NY Fashion Week in Black and White

Now the Fall 2011/12 shows are over, lots of articles are being written about what we’ll be wearing in 6 months time. This isn’t one of those articles; we’ll do a trend report later in the year. It makes us sad to think about Winter when Spring has barely begun.

An article on jezebel.com caught our eye as it detailed how racially diverse NYFW was. Some bright spark over there got the abacus out and counted up how many black, white, Asian and Latina models were used and by which designer. Made for an interesting read.

Melodie Monrose at 3.1 Phillip Lim

In a nutshell the just ended New York Fashion Week (NYFW) featured the least racially diverse cast of models since 2008. NYFW featured 137 designer runway shows and presentations and 5,269 different outfits were presented. Of those, over 84% were modelled by white women. Black models were used 384 times, Asian models 323 times and non-white Latina models 79 times.

Hereith Paul at Diane von Furstenberg

Designers who cast diverse models included 3.1 Phillip Lim, Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Prabal Gurung, Proenza Schouler and Ralph Lauren.

And those that didn’t? The list is too long but it included Donna Karan, Hervé Leger by Max Azria, Jill Stuart, Rodarte and Vera Wang.

NYFW most frequently booked Asian models were Liu Wen and Fei Fei Sun who each worked 18 shows; Ming Xi who took part in 15 and So Young Kang and Tao Okamoto who each walked in 13.




NYFW most popular black model was Joan Smalls who walked in 17 shows. Brits Nyasha Matonhodze and Jourdan Dunn tied with 14 shows each. Dunn was the only non-white model to walk for Calvin Klein.

Read the full report here.

Some online magazine readers are saying they will boycott the designers who didn’t feature anyone of colour. Will you?

Paris Love Affair

Paris Fashion Week started yesterday and just as we begin loving all things French (which isn't hard), magazine French Revue de Modes - available exclusively at Colette - puts some of our favourite girls on the cover.

Betty Adewole

With 14 different covers to drool over, we pick our favourites over the page.

Melodie Monrose

Xiao

Noemie Lenoir

The Black Allure - Vogue Italia

Wow – we are almost speechless. Hunt down the latest issue of Italian Vogue (try large WHS stores) for a simply gorgeous spread featuring some of the hottest black women we have ever seen.

Think Ajak Deng, Arlenis Sosa, Chanel Iman, Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, Melodie Monrose, Rose Cordero - and that’s not everyone.

Shot by Emma Summerton and styled by Edward Enninful, the ladies have a kinda old school 1920's thing going on.

Stunning! Stunning! Stunning!

More shoots like this please!

Melodie Monrose in Interview Magazine

Melodie Monrose models key looks for Spring/Summer 2011 in Interview Magazine.  The editorial was shot by Solve Sundsbo and styled by Ludivine Poiblanc.

White, cream and beige are big for Spring. Looks good but might mean an expensive dry cleaning bill!

Hair - Are You Ultra Sleek or Messy Chic?

Two key looks that emerged from the catwalks this season were ‘ultra sleek’ and ‘messy chic’. The look can be applied to a variety of hairstyles.

Long hair
The sleek look is very flattering on square and round faces. Blow dry your hair with the comb extension on the dryer and/or with a round brush. Use irons to straighten small sections at a time ensuring you use a protective serum. We like Paul Mitchell Gloss Drops  and Aveda’s Smooth Infusion Glossing Straightner as they don’t weigh down the hair. To be very on-trend, part your hair down the middle.

Chanel Iman at Gucci

For the messy chic look, it might be easier to use extensions if you don’t want to damage your own hair. Use a volumising spray on damp hair, twist random pieces and leave to dry naturally.

Jourdan Dunn at Emilio Pucci

Hair up
The sleek look is easy and you probably wear your hair like this anyway. Pull into a low pony leaving the ends inside the hair band and use a gel or hairspray to tame any flyaways. Job done!

Melodie Monrose at Gucci

The messy version is just as simple. Use a texturing spray to create a little interest, pull into a pony at the crown and leave a few random ends free. If it’s a little too messy, pin some of the ends into loops.

Chanel Iman at D&G

Braids
Pull into a sleek low pony and plait the ends into a fishtail braid. There’s a very handy video here that gives a step by step guide.

For the messy chic look, sweep hair to one side, plait the stretched out sides and pull out the ends for a scruffy finish.

New Vision, New Faces, New Fashion

V Magazine highlights some of the industry’s up and coming models, shot by famed  fashion photographers Daniele and Iango.

Ajak Deng

Some of the nine fresh faces included Fei Fei Sun, Ajak Deng, Melodie Monrose and Ming Xi wearing Chanel, Sonia Rykiel, Gucci and others in the beautiful black and white portraits.

Ming Xi

Melodie Monrose

Fei Fei Sun