. I need to restore my synapses and essential organs first. What kinds of projects are you working on now? Which projects are the most challenging? What is your process? CK: Right now I am working on the content for some gallery shows. I am also building a very ambitious collaborative project. It’s all challenging in different ways. You can take anything with a certain degree of freedom and turn it into a trial of whatever level of difficulty you want it to be. It is presumptuous of me to try and describe process. I do not intellectually understand what I am doing in a similar way that a bird does not intellectually understand the physics of flying, but knows what it feels like and how to do it. I have yet to be able to explain it in a satisfactory way. Maybe that’s why doing it continues to be compelling. Anyways I would need to write a book to be able to really get into it. Something to do when I am old and bored. I am not so hot for theory, intellectual criticism and analysis right now. I am more interested in experiencing and doing. AG: It is quite ironic that so much of your work now involves Physiology, Physics, Biology - all subjects you dismissed when you were in high school. CK: Yes. When I talk to people in different fields it becomes apparent that we are working with similar concepts and thought processes. Which makes sense because all subjects are essentially different manifestations of the same thing at a fundamental level. When you think about the process of smashing dirt around on paper or arranging shapes together in space until something pings in your head, it logically follows that anything you create that rewards you in this way is going to have some kind of parallel with another field or approach - given the nature of reality and what we actually are. I have definitely noticed the trend of all fields converging. There is a lot AG:
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of published discourse about this. It is a very exciting and engaging area. I hope to collaborate with people from other fields on creative endeavors soon. I have recently initiated a project structured to encourage this type of interaction. Yeah it would have been great to have learned about things in a more inspired way in high school. I definitely think that public education needs a major overhaul. But a lot of institutions need a lot of work and are emergent products of human evolution to begin with, so we can’t expect them to just materialize in some kind of ideal platonic form. Also a school system that would work for me would not work for very many other people. I don’t know what the effect of being educated in one of the more holistic methods would have been on me. You should be a teacher! I would teach, but the institutions available to do it in are filled with a bunch of nonsense that I don’t want to be regularly exposed to. I will probably teach in retirement when I have the patience to tolerate that kind of thing. Right now I am doing, which is a completely different mentality. I think that’s just as valid of a contribution and a more appropriate thing to be doing at my age. AG: CK:
What shapes your work ethic? The general attraction to high energy situations. The natural reward of pushing, exploring and expanding creatively. Wanting to make more money to be able to expand in other ways. AG: CK:
AG: What is the inspirational force behind the pieces you are working
on now? CK: Distilling what I have been doing for the past 10 years into something fundamental and then expanding it again from that. Developing roots of ideas that have formed through working on a lot of different projects and filtering out things that weren’t interesting or that I became disenchanted with. Fusing together things that I have experienced in deeper states of consciousness with the acquired skills and evolved concepts from the span of my career to create new kinds of forms. I don’t care what these forms are applied to or how they are made public at this point. I just enjoy getting in there and doing it. AG
artist profile - Colin Kilian
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Dress - Cody Sai Belt - Mjolk Bracelet - Delphine Charlotte Parmentier Purse - Henrik Vibskov
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Noir Film
“You have no idea what a long-legged gal can do without doing anything.” - The Palm Beach Story
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Coat - Graeme Armour Jumper - Btochu Walker Shoes - Barbara Briones 20
Dress - Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry Tights- Falke Shades - KBL Shoes - Nina Shoes Gloves - Stylist Own
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Coat - Graeme Armour Jumper - Btochu Walker Shoes - Barbara Briones
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Coat - Graeme Armour Jumper - Btochu Walker Shoes - Barbara Briones 24
Jumper - Alice Ritter Turban - Selima by V Belt -Cody Sai Pendant - Carolee Lux Shoes - Nina Shoes
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Jumper - Alice Ritter Turban - Selima by V Belt -Cody Sai Pendant - Carolee Lux Shoes - Nina Shoes
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Jacket - Graeme Armour Leoprd Top - Daang Goodmann for TRIPP NYC Pants - Grame Armour Shoes - Nina Shoes
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Lace Blouse - Erotokritos Pants - Graeme Armour Shoes - Barbara Briones Cocktail Hair Piece - Selima by V
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Lace Blouse - Erotokritos Pants - Graeme Armour Shoes - Barbara Briones Cocktail Hair Piece - Selima by V
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Cape - Winter Kate Top - M.Patmos Pants - Brochu Walker Shoes - Nina Shoes
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Noir Film
Model: Nina Kuznetsova Hair Stylist: Damon Alfonso Make up Artist: Gil Aldrin Prop Stylist: Vanessa Baran Photo Assistant: Boris Eyzen Fashion Assistant: Amelia Schussler
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Dress - Project Alabama Jacket - Graeme Armour Belt - Mjolk Transparent Shine Tights - Falke Shoes - Nina Shoes
These Icon illustrations are from a collection called Fashion Follies A pictorial frolic of the masterful, theatrical and P. T. Barnums of our time. A valentine to the fashion world by Chesley McLaren
www.chesleymclaren.com
Fuck Clock the
“In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.“
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- Patti Smith
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Tank: The Outcast Vest: Cody Sai Jean: BDG Necklace, Bracelets, Ring: Kelacala Q
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Jacket: Vivienne Tam Shirt: Vivienne Tam Pant: Cody Sai Bracelets: Anastasia Savenko, Kelacala Q Rings: Anastasia Savenko, Meghan Patrice Riley 36
Coat: Stylist’s own Necklace: Kelacala Q Ring: Anastasia Savenko
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Jacket: H+M Shirt: Stapleford Trouser: Citizens of Humanity Shoe: Stylist’s own Necklace: Kelacala Q Rings: Anastasia Savenko, Kelacala Q
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Shirt: American Apparel Vest: H+M Pants: Vivienne Tam Boot: Stylist’s Own Belt (worn as necklace): Danica Cosic Necklace: Kelacala Q Bracelet: Kelacala Q Rings: Meghan Patrice Riley
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Tank: The Outcast Jean: BDG Necklace, Bracelets, Ring: Kelacala Q
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Jacket: Charles and a Half Legging: Zelis Velez Belt: Danica Cosic Boots: Vintage Necklace, Bracelets: Kelacala Q
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Jacket: Levi’s Shirt: BDG Shorts: Cody Sai Belt: Danica Cosic Boot: Vintage Bracelet: Anastasia Savenko Rings: Anastasia Savenko, Meghan Patrice Riley
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Fuck the
Clock
Make up Artist: Gil Aldrin Hair Stylist: Tracina Dilligard Photo Assistant: Vincent Ahn Shot at 3rd Ward Studios Model: Daria S.
