Slave to Good Marketing - Dior

 

So, it turns out I am a slave to good marketing. I actually started writing this particular post back in May when I first bought my beyoo-tiful Dior Addict lipstick, after seeing the sexy, sexy Kate Moss advert [see above]. I stumbled across this lonely draft, realised I haven’t done any reviews recently and thought this might just be the perfect time to start reviewing again ['the perfect time’, as in I am doing anything and everything to avoid shorthand practice for my upcoming Postgrad Journalism course in September. erk.]

Anyway, the lovely French/Irish [not sure accent-wise, so best to cover all bases] man on the Dior counter at John Lewis helped me find the perfect shade; the exact one Mossy is wearing in the short, obvs- DiorKiss 578. He then proceeded to do my entire face a la Moss – thick black cat-eye flicks of liquid liner at the corner of each eye and a subtle sheen on the cheekbones. I think he must have been bored. Actually he was really lovely; he complimented my hair and gave me a little goody bag of Dior postcards with samples of the Dior Addict range, plus a little Miss Dior Cherie diary with pictures of the equally fragrant Natalie Portman, but I digress...

The point of this entire post is that the texture of the Dior Addict range is drastically different to other lipsticks – for instance, to wear my everyday Dior Rouge [in Hollywood Pink], I usually have to apply lip-balm before the lipstick itself, as it tends to dry my lips out very quickly.  However, the new Dior Addict range comes with a whole new formula, containing less wax and more gel, making it feel lightweight, smooth and moisturising. Or, as the official line puts it, the range ‘contains a completely new sensorial formula providing vibrant colour and shine' which is 'a pleasure to apply'.

And what a pleasure it is! With 44 shades to choose from, the colour spectrum available in the Dior Addict range contains strong, bold colours in every shade you can dream of.  I’ve taken an admittedly rather crappy picture on my webcam of me wearing the lipstick, so you can get an idea of quite how moisturising/glossy it is;

Oh, and if you’re interested in getting Le Moss's look, she is wearing 804 Perfecto Dior Vernis nail varnish with Dior Rock Coat and her cat eyes are courtesy of  Style Liner in 094 Black. And with that, à bientôt mon petit chous!

Zac Posen launches Z Spoke ready-to-wear collection at NY Fashion Week

Posen launched the cheaper Z Spoke line just a few short months ago, declaring it to be the new ‘fashion-tainment’, but the A/W 2011-12 collection debuts a decidedly more serious look. Posen told Style.com, ‘Last season was about launching it to the media, this season, it's about direct to the consumer and retailer.’

And launch it to the customer he certainly does - while the S/S 2010 show was considered too exaggerated by some, the A/W collection is pure, unadulterated chic, with classic pieces in black, inky blue and grey softened with the occasional dash of pink. Grown-up, tailored shifts in wool and hammered silk and liquid jersey dresses contrasted sharply with structured leather accessories and dark eye and lip makeup. The slinky cut-out gowns and structured/flowing contrasts in newly toned-down shades are more universal when compared to the line’s previously over-vibrant incarnation. The new aesthetic for Z Spoke is serious without compromising on style, with the added twist of Posen’s characteristic edgy cool - culminating in a visual smorgasbord of fashion delights.

As for the upcoming show for his signature line in Paris, Posen implies there will be plenty more of this new, grown-up philosophy, ‘I think in general with collection and with Z Spoke, we're moving into a more streamlined identity of my original language.’

Transgender Model Lea T Inspirational at Fashion Week

How tardy that this is the first blog post of the year! Between finals, illness and of course, partying in the New Year, this poor blog has been very much neglected - but, as Elton once said, the bitch is back. To start 2011 as we mean to go on -positive action in fashion;

Lea T is brilliant, an absolute beauty and by far my favourite model of the moment. Her bravery, courage and overall tenacity in becoming one of the first successful transgender [soon-to-be super] models is, without meaning to sound trite, truly inspirational. And while everyone keeps going on about that kiss with Kate Moss on the front cover of Love, [Erm, hello? Coronation Street’s Hayley, anyone? Not exactly groundbreaking] I say get over it- instead, revel in her overall loveliness and admire her unique position as both spokesmodel and role model for the transgender community.

The 28-year-old Brazilian model and muse made her debut catwalk appearance at San Paulo Fashion week last week, walking for designer Alexandre Herchcovitch’s A/W 2011 show, leaving many fashion critics excitedly speculating whether she will walk in the Givenchy show in Paris in the upcoming weeks.

It was when working as an assistant to Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy that Lea began experimenting, telling Vogue; ‘One night, he [Riccardo Tisci] encouraged me to wear heels to a party. We went shopping for these drag queen high heels and bleached my eyebrows. It was a revelation.’

She then went on to star in the Givenchy A/W 2010 campaign, has appeared naked in French Vogue and in haute couture for Italian Vanity Fair, speaking candidly to the latter about the physical and emotional challenges of gender transition.

Yet Lea is not without her detractors - some critics have dismissed both Tisci and Carine Roitfeld's use of her in shoots as ‘gimmicks’. But as a positive spokesperson for the transgender community, Lea’s increasing fame and candid interviews can only be seen as having an overwhelmingly positive effect, through encouraging understanding and empathy.

Reactions towards Lea amongst the transgender community have been overwhelmingly positive, with many activists seeing her fame and increasing popularity as a step towards greater tolerance. ‘It's a good, positive example and this is very rare,’ said La Roche, a transsexual who heads a Brazilian government department fighting for transvestite and transsexual rights. ‘It is important to have Lea in a magazine. All positive press shows society that we are capable of things other than prostitution or being hairdressers.’

The prejudices and everyday humiliations incurred when changing sex are all too familiar for Lea. From being laughed at by strangers to the disorientating effects of sex change drugs – ‘I would wander the streets, full of hormones, depressed, with people laughing behind my back’, Lea is proving to be an eloquent and quietly inspirational ambassador for a very much marginalised and maligned community.

‘We transsexuals are born and grow up alone. After the operation we are born again, but once again alone. And we die alone. It is the price we pay.’ Yet the choice, she says, ‘is between being unhappy forever or trying to be happy.’