ETRO F/W 2015 Now at Buckhead Atlanta

No one does pattern like Etro. No one does print, color and texture like Etro. And no one combines them more harmoniously than Etro. [With a mimosa in hand] I was thrilled to preview the Fall 2015 menswear and womenswear collections at Etro's lavish location at Buckhead Atlanta. There is an inherent richness and luxury to the Etro brand that is so prevalent in Fall 2015 which goes beyond the visual, welcoming the tactile. Visually, in both the men's and women's collections, there exists a vibrancy of color and pattern that through closer inspection, by holding the cloth in your hand, offers equal excitement, appreciation and luxury. The detailing is absolutely outstanding. There is a women's coat for example, with 100 pieces of hand-stitched patchwork and took about eighty hours to produce. The hand-painted velvets for men are exquisite. And the snakeskin women's boots are an absolute must-have!

Etro embraced their textile roots with Fall 2015. Their use of interior textiles, tapestries and carpet motifs was brilliant. The combination of these fabrics are strategic and masterful. Yes, there is a lot happening and Etro called it "controlled maximalism." I call it elegant and sophisticated.

The women's collection has a chic 70's vibe to it, but like their menswear, "retro" is always interpreted in a modern way. [Like the men's tweed jogger! I need it.] There are so many showstoppers. Many of the pieces at Etro Buckhead Atlanta are straight off the Milan runway. Etro is for the style-savvy fashionista or fashionado who loves to wear beautiful clothes. And shoes. And accessories.

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Top 10 Independent Fashion Weeks Not Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz

1. FASHIONCLASH

2. Berlin Alternative Fashion Week

3. Brighton Fashion Week

4. Vancouver Fashion Week

5. Fashion Week Brooklyn

6. Serbia Fashion Week

7. Copenhagen Fashion Week

8. Africa Fashion Week

9. Melbourne Fashion Week

10. VFILES Made Fashion

The energy surrounding Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City is always very exciting. Many have referred to MBFW / NYFW as a big fashion circus with as much of a style show on the street as on the runway. As we are just days away from fashion week, I'd like to share with you  a list of ten of the best fashion weeks from around the world that are NOT sponsored by Mercedes-Benz. Imagine that... Hey, I love MBFW as much as the next guy but they're not the only "ride" in town. After all, fashion loves options... See list below:

1. FASHIONCLASH

As an international and interdisciplinary platform, FASHIONCLASH organizes a variety of events and projects to showcase the work of new generations of designers and artists. The main event is the FASHIONCLASH Festival, an annual international fashion festival that features emerging talent from a range of disciplines.

2. BERLIN ALTERNATIVE FASHION WEEK

Berlin Alternative Fashion Week is a platform showcasing the rise of alternative concepts in fashion. With a weeklong program of shows and marketplaces, it aims to promote influential, genre-breaking innovators and connect them with established contemporaries in the fields of fashion, music, and art in a context that isn’t constrained or dominated by big brands and labels.

3. BRIGHTON FASHION WEEK

Brighton Fashion Week was born by serendipitous necessity, the need to give voice to the creative individuals that are taking control of their creativity, their work, their output, and their vision. Working with and not for designers, Brighton Fashion Week has for 10 years offered a platform for designers, artists, costumers, and explorers the opportunity to showcase their talents.

4. VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK

For an outstanding 25 seasons, Vancouver Fashion Week has brought emerging talent from around the world to their runway. Diversity and multiculturalism are celebrated in the heart of the bi-annual fashion shows. By providing an accessible platform to designers, buyers, media, and industry professionals, VFW leads its participants on a path to success in the world of fashion.

5. FASHION WEEK BROOKLYN

Founded by the non-profit BK|Style Foundation, Fashion Week Brooklyn puts on a bi-annual show featuring designers from around the world. FW|BW goes beyond fashion to support and raise awareness for social issues like human rights, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and community development. Proceeds from each season support charitable organizations.

6. SERBIA FASHION WEEK

Serbia Fashion Week is the country’s leading voice in international fashion. With partnership agreements from 16 European countries, Serbian designers are able to showcase their work across the continent in fashion shows, educational workshops, exhibitions, and competitions for students studying fashion. SFW encourages the exchange of ideas, creativity, and talent across borders.

7. COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK

Copenhagen Fashion Week is the largest fashion event in the Nordic Region. With its mix of Danish and international talent, the shows attract an enormous number of designers, buyers, and press from around the world. Every February and August, Copenhagen Fashion Week fills its catwalks and trade fairs with a diverse array of progressive fashion brands.

