The CFDA revealed the nominees for the 2018 CFDA Fashion Awards for the first time via Instagram, with Candice Huffine, Martha Hunt, Young Paris, Todd Snyder, Irene Neuwirth and Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia of Monse making the digital announcements on the CFDA’s account @CFDA. The nominees for Womenswear Designer of the Year Award are Raf Simons for Calvin Klein, Gabriela Hearst, Marc Jacobs, Virgil Abloh for Off-White, and Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row. Menswear Designer of the Year Award nominees are Raf Simons for Calvin Klein, Virgil Abloh for Off-White, James Jebbia for Supreme, Thom Browne and Tom Ford. For the Accessory Designer of the Year Award, the nominees are Paul Andrew, Stuart Vevers for Coach, Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel for Mansur Gavriel, Irene Neuwirth, and Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row.
Mike Amiri for Amiri, Laura Vassar Brock and Kristopher Brock for Brock Collection, Aurora James for Brother Vellies, Kerby Jean-Raymond for Pyer Moss and Sander Lak for Sies Marjan have been nominated for the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent. The winner of this prize receives cash — and crystal — support from Swarovski. As for the honorary awards of the night, Diane von Furstenberg will receive the Swarovski Award for Positive Change. Narciso Rodriguez will receive the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. Carolina Herrera will receive the Founder’s Award in honor of CFDA founder Eleanor Lambert. Edward Enninful will receive the Media Award in honor of Eugenia Sheppard. Donatella Versace will receive the International Award.
Issa Rae, best known for her HBO show “Insecure,” for which she has won two consecutive Best Actress Golden Globe nominations, is hosting the awards June 4 at the Brooklyn Museum. Rae is the first female host of the awards in nine years — Tracey Ullman, Fran Lebowitz, Ellen Barkin, Christine Baranski and Sandra Bernhard have done the honors — and the first-ever African-American host.
It’s the first time in the CFDA Fashion Awards’ 37-year history that the ceremony is being held in Brooklyn (the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund gala was held in Brooklyn last fall), which can be interpreted as a symbol of the organization’s awareness of the cultural moment and willingness to buck tradition. Last month, the CFDA made a concerted effort toward inclusivity for this year’s awards when the organization’s chief executive officer and president Steven Kolb sent out an e-mail reminding voters to consider to race, gender and inclusivity when putting forth nominees. “We truly want the event to celebrate the full creative spectrum and richness of American fashion,” he wrote in the e-mail. “Just think of how much fashion is changing, and the diversity of our industry. Designers with broad cultural backgrounds and political ideas are expressing their experiences and beliefs in their collections. Their work deserves greater acknowledgment, acceptance and visibility.” The awards have been criticized for including the same names on the ballots year after, though the nominees are based on submissions by the CFDA Fashion Awards Guild, made up of the 500-plus members of the CFDA, as well as retailers, journalists and stylists.
The British designer Kim Jones was confirmed as the new artistic director of Dior Homme on Monday, two months after he stepped down as artistic director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton. He will replace Kris Van Assche, who had been in the role 11 years.
The creative reshuffling and the hiring of Mr. Jones, who will start April 1, are the first major strategic decisions by Pietro Beccari, chief executive of Christian Dior Couture, who joined the brand from Fendi in November.
The news will most likely heighten speculation about the future of Maria Grazia Chiuri, the fashion house’s artistic director of women’s wear, whose tenure has received mixed reviews. And it comes just days after another major fashion house, Nina Ricci, said its creative director of three years, Guillaume Henry, was stepping down.
The announcement on Monday ends feverish speculation about Mr. Jones’s next move. The news of his appointment came minutes after LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the French luxury conglomerate that owns both Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton, said that Mr. Van Assche would be leaving Dior. Mr. Van Assche will, however, remain in the LVMH group, a statement said, in a role that has yet to be announced.
“I am delighted to welcome Kim Jones at Dior Homme,” Mr. Beccari said in a statement, adding that Mr. Jones would “create an elegant men’s wardrobe both classic and anchored in contemporary culture.”
“I am confident that he will continue to further develop Dior Homme on a global scale,” Mr. Beccari added.
There had been much speculation in recent months about where Mr. Jones would go after his unexpected departure from Louis Vuitton in January, although it recently emerged that he would stay in the LVMH stable. Mr. Jones, a graduate of the London art and design school Central Saint Martins, held his position at Louis Vuitton for seven years, and had at one stage been tipped for the top creative job at Burberry before it was given to Riccardo Tisci. He will present his first collection for Dior Homme in June, during Paris men’s fashion week.
“I am deeply honored to join the house of Dior, a symbol of the ultimate elegance,” Mr. Jones said. “I am committed to create a modern and innovative male silhouette built upon the unique legacy of the house.”
In his previous role, Mr. Jones was widely applauded for revitalizing the Louis Vuitton men’s wear line for a younger generation, mixing the house’s travel heritage, which sits at the highest end of the price spectrum, with a more street-friendly style. His previous position remains unfilled, although there was much discussion during Paris fashion week last month over whether Virgil Abloh, the American designer behind the Off-White label, might be tapped for the role.
Dior does not break out revenue for its men’s business. However, Christian Dior Couture posted overall revenue of 43.7 billion euros, or $53.7 billion, last year, an increase of 11 percent over 2016. In April, LVMH took control of Christian Dior Couture in a $13 billion deal, simplifying a complex ownership structure under which Dior was the parent company of the group.
It was 1997. The designer, 50, had just unlocked the gate of his home after having breakfast at News Café on Ocean Drive when a man in his mid-twenties, serial killer Andrew Cunanan, pulled a gun and shot him twice in the back of the head. International media swarmed into South Beach to cover the sensational slaying which took place outside Casa Casuarina, his elaborate and opulent 10-bedroom Ocean Drive mansion. Versace’s blood stained the coral front steps of the property after the shooting. The world famous, part-time resident lived in the home for five years before his murder. The manhunt for Cunanan, once a male prostitute, made international headlines in the days that followed.
He was suspected in the murders of four other men and was already on the federal ten most wanted list at the time he shot and killed Versace.
A little more than a week after Versace’s murder, Cunanan killed himself on a shuttered houseboat about 40 blocks north of the mansion as police closed in. More than a decade and a half later, investigators still don’t know why Cunanan murdered Versace or his other victims in the deadly crime spree that spread from Minneapolis to Chicago to South Beach. At Versace’s funeral in Milan Italy a week after his death, celebrity mourners included Elton John, Georgio Armani and Princess Diana; one month before her own death in Paris.
Following the overwhelming success of The People v. O.J. Simpson in 2016, FX's American Crime Story has returned for a second season, this time centered around the brutal murder of renowned designer Gianni Versace. The Italian fashion visionary was shot and killed on the front steps of his Miami Beach mansion by 27-year-old serial killer Andrew Cunanan on July 15, 1997.
American Crime Story's second season focuses not only on Versace's assassination, but also on the criminal investigation following his death and the events that led his killer, Andrew Cunanan, to pull the trigger. (Glee star Darren Criss portrays Cunanan in the series, and it turns out, he's a spitting image of the killer.)
1. Cunanan died by suicide, shooting himself with the same gun he used to kill Versace.
Eight days after Versace's murder, Cunanan's body was found in a second-floor bedroom of a houseboat anchored off Collins Avenue, just three miles north of Versace's Miami Beach mansion. A caretaker, who had heard a gunshot while checking in on the seemingly unoccupied houseboat, immediately notified police. A SWAT team lobbed tear gas into the houseboat and, 12 hours later, announced they had found the body of wanted fugitive Andrew Cunanan. He did not leave behind a suicide note..
