CCHSPRESS.COM
COUGAR k l a w t a C NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
ABOUT FACE
L.A. FASHION WEEK DIVERSITY
CHIC ON THE CHEAP
DESIGNERS ARE RIFFING ON EMBLEMS TO ESCORT STREET STYLE TO HIGH FASHION
FALL’S FINEST TRENDS
PARKER DYER
A STYLE REFLECTION
TAYLOR MOMSEN NOT LOSING HER ROCK EDGE
CCHSPRESS.COM
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. 3. 4. 5. 7. 15. 16. 18.
TAYLOR MOMSEN NOT LOSING HER ROCK EDGE MARK JACOBS’ FINAL LOUIS VUITTON COLLECTION FEELS RIGHT
LOS ANGELES’ FASHION SHOWS DISPLAY VIBRANT DIVERSITY FALL FINDS
DAPER DON DYER
WINTER WONDERLAND GET THE LOOK
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR CHIC ON THE CHEAP
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CCHSPRESS.COM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CCHSPRESS.COM
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
ROCKER SWALLOW Taylor Momsen not losing her rock edge BY LUIS GOMEZ CHICAGO TRIBUNE
T
aylor Momsen is a leather-wearing, middle finger-waving, hard-partying rock star and not the preppy, Upper East Side, social climber she played on The CW’s “Gossip Girl,” so get used to it.
SHOP PUDDIN’S CLOTHING BOUTIQUE & ETC. OWNER
11911 JONES RD. #5 HOUSTON, TX 77070 281.890.8871
SADIE MAE JONES-WILLIS
That’s the message Momsen repeatedly _ but politely _ tried to stress while speaking over the phone Monday from Winnipeg, Canada, where her band, The Pretty Reckless, was performing. “It’s certainly challenging breaking out of a character people know you as and see you as,” Momsen said. “They see you as a character so long that when they see you on stage, they think you’re acting. I’ve had to overcome that challenge, but it hasn’t been too bad. It’s gone away over the years. People aren’t asking about (my acting career) at shows. I also haven’t acted in four years.” More like she hasn’t acted regularly in four years. Momsen, who you may remember as Cindy Lou Who in the 2000 film, “The Grinch,” did appear on the “Gossip Girl” series finale in December. She left the show after Season 4 to concentrate on a music career that has seen her band perform at Lollapalooza in 2011 and open for Guns N’ Roses, Marilyn Manson and Evanescence. In other words, she has managed to go further with her music career at age 20 than most actors-turned-musicians _ even if there is the occasional eye-roll over her rock star persona. “I was always listening to rock and writing rock songs,” Momsen said. “It wasn’t a transition for me. It was a transition for everyone else.”
PHOTO CREDITS By Rubenstein (Taylor Momsen Uploaded by Tabercil) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons dephisticate [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons By The Pretty Reckless (http://www.theprettyreckless.com/splash/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
“ ”
It’s certainly challenging breaking out of a character people know you as and see you as. - TAYLOR MOMSEN
By Chicks With Guns Magazine [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CCHSPRESS.COM
“ ”
It wasn’t a transition for me. It was a transition for everyone else. - TAYLOR MOMSEN
By Genie Sanchez [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The Pretty Reckless expects to release “Going to Hell,” the follow-up to its 2010 debut, “Light Me Up,” in early 2014. The goth music video for the first single, “Going to Hell,” released last week, features a priest, a snake and a bunch of bodies writhing around together. Momsen said the album will be heavier than “Light Me Up” and described it as a more back-to-basics “band um,” with less production. She wrote one of the songs while at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago, she said. The single, “Going to Hell,” was written after Hurricane Sandy. “We lost most of our gear, amps and computers,” Momsen said about Sandy, which flooded the Hoboken, N.J., studio where the band was recording the album. “We had to go back and rebuild. It took longer than expected. “We had to find a new studio and get everyone back in the mindset. Everyone as pretty beat. We had been really flowing when it happened and the hurricane flowed through the studio and stopped that. But we finished and conquered, it just took a lot longer.”