Necklaces: Anastasia Savenko, Kelacala Q, Andrea Bocchio 48 Bracelets: Kelacala Q
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PP
P Amanda Dress - Clu Belt - Mjolk Necklace - Circa Sixty Three
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Alina Dress worn as top - Clu Skirt - Daang Goodman for TRIPP NYC Bag - Cheap Monday
K U K U ! N PPUN K
N P
nk?’. So u P s t’ a h ‘W s k s a to me and p u s lk a w y nk!’. So u u g p s “A t’ a ‘Th y a s d bage can an r a g a r e v o k s Punk?’, ic t’ k a I ‘Th s y a s d n a rbage can a g a r e v o s k ic k he s trendy!” t’ a th o ‘N y a s I d an rong
t s m r A e o J y l - Bil
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1) Amanda Jacket - Blank Silk Gold Sequence Pants - Daang Goodman for TRIPP NYC Boots - Nina Shoes 2) Alina Jacket and Pants - Daang Goodman for TRIPP NYC Earrings - Crux Boots - Nina Shoes 52
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Dress worn as a top - Clu Leather Skirt - Arielle Martin Earring - Crux Boots - Nina Shoes
Top - Arielle Martins Leggings - Daang Goodman for TRIPP NYC Necklace - Forever 21 Bracelet - Danika Boots - Model Own
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Jacket - Arielle Martin Dress - Clu Necklace - Circa Sixty Three Bracelets - Stylist own Tights - H&M
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K U ! N P
Models: Amanda Lesnick, Alina Rock Make up Artist: Gil Aldrin Hair Stylist: Tracina Dilligard Fashion Assistants: Darnice Osborne, Amelia Schussler
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Dress - Cody Sai Earring - Crux Ring - Club Monaco
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Moments
of
CLARITY “Simplicity, clarity, singleness: These are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy as they are also the marks of great art. They seem to be the purpose of God for his whole creation.” - Richard Holloway
Photographer: Folana Miller Stylist: Ashe Davis www.ashedavis.com
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Dress: H&M Earrings: Forever 21 61 ISSUE 1 Own Bracelets: Stylist’s
Dress: Zara Earrings: Bloomingdales Bracelets: Forever 21 Necklace: Stylist’s Own
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Bra: Betsey Johnson Zara ISSUE Skirt: 1 63 Necklace: Stylist’s Own
Dress: H&M Cuff: Forever 21 Shoes: Forever 21
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Blazer: Zara Blouse: B.B. Dakota Shorts: H&M Bracelets: Stylist’s Own
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Blouse: H&M Pants: Zara Bracelets: Stylist’s Own, Forever 21 Shoes: Aldo
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Top: H&M Skirt: Zara
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Dress: H&M
Moments
of
CLARITY Makeup artist - Gil Aldrin Hair Stylist - Laura Castellano Models - P olina Such + Elizabeth Resch for Agency Models NYC Photo assistant - Danielle C. Grant Shot at Thompson LES Hotel
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VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
Fun Fashion Fact! A woman harvests the jasmine which enters into the composition of Chanel N°5 fragrance on September 7, 2011 on the plains of the French riviera town of Roquette-sur-Siagne. Since 1921, jasmine plays such an important role in the composition of Chanel’s world best selling perfume that Coco Chanel’ successors decided to secure supplies thereof by signing an exclusive agreement with one of the producer of the region that farms five hectares of jasmine and produces 20 to 25 tons of flowers per year.
Top Beauty Products by Gil Aldrin, Beauty Editor
We asked our Gil Aldrin, who works as the MUA on all of our shoots, what’s in his beauty bag...and what should be in yours! 1 Graftobian HD Foundation
MAC Prep +
2 Makeup Forever
3 Prime Transparent
Camouflage Cream Palette
Finishing Powder
5 MAC Fluidline 4 MAC brow set 6
Cover Girl Lashblast
7 Makeup Forever Roughe Artist Intense Lipsticks
8 C.O Bigelow Rose Salve 9 Q-Tips - for cleaning shadow/liner 10 Baby Wipes - cleaning,removing/liner
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ISSUE 2 May 2012
Photographer: shtroxy
sideman creative
sidemancreative.com