#DMTBeautySpot #beauty


With only six weeks of 2020 left, the window to get your holiday shopping done in time is narrowing. With your partner, mom, sister, BFF, and roommate topping your list, start by thinking about the best holiday gift for her, that most important (and potentially picky) woman in your life.

From fashion presents that your impeccably-dressed best friend will love to standout roommate gifts (that you will hopefully get to borrow), we've narrowed down the most stylish gifts to give all the women on your list this year. Highlights include celebrity-approved athleisure, several buzzy fashion collaborations, and some of the season's biggest fashion trends.

Ahead, the ultimate fashion holiday gift guide.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

20 Gifts For The Woman Who Wants Nothing

The Fashion Person's Guide To Holiday Gifts

23 Fashion Gifts For Your Most Stylish Friends

DMTBeautySpot

via https://www.DMTBeautySpot.com

Irina Grechko, Khareem Sudlow

#DMTBeautySpot #beauty

We all have those people in our lives — ones who say they don't want anything for the holidays. But, come gift-giving season and they're handing you a meticulously wrapped, thoughtful present, and you can't really be empty-handed. What then makes a good gift for the woman who wants nothing?

If they have their go-to essentials or favorites, look to luxe versions of those. Have they been rotating between the same two pairs of sweatpants while working from home? Go with a loungewear gift, like some cozy cashmere joggers, or fluffy socks that don't come in a pack of five. Are they still the best-dressed even during the pandemic? Buy them a stylish face mask or a mask chain, neither of which will go unused this season.

Ahead, 20 foolproof gifts to thrill the woman in your life who claims to want nothing this year.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

A Gift For Every Fashion Friend In Your Clique

29 Gifts For The Lorelai To Your Rory Gilmore

22 Fashion Gifts For Your Most Stylish Friends

DMTBeautySpot

via https://www.DMTBeautySpot.com

Irina Grechko, Khareem Sudlow

#DMTBeautySpot #beauty

MSNBC viewers were glued to Steve Kornacki for all of last week, watching as the political correspondent — now known as America’s “map daddy” — ran around the studio, writing numbers (often indecipherably) on the touchscreen electoral map and announcing new ballot counts as they came in. As states went red or blue, and the 2020 presidential results crystalized, Kornacki remained our captain and stalwart steward, all while clad in a pair of khakis. As the future of democracy and the country hung in the balance, the normcore pants, too, became a topic of conversation: Refinery29 wrote an ode to Kornacki’s khakis; Vulture debated whether the political correspondent’s “butt looks especially good or we’re just slowly being driven mad;” and The Strategist investigated Gap’s entire assortment to find the exact pair he wore on-air.

And while it might seem unusual for people to obsess over a pair of regular-looking, business casual pants from one of America’s mall mainstays, given the year we’ve had, it’s also not surprising. When nothing in 2020 looks the same as it has in years past — with a lockdown that ushered people indoors and an election season that seemed to come out of the first draft of The Hunger Games — it makes sense that we look to things that are familiar. Enter: Kornacki in what fashion folk would describe as one of the most decidedly non-fashion, yet instantly recognizable articles of clothing. 

But it’s not just familiarity that’s appealing about the look. While people have lamented the end of micro bags and jeans, one of the wardrobe sections that’s suffered the most as a result of the pandemic is workwear. Now we only have memories of times when one had to trade jeans for khakis or slacks for a meeting with an important client or to see extended family for a holiday dinner. Zoom meetings are all we know right now, and with the right camera angle, your bottoms don’t matter (but please do wear them). As such, there is something downright thrilling about seeing Kornacki all “dressed up” in a collared shirt, tie, and pants that may or may not flatter the backside. Over the course of several anxiety-filled days, Kornacki stayed calm amidst the chaos and delivered the news in an even-keeled, fact-based manner that was reassuring to many. Refinery29’s Natalie Gontcharova noted, “Kornacki, with his rolled-up button-down sleeves and Gap khakis in Palomino Brown, projects an aura of trustworthy, West Wing-era nerdiness that makes many people feel like logic and reason can prevail during this absolutely batshit, science-averse time.”

