W articles from April 2008

W archives from April 2008

The month in fashion: designer payola ... farewell Ferre ... rapper's delight.(News)
April 1, 2008... The fashion industry has a new spring in its step. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * HERE COMES THE BRIBE From late starts to controversial style statements, drama surrounding the Marc Jacobs show is now par for the course during New York...

One of a kind.(News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Hollywood heavyweights ask for something--clothes, jewelry, shoes, electronics--they often receive it by the truckload, gratis. But at L'Oeil du Vert, the custom fragrance business that Haley Alexander van...

Wardrobe mistress.(News)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Clothes are like food: If you make them look appealing, you're more inclined to reach for them," says Elika Gibbs, the founder of London organizing service Practical Princess. Gibbs, known for her ability to turn a...

The mane event.(Flashback)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the Nineties got under way, blow-dryers were revving up on Fifth Avenue, in preparation for the duel of the decade. In one corner was Frederic Fekkai, the suave French newcomer with tousled locks and smitten...

Will power.(Fast Forward)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On his 10th birthday, at a time when most boys his age would have jumped at a matinee of Superman III, Will Frears chose instead to sit through back-to-back productions of Hamlet and Richard III. "I was such a little...

Size matters.(Letter From the Editors)(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... April [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Even those who can't tell Zac Posen from Zach Braff know how to spot W magazine at any newsstand: W is, of course, "the big one." But as any regular reader knows, the magazine's taste for extravagance...

Sister, sister.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I read March's cover story on Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman ('Sister Act"), and, man, what a disappointment! Two intelligent young women with flourishing careers who are politically vocal, are concerned with...

Art for the few.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... Thomas Nozkowski, the focus of Julie Belcove's article in the January issue ("Major Tom"), seems to be a humble, self-effacing man who has made a notable mark in the art world. But who is kidding whom? Do Nozkowski's marks on a canvas...

Beautiful brits.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... Thank you for featuring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy on your February cover! Not only are they exquisite and accomplished actors, but they are also delicious to look at--and isn't that what we all dream of in a fashion magazine?...

Hollow pledge.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... Ryan Phillippe's coy reiteration of his vow of silence while cryptically giving us enough details to figure out his version of what happened does not show he is keeping his pledge to protect his kids ("Soldiering On," March). His was a shotgun...

Capital loss.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I found February's "Washington, D.C." fashion editorial fetishistic and affronting. As a fashion major, I look to W magazine for radical perspectives on fashion, but this crossed a line. Initially my interest was...

Lighten up.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I have just renewed my subscription to W--but if things continue like the January issue, it won't happen again. The Hilary Swank photo spread, "Wait Until Dark," looks so sinister and sick! The images are unflattering, poorly styled, horribly...

Corset controversy.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... One picture in "Garden of Eden" (February) was quite amusing: The model was wearing her corset upside down. Those triangles above her hips should be cups for her breasts. A modicum of attention should have caught that error. Or maybe it was...

Teller's tell-all.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I just finished reading the December 2007 issue. I simply looked at Juergen Teller's portrait of Lady Carole Bamford, and I did not have to read the article ("Lady Bountiful"), although I did anyway. The picture had...

Gallery hopping.(Uncensored)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... No one knows quite what to call it. Fitzrovia? The Garment District? But whatever its eventual moniker, the patch of streets northeast of London's retail mecca Oxford Circus--home of Topshop and H&M--is quietly becoming the city's newest...

Dive in.(Uncensored)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Longtime Lower East Side residents may wish that the moneyed pseudo-hipsters who have taken over the neighborhood would go jump in a lake--but an exclusive roof-deck swimming pool will have to do. A 36-foot pool with a giant photographic mural...

Evil glare.(Uncensored)
April 1, 2008... These days even a brief walk outside requires slathering on SPF 60 and wearing a hat the size of a flying saucer. But according to a new study published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, you're not safe inside, either. Dermatologist...

Crafty heiress.(Uncensored)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lulu de Kwiatkowski, the daughter of late billionaire Henryk de Kwiatkowski, made a name for herself as one of Manhattan's gilded youth in the Nineties and went on to create a textile line, Lulu DK, inspired by her...

Royal prime time.(Uncensored)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] British TV channel ITV1 has invented a royal family even nuttier than the real one. Its new series THE PALACE is an ultrakitschy show that follows an imagined 24-year-old Prince of Wales, who suddenly finds himself...

