Give Fashion Designing A Thought!

Fashion designing has become one of the most favored professions as of today. You will see a lot of students vying for a career in the arena, once they are out of college. Enrolling in a proper fashion designing institute is very important.

What is the level of your determination?

Just knowing how to walk the ramp is not enough, the fashion world involves much more than that. Like any career, it requires sincerity, dedication and commitment towards the assignments offered, if success has to be achieved. In fashion designing too besides the drive to become a fashion designer, there should be dedication to reach the heights this profession has to offer.

Not for the faint hearted:

Fashion designing is a profession which should not be taken lightly. There are a few who give up considering the work hours involved and the competition in the industry. If you are truly passionate about this work then reaching the top is not at all difficult. When you go through newspapers you see that there are many fashion designers and models who have earned their status in the fashion designing industry in quick succession.

Work should be appealing enough:

Every modeling agency requires fashion designers and models to showcase clothes and apparel line accessories. If the kind of clothing designed is appreciated and well applauded then you bag future assignments with the modeling agency. Each time you face the camera, you have to get better and better, as this industry is very competitive.

A model agency is the right place that can be approached if a career in modeling is on the cards. It is not easy to get selected. You have to do proper homework first. Arrange for a proper portfolio. If a child is interested in modeling, a portfolio has to be sent to the child model agency. Depending on the success of the portfolio, he or she will be called for a screen or camera test. If you get through this test, then only will you be considered for different assignments. Fashion designers cater to fashion models. The fashion designing industry is a highly competitive one. Besides dedicated hard work it also involves having the right kind of contacts. By joining the right finesse school and before taking up this career, you can certainly achieve what you are aiming for in life. Nothing offers you lucrative assignments and ravel opportunities quicker than a career in fashion designing.

Ethical Fashion: the next big thing.

Everywhere in the UK and in Europe, you find new shops which promote eco and ethical shopping. But what is it? Here at Stand Out Model Agency, we had a photo shoot for Maniyak. They are promoting, among others, practicality, durability and comfort. Also, if you remember one previous article on the Bastille Day, we spoke about Ooh la la vintage, Tara Starlet and Madame Tralala, three French Customizers who transform vintage clothes and give them a new life.

Ethical fashion is fashion with focus on social and environmental sustainability, making sure the producer received a fair amount of money for his work and that the garment has been produced in an environment-friendly way. The fashion industry is one of the most exploitative sectors in the world but step by step, people are trying to do the right thing, giving people fair wages, reducing their environmental impact, promoting slow fashion and perpetuating ancestral traditions, such as embroidering.

We might think, as a consumer, that ethical fashion will mean less clothes, a smaller wardrobe, and for some, it is, but it doesn’t have to be. It is true that most ethical shop display more expensive clothes, and it is only fair, because it means that the worker has been paid properly for his job. But there are amazing options for the conscious dresser, which do not necessarily mean shrinking your wardrobe or your buying power.

Fair trade is already quite well-known among the world. We heard about Oxfam and Max Havelaar. These organizations make sure that the people in developing countries who import their production to developed countries have fair working conditions in terms of hours and wages.

You can decide to go for a focus on environment and buy organic clothes. This means that the garment has been produced from natural fibers, grown without pesticides or toxic materials, thus preserving both our health and the environment.

Quality and slow fashion mean a lower productivity but also better clothes and quality clothes. If you have quality clothes, it means you can keep them longer and you don’t have to throw them away after wearing them one season. Some of you might think: “Right, but fashion is a fleeting thing and I don’t want to wear the same pair of trousers 10 winters in a row”. No, you don’t, I don’t, but then, recycle them! If you do not have nimble fingers which can transform you clothes, exchange them! There are quite a few opportunities for this arising. First you have the charity shops where you can buy second-hand clothes, but you also have events, spreading across Europe in which you go with your clothes leave them there and come back with others. Simply swapping your clothes with somebody else might do the trick. You have new clothes and you didn’t spend a penny, so it’s good for your finances, for your wardrobe, your self-esteem and even for the environment. In this mindset, you also have vintage clothes or garments created from the 1920’s to 1975 and which have been given a second life, transformed to be up-to-date. This is not recycling but up-cycling!

So change your way of dressing up and change the world. You can feel fabulous in fashion that helped others or the environment or both!

Written by Anne de France

Has the world gone gaga?

With fashion inspiration taken from cartoon characters, space and military weapons, the 24 year old pop icon Lady Gaga is always sure to be seen dressed in something outrageous. With outfits designed by top designers like Armani and the late Alexander McQueen, and a wardrobe full of fashion surprises is Gaga a fashion icon or an eccentric member of pop culture?