It’s not unlike when, in the early days of nationwide stay-at-home orders and lockdowns, people on the internet buzzed about the polo shirts that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wore during his daily coronavirus briefings. A universally staid article of clothing that evokes country clubs and sports like tennis and golf, suddenly, the collared shirt was a source of fashion inspiration. (The unoffending look even prompted some controversy when many wondered if Cuomo had a nipple piercing.) The look seemed to convey the idea that Cuomo was rolling up his sleeves and getting to work fighting the pandemic. As Fashionista’s Tyler McCall put it in March, there is something “soothing” and reassuring about seeing a politician in a slightly unbuttoned casual short-sleeve shirt rather than a suit: “It’s a softer look which helps tremendously when delivering a tougher message. It says: I’m here, I’m going to help us all.” 

This obsession with something as normcore as khakis and polo shirts is not exclusive to the pandemic. You only need to look to last winter, when no article of clothing was as discussed as a basic cable-knit sweater like the one Chris Evans wore in the whodunit Knives Out. After he appeared in the Aran knit, people went into a frenzy over the look that appears borrowed from, you know, every holiday catalog photo ever taken? And yet the fashion piece reached such high levels of excitement that the film temporarily changed its official Twitter account name to “Chris Evans’ Sweater Stan Account,” and brands like L.L. Bean were selling out of similar-looking styles.

There can be arguments made that the sweater wasn’t all that regular-looking — in The New Yorker, writer Rachel Syme did just that when she described the sweater as “the color of full-fat eggnog” and featuring “plackets of thick, braided, water-wicking yarn, as if a sheep had yielded its entire winter coat to enwrap Evans in comfort” — but I doubt that people would have looked at the sweater twice if they saw it hanging on a rack prior to the film. It’s interesting then that the Knives Out costume designer, Jenny Eagan, who doesn’t remember which brand the sweater came from, chose it for the exact opposite reason that viewers became obsessed with it. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “The sweaters gave [the film] a cozy feeling. You couldn’t detect anything.” All to say: We are more likely to suspect a femme fatale in a white dress than a spoiled man-child in a crewneck sweater. According to the same interview, Eagan chose the color to portray the fact that “wealthy people can always wear white — nothing ever gets dirty” — which is not a subtle wink given the movie’s plot. The wholesome sweater seems to project an aura of trustworthiness; I would listen to Evans’ manic Ransom even though all signs point to doing… just the opposite. Yes, Evans being the one wearing it aside (I think).

Another innocuous knit that gets brought up year after year is the white semi-turtleneck fisherman’s sweater Billy Crystal wears as Harry Burns in When Harry Met Sally…, with dad jeans and sneakers, two normcore staple, no less. Here, too, it’s meant to show that Harry is a regular guy who can be trusted, as he is helping Meg Ryan’s Sally move a rug. This image matters to the ending of the will-they-or-won’t-they romantic comedy: While Harry has caused Sally emotional anguish over the course of their relationship, he’s just human and, as such, makes mistakes. He’s the type of guy viewers want to believe will change and come to his senses in the end. 

Cameron Diaz wears a white sweater when her workaholic L.A. executive character goes to the bucolic English countryside after a bad breakup in 2006’s The Holiday. Trying to blend into her Surrey surroundings, Diaz’s Amanda wears a very good cream-colored chunky sweater with sweatpants and a beanie. (If you don’t remember the look, it’s probably because her glorious Dior shearling coat overpowered everything in the film’s fashion arsenal.) And while it’s impossible for her character’s oversized personality to blend into the background anywhere, let alone the quiet countryside, it’s telling that the article of clothing she uses to try is a sweater. 

