Anja Rubik's street style at the March 2010 Paris shows, Anja Rubik's street style at the March 2010 Paris shows again, Anja Rubik's street style at the Feb. 2010 New York Fashion Week shows, Anja Rubik's street style at the October 2009 Paris Fashion Week shows, and exiting the Viktor and Rolf show at Paris Fashion Week in October of 2009
For additional shots of JacJac Jagaciak's street style with Kasia Struss at the July 2010 Paris Couture shows, the story of Jac before and during the Balmain show at the March Paris Fashion Week, Jac Jagaciak's street style at the Feb. 2010 Milan Fashion Week shows, and Jac Jagaciak's street style the October 2009 Milan Fashion Week shows and more!
First off, I wanted to say THANK YOU to each and everyone of you who took the time to extend your condolences to me. Words really can't do justice to the sincerity with which I say this thanks from the bottom of my heart. May good karma come back to you all in the form of Rick Owens and Marc Jacobs goods!
Now on to some new street style! I am so excited to get my camera out again. We have New York Fashion Week coming up, London Fashion Week...so much to look forward to in the near future that I'm about ready to camp out at Bryant Park starting this weekend. <---kidding On a more serious note, in the first picture you have Andre. Be sure to click the picture to enlarge the photo so you can better see the details: the colored stitching on his lapels, his rings, his cufflinks. In a word, awesome.
In the second picture you see some subtler style as evinced by Patrick. His perfectly scuplted hair inspired by the 50's beatnick and greaser is the primary focus, his epaulettes on his black button down which color coordinate well with his skin a close second.
Again, Thank You to everyone for your words of condolence and patience with waiting for new material to be posted.
If you ever have the opportunity to walk down Elizabeth Street between Houston and Prince during the summer, look for an old man tanning on the side of the road--he's a dying breed of Old School New York. He lays by the road reclining on a lawn chair and sun tans in front of everybody while the cars go whisking by. This guy also has a habit of releasing the water from the fire hydrant across the street, creating himself into a somewhat of a tourist attraction.
As soon as I saw the water gushing forth from the fire hydrant, I knew I had to have a picture with that classic New York summertime symbol in the background. The window of opportunity was open, I staked my ground, and waited.
After waiting about an hour, this couple walked through my path. I like the imperfection in his rolled up sleeves...it's imperfect but he still looks interesting.
Long post I know, so I'll leave the rest to you. :)
User generated street style sites helped spawn the era of the personal style blog. Lookbook.nu and Chictopia collectively created enough social media attention to pave the way for the individual personal style blog phenomena. In an unprecedented move, L'Oreal Paris has created a new niche for user generated content: yourstyleyourstudio.
And it's all about Haute Hair.
Fashion Night Out in New York City inspirations:
Your Style Your Studio, blog landing page
WIN THIS MARC BY MARC JACOBS cross body strap bag
Win the above Marc by Marc Jacobs Cross Body strap bag filled with the above L'Oreal products
L'Oreal Paris recently approached me to help them launch this new hairstyle lookbook--Your Style Your Studio. To my knowledge, there exists no user generated hair style site like this--YET. Lindbergh may have been first to cross the Atlantic,Earhart the first woman to do so, and now Your Style Your Studio is first in the niche of user generated hair style inspirations.
The site is all about YOUR inspired hair and YOUR individual style from bold colors to daring cuts to fashion forward looks. The look book, inspired by the brand's studio line of hair products as seen in the photo above, is meant for both men AND women. So if you are a guy, go forth and upload your own pictures.
I believe in this site so much, that for the first time in the 4 year history of altamira, I'm doing an exclusive giveaway sponsored by L'Oreal Paris. Not only can you win 1 of 2 Marc by Marc Jacob's leather cross body totes, but you can win it stuffed full of the exact L'Oreal hair styling products seen in the photo above. I will personally select 2 winners.
