The Thread Magazine Spring/Summer 2013

Spring/Summer 2013

FAST FASHION Does a LOWER price really mean more bang for your buck?

Inside

TEENVOGUE A college intern’s success story

SPRING POP FASHION

PRISCILLA YANG President JULIAN MONTIJO Editor-in-Chief ALLAN DELESANTRO Creative Director STEPHANIE GITTO Art Director Fashion Director Beauty Director Style Director Technical Director

BEN WAINBERG EMMA THANHAUSER LESLEY YOUNG LARISSA-HELEN MAHAGA-AJALA

Fashion Contributing Fashion Stylist ROCHELLE IANNUCCI Fashion Stylist MORIAH SHIRES Contributing Beauty Stylist DANIELLE KEARNS Accessories Stylist JANELLE DORN Photography Contributing Photographer JEREMIE BLUM GAVIN ZHANG STEPHANIE ADDISON TYLER WILLIAMS Art Associates DILEEN EE TARN SUSUMPOW Web Designer

ALI SOONG

Contributing Editors ALLEN LITTON-Navasero ARTHUR PETERSON ELENI KONSTANTOPOULOS EMILYN TEH GRACe ma LENA MARECKI meghan flynn REBECCA STAMBLER victoria hines Director of Marketing & Sales

YILIN ZHANG

Social Media NICOLE CHANG CATHERINE CHEN Advertising HAWKEN LORD LAURA SALMON Campus Promotions KAI LIN TAN EDMUN HOI Director of Finance

RHYME LIU

Finance Team Associates CYNTHIA SUN ASHINI GANESALINGAM

spring/summer 2013

table of contents Letter from the Editor

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Style on the Slope

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From Dusk ‘Til Dawn Editorial Fashion

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Brittany Haas ‘08

How one Cornell Alumna has made her mark in the fashion retail industry

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Natural Beauty

Your unofficial guide to natural beauty products

18 Blue & Gold The beauty in turquoise and shimmer

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Interview with an Insider We speak with insider Media Brecher, Fashion News Assistant at Teen Vogue

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Gray Area The evolution of gender-bending in fashion

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The Invisible Price Tag The real and hidden costs of fashion

What’s In and 38 What’s Out S/S ‘13 Trends

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40

How to Dress Your BF/GF

Behind-theScenes

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Get in on Cornell’s fashion hub. Like us on Facebook for the latest on fashion news, trends, and magazine updates!

Magazine

/theThread www.facebook.com

POP Fashion A fresh look for classic style

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Too Fast, Too Furious

Is greater accessibility worth the price of the fast fashion business?

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DIY

Do It Yourself Make and customize a bowtie and collar

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Staff Picks

A glimpse of the team’s favorite must-haves

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vest, eugenio sorrentino; shirt, zara; pants, zara; shoes, model’s own

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letter from the editor

behind the scenes at one of our photo shoots. photographed by priscilla yang

B

ienvenu to the Spring 2013 Issue of The Thread, Cornell’s first and only fashion magazine! Wait… this isn’t the course list? NO! This issue of The Thread is an embodiment of everything our staff have been working to present to you, our reader, since the start of the semester—fashion, trends, social responsibility, everything under the beautiful spring sun. Our journey from concept to print has been one filled with incredible learning experiences and creativity, making this edition of the magazine an especially diverse showcase of the team’s hard work and originality.

Many of the staff members this semester fell into a position of leadership, stepping into the shoes of their predecessors and striving to make their impact on the publication unique. Larissa, our Technical Director and a freshman in the College of Engineering, is a perfect example of the dedication our staff give to the magazine. She consistently goes above and beyond what is required of her job with punctuality and enthusiasm.

Like any magazine, we encountered countless obstacles throughout the publication process.

However, this semester has proven that our team can tackle any challenge and still provide our readers with quality content. As a team, The Thread is constantly doing its best to learn, improve, innovate, and devote countless hours to make each coming issue better than the previous. This only makes

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time spent with the publication and its members a more rewarding and enjoyable experience.

With spring comes warmth, the excitement of summer, and hopefully a break from studies. In this issue you will find beautiful images to browse through mindlessly, as well as thought-provoking articles rich in content like fast fashion (see pg. 52) and the true social cost of large clothing companies (see pg. 38). Whether you are reading this because you are excited to see the latest spring trends (see pg.

40) or because you are a contributor’s mom, you are sure to find refreshing and intriguing content inside.

On behalf of the entire Thread team, I thank you for picking up and flipping through our magazine.

We hope that this issue will inspire you and spark dialogue between you and your friends, or, at the very least, give you a brief moment to enjoy what interests you about fashion as we attempt to push the boundaries of the standard college fashion magazine.

Sincerely,

Julian Montijo Editor-in-Chief

STYLE ON THE

by | Julian Montijo photographed | Gavin Zhang | Stephanie Addison

Trend Alert | Sunny Pants

Tuesday: 50° & sunny Wednesday: 10° & snowstorm Every morning we Cornellians begrudgingly roll out of bed and check the weather report. How does one dress for sun at 11am and hail at 2pm? It can be difficult and seemingly useless to change out of last year’s Slope Day shirt and your sweats. However, Thread photographers Gavin and Stephanie were able to capture some of our peers looking dapper around campus.

