SheBreathes™ | Fashion + Culture

In Magicland with Cleo B

Cleo B is a favourite of ours. Each season the designer, Cleo Barbour, draws us in with her penchant for details. Magicland, her fourth collection, features inspiration from the fantastical side of life and delves deep into the blissfulness of fairy tales.

On the evening of Cleo B's S/S '11 launch, and at her Belgravia flagship store in London, we were greeted by a gold painted angel, a monochrome clown, pom-pom clip-ons, and Cleo's handmade nazars, which added to the whimsical feeling of the night. The colour palette of lilacs, pistachio, taupes, and peaches only added to the romanticism of the collection, which are all great shades for summer.

I loved the different heel heights: from cute suede flats topped with ribbons and gold baubles, striking suede and patent leather mid-level heels with metallic accents, to the downright seductive pumps she calls Flamingo with its Spanish-inspired roped details, and the signature Cleo B wedge, that now come in the curvaceous shoe boot, that are topped in handmade Swarovski crystal droplets — there is a style to satisfy a multitude of shoe lovers. Below are some favourites and a glimpse into a fun-filled event (see more photos here). Be sure to visit Cleo B to see more from the collection, and indulge before they're all gone!

Launch Fotos © SheBreathes. Product Shots Courtesy of Cleo B.

McQueen for a Night

On Friday I attended the McQueen for a Night event at the MET, hosted by the College Group at the MET. it was in honour of the Savage Beauty; Alexander Mcqueen exhibit, but it was a bit more than that. The MET invited college students down, and a few members of the press; to not only view the exhibition, but to partake in the many activities of the night, like a panel with fashion consultant, Julie Gilhart. Everyone was encouraged to dress-up either in McQueen or something inspired by him, and trust me plenty of us did. We were able to see the runner-up pieces made for the Parsons design contest, and learned who won - it was Paula Cheng, which Creative Coordinator of Alexander McQueen, Trino Verkade announced she had won. We also got to hear from the curator of the exhibition, Andrew Bolton, who went through the entire exhibition with ease, beauty, and knowledge. There was music by DJ Justine D, beverages, and snacks. It was truly an extraordinary night for all who attended.

If you have the chance to see the exhibition, please do — it's breathtaking. There are quotes by McQueen throughout, and you learn what each collection was made-of, and the inspiration behind them. I even saw my 2003 shoes on display, which made me so happy, but now I'll never sell them. The exhibition also includes the collection that Ms. Sarah Burton finished, encased in glass, and while you're not allowed to take photos during the exhibition, you can buy the book, which will last you a lifetime. And, if you're in college I implore you to join the college group, because they host fabulous events throughout the year.

The topper for me, was meeting so many wonderful people, like Ms. Trino Verkade {who rocked a look from the S/S 2010 collection, and was down-to-earth}, Ms. Gilhart, who helped me with Ms. Verkade's name, Ms. Shelly Fox, who was as jubilant as a kid in a candy store, and a host of amazingly talented people who I'm sure I'll be hearing more about. Below is a peek into my evening and what I saw, enjoy.

I only had my iphone and point-and-shoot, because I knew that photos were allowed to be snapped at the actual exhibit, but I knew at the event I could, so below the pieces from the runner-ups, and the winning design.

And the winner . . . Paula Cheng. She'll receive a 4 week internship at Alexander McQueen.

The winner — Paula Cheng with Creative Coordinator of Alexander McQueen, Trino Verkade.

This was the line to see the exhibit, but thankfully we received passes, so we didn't have to wait. If you plan on going to the exhibit, expect a wait, but it's worth it!

Fotos © SheBreathes.

The Launch | Six Scents Series Three

Recently, I attended the Six Scents Series Three launch event, because you can't go wrong merging fashion and perfume, especially when both are married in an effort to celebrate creativity, and bring awareness to a charitable cause.

Each year the co-Founder of Six Scents, Joseph Quartana skillfully recruits six of the top artists and perfumers to collaborate on a limited-edition fragrance, where a percentage of proceeds will go towards a charity, and for this series War Child International will benefit.

Upon entering the venue I noticed a series of short films, created exclusively to coincide with the line of perfumes, along with a documentary trailer of the creative process streaming on the wall. My eyes were glued to the short with Julia Roitfeld draped in an all white lace hijab — the story was edited by teen fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson. This year Givaudan perfumers were paired with fashion designers Alexis Mabille, Mary Katrantzou, Juun. J, Rad Hourani, N. Hollywood, and Ohne Titel. Their task was to explore the nature of childhood memories and the influence of adolescence on identity. My favorite scent was entitled M by Ohne Titel and Yann Vasnier. It was a mix of cardamom, safraleine and leather materials — truly divine.

