Are Celebrities the New Fashion Designers?

The style of Americans is constantly transitioning. With new designers and upcoming labels being created everyday and multiplying due to more accessible outlets and technology, Americans, now more than ever, have access to multicultural styles from across the nation. Where New York was once thought as the fashion capital of the country, and perhaps even the world, Southern California is gaining more prominence due to Hollywood celebrity influence, completely changing the way Americans gain exposure to the newest trends and fashion.

This has even changed the way designers do business, where once, advertisements and commercials was the most significant way to showcase their threads, a paparazzi photo of Paris Hilton in a certain designer's clothes can make headlines in the tabloids, and accidentally promote the designer. It is not based so much on news print and media to display these clothes anymore, saving millions of dollars in advertisements, but it is the act of giving away free clothes to celebrities, in hopes that they will to wear their designs on a particular day that they get shot in a paparazzi photo. The whim of Hollywood celebrities now has precedence over choosing the trends of Americans across the nation.

Several Hollywood celebrities including Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton and Gwyneth Paltrow have gone even a step further from showcasing other designer's lines, into actually starting their own lines. Seeing first handedly of the influence that they have over promoting other designers just by wearing their clothes, has enabled them to envision the great success they potentially could have by creating their own lines. Nicole Richie has already started her own jewelry line named House of Harlow, with aspirations of branching out to clothing, shoes and handbags. Currently, the price of this jewelry line ranges from around $55 to over $400 and is sold exclusively at Kitson, a popular boutique in LA known for its celebrity customers. It is astounding that such accessories made of metal and tin, probably imported from China or India, without any real precious stones or metal can be so pricey. (http://www.shopkitson.com/index.php?pageId=2&manufacturer_name=HOUSE+OF+HARLOW+1960&show=all).

It is also common that many celebrities just lend their names to a brand in order to promote it. Where they may not have any actual say in the result of their products, if the label says Victoria Beckham on it, it will sell out. Take Paris Hilton's shoe and handbag line for instance. Paris Hilton claims to have no knowledge in designing and sketching. She obviously has no idea how to construct clothing herself, never the less create handbags or shoes, yet her line can be found in Macy's department stores nationwide. (http://www.theinsider.com/news/642268_Paris_Hilton_Launches_New_Footwear_Line_At_Macys)

Furthermore, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Gwyneth Paltrow, has decided to launch her own fashion line for next fall and winter. The line will be named ZOEtee's Loves Gwyneth and will be a capsule collection for ZOEtee's, a French fashion house. Paltrow claims that the proceeds of this line will go towards London's Kids Company, drawing attention towards this charity in assisting children over the UK area.

Where it is common for celebrities to use the attention that they attract to promote their movies, events and clothing lines, it is also an upcoming trend for them to use the attention that they attract to draw awareness to other charities and good causes. Now, with all these various celebrity collaborations teaming up with charities, it is so easy to be fashionable and philanthropic.

Fashion Tips All Men Should Know

Here are a few fashion essentials all modern men should be aware of. Many of them are not even about fashion but help you look the part. This will be good news for the army of men out there not wanting to follow fashion but still wanting to impress.

Improve your posture

Perhaps the biggest fashion tip of all has nothing to do with fashion itself. It's about improving your posture when you walk, when you stand and when you sit. An army of office workers today slouch at their desk and walk like their grandparents.

Stand straight, pull back your shoulders, push that ribcage out and look straight ahead, not down to the ground. You will exude confidence and for a man, this is worth much more than what the most expensive suit can achieve and is what makes you manly in the eyes of women: confidence to tackle all of life's difficulty, confidence in your ability to overcome adversity.

Look after your clothes and they will look after you

To store your shirts and suits in better conditions and for longer, use wide and stout coat-hangers. Thin metal hangers leave creases and sometimes stain the fabric. With heavy suits, they even get bent. Wide and rounded plastic hangers are cheap and do the job just fine, no need to go for the more expensive wooden hanger.

Learn how to repair a button. Man is in the 21st century and many live alone. There is no point in relying on a woman to do something as simple as that. In fact, it makes you look manlier in that you do not shy away from manipulating something as insignificant and small as a needle and helps you ascertain your independence.

And the unavoidable fashion tips

It is OK to have a few mismatched items of menswear. Men are men, they do not have handbags that need to match shoes, gloves that need to match scarfs and hats, matching earring and necklace sets and so on. So if you wear a brown belt and dark brown shoes with black trousers, it's not the end of the world as long as your clothes look smart and clean. Don't stress unduly about colour coordination.

