Fashion has always been a signal of the times — a mirror of our cultural evolution. Marketers should take heed, as this year’s fall runways were signaling a new state of manhood and womanhood — men taking on a back to basics, men as real men look and women presenting an image fully consistent with their newfound strength and power. The fashions are a reflection of the societal shifts taking shape as women take on a more prominent role in the world and men continue to find their way and place given the changes.
Beards are the fashion that reflects the cultural norm of men trying to “right themselves” post-recession and being proud to be men. Men in beards filled the fall runways from Vivienne Westwood to Roberto Cavalli. Beyond fashion, even Disney — the quintessential arbiter of clean and wholesome — recently updated its dress code to include beards. A charity event, Movember, has also fueled the hipness of facial hair; the global event encourages men to not shave in November to raise funds to fight prostate cancer. All are a reflection of a shift towards facial hair being more acceptable in today’s society, a symbol of masculinity.
One brand rightly picking up on this trend is Gillette, launching the Fusion ProGlide Styler. Astutely, the brand linked the product’s benefit to the deeper cultural norms facing men today, supporting the launch with its “Masters of Style” campaign that focuses on owning one’s authentic self. The campaign features famous actors who proudly sport facial hair and do so with style. Actor Adrien Brody says that it “boils down to being real with yourself,” while Gael Garcia Bernal speaks to how facial hair is a tool to build character.
Another personal care brand, Dove Men+Care, also taps into this insight with its “Get comfortable in your own skin” campaign. But these lessons can go beyond personal care. Men are trying to get a handle on what it means to be a man in today’s world, and brands can help support this confidence building and a new gender identity. Consider Dockers “Wear the Pants” campaign that champions being a man, as opposed to the recent Huggies “Dad Test” campaign that received widespread criticism from offended dads who felt portrayed as incompetent.
What appears best is to honor men and their masculinity. In marketing, women have always been plagued with stereotypes, and men seem to be faring no better. Instead, honor the complex roles men are leading today.
Now, for women, strong is the word that best describes them. Many designers presented strong women in the Fall inspired by the Lisbeth Salander character from the movie, The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. Donatella Versace had her “gothic warriors,” and Givenchy had women in “armored” clothing and with multiple piercings. H&M got hot on this trend and launched its first movie-inspired line designed by the film’s costume designer. The company talked about the clothing line as being about a “strong woman who stands up for her ideals.”
Jones New York is another fashion brand that has been championing women with its “Empowering Your Confidence” campaign. It first launched after the 2009 The Shriver Report on women was released and acknowledged that women are now over 50 percent of the workforce. Bare Escentuals is also encouraging representations of strong women in its first global campaign, “Be a Force of Beauty.” In this case, it is acknowledging the power of femininity.
These examples demonstrate a shift on the part of marketing to start to mirror the strong women represented in our culture. Marketers should consider presenting women as empowered as they are, not as damsels in distress by any stretch of the imagination. They really are women in control of their destiny — confident and feminine at the same time.
What does this mean for marketers today? They must consider the changing roles of men and women in the 21st century. While traditional male and female archetypes may still exist in the world, they are becoming less the norm. At a sociological level, we know that brands contribute to cultural development, and therefore, can infer that brands can influence and contribute to what men and women expect of themselves. This suggests that brands have the opportunity to help them figure out their new roles today and learn to live a harmonious existence in manhood and womanhood.
Kristen Stewart named Best Dressed Woman; check out the top ten!
Glamour’s Best Dressed.
The ‘Twilight’ star Kristen Stewart has been crowned the World’s Best Dressed Woman by Glamour magazine.
The 22-year-old stunner was chosen over other headturners like Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, Emma Watson, Michelle Williams and Blake Lively. Interestingly, the glam dolls like Kim Kardashian and Kate Moss don’t feature in the top ten.
Kristen Stewart, a former fashion pariah, has become a lot more involved in fashion lately. There was a time she used to pooh-pooh couture, but has been seen in designs by Balenciaga, Chanel, J Mendel and Roberto Cavalli in the past year.
According to Glamour: “Whether she’s working bodycon Monique Lhuillier on the red carpet, or dressing down in jeans and a T-shirt, Kristen is always effortlessly on-trend. Her evolution from awkward teen to style queen has made the Twilight star a fashion icon every girl can relate to.”
Besides being the best dressed, Kristen Stewart has also topped the best-dressed couple rankings with boyfriend Robert Pattinson.
Ahead, check out the other nine top ten Best Dressed Women as named by Glamour magazine.
Betsey Johnson LLC, the women’s fashion retailer formed in 1978, filed for bankruptcy protection.
The Chapter 11 filing today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan listed as much as $50 million (all figures U.S.) in assets and debt. The company’s largest unsecured creditor is Haskell Jewels LLC of New York, with a $450,105 claim.
Formed as B.J. Vines in 1978, the company sells rock-n-roll and hippie-themed clothing, footwear, handbags and a signature fragrance through 66 Betsey Johnson boutiques with five of them being in Canada, including one in Toronto at 102 Yorkville, according to the company’s website. Betsey Johnson products are also sold in Winners.