2. He had an IQ of 147 and was known as a prolific liar.
Born in National City, California on August 31, 1969 to Modesto Cunanan, a Navy veteran turned stockbroker, and Mary Anne Schillaci, Andrew Phillip Cunanan was the youngest of four children. As Maureen Orth reports in her book Vulgar Favors, Cunanan had an IQ of 147, making him incredibly bright for his age. Cunanan attended The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California, a private school where most of the other students came from families that were wealthier than his.
In order to fit in, Cunanan made up stories about his background, which has led many to believe that he showed early signs of antisocial personality disorder—previously referred to as psychopathy or sociopathy. Cunanan would even change his appearance throughout school according to what he felt was most attractive at the time. Later in life, Cunanan would claim that his father was an Israeli millionaire and a Fifth Avenue aristocrat.
3. He memorized the encyclopedia at
the age of 10.
Cunanan was the only one of his siblings to attend a prestigious and expensive private school school. "He was my father’s pride and joy," his brother Christopher Cunanan told interviewer Diane Sawyer in 1997,according to ABC News. "[He was] very smart. When he was about 10 years old, he had read the whole set of encyclopedias … and memorized it. And you could ask him any question. Pick up any edition and ask him any question, and he would tell you.”
4. His family found out he was gay
when he was 19.
By the time Cunanan was 19, he had become a frequent nighttime patron at local gay bars and restaurants. During this time, his religious mother found out that he was gay, something other members of his family had known but never acknowledged. It wasn't long after this that Cunanan left home and moved to San Francisco, where he was a more visible part of the gay community.
5. He dropped out of college and
befriended wealthy men.
In 1987, Cunanan enrolled in the University of California San Diego and majored in American History, but he dropped out two years later, eventually moving to San Fransisco. He became a fixture in the nightlife of the Castro district, a gay neighborhood, befriending wealthy older men, and also reportedly took an interest in creating violent pornography.
When news of his killing spree spread, his friends and acquaintances fled the city to avoid running into him and potentially becoming his next victim, according to an article published in the San Diego Reader in May 1997.
6. His life was bankrolled by a wealthy older man named Norman Blachford, who eventually cut him off, sending Cunanan into a downward spiral.
Blachford, one of his wealthy lovers, broke up with Cunanan in 1996. Blachford had allegedly been bankrolling Cunanan's cushy lifestyle, providing him with a $2,000 per month allowance, a fancy car to drive, and vacations to New York City and the South of France. Then, things went sour. “He was dumped by his latest sugar daddy," Donna Brant, who was the managing editor of America’s Most Wanted at the time of Versace’s murder, told ABC News. "He was losing his prowess among his peers. He had gotten sloppy and lost his looks, and the star was fading."
Sources said Cunanan's mental health suffered when his lifestyle took a hit. "Andrew's self-worth was tied to the finer things in life, what [people] could do for him," criminal profiler Candice DeLong told ABC News. "Being accepted in high society and by wealthy people was what he expected. If he didn't get them, he was lost." It was during this period of self-doubt that Cunanan took the life of his first victim.
7. He killed four people before murdering Gianni Versace.
Not long before his first murder, Cunanan told his friends in San Diego that he was flying to Minnesota to "settle some business" with old friend Jeffrey Trail, according to an article released byThe New York Times a few months after his first murder. While it's not clear how Cunanan and Trail knew each other, investigators at the time believe they had been romantically linked.
Trail, a 28-year-old propane salesman, was found beaten to death with a claw hammer and rolled up in a rug that was stuffed in the closet of architect David Madson's apartment on April 27, 1997. Madson, another one of Cunanan's lovers, would soon become his second victim.
"[Andrew] loved David Madson very, very much.... [But after the breakup,] David didn’t want anything to do with him," Cunanan’s former roommate Erik Greenman told ABC News in 1997. "I mean, David was Andrew’s life. He said many, many times that he would give up everything to move out to Minneapolis for David."
Madson's body was found with gunshot wounds to the head and back on the east shore of Rush Lake near Rush City, Minnesota on May 3, 1997.
Cunanan later drove to Chicago and killed 72-year-old Lee Miglin on May 4, 1997. No connection was ever found between Cunanan and Miglin, a prominent real estate developer, and officials concluded that it was a crime of opportunity while Miglin was cleaning a garage near his home, according to The Chicago Tribune. After the murder, "Cunanan went into the family's home, ate a ham sandwich, shaved and rested,"according to ABC7Chicago.
He then drove Miglin's car to New Jersey, where he murdered yet another victim: William Reese, a cemetery worker, who appeared to have been shot to death so Cunanan could steal his 1995 red Chevrolet pickup truck.
8. He was the 449th fugitive to be listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Following his fourth murder, Cunanan had become one of America's most-wanted fugitives. Though law enforcement and the FBI were on the hunt for him, Cunanan made his way to Miami, eventually taking up residence for nearly two months at the Normandy Plaza hotel, about four miles north of Versace's mansion.
The hotel's night manager claimed Cunanan paid in cash and would often change his appearance, possibly even wearing wigs to alter the way he looked, according to Vanity Fair.
9. He met Versace in San Francisco years before the fashion designer's murder.
In 1990, Versace and his future killer met at Colossus, a San Francisco nightclub, where Cunanan was pleased to find that Versace recognized him from a party at his house on Lake Como. Whether Cunanan had ever actually been to Lake Como is unknown, but he took the recognition and used it to his advantage in his social circles, dropping Versace's name frequently.
10. He shot Versace on the front steps of the designer's Miami mansion.
On July 15, 1997, Gianni Versace was shot to death on the front steps of his Miami Beach mansion. While a witness and police pursued Cunanan, he managed to escape. That morning, investigators found Reese's stolen pickup truck, along with a pile of discarded clothes, a personal check, a passport, newspaper clippings about his past murders, and a pawnshop ticket. At the time, Cunanan was wanted for the murders of Trail, Madson, and Miglin.
11. The book Vulgar Favors outlines theories about the motive behind his killing spree.
Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U. S. Historyby Maureen Orth was published in 1999, two years after Versace and Cunanan's deaths.From missteps by law enforcement at the time of the original investigation to interesting theories about Cunanan's potential motivation for shooting Versace, the book takes a close look at who Cunanan was and how law officials attempted to put together the pieces of the puzzle leading up to Versace's murder. The book about Cunanan's life was also used as inspiration for the upcoming season of American Crime Story.
12. Darren Criss stars as Cunanan in the American Crime Story series.
Criss looks nearly identical to Versace's killer in the FX series, and he seems to have found common ground with his character as well. "At the end of the day, if you think of the worst person that you know, that's done the worst things ever, you have more in common with them than not," Criss said of playing Cunanan in an interview with radio personality Elvis Duran. "The fact is, those differences are big, but they're small in number ... So, what's kind of been a joy for me is to find as many redeeming things as possible in someone that you fathom as something so horrible and to really get the audience to ask themselves, 'At what point could this have been me?'"
Gianni Versace is played by Édgar Ramírez; Penélope Cruz plays his sister Donatella Versace; and Ricky Martin plays Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico.
Investigators still don’t know why Andrew Cunanan killed Gianni Versace. On July 15, 1997, Cunanan approached the famed Italian designer as he returned to his Miami Beach mansion after a morning trip to a ersace twice in the back of the head, according to FBI records. At the time , Madonna and Elton John. His murder, which shocked the nation, is the focus of FX’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
What is known about Cunanan and Versace is that the fashion mogul was not Cunanan’s first victim. Cunanan was a serial killer, suspected in four other deaths. He was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, the subject of a national manhunt, and was hiding out in Miami Beach’s gay scene at the time he killed Versace.