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CCHSPRESS.COM
MARC JACOBS’ FINAL LOUIS VUITTON COLLECTION FEELS RIGHT BOOTH MOORE THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
A
fter 16 years at the helm of Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs showed his last collection for the French fashion house early this month. Charged during his tenure with designing accessories in addition to clothes, he helped create the phenomenon of It bags with his luscious designs that layered lace, sequins, feathers and contemporary artists’ work onto those iconic LVs, twisting and recontextualizing their meaning as a status symbol. At the same time, he transformed a fusty leather goods brand into a global force. The spring 2014 collection was “for the showgirl in all of us,” the notes said, a moving depiction of the Paris of our dreams on the last day of Paris Fashion Week. The set was an amalgamation of things from Vuitton shows past. A carousel, a shooting fountain, a train station clock, hotel doors from the haute pajama themed-collection the label had shown for fall 2013 and escalators from spring 2013’s mod musing on ordered geometry were reminders of how Jacobs’ ever-bigger productions at Vuitton helped usher in the era of the blockbuster runway show-as-performance art, beamed via Internet around the world. Guests sat on graffiti seat cushions referencing Vuitton’s collaboration with Stephen Sprouse in 2001. (Over the years, Jacobs also collaborated on designs with artists Richard Prince, Robert Wilson and Takashi Murakami and celebrities Sofia Coppola, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, giving the brand an unmatched cool factor.) At precisely 10 a.m., the station clock started tick-tocking and the bell tolled, starting a rumble. The Marc Jacobs train was leaving the station. But not before an emotional ode to the City of Light, with models in exotic black feather headdresses like something Erte would draw. There was a celebratory but mournful feeling to the collection, done entirely in black and navy, as if Jacobs was saying the decision to leave the jewel in the LVMH crown, the brand that made him the biggest star in the fashion universe, was bittersweet. (His contract with Vuitton is up, and he’s turning his attention to pursuing an IPO of his own namesake brand. A successor has not been officially named.) The collection was dedicated to, “The women who inspire me and the showgirl in all of them,” Jacobs wrote in the notes, name-checking dozens of people, including entertainers Cher, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli and Lady Gaga; Vogue creative director Grace Coddington; sculptor Louise Nevelson; socialite and art collector Millicent Rogers; fashion designers Coco Chanel and Rei Kawakubo; and more. “They are the figures that keep visual language vital.” On the runway, the most American of icons, blue jeans, were sprinkled with the fairy dust of Paris _ beaded, embroidered and flocked with jet-black feathers on the waist bands, hips and pockets. Biker jackets were embroidered with ruffles and rosettes, and small bucket bags with beads and feathers. Jacobs mused about his adopted hometown, “When I look around Paris, it isn’t the depth of the city that takes my breath away. It’s the decoration and applied ornamentation that dazzles. It is not about thinking, it is about feeling.” Which is exactly what this collection was about. Beauty for beauty’s sake.
By Ed Kavishe, fashionwirepress (Submitted to OTRS) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
ABOUT FACE
LOS ANGELES’ FASHION SHOWS DISPLAY VIBRANT DIVERSITY
BOOTH MOORE AND ADAM TSCHORN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
W
hat was on the runway in the two-plus weeks of spring 2014 fashion shows in Los Angeles was as varied as the venues themselves, which ranged from the entertainment complex L.A. Live downtown to the Grove, some seven miles to the west. One of the standout events was the Los Angeles Fashion Council’s two days of runway shows held for the first time at the Grove. Staged in the center of the outdoor mall’s park area, where the Christmas tree sits each holiday season, the event showcased eight designers. And although the seats were reserved for invited guests, the venue had crossover appeal, allowing the public to sneak a peek and take pictures, giving the up-and-coming designers who traditionally show in L.A. much needed exposure. What was on the runway at various venues was eclectic all right but did touch on several trends we saw on the runways elsewhere this season, including ethnic and floral prints, sports performance wear and art world-inspiration. Among the highlights at the Fashion Council shows? Body-conscious dresses covered in delicate line drawings of roses or embossed floral patterns, with brightly colored contrast piping by Hollywood favorite Katharine Kidd; Moroccan-inspired paisley and gold foiled lace boho gowns, maxi-dresses and miniskirts by Odylyne designer Stephanie Lampkin; and black and white marble-patterned dresses, tone-on-tone tie-dye pieces and softly-draped white knit dresses and vests from Inka Sherman’s ISM Mode collection. A pair of newcomers (winners of the Fashion Council’s Open Runway competition) also had strong, if more arty, showings: Amabelle Aguiluz’s collection was an exquisitely delicate-looking patchwork of stitched-together knits, and Rhode Island School of Design grad Rose La Grua’s grab bag of plaids and washed-to-pale-blue denim pieces had a punk-street-wear vibe.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