In the fame monsters invasion her fashion and style are arguably her number one weapons of world domination. With her Haus of Gaga design team behind her these are weapons that appear to be working, as Forbes Magazine recently ranks Gaga number four in their list of the richest and most powerful celebrities for 2010 which is a long way up from last year where Gaga’s name was missing from the list. The model agency/fashion industry and music industries however have never been too far apart and the trends from one all too often trickle into the other and Gaga’s influence in fashion can be seen on catwalks and fashion weeks worldwide, as leotards and lace become big summer 2010 looks on catwalks and in high street stores alike. However, Gaga is not the first musician to have made a splash in the world of fashion and many celebrities like Madonna, are famous for their iconic sense of style and daring ensembles.

Dressed in machine guns on the cover of Rolling Stone, lace at the MTV awards or red latex to meet the Queen, Lady Gaga's fantasy inspired fashion sense has been described as "huge and polarizing", giving women the permission to try things they were intimidated by and making them think “I can do anything” by some of her fans including Barneys New York, Creative Director, Simon Doonan. But not everyone thinks Gaga is a fashion icon, some use examples like her fall in Heathrow Airport to demonstrate the absurdity of her costumes, while others like the legendary Grace Jones comment in newspapers about Gaga's unoriginality.

Whether she’s a Fame Monster, Fashionista, Caricature or just Gaga, Lady Gaga has used fashion to market herself and her music, catapulting herself into international stardom and the camera lenses of the waiting papa- paparazzi! An eccentric member of popular culture with the potential to become a fashion icon, Gaga is just as daring and bold as some other members of popular culture who in their time left their marks on the world of fashion and style.

Written by Dinita Moore

Looking Good Boy’s!

Metro-sexual is a 21st century term developed in response to a noticeable growth in Male grooming and fashion habits and to describe heterosexual men that displayed characteristics that are often associated with homosexual men, and up until this week many would have used this term to describe friends, relatives, colleagues and celebrities alike. However, as Stand Out Model Agency provide recent beauty and grooming study, they say that 93% of men say that the term “Metro-sexual” is offensive and that’s not all the statistics show that are interesting.

1,000 men and 1,000 women aged 18-64 were surveyed bringing to light some very interesting findings. As expected the survey verified long held stereotypes on women’s beauty and grooming as women through the study appear to spend more time and money on grooming and beauty as a reaction to pressure to look younger and to project a confident, feminine, classic, youthful and intelligent look. However the survey’s men demonstrate some exciting findings that show a marked increase in the time men spend in the bathroom pampering and preening themselves with only a 7 minute gap between the time male and female’s spent on their daily beauty regimes.

The media and press are always reminding their viewers of the pressure women face to look good, though the survey shows that this pressure to project specific gender defined stereotypes doesn’t just affect women as when asked “Compared to 10 years ago, are men today under more pressure to care about their appearance?” 72% of men and 78% of women said yes. The image these men are all trying to project? Well one of confidence, masculinity and intelligence that is also cool and classic of course. Just like the images of celebrities like Brad Pitt and George Clooney no less.

Women, i’m sure are not complaining about the higher standards of grooming and beauty men are finding themselves faced with these days and the men don’t seem to be complaining either, as the surveys findings imply that compared to 10 years ago 63% more of men are actually enjoying the time they spend performing their daily grooming routines and are spending up to £121 a year on everything from shavers to shampoo.

What remains to be answered from this survey is however if these numbers are admissions to men’s feelings of insecurity and worries about acceptance or a display of a new acceptance and a welcomed growth of male beauty, a word that is not placed often enough next to the words man or male. One thing that is for sure however is that men, just like women are eager to leave the house looking their best and who can blame them!

Writteb by Dinita Moore

George Best

A decade before a certain other stylish, Manchester United player was even born, football’s original, all conquering, all scandalous son was the king of the pitch. Sending many girls hearts a flutter, and loved just as much by his male admirers, George Best had the skills, looks and charisma more likened to a rock star. A rock star life he led. Notorious, rebellious and all rather charming with it, Best was more than aware of his position (not just on the pitch), and status within the celebrity mould. A real ladies man, party animal and the winning football results to justify his fame, he single handedly and purposely made sure he was the greatest and most famous footballer of his day. Christened by the press ‘El Beatle’, Best’s talent and showmanship made him a crowd and media favourite. He and the rest of the nation soon came to see the highs and lows of being in the public eye, including every scandal, drunken brawl, and gossip surrounding his name. His good looks ensured that just a mere flash of that winning smile and a twinkle of those famous blue eyes had his female fanship, ranging from pre-teen girls to the older lady swooning at his feet.

At his peak, including winning the European Cup and in 1968 being named European Footballer of the Year, Best was at the height of his powers and influence. Influence on pop culture, fashion, male vanity. A new form of masculinity not seen before but very much since, it is widely believed metrosexual men, male models, the new wave of men’s sporting style & fashion, and male celebrity particularly in the UK take their cue from Best. Continued scandal, alcoholism, and more drunken brawls soon took over from any headlines of his professional achievements, but he remains a sort of modern antihero.
The first celebrity of his kind, George Best was certainly not the last.

