Nicola Formichetti x 6 – a brief timeline

Image via ViceStyle

In Vice’s fashion issue:March 17, 2011

On fashion and sex:

“The ability to watch porn straightaway means that the times when you have actual physical intimacy with someone else aren’t so special. You just think, “I could have just done this on my own and I wouldn’t have had to shower or spend all that money on drinks,” you know? It ends up just being easier. The world is changing and it’s an exciting time to be experimenting with sex, fashion, and music.” Read more…

In T Magazine’s blog: January 4, 2010

On inspiration:

I get inspired from people around me: my friends, collaborators, designers and photographers. I’m so lucky I get to meet and play with all these amazing people! I also have a huge toy collection that I often source through for ideas, but most importantly I find that traveling and visiting new places is very inspiring. Read more…

In Fashion Indie.com: April 9, 2009

On how he started:

“It was almost ten years ago, maybe. When I was 22. I sort of fell into it really. I was working in a shop called the Pineal eye, selling young designers. I was the shop assistant/buyer. I met Katy England and Alister Mackie who were the fashion directors of Dazed and Confused then, they asked me to work on small projects for the magazine. What began as a small monthly column grew in to monthly projects. A few years later Jefferson Hack asked me to be the creative director of the magazine. Through the whole experience I started working for other magazines and pursuing other projects in fashion, creative consulting, opening a shop in japan, etc.” Read more…

In Models.com: July 16, 2009

On giving back:

“I like to give people something positive and fun, just pure love and if I can make money doing so then that’s great. But it is very important for me to give back to people, which is why I like working with young creative designers and new models. The more successful I become the more I can give back, that’s the way I see it.” Read more…

Un Nouveau Ideal: November 28, 2008

On influence:

“My Mum had the biggest influence on me and she still does! I share her love of beauty and adore her ability to balance this with a very practical nature. She keeps me focused too.” Read more…

Where The Lights End: September 12, 2008

On fashion in Japan:

“There are alot of interesting things happening with high-fashion and streetwear in japan. It doesn’t really reach out because it is so far away from the other fashion capitals and it doesn’t really reach out. My new job at Vogue Hommes Japan is an attempt to push Exciting fashions from Japan to the rest of the world!” Read more…

Advanced Style

“Style is something inter-growth. it’s something that’s you. It’s part of your psyche. You have to study yourself, learn who you are; that requires a lot of work which a lot of people don’t want to do. But if you don’t do that, you can copy somebody else’s style but it won’t be yours.”
– Iris Apfel

And a big bleeping shout out to Advanced Style for providing the video.

I came upon Iris Apfel while reading an article called Garb Fest in T magazine by the lovely fashion reporter Lynn Yaeger. The latter was organizing a tea party with some of the most revered fashion savants in New York. Just reading the colour descriptions of clothing by Suzanne Golden, Patricia Fox, Tziporah Salamon said reporter and Iris Apfel was foreign to me. I think that’s because this story showed me the depth behind a person’s whimsical world of style. They were a mis-match of Bottega Veneta and Comme des Garçon with tweaks of vintage resulting in a collage of quirky, colourful outfits. One like me, could only admire. But I was happy to walk away with an important piece of me after reading the article. It is one thing to try to make a statement – something we’re all caught up in these days – but to own your statement, and be able to connect each item of clothing to a piece of personal history – now that’s the real spice to life.

I am, and I’ll be the first to admit it, afraid of getting old. Maybe it’s because my personal sense of style is connected to my culture, which is hip-hop. I grew up on the latest Nike hi-tops, multi-coloured track suits and up-to-date hairstyles. As I’ve grown old-er, though I have experimented with fashion, I’ve always found comfort in “street” style. Don’t get me wrong, I can be a bit of chameleon, when I have to, but jeans, sneakers, gold chains, those are my staple. And I have been one of the few who can own that style culture and not feel, or look, like trying too hard. But as I get older, will it still suit? This is exactly the point Ms. Apfel makes finding and understanding your style “requires some hard work which a lot of people don’t wanna do.” While I don’t question my style sense as much now, when it comes to the future, well, I suppose those are questions not worth pondering at the moment. Because if this style is really you, it will grow with you.

