Why no plus-sized male models?

While non-conventionally sized models Crystal Renn, Kate Upton and Robyn Lawley conquer covers, campaigns, catwalks and editorials, one group have been conspicuously left out of the glossy picture - plus-size male models.

Why have we not questioned the absence of plus-size male models in the media? Women's magazines are increasingly answering the call to include more 'real'-looking models in their spreads while titles such as GQ and Vogue's male-targeted editions continue to flog a very narrow view of what it means to be beautiful.

According to The New York Times, the standard male mannequin size has shrunk from a 42" chest and a 33" waist to a 35" chest and a 27" waist in the past 40 years. And those numbers are getting smaller still. Though, generally speaking, the average male model embodies an ideal that is healthier than your average female model, the media-propagated 'norm' is still limited and unattainable.

The modern-day dude is bombarded with images of jacked-up perfection in the form of rock hard pectorals and the anonymous six-packs you find in Abercrombie & Fitch catalogues. And on the other side of the spectrum, Hedi Slimane peddles an ideal that's just as detached from reality. The Dior Homme cum Saint Laurent designer has popularised the angular, boy-from-the-band look, choosing hollow-cheeked, prepubescent-looking models for his runway.

When it comes to issues of vanity and self-loathing, men are far from immune. According to The Butterfly Foundation, the number of males suffering from eating disorders is on the rise. Though discussion around beauty standards and body acceptance has tended to focus solely on women - these issues are just as real for men.

Could the lack of plus-size male models have to do with the lack of plus-size ready-to-wear fashion? That could very well be the case. While women's fashion moves tentatively toward promoting a wider, healthier size gamut - what with the rise of plus-size fashion blogs, more businesses expanding their ranges, Rick Owen's sizeable steppers at Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week presenting its first plus-size show - the same cannot be said for men's fashion.

If you're an XL or up, there's no use looking to Valet or Mr. Porter for sartorial inspiration. The more discerning big-and-tall shopper will find there are few options available. Though the market is there, the industry is yet to be created.

There's also confusion around the definition of what it means to be a 'plus-size' male model. While women's plus-size is stringently defined and based on the perception that curves are sexy, the equivalent curves on a male - beer guts, pot bellies and love handles - are not. Any figure that's slightly meatier and more in line with your average Joe - think Alec Baldwin, Seth Rogen, even Russell Crowe - is perceived as pudgy and soft.

To broaden the male model niche would encourage more brands and magazines to hop on board the plus-size train and vice versa. Just as is the case with women, for men to see bigger dudes in fashion shoots is both reassuring and empowering for body confidence. And what's more, we think broader chests, thicker arms, beefier bellies and more rounded bottoms can often look quite marvellous on a guy ...

Will media extract 'revenge of the nerds' on David Price?

Going by David Price's Twitter timeline, it took him about 13 hours to reassess calling the TBS broadcast team "nerds'' and suggesting that Newsday alum Tom Verducci "wasn't even a waterboy in high school'' -- making them unqualified to "bash'' players and be critical of his Game 2 performance in the ALDS on Saturday.

So when the frustrated Rays pitcher eventually signed back on to Twitter, Price did what everyone expected him to do. He aired his thoughts on a popular fast-food chain specializing in chicken sandwiches that doesn't do business on Sundays because of religious observance.

"As much as everyone craves [it] on Sunday,'' Price said in the next tweet that appeared on his authenticated account, "I think they should open for an hour or two and just make everything cost $1 more.''

What? You were expecting an apology to the "nerds?'' Well, that did eventually pop up, an hour after the chicken extortion scheme. Better late than never, right?

"Last night got out of hand and I apologize for the things that I said on here,'' Price tweeted. "If I offended you I am very sorry for doing so . . . #thatsnotme.''

Fair enough. In the final analysis, Price's whole Twitter flap was comical. Trust me, broadcasters and sportswriters have been called far worse than nerds or undergrad water boys. By comparison, those labels feel downright chummy. And it's not as if Price made the egregious mistake so many others have on Twitter of using racist or sexist language that can ruin careers and lives.

Price was frustrated. He was angry. And after getting knocked around in a playoff game -- again -- he wasn't about to roll with any punches thrown by the media. But there's a lesson to be learned here.

When your head is having trouble harnessing those combustible emotions and you have the urge to lash out publicly, that's the time to take a deep breath, put down the iPhone, close the laptop and walk away. Go to bed, read a book, knit yourself a sweater. Because as soon as those regrettable words land on Twitter, someone on the planet is freezing it with a screen grab for all eternity.

