DeAnn Harte

Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty is Totally Crumbling Victoria’s Secret

“Sexy is not a body type but a state of mind.”

Style icon, makeup entrepreneur, and the first black woman to head a luxury brand under LVMH, AND as the wealthiest female musician in the world, Rihanna is no stranger to successfully disrupting a market. Last year at her debut Savage X Fenty NYFW show, models of ALL shapes, sizes took the runway by storm and this year showed no signs of that slowing down. She even incorporated transgender models and models with disabilities within her presentation. No wings, no theatrics. Just body positivity and women owing their beauty.

Standards of beauty have tremendously changed in the last couple of years and we have Savage X Fenty to thank for that. Rihanna has officially disrupted markets causing brands with “antiquated” views of beauty, *cough* Victoria’s Secret, to scramble in regards to re-evaluating their brand.

Representation of the female body in fashion has always been marketed as the standard: Caucasian model, tall, blond, and thin. Occasionally you can find a sprinkle of women of different ethnicities but with almost the same characteristics. The problem is evident, when you have a male dominated executive board running the brand, you’re bound see skewed standards of beauty through the eyes of men. Through the power of social media as many other brands do, Fenty utilized the low cost effort of marketing, user generated content, to show followers, spectators, and competitors that these are what REAL bodies look like.

cc: @evie_spice

Is Savage X Fenty giving them a run for their money? Is it too late for VS to make a comeback? Victoria’s Secret is currently doing damage control by working to improve its quality control of bras, partnerships, playing with a new aesthetic through marketing efforts, etc. They’ve even gone as far as not airing their annual fashion show for the first time in years due to a decline in low ratings. A spokeswoman of L Brands stated “We’re re-evaluating the fashion show. We are taking time to evaluate the right marketing strategy going forward.”

Tune into the second annual Savage X Fenty fashion show, streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime on Friday September 20th. The show is packed with performances by Rihanna, Migos, A$AP Ferg, Tierra Whack and more, in addition to your favorite supermodels gracing the runway.

Bespoke Leather Craftsman Sheron Barber Speaks on Customization, The Future of DR14 and The Legacy He Wants to Leave Behind

Check out my contributing piece to The Lifestyle NYC!

The Lifestyle NYC

If it was functional, tactical, and incorporated utilitarian elements, you definitely saw it all over your Instagram feed or across the chest of your favorite celebs. One of the hottest trends this summer had to be none other than the chest rig, a trend popularized by ALYX, a streetwear brand of “unconventional basics”. The $542 chest pouch caught the eye of many tastemakers worldwide trickling down to other brands creating their own, but you were not finding any pieces like Sheron Barber’s. The Camden, New Jersey native took his talents to Los Angeles to create quality, custom-made, bespoke, fine leather goods.

I had the opportunity to interview the artisan and take a deep dive into his journey from creating his first pieces to the future of his brand DR14.

1. Would you classify yourself as a designer or an artist?

I believe that every designer is an artist, but if…

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The Highly Anticipated Gucci x Dapper Dan Collection Has Arrived

The story of Dapper Dan and Gucci can be seen as love-hate. From ripping each other off to finally putting their differences aside, over the course of a year the legendary courtier and Gucci have been working together to bring you this collaborative collection.

Flying Dapper Dan to Italy, helping him with the launch of his Harlem atelier and even featuring him in its tailoring ad campaign, Gucci pounced on the opportunity to bring him on board. The highly coveted collection, previously available exclusively at the Gucci store on Wooster St. in NYC, has made its way online. Today marks the day fashionistas worldwide can now get their hands on pieces from this iconic collection.

Inspired by the streets of Harlem, the collection is full archival pieces with a Gucci twist. Ranging from a mix of 300+ pieces of leather goods, footwear, apparel and more, the collection is officially available to shop at Gucci.com

Capturing the perfect harmony of the Italian fashion house, and Dapper Dan’s Harlem roots, photographer Ari Marcopulo tells a story that “explores the synergy between the magpie design philosophies of both Dan and Michele [Creative Director at Gucci].”

Crayola Launches Beauty Line With Online Retailer ASOS

2018 is chock full of nostalgic fashion trends and there is no sign of it slowing down. Imagine yourself back in elementary school, and your teacher says to take out your crayons. Number one, they better have been Crayola. Two, if you pulled out Rose Art *gives side eye* and three, if you didn’t have the 64 count WITH the sharpener in the back, who were you really?!

