Category archives: Wearable Art

  • As the summer season steadily winds down, and we start looking towards dressing for colder weather, let's look at items that women can wear all season long. But let's not forget that many of us tend to wear the same clothes all season long, on account of frigid temperatures in many places of work. (After all, we can't ignore talk about unfairly regulated, "sexist" air-conditioners.) Meaning, that while it may be hot outside, it's ice-cold in many offices, movie theaters, shopping venues and more, so the need to stash a sweater in our totes is vital to summer survival. However, this trend story is not about office politics, or sweater layering, it's about what we can wear anytime and anywhere that's always on trend (and will still look fierce under a sweater or with opaque tights). Here are your three, tried-and-true fashion items (plus a bonus item) below: The Wrap Dress Photo Credit: DVF Pity we don't have a nationally-designated holiday, celebrating Diane of Fürstenberg, the famed designed who introduced the valued fashion staple in 1974. You can wear a wrap dress anytime of the year. With sleeves pushed up just so, enjoy walking around in breathable fabric, made with seasonless silk jersey. A Printed Scarf And A Gold Bracelet  Photo Credit: Mariano Vivanco/Vogue Brazil These are essential and effortlessly chic accessories that always work winter, spring, summer and fall. Use gold bracelets to dress up or down a style, and incorporate a s[...]
  • This week, while we are trying to figure out how to somehow incorporate bodysuits into our late-Summer wardrobe, or how to convert a shirtdress into a layering piece, Paper Magazine has issued a fantastic round-up of 15 fashion stars-to-come that you need to know about right now . These designers are fresh out of design school, probably excited to hit the ground running this September when the official 2015 international Fashion Week season returns after Summer hiatus. Here's a sneak peak at FOUR of the designers featured in the round-up that are going to be household names by the time the 2016 Fashion Week season cycles in. You're welcome. 1) Jon Max Goh, Parsons The New School for Design Photo: Hiu Zhi Wei  Talented design, who also has a great singing voice, creates gender fluid ready-to-wear that doesn't conform to mainstream norms. “I’m interested in asking why and how we design the way we do—and answering these questions by designing in a way we don’t,” Goh tells Style.com. 2) Samantha MacDonald, Savannah College of Art and Design Photo: Samantha MacDonald This designer-to-watch will not be as easy to find on future high-fashion runway but she will certainly influence popular style as in-coming Assistant Fashion Designer at Macy's starting this Fall. 3) Elizabeth Hilfiger, Rhode Island School of Design Photo: Elizabeth Hilfiger Tommy's middle daughter might prove to be a chip off the old block, effortlessly creating preppy fast fashion like h[...]
  • Holy mandels, New York Fashion Week: Men’s edition premieres this week with designers like Thom Browne and Public School and Rag&Bone, Hickey Freeman presenting looks for Spring 2016! As you keep from sweating, waiting in anticipation for Women's fashion week to kick off September 10, check out some of the fresh, masculine looks hitting the runways this week! What's interesting about this week's Men's Fashion Week in New York, which kicked off on July 13, and closes July 16 with a showcase by John Varvatos is that the biannual event might just get the attention that's it's been so eager to receive for a very long time, on account of the uptick in menswear sales. Business of Fashion reports that, in the UK, "men have become so fashion-conscious that they are now outspending women on items like shoes." As Euromonitor International reports: "By 2019, menswear is expected to contribute close to US$40 billion in sales to the global apparel market." So here are three things you need to know about Men's Fashion Week: 1) If You Want To Know What's Hot, You Need To Follow @StevenKolb With respect to this year's fashion week, Steven Kolb, chief executive officer of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, or CFDA, the group that organizes New York’s fashion weeks, is the Grand Poobah of the week. He's everywhere you'd want to be, hobnobbing with celebs, and capturing excellent looks from the front row, and immediately posting images and Vines on his Twitter pa[...]
  • No doubt about it, fashion and music have an almost symbiotic connection. Tastemakers like Gwen Stefani make it look so easy, right? However, with the hit-and-misses of musical fashion designers like Kayne West, finding a way to successfully meld the two together is not an easy feat. That's what makes former fashion accessories designer Krista Retto such a fascinating subject. She's flawlessly applied her talents in marketing and advertising into successful jewelry-making career, and then reinvented herself again (of course using all the skills she's mastered) to create a music company. She's the co-founder of the Big House Companies, comprised of a music publishing house (Big House Publishing) and a indie record label (BHi Music Group), that has found a way to harness all of her past experiences into one all-encompassing career. Ready to reinvent yourself? Krista gives some insight into how it's done. Read and learn after the jump. BhpNewYork.com Jacqueline Colette Prosper, yummicoco.com 1) Tell us how you got into jewelry making. I fell haphazardly into the world of jewelry. I went to Senegal, West Africa for music (out of pure love) and, while there, also discovered the beauty of gems and jewelry-making. When 9/11 hit, I stepped out of my corporate life and volunteered for months at the World Trade Center site, came home each night and made jewelry to steady myself. I had lost more than 30 people that I knew and I was more than rattled. Out of she[...]
