Model of the month: Andi Muise

I have no clue what Canada’s biggest export is but they sure have exported a handful of top models to the fashion scene in Europe. Canada is heavily represented of top models like Heather Marks, Coca Rocha, Linda Evangelista, Jessica Stam, Irina Lazareanu and last but not least this month’s model Andi Muise.

I love Andi, especially her very cute face, I have had a little model crush on her. Unfortunately this 20 years old Canadian beauty doesn’t seem to be so appreciated like she should. She only seems to book work for the less “important” brands and doesn’t book many of the top jobs for Chanel, Vogue Magazine and Valentino. Off course she has done work for some of the high fashion brands but her portfolio also consists of a handful of catalogue work for Nordstorm. Thankfully Victoria’s Secret like her and hopefully she will be drafted this year too.

Despite the lack of publicity Andi does do a lot of editorials which is where her model talent really shines. Most of her editorial work is breath taking, she really sucks you in to the shots and make you embrace the story of the editorial. I would love to see more of her in the future and hope that she won't fade away like most "not to famous" models do.

Conveyor belt showcase.

Not all designers want to or have the dough to exhibit their latest collection with a big show involving exquisite champagne and goodies bags worth several hundred euros. Some are just happy with releasing a set of look book images or just holding a small private show for their biggest buyers and friends.

I love creativity and it’s always the simple ideas which make my left ear tingle. Italian brand TRUSSARD, showed earlier this year off their FW07/08 collection on a conveyor belt, which I found to be a genius idea. Not only is it very cool, but it allow the designer to show off a whole lot of bags, which isn’t possible on catwalk since the bags needs to be carried by a model. Great, isn’t it???

Dress up your home.

If you’re into fashion you naturally fancy nice homes as but I don’t. I’m into architecture and interior décor. It takes more than a random mansion shown on MTV Cribs to make my ears tingle because I’m quite picky and particular.

At the moment I live with my parents and long to the day where I have a good job and can afford a good looking apartment or house to turn into my own oasis. I will be moving to Central London to continue my university studies in marketing at the beginning of next year and will try, using the little money I will have to turn my dorm into my personal space.

What characterizes my style is the use of walls. I have blank walls and encourage all of you to use them by hanging up paintings. Further more painting walls in brown, dark gray or purple while keeping the doors sills white is a great way to add depth to a room. Wallpapers with texture and motives are pretty hot as well and is something I could see myself investing in.

As for the décor I’m not into minimalistic and boring furniture which you barely dare to touch. To be there is nothing more important than a comfortable home. Everything you sit you should make you feel relaxed and calm. I like mixed decorations with old designs painted repainted in solid colours. Don’t get me wrong I love Bauhaus pieces as well. Here are a few pictures to showing my taste of décor and design. Colours and shapes are extremely important to me. I love bright colours.

Do I like big houses? Very little. Most big houses are big, bland and boring. I like it intimate with all rooms connected with the help of an open, interesting and functional floor plan. I could see myself living in a house with 3 bedrooms, one guest room, a reading room, and A/V room for watching movies and playing Xbox 360, super clean living room, dinning room and finally a room/glass house next to the garden. Off course I wouldn’t want to live in a house like this all alone. I want children 3 of them, I love having people around me. The house below is a good representation of what I perceive as a reasonably sized home with great architecture. I don’t like the interior decor though.

Back to school.

Wearing glasses with no strength at all has been quite popular the latest two years especially amongst fashion fanatics who want to spice up their outfits with a touch of intelligence.

I have always wanted a pair of glasses but have had a tough time getting hold of a pair of cheap ones, until last week. During a quick visit in a second hand store I saw a basket of glasses and found just the type I wanted. The glass messed up my eyes to I had to break it but it was surprisingly difficult to break. I had to pound each glass shield with all my force 4-5 times with a screwdriver until it gave up.

When I wore them yesterday for my arrogant "Oxford student back to school nerd"-look, and very few noticed that they didn’t have any glass but still I will be visiting my local optician and find out how much it cost to fill the holes with glass.

Cavalli for H&M preview.

The launch is a bit more than 2 months away but this week H&M has together with a Swedish men’s magazine issued a preview shots to keep us hungry for Cavalli’s collection for H&M.

Thankfully he hasn’t turned our nightmares into reality, hardly any men’s clothes with animal patterns, purple or ruffles in sight. What I like most from the shots in the women’s trench coat and I could see thousands of women fighting like cavemen for one in November. The shirt with snow leopard fabric on the front looks quite sharp, I like it.

As for the men’s clothes they look rather plain and leave me rather uninterested. I hope that the details on the suit and trench coat aren’t yellow because that is a terrible colour to combine with most of what I’ve got in my closet. But Cavalli and H&M have more in store than what is in the pictures and they will probably offer a few pieces with mass appeal.

CK Underwear: Rise of the black actor.

When I read the announcement that CK had chosen 43 years old Djimon Hounsou was to replace Fredrik Lundberg as their male underwear campaign model the feeling in my stomach was a bit lukewarm. I’m not so keen on Hollywood actors in fashion campaign but I gave the whole thing some space.

