NFL star Plaxico Burress is testing new waters during the off-season and has launched a luxury sock line as part of The Plaxico Burress Collection.
A fan of vibrant and comfortable socks, Burress, 35, has spent the last two years designing a collection that reflects his taste in fashion and provides great-fitting socks to those who consider them hard to find. “I’ve always been crazy about my socks, my socks have always been loud,” Burress told theGrio at his launch event on Friday.
“It’s all about comfort and style, I want to wear a sock that’s comfortable for me because I have a size 12 shoe, I put on a lot of these socks on and the heel box doesn’t even go over my heel,” he admits. As a result, Burress took it upon himself to craft a line that provides these necessities for men – but he isn’t the only celeb to launch this venture.
Reality TV star Rob Kardashian has also recently entered the market for footwear and released his own line of designer socks, known as Arthur George. However, Burress says his collection “isn’t like anyone else’s, it’s a little different over here” and reassures that “it’s all about comfort and style.”
Posts tagged as “style”
Pioneering entrepreneur Ophelia DeVore Mitchell set up the New-York-based Grace Del Marco in 1946 at a time when it was almost unthinkable for black women to be recognized in the media for their beauty.
In its early days, the groundbreaking agency paved the way for African-Americans to pursue careers in the fashion and entertainment industries.
Agency launched black superstars
Indeed, the agency and modeling school helped launch the early careers of actresses Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson.
It also represented people such as Gail Fisher; Richard Roundtree; Trudy Haynes, one of the first black female TV reporters; and Helen Williams, one of the first African-American fashion models to break into the mainstream.
DeVore’s extensive collection consists of thousands of items, from photos to scrapbooks relating to her time at the helm of the agency, to lengthy correspondence from her other business ventures.
In an interview with theGrio, DeVore, who is surprisingly lucid for her 92 years, says when she co-founded Grace Del Marco, “people of color didn’t even count in the beauty industry, not just in America, but across the world.”
Her drive, she says, came from her own personal experiences working briefly as a model, mainly for Ebony Magazine, from the age of 16.
Though DeVore is of mixed-race origin, the South-Carolina-born beauty became acutely aware of how black people were depicted in the media and subsequently made it her mission to change these images.
Two years later, in 1948, Devore established the Ophelia DeVore School of Charm, where young black women learned etiquette, poise and posture, speech and ballet, and self-presentation.
The archives, which span from the 1940s to 1990s, document the changing attitudes and images of non-whites in the beauty industry, says DeVore’s son, James D. Carter, who took over the charm school for a number of years and later ran other aspects of the Devore businesses.
Kerry Washington has landed the cover of Elle‘s June 2013 issue, making it the actress’ first major fashion mag cover. Washington poses in a sweet cardigan and plaid shorts by Marc Jacobs, with just a hint of a Carine Gilson Lingerie Couture bra peeking out. It shouldn’t be too surprising that Kerry’s scored a major cover — not only is she a Best-Dressed List regular with enviable red carpet style, but she also stars in TV’s hottest show, Scandal, and was part of the massively successful Django Unchained.
Yet with all that success, Kerry had yet to pose for a fashion magazine cover up till now. Women’s Health, Ebony, Essence, Vibe — plenty of non-fashion glossies have chosen Kerry for their covers. She even shared the cover of Elle‘s “Women in Hollywood” issue in December 2012. But the likes of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar eluded her. Until now.
article via huffingtonpost.com
At the 2013 White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, First Lady Michelle Obama glowed in a glittering black cap-sleeve gown by Monique Lhuillier. The designer tweeted, “I am honored @MichelleObama is wearing me to the White House correspondence dinner tonight !! She looks amazing!!! xx Monique”.
Fashion journalist Laurie Brookins added, via Twitter, that the dress was “a black beaded/draped chiffon goddess gown with high neckline in Chantilly lace.”
article via huffingtonpost.com
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Ebony Fashion Fair exposed black American audiences to some of the most cutting edge couture fashions in the world. But the reason the shows were able to attract such quality was because of Eunice W. Johnson, the wife of John Johnson, who was the head of Johnson Publishing Company. Mrs. Johnson regularly traveled to Europe and purchased couture from the top fashion houses in Europe.
