Month: February 2013

Sequined Dresses and Michelle Obama Best Picture Pick Surprise at Oscars

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How fabulous is Michelle Obama and what can’t she do? Whether you like her, President Obama or not, you must admit that she is fabulous. Constantly hitting us with some serious swag and fashion! As underwhelmed as I was by the show and its horrible host Seth MacFarlane, Michelle Obama gave us a surprise debut at the end, announcing Best Picture winner Argo. On trend with many other sequined dresses last night, Michelle wore a sequined silver number by Naeem Khan.

She looked amazing in the sequined dress right along with Naomi Watts and Adele.

        

Yours,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles

Nolcha New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013 presented by RUSK

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Last week I also attended the later Nolcha NYFW Show in midtown and caught works created by Studio 6th Sense, Adolfo SanchezAndressa Leão. There were some very sexy pieces that I just adored but wondered how I would wear given that they were see-through! With those you would just have to get some good nude underwear. What do you think of the dress above?

Andressa Leão turned up the pretty and feminine factor with some very beautiful dresses.

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And, Studio 6th Sense and Adolfo Sanchez turned up the sex factor with skin-tight leather dresses and see through fabric.

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I saw some great stuff, met some great people and became a fan of Foco Coconut Water. I also spotted rapper Wacka Flocka Flame who posed for photographs and left the building driving an absolutely gorgeous Rolls Royce. Others were spotted like singer Cocoa Bella, Jersey Shore star Sammi Sweetheart, actress Dawn Olivieri and Mercedes Javid aka “MJ” from Shahs of Sunset.  Nolcha held a brunch and fashion lounge the next day that I quickly caught during lunchtime last week. Adolfo Sanchez told me that Alexander McQueen inspired him and his headwear in his runway show.


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Yours,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles

Glass Handbags, Paper Skirts and Dancing Runway Models at Japanese-Influenced Neodandi Show

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Last Tuesday evening I attended Neodandi House of Couture’s New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013 Show at EN Japanese restaurant downtown. We were all greeted with some great Japanese cocktails; sake and an amazing Ginger drink that I must find the recipe for.

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Ghanaian designer NiiLartey De Osu created the Japanese-inspired line and featured very interesting silhouettes and cuts. Neodandi had quite an interesting show with models dancing and/or walking down the runway to show off the clothes. I was taken by the glass handbags and paper skirts, they were very different from the norm. I aksed one of the models if the glass handbag was really heavy and she said no, that she would definitely wear it to a nice event. I’m very curious about these.

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Afterwards, they continued the cocktails and had some lovely Japanese bites from EN restaurant, a place I would definitely return for a nice date. Very creative and different work!

Yours Truly,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles

Funky Street Style, Grunge, Punk and Pop Art on the Runway during NYFW FW 2013

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So, grunge, punk, pop art and New York street style walked the runway during this past New York Fashion Week.  Jeantrix, Tumbler & Tipsy,  Ashton Michael and Jeremy Scott all gave us funky street style, embracing New York for Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013. They all combined funky street style with grunge, goth, punk rock, art or pop art images while fully embracing city life and taking their imaginations to another level.

Jeremy Scott fully embraced color, specifically neons, with major inspiration from pop art.

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Ashton Michael’s “Black Heart” Collection gave us full New York City chic grunge shown at Conair Style 360 New York Fashion Week.

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Jeantrix, originally from Philadelphia, has always embraced the pop art theme. Check out the multicolored leather jacket on the male model in their Lucid Dreams F/W 2013 Collection Fashion Film (featuring their version of the Harlem Shake).

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Also shown at Conair Style 360, some funky punk rock looks from Tumbler and Tipsy.

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Interesting and creative stuff from these designers. Shop the Funky Street Style Look here.

Yours,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles

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Brunch and Cocktail Reception for U.S. Debut and Upcoming European Launch of LXRCO

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This week I met the Blonde Salad Chiara Ferragni who hosted the official U.S. debut and upcoming European Launch of  LXR & CO at Empire Hotel. We were both wearing bright red lipstick and the red hat Chiari had on was to die for. I had on the usual work gear, a wool skirt from MaxMara, black blouse from MaxMara and a grey Zara jacket. We took a break for brunch from Lincoln across the street at Empire Hotel and it was great. We ate lobster rolls, steak and veggie skewers, crab cakes, mimosas and more.