Fast forwarding about 20 years later, British fashion powerhouse, ASOS has teamed up with America’s favorite crayon brand, Crayola, to bring you a brand new makeup collection that allows your “self-expression and personal creativity” to flow. The 58-piece collection includes face crayons, eye palettes, mascaras, color-changing lipsticks and highlighters!

Bold, bright, and vivid pigments set the tone of the fun, kitschy, Crayola Beauty collection. With the classic yellow and green packaging these products definitely have a retro feel to them. Staying true to brand identity, the line features cute product names such as “Fuzzy Wuzzy, Mango Tango, Dandelion” and much more.

We love it, but are we splurging or saving? The collection is super affordable with a price range from $14.50 to $40. Did I mention the line is vegan and cruelty-free too? Check out the entire collection on ASOS.com

Dirty Pop-Up: *NSYNC to Drop New Merch at Immersive LA Pop-Up

Children of the 90’s, lend me your ears!

Did you grow up during the pop boy band era? Were there posters of the Backstreet Boys, LFO, and 98 Degrees on your bedroom wall? Well get ready because everyone’s favorite boy band is making a comeback.

This weekend, the heartthrobs of 90’s boy band, *NSYNC, are coming back together for “Dirty Pop-Up”, the ultimate fan experience in Los Angeles. Celebrating 20 years of history, fans will be able to browse and interact with authentic props, wardrobe, photography and artwork on display that pays homage to their four year career. The pop-up will serve as the band’s launch of official merchandise; pieces include t-shirts, hoodies and jean jackets. For all the details visit the official website NSYNC.com

In addition to the “ Dirty Pop-Up” the group will also be receiving their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 30^th . There’s no coincidence this is all happening at the end of April which means…

No word if all band mates will be present, but who wouldn’t love to see Justin, JC, Chris, Lance and Joey all back together?!

nsync-boyband-0816-1400x800 — via Cloudzangel/Youtube/Playback

The Dirty Pop-Up will run from April 28^th to May 1^st. For those who can’t make it and still want to own a piece of the nostalgia, merchandise will be available online, in limited quantities, April 30^th at NSYNC.com.

Paparazzi Campaigns: Balenciaga vs Yeezy

Over the last 72 hours our feeds have been filled with photos of Balenciaga and Yeezy Season 6 campaign photos. Both brands have taken the paparazzi-style approach to advertise their new Spring 2018 collections and the internet is in a frenzy.

balenciaga-spring-2018-campaign — Stella Tennant for Balenciaga. Photo: Agence Bestimage

yeezy17 (1) — Kim Kardashian-West for Yeezy Season 6

Was Demna inspired by Kanye? Based on timing it seems so. Eventhough both campaigns are similar there are definitely many contrasting characteristics between the two.

The Yeezy Season 6 campaign features Kim, along with other models such as Amina Blue, The Clermont Twins, Sami Miro, Kristen Noel Crawley and Paris Hilton. Photos depicted models, practically clones of Kim, doing simple, casual. every day activities; walking, exiting cars and buildings, grabbing a coffee and ice cream, getting gas..yeah simple.

As for Balenciaga, a more “realistic” approach was taken. Models Stella Tennant, Dipti Sharma, Kennah Lau, Marjitta Nissinen, Eliza Douglas, Christine Willis, Alek Wek, Raphaele Godin and her son – all pose just as any celeb would among a swarm of paparazzi, rushing to their vehicle with a very prominent logo bag shielding their face.

Wanna know a fun fact? This campaign was shot by actual French paparazzi, Best Image Agency, outside of the Balenciaga store in Paris.

Overall this is a genius roll out by both fashion houses. Consumers are looking at paparazzi photos just about everyday whether online, scrolling down their feeds, or even in the paper. So why not feed into the worlds obsession of staying on the pulse of their favorite celebs and fashion brands.

Grammys 2018 Red Carpet Looks

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards took place live from the garden last night in New York City. Los Angeles had always been the home of the ceremony since 2003, so it was time to switch it up and bring the heat to the east coast.

During awards season stars strive to be best dressed, whats worse than waking up to hear someone’s got you on their worst dressed list?! Also its the Grammys, THE biggest night in music, you gotta go big or go home. As we check out looks below, its important to note stars still are showing solidarity in regards to the #TimesUp movement, wearing white rose as a part of their ensemble.