While the fascination with Evans’ sweater, Cuomo’s polo shirts, and Kornacki’s khakis can be traced to the same feeling of familiarity, the timing and circumstances couldn’t feel more different between this year and last. Normcore — at its simplest, a self-aware (and, despite appearances, highly stylized) choice to dress like everyone else and their dad — has been on the rise for more than half a decade. But, since the pandemic took hold, all fashion uniforms were thrown out the window, as we’ve all learned how to dress again for our new lifestyle. While many opted for sweatpants as means of staying comfortable while trapped indoors, others tapped into nostalgic trends like tie-dye, bought house dresses, and wore lingerie as outerwear. And while certain anti-fashion staples (clogs, Baggies, etc.) have fared even better in lockdown than before it, others like khakis have found little room in our new WFH lives that don’t see us doing things we used to, like taking in-person lunch meetings or visiting extended family during the holidays.

It makes sense then that, in a time when stress was at an all-time high, the future of the pandemic uncertain, and the country divided, it was appealing (and frankly comforting) to see something as simple as a pair of pants from a recognizable brand on someone as calm and reassuring as Kornacki. So, sure, maybe we were driven mad over the course of the five days (make it four years) leading to the 2020 presidential election results. But can you blame us? Or maybe the khakis do, in fact, just look that good since the last time we’ve seen them. 

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

An Ode To Steve Kornacki & His Khakis

Should Politics Be Fashionable?

Is This The Golden Age Of Clogs?

DMTBeautySpot

via https://www.DMTBeautySpot.com

Irina Grechko, Khareem Sudlow

#DMTBeautySpot #beauty

In the last six months, a trend has emerged: The wardrobes of Washington, D.C.’s most powerful women are inspiring the type of frenzied fashion interest that was previously reserved for celebrities or style influencers. After Kamala Harris wore Timberland boots (with pearls!), search for the shoes increased 376% week-on-week according to Lyst, a search fashion platform, while demand for the brand rose by 25% compared to the week before. When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez showed her Telfar bag on Instagram, searches for the New York-based brand also spiked 163%, and demand for its hard-to-get shopping bags increased 270%. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is this week’s most powerful influencer,” the Lyst report citing those numbers read.

The fashion platform is not the first to use the word “influencer” to describe a political figure. In April, The New York Times ran an article titled “Cuomo, Fauci, Birx: The New Influencers,” in which writer Vanessa Friedman talked about the public’s then-fascination with White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx’s silk scarves — they even earned their own Instagram account early in the pandemic. More recently, Elle published an article, “How Politicians Became 2020’s Biggest Fashion Influencers,” leaving no doubt that political leaders have become figures to watch for sartorial choices. It’s not entirely surprising; fashion and politics go hand-in-hand. In fact, the statement “fashion is political” has been used so often — including, recently, when referencing Nancy Pelosi’s matching masks and pantsuits —  it has become a cliche. But lately the question has become: Should politics be fashionable? And: What does it mean to cast political figures as fashion influencers?

While this may be a fairly new phenomenon when it comes to the fashion of female senators and congresswomen, people have long looked to the First Lady to provide style inspiration. In the case of women like Jacqueline Kennedy and Michelle Obama, who were already considered fashionable prior to moving into the White House, their time in the D.C. spotlight made them bona fide style icons. While the former inspired a distinctive fashion aesthetic that, to this day, inspires women and fashion brands, the latter left an enviable trail of receipts from clothing that routinely sold out after she wore it, regardless of whether it was a $2,000 designer dress or a $100 J.Crew cardigan. (The Michelle Obama effect continues to this day, despite it being almost four years since the family left the White House: At the 2020 Democratic National Convention, after Obama wore a necklace spelling out “VOTE,” the brand ByChari was inundated with orders for the style.) 

It’s notable, too, that the public has already expressed interest in the fashion of Dr. Jill Biden, who’s neither a political figure in an official capacity nor (yet) a First Lady. After Dr. Biden wore a pair of Stuart Weitzman boots that read “VOTE” while joining her husband in voting early in the Delaware state primary election, search for the $700 style spiked 488% in just 24 hours. (Even further removed from the two groups is TV’s Savannah Guthrie whose pink suit — that wasn’t THAT pink suit — also got a lot of attention during NBC’s town hall with Trump; it was unlike anything she has worn for any other appearance over the years.)