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slope

& Spotted | Prints Jewel Tones

From Dusk ‘til Dawn Born in the wrong era? So were we. SoirĂŠes, elegant dresses, and formal courtship. Get ready to Waltz.

photography by Stephanie Addison | Allan Delesantro | Gavin Zhang hair & makeup by Danielle Kearns | Rochelle Iannucci | Priscilla Yang models: Ryan Campbell | Yasmin Fouladi | Ziyou Tian | Shelby McClelland | Toni Oni location: Phi Delta Theta Fraternity

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left: skirt, james coviello; bustier, vintage; velvet bow headpiece, petrune; suit, model’s own right: vintage beaded dress, petrune

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left: vintage dress, petrune right: bustier, vintage; Vintage velvet bow, petrune; skirt, james coviello

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left: suit, brandon wen ‘15; vintage beaded dress, petrune right: flower headpiece, handmade; dress, vintage

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Alumni Interview: BRITTANY HAAS

Retail Therapy How Cornell Alumna Brittany Haas ‘08 has made her mark in the fashion retail industry

by Grace Ma

“

Do what you love, and don’t give up.

The future might seem unclear, but believe in yourself, you’ll make it happen. ”

Let’s see how Brittany Haas ‘08, one of Cornell’s Fiber Science and Apparel Design (FSAD) graduates, founder of Happily Ever Borrowed, and Hermès U.S. retail planner lives out her simple and inspiring motto.

During her undergraduate years at Cornell, Haas was actively involved on campus as the co-chair of Shadows Dance Troupe, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, a student ambassador, and a designer for the Cornell Fashion Collective.

After graduation from the FSAD department with a concentration in Fashion Design, Haas joined the Ralph Lauren (RL) program through an on campus recruitment event. This experience allowed her to rotate in the marketing, merchandising, planning, and retail departments. After eight months of stay, she became the assistant merchandise planner for RL’s Men’s Wholesale. In this position, she assembled an assortment of menswear to purchase. While at RL she worked with high-end department stores such as Saks, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, and Barneys, and sold them on RL’s exclusive Purple, Black, Blue, RLX, and Golf labels.

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Left: Haas adusts a headpiece on the set of a photo shoot for her website happily ever borrwed. middle: a snapshot of a headpiece from her website Right: Haas pins on a jeweled headpiece [photos c/o theeverygirl.com and happilyeverborrowed.com]

Unlike RL, where all the decisions are made at the U.S. office, Hermès, where Haas currently works, receives instruction from its international House in Paris. Haas’ job at Hermès entails creating the sales plan and the Open-to-buy, a tool to improve financial performance by managing inventory, planning purchases and efficiently budgeting. She also does forecasting and permanent stock replenishment program management. With Hermès, Haas travels to Paris at least twice a year in addition to visiting the many U.S. Hermès store locations.

Aside from working with Hermès, Haas is the founder of Happily Ever Borrowed, an online bridal accessories shop.

The idea for the site arose while Haas was helping her three older sisters shop for their weddings. Haas, who truly understands the art of making quality garments through her studies in FSAD, was appalled by the outrageous prices for poorly constructed wedding dresses. Haas started the company in order to give more brides the opportunity to wear brand label accessories at an affordable price on their special day.

To Haas, the online renting model is a window of opportunity.

To secure the business model, Happily Ever Borrowed utilizes the safest method of shipping, and tries to provide a backup plan for every situation. As the site’s two-year anniversary approaches, Happily Ever Borrowed is partnering with several designers to create personal lines for the business. Recently the company has also created the “Send Before You Spend” promotion, which has had phenomenal feedback from consumers. This promotion allows brides to rent three pieces of accessories at $50 for the bride’s hair trial or dress fitting. Once the pieces are returned, they receive $25 toward their wedding day rental.

As a successful entrepreneur, Haas advises students to get in touch with alumni through the Cornell Alumni Network and recommends working closely with mentors. Learning how to multitask, stay organized, and be passionate has allowed Haas to thrive in the fashion retail industry.

The company reaches its customers through participation in trunk shows across the country, its own personal blog, and testimonials from brides who have used the site. For Haas, accessories are the easiest way to launch and test her business model since there are less upfront inventory costs and fewer sizing specifications. Like a true Cornellian, Haas took her studies beyond FSAD in order to learn computer coding for the Happily Ever Borrowed website.

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NATURAL BEAUTY

Your unofficial guide to beauty products Natural beauty has been cropping up everywhere in the past few years. However, we know it can get difficult to distinguish what’s really natural from the myriad products claiming to be environmentally friendly and toxic-free. Some of the biggest culprits to watch out for are nail polishes, shampoos and lotions. Here’s your guide to ensure your “natural” beauty products are really natural.

