Canada's 'Fashion Santa' brings dapper cheer and charity

Being Santa is not just reserved for jolly men in red suits with pronounced bellies - now, a "Fashion Santa" is bringing sartorial cheer to Christmas.

 The stylish Santa is 51-year-old Toronto model Paul Mason, who is appearing at the city's Yorkdale Mall throughout the holiday season.

Every "selfie" taken with Mr Mason will raise funds for the Hospital for Sick Children, a Canadian charity.

 

 

"His crisp white beard, perfectly polished outfits and undeniable charm make him one of our favourite things about the season," the mall writes of "Fashion Santa" on its website. "While you can't add him to your Christmas list this season, he is always up for a selfie!"

For each picture with the hashtag YorkdaleFashionSanta, the mall will donate $1 to the foundation, up to $10,000 (£4,800) total.

According to the hashtag on Twitter, people are enjoying taking photos with "Fashion Santa", calling him "hot" and a "silver fox".

This Content was originally posted on : US & Canada

 

Well it is party season! Braless Kristen Stewart sparkles at the Chanel fashion show in a crystal-encrusted jacket and leather trousers

Kristen Stewart cast aside her typically tomboy garbs on Tuesday night and amped up the glamour.

Showing her support for the fashion brand that made her their muse, the brunette sparkled as she arrived at Chanel's annual Metiers d'Art Fashion Show at the Cinecitta in Rome, Italy.

The 25-year-old stepped out of the shadows in a crystal-encrusted jacket, under which she daringly went braless, and added a bold pair of trousers to the look.

Not only was she drawing attention to herself with dazzling diamanté details, but the Twilight actress revealed a daring portion of her bare chest as the jacket fastened with a simple bow at the navel.

She teased a glimpse at her chest with a lock pendant that hung low and made sure that her striking features were also on show when she scraped her hair back hair.

Kristen's tresses appeared to have grown out over night as she sampled a longer-hair look - a departure from her low-fuss shoulder length style - and wore a long faux ponytail over one shoulder.

Stepping out of the shadows: The characteristically dressed down actress stepped out of the shadows with sparkle

The actress perched on the front row, poised for Karl Lagerfeld's fashion show, and smouldered with her eyes squinted and, characteristically, no smile to speak of.

Kristen crossed her legs in wide-legged leather trousers, revealing a pair of heels from beneath, which were low, classic and elegant.

Snow White & The Huntsman star Kristen has been a Chanel brand ambassador since 2013 and made her debut with 2014's Metier d'art Paris Dallas collection having successfully channeled her skills on the big screen into modelling.

Pose perfect: The brunette makes her return as the face of the 2015/16 collection

This year though, the brunette is turning her talents to portraying Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel herself in a new short film for the fashion house.

Entitled Once And Forever, the short sees Kristen unveil 'the real Coco,' i.e: 'her youth, her lovers, her beauty,' according to head designer Karl.

This Content was originally posted on: Becky Freeth for MailOnline

Caitlyn Jenner 'will attend Victoria's Secret Fashion Show' to support daughter Kendall's first walk for lingerie brand

She said she would always be there for her children after going through her gender transition earlier this year.

And Caitlyn Jenner stayed true to her word as it's been revealed the reality star will be supporting daughter Kendall Jenner, 20, as she stars in her first ever Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

ET Online has confirmed that the father-of-six will be attending the annual lingerie extravaganza in New York next week to watch the model strut her stuff.

Kendall will be walking the event when it is filmed on November 9 and 10. It will then air on CBS on December 8.

The KUWTK star - who has walked for designers such as Chanel, Balmain and Diane Von Furstenberg - will be joined by her BFF Gigi Hadid, 20, who was seen in an audition clip last week shared by the lingerie brand.

Selena Gomez, The Weeknd, and Ellie Goulding - who reportedly stepped in after Rihanna backed out at the last minute - will also perform at the annual event.  

Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima are back for the brand, too, marking the sixteenth show for each model, who first joined the sexy catwalk in 2000. 

Veterans Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, and Lily Aldridge are also walking, while Lily gets the special honor of modeling this year's $2 million Fantasy Bra.

There will also be ten models making their official Angel debut this year.

The show will also see the return of a few non-Angel models who have appeared at the event in the past, like Joan Smalls - who has walked in the show four times before - and PINK spokesmodel Rachel Hilbert.  

