You scream for ice cream, but I scream for POPPY

Felicia Velasquez, Senior Design Director for Coach fills me in on the Poppy collection that is now apart of Coach. Felicia tells me the whole story of coming up with Poppy, the fun spirited young collection.She had gotten her bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design in 91′. She did her freshman year in London,and finished her 3 other years in LA. Her journey to Coach, was pretty simple. She  worked odd jobs before she had her first industry job in a showroom,which then lead to working for one of the Designers the showroom represented and then onto BCBG and then Coach. Handbags weren’t her thing, you can say but when she was introduced to accessories she said,” this is the right place for me.”

I started to ask her questions and got great answers pack from Felicia,  to tell me all to know about POPPY. Here it goes….

1. Q:What was the inspiration/concept for POPPY?

A:” The inspiration for Poppy was to have a collection youthful in spirit,sporty and fun.”

2. Q: Why the name Poppy?

A:” We chose the name Poppy as we felt it was a moniker that embodied the spirit of the collection.”

3.Q: What’s the story that the line Poppy is supposed to tell?Is Poppy a younger hip line from the traditional Coach?

A:” Poppy is an opportunity for us to experiment with  fabrics,prints and colors in a new way for Coach.The feel of the collection is more youthful but Poppy,still remains true to our Coach girl,classic functional shapes and Coach quality but with a turned up element for girlie fun.”

4.Q: Were the bags the inspiration for the whole line?

A: “We always begin with bags,by identifying a key style-The Spotlight bag for instance and build around it. There are usually a few accessories and shoes to a match a collection,but Poppy really morphed into a lifestyle brand. In addition to all the handbags and accessories there is jewelry,footwear,eye wear,clothing etc. We took inspiration from everywhere:Pop culture phenoms like Gossip Girl, Old school tennis shoes even the preppy handbook from the 80′s! I characterize the Poppy girls as East Coast Preppy meets West Coast cool. I like to use all the girly glittery bits we can get our hands on!”

5.Q:What’s the difference between a Poppy and a Coach girl?

A:“There are lots of “Coach” girls and women-but the Poppy girl is youthful in spirit-fun and fashionable. Her clothing is an extension of her personality. When the Poppy girl finds the bag for her,it’s not the bag she needs to have,it’s the bag she HAS TO HAVE!”

6. Q: What is a “must-have”to have in your closet from this line? What’s one either Coach or Poppy item you can’t live without?

A:” For me the must have would have to be the Sequin and Rhinestone Spotlight Bags( I always go for the glamour 1st!) A lady always needs a little sparkle!”

This intellectual Senior Design Director describes a typical day as”busy, hectic,enjoying, and fun.”  The 1st thing that she does is to meet up with her Design Team and start to go over their calendar deadlines,and projects. In this meeting the team and herself touch base from costing,merchandising,production, fabrics etc.”There are LOTS of these!=)”  Then they start to carve out time to sketch,put together concept boards, and discuss more ideas. She says,” three times a week we have a meeting with President and Executive Creative Director Reed Krakoff.”A long day so she says starts around 9am and finishes at 7pm. At the end of the day, just finishing off some sketches etc. that are needed for the next morning.

” This is a tough industry to break into but well worth all the work-enjoy the journey!”- Felicia Velasquez

Funny Bunny

Well, lets see where to start, about the one and only true funny bunny. I’ll give u a hint.. she does cartwheels on her runway? If you guessed the wild Betsy Johnson, you guessed right. Betsy Johnson is known for her crazy wild and flirtatious dresses and cute but still elegant silhouettes. She adds youth and and elegance to a knee high or higher dress.. and make it works. She is young at heart, and it shows in her designs. Ina collection she celebrated the 50th anniversary of Barbie, showing off a lot of  pink,Betsy puts her own twist on designs.

Betsy Johnson started her love of costumes  by having the drive for dance since she was a little girl.  To me at first site she looks”kookoo for cocoa puffs.” I’m not kidding, every single time I see her whether it’s in a magazine, or on TV or anywhere.. she looks like she is out of her mind. But, hey who can blame her that makes her Betsy Johnson… and I know she’ll never change that.