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BLUE&GOLD

summer comes early with hints of turquoise and shimmer

photography by Tyler Williams hair & make-up by Emma Thanhauser | Priscilla Yang models: Supriya Kumar | Kimberly Layne | Zuhal Kol

earrings, bracelet, and ring, stella & dot

earrings, vintage; rings, stella & dot

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ring, forever21; hair chain, stella & dot

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Strong Brows

Dark Lips

IN: STRONG BOWS OUT: DARK LIPS

There has been no shortage of strong brows on the runway this season.

In fact, bold-browed beauty Cara Delevingne dominated the majority of the shows. While grooming and maintenance are still necessary, don’t be afraid to let your brows grow big and beautiful. And let your lips be bright! Yes, dark lips were très chic for the fall and winter. However, the S/S ‘13 look is a bright matte lip—think coral, pink, orange.

IN: MONOCHROME OUT: OMBRE

Monochrome

Ombre

Black and white won’t ever go out of style, so the surplus of monochrome this season makes perfect sense. As long as you keep your color palette, well, colorless, feel free to go for zig-zags, stripes, and everything in between. Keep it clean, though; the attempt to take the ombre style from hair to clothing left many looking messy. Leave the tie-dye-like trend to your tresses, please.

Prints

Peplums IN: PRINTS OUT: PEPLUMS Python! Floral! Checkerboard! Prints are back in a big way this S/S ‘13.

Bonus for mixing prints tastefully!

However, peplum has been way overdone, and, let’s face it, it was never the most flattering cut anyway.

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&

In

What’s

&Out What’s

90s Grunge

60s Festival

IN: 90S GRUNGE OUT: 60S FESTIVAL

The runways were rocked by 90s grunge. Crop tops, overalls, smokey eyes and crimped locks are all on trend. Think Cher Horowitz chic! The 60s festival look, however, has run its course. Those of you hitting up Coachella and Lollapalooza, slip on your Docs and ditch the fringe.

Sheer

Too Much Sheer

IN: SHEER OUT: TOO MUCH SHEER The sheer look is so easy to implement, and can be subtly sexy. Tasteful layering of sheer falls perfectly into the previously mentioned 90s trend this season. However, sheer can easily be a big, blaring “don’t” when done wrong, so keep it classy and minimal.

IN: STATEMENT SHADES OUT: STATEMENT SHOES

Sunglasses are a necessity when the sun comes out, and statement shades are one of the easiest and most wearable trends to rock. Try anything from pastel to clear rims (oddly-shaped shades are okay, too). Just find whatever is most flattering for your face, then figure out from there which pair is most fun. Statement shoes are not necessarily out. The return of pointytoed heels and a Birkenstock-like sandal are in and echo the 90s trend aforementioned.

Clunky platforms and those pesky Lita boots are out! Plus, a slimmer heel equals a slimmer leg-line, which is always a good thing!

Statement Shades Statement Shoes

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INTERVIEW WITH AN INSIDER:

At the teen vogue headquarters when I landed my job,” said the Barnard College, Columbia University graduate who majored in French Literature and English.

Described by senior fashion news editor, Jane Keltner de Valle, as “a smart, great, wonderful and inspiring girl,” it is no surprise that Brecher was hired over hundreds of hopefuls to a permanent position at Teen Vogue.

MEDIA BRECHER

Brecher shared that it was her interest in fashion that drove her to dedicate a considerable amount of her free time to Teen Vogue during her college career. She was passionate, and more importantly motivated to turn her passion into a purpose.

Fashion News Assistant at Teen Vogue

very fortunate to be able to “ I feel combine two of my passions:

She braces the New York rush every morning to make her way to 4 Times Square. When she arrives at the Condé Nast building, she takes the elevator to the ninth floor where she is greeted by the iconic red letters that spell out Teen Vogue. This is how Media Brecher’s workdays begin.

writing and fashion. One of my favorite moments working at Teen Vogue was seeing my byline in print for the first time.

It was very surreal to me and fulfilled my longtime dream

by Emilyn Teh

Brecher is living the fashion-loving-fresh-graduate’s dream. At only 24 years old, she is the fashion news assistant at Teen Vogue, a job she landed right out of college.

“I interned at Teen Vogue during college, first in the fashion closet, and then in the fashion features department. I absolutely loved it and was over the moon

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-Brecher told Teen Vogue.

”

Brecher spends most of her time assisting Keltner de Valle with writing and researching for features, setting up scouts with individuals for potential features for the magazine, doing photo research, and coordinating with other

departments in planning their pages.

When in need of inspiration, Brecher turns to the images on the Internet and the Fashion News Department’s library of past and present Fashion Week photos. These photos are organized by season and location. “They are a real treat to look through,” she says.

In addition to those responsibilities, she is also in charge of updating backstage binders from Fashion Week, creating storyboards, scheduling Keltner de Valle’s Fashion Week itinerary and interviewing intern candidates.

Much of Brecher’s success comes from her organizational strategies. She explains, “[i]t’s important to keep track of everything that’s photographed for the magazine. After we select products, I take pictures of the items slated to be shot, print the images, and post them on a large board by my desk.”

