Coveting Cosmetic Bliss: Marc Jacobs, Chantecaille and Jason Wu x Lancôme

By: Tamara Arnew

MARC JACOBS BEAUTY, BLEECKER STREET
PHOTO CREDIT: GRAZIA UK

The side of beauty in the industry is heading to near cosmetic bliss with the opening of Marc Jacobs' flagship make-up devout retail store. The Bleecker Street location in Manhattan opened it's doors on Friday revealing a land of colour and Honey, the newest fragrance for the brand. The collection of Style Eye-Con palettes and channelling Edie Campbell beauty bag essentials have, in addition, been launched through Sephora and a number of the Marc Jacobs apparel stores. The beauty collection is silken sleek, differing from the enchanted packaging of the fragrance line, and furthers the finespun entanglement of the designer's growing multi-line brand. 

CHANTECAILLE WILD HORSES PALETTE
PHOTO CREDIT: STYLE.COM

New York nature and science beauty brand, Chantecaille, released their Fall 13' "Wild Horses" colour palette, donating a percentage of the product's sales to the Humane Society of the United States for preservation of the American wild horses. The palette marks continued trend-influential dedication to environmental causes for the company - joining "Coral Reefe", "Elephant", "Save The Sharks" and "Tiger In The Wild" palettes, each sending an awareness message through refillable, thematically embossed eye and cheek powders. 

LANCOME MAKEUP AT THE JASON WU FALL 2013 SHOW
PHOTO CREDIT: INTO THE GLOSS

Jason Wu will follow Alber Elbaz with a limited-edition collaborative collection for Lancôme to be released at New York Fashion Week in September. Wu's Fall/Winter '13 collection was accentuated by an enlightened choice in Lancôme's cosmetic styling, making the paired effort a highly anticipated launch. The cosmetic collection is expected to include fifteen pieces (including nail polish!) in signature dove grey casing that will become available at Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman in New York for a stint following Fashion Week. 

Sources: Style.Com, WWD, Fashion Gone Rogue, Into The Gloss, Grazia UK, Cosmetics Business.Com, Chantecaille.Com

Shoes Are The Thing Of The News: Manolo Blahnik, Club Monaco and The Vans Vault

By: Tamara Arnew

MANOLO BLAHNIK FOOTWEAR DESIGNER UPDATE
PHOTO CREDIT: STYLE.COM

Shoes have never, never just been the things of the moment (a footnote for the facts to follow - for most they are never too far from mind). Fall fashion weeks are approaching almost as quickly as the September Issues seem to have hit magazine racks and Manolo Blahnik has announced that, for the first time with a spot on the calendar, he will show his Spring 2014 collection in London. With the upcoming release of the Sarah Jessica Parker collaboration collection for the footwear designer, there’s a sense of endearment that comes above the coveting of heels with the brand’s endeavors and continued foothold in success. 

CLUB MONACO SHOE SHOP
PHOTO CREDIT: CLUB MONACO.COM

Another first, Club Monaco's debut collection of women's footwear online and in select US and Canadian stores. Handcrafted in Italy, with five initial styles available in a range of materials from printed calf hair to embossed leather, the collection is intended to convey contemporary dressing with the highly transitional quality of the retailer's aesthetic. The complete product offering can be seen under "The Latest: Shoe Shop" section of Club Monaco Online.

