Puppet Maker to Celebrity Stylist: Aya T. Kanai

So my friend Phillip showed me pictures of the stylist, Aya but it wasn't until I looked at her website and her portfolio did I see really became intrigued. Honestly she is amazing. She reminds me of one of my favorite bloggers ( Style Bubble) with her quirky, off the wall style, mixing Japanese street fashion with American urban fashion. Which turns out to be a match made in heaven.


Aya was born and raising in Murray Hill, Manhattan. She went to school at Oberlin College and graduated with a double major in Visual Arts and Religion and a minor in East Asian Studies. From that point she took a road never traveled. She got interested in sculpture and began making puppets. With nothing to do with all her creations, she went into the field of performing puppetry. Her imagination grew. Soon after her graduation from college she won the Watson fellowship which allows 30 students to travel and pursue any field of study for a whole year. OMG where is the sign up sheet for that one-in-a-lifetime-opportunity?


With all the resources she had available she was able to travel to Poland, the Czech Republic, France, England, and Japan to study puppet theatre, didn't see that one coming huh ? After her year abroad she returned to NY to get involved in puppet life with performances for real audiences at La MaMa and St. Ann's Warehouse.

Though puppetry was a passion of hers , she became bored of the robotic lifestyle of performing 8 times per week. She realized that "you can have a passion about multiple interests, but it doesn’t need to be your paycheck.”


With that, she moved on to fashion which she believed was parallel to puppetry because in both professions you take a pile of nothing and bring it to life. And that, my friends, is what she does best.


She didn't come into fashion as a stranger, her mother is head of the Issey Miyake's New York office, so connections were already in the bag for her. However she doesn't really do the avante guard scene because she wants to do stories that she is interested in and that her readers will feel is relevant.

Once she got in as the fashion director at Nylon in 2004, she was running her own, personal, life sized puppet show with large teams of people, all the while making clothing come to life.


Let's Get Personal with Aya's stye:
Now at Teen Vogue, Aya dished to the Sartorialist about her own style. She considers her mother and grandmother her fashion icons, in addition to Pipi Longstocking ( I can see how that is relevant, men's shoes, mix-matched shocks, beat up dress, that all seems pretty relevant to Aya's style.) Her own personal style has a recipe: one part statement piece, on part quirky charming piece, and one part classic piece. She also admits to loving animals prints but she would never be caught wearing fleece. Aya expects herself to wear more white because it wouldn't get as dirty as it would in NYC.


While in LA she looks forward to supporting young designers, going to farmers markers, cooking, beach time, and exploring the the American west. Her favorite established designers include YSL, Chanel, Alexander Wand, Preen, Mulberry, Balenciaga, and Burberry Prorsum, just to name a few.

Bag by Alexandra Cassaniti

She goes against the grain because her favorite stylish movie is Ma Femme Est une Actrice where the character has one outfit, but Aya believes it was so perfect. Usually people name the generic Devil Wears Prada, Breakfast at Tiffany's, or Confessions of a Shopaholic. Stylish books she likes are Confessions of a Window Dresser and Excess: Fashion and the Underground 80's.


As Aya embarks on her new bi0coastal life style as the Senior Fashion Editor at Teen Vogue she enjoys crafts and sewing projects like quilting and applique. She is a master of mixing prints and dressing the best dressed of Hollywood's Elite. I highly suggest following her on Twitter at Twitter.com/ayakanai . Also check out her web page where she has her entire life's work. I have taken the liberty of posting a few of my favorite looks that she created.







New Segment: Links for Citation ( I go to Penn so I should know a thing or two about citing my sources. So, I am now going to make sure I don't forget to list them at the bottom of my posts in a section called LfC.)
LfC 1, LfC 2, LfC 3, LfC 4, LfC 5, LfC 6, LfC 7

Local Designer Gone Global: Zahra Saeed

Even though Zahra may be a local Philadelphia designer, I am quite positive you heard her name, or you will in the near future. Like Liz Claiborne, she too is a designer and a business woman. She believes that is what makes her stand out, and I think she is right.