Brecher prefers minimalistic clothing in her own wardrobe.

to play with interesting “I like and unusual shapes and quirks—little touches that make an outfit unique.

I usually wear dark and muted hues, but sometimes I’ll mix it up with a pop of color.

”

Apart from her work, Brecher channels her love for fashion through her Twitter account. Her followers are treated to tidbits of her day-to-day experiences.

In the past month, she tweeted images from the Zac Posen fashion show, a fuzzy top and pleated skirt combo she discovered at Behnaz Sarafpour, and celebrity sightings including athlete Venus Williams and photographer Bill Cunningham.

Brecher enjoys meeting lots of people with a variety of interesting and diverse experiences. For future interns, she has some advice: be prepared prior to an interview, have courage to ask questions, and believe in yourself.

Left: Media Brecher at work. Right: Teen vogue shoe closet [photos c/o teenvogue.com]

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gray | area

BLURRING THE LINE BETWEEN

MASCULINE AND FEMININE FASHION.

photography by Gavin Zhang | Stephanie Addison | Allan Delesantro

make up & hair by Emma Thanhauser | Priscilla Yang models | Frederico de Paoli | Bailey Dineen | Thora Bjornsdottir | Meghan Flynn | Brian O’Toole

left: vest, eugenio sorrentino; shirt, zara; pants, zara; shoes, model’s own right: hooded dress, paige kozak ‘15; combat boots, doc martens; moto vest, marianne dorado ‘14; skirt, cacharel paris; shoes, christian louboutin

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vest, eugenio sorrentino; shirt, zara; pants, zara; Wblack shirt, hugo boss; skirt, saks fifth ave

blurring the lines The Evolution of Gender-Bending Androgyny—a truly fascinating and mystifying form of identity currently—shakes the grounds of fashion. This trend has indeed taken a rise within the last couple of years, inspiring designers, sprawling magazine covers, and dominating the runway. The ever-blurring distinction between the masculine and the feminine has reached an undeniable, and utterly mesmerizing peak. So, when did this gender-bending phenomenon in fashion begin? The Thread traces the course of fashion history, pinpointing the moments that influenced the convergence of male and female styles into a singular, edgy aesthetic.

One of the first notable traces of androgynous fashion occurred after World War I. During the War, women working in factories adopted a more minimalistic, practical and essentially masculine style, taking on plain and cropped hair, button-down shirts, overalls, and trousers. The trousers in particular struck a stylistic note, inspiring and ultimately landing the spotlight in many of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s 1920s collections. While Chanel initially equated trousers to activities like horseback riding, tennis, and golf, the oncemasculine item soon became a trendy must-have for women in the fashion world. This early emergence of women’s pants paved the way for many more androgynous fads to come, from the craze over boyish models like Twiggy in the 1960s to more exaggerated and flamboyant pieces like bell bottoms and neons for men a decade later in the 1970s.

Stylistic gender-bending continues to evolve into the creations of today, the early twenty-first century. It is not uncommon to see men in magazines embracing blocky, earth-toned skirts like American designer Rick Owens’ dark, unisex-collection, or to see women rocking the runway in heavily draped yet linear-fashioned suits like Berlin designer Esther Perbandt’s

by Lena Marecki

many ensembles. Renowned American fashion designer Marc Jacobs is perhaps one of the most influential artists to utilize androgyny to showcase both the beauty and versatility of his apparel. Not only do his designs compliment aesthetics of the opposite sex, but so does his main model-in-action, Andrej Pejic.

On one hand, many of Jacobs’ designs celebrate a boyish youth in women’s clothing. On the other hand, some of his designs embody the more sensual and sprightly side of the female. In any case, Jacobs’ chosen model, Pejic, further blurs the line between genders, a line initially challenged by the unisex clothing itself. Pejic, a 21-year-old Australian, models both men’s and women’s clothing, and has even been termed “the most beautiful woman in the world” due to his slender figure and effeminate bone structure. He presents and sells Jacobs’ clothing as well as any female model. Pejic brings a light unlike other male and female models before him—he is a true embodiment of gender ambiguity in fashion. This cross-gender approach is not only riveting and intriguing by nature, but also indicative, or representative of the satisfyingly unconventional way that high fashion couture progresses over time.

Today’s understanding of gender-convergence in fashion is clearly very different from that of decades prior. There is certainly an evolution to the shared styles and trends that develop between men and women. What we have in today’s world is a truly unique outlook on gendered styles with great emphasis on ambiguity, neutrality, and simplicity in clothing and models alike. This results in a somewhat vague, yet highly provocative experience for viewers. While the designs may appear reductive or minimalistic, as they often funnel the sexes into a sing

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Left: Laminated linen jacket, Abby Spatz Right: Harness and dress, Matthew Gottesman

jacket, ellen pyne ‘15; turtleneck, uniqlo; skirt, opening ceremony; shoes, model’s own

The Invisible Price Tag: the real & hidden costs of fashion

by Allen Litton-Navasero

O

n every piece of clothing I own, there is a label indicating where the piece was made. Made in China, Made in Mauritius, Made in Turkey, etc. Our wardrobes are often more well traveled than we are. In this increasingly interconnected world, the majority of our clothes are made overseas in an attempt to manufacture them at the lowest cost.