She's in: Kendall's pal Gigi Hadid will also be making her first VS Fashion show appearance and was seen auditioning in an Instagram clip from the lingerie maker last week 

Meanwhile proud parent Caitlyn shared a childhood snap of Kendall on Tuesday to celebrate her 20th birthday.

In the sepia filtered image a be-freckled Kendall beams a toothless grin.

Caitlyn wrote alongside the snap: 'Can't believe my toothless little girl is so beautiful and 20 years old. Daddy loves you! @KendallJenner'

This Content was originally posted on: Dailymail

Sweden's 'hijabista': Selling Muslim fashion

Stockholm, Sweden - In the last few weeks the Swedish fashion brand Hennes & Mauritz, known globally as H&M, has made headlines for featuring a Muslim woman in hijab in their 2015 fall collection campaign video.

They are not the only Swedish retailers to have done so. Ahlens department store also featured Muslim women in hijab in their 2015 fall campaign.

Both drew praise. But there was also criticism, with some accusing the retailers of "normalising the hijab and supporting the oppression of women".

This kind of sentiment is all too familiar to Iman Aldebe, a Muslim designer who was born in Sweden to Jordanian parents.

Many of her designs feature haute couture turbans that are sold in exclusive department stores in Sweden, Paris, New York and Dubai.

The imam's daughter

But getting here hasn't been easy. As the daughter of a recently retired imam, Aldebe grew up in a religious Muslim family in Stockholm, where, in the early 1990s, the only place to worship was a mosque in a basement that doubled up as a community centre.

Muslims from all over the country would come to the capital to worship there, to buy religious books and halal food and to learn the Quran. For a few hours at the weekends or during the holidays, the people who gathered there felt the acceptance that came from being around those who shared their beliefs.
And, in such circles, there were clear expectations for how an Imam’s daughter ought to look and behave.

"I started wearing hijab when I was six," explains the 30-year-old designer. "Growing up, I was always monitored. Wearing makeup and anything that differed from [what] the [rest of the Muslim] community [wore] was not acceptable."
 
"I felt that I had so much responsibility and a certain role I had to live up to," she reflects.

But an interest in fashion always bubbled beneath the surface.

"I remember while growing up how I used to dislike the way my mum and her friends had the same uniform, colourless headscarves. They also used to wear the same style of A-line coat – it was the only thing available [in the shops] at the time that was deemed modest," Aldebe explains.

She began studying fashion design in high school when she was 16-years-old and quickly realised that there was an entrepreneurial side to her passion for crafting clothes. She started creating graduation and wedding outfits that were fashion-forward but still modest.

"I started with small orders for my immediate circle of friends and family," she says.

Aldebe went to university to study journalism and law, but a year into her studies she decided to take a gap year.

Re-imagining the hijab

That year proved valuable; teaching her much about how the real world of retail worked. But it also gave Aldebe her first taste of anti-hijab discrimination.

She remembers seeing an ad outside a boutique that was looking to recruit a sales person.

According to a 2014-2015 report by Thomson Reuters, Muslims globally spent $266bn on clothing and footwear in 2013 and that number is expected to rise to $484bn by 2019.



"When I went inside to query about the position I was told that it had already been taken," she says.

"I had a feeling they were not genuine so I sent in my friend, who was not wearing hijab. When she asked about the position, they asked her how soon she could start," she sighs.

There was also the time when she tried to find retail work via the job centre, and was told by the person handling her case that religion doesn’t belong in the workplace.

"That person also told me that it was probably better for me to take off my hijab," she remembers.

Feeling disappointed but determined, Aldebe returned to university. She graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism and law in 2012.

Eventually she got a part-time job in a boutique – but first she made some adjustments to the way she wore her headscarf.

"I decided to change [the way I wore it], from wrapping it around my face to tying it all at the back like a traditional African head wrap. I went to the interview and I was accepted."

She recalls how customers would complement her on how "cool" it looked.

I felt that I could make some changes that wouldn’t compromise my beliefs and would be acceptable both within my religion and within Swedish society," she says.

In 2006, Aldebe appeared, along with some other Muslim designers, on Sweden’s TV4 morning magazine show to discuss styles of hijab.