The company engaged Morpheus Capital + Advisors LLC in February to find new equity investors or sell the business and was unsuccessful, according to the court filing. Citing “severe liquidity constraints” and imminent default of a secured loans, the company decided to file for Chapter 11 protection, according to the filing, which will see most of its stores close.
Calls to the company’s main showroom in New York and to Susan Falk, the chief executive officer, weren’t returned after regular business hours.
In 2010, Steven Madden Ltd. a footwear designer and marketer, swapped $27.6 million of secured debt for ownership of Betsey Johnson’s trademarks and intellectual property. At the same time, Castanea Partners, the company’s majority owner, made a new capital investment.
Brian Knez, a managing partner at Castanea Partners, and Marion Schouten of the investor relations department didn’t immediately return calls for comment after regular business hours.
The unit that filed for bankruptcy isn’t a part of Steven Madden.
Johnson joins other troubled retailers that have sought bankruptcy protection in past years, including Loehmann’s Holdings Inc. and Escada USA, the luxury clothing maker.
What to Wear to a Day Wedding – 2012 Spring Wedding Fashion from Skunkfunk Marries Fun and Style.
More luxurious fabrics and sophisticated styles define Skunkfunk’s new 2012 Spring-Summer collection—with pretty party dresses that are perfect for spring wedding guests.
Wondering what to wear to all those upcoming spring weddings? Cute dresses from Skunkfunk’s current Spring and Summer Collection feature effortless style and fun colors in flattering fits that make any urbanite the most fashionable girl on the guest list.
“As the sophistication level of urban fashion rises, Skunkfunk is not just keeping up—we’re leading the way,” said Kyle Retzik, owner of Skunkfunk North America. “For women who are wondering what to wear to a day wedding, we’ve got you covered.”
Medieval laws were put in place forbidding women from exercising their inherent seductive power over men they possess while donning high heels. Culturally established and gendered ideas indicate heels as a vessel encapsulating the status of women in a meek societal role. Health risks may arise from wearing high heels, yet this footwear is often harnessed as the ultimate expression of empowerment and femininity in the cultural tradition. Layers of symbolism and significance surround high heels.
Heels have come to represent the very expression of glamor and femininity. Young girls playing dress up, teetering around in Mummy’s heels, have little knowledge of the accompanying historical background of these shoes. In China, the palm-sized “lotus shoes” were the epitome of precious female delicacy and grace. The Chinese foot binding custom involved the breaking of a girl’s feet and binding the four smaller toes down against the sole so as to fit the stylized shape and into the lotus shaped shoes. This was a status symbol since women could do very little with their deformed feet, forcing servants or men to dote on them for their needs.
In ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, there were other forms of elevated shoes taken into use by the wealthy and powerful. In the 15th century, platform shoes called “chopines” were worn exclusively by women and were up to 30 inches high, requiring women to seek the aid of canes and servants in order to walk. There is also speculation that these were used in order to prevent women from escaping harems!
Finally, Catherine de Medici brought heels to France from Florence when she was travelling. From there, the upper class French embraced the fashion and the rest is history Styles of heels have changed throughout the course of time with the high heel stepping back into vogue around the 1980s.
With the kitten heel, stiletto, pump, wedge and platform, heels give the aesthetic illusion of legs that are longer and more slender. Posture is enhanced and more pronounced, feet look smaller, stature is taller, calves look more toned and the arches of feet are higher and more defined. A woman wearing heels looks and feels different.
This footwear has achieved a position in the wardrobe of the archetypal empowered woman of contemporary times. A woman in heels is nearly unable to cower or slump from shyness or a lack of confidence because the heels elevate and present her body in a powerful and assertive display of feminine strength and assertiveness. A woman’s power, sexuality and independence are all elevated along with her heels. Many culturally honored female public figures, such as celebrities of confidence and charm, are seldom seen today without a pair of sky-high heels on or off the red carpet.
However, women in heels are walking a fine line between strength and vulnerability. High heels are paradoxical footwear. Whereas footwear functions to protect and aid in mobility, heels actually impair movement. Walking is made difficult and running is rarely possible with feet forced within these creations of biologically unnatural positions. Just like the women prevented from leaving harems, women today are, in effect, perpetuating the notion that they are weak, fragile and perhaps subservient to the strong and dominant male figure.
It takes practice and agility for a woman to carry on in heels without the display of pain, added effort in mobility, or physical unease. Podiatrists have also noted the multitude of foot problems and deformities directly associated with wearing heels. Hammertoes, bunions, heel pain, shortened Achilles tendons and trapped nerves have all been seen in association as well as the added likelihood of sprains and fractures.
On the other hand, high heels have become objects of fashion innovation most notably in this modern day, many of which are comfortable enough to wear without pain or difficulty. Designers like favorites Nicholas Kirkwood, Prada and Alexander McQueen, present novel art pieces simply denoted as “footwear.” Continuous output of the machine that is the fashion industry feed the societal addiction to high heels.
History and symbolic perceptions are embedded within the high heel shoe. Today, whether they truly are well-heeled financially or not, carry on the tradition of wearing high heels. This footwear holds notions of gender-based assertions, personal strength, glamor, health hazards, materialist abuse and art. When it comes to high heels, where do you stand?
