Anja Rubik by Camilla Akrans for Numéro

Supermodel Anja Rubik lensed by Camilla Akrans for a striking story coming from the pages of Numéro magazine.

ABOUT PHOTOS:

Issue: October 2012
Editorial: Hors Cadre

Hair: Franco Gobbi
Makeup: Petros Petrohilos
Nails: Cristina Conrad
Stylist: Franck Benhamou

Numéro is an international magazine published by the Groupe Alain Ayache.

Numéro was founded in 1998 by Elisabeth Djian, who is now the magazine's editor-in-chief^. When asked why she created Numero, Djian commented, "I was bored with magazines that told me how to seduce a man. I wanted to create this magazine for an intelligent, smart woman who wants to read about art, design, music: not about stupidity – creams that take away wrinkles, you know, which is stupid."

Most expensive diamond dress to go debut by Malaysian designer

Royalty knows no recession. 

Faisol Abdullah, a Malaysian designer, is up to designing the hottest couture ever with a $30 million diamond dress dubbed the "Nightingale of Kuala Lumpur," in time for the Stylo Fashion festival early next month in the Malaysian capital. "Stocks drop, gold is even falling, but a diamond is forever. This is a dress with diamonds. Why do backwards, why can't we go forwards?" the designer of the dress, Faisol Abdullah, told Reuters as he showed off his sketches. The silk and taffeta evening gown will be decked with 751 diamonds with a 70 carat pear-shaped diamond at the centre of the bodice (featured here is a $20 million diamond dress from Chris Aire with the 70 carat diamond), and topped off with a train sparkling with diamonds.

Asked if the dress would attract buyers, Nancy Yeoh, chief executive of Stylo, which commissioned the dress, said: "Its art and there are still enough rich people who would want to buy."Actually, we have a plan to present the dress to the royal courts around the world starting with the Middle East," she said, adding that if the dress was sold, 5 percent would go to the Gaza Humanitarian Fund.

Robyn Lawley: First Plus-Size Ralph Lauren Model

Robyn Lawley is turning heads, not just for her beauty, but for her 6 foot 2 inch height and curvy size 12 shape. At age 23, the Australian model has embraced her figure, and mainstream fashion magazines are taking notice. Gracing the covers of French Elle and Vogue Italia, she recently became the first plus-sized model ever to spearhead a campaign for high-end fashion designer Ralph Lauren. She is defying the odds with this unheard of move in an industry that glorifies being thin. She began modeling at age 16, but struggled to keep up with the industry's skinny standards. Feeling a bit discouraged, she decided to take a break to move to France.

"I gave up trying to be a model. And then I moved to France and fell in love with food all over again, and came back much bigger than I was. And I saw plus- size models doing well. And I decided that I wanted that, I wanted to be in magazines," Lawley said.

She persevered and landed her first contract as a plus-size model for the legendary Wilhelmina Modeling Agency at age 19. Lawley kept a positive attitude when asked if she thought more plus-size models would be emerging in the fashion industry.

"I hope so. I hope, I'm sure we will see. You know there's so many plus-size models in New York doing so well in the moment, and it's only going to get better," said Lawley.

How to become a fashion designer?

You know you're destined to be a fashion designer if you:

• spent most of your childhood making clothes for your Barbie dolls instead of playing with your friends;
• read fashion magazines instead of your school books;
• ran a boutique out of your basement at age 10. 

In other words: if you want to be the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and utterly obsessed with fashion. 

However, there are many aspects of the profession. Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name. Although the former career may not seem as glamorous as the latter, it certainly will make your life less stressful. To create your own label takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work. Not to mention living just above the poverty line for several years.

Choosing a strategy

There are as many different ways to embark upon a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren's Polo empire was founded on a small tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Helmut Lang decided to open his own clothing store when he couldn't find a t-shirt that he liked. Michael Kors built up a network of customers by selling clothes in a trendy NYC boutique. However, most people find that the best foundation for a design career is to get a fine arts degree in fashion at a prestigious school. Besides teaching you the craft, a good school will also add credibility to your resum�. "We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help," says Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons School of Design in Paris.  

Applying to a school

There are a lot of colleges that have fashion programs, but only a handful has the kind of reputation that can really push your career. (See separate listings for addresses and web sites.) It's hard to enter these schools as competition is high, and they tend to be very selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs. "We can't teach you how to be creative -- you have to bring your creativity to us and let us lead you on your way," says Carol Mongo. She recommends students to get some sewing experience before they apply. Drawing is also an important skill for a designer -- it is the way you communicate your ideas. In order to build an impressive portfolio it's a good idea to have some experience in sketching; taking art classes will help you understand form and proportion. But you don't have to be an expert drawer to get accepted to a school. "The most important quality that we look for in our students is that they are truly passionate and exuberant about fashion," says Mongo. "If you have wonderful ideas but can't draw, there are always ways to get around it. You could for example put your designs on a mannequin and take pictures of it."  

