Designers May Fair Day 2015 @ 7th in Athens

The Designers May Fair Day is scheduled for coming Wednesday the 27th of May. The multi-event city loft Seventh (www.7os.gr) at Syntagma Square welcomes Greek fashion designers and brands to present and sell their collections.
Part of the earnings is to support the Association of Hope - Friends of Children with Cancer (Ελπίδα - Φίλοι Παιδιών με Καρκίνο).

The Designers May Fair Day presents renowned and emerging designers and brands and invites the public, photographers, stylists and journalists to learn about their summer collections and to purchase their favourite fashion items at discounted prices!

Participating fashion designers are CELEBRITY SKIN, FISHBONE DESIGN, GIULIA S, KALISTON ART LAMPRINI CHANTZIARA, LEON by ILIAS WIA, MARYHOLIC, NASSOS NTOTSIKAS, NEFELIA and PANOS APERGIS.

WELL BEING  and HOT YOGA ATHENS will be present too.

Enjoy the event with a glass of Aspall Cyder or spring water of the source Kostilata in Epirus.

Free entrance
KARAGEORGI SERBIA 4
Stoa Kalliga,
SYNTAGMA 11527
7th FLOOR

Filanthi Bogea Spring-Summer 2015 collection

Filanthi Bogea impresses with her new collection for Spring-Summer 2015 "inspiration. positivity. unity.".
Elegant designs, floral prints, polka dots, cheerful patterns and black &white combinations, creating an aura of romance and femininity.
Among the designs are airy blouses, bolero with accented shoulders, high-waisted pants, and dresses embellished with handmade traditional greek embroidery and shiny Swarovski stones.
With meticulous stitching and perfect fit the new collection is a tribute to the woman who looks for something unique and special.

Paris Anagnostopoulos captured Esther Mastroyianni for the SS2015 ad campaign. The decor of the National Library of Athens was a perfect choice to show the collection of Filanthi.
Hair Styling is by Vangelis Margoutas and make up by Minas Konstantinou.

About the designer
Filanthi Bogea was born in Athens in 1982. Her first contact with fashion design was in 2005, through designing and making traditional Greek costumes. The designer retains her personal collection until today, with which she covers most of Greece and provides various types of artistic events. She has also worked on designing and making costumes for the stage, participating in theatrical performances, short films & music videos.
From 2006 to 2009 she studied costume, garment design and pattern, and haute couture at the public school of the Ministry of Culture in Athens, after which she began designing clothes for her and her friends.
In 2011 she participated as a designer & model in the total appearance contest "international TrendVision award" and reached the finals in New York, after getting the first place in Greece.
Since the beginning of 2012 she has been working as a fashion designer for a well-known sports clothing company, while designing and producing her own collection of handmade and one of kind clothing.

I asked Filanthi about her choice for a dragonfly in her logo and she gave a remarkable answer:
"This beautiful insect began to inspire me intensely about 15 years ago. One afternoon, one entered into my house and my cat started playing with it, resulting in an injury.
I took it in my hands, I examined it and it fascinated me with the well-shaped wings and wonderful shapes within them. So the logo I wanted to create must have a Dragonfly, so I did!"

Meet Mary Katrantzou, winner of BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund

Meet Mary Katrantzou, the 2015 Winner of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund in the following video.


I had the pleasure to meet the talented designer in 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece, see here one of my reviews.


In this video you can listen to how Mary works, her inspiration, how she got into fashion and her plans for the year ahead. One step a the time!

All about the program @ Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam

Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam (MBFWA) announced the program for this summer edition to the press.

From Friday the 3rd of July until Monday the 13th of July the Netherlands will be living and breathing fashion during several fashion events in Amsterdam.

The city will be the platform for new and established designers to present their spring-summer 2016 collections for the 23rd time. Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam Catwalk Programme

The catwalk programme will take place from Thursday the 9th of July until Monday the 13th of July in the Westergasfabriek. The 23rd edition of the Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam catwalk programme will be opened by Aziz Bekkaoui and Monique Collignon, both presented by Mercedes-Benz.
In a special exchange programme with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, the Spanish designer Maria Clè Leal will be coming to Amsterdam to present her new collection. In addition to the
mentioned designers, Tony Cohen and the sisters Spijkers en Spijkers will be returning too.
This edition of Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam will be getting an official anthem: Negin, by Jolique Möller.
This energetic song has a real summer vibe and was signed by Musical Freedom – the record company owned by Grammy winning DJ Tiësto.

The show Lichting 2015 supported by V&D will take place on Friday the 10th of July. Fourteen recently graduated fashion students from seven Dutch fashion schools will get the chance to present their creations on the catwalk in the Westergasfabriek, where they will be in the running for winning €10.000.
Lichting 2015 is a cooperation between V&D, HTNK and FashionWeek Nederland.

The Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam program for young designers is Vodafone Firsts Fashion LAB.
Designers will get the chance to show their new collections to the fashion professionals of the Netherlands. The Vodafone Firsts Fashion LAB Programme will be opened by the duo Judith van Vliet x Chris van den Elzen. Zyanya Keizer, Franzel Amsterdam, Jonathan Christopher, AM\WESTEN and the Portuguese Susana Bettencourt are among others participants.

The events of Zalando presents 10 Days Downtown, will be taking place from Friday the 3rd of July until Sunday the 12th of July. During these ten days, ten events will be taking place hosted by ten iconic locations in Amsterdam. EYE, VondelCS and the Stedelijk Museum are a few of the locations that will be hosting Zalando presents 10 Days Downtown events.
Fashion designers Liselore Frowijn and dennis diem are working together with Zalando presents 10 Days Downtown.
Liselore Frowijn will be presenting her graduation collection in the Stedelijk Museum and dennis diem will be organising a special show in VondelCS.

Like last year, Zalando will be making it possible to follow all the catwalk shows via livestream. So save the dates and don't miss a thing!

Braccialini: unique, creative & playful

Reading the blog of Kate Illustrate I was intrigued by the wonderful bag Kate was holding with her black and white outfit.
This bag is one of the lovely bags by Braccialini.
Braccialini has understand the question: "What makes a bag essential for a woman?" and "What promise is hidden in this magnet object of desire?" by creating unique, dreamlike bags like a must-play game of fun.

Braccialini started back in 1954, by Robert and Carla Braccialini in Florence, Italy with a first craft laboratory of bags. Last year Braccialini celebrated 60 years of creativity with the publication of the book "Le borse delle meraviglie" (Bags of wonder), it is a tightly-packed collection of documents, designs, sketches and historic images: from the first bag made of leather and paviera reed to the imaginative jewel-encrusted bags the brand produces today.

Playfulness, uniqueness and Made in Italy are the benchmark values that assure the unmistakable recognition of a Braccialini handbag and that have allowed for the company’s rapid expansion worldwide (Europe, Russia, Japan, Middle East, China and Korea).

As written on the site of Braccialini, the handbags are conceived for the woman who loves to be noticed, who wants to be original and ahead of the times with a style of her own that escapes the dictates of fashion rules. Braccialini handbags tell a story and raise emotions, moving beyond set boundaries and honoring the highest of craftsmanship values.

Here a glimpse of the creative collection, but to be honest there are too many to show here...

The ad campaign for the collection of spring 2015.

Balmain meets H&M

H&M is proud to announce its autumn guest collaboration with the Parisian house of Balmain. 

A veritable bastion of French luxury, under the creative directorship of young Olivier Rousteing, Balmain has grown into a global pop-culture phenomenon. 

Yesterday night, Rousteing himself and his friends Kendall Jenner and Jourdan Dunn, walked the red carpet at The Billboard Music Awards revealing the first pieces of the collection. Through social media H&M and Balmain invited their fans to join a movement of togetherness with #HMBalmaination.

"I want to talk to my generation: this is my main aim as a designer. H&M allows me the unique possibility of bringing everyone into the world of Balmain, get a piece of the dream and create a global #HMBalmaination: a movement of togetherness, fueled on a hashtag. The collaboration felt extremely natural to me: H&M is a brand that everybody connects to. It calls for unity, and I am all for it," says Olivier Rousteing.

Founded in 1945, Balmain has always remained true to the vision and spirit of its founder and expresses energy, fun, amusement and freedom, appealing everybody. Rousteing has created a unique identity for the house, at once respectful of its couture DNA and rooted in the moment, with a showbiz flair. Highlighting its pop charm through the H&M collaboration came as a natural decision.

“We are excited to have Balmain as our guest designer at H&M and create a truly involving experience for everybody. With its mix of couture spirit and streetwear attitude, Balmain owns a unique style, at once opulent and direct, sensual and energetic. It is also closely linked to the show business and music worlds, which adds another element of surprise,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor at H&M.

Available from November 5, in around 250 stores worldwide and online, the collection will feature clothing and accessories for both women and men.

Celebrating Freedom @ Liberation Festival

Last night at Market Square in the center of Zoetermeer more than 10,000 spectators came to celebrate freedom. In the Netherlands the 5th of May we are celebrating our freedom, on the 4th of May we remember our freedom fighters, see a previous post about it!

The municipality of Zoetermeer and Floravontuur invited VanVelzen, Matt Bianco, Chef'Special and Waylon, to perform at the liberation festival.