“On the runways, what you saw was her vision of what was fashionable and what was stylish,” curator Joy Bivins said. “In the late 1950s, when these black people showed up in Europe to purchase these garments, it wasn’t always an easy thing to get their foot in the door. They didn’t have the history, they didn’t know who we were, what Ebony was.”
They amassed thousands of ensembles, some of which will be on display at the Chicago History Museum’s newest exhibition “Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair.”
Read the full article: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair on display at Chicago History Museum through Jan. 2014 | theGrio.
Stephen Burrows’s collection for Henri Bendel in Central Park in 1970. (Charles Tracy)
Every decade or so, Mr. Burrows has a moment, whenever his disco-era look of rainbow jersey dresses and lettuce-edge hems has an unexpected revival in fashion. This season, there was more than a hint of his influence on the runways of Diane von Furstenberg (color blocking meets glam-rock wrap dress) and Marc by Marc Jacobs (berry colors and groovy prints that suggest the ’40s by way of the ’70s).
People are also talking about Mr. Burrows because he played a pivotal role as one of the American designers who participated in the 1973 fashion spectacular at Versailles, an event recently revisited in a documentary by Deborah Riley Draper and the subject of a book planned by Robin Givhan. That show broke color barriers in fashion in a way that has not been replicated since.
As of March 22nd, in recognition of Mr. Burrows, who is 69, as the first internationally successful African-American designer, the Museum of the City of New York began the first large-scale exhibition of his early work. More than 50 of his designs, including a chromatically colored jersey jumpsuit that Carrie Donovan plucked from his boutique inside Henri Bendel in 1970 for Cher to wear in a Vogue photo shoot, are on display, along with videos, photos and one of his Coty Awards. Mr. Burrows was the first African-American designer to receive one.
According to Fashionista.com, Patrick Robinson, former Gap Creative Director who recently launched sportswear line Paskho via Kickstarter, will join Armani Exchange as its Creative Director.
His responsibilities will “range from product development to providing creative direction in marketing areas.”
Robinson formerly held the position of Design Director at Giorgio Armani in the 1990s, and in his four years there he made the company’s “Collezioni” line profitable.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson, with contributions from Lesa Lakin via Breaking: Patrick Robinson Is Now the Creative Director of Armani Exchange | Fashionista.
Frank Ocean (Band of Outsiders Tumblr/Instagram)
Now the “Forrest Gump” singer is headlining in his first fashion campaign as the latest subject in Band of Outsiders’ ongoing Polaroid series. Ocean joins the likes of Josh Brolin and Michelle Williams who also modeled for the brands new segment. The sun-kissed images were shot at the Los Angeles Times building by creative director Scott Sternberg. In the hazy shots Ocean rocks the brand’s Spring 2013 collection, featuring a dapper white shirt, black trousers, and a tuxedo jacket with a satin lapel.
Stay tuned to the Band of Outsiders’ Tumblr and Instagram pages as new images from the shoot continue to pop up.
article via Billboard.com
Related Post: Oprah, Frank Ocean Among GLAAD Award Nominees
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama arrives to speak during the “Building a Healthier Future Summit” March 8, 2013 at the Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Our first lady has just scored another first. Michelle Obama has topped the first ever best dressed list from UK’s Sunday Times newspaper, with editors commending her for using fashion as a “force for good.” The Sunday Times Style magazine described Michelle, 49, as “understanding that, as her primary role as first lady is visual, fashion can be a force for good used to inspire and entertain.”
Other names on the list included Queen Elizabeth, Home Secretary Theresa May, Victoria Beckham, artist Grayson Perry’s drag alter-ego “Claire,” 6-year-old Shiloh Jolie-Pitt and actress Dame Helen Mirren. Tiffanie Darke, the Sunday Times Style magazine’s editor, said: ”The diverse nature of this list demonstrates the importance of fashion in the overall conversation, confirming the role clothes play in creating a visual manifesto.”
article via eurweb.com