A couple of months ago, I was talking with a friend of mine who said that he used to send his mother – a woman in her `70s – the latest Nike sneakers. He wasn’t doing it to make a statement; he simply had a discount and would send them to her. which was funny because he, a man of 32, said that he didn’t wear his sneakers anymore because he had grown out of streetwear. He to me, didn’t really stand out style wise, yet it was funny because he commented on the fact that I would wear the latest sneakers, and that I had style. So, looking back, I see this was a young lad who didn’t own his. But it’s crystal clear to me, that I own mine.

A Bathing Ape 1st Camo Apesta via Hypebeast

Musing: BRPYV

When it comes to fashion, for me, it’s not just about the clothes, but the colourful characters apart of it. I wouldn’t strive to be in fashion had it not been for Diana Vreeland’s authorized, and unauthorized biographies. Or her work during her tenure at Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Truth be told, if it were based on the strength of fashion alone, I probably wouldn’t really be in it. And I say this because I know has ruthless the fashion world can be.

In contrast to the Anna Wintours and Sarah Mowers of the world, there are the ones that make life – not just fashion – worth living. And finally, thanks to the rise of the Internet, these people are finally becoming forces to be reckoned with.

Anna Wintour has been called the most powerful woman in fashion. So, let’s call Anna Dello Russo its MVP. She has been in fashion for over 20 years, yet, it was not until around 2008 or so, that she came center stage. Never mind Ms. Russo’s 4,000 pairs of shoes, or the apartment she has strictly for her wardrobe. Ms. Russo is a performance artist. Her and fashion are one in the same. Through her inspiration, it is okay to have a passion for fashion in the literal sense. It’s not about impulse buying, it’s about adoring beautiful things, and the escape it can bring. The runway can be like a dream, and to own an item off the runway is but a dream come true.

Ms. Russo is here to fill the void of the late Ms. Blow and all the other people we have lost over the years.

It was a humid day in New York City, and I was having lunch on a patio with a good friend of mine, but I can’t quite remember where. We lamented about our careers, shared ideas, fed off each other, and out of the blue, my friend yelled out “I love you Ms. Yaeger!” I turned around, and this caricature with bright orange hair and long skirt turned around and waved. She was the original Ms. Lynn Yaeger – the fashion reporter with a witty sense of humour. Unfortunately, I didn’t know her as the head fashion journalist at the Village Voice, but I certain feed off her articles in Vogue, T Magazine, and the New York Times. You know, both her and Ms. Russo are quirky, and both take their clothing very seriously -they just have different style.

If I lived in New York City – or London – I’d feel comfortable exploring that whimsical side of my own style. And I say that because cities like Toronto don’t always get it.

According to an article in the Guardian, when it came to trying to pin down Ms. Anna Piaggi’s status in the fashion world, the journalist asked “how did a classically educated girl from a quiet, bookish family become one of fashion’s most outrageous iconoclasts?” Well, because she didn’t want to follow the tradition of her family, of course. The mad hatter who always has something in her hand to match is a fashion force toujour. Her signature blue hair and eye shadow are just thin strokes on such a vast and complex canvas. So much so, that the Victoria and Albert Museum held an exhibition in her honour.

Ms. Piaggi plays by her rules. And for that the fashion world has nothing but respect for her character, both inside, and out.

When I started reading Tatler back in 2007, I had no idea it was a high society British magazine. I only read it after learning Fashion Teleivision, that Isabella Blow was its fashion director. And who was she? A quirky, whimsical character whose over-the-top persona was enough to turn anyone onto the publication That’s all. And since her tragic passing in 2007, admittedly, I have not really read the publication since. She was known as the woman who nurtured careers. For she “found” Philip Treacy and the late, magnificent Alexander McQueen.

Ms. Blow’s life, despite her fame, was tragic. But she paved the way for finding strength in your individual style.

Ms. Diana Vreeland was a polished dresser, but her personality was a colourful as the red sea. And yes, she loved the colour red. She was an unconventional thinker, and unbelievable story teller. And because of her ideas, had a knack for creating something grad out of absolutely nothing. Whether at Vogue or the MET, she was a curator of ideas. Ms. Vreeland turned fashion dreams into reality.

You didn’t understand Ms. Vreeland, you conceptualized her.