Authorities believe Cunanan’s killing spree before Versace targeted ex-lovers, including some he may have believed may have given him HIV. Hours after Versace’s shooting death, authorities identified Andrew Cunanan as the prime suspect. The 27-year-old was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, suspected in the killings of four other people in Minnesota, Illinois and New Jersey. The FBI painted Cunanan as a highly intelligent and dangerous man who desired a life of luxury. The California native, who could speak two languages, dropped out of college and funded his lifestyle thanks to relationships with older, wealthier gay men, federal investigations found. The FBI believes that in addition to working odd jobs, Cunanan was a prostitute.
Twenty years after the murder, Cunanan’s motive is still unclear. Cunanan and Versace did not know each other, according to People, although they may have briefly met prior to the killing. Federal investigators believed Cunanan may have been targeting gay men. Versace had a longtime boyfriend, Antonio D’Amico. The FBI believed Cunanan may have been seeking revenge on former lovers or clients who may have given him HIV, records show.
The investigation into Versace’s murder ended July 23, 1997 — eight days after the designer’s death — when Cunanan apparently shot himself to death on a boat house, about two miles away from Versace’s house in Miami Beach. The suicide ended the high-profile manhunt that followed the global news coverage of Versace’s murder.
Linda Evangelista is an Italian Supermodel who was one of the leading faces of the supermodel era of the 1990s.
Born in Canada in 1965, supermodel Linda Evangelista began her career in her teens, working for a local department store. After getting noticed at a small modeling contest, Evangelista began doing international work. By the mid-1990s, she was one of the most sought-after faces in the modeling world.
Supermodel. Raised in a traditional Catholic family, Linda Evangelista was born May 10, 1965, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, a small town near Niagara Falls. She began modeling in her early teens after landing some catalog work for a local department store.
When Evangelista was 16, a talent scout from the Elite New York Agency spotted the young model at the Miss Teen Niagara Contest. Modest work soon came her way, including a few international opportunities. But Evangelista's modeling career nearly came to a screeching halt after she was asked to pose nude at a shoot in Japan. She refused, and then called the Canadian embassy to fly her home, ready to give up modeling work for good. It was only after graduating from high school and listening to the advice of her mother that Evangelista decided to give modeling another try. Then, in the fall of 1988, accepting the advice of photographer Peter Lindbergh, Evangelista famously cut her long, light brown hair into a shorter bob. This new look shocked the fashion world, and organizers canceled 16 out of 20 shows she was scheduled to do. But then, something funny happened. Everyone started talking about her new look, and with that notoriety came work. Soon, as Evangelista later recalled, she had "every Vogue cover around the world…and then people came around and decided they liked the short hair."
As one of the world's most recognized faces, Evangelista wasn't immune from becoming a bit of a diva. In 1990 she uttered a line that went down in the annals of fashion history when she said that models like herself don't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.
The comment certainly earned plenty of groans, but it did little to diminish her stature in the modeling world. In 1997, Evangelista received a special lifetime achievement award at the 1997 VH1 Fashion and Music Awards. In addition, MTV ranked Evangelista second in its list of top models of the 1990s. After briefly retiring from the catwalk in 1998, Evangelista returned to modeling in 2001. She's continued to work well into her forties. In 2012 she appeared on the cover of the Italian edition of Vogue.
In 1987, Evangelista married Elite model agency boss Gerald Marie. The couple divorced in 1993.
Over the years, Evangelista has been linked romantically to a number of high-profile men, including French soccer player Fabien Barthez, Sex and the City cast member Kyle MacLachlan, and French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault. Pinault whom she dated for several months beginning in 2005, is the father of her only child, a son named Augustin James Evangelista, who was born October 11, 2006. Her relationship with Pinault, who is now the husband of actress Salma Hayek, took an ugly turn in 2012 when Evangelista sued for child support. After several days of courtroom drama, the former couple reached an undisclosed settlement.
And nowhere was that fun more in evidence than in George Michael’s 1992 “Too Funky” video. “It was the height of fashion,” says performer Joey Arias, of the moment in which it was shot. “Everybody wanted to be those supermodels vogueing the runway!” (Or, as Michael would say, “Everybody wants a lover like that.”) “Moulin Rouge Meets Vegas!” An Oral History of George Michael’s 1992 “Too Funky” Video Looking for a good time, we decided to put together an oral history of “Too Funky,” which more than holds its own against the MTV- and fashion-friendly “Freedom! ’90” with its cast of supermodels Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Tatjana Patitz.
A rallying cry for individuality, “Freedom! ’90” became fashion history when it was lip-synched by the supers on Gianni Versace’s runway. “Too Funky,” with its Anne Bancroft voice-over, is lighter fare lyrically. Visually, it approaches the Baroque, especially in contrast to the squatter-like set of “Freedom! ’90.” Evangelista was the only returning member of the cast, but she was joined by top models including Nadja Auermann, Tyra Banks, Estelle Lefébure, and a “cast of thousands” culled from clubs on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Michael hired Thierry Mugler—the French dancer turned designer known for his dramatic silhouettes and audacious showmanship who now goes by Manfred—to shoot the video. Lefébure, who says she’d be happy to repeat the experience, describes the creative team of Mugler and Michael as “two masters with strong personalities and visions.” Inevitably, they came to loggerheads. The atmosphere, says performer Julie Newmar, quickly became one of “hysteria, lots of smoking and raw nerves.” By the end of the shoot, Michael was longing for his freedom from Mugler, and Mugler was learning that sometimes clothes can _un_make the man. Thankfully, art triumphed in the end. “Too Funky,” because of its costume drama, is guaranteed to make you smile and hit replay.
EMMA SJÖBERG WIKLUND (model who wears the motorcycle outfit and robot costume in the video): The “Too Funky” video was made to raise money for AIDS research. Somehow I think George Michael was then in a conflict with Sony, so he was not able to do any albums before his contract was over . . . but he could do this song, “Too Funky,” that was put onto the Red Hot + Dance album. I know that George wanted to work with Thierry Mugler because his shows were a bit like cabarets—it was more like going to a theater show; it was extraordinary. Mugler always had big surprises . . . there was always some kind of music combined with these incredible outfits. The video was a charity job; we all did it for free.
DANILO (the video’s hairstylist): George knew Naomi, Christy, Linda . . . all the girls, who were all the girls who walked with us [in Mugler’s camp]. And who didn’t know Thierry at that point? We had incredible stars walking our runway and an eclectic mix of phenomena going on. George was fully aware and would show up at shows because [Mugler] was the show to be at, you know. It was an amazing event socially. Also, I think Thierry and his views on sexuality and sensuality were things that very much titillated George because I think he was bound at that time in his life. JOEY ARIAS (a performer who plays the video’s couturier): George Michael contacted Mugler, and Mugler came up with the storyboard, which he does very beautifully, with Stefano Canulli, who does all the final drawings, and presented this to George, and George gave approval. He said: “Yes, this is it!”
DANILO: We all donated our time. It took place in Paris and Thierry Mugler and George Michael were the directors, they collaborated. George brought the song and Thierry brought the visuals, that’s really how the collaboration came down. As far as the work, we busted our asses and it went on for three days. We were all so passionate about it. There was an interesting element going on there, too. Because the directors were butting heads, we the collective said: “You know what? This is all about AIDS. It’s not about anything but that, we need to move ahead.” So we really tightened as a group even more then. It was a blast, and it was very hard work, and I never tire of looking at it, it’s so well done.
JULIE NEWMAR (Catwoman actress and sometime Mugler model who plays a midinette who goes mad): Mugler wanted to show that the backstage of a couture show was hysteria, whereas in front of the camera it was all glamorous and cool.
ARIAS: Mugler’s characters were superhuman. No one’s just mediocre, it’s all about superhumans: the thinnest and the tallest and the most extreme and the most beautiful. But [it is also about] adoring the human form, not making fun of women or males. Mugler loves the form and he loves to push how far it can go.
