Latest blog posts by ModelsWebTV

VOLT Issue #13 is on the Newsstands; Get Your Fix of FASHION AS ART, ART AS FASHION

17 05 2013 18:52:41 +0000

Congratulations to Cynthia Lawrence-John, Rui Faria and the whole VOLT Magazine crew on Issue #13 making it's way to the newsstands today. This gorgeous oversized magazine, hand folded by the VOLT team over the course of weeks, is a labor of love showcasing some of the top artists in the world of Fashion Photography; including photographers, fashion, hair and makeup stylists.

We're thrilled to promote the fashion film and behind the scenes video collection in the VOLT WebTV. Models WebTV has even had the exciting opportunity to be the exclusive online video platform for the music video attached below, showcasing the model twins Anna and Sonia Kupriienko who have a spread in #13. They are the singing, songwriting duo who makeup Bloom. Make sure to watch the video and hear the song they wrote exclusively for VOLT.

Here are some of the editorial highlights that were sent today and pick up the issue when it reaches New York City. Lafayette Smoke Shop on Spring and Lafayette St. is where you can purchase it if your in the SOHO neighborhood. These images look beyond spectacular in the print edition:

‘Neoteric’ shot by Maurizio Bavutti and styled by Cynthia Lawrence-John is a study in dark, Goth glamour.

Photograpy: Maurizio Bavutti

Fashion: Cynthia Lawrence-John

Model: Sharon at Viva London

‘

It’s Called Daisy’ is a kooky story shot by Nik Hartley and styled by Tamara Cinçik with a Pop Art feel yet also feminine.

Photography: Nik Hartley

Fashion: Tamara Cincik

Model: Ranya at Premier

Photographer Joost Vandebrug’s and stylist Tom Eerebout’s Peacock Caffé is a loving exploration of tattoos, beards and male bonding in a smoky old-time bar.

Photography: Joost Vandebrug

Fashion: Tom Eerebout

Model: Jimmy Q at Select

‘Mood Indigo’ is an homage to the queen of blues Nina Simone with a nod to 70’s style.

Photography: James Moriarty
and Liam S. Gleeson

Fashion: Cynthia Lawrence-John

model: Michelene @ Models 1

Anna and Sonia Kupriienko (BLOOM) are the stars of this Noëmie Bottiau directed fashion film for VOLT #13

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY RUSSIA - TRIUMVIRATE by ANDREY YAKOVLEV & LILI ALEEVA

15 05 2013 11:42:46 +0000

We've very recently and fortunately come across the fashion photography portfolio of ANDREY YAKOVLEV and his artistic director partner LILI ALEEVA on Bēhance. The Moscow, Russia based artistic duo have a very strong following on Bēhance with 36,000 followers and close to 1.8 million views for their photo's. Other than that I cannot find much in the lines of social media presence for them, not even a work URL. My goal is to promote them as much as possible, and find out is they have fashion film and other video content to promote in a WebTV for them to earn money online.

Yakovlev and Aleeva are contemporary artists who bring together top models in ever creative studio sets & stunning outdoor locations to compose fashion stories with brilliant photography. I suggest you check out their full body of work to get a better understanding of the artistic talent and mastery of creative direction they possess.

TRIUMVIRATE CREDITS:

PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREY YAKOVLEV

ART-DIRECTOR: LILI ALEEVA

MODELS: SOFJA SANNIKOVA • IRINA MESHINA • JULIJA GALIMOVA

The Future of Fashion Runway Show at FIT - Profiling Designer Kenn Anderson

09 05 2013 19:34:05 +0000

BY: Keely-Shea Smith

On May 1, 2013, the graduating Bachelor of Arts Fashion Design students presented their final collections in the Future of Fashion show at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Though the buzz on 27th Street is at a constant hum throughout the academic year, the senior fashion show brought on more activity than usual. The evening before the show, two projectors displayed moving images on the outdoor facade of the Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center. On the day of the show, a crew worked together to roll out a red carpet.

While much preparation was taking place on the corner of 27th and 7th, the graduate fashion design students were completing some preparations of their own. Just over a week ago, Kenn Anderson, a graduating senior at the Fashion Institute was preparing his ensemble for the Future of Fashion event. I had the pleasure of catching up with Anderson post-show and gained insight on his look, the show and his hopes for the future.

Anderson's featured ensemble was, in a word, stunning. "The ensemble I designed is a fully-lined black corset with a matching ball gown skirt made of duchess satin. I collaborated with Accessory Designer, Kelly McGovern, in pairing the look with a black patent leather harness with gunmetal hardware." Kenn notes his desire to keep the look dark, edgy and sexy, and used a combination of black fabric, the harness and a corded bodice to do so.

When asked about the promotion of his designs for the show and on a day-to-day basis, Anderson points to, you guessed it, social media. "[It] is definitely a huge part of being a designer because it’s an easy way to get your work out there and build a fan base." I previously wrote an article for Models WebTV that discussed the increased social media use by designers over the past few years. I'm pleased to see this theory confirmed, yet again, by Anderson. "I am always promoting myself and my designs via Facebook and Instagram." Anderson also notes that social media serves as an excellent resource for inspiration and fashion trends.

It seems as though Anderson's social media promotion paid off. After all, Facebook is where I first caught a glimpse of his ensemble just days before the Future of Fashion event. Since May 1st, he has been busy shooting his ensemble and networking with connections made at the event. "Post-show, I am so thankful to have worked with creative director, Thatja Andrade, in having my dress shot by the amazing and talented photographer, Fabio Cabral." (A side note directed to the upcoming participants in the Future of Fashion show, Anderson emphasizes the importance of networking at the show. "My word of advice to young designers is to get business cards because it is an easy way to exchange information with someone who could possibly help you succeed in your career.")

In addition to the amazing evening he had at the event alongside couture designer, Maggie Norris, Anderson is thrilled with the networking opportunities, exposure and images he received. For his own future in fashion? "I hope to work for a designer specializing in eveningwear and/or bridal. I’m currently working on a montage video and have awesome footage to work with thanks to Modelswebtv!" -KSS

Watch the Future of Fashion Runway Show:

The Future of Fashion Runway Show at FIT, Showcasing the New Faces of Fashion

07 05 2013 18:10:43 +0000

On May 1st, 2013 the Fashion Institute of Technology presented the Future of Fashion runway show. Semyon, Elaha and myself walked next door to see what our neighbors on 27th St. had in store for us. As an attendee to the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Lincoln Center and considering that to be the bellwether of fashion productions I was EXTREMELY impressed by FIT's fashion show for its graduating students. It simply was exceptional, with no expense spared. The show is generously supported by Calvin Klein, an FIT alumnus himself.

According to Cheri Fein the Executive Director of Public and Media Relations at FIT "approximately 90 outstanding looks created by graduating Fashion Design students were selected from a field of 330, including sportswear, special occasion, knitwear, intimate apparel, and children's wear designed for Fall 2013"

Earlier in the day I stopped into the auditorium to see the setup and the models were in the middle of dress rehearsal with Professor Colette Wong, the Chairperson of the School of Fashion Design, and the production team. I was looking forward to saying hello but she was fully involved with the setup as the show was taking place in a few hours. Next time! We had the pleasure to interview Prof. Wong for our Faces of Fashion series a few months back and you can learn more about this prestigious FD program (here).

Throughout the semester the students had the great opportunity of having top industry designers visit and guide them and critique their work, eventually leading up to their selection of the best student designs in the various categories for special recognition. Cotton Incorporated also a show sponsor awarded prizes for the best use of cotton in the students garment's. Judges for the event included Kate Betts, Alana Kelen, Lilliana Vazquez, Joe Zee, Coleen Sherin, Bryan Grey-Yambao and María Cristina Marrero.

The students presentation was outstanding and a treat to watch from the riser. Everything they learned leading up to this moment was on full display in a perfect atmosphere to the warm reception of the industry professionals, family, faculty and students in attendance. The models were fantastic, especially the children who may have out staged the garments they walked in. Congratulations to the Class of 2013, the new Faces of Fashion, your time has come and we wish you success!