On March 11,2009 she opened her first 1,800-square-foot clothing store at 1905 Walnut St selling only her merchandise. Her designs fuse Pakistan and American cultures to make an irresistible and well developed line. How irresistible, you ask? Well so much so that her first line EVER ( Fall 2009) was featured in Glamour Magazine, picked up by 26 boutiques in areas like London, Paris, and NYC, and her clothing is available in show rooms in LA and London.

Zahra is making her way through the fashion world on a different path than most up and coming designers. While others wait for deals from department stores and Boutiques, Zahra opened a boutique of her own. That is a huge investment. She got the start up money the old fashioned way, she saved. While the final price tag on her investment is unknown, she does disclose that it is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.


Recently, she has secured a loan from the bank in order to open two more boutiques, one in MD and another in Connecticut or Washington.

Her journey to becoming a designer and entrepreneur is also one for the books. She was the daughter of a wealthy Pakistani landowner and she was treated like a princess, she even had tailors that custom made the family's clothing. After her arranged marriage she moved to Canada to play the role of housewife. After having two kids and pretty mundane life, she and her husband split. She tried to find a job with no moral support from her family.

She landed a job as a loan officer and after only two months she secured her first mortgage and was promoted to Executive Vice President. In 2007 she began researching fashion and from there things began to move full force ahead. With no formal training she did a few sketches of her vision. She then found a pattern maker and sample makers on craigslist, bought a studio in PA and quit her job in April of 2007.

The industry was brutal to this new designer, she was rejected at every show room in NYC. But she did not give up. Which brings us to where she is today, in a fabulous Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia show room with a $6,000 chandelier hanging from the ceiling, ottomans all around, and clothing lining the walls that is affordable and diverse in its fabric and design.

Even if you were not able to make it to her store in Philly , not to worry, she has a shop online website up and running ( yes already) that is ready to take your order nation wide.


Her clothing is unique and I am sure that I can find nothing else like it even if I tried. In every piece I can see a little bit of her heart and soul. Not to mention she traveled around the world to Paris, London and Pakistan to find her fabrics.

This Moorsetown resident is on an express Acela train straight to the top and I won't be surprised if she is in the 2010 Bryant Park Fashion week Canoodling with Celebrities and Top Designers. Check out her store and website: 1905 Walnut Street, (877) 204-1131, www.zahrasaeed.com.

Also look at her look book here. I guarantee you are going to fall in love with the Fall 2009 line. I promise. As a matter of fact, Zahra, can I please do a pre-order on that cream coat my goodness. Below I going to post some of her pieces that I think are TDF ( to die for). If you don't already love her, you are about to.

($180.00)

($175)

($170)

($145)

($105)

($165)

($120.00)

Oscar de la Renta: International Designer and Philanthropist

As one of my favorite designers, Oscar de la Renta knows how to make a woman look and feel sexy in her clothing.

He was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic on July 22, 1932 to his parents Maria Fiallo and Oscar de la Renta. Oscar studied at some of the most intricate and well respected fashion houses on earth. Before he found his love for fashion he left home at the age of 18 to study painting at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. While in Spain he became interested in fashion and started sketching for different fashion houses. He then landed an opportunity to work as an apprentice to Spain's most renowned couturier, Cristobal Balenciaga. Once Oscar left Spain he went to work as a couture assistant to Antonio Castillo at Lavin in Paris. He was the first Dominican to design for a French couture house.



The well-trained Oscar de la Renta at the age of 31 had major decisions to make. He had to choose between designing custom clothing for Elizabeth Arden and designing ready to wear for Christian Dior. Normal people have to decide between cooking and eating take out for dinner. Oscar was far from normal. His mentor, Diana Vreeland, gave him the advice to get into the ready to wear because that was where the money was. She then said follow up by working for Arden because she will promote him because while working at Dior, you will always be overshadowed by the brand name. And that was the path Oscar followed. After working for Arden for 2 years, he launched his own label.



By 1965 he had a Pink Label and a ready to wear label. It wasn't until 2001 did he introduce his accessories.