DANILO: The last 10 years of Mugler [the designer left his namesake house in 2003], I was his head hairdresser. I would go to Paris for two weeks to prepare, and I had my own salon and I just built wigs and built wigs . . . this was one of them, but this one had its own category because it was more of a theater wig. The inspiration was Mugler, Marilyn, Dietrich—all of those things—and a contemporary finish. So it had that wave and the curl [that is] a little bit like a Nike swoosh . . . It’s so expressive on its own. That particular wig . . . became very iconic for [Linda]. It had a helmet quality to it [and was treated] with wig varnish so that it never moved.
SJÖBERG WIKLUND: I started working as a model in Paris around 1989. I had a background as a dancer from Sweden. Because Mugler’s shows were very theatrical, he wanted us to do things like dance or act or pose or look like insects or whatever his vision was. It suited me very well as a person, and we got along very well. And of course he wanted people to be able to walk in his shoes—that was one of the most important requirements! They were very high and not always made for walking, but they looked fabulous. I was very fortunate to be working with him for many years and to be wearing some of these amazing pieces that he did [including the Harley-Davidson bustier that would later feature in Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce visuals]. On the runway it was Niki Taylor who wore it, and then I got to wear the motorcycle in the video. [Mugler told me:] “You should have chewing gum, and you should play with it, you work it.” ARIAS: Connie Fleming is trans. She used to be at the Boy Bar and Mugler saw her [there]. It was on Eighth Street and every week it had this drag show—really big productions, amazing. And so Connie Girl came out—in those days she was like a size 3 and she was in like 9-inch heels, almost like ballerina shoes—and she came out and she did these kind of flips, flipping up and down and twirling, and the place went insane and Mugler was like: “Oh, my God, I gotta use her,” and then put her on the runway. So that’s her with that cowboy outfit . ARIAS: I’d met Mugler in 1980 with Klaus [Nomi]. It wasn’t until the late ’80s that he’d start popping around some of my shows, and we started talking about this and that, and then I got an invitation to come to Paris [for “Too Funky.”] That was the first time we actually worked together. He wanted me to be the couturier, the Edith Head character. I was the one bossing people around. When we first met, he had me in a pantsuit with a low-waisted belt, and then we were talking and he just said: “You know what, I don’t think so, we’re going to put you in a long tight skirt instead.” [I wore] a pleated chiffon skirt almost to my ankles, almost, maybe like three-quarters past my knees, with a pearl corset and then a tight black knit sweater with the jewelry, some kind of necklace wrapped around and some fetish shoes from London. The character was great. Mugler said, “It’s kind of like me. You’re going to be me, but Edith Head. You’re going to be in charge of this house, and you’ve got to put your foot down and really do these things. When I say do that, do it. When [I say] rip that dress, you rip.” It was that beautiful white dress [Linda wore]. There was a scene backstage where I go up to her and [tug] and Mugler goes, “No, no, no, no, no. Please, like this,” and he just went up and went riiiiippppp. I said, “Oh, okay, no problem.” So whenever he said to do something, I just went for it, and he was laughing and said, “Yeah, exactly!”ARIAS: Julie was supposed to be one of the girls backstage. She was fed up with being back there, she was like a revolution. She snaps, she goes berserk, and that’s why I’m trying to slap her to calm her down. I was doing pretend acting and she said: “No, you’ve got to get me going. I want you to really push me and slap the hell out of me.” And I said, “Really?” And she turned around and just slapped me. She goes, “Like that.” I was like, “Okay!” So I shook her. She goes on the runway and I’m trying to stop her, [and there are] all these women walking out in full-on couture, and she comes running out and I’m trying to stop her and she throws that robe off and she’s all latex and she takes over the runway. It was kind of like the ugly duckling that bursts into the beautiful swan. NEWMAR: I was dressed as a midinette, wrapped in white. Mugler had me pushed out onstage, thus embarrassing my character and exposing me out on the catwalk. Someone grabs my white jacket, thus exposing my naked ambitions. I am now in a black vinyl bodysuit, so I throw myself down on the catwalk, my legs in a wide-open split, and this, to my surprise, ended up in George Michael’s version of the video. DANILO: Julie, who is an amazing woman, [was] hitting it, doing splits on the runway. I think she was 60 or 65 when she was doing that. ARIAS: Julie said, “I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this, but please make sure you get it because I’m only going to do it once, and if you don’t get it I’m very sorry.” I think she walked out once just to make sure the lighting was right, and then they got her into position . . . and then she came out . . . and she kicked and rolled and flipped and did what she did in one take and the place went insane, insane. NEWMAR: The rest of the production was hysteria, lots of smoking and raw nerves. On the second night real trouble arose. They had gone over the $1 million budget, and I remember holding the producer in my arms, he was weeping from nervous helplessness, exhaustion. That’s when George Michael took over. ARIAS: At one point, two days or three days into it, [George said,] “Okay, I got what I need.” And Manfred said, “Okay, but I’m not done. I’m still shooting and we’ve got two more days.” And George said, “No, I think we’re done,” and there was a big fight. [Manfred said,] “I’m not done.” [George said,] “I said we’re done.” . . . Then George said, “Well, you know what? I’m the one who is the superstar here, not you.” And then Mugler just snapped. There was this fight and everyone was sitting there like, “What the heck is going on?” And then Linda Evangelista was kind of the go-between, and there was a meeting in the back for two hours, I think, and then they both walked out arm in arm and I could see that Manfred was a little like mmmm, but they were like laughing and they said, “We’re going to continue shooting and we’re going to finish this up.” And then George started looking behind the lens and he put those [stills] in himself later on. SJÖBERG WIKLUND: The robot I will never forget because . . . it was made on my body and they had to make a plaster. I still have a picture of it, actually, when I’m fully em-plastered with a corset under it, and then it was literally made in this chrome with little hooks to close it. I know the feeling of a chastity belt after wearing that. Thierry always had a very clear picture of every outfit from every angle, from what wig Danilo was supposed to be doing . . . what model should be wearing [it] . . . how the makeup should be done . . . every detail. [There] would be like 10 or 12 fittings for the outfit; it wasn’t one fitting. You would literally sit half the night in Mugler’s design room and wait for your time. It was fun, but it was crazy if you think about it: All these fittings for one outfit for the fashion shows. [The robot] was an amazing piece that was really handmade, and of course it didn’t stretch. I was always quite bruised after wearing it, because it had to stay up somehow and so it was kind of tight, and then there was the helmet that was literally made on the skull. Before going out on the runway, of course, you couldn’t have any fingerprints on it, it had to be polished. I remember people with cotton gloves and literally things to clean the windows with to polish the chrome. ESTELLE LEFÉBURE (a top model who plays a femme fatale in latex): George really respects women, you can feel it. He was directing me, saying, “You look [even more] beautiful if you do this or that.” How many days of your life does George Michael tell you this? It was amazing. Thierry asked me to play the role of femme fatale: sexy and irresistible to any man. I used to do all Thierry’s shows. [His woman was] powerful, determined, extremely feminine, [a] sexy soldier. For the video, he asked to accentuate that even more. [My outfit was] outrageously hot and my hair was horsehair . . . so hot! Doing a show with Thierry is working with one master; doing a video with Thierry and George is working with double pressure, as you work with two masters with strong personalities and visions. It was one of the most impactful bookings I’ve ever done. People still remember me in that video, with my name written, like Linda, Nadja, and Tyra. It’s a reference, it had a massive impact, even on my life. I’d love to shoot another one.
NEWMAR: There must have been 100 of the world’s most beautiful models flown in for this production. There was Linda Evangelista in her white feathers—what gorgeousness. The video is as hot as can be.