We shot a video from the riser and you can watch it below and enjoy a few of the pictures from the show taken from my iPhone, the only camera we had left to shoot a few stills.

How Does Roya Mahboob the TIME 100 Most Influential Pioneer Connect to Fashion Photography New York City

25 04 2013 16:40:09 +0000

Congratulations are in order for Roya Mahboob of the Afghan Citadel Software Company on the honor of her being named one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential persons in the world, as a PIONEER! And congratulations also to Francesco Rulli the president of Film Annex and the whole team of Women's Annex, Film Annex and Target Thinking who contributed in the initiative for building schools in Afghanistan to support the education and exposure of young kids, mainly girls, to the internet and social media in Afghanistan and in the near future other surrounding countries! JOB VERY WELL DONE.

In a previous post I discussed long-tail keywords and there importance for everyone to focus on as part of their social media exposure and ability to be found on the internet. Roya and Francesco are prime expamples of how the use of long tail keywords is such an incredible and effective use of your time to be found by your peers in the niche market you would like to engage or the subject you are promoting.

Try this out, Google Building Schools in Afghanistan. The result shows Film Annex (ROYA) on the first page of Google Web search and every entry on Google video search:

This takes a hell of a lot of work, patience, and of course great content. For a film distribution platform like Film Annex which allows for only professionally created content on its platform it is even more important to be associated with the best creators to produce this content, this includes our team of filmmakers and editors in New York City and our filmmaking partners in Afghanistan who have shot for NATO and other top news organizations.

Now each and every movie (picture above) and blog that is associated to this initiative "Building Schools in Afghanistan" has this term in the title, as you can see. WHY? Long story short without getting into technicals, that's how Google finds you. And the only way for your target niche audience to find you on the internet through search is if Google can find you. You must use every tool at your disposal these days to be found in the digital space. So whatever that relevant set of keywords defines you, PUT IT IN THE TITLE for every platform you share your video content with. IT WORKS!

Here's another for instance which I keep my eye on, Fashion Photography New York City; please Google it and go to the video section. It's taken awhile but Models WebTV and Film Annex are owning this keyword. It is our real estate on the internet and will reach the audience who looks for this showing on page 1 amongst the "33,900,000" results according to Google. This is one example of many, but adding those keywords paid dividends in the last 3 months.

"BUILDING SCHOOLS IN AFGHANISTAN"

Land of Vree a Fashion Film by Charlie Wan; Beauty Photographer & Director New York City - Pioneers Diana Vreeland & Roya Mahboo

19 04 2013 13:47:35 +0000

Charlie Wan has created another stunning fashion film in collaboration with photographer Yulia Gorbachenko and their crew of talented artists who lent their skills for this combination film - photo project in honor of the late fashion editor and icon Diana Vreeland.

Yulia Gorbachenko 2013

Diana Vreeland was a columnist and editor from 1936 to 1971 with the fashion bibles Harper's Bazaar and Vogue Magazine afterwards consulting the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a number of years. "While her reputation in the fashion world is well known, the actual breadth of her career and extent of her reach is immeasurable. The true gold standard of fashion and style credibility, Mrs. Vreeland is responsible for launching many iconic careers, establishing countless trends that have stood the test of time, and bringing an unprecedented and incontrovertible perspective to the fashion world that has scarcely been seen since."

The recent film "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel" is a highly recommended tribute to "the 20th Century’s greatest arbiter of style, an exotic and vibrant character who, during her fifty-year reign as the “Empress of Fashion,” dazzled the world with her unique vision of style high and low. When reading about Vreeland I cannot help but to see how she not only was an icon of fashion but a strong ambassador for women's empowerment. "Along the way, the story of Vreeland illustrates the evolution of women into roles of power and prominence throughout the 20th century, and travels through some of the century’s greatest historical and cultural eras, including Paris’ Belle Epoque, New York in the roaring twenties, and London in the swinging sixties."

(SIDE NOTE: We have some amazing news at Film Annex in regard to Women's Empowerment, Roya Mahboob, Francesco Rulli's partner in building schools in Afghanistan and was just named TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world as a pioneer.)

Yulia's stills which were published in CREEM Magazine can be seen below.

Yulia Gorbachenko 2013

Land of Vree - A Fashion Film in Tribute to Diana Vreeland

CREDITS FOR BOTH STILL AND FASHION FILM:

Photographer: Yulia Gorbachenko

Director: Charlie Wan

Model: Ryan Christine @ Wilhelmina Models-New York

Stylist: Newheart Ohanian

Stylist Asst: David Melton
Makeup: Roshar for MAKE UP FOR EVER
Hair Stylist: Linh Nguyen for PR And Partners
Manicurist: Julie Kandalec for CND
Design Direction & Post: Vitreous - Bernard Tan & Alexander Rupert
Retoucher: Lulie Talmor
Music: "Woman" - Timbre Timbre

Fashion Film is Meant to be Creative - Do Not Recycle

18 04 2013 14:06:58 +0000

by: KEELY-SHEA SMITH

In the digital era, it's hard to keep up with the rapid change in pace when it comes to social media. Heidi Klum's famous phrase, "One day you are in, and the next day you are out," comes to mind. While that statement holds true in the world of fashion, the digital realm is much less kind. With live feeds and to the second updates, the change in information is multiplied. If Heidi was hosting Project Runway live with text votes, her motto might be, "One second you are in, and the next second you are out."

I know what you're thinking, 'No shit.' If you haven't been living under a rock for the past few years, you've witnessed the effects social media has had on technology. It's influenced every industry and has forever changed the way the world communicates. In wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, I really began to realize its power. On Wednesday, April 17th, CNN published an article titled "5 viral stories about Boston attacks that aren't true". The article revealed that Martin Richard was the only child of the three victims to survive the attack. The previous night on Tuesday, April 16th I lamented the death of an 8-year-old girl with a family member, a fact I had read on various news and social media websites earlier in the evening. It was sickening to say the least, that this boy was one of three people to perish that day and all of the technology, all of the social media platforms, and all of the minute-by-minute tweets couldn't provide me with the proper facts. It felt disrespectful, wrong.

With this on my mind, I began looking at the fashion industry and specifically the fashion film. I thought about what someone could take away from this tragedy to better their social media practices within this industry and came up with two simple ideas:

1) Create meaningful content

While the fashion industry isn't always associated with hard-hitting news, fashion content can still be tossed around as such via Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. As a form of art, the fashion film is meant to be creative, not something that's created for the sake of creation. People want to view content created with passion, not recycled material thrown onto a screen.

2) Don't bury the message

While artistic, the fashion film is still a powerful means of communication and can deliver a strong message. Keeping fashion films (and content in general) on brand and creating it to a quality standard will enhance a brand and its image. Bury the message, and the work is lost in the deep, dark hole we call the web.

In a digital age, producing and sharing content is easier than ever, so creating meaningful content is the key to credibility and success. In 2013, there's too much out there for all of it to be seen so make sure that the content you produce is worth it.

Giorgio Armani presents a fashion film by Anna Dello Russo directed byMarco Braga starring Karolina Kurkova and edited by Editing: Luca Finotti

OONA CHANEL with Original Music from the BLOOM TWINS - VOLT Magazine; Fashion as Art, Art as Fashion

12 04 2013 17:40:28 +0000

VOLT Magazine shared their latest fashion film with us today, a behind the scenes look at Rui Faria's photoshoot with model Oona Chanel. Yes that Chanel! Oona is the great-grand niece of the iconic Coco Chanel. The video was shot by Noëmie Bottiau for VOLT's about to be released Issue #13. Oona's editorial will be part of this highly anticipated publication whose images and unique size make each page framable.

The original music accompanying the video was written and performed by the Bloom Twins, Anna and Sonia Kuprienko. These 17 year old singer songwriters who as well are developing a very successful modeling career, and will accompany Oona with their own Issue #13 editorial.