To be eligible to win 1 of 2 Marc by Marc Jacobs cross body totes stuffed full of L'Oreal products as seen in the picture above, you must:
UPLOAD A PHOTO TO YOUR STYLE YOUR STUDIO--upload your own Haute Hair style inspiration photo to the Your Style Your Studio look book. The picture should be horizontal in format and a minimum resolution of 560 x 370 pixels.
LEAVE A COMMENT by Friday, September 16th 2011 8 am Eastern Standard Time With a URL link to your hair style photo. Make sure the URL works correctly and that it goes to the Your Style Your Studio site like this link HERE
CONTEST CLOSES on Friday, September 16th 2011 at 8 am Eastern Standard Time. The contest is open to anyone anywhere in the world. Winner to be announced on Saturday September 17th, 2011. I will personally select 2 winners based on the editorial QUALITY of the picture you upload. It's all about Haute Hair. Artsy, Avant Garde, Creative. Have fun with it. Be creative. Make your photo's better than mine as seen in the links below--as if you were submitting to Numero or Vogue.
You won't be alone in uploading images to the lookbook. I'll be uploading additional images too! Here are some of my examples but remember, you want to do better than me: A Clean Sweep Mod Squad Perfectly Undone Pony The Modern Bouffant New Wave Braids Envy
As I write this, my hands are actually a bit sweaty. Maybe it's the old fight or flight response mechanism inside of me, knowing that some of the country's top editors will be watching my work. Frankly, I think it's the excitement of knowing that I'll be the first photographer to be hired by Teen Vogue.com for New York, London, and Paris Fashion Week to capture models street style and "it" girls street style--close up shots might be included too. An endeavor to be taken seriously, no doubt. So for future reference, I'm going to ask that you click on the Teen Vogue.com banner links inside my posts and check out their new street style section for fashion week. The photos will be exclusive for use by Teen Vogue, so you won't be able to see them here. So go check out what's probably the first street style shot EVER, of FORD Supermodel of the World 2009 Winner, 14 year old modeling sensation Tayane Leao at Teen Vogue.com!.
boots--Carpe Diem pants--H & M hem style--self created tunic--Dries Van Noten linen jacket--Y's
Sato bought his pants at H & M and cut around a 1 inch horizontal slice with some scissors right at where he wanted a new hem style. He then ripped the pant leg into two pieces, creating his own unique hem style. He reminded me that Atelier will soon be moving to a new location, right next door to the new Rick Owens New York store.
Above is Peter M, another professional New York Street Fashion photographer. While not doing street fashion work for ELLE, he's busy updating his blog super.fantastic.picture.time on a daily basis with his latest photos. It's a good picture when you click to enlarge the image.
Put together: cool tie, cardigan, cuff links, and really cool shoes. Spotted on West Broadway.
Tavi Williams, Style Rookie, 13 the cover of the new POP magazine, under the editorial leadership of Dasha Zhukova
4 pages in the 2d edition of LOVE a photo in style.com's Front-Row Faces
In the middle The Glamourai, on the sides The Owls Are Not What They Seem
Fashion is Poison, The Fashion Void that is DC, Fashion Pirates, Style Rookie
"Abbey Road meets Mercer Street" blogger style
A few months Jessica Schroeder from Weardrobe.com and I chatted over coffee about Jessica's dream to hold a blogger convention in New York before fashion week started. It didn't come as a suprise to find that Jessica transformed this vision into reality by bringing to New York 21 bloggers from around the country within the short time span of just a couple of months of work.
All I can say is that it was an amazing experience meeting all these girls and I'm half envious of the good time they had: a hotel room overlooking Gramercy Park, free meals in Soho where the food was shaped like tiny sculptures, DIY projects, new shoes, new bags...yet another way for serious fashion bloggers to make their presence heard in the world. Glamour.com, Seventeen Magazine, and a few other notable news outlets were there to report on the event that left this group of 21 girls turning more than a few heads on the streets of New York.