Trend: Nouveau rich: fashion glances back at fin de siecle style.(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Curvy, exotic and just a bit erotic--we're talking Art Nouveau here. This spring the catwalks reflected the works of such artists as Alphonse Mucha and Aubrey Beardsley-from the sinuous linear motifs right down to the nature references. (The...

Dressing the part: for three of Hollywood's most in-demand costume designers, inspiration springs from the characters.(Fashion Flash)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When I finished the dress, I just thought, Oh no, it s all wrong," says Atonement costume designer Jacqueline Durran. "Why didn't I change the shoulder, or the draping? But you just get to a point where you can't...

Upping the Ante: by mixing couture with ready-to-wear, designer Alexis Mabille is moving from bow ties to the big league.(Fashion Flash)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] On a drizzly January day in Paris, a grinning Alexis Mabille bounds into his newly acquired atelier and pours out a plate of M&M's. It's certainly a sweet moment for this French designer, still reveling in the glow...

Arrivederla, Valentino: the Italian designer has bid farewell to his fashion house, but museum shows and costume design beckon.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] So what does a Roman couture legend who has worked day in, day out sketching beautiful dresses for almost half a century do the day after his retirement show? "Certainly I am not the sort of person to be sitting...

Faux couture: light-switch covers, t-shirts, hairspray--mucho mundane stuff has co-opted the moniker of fashion's haute metier.(Fashion Flash)
April 1, 2008... For anyone lucky enough to catch it on the Sundance Channel, the documentary Yves Saint Laurent: 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris offers a crystal-clear window into the intensity, the sky-high level of craft, and the painstaking labor poured into a...

Arm candy: substantial or streamlined, cuffs and bangles luxe up virtually any look.(Accessories Flash)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As you shrug off winter's woolly layers, a stack of bangles provides glamorous cover for newly bare arms. Jeweled, they add major polish to a low-key sheath or jeans. Bulgari s white gold cuff, for instance, pairs a...

Garden party: a rose is never just a rose on these ladylike accessories.(Accessories Flash)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Florals can be a tricky design motif--too many pretty pastel petals and you're veering into Laura Ashley territory. But these accessories, ideal for afternoon tea, an evening soiree or a worldwide jaunt, get it just...

Bao Bao now: a fixture on Hong Kong's social scene, Bao Bao Wan is unveiling a new line of jewelry.(Accessories Flash)
April 1, 2008... One evening last December, Bao Bao Wan strode into the lobby of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, looking like a party chick--meets--Harajuku girl. Sporting coarse strands of long, blond-streaked hair and baggy camouflage pants, she...

Snake charmers: wrap yourself up in python.(Accessories Flash)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Python continues to slither along in fashion, this season in myriad creations and a host of ultraluxe textures. With its stylish and slouchy triangle tote, Cole Haan mixes practicality with extravagance. Made from...

All that glitters: to celebrate a big birthday, Boucheron created an especially tasty treat.(Accessories Flash)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... To commemorate its 150th anniversary, Boucheron has pulled out every conceivable stop, unveiling a treasure trove chock-full of exquisitely ornate, one-of-a-kind pieces. For one such creation, its over-the-top Gourmand necklace, the house dove...

Bow time: sleek accessories tie one on.(Accessories Flash)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Wrap it up with a bow: As decorative strategies go, it's a fail-safe, festive effect that's been proven time and again on gift boxes, tuxedos and all manner of sartorial fare. Now, beribboned accessories flaunt the...

Colossal undertaking: "go big or go home" was the motto of Philip Crangi and Vera Wang as they collaborated on superchunky jewelry for her fall show.(Accessories Flash)
April 1, 2008... Part of being a jeweler is being a little bit of a hermit," says Philip Crangi. "We spend a lot of time looking inward." Luckily for Crangi, he's been getting out a bit more lately--landing a major gig with Vera Wang in the process. After...

Trunk space.(Creative Forces: Astrology, superheroes and a few feathered friends inspired these new baubles and bags.)(Gucci America Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The February opening of Gucci's largest store in the world, its 46,000-square-foot New York flagship, required molto bene merchandise, and creative director Frida Giannini rose to the occasion beautifully. One...

Imagine that.(Creative Forces: Astrology, superheroes and a few feathered friends inspired these new baubles and bags.)(views of jewelry designer Nancy Hankin)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Forget creative block--jewelry designer Nancy Hankin struggles to fit her abundance of big ideas into a small medium. "Finding the technical help in executing my designs becomes the task for me," says Hankin. "Anything is possible, but I have...