What school will do for you

Most fashion programs are three to four years long. During that time you will take fine arts classes and study drawing, color composition and form. You will also learn pattern making, draping and cutting techniques. One of the most important advantages of design schools is that they work really closely with the industry. Parsons, for example, have "designer critic projects" where successful designers like Donna Karan and Michael Kors work directly with the graduating students. Ambitious students also have the chance to win prestigious awards and grants, which bring them a lot of attention as well as financial support. One very important event is the fashion show at the end of the last semester, when graduating students show their collections. A lot of important people from the fashion industry attend these shows to scout new talent. It's also an opportunity to be really outrageous and get noticed by the media. Hussein Chalayan, for example, became instantly infamous when he showed rotting clothes that he had buried in his backyard for his graduation show at Saint Martins.  

Alternative routes

"Let's be realistic," says Carol Mongo at Parsons, "School's not for everyone. If you're just looking to get a job in the fashion industry -- not a career as a designer -- you probably don't need to go school." If you want to work as a seamstress or a patternmaker, the best thing is probably to apply for an internship at a fashion house and work your way up. However, there are many examples of famous designers who started out as interns with no formal training. For example, Dior's brightest new star, men's wear designer Hedi Slimane, had a degree in journalism when he started working with men's wear designer José Levy. Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière is another example of a brilliantly successful designer who learned the jobs hands-on, as an assistant at Jean-Paul Gaultier. Usually, you apply for an internship by sending a portfolio to a fashion house you're interested in. But it's a good idea to call them up beforehand to see exactly what they need. It's also important to note that competition is fierce, and unless you have personal connections, it's very difficult to get an internship without an education. There are also designers, like Luella Bartley, who started their own business after working as stylists for several years, thus building an industry network as well as a good marketing sense.

Unfortunately, it's not enough for a designer to be creative; you also have to have some business sense. As fashion gets more and more corporate driven, it's important to be aware of the business climate and understanding the mechanics behind it. By religiously reading trade papers like "Women's Wear Daily" you will get a lot of valuable information. If you want to run your own company, you need to be extremely organized and learn at least the basics of economics. A lot of fashion schools are currently increasing business classes in their curriculum. "Our students have to be smart enough to know how to negotiate a contract, or to pick a business partner," says Carol Mongo. It's perhaps telling that many of the designers that are really successful today, like Calvin Klein or Tom Ford, are involved in every aspect of the business -- from licensing strategies to ad campaigns to actually designing the clothes. 

Polish bloggers' fanpages according to Kimono.pl

A list of the most famous bloggers' fanpages according to Kimono.pl and it's followers contains 43 positions. They're blogs of trendsetters, stylists and people who are interested in fashion.

Kimono readers and followers claim that the below list is something that every fashionoholist should know and visit.

 

THE LIST:

1. Make Life Harder (109678 followers)

2. Maffashion (83735 followers)

3. Make Life Easier (74892 followers)

4. Jestem Kasia (27440 followers)

5. Alice Point (27290 followers)

6. Pani Ekscelencja (26318 followers)

7. Doing Real Stuff Sucks (25512 followers)

8. Jessica Mercedes (23953 followers)

9. DEYNN (21668 followers)

10. Macademian Girl (15425 followers)

11. Charlize Mystery (15335 followers)

12. Fashionelka (13784 followers)

13. Cajmel (12162 followers)

14. Karina in Fashionland (11618 followers)

15. Wro Street Fashion (10356 followers)

16. Raspberry and Red (10027 followers)

17. Style Digger (9221 followers)

18. Glamourina (9208 followers)

19. Po mojej stronie lustra (7993 followers)

20. Szafa Sztywniary (5882 followers)

21. Fashionable Innovations (5385 followers)

22. Radzka (5469 followers)

23. Mary-Kate Fashion (4640 followers)

24. Spalony Tost (4613 followers)

25. Dorota Wróblewska (3860 followers)

26. Nesstyle (3422 followers)

27. Venila Kostis (2070 followers)

29. Harel (2599 followers)

30. passhion4fashion (2406 followers)

31. Mr. Vintage (2351 followers)

32. VANITAs (2348 followers)

33. Igor Rądlewski (2211 followers)

34. Ams-la-la-land (2009 followers)

35. Street Fashion Bielsko Biała (1405 followers)

36. Szarmant (1223 followers)

38. Fragola Fashion (1281 followers)

39. Fancy Icon (1136 followers)

40. Lovely Imperfect (908 followers)

41. Arbuzovy (884 followers)

42. Dine Dash (881 followers)

43. Robert Kuta (821 followers)