Style Fashion Week at L.A. Live featured Ina Soltani’s Old Hollywood-inspired little black dresses and glitzy mermaid gowns laden with sequins, crystals and ostrich feather trim and Malan Breton’s sharply tailored, slim men’s suiting in colorful brocades, a testament to his training at heritage British menswear brand Turnbull and Asser. Many of Michael Costello’s softly structured gowns seemed ready for the stage or the Hollywood spotlight, even if some came off as too costumey. At Concept Los Angeles in West Hollywood, Matthew Mathiasen, a 2009 graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising whose fashion world CV includes stints at Elmer Ave. and Betsey Johnson, showed a collection that varied from sporty street wear _ shorts, skirts and zip-front crop tops layered under hoodies _ to glittery sequined sleeveless mini-dresses and a curve-hugging floor-length gown. Mike Vensel (who also happens to be the organizer of Concept) decided to showcase his fashion line and abstract expressionist artwork _ together _ by having models cross the room, pick up one of his paintings from a pile and place it on the floor on the other side of the room. This bit of performance art, Vensel said in his show notes, “explores evolution and chance by allowing the models to select art they find most interesting and arranging it in an evolving sculpture that focuses on the progression of time and changing tastes. Gimmicky? Sure. But it was more interesting than simply staring at a staid tableaux of models and afforded the audience ample opportunity to see the clothes close up _ a collection that included a chiffon fabric made from recycled plastic bottles and some hand-painted, one-of-akind dresses. Finally, the trade group Fashion Business Incorporated’s annual fashion show at Union Station featured a runway show with nine designer collections, including Liberty Sage’s summertime riffs on tuxedo dressing and jewel-covered racer-back dresses; Johnny Was’ bohemian patchwork pants and maxi-dresses; and graffiti-print leggings, reptile-patterned dolphin shorts and logo hoodies from action sports brand Continuous. But the woman of the hour was swim and resort wear designer Shay Todd, who took home the MAFI Award (Moss Adams Fashion Innovator Award) and showed a selection of her pieces, including twilight blue, dip-dye sundresses, desert sunset print caftans and a burnt-claycolored, one-piece swimsuit with cutouts and a tassel belt that brought to mind faraway lands.
(c)2013 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes. com Distributed by MCT Information Services
CCHSPRESS.COM
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CCHSPRESS.COM
FAL FIN Equestrian-style boots are in for the Fall such as this Burberry riding boot in plaid canvas and black leather.
Chanel has re its iconic eau with No. 19 P chanel.com).
For an of-the-moment look, add a pastel-colored coat to a fall or winter outfit. This powder-blue vintage wool coat is from Street Scene, $32. Also pictured are a cream military-style hat, $20 at Street Scene; wool shorts, $48 at Calypso; and a leather messenger bag from Borderstate Made. Shirt and boots are the model s own. (Pablo Alcala/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT)
Bla we the dre sho ban (Pa
Burberry Check Scarf ($395, Nordstrom. com). (Nordstrom/MCT)
Model Emma Bellomy wears a black lace dress; black leggings; peach jacket; gold bubble bracelet; and crystal necklace, $55; all from Olive You. The pewter booties are from Rack Room Shoes. (Pablo Alcala/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT)
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CCHSPRESS.COM
LL NDS “Vogue: The Editor’s Eye” (Abrams, $75). (MCT)
eimagined de parfum Poudre ($85, (MCT)
“Kate: The Kate Moss Book” (Rizzoli, $85) was issued with eight different covers. (MCT)
ack and white and checks are huge for spring -earing it in a classic sheath is an ideal way to work e trend. Here: Kate Spade New York ‘Lorelei’ ess ($378); Alexander McQueen black and white oulder bag; CHANEL sunglasses and Sequin ngle ($28). Clothes courtesy of Nordstrom. aul Rodriguez/Orange County Register/MCT)
Eyelgasses have gone from nerd necessity to fashion accessory like this pair from Tom Ford. (Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
Warby Parker, an eyewear company where most glasses cost about $100 with the prescription, sells their eyewear online and also in stores. Here, Crane is one of Warby Parker’s top five frames. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/ MCT)
The iLuv Pulse case has raised lines that wrap around the sides. They not only give you an interesting design, they also act as shock-absorbing ridges. (MCT)
DAPPER DON R E Y D THE STYLE REFLECTION OF A TRUE COUGAR CATWALKER
Q:
How do you define your sense of fashion?