Oscar de la Renta has a high-end sportswear collection OSCAR by Oscar de la Renta, cosmetic cases, eyewear, furs, lingerie, scarves, sleepwear, and swimwear. Additionally he has a men's collection that includes sports coats, suits, and trousers. He included a home wear addition to his lines as well. As if he did not already have enough products baring his name, he came out with fragrances in 1977 for women and 1980 for men. Oscar reminisced with NY mag saying that at the age of 7 he experimented with making perfume in his back yard. He was fascinated how dewdrops came from flowers, who knew that would be the beginning of his path to success.


In 2004 he introduced an eyewear line, a lower priced clothing line call O Oscar, and a free standing store on Madison Avenue. During this year he handed over his chief executive title to son in law Alex Bolen but her remains chairman.


At the age of 35 Oscar de la Renta married Francoise de Langlade, the editor-in-chief of French Vogue. She worked as a consultant to Elizabeth Arden and was very prominent in fashion and society. She attracted many rich and famous people to his shows with helped his business incredibly.

After a struggle with cancer she died in 1983. It was that time that he adopted his child Moises, because her death left him without a family.


He remarried to Annette Reed in 1989 who was the former wife of the American Heritage magazine published Samuel Pryor Reed. Her 3 children from that marriage would receive over 50 million in shared and buildings around the world upon their 21st birthday. She was also a socialite who brought a lot of attention to her husband's brand. However, strangely enough when he first asked her to be married she didn’t jump at the opportunity saying that she thought there was no need. But since he is Latino and he believes in the institution they were married.



Protégé of Baron de Gunzburg, Oscar de la Renta not only contributed significantly to fashion, but he has contributed to the world as well. He was honored by the Dominican Republic with the order al Merito de Juan Pablo Duarte and the Order of Cristobal Color. He also contributed heavily to the construction of a school in Punta Cana. He is a member of The Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and Channel Thirteen/WNET. He is also on the boards of New Yorkers for children, The Americas Society, ad the Spanish Institute. Another huge extension of himself is that he adopted a child, Moises de la Renta, from the Dominican Republic. He did this well before it became a fad and for all the right reasons.



Today his son is in his twenties and has taken up an interest in fashion. He spends his time like many of his other socialite peers in clubs and hanging out. Moises attended Marymount Manhattan College before dropping out to become a designer. Today he is studying at FIT. HE mad a hipster looking T-shirt as his first try at designing and it sold for $150 with critical acclaim from the top fashion mags. In January he debuted a denim collection in Damon Dashes club called NA. It was successful and his father believes he has a lot of talent, but he has a ways to go and that is why he is in school. Oscar emphasizes to his son that it is nice to have your clothes in Vogue, but the way to make money is to sell to stores that people can buy from. His line today, MDLR is a polar opposite of his father's clothing but the edge combined to delicate tailoring can only spell success for the young de la Renta.






Mr. de la Renta is a very accomplished designer that has attracted women both young and old to his collections. As a masterful tailor and a skillful designer he is sought after by some of the top people in the world such as Anna Wintour, Laura Bush, Beyonce Knowles and the late Jackie Onassis. Today his business is booming because professional women are buying clothes that she likes and not the boring clothes to fit into a man's world, as was the case in the seventies.


Today Oscar also has a lot of suggestions from politicians and their spouses. Working with Nancy Reagan and Jackie O, Oscar is no stranger to the white house. For Hillary Clinton he advises that she doesn’t wear black because it makes her look tough. (He reveals to NYmag that he even voted for her husband in addition to Reagan and Bush.) Mr. de la Renta has also been tough on the First lady Mrs. Obama. He wasn't to pleased that she wore a sweater to Buckingham Palace. This came after her decision against wearing an Isabel Toledo original dress to the meeting with the Queen. He also believes that she should give more support to the fashion industry that is tanking now. While some hard working and deserving designers are practically starving, J.Crew is selling out of the 300$ cardigans worn by the first lady. I understand where he is coming from, but whatever the first lady wears someone is going to be unhappy.