Behind the Scenes of Oona Chanel's photoshoot with Rui Faria the editor of VOLT Magazine

CREDITS:

Makeup: Linda Öhrström
Makeup Asst: Layla Mehmedagl
Hair: Jan Przemyk
Manicurist: Joanna Webb
Stylist: Scott Clark
Digital Operator: Florian Renner
Photo Asst: Victoria Paladi
Shot @ SNAP Studios

Fashion Talks Singapore: Peter Copping, Creative Director of Nina Ricci

08 04 2013 11:51:20 +0000

BY: NICOLE TAN

On the evening of April 5^th, I had the pleasure of sitting in at the inaugural Fashion Talks held in Singapore’s La Salle School of the Arts featuring Peter Copping, Creative Director of Nina Ricci with Pamela Golbin, Chief Curator of the Musee de la Mode et du Textile at the Louvre Palace in Paris as the moderator.

The Fashion Talks provides valuable insight into creative visions, inspirations and aspirations to build successful brands outside the traditional, powerful and established fashion houses. This was Singapore’s first Fashion Talks, which was launched and organized by Olga Iserlis, a respected regional Fashion Events authority. As Asia takes on a fashion-minded (and hungry) community, the objectives of the talk are to inspire cross-cultural exchange and most importantly, provide an enriching experience for the fashion schools in Singapore and the region.

The crowd was divided into students, French Alliance members, people in the fashion industry and of course, media. The media row saw many bloggers known to push independent Asian labels, such as Bonjour Singapore’s Rana. The talk focused on Peter Copping’s career path, which took on a diverse design role, from couture at Christian Lacroix’s fashion house to Iceberg, an Italian sportswear brand and thereafter, at Sonia Rykiel and Marc Jacobs. Copping discussed his reasoning behind each career move and the importance of having an apprenticeship experience as opposed to coming out on your own straight out of fashion design school. “You get to make the mistakes at another person’s expense,” he said.

For many, advice such as this one comes as a no brainer. However, in Asian countries, aside from Japan, there aren’t many fashion houses to gain apprenticeship experience. This results in many fresh graduate designers coming out with their own labels with an incredibly high risk due to lack of exposure and understanding of the fashion business world.

Another question that stood out to me talked about the city preference of a designer. In Copping’s case, he had his heart firmly grounded in Paris- most personal, but also fitting due to Nina Ricci’s style aesthetic, which is known for its femininity; something which Paris knows a lot about (take lace, for example). I then wondered, if Asia as a region would step up its fashion game and become known as an established hub for its Ready to Wear and contemporary brands, what would we offer?

Already, there is an advantage due to our proximity to highly-skilled production facilities. However, in terms of design aesthetics, the question still lies in which direction one might take- bringing in oriental influence such as Chinese brand, Mary Ching or opting for more of an avant-garde approach such as many established Japanese brands following Rei Kawakubo's legacy.

The latter seems to be the trend for many Korean brands currently. Perhaps though, it might be a mix of these two trends that will eventually define Asia’s fashion: the coming together of both its historic design values combined with the influence of globalization that derive from its cosmopolitan cities, giving designers from this region an eclectic aesthetic that holds no boundaries, but instead, prides itself for its diversity and ability to transcend seasons, cultures, and most increasingly seen, genders. @Nicole Tan

April a Month of International Film Festivals for Alessandro Amaducci

05 04 2013 11:57:13 +0000

April is turning out to be a very busy month for the video artist Alessandro Amaducci. His spectacular productions will be screened in the following festivals ranging from dance to video art from France to Cuba. His work is always in demand for inclusion to these festivals. Take a look at Alessandro's WebTV to view a very fine collection of his work.

International Video Dance Festival of Bourgogne

Concert for Shadows 1-10 is in the official selection of Festival International de Vidéo Danse de Bourgogne (France), April 2nd through the 5th, 2013.

VIDEOFORMES @ LA SCAM, PARIS

"Anatomy Theater" is in the compilation of videos at the Festival Vidéoformes 2013 exhibited at La Scam, April 11th 2013.

100x100=900 (100 VIDEOARTISTS TO TELL A CENTURY), CINEMA AQUILA, ROME

The video "Future(ism)" is in the project 100x100=900 (100 Videoartists to Tell a Century), curated by Enrico Tomaselli. 100 videoartists were asked to realize a video dedicated to a year of the past century. The project will be shown in several international festivals of videoart. In the same evening "Black Data" will be exhibited in a selection curated by C.A.R.M.A., Veronica D'Auria.

FIVAC, INTERNATIONAL VIDEOART FESTIVAL CAMAGUEY, CUBA

"Pagan Inner" is in the selection of Festival Magmart presented at FIVAC, International Videoart Festival held in Camaguey, Cuba, April 25th-29th 2013.

About Alessandro Amaducci

Born in Torino (Italy) in 1967. He worked with the Archimedes Centre of Visual Arts (a cultural centre of a District in Torino), were he held workshops on video, with the National Film Archives of Resistence (Torino), where he realized documentaries about the Second World War, the Resistance, about workers struggle and other subjects relevant to the activity of the Archive, and with Theater Juvarra in Torino in the realization of multimedia shows and videoperformances. He is also professor of video language and practice in DAMS, University of Torino. He wrote several books about video-art; video techniques and aesthetics of electronic arts. Since 1989 he has created numerous experimental videos, music videos, video installations, multimedia shows and video-scenographies for dance performances.

Long-Tail Keywords at Work for Fashion Filmmakers; A Case for VOLT to Own Fashion as Art

04 04 2013 14:19:27 +0000

TO BE OR NOT TO BE (FOUND), THAT IS THE QUESTION.

One of the most important considerations for a filmmaker or any producer of video content once their project is completed and uploaded to an online film distribution platform like Models WebTV and Film Annex (or Vimeo, YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook, Blogger, a personal URL, etc.) is to reach an engaged audience to view that project that has an immense amount of time, money and possibly some blood, sweat and tears attached to reach the finished product.

(ONLINE FILM DISTRIBUTION; FILM ANNEX PAGE 1 GOOGLE SEARCH for VIDEO)

For many creators once they have uploaded their content onto a video platform they simply walk away and figure the viewers will come to them. This is aBIG MISTAKE, but for a very few big name directors/creators who may be able to do this due to the size of their audience that has been built over the years. Twitter, Facebook and the other social sites which are part of their arsenal to engage the audience have as well been developed and scaled to massive size to get eyeballs on new content. BUT, it's safe to say that even the biggest name producers have a team of social media specialists whose sole job is to reach out to the fans and make sure they view, like, comment and share whatever that latest video may be.

Constant engagement is the name of the game for new/old content. Smart promotion is imperative to make sure your video stands out amongst the billions of other videos, pictures, blogs, tweets, and etc that bombard your fans each and every day. As a producer you probably need to put in as many hours in promotion and engagement as you've done in production to make certain your video does not get lost in the shuffle of the internet.

One of the tools that Models WebTV and Film Annex use in our strategy TO BE (FOUND) in a search is the use of Long-Tailed Keywords: The long tail in keyword research is basically an expansion of a core, generic, high volume keyword phrase to include numerous combinations and permutations of the keywords and their associated or relevant phrases. In the remainder of this and my next two blogs I will show examples of how using the long-tail keyword has incresed the likelihood a potential viewer will find your video content.

Example #1 VOLT Magazine

We've helped create the VOLT Magazine WebTV which showcases beautiful fashion films, music videos, and behind the scenes content. The magazine itself is spectacular as well. Besides showcasing photo editorials from the top fashion photographers in the business, the physical quality, size and printing of the paper is like no other magazine on the market. Each page can be a framed poster for your wall, or a nice additon to any coffee table.

When I saw on VOLT's Facebook page the description, "VOLT Magazine 420MM X 345MM Art as fashion, fashion as art" I immediately went to Google and searched those terms "FASHION AS ART" and "ART AS FASHION" to see what Google would deliver back to me. The first page of the search did not have VOLT on the search, where it rightfully belonged.

VOLT CAFE ISSUE 13 - Fashion as Art, Art as Fashion

This is a work in progress, but making certain that this long-tailed keyword, FASHION AS ART ART AS FASHION is part of every movie and blog title, and sufficiently tagged inside both, the first and second pages of Google search now have many of VOLT's videos on display. Exactly where they should be for the niche audience that wants to find this content among the 587,000,000 results (0.15 seconds) that the Google search engine recognizes for the term "Fashion as Art".