And then, like Price, you'll be forced to talk about it over and over again. That won't start until Monday, however, because Price didn't show up Sunday for the Rays' optional workout at Tropicana Field. Instead, Joe Maddon was left to give his take on Nerd-Gate, and he didn't come down too hard on Price.

"It's a dangerous world with the ability to put out information so quickly,'' Maddon said. "You really need to process it before you hit the 'send' button. So I think through that [apology] he probably has reconsidered what he had written and obviously felt what he did was not correct.''

That was Maddon's politically correct reaction, but he didn't stop there. Part of what makes Maddon an effective manager -- as well as fun to play for and write about -- is his anti-establishment, freewheeling vibe.

As Maddon explains, he doesn't want his players to strive for perfection because perfection is not only unattainable, it's boring. He also likes to poke the Yankees every so often for their ban on facial hair and dress code for road trips.

Rather than wear a suit and tie, the Rays have travel themes: Ed Hardy T-shirts, Urban Cowboy, "Wigs Gone Wild.'' The "all-white'' outfit is an annual event. It's not about the clothes. It's the individual expression that Maddon believes helps a player reach his potential, and that includes conduct.

"I don't like to censor my guys,'' Maddon said. "Sometimes when we have that freedom, we choose to make bad decisions with it. However, you still get that freedom. Hopefully he's going to learn from that and you're not going to see it again.''

At least David Ortiz was willing to forgive and forget Price's other postgame misstep. The day after Price said Big Papi spent too much time admiring his second homer, Ortiz shrugged it off.

"We talked and straightened things out,'' Ortiz said. "Everything's fine.''

Easy for Big Papi to say. He didn't get called a nerd.

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Marc Jacobs says farewell to Louis Vuitton

What was likely designer Marc Jacobs' last ready-to-wear collection for Louis Vuitton looked like a show in mourning - black, black and more black.

A dark fountain and a nightmarish carousel with inky horses were the backdrop for a universe of clothes all in black. Maids cleaned away dust from the steps of the disturbing set, which traced Jacobs' influential 16-year reign at Vuitton.

Shortly after the show at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the visual metaphor was explained: French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton announced that Jacobs was stepping down as creative director of its flagship brand.

Jacobs, who is also the director of an eponymous brand, is one of the biggest names in the fashion industry. Under his tenure, Louis Vuitton became the most lucrative fashion house in the world, in part thanks to his creation of a ready-to-wear line.

LVMH, which owns the Louis Vuitton brand and an array of other luxury names purveying everything from jewelry to champagne, would not say who would replace Jacobs or what his next move would be.

From her front-row seat, U.S. Vogue editor Anna Wintour gave Jacobs an ovation at Wednesday's show.

"Fashion needs rock stars, and they don't come any starrier than Marc at Louis Vuitton," she told The Associated Press in an email.

"He has always understood that it is a house about travel, and every season he has taken us on incredible journeys with his spectacular shows shows that made Vuitton a global phenomenon but always brought you back to the heart of Paris."

Such visible acclaim from the powerful editor - to whom he partly dedicated the show - is extremely rare.

On the Vuitton catwalk, models filed by in jet-black warrior-feathered headdresses as they displayed Jacobs' 41 designs. The pieces used embroidered black tulle stockings, Eisenhower jackets embellished with large feathered shoulders, dark embroideries, smoking jackets and some 1940s baggy blue jeans.

The glimmering landscape was towered over by a huge clock whose arm went back in time. It was as if the designer was trying to look to the past or even get some precious time back.

Even the clothes went back in time. Floor-length, thick Edwardian dresses with large sleeves fused with black decorative corset details, evoking fashions of the 1900s and contrasting with the more revealing "showgirl" looks.

"We went back and used all the different bits of the sets of the past and made them black," Jacobs explained backstage. He didn't elaborate on his plans or comment on reports that he's focusing on a possible public offering for the Marc Jacobs brand.

Jacobs expanded the Vuitton brand from its iconic bags into clothes, launching ready-to-wear and shoe collections in 1998. At the time, it was seen as a marketing strategy to help raise the profile of the luxury house, which began as a leather bag and case maker in 19th-century Paris, when aristocratic women needed fashionable travel bags.