VAULT BY VANS 10TH ANNIVERSARY
PHOTO CREDIT: HIGH SNOBIETY.COM

And for those whose feet would rather avoid pumps for something more street-style grounded, the Van's Vault celebrated their 10th Anniversary. The Vault is an ongoing project of collaborative collections pulling from the skate and surf heritage style of the shoe and influenced by integral "off the wall" points of inspiration for the brand. The Vault will pay homage to the contributing thoughts of brands, artists and designers, releasing collections between July and December of this year with radically different viewpoints. The July collection features vintage prints designed with Disney in the 1980's on Classic "Originals", while August brings forward footwear channelling the WTAPS philosophy of "shape determining function with a sophisticated creed." (Vans Vault Fall 2013) 

Sources: Vault.Vans.com, High Snobiety, Club Monaco, Style.Com, WWD, Elle.com

Ekocycle: From Plastic Bottles to Clothing

By: Rebecca Taylor

PHOTO CREDIT: GREENERIDEAL.COM

Music artist will.i.am and the Coca-Cola Company have teamed up for a new sustainable revolution called Ekocycle. Ekocycle re-uses plastic bottles in order to make to make clothing and headphones. Ekocycle has teamed up with Beats by Dre headphones to bring their customers headphones made from 31% recycled materials. This idea is brilliant because plastic does not decompose when recycled and is therefore laying around with no purpose after its primary use.

LEVI'S WASTE<LESS JEANS
PHOTO CREDIT: LEVI.COM

Levi’s jeans has also taken advantage of this revolutionary initiative and has designed a pair of men’s jeans. The 501 Waste<Less Jean uses eight plastic bottles on average and is made from 29% recycled consumer materials. The jeans fit like any other pair of Levi’s jeans and comes in seven different washes. Price points range from $78 - $128.

ADIDAS' T-SHIRT DESIGN FOR EKOCYCLE
PHOTO CREDIT: ADIDAS.COM

Popular athletic wear company Adidas has also joined forces with Ekocycle by designing a limited edition men’s NBA T-shirt. The T-shirt is made using a combination of organic cotton and at least three recycled bottles. It retails for $36 and is a piece of clothing that you can feel good about purchasing.

Action sport apparel company RVCA has also teamed up with Ekocycle to create a pair of swim trunks made from 91% recycled polyester. There are approximately 5 plastic bottles in each swim trunk.

The best part about all of these clothes is that they can be recycled and remade into other things- it’s a beautiful eco-friendly cycle.

Sources: Ekocycle.com, RVCA.com, Addidas.com, Levi.com, Greenerideal.com

"& Other Stories" Collaborates With Alyson Fox

By: Tamara Arnew

PHOTO CREDIT: MARIE-CLAIRE UK

WWW.STORIES.COM

Hennes and Mauritz AB, better known as influential Swedish retail group H&M, launched brand “& Other Stories” in March 2013 with seven locations across Western Europe and an e-commerce website. The H&M entity focuses on the creative styling component of "inspiring fashion stories” through ready-to-wear. The aesthetic of the & Other Stories concept is design oriented in a way that focuses on the rising trend in consciousness of artistic product presentation and the selection of Pinterest enviable pieces.
 

PHOTO CREDIT: AND-OTHER-STORIES TUMBLR

The creative-collaborative component of the poetic take, on accessories, jewellery, lingerie and cosmetics, is there as well. On Thursday, the brand released their initially titled "Co-lab” with Alyson Fox, American illustrator and graphic/found object artist, who has previously worked with similarly aligned commercial companies West Elm, Of a Kind, Candy Store Collective and Verabel. 

PHOTO CREDIT: AND-OTHER-STORIES TUMBLR

The secondary and closer to Cheap Monday priced clothing, differentiates from the H&M product offering through it’s independent collective feel and a sense of well acquainted, stylized plainess. The collaborative effort with Fox has personal interest appeal. It recognizes an awareness of graphic design elements and the appreciation of her artistic point of view. Geometric blending of pattern and colour, featured in the collection, is rhythmical and sensitive to what is fundamentally pleasing to the eye.

PHOTO CREDIT: VOGUE

& Other Stories elaborates on the idea of what is considered to be a basic by creating new understanding of communicating symmetry with sincere personal style. It answers the question of what can be innovative about a simple triangle. And everything about it is balanced, artistic and pointed. 

Sources: & Other Stories, Vogue.com UK, Marie Claire UK, The Business of Fashion, AlysonFox.com