David Beckham's Bandana Diaries

There was a lot for fashion fans to appreciate in last night’s BBC1 David Beckham Brazil travelogue Into The Unknown.

First, the footage of Victoria, pristine in a black sweater with white Wednesday Addams collar, anxious about the humidity that her husband would soon encounter. “What are you going to do about your hair?” she asked, adding: “I don’t even go to humid countries because of my hair … you should wear a hat through the whole thing.”

kissydress purple bridesmaid dresses

Sure enough, Beckham wore a selection of chapeaus in Brazil, from baseball caps to wide-brimmed straw hats. But really, it was all about his bandanas. Beckham’s bandanas were black and red and blue; they were hair bands, neckerchiefs and accessories, wrapped tightly around wrists and draped handsomely out of jeans pockets. Sometimes, he wore two bandanas at once.

Given that much of Beckham’s trip was spent riding a motorbike, his bandanas were practical, sure, but Brand Beckham knows its fashion motifs and cannot help deploying them, even in the Amazon jungle. According to US GQ, Bandanas are “this season’s undisputed soft accessory”, as seen on the spring/summer 2014 catwalk of Louis Vuitton, where the scarves were used as neck-ties and as an inspiration for printed trainers.

kissydress green prom dresses

Prior to Louis Vuitton, bandanas have been a slow-burning street trend, popping up on twentysomething celebrities for a couple of years. Justin Bieber, for example, ties his at the front of his head, in the style of Tupac Shakur, while One Direction’s most fashion-forward heartthrob, Harry Styles, wears his as a Keith Richards-style headband. As the existence of many “how to tie a bandana like a gangster” YouTube tutorials attests, for some young men – often the posh ones, it must be said – the 2014 bandana has become popular partly because of its gangland connotations. Perhaps this is why the classic rock Axl Rose bandana – worn wide, across the forehead, over long, poker-straight hair – has yet to be revived. But as the 1990s comeback continues, whether we like it or not, it is probably only a matter of time. Whether you see bandanas as a worry, a fashion statement or a simple piece of biker practicality, they are definitely back. Spot them on sweaty young heads this festival season.

“RuPaul Is Kind of the Ultimate Supermodel,” and More Musings From Parsons Honoree Jason Wu

With his Hugo Boss debut and thriving eponymous line, Jason Wu is having a banner year. So it comes as little surprise that the 31-year-old Taiwanese-Canadian designer is picking up the top honor at Parsons’ 2014 Fashion Benefit, which is set for tomorrow evening. Ahead of the festivities, Wu, who’s both a Parsons alum and—fun fact—a former toy designer, took time away from wrapping his forthcoming Resort collection to speak with Style about his secrets to success, New York fashion’s changing landscape, and his obsession with RuPaul.

—Katharine K. Zarrella

Congratulations on the Parsons honor. Considering you studied at the school, do you feel you’ve come full circle?

I’ve kind of come full circle because I moved here in 2001 for my first year at Parsons. So it’s nice to go back and be a part of this new generation of the school, which has taught me a lot and done so much for me. It’s a very nice honor and I’m very proud. But I don’t think I’ve made it—at all. I think I’ve hit a nice moment in my career and it feels great to have your peers and people in your industry acknowledge your work. But that’s not to say that there’s not much more work to do.

kissydress bridesmaid dresses

Between your debut at Hugo Boss, the success of your own line, and now this award, it seems that you’ve really hit your stride this year.

I don’t know. I always think there’s more to do, so I never think I’ve hit my stride. I always want more and want to do more, but certainly I think it’s been a great year so far, having done two shows in New York for the first time, and then getting this award. I guess that comes with age and experience and just doing it for a while. And I guess I’m getting a little better at it.

Do people look at you differently now that you’ve become the big man at Boss?

I don’t know if I’ve knocked it out of the park yet, but I think we had a really successful first show and I guess people look at me a little more like a grown-up, a big person.

Do you feel like a grown-up?

Yeah, I feel a little older. I guess that means grown-up. Definitely achier.

kissydress high low prom dresses

Your Boss show was quite the star-studded event, and Jennifer Lawrence just wore a gown from your Fall collection to the world premiere of X-Men: Days of Future Past. What role does celebrity dressing play in a designer’s success?

