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RufLyf MusicPosts Tagged ‘Sasha Kiyoka’
Coachella Fever
Music lovers all over the world gathered at the desert lands of Indio, California for the famous music event called Coachella this past Friday. With over 200,000 attendees and 90 different artists over a 3-day period, Coachella is one of the most popular music events of the year. Temperatures can rise up to 90 degrees, making the fashion at this event minimal but still stylish, nonetheless. Most choose to camp out overnight on the premises while some rent houses and get hotel rooms with friends in nearby areas. I actually spent the weekend in a neighboring city (Palm Springs) and got to witness some of the cool Coachella fashion.
Some of my favorite outfits included high waist denim cut-offs and other shorts, floor length skirts, printed summer dresses and jumpers. Popular tops were tanks, knitted sweaters, old rocker tees, and bandeaus all in various prints, lightweight fabrics, and muted desert colors. These outfits were occasionally paired with floppy hats, and fedoras and other various hat styles. Comfortable shoes such as sandals, booties, cowboy boots, and stylish flats were everywhere. (Stages can be over a mile apart) Accessories tended to be of the more natural look, made of wood, stones, and other vintage looking materials. Bathing suits are obviously a staple item here, along with a pair of oversized retro glasses.( see my previous article for popular sunglass styles). Large totes, satchels, and mini back-packs were the bags of choice. As day turned into night, these outfits mostly stayed the same, but with added jean jackets, shawls, and cardigans.
The overall feel of Coachella really reminds me of a modern day Woodstock, with tons of beautiful vintage pieces everywhere and lots of muted desert colors. It must be a unifying feeling, camping out and experiencing ones favorite musicians along with tons of thousands of other people. And from everyone that attends every year, I hear nothing but positive things and awesome stories that will be remembered for a lifetime. You can definitely count me in for next years desert adventure!
-Sasha Kiyoka
( photos from elle.com and refinery29.com)
Rad in Retro
Sunglasses, what would we do without them? They stylishly keep the sun out of our eyes, and more importantly, help hide our faces after those long, crazy nights that you will never forget (or cant seem to remember). As you all may or may not know, everything in fashion recycles itself over time and right now the most trendy of people are rocking the following retro styles.
The Wayfarer (Unisex): Originated by Ray-Ban in 1952, these glasses have become a staple item for ‘cool’ kids everywhere by being possibly the #1 best selling sun glass design in history.
The Aviator (Unisex): Received their name due to the similarities to flying goggles. The original Aviators attempted to cover the full range of the human eye but variations have been flooding the market since their beginning.
I call this one the Round Eye, though there is no specific name for it. Think of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This particular photo is of a women’s style by Alexandra Cassaniti and RAEN Optics but there are other variations for men as well, like the photo below made by the Row for Linda Farrow (Totally John Lennon style).
Those these styles may seem outlandish and a little strange to some, this quirky-ness is very much in style right now. Try giving your current stunner shades a break and rock something different for a change J Who knows, you might actually like it!
-Sasha Kiyoka
High heels, stilettos, wedges, pumps… choose your weapon, but they all scream sexy in a way that I have never really been able to grasp completely. Today, this fashion staple has given women a sense of power, sexuality, and sophistication. Fair warning, please note that this article may be a tad bias considering my love for heels. (Add my facebook page to see photos of my calf tattoo dedicated to my obsession) Anyways, the concept of the ‘high heel’ has been around for centuries, and didn’t always have such a sexy appeal…
We can give credit to the Egyptians for originating the whole concept of high heels. Murals going back to 3500B.C. depict an early version of at type of platform shoe worn by royalty and those of wealth…as well as the butchers, to help them maneuver around the bodies of the animals ( eww! ) During the middle ages this same concept was used to keep both men and women’s legs clean of mudd and other debris that accumulated in the poorly cleaned streets. In the 1400s they were called chopines, and were worn exclusively by women and used cork or wood for the heel .The Venetians evolved the chopine into a symbol of wealth and social standing for females. The 1500s gave birth to the “rider’s heel” used to give stability in the stirrups of a saddle ( kind of like the cowboy boot )
Catherine de Medici popularized a more stylish version of the riding heel that had a thinner heel. Five foot nothing Catherine de Medici wasn’t considered very pretty, and when she realized that her fiance ( The Duke of Orleans) had an extremely tall mistress who he was fascinated with, she decided to take action. She razzle-dazzled the French people with her newfound physique, and height. Mary Tudor or “Bloody Mary” and King Louis XIV were also royalty who showed interest in this high heel fashion. Marie Antoinette actually wore 2 inch heels to her execution, despite the banishment of them in 1791 by Napoleon.
