Golas e punhos avulsos, lindos e chiques

Descobri esse site que vende lindas golas e punhos avulsos para dar um up naquela camiseta básica e sem graça:

O problema é que essas belezinhas custam "somente" 45 dólares... Ó Deus, morri mil vezes... Mas deve ser super fácil mandar fazer na costureira!

The Spirit of Brazil Found In Melissa Shoes

Nossa, bonito esse título, né? Calma que melhora.

Founded just over thirty years ago in Brazil, Melissa has become an increasingly popular brand, particulary with their recent collaboration with Vivienne Westwood. What's more, with their fantastic revival of the jelly shoe, their Spring/Summer 2011 collection looks [coleção Amazonista] set to provide ladies with must-have summer shoes.

Brazilian footwear does have somewhat of a stigma attached to it when it comes to more fashionable/glamorous shoes [tem é?], being more readily associated with comfort footwear [claro, no Brasil o povo ou tá na praia ou tá dançando carnaval <= ironia]. Even though Brazil is renown for its traditional leather footwear, Melissa have cast aside all prejudgements with their use of plastic materials, adopting them into quirky, fashionable designs.

However, Melissa haven't ditched all of their Brazilian roots, ensuring that the Brazilian pride of high-quality manufacturing is retained [cuma?]. They continue this quality alongside the quirky twist that has become Melissa's distinguished quality worldwide.

The Marketing Manager of Melissa, Emma Cook, comments on their Brazilian influences:

"We're passionate about our Brazilian roots... Brazil is increasingly placing itself on the fashion map as a country producing fantastic products that are beautifully designed – Brazil is the new Italy for shoes." [eita, exagerou um bocadinho]

Melissa's use of 100% recyclable materials, creates a collection of shoes that are affordable [???????], stylish and retain Brazil's pride of excellent manufacture [o_O]. This recyclable quality is something that sets Melissa apart from other footwear brands, with their environmental concern ensuring that not only are their materials recyclable but any waste PVC left from the manufacturing process is re-used.

Speaking about these recyclable materials, Cook comments:

"Melissa shoes are made from unique PVC Mel-Flex, which allows the foot to breathe [essa aí nunca usou uma Melissa no calor] and makes for a very comfortable shoe [sei] while still allowing us to offer a wide range of colours in a high shine, almost patent finish.

"The original designs [opa...] and exclusive technologies [fala isso pro camelô] used within the collections are synonymous with the Brazilian footwear industry as a whole, and the brand's manufacturer, Grendene, is currently the largest footwear company in Brazil."

Tô muito chata hoje?

Fonte

Fotos da Joy + J. Maskrey

Minha lindíssima Joy chegou perfeita e cheirosa e eu aproveitei um dos raros dias de sol para fazer a inauguração (assim eu poderia usar com um short). O medo de estragar é G.R.A.N.D.E e eu não tenho coragem de colocar aqueles cristais todos em contato com a barra de uma calça... Nem com chuva... Nem com neve...

Ela não veio na caixa original e sim numa caixa toda branca que não é da Melissa. Já é a segunda vez que isso acontece com uma Melissa que eu compro na Yoox mas, sinceramente, pelo preço que eu paguei nessa Joy eu abro mão da caixa toda feliz da vida. Ela também não veio com saquinho, porém eu imagino que esse modelo vem sem saquinho mesmo. Se alguém puder tirar essa dúvida, eu agradeço.

Vejam os cristais na "língua" do sapato, por trás do cadarço. Não é pra estressar até a alma uma coisa dessas? O vai e vem do cadarço vai arrancar esses cristais mais cedo ou mais tarde!

Eu realmente não gosto de cadarço amarrado desse jeito, prefiro o modelo em X, mas eu estava com tanto receio de estragar que quis mexer no cadarço o mínimo possível

Essa última foto é pra vocês verem bem o detalhe da minha meia *-*

Would you get a tattoo for a store discount?

