FASHION FOR A CAUSE: DESIGNING A DIFFERENCE

11 of SFSU’s bravest and brightest Apparel and Design Merchandising students have come together on their own terms to raise awareness on the severity and impact of the current state of higher education in California. Their dress forms are falling apart – and so is their department.

Next week, February 4th, Designing a Difference will present a charity fashion show highlighting collaboration, empowerment, and sustainability at the African American Art & Culture Complex. Tickets are available through Eventbrite for $10/$15 and include complimentary cocktails and snacks before the show starts at 7 p.m., followed by a meet and greet with the student designers and music by Kiwi Time.

Designing a Difference

Angela Wolverton is featured in Stylequake: Festive First and will present in the February 4th fashion show.

Rebecca Cahua is leading the non-profit organization, along with her sister Esther Allen, with a mission to incorporate every single scrap of leftover recycled fabric into the show. More importantly, she’s making sure she personally purchases the supplies current and future SFSU apparel students deserve to have in order to continue with these kind of charitable fashion shows. “This is a platform for students to show off their hard work while helping others in the community,” says Cahua, who has long been passionate about working with foster children in an upcoming fundraiser. “It’s going to be difficult pulling vodka sponsors for a fashion show targeting kids.”

Ladies! Designing a Difference are looking for additional models. If you’re 5’6 or taller and want to be pampered by the wonderful folks at the Cinta Aveda Institute, who have donated 14 of their best hair and makeup stylists, check out the model application for more information.

STYLEQUAKE MAGAZINE FESTIVE FIRST ISSUE LAUNCH

STYLEQUAKE magazine Dec 2011Jan 2012 issue one Festive FirstSTYLEQUAKE Magazine - Festive First (Issue 01)

PUBLICATION DESIGN & GRAPHICS: OMBRE MAGAZINE

The end of my grueling fall 2011 semester at SFSU is finally here. After pulling an all-nighter with Björk, Jónsi, and Robyn, I finished my in-class history final this morning and presented a final project for Beth Renneisen‘s Publication Design and Graphics (JOUR 450.01) class.

“OMBRE is a limited-run A4 magazine format publication that’s also readily available in a digital format and interactive iPad edition.

The OMBRE title plays on hombre, informal Spanish for man, juxtaposed by its corrupted English spelling as ombre, a European card game known for its ‘difficult rules, complicated point score, and strange foreign terms.’

Based in San Francisco, OMBRE targets modern-urban menswear from around the world with contributions from global guest-editors. The publication’s duty is to serve the resurgence of gentlemen’s fashion by modernizing it with distinctive artistic direction, playful graphics, and interactive media. Community-based features from around the world highlight design innovation and craftsmanship, as well as vintage archives.

OMBRE is published in limited editions six times a year (February, April, June, August, October, December) along with an interactive online magazine for web browsers, mobile devices, and iPads. In order to access any and all exclusive content, teasers, and issue previews, readers must register with OMBRE’s web site. Digital editions and iPad downloads, as well as extended content from the each issue, are featured on the web site for users who pay a $20/year subscription fee. The limited edition prints are available for paid subscribers; they receive the collectible hardcover print issue two weeks in advance of the digital release at $100/year, including unlimited access to online content and downloads.”

“The magazine will launch as a non-profit side project by volunteer journalism, fashion, and menswear enthusiasts in San Francisco, as well as contributing cities around the globe. All revenue is pumped back into production and web hosting.

Our target reader is somewhere between the ages of 18-65, passionate about creativity in menswear, beginning to get comfortable with sharp tailoring and sacred vintage, or already the proud owner of a well edited wardrobe.

OMBRE features exclusive content and editorials in collaboration with independent businesses and designers around the world. Staple features include in-depth profiles on menswear artists, renowned stylists, and vintage specialists. After all, these are the people that know what trends have already come and gone, are keen on the value of quality craftsmanship, and are able to look back at the origins of menswear in comparison to the vast trends they inspire today.”

