Who's ready for Carnival this Saturday on the lakeshore????
I know I am and more so than me, is my friend and fellow senior Ryersonian, Naomi C Cowan (photographed below). Along with studying Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson University, Naomi's other accomplishments include Miss Teen Jamaica 04', hosting on camera in 2005 for Raggae Entertainment Television (RETV) in Kingston, JA and, NOW, she is producing/hosting Feel De Vibe for Scotiabank Caribana TV {featured on the official caribana website} Naomi C Cowan ^ host of Feel De Vibe, Scotiabank Caribana TV.
I was facinated by the, jungle modern chic, window display in the Art Shoppe at Yonge and Eglington, so I decided to snap some photos. For directions and store hours please click here.
After watching the life story of legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel, it's hard to find a place to begin a response. This romantic, historical and fashionable Chanel film stars actress' Shirley MacLaine, as older coco, and Barbora Bobulova, as young coco. Together, the two actress' displayed the true magnificence of the successful female designer. Gabrielle Coco Chanel was, in my opinion, the world's greatest fashion icon!!! Coco Chanel was born and raised in Paris France in 1883; though she liked to claim that she was born in 1893, which would make her 10 years younger then she already was. Coco, along with her 5 siblings, were split up from each other and sent away after their mother passed. At the age of 6, Coco and her younger sister were sent to a catholic Monastery by their father who then went to America. There at the Monastery, Coco helped with the church seamstress. So her story begins...an amazing woman that stood for what she believed in, and not what others believed she was.
When Coco turned 18 she left the Catholic Monastery to work for a well known seamstress. She started singing the famous french song "coco" at cafes and concert halls. It was then that she adopted the name Coco from the local soldiers who came to watch her sing. The cafe was also a place where Coco fell in love with one of the wealthiest officers France had to offer. It wasn't to long after meeting him she left her job to live with the man she loved. It was her time spent with the love of her life that inspired her to start to make her own beautiful hats made out of woven straw. Not like your regular over sized hats, but more along the lines of a male size "porkpie" hat. Her unique design in hats included beautiful floral embellishments which made them truly a decadent work of art. In 1910 she left her life with the officer and moved to Paris to open her own store. She struggled, but with the help of a wealthy industrialist, who Coco claimed, till this day, was the actual "love of her life." She was able to have her own millinery shop selling her self made hat collections and in 1920 aimed to target another market. She started to design a more relaxed style of clothing for women using Jersey material which was originally used to make men's underwear. It wasn't long till her unique eye for fashion became a popular demand for her clients.
Now, that Mademoiselle Gabrielle Coco Chanel had been extremely successful with her clothing line and hat collection, She decided that she wanted to do a fragrance line. She had a choice from 7 fragrances, and picked the 5th one. This being her first ever from her signature fragrance line, Chanel No 5. She then claimed that 5 would be her lucky number. After World WarI Chanel had two years of total success with her fragrance line. Pierre Wertheiner became her business partner and took over 70% of the Chanel fragrance business and they still continue to control her perfume business till this day. It didn't take Chanel long to open two more stores while being in Deauville and Biarritz, taking over 6 floors of the building. Gabrielle Coco Chanel has overcome many obstacles in her life. Chanel went from being an orphan, falling in love, to loosing the love of her life. Let's not forget the rejection she experienced from designers, and the fashion industry itself. She continued to make fashion designs based on what she loved , and how she wanted to be viewed in the public eye; which was not how the media viewed her. Her charismatic personality, really intrigued people to get to know Chanel, and her designs. It was the rejection from her fellow rivals that gave her more of a reason to leave a mark in the industry, and become the big name she was then, and still is today.
Chanel's designs of the post war period caused a sensation in the United States which ultimately maintained her unrivaled position in the fashion world for over 2 decades. She then died at the age of 88 in 1971. Karl Lagerfield continues to be the chief designer of the Chanel fashion house since 1982. Chanel's exquisite taste, and delicate designs continue to make a lasting impression on the runway and paved the way for designers today. Gabrielle Chanel is tremendously inspiring.
This is written as a response to the first Coco Chanel movie as well as to remember Mademoiselle Chanel as she has made such a big impact on the fashion industry.
I enjoyed the film but others were not as satisfied so filmmakers have recreated the Chanel movie to star Audrey Tatou. Don't forget to check out the new Coco film when it comes out! Here is a trailer!
I came across a photoshoot that I helped my friend, the fabulous Carolina Pineda (fourth year fashion communication student) with a couple years back and had to share them! This was her first attempt at photography and I must say, it comes quite naturally to her. Model: Andrea Golberg Hair/Makeup: Amy Lai Photography Styling: Carolina Pineda Models: Andrea Golberg and Amy Lai Hair/Makeup: Carolina Pineda and Amy Lai Photography by Carolina Pineda Dress and Hat by Andrea Golberg Model: Andrea Golberg Hair/Makeup: Amy Lai Photography/Styling: Carolina Pineda
I apologize for the delay in getting this post up, but here it is! The weekend of June 26th-28th was the first ever Canadian designer sample sale. It boasted over twenty five known Canadian designers in the Burroughs building (639 Queen st W)
Shoppers were chilling out to the sounds of DJ Roland Csach who blessed us with an eclectic mix of reggae, soul, oldies, electro and more. I really don't even know how to classify some of the music he was playing, but it was a relief to hear something other than the usual. I was working the door for Saturday and Sunday of the sale since I was helping out Michelle Turpin of Karamea (see previous post for more on her work) and got to wear some of her clothing. It was a lot of fun getting people to come inside, and despite the gloomy weather on Sunday there was a great response.
There was a vast array of belts (Susanna Erazo and Cha Cha), Jewellery, (Biko and our friends at Psalms jewelery to name a few), of course Michelle Turpin of Karamea, Desperately Different by Katya Revenko, popular names such as Evan Biddell, Lucian Matisse, Philip Sparks and Joeffer Caoc. Some of the designers that really caught my eye however were the girls from Las Valentias who had a great, modern, classy yet slightly edgy look to them. Biko-Hand-crafted jewellery My mom made that - a unique new line that features dresses reconstructed from old vintage pieces and finally, a line of hand-crafted leather bags and clutches from designer Jessica Jenson. The prices were a fraction of the regular price, and despite my efforts to not spend money, I gave in and bought a necklace from Biko that I absolutely LOVE. A special treat was that a majority of the designers were personally there, allowing for networking and a chance to actually talk to the creators. Nancy Rosa of My mom made that was very personable, as was Corrine Anestopoulos of Biko designs. I talked to her for a good half an hour just discussing starting a small business on your own, the joy of entrepreneurship and about Ryerson. I love that I can talk to designers that are doing what I plan on doing in the very near future-creating their own business from scratch. Plan on visiting the Canadian Designer Sample sale very soon because this was the first (fingers crossed) of more to come! I will keep you posted on events like this in the future, and hopefully with some warning so you all can come visit this truly incredible event!
Michelle and I in front of her section; both wearing Karamea.
I love this time of year in Toronto {AUGUST}
Along with studying Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson University, Naomi's other accomplishments include Miss Teen Jamaica 04', hosting on camera in 2005 for Raggae Entertainment Television (RETV) in Kingston, JA and, NOW, she is producing/hosting Feel De Vibe for Scotiabank Caribana TV {featured on the official caribana website}
Naomi C Cowan ^ host of Feel De Vibe, Scotiabank Caribana TV.
Naomi C Cowan ^ host of Feel De Vibe, Scotiabank Caribana TV.