Eu gosto de tatuagens quando elas têm um desenho bonito e um tamanho aceitável. Não faria uma porque não gostaria de nada permanente na minha pele, mas já usei e continuo usando tatuagem fake. Porém quando o objetivo da tatuagem é ganhar desconto na loja, eu acho que passou do meu limite. Cada cabeça, um mundo!

Logo tattoos are extremely popular, with many men and women getting the designer logos of companies like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Versace, and Nike, permanently etched into their skin. I've met several guys who have the Lacoste alligator tattooed on their chest, in place of where the shirt logo would be and I've also seen ladies with Chanel's double-C logo inked on their arms. I'm not a tattoo person, so getting a brand logo tattoo seems regrettable. But I suppose if you're going to put a fashion endorsement on your body, you may as well benefit from it!

Last week [última semana de março] Ecko launched a "Branded for Life" campaign that promises a lifetime 20% discount to any customer who gets one of their two logos tattooed on their body. Hmm, a discount is cool, but only 20% off for a permanent tattoo? We don't think that's sufficient, but apparently three dudes already went out and branded themselves in the last week! One of them is pictured below, and you can see the others here.

If you could get a big discount for the rest of your life, would you consider getting a brand logo tattoo? And if so, which brand would it be!

E aí, meninas? A pergunta é pra vocês: Se a Melissa garantisse um desconto perpétuo de 20% vocês fariam uma tatuagem da marca? Ou de alguma outra marca? Qual?

Fonte

Regretsy, o lado negro do Etsy

O Regretsy é um site cujo objetivo é mostrar ao mundo os absurdos que são vendidos no Etsy. Lembram que outro dia eu reclamei das Melissas que estavam sendo vendidas por lá? Que ingênua eu fui, isso é o mínimo. Tem de tudo no Etsy, coisas ridículas, coisas absurdas, coisas grosseiras, coisas ofensivas. Tem de tudo mesmo. Comecei a seguir os posts do Regretsy há pouco tempo e já me horrorizei diversas vezes.

Gente que anuncia iPhone como item vintage

Gente que não sabe escrever

Gente que vende areia suja

Gente que perdeu o bom senso

Gente que vende "arte"

Gente que vende bicho morto

Gente que vende fada

Gente que quer faturar alto

Gente que vende lata enferrujada

Gente que faz do Etsy um Garage Sale

Já deu pra ter uma ideia de como a coisa toda funciona, né? Claro que a venda de itens produzidos em massa é somente mais um dos absurdos do Etsy. É bem fácil achar dezenas de vendedores comercializando os mesmos produtos made in China. O que é pior nisso tudo é quando os membros denunciam um desses casos e os moderadores do Etsy simplesmente fecham o tópico.

Continuo achando que dá para encontrar coisas legais no Etsy, mas depois que conheci o Regretsy, eu perdi a maior parte do respeito que tinha pelo site de vendas.

UPDATE: O Regretsy tem até livro.

Uma Mini Melissa na coleção!

Eu sempre quis uma Mini Melissa pra chamar de minha. Elas são tão lindas e fofas! Mas se eu já acho as Melissas de adulta caras, as infantis então são um abuso! Nunca que eu ia pagar o preço que pedem nelas, mesmo na promoção!

Porém como eu tenho muita sorte em muita coisa (não em sorteio, pra isso sou um fiasco), a Kaight fez um Give Away da Mini Melissa e tcharammmmmmm! A minha frase foi uma das 3 contempladas! \o/

A lindinha chegou hoje aqui em casa, vejam que adorável!

A caixa é bem pequenininha, tem tamanho suficiente para caber a Melissinha sem sobrar espaço

O coração é molinho! Adorei isso! Por que nas nossas não é assim também???

O fecho é em velcro, os pininhos são só de enfeite, tão fofo!

Kayla, minha primogênita! =D

Sandália de “pato” alto

Esse post veio pro blog só por causa do título, haha! Saiu no site da Casa e Jardim!

Em meio a móveis, peças de design e uma porção de invencionices, veja só quem aparece na Zona Tortona. Uma Melissa com salto de... patinho! O protótipo foi criado por Julie Simon, estudante de moda da Head-Genève, uma escola suíça de arte e design. A inspiração veio dos patinhos amarelos de borracha, aqueles que toda criança tem na banheira.