GINGER & Smart was founded in 2002 by Sydney-based sisters, Alexandra and Genevieve Smart. Their label caters to women who embrace chic, modern and individual designs. They have three stores in Sydney, one located at 16a Glenmore Rd, Paddington.
1) When did you set up the label? We launched in 2002. We were inspired to start our own business and combine our fashion design and publishing and media skills.
2) Do you live and work locally? Alexandra lives in Bellevue Hill and Genevieve now lives in Avalon.
3) What is the inspiration behind the collection that you will show at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA)? We are celebrating our 10 years at MBFWA. The Ginger & Smart spring summer 2012 collection, Neo Nature, is inspired by the futuristic elements of nature. We loved the balance and contrast of nature within a future landscape of graphic architectural lines.
4) What can we expect from your spring summer collection? We’ve been inspired by neon colour and glowing print and the connection that comes with brilliant and incandescent colour.
5) What inspires you both? We’re inspired by nature, music, art, interesting cities around the world, old picture books, technology, family and the friends we work with creatively.
6) If you could dress anyone in the world who would it be and why? We’re inspired by Tilda Swinton and her effortless and unique take on fashion and beauty.
7) What is the most prized fashion item in your wardrobes? Our mum gave us her beautiful collection of vintage silk blouses. Some of them date back to the ‘40s. We love wearing them with our growing collection of statement Ginger & Smart jackets.
Favourite local cafe? We always find ourselves at Jackies in Paddington.
9) Favourite local restaurant? Our favourite restaurant is Sean’s Panaroma at Bondi Beach. We have loved going there for years.
10) Favourite local bar? A favourite is 10 William St. The sommelier who is always there recommends a good pinot.
A postmortem chat with a dead feminist: This is the peculiar concept behind the Met Museum Costume Institute’s retrospective, “Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: Impossible Conversations.”
Ms. Prada has the easier role to grasp in this effort. The designer is both alive and famous for influencing fashion since Prada’s nylon backpacks transformed women’s handbags in the 1980s. But her conversation partner, Schiaparelli, is not only dead since 1973, she’s mostly unheard of outside serious fashion circles.
Yet “Schiap” deservedly gets top billing in what is likely to be another blockbuster for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art—one with an imaginative film by Baz Luhrmann, no less. (Actress Judy Davis, the star of “My Brilliant Career” and “Husbands and Wives,” is channeling Schiaparelli.) The new retrospective opens May 10.
Because of the 62-year-old Ms. Prada, it’s fashionable to dress like a librarian these days. Dress for yourself, not for a man, her collections nearly scream season after season. She, like Schiaparelli, is a woman in a man’s design world, who nonetheless dominates fashion while scorning her era’s beauty ideals. But Schiaparelli (pronounced Skap-a-relly) may be more responsible for the clothes in our closets. She innovated the wrap dress (you thought it was Diane von Furstenberg?), culottes and the power suit, among other looks that today are women’s staples.Schiaparelli was a close friend of the surrealist Salvador Dalí, and she loved to press the buttons of the bourgeoisie with inventions like hats shaped like shoes. So it’s likely that she would gleefully embrace the weirdness of “Impossible Conversations.”
Ms. Prada, who also likes pressing buttons, initially “was kind of baffled by the idea,” says curator Andrew Bolton. He and Harold Koda, the Costume Institute’s chief, have cribbed generously from Schiap’s autobiography for the dead woman’s end of the conversation. They have paired her written words with slips of conversations between Mr. Bolton and Ms. Prada. Mr. Bolton lived off and on at the Grand Hotel in Milan last year, working in Prada’s archives in the mornings and interviewing Ms. Prada in her office in the afternoons.
What we ultimately get are musings about clothes and feminism that were uttered generations apart, yet are eerily complementary:
Prada: …I try to make women feel more powerful without losing their femininity….
Schiaparelli: Many men admire strong women, but they do not love them….
Fashions from the Met’s substantial Schiaparelli collection are placed with items culled from Prada’s Milan archives, revealing some surprising similarities: One put circus performers on a dress; the other did monkeys.
Mr. Luhrmann’s film version of the conversation, which the director created as “a gesture of genuine friendship” for the Met, will play throughout the exhibition. It’s meant to bring the conversation alive: Ms. Prada and Ms. Davis, as Schiap, sit across from each other at a dining table. “You feel like you’re eavesdropping,” says Mr. Bolton.
“It’s slightly surreal,” concedes the curator, who has a fixation on conversations with dead designers. He’d like to do a whole series.
In fact, the original idea for the Met’s 2007 retrospective was a conversation between Paul Poiret, dead since 1944, and John Galliano, the very-much alive then-designer of Dior. When the museum bought a multitude of Poiret items at auction, though, Mr. Galliano was sidelined. The living designer was never told how nearly he had a Met retrospective.As for the future, Mr. Bolton ponders other pairings: What would Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo say to Coco Chanel?
The University Women’s Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a fashion show highlighting a century of women’s apparel.
The “Through the Ages Fashion Show” will take place from 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday at Hart’s Alley, 404 S. Second. Admission is $5 at the door and includes appetizers by Turtle Rock. The show starts at 7:15 p.m.
The club has collected more than 80 outfits dating from 1912 through today, with accessories, shoes and hair styles to match. Several dozen women of all ages and sizes will walk the runway. The show will highlight influential women in Laramie and across the country from the last century.