Until the latter part of the 20th century, women in politics weren’t thought to be trendsetters at all; they traditionally wore demure, ladylike wardrobes meant to blend in and not stand out. In contrast, women working in politics today (AOC, Harris, etc.) are breaking barriers and fighting for change in a system that has long tried to prevent them from even entering. And in a battle of that nature, it’s more efficient to be in a pantsuit, a pair of sneakers or utilitarian boots, and a giant tote (one that could fit a reusable water bottle, as well as a binder and a notebook) than heels or a clutch. Not to mention, relatable to all the other working women watching them today.

As we continue to observe their style choices, the question — should we look to political figures for fashion tips? — comes up again. On the one hand, it is reductive to obsess over what female political leaders wear — not to mention distracting from the (important) messages they’re sending with their actions and words. Rather than looking at clothes or the inside of their bags, we should be studying their values and policies. On the other hand, fashion has long and frequently been used as a weapon by men — to dismiss women as frivolous and incapable of making important decisions, since they’re so caught up with their appearance. We might think we’re past the stereotype, but, just last week, AOC was attacked by conservatives for wearing what some (with a lot of time on their hands) have estimated to be $14,000 worth of clothing for, wait for it, a Vanity Fair shoot. Yes, AOC was attacked for wearing expensive clothes on a shoot for the likes of which it’s standard to be lent clothes from designers. (Earlier this year, she also found herself defending a $500 dress that she wore for a televised appearance.) Is it really still hard to believe that women can get things done in the government — and wear a great outfit while doing it? The answer is, of course, no, but some people will do anything to distract from the actual issues at hand.

Republicans are Very Mad (again) about my appearance. This time they’re mad that I look good in borrowed clothes (again).

Listen, if Republicans want pointers on looking your best, I’m happy to share.

Tip #1: Drink water and don’t be racist

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 29, 2020

For many, it has been inspiring on an aesthetic level to see Pelosi embrace masks and make them into a fashion statement — which has since become a common sight on the political stage — before many of us discovered the fun of shopping for a face mask that could express our personal style. It has been even more fun to see Harris running around in her go-to Converse sneakers. Who hasn’t owned a pair of Chuck Taylors in their life? Who hasn’t worn them when they needed to be on their feet all day long? And, personally, it was downright thrilling to see AOC flaunting her shopping tote from Telfar. Like many people in August, I pre-ordered the bag that I, sadly, won’t get until this winter. (For a brief moment, I wished I got it in oxblood like AOC, rather than the bright red I went with.)

This might seem like a small thing, but the significance goes even deeper than just covetable style. Not only does the designer behind the eponymous label, Telfar Clemens, hail from the congresswoman’s district, but he has, since the beginning of the brand, pushed for inclusivity in fashion, something that’s still severely lacking in the industry. With that in mind, there is something powerful when one of the most progressive women in politics unofficially endorses one of the most progressive brands in fashion — it’s a sign of real hope when two leaders, who work in spheres that have actively resisted change and often refused to evolve with the times, join forces to support one another. 

Of course, one can’t project their values onto someone just because they have the same taste in handbags or get-stuff-done shoe preference. But — as Friedman wrote in the NYT’s article about the appeal of Dr. Fauci’s, Dr. Birx’s, and Governor Cuomo’s clothing early on in the pandemic — “when the patterns of life are unrecognizable, the familiar becomes a source of comfort.” It’s especially true when it’s someone whose values you seem to align with. But while I still have a hard time calling politicians influencers — for one, I like to (admittedly, very naively) believe that people in government are serving the public rather than their own personal gain; for another, we all know what happens to influencers with time — I do realize that there’s little difference in me wanting an oxblood bag just because AOC wore one, and a sweater from an independent slow-fashion brand because a similarly sustainably minded fashion influencer recommended it. So where does that leave us? Maybe, like with the politicians whose values we study before endorsing, we should make sure to look at what kind of message their clothing sends, too, before adopting it for yourself?