SHOUROUK FALL 2011 PRESENTATION AT LA BOUTIQUE

Julio and Shourouk

A while back, I teased about my meeting with French jewelry designer Shourouk Rhaiem at La Boutique. For her first San Francisco presentation, a recreation of Shourouk’s atelier anchors the rear end of the shop floor. Shourouk surrounds herself with a couple of portraits of Frida Kahlo and a photo of her grandmother in her wedding dress, vibrant paper crafts, and her signature crystals. From there, a dazzling trail of pastry tables, jewelry displays, champagne and bloggers makes its way to the store front. It doesn’t feel like you’re in the Financial District when you step inside La Boutique’s airy space. The loft-gallery feel serves as a modest background for the colorful master-headpieces and whimsical-punk glitz that radiates in this opulent fall collection.

Future Floral

Atelier

Gold Lion View the rest of the set here.
You should peep the new issue of Vogue France with Kate Moss for Shourouk’s latest.

BUCKLES, STRAPS, AND LEATHER CUFFS: THE WW2 BOOT RESURGENCE


Top left: Allsaints Spitalfields ($250) | right: Frye ($328)
Middle left: Sartore ($825) | right: H by Hudson ($273 on sale)
Bottom left: Diesel ($217 on sale) | right: Paul Smith ($473 on sale)

While working at Allsaints for a year, I’ve sold at least four pairs of their Damisi ($295) boot per week. In recent years, the double buckle military boot for women has been one of the company’s signature and most shopped styles. I find this boot to be one of the most attractive among the flock of military and workwear inspired trends today. The Damisi has come and gone in a multitude of color polishes and textured leathers (including HAIR) until the UK brand finally produced a version for men, the Demise boot (pictured above), this past spring.

My deliciously unnecessary material treat of the year.

Shift after shift, my lust for these shoes grew fully erect. However, I also questioned the amount of disposable income (that I don’t have) floating around in San Francisco with more and more of these boots selling in-store as if they were dirt cheap. Before leaving the company this past October, and as replicated as they are by now, I couldn’t help but splurge on a pair of Demise boots in the washed black finish – with my discount, of course. It’s been a wonderful 3 month love affair, stomping around town with them slouching on my ankles, jingling as the buckles and leather bang against each other with every sashay. Also, note that the Allsaints version have wood soles (slightly painful at first) and no lazy zipper action on the inners – which I prefer.

Short laces and double buckles allow soldiers to strap their boots on securely and quicker. Photo: QM Fashion

I was naive enough to believe that Allsaints originated the cut and style of this military inspired boot up until last week when my boo Geno forwarded me the fascinating research of QM Fashion all about the origins of the M-1943 combat boot (the blog schools us and compares current military wear with the originals). The functionality of the style lies in the construction of the boot closure. Soldiers would no longer have to button up their WW2 leggings and boots before marching out into the trenches, according to QM. World War II replication  in fashion is inescapable at the moment for both men and women. Military wear is EVERYWHERE, and not just on our backs and feet. The New York Times recently noted the comeback of the 1930s “Hitler youth” haircut, which isn’t really news anymore considering Win Butler, the Castro Clones, um… myself, and many lookbook.nu trolls have been working this hairdo since 2009.

Win Butler of Arcade Fire ... *swoon* Gif: fuckyeaharcadefire

There are several versions of the double buckle combat boot floating around right now. The six styles featured in the header are just a few of the branded WW2 inspired boots that are readily available online. I forgot to picture the Dr. Martens ($140 on sale) version that I must’ve missed on my last Google sweep. If the Allsaints boots weren’t already in my possession , I would totally go for the Docs because of the thicker construction, workwear grip and polished leather.

Are war replicas in fashion a disgusting representation of bloodshed and corruption? Or will you, too, channel your inner GI with fatigue jackets and heritage footwear?

Thank you, Geno and QM Fashion!

STYLEQUAKE ABROAD: A CALIFORNIA BOY IN MEXICO

El Tata Greetings from Tepatitlan, Jalisco! I’m spending my Thanksgiving break away from home for a second year in a row, this time opting for a Mexican getaway with relatives I haven’t seen in over 11 years. I was 10-years-old the last time I was here in 2000, obsessed with Shakira’s Donde Estan Los Ladrones?  cassette tape, reading unofficial biographies on Will Smith and Sarah Michelle Gellar that I bought at the 5th grade Scholastic book fair, and faithful to my Sketchers sneakers.

