“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Not only are the 70’s and 80’s experiencing a resurgence on the fashion runways across the globe, but so are the the mores and attitudes towards men. We are in the throws of a (yet another) redefining moment. Two seasons ago, men were like Pre-Raphaelite creatures whose waif-like bodies and fair skin made them the object of desire for both men and women. Manboys were sensitive, angelic creatures. Dior Homme was the look du jour and these men ate quiche. In 1982, Bruce Feirstein‘s book, Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche spent the year on The New York Times Bestseller List,… Read More »

How many times have I said, “Now I have heard everything”. Whether it was from the lips of a socialite on that silly show High Society or when Governor David Patterson was rumored to have spent taxpayer dollars on blow and hookers, to name a couple of for instances. Today’s bit of news takes the cake. Kate Walsh, that C-list actress from Private Practice, perhaps you remember her from Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. McSteamy’s love interest, since no one watches that spin-off, has launched her own fragrance. No, I am not kidding. As though Katy Perry’s Purr wasn’t annoying enough,… Read More »

Have you considered how much money, time, thought, conversation, discussion, testing…not to mention the amount of focus groups, arguing, and overspending that goes into the development and marketing of a celebrity fragrance? One could compare the energy and cost of a single celebrity fragrance to…well…let’s see…the war in Iraq? Years and years of tireless effort…for what? What I wouldn’t do to be a fly on the wall for any one of these projects from its inception to the official launch event. I Mean…What!? has done piece after piece on celebrity fragrances and now that Katy Perry’s Purr is out there,… Read More »

Everyone and anyone in the fashion/media industries has been monitoring the major changes that recently took place at W Magazine. With Stefano Tonchi at the helm, having left his post at The New York Times Magazine, all eyes are on each issue of W. The recent covers shot by Inez van Lamsverde & Vinoodh Matadin have been dynamic and the fashion editorial pages look great. Much of the filler content seems old…but that is due to the internet delivering content at the speed of light. When I read that Kim Kardashian will be nude on the cover of the November… Read More »

So why on God’s green Earth did The New York Times Style do a piece on her for that section? It baffles me. Here you have the end of fashion week, amazing contributors like Cathy Horyn (who I could listen to for hours on end) and Eric Wilson, who traipse around to all the shows, must have unprecedented access so many stories and interviews in their luggage. So what, we need to read about a bunch of conservative gays…an oxymoron…that are all a twitter…literally and figuratively…because Ms. Ann Coulter is coming to speak to them at some have baked rally?… Read More »

It’s over…and the fat lady sang. (Beth Ditto at Jean Paul Gaultier.) As World Fashion Week came to a close in Paris, the question is, “Who wins the I Mean…What?!? Best Collection Spring ’11. It is a toss up between a few designers that seem to be hell bent on showing conceptual nonsense or what I call Pre-Halloween. It is astonishing that companies like Wunderkind (whose name seems to be from a time gone by) and Maison Martin Margiela (ditto) even bother to spend whatever dollars to show pieces that are preposterous, unnecessary and frankly an insult to injury….as in,… Read More »

When I say, “Now I have seen everything”, I am not lying.  As the runways are now being influenced by the real world…which used to never be the case…elements of fashion are creeping onto the runways that defies my perception of runway chic. Especially out of Paris. There was a time when fashion was the unachievable goal. To play in the sandbox of fabulosity meant being part of the exclusive, illusive dream machine. Now that fashion has been democratized…gross…we see now that the fashion houses are buckling under pressure to deliver the people, that which will make them feel special.… Read More »

The fashion industry is like network television. You can keep changing the channels, only to find utter nonsense filling the airwaves. In that same vain, you can go from fashion show to fashion show only to find utter nonsense filling the runways. The job of an editor these days, besides batting off the fashion bloggers for your prime seat, is to live through endless presentations that are simply a waste of time fotz. Anyone who wants to jump on board for the schmatta business these days, like Madonna and every other celebrity it seems, has to be completely nuts. When… Read More »

Paris Fashion Week is under way and there is much ado about nothing…so far, anyway. Love Dries van Noten. As the week goes on we will be slayed with fierceness from the usual suspects. The parties will be amazing, the hipness quotient will be high and the front row will be…well…whatever front rows are these days. A hodge-podge of faces and names that make it all worthwhile. Notably, Balenciaga had a groovy front row with Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Orlando Bloom and Salma Hayek. That’s pretty cool, I’d say. Anyhooo, now onto the far more pressing topic of the day,… Read More »

The incredibly colorful Milan Fashion Week came to a close with a stunning collection from Giorgio Armani, a symphony in navy blue. There is much optimism in the air, buyers are heralding the return of the 70’s, hippies that are beyond chic, new shapes that are fresh and flowing and color, color everywhere. Except at Dolce & Gabbana, where white was the main attraction, similar to the many collections shown in New York. As anticipation runs high for Paris Fashion Week, I found a couple of presentations that surely will NOT foreshadow The New Look from Paris. On the contrary,… Read More »