“ ”
My sense of fashion is something that comes naturally, it’s all about what you believe fits for yourself and what you enjoy wearing and how you like to look.
Q:
What do you want your appearance to say about you?
“ ”
I think that it would say that I’m creative, I get compliments on the way I dress on a daily basis. I’m never critical about the way I dress, it’s something that I like and I feel comfortable in.
Q:
How does it feel when you find something to add to your collection?
“ �
I get really excited about it and think back to all the outfits I can .wear it with .
Q:
Fashion pet peeves?
“ ”
I’ve seen people wear a belt with suspenders and another thing that bothers me is when people wear ties and they’ll have the skinny part in the back longer than the front.
Q:
How far do you think men’s fashion has come?
“ ”
Men’s fashion has evolved a lot and then come back to different things.
WINTER Wonderland GET THE LOOK
Carolina Herrara 2013. Photo by Christopher Macsurak.
Ohne Titel Fall Winter 2013. Photo by Christopher Macsurak.
Burberry London black double-breasted swing coat with patent piping, $1,795, with Nordstrom black leather gloves, $148, The Knight bag by Burberry, $2,995, Miu Miu black patent Calzature Donna booties, $510, and DKNY black opaque tights, $12.50, all at Nordstrom. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/MCT)
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CCHSPRESS.COM
FUZZY FASHIONS WARM FALL OUTFITS BY ANNE BRATSKEIR NEWSDAY
D
esigners have a clear vision for the cooler months this season: It’s all about the fuzz, with mohair, angora and fluffy synthetics providing a whole extra layer of soft and shaggy in the most forward looks. “There’s a lot of experimentation with new fabrics, because designers want to work with something other than wool,” says Siobhan Bonnouvrier, Allure magazine’s fashion director. “There’s a ton of fur pieces this season, and I see the fuzzy texture _ mohair, shearling alpaca _ as a very distant relative and an alternative. It’s luscious, very comforting, and feels like a fabulous blanket. Designer Stefania Borras has created a web-only capsule collection using only British mohair for her label, Datura. “I think it’s one of the most naturally luxurious fabrics for the winter,” says Borras. “It feels like a teddy bear, and for me, how fabrics feel when they’re touching your skin is a priority.” And TV style personality and author Jacqui Stafford says the fuzz factor “is very tactile. People want to touch you and hug you, and it’s a conversation starter.” But she warns against too much of a good thing. It looks best in a monochromatic way, like a fuzzy sweater paired with a sequin skirt.” Bonnouvrier agrees. “Wear one mohair piece, and definitely mix it up with some non-fuzzy pieces so it’s not Sasquatch walking down the street.” Here are some tips on extending the life of your natural-fiber fuzzy garments, courtesy of Alan Spielvogel, director of technical services for the National Cleaners Association: Make room in the fridge “The wool of angora, cashmere and mohair has an oil content, and when it dries out it loses its hair and the yarns become threadbare,” says Spielvogel. To prevent this, wrap specialty garments in a muslin bag (plastic traps humidity) and store in the refrigerator. But wrap it carefully to avoid food smells. Fold, don’t hang “Any kind of soft woolen should not be put on a hanger, because it stretches out,” Spielvogel says. Dry clean after wearing Well, you’d kind of expect that suggestion from the National Cleaners Association, but Spielvogel is adamant that any kind of perspiration _ even if we can’t see or smell it _ draws insects, such as moths. If there’s no room in the fridge Find a well-vented area away from sunlight. “Most closets aren’t well vented,” says Spielvogel, and if they’re not, the air becomes stagnant, which causes colors to fade
Model Emma Bellomy wears a creamand-mint patterned sweater and faux fur vest from Olive You. (Pablo Alcala/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT)
Diane von F
urstenberg F
all Winter 20
13 by Christo
pher Macsura
k.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CCHSPRESS.COM Attribution Some rights reserved by webtreats
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR INSTAGLAM
#
OOTD (outfit of the day) one of the most popular hashtags on various social media sites causes quite the epidemic in displaying trendy looks and fashion for everyone. Fashion transcends into the digital age. Social media now plays a huge role in dictating trends. Whether Instagram, Tumblr, or other micro blogging; they all contribute to that next best thing. In the second issue of the Cougar Catwalk we chose to have student Parker Dyer grace our cover for an in-depth on his sophisticated style and high school chic look. Parker, someone well known on campus for his hipster fashion and hint of 50s flare revealed his intentions for dressing the way he does, and that he looks for a style similar to that of retailer Nick Wooster and where he chooses to shop. Parker makes fashion fun, but with a bold statement. He looks for inspiration all across social media like Instagram and Tumblr. Dyer has certainly taken the role of a trendsetter here on campuswith a classic look. He stylishly looks forward with an occasional glance back.