So make sure those long-tail keywords that are particular to the project you want the world to notice amongst all the other noise is displayed in the title. It's a very easy first step TO BE (FOUND).

Next Blog Charlie Wan; Beauty Fashion Photographer on Page 1.

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK CITY - Sarah Harmann by Darzie & Voz

01 04 2013 17:12:12 +0000

A close friend has sent the good news that he has started his own photography studio here if New York City. Pavel Voz is one half of the the team of Darzie & Voz. Pavel has worked and travelled the world as a top assistant to some of the biggest names in the fashion photography business including Steven Klein, Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, and Alexi Lubomirski.

Each of these artists' work has graced the covers of the top fashion magazines on the planet. Their editorials have featured many of the A-list celebrities and supermodels who are prominent today. Pavel specializes in lighting and you can see from the images below that he's on point. He captures absolutely beautiful images and the years of hard work and exposure with these artists has paid off in honing his talents.

Pavel's new collaboration with Darzie will be quite exciting to follow, as his years of experience with so many brilliant artists will culminate in ways we will soon see. I'm looking forward to his first big editorial, where possibly an accompanying fashion film will be created for us at Models WebTV to put our magic touch in the world of online film distribution to show off his talent to a massive audience in the digital space.

A behind the scenes video will work brilliantly as well for Pavel's next shoot. Viewers crave to see how productions actually take place. To be a part of how the artist, whether a director, photographer, or model/actress all interact and behave on set is fascinating. Plus this video content will always be relevant and accessible online long after the print edition of the publication cannot be easily accessed physically.

Credits for the black and white images of Ballerina Sarah Harmann are as follows:

Photography: Darzie & Voz

Model: Sarah Harmann

Makeup/Hair: Alexis Williams

The Underlying Motive of the Fashion Film

27 03 2013 14:57:43 +0000

by: KEELY-SHEA SMITH

Over the past couple of years, the creative power of the fashion film has been proven time and again. As the new medium for fashion marketing, designers, retailers, and publications alike have been developing their own versions of the fashion film, tailoring them to their respective target consumers.

Some publications note that the fashion film's main purpose is to rack up views on YouTube and essentially gain exposure through Twitter and other social media platforms. (The National) Others say its goal is to 'create a mood' for a collection or brand. (Young Director Award) What both of these theories boil down to is exposure and branding.

We've seen fashion films from the industry big boys; Karl Lagerfeld's The Tale of the Fairy has 62,682 views on YouTube and nearly 300 likes. We've witnessed Bon Qui Qui infuriate just about everyone except viewers in Alexander Wang's NYC Flagship store for his spring 2013 collection.

And we saw Montblanc Eyewear shoot a behind the scenes fashion film for the 2012 collection. While these industry powerhouses are racking up the social media views, they're also developing their brands into well, just about anything. In the case of Chanel - provocative, sexy and oh-so luxurious; Alexander Wang - a young, humorous brand that isn't afraid go against the grain; and Montblanc - beautiful eyewear for an even more beautiful consumer.

So what makes a fashion film unique to a brand? Realistically, anyone could put two gorgeous, naked women in bed and slap a brand name on it, but when Chanel does exactly this, it's fabulous! But why? The key is in attracting the consumer in a unique, but calculated way. Chanel fans are able to indulge alongside Freja Beha Erichsen in a bitchy display of debauchery in Tale of a Fairy, while A. Wang fans can laugh along with Anjelah Johnson in a cringe-worthy shopping exposé. Sexy, humorous, and tailored to each brand respectively.

But how far can the fashion film go? Sex and humor alone won't rake in YouTube views for many brands, whether established or just starting out. That's where the element of art comes into play - when the conventional marketing tactics fade out of fashion and the creative elements kick in. Take, for example, Proenza Schouler's fashion film for the SS13 advertising campaign. Void of the typical fashion film scenes, the collection is webbed into collages of shapes, colors, and layers upon layers- attracting the new generations and increasingly artistic youths through a cleverly branded fashion film.

With the arrival of the new spring season, there's increased hope in the industry that the fashion film will be revived in time for the next round of collections. For as we know, in this fast paced world of social media, nothing lasts forever, including the fashion film. @KellySheaSmith

BEHIND THE SCENES - MONTBLANC PHOTOSHOOT by NOE

Fashion eCommerce - Marriage with Print & Digital Publishing

25 03 2013 15:54:02 +0000

BY: Nicole Tan

About a month or so back, Net-a-Porter had announced their launch of their print magazine, the Edit, available both in a digital and print version. This came to no surprise, however, considering that Net-a-Porter was both built on and founded on a strong fashion editorial background (Net-a-Porter’s founder, Natalie Massenet was once a fashion editor at Womens Wear Daily and at The Tatler).

This is followed by Conde Nast’s roleout of what seems like part of a massive digital plan that would keep them afloat and possibly even thrive at a time where the publishing industry sees more uncertainty (and opportunity) than ever. It was announced earlier this month that Conde Nast International has invested USD 20 Million in luxury online retailer FarFetch.com. "Farfetch has a unique position, connecting boutiques around the world by ecommerce to sophisticated fashion customers like our magazine readers and website users," said Jonathan Newhouse, chairman and chief executive officer of CNI. "It's a natural for Condé Nast." The investment will go towards building stores in new markets, including a Japanese version. This is also not the publishing giant’s first investment in online fashion retailers.

In November 2012, the company had also invested in Rent the Runway, an eCommerce store that takes on the concept of renting designer goods to the public and have been dubbed the ‘Netflix for Fashion.’ As quoted by founder Jennifer Hyman in a BusinessInsider article published in November, “This is a partnership beyond just being an investor,” she said, “We will be integrating with their organization to take advantage of marketing and sales prowess they have, and help create brand awareness for Rent The Runway.” Prior to Rent the Runway, Conde Nast had also invested in Moda Operandi, an ecommerce store that lets you pre-order designer collections straight from the runway.

Alas, it has been said that it is far easier for ecommerce stores to develop content, than vice versa. As quoted by Josh Stinchcomb, Conde Nast’s VP of corporate partnerships, it is far more difficult and costly for content producers to get into commerce largely due to inventory. “Having an affiliate link program and creating ways for people to shop from magazines on our websites is different than actually carrying inventory,” he said. Perhaps it is to this fact that Conde Nast has also launched a series of digital-focused implementations, such as Digital Catalyst which aims to better facilitate digital audience buying processes through analytics. Conde Nast has also recently debuted its series of original web programming. This is also something that is being done by other major publishing companies such as Hearst, which is set to launch a cable network produced by NBCUniversal and has several YouTube funded channels. Nonetheless, the idea of content producers going into ecommerce is still being tried out by old players in the publishing industry, such as Harpers BAZAAR and newer ones, like Refinery29, (below).

It seems that the initial panic of print publications folding four years ago is starting to see a recovery, as many of the publishing houses begin to experiment with ideas of collaborations, partnerships and various forms of media that they could leverage their magazine/brand names with. All is not lost in the publishing world, after all. - @Nicole Tan

"VOGUE ITALIA" a fashion film for Conde Nast's VOGUE by Luca Finotti:

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK CITY - NICO ILIEV, FIDI for FLATT

21 03 2013 13:19:16 +0000

Fashion photographer Nico Iliev took his camera and two stunning models into the streets of lower Manhattan to capture images for his latest FLATT Magazine editorial. This is our first glimpse of Nico's images to be published in black & white, and we love the switch. His previous work that we admire and the video which he created at our studio has been full of vibrant colors and brilliant lighting, accentuating the talents of his makeup artist . The b&w chosen for "FIDI" is a perfect complement to the grit and history of the Fulton Fish market and surrounding area.

Nico is a staff photographer for FLATT Magazine which is the beloved art world insider bible with a mission statement to sponsor and celebrate creative entrepreneurs and contemporary philanthropic ideas.