A few shots from the campaign have surfaced the latest months and I’m pretty surprised by the result. Hounsou has really delivered. I love the black intensity in the shots, very powerful and he’s in good shape too. He’s also a good actor, you might remember him for the Gladiator, The Island, and Blood Diamond. Hopefully some duo shots with a female model will surface later this autumn.

SS08 Aftermath.

The men’s SS08 fashion shows are over, what’s in the goodie bags from the shows have been taken advantage off and the focus is now on the AW/0708 stuff making its way into the store. Now it’s time to wake up the dead by examining the biggest trends we saw on the catwalk.

Biggest trend of them are trousers reaching down just a decimeter or so above the ankle, little longer than Capri pants. I like the looks I’ve seen so far, especially those involving colored socks which are heavily exposed. I almost feel like taking a pair of my trousers to a tailor and get them shortened. The father of “short pants” if off course Thom Browne who is a New York based designer/tailor and has been designing these types of pants for quite some time now.

Aluminum colored jackets were quite popular during the 90s and have slowly begun reappearing along with metallic colored clothes. Transparency should also be mentioned as well which is quite amusing since I have during these rainy days seen quite a few people wearing transparent………*make a guess*…………..rain coats!!!

Either way I doubt that any these trend will become a commercial success. If I know fashion right my guess is that transparent and metallic coloured clothes won’t be cheap. In high fashion stores everything that’s not made out of plain cotton come at heart breaking prices.

Flip Flops.

I have seen them and so have you, the crocs!!!! Mostly kids wear them but I have also seen adults and male teenagers wearing them. On top of that they are sold almost everywhere now, even in store which don’t even sell shoes or clothes. My 13 years old brother wants a pair but thankfully my mother hasn’t bothered buying him a pair of military colored ones.

As for flip flops in general, it is considered a blasphemy to wear them in public since they are so informal and something you wear in your home or on the beach. I think that’s sad since they are some very nice looking leather flip flops out there which aren’t getting picked up by anyone.

Pulling of an outfit involving flip flops takes a good amount of planning. First of all there isn’t anything more sinful than walking around with dirt or worn shoes. That means when wearing flip flops your feet have to be as tidy as brand new shoes, especially since people tend to stare at your feet if they are exposed. Giving the feet a good brush and scrape the day before is crucial and perhaps moisturizing them with coco butter lotion, and if someone happens to want to suck on your big toes some honey will do the trick.

Shorts tend to look best with flip flops especially when wearing a belt and bag of the same colour. I don’t have a flip flops but a good time to pick up a pair of leather ones is now when they be on sales and in most cases they are discounted heavily since barely nobody want to buy designer flip flops. Let the outfits below inspire you.

The ultimate Tomgirl.

The girl on the picture looks a little cute doesn’t she? Well I thought the same thing until I looked closely at image for a minute or so and concluded that it’s a guy. He’s a Tomgirl just like some guys I’ve stopped here in Sweden. Slim silhouette are popular today just like they were in 80s. During that time the guy who looked the most like a bitch got all the ladies, like Boy George and Prince. Some guys here in Sweden even buy girl jeans, jackets and other stuff in an attempt to look ultra trendy. Then again I’m not going to exaggerate since the number of guy who engage in this blasphemy are very very few. Personally I think it’s over the top trying to look like an overgrown pre-puberty 14 years old girl.

Koji which is the name of he guy in the picture is much more than a feminine boy. I have found very little information about him, but he is a racing driver and big shot CEO/owner of a very big company in Japan. He seem to be type who is invited to all sort of events and parties, living the jet set life like Paris Hilton did before she became trash.

Looking at some of the recognizable clothes and the shopping bags in the trunk of his arctic white RR Phantom he seem to be a big fan of Dior Homme, which isn’t surprising since the brand is very popular in East Asia.

Just like me has a very good appetite for cars. All the cars seen in the pictures below belong to him, and those a just few of the cars from his collection. Am I jealous? You bet I am, my face is at the moment greener than Kermit.

Look of the month: August

Yohji Yamamoto SS08

Beautiful clothes are great, aren’t they? But spending a whole day in a tailored suit made of expensive material can become uncomfortable. Wearing something like that, the body will be pretty tense and one has to constantly look after the suit and make sure that it doesn’t get damaged and dirty. Because of that I always change into something more comfortable when I get home so that I want to what I want without having to worry about what I’m wearing.

This month look is a display of comfort and durability. The “I don’t care about what I wearing/I’m a bum”-look was very popular and hyped in 04 and the best example was off course Johnny Deep. Dark and durable clothes are create to wear during a day with lots of activity where you might end up be sitting on grass and perhaps horse playing indoors with ladies.

I live in a Nordic country and rain/snow is a bitch, especially if you’re wearing loafers or sneaker which I why I two years ago invested in a pair of boots which look good, are comfortable and barely needs any maintenance. It is a bit difficult to explain the material but it’s a mixture of leather and rubber, and whenever they are a bit muddy I just wipe them with a wet cloth and I’m good to go. I’ve never bought better shoes then these and they have been the perfect “bad weather” shoes. They can take a lot of beating and yet today I haven’t thrown them away since they are looking pretty good now that they look a bit worn. The pictures are of the boots when they were new and had yet to taste the great asphalt of Sweden.