Since when was a denim shirt a proper shirt? Leave them alone or if you really love denim, at least don't wear them together will denim jeans. Denim shirts are best worn over a t-shirt or vest when the weather is neither warm nor cold enough to warrant a sweater or jacket.

Wear your clothes with pride and care. No more hanging trousers (since when was that fashionable?), no ties askew, shirts-sleeves buttoned up, shoes well-polished.

To carry on the topic of hanging trousers, underwear is just that - best kept under clothes so please, no trousers hanging half-way down the bum, no designer-branded underwear elastic band showing above the trouser belt. No guy wants to know what underwear brand you favour.

Use these fashion essentials in your everyday life without becoming a fashion slave. Improve your posture and watch your physical and psychological well-being improve, not to mention your success with women. Focus not on colour coordination but watch that what you wear is smart and wear proudly.

What Place Does Organic Clothing Have In The Fashion Industry?

Organic clothing, also known as "Eco friendly" fashion, has been in place since ancient times, and is certainly becoming a fixture of the modern fashion industry, in an attempt to provide fashion that is both friendly to the economy and to the consumer since organic materials are ones which are, for the most part, renewable.

Humane and Environment Concern: A Fashion Industry Dilemma.

While many colours are found in nature and are utilised in non-organic clothing, the fashion industry is fraught with dilemmas having to do with issues such as the outsourcing of production to "sweat shops" which pay exceedingly low wages to workers, the harvesting and processing of crops of cotton which have been heavily treated with either pesticides or chemicals, and the pollution caused by manufacturing plants.

Although other factors are involved, these three are the most popular for consideration of "damage control". Certainly, utilising organic materials vs. non-organic, and processing them by means that can better improve working conditions and reduce pollution to a significant degree can be accomplished.

Fashion Designers Who Care: An Introspective

Stella McCartney and Rogan Gregory, among others, have already started leading the fashion industry by example with their choices of renewable fabrics and improvements toward the working conditions of those who produce their clothing lines. While more designers can decide to perform similarly, it can take awhile in today's economy toward getting started in such endeavours. The good news is that others are thinking about following these examples, hence, organic clothing is already a reality, even in the tiniest of beginnings.

Part of the issue with designers and organic fabrics has to do with the nature of fashion, itself. Typically, fashion are designed to last for one to two total seasons, then they are retired to the wardrobe for possible, one-time consideration in the future. A plus, in the many good reasons why organic fashion can become popular with a bit more support, is that organic materials are naturally designed by Mother Nature to last for a longer timeframe. The question posed by those who are sceptical about the future of organic fabrics with fashion have much to do with how such designs could be considered "trendy".

Organic Fabrics: An Overview

The fabrics currently utilised in today's organic fashions include cotton, hemp, soy, bamboo and other materials which are grown without the use of pesticides or other harmful chemicals. Fabric dyes typically come from nature itself, and organic dyes thus come from sources of flowers or other colourful plants, vegetation and fruits which are not treated with chemicals, either.

Dream Fashion Job: Starting an Online Fashion Boutique

Have you always wanted to open your very own store? Are you driven and want to be your own boss? Get the scoop on becoming a fashion boutique owner!

Successful boutique owners are very entrepreneurial-minded people who use a combination of great business savvy and a knowledge of the fashion industry to make profits. Their boutiques target specific customers and carry an assortment of clothing/accessory/beauty designers that appeal to their target market. Boutique owners must be willing to do whatever it takes to get the business going, from planning their inventory, to ringing up customer sales and even cleaning up the store.

Owners must be able to attract investors to fund the initial opening and daily operations of the store. Some boutique owners use loans or personal savings to do so. A solid understanding of business becomes key in obtaining capital to open your store.

Qualifications:
Education: A bachelor's degree in Business Management or Fashion Retailing/Merchandising/Marketing is common.

Experience: Extensive experience in the fashion retail industry in a variety of positions.

Suggested Skills: Solid business skills; management skills; interpersonal skills; knowledge of trends and forecasts; time-management skills.

Personal Characteristics: Entrepreneurial and risk-taking personality; persistence; ability to self-promote.

Here's what Grace Wang, Founder of Unsung Designers, has to say about running an online fashion boutique!