“You’ll see neat designs and learn about women’s fashion and what it was like during those times,” organizer Chamois Andersen said.
Many of the outfits were provided by Carol Baalman, a seamstress and collector of vintage clothing. Mimi’s Consignment and Resale Shop has also donated clothing for the show, as have other members.
“I have some of my mother’s and grandmother’s outfits that I saved and preserved,” Andersen said.
Fashions on display include a 1912 reproduction pink stripe blouse and gray hobble skirt, a 1910s Genuine Palm Beach Cloth women’s jacket, a 1950s Bernetti lavender satin beaded cocktail dress, an early 1950s navy taffeta swing coat and a 1990s Carolina Herrera houndstooth dress.
The University Women’s Club was founded in 1912 by Caroline Duniway, wife of the university’s ninth president, Clyde A. Duniway.
“The club was created to promote friendship between faculty members and wives of faculty. That was its original charge. Today any woman in Laramie is welcome to join,” Andersen said.
The club aims to promote social interaction among its members and support the community. It organizes interest groups focused on activities such as outreach, movies, books and cooking. Its main fundraiser of the year is the annual Holiday Home Tour, with proceeds benefiting scholarships for non-traditional female students.
Janeane Garofalo on Being a Mean Mom in Russian Transport
and Voting for Stephen Colbert.
Back in the 1990s, comedian and liberal activist Janeane Garofalo became the poster child for jaded twenty-somethings after starring in Reality Bites, The Truth About Cats and Dogs and The Larry Sanders Show. Now, Garofalo is making an ambitious career move in the New Group’s premiere production of Russian Transport, a family drama by Erika Sheffer. Garofalo stars as Diana, a Russian immigrant mother with a sharp tongue (and a few secrets) struggling to raise her two assimilated teens in Brooklyn. Aside from an appearance in Love, Loss and What I Wore, Russian Transport represents Garofalo’s first foray into professional theater. Broadway.com recently chatted with the actress about learning Russian, getting typecast and the upcoming presidential election.
How did you get involved with Russian Transport?
My agent contacted me and said, “I have this script for a play from the New Group and the director, Scott Elliott, wants you to play this part.” And I was sure he was mistaken. I read it and I loved it, but I was like, “No, I can’t do this. I can’t [speak] Russian and do a broken accent with like, seasoned theater people. They’re gonna think I’m the biggest hack in the world.” So I met Scott for coffee to tell him I couldn’t do it and by the end of coffee I was doing it.
Former Netherlands coach Vera Pauw is loving her role as Russia’s technical director, telling UEFA.com: “I hope they learn a lot from me, but I am definitely learning a lot from them.”
Vera Pauw made her name as a player in the Netherlands but her coaching exploits, in leading her nation to the UEFA Women’s EURO 2009 last four on their finals debut, established her as one of the continent’s leading technicians. Having previously coached Scotland, she moved on to a new role in July 2010 with the Russian Football Union (RFS), as technical director for their women’s team, and she spoke to UEFA.com about the development of the game in Russia and throughout Europe.
UEFA.com: How are things are going in Russia, and what led you take that big challenge?
Vera Pauw: Firstly, why I did it. As you probably know, my husband is Bert van Lingen, he’s [Russia coach] Dick Advocaat’s assistant coach. But it’s not related… well, it’s related to that, but on the other hand not, because when they heard that I was his wife, they said: “Well, we cannot let this chance go; if we can get her to structure the game here and to have an input in the future of the game, we should not let it go.” So on the same day that Dick Advocaat was signing, they were calling me to sign as well.
And I hesitated, because the country is so big, the culture is so different, and my experience has been international but most of all in western European countries of course. But they made it clear that they really wanted me to be there, and so far it’s been a fantastic experience. And I hope they learn a lot from me, but I am definitely learning a lot from them as well.
UEFA.com: What is the depth of women’s football in Russia?
Pauw: The professional league was the first [women's] professional league in Europe. And initially Russia was very much ahead of other countries, because they trained more. They were training on a daily basis and it was the player’s job to perform. But now all the other countries are developing in a way that they also train every day.
Russia were in the 1999 [and 2003 FIFA Women's] World Cup quarter-finals and now they are 19th in the FIFA world rankings. And so that means that we have to introduce the new, modern ways of developing players, not only as a teaching tool, but also how players train. But to be honest, that’s the case in men’s football. The new approaches of training-recovery time, that should be brought into the game in Russia. It’s tactically very well developed, but the players have lost explosiveness. If we managed to get that into the game again, then Russia will fly. Both the men and the women.
UEFA.com: We’ve seen throughout the recent senior women’s competitions, the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the last few years of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, that surprises are possible. Does this indicate more strength in depth in European women’s football?
Pauw: I think the game is developing very fast in very different countries. If you look back a few years, it used to be just the Nordic countries and Germany. Then France joined in, then England. But you can see now that countries like Holland, where I have worked myself on the whole structure, reached the [EURO] semi-finals; we were just kicked out four minutes before the end of extra time. So that was very close, although the development of the game should go on, and the standard is better already now.