And while the majority of us are focused on the Gucci versus the Prada (or more realistically the Topshop versus the H&M), few of us make purchasing decisions based on the labor practices of each company or the possible global impacts of those garments...To those of you that do, I commend you!

annual salary of 1.2 billion British pounds (or 1.8 billion USD).

In 2007, nosweat.org.uk reported that contracted factory workers, outsourced from India and Sri Lanka, were producing garments for the British fast-fashion brand Topshop in Mauritius for only the equivalent of 30-60 cents USD per day. This was 40% the local average wage in Mauritius, which doesn’t even compare to the United States’ minimum wage. Critics such as Neil Kearney of the International Garment, Textile and Leather Workers Association amount this type of work to “slave labor.” In 2007, there were reports that H&M denied factory workers in Cambodia their already low-wages for weeks. In contrast, an executive at Topshop, like owner Sir Phillip Green, receives an

had at least several items containing hazardous chemicals.”

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Furthermore, adding to these lax and unjust labor practices, many clothing manufacturers exhibit very little care with regards to the quality and safety of what these clothes are made of. In November of 2012, Greenpeace published the results of a study in which they purchased 141 articles of clothing from authorized retailers of companies such as Armani, Zara and Topman, and tested them for hazardous chemicals at Exeter University Labs in the United Kingdom. Unsurprisingly, they found that:

“All the brands tested by Greenpeace

Greenpeace even stated that items from Zara contained cancer-causing amines from AZO dyes. Bringing the results of this study into perspective, over 80 billion garments are produced worldwide each year, creating a multitude of hazardous chemicals which are being dumped into our ecosystems.

Would I be doing the more socially responsible thing if I saved up for clothes and accessories and purchased from non-fast fashion, luxury designer brands such as Gucci (PPR

group) or Louis Vuitton (LVMH group)? Unfortunately, brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton were rated on their levels of social responsibility by the Ethical Consumer in 2007 (the most recent data), and no one company scored higher than 7/20, with 20/20 being the most socially responsible.

However, this article isn’t meant to be a tragic exposé on the faults of the fashion industry. Rather, it is a call for awareness. The drastic changes to U.S. working conditions that resulted from Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and recent journalism focusing on the fashion industry and sweatshop labor (like the documentary, Made in L.A.) revealed that change will result from public awareness.

The past 6 years have seen tremendous improvements in fashion companies’ corporate social responsibility profiles. Gucci now certifies that all of the raw materials used for its jewelry (particularly diamonds) are harvested responsibly, and Arcadia Group has increased its transparency on environmental and social practices by publishing all relevant information on its website. Zara and Topshop have also pledged to remove all hazardous chemicals from their manufacturing processes by 2020.

Additionally, the Higger Index, the first official index for all fashion companies’ social and environmental impacts, is in development.

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Corporate social responsibility profiles within the fashion industry have come a long way, but must improve if socially and environmentally responsible clothing is to become the norm. It may seem like being fashion forward and socially responsible are mutually exclusive, but the increasing regulation and improvement of large clothing companies has revealed that not all is hopeless.

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1: Factory workers in the garment industry [itssustainablefashion.com]

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2: Poor ventilation in an H&M factory causedthese two workers to collapse [businessnewscambodia.com] 3: Sir Phillip Green relaxes on the beach [Reuters]

[photo courtesy of neoco.com]

4: Sir Phillip Green holding hands with model Kate Moss outside of a Topshop promotional event. Green has avoided paying any taxes on his $1billion company because of his wife’s residency in Monaco [wenn.com]

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TRENDS

Metallic

sheens

BURBERRY PRORSUM

Light-reflecting textures paraded down the catwalk for spring. The shimmering colors are sure to turn heads when the sun comes out.

VIKTOR & ROLF

CHRISTIAN DIOR

Ruffles have staged a comeback in the form of small accents and cascading waterfalls alike.

Don’t let this trend scare you! Done right, it is the perfect trend for the spring weather.

Ruffles

BALENCIAGA

BLUMARINE

RACHEL COMEY

Spring/Summer 2013

WOMENSWEAR

Royal

blue

From simple bursts of color to entire outfits, variations of the color appeared in every type of clothing. The strategic use of the shade can imbue any outfit with a schoolgirl charm.

CHRISTIAN DIOR

DOLCE & GABBANA

Lace

VALENTINO

L’WREN SCOTT

Lacy frocks in bold colors popped up everywhere in unconventional colors such as somber black and vibrant red. These embroidered designs give off an edgier, sexier aesthetic; a far cry from the purity of white lace.

CHLOE

DIANE VON FURTENSBERG

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TRENDS

A BOLD STATEMENT In contrast to the hit color emerald, pantone color of the year, red has been an eye-catcher on the catwalk.

It makes perfect sense that this fiery color is in fashion during the year of the dragon. Many designer labels such as Hermès, Gucci and Balenciaga have been presenting head to toe red suits. A man who can pull this off is surely a trendsetter.