While Vuitton's clothes are not a red-carpet staple, Jacobs' shows always attract A-list celebrities. Kate Moss has been a muse for him, and director Sofia Coppola has just made a series of handbags for Louis Vuitton.

Coppola, Princess Charlene of Monaco and the Hollywood's Fanning sisters were among those at Wednesday's show.

In the program notes, Jacobs enclosed an emotional message to LVMH's CEO: "For... Bernard Arnault. All my love, always."

Glenda Bailey, the influential U.S. editor of Harper's Bazaar, said the show signaled "an end of an era."

"Watching the show was like seeing your life flash before your eyes, because there were so many memorable moments referenced," she told the AP, referring to touches like "Louis Vuitton" prints, corsetry shapes, high-collared sweeping silhouettes or large, embroidered paillettes.

"Marc brought such incredible energy to Louis Vuitton and should really be celebrated for bringing that house to life, and creating the vision that someone else will now take forward," Bailey added.

Bailey would not speculate on rumors that Jacobs will be replaced by designer Nicolas Ghesquiere, who left Balenciaga last November. But she said the new designer will have unique opportunities thanks to LVMH's solid financial footing.

Golden Girls, Backstage at Dries Van Noten

Peter Philips is known as the master of makeup invention, and when it came to the eyelashes at Dries Van Noten, he certainly spun standard string into beauty gold. After evening out complexions with foundation and powdering the skin, he dusted Chanel Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Ivory (a pearl tone with a hint of shimmer) to provide lids with “a bit of depth.” Then he added sparkle to lashes via metallic thread. “You can never find a gold mascara that does this, and [false] lashes look too drag queen-y,” Philips explained. After snipping the delicate cord into small pieces with a pair of manicuring scissors and dotting models’ natural fringe with eyelash glue, he placed the tinsel-like fibers individually with a pair of tweezers. To frame the face and make the eyebrows uniform, Philips traced slightly outside arches using the Crayon Sourcils Sculpting Eyebrow Pencil in a shade slightly darker than each girl’s hair color; taking away the curve and replacing it with an elongated and angular shape. Lips were toned down with a touch of base just before showtime.

Sharp side parts inspired by Tamara de Lempicka (an art deco painter with Polish roots) and Loulou de la Falaise (Yves Saint Laurent’s muse) were gilded with a mix of hair wax and gold leaf. Hairstylist Sam McKnight washed hair with Pantene Pro-V Aqua Light Shampoo so that it was free of product or shine that would detract from the graphic stripe. He used a steel tail comb to divide the hair from left to right, then worked Sebastian Mousse Forte through the top section and brushed strands behind the ears with a Mason Pearson. A net was pressed over the crown, hit with a blow-dryer, and set with hairspray. The length was left “raw” and misted with water to revive any natural texture. The end result was a look that would make King Midas proud.

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Sarah Brucker honored during start of Milwaukee Fashion Week

Sarah Brucker, the popular Milwaukee makeup artist and business owner who was killed in a fire in Delafield in August was honored on Sunday night, September 22nd.

36-year-old Brucker was found dead inside her Delafield home on August 7th following a five-alarm fire.

On Sunday night, Brucker was honored during the start of Milwaukee’s Fashion Week. The lights dimmed for a runway show that kicked off the city’s first-ever Fashion Week.

But on what was called a “monumental night,” one of Fashion Week’s biggest advocates was missing.

“She basically just wanted a stronger fashion community,” Jenny Kuehneman said.

Brucker was one of five women who was recognized for the impact they had on the local fashion community.

“I guess mostly I`m just extremely sad that she`s not here because this event and this movement is something that she has been pioneering and working towards,” Kuehneman said.

Kuehneman says Brucker always felt Milwaukee’s fashion scene was on the brink of something bigger.

“She was like ‘it`s a small Chicago. It`s a small New York’ and she definitely felt like it was something that had the potential to be what it is,” Kuehneman said.

Brucker was not only well known for makeup artistry, she also co-owned Blush salons in the Third Ward and Mequon with Jhoesy Leon.

Additionally, Brucker’s personal style served as inspiration for Sunday’s runway show.

“She was classic and bubbly and fun and that`s what we`re going for. It`s that classic look, the buns, the bright lips,” Wren Solares said.

At 36 years old, Brucker’s death is being felt throughout Milwaukee’s small fashion scene, but they say this event is her legacy.

“She created a movement and that movement is gonna continue for years to come,” Solares said.