FIDI for FLATT magazine

Photography: Nico Iliev
Fashion Stylist: Ashley Pruitt
Hair: Sabrina Rowe
Makeup: Mariko Hirano
Models: Pernilla and Amira New York Model Management

Behind the Scenes with Nico and Barbora at the Models WebTV Studio.

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK CITY - LA JUSTICIERE by TOMAAS for TWILL #15

18 03 2013 12:55:16 +0000

We've now have the opportunity to share the latest work that photographer Tomaas created for TWILL #15 titled La Justiciere and starring the stunning model Courtney Erickson. This editorial has garnered a lot of social media attention so far, for obvious reasons. They're stunning!

We're waiting to get hold of Issue #15 but want to share with you some of the Twill Magazine mission described on it's website.

・The elegant photography and graphics of ‘Twill make it look like a fashion magazine, but its texts deal with serious subjects or interpret visual arts in a literary key, thus creating glossy storyboards rather than fashion editorials

・Each text is printed only in the original source language (English, French, and Italian) assuming a truly cosmopolitan audience.

・Twill is without any doubt an exclusive magazine that only few people can enjoy; therefore it does not compete with any existing title. In fact, it will be more appropriate to call ‘Twill a quarterly book series to collect and to read now and again.

ABOUT TOMAAS

Visionary image-maker TOMAAS creates cinematic, surreal, yet realistic fashion and beauty imagery. His edgy signature style is vibrant, dramatic and subtle. His exceptional selection of locations entices him to intimately capture his subjects and their environment. TOMAAS' work exemplifies a unique photographic experience where subject matter, atmosphere and environment coalesce into a single narrative that reveals its own story. In contrast to more traditional photographic works where art often imitates life, his images compellingly reveal themselves in a manner that resembles cinematic images in real time. All details are equally essential. TOMAAS’ precise vision illuminates a complete concept that creates a bold and indelible impression. His work has been and continues to be shown in an ever expanding number of international publications and New York galleries.

Credits for "La Justiciere" by Tomaas for Twill Magazine

Photographer: Tomaas
Stylist: Carlton Jones
Stylist Assistants: Jacinto Onofore
Make up: Gregg Brockington, Represented by Judy Casey, Inc.
Hair Stylist: Seiji Uehara, Represented by Ennis, Inc.
Hair Stylist Assistant: Sofiya Pylo
Post Production: Elena Levenets
Models: Courtney Erickson @ Q Managament

TWILL #15

THE WOMAN IN ME - A Fashion Film w/ Music by Romina Arena & Ennio Morricone

13 03 2013 18:27:58 +0000

Two of Italy's most internationally renown musicians combine their artistry in "Morricone.Uncovered an album of songs from some of the most iconic and best known film scores of famed composer Ennio Morricone, given lyrics for the first time ever and sung by Romina Arena, a classically-trained singer with a passionate, evocative personal musical style that has come to be known as the VOCE VITA (tm).

Now, Morricone and Romina have provided the memorable lyrical and musical backdrop of "Lolita" for a stunning Models WebTV short Fashion Film, capturing the elegant and dramatic Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2013 runway shows."The Woman in Me" is a new recording with first ever lyrics by the Voce Vita.

This exclusive fashion version of Ennios "Lolita" has new lyrics by Romina. The film was produced by Thomas Courtney of Models WebTV, Film Annex, Patrick Sean Flaherty of Brandhalo and Stephen O'Shea of TCSpromo . The visual presentation of the daring and imaginative couture shows with the beautiful fawn like models adds intrigue to the iconic week. All images were exclusively captured during MBFW. The verite' cinematography and editing pulls you in to experience the show. It's a visual and audio treat like no other.

Oscar and multiple Grammy winner Ennio Morricone is best known for the following iconic films;
The Good the Bad and the Ugly, The Untouchables, The Mission, Bugsy, Cinema Paradiso, Malena and many more, working with noted movie directors Sergio Leone, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bernardo Bertolucci, Lina Wertmuller, Brian De Palma, Warren Beatty, Oliver Stone, Pedro Almodovar and Quentin Tarantino, who used his music in Django Unchained. Adrian Lyne directed "Lolita" (written by Nobokov) with Jeremy Irons.

The multi-award winning composer met Arena when she was just 12 and already a prodigy. She would later leave an indelible impression on the him when she sang lyrics over his theme music for "Once Upon a Time in America."

A few years after their meeting Arena's life would take a near tragic turn. At age 15 she was viciously attacked backstage at a TV studio, her vocal cords severed and her survival hanging in the balance as she lingered in a coma for months. She would not only survive, but thrive, and emerge from the ordeal to become an international singing star, fluent in ten languages, forging a classical crossover style all her own, and now with an astonishing five-octave vocal range, the curious legacy of the near fatal attack. Her remarkable voice, her passionate approach to music, her ability to connect to the listener on an intimate level are all on brilliant display in "Morricone Uncovered" as she gives voice for the first time to some of the maestro's best instrumental music.

Romina Arena wrote the lyrics for 14 of the 15 tracks of "Morricone Uncovered" which includes her original interpretations of songs from Lolita, The Untouchables, For A Few Dollars More, Casualties of War, Love Affair and other films, except for Le Professional which was written by famous French Artist/Producer/Writer Rick Allison. Arena's soaring, sensual voice is backed by the lush sound of Hungary's Budafok Orchestra, all under the artistic direction of Giovanni Morricone, the composer's son, and Giancarlo Ioppolo.

"My deepest admiration and respect goes to my mentor Ennio Morricone, who, with this record, has definitely made a difference in my life and my career!," Arena said, adding, "It is a blessing that I am eager to share with the world."

Arena has worked with Andrea Bocelli, Lou Rawls, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Al Martino, Gladys Knight, Eliot Sloan from Blessed Union of Souls, and headlined on the Celine Dion stage at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. World renowned, she has performed such diverse venues as Australia's Sidney Opera House, St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver and both the Italian Embassy and The White House in Washington, D.C.

By: Patrick Sean Flaherty & Stephen O'Shea

"The Woman in Me" (FASHION FILM)

The New VOLT CAFE Fashion Film WebTV; Fashion as Art, Art as Fashion

12 03 2013 17:03:04 +0000

Models WebTV along with the Film Annex Network, the online film distribution platform, have a very exciting opportunity to promote the fashion film content of VOLT Magazine, a leading fashion publication based out of London. To date 16 films have been uploaded to the Volt WebTV. The selection of content includes fashion films, photo editorial behind the scenes, and an exclusive music video starring the Bloom Twins, Anna and Sonya Kupriienko whose behind the scenes video and original song is a "teaser" for their editorial spread in the just released VOLT Issue 13.

The leading fashion photographers, filmmakers, directors, and writers are contributing highly original content, united in their desire for creativity and authenticity for VOLT Magazine. The oversized and very collectible publication is printed "twice yearly, is unbound, on organic recycled B1 size paper using vegetable based ink and hand folded by 10 people over 3 weeks. Volt magazine is a labour of love."

Along with the physical publication the team at VOLT has revamped their online presence with VOLT CAFÉ. The website provides an immensely user friendly and engaging environment for the online viewer to navigate through. "Volt magazine has always been very image-led and we strive to maintain the same high quality on Volt Café. Volt Café endeavours to bring you features and interviews with established fashion designers, artists and filmmakers – but equally as important we believe that young talent is the future. Thus the section Volt Introduces is dedicated to highlighting young creativity."

We're of course thrilled that VOLT jumped on board with our film distribution platform as another opportunity and avenue to reach an audience that is mad for beautifully created content. My goal is to make the Fashion as Art, and/or Art as Fashion keywords VOLT's when searched on Google. So keep your eyes on Google page 1. A few more weeks and they will own these keywords! They deserve to!

To finish we're excited to get our hands on Issue 13 when it hits the stands very soon in New York City. To be the first platform to exclusively showcase "BLOOM" was an honor, for which we'd like to thank Rui Faria and the VOLT team!