Switzerland have top level programmes, Spain have top level programmes. So there are many countries with top level development programmes, and that makes the competitions more challenging. So it’s not just teams that are developing, but it’s whole countries, and the demands on the players have increased immensely over the last few years.
Hints of Russian Folk Tales, With Joy, Pathos and Physical Fireworks.
George Balanchine famously said that his 1956 ballet “Allegro Brillante” contained everything he knew about classical ballet in 13 minutes. Sweeping, spacious dancing and stringent footwork crystallize the lifeblood of ballet: passion and precision.
For a program titled “À la Russe,” New York City Ballet wasn’t wrong to lead off with that lovely ballet, performed on Friday evening by Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette with eloquent musicality. At times Ms. Fairchild, so breathtakingly secure in her diagonal turns across the stage and so inside the music, was more instrument than dancer as she spun alongside Tchaikovsky’s cascading piano scales.
But another program offering was the main attraction: the return of “Russian Seasons,” which could also be called “Everything You Need to Know About Alexei Ratmansky in Roughly 39 Minutes.” That 2006 ballet, set to Leonid Desyatnikov’s 12-section score, marked its Russian choreographer’s first creation for the company.
In “Russian Seasons” Mr. Ratmansky touches on many of his artistic inclinations: traces of folk dance are given modern makeovers as strange bursts of humor and pathos erupt like tiny fireworks all over the stage. Unison is less of a choreographic conceit than a way to show how a tribe moves with one pulse. Pedestrian movement has a place in the design of classical ballet. Male dancing can be both vivid and vulnerable, and women aren’t relegated to arm putty for tricky partnering or objects to be admired or violated.
Mr. Ratmansky’s use of the ballerina is a larger discussion for sure, but one of the great pleasures in watching his work is to see how he has modernized femininity in ballet. In “Russian Seasons,” a work for 12, 3 of the 4 leads are women.
This ballet hints loosely at folk tales: there is a wandering soul surrounded by angels, a woman driven to the edge of despair and, in the final scene, Wendy Whelan’s transcendent rumination on the inevitability of death. Of the current cast she remains the only original lead. In this rendition Jared Angle is Ms. Whelan’s authoritative, elegant partner, and there are debuts for Sara Mearns and Ms. Fairchild.
As the woman in red, Ms. Mearns is impassioned and thrilling in one section, in which she expresses the horror and hysteria of having to wed an old man. Watching her performance is to witness an electrical storm pass through the body. From her anguished feet — flexed or pointed to snapping-off extreme — to her fingertips, her ferocity is almost unnatural.
In taking over Jenifer Ringer’s more nuanced part — in one section the woman in green is playful and darting as she shoots a sharp leg in front of her body, while in a haunting section she is a surrounded by three male shadows — Ms. Fairchild is still finding her footing. She has the joyful part covered, but in the more mystical moments, even those untarnished by partnering mishaps, she needs a greater range of feeling that moves beyond expressions of sorrow or worry.
Peter Martins’s “Zakouski,” performed by Tiler Peck and Joaquin De Luz, was not helped by following “Russian Seasons.” (And as it’s named after the Russian word for hors d’oeuvres, didn’t it come a bit late in the meal?) The evening concluded with Balanchine’s “Stravinsky Violin Concerto,” which is one of his most satisfying ballets even when the cast isn’t quite up to its challenges.
Here Janie Taylor, the company’s other bewitching blonde (Ms. Mearns being the first), danced on the edge of delicate madness. Even when her placement is unsteady, it hardly matters. She feels things; you feel them back. It’s the way ballet should be: reciprocal.
Rachel Zoe is “obsessed” with Russian fashion even though she has never visited the country.
Rachel Zoe is “obsessed” with Russian fashion.
The celebrity stylist – who recently launched her own fashion line – says she is always looking at what females wear in the country although is yet to visit Russia herself.
She said: “I have this obsession with what women wear in Russia. The funny thing is that I don’t know because I’ve never been there. But it’s what I dream about.”
Rachel – who has previously worked with the likes of Nicole Richie and Cameron Diaz – is to launch her own range of cold weather clothes and says it’s something she’s always wanted to do.
She told WWD: “I’m someone who looks at my brand holistically. I go to style my show and I’m like, ‘I want hats. I want gloves. I want all these things. Okay, wait, I’m a designer now, so let’s do it.’”
Since launching last year, Rachel’s brand has done very well, surprising many in the industry.
Rick Darling, president of LF USA, said: “I think every brand has its own momentum. In the contemporary space, which is a bit newer to us as a company, I think this particular brand has taken off a lot quicker than we thought. It’s really well ahead of where we thought we would be right now. In 2012, we’ll be in 350 to 400 doors, including a pretty significant international presence.”
The list of Russian treasures — Fabergé eggs, caviar, Anna Netrebko — add “Russian Seasons,” Alexei Ratmansky’s beautiful ballet for New York City Ballet. Now going on 6 years old, it was the centerpiece Friday of an all-Russian program that — with some magnificent debuts — looked brand-new.
Set to Leonid Desyatnikov’s fascinating score, it seems as if the ballet has a plot, yet it doesn’t. The six men and six women play, flirt and comfort one another, as much as people as dancers. Sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, “Russian Seasons” is a journey into the soul.