No, I don’t wear Sketchers anymore, nor do I own a Prada backpack (yet), but I am enjoying my time here in Tepa. I spent long vacations from school here as a kid because I was forced into that horrible little thing called track scheduling. During my 2-month trips, I liked to lip synch to the Spice Girls’ albums with my cousins while eating chupa chup lollipops. I never missed an episode of Soñadoras (which can totally kick Gossip Girl’s ass any day). I have fond memories of my week long stints at the rancho an hour outside the city, drinking terribly warm milk in the mornings from the property’s only cow, and hopping barbed wire fences to sneak onto other rancher’s lands for the thrill of it.

I can’t remember wanting anything else but ice cream from La Michoacana and joy rides on truck beds in the 90s. My own insecurities with being called a gringo or being questioned about my sexuality as young as the age of 8 couldn’t keep me from running around this town as if I was born here. It’s nice to be back now as an adult and college student who’s beginning to question everything around him more and more as he gets older. I’m reacquainting myself with my father’s side of the family, meeting the new generation of Cortés toddlers, and going crazy at El Mercado while scouring for leather artisan goods. I like my Allsaints boots, but I LOVE my huaraches. The situation is backwards here; I want what they want and they want what’s tired in mass trends in America.

Huaraches
Aztec pattern woven leather huaraches from El Mercado Tepa.

It’s been a struggle sifting through market places here in search for authentic goods hechos en México. At the same time, I find myself second guessing the values of American life amidst the Occupy movement and the materialistic influence we have on life across the border. Here I am running around with the last of my savings, hunting for locally made shoes, belts and bags while complaining about the saturation of shops stocked with poor foreign inventory. Unfortunately, there’s an abundance of businesses relying on imported clothing and accessories from China; walking through some of Tepa’s streets feels like walking through Santee Alley. There’s a social class stigma against people that live here who wear things that used to be traditional and customary in Mexico. There’s no denying that many locals are fixated on their understanding of American fashion; imported and counterfeit Abercrombie & Fitch, Aéropostale, Gap, Lacoste and other readily available mall brands are the it labels to sport around town. My search for traditional Mexican goods clashes with the local lack of culture. I find all of the above lifestyle brands to be a disgustingly perfect example of just how inundated America is with corporate garbage in the “fashion” industry.

El Coco de Zaplotanejo

I paid $1.50 for fresh coconut water from a roadside stand in Zaplotanejo.

I already know I’m going to have a hard time adjusting to Mexican food back in San Francisco. Nothing compares to eating in the homeland and I mean nothing, Chilango! The best meal I’ve had here so far has to be La Gorda’s mole poblano lathered chicken enchiladas; rich in creamy texture, sweet flavor and worth the $4. I can’t shake soda off (again) just  yet, but I’m not complaining about the seemingly endless $1 Mexican Coke bottles that complete every meal. When I arrived on Monday, I was greeted by some of Tepa’s newest additions, including Subway and KFC. When I went to Guadalajara yesterday, an enormous Applebee’s and Chili’s attached to an even bigger shopping mall boasting a Zara also caught me off guard. I’m just not down with these kind of franchises overshadowing tradition and culture.

Artesanias

An artisan market housed within a parking structure in central Guadalajara.

Certain moments of my trip have felt as if I was trapped in an overpriced sprawl mart backdropped by a crumbling architectural glimpseof the past. Yes, I’ve been able to locate most of the treasures I’ve sought after these last few days. But I traveled here with the mentality that artisan goods are in abundance, that things can’t change that drastically in a town like this. As I walk around the plaza, I see people of all ages glued to their iPhones, logo branded garbs and a distaste for heritage goods. Albeit not everyone has entirely become a zombie American hybrid, my expectations remain subjective; I’m not from here, I don’t live here and I don’t know what real life is like here because, in the end, I’m only a tourist. I don’t mind progress, technology and a community’s need for change. I’m 2,092 miles away from San Francsisco, but I’m reminded of the monstrous nature of corporations and their influence or the disposability of their mass production around every other corner. One thing that’s certain is that politics here and back home are fucked, fueled by relentless bloodshed, corruption, deceit, and power – but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

Tepatitlan, Jalisco (2011)

I’ll update my Flickr throughout the week with my photo diary and give a more detailed post on my Mexican loot and souvenirs. I don’t intend for this post to criticize life in Tepa or serve as my whining platform. In fact, I’m having a great time cruising around with my family and nurturing my foodie hobby. I can’t stress enough how glad I am to finally be back here with my grandfather, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They remind me that I have much to be grateful for as a Cortés and that I’ve still got a long way to go.