DANILO: One of the things I’ve had the pleasure of creating and building and doing structurally is [Linda’s] feather headdress. I went to the maison de plume there in Paris where the family—they did Louis’s, they go so far back. They go into early 1700s, that family. They have extinct feathers in their drawers. This is Paris, where they really take the art serious. I picked all those ostrich plumes that we created into that [headdress]. It’s that kind of detail that goes into everything: working, sketching, drawing, fabricating—all the components.
YES! Andres Mejia Vallejo joins Uvenio Coffeetable Book! with famous fashion photographer Frank Louis! Colombian actor, writer, producer and you-tuber. Raised in Colombia Andrés comes from a family of artists. At the age of 3 he started to play the piano and since his early years he has received musical and dance training. At the age of 12 he became an accomplished speed-skater wining several tournaments. And around the same time he joined a theater group in Colombia. After doing a lot of theater in his own country Andrés moved to the USA to focus 100% on his artistic career.
Today Andres resides in Los Angeles, California where he actively pursues his career as an actor. He has worked for companies like Universal Music Group as a publicist. Univision Networks as a Producer and Bunim Murray Productions as an Associate Producer and a writer. He launched his YouTube channel and a web series in early 2016 and ever since he's building a name for himself as a digital influence-r. He recently stared in Shakespeare in Love as Ned Alleyn in Bogotá, Colombia and has a movie on demand, in English, called Reel Nightmare. He's done a lot of theater in Hollywood and thanks to one of his performances Al Pacino came up to him after a show and congratulated the Colombian actor for his role. His excellent background both behind and in front of the cameras make him a well rounded artist. And his focus, nonstop persistence and dedication have put Andrés, very quickly, on the map of the Hollywood entertainment show business.
Nick Jonas has confessed that he’s had sex with a man following years of rumours about his sexuality. The Christian singer, and youngest of the three famous brothers, is known as a bit of a ladies’ man who’s been seeing Kate Hudson and Lily Collins recently. But the 23-year-old has said that the sex scene for his recent movie Kingdom saw him ‘technically’ do it with a man. He told The Sun: ‘On Kingdom I have a sex scene with a guy. It is always this thing: have I, has Nick? No. But it’s my lips, it’s my hands, it’s my body, even if I’m playing a character.So technically I have done that, so I wouldn’t say I haven’t, because that would be lying.’
Nick Jonas says he’s now
‘technically’ slept with a dude!
Er… Nick? Are you sure? ‘But as me, Nick, I am very open about who I am and that I have nothing to prove,’ he continued. ‘I know what I am, I’ve been honest about that.’ We’re not entirely sure whether this gets to the bottom of Nick’s sexuality or not. He is a gay icon and has played gay men several times, most recently in US TV show Kingdom – but he may be getting a little confused about what exactly constitutes gay sex.
After all, we’re pretty sure shooting sex scenes is pretty nonsexual (unless you’re working for Lars Von Trier or the like). Did someone let their imagination run away with them a little?
First time I met Bruce Weber was eight years ago. I still remember the initial exchange so vividly. I checked my email and there it was: the original casting from my agent at the time, labeled “by photographer’s special request.”
"I’m a Male Model, and I’m Coming Forward About Bruce Weber....."
by Parker Hurley
My experience with the famous fashion photographer was similar to that of many others.
I’d heard Weber called a “god” in the industry, a man who could make or break my career. I was a 23-year-old model, with a rough idea of who I was and what I was willing and unwilling to tolerate.I’d met and worked with other famous photographers before, but no one described as a “god.” The pressure was on from the start.
When I first spoke up about my experience with Bruce Weber and sexual harassment in the modeling industry, I chose to remain anonymous. I was scared — I’m still a working model, and until I could support myself as a writer and artist, I wasn’t willing to risk losing my main source of income.
And honestly, I was a victim of the pressure around what it means to be a man in today’s society. To have another man abuse his power and take advantage of you can feel like one of the most emasculating and stigmatizing experiences that a young man can have.
But when I saw Weber’s Instagram post denying the accusations brought against him by other male models, I knew it was time to speak out, leaning into the fear instead of running away from it. And I believe myself, and my fellow male models, would not have had the courage to come forward had it not been for the female heroes who started this movement.
"I could feel him using his strength and used my own to resist him."
The casting took place at Weber’s studio, Little Bear, located in Tribeca. The entire space felt like a shrine to the man and his work, laid out like an old, rustic factory, assistants — mostly all young, attractive men — quietly moving about, carrying giant prints of Weber’s work. I’m an artist myself and thought it would be nice to bring Weber a piece of my own work — a print I had done during my BFA at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Another 15 or so minutes went by before the woman who’d greeted me came back and told me Bruce was ready to see me. She walked me over to a large vintage freight elevator and told me he would be waiting for me at the top. This whole “god” description, partnered with a literal physical ascension to meet the man, caused warning bells to ring in my head.
Up went the elevator, opening into a beautiful space with vintage furniture and more of Weber’s work, featuring much more nudity that what I had seen on the floor below. He was seated on a couch, slowly got up, and walked over to greet me. He’s what I imagine Santa Claus would look like dressed for a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert. He had a kind face. I offered him the print I had brought for him. He thanked me and put it aside as he walked back over to living room-like set up of chairs and couches facing one another. He offered me a seat and then sat down across from me. There were some pleasantries — where are you from, how long have been modeling, etc. — that probably lasted only a few minutes.
Weber then leaned forward and told me he wanted to do a breathing exercise with me. Our knees were almost touching as he began to describe what was about to happen. He explained that energy was going to build between us, a gauge that would be used to determine if we could work together or not.
I remember him asking me if I felt it, the energy. I nervously laughed, unsure of what to do or say. He then took my hand from my lap and held it out in front of me, and did the same with his own. He placed his hand under mine and told me that I was going to move his hand around until the energy came to a climax. He began to move his hand in a circle, as I tried to follow. At the “climax,” I would then bring his hand to my body where I felt the energy most.
Spiral spiral spiral goes the hand… then, very suddenly, he began to bring it toward me, directly down to my crotch. Instinctively, my hand forced his hand up so it landed somewhere on my lower abdomen, an inch or so above the waistband of my jeans, the fingers of his hand seeking the skin underneath my shirt.
I forcibly held his hand in place as he tried to slide it down my belly. I could feel him using his strength and used my own to resist him. He looked at me very intensely, and when it became clear that I wasn’t going to let him move his hand any further down my body, he said something about my “potential,” thanked me for my time, stood up, and guided me to the elevator.
I left feeling very confused and continued to replay the experience over and over in my head for years, up until the next time I met him, three years later. During this second experience, I had a different agency and there were several other models around. Weber walked through the casting not long after I arrived and said hello to me. His kind eyes and smile didn’t change the uneasy feeling in my gut, like I was being tested again, this time without the hands, just the space between us too close for comfort. I quickly turned my eyes away from him.
Weber thenturned to a model who was immersed in his phone, and asked him to follow him into a private room. I didn’t see either of them for the rest of the casting.
Again, I left confused, this time wondering if by simply averting my eyes from his, I had blown an opportunity to work with him in the future. Both experiences played over in my mind for years; I contemplated whether or not my career would have been more “successful” had I allowed this man to “control the energy” between us.
I don’t feel broken from my experience, despite how much time and energy I spent wondering “what if.” And I know that I am one of the lucky ones. Male models are an expendable cogin the hyper-judgmental wheel that is the fashion industry. We are paid far less than female models, which creates a heavier sense of desperation to “make it.”
I often think about young guys, 15, 16, 17 years old, coming to New York City for the first time, being thrown into situations with promises of fame and glory. It’s our job to be judged — on our bodies, our sexuality, and how likable we are. This can be a challenge for anyone, especially those dealing with self-esteem issues, which have plagued me and, I believe, anyone working toward society’s idea of perfection.
