Behind Faux Fur

On September 2012, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) bought clothing from the New York department store Century 21.

In their laboratory tests, HSUS revealed that 70% of the clothing they tested was made from raccoon dog, but had proclaimed to be faux fur, or the fur of other animals and it was found out that a child’s unlabeled sweatshirt was trimmed with rabbit fur. 

“Clothing is constantly mislabeled by fashion brands,” said Pierre Grzybowski, research and enforcement manager of the fur-free campaign for The HSUS. “Animal fur is widely misrepresented both in advertising and labelling throughout the retail industry, and raccoon dog is probably the most misrepresented species.”

The raccoon dog is a native breed of East Asia, raccoon-like in appearance but a member of the canid family, and one that animal rights organisations allege is brutally mistreated in China.

Paraphotography

On Paraphotography: Uncertainty, the Occult and the Uncanny is an exploration into the aesthetic realms of supernatural representation through photography. 

Exhibiting at Harlan Levey Projects in Brussels, the show features the work of Czech photographer Tereza Zelenkova, Another contributor Paulina Otylie Surys, the 1930s photographer Joel-Peter Witkin, and Jeffrey Silverthorne.

A Feast for the Senses

Prada Candy

Set in a Parisian Utopia, Léa Seydoux stars as Candy, the film’s protagonist who winds up in a love triangle with two Parisian admirers. Their affair starts off blissfully – shared popcorn at the cinema, birthday cakes, balloons and dancing – but soon enough Candy tires of their advances.

A short film by Wes Andeson and Roman Coppola.

Fashion Spectacles

A Scene from McQueen's S/S 1999 Show

Simple presentations in private ateliers are no longer comparable to the contemporary shows that have become theatrical spectacles.

More and more designers prefer to use special effects to present their collections. A series of socio-cultural dynamics contributed to this change during the years. Courrèges  1964 presentation marked the revolution for this new environment. During the Sixties, fashion shows started changing, elaborate scenes and costumes, lights and music began appearing.

Mugler's 1984 Collection

In 1984 Thierry Mugler, together with a rock businessman, presented his collection as an enormous show, where a cast of 50 people and an audience of more than 6000 people were invited. Other designers who changed the fashion shows were Gianni Versace during the Eighties, and Alexander McQueen and John Galliano during the Nineties.

An example of one of the most unforgettable fashion shows organized was by McQueen during his 1999 spring/summer collection, named N°13. For the show, the designer organized a scene where the model steps on a circular platform turning as if she was a ragdoll, whilst mechanical hands were spraying yellow and black spray paint on her white dress, thus creating a surreal performance.

Source: Evans, Caroline."Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity and Deathliness".

The Music Project

Saint Laurent Paris references the house’s long-term relationship with rock icons. The cast this time includes Kim Gordon, Ariel Pink, Courtney Love, and Marilyn Manson. The four styled themselves in pieces from the Saint Laurent collections. Each portrait was shot by Hedi Slimane, in various locations from New York to Los Angeles.

Freedom's Greatest Enemy is Gravity

Suspense is Coming. Photos:Tyler Shields

Infamous for adorning young Hollywood stars in a manner that exposes the darkness of Hollywood; Tyler Shields has staged most of his edgy celebrity photo shoots from the comfort of a studio. But when actress Emma Roberts and longtime girlfriend Francesca Eastwood are willingly jumping off of buildings and bridges -- their bodies like ragdolls falling in the air -- not knowing what happens next.

Taking nearly a year to complete, this collection is full of gravity-defying shots that explores themes of life,freedom, death and extreme adrenaline filled moments, perfectly befitting of the title Suspense. Instead of solely being about the person in the frame, many of the photos are from afar, concerned more with the environment and landscape.The photos illicit the feeling of freedom, the greatest enemy that freedom faced.

SUSPENSE opens at the Guy Hepner Gallery, Los Angeles, 28th April.

Choosing a Bag

With all the "bags" out there, how do you choose the right one?

Choosing a bag is like applying for a university. Everything is resting upon it. A small mistake can ruin a big plan.

People choose different bags for a whole lot of reasons, some base their decisions on the influences of their parents and peers, some may ought to go for trends while others buy them for their personal reasons. But when you find "the bag" it will justify a new shirt and jeans, a bag is your fail-safe, trusty alternative. It'll never let you feel cold nor make you feel self-conscious.

Security can mean different things to different people. For some, it's going to school carrying all their things in the right bag. This might leave you feeling secure for an entire day, but have a crippling effect on you in later life.

A diploma mill is like a 50 percent-off water-proof backpack. The first time you meet, it promises to be your best friend. Until you look closely and realize it’s not really water-proof. Then, as the rainy season comes, you discover that your bag isn't actually a friend at all. You should have read the fine print and looked more closely into what you're getting into.

Diploma mills offer college degrees, using substandard academic programs without educational accreditation. These are operated primarily as businesses rather than as educational institutions. If they choose at all to be registered with the proper authorities, they do so by sticking to the bare minimum.

If ever you get stuck with a “diploma mill bag” then try to get your money back but like most boutiques chances are low that they'll send the money back. The point here is that before buying a bag, inspect every crevice, try to make inquiries about it, but most of all read the fine print.

         

Prada in The Great Gatsby

The Four Sketches Unveiled by Miuccia Prada

Multi-striped sequins dress with a plastic and trimmings embroidery at the bottom. Inspired by the Prada Spring/Summer 2011 collection. Photo: Prada

Miuccia Prada has unveiled four looks under the collaboration with Baz Luhrmann and legendary costume designer Catherine Martin to create a bespoke collection of over 40 unique Miu Miu and Prada cocktail and evening dresses, adapted from selected runway archives from the last 20 years for the upcoming film, The Great Gatsby.

Left: Orange organza dress enriched with plastic fish scale-like sequin embroidery. Inspired by the Prada Fall/Winter 2011 collection. Right: Knee-length dress in octane-coloured tulle lined in matching silk candy.

Radzmire dress with bustier embroidered with pearls, stones and sequin fringes. Inspired by a revisited silhouette of the 1920s, it is made contemporary by the use of modern fabrics and embroideries of the 1950s.

The adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. This is not the first time that Prada and Luhrmann have worked together they also have, created Leonardo DiCaprio's suit in the director's 1996 film version of Romeo + Juliet.