Personally, I can’t wait for my Telfar bag. As for the “I really don’t care, do u” Zara jacket? I won’t be buying that. 

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

From Kamala To Harry, The Power Of Pearl Necklaces

Should We Care About Melania Trump's RNC Look?

Celebrs Are Making Hot Pink Political On Instagram

DMTBeautySpot

via https://www.DMTBeautySpot.com

Irina Grechko, Khareem Sudlow

#DMTBeautySpot #beauty

Last week, it was announced that Man Repeller — the personal fashion blog-turned-lifestyle website started by Leandra Medine Cohen in 2010 — was shutting down as a result of “financial constraints.” This news had been preceded by Medine Cohen “stepping back” from the publication in June following criticism about the company’s lack of diversity and poor treatment of former POC employees. “Man Repeller was founded to celebrate self expression in all of its forms but it has become clear that I’ve failed to deliver on this mission,” Medine Cohen said then. “The team deserves a chance to show you what Man Repeller can be with me on the sidelines so I’m going to step back and let them show you.” Three months later, the site rebranded as Repeller and promised “many more changes to come.” Now, less than two months after that, the site has ceased publication altogether. But even though many companies are struggling with the economic ramifications of the pandemic, it’s hard not to question whether the real problem with the site was that its “man-repelling” fashion aesthetic had slowly lost its appeal over the years, and COVID-19 and the racial reckoning were just the final nails in the Man Repeller coffin.

It’s hard to believe that it was a decade ago that Medine Cohen burst onto the fashion scene, capturing the zeitgeist with her distinctive dress style and candid voice that coined terms like “arm party” and “birth-control glasses,” turning them into fashion’s most popular catchphrases — and must-have trends. Like many fashionably inclined 20-somethings at that time, I bought stacks of bracelets that I could aesthetically display on my wrist, capturing and captioning them #armparty on Instagram; fawned over the Man Repeller collaboration with Dannijo; and read Medine Cohen’s memoir, Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls., in which she openly talked about puking in her grandmother’s Hermes purse and ruining her white Jimmy Choo shoes by stepping in dog poop.

For many, the appeal of Medine Cohen’s aesthetic was that it was relatable enough to mimic — while I couldn’t afford Dannijo, I could get my arm party on courtesy of MR’s collaboration with BaubleBar; but also that it was aspirational enough to, well, aspire to — I so wished that someone in my family owned a bag from Hermès. (Though I did also tragically ruin a pair of suede Jimmy Choo sandals — that I got for $99 at a clearance sale! — dancing on the beer-stained floor of a Lower East Side bar.) Medine Cohen’s rejection of fashion rules, canny deployment of humor (sometimes at the expense of herself), and calls to embrace “camel-toes” and “lady boner” fashion were a refreshing and fun change of pace in a fashion landscape still severely ruled by Vogue, the French Girl aesthetic, and form-fitting bandage dresses. Rather than follow those established fashion restrictions, Medine Cohen flaunted tops with ballooning sleeves and feathers, super-flared pants and high-waisted shorts, full-length overalls, shapeless maxi skirts and dresses, and clogs with socks. With Medine Cohen’s personal wardrobe including everything from J.Crew (then at its fashion peak), Levi’s, and Zara to Dior, Chanel, Celine, and Olympia Le-Tan, it was also the perfect mix of high- and low-brow fashion that bloggers were just discovering was the Midas touch for enticing followers to a just-launched social media platform called Instagram. 