Up until 1860, large heels were not popular and the growth of smaller more comfortable heeled shoes proceeded. The invention of the sewing machine obviously caused a boom in high heel history, making them much easier to produce. Though many viewed these heels as aristocratic and beneficial to health, there were those who considered heels sexually aggressive and called them “poisoned hooks”.
Thank goodness high heels have remained in fashion since then, with variations of all sorts that all women, AND MEN, can enjoy 🙂 Now for the question of the week….keep them on or take them off ; ) ?
– Sasha Kiyoka
Where better than at a fashion school to find some of the worlds future designers? The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles puts on a yearly spring fashion show that showcases some of the most creative and inspired pieces the school helped produce.This show attracts over 10,000 people in a period of 3 days and showcases the designs of students in FIDM’s Theater Costume Design and Fashion Design Advanced Programs along with work from the digital media, textile and Interior Design students.
This year the event took place on Friday March 18th at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California. This beautiful 35,000 square foot location has played an important part in handfuls of major events here in southern California. The same show was shown each day, but different audiences were allowed on particular days. Day two ( Friday, March 18th, 2011) was the day that the current students (like myself) could come watch.
The event started up with the fabulous Nick Verreos, who is actually one of the Fashion Design teachers at FIDM ( I have seen him walking around the L.A. campus) walking the runway. For those who don’t know who that is, he is a former designer on Bravo’s Project Runway, a design show. He introduces a couple of his own dresses from his spring line and then the show actually begins. The first designer is a womens’ wear designer who was inspired by the beauty of sea sponges. He used a lightly color palette with some fun contrasting prints and overall has a very pretty feminine look and feel to his work. Ari Isoda was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Her pieces reflected her background in architecture and consisted of bold lines, prints, and colors. Next up was Pam Mbanga’s wild menswear collection which was said to be inspired by British tailoring and African textures and prints. Another menswear designer names Alexandra Paulus’ showed a few colorful and fun pieces inspired by the Edwardian Era. FIDM’s very first fashion collection for young boys was shown by Kamelia Stojanikova, you can see her inspiration from various 1930s looks. Very last but not least was Hualei Sun, A Chinese girl who used female characters in video games as her muse. Her dresses were beautifully crafted and had a soft, dreamy feel to it.
It is so refreshing to see all these hardworking fresh faces emerging into the industry and really gaining the attention and respect they deserve. Who knows, the next Alexander McQueen could be amongst the fashion students of this generation. It really satisfys my soul knowing that these students have a chance to strut their stuff at FIDM and am looking forward to seeing new designs in the years to come.
-Sasha Kiyoka
Creativity just oozes from this designers mind, with his outrageous headpieces, over-exaggerated silhouettes, and elegantly acute attention to detail. John Galliano has been dreaming up some of the most innovative and intricate designs this decade has seen for the House of Dior since 1997.
Being one of my favorite designers, I was shocked to hear that Christian Dior had fired Galliano from his position as head designer at Dior earlier this month. Even more shocking was the reasoning behind it. Word got out that Galliano had rudely made anti-semitic comments to a customer in a Paris bar, late last month. He was immediately suspended. Soon after, two actual videos of him praising Hitler emerged from Paris citizens. In a video from last December, he yelled “I love Hitler…People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers would all be fucking gassed.” to a group of Italian women.
John denies all allegations through his lawyer and did have fellow designer Patricia Field side with him saying “It’s theater… It’s farce. But people in fashion don’t recognize the farce in it. All of a sudden they don’t know him. But it’s OK when it’s Mel Brooks The Producers singing ‘Springtime for Hitler”
If he is found guilty, Galliano could face up to 6 months in jail or paying over $30,000 in fines. Understanding of past artists, it is typical that with such immense levels of creativity comes slight madness. Unfortunately for Galliano, he has to be held accountable for his actions just as everybody else would. As of right now, John is suspected to be at a rehabilitation facility and Christian Dior is on the prowl for a new head designer. Though he may have deserved to loose his position with Dior, it does not change the fact that Galliano still remains one of the top designers in the world, as well as one my favorites, and I hope that Dior’s new addition won’t be a disappointment.
-Sasha Kiyoka