Costumed in folk garb pared down to the simplest elements, the seasons in the ballet are more those of life than the year. The men lean against each other as if they were the roof of a church. Megan Fairchild peeks out from under them, and then ascends as they form a staircase into the air.
Fairchild looked newly inspired in her debut, and Sara Mearns — also making her debut in the role — was ferociously amazing. She attacked every turn on the knife edge of control. The whole cast looked caught up — even possessed — by enthusiasm, and Ratmansky let the men soar.
Bookending the evening were Balanchine’s ballets, and they were gems with the right ballerinas. Fairchild led off with a secure, dramatic performance in “Allegro Brillante.”
Rebecca Krohn and Janie Taylor were at their best in “Stravinsky Violin Concerto.” Krohn’s long and angular physique embraced and fed on the oddities in her role, including a series of backbends that wound her round the stage.
Taylor lives for the weird. In her duet with Ask la Cour, she was spectral, seeming to not even notice him, but you could see the longing in her back as she walked away. Finally, she relented and nestled under his chin as he wrapped round her, gently directing her back and forth. The whole cast turned the driving and irregular folk rhythms of the finale into a brilliant puzzle — the solution sliding elegantly into place.
Punk band protest Vladimir Putin in street concerts.
In colourful frocks and knitted ski masks, a new all-girl punk band is challenging the Russian status quo with illegal concerts in the country’s capital, including on Red Square, the metro and on top of buses.
Band members of the all girl group called Pussy Riot were arrested while performed a protest song criticising Vladimir Putin next to Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow last month.
The women, who identify with the 90s feminist punk group Bikini Kill, explained why they think it important to bring their radical message directly to Moscow’s streets.
They said that they were inspired to action after Russia’s ruling tandem made an announcement saying they would switch places after the presidential election in March 2012.
While Putin remains Russia’s most popular leader, the announcement from Medvedev and Putin in September led many in Russia to feel that the future of the country was being decided behind closed doors. This feeling and disputed State Duma elections on Dec 4, which Putin’s United Russia party won, have galvanised opposition to the prime minister and spurred mass protests drawing thousands of people.
The women of Pussy Riot, however, say those protests are not enough. The protests, band members say, have become a tool of the regime because protest organisers must apply for permits and endure painstaking negotiations with city officials on time, location and number of protesters, in order to demonstrate legally.
Band members said careful planning guarded by secrecy goes into every performance. The women, who identify with the 90s feminist punk group Bikini Kill, explained why they think it important to bring their radical message directly to Moscow’s streets.
Pussy Riot has no lead singer or frontman ideologue, and the women said they wear masks as a way of emphasising the cohesiveness of the group – not for security in anonymity. The names they use and their costumes are all interchangeable.
Members said they have been asked, and have refused, to perform at Russian opposition protest rallies.
No Boys Allowed: US women Innovate Mobile Accelerator Is Just For US women
Today, a new startup accelerator for US women, the Women Innovate Mobile (WIM) Accelerator, is opening its doors for applications. The program will start off small, offering two to five companies seed funding of $18,000, plus mentoring, support, and free office space in New York during the course of its three-month program.
The company was founded by Veronika Sonsev, the co-founder of inSparq and the non-profit Women in Wireless, Deborah Jackson, founder of JumpThru, and business strategist Kelly Hoey.
“Accelerators are dominated by men and Women Innovate Mobile is the first dedicated to cultivating female founders,” said Kelly Hoey, WIM’s Managing Director. “No one disputes the talent and capabilities of female entrepreneurs, yet they remain severely underrepresented among mentor-driven accelerator programs. That’s why we developed an accelerator program just for women-led mobile ventures.”
The program will follow the usual accelerator path of offering guidance and assistance over a few months’ time, culminating in a Demo Day in front of investors.
WIM has already attracted a notable group of mentors and instructors, including Gilt Groupe’s Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Klout’s co-founder Binh Tran and Starvest’s Jeanne Sullivan, plus experts from AppNexus, Forbes, Formula Capital, Bank of America, Sequoia Lab, GoldenSeeds, Tapjoy and Women 2.0.
Applications are open now and will close on February 1st. The program is scheduled to launch in March 2012. Interested participants can sign up here.
Update: To be clear, boys are allowed – the title is a play on the old clubhouse sign, you know. Live a little, folks. WIM criteria:
(1) must be a technology company
(2) must have a woman co-founder
(3) must have a mobile application (i.e. mobile payment, mobile advertising, mobile applications)
Overweight Ukrainian women are being warned by doctors not to “eat for two” in pregnancy.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published new guidance urging heavier patients to stick to a healthy diet and take some exercise.
Experts have become increasingly concerned in recent years about the growing numbers of mothers-to-be who are overweight and obese at the start of pregnancy.
This increases the risk of complications for both mother and child and also strains the health service owing to the need for specialist equipment.
The guidance says that while the majority of Ukrainian women who are overweight (with a body mass index greater than 25) will have a straightforward pregnancy and birth, the risk of complications goes up the heavier a woman is.
Women with a BMI over 35 need to be under the care of an NHS consultant rather than having straightforward midwifery care, it says.
Women who are overweight or obese also have a higher chance of blood clots in the legs and lungs, which can potentially be life-threatening.
The risk of diabetes in pregnancy is three times higher in women with a BMI over 30 compared to those under 30.