Purely from a style perspective, Medine Cohen’s quirky, nerd-ish aesthetic stood out among a sea of homogenous bloggers coming up at the time, without alienating a mainstream audience, despite (in theory) wearing clothes that, as the name suggests, were meant to repel. Her looks were curated just enough to look put-together and chic without ever seeming overthought or too planned (though, of course, no influencer’s look is ever as laissez-faire as they would like us to believe). Add her personable voice, talking about jeans “that did not slice vagina lips in half” and poking fun at fashion without outright mocking it, and it’s easy to understand why people (me very much included) embraced not only Medine Cohen but also her aesthetic. Fashion institutions followed suit, with publications hailing Medine Cohen an innovator in the blogger sphere, and also using the very fashion lexicon that she introduced. Suddenly long-controversial items like drop-crotch pants and boiler suits became super-stylish, and to be described as a “man-repeller” by a friend was the ultimate compliment.

Within a few years, Medine Cohen took Man Repeller from being a personal street style blog to a major brand, all centered around a website that now covered topics outside of fashion. In 2014, in a profile for The Cut, Medine Cohen told writer Benjamin Wallace that she wanted her site to be about more than just her life or aesthetic: “I want Man Repeller to be this very well-edited, curated place, stamped with the approval of the founder of the site. I don’t want it to be about me for much longer.” Wallace noted that “this is less a statement of humility than commercial shrewdness, the recognition that it’s a lot easier to scale a brand than a personality.”

While that might generally be true, what happens when the brand is the personality? Think of Rookie, the teenage answer to MR. Launched by Tavi Gevinson (who also originally had a personal style blog, Style Rookie), Rookie’s readers came for Gevinson’s similarly candid voice, strong point of view, and distinctive style. But, as Rookie expanded, included other contributors, and covered a range of other topics, Gevinson’s voice naturally receded, and so did the original focus on aesthetics. And while Rookie was celebrated for as long as it was around, particularly for not talking down to young women like many mainstream publications were prone to do back then, it, too, shut down after no longer being financially sustainable in 2018.

And yet, in 2010, in a fashion landscape that had little voice or sense of humor, Gevinson and Medine Cohen — witty, hilarious, relatable, and indisputably stylish — seemed like the future. “I think that when I started Man Repeller, the Internet was still hungry for authentic content from girls that weren’t actresses or supermodels, and were just relatable girls who had opinions and outfit ideas, and they weren’t always good but at least they were original,” Medine Cohen told Cosmopolitan in 2015. As Man Repeller grew, it began to cover beauty, relationships, culture, money, home, and more. Despite becoming known for more than just fashion and shopping, the site still released content predicated on a specific style (off-kilter, quirky) and voice (funny, unapologetic) whose origins traced back to Medine Cohen, even as it evolved into something broader, and more mainstream.

But despite — or perhaps because of — MR’s success, complete with a roster of talented writers and editors who called it home over the years, it’s all over now, out with a whisper of a post instead of a witty Instagram caption. It makes a specific fashion-world type of sense, though: Medine Cohen’s aesthetic approach, while original at the time, is now commonplace amongst influencers. (Now, you don’t even need to start a blog to get noticed for your zany style — an Instagram account is enough.) With the popularization of street style, which soon became screen style, more and more people started dressing to stand out, with Medine Cohen’s fashion hardly seeming “out-there” anymore in comparison. What’s more, style, in general, has changed, with a woman on the street in dungarees, a Canadian tuxedo, or culottes not prompting a second glance from anyone these days. Sneakers are now considered acceptable dress- and work-wear thanks to athleisure’s takeover in the latter part of the 2010s, boyfriend jeans are a wardrobe staple in many closets, and ugly shoes reign supreme. It’s not so much that Medine Cohen’s aesthetic went out-of-style, then, but rather that it became run-of-the-mill — which may be a far worse fate in the realm of aspirational fashion.

