The kimono has always been an object of fascination. Even in Japan, where it is considered an intangible cultural treasure, designers can’t help but put their hands on it to reinvent it and challenge traditional perception.Yoshiki Hayashi, an influential composer and musician-turned-designer, did just that during the latest week of runway shows in Tokyo. As of today, the best-selling artist –...

Milan’s Fashion Film Festival will unveil “Peter Lindbergh: Women’s Stories” at Milan’s Anteo Cinema on November 10th.“Engaging and intimate, this film depicts the German photographer and features Naomi Campbell, [his wife] Astrid Lindbergh, and Helga Polzin,” organizers said Tuesday.The Lindbergh documentary was directed by Jean-Michel Vecchiet, who also depicted the life of Jean-Michel...

The Greek fashion designer Sophia Kokosalaki has died. News of the London-based designer’s death was reported by the culture minister for Greece, Lina Mendoni, on Monday."It is extremely sad when a young person dies, a creative spirit, a dynamic and self-made woman who starred in the harsh and competitive world of international fashion for a 20-year period," she said Kokosalaki, who had dressed...

Fashion can create trends, but it can also pick up existing trends from the ground, reflecting and echoing them back. Feminism has become a clothing trend because it responds to how women are feeling today. Why do we choose to wear the things we do today? The best way to explain it is that, as women, we are literally wearing our anger on our sleeves. And we are right to do so. According to the...

Every person wants to be a part of something to a degree. It could be work related, a project, a group of friends, you name it. According to Abraham Maslow's “Hierarchy of Needs,” belonging somewhere is ranked the third-most important need. However, some people, due to their circumstances, are required to fight harder for the right to belong somewhere. I want to share my own thoughts on the...

For over 20 years, Moroccan artist Hassan Hajjaj has dedicated his life’s work to depicting Arab women and men, many of whom are his own friends. And most of the time, the international artists and musicians depicted in his artworks, such as rapper Cardi B, singers Rachid Taha and Keziah Jones, as well fashion designer Amine Bendriouich, amongst others, are featured in a controversial, pop-art...

Just over ten years ago, I came back to Paris after having spent a decade in London. I wore plastic crowns of flowers on my head, Mad-Hatter-like tights, faux fur coats, and fed myself with pints and chips. That was then. Fast-forward to today, and I can’t help but notice that I wear more black, smoke like a chimney, and experiment very little, sartorially speaking. What, one may inquire,...

“Men have been the core of our business since 1910,” claimed Ermenegildo Zegna. For more than a century, Zegna has been the point of reference for men’s classic elegance.  Along with it, the brand has spent decades building the image of a true gentleman, as its ideal customer. But times have changed. Today, modern masculinity is not that easy to label. It just does not suffice to synthesize...

Ahead of Seoul Fashion Week next month (October 14-19), LFW served us up a little teaser this week with collections from two successful exports. YCH, the British Fashion Council’s exchange programme recipient, and pushBUTTON, the popular 2010-launched brand from Seung Gun Park, back for a third consecutive season. “Being here, surrounded by amazing talented people is a privilege,” said (by...

As Brazil's LGBTQ and black communities feel constantly threatened by the current extreme right-wing politics, fashion takes a stand. While the economy gives slow signs of recovery, the daily life on the ground is a battlefield for anyone concerned with human rights against the innumerous tweets, interviews, and actions from the president against the LGBTQ, feminist, and underprivileged...

On the occasion of the summer edition of Altaroma, the Roman event dedicated to ready-to-wear and Couture was keen to show itself in a new light. If the event is in the process of reinventing itself and now aims to be a social platform dedicated to brands of independent creators, its side program was especially successful in promoting culture and creation in the wider sense of the term. Jeff...

Today, we see a blast of obsession and fascination over cowboys in pop culture. What's with all these yee-haw fantasies, you ask? Phipps Spring/Summer 2020 menswear show in Paris. Photo by Regis Colin Berthelier for NOWFASHION.A strong icon of American West culture, the cowboy trend goes back more than two centuries and symbolizes the rural, ranching lifestyle, alongside a good dose of...

These are difficult times, in many parts of Britain, for those who’ve come here from other countries. Not that you’d know it from the menswear schedule, which kicked off with Bulgaria-born Kiko Kostadinov and ended with a show by Chinese designer Feng Chen Wang. LFWM may well have started life under a banner of enthusiastic patriotism – but these days, as the country at large veers towards...

Just two miles away from Vatican City, a bold pro-choice message was unfurled Tuesday before an international fashion public.Gucci Cruise 2020 show in Rome. Photo: Courtesy of PR.No, it wasn’t a meeting of politicians or a demonstration. It was Gucci’s 2020 cruise collection, and designer Alessandro Michele chose to make his voice heard through his most powerful...

The term "disruptor" has been frequently used by fashion media in recent times; up to its paroxysm, in fact. And let's face it: the use and abuse of this word for marketing purposes can be quite annoying. Can a designer or a brand really be considered "disruptive" if their creative philosophy is solely based on the appropriation of established fashion industry codes, instead of actually...