Typical New York street style can often include the use of black as the foundational color through which to build an outfit. I respect Virginia's atypical use of color and geometric patterns...it kind of has a Bohemian feel to it.
Pants--Zara Boots--Steve Madden Bag--Insight Scarf--hand made by a friend t-shirt--Cheap Monday
Dree Hemingway, December 14, 2008...before she became a media celebrity.
Joan Smalls, back on June 3, 2009 before she became a Vogue It Girl.
Frida Gustavsson, at London Fashion Week back on September 23, 2009, in her first runway season, before she became a street style phenomena.
Tati Cotliarbefore she even finished her first runway season back at New York Fashion Week on September 25, 2009
Mirte Maas just after finishing her first ever runway season on November 19, 2009. Before she went on to multiple shoots with Steven Meisel, the Balenciaga campaign, and a Vogue China Cover.
Ruby Aldridge, on March 3, 2010. Before she went on to be shot by Juergen Teller for the Marc by Marc Jacobs campaign as well as by nearly every other street style blogger around.
Lindsey Wixson on February 10, 2010, just after debuting with a Miu Miu exclusive.
Ming Xi, during her first ever Paris Ready To Wear show on March 6, 2010, in a Paris Metro Stop. This is before her Givenchy campaign went mainstream.
Samantha Gradoville, on July 14, 2010. She hasn't even finished a complete runway season yet. Last season she Opened and Closed PRADA, one of the most influential shows any model can walk in, let alone a new model who Opens and Closes the show. Here she is at the recent Paris Couture shows.
The Independent, a British based newspaper recently mentioned this about altamira, "Dubbed 'Models off duty,' this blog captures the streetstyle of all kinds of fashion professionals including the industry's best-known models, often predicting soon-to-be-famous new faces."
Not only has this site been recognized as the single most powerful concentrated resource for models street style on the internet, but over time, that reach and influence will just grow more and more.
So stay tuned for updates during the coming fashion season.
New Face to Watch: Erjona Ala (FORD, NY) exits Costume National
A lot of modeling agencies are stuck in the Print Era Paradigm--pre-internet thinking in which the Old School hierarchy of exclusivity dominated the management of models visibility. While this system may still warrant merit, the general lack of adaptability with regards to original content via the internet is appalling. Some agencies are kidding themselves if they think republishing editorial, campaign, or runway shots online will generate a sustainable presence. The editors of today may visit an agency site to get a models stats, but the editors of tomorrow will have grown up learning models names through tumblr, blogspot, and other social media. Modeling Agencies that fail to adapt now to the Internet Era Paradigm and it's vast plethora of opportunity will be still be riding horse and buggy while their competitors speed it out in Maybachs. The internet revolution is here and it's happening in Real Time.
I can't think of single better agency to team up with for the fashion season besides FORD models. Have a click on the previous link to see what I've been up to. They get it. In the same way Henry Ford said he'd belt the earth with his cars before the highways and roads for the cars even existed, FORD models is doing the same online. They dare to venture where other agencies fail to tread. They understand the Bookings Editor's of tomorrow are the teens of today on tumblr and iphones. Agencies which reproduce Print Era thinking online as their sole source of internet presence may as well have a horse tug a Model-T chained to it's back when they could just make their own car to begin with.
Even the fashion industry which for so long tried to protect it's exclusivity has gone on the record about the power of the internet many times. In her Interview Magazine article with Joseph Altuzarra, Anna Dello Russo remarked:
ANNA DELLO RUSSO: You’ve only done four collections and already you’re more popular than Tom Ford. How do you think that happened?
JOSEPH ALTUZARRA: [laughs] I think it’s because of the Internet. You can build a brand very fast now, especially with bloggers and how fast images can get out—the message just goes out faster and stronger than ever before.