But it isn’t only Medine Cohen’s style that’s no longer seen as innovative as it once was. When launching the blog, Medine Cohen defined “man-repelling” as “outfitting oneself in a sartorially offensive way that will result in repelling members of the opposite sex.” (Writing for Harper’s Bazaar, she described her style as the “sartorial equivalent of birth control.”) While 10 years ago, the concept — dressing in defiance of the opposite sex — was lauded for its girl-power approach to dressing with complete disregard for the male gaze, now the (very heteronormative) idea that we ever dressed for men seems wildly outdated. Millennials don’t need to be convinced to dress for ourselves or wear what we like. Let alone, Gen Z — who favor a gender-neutral way of dressing and need no help with expressing themselves through fashion, a mission that was at MR’s core.

In the announcement about the name change to Repeller, the team — officially no longer led by Medine Cohen — echoed that that sentiment: “We think our name should reflect something that’s been true for a while: being a ‘Man Repeller’ was defined as empowering yourself by deflecting the male gaze when this site began 10 years ago, but today discovering yourself and earning your confidence feels far more multidimensional.”

Perhaps if this change had happened a few years ago, say following the #MeToo movement, it would have worked — back then, it might have been hailed as being ahead of the curve, much like Medine Cohen’s style was a decade ago. Instead, judging by the comments left on the Instagram post announcing the rebranding, it seems like it happened a bit too late — nor was a rebranding really the point anymore given the very serious accusations about racist practices from former employees. Then too, it should be noted that others were disappointed in the name change for different reasons, explaining that MR’s original philosophy and the part it played in their fashion upbringing is the reason they kept coming back. For them, the aesthetic wasn’t the starting-off point, it was still the whole point.

Back in 2014, when talking to The Cut, Medine Cohen said she didn’t want her brand to be about just her anymore — she wanted it to be separate from her personality and individual style, and become something bigger. She talked about having seen The Social Network, which is about the founding of Facebook: “Like, I can do this, I’m gonna do this, I want to become a media giant.” And maybe Medine Cohen could have done just that with Man Repeller. Perhaps, as she herself speculated, she would have been more successful if she’d spent more time learning from the team she built. Or maybe there’s a lesson here about building a brand on one personality — and the aesthetic attached to it — one whose once-popular catchphrases now feel like a distant memory.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Is This The Golden Age Of Clogs?

The J.Crew Leopard Cardigan That Was Everywhere

Paula Sutton Is 2020’s Favorite Influencer

DMTBeautySpot

via https://www.DMTBeautySpot.com

Irina Grechko, Khareem Sudlow

#DMTBeautySpot #beauty

For a fashion exhibit whose theme is time, it’s ironic that the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s “About Time: Fashion and Duration” is, as a result of the pandemic, opening almost six months later than anticipated. Yet, during a year that feels both frozen in time and flying by faster than any before it, the show, which looks at the relationship between fashion and time through designer ensembles, feels perfectly punctual. “Fashion is indelibly connected to time. It not only reflects and represents the spirit of the times, but it also changes and develops with the times, serving as an especially sensitive and accurate timepiece,” said Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, in the press release. “The exhibition uses the concept of duration to analyze the temporal twists and turns of fashion history.”

Made up of two main rooms, that are designed as oversized clock faces, “About Time” explores this theme through two timelines: chronological — tracing 150 years of fashion, from 1870 to the present, in honor of the Met’s 150th anniversary — and cyclical — exploring the past and present by linking trends and styles in a more abstract way. Within each “minute” of the clock setup, two garments are featured side-by-side. 

Featuring mostly black pieces — to “make the comparisons between the pairings immediately,” according to Bolton — the brands selected range from heritage (Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Givenchy) to avant-garde (Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, Alexander McQueen, Martin Margiela) and unabashedly modern (Libertine, Off-White, Hood by Air, Rick Owens). The theme of time is further expanded using concepts from philosopher Henri Bergson and writing from Virginia Woolf. (The exhibit opens with a quote from Woolf’s Orlando, and quotations in the exhibit are read aloud by Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore, who all starred in the 2002 movie The Hours, based on the Michael Cunningham novel that was inspired by Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway.)