Sign us up.(Creative Forces: Astrology, superheroes and a few feathered friends inspired these new baubles and bags.)(Donna Karan)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In her never-ending quest to slip a little hip spirituality into our workaday lives, Donna Karan is unveiling a zodiac-inspired handbag collection for fall. Built to last in more ways than one, the roomy shapes...

Bird's eye.(Creative Forces: Astrology, superheroes and a few feathered friends inspired these new baubles and bags.)(Pamela Tuohy)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Designer Pamela Tuohy has created her first jewelry line with a nod to the green movement: She crafts both fine and costume jewelry out of recycled metals and images of falcons, owls and ravens. Vintage sterling silver frames encase the...

Tech message: slick, water-resistant fabrics and treatments are popping up all over this spring, in everything from a neoprene trenchcoat to a surf-ready T-shirt.(Shopping)
April 1, 2008... Banana Republic Rubberized leather flip-flops, $48, at Banana Republic, bananarepublic.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Burberry Prorsum Satin and neoprene trenchcoat, $1,995, at select Burberry stores, burberry.com ...

Beauty buzz: Jane Larkworthy unveils a cellulite eraser, conception tool and Botox alternative.(Beauty Flash)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] 1 | SMOOTH OPERATOR A technology that was once used to remove kidney stones and later found to ease muscle and joint pain is now smoothing cellulite. Female athletes showed a marked improvement in the appearance of...

Aged and confused: with thousands of antiaging products flooding the market, what's a girl who's obsessed with wrinkles--but not ready for fillers--to do?(Beauty Flash)
April 1, 2008... My personal obsession with staving off wrinkles went into overdrive several months ago, when a bartender asked a group of my girlfriends, all around the age of 30, for ID before serving us. I was overjoyed--until I went to hand over my license....

On the verge: after quietly gathering loyal followings, these beauty and health pros are about to hit marquee status.
April 1, 2008... WELLNESS Gayatri Bhatnagar, herbalist and acupuncturist, SENSPA, SAN FRANCISCO, 415.441.1777 Talk about predestination. Bhatnagar, 29, was born to a chakra therapist father and an acupuncturist mother. "I've pretty much been involved...

Gray matters: step aside, beige and brown. The neutral eye shade of the moment is gorgeous gray.(Beauty Flash)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mention of the word "gray" has always sparked associations with the dour and the dowdy: gray skies," "gray mood," "gray hair." But these days, gray is downright chic and showing up everywhere: in Anne Kreamer's...

The mix master: armed with exotic potions and an iron will, a Canadian computer whiz tackles skincare.(Beauty Flash)
April 1, 2008... When Brandon Truaxe decided to start a luxury skincare company in 2002, the Toronto entrepreneur did what so many before him had done: He went in search of a miracle ingredient. Hoping to mirror the success of brands such as La Mer, whose...

What happens in Vegas: enormous and eye-poppingly opulent, Sin City spas are setting a new standard for indulgence.(Beauty Flash)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Las Vegas holds the "capital" title in so many arenas--gambling, conventions, bachelor parties, quickie weddings, quickie divorces--that it might seem tiresome to proclaim it a spa capital too. But this desert city,...

Sunny delight: bright scents and potent potions aim to please.
April 1, 2008... 1 De la Renta's Dessert Vanilla lovers will eat up Oscar de la Renta's cozy new scent, Oscar Fresh Vanilla. The warm namesake note mingles with orange, black currant and rose. $42; at Macys. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2 Great Neck ...

Pretty fancy: London social Maria Hatzistefanis's beauty line, Rodial, has posh fans on both sides of the pond.(Beauty Flash)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AS any beauty entrepreneur will tell you, it takes more than a great product to make a new skincare line a success. Even a veritable miracle cream needs some extra oomph--say, a high-tech ingredient, flashy packaging...

Star treatment: no fee is too high, no perk too extravagant. Meet Hollywood's A-list hair and makeup professionals.(Beauty Flash)
April 1, 2008... Cameron Diaz is no stranger to lavish treatment from studio heads--she is, after all, one of the few stars who can actually entice audiences into movie theaters. So it's no surprise that during last summer's worldwide press tour for Shrek the...

Uncommon beauty; at the couture shows, the beauty looks are as fanciful as the fashions.(Beauty Flash)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] A month before his January couture show for Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld gave makeup artist Peter Philips and hairstylist Odile Gilbert each a sumptuous picture book about shells, hoping to inspire them in concocting the...