"Following that segment, Aftonbladet, a leading Swedish newspaper, reached out to Swedish department stores and asked if they would consider selling headscarves and catering to Muslim fashion," Aldebe explains.

The answer, they told her, was no.

Aldebe began to think more seriously about the concept of modernising Muslim fashion. She felt certain that these stores would change their opinion once they realised how much of an untapped market Muslim women wear was. She started to set up her "modest" fashion business.

Filling a gap

"It's interesting to see how some of these stores that refused to sell hijab years ago are now embracing it and capitalising on Muslim fashion," she says.

And it is a fast-growing market. According to a 2014-2015 report by Thomson Reuters, Muslims globally spent $266bn on clothing and footwear in 2013 and that number is expected to rise to $484bn by 2019.

With millions of potential Muslim consumers worldwide, brands like Mango and DKNY have released lines specifically catering to the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset and family and social gatherings are more common.

Aldebe recognised this huge gap in the market. By observing her customers, she noticed that many wanted to be able to buy ready-styled headscarves. That was where the idea of the turban came from. She now has a "Happy Turban" line, where every headpiece is unique. It has proven popular among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. 

But she doesn't just style turbans and headscarves, she explains. "I also design clothes that are suitable for Muslim fashionistas," she says.

That, however, hasn’t always been well received. "It took years before people would start to accept what I was doing."

She recalls the criticism she faced when she first started modernising Muslim fashion in 2001. Her critics came from two usually opposed groups – Muslims and Swedish nationalists.

This Content was originally posted on: Al Jazeera

Halloween-inspired fashion for this year's spooky season

DAY OF THE DEAD Dark and glamourous, this Mexican-inspired theme is flower-child-meets-zombie. Complete the look with liquid eyeliner and a lustrous red lip, or go for full "candy skull" make up made easy with this stick-on Face Lace, $50.31, from ASOS. Hair garland $26.41, velvet choker $10.96, Glamourous lace top $57.01, fingerless gloves $15.35, jewelled heels $87.71, all from ASOS; tulle midi skirt, $55 from Boohoo. 

Ellery follows in Collette Dinnigan's footsteps at Paris Fashion Week

Kym Ellery made history on Tuesday, and inched nearer to her dream of becoming a global fashion force with her first on-schedule Paris Fashion Week show at the uberchic Palais de Tokyo.

"This is absolutely the best of the best," said the relieved designer afterwards. She was en route to a celebratory flute of champagne with friends, followed by plans for an afternoon of boxing training.

Ellery's audience of 300-odd international editors, buyers, journalists and bloggers - "So many amazing people" - had presented their post-show congrats and kisses and were drifting away to Chanel, the next stop on the PFW programme.

Ellery's spring/summer 2016 collection of smooth-drop "curtain" panelled dresses and co-ordinates with flat straps, drawstring fastenings, deeply ruffled sugar-bag gathers and fist-sized eyelet and zip features, was inspired by French artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude who "wrapped" of two kilometres of Sydney's coastline in white fabric in 1969.  "I really looked at that artwork and adapted the idea to wrapping the female form," Ellery said. "But I also really looked at the silhouettes that have been the Ellery DNA."

The mix of suiting for tailored pieces, crepe for fluidity and a remarkable metal-based fabric Ellery says, "reminds me of the ocean at night" and which she could, "manipulate like alfoil," was a calm, uncompromisingly moderne collection. Most importantly, in the context of her show, styled by friend Ludivine Poiblanc, it was worthy of her new Parisian peers including some of the world's most influential fashion houses; Chanel, Dior, Vuitton, Margiela, Chloe. Now Ellery. "I'm so thrilled and honoured," she said. "Here among some houses that have been around for a hundred years..."

Ellery has shown off-schedule in Paris for four seasons and is only the third Australian designer, behind Collette Dinnigan and Martin Grant, given the nod by PFW's formidable gatekeeper, (the Federation Francaise de la Couture du Pret-a-Porter des Couturiers at des Createurs de Mode), to move her show on to its official programme.

The stamp of approval works like a red rag to the buyers, stylists and media swarming into Paris for fashion week. "We've picked up some amazing new stores," Ellery confirmed. Her stockist list includes top stores across Europe, the US and Asia (L'eclaireur in Paris, Dover Street Market in London, Net-A-Porter, Lane Crawford in Beijing and exclusively, David Jones in Australia, among them). Now, the list is growing at a rate of knots.