After a delay of two hours due to the storm, VanVelzen kicked off the liberation festival and the atmosphere was immediately great. During the changes of the artists PlusSupportAct gave a great performance and kept the crowd dancing and singing.

Here my photo review.

PlusSupportAct

Matt Bianco

Chef'Special

Waylon

TRAVELER by TOMS

TOMS launched its new capsule collection of glasses, TRAVELER by TOMS.
The collection is dedicated to world travelers. It consists of two different designs, FLORENTIN and  DALSTON in 7 unique shades.  

Here a glimpse.

For every pair you purchase, TOMS that helps people deal with vision problems. One for One®.

The Magic Pleasure Store is back in Athens

The most delightful shop reopened its doors to the city center of Athens (Kolokotroni 3-5) and waits for you for a unique experience and chocolate ice cream!

The favorite Magic of Algida ice cream combines rich, crisp Magic chocolate with velvety vanilla ice cream back in the center of Athens and invites you to experience the ultimate experience!

The Ice Magic, on the occasion of last year's celebration of 25 years Magic, always innovating, created a unique, high quality store, which is the ultimate destination for lovers of ice cream and chocolate.

The Pleasure Makers at the store will guide you on a magical journey to the taste and enjoyment of chocolate and Ice Magic, to create step by step your own unique ice cream Magic. 

Besides the all time classic favorite toppings, such as caramelized almond, biscuit, coconut, salted peanut or grated cone with chocolate chips, now new subversive toppings are coming and give you the possibility for infinite combinations with velvety chocolate Magic, guaranteeing you an unlikely result!



The renewed tastes for toppings ranging from melon, strawberry, cranberry, cocoa rice grains, flaxseed, sunflower and colorful sugar until popcorn salted or candied, ginger, muesli with tropical fruits, halva and chilli.
So the game of salt with sweet, colors and textures will fascinate even the most demanding pleasure seekers!
So "six steps" to create your own Magic #discoverpleasure.

H&M debuts @ Met Gala 2015

Yesterday H&M debuted at Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Benefit 2015.

The Costume Institute Gala is an annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. It marks the grand opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit.
Each year's event celebrates the theme of that year's Costume Institute exhibition, and the exhibition sets the tone for the formal dress of the night since guest are expected to choose their fashion to match the theme of the exhibit: "China: Through the Looking Glass".

H&M collaborated with fashion icon Sarah Jessica Parker, and in honour of their first time taking a table adorned celebrity guests in custom H&M looks including Vanessa Hudgens, Janelle Monae, Banks, and Odell Beckham Jr.

Inspired by this year’s exhibition theme, “China: Through the Looking Glass”, H&M’s design team created one-of-a-kind looks in collaboration with each of its guests. The designs honour each individuals unique personal style and features intricate detailing such as hand done beading and embroideries, and design elements such as pleating inspired by the folds of a fan.

“It has been an honour and a pleasure for H&M to take part in fashion’s most prestigious event of the year. Each of our specially designed outfits both captures the mood of the exhibition, and shows the fun of fashion that is so important to H&M,” says Pernilla Wohlfahrt, H&M’s Head of Design.

Known as one of fashion’s most influential style icons of our time, H&M had the privilege to work with 2015 Costume Institute Benefit Committee member Sarah Jessica Parker to create her look for this year’s gala. Sarah Jessica wore a one-shouldered black silk dress, which she designed in collaboration with H&M, with a draped train embroidered with Scarlet poppies. The dress also included a patch work panel, made of sustainable fabric and embellishments, highlighting H&M’s vision of making fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable.

Sarah Jessica Parker

“Being able to see something you envision come to life is a very rewarding opportunity. I’ve had so much fun collaborating with H&M to create a dress that reflects the character and splendour of this incredible exhibition,” says Sarah Jessica Parker.

Singer, Banks, is wearing a custom made H&M off-the-shoulder, sultry, bias-cut gown in Chinese red.

Jillian Rose Banks

Actress and Singer, Vanessa Hudgens, wearing a custom made H&M pleated crimson tea-length dress, embellished with Swarovski crystals.

Vanessa Hugdens

“Music and fashion go hand in hand. It was such an honor to collaborate with my friends at H&M to create an original look that perfectly represents my style,” says singer Janelle Monae.
She is wearing a custom made H&M mandarin collared cropped tuxedo jacket caped suit, with contrast detailing.

Janelle Monae

“It’s been a pleasure to be able to work with H&M and have the opportunity to wear something with such great quality and is customized to my personal style,” says athlete Odell Beckham Jr.
She is wearing a custom made H&M deep plum two-button velvet blazer, with a slim-fit tuxedo trouser topped off with black satin accessories.