Award Center:
CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2000 and 2007
CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award 1973-1976
President of CFDA 1986-1988
Won American Fashion Critic's Award twice
Winner of Fragrance Foundation Perennial Success Award in 1991
Living Legend Award from American Society of Perfumes in 1995
Coty Hall of Fame 1973
French legion d'Honneur
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hispanic Heritage Society
Gold Medal of Bellas Artes form the King of Spain in 2000


I am very impressed with his accomplishments as a designer, but I am even more impressed with his contributions outside of just making quality clothing. This year he was noted for having more diversity on the runway, which is a huge think to me and I appreciate him for that. That is only one thing to add to his list of many selfless and generous acts. The adoption of Moises is something that has really turned me onto Oscar de la Renta. He treats his son as if he was his own blood. He care about him like a father should, he gets upset with unfair media coverage and criticisms of his child. He is supportive, loving, and he is not absent in his son's life. A lot of fathers and parents in general today need to take note from Mr. de la Renta.

Designers around the world should take notes from his designing skills. None of his pieces look cheap or poorly crafted, that would be simply impossible. The skills he acquired while he was young have been continued to this day in his clothing. No one woman on earth can resist his feminine dresses, beautiful prints, and flattering fit. I definitely can't.


Oscar, having a sample sale anytime soon?

P.s. don’t forget to follow his pr team on twitter.com/OscarPRGirl

<3

Connaissez-vous Thierry Mugler ?!

Wow, I can't believe I have yet to write about this man whose styling has given Beyonce her futuristic and now trademark look. You see, I love Beyonce, so I absolutely love any designer that blesses her with costumes that would define her Sasha Fierce (and sometimes Beyonce) persona.

But honestly, have you ever seen a picture of this guy? I know I never have and when I was doing my research I nearly choked on my water. What designer do you know makes these kind of costumes ......


And looks like this.....


In his case, we definitely can not judge a book by its cover. But what we can judge Thierry by is his work, which is unique and truly artistic. Personally, when I look at his sketches and his designs I think of Picasso and his cubist (is that a word) paintings. His designs also add in a mixture of robotic characteristics, which in some circumstances could be unflattering for women, but Thierry knows what he is doing. He was so far ahead of his time when he began that not many could actually appreciate some of his best known work. His designs are what people in the 80's might have believed we would all be wearing in this time of 2009. Heck, I can't understand why we aren't all wearing his designs already on a daily basis.


Let's dig deeper into the life of this unsuspecting designer.


Born in 1948 in Strasbourg, France, Thierry Mugler had an inkling for fashion design all his life. Like Walter Baker, he started off on a different career path , but Theirry's was a little more unconventional. He trained in ballet while studying design and making clothing for his friends. He attended Lycée Fustel de Coulange, 1960-65, and the School of Fine Arts, Strasbourg, 1966-67.


He also designed on the side while he was a window designer in Paris in 1970. His first lime Cafe de Paris was not made until 1973. He made a woman's line in 1975, and a men's line in 1978. His runway garments were really extreme and exaggerated. Unfortunately , his fashion house did not last through the 90's. And in 2003 his couture collection was shut down.


Before his line was closed he managed to, in 1985, create the costumes for the musical "Emilie Jolie". He designed clothing that was hip with the times, bat winged shirts and lots of Lycra.

In 1998 he managed to be one of the few French designers to own his own factory and he was the first designer to create a virtual fashion show for the Internet.


He didn't let the collapse of his fashion line stop his creative genes. He went into business with a skincare company called Clarins to make fragrances, which Mugler's company is best known for today. Sometimes he even outsells Chanel No. 5 in France, how unimaginable is that? But honestly, I am def. sure all his money comes from perfume. Check out this list of fragrances( and I am not even sure it's the whole thing):