8. AFRICA FASHION WEEK

Showcasing contemporary design from countries across Africa, Africa Fashion Week aims to foster economic cooperation between nations around the world while simultaneously promoting African designers and brands. Founded by New York public relations and communications firm Adiree in 2009, Africa Fashion Week puts on shows in fashion capitals like New York, London, Paris, Milan, Berlin, and Tokyo to expose the African fashion industry.

9. MELBOURNE FASHION WEEK

With a weeklong program of world-class runway shows, workshops, seminars, forums, and live entertainment, Melbourne Fashion Week offers both up-and-coming and established designers in Australia the opportunity to make their work known to the world. The Melbourne Fashion Festival will celebrate its 20th edition next March.

10. VFILES MADE FASHION

A crowd-sourced runway show, VFILES MADE FASHION offers young talents in the fashion world the opportunity to show their work on runways like New York Fashion Week. VFILES is an online community that enables all those involved in the fashion world, from designers to photographers and stylists to fashion fans, to get exposure digitally and on the runway.

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VIDEO: Jeffrey Fashion Cares 2015

"We try to bring Paris, Milan, New York..." Jeffrey Kalinsky.

The only thing more epic than celebrating 25 amazing years of Jeffrey Atlanta at Phipps Plaza was the incredible runway fashion at the 23rd Annual Jeffrey Fashion Cares on Monday August 31st. "We try to bring Paris, Milan, New York..." [to Atlanta] said Jeffrey Kalinsky and from the caliber of labels and looks I'd say he did just that! Jeffrey carefully curates the collection to achieve a perfect balance of classic, chic, modern and edgier looks for the runway. There are always plenty of show-stoppers as you'll see in the video.

Relive the fashion and hear what Jeffrey has to say in my video coverage from Monday night's event.

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Fashion Moves: So You Think You Can Dance Episode 15

Cat Deeley

Dress: Dries Van Noten 

Shoes: Givenchy  

Jewelry: XIV Karats

Nigel Lythgoe

Blazer: Tallia Orange

Shirt and tie: Tom Ford 

Pants: Ralph Lauren Black Label

Shoes: Max Verre

Styled by Miles Siggins

Paula Abdul

Dress: Greta Constantine

Shoes: Charlotte Olympia

Earring and bracelet: XIV Karats

Rings: Shay

Stephen “tWitch” Boss

Sweater: Ted Baker

Shoes: Jordan Retro 1

Pants: G-Star

Watch: Kenneth Cole

Hat: Baron Hats

Travis Wall

Shirt/suit/shoes: Moods of Norway

Tie: Penguin 

Watch: Citizen

Earrings: Joey Dem

Everyone continues to step up their style on So You Think You Can Dance. Paula Abdul was sexy in a body hugging yellow dress and tWitch was cool in a blue Ted baker v-neck sweater. Nigel and Travis wear suits well and they know it. My fave this week goes to Cat Deeley in her Dries Van Noten ensemble and those killer Givenchy shoes!! The dresses' floral pattern said "nice" but those heels said "naughty!"  

“So You Think You Can Dance” airs Mondays at 8/7C on FOX with host Cat Deeley, judges Nigel Lythgoe, Paula Abdul and Jason Derulo, and mentors Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Travis Wall. Photos: FOX/Adam Rose

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Getting the Best Fashion Show Pictures without a Press Pass

No matter if you’re a blogger, an intern or launching your own fashion brand, the more pictures you can take, the better, right? Fashion shows are notorious for showcasing incredible theater that is moving, memorable and painfully hard to shoot. Overhead lighting, sweaty dressing rooms and the blur of a million other flashes can make even your best-laid plans for snapping a few fantastic shots impossible. But don’t let the fashion police fool you: not only can you go to fashion shows, you can get some great pics that you’ll own the rights to for use down the road.

Wear the Right Outfit

No matter how cute your little lazy day sundress is or how much you really don’t want to put on pants, remember that so many people would kill for the opportunity to be part of such a lucrative and creative industry, so dress accordingly. You should have elements of the cutting edge of fashion mixed unexpectedly with wardrobe staples that do not have to be expensive. But they do have to fit like a glove. Check your local Goodwill and find a good seamstress for the occasional alteration. The beauty in wearing vintage is you know that no one else will be wearing the same. For a dressier event, consider Rent the Runway.