BALENCIAGA

GIVENCHY

ALEXANDER WANG

HERMES

reverse seams

Yes! Something new for once.

The reverse seam illusion suits are evolutionary for the ordinary men’s suit jacket. The models from Salvatore Ferragamo, John Galliano, and Bottega Veneta Spring 2013 lines strut this innovative work of art.

ANTONIO AZZUOLO

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

JOHN GALLIANO

OUTSIDE ILLUSION

Spring/Summer 2013

MENSWEAR

sheer Not just slick, smooth, silky but the resplendent sheen has made its appearance on the runway. The lightweight, cool sheen fabrics provide a refreshing look for spring.

Sheen fabrics can make any ensemble effortlessly formal and provide great comfort.

BURBERRY PRORSUM

GUCCI

GUCCI

ELIE TAHARI

JOHN GALLIANO

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

PHILLIP LIM

ETRO

GUCCI

Who says men can’t wear florals?

Prints are a hit! Since floral prints have just the silhouettes of flowers, they are not overly feminine.

The bright color prints are made for spring.

FLORAL PRINTS

DRESS your

BOY

by Arthur Peterson

With you on his arm, your boy already has the best accessory. But how do you ensure that his outfit looks good too? The Thread’s got the lowdown on how to dress your boy.

V-Neck Tee

Warm weather calls for fashion basics, the best of which is the V-Neck tee. A simple and comfortable item that works well on its own or as a layering piece, the V-Neck alleviates the heat with style and ease.

J.Crew $25

The Casual Jacket

A lightweight zip-up jacket is a versatile piece that’s perfect for a breezy spring day or a cool summer night.

Barney’s $265

Chukka Boots Chino Shorts

Chino shorts that pair traditional fit with classic color should be a staple in your boy’s summer wardrobe. They are neither too risqué nor too conservative when cut just above the knee, making this a polished look that goes well dressed up or down.

UNIQLO $29.90

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Encourage your boy to wear desert boots as the fashionable yet functional choice for your summer excursions. For an urban look, search for a pair with understated details and an intelligently pointed toe. Try unobtrusive ankle socks or longer socks in bold colors and patterns for a quirky touch. Clarks $120

DRESS

and

by Emilyn Teh

your

Espadrilles

These strappy black wedges are a comfortable alternative to high heels. They still serve their purpose of elongating her legs without the agony of stilettos. She can wear them to a casual brunch with the girls or a romantic picnic with you. What a steal!

Topshop $85

GIRL

Spring is finally here! Yes, it is hard to believe that the sun actually comes out in Ithaca, but it’s finally warming up outside. The Thread is here to help you transform your girl into the ray of sunshine you’ve always thought she was.

V-Neck Cardigan

A V-Neck cardigan is the perfect cover up to keep your girl warm and cozy on that windy spring day. The pink adds a perfect dash of color to her neutral-colored basics.

Forever 21 $16

Loose Camisole

This beautiful neon green cami is an attention-grabbing basic. It can be paired with anything from jeans to a flowy skirt for a fun day in the sun. When she steps out in it, rest assured that everyone else will be green with envy. Topshop $36

Handbag

If there is anything a guy should splurge on for his gal, it is a practical, yet fabulous purse. This Kate Spade is a good investment as it can be paired with many different outfits. A black and white minka is easy to match, so coordinating her outfit will be simple.

Kate Spade $ 243

Cream Trousers

These elegant cream trousers can be paired with a colorful blouse to complete her look. As a bonus, this piece is chic enough for her to wear to a relaxed networking event. You know what they say, “always dress for success!” H&M $38

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hair/makeup by Emma Thanhauser/Priscilla Yang/ Rochelle Iannucci photography by Gavin Zhang/Stephanie Addison/ Allan Delesantro models Elaine Jaworski/Erin Jaworski/ Jennifer Slaughter/ Ashley Kossakowski/ Inna Maryasina

sunglasses & jumpsuits, petrune; clutches, vintage; black heels, alfani; tan and black heels, joan david

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left: vintage beaded dress, petrune; shoes, xhilieration Right: shirt, rena lange; vintage pants, petrune; shoes, steve madden; pillbox hat, VINTAGE; belt, vintage

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vintage shoes, vero cuoio; earrings & bracelet, ann taylor; vintage sequin skirt, debra; vintage blouse, petrune; vintage headband, petrune

Too fast, too furious IS GREATER ACCESSIBILITY WORTH THE PRICE OF FAST FASHION?

by Rebecca Stambler I read an inordinate number of fashion blogs and constantly scour the website Polyvore for clothes I will never be able to afford. It’s natural to want to keep up with trends and designers, but college students like me can’t afford to pay 60 dollars for a thin white t-shirt! So instead, we flock to that hallowed ground of cheap clothing, Forever 21, where trousers come in every possible print, where white t-shirts cost five dollars, and where you can always find trendy oxblood and emerald clothes.

Why spend hundreds of dollars on one leather jacket, when, at Forever 21, the same amount will buy six or even ten? There’s that classic black one, the brown bomber, and the one with studs. So what if the faux-leather feels like plastic?