The first room sees 60 looks in a barely lit, round room with a black backdrop, with a swinging, ticking pendulum at its center. Pairings, arranged in chronological order, focus on the evolution of fashion and the influence of the past on modern designers. An 1895 double-breasted wool-twill coat is juxtaposed against a 2020 JW Anderson coat with an oversized leg-of-mutton sleeve that could be confused for its older counterpart; a 1902 Morin Blossier riding jacket, embroidered with gold silk-and-metal thread floral motif, is presented next to a waistcoat of jacquard woven silk that Nicolas Ghesquière, who looked to the Met’s fashion archives in the past for inspiration, created for Louis Vuitton in 2018; and a 1938 Elsa Schiaparelli evening jacket featuring mirror-like, Versailles-inspired designs on the front is shown next to Yves Saint Laurent’s 1978 “broken mirrors” jacket (latter is pictured below).

The second room — a winding, mirrored space that sends all senses into overdrive after the darker section — features an additional 60 ensembles that are matched up using less-clear parallels ranging from silhouettes and motifs to materials and techniques. As such, it sees the sculptural 2012 Iris van Herpen masterpiece that Solange wore to the 2018 Met Gala alongside an ivory 1951 Charles James silk satin ballgown (pictured below); a 1983 Karl Lagerfeld Chanel silk crepe dress, layered with trompe l’oeil necklaces and bracelets and belts of pearls, next to Sarah Burton’s 2019 Alexander McQueen crystal-embroidered tunic; and the 1994 Gianni Versace safety-pin embellished dress, famously worn by Elizabeth Hurley, with a 1977 Sandra Rhodes mini with safety pin detailing. While the museum notes refer to these less linear pairings as “disruptions,” today, they feel less like anomalies and more representative of the modern fashion industry — one that, at some point, abandoned looking at the outdated ideals of the past and has begun to find inspiration in the world and the people around them. 

According to Vogue, having time to revisit the “About Time” exhibit, allowed Bolton to respond to the Black Lives Matter movement, and “include more Black, indigenous, people-of-color designers.” In a delightfully ironic pairing, Off-White’s dress, that reads “Little Black Dress,” stands next to, what else but, the Chanel dress that popularized the timeless fashion staple. A vest look from Shayne Oliver’s Hood By Air, the cult-favorite brand that just announced a comeback after a hiatus, likewise makes a clever pairing with a Helmut Lang (where Oliver was a designer in residence) harness ensemble. Patrick Kelly, Olivier Rousteing, Stephen Burrows, and Xuly.Bët’s Lamine Kouyaté round out the exhibit’s roster — starting what Bolton said will become Costume Institute’s “lifelong commitment” of featuring pieces informed by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, rather than just aesthetics. (This may prompt many to say, “About time.”)

The exhibit tackles another topic that has become very timely as a result of COVID-19. With factories and warehouses forced to close down during lockdown in the spring, the pandemic has forced fashion to take a hard pause, as it was unable to complete collections. This prompted many brands to re-evaluate the constant churning of collections, that not only has a detrimental effect on the environment but also on the designers’ creativity, and look into other solutions, like upcycling. This seems to be the conclusion that “About Time” wants you to arrive at, with the exhibition ending with one of the few non-black looks in the exhibit: a white patchwork gown from Victor&Rolf’s spring/summer 2020 haute couture collection. Made from leftover fabric swatches, the strapless gown — shown suspended above ground in its own mini-room — is, according to the museum notes, a metaphor for the future of fashion, one that includes collaboration and sustainability. 

This leaves viewers with a definitive conclusion, which isn’t always a given when it comes to art: The fashion industry needs to continue to embrace sustainability, as well as collaboration and diversity, if it wants to stay relevant and thrive. It’s easy to say that only time will tell if it will; many have over the years. It’s much harder to ignore the clock that has definitively started ticking. 

The Costume Institute’s exhibition “About Time: Fashion and Duration” will be on view until February 7, 2021.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

DMTBeautySpot

via https://www.DMTBeautySpot.com

Irina Grechko, Khareem Sudlow