Having people you admire wear your clothes in a very public way is inspiring, and it’s also a great way to get your work out there. It’s a great form of advertising. But for me it’s always about quality, not quantity, and it’s about dressing the few girls that I love. I’ve always been very loyal to Diane Kruger, Reese Witherspoon, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Kerry Washington—those are girls I dress over and over and over again. And you really develop a rapport and a friendship and a relationship. It goes back to the days when Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn, and Catherine Deneuve and Yves Saint Laurent, had those relationships that went [beyond commerciality]. Those were true relationships. It’s great to continue that tradition.

Can a young designer make it these days without a celebrity bump?

Everyone does it differently. There are some people who make clothes that are more appropriate for a red carpet and there are some people who don’t. I’m not sure if it’s a do-or-die situation, but you do have to seek exposure in your own way, in a way that’s right for your brand.

How did you come to dress Jennifer Lawrence for her X-Men premiere? Was that a big moment for you?

Yeah. Actually, we just found out [the day before]. I had no idea. I think there’s something so incredibly human about her. That’s why people love her so much—she’s so relatable. She shows a little imperfection—which we all have—and still looks stunning.

You mentioned that people like seeing imperfection in public figures. With that in mind, people seem to like you a lot. What’s your imperfection?

My imperfection is that I’m not as perfect as people seem to think I am. There’s a sense of controlled, sophisticated ideas in my clothes that are quite neat, and I think people sometimes think I’m that, but I’m not.

Are you messy?

I’m actually not messy. I’m terrible at waking up early. I’m terrible at a lot of things. I’m terrible at technology—anything computer-oriented. And I’m terrible at making anything on time, which I’m really working on. Actually, at Parsons, I was always really late, and you can’t be late at Parsons. You really get into trouble.

You, along with Alexander Wang, Prabal Gurung, Joseph Altuzarra, etc., are part of New York’s new guard. How do you think the creative climate here is changing?

Right now, New York fashion week is at its best. We have the most young talent [succeeding] at the same time for the first time in a long, long while, and this is the first time that we’ve really been acknowledged on an international level in a long time. That has to do with the fact that our generation’s outlook is global, rather than local. If you look at Style, you can read that anywhere in the world. That certainly helps. Having that kind of recognition all over the world is something that is quite rare. We’re experiencing something of a moment, a movement.

Why is that, do you think?

It is, in so many ways, New York’s time. All [of the young designers] in New York come from different international backgrounds. I think that’s a very nice representation of what New York fashion is about—it’s about diversity; it’s about fresh ideas; it’s about making its own statement, because we don’t have the hundreds of years of history. We’re really still, as a whole, quite new at it.

Do you remember how you felt when you were designing your Parsons graduate collection?

It’s so funny because I went to Parsons and my major was menswear, yet I make the most fit-and-flare dresses you could possibly imagine. I guess after going to the very masculine side, I felt like I was much more comfortable in the very feminine side, and eventually the combination of the two became my work as we know it today.

Why were you initially drawn to menswear?

I always liked the idea of tailoring. I always felt making a jacket was the most difficult thing, and it is still the most difficult. Sometimes the cleanest things with the least amount of details are the most intricate.

What do fashion students need to know that isn’t necessarily taught in school?

It’s that the fashion industry isn’t by-the-books. It’s not about following one specific route, it’s about paving your own way and making it your own. That’s what makes fashion interesting—individual visions—and not one person breaks through in the same way. We all get into it slightly differently—I worked in toys first.

Speaking of toys, I read that back in the day, you did a RuPaul doll?

I worked with RuPaul once! It was a long time ago. We made a RuPaul doll and it was wildly successful and that’s how I met him. Of course, RuPaul’s Drag Race is my favorite show ever. It’s like the best show on television. RuPaul is kind of the ultimate supermodel, and I have an obsession with supermodels.

Does your former life as a toy designer ever inform your fashion designs?

Attention to detail is what links my work as a toy designer and a fashion designer. Most people say I went from dressing toy dolls to real dolls. That’s kind of the press-y version of it. But in actuality, I did everything from designing the sculptural form of the dolls to the industrialization of the molds to the manufacturing. I always knew how to create a really good product, and I think that experience primed me for this industry.

How important has business savvy been to your success?

The balance between creativity and business-savvy is something that every young designer needs to be aware of, because it’s the reality of our industry. Having that balance is something that my generation of New York designers really thinks about.

What is your advice to fashion students who want to be the next Jason Wu?