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Você também não tem costume de usar salto?

Eu sou a maior pata choca do universo quando uso salto. Ou era, já acho que não sou mais tããão ruim assim. Além de não ter muita habilidade de andar nas alturas, minha coluna e meus pés ME MATAM quando uso um salto. Por isso eu vivo atrás de palmilhas que me ajudem a ficar em pé sem dor por mais de 10 minutos (sem exagero).

Antes das Melissas (ou seja, até 2008), salto pra mim só se fosse plataforma, daquele tipo que lhe deixa mais alta mas sem quase nenhuma inclinação nos pés (como a maravilhosa, absolutamente perfeita e adorada Ultra Wedge). Aí as Melissas entraram (de novo) na minha vida e com elas veio o *malditooo* vício de colecionar. Como todas vocês sabem a Melissa é muito cruel com pessoas como eu, pois desconsidera completamente que a gente precisa trabalhar paramanterovício e portanto precisa ter no guarda-roupa saltos usáveis e não saltos de enfeite.

A cada coleção os saltos estão ficando mais e mais impossíveis (o que é inaceitável principalmente porque o foco da Melissa supostamente são as adolescentes, que deveriam passar longe desses saltos). Só na Time Code temos duas Temptations, duas Amazonistas, a Skyscraper, a Mesh Pump, a Croco, a Feeling, a Patchuli... Esses saltos podem funcionar pra muitas de vocês, mas pra mim são saltos do tipo casa-restaurante-casa. Mas eles são lindos e é verdadeiramente impossível resistir. Com o tempo a minha coleção foi ficando cada vez mais repleta de saltos altíssimos, que eram usados poucas vezes em ocasiões bem específicas.

Mas vejam bem, eu não posso me dar a esse luxo. Não tenho condições de manter vários sapatos *caaaros* guardados só para quando eu for no restaurante ou no cinema (quem sabe quando eu for ryca). Então há uns 6 meses mais ou menos eu comecei a usar meus saltões para ir trabalhar. Ó tortura cruel!!! Não havia band-aid no mundo que aliviasse as minhas dores! As palmilhas da Dr. Scholl's foram minhas fiéis (ainda tem acento?) companheiras nessa batalha dos saltos. E depois que eu descobri o Moleskin, não consigo mais viver sem ele. Só que o clima aqui nos EUA agora é de início de primavera, ou seja, ainda tá frio e é preciso usar meia grossa. Então façam as contas comigo: Melissa de bico estreito + meia grossa + Moleskin + palmilha = dedos espremidos e sem circulação.

O resultado disso é que eu estava deixando muitas das Melissas de salto escanteadas (de novo) e preferindo as sapatilhas e os modelos de frente mais larga. Não pode gente! Comprou, tem de usar! Olha o tanto de dinheiro ali parado! Aí eu pensei: o que é que eu posso deixar de usar, a meia, o Moleskin ou a palmilha? A meia nem pensar. ODEIO sentir frio e meus pés congelam sem meia. O Moleskin, será? Não! Fiz o teste com uma Ultra da Sininho (que nem machuca tanto assim) e me arrependi. A palmilha??? Será que consigo ficar sem a palmilha???

Então comecei outra bateria de testes na minha vida (acho que já deu pra perceber que eu adoro fazer esses experimentos): será que consigo usar uma Melissa de salto sem palmilha pra ir trabalhar? É verdade que no meu trabalho eu passo 90% do tempo sentada. Só me levanto basicamente para ir pegar uma cópia na impressora ou falar com o chefe. Mesmo assim, no começo, usar uma Melissa de salto era uma verdadeira tortura. Mas isso foi há cerca de 6 meses. Será que meu corpo já se adaptou um pouquinho que seja?

