Warren Fashion

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November 23, 2011  1:09 pm

Girl-about-town Natalie Joos spends her days casting for shows like ADAM and Yigal Azrouël and editorials for the likes of Mario Sorrenti and Mariano Vivanco, but her passion is vintage clothing. Joos’ blog, Tales of Endearment spotlights her “Muses,” impeccably styled girls and guys who share her secondhand obsession. In a new partnership with Style.com, Tales of Endearment’s subjects discuss their shoots right here on Style File.

“I have a weakness for buttons,” Japanese model Rila Fukushima, Joos’ muse of the week, tells Style.com. “I’m always collecting ornate and nicely decorated ones.” Buttons aren’t her only weakness—Fukushima, who has appeared in everything from Dolce Gabbana ad campaigns to Lenny Kravitz’s “We Are Running” music video, admits she also has a penchant for Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent. After a stint living in New York, she’s back at home with her family in Tokyo, where she’s still modeling, working on an acting career, and blogging. While she works toward achieving her ultimate goal—landing the cover of Japanese Vogue—she’s hoping to spending some time traveling. “I’d like to travel and see more corners of the world,” she says. “Traveling for modeling has been great, but I never really have much time to live the tourist life while in all the different cities.” Here, she tells Style.com how her modeling career began and what’s coming up next.

How did you make your modeling dreams a reality?
I actually wanted to become a model agent, and went into what ended up becoming my first agency for a job interview. They ended up suggesting I model instead. I guess I sort of fell into it.

What are you focused on these days?
I’m currently focusing on several different things—acting, I am still modeling, and I am also spending a lot of time blogging. There’s a few other projects I’m involved in, but I can’t really elaborate on them just yet.

How would you describe your personal style?
Casually comfortable, but still on the impressive side.

What inspires your style?
I like people-watching and getting inspiration from the unique people who don’t follow any fashion tides. From 12-year-olds who have full freedom, to 86-year-old ladies with a ton of class.

What’s on your Christmas wish list this year?
This year my wish list contains only good health for my family and friends.

For more from Rila’s shoot, visit Tales of Endearment.

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Kristin Studeman

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Tel Aviv – The stage was set for a full spectrum of style at Tel Aviv Fashion Week, interpreted by everyone from local students and alumni of the prestigious Shenkar College of Engineering and Design and Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem, to up-and-coming designers, to local fixtures of Israel‘s fashion scene.

The collections featured an eclectic blend of design concepts, fabrics, and color palettes, from the delicate lace and intricately beaded confections of evening and bridal gown designer Galit Levi; to “street couture” reminiscent of “Desperately Seeking Susan”-era Madonna by Sugar Daddy; to a bold interpretation of the flapper-meets-rocker aesthetic, coupled with graphic patterns with a decidedly surrealist influence by Yosef Peretz; to a black and gold spectacle of Middle-Eastern inspired garb by Dorit Bar Or, whose Pas Pour Toi show culminated with a perfectly timed belly dance performance set to Sarit Hadad’s “Do You Love Me.”

Shenkar alumnus Israel Ohayon, who took home the prize in the upcoming designer competition, sent models down the runway in leather, PVC, and nylon knitwear creations that experimented with shape and form. A former Lanvin intern, Ohayon currently works at Gideon Oberson.

Tel Aviv‘s sister city Milan brought a strong dose of high voltage glamour by special guest Roberto Cavalli, who once again presented his spring 2012 collection in which not a sequin, feather, or animal print was spared. The delicate pleating and beading, fusion of contrasting patterns, exquisite silhouettes, and immaculately tailored evening gowns brought an air of decadence to the fashion showcase.

“Israel is in my heart,” said Cavalli. “I’m hoping that Tel Aviv fashion week will show the world the Israel that I love. It’s a beautiful city full of life with people full of life who enjoy fashion and culture just like Europeans, Americans, the Japanese. I’m happy I could support this new venture by showing in Tel Aviv.”

Revived after 30-plus years, Tel Aviv Fashion Week, held Nov. 21-23, raised its tent in the renovated Tachana, a historic Tel Aviv-Jaffa train station that now houses chic boutiques, gallery space, and outdoor eateries.

The closing evening event, held in support of the Israeli Gay Youth organization, brought an exuberant crowd of locals and luminaries eager to see the parade of Israeli-designed fashions modeled by local celebrities, among them Eurovision Song Contest winner Dana International. The gender-bending style theme had decidedly Lady Gaga overtones, which only reinforced the universal language spoken at this particular fashion week.

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QA

November 23, 2011  1:49 pm

Better known are its compatriots Black Friday (11/25) and Cyber Monday (11/28), the two bookends that begin the holiday-shopping season. But American Express’ Small Business Saturday (11/26), which returns for its second iteration this year to bring awareness (and hopefully, customers) to local businesses, may be the weekend’s best shopping bet. American Express is offering Rewards Points to its customers who shop small on Saturday; and many retailers are offering promotions of their own to sweeten the deal. One is Maria Cornejo, who is planning a gift for those who shake off the post-Thanksgiving haze to make it into one of her stores in New York or L.A. Spend $500 on your Amex card, and receive her hair-print (above) or book-print silk scarf. Small business is at the heart of Cornejo’s operation. The designer spoke with Style.com about the challenges and rewards of staying small.

How important is it to you to be a small business?
It’s important for me, for my own creativity, to have our own point of view in the whole market. Being a small business, you’re offering a different a point of view that hasn’t been offered everywhere else. Having a so-called small business allows us to move quickly and respond to clients and what they need, rather than by trends. When things get too homogenized, everything [becomes] very corporate. You can find the same store in every major capital in the world.

By contrast, your three Zero stores don’t follow that corporate-store model.
Every [Zero] store looks different. The same elements are at play, but it’s not a standard shop-fit, like corporate companies have. It’s much more about fitting the area and having something that’s more personal to that space. Right now, people want a more personal experience, rather than something that looks…too standardized, especially our clientele. We compete by being more niche and more special. That’s our standpoint in the whole fashion business. To be quite honest, there’s 20 million collections out there—how do you differentiate yourself right now? That’s the only way we can: by being original.

But I imagine it’s more difficult to be a small businesswoman.
It’s tough. You’re putting yourself out there every season and there’s no security blanket. But that’s half the thing that keeps it interesting and keeps it challenging. When collections become formulaic, they die very quickly. They have their moment in the sun and they’re gone. When you have your own business, you’re constantly evolving.

Have you considered giving up some of that independence to a corporate partner?
There have been talks. We’re open to things, but it hasn’t been the right combination. It has to be the right marriage. There are certain people who get it. I think you have to do what feels right. If someone’s willing to let me do my thing, of course I’d be open to it. But a lot of these packages come with a lot of strings attached.

You mentioned your business is growing. What are you working on now?
We’re launching the shoe collection, it’s a small collection made in Italy. And bags too. When it comes to bags you can’t really fake it anywhere else [than Italy]. I like keeping things local, wherever possible. I like to keep things where they’re meant to be.

Like the clothing, which is largely made in New York.
We made 70 percent of the collection in New York, like The Row. We have the same factories. For a certain level of customer, that’s really important. It’s a luxury. To have something genuinely made and know who made it, that’s a real luxury. And to know there’s not 2,000 of it flying around the world. It means a lot to me to go to a factory and see how things are made. I think people appreciate that.

That strikes me as being distinctive about small businesses like yours. I’m not surprised to hear that customers appreciate it.
Especially in hard times, we rely on our clients. Loyalty is key. We got through the last recession with client loyalty. People came into the store and said, we know you’re a small business, and we support you.

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Matthew Schneier

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