Through a glass darkly: Franco Deboni makes glass pieces that are anything but transparent.(Home Flash)
April 1, 2008... Think of Venetian glass, and the image that probably comes to mind is a cheerful knickknack in swirling hues of red and blue. But take one look at the work of rising Milan-based glass artist Franco Deboni, and that image quickly goes to pieces....

Stand by your man: actress Jennifer Siebel steps into her biggest role yet-first lady of San Francisco.(EYE)
April 1, 2008... Imagine the prototypical politician's wife, and someone very much like Jennifer Siebel will come to mind. The 33-year-old actress--who became engaged to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in December--is blond, beautiful and brainy, with two...

French dressing.(EYE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] New York's winter gala season was off and running once Chanel hosted its dinner for 300 in the renovated ballroom of the Plaza. Every social worth her standing--plus a handful of TV actresses--turned out for the...

Shape shifter: when it comes to conceptual artist Paul Sietsema's brainy films, there's more than meets the eye.(EYE)(Figure 3)
April 1, 2008... Los Angeles artist Paul Sietsema is not a sculptor, exactly, though when he starts a new piece, he works like one: Using paper, wood, glue and paint, he crafts meticulously detailed renderings of wildflowers, scale models of historic rooms and...

True stories: documentaries outshined dramas at this year's Sundance.(EYE)
April 1, 2008... This year's Sundance Film Festival may have produced a crop of undistinguished narrative films, but the nonfiction films turned out to be the best in years. "Documentary filmmakers are becoming more sophisticated," says Cara Mertes, the...

Class action: as a sideline to his fashion career, A.P.C. designer Jean Touitou opens a new Paris preschool.(EYE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Spend a few minutes at Ateliers de la Petite Enfance, a new nursery school two blocks from Paris s Luxembourg Garden, and you might not initially notice anything out of the ordinary. In one corner, a two-year-old boy...

Bowled over.(EYE)(Super Bowl Sunday on Fashion Week)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Anyone in fashion who likes football (and there are one or two) knows the only Fashion Week party to attend on Super Bowl Sunday is Diane yon Furstenberg's. Each year the designer brings a massive television screen...

Channeling Chanel: Shirley MacLaine takes on Mademoiselle Chanel.(EYE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On a Tuesday morning in late January, Shirley MacLaine is on her knees prepping a model for a Chanel fashion show. Given the spring 2008 couture schedule, one might have thought she was assisting Karl Lagerfeld at...

Star gazing.(EYE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] You know you've walked into a seriously star-studded event when even the celebrities come armed with digital cameras. "It's for my blog," said Martha Stewart as she snapped away at the United Nations, where Madonna...

Scenes from a marriage: in her debut novel, Isabel Fonseca explores marital angst and adultery, real and imagined.(EYE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] To hear writer Isabel Fonseca describe it, her home life sounds positively serene. She and husband Martin Amis live with their two young daughters in London's Primrose Hill, following a two-and-a-half-year idyll in...

Bed fellow: after decades in TV, writer and director Michael Patrick King makes his big-screen debut with Sex and the City, the movie.(EYE)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's been said that New York was so essential to Sex and the City that it functioned as the HBO megahit's fifth lead character. If that's true, then Scranton, Pennsylvania, hometown of the show's executive producer,...

Pace makers.(EYE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] New York Fashion Week is a high-speed treadmill of parties, and everyone has their tricks for keeping up. Take Rose McGowan, one of this season's social MVPs (Most Visible Players), who divulged her secret to...

Come on down to "Nawlins": the gumbo is hot, the music is hotter, and the people are out of this world. Despite all the hardships, the good times still roll in New Orleans, America's wildest and most eccentric city.(Streets of Dreams)(City overview)
April 1, 2008... Beauty comes in a variety of guises, and it certainly does in this issue. In COME ON DOWN TO NAWLINS, Bruce Weber celebrates the style and substance of the Crescent City, long noted for its vibrant music and culture, in a salute to its...

Bag lady: a beautiful dreamer fantasizes about extravagantly glamorous evening looks. Big jewels and voluminous hair.
April 1, 2008... GIVENCHY HAUTE COUTURE'S COTTON TULLE CAPE WITH METAL CHAIN, AND SILK TAFFETA, CREPE AND TULLE DRESS, GIVENCHY.COM; DEBORAH MARQUIT'S NYLON LACE BODYSUIT, TO ORDER, AT DEBORAH MARQUIT, NEW YORK. LOUIS VUITTON BAG. NINA RICCI'S POLYESTER...