There has always been a gray line between what is acceptable and what is not, and many of these young men have no idea how to navigate that line until they are thrown, often literally naked and afraid, into the lion’s den. From my experience, the more famous a photographer is, the more power he is given — by agents, by media, by anyone within the industry and beyond. This cycle has been perpetuated for far too long, beginning at the top of the ladder, with white men of power covering each others’ tracks, continuing to believe they are untouchable.
Where there is power, there will be an abuse of power. The female heroes of our world have given us the lens, and they’re forcing us to focus it on the dirt that has been hiding in plain sight, right underneath our noses. The courage of these heroines sparked the fire that only burns brighter and brighter as each new voice comes forward, striving to create a world where every human can feel safe, respected, and seen.
American culture, perhaps no image has left an impression as great as the cowboy. Hollywood legends such as John Wayne easily come to mind, but the fashion industry regularly reinvents the cowboy. The cowboy is a popular reference as the ideal figure possesses a rugged charm, the perfect physique, and an endearing nonchalance. Although the cowboy is not a fresh concept, it still holds a certain appeal. That is why men's fashion designers and editors revere the cowboy. Ultimately, the cowboy easily complements western motifs. You don't have to search far to find an interpretation of a cowboy in a fashion magazine.
From Milan to Paris Fashion Week, the cowboy image often reemerges. Brands such as Versace, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Balmain, and Philipp Plein have referenced the iconic figure. The designers' approach to the cowboy shows off his versatility. While Versace and Plein reworked the classic cowboy motif for an opulent fall outing, designers like Lim relied on the sensibility of the timeless western theme for confident essentials.
If you do not aspire to become a cowboy but still want to adopt the utterly cool cowboy style, here are our best pointers: 1. Denim on denim: Denim is a quintessential cowboy thing, so it is certainly the first item on the list you should take care of. Here is the caveat, though: Your denim shirt or jacket and your jeans should be in two different shades if you are shooting for that cowboy-chic look.
2. A good pair of boots: Like jeans, a pair of boots is essential. Invest in a nice pair of leather or suede boots, preferably the Chelsea style. 3. Some plaid shirts:A plaid shirt is a great option on days when you do not feel like wearing your denim shirt. Designers have given plaid shirts a major upgrade during the last few years, so they are now functional and fashionable.4. A leather jacket: If designer collections are of any indication, a tough leather jacket is definitely one component of the modern cowboy attire. 5. A high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat: The material can be fur felt or straw, but it is advisable to purchase a beautifully made one from designers to avoid the risk of looking like a ranch worker. 6. Your attitude: To truly pull off the cowboy look with aplomb, do not leave your confidence and relaxed attitude at home once you get dressed.
The allegations against Bruce Weber are mounting. In a new Business of Fashion report, four more male models say the photographer sexually harassed them during photo shoots. The allegations date as far back as 1982.
DJ Janney said that while on a break during a shoot in 1982, Weber asked him to undress first to his underwear, then completely nude. Weber said that the photos were to take to Calvin Klein.
Janney refused to get completely nude, and said he realized that the photos were for “[Weber’s] own use, and to show Calvin.” While on a shoot with his brother, Weber asked them to “pretend to be boyfriends” and Janney says they were subjected to verbal abuse when they refused. He believes Weber then “blacklisted” him from the industry.
In 2006, a fit model, Christopher Cates, said that Weber asked him to go into a guest room away from the crew. Cates said he was asked to completely undress and Weber inappropriately touched him and took photos.
Two years later, Alex Geerman says that Weber asked him to undress for “breathing exercises” and touched him around the genitals. Geerman said he was so upset at the time he left the shoot and told his mother, but now believes that Weber didn’t do anything wrong. “It took me years to figure out, it wasn’t a sexual thing,” Geerman told BoF. “It was an art thing.”
The final male model who spoke on the record to BoF was Ryan Vigilant, who said the photographer touched him inappropriately on a shoot in 2008.
Almost thirty male models and former assistants accused Bruce Weber and fellow photographer Mario Testino of sexual exploitation in a report from the New York Timespublished last week. Weber is also being sued by a model for sexual harassment. When asked for a statement for the new allegations against the photographer, a representative for Weber said he stood by his statement to the New York Times. In the statement, he called the claims “outrageous.”
“I have used common breathing exercises and professionally photographed thousands of nude models over my career, but never touched anyone inappropriately.”
On Saturday, The New York Times published an explosive exposé in which fifteen current and former male models and thirteen male assistants and models accused top fashion photographersMario Testino and Bruce Weber, respectively, of sexual misconduct and abuse. Today, The Business of Fashion can reveal further allegations against Weber, stretching back to 1982, made by four new sources who spoke on the record and several others who spoke on condition of anonymity.
D.L. Janney, a former male model, who recently released a memoir called “Blacklisted,” which details his time in the industry, said that while on a break during a shoot for British Vogue in 1982, Weber asked him to strip down to his underwear for a photo he could take to Calvin Klein, whose campaigns Weber was shooting at the time. Janney was eager to comply until Weber asked him to get completely nude. According to Janney, Weber said that the photos would not be published anywhere and were for “his own use, and to show Calvin.”
When Janney refused, he said the photographer refused to speak with him for the rest of the day. On another occasion, Weber had hired both Janney and his brother for a shoot for GQ; Weber asked the two brothers to remove their shirts and, according to Janney, “pretend to be boyfriends.” When they refused, Janney said they were subject to verbal abuse. As outlined in his book, Janney believes that Weber “blacklisted” him from the industry shortly after, making it impossible for him to find work as a model. Over two decades later, Christopher Cates, a fit model, said that while on set for a photoshoot at Weber’s Miami home in 2006, the photographer asked each model to join him alone in a guest bedroom upstairs, away from the rest of the crew. Cates said that when he entered the room, Weber asked him to remove his shirt and pants, and later his underwear, and then proceeded to touch him inappropriately. According to Cates, Weber took photos during the incident using a digital SLR camera, though those photos were, to Cates’ knowledge, never used for any professional purpose.
Alex Geerman, a former model, massage therapist and healer, said that in 2008, Weber asked him to do “breathing exercises” that involved non-consensual touching of the chakras, including the root chakra, which is located around the genitals. “I didn’t understand what he was doing, and he didn’t explain it,” recalled Geerman, who said he left the shoot so disturbed he told his mother, who was waiting outside the studio: “I don’t want to do this anymore.” Yet, Geerman said that although he was upset at the time, he no longer believes that Weber did anything wrong. “It took me years to figure out, it wasn't a sexual thing. It was an art thing,” said Geerman.
Another model, Ryan Vigilant, said the photographer touched him inappropriately in a sexual manner during a shoot in 2008. Vigilant initially did not want to name Weber directly. However, after reading Weber’s statement in response to the New York Times story, he changed his mind. “The statements that Bruce and Mario, or should I say their lawyers made, pains me,” he wrote via email. “I don’t understand their denial. Either their sense of entitlement has so clouded their ethical judgement, it’s not based in reality anymore. Or they are going through so much pain internally and are destroying themselves.”
Jason Boyce, the model who recently filed suit in New York State Supreme Court against Weber and spoke to The New York Times, among others, said that Weber’s inappropriate behaviour was well-known within the industry though never explicitly stated. "Anytime you’d bring up Bruce it was always like, ‘Oh yeah he’s a little weird, he’s a little creepy, he does these weird breathing exercises,’” recalled Boyce. “That’s as far as anyone would talk about it. No one would ever fully-fledged say he assaulted me. It was always like a shrug it off, ‘Oh well, let’s not make this a big deal,’ as men do, ‘Let’s not make this a big deal.’” The lawsuit also names Boyce’s agent, Jason Kanner, and his agency, Soul Artist Management. “We believe that he knew or should have known,” said Lisa Bloom, an attorney and founder of The Bloom Firm, which is representing Boyce, during a phone conversation in December. Geerman said that while he believes agencies do provide certain protection against harassment, “When it comes to Bruce Weber, it was just this understanding like, look, he does this to everybody. So, it’s just kind of what you take from it, what you make from it. I definitely think a young person going to shoot with him, they don’t understand. I didn’t understand.”