Watch the Noëmie Bottiau directed Fashion Film "Bloom":

Print + Digital + Social Media = Success for Volt Cafe; (Fashion as Art, Art as Fashion)

05 03 2013 10:13:00 +0000

by: Keely-Shea Smith

As a senior Advertising and Marketing student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, I am currently enrolled in an elective Magazine Journalism course, a decision admittedly made due to the lack of alternative options. During the first class, my professor stated that print was not dead and, unfortunately, we would not be delving into the digital realm. I was angry that the curriculum of the class was not progressing with the changing times, but realized that learning the fundamentals of creating a magazine could prove useful as well.

FIT has seen countless successes in its day. Graduates include Calvin Klein, Nina Garcia and Joe Zee, who is credited with establishing FIT's newspaper, W27 and currently reigns as the Creative Director of Elle magazine.

And then there is Rui Faria, FIT graduate and founder of the bi-annual fashion and art publication, Volt Magazine. Bound by hand and printed with vegetable based inks, Volt is intended as a collectible publication. Print may be dying as far as the monthly magazine goes, but Volt proves that exclusive content and beautiful, artistic photography can breathe life back into an industry in transition. Rui has an educational background in advertising and, as any good businessman knows, the digital realm is currently the place to be.

So it's no surprise that Rui created Volt Café, the online presence of Volt Magazine. Upon entering the site, the user is presented with a short fashion film called Stone Rose, directed by Luzena Adams. The film is a combination of stunning fashion and beauty with vintage lingerie, floral accents, and a soft, pastel palette. The site offers a bevy of beautiful imagery in multiple categories, a few focusing on fashion, beauty, and culture. Also on the site is Volt TV, a category offering short fashion films and a behind the scenes look at Volt shoots. One of my personal favorites is a short fashion film featuring Mischa Barton, Volt's latest cover beauty. The soft tones of the film and styling of the shoot compliment Barton's classic beauty perfectly. Content aside, the powered-by-Wordpress site is designed well; it's responsive (extremely refreshing), offering the user not only stunning photographs and films, but extended navigating and viewing capabilities as well.

Rui has produced a publication that has survived in a time of change. This generation has a love and nostalgia for print, but also a desire to progress along with the digital age. Positioning Volt Magazine as an art driven, collectible item rather than a monthly consumer magazine has, in my opinion, created an aura of luxury and anticipation around it, a change of pace from the recycled content in consumer magazines. Thanks to social media, business' motives are increasingly apparent and consumers are proving that a company's passion for the product is a key element to its success. Rui built Volt on a love for art, fashion, and culture and has seen a print magazine flourish in a supposedly dying industry. It's something to consider while completing this journalism course in my final semester at FIT. @KeelySheaSmith

VOLT CAFÉ WebTV on Filmannex

NEW YORK CITY JUDO and ONLINE FILM DISTRIBUTION TO HELP SAVE OLYMPIC WRESTLING

28 02 2013 17:14:29 +0000

This Sunday, March 3rd 2013, Film Annex and the New York Athletic Club will host the 3rd Annual New York Open Team Judo Championship. The best Judo competitors from Canada, France, Russia, the USA, and Germany the 2 time defending champions, converge on the historic NYAC gymnasium for what will promise to be a heated battle for the championship trophy and the $10,000 top prize.

As an ex-wrestler and current coach of wrestling at the "AC", these judo guys are like brothers to the wrestling community and to me in particular. They participate in a one on one combat sport (MALE & FEMALE) and go through the same hell to prepare for their competitions as a wrestler (or Boxer, TKD, etc) does. ALMOST AS MUCH HELL! Of course I am biased and believe a wrestlers preparation is matched by few other sports. My humble opinion!

Each year this competition provides a special opportunity for us at Film Annex and Models WebTV to open the doors of our 145 year old club to people in our fashion and film world who may not have experienced Judo in person. And more than likely not with a DJ, an amazing intimate mat setup, all in the world's top Olympic sports club in the capital of the world New York City. Wall Street meet Fashion meets Publishing meets Modeling meets Filmmaking meets Advertising meets Technology/Internet, you get the point. These are NYC industries represented by Film Annex, Models WebTV and inherently represented at the NYAC.

Now that I've got your attention!!!

This amazing judo event will also allow me as a wrestler to interview Olympic medalists and world medalists in many sports, not just wrestling and judo, regarding the International Olympic Committee's decision to drop wrestling as a core sport for the 2020 Olympics. The fight of a lifetime, #SaveOlympicWrestling as it has been hash tagged in social media, is now underway for the wrestling community and many others who do not support whatsoever the IOC's startling decision regarding wrestling and it's future as an Olympic sport. Iranians, Russians, Koreans, Indian's, Afghan's, Cuban's, American's and all of the countries in this picture who had a representative in either Freestyle or Greco-Roman are banding together to have the IOC reconsider their decision.

I'm certain there'll be strong opinions and I thank Judo in advance for their support and camaraderie. Many parents and business leaders who have had a personal experience with their children or even participation for one year in High School wrestling will also be welcome to share their thoughts on video where we will then use our power as a leading online film distribution platform to get word to the IOC.

Until Sunday JudoArts.com is a fantastic website created by Film Annex featuring Gold medalist interviews, live matches, and some judo drama to entertain you and get you familiar with the sport.

Vine App and Social Media Networking's No Wait Policy

25 02 2013 17:53:21 +0000

by: Keely-Shea Smith

Why should we have to wait? It's a good question and in 2013, why should we? There is an app for everything. HootSuite manages your social media, Email n' Walk allows you to appear social and saves you from suffering an unfortunate face-plant, and Designated Dialer is that sober best friend who's always there to prevent you from making drunken, late night calls.

Luckily for us, the business-oriented minds at Twitter have wrapped convenience, immediacy, and creativity into one new application. Vine, which is currently only available on iPhone, allows users to easily create six-second video clips featuring just about anything, including porn. (I'll allow other publications to scrutinize that subject.) But, true to form, the fashion industry snatched Vine with its claws and immediately dug in.

In a previous article for Models WebTV ("Social Media Campaigns and Dated Design at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week F/W 2013") I noted the benefits the fashion industry received from using Instagram during the Spring 2012 shows. Not long ago, Instagram was viewed as revolutionary for allowing bloggers and fashion designers to instantaneously and seamlessly upload photos to various social media platforms and, essentially, build a brand through an Instagram account. Engineered similarly to Instagram, Vine takes content sharing a step further, offering users the ability to capture sound and moving images.

As Instagram finally became fully integrated into the fashion industry, Vine launched just prior to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week this February, serving as the new 'it' app for capturing mini fashion films at the Fall 2013 shows. Bloggers and sites, including The Man Repeller and Fashionista.com, were two successful accounts at NYFW among many this season.

But Vine is useful not only for the fashion industry, as it offers many benefits to restaurant, office, and small business settings. Countless articles have recently been published describing the pros of using Vine in the restaurant biz, from creating short recipe guides to capturing ambiance. Vine is also an outlet for businesses wanting to give the outside world a quick glance of the creative processes that occur within its walls.

VINE @ Marc Jacobs; Soho, New York City

With the current notion of 'Why should we have to wait?' one has to wonder if Vine is going to stick. This question has resulted in addictive new apps every year, but has also left consumers and industries hopping from one platform to the next. Despite this, these apps serve as easy tools for brand building that almost anyone can use. In brief interviews for Models WebTV, Department Chairs from the Fashion Institute of Technology explain that the importance of integrating social media into the curriculum lies within the idea that creating and marketing a brand or collection is one in the same. But one has to question how effective these teaching practices can be unless professors and staff are fully up to date on the latest changes in social media.

It's a fast-paced industry and the combination of social media with a demanding society is forcing businesses to project the idea that services offered are accompanied by a 'No Wait' policy. So far, Vine has proven successful within the fashion industry, but the apps' longevity is has yet to be seen. - @KeelySheaSmith

Professor Henry Welt, Chairperson Entrepreneurship Fashion Institute of Technology

Social Media Campaigns and Dated Design at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week F/W 2013

18 02 2013 16:44:52 +0000

BY: Keely-Shea Smith

The tents at Bryant Park represented strength and accomplishment for countless designers since 1993, when CFDA's then executive director Fern Mallis decided to bring the industry together in the event now known as New York Fashion Week. As the recession seeped its way into the tents, designers embraced (somewhat reluctantly) a new venue and new opportunities for spring 2010. Lincoln Center which hosts the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week now stands as a beacon of change and progression for industry vets and hopefuls.