LXR & CO specializes in the online sale of vintage luxury good products where members can get designer labels at up to 80% off. So, bottom line, if you’ve got a great bag that you just don’t really use anymore, sell it to them and make some money. Or, on the flip side, get a beautiful handbag for less!

Black, White, and Oxblood from Nicci Hou at Designer’s Premiere NYFW Fall 2013 Show

Later this past Sunday, I attended the Designer’s Premiere NYFW Show at Helen Mills Event Space downtown.

Nicci Hou featured some interesting cuts in mostly black, white and oxblood for men and women. Check out some of the looks below.

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Yours,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles

Le Normandie: Catherine Malandrino Fall 2013 Fashion Week Presentation

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This past Sunday I helped at the Catherine Malandrino Fall 2013 Fashion Week Presentation downtown. Le Normandie was the name of the collection featuring great geometric shapes, beautiful silhouettes and lace overlays.  And, of course, the international fashion community was there to check it out.

The look on the models was very natural and simple, but the clothes were anything but that. I wore one of her Black Label leather skirts with lace cut outs along with leather boots for a biker look. Check out some of the looks and photos from the presentation below.catherine-malandrino01malandrinomodel4malandrinomodel2malandrinomodel

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Do Color in the Winter: Harlem Fashion Row Fall/Winter 2013 Collective Fashion Show

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This week I attended Harlem Fashion Row’s sixth annual Fall/Winter Fashion Show at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Well, it was quite the event with everyone from Nana Meriweather, Tatijiana Shoan, editor-in-chief of As If Magazine, Bevy SmithTyson Beckford and more in attendance. Above looks from designers Chantell Walters and Kimberly Goldson, finalist from Project Runway.

For those that don’t know Harlem Fashion Row is a company that supports emerging African-American designers and perhaps me sometime soon. This was their very first Fall/Winter show and I applaud Brandice Henderson and the designers for their hard work.

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Espion Atelier by Deidre Jefferies

My favorite collection is kind of a toss between the first and the last. The first collection by Deidre Jefferies featured great ready to wear in mostly black, grey or bright yellow. It was funny to see because that’s exactly what I was wearing; a bright yellow dress, black blazer and grey coat. Even though black is New York’s most chic color, I am definitely not afraid of color in the winter.

The last collection by Kimberly Goldson featured some amazing, unique and beautiful pieces. She is a former Project Runway star and said she was inspired by Michelle Obama. Wanted for all of us to “see ourselves in the clothes.” Well, I did Kimberly, and I am leaning towards being most excited about your collection.

The show also featured a menswear line by Sandro Romans with very interesting headwear. One of the models told me that they actually wore a scarf around their head with a hat pinned to the top. Creative, I thought.

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Yours Truly,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles

The Cost of Producing a Fashion Show

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New York Fashion Week is almost here and everyone is very busy getting all those last-minute details together to make for a perfect show. And, you know that old Murphy’s Law– what can go wrong will go wrong.

So, I was thinking to myself, just how much does it cost to put on an amazing show? Well, of course it depends on if you are keeping it basic or doing something over the top like Chanel. But let’s get to the bottom line. It’s business and designers are selling clothes and an image. So how much does it really cost?

Well, here’s a list of a few possible costs;

Production and Equipment; 50K to 300K+

Videographer: 3K to 5K per hour

Stylists: 5K to 20K per day

Hair and Makeup Team: 5K to 100K+ per show

Models: unpaid to 200K+ 

Venue: 10K to 50K+

According to the New York Times, the Marc Jacobs show cost $1 million in 2011, or $1750 per second. The breakdown on that; 500 guests, 63 outfits, 45 second model appearance, 22-inch human hair extensions for each model at $180/head, 50 hair stylists, 35 makeup artists and 70 dressers. The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show rang in at about $12 million last year, says Business Insider.

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Last year’s Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2013 Paris show directed by Marc Jacobs featuring models descending from escalators in the Louvre. Burberry literally made it rain/snow at their Fall 2012 London show.

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The smaller fashion brands have done presentations instead of runway shows, spotted their own venues, casted their own models and utilizing the help of volunteers and interns to cut costs. So, given what brands shell out in terms of money, we can all understand why it’s so important who is at your fashion show and where they are sitting.

I can’t wait to see who takes the cake this year in over-the-top fabulousness.

Yours Truly,

“Fashionably-Late”

Malinda Knowles

Spring forward with new designer arrivals at NORDSTROM.