A few looks from the Instagram Parker follows Whatmyboyfriendwore.
A picture of Nick Wooster, Parker’s style inspiration.
CC HS PRESS .COM
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CCHSPRESS.COM
CHIC ON THE CHEAP
Twisted logos and big brands: Designers are riffing on emblems to escort street style into high fashion BY BOOTH MOORE THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
C
heap is becoming chic in a different way. British pop star M.I.A.’s capsule collection for Versus Versace brings street style’s current love of twisted designer logos and prints to a high-fashion brand. For this 19-piece collection, in stores now, M.I.A. created prints inspired by knockoff Versace merchandise she found in London markets as a teenager. Gold medallions galore and versions of famous Versace emblems, such as the Medusa head and interlocking Greek key, are blown up and spliced together on T-shirts, printed jeans, silk shirts, jersey dresses and military-inspired outerwear for Versus, Versace’s lower-price brand that uses a rotating cast of designers. For the launch, M.I.A. and her friends modeled for a digital campaign shot by Mexican photographer Jaime Martinez, wearing twhe collection at East London markets. “It’s always been part of the M.I.A. culture to talk about bootlegs and people that sell them or make them. When I was approached by Versace,
“ ”
THE COLLECTION IS EVERYTHING THAT I LOVE ABOUT THE NEW VERSUS VERSACE. IT’S FAST, LOUD, UNAFRAID, AND BRINGS TOGETHER THE WORLDS OF MUSIC AND FASHION.
that cycle going,” M.I.A. said in a statement. (Her new album “Matangi” will be released Nov. 5.) “The collection is everything that I love about the new Versus Versace. It’s fast, loud, unafraid, and brings together the worlds of music and fashion,” Donatella Versace said. (Priced $195 to $975, the collection is available at us.versace.com and Opening Ceremony stores in New York and L.A.) This collection fits right in with the current street-driven fad for twisted, knockoff and in-your-face designer logos. Los Angeles designer Brian Lichtenberg’s T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and scarves with playful takes on logos from Hermes Paris (written as “Homies South Central”) and Celine (written as “Feline”) are selling like hotcakes at Kitson stores. And Alexander Wang’s spring 2014 collection, shown during New York Fashion Week, was a high-octane riff on his own logo, in laser cut leather and lace, woven houndstooth and jacquard. The trend, also seen in DKNY’s spring 2014 collection, where a model walked the runway dressed entirely in “DKNYs,” is undoubtedly a throwback to logo-heavy 1980s and ‘90s streetwear, but also a cheeky response from millennials to an over-branded world.
it seemed like a good idea to take that and reverse the cycle. Versace designs have always been bootlegged; now it’s Versace bootlegging the bootleg for the bootleggers to bootleg the bootleg. This is to keep
British pop star M.I.A.’s capsule collection for Versus Versace brings street style’s current love of twisted designer logos and prints to a high fashion brand. (Versace/Los Angeles Times/ MCT)
(c)2013 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
L
LACKLUX WWW.LACKLUX.COM FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @Tlacklux
POLYVORE: LACKLUX
COUGAR CATWALK. FASHION. POP CULTURE.
“
Instagram and other social media sites have made it easier for anyone to branch out for more fashion ideas and new styles that may not regularly come across. - PARKER DYER
Photo by: Creativity103
OU CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR
TYLER HOOKS
EDITORIAL TYLER HOOKS PARKER DYER
KRISTIN RUSSELL
STORIES
LUIS GOMEZ (CHICAGO TRIBUNE) BOOTH MOORE (THE LOS ANGELES TIMES) ADAM TSCHORN (THE LOS ANGELES TIMES) ANNE BRATSKEIR (NEWSDAY)
IMAGES
MCT TYLER HOOKS CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK GENE SANCHEZ RUBENSTEIN CHICKS WITH GUNS MAGAZINE ED KAVISHE