That same year, the entire fashion industry seemed to expand digitally. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter were the go-to outlets at the time, but in a digital world time moves at a pace far beyond rapid. In a 2010 article published by Time Magazine ("A New Era for New York Fashion Week"), Lauren Sherman of Fashionista.com noted that fashion week shifted from industry to pop-culture. "... that online factor, including social-networking tools like Facebook and Twitter as well as online retailers like Gilt Groupe and Polyvore, is what Sherman thinks the inaugural season at Lincoln Center will be remembered for." And she was right.

In the past couple years, Facebook and Twitter hung in the back row while Instagram boomed. In September 2012, an article from Business Insider ("The Designers Who Got The Most Social Media Buzz During Fashion Week") highlighted designers' increases in social media followers during the shows for Spring 2013. The numbers were quite astonishing. Nanette Lepore started with a mere 8,861 Instagram followers and saw a 148% increase by the end of NYFW. Diane von Furstenberg started with 4,977 followers and ended with 8,459. To date, the designers' accounts boast 36k and 60k followers respectively.

In 2012, Marius Troy, co-founder of Faces of NYFW, launched the site that has changed the way we view the shows. In an interview for Models WebTV, Marius stated, "We're pulling all the social media content from Fashion Week into one site. Whenever you take a picture of yourself or your friends, backstage, front row, at a party or in the streets, tag it with #fonyfw tag and upload it, and it ends up on the site." Simple, progressive.

So with the digital world constantly pushing the industry forward, many were disappointed with the overwhelming number of retro collections that debuted for F/W 2013 this past week. Cathy Horyn of the New York Times wrote a review titled "Rewarding Those Who Dare to Move Forward" in which she laments the notion that designers are afraid of the future and the ever-changing present. "Mr. Lim did these big patchwork shearling coats that looked as if you rolled up in your bathroom rug and then hit your elbow while dying your hair at the sink." Horyn praised the collection, but as the saying goes: the past is in the past (and, in this case, should stay there.) But despite a few dated collections this past week, a quick shifting digital realm and the brave designers who propelled forward with bright furs and modest necklines have provided the industry and its followers renewed hope for the seasons to come. -@keelysheasmith

MODELS WEBTV INTERVIEW WITH FACES OF NYFW FOUNDER MARIUS TROY

Faces of Fashion New York City: Fashion Merchandising Management & E-Commerce

12 02 2013 16:37:16 +0000

by: Kristin Velkova

As the world around us changes, it is important that our educational system responds and adapts. Today, the widespread use of the Internet has transformed virtually every aspect of our business and personal lives. Responding accordingly, the Fashion Merchandising Management program at the Fashion Institute of Technology succeeds in merging a traditional education in fashion merchandising and management, with advancements in Internet technology; effectively preparing its students for careers in Fashion's new technological age. One such area where FIT's FMM program especially succeeds in marrying these two concentrations is in the field of e-commerce.

The Fashion Merchandising Management program at FIT has taught me how to use the internet to effectively research, record and analyze industry trends; access current news and information in merchandising fashion products; and use online learning resources to gain new knowledge related to the growing e-commerce sector, all of which I apply to the development of my online boutique Peace Love Threads.

Working on Peace Love Threads while studying at FIT gives me the tools and information to successfully contribute and apply fresh information to my business as it grows from concept to reality. Classes such as retail math applications, marketing and promotion, team development, small business and entrepreneurship enrich my understanding to better operate on the financial sectors, branding strategies, business partnership protocols, and the risks and management tactics to run a business properly.

Access to digital statistical libraries has been essential to my research and analysis of industry trends. In addition the professors at FIT are all very much involved in the fashion industry and up to date with the latest technologies and movements. By having this first hand knowledge, they are able to relate their teaching methods to include new age things such as social media and the power of the Internet and how the industry has changed to e-commerce and online marketing to best satisfy the customer. FIT's vast list of sponsored e-commerce webinars has been a key learning resource. Recently, after participating in one such sponsored webinar, I learned that studies show that most consumers use the Internet to read reviews before buying a product. Reviews increase sales by 18% and are extremely vital to any business. Knowing the importance of reviews the team at Peace Love Threads sets goals to encourage and motivate our customers for through feedback.

Choosing to have an online-based business is a direction that my partner Tash and I feel very strongly about. Having learned in the FMM program at FIT how to effectively collect, record and analyze industry trends that allow us to understand consumer behavior; access current news and information in merchandising on various platforms; and use online learning resources such as data collective software programs has given us the confidence necessary to successfully operate Peace Love Threads as a high profit yielding online boutique.

FIT Prof. Henry Welt discusses entrepreneurship

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York City Live Streaming

12 02 2013 10:46:31 +0000

Stop working, close your school books, the fashion shows are streaming live right now on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week website. Badgley Mischka is live streaming as I type:

Semyon and I shot some fantastic footage last night at the Betsey Johnson and Marc by Marc Jacobs shows at Lincoln Center. We are almost set to start the editing process for our video that we are creating for MBFW in New York City. The exclusive rights to an outstanding album for this project have us very excited!

February 12

9AM TORY BURCH at TBA

9:30-10:30AM J.CREW at STUDIO

9:30-10:30AM STEVEN ALAN at BOX

10AM BADGLEY MISCHKA at THEATRE

11AM VERA WANG at STAGE

1PM JENNY PACKHAM at STUDIO

1PM DIESEL BLACK GOLD at PIER 57 AT W 15TH ST

1:30-2:30PM ADEAM at BOX

2PM NAEEM KHAN at THEATRE

3PM DENNIS BASSO at STAGE

5:30PM ELIE TAHARI at 510 5TH AVE

7PM VANTAN TOKYO at STAGE

FACES a NYC Fashion Film

Faces of Fashion New York City: International Trade & Marketing & My Fashion Career

11 02 2013 12:53:32 +0000

by: Nicole Tan

“Take as many classes as you can, no matter if you suck, or fail at them. They will come in handy when you enter the real world,” said a Creative Director at an advertising panel I had attended in my last few weeks at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I walked out with a sense of reassurance, knowing that although I was panicking slightly about my GPA not being perfect enough for graduate school qualifications, I would at least be equipped with enough knowledge (counting the amount of excess credits I will be graduating with) academically to excel in my soon-to-be job.

As an International Trade and Marketing for the Fashion Industries graduate, I took classes that many would not imagine themselves taking (at first) in Fashion School. There was no design (unless designing a business plan or coming up with a structure for a make-believe logistics department, counted) and there were no needles being threaded onto any garments. Instead, there were many nights thumbing through the ICC guide to import/export regulations, and many days spent using a ruler checking the harmonized tariff charts particularly in the textile and apparel section.

Then, came checking documents for Letters of Credits—ensuring that the purchase order corresponded to the about 11 other documents that had been handled by 11 different individuals and figuring out what type of IP rights were best placed for certain creative work. Although insightful and worthy information, I had not imagined myself to apply all this knowledge to my current job, which required more of what my previous major, Advertising and Marketing Communications, provided me. But I was proved wrong indeed.

Today, cross checking documents over several systems and departments is something I do daily, in order to ensure that the content I key in corresponds to each department’s data. Tariff rates and quotas to key in for shipping purposes? Check. I know that this entails. Exclusive pieces when meeting designers, I am able to understand the production challenges and opportunities they face thanks to my Global Sourcing and International Business Transactions class. Simple global marketing no-no’s that could have once been overlooked have been avoided thanks to reading fabulous Harvard Business Review case studies, that have taught me to never assume, and always question.

One of the most common issues working with Asian designers is sizing. Naturally smaller built, many Asian designers who have never designed for the global market usually scale their sizing down, making a US size 8 an equivalent to an XXL—certainly not a strong selling point. We have since advised several designers to consider using numbers for their sizing labels.

Of course, outside of academic classes, being in an environment surrounded by various fashion types, I am also able to gauge certain personalities to write up press releases and EDM’s that will cater to each specific type of audience markets.