Primeiro teste: Three Straps Elevated. Quem tem uma dessas sabe que apesar de alta ela é uma delícia de usar. É um dos grandes acertos da Melissa e um dos meus modelos favoritos. Passei o dia com ela, sem problemas. Segundo teste: Temptation. Essa Melissa é a verdadeira danação das escrituras, em corpo, plástico e alma. O nome dela não poderia ser mais adequado: é linda de morrer mas acaba comigo e no dia do teste não foi nada diferente. Terceiro teste: Troupe. Sem maiores problemas. Quarto teste: Neon. Tudo perfeito. Quinto teste: Ashanti (isso foi ontem, porque, né, eu não posso usar salto sem palmilha por 5 dias consecutivos). Foi tudo ótimo! Fiquei impressionada de verdade! Até forcei a barra um bocadinho, fiquei em pé mais do que o necessário, mas nada de dores!

Gente, percebam bem a seriedade da coisa: eu usei os muitos centímetros de salto da Ashanti um dia inteiro, sem palmilha, e quando cheguei em casa não quis tocar fogo nem jogar ela pela janela! Na verdade eu cheguei em casa, fui brincar com os cães, completar a água do umidificador, pegar a correspondência do outro lado da rua (a minha caixa de correio fica no quintal do vizinho da frente) e tudo isso de Ashanti nos pés! Fiquei pasma! Eu estava usando o meu amado Moleskin, claro, mas nada de palmilha! O que eu deduzi disso tudo? Que devido à frequencia que eu tenho usado saltos, meu corpo já está começando a se acostumar com eles! \o/ E viva a perseverança! \o/

Então fica aqui a dica para quem é pata choca como eu: quer sofrer menos com os saltos altos? Use-os mais vezes, mas nada de exageros! Não abra mão de produtos que lhe dêem o máximo de conforto possível, como as palmilhas ortopédicas, e vá à luta! Eu consegui, quem vai ser a próxima? =D

PS: Pessoal da Melissa, nós continuamos como sempre querendo saltos usáveis, viu? Façam mais saltos de no máximo 7 cm e invistam nos saltos médios como o da Juggler, mas em modelos bonitos, faz favor! Ah, e remodelem a Temptation: diminuam o salto, coloquem uma meia pata, sei lá. Ela é linda mas impraticável!

Especial para a galera de Seattle

Aqui nos EUA todos os preços, seja em lojas online (com exceção da Amazon - AMO!), lojas físicas, restaurantes, salões de beleza, etc., estão sem taxa (e sem gorjeta - obrigatória e de no mínimo 15% em Nebraska). A taxa varia de estado para estado e aqui é de 7%. Isso significa que na hora de pagar o produto vai custar 7% a mais (se for um local onde lhe prestam algum serviço, como num restaurante, além dos 7% tem mais a gorjeta). Ou seja, ao comprar um item cujo preço de etiqueta é 100 dólares, no caixa o valor a ser desembolsado será 107 dólares. Portanto, ter um dia para fazer compras tax free (em Seattle a taxa é de 9,5%) é uma oportunidade que não se pode perder!

Shop tax free in the West Seattle Junction on Saturday, April 16.

Nobody likes tax day, whether you’re waiting on a refund or writing a check to Uncle Sam. But everyone likes tax-free day, and that’s just what many merchants in the West Seattle Junction are offering on Saturday, April 16.

The annual event runs all day in the Junction, and 37 businesses are taking part -- from boutiques to frame shops to pizza joints. Just look for red balloons festooned outside establishments up and down the “downtown” area, your cue that tax-free shopping is to be had there.

In addition to waiving the 9.5-percent sales tax on your purchases, many businesses will also be offering killer deals on Saturday. Get ceramic bakeware -- including Le Creuset -- for 20 to 40 percent off at J.F. Henry, and 50 to 70 percent off select items at Knows Perfume. Curious Kidstuff is offering 25 percent off all purchases over $100, and all Melissa-brand shoes are $20 at Clementine.

While the tax-free day is going on, Clementine will also be hosting a trunk show for Seattle-based jewelry designer Joanna Morgan. Come check out beautiful spring accessories that will warm up your look, even if it’s still gray and drizzly outside. I love the three-strand turquoise necklace ($425) and the delicate, elegant Green Enchantment earrings ($95).