Ellery is Perth-born, the daughter of a long-haul truck driver and artistic mother. She launched in 2007 when she was 23, graduate of a TAFE fashion course and one summer at possibly the world's coolest fashion school, Central St. Martins in London. Another four years at RUSSH magazine, where she worked her way up from receptionist to jack-of-all-trades, and Ellery had banked all the industry knowledge she needed to write a global plan for her fledgling brand.

And so she did. Her first collection was a revelation of new twists including explorations of 1960s bell-bottoms, exaggerated to roll and slap elegantly around her models' ankles. More recently, she revisited those bell shapes and languid volumes, pushing them into a striking signature aesthetic; part fluid, part strictly tailored, often in fleshy, technical fabrics she developed herself to sculpt new silhouettes around the body.

During this historic week for Aussies in Paris, Ellery was also the star of an unusually large contingent of Australian brands. Akira Isogawa, Toni Maticevski, Aurelio Costarella, Christopher Esber, Camilla and Marc, Strateas.Carlucci were among them, running showrooms and back-to-back, morning-to-midnight buyer and media appointments in a mix of ritzy-cool backstreet venues and swank hotel suites.

"Paris is vital," explained Akira Isogawa, a veteran of Paris Fashion Week, twice a year, since 1998. "Commercially, and creatively, it is vital to come because the buyers won't travel to Australia." The internet has changed fashion buying habits, he said, but nothing can replace the meeting, greeting, and then walking out into the Paris night, seething with fashionable people.  "Paris is…so inspiring."

This Content was originally posted on: Janice Breen Burns

Ralph Lauren, Creator of Fashion Empire, Is Stepping Down as C.E.O

Ralph Lauren, the quintessential American designer who built a fashion empire based on sweeping fantasies of country-club prep and the Wild West, is stepping down from his post as chief executive of the company.

Taking the helm at Ralph Lauren is Stefan Larsson, a former H&M executive and president of Old Navy, Gap’s down-market brand, which he is credited with reviving. Old Navy has consistently been one of the few bright spots in Gap’s brand portfolio since Mr. Larsson, who is Swedish, took over in 2012, making him one of the most visible executives in retailing.
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The change may be viewed as a move by Ralph Lauren to get its financial house in order. Earnings at the upscale apparel company, known for its Polo brand, have been pressured by a strong dollar and intense competition in the luxury space. Its latest quarterly earnings of $1.09 a share topped analyst estimates, but revenue dipped 5.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. The company’s share price has slumped by almost half this year.

In an interview, Mr. Lauren, 75, said he intended to remain active at the company he founded almost a half-century ago in roles as executive chairman and chief creative officer. Mr. Larsson will report to Mr. Lauren, though Mr. Lauren characterized their relationship as a “partnership.”

“When they start designing things I can’t understand, I’ll quit,” Mr. Lauren said, sitting with Mr. Larsson at his side at his offices on Madison Avenue, adorned with the rustic paraphernalia — a tin toy robot, cowboy boots — that Ralph Lauren’s stores have come to be known for.

“But I don’t feel like I’m stepping back now,” Mr. Lauren said.

Still, Mr. Larsson’s appointment is the start of a succession at one of America’s best-known fashion houses, which, together with the likes of Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, helped put American style on the map.

And it is the coming end of a golden era of American postwar designers: Ms. Karan stepped down from the helm of the house that bears her name this year; Mr. Klein stepped away from his namesake company in 2002.

Mr. Larsson, 41, will take over as chief executive of the Ralph Lauren Corporation in November, and will also join the company’s board.

“One of the biggest reasons for me to join is the opportunity to work side by side with someone like Ralph,” Mr. Larsson said.

Most successful fashion brands are stories of two partners — Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, Calvin Klein and Barry Schwartz, Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti, even Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti. (Mr. Armani took over as chief executive after Mr. Galeotti died.)

Mr. Lauren was the rare designer who could do both. Previously, he had a “partner” in Roger Farah, former chief operating officer and president who retired in 2013. Mr. Farah was succeeded by Jackwyn Nemerov, another respected executive whose tenure nevertheless coincided with sluggish sales, despite steep promotions.