As for the East Asian art in the background I’m a big fan and still have dreams about watering and cutting a bonsai tree during sun rise. In fact I do have quite a lot of East Asian art at home and did acquire three big drawings(they are actually photo copies) earlier this week. Now I just need to head over to IKEA and buy a set of cheap black frames.

Makes no mistake, I will be watching Rush Hour 3 this weekend.

Coloured pants.

I have always been interested in a pair of coloured chinos/jeans, a pair of yellow or orange one(but not too bright coloured off course). What’s hard is finding a pair with good fit, RL sells coloured chinos but they aren’t for the slender type. above here is a picture of a Swedish “internet buddy” of mine who has managed to pull of a spectacular outfit using a pair of lip stick read jeans.

Very classic at the top with a white shirt and a black blazer letting the trousers stand in the spot light. Red is a dead sexy colour and this outfit would definitely make him a star at a party. 110% seduction.

Trend setters 3: Confidence.

Confidence is a best man’s accessory, and with ladies it can do wonders which a Porsche 911 GT3 can’t. Not only does good confidence attract women but it also earns you more respect amongst your friends and colleagues. People tend to listen to pay attention to those who want to make a difference and like being heard.

Gaining confidence can unfortunately not do by putting on a pair or Dior Jeans or an YSL shirt, confidence is all from within. Neither can it be taught like how to cook delicious pasta, self esteem can only be improve by oneself. An individual who has managed to reach the peak of his soul is Tom ford.

I have seen a few interviews featuring Tom and he’s confident like no other person I’ve heard of. If he would be in Las Vegas and a black out is to occurs, his self esteem would light up the whole city. What I love about him is that he isn’t cocky or arrogant. He’s actually well mannered and quite reserved.

Falling for peer pressure doesn’t seem like problem for him, which is quite extraordinary considering the industry he is working in. Just look at store on Madison avenue selling crocodile bags, $5 000 suits and $75 dollar socks. It’s insane and very risky since there is only a tiny percentage of guys who can afford and what to spend that much on clothes. But Tom still went ahead with his dream and turned it to into a reality, letting nobody stop him. His whole store and brand is 100% him without any compromise for others.

Tom is a true perfectionist. He knows who he is and what he wants. I wish that more people would try to accept who they are and stand up for themselves like Tom. I really admire him.

Ari Gold is on the other hand an extreme version of Tom. He is a character in the praised TV-show called “Entourage”. If you’re tired of hearing about golden double head dildos and Manolo Blahniks watching Sex in the City, and what to watch something more manly, then Entourage is a TV-show for you.

To outline the show briefly it is about a guy named Vincent Chase who is an actor living in Hollywood with his brother and two other close friends. Ari Gold is Vincent’s agent, and Ari is cooky, over confident and has a dirty mouth. What best about TV show is Vincent and his entourage. The way they conversate, hang out and act is soooooo “guy-like” that most guys can relate to them. There is a good sense of humor in the show giving joy and good laughter. There is also a lot of appearances from famous actors and models in the show, and the whole thing show is taking place in the very present.

Ari is hands down the funniest character in the show and the actor who plays him Jeremy Piven, actually won an Emmy for his spectacular performance in the show. Below here are two quotes from the show which will hopefully make you start watching the show. A

In the office screaming to all his agents:

"You all have one goal today - to get Vincent Chase's brother, Johnny Chase a job - ANY job. I don't care if it's a porn shoot where he is being gang raped by a gaggle of silverback apes, if there are cameras rolling, everyone wins"

Talking to is assistant Loyd:

“Fuck the phones, Lloyd! Unless Carmen Electra calls for an emergency titty-fuck, don’t answer!”

I know it is a bit difficult to laugh at these quotes reading them in context but hearing them watching the show is hilarious, and there's more where that came from. Basically Ari has turned cursing into a beautiful art and is an example of how a guy shouldn’t behave unless they want to be hated by every single person on earth.

There nothing we humans hate more than obnoxious and arrogant people, so never get over confident. It’s all about feeling good within rather than trying to stand above everyone above you and try to dominate your surrounding. BTW, is it only me or does Tom Ford and Jeremy Piven look a like. Did I also mention that the show is loosely based on Mark Wahlberg and that he is the executive producer?

Capitalism meets Communism.

Did you ever imagine that worlds most powerful companies would hire the ex leader of the ex-leader of the biggest communist state the last century, as a model in one of their campaign ads? I can say that I didn’t and neither did Mikhail Gorbachev himself. He’s probably happy about earning a few bucks and possibly even getting to keep that Keepall he’s posing with.

Don’t be fooled though, he’s not your average dumb model, Mr. Gorbachev is a very respected man. He was responsible for bringing the Cold War to an end and dissolving the Soviet Union into 12 independent nations.

I think that the campaign comes at an appropriate time, especially now when my Spiderman senses are telling me that a conflict over unclaimed natural resources in the North Pole is on the horizon. But I’m not going to jump to conclusions because I hope that the US, Russia and Denmark will solve the matter in a civilized way.