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Fab Read: Fashion Game Book, Fashion History of the 20th Century

FabSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:00:08 -0800

The next time you and your girls are gathered, add fashion to the mix by bringing along this Fashion Game book: Fashion History of the 20th Century ($35) by Florence Muller. It's a fun little book filled with questions and answers, quizzes, and matching games. Test your, and your friends' knowledge on designers like Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen, and clothing from jeans to heels. If you have friends that think they know more about fashion than you, this is the perfect way to prove them wrong. Or right. Bring it on.

Fab Read: The Fashion Questionnaire

FabSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:00:08 -0700

There are so many questions I'd love to ask designers: "Beyond fashion, what are your other sources of inspiration?" and "What is your favorite decade in terms of fashion?" Because a face-to-face Q&A session is unlikely to happen in this lifetime, Michael Specter's The Fashion Questionnaire ($35) will come in quite handy.

Specter interviews 21 designers like Alber Elbaz (who has a self-portrait at the introduction of his section), Olivier Theyskens, and Diane von Furstenberg. The industry greats dish about their fashion motto, style icons, favorite color, and so on. It's like seeing into their world, minus the intimidating encounter.

Glitterati: Lee Angel

FabSugar — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:00:22 -0800

I just love it when a jewelry line inspires me to wear more bling. Lee Angel's bright baubles have that effect on me and it's plain to see why - they're fun, sophisticated, and would make any monochrome outfit pop. Designer Roxanne Assoulin definitely knows what she's doing; she's been in the business for over 18 years. Lee Angel is her diffusion line and based on a need for simplicity and the balancing of different roles in our lives. Amazon currently carries Lee Angel, which retails from $70 to $300.

To see more jewels from Lee Angel, read more

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Fab Read: Olivier Theyskens, The Other Side of the Picture

FabSugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:00:22 -0700

Olivier Theyskens may no longer be at Nina Ricci - major bummer - but that doesn't mean he's idle. The designer is penning a book - Olivier Theyskens: The Other Side of the Picture - to be published by Assouline. Come January, you will be able to experience the Belgian designer via decades worth of backstage photos documented by photographer Julien Claessens. I'm so looking forward to getting to know Olivier beyond the runway.

Fab Read: Ruffian, Inside Out

FabSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:50:00 -0700

Want to know how a book comes to fruition? Well, at least in Ruffian designers Brian Wolk and Claude Morais's case? Step one, bump into photographer Jamie Isaia at the National Arts Club: "We started talking and told her we loved her work and that we should do something creatively together. It became a one-year project, and she documented our creative process," according to Wolk. Next, meet Martine Assouline, co-founder and co-publisher of Assouline publishing house, and have her look at the 2,000 or so pictures Isaia took. Then, have Style.com executive editor Nicole Phelps agree to pen the book and voila!

Ruffian: Inside Out ($19) chronicles Ruffian's creative process for their Spring and Fall 2008 collections, from initial sketch through fabric research, to fittings and the runway show. The irony is that Wolk and Morais have less than a decade of experience yet already have a book. Impressive.

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Brian Reyes Talks Marble, Hints Handbags, and Designs During Hard Times

FabSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:00:08 -0800

Brian Reyes's clothes are undeniably pretty, but, as I discovered backstage at his Fall show, it's all in the details. I was able to closely examine the clothes, some smart separates, some intricately beaded dresses. But a wavy seam, slight cut-out, or asymmetrical contour provided more than meets the eye. This was a backstage that was pretty under control; the designer stopped to talk to me for a few minutes while hair and makeup was wrapping up. He was "giddy" minutes before showtime. Aside from the unraveling of the models and their stiletto Manolo Blahniks, the show proved a success. For the finale, the shoes were thrown into a heap on the ground and models enthusiastically walked on. Reyes's most famous fan, Rachel Bilson, seemed to think so too. I'll let the clothes speak for themselves, and Reyes speak for himself. Read on . . .

What inspired you this season?

"We wanted her to be sharp, tailored, glamorous, and sexy - very important. She’s a young girl, and we dress a lot of young girls, but we love that she’s growing with us so we want her to be a young lady. A young, elegant lady. But still with androgyny, still with the elements we love. The raw element, but maybe raw in the sharp cut of the line."

Tell me about your lingerie line?

"We incorporate it into our ready-to-wear. We have custom prints that really work well with this collection and we are injecting basic lingerie pieces in those prints. We have this tailored girl and she still needs to be feminine; it’s important to keep that alive in the collection."

For the rest and more runway photos, read more.

This is an interesting printed dress.

"Everything we have in this collection is custom to this girl, the shoes, the makeup, the hair. All the prints were custom developed and inspired by marble quarries. And marble also from around the world. It can be an interpretation of whoever's wearing it, it could be something that represents electricity, or represents an oxidized statue that’s beautiful. It’s really up to the wearer's interpretation."

Who do you see wearing your clothes?

"She’s worldly and every age. We dress young women in their twenties and thirties, and fifties and sixties; I love that we get to dress every woman. I think that’s so unique and special about our collection."

What other news can we expect from you this year?

"We collaborated with Roxanne Assoulin from Lee Angel, we’re selling the jewelry from this collection. The lingerie is very important. The bags are ours, we’re not launching a bag collection but we wanted something that was very special, it could be something to explore in the future."

How are you doing things differently given the current economic climate?

"We’re just being more cautious and intelligent. I think it forces you to be competitive and be competitive with yourself. It forces you to be more creative and that is exciting."

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Fab Read: American Fashion Accessories

FabSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:00:22 -0700

As the executive fashion director of Style.com, it's safe to say Candy Pratts Price knows a thing or two about accessories. Lucky for us, she's decided to put her years of expertise in one beautiful book, American Fashion Accessories ($32). This Assouline edition is filled with beautiful images of accessories, many of which were created from members of the CFDA.

Photos date from the early 1900s and range from witty Hollywood hats to Madonna’s rubber bracelets. It's more than a look book, it's pop history!

For a sneak peek inside the book, read more.

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