In my first post I posted whether the 80′s are coming back in fall 09… well the answer is YES. Betsy’s collection for fall/winter includes of bold shoulders, and garments that are showing off the shoulder.Shoulders are so in, you have to say. Betsy will be a crazy wild thing, but she lives on to being the most quirky,fun, cute and amazing woman to me that I would love to meet..some day.

The things I love about all her designs is the uniqueness that she puts into each individual garment and the color palette that she chooses for every collection. The color palette has so much to do, with what Betsy Johnson wants in for the specific season. Whether its pink,blue,black,white etc she makes it work and lovable for every customer that walks into any store.

When you walk in one of her stores,specifically here in San Francisco. She has two locations one on Geary and one on Filmore St. Whenever walking down the block or just passing by, her windows always catch my eye.. with of course the colors. The minute I walk into the store, with pink walls and racks full of clothing, you feel like you in another world like that sophisticated girl. Betsy has expanded her company so much to sunglasses,lingerie,purses,scarves,perfumes,apparel etc. She has done it all,from anything to everything. Ms. Funny Bunny herself, makes fashion fun,not dull. Whatever she comes up with,it will be shocking and flirty, but never boring.

Marc Jacobs

Two words, Marc Jacobs. Marc is a designer that has some type or edge and energy that a designer sometimes lacks. In the fashion industry a designer is criticized by its collection at fashion week. Marc created a collection for the Fall-Winter of 2009/2010, that you can definitely say”edgy”. He clean cut these silhouettes walking down the runway with hip and urban patterns. He as a  designer has made a change to what we identify as fashion. Jacobs, is a true fashion designer.

The thing I love about Marc Jacobs, is that he creates pieces of clothing that women want to wear. Any piece of clothing that you buy form Jacobs, can be paired or added to any outfit whether its a jacket,skirt,handbag,etc. Jacobs gives credit to his grandmother for his passion for designing garments for women/men. Born as a NYC citizen in 1963, he called his grandmother”the biggest influence in his life”, and plus way to go grandma for teaching Jacobs to knit. Knitting? you really have to have the patience for it.. I’m just saying. Jacobs had a start as being a stock boy at the age of 15 in NYC trendy in boutique Charivari when he was introduced to Perry Ellis.

A huge part of one’s life, is their education…well for Jacobs that was easy because he was in the city where it had it all … NYC.While his time at Parson’s Marc Jacob’s designed his first finished collection of hand-knit sweaters that were sold and commissioned by Barbara Weiser under the label” Marc Jacobs for Marc Jacobs and Barbara.”                      

Around the time Jacobs aligned his business with Robert Duffy, his business partner. In 1986,the first clothing line that was under Marc Jacobs was finally released,and it was such a huge success that in 1987 this brought Marc so much honor, by accepting the Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent. Throughout Jacob’s career he has been been apart a lot of the fashion industry, and he still is. He is growing so much as a designer, that he is a very successful man with an eye for fashion. At age 46, he is moving on to be a top designer in my

Would you or Wouldn’t you not?!?!That is my question.

There are so many trends nowadays that we see or hear about. Crazy trends that actually people do try, and that will keep you thinking,” What the Hell!?!”. We get our beauty and fashion trends from, you’ve guessed it celebrities or maybe just regular people we see on the street.Trends such as lake locks,tangerine orange lips,to half-shaved heads to fuchsia lipstick,  to side knots.Some people can pull it off, and make it work. But others just look like a big mess. I’m writing out a point that states in my opinion the trends that are pulled off and not in my opinion.But the question that is pending in your mind would be”Would you or Wouldn’t you?’

Tangerine Orange Lips?Well to bright up your wardrobe you might turn to this shade of lipstick. But maybe this might be to exciting for your style. Maybe you’re the type of person that takes it down a notch, or you’re the person who is wild and takes risks. This color of lip allows you to be a little more sassier than all your others shades like red/pink that are in you make-up bag. What you might want to pair a tangerine lip with is long lashes and clean look.That’s just me, what do you think?

Vintage waves, remind me so much of the 50′s. The elegant do, that makes you stand out in a independent soft mood for you hair. To some you hair is what puts you style all together. The waves go very well with any shape of anyone’s face and makes you look very soft.. which is a good thing. Beauty trends like fashion trends travels in a cycle. Are the 50′s hairstyles coming back in 2009?? I’m accepting it, I think it’s a soft and doable look for any occasion and day. Work the vintage waves!