Brucker had two children, who were not home at the time of the incident. The fire remains under investigation.

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London’s designers blow your socks off… again

London’s creative fashion credentials are trotted out so frequently it’s become something of a cliché to declare that the colleges here shape talent like nowhere else. But the last day of London Fashion Week was proof that there is life in the old truism yet as small-scale affairs with budgets to match managed to blow the socks off those assembled.

At Simone Rocha, black and white prevailed, with highlights courtesy of a mossy silk slip dress and a voluminous forest green coat, while champagne jacquard was textured with bubbles. Pearls threaded through the collection – as twisted rope chokers, appliquéd as flat adornment on necklines and around pockets on clean tailoring and full prom skirts.

Backstage, Rocha explained that the collection was inspired by Connemara in her native Ireland: “A beautiful place, the textures and colours so invoking, so personal. That’s where all the feeling came from.”

Meadham Kirchhoff’s deconstructed collection was a meditation along similar lines, although the duo’s take was more unsettling. Double-breasted blazers with shiny golden buttons worn with miniskirts were seemingly bourgeois ensembles, but in fact were gradually chopped up and dismembered to become a backless halter-neck blazer with suspended sleeves and exposed raw hems.

Benjamin Meadham and Edward Kirchhoff know how to create a narrative through dramatic presentation, indeed theirs are highly anticipated by those who appreciate somewhat off-colour alternatives. But the clothes themselves are masterfully made, too – pleated skirts, for example, were inset with lace panels and embellished with golden and pearl beads.

Ryan Lo, of Fashion East, has this talent too – the candyfloss fluff and fur of previous seasons was present today, but his focus was instead directed at youthful, lace skater-girl dresses and separates, intarsia knits of strawberries and farmyard animals for “girls refusing to grow up to become ladies”.

Ashley Williams referenced the Americana of the eighties with a Riviera theme courtesy of “dream boat” illustrations printed on to leather jackets and swimwear, and “S.O.S” and “FIN” lace logos on track pants and jackets, and fuzzy toy sharks were turned into plush clutch bags.

Claire Barrow’s hand-painted and printed leather pieces were this season adorned with galactic motifs of planets, moons and stars as well as horoscope symbols. Perhaps Barrow suffered from being sandwiched by two energised presentations, but the downbeat mood of the collection meant it remained grounded rather than taking off.

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Backstage At Michael Kors: Perfectly Imperfect

The models at Michael Kors may have appeared bronzed and glowing (as they so often do), but makeup artist Dick Page was thinking in black and white, wanting to “just see tone and structure in the face.” While there were forties elements to the collection this season, Page didn’t proceed with a red lip, which would push the look strongly in the wrong direction, he explained. Instead, he evened the skin with a light layer of base and added warmth back in with Michael Kors Sporty Bronze Powder in Glow dusted along the hairline from temple to temple in a “horseshoe” shape. Page accented cheeks with Sexy Bronze Powder in Flush, a slightly rosier shade. To camouflage any darkness around the eyes, he encircled them with MAC Eye Shadow in Brule on fair-skinned models, and a brown-gold hue for deeper complexions. “It cancels shadows almost like concealer, but [the pigment] is so [sheer] you don’t read it as makeup,” he explained. After coating lashes with brown mascara, Page created a stain via layering: first applying a lip balm, painting on Glam Lip Lacquer in Dame (a berry hue) with a brush, blotting, putting on another coat of balm, adding one more coat of color, blotting, and sheering it out with a final slick of balm. (Phew!) To diffuse the edges of the lipstick, he rimmed the mouth with the same shadow used on the eyes. “The girl looks very healthy, alive, and animated because Michael really likes that kind of energy—so [we did] that in the most precise and discreet way possible,” concluded Page.

As for the tousled updos created by hair pro Orlando Pita, where models were meant to look as if they’d just had “a romp,” he began by randomly curling sections with a one-inch curling iron to add a bend to the hair. For the undone, chunky texture, he worked Schwarzkopf Osis+ Dust It (a mattifying powder) into strands with his fingers, then twisted them into a loose chignon—being sure to leave loads of pieces out around the face, as the designer requested “bits flying,” and set with hairspray. When asked how he skirts the balance between romantically rumpled and plain old disheveled, Pita said, “You have to go over-messy for the runway or a photograph; the film and light polish everything up.” I think it’s safe to say I won’t have any trouble nailing that part.