Nonetheless, in hindsight, I wish I could’ve taken even more classes that would have prepared me even better for the role I am in right now. Writing copy for fashion requires more technical knowledge than many might think. Sure, one must be creative to ensure that fluff is not the end result, but one must also be able to tell the difference between a silhouette, describe the type of collar or cut, or intricate detailing that a garment might have; and boy, I must admit, if not for my semester long stint in Fashion PR, I would be struggling right now. So, to all those aspiring to enter the world of fashion in the future, I would recommend taking some draping or an introduction to fashion terms classes (FIT does make everyone take an Intro to Fashion class as a freshman, but all that information, will most likely be forgotten upon graduation), because as dumb as it might seem to learn about the different type of pockets and collars there might be, it is essential knowledge to learn. -NT

Professor Christine Pomeranz discusses ITM for the fashion industries at FIT:

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York City (Day 2/3) the Riser Conquered With Gopro 3

10 02 2013 22:40:36 +0000

The best part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week for me is pre-show jostling for a space in the riser with the other professional photographers and videographers. It brings me of back to the days of the NYMEX oil pits. No question that location is essential for these shooters (AS WAS FOR SOME TRADERS) to get the best angles for their respective magazines, websites, or TV shows. We decided to give up a small bit of video control for unparalleled flexibility, spectacular quality, cost efficiency, and compactness by using the GoPro Hero3: Black Edition as one of our few cameras for the fashion film we intend to make. So far so good, but GoPro folks, at times the Wifi gets a bit screwy if your reading. PLEASE FIX ASAP.

The new toy in the mix below!

The Riser

The NYMEX Heating Oil Pit

The highlights of the last few days were the Charlotte Ronson show for very up close access Semyon for shooting the models, seen below.

Today Diane von Furstenberg was absolutely PACKED and was an outstanding show. My GoPro came in handy as the other photographers must have been waiting for an hour for a spot. A little ingenuity and the video looks outstanding. Plus I met an absolute icon of television, Mr. Charlie Rose.

I had the amazing opportunity to capture video of the models as they walked from the runway backstage at the DKNY show. The production crew and the energy of the models backstage at the DKNY were amazing and I'm sure the show was outstanding, but I was thrilled by shooting where I was. Here's where you can watch the show!

Last but not least we went down to The Plaza Hotel for the Zac Posen show. We had some serious real estate there. I presume many photographers didn't want to leave Lincoln Center or it was getting late. We were offered the finest shooting yet in a very cramped and limited space, in an historic room with an outstanding collection. Video soon to come.

If you would like to see any show Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week streams them for you here.

February 11 Schedule as follows

9AM ICB BY PRABAL GURUNG at STUDIO

9:30-10:30AM MATHIEU MIRANO at BOX

10AM CAROLINA HERRERA at THEATRE

1PM PAMELLA ROLAND at STUDIO

2PM DONNA KARAN NEW YORK at 547 W 26TH STREET

2:30-3:30PM HERNAN LANDER at BOX

3PM KAUFMANFRANCO at STAGE

4-5PM MM6 MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA at CAFÉ ROUGE, 145 W 32ND ST

4-6PM DL1961 at ALICE TULLY HALL

5PM BETSEY JOHNSON at STUDIO

6PM REEM ACRA at STAGE

8PM MARC BY MARC JACOBS at THEATRE

A runway model film by Naqia Lee

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York City (day 1) "Social NetWalking"

07 02 2013 21:29:34 +0000

Day 1 of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2013 fashion shows was a nice adventure. Bittersweet in the fact that our favorite fashion photographer and team member Alena Soboleva had a hell of a fall skiing and must miss this round of fashion week to heal. So we wish her a speedy recovery!

Semyon and I headed up to Lincoln Center the site of the 2013 MBFW shows, most of them at least. The shows are housed in 4 different venues on site at L.C. called the Stage, Studio, Box, and Theater.

The first show we attended was the Timo Weiland Women's show which fortunately for us started late as we arrived at the last minute, but left us zero opportunity to join the other photographers on the risers as it was a total mob scene as you can see below. But no worries we found a great angle to capture video. The show had an incredible female vocalist accompanying the models as they walked the runway.

Immediately after we headed over to the Tadashi Shoji show, and situated ourselves in some very nice spots and captured some great images of this collection. I was a big fan of the looks, the models, and the music. Everything clicked! Semyon thought the opposite and wasn't a fan. Oh well, to each his own. At least more amazing video content.

Our third and final show was this evening at 7pm, the Kenneth Cole show right down the block from our studio on 27th st. This was a fun production. You felt as if you were in a tropical fish tank as the models walked in front of projected fish on the concrete walls. We set up three cameras and captured some unbelievable images that we'll review tonight and tomorrow. The final walk had the models all taking pictures of the crowd in homage to the projected tag line "Social NetWalking", another of Kenneth Cole's spectacular one liners!

Tomorrow is supposed to snow like crazy in the evening. I'm sure the show will go on as planned tomorrow afternoon. Here is Day 2's lineup just emailed from the folks at IMG Fashion:

CZAR BY CESAR GALINDO: Studio (9:00 AM)

PROJECT RUNWAY: Theatre (10:00 AM)

CARMEN MARC VALVO: Stage (11:00 AM)

NOON BY NOOR: Studio (12:00 PM)

NAUTICA: Stage (2:00 PM)

MONIKA CHIANG: Box (2:30-3:30 PM)

REBECCA MINKOFF: Theatre (3:00 PM)

IAN VELARDI: NY Public Library, Lincoln Center (3:30 PM)

TOMMY HILFIGER: Park Avenue Armory (5:30 PM)

NICOLE MILLER: Studio (6:00 PM)

CHARLOTTE RONSON: Box (7:30-8:30 PM)

ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY: Theatre (8:00 PM)

PARKCHOONMOO: Studio (9:00 PM)

The Press at Timo Weiland

Semyon Shooting Timo Weiland Women

Tadashi Shoji

Kenneth Cole

Paris Men's Fashion Week by Photographer & Fashion Film Director Naqia Lee (#2)

05 02 2013 12:44:21 +0000

by: NAQIA LEE

Day two begins with me waking up to one still relatively sore foot after having sprained an ankle on the way back yesterday. No matter, I'll just take it a bit easier today. So I look at the day's schedule and see that there are three shows happening at the same location and decide that that is where I will drift today. The Palais de Tokyo. Where the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris is hosted. I enjoy passing by this location even on off days, to observe the art students who sit on the grand steps illustrating their surrounding on a big beautiful piece of paper while skateboarders whiz around them in a peaceful coexistence.

The first show is Juun J. The guests exit slow and unhurried in their movements. And contrary to that the boys come dashing out one after the other like in a game of assassin's creed. Or at least that was how it looked to me, unable to keep up with my foot. Somewhere in this mess was Nemanja Maksic, who a friend had gotten a picture of. He's got a good face. A real renaissance quality. Something I would not be left to miss, with the exits for Kris Van Assche soon to follow. Ben Allen, Baptiste Radufe who was just shot by Peter Lindbergh for the Bottega Veneta S/S 13 campaign, and polish newcomer Jacob Kulesza were among the few I could spot. Then I see a guy sitting on the back of a motorbike, with photographers going snap happy at him. Just as if it were out of the movie grease, he'd manage to get everyone to swoon. And it wasn't hard to see why.

The bearer of one of the most genuinely infectious smiles I've yet to see, I was introduced to Arthur Gosse. Amazingly chiseled, holding much depth in his eyes, a face sculptured to fit almost any aesthetic I think. And one charming chap at that. He's got such a timeless beauty to him, as though he belonged in a classic movie. He looks sophisticated. Yet innocent. I guess there's just something about being plucked from obscurity that adds to one's nonchalance, which seems to be an endearing quality. And hailing from Lille this stunner has now earned the privilege to say that he opened a Prada show with a cast that consisted Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, and Gary Oldman. I think there might be something in the water in the north of France with so many amazing faces coming from the region recently, such as Marine Deleeuw and Manon Leloup along with dear Arthur.