Half-shaved heads should stay under you bed in a chest, and I think you should even throw away the key.. literally.Cassie, the one who sings the hit”Me and you”, yeah she started the trend,unbelievable. Well,soon after Carmen Electra and Christina Millian followed this weird odd trend.

If they call this adding edge to their hairstyle, uh i don’t think so. For one thing it’s not attractive, and I think shaved heads should just be in a guy’s book. Shaved heads aren’t for girls, or women especially on the red carpet. You would think their hair stylists would give the celebrities their opinion to their hair-do right? guess not…

Living in the city, you see a bunch of hair accessories. Like this one, the double-wrap headband. This headband, you seriously can find anywhere.. its a summer/spring/winter/fall look. A great way to pull your hair back and look cute and opens you face up. This is a great accessory that you can dress up or dress down. Celebrities have been seen with this headband, going out or just doing errands. Celebrities don’t always know best but for this hair accessory they actually do. Thank you for the celebs.

There are so many other trends, that the celeb world has introduced us to and like any other we always follow it.. duh it’s what’s hot.All these trends can and might not work, but we’re human we make it work. All these trends that were mentioned, don’t lie you do see in every boutique,department store, or in the streets being worn. Whatever inspires whether its the random wallpaper on a bathroom wall to a person we always get inspiration. Start a new trend or follow it, you decide.It’s too short to live life living it like everyone else lives it. Change it up, be spontaneous and take a risk with you style. You never know you might not be the follower, you’ll be the leader.

Life of a True Journalist

Have you met someone so extraordinary, and you think to yourself,”Man, that person lives the dream, of doing something different everyday and living an unexpected moments in life. Not living the same like we all do, same shit different day.” Well in my fashion journalism class today,we were introduced to Nerissa Pacio, who hyped my  inspiration  up of becoming a fashion journalist .

Crossing her legs, settling her bag on a chair starts Nerissa tells us a little about herself. She starts off by telling us she is currently the style editor for 7×7 magazine. She started  out educated herself at UCLA,majoring in journalism and went for a drive when she started . Her assignments went to interviewing Nicholas Cage to writing pieces on events that happened all over LA. During her under-graduate  years in LA, she lived in Westwood…. but then she came to the Bay Area and started a new adventure.

She lived in the Peninsula, where she worked for a newspaper publication that got her feet wet in my aspects of journalism., the MERCURY news.” It wasn’t the most exciting thing I could be doing, but it was worth it because I learned so much,” says Pacio. She explains  that something was missing, and she was really interested in fashion journalism. So in order to pursue that she put herself into Grad school at UC Berkley. During her Grad years, one summer she did international studies,and that gave her the chance of a lifetime to go to Hong Kong. “Hong Kong was just a different world, it was where you can break the rules and do whatever. It was great experience, to write a piece about letting loose.” From putting herself through Grad school, she still had been working at the MERCURY news for 5 years. She describes that,at that publication she grew so much as a journalist.

“Having as many experiences,is a great way to get you feet wet into what you want to be. Internships are great to actually step in the industry and take part is a way that you get a feel, like is this what you really want to do.Fashion Journalism, was my calling but it came a little further into my career,” explains Pacio. Her calling for fashion never was going to be hidden, so she told her editor that she wanted in. She kept her desk job at MERC news, and was working as a freelance journalist at 7×7. Well, Of course she ended up working for 7×7, because she hit the publication with her best shot of course. She traded in a boring desk  “9 to 5 job”in the Peninsula, for her own and improved style desk. ” I love working as a fashion journalism, you get to roam free. You run around to get the story, and its fun. It’s never the same thing everyday. I love it,” exclaims Pacio.

Pacio, started with just majoring into journalism and she is a well-known styling editor at 7×7. She has a bubbly personality, that is warm and inviting. Being a journalist,  you get thrown challenges that you have to be prepared with a notepad and a writing utensil in your right/left hand and be able to hit them with you best shot. It might be known to be a hectic world, but for sure it’s not boring. It’s an exciting world to be a part of, there’s is always room for inspiring journalists. Keep writing because maybe something unexpected with happen… you never know. Life is full of surprises.