The trunk show will run from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. And yes, your Joanna Morgan purchases will also be tax-free.

Fonte

Fast fashion: Is the party over?

Fazia um certo tempo que eu não postava uma matéria internacional aqui. Não é que eu tenha deixado de procurar, o problema é que faltam matérias interessantes. No momento a mídia americana só fala da coleção Amazonista e da Plastic Dreams com Katy Perry, que pela primeira vez tem uma edição em inglês. Isso pode ser novidade pras gringas, mas pra nós brasileiras é assunto ultra antigo, portanto não faz sentido republicar aqui (a grande, grande, grande maioria de vocês leitoras é do Brasil). Então de repente, não mais que de repente, as matérias internacionais voltaram a ficar interessantes. Teve essa da tia Vivi aí embaixo e agora trago mais uma. Espero que vocês gostem!

For low end retailers, sales are down and returns are up, while the mid market and eco brands continue to grow.

The flood of fast, throwaway fashion on the high street in recent years has inevitably led to questions about where the clothes are being made, who's making them and in what conditions, not to mention the environmental effects of mass production, and shocking waste.

Countless campaigns and documentaries urging consumers to shop smart - i.e. buy less and better quality - seemed to wash over the women clogging up London's shopping Mecca, Oxford Street, struggling under the weight of bulging Primark bags.

But it seems the tide may finally be turning. Following on from H&M's shock results in the final quarter of 2010 which saw profits fall 11 per cent, fashion comparison website Stylecompare.co.uk has today [08 de abril de 2011] reported that year-on-year sales of 'low end' retailers fell by 21 per cent, as consumers flock to 'mid range' and eco brands for their fashion fixes.

And it's not just bad news for sales. The number of people returning 'low end' items has also risen by almost 30 per cent, suggesting that consumers expect more for their money.

However, it's not all doom and gloom on the high street. While 'low end' retailers are struggling, there has been a significant uplift in sales of 'mid range' fashion brands such as Urban Outfitters [opinião pessoal aqui: a Urban Outfitters americana tem preço caro e qualidade de loja de quinta categoria em muitas peças; várias das coisas só vale a pena comprar em mega-promoção] and My-Wardrobe.com, where the average consumer spend has risen by 8.03 per cent year-on-year on pricier items.

StyleCompare.co.uk, which allows customers to compare items by retailer and price, has also noted that sales of durable eco brands, including Melissa and Fashion Conscience have boomed by as much as 68 per cent.

Julia Rebaudo from StyleCompare.co.uk comments: "Our research has shown that the UK's shopping climate is set to change drastically. The problems that lower end brands like H&M have recently experienced have been unexpected, to say the least; however the notion of buying a dress just for the purposes of a Saturday night on the town seems fairly outdated. Quite simply, consumers are becoming more aware of the value of 'investment pieces', particularly at a time when being conscientious with your spending is a must.

'Eco brands are also set to make a big comeback, as the evidence is mounting that consumers associate eco with quality [ui Melissa, e agora???], and care more about where and when their clothes are manufactured."

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Vivienne Westwood Takes Hollywood

Ótima oportunidade para testar o novo tradutor do blog, na barra da direita! ^_^ É uma longa entrevista, mas a tia Vivi não fala em Melissas nem uma vez. Já no finalzinho ela cita São Paulo.

If fashion has an icon of iconoclasm, it’s Dame Vivienne Westwood, who’s been the doyenne of edgy glamour for four decades and counting. Westwood first came to serious notice in the ‘70s as the co-inventor of punk style: collaborating with her then-husband, Malcolm McLaren – the infamous impresario behind the Sex Pistols who died last year – she began selling her designs in London stores like “Let It Rock” and “Sex,” their safety pins, controversial graphics and bondage accoutrements made all other trends seem hopelessly staid. In the ‘80s, she helped foment another revolution by jumpstarting the ruffled, glamorous “New Romantic” look, which took hold on the likes of bands like Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and Bow Wow Wow. She was also one of the first designers to send corsets as outerwear down a runway.