Written by Tom Farr

Size and Age

 

SIZE

The size zero debate continues. In glossy magazines. On billboards. In campaigns and advertisements. In retail. We see size zero models everywhere. With seeing, we also feel – the pressure and influence it continues to hold over us, the general public and consumers. Fashion designers the world over insist on using them, and only them to model their designs. Some of them try to defend themselves, saying the models are there to do a job, and that job is to wear designs. A living, strutting clothes horse if you like.

Are the designers right, or should that be DO they have the right to this attitude? Have they actually said that we too also have to be a size zero? Maybe it’s just our own insecure (or vain) state of mind? No. Ok, so designers can say all they like they are there to design clothes - clothes to fit model size. It is however, the designers who ‘made’ the models to be model size. The model fits the clothes, not the clothes fit the model.

Designers, like any other creator of a product are out there to sell. To anyone and everyone who’ll buy into it, and models are there to do exactly what any other visual in a campaign or advertisement are meant to do – entice and influence you, the consumer into not just buying into, but wanting to be a part of what they are and represent. The irony being we focus far more on what the model looks like rather than the garment she’s modeling.

If we are to stop focusing on what we want to see and start seeing and appreciating what and who we are, we need to shift eyes away from the size zero models and what they’re wearing, and instead look at ‘real’ people, ourselves and what suits us. Fortunately, there is a modelling agency which is now signing up and using ‘real’ people of regular size and look. ‘Real clothes for real people’. YOUR style. What suits YOU.

 

AGE

In fashion and styling it is vital for you to wear clothes that suit your general age range, but that by no means is saying there is an age limit to having style. Again, like with the age ‘rule’, style is about what suits you an individual, there shouldn’t be a restriction based on age. If you look good in it, if you love it, get it! Wear it! Too many people base their ‘style’ purely on their age. Doing so suggests everyone of a specific age looks and is the same – build, height, ethnicity...This of course is definitely not the case. Also, not everyone ‘looks’ their age. With all these factors in mind, only then can you really find what suits you. The more it suits you the more stylish you will be.

‘Dress your age’. Many women, particularly in their late 30’s/40’s enjoy the confidence age gives them and that should show through with the way they choose to dress. Certainly don’t wear the clothes of a 19 year old if you’re 39. Ok, it may have suited you back then, and if you’re really lucky, into your late twenties, but wearing clothes too out of your age range only risks ‘aging’ you. There are many approaches to choosing and picking what specifically suits you as an individual. Some of the best ways is to go shopping with your friends of a similar age. Make a day of it. Or treat yourself to a personal shopper. The essential thing to keep in mind is to embrace the range of colours, patterns, cuts and styles out there and never be afraid to accept who you are, what you look like, no matter what size or age you are. Individual style comes from being an individual first and foremost.

Written by Tom Farr

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen, Hollywood’s highest paid actor, sexiest man – timeless style icon. His look s where very different to the skinny pale faced models that a model agency would snap up in 2010. This was back in the 60’s, the decade which by this point had also spawned fellow Hollywood bad boy legends Marlon Brando and James Dean. Like his contemporaries, Steve McQueen became, and 30 years later remains a classic symbol of new-age masculinity, spirit and style. The all-American symbol of rebellion, charm and boyish good-looks.

Born in 1930, Indiana, to parents who disowned him – his father walked out when McQueen was 6 months old. Though looked after by various relatives for a majority of his childhood, he basically raised himself and carved out his own ambitions and interests formed from the inconsistent life he led. As well as his life-long interest in speed racing and off-road biking he’d moved to New York to study acting to pursue his movie stardom dreams.

Working his way up from bit parts to breakthrough roles, then to a string of major Hollywood hits, McQueen soon became the biggest name nationally and internationally. His screen presence and rugged boy good looks as well as his own unique brand of method acting and personal input in his roles led him to superstardom and admiration from fellow actors, the industry and his massive fan-base. With his own brand of style, he soon became ‘The King of Cool’, a nickname he holds to this day.

Everything from cut-off sweatshirts, and chinos – both his idea, to the iconic vests, which he made masculine, to the very stylish, often custom-made suits including the three-piece Thomas Crown suits. His role as Captain Virgil Hilts in The Great Escape changed the face of what was expected. No leather or trendy biking garments, McQueen sported cream coloured chinos, worker boots, and an oversized but plain t-shirt. Simple everyday pieces overnight turned into iconic and must-have items. Women wanted – and had him, and males young and old admired him, idolised him and wanted to be him. Antihero, sex-symbol, style icon. As McQueen’s own idol Frank Sinatra once stated “it’s all your’s now kid”. Today’s young Hollywood elite and continued fan-base can only dream of being ‘The King of Cool’.

Written by Tom Farr