Angel	1992	Women	The first oriental gourmand fragrance[vague]; the #1 perfume in France and the #8 perfume in the US (according to NPD Research[vague])
A*Men	1996	Men	Known as "Angel Men" in US/Canada and Middle East due to trademark issues
Innocent	1998	Women	Known as "Angel Innocent" until 2004
Mugler Cologne	2001	Unisex	Inspired by a soap; contains proprietary "S-molecule"[vague]
B*Men	2004	Men	Currently[vague] being phased out of retail distribution
Angel Garden of Stars	2005-06	Women	Floral versions of Angel (peony, violet, lily, and rose)
Alien	2005	Women	First new Mugler women's fragrance not based on the Angel concept; modeled by Tina Baltzer
A*Men Summer Flash	2006	Men	Men's fragrance based on A*Men
Mugler Cologne Summer Flash	2006	Unisex	Adds a cooling ingredient to Mugler Cologne
Innocent Summer Flash	2006	Women	Women's fragrance based on Innocent
Innocent Secret	2006	Women	Made for Victoria's Secret stores
Perfume: The Coffret	2006	Unisex	Movie tie-in to Perfume: The Story of a Murderer; consists of 15 fragrances; price $700 US
ICE*Men	2007	Men	Faced by Greg Plitt; launched worldwide in April 2007 (March 2008 in US)
Eau de Star	2007	Women	Launched worldwide in April 2007 (October 2007 in US)
Miror Miror!	2007	Women	A line of five women's fragrances; limited distribution and priced higher than other Mugler products
Innocent Illusion	2008	Women	A flanker of Innocent
A*Men Pure Coffee	2008	Men	Flanker to A*Men with Arabica Coffee note
Angel Sunessence	2009	Women	Summer light version of Angel
Alien Sunessence	2009	Women	Summer light version of Alien

With his fragrance market success, he reopened his couture line in 2008, spear headed by Rosemary Rodriguez, even adding some eye glasses to his portfolio.


Outside of the consumer market, he has signed up with Cirque du Soleil in 2003 for its show "Zumanity" which is Cirque's first show for an adult audience. Good, don't let all those muscles go to waste !


He also published two books on his designs Thierry Mugler (1988) and Fashion Fetish Fantasy (1998).
, inspired by Stalinist propaganda ( hmm). He directed a video in 1992 for George Michael's Too Funky featuring Mugler's famous motorcycle dress.



Let's talk about his biggest venture here in the US-- collaborating with Beyonce to do all her costumes for the multi-million dollar I AM.. Tour. Beyonce chose him after viewing his designs in the Metropolitan Museum for the Art's Costume Institute Superheroes exhibit in May of 2008. ( Hmm I wonder if that inspired some of the songs on her album) Mugler will make 58 pieces for Beyonce, her dancers, and her band. However, he won't contribute all of her looks, she has to save room for her Dereon Line. He will serve as the creative advisor of the tour, designing some lighting and even choreography for her shows. Additionally he will direct three portions of the production, Dangerously in Love, Ave Maria, and The Finale. ( Let me just add, those were the best parts of the show, loved it! )


Thankfully, Mugler's fashion house has revived itself and come back in full effect. We can see his influences in many other designers line Balenciaga, Dolce and Gabbana and McQueen. However no one has managed to come close to his style. He is the only designer I know that can make an outfit which needs no one accessory. Not a hat, not an earring, not a bracelet, nothing. No wonder during the Beyonce concert all her jewelery was flying off, her Thierry Mugler outfits were simply rejecting them.


Thierry has done everything from design, dancing, photography, publishing, and made fragrances. He hasn't let anything stand in the line of his desires and dreams. We all need to take note from him, because even though his line did fail at one point it came back stronger than ever. Additionally, he didn't quit on life after that set back, but he moved on and kept the creative juices flowing. In recognition of his hard work and dedication Thierry Mugler was invited to sit on the Comite Colbert; thereby joining the top 75 French companies that share the passion for excellence, creativity, and luxury in the production of their merchandise.


However, his contributions to the fashion world have been amazing and untouchable. He has worked with the idea of shaping a perfect woman, not perfecting the shape of a woman, which is very different. His designs are well engineered and structured making them look anything but cheap or affordable. His strong, bold, and non conforming designs are unmatched in the industry today. Have you ever heard of a Thierry Mugler look a like/knock off? Yeah, me neither.


So Thierry, thanks for staying strong through all your struggles and obstacles. You have taught me that no matter how many things go wrong, so much more can go right if you stay focused. You also have earned my highest praise for your work on Beyonce's wardrobe and concert. You have totally revamped her look and her appeal and frankly I love it. You're the modern day Picasso if he designed clothing and I wouldn't want you in any other way.

p.s. How about coming out with a work out tape... I could def use some of your muscles!

<3