Today the 69-year-old visionary still runs her namesake fashion empire, which, in its boldly referential yet elegant rebelliousness, remains attuned to the tremors of pop culture. Therefore, it’s apt that Westwood chose to open her first true flagship store in the United States in the myth factory that is Los Angeles. Late last week, for the opening of the latest Vivienne Westwood boutique on Melrose Avenue, a diverse set of luminaries spanning Dita Von Teese, Anna Kendrick, Malin Akerman, Victoria Hervey, Marilyn Manson, Kristin Davis, Lupe Fiasco, and Christina Hendricks (who’s the face of Westwood’s “Get A Life” Palladium jewelry line) all came out to pay tribute. For the occasion, we spoke to Westwood in an extensive conversation that ranged from current and past pinnacles in her career through issues affecting art, culture and the environment. Throughout, she remained a gloriously chic contradiction – simultaneously political, outspoken, and refined as ever.

Vivienne Westwood's boutique on Melrose

On the invitation to your new Los Angeles store’s opening party, you re-styled the Hollywood sign to read “Westwood,” which then erupts out of a torn and frayed Union Jack flag. That’s quite a statement.
Both words end in “wood” – that’s all I can say! That kind of thing amuses me.

So how did you come to open a store in L.A. as your flagship Stateside operation?
It’s really that we’ve had a bit of frustration over the fact that people should be wearing more of our dresses around these red-carpet events. To me, that is why it made sense. Andreas [Kronthaler, Westwood’s husband and the brand’s Creative Director] says it all happened by accident a couple of years ago, when we went to visit Pamela Anderson in her trailer: she was building a house at the time, so she was living in a trailer. We just really liked Los Angeles. My manager [longtime Westwood associate, and ex-lover, Carlo D’Almario] thinks the important thing of being here is that we’re always in Asia anyway. I was very doubtful, but Carlo always says you have to keep expanding because otherwise, you go the other way.

You’re so associated with British fashion; even before you opened the store, however, you’ve consistently been an unlikely L.A. style influence. In addition to Pamela Anderson, Gwen Stefani and Helena Bonham Carter have long championed your work; the look of the early local L.A. punk scene was indebted to you as well. Recently, Helen Mirren and Anne Hathaway both also gained some notoriety for sporting Westwood at this year’s Academy Awards. What’s your personal connection to California?
It’s all related to this being the “Great West” – the land of milk and honey and oranges. When I first came here, I was surprised that almost all the buildings are just one or two stories high, and by how spread out everything was: you can take Sunset Boulevard all the way to the sea, passing all these haciendas as you drive along. To me, this gives the city its character. The place has its history: I associate California with The Grapes of Wrath, and Jane Fonda and Henry Fonda, more than anything. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s not governor anymore, is he? I’m glad he’s gone.

Why did you not choose New York to make your big splash in the America?
I don’t actually like New York. New York people are a bit stuck up and self important, and think that just the fact that they live in New York makes them better than anybody else. Sometimes there, you feel trapped by the concrete, and for me that means being trapped by the myth of Superman and American foreign policy and all these dreadful things that have done so much harm in the world. There’s just so much pressure there; it’s not nice. But I love the Met: they’ve got such an amazing, wonderful collection of Impressionist and Chinese art. I have spent as long as three days in a row just looking at the Met’s Chinese art. I really love that.

Inside the store

It’s interesting that you chose to expand your retail empire when you’ve recently been speaking out against consumerism (“I just tell people, stop buying clothes,” Westwood was quoted after one of her fashion shows in 2010).
I started to express that sentiment through my collections a bit. It’s not in my worst interest to say, “Don’t buy clothes” because I follow that up by saying “Buy less, and choose well.” That’s what I’m about, really. I don’t read magazines. If there were fewer magazines, I might read one or two. You’re just so inundated; therefore, the quality is just such a mess. The people I have the least respect for are the people who open up a new magazine. I think, “Why do you want to do that?”