CLOTHES CONTACT WITH THE GREYEST GHOST

California 68 by rachel.photoCalifornia 68, a photo by rachel.photo on Flickr.
I had a great time hanging out with Rachel from the Greyest Ghost in the Mission district while she was visiting from New York last week. We spotted this sassy western jacket at Clothes Contact on Valencia. I have a reoccurring thrift problem finding jackets with long enough sleeves for my arms, but never an issue digging up good fringe.

HE’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S WEARING: ANDROGYNY AND AMBIGUITY IN SAN FRANCISCO FASHION

Photographed by Gregory Moreno

My following feature is the cover story for the fall 2011 issue of San Francisco State’s Xpress Magazine

It’s a warm Thursday evening in San Francisco’s Union Square, a bustling shopping destination for those ready to indulge in wool-rich fall essentials during the current Indian summer transition. Bradley Miller, a downtown makeup extraordinaire, gazes at Zara’s fall 2011 womenswear campaign highlighting high-waist men’s trousers and tailored military overcoats. The people at Zara somehow got ahold of the celebrity hairstylist that gave Hollywood’s vanilla starlets that boyishly tussled pixie cut.

Though fashion is constantly evolving, it’s no secret the culture is simultaneously recycling highlights from runways past. The 90’s grunge revival is alive and well, and the return of minimalism echoes on the streets of San Francisco, furthering the androgynous inspired wardrobe of modern day trends. Street style’s latest garbs are geared towards a unisex friendly market, syncing male and female textiles. Color palettes and minimalist basics are now more effortlessly interchangeable among the sexes.

A little navy-blue number is tucked away inside Zara on Sutter Street. Bradley calls earlier in the morning to put the medium, all-over sequin blazer from the women’s fall collection on hold – the largest size in stock in San Francisco. Two others of the same blazer are on the sales floor, both of which are tagged extra-small.

Bradley admits that he would’ve bought the $200 blazer if they had a larger size, pointing his fork at the evening sky above Café de la Presse on Grant Street. The traditional men’s cut with the sparkling twist is what inspires the one time SF State student to plan a disco look around the blazer while he’s at work. “In this city, stores like Zara are always out of large sizes in the women’s department and small sizes in the men’s department.” Could the flocks of slender gender-benders from FIDM be to blame for this? Bradley thinks so.

Take a behind the scenes look at making the Xpress cover with photographer Gregory Moreno below and continue the article after the jump. Special thanks to suiGENERIS.

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WICKED WITCH OF THE THRIFT

Editor’s note: The next two months are full of changes and updates for the blog, which will officially relaunch in January 2012. In the meantime, I’ll post select articles and projects from my fall 2011 semester at San Francisco State to hold you over. Thanks for your support and please check back soon for an all new Stylequke

photos by Andrew Lopez for Xpress Magazine (Oct. 2, 2011)

That feeling of uncertainty when it comes to new Halloween costumes is as daunting as the bad aftertaste of the off-brand candy dumped in our pillowcases by cheap neighbors every year. Some of us save our pennies until the day before Halloween to see what we can afford, while others tend to get crafty with what they already have at home.

Costumes are my thing. My brothers? Not so much. The last time I remember seeing them in the Halloween spirit is when they wore an abominable snowman mask to scare me in my sleep as a toddler. The protruding plastic fangs and holographic green eyes surrounded by white shag is ingrained in my membrane. This might explain why I’m weary of petting white furs.

Come Halloween time, I’ve been a fluffy green dinosaur from Toys “R” Us, a garage sale pirate, a sparkly purple wizard from Party City, a black trash bag vampire from Pick N’ Save, and a pumpkin with the most flattering orange stockings from the girls section at Target. The Halloween formula has become a comfortable concoction of new and old on a budget, even when channeling pop stars in low-grade wigs. In high school, girls want to dress in as little clothing as possible for Halloween. So do I.

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