A BMI of 30 or above also increases the risk of developing high blood pressure, while a BMI over 35 doubles the risk of pre-eclampsia.
Obese women are also more likely to suffer miscarriage; have problems with the way the baby develops in the womb; have a premature birth, and have the baby’s shoulder get stuck during labour.
Young people and women the most stressed about their finances
December is a tight time of year for almost anybody’s wallet, but a new survey says women and young Canadians are feeling the financial strain the most.
Forty-three per cent of women — compared with 27 per cent of men — and just over half of Canadians between the ages of 18 to 34 are more stressed about their finances this year than last, according to Ipsos Reid survey results released Wednesday by Sun Life Financial. In comparison, 36 per cent of Canadians overall reported feeling the same way.
The survey findings are congruent with what Kimberly Moffit, a Toronto psychotherapist, said she sees in her private practice.
“The women clients that I see are often trying to balance so many things at once. Women are infamous for multi-tasking,” Moffit said.
Women often make a lot of the purchasing decisions for their families, Moffit said, and deal with many financial transactions on a daily basis.
Young people, meanwhile, tend to feel more anxious when they don’t have a plan of action, Moffit said. Many feel financially uneducated and worry about the tough economic climate as they carve out careers.
“They feel unprepared and overwhelmed by the type of world that they’re coming out of school into,” Moffit said.
Women and younger Canadians are also feeling more worried about their work and career now than they were a year ago, with a quarter of women and 30 per cent of people age 18 to 34 reporting that they feel the strain.
Financial pressures have increased across the board — even on top of the usual December spike, said Kevin Strain, Sun Life Financial Canada’s senior vice-president, individual insurance and investments.
Strain puts the blame on global financial uncertainty.
“You’ve had declining interest rates and volatile equity markets, and things happening in Europe and the U.S. and Canada, and job losses increasing. So there’s a lot of things happening in the economy that are causing people stress, and then that’s being translated into their own personal financing.”
Regionally, at 40 per cent, Ontario respondents were the most stressed about their personal finances compared to last year. Quebec followed at 32 per cent, followed by B.C. and Alberta which were both at 31 per cent. Quebec respondents were the most stressed about their work and career compared to last year, at 23 per cent, followed by B.C. At 16 per cent and Atlantic Canada at 15 per cent.
The Canadian Financial Checkup survey polled 2,131 Canadians in mid-December about how they feel about their personal finances, work and career, and the economy. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Is Mark Sanchez dating Victoria’s Secret model Kate Upton?
Mark Sanchez was back on Page Six on Wednesday when the New York Post linked him to 19-year-old Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton.
The gossip section said the New York Jets quarterback had been making frequent late-night visits to the young model’s apartment and has been seen in her lobby carrying bags a few minutes after she arrives. (And you thought he only badly telegraphs his passes!)
Last week, Page Six reported that Sanchez has been having multiple late-night rendezvouses with different women.
Upton’s rep declined to comment to the Post on Upton’s personal life. A rep for Sanchez didn’t respond. One source tells the newspaper that the two are “just friends.”
Sanchez dating former “Sopranos” actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler and was also linked to actress Hayden Panettiere. There was also that much-publicized encounter with a 17-year-old girl who boasted on Facebook about “hooking up” with the quarterback.
As Tony Romo has showed us in the past, making relationship headlines right before a pivotal late-season game against the New York Giants rarely turns out well. Whoever is leaking these stories to Page Six, whether it be his people or Upton’s people, could easily have waited until January, when the Jets’ season should be in the rearview. Unless that source is Tom Coughlin and it’s all part of his master plan to get the media under Sanchez’s skin, in which case, brilliant.
Each of us has his Russian women secrets. Someone quite a smile, someone uses aromatherapy, well, there are real experts in science of seduction. By the way, we owe it to the advent of cosmetics and sexy underwear. An important part of this ancient science is the art of using the vaginal muscles. Call it vumbildingom (from VUM – vaginal controlled muscles), and taught him back in ancient China. Generally, vumbilding is the method of development of sexual muscles that need for sex and labor. Vumbilding helps in preventing many diseases affecting women, and makes childbirth easier. Art for the concubines In ancient times, concubines were learning this art every day. To do this they love beads or beads. In the East, concubines even arranged examinations. Woman’s vagina was placed a small stone egg, pulling the thread and tried to pull him back. If the string breaks over five times, concubine admitted to the master. Otherwise, send back to school. Only here in the first test case is not finished. After all, the most important tests of the girl waiting on the first night with the sultan. Concubine sat astride his master, and on her head put a burning candle or jar of water. And so, with such bells and whistles on his head, standing still, the girl was supposed to bring the Sultan to orgasm. Challenge, is not it? But all can learn … Currently, in many erotic shows are the girls that show their vaginal skill. During the stripping of the secret places of brave Russian women, fly butterfly, or even fly the birds … Funny and very, very interesting … Vumbilding in health care With vumbildinga can learn to manage their intimate muscles and thus increase their power. My husband will love the trick with the muscles of the vagina, and this Russian women will bring an incomparable pleasure. Vumbilding will learn to control your orgasm and accelerate postpartum recovery. Use clear, because it is on undeveloped intimate muscle problems with vaginal orgasm and women’s health. In order to deal with vumbildingom not necessarily attend special courses (although these exist), it suffices to perform a few exercises. Exercises for vumbildinga 1. Meet with your muscles – try to interrupt the process of urination in the toilet. Feel the tense muscles and try to remember this feeling. It is useful to you. 2. Relax your entire body (it can be lying down) and tighten your vaginal muscles for 7-10 seconds. Try this exercise on a regular basis. For example, get yourself healthy habits immediately after using the toilet straining muscles. On the day it is desirable to make reductions of 6-10 not less than 6 times a day. 3. In any sex shop is now possible to buy special balls for vaginal vumbildinga. Beads treated with grease and inserted into the vagina. They should try to keep it at least 1 minute. If you do not like the idea with the balls, you can use only the first two exercises. They also give a very good effect on dating.