“Go Forth!”

Have you ever heard of the phrase,”Go Forth!”?Well I’m going to honest, I haven’t before Levi’s Strauss came out with there campaign on July 4th of this year to promote the American life. We all must know Levi’s Strauss with there incredible fitted jeans that are sold all around the world. Talking to a member who was a part of the marketing team Jen Haro, but not so much of the developing part of this campaign filled me with what the campaign’s concept was.

” The campaign is meant to promote the image of the Levi’s brand to  sell products like 501 button-fly jeans,501 blues,and501 USA” says Haro. The developers for this campaign had to use their imagination, and had to reflect back to Walt Whitman, and American poet that has written on American pride in living,patriotic flags,the declaration of independence,and saluting hard work.  Haro quoted what Doug Sweeny vice president of the brand marketing had to say about the campaign,”how do we connect this 150 yr.old brand to the culture that we live in today?”

” This campaign is aiming to lift Levi’s brand,well particularly young men,”says Haro. Levi’s is a traditional jean, that reflects hard work and a regular American lifestyle that is full of hard-work, and never easy. This isn’t a super expensive jean, anyone can afford it and the good thing these jeans last you a lifetime. Next time, you take the subway, read the newspaper or a magazine, or anywhere look out for this campaign that is “groundbreaking”for Levi’s, and the company’s”Big Break”, to what they do best.. create great-looking jeans.

Richard Avedon at SFMOMA

In the world of fashion,to pursue the story behind it all you would need fashion photographers. Richard Avedon who is the “Master of Photography” in my book succeeded at this piece in the fashion industry. This celebrated man reinvented himself as a photographer, growing up in New York. Seeing the exhibit at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art,of Rickard’s magnificent work 1946-2004. After seeing this exhibit, a portrait of a memorable actress caught my attention. The portrait of Marilyn Monroe, was a magnificent piece that you can just catch the saddness in Ms. Monroe’s eyes and body language. If you see very closely at Marilyn Monroe, you can see this unsureness and loneliness hidden but captured in the portrait taken by the master himself on May6,1957.

The otherpieces of artwork that is photographed by Richaed Avedon  at this exhibition are other portraits including  photographes of Charles Chaplin,Katherine Hepburn to Dick Hardcock,his early career to capturing this staff to politicians to people of the midwest to where. Avedon had done it all that would take a lifetime, but he truly inspires me to live and do things in your lifetime, because you are only given only one life to live… make the best of it .Richard made his photography stand out by how elegant and unigue he made something unordinary look. Avedon took a “walk on the wild side” of this fashion photo that e brought three points that are important to me 1. elegance 2. elements 3.emotions.

The “Master of Photography” will always be remembered for what he brought forth into th world. He brought a whole different meaning to the fashion industry and to the pictures that would show up in Harpers Bazzar, and be the talk of the town. Avdeon was a man with excellence in his blood, and who knew he could be so productive and energentic with his work that will live on. The Museum of Modern Art was a great place to see rooms full of Avedon photogrpahy throughout these years. It was a pleasure to see, what a man with so much talent came achieved in his history of photography.

80′s back in style?

Fashion, this one unique word that we hear everyday that expresses and gives us a true definition for who we truly are. Throughout our years as people who thrive for fashion literally, we always look at the magazine, in the internet or like celebrities for trends or inspiration. Looking at either the top designers like Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent they always have one thing in common in there Fall 09 collection, which is their own unique inspiration.

 

For Fall 09, the designer’s inspiration was the 80’s no doubt about that. The 80’s as many of us remember was a time that off the shoulder, pink sweaters, pastels, mini-dresses and color was the in thing to wear. The top designers have looked at the past and the present to make a statement and twist it up a bit to have a clean, hip, polished look for their 09 collection for the fall. The 80’s as my parents remember it they said that “it was the time, to be cool and loose and just have fun with the clothes and music.” Well from that quote, the 80’s sound like it was a relaxing and chilled time to show off your free-fun fashion and move to the beats of the 80’s.This tells us that the 80’s was never forgotten, and this must be the reason to why it is popping up again in 2009.