When the options seem limitless and prices elsewhere too high, consumers begin to prefer quantity over quality.

Correspondingly, large retailers such as Forever 21, Zara, and H&M, rapidly produce cheaper versions of designer trends and clothes that are marketed towards budget-conscious shoppers.

Fast fashion provides instant gratification since it reduces both the wait for and price of on-trend clothes. However, fast fashion also results in poor quality clothes and copyright infringement, which begs the question: Is it worth it?

Before the ready-to-wear clothing industry developed, quality, fit, and maintenance were of utmost importance.

Clothes were meant to last for years. Now, our “distressed” jeans are intentionally poked full of holes, and, more generally, we no longer treat clothing as a luxury item. In an interview with Fashionista, Elizabeth Cline, the author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, explains, “clothing has gone from something that we need to save up for and something that people valued and took care of, to something that is an impulse and disposal purchase.”

To what can we attribute this change?

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The fashion

bloggers who never wear the same shirt twice, glossy ads in fashion magazines, or perhaps society’s all-encompassing consumerism? Cline explains that, ultimately, the culprit is the nature of fashion industry itself—fashion is based on passing fads, trends, and is therefore in perpetual flux.

Every time designers release a new collection, fast fashion retailers snatch up the ideas and immediately develop imitations. You may have refrained from purchasing the thousand dollar Balenciaga boots you saw on the runway, but their 50 dollar counterparts are too irresistible.

“FAST FASHION POSES A THREAT SINCE ITS LOGIC IS BASED ON COPYING THE DESIGNS OF HIGH-END PRODUCERS AND QUICKLY DIFFUSING THEM.

”

-writes Andrew A. King, professor of business administration at the Tuck School of Business.

Donald Sull and Stefano Turconi explain in an article for Business Strategy Review that fast fashion retailers have rejected the classic “designer-push model,” and rather than produce original styles and designs, they “respond to shifts in the market” initiated by celebrities or highend designers. Zara, Forever 21, and H&M look to fill, rather than create, niches in the market, responding to trends and replicating outfits worn by famous figures like Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, and Kate Middleton.

The article “Copyrighting Clothing: The Real Fashion Police” in Harvard Magazine highlights that Forever 21 is known to directly copy designs far more than Zara or H&M, which focus more on emulating trends. Even so, fast fashion leaches most of the creativity from the design process and negatively affects the high-end designers, who constantly feel the pressure of fast fashion at their heels. Despite its shortcomings, fast fashion also provides a valuable service to the industry.

It disseminates information and products, allowing consumers of all incomes to partake in a once elite pastime.

fashion has contributed immensely to the democratization of the fashion industry, and the effort to make stylish clothes accessible to buyers of all incomes is certainly a noble and valid goal. But can anything be truly stylish if it is a low-quality copy of another’s work? We can berate luxury designers for their exorbitant prices, but their clothes are well-made, high-quality products.

Personally, I’d rather invest in a few long-lasting staples than an army of faded neon shirts and unintentionally ripped printed jeans.

But designers prefer to democratize fashion on their own terms, most notably, through collaborations with lower-end retailers. In a 2010 interview with Vogue, Alber Elbaz of Lanvin described his collection with H&M as an attempt to make his designs universally accessible, saying that:

“It’s the responsibility of the atelier to

create newness and bring it back to a customer eventually at different price points. So basically it’s not a war of high and low, but to have both sides alive and at peace with each other.

”

As someone who recently bought up a significant portion of Prabal Gurung’s collaboration with Target, I cannot deny my love for designer collaborations. It feels great to open your closet and see a shirt with the Prabal Gurung label, even if the mesh detailing on the sleeves feels like it belongs on a polyester Halloween costume. In terms of quality, the collection is definitely more Target than Prabal, which, considering the low prices, is as expected. In such cases, these collaborations may only encourage purchasing clothing for the sake of a designer label and not necessarily the quality of the clothes.

Still, collaborations protect designers from copyright infringement by allowing the designer to create a look for less rather than wait for the fast fashion retailer to imitate the design with no recognition to the original. In 2010, the Council of Fashion Designers of America proposed the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act in an effort to impose copyrights on the American fashion industry.

Forever 21 is frequently considered a fast fashion offender, engendering lawsuits from designers such as Anna Sui, Gwen Stefani and Diane von Furstenberg. These lawsuits were nothing like the prolonged battle between high-end labels Christian Louboutin and Yves. St. Laurent over the iconic red shoe sole. Rather than contest copying claims, Forever 21 agrees to pay settlements as if they were “operating costs” and makes no effort to reduce future infringement.

While copyright protection will not likely end fast fashion, it will certainly further the global conversation about clothing consumption habits. Treating clothes as short-lived products promotes an industry based on fashion piracy. Undoubtedly, fast

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the

models | Shelby McClelland Ryan Campbell

dIy by victoria hines

page

step 1

MATERIALS NEEDED

HOW TO make a

- Fabric - Scissors - Ruler - Pencil - Thread - Strong Adhesive - Safety Pin

BOW TIE

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You will have to cut two pieces out of the fabric:

#1:

The size of this piece mostly depends on the style you are aiming for.