Boyce said, "The culture was: you did what you were told. That was how they sold it. If you do what I tell you, you’ll make it. If you just do what I tell you. you'll make it. My agent told me that all the time." Bloom said that since they filed suit, her law firm has been contacted by a large number of male models “who have claims against Bruce Weber and other powerful people in the industry.” Asked if others could join the suit, Bloom said she and her firm are vetting each claim, adding that the statute of limitations and the victims’ desire to remain anonymous, are the biggest hurdles. In New York, claims of sexual harassment must be filed within three years; in California, it’s as little as one year. “Many of them have very heartbreaking claims that seem very credible to me, but they’re simply time barred,” she said. When asked for comment to these new allegations, a representative for Weber said he stood by his statement made to The New York Times: “I'm completely shocked and saddened by the outrageous claims being made against me, which I absolutely deny. I have used common breathing exercises and professionally photographed thousands of nude models over my career, but never touched anyone inappropriately. Given my life’s work, these twisted and untrue allegations are truly disheartening. I've been taking pictures for over 40 years and have the utmost respect for everyone I've ever photographed. I would never, ever, try to hurt anyone or prevent someone from succeeding — it’s just not in my character.”
Remington Jay Perregaux is an Actor, Photographer and Male SuperModel, known for Gotham (2014), Get Well and Hard Surfaces (2017). With 64.5k followers.. Tall, gorgeous Blonde with a body to die for! Remington will be in my menswear collection for the upcoming coffee table book project!
The model today is Rudy Bundini and his most recent collaboration with Ted Sun for an editorial published in Singapore’s Solstice Magazine featuring underwear by Garcon Model. Bundini was born in 1987 and he is based in New York. His extensive portfolio includes music videos as well as numerous campaigns, photo shoots and fashion shows. The work you see below is his most recent, photographed by talented Ted Sun. In all photos Rudy is posing in Watson Briefs by Canadian brand Garcon Model.
What’s not to love about model Philip Fusco? This New York City boy with the body of a demigod and the personality of one of your favorite talk show hosts is only 29 years old, but has been in the industry for more than ten years already, signing with Empire Model Management at the ripe age of 17. Since then, Fusco has amassed an impressive resume, modelling for Andrew Christian, Gregg Homme, Score Underwear, John Falocco, and gracing the covers of DNA, Männer, Exercise Magazine among others. He also devotes part of his time as a personal trainer and in this entry of Brief Talk, Philip gives his fans insight into what makes him tick and the ins and outs of the modelling industry from an insider’s perspective.
Hello Philip, it’s such a pleasure talking to you. Can you tell our readers a little about yourself? Hey Men and underwear and all readers. I have been modelling for many years now, so I would like to start by saying “Thank You” to everyone who has stuck around and supported me all this time. Besides modelling, I am a personal trainer, lifestyle coach, and underwear model. I do private bartending on the side and I just love to enjoy the fruits of life as much as possible. My favourite hobby is laying on a beach or enjoying a water sport. I am currently writing this in my underwear, on my couch, while enjoying my favourite protein shake.
How did you start modeling? I started modelling when I was 17, discovered through my Myspace.com profile (which is almost an obsolete social media platform now).What was your best experience as a model? Traveling around the world has to be the greatest reward of this career. I think Australia was my biggest job for DNA magazine and I loved every minute of it. But I still remember when I got my first magazine cover and what my reaction was when that happened. I think my reaction was jumping up and screaming with excitement Where do you see yourself in 5 years from today? Fat and eating candy bars! Just kidding. Currently I am in school in the pursuit of my Masters in Occupational Therapy, so I’ll hopefully be in a career utilising those skills in the future. Time to talk underwear! How often do you shop for underwear? I am completely obsessive compulsive when it comes to buying underwear. I must have fresh socks as well as underwear, so I am constantly purchasing. What is your favourite underwear style and colour? I love underwear that has a nice tight fit in blue, red, or white. Sounds a bit silly to ask this to an underwear brand owner but I have to! Do you have any favourite brands? Other than Philcity, my next “go to” brand is Calvin Klein. Thank you Philip! All the best of luck in everything you do!
The sister of celebrated fashion designer Kate Spade says she may have taken her own life because of a struggle with mental illness.Spade was found dead Tuesday in her New York apartment. In an e-mail her older sister, Reta Saffo, said she believed Spade suffered from bipolar disorder, writing, "It finally took its toll on her. A very tragic and sad ending to the life of a very colorful and delightful being." She also said that she "tried numerous times to get her help." A housekeeper found Spade hanging from a red scarf tied to a doorknob in her bedroom, according to police. Her husband Andy was home at the time. The designer left a suicide note addressed to her 13-year-old daughter, telling her it was not her fault, reports CBS News' Jericka Duncan.
Her family said in a statement, "We are all devastated...we loved Kate dearly and will miss her terribly." "The contents of that note as well as the physical state of the apartment and the comments of the witness lend to the credibility that it is an apparent suicide," NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said.
The 55-year-old became a fashion industry darling in the 1990s with a simple but whimsical style. She and her husband Andy built a fashion empire around her signature handbags, counting celebrities like actress Ellie Kemper among her clientele."She puts forth a sort of aspirational line, which I think 'Oh I want to be like that! I want to be chic and pulled together and a New York lady.' And then I can!" Kemper said of Spade back in February 2016. Spade stepped away from the limelight after selling her company in 2007, but she recently mounted a comeback. "I, personally, I don't know about Andy – took off a good nine years raising my daughter and absolutely adored every moment of it," Spade said last April. Police say she may have taken her own life because of money and marital problems. New York Fashion Week creator Fern Mallis, who knew Spade for nearly three decades, was shocked by her death. "She and Andy, they were a team. I mean they were adorable together," Mallis said. "And I just went 'What?'... The last person on earth you'd think would take her own life." Many of Spade's friends and famous clientele are sending tributes on social media. Her brother-in-law, David Spade, tweeted a picture of her at his book signing and said: "I love this pic of her. So pretty....Its a rough world out there people. Try to hang on."
Today, Katherine Noel Frances Valentine died in her apartment in Manhattan, having taken her own life. Few would know her by the name she chose for herself just last year (Kate Valentine), but the name she had abandoned — Kate Spade — is as revered and recognized as Jack Daniels or Estée Lauder. The name change copped to the fact that Kate Spade, the woman, had become nearly inextricable from Kate Spade, the fashion label. In fact, even diehard fans would be surprised to know that the brand actually came first. As such, it’s a twisted sort of irony that it will continue to live long after the woman is gone.
Kate Spade’s relationship with her own name has taken a roundabout path that might seem whimsical at first glance. When Kate first wanted to name the handbag line she was creating with her boyfriend Andy Spade in 1993, she went by Katherine Brosnahan. After rejecting names like 'Olive' and ‘Alex Noel,' Kate told The New York Times in 1999 she finally gave into her boyfriend’s suggestion to combine both their names. When they later married, Kate took Andy’s last name and finally became Kate Spade, too.