I don’t know if they do want to be the next Jason Wu! But my advice is seize every opportunity and work hard. It sounds so obvious to say that, but the glamour of the industry can get distracting sometimes, and at the end of the day it’s about the work. I work weekends all the time—there’s no such thing as overtime for me because my own time is overtime. And I don’t have any vacations, so cancel those family plans.

Pitti Reveals Big Plans, Makes Peace

This afternoon, the fashion set chowed down on bacon, rigatoni, and cream sauce, which can mean only one thing: the biannual Pitti Immagine Uomo/W luncheon. Held at downtown Italian eatery Da Silvano, the afternoon gathering gave Pitti CEO Raffaello Napoleone the opportunity to speak with press, buyers, and more about the plans for the Spring ’15 Florence fashion fair—and boy, are there a lot of them. 2014 marks the 60th anniversary of the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana (essentially the organizing body for all things fashion in Firenze), so in addition to exhibitions and presentations from emerging and established designers, fairgoers will be treated to a three-museum exhibition by Francesco Vezzoli, who will insert his own work among classical paintings, sculptures, etc.; an opening opera starring Andrea Bocelli; an exhibition of Roman costume atelier Sartoria Tirelli’s confections; a bevy of film screenings; the debut of Nick Wooster’s capsule collection; and more. Also on the docket? Florence-born brands Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, and Ermanno Scervino will each host special events.

kissydress plus size bridesmaid dresses

As reported last month, Z Zegna will be the featured guest menswear designer, but there will be no guest womenswear designer this season due to the many other events on the itinerary. We suppose the abovementioned powerhouses’ Florence-centric projects will suffice. “We don’t want it to be just another fair,” Napoleone told while sipping a glass of vino rosso. “We want to create a cultural experience.” Provided the itinerary lives up to expectations, it seems he’s done just that.

The overcrowded menswear schedule also came up in discussion this afternoon. If you’ll remember, there was a bit of a tiff between Pitti Uomo and the London Collections: Men last season, as the recently founded London shows conflicted with the Florence fair. “There will be no more troubles in 2015,” announced Napoleone. While the showcases will once again overlap this time around, next season the calendar for all four cities will shift, allowing London, Florence, Milan, and Paris each to have its fair share of time in the spotlight. (This helps explore the new dates for Paris Couture, too.) “This is better for everyone,” asserted Napoleone, telling us that it took one year to reach the final agreement. “Having four menswear events in Europe is a good opportunity because the manufacturers will remain strong and [we] can drive the [menswear] sensibility,” he added. It’s nice to see all the fashion cities (finally) playing nice.

kissydress high low prom dresses

Dior Homme Is the Latest Men’s Label to Make Pre-Collections a Priority

Dior can smell a trend in the offing. The label’s artistic director for menswear, Kris Van Assche—as well as, presumably, his corporate bosses—sensed the growing importance of pre-collections for menswear and have begun to treat them with the pomp and circumstance formerly accorded to Fall and Spring. “At the start, a few seasons ago, these pre-collections were basically pre-deliveries of the main collections,” Van Assche told. “But now, with their strong commercial success, I understood the need for four independent, freestanding collections a year. We have now started calling these in-between collections Spring and Autumn, and the show collections Summer and Winter. These independent pre-collections tell a whole new story, away from the runway. I chose to present them to the press through catalogs, videos, and installations, like the one we had in Omotesando, Japan, in November, for the Spring collection.”

plus size bridesmaid dresses 2013


The story Van Assche set out to tell for Autumn—what other labels call Pre-Fall—is about an art student from Antwerp or Berlin. (Van Assche is Belgian himself and graduated, in his student days, from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts.) His wardrobe mixes the tailored pieces Dior Homme is famous for with more of the youth-inflected sportswear that’s a particular Van Assche fascination—sometimes in the same garment. (Blazer sleeves can be narrowed or expanded by zippers like those found on biker jackets, for example.) “His wardrobe is composed of various pieces bought on different occasions,” he says, “A blazer, a leather biker jacket, a bright red duffle coat, some knits, the typical ‘art student’ narrow black jeans, and, of course, black combat boots.”

There’s a new graphicism to some of the items, from printed suits to printed shirts, the latter of which owe a debt to the graphics of new wave (“which the art student would obviously be listening to”). But the main innovation of the collection is that, fittingly to its more commercial bent, it was conceived as separate, sales-friendly pieces. “The newest thing for me as a design concept,” Van Assche said, “was to think not in total looks but in strong separate pieces, and then make them work as an outfit.”

bridesmaid dresses