Bring the Best Camera

Even your most vintage, hipster-looking camera is most likely not allowed without a press pass. If you don’t have one, make sure you have the best phone possible for taking the highest resolution pics possible. Samsung phones — both the Galaxy Note 5 or S6 Edge — have a 16 megapixel camera allowing you to zoom in and see couture details no matter how many rows back your seats are.

Beat the Blur with Video Effects

Go slow motion with your favorite look of the night or the final walk for a refreshing alternative to blurry action shots. Slow motion is especially awesome when the garment incorporates a lot of movement or is very structured. The Galaxy S6 is killing the fast action game right now too with a downloadable sports setting that is aimed to give you less blur and more Burberry in live-action shots.

Don’t Borrow for Your Blog

Be super careful when posting pics of the event. Resist the urge to borrow better pics from social media especially to avoid serious fines down the line. Even if you’re not making money off the photos, even if you take them down immediately after learning that it was under copyright, it can still cost you stressful and expensive litigation. Blogher.com has a great reference for when you’re iffy on the source of an image you want to share.

Get Your OOTN without a Selfie Stick

Even if you have a plus one, you must resist the temptation to just head straight the bar and not take any pictures. You got this dressed up, you need to document it to get the full return on your investment! Selfie sticks stick out like a sore thumb with the fashion set; they are synonymous with trying too hard. And besides, asking a total stranger standing nearby is a great networking tool! You never know who you’ll end up talking to. And don’t forget to offer to take a photo of them and their date in return. It’s the little niceties that people remember.

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Celebrate National Bow Tie Day 2015!

Bow ties have been around for a long time. A very long time. And while its popularity has seen ups and downs, just to be clear, anyone who may still think bow ties are a trend or fad, they're not. Bow ties are here to stay and thankfully, there are wonderful manufactures who take sartorial pride in their brand like Weybridge 1761 and offer men a selection of 195 bow ties and neck ties to choose from.

Today is National Bow Tie Day and it is my pleasure to introduce you to Weybridge 1761. Every tie is handcrafted with superior quality and each tie is inspected by at least five people which speaks volumes considering it's a family run business. David Mutter, Weybridge's President and CEO says that the price is what separates them from the rest, he goes on to say, "We look at this label as our way to introduce our passion for neckwear to new users interested in a classic tie at a great price." And he's NOT kidding. Are you ready for this guys... to celebrate the website launch of Weybridge 1761, ALL neckwear is priced at $17.61. That's right. Unbelievable.  I got my Weybridge 1761 neckwear two weeks ago so I can stand behind my words when I say the product is excellent.

For some men, everyday is National Bow Tie Day. So with that in mind, I've chosen seven of my favorite looks from Weybridge 1761 - one for each day of the week. Look through the slideshow above, but remember, there are nearly 200 to choose from on the Weybridge 1761 website!

Not sure how to tie a tie? This iconographic by Weybridge 1761 will help:

Happy National Bow Tie Day to all the dapper dudes out there!

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An Exclusive First Look of the 2015 Jeffrey Fashion Cares Runway Fashion

A fashion fantasy...

Jeffrey Kalinsky and his NYC team. Jeffrey Fashion Cares Atlanta.

"... people should expect to see fashion with a capital F," Jeffrey Kalinsky

As a fashion blogger, it was beyond everything fabulous to have the opportunity to browse through all the designer looks slated to take the Jeffrey Fashion Cares runway this upcoming Monday, August 31st. Remember the "fashion closet" in The Devil Wears Prada, it felt something like that! So what could be better than this? How about chatting it up with the man of the hour himself, Jeffrey Kalinsky at Jeffrey Atlanta at Phipps Plaza, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. 

"Everyone can expect to see very pretty clothes, but also people should expect to see fashion with a capital F" said Jeffrey about Monday night's 23rd Annual Jeffrey Fashion Cares runway show.

Dior, Dries Van Noten, Proenza Schouler and so many other amazing labels will be featured in what promises to be the hottest fashion ticket in town. [At the moment] the backroom at Jeffrey Atlanta is a fashion fantasy of high end designer sequins, textures, prints, pattern and vibrant color. AND don't even get me started on the SHOES!

It was such a treat to observe Jeffrey in action. He, along with his NY dream team would look at the model head to toe, discuss and tweak. They were very focused. Change out a blouse here, different pair of earrings there - the look was complete when perfection was achieved. Throughout the entire process, Jeffrey was very calm, relaxed and dancing to the remixed beats of their DJ in between fittings. [Thanks for the great photos Tomas Espinoza!]

Monday will be epic.

Visit jeffreyfashioncares.com for event details and tickets.

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