Typical bow-tie: 6” by 3.5”.

I wanted a fuller shape so I increased the dimensions to approx. 8” by 3.5”

#2: .75” by 2.5”

HOW TO make a

COLLAR

- Men’s collared button-up - Scissors

MATERIALS NEEDED

Optional: - Decorative items - Studs - Glitter

step 1 Essentially, all this DIY involves is cutting off the collar. Flip up the collar, locate the seam just below the button/buttonhole that runs around the neck, and cut along that line.

step 2

The rest of this project is a matter of whether you want to further embellish the collar. You may choose to switch out the button connecting either side of the collar. I replaced the button with a stud, but you can completely deck it out in a style of your choosing. I opted for studs and glitter but feel free to explore different options.

step 2

Take piece #1 and mark with a pencil the halves length and width wise. Fold the fabric back along the lengthwise line. The red dot indicates where you will be folding the fabric against.

step 3

Fold accordion style against the dot. If using glue, place a dab on either side of the fold as you connect them in the middle. If using thread, make your folds and connect by sewing them all together at the center.

step 4

Repeat on other side of the marked half.

step 5

Wrap piece #2 around the middle section of the bow-tie.

It is easier to adhere this piece with glue rather than thread.

You can use a variety of items as an attachment on the back of it.

Staff the thread GAVIN SCHOTT LEATHER BIKER JACKET Timeless. Masculine. I’ll have this jacket for the rest of my life as it has become my second skin. The best part: it’ll only get better with wear.

BILLY REID MOTORCYCLE BOOT Probably the best boots that I’ll ever own. I’ve climbed a mountain, hiked, and trudged through snow storms with these boots. They’re made of cordovan horse hide so the boot is extremely durable and resilient. As the years go on the boots will develop an interesting patina too.

STEPHANIE BETSEY JOHNSON HEART STUD EARRINGS These gold studs go with everything, and besides, you’re never fully dressed without some cheetah.

BURBERRY BRIT EAU DE PARFUM Classic but spirited, this scent mixes everything from lime and pear to sugared almonds and vanilla to make sure I always feel fresh, fun, and invigorated on the go.

PRISCILLA URBAN DECAY NAKED PALETTE This eyeshadow palette has all the colors and shades for evening and day. The colors are pigmented, high quality, and flattering for every look!

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THINK THIN BARS These things taste like milky ways, have 0 grams of sugar, and 40 grams of protein—so they keep you full for a long time without the calories! I always make sure to bring one of these with me whenever I know I’m going to be out for a while.

Picks

JUST A FEW THINGS WE CAN'T

& YOU SHOULDN’T

LIVE WITHOUT!

julian DENIM LEVI’S JACKET The Levi’s denim jacket is my easy go-to grab for ‘murica 4th shenanigans among other themed events. I also wear it when I want to be warm but not too warm, ya know?

lesley BURT’S BEE’S TINTED LIP BALM IN HIBISCUS The Hibiscus tinted lip balm not only nourishes chapped lips, but also adds the perfect touch of color that is both casual and fresh. It also has an amazing scent!

URBAN DECAY 24/7 GLIDE-ON EYE PENCIL IN PERVERSION There was a time I was sobbing in front of my sister. She was consoling me, Kleenex in hand, and wiping my eyes, until she blurted out, “What eyeliner are you wearing?!

It hasn’t budged!”. This product does not fool around.

Perversion is my go-to shade, because it is the most opaque black, and it stays that way until you decide to take it off.

stephanie

SUN HAT With Summer is coming up, sun hats are especially great because they protect the face from the sun while still allowing anyone to look cute and stylish.

NIKON D70 I really cannot go anywhere without my Nikon D70 - it’s my baby.

Larissa NAKED JUICE IN BLUE MACHINE With only 170 calories, this 100% juice smoothie allows me to be health-conscious even when I’m on the go.

ESSIE NAIL POLISH IN ARMED AND READY This versatile blend of dark olive, gray, and gold shimmer has become a staple in my beauty routine.

Strapped for time (because seriously, when is time ever NOT a precious commodity) and short on hands, creating this Spring’s issue of The Thread was quite the experience. But thanks to a great team of talented individuals — who are ever the optimistis — we were able to get the job done!

Sure, we encountered several obstacles that kept us on our toes, but for those problems that we just couldn’t seem to solve, laughter almost ALWAYS worked.

Being a part of The Thread team means having fun, pushing yo u r s e l f, e x p l o r i n g a n d utilizing your creative talents, and also...being so busy that you forget to eat! Here’s a little behind the scenes action of what we did to produce this semester’s issue!

For those of you who want to be a part of the team, visit us at www.facebook.com/ thethreadmagazine OR email us at thethreadmagazine@gmail.com to get updates and recruitment information!

Hope you enjoyed our magazine!

Priscilla Yang

P r es i d e n t, T h r e a d M ag a z i n e

behind the scenes

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