Tag Archives: Anna Wintour

New York Fashion Week | It’s Who You Know Behind the Scenes That Counts – #NYFW

Aside from the best-known NYFW power players: Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld, Glenda Bailey among them, there is a group of less obvious influential movers and shakers who make NYFW what it is.

Jenna LyonsThe Creative Director

Out Jenna Lyons is the queen of juxtaposition: pairing chunky jewellery with plain white shirts, pencil skirt with embellished cardigan. She is the tall, beautiful and incredibly stylish leader of J. Crew, and a women who turned the brand image and appeal around in just a few years. She will be presenting the new spring ’15 J. Crew collection at NYFW. Making the mass retailer one of the only to present atNYFW. Why because J. Crew is now creating trends instead of adopting them and has the power to influence and inspire even luxury brands.

The Fashion Hub

The trio Jenné Lombardo, Mazdack Rassi, and Keith Baptista are the faces behind MADE. In the past six years they have helped launching the careers of Alexander Wang, Hood by Air and Altuzarra, just to name a few. With an impressive lineup that goes from Gareth Pugh to Cushnie et Ochs and Maison Kitsune this coming week, MADE is guaranteed to deliver some major fashion moments.

The Retail Fashion Directors

6 powerhouses -Tomoko Ogura (Barneys), Linda Fargo (Bergdorf Goodman), Ken Downing (Neiman Marcus), Colleen Sherin (Saks), Jeffrey Kalinsky (Nordstrom), Holli Rogers (Net-a-porter), who will be sitting in the first rows of most NYFW shows. They are typically unknown to the general public, however they ‘the’ most important people there. Editors can make or break a designer reputation, but this small group of discerning fashion gurus have the final word on “who’s in and who’s out”. They have the power to make a young designer and the money. Every designer is eager to impress them, and for a very good reason: The retail fashion directors decide who and what will be displayed in their beautiful stores next season.

The PR Agent

Libby Haan boutique agency Haan Projects represents designers like Adam Lippes, Creatures of the Wind and, Schiaparelli, and is one of the New York PR powerhouses. She has been running Haan Projects since 2010 after spending 15 years working in fashion PR for the most exclusive brands. Her role like with other PR gurus, is to be the ring master at every NYFW event. Not only is in charge of her clients’ image and press, but organizing the shows from A to Z including deciding which VIPs should occupy the front rows.

Mickey BoardmanThe Bloggers

The Coveteur is widely-recognised as the go-to source for behind-the-scenes, unparalleled access to the world’s most influential celebrities, tastemakers, events and prestigious brands. Started by Toronto-based Stephanie Mark and Jake Rosenberg started in 2011, The Coveteur gives its readers a voyeuristic look inside untapped territory (think: closets, homes, backstage, ateliers and archives), The Coveteur works closely with the world’s most notable brands to tell their story in a unique, compelling way.

The Fashion Editor

Look out for Mickey Boardman of PAPER Magazine powerful words. With his quick wit, big personality and sharp tongue, not to mention an incredible eye for fashion and talent, Boardman has risen from intern to editorial director. He’s famous for discovering new designers and NYFW wouldn’t be complete without him. This week “Mr. Mickey” (as he’s also known) is planning to attend the “Marc Jacobs, Public School, Michael Kors, Suno, Calvin Klein, Azede Jean-Pierre, and Proenza Schouler shows, plus anything at Milk Studios”.

The Seasons of Anna Wintour

While fashion trends can characterize a people as a collective; by economic class, era, nation, subculture, for day-to-day life or for special occasions; fashion is one of the most evident celebrations of individual expression.

Anna Wintour is exceptional in that she is not characterized by fashion. She is like a patron goddess of fashion who deigns to walk among the rest of us mere mortals. Wintour first began working in the fashion industry at the age of fifteen. She had attended fashion school and then declined to continue, saying that, “You either know fashion, or you don’t.”

Anna Wintour 03

Wintour followed her pure instincts into influential and immensely respected positions in a number of fashion magazines, most notably as chief editor of Vogue magazine. The high standards she demanded earned her the moniker “Nuclear Wintour”, and eventual worldwide recognition and acclaim. At the same time, she continually broke industry conventions and took risks promoting young upstart designers. Did she single-handedly create a culture of fashion to suit her convictions? Or was she simply attuned on a deeper level to the pulse of today? Perhaps it doesn’t matter anymore. She is an icon: her bob-cut hair, her fine bone structure, her personal preference for furs, and the commanding elegance with which she carries herself—all remain unmistakable and timeless. Fashions change, but for almost three decades in the industry Anna Wintour has continued to stand strong.

This strong standing has also applied to Wintour’s vocal support of LGBT equality. “As far as I’m concerned, having the right to say ‘I do’ is as fundamental as the right to vote,” she said in a video for the Human Rights Campaign website, on the occasion of the “New Yorkers for Marriage Equality” initiative. She has continued to be a vocal supporter of marriage equality progress over her Twitter account, and on talk shows.

Anna Wintour 01

Also see – http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2012/01/10/anna-wintour-lgbt-award—honoured-for-gay-rights

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