In the six years that Kate helmed her company, the Kate Spade brand had ballooned in clout and ubiquity, much in part to how special it felt to carry her bag compared to anything else. The specific contours of that name — kate spade (mind the lowercase) — was as much a part of the brand’s allure as the discreet, parcel-like nylon bag the tiny labels came on. After all, in a decade of logos and branding, Kate Spade handbags were among the first to feature absolutely nothing. For many of us who associated wealth and success with interlocking C’s, F’s and LV’s, to see the sublime blankness of a Kate Spade backpack or shoulder bag was like waking up from a boring dream. Once you learned about what to call it — and who was responsible — the name Kate Spade became one of the worst-kept Shibboleths of the ‘90s that also contained fashion’s greatest secret: that you could have taste without being snobby, that you could love fashion and not its frills, that you could be the kind of person who needs to keep their papers on their person, to bring your lunch with you, and to require the constant accessibility of a day-planner, but look goddamn chic doing it all. Indeed, a woman could be many things. And in fact, our “contradictions” were not so much quirks and whimsies but rather evidence that women have long outgrown their labels.
At first, Kate Spade was handsomely rewarded. In 1999, she sold 56% of the company to Neiman Marcus Group. She sold the rest of it in 2006 to Liz Claiborne Inc, which later changed its own name to Fifth & Pacific, and then finally to Kate Spade & Company. She got $124 million for the deal (a big part of which was the intellectual property rights within her name), but the company had performed a full body snatch. The phenomenal omnipresence of the name Kate Spade meant that it would be impossible to use her own name in any future projects. According to Julie Zerbo fromThe Fashion Law, courts have been strict in holding that individuals do not have unfettered rights to use their own names in commercial capacities.
After 2006, Kate disappeared from public life for a decade as the brand she founded continued to make waves in the industry without her. When she reemerged last year after a decade away, the first thing she did was announce that she was legally changing her name, a decision that seemed extreme, considering that her previous name conveyed so much. Even more disconcertingly, she told press that she was changing it to promote a new accessories line, Frances Valentine — a mash-up of names found in her family tree. Cobbled together from her uncle’s middle name and relatives on her dad’s side, Frances Valentine — and Kate Valentine along with it — would represent a new start. “It is significant that she completely rebranded to Frances Valentine that was completely devoid of her name,” says Zerbo. “It is very unlikely that on the heels of selling her eponymous label and its intellectual property rights, she would have legally been able to use her name even if it was just by saying ‘Frances Valentine by Kate Spade.’”
“It kind of makes [me] sound kind of cool, like a rap star or something,” she told Business of Fashion last year during a publicity blitz. “But we’re not trying to be cheeky or coy. It really was to distinguish the name, and separate the two worlds. Obviously we’re super proud of Kate Spade and we want to be respective of both.” The line received lots of good-faith press upon launch as attestation to the goodwill the industry had for Kate. But Frances Valentine never won even a sliver of the customers or acclaim that her first line received, even though its merits were largely the same (it was modern, minimal, colorful, whimsical). Without the Kate Spade moniker, Kate Valentine and Frances Valentine always seemed like an imposter, even though it was the real-deal.
Kate Spade’s brand was compelling, even as it grew and transformed without her in its zombiefied, corporatized version. But unfiltered and pure, Kate Spade's vision for the world was intoxicating. Every once in awhile, I liked to click throughTheSelby’s 2010 photo tour of the home she shared with her husband and daughter to reacquaint myself with her aesthetic world. With the initial windfall from the sale of her company, she and Andy Spade purchased a beautiful nine-bedroom apartment they filled with a mismatch of printed sofas, generations of family portraits, and dishes of chocolate eyeballs and candy cigarettes. It is grand but comfortable. Practical but performative. At the end of the slideshow is a handwritten note in which Kate was asked about to define what a good life was. She scribbled the answer confidently: “Family & Friends that are honest & loyal.”
Tellingly, Kate’s new company that she began, once again, with her business and life partner would take on no investors. A police source told The New York Post that they were looking into relationship problems. And while we’ll never fully grasp the intimate circumstances that led to her premature death (nor is it our right to know), a confluence of stressful and painful circumstances can exacerbate mental illness; if Kate’s Selby note was any indication, dishonesty and disloyalty in her personal life would be the ultimate betrayal. “Spade” was the name she chose as a wife, not only as a designer. “Spade” had already been rendered meaningless to her in one regard. Another challenge to that identity might have seriously complicated the good life she had defined and built for herself.
It is a testament to the power of her name — and the power of Kate Spade the woman — that nearly every publication has ignored the name that she chose for herself and is legally tied to: Kate Valentine. It is also a proof of the impact her original brand had onwomenthat it comes as a surprise to most people that Kate Spade had not been affiliated with the brand for a long time. Kate Spade New York (the design house owned by Kate Spade & Company, now owned by Tapestry) put out a statement that clarified the distance in the same breath it eulogized her life, rendering the latter as an afterthought: “Kate has not been affiliated with the brand for more than a decade, she and her husband and creative partner, Andy, were the founders of our beloved brand. Kate will be dearly missed.”
In that 1999 interview with The NYT, Kate reminisced about how she and Andy finally decided on the name. “Andy kept saying the whole time, 'Kate Spade, Kate Spade — listen to how it sounds,” she recounted.
Soap Opera Ratings Race: Good News For Three Soaps, SHOCKING News For One!
General Hospital General Hospital (GH) was the only soap to see falling numbers all around. The 55-year-old soap has been struggling with story of late, with many fans complaining that the Jason return fell flat, while the tale of Henrik Faison took over.
GH garnered 2,505,000 viewers on average overall, down 2,000 from the week before and 48,000 from the year before. While the drop from the week before was not steep, it still shows viewers losing interest.
The soap also lost ground in all three female demographics, dropping to number four with women 18-49 and 18-34.
Days of Our Lives Days of Our Lives (DOOL) continued the upswing it’s been enjoying all year, pulling in 2,283,000 viewers on average overall, up 28,000 from the previous week and 201,000 from the previous year.
DAYS also gained ground from the prior week and prior year with women 18-49 and 18-34.
The Young and the Restless The Young and the Restless (YR) remained in its number one spot, as per usual, garnering 4,169,000 viewers on average overall, up 106,000 from the week before and 6,000 from the year before.
However, it was not all good news for Y&R as it lost ground from the previous week and previous year in the female demos.
The Bold and the Beautiful Sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) saw the most gains, pulling in 3,500,000 viewers on average overall, up 180,000 from the prior week and a whopping 294,000 from the prior year.
Liam leaving Hope at the alter and Steffy going into labor certainly helped the soap’s numbers rise.
Mishael Morganis finally speaking out on her decision to depart The Young and the Restless. Last week, it was confirmed by Daytime Confidential the actress was leaving her role as Hilary Curtis. The Emmy-nominated phenom took to Instagram to reveal why she decided to vacate the scheming talk show host alter ego she's played for five years. Morgan stated: It is with a heavy heart that I announce my departure from The Young and The Restless. There were many factors that lead to this decision, but ultimately, five years just felt right to me. I feel blessed to have worked with some of the most talented, hardworking and fun-loving people in television. Thank you to the cast, the crew and everyone at Sony and CBS who made the past five years truly unforgettable. A special thanks to my partner in crime Bryton James, who always brought out the best in both me and Hil. Last but definitely not least, I want to thank all of my amazing fans who have supported me on this journey. Your gifts, love and kindness over the years (and days) have warmed my heart and fuelled my soul more than you could ever know. Although my adventure as Hilary Curtis is coming to an end, my work on screen is far from over. This may be a goodbye from Hilary, but I’ll just say “see you soon”.Love Always, Mishael
Pall was a member of the Jewish college fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi. In the spring of 2010 Pall graduated from NYU as senior class president with honors. Pall visited Israel several times and states that he is proud of his religion which makes him feel so much more in touch with his own spirituality.Pall is openly gay.
Pall's friend introduced him to the world of modeling by sending his images to the agencies.
Work with known photographer Tony Duran was his first break. He has been in several advertising campaigns, including those for Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, Modern Luxury, Hobbs and Kent, Diesel, Lacoste and others. Pall has done editorials for ApolloNovo Magazine, Glamoholic Magazine, Vanity Teen Magazine and others.