When you invented punk style in the ‘70s, it had that anti-consumerist element of recycling – of not wasting those things that society deemed worthless and cast off.
Punk was all about the idea of taking whatever and doing it yourself. It was a bit like if a soldier in Vietnam had trophies from the war, whether it’s a dead bird, or a dead person’s hair, or whatever. Punk was about just picking something up and putting things together: the best example probably is when [early punk style tastemaker] Soo Catwoman made a dress out of a black bin liner. I never wanted to shock; it was more like defiance. Seeing my clothes from that time, Andreas said, “If you wore your outfit with the mohair jumper or whatever today, it would look so chic.” It would’ve stood the test of time.

Your former husband and collaborator in the punk movement, Malcolm McLaren, died last year, which drew new interest to your work from that era…
Malcolm’s dead, and I can actually say things I wouldn’t have said if he’d been alive. I have such a loyalty to Malcolm, even though he was so horrible: he was good fun, and he really did get everyone moving. What I was about to say, which I shouldn’t… When Malcolm and I separated, I was pretty bored with him, and didn’t go along with much of what he was doing. I do criticize him because he was clever enough to have been a thinker, but he never wanted to go deep. He needed quick results and success all the time, and just wanted to take what he could; I don’t think he learned much because of that. He was always fast, and there are definitely a lot of people in the fashion world who want to find the latest idea and pretend it’s theirs before anybody else snaps it up. I will say I think there are one or two fashion editors – well, there’s one actually – who does not like me because I’m too fast for her. They like to discover you, and patronize you.

Your recent runway show in Paris for your fall collection this past March was a huge critical success, however.
I was very pleased with this last collection. I’m not always that pleased, but it really took off. Why that happens, I don’t know. The clothes have to somehow be the epitome of themselves, and have a character and story to them. I was so knocked out by all black makeup that [makeup artist] Val Garland did: it went off into a parallel universe with this f*cking makeup – to me, that’s the thing that took it away. The show was called “World Wide Woman,” but Andreas saw a picture of a Spanish horse with its hair blowing and got the idea to make the models look like horses. He told Val this, and then she took these black paintbrushes down their faces. It was brilliant. [fotos aqui]

The makeup in “World Wide Woman” reminded me of Scottish warrior face paint, or Kabuki, which was contrasted with neutral colors, and glitter, and sequins. Some models were also wearing army helmets, which seemed very current. The looks were very wearable, but also made a political statement: it was confrontational and provocative, in a beautiful way, to show sequins and sparkle in our downtrodden times.
I don’t know why we decided on army helmets. It wasn’t for any literary or political thought; I think it’s just that we can put anything together now.

There seemed to be a message, but it wasn’t blunt or didactic.
I can’t help it, but I am a teacher in a way. But now, I don’t automatically say where the references come from. For some reason, there was something clear about the fall collection. The elements were reduced – they had a form; it was very powerful.

From left: Vivienne Westwood, Dita Von Teese, at the boutique's opening

One message that has been clear in your collections has been your activism on behalf of the environment. There’s even a Vivienne Westwood water-bottle collaboration with Sigg on sale in your store.
I have two main things in my life: one is fashion, and the other one is climate change – we’re an endangered species, and the problem is global. I’m working more carefully with the idea of what one person can really do for climate change. I had the idea to try and do a television series exploring environmental solutions along with the idea of culture, because nobody wants a program on just climate change at the moment.

How did you come to environmental activism?
I was so upset about the rainforests getting chopped down at an even faster rate than ever before, and I knew climate change was a problem. The financial crisis is an absolute match of the ecological crisis because there’s nothing left to exploit. I met people working from an organization called Cool Earth, and I decided they were the people who were probably most effective; I’m going to try and fundraise for Cool Earth, and give them some money of my own. What they’ve done is very dramatic and impressive: in Peru, all these indigenous people own the land, but they keep getting raped by the people coming in, so Cool Earth gave them infrastructure, including schools and boats and communication. I also talked to Prince Charles because he’s the cleverest on these issues. What Prince Charles has done is great. The President of Guyana – which used to be British Guyana – got in touch with Gordon Brown and asked if he’d like to buy the jungle there, as it’s still virgin territory. Gordon Brown never even replied to him apparently, but Prince Charles stepped in and made a deal between Guyana and Norway; it’s actually not that much money to preserve it. I think it’s just quite amazing that that approach seems to be really effective.