"When I decided to start up my boutique, it was really an issue of timing. I was working at a small start-up that went out of business and I wasn't sure what my next step should be. A colleague and I talked about opening a boutique in Washington, DC. We thought it would be great to work for ourselves in an industry we both loved. Our talk turned into research. We started writing a business plan. The big labels didn't excite me, I always sought out interesting young designers. They were much more cutting edge, they were always ahead of trends. The boutique idea turned into a website because we wanted to reach a wider customer base. We were so excited about the emerging designers, we wanted to make them accessible to people in small towns, across the country, around the world."

Now that Unsung Designers is a successful business, Grace offers some insight on what a typical day is like for her. "An average day for me always starts with a big pot of coffee! I read the fashion news. I take care of orders, customer service, reply to emails from designers, media, general inquiries. I usually spend lunch meeting with a designer or showroom rep. This is networking time. It's important to constantly talk to other people in the industry, especially when you work from home like I do".

For Grace, the best part of being a Online Fashion Boutique Owner is being immersed in an industry she has a passion for. "It used to be a guilty pleasure, when I'd surf fashion sites and do online shopping at my 9-5. I've learned that working for yourself allows you a lot of flexibility. Working for yourself is also a big challenge. You have to be a self-starter or you'll never get things done" says Grace. In the 4 years that she's been in business, Grace has stayed true to the designers the business is based on, "It was always about respect for the creative process and love for clothes. I fiercely protect my designers and trust their creative instinct. I've done what I wanted to do and have close, trusting relationships with my designers", stated Grace.

Secrets of a Fashion Daredevil - #2 Pan American Designers Shape Up the Status Quo

Magazine sales have fallen almost as fast as newspapers and just slightly slower than music CDs.  Outside of the occasional purchase at the airport gift shop I haven't bought a magazine in years.  Like most of you I get my garb from the global free for all online.  Old and dying are the days when mainstream brands and designers can, for a fist full of dollars, dress a celebrity, have their publicist call a photographer(s) and see them semi-serendipitously arrive at their favorite restaurant or club.  Of course, four weeks later their pictures are splashed all over the pages of Vogue, Cosmo and People, where you are told in a story how chic they are and oh, by the way, their new movie starts this week.  Its was all part of a massive marketing machine controlled by conglomerates for herding the fateful masses.  I have some real news for you, destiny is changing. 

Much in the same way our consumption for music and newspapers changed so is our taste for clothing.  No longer does everyone wear Levi 501s; today there are literally thousands of styles and brands of jeans, each giving us our own identity.  No longer are there only a handful of designers spitting out their rendition of what we ought to be wearing; there is real competition for your attention as the masses begin to become aware of the changes around them.  The world is really shrinking and ideas are being shared around the globe at a rapid pace.  At least for now control belongs to the many.

It is a fact that other countries are growing much faster than the United States. Middle classes are being born around the world, in a large part to the free flow of information and education online.  Ideas are traded at light speed and incremental innovation spans the globe like a mutating virus (in fact, by tomorrow someone will copy this article post it to their blog and sell links and advertising, how about that for incremental innovation. BTW, if you are such a person please give credit where credit is due).  Bold independent designers are being born not from the mass market but from the attention they receive from their niche factions.  Sometimes these independents grow into a market for the masses as the best ideas rise to the top. 

More often now these creators of fashion are from outside the United States.  Inspiration is cycling and pop culture is taking on global tastes.  Once only a factory for the first world, South America a vibrant fabricator of textiles and clothing, is transforming into a fashion innovator. Latin American designers like Daniella Helayel (Sao Paulo), Marcia Ganem (technically Central American) and Martha Medeiros have been lamented by Vogue Magazine and worn by such celebrities as Alica Keys, Janet Jackson, Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendez.  The look is definitely more European and less flamboyant than in the past, a sign of growing sophistication from the region. These designers tend to be personal favorites and not force fed to the masses, at least not yet.  Less known but up and coming designers like Jackeline Aguero and Olga Maria Lotero (Cali, Co.) have introduced designs and are getting attention from the fashion forward.  Many of these new creations are about shape and texture as much as color and style.  You can view see some of these designers and their collections online at Telegaleria.com.  Especially exciting are the new jean styles from the region.  Growing in sophistication these "jeans levanta cola" give women the opportunity to have a style of their own and are tailored to lift and shape the figure.

We have seen the acceleration of change from magazines to music to almost every aspect of our lives.  If you are to stand out you must be innovative and must take chances, like the Fashion Daredevil, you will need  to look globally.  Exciting new designs are increasingly rising to the top of the fashion world from Pan America.  I encourage you to step outside your  own backyard for experience worth having and try some of these new tastes, you may find them delicious.