But Mr. Lauren’s decision to award Mr. Larsson the title of chief executive indicates that he, at least, feels it is still important to separate the roles and have a professional manager running the brand and reassuring Wall Street. Mr. Lauren is still the largest individual shareholder in his company, and is likely to have a hand in any major decisions.

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Investors cheered the move, sending the stock as much as 5 percent higher in after-hours trading. The question of who might succeed Mr. Lauren after 48 years at the company’s helm had cast uncertainty over plans for the future. Mr. Lauren’s son, David, is on the board of directors and heads the company’s advertising and marketing divisions.

Asked on Tuesday whether Mr. Larsson would be a good successor, Mr. Lauren replied, “I would say so.”

Still, an appointment of a new chief executive from outside the company surprised some industry experts.

“Ralph Lauren has been a poster child of stability and has historically grown talent from within,” said William Susman, managing director at Threadstone Partners, an advisory firm that focuses on the retail sector. “Bringing in Stefan must be a reflection of the need for new thinking.”

Ralph Lauren would benefit from change, experts say. Mr. Lauren’s most recent show at New York Fashion Week was an ode to Americans in Biarritz, with his signature perfect leather tailoring, blue and white evening gowns, and stars in the front row (Jessica Chastain, Julianne Moore). But his brand has a typical luxury pyramid structure, the model for both Calvin Klein and Michael Kors, with luxury at the pinnacle casting an aspirational halo over the more accessible Polo Ralph Lauren line. Factory stores below that form the bulk of the profits.

Given Mr. Larsson’s track record in “fast fashion,” the question is whether the company will now take a different tack. Recent moves at the company, like separating out its luxury business, hiring the luxury executive Valerie Hermann and opening a lavish private members’ club in Milan, had suggested a stronger focus on luxury at the apparel company.

Mr. Larsson has made his name in budget-conscious mass-retailing, first at H&M and then at Old Navy. Though even at those mass brands, Mr. Larsson’s success, experts say, has been built on fostering a level of attention to design that sellers of low-end, family-oriented apparel had previously not put into their wares.

Whether or not changes lie ahead for the company, it is a big moment for a fashion house that Mr. Lauren began in the streets of New York, selling ties out of rented drawer space in a closet of an office in the Empire State Building. Now, on top of its men’s and women’s clothing lines, Ralph Lauren has a foothold, through licensing, in everything from cosmetics to leather goods, to footwear and eyeglass frames. The company logged sales of $7.6 billion in its last fiscal year.

Mr. Lauren’s success has made him a rich man. Though he remains a top shareholder, Mr. Lauren has sold off parts of his stake over the years. Just last week, he sold 50,000 Ralph Lauren shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, worth some $5.6 million.

Mr. Susman of Threadstone said that Ralph Lauren clearly wanted to incorporate some elements of fast fashion, given Mr. Larsson’s success in that arena. Mr. Larsson will also help Ralph Lauren bolster its international presence, which has become critical as the United States market has become saturated, Mr. Susman said.

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But he said that he did not expect Ralph Lauren to step away from building up the luxury side of the business.

“I don’t envision that would change,” he said. “And they still have Ralph Lauren to handle it.”

Mr. Lauren spoke of the unlikely match between his world of aspirational luxury, and that of Mr. Larsson’s, in mass retailing. A Ralph Lauren board member had spoken gushingly about a rising star in fashion, and recommended Mr. Lauren meet him.

“So I said, ‘Where’s he from?’ And they told me: ‘Old Navy and H&M.’ I said: ‘Why would I be looking for that? We’re building a great luxury company.’ ”

Even as the two met for a private dinner in New York, Mr. Lauren said, “I was thinking to myself: ‘Why am I here? It’s a waste of time.’ ”

That feeling of initial unease was mutual, Mr. Larsson said. “I was hesitating. Why was he interested in speaking with me?” Mr. Larsson said.

But the two hit it off.

“I interviewed lots of people who were in luxury. But Stefan has a great quality that made me say: ‘You can be my new C.E.O.,’ ” he said. “He’s unique as a man, a man who’s capable of building businesses and growing companies, but at the same time he’s sensitive to people’s feelings.”

And was there really something that Ralph Lauren could learn from H&M or Old Navy?

This Content was originally posted on: HIROKO TABUCHI