And in similar fashion at the IFB Conference in 2011, Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler remarked, "Blogs posting things about us, going viral, spreading throughout the interent...it has an extraordinary impact on the business"
With the speed at which images travel online now, a models off duty image is half the battle. Her sense of style and fashion can rapidly propel her press image online. Some within the modeling industry "get it" like Casting Director Jennifer Starr who was quoted by New York Magazine recently:
"Model street style has blown up significantly in the past few years, what do you make of it?
There is no doubt in my mind that if you have authentic personal style, it will help you as a model. Look at models like Erin Wasson, Abbey Lee, Freja Beha, and Daria Webowy, all of whom have great style. Personal style indicates to me that you have a great sense of self. The key is having authentic style. You must feel comfortable with the image you're projecting; otherwise, it's obvious you're trying too hard."
And in an interview I conducted with Sarah Doukas, the founder of STORM models who discovered Kate Moss in JFK airport:
"Craig: Can a models sense of style positively impact her career?
Sarah: I definitely think it can positively impact her career. It's got to be simple but the point about that question is, that if they have absolutely no style and they go out just not looking great, they're wearing very unflattering clothes and things like that, then it's definitely going to have a negative impact."
Every home has a computer, but not every home has a copy of American Vogue or Paris Vogue. A new generation is growing up with the internet literally at their fingertips. And I can't think of an agency that I'd be more proud to work with at this moment in time than FORD models. If you haven't checked out the site, go now.
With the opening of the Metropolitan Museum's exhibition The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion starting today, the May issue of Vogue U.S.'s pages on Models Street Style, an April model-centric Harper's Bazaar, and a new fashion month Models Off Duty section at Teen Vogue.com, I felt it was appropriate to celebrate the possible re-emergence of the model as a fashion icon by sharing an entire week's worth of models street style.
What makes these photos special is that they will all be from the streets of New York, sans any fashion month flashbacks. Imagine jumping in front of a model on the street, pausing very briefly while you study the face behind the sunglasses and opening with, "Hey, you're Catherine McNeil!"
boots -- Bess dress -- Hervé Léger Bandage Dress in bag -- footwear purchased at Opening Ceremony
random passerby taking photo of Mercedes Fashion Force squad car
Karolina stops twins on the street to ask for a photo
Ornela and Odelia Samuels get snapped
Karolina also chose a 3 month old puppy, Daphne.
Edward Barsanian of the New York Times - T Magazine.
Of this gentleman, Karolina said, "I like his little Russian hat. It's smart and he's staying warm, which is very important. It's different. You know I don't see a lot of men wearing those kinds of hats and he's owning it. I like that"
Tuesday afternoon as part of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Force program, I was offered a car ride with Karolina Kurkova (discovered by Miuccia Prada at age 15 and later a Victoria's Secret Angel). We weren't exactly police men in that black and white car though, more like street style bounty hunters as Karolina kept a keen eye for stylish peeps on the street--from twins, to a T Magazine editor, to a 3 month old puppy....And not only did Karolina act as the street style hunter de jour, but I also got to ask her a few questions while we drove:Craig: When you were a little girl, what did you dream of being when you grew up?
Karolina: I wanted to be a princess. I wanted to have super long hair. When i was a little girl I had short hair. ... I was like a little tomboy. And I'd walk around and put a tiara on and I'd put a duvet [editors note: duvet = bed sheet] on my head like I'd have super long hair to the floor and I'd wear my mom's high heels and walk around.
Craig: If you could wake up anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would it be?
Karolina: Somewhere on the beach. This beautiful beach. Sun is shining...(pause)...sun of the ocean...it could be anywhere. I just love the beach. I love the sunset and watching the ocean and hearing the sound.
Craig: so what are you wearing today?
Karolina: I'm wearing a J. Mendel coat, nice and warm. And then I'm wearing Hervé Léger--let me show you. I'm wearing a dress and over the dress I'm wearing an Hervé Léger skirt. So I'm kind of layering and playing with his clothes to make my own. And make it so I feel comfortable, yet stylish but at the same time comfortable and me. And then I'm wearing Brian Atwood beautiful patent leather shiny boots....