  • This week, I caught up with independent designer Amber Jimenez Garcia, founder of Ambit NYC, who just completed an impressively large-scale project with a well-established lifestyle brand recently. Known for producing locally-sourced, handmade designs, Ambit NYC, is growing as Amber uncovers new ways to diversify her brand.  Via e-mail, she offers some insight to Art For Progress readers! 1) Can you fill us in about the experience of producing a high volume of hats for a top lifestyle brand, all on your own? In my experience, it is really about who you know. Every time I have had an opportunity to work for an interesting company on a freelance basis, it was due to a friend's recommendation. For this company, which is branded as high-quality, a friend who works there in accessories design, [reached out to be as] she was looking to push work with an American-made brand in millinery.  She has a few of my hats, and really believed in the quality of my work. [However this project was on] a much larger scale than what I'm used to. It was a great challenge, and I am happy to have had the opportunity. 2) Got any pro-tips for those looking to work with companies on a freelance basis?  One of the most important lessons that I gained from the project was to make a timeline, and to stick to it. Even with several setbacks along the way, sticking to a time-and-action calendar helped me meet each setback head on. 3) Are you still making baby booties [...]
  • Known as the Super Bowl of Drag, RuPaul's Drag Race, now in its 7th season, will announce this year's winner tonight on LOGO-TV! I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it! Image Credit: Mathu Andersen/LOGO Full disclosure: It's one of my all-time favorite program, and I totally believe it is one of the best shows on TV. And what's wonderful is that I'm not the only one. RuPaul's Drag Race's fans span all social backgrounds and sexual orientations! Sure this year's edition hasn't been the most outstanding season, with mostly lackluster "Lip Syncs For Your Life." it's still great to see the evolution of all of queens, especially the finalists Ginger Minj, Pearl and Violet Chachki. Getty Images for LOGO Here are three fabulous fashion moments as shared to me by Blog Founder, Social Media Strategist Nichelle Stephens, and fellow fan. Like me, she's not quite sure who she's rooting for: "I can't decide but I think I am #TeamViolet," she says. Ginger Minj After last season's Ben de La Creme and Darienne Lake, Ginger Minj seemed like a weak mash-up of the two.  However as the season progressed, you can see that Ginger has Southern charm with campy sensibilities and style. Jason Kempin, Getty Images for Logo TV The best look for her was runway look on the penultimate episode.  The white gown was gorgeous; her makeup was glamorous with being too much and her wig was teased up into a perfect crown.  LOGO-TV Violet Chachki Violet Chachki is waist traini[...]
  • My cousin, Carmela Cirilli Mattson, is a real food chef, teaching probiotic workshops, near her home in New York's Hudson Valley  selling cultures for kefir, kombucha and more, and creating delicious Paleo meals for delivery. Lacto-Fermentation Workshop Carmela loves the magic that happens with fermented foods---watching raw ingredients transform into amazing, flavorful food is adventurous and fun for her.   Sourdough Starter But, as she stands committed to reviving "the lost cultured food traditions," sharing her "knowledge to help build a strong real food community," she's also doing it nine months pregnant, simultaneously minding a three-year-old daughter. Yikes!   Ladybug Apple Snack "Juggling work while parenting hasn't been easy," she shares, including her daughter in her kitchen adventures, teaching her healthy eating habits. "It's been tough working with ferments during pregnancy because I had terrible nausea for the first two trimesters;" Carmela admits. "I had to put my ferments on hold because I couldn't tolerate the smell and taste." Some "Kombucha" Humor  Luckily, she won't have long to wait before jumping back into fermented foods. Kefir Milk and Kombucha In the meantime, she and her filmmaker husband, Tim, are busy preparing for a new addition in their household. While on prescribed bed rest, Carmela took some time out to share her three favorite maternity items. Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco Deni[...]
  • Barcelona-born Brooklynite, pianist Eva Novoa  has produced two cds, her debut Trio (with Masa Kamaguchi on bass and Marc Lohr on drums), and Quartet (with Ernesto Aurignac on alto saxophone, Masa Kamaguchi on bass and André Sumelius on drums), both released on the label Fresh Sound New Talent. Before moving to Brooklyn, she lived many years The Hague, Netherlands, studying, and eventually teaching at Koninklijk Conservatorium.   It was in Holland, that she not only learned Dutch curse words,  she also how to live in shitty weather: "It's much worse than New York. It may rain 6 days out of 7, she says while chatting in her kitchen, over espresso and Spanish shortbread cookies. "Wherever you go, you're soaked, shoes are dripping water." Find out about her beloved fashion accessories after the jump, and learn more about this gifted musician at EvaNovoa.com. Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco   Floral Infinity Scarf I found this floral scarf on my way to work at a musical theatre in Holland. In a country where there's so much wind, and you're on your bike, your scarf eventually flies away. So you just do this [EVA MAKES A DOUBLE LOOP WITH THE CLOSED-LOOPED FABRIC], and you don't lose it. It's really warm! In Holland, you always have to wear a scarf. even in the summer. The weather sucks, and you have to wear something [warm], or else you'll get sick.    Vintage Little Black Dress From Grandma For the anniversary of the mus[...]