Fotos © SheBreathes | Video Courtesy of SIx Scents

Store Opening | Annie Havlicek

Last week Ebony attended Annie Havlicek's store opening on the Lower East Side in NYC. The new store was filled with her S/S 2010 collection that is très chic. Loads of pretty and irresistibly understated pieces throughout the collection. I love the dresses they're perfect for the beautiful weather I hear is going on stateside!

Fotos © SheBreathes

Do visit the her virtual space to explore more from the S/S 2010 collection and if you're in NYC, visit her store at 154 Orchard Street {Mezzanine Level} New York, NY 10002, let her know we sent you!

Many thanks to Ms. Havlicek and People's Revolution for having us!

Oi, Tudo bem {Fashion Rio + SP}

Oi darlings! I know it's been slow around here lately and that makes me sad. I've been a bit busy with the final touches on Sejais, getting the ShopSheBreathes website completed, ZerothreeTen lookbook completed, and planning the 5th anniversary for the Baby Selah Foundation charity event. But next week I will have all new features and a few goodies {giveaways} to kickoff the summer!

In the meantime I will be flying to Rio tonight for FashionRio Verão 2011. Goldie is already in Rio covering the shows. And I'm so excited because one of my favourite Brasilian designers, Walter Rodrigues had all black {Afro-Brasilian} models to present his collection! If any of you have been following SheBreathes a long time, you know this is a feat to be celebrated! Below is a video I snapped-up from FFW, which is one of my favourite Brasilian fashion websites. I hope this holds you over until we get our coverage up, which by the way will be at SheBreathes.net {with announcements on here}. Click over because Tamra has been uploading shows from the various fashion weeks that we've covered. This is the repository for all shows/events, etc that we can't fit on here but still think are worthy of highlighting, so do keep the link handy if you're a fashion show/events lover!

And in honour of all things beautiful and gorgeous that is Brasil {smile} a little Thalma de Freitas for your long weekend. Do enjoy your hols statesiders, Happy Memorial Day!

Sneak Peek | Première Classe

I know things are still slow around here, and I still have so much to share from the two fashion weeks I attended, including a few trade shows, like Première Classe. And now we have plenty of showroom visits to share. I am truly trying to clear my schedule to get SheBreathes back on track, so expect the next few weeks to be filled-to-the-brim with the new, emerging, and established. For now here is a snippet of what was on display. I only attended two days, which were brief due to a full show schedule. I will share a few of my favourites designers from the event next week!

Fotos Courtesy of Carole Desheulles for usage on SheBreathes

Thanks for always reading and I hope each and every one of you enjoy your weekend!

More Candy | Khirma Eliazov Press Party

We featured handbag brand Khirma Elizazov not to long ago and I couldn't resist a follow-up. Ebony attended their holiday party for press and friends last week on behalf of SheBreathes. Below is a little video that does an awesome job of showing how versatile the bags are and a few fotos of their delicious bags. Enjoy.

Event | Christian Cota + Wine to Water

Fashion, wine, and wells what do all three have in common you're probably asking? Well, last week I attended the e-commerce launch event for fashion designer Christian Cota at the Marc Fergione restaurant in Tribeca. The evening was a celebration for the launch of the e-commerce portion of the site and collaboration with recent CNN Heroes recipient Doc Hendley. Hendley founded the organization Wine to Water, which helps provide clean water to people around the globe. After reading about Wine to Water and having the desire to work with an environmentally friendly charity, Christian contacted Doc and a perfect pairing was born.

Christian debuted his first holiday collection including a hand-painted tee he designed exclusively for Doc's Wine to Water organization (25% off proceeds go to Wine for Water). Along with the t-shirt, there was an amazing selection of pieces that models walked around displaying throughout the evening. Winter whites with shiny lurex, sequined skirts, party dresses, and cardigans — all the essentials for the holiday season. I asked him what the inspiration for the collection was and he simply said "what a girl would need for the holidays". There were also Mac computers set up for guests to browse and view the new e-commerce shop. The presentation of the web shop was by far one of the best I've ever seen. The photos were immaculate with details of the pieces visible. As for his upcoming collection, expect rich mineral tones and an expertly created collection.

Christian Cota and Doc Hendley below with a few photos from the event.

All Fotos SheBreathes.

Hungarian Fashion Show | Open Air 8X10

During NYFW the Extremely Hungary organization and Arts | Brookfield Properties held a fashion show featuring couture collections from some of Hungary’s emerging designers like, Juis Suis Belle, Anh Tuan, and USE. On the last day of the event Ebony attended on behalf of SheBreathes and was able to capture a few photos. The models in the collections would pose while while they were photographed by photographers using rare 8x10 Polaroid cameras and polaroids were displayed in the International Center of Photography's glass cube gallery during NYFW. A longer feature on all the designers is coming and many thanks to Juis Suis Belle for inviting us!