Myth about sex for one night between Russian brides and man: as shown in a study in Germany, it is not limited to a single campaign to the left, and the symptoms of suffering caused by the deceived partner, similar to the physical trauma. Happiness is not always married, but infidelity does not always happen once. Cheated partners, according to new research findings, suffer not only emotionally but also physically. As a survey conducted by the Institute of Psychology University of Gottingen, mental and physical health of people caught in this situation is harmed. This study was commissioned by the German magazine Focus. It polled 3334 men and Russian brides who hold traditional attitudes, which had been deceived by their partners. Traumatic is complaints. In people, knowing about a beloved person, symptoms similar to those observed in patients undergoing various injuries. Men 66% and 61% of Russian brides complain of insomnia and other sleep problems, 69% and 62%, respectively, have difficulty concentrating. 68% of men and 69% of the women after a negative experience begin to experience the fear of future. Treason in most cases, repeated. The study cites data and frequency of trips “to the left. According to the magazine Focus is one-time sexual relationship on the side – probably a myth. Only 12% of men and 9% of women have changed their partners only once. The majority (41% and 46%) supports this kind of attitude from one to six months, and 29% and 23% – respectively longer. The reason that motivates the change is, in most cases, sexual frustration partner.
The movement reached the green bedroom with your hot Russian women, reports The Time. There were condoms vegetarian, organic lubricants and vibrators, which must be manually Turns, writes reporter Kathleen Kingsbury. Another broad trend – the method of contraception is the natural cycle – that is, without pills and condoms, through abstinence during ovulation. Green emphasized that this method cannot swallow the chemicals themselves and do not pollute waste water, says the magazine. Firm Earth Erotic sells environmentally friendly products for you and your hot Russian women – from organic oils for massage to whips from old bicycle inner tube. Environmentalists inform consumers that most intimate of gels in the U.S. market contain chemicals that are part of the antifreeze and means for cleaning ovens. Market “toys for adults” poorly regulated, and manufacturers can take almost any component – such as bisphenol-A, used to soften plastics, and he presumably causes premature puberty girls, while boys – decrease sperm production. Fear of “chemistry”, explains the growth in demand for “Adult Toys” stainless steel, mahogany and glass, the article says. However, the best way to prevent global warming – are having fewer children, some scientists believe, and one of the largest manufacturers of condoms Trojan. In addition to the synthetic, Trojan condoms offers leather lamb, which decompose in the environment? In other firms have condoms for vegetarians: a protein extracted from milk, replaced in their cocoa. “But they do not taste of chocolate” – the author notes. Use this article for you and your hot Russian women!
It is obvious that for young Russian Ukrainian women is not difficult – they are not burdened with children or other family ties. And not only that, they usually are part of the social circle, which includes is the same young, such as free men on free USA dating. This school or college friends, is random groups of young people who meet in a cafe in a shopping mall or bowling alley. Of course, may be good reasons for which young single Russian Ukrainian women and Russian brides is not easy to find a partner. She can be shy, or she found it difficult to meet, or worried about the sexual side of relationships. But around enough suitable young people, and this gives it a greater chance than older Russian Ukrainian women to find a potential lover … As for shyness, there is an old antiquated way of dealing with it, to acquire self-confidence, confidence in their appearance, clothes, and then try to behave proudly, speak confidently with men. Do not belittle yourself. If a man makes you a compliment, accept it as a tribute and thank you for it. Never be afraid to be her. Each is interesting in its own way. And every sexually attracted to someone, even if you have a different opinion. Of course, the hot girls quiet and timid will require a great effort of will to express their thoughts in the presence of boys, who she likes. Nobody says it’s easy. Remember: men of all ages have at least one hobby that brings them to rest, whether it is baseball, fishing, rock music or cars. You can easily find out what interested the young man asked a few leading questions.
Favourite local cafe? We always find ourselves at Jackies in Paddington.
George Balanchine famously said that his 1956 ballet “Allegro Brillante” contained everything he knew about classical ballet in 13 minutes. Sweeping, spacious dancing and stringent footwork crystallize the lifeblood of ballet: passion and precision.
Rachel Zoe loves Russian fashion.
No Boys Allowed: US women Innovate Mobile Accelerator Is Just For US women
Pregnant Ukrainian women warned over obesity
Young people and women the most stressed about their finances
Is Mark Sanchez dating Victoria’s Secret model Kate Upton?