Last night was Fashion Night Out all over the world and the streets of New York City were shoulder-to-shoulder with people shopping, partying, and drinking pretty much everything in site. It's a wonder the city still functioned everyone was having so much fun.
Crossing paths with Yulia who is always a pleasure to see, was one highlight.
loafers -- Miu Miu pants -- BCBG top -- Gucci
One thing we did talk about briefly was Casting Director Jennifer Starr's statement in her recent interview with New York Magazine, ""Model street style has blown up significantly in the past few years, what do you make of it?There is no doubt in my mind that if you have authentic personal style, it will help you as a model. Look at models like Erin Wasson, Abbey Lee, Freja Beha, and Daria Webowy, all of whom have great style. Personal style indicates to me that you have a great sense of self. The key is having authentic style. You must feel comfortable with the image you're projecting; otherwise, it's obvious you're trying too hard."
This is FORD model Ethan James as spotted on Mercer Street. Ethan cuts the sides out of his t-shirts himself and uses the scraps as wristbands, which you can see in the first picture...notice how he's wearing his hat tilted towards the back of his head? Seems like a trend this summer here in New York.
This is Brian Ermanski, a New York street artist. The smoke from his pipe caught my eye and so did the facial expression of the kid in the background (who snuck his way into every shot I took).
Who will be the next big face of the SS17 season? Above you will see a google table from the SS 11 New York Fashion Week shows which I designed in an effort to answer that question for the SS17 season. This was a personal project of mine I coordinated with the help of about 6 other people. The objective was to provide an easy drop down menu to track the shows the girls walked and thus recognize the best new faces to watch as well as predict which models were being favored by designers and/or casting directors.
Since history often has a tendency to repeat itself, I thought the information from the SS17 shows might help predict the coming SS17 shows. Not all shows are included though, just the more influential ones.
So for a change of pace on the blog, I thought I'd plug in some quick analysis of the past in order to help foresee the future. What are the most directional shows for a model to walk at New York Fashion Week (and fashion month in general) and what makes those shows valuable for a model? Let's start with Calvin Klein, the legacy of campaigns which helped launch Kate Moss into stardom.
Calvin Klein SS17 basic break down as a predictor of the SS17 show:
21 different models/34 different looks. 2 models walked 3 different looks each 9 models walked 2 different looks each10 models walked 1 different look
Easy Facial Recognition--the girls wear little make historically, so a place in the Calvin Klein lineup will improve the booking chances for the SS17 campaign/editorial season.
2 different shows--There are 2 showings of the Calvin Klein show, so all key editors, stylists, and photographers usually attend. This quantity of attendees improves the chances that the models will be recalled for future bookings.
good model to look ratio/only 21 models for 34 looks--unlike other shows which have 1 model per look. The limited number of models improves the chances their face will be recognized for future bookings.
conclusions: repetition, key attendees, and proven track record make Calvin Klein a key show for models to walk
32% chance a model will walk the runway more than once. A repeat walk is worth more than a single walk because the repetition gives the editors another chance to recall the face. It's like a 2d go see.
two different shows reduces chances that a possible influential attendee does not get to see a key face.
Somebody behind the scenes at Calvin Klein chose Daphne Groeneveld to walk the runway 3 times. Look how well she fared afterward in the editorial/campaign season. Basically, if you see a girl walk Calvin Klein 3 times this SS17 season, the odds are good she will be a big name to follow.
Back to regular scheduled street style shots soon!
Before fashion month, I was asked by topman.com to submit a few photos for a New York vs. London street style contest they were going to have. New York wound up winning the contest, but now everyone can win, since topman.com is offering FREE SHIPPING to celebrate their New York flagship opening on April 2d.
on left, Stas Svetlichnyy with DNA New York wearing a coat by Robert Geller. or right, Tyler Riggs with Red Model Management New York wearing a jacket by Neil Barrett
altamira, the ultimate resource for models street style.
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