You certainly are more active outside of fashion than many designers. Since 2007, you’ve been developing a project you call “Active Resistance,” which exists as a book, a website, and you’ve actually performed it as well. In its introduction, you write that “our journey will show that art gives culture and that culture is the antidote to propaganda.”
I do readings of “Active Resistance” where I play AR, the main speaker: I’ve done it in Sao Paolo, at The Design Museum in London, The Wallace Collection, and the Royal Shakespeare Company did it for me as well. In this book, this manifesto – it’s probably philosophy, actually – there are twenty characters. Among them are Alice in Wonderland, and Pinnochio, who meets Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, and they’ve now become performance artists that fight all the time and argue with each other. The idea comes from the time of Russian revolution: it’s supposed to have that idea of propaganda, but the feel of also Paris café society and that kind of art movement. What I say right in the beginning is that the 20th century is a mistake. It’s rubbish, this dogma of the 20th century: I don’t believe in progress, except in quality of life. You cannot throw out the baby with the bath water: throw away the past, and you throw away all possibility of comparison, discrimination, ideas, and different points of view. In one part, a character tells off another who wants to be a painter, because to paint requires skill. I got that from these Brit artists, the Chapman Brothers. I assumed that an artist needs skill, and Jake Chapman told me, “That’s very bourgeois.” I responded, “I didn’t think anybody used that term anymore.”

It’s very bourgeois to call someone else bourgeois.
These artists send a piece of cardboard to an iron foundry, and that’s their art. If they’ve made it themselves, it’s not valid anymore. It’s not part of the dogma.

As an innovator of post-modernism, you’ve always brought currents of contemporary art into your fashion designs…
We shouldn’t really necessarily talk about fashion as being art. It’s an applied art, not a pure art: it has to be worn. People have arms and legs, so you can’t just do something that’s “whatever.”

With all these diverse strands in your life and career, what’s next?
I’m going to do my next fashion show – that’s sort of always in the pipeline. I don’t know if the next show will be as good, but it doesn’t really worry me. I don’t mind; I’m just going to try and do my best. I don’t travel unless I have to, but I am going to Africa where I’m working on a project that involves the United Nations helping a community there. We might end up designing a collection based on what we find there because, you know, the African people are so elegant. But I have no idea.

You’ve been designing for over 40 years, yet you haven’t lost the power to shock and surprise. How do you maintain that vital point of view?
It was actually September of 1970 when Malcolm and I started “Let It Rock” – I’m bad with dates, but that I do remember. As for this romantic idea that an artist has all the fire in his youth, and then when they get old they become boring, it’s just not true. I don’t think that’s necessarily the norm at all – look at someone like Matisse. It’s like having a fridge: you’ve got to keep going to market and putting stuff back in. That’s why I came back to this idea of the iconoclast and the 20th century: to smash something doesn’t get you anywhere. You can’t just keep smashing.

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Comemore a Semana da Terra de Melissa

Se você mora em Nova York ou em Houston, não pode perder essa. A Semana da Terra 2011 será de 18 a 24 de abril e para celebrar o evento a Melissa EUA vai rifar uma Melissa! Para participar basta doar um par de sapatos em bom estado - de qualquer marca - em uma das lojas participantes. Se você comprar um novo par de Melissas na loja, suas chances são dobradas.

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Que Melissa é essa?

Estava eu a fuçar preguiçosamente no Facebook da Melissa EUA quando me deparei com fotos do pop up da Melissa na Nida Boutique. Tudo muito bom, tudo muito bem, até que reparei num modelo não identificado numa das fotos, vejam:

Perceberam as botinhas ali à esquerda??? Nas 5 fotos feitas nessa loja, todos os outros sapatos mostrados eram da Melissa. Mas essas botas eu não conheço, será mais um modelo exclusivo?

UPDATE 11/04/2011: O pessoal da Melissa EUA informou que essas botas à esquerda da foto não são da Melissa.

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