All Fotos SheBreathes.com.

NYFW | Luca Luca Spring 2010

The Luca Luca show was held at the ever-popular Altman building in Chelsea this season. Luca Orlandi is no longer the creative director — he gave that blessing to Raul Melgoza in 2008. The Spring 2010 collection took it's inspiration from the high-glamour fashion of the 70's and included tiered silk dresses, wide-legged jumpsuits, high-waist trousers, punchy colours, and the big and beautiful curly hair of that era. Unfortunately as the collection progressed it was clear to me that Mr. Melgoza fell short of making me believe the 70's could make a comeback in an industry obsessed with the 80's and 90's. The funnel-neck suits seemed out-of-place in a sea of silk and chiffon. There is still plenty to love in this collection like the tired silk dresses and the ruffled one-shoulder pieces, which also highlights what Luca Luca is good at doing — making the women who wear the brand look glamorous.

All Fotos SheBreathes.com

NYFW + Introducing HeBreathes {Hommes}

I wanted to do a bit of an update before I get into today's features. For the first time I've decided to actually dedicate coverage to NYFW {deets on LFW + PFW soon} and the shows that I will be attending. Not only will I be attending shows, but I will be doing loads of showroom visits to some of my favourite handbag, shoe, and jewelry designers, some new and plenty of revisits. I will pretty much put a hold on some of the designers I planned on sharing {so that they don't get lost in the mix} during NYFW — September 10th-17th. Coverage will be pretty continuous on here + here {unedited fotos, twitpics etc}, and on Facebook. I'm always excited about the shows I get invited too and this season is no different, besides the nostalgia {last Fall season at Bryant Park}. From Alexandre Herchcovitch, Luca Luca, Thuy, to Ohne Titel and so many more I want to surprise you with. I will be tweeting away, so do follow if you like.

Foto via Teen Vogue.

Introducing Hommes:

SheBreathes has a new companion blog — HeBreathes, which is Homme Style + Culture. The editor is a good friend of mines, Goldie {who is also a reader + commenter}! Goldie is a true style king! He always astonishes me with his ability to find the most amazing pieces for men that I wish I could wear. So expect nothing short of pure visual perfection from him and do peruse his blog to get an sense of his taste. I'm very excited about this new chapter and can't wait for the site to go live! So to all the ladies who read SheBreathes forward the link to the men in your life, we promise to bring them nothing short of the truly amazing! Until then all the shows he attends during NYFW {menswear} will be shared on here as well.

Other News:

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Deanne of Dream Sequins to be a part of her 3 Dreamy places to shop and eat in NYC, you can read my picks here. There are also 2 other fab contributors so be sure to print and keep!

To all my newsletter subscribers the September issue is going out a bit late {sorry}. I have a big sponsor who contacted me last minute, but trust me it will be worth the wait! I hope to get it to you next week, but all the winners from the LongChamp giveaway have been notified and bags were shipped!

Thank you to all the people who visit and support SheBreathes. You are truly why I continue to do this daily. I have so much respect for all of you. From the links, the shout-outs, to the constant support, thank you! It means a lot that you take time out of your day to visit. Always know if you have questions, want to see something, etc please don't hesitate to contact me, I'm as gentle as a baby puma {smile}. 

Beijos e amor.

Première Classe Coverage

This year the good folks over at Première Classe sent me loads of lookbooks to go through, so I'll be sharing a few of them next week. If you're not aware Première Classe is in Paris and it's more than a trade show, it's an artistic hub that's launched several careers. It is the must attend event outside of Italy for accessories, shoes and handbags. From the designers to the those who put this event on it's first class all the way! But the fun part is Tamra will be attending the event on my behalf in September and I will be there for business in October, so I won't share too much as she'll be covering it. My business part is to actually find designers to put in my limited edition online shoppe {shhhh don't tell anyone}. All the coverage will be on here. Why have I decided to do it this way? Well, because I don't like clutter, so the up to the minute photos and coverage will be here, but the actual reviews and features of some will be on here after I've digested her picks. I hope that's not confusing and I hope you like what's shared. This is how it will be for any fashion week, shows, and events we cover.

Below are images from some of their past events that I liked over what they sent me. UPDATE: Some emailed asking for links to some of these designers, the most requested was to the "wood" glasses, you can visit iwood for them. Bruno Bordese and Stéphanie Césaire will both get a proper review, but for now visit and explore them all. Elisa Nero has a space, but there is nothing there. As soon as I know you will too. 

And these by Delphine Nardin + Delphine Charlotte Charpentier. 

All fotos Première Classe.

Many thanks to Elodie for all the updates. The Vintage Feature + giveaway will be on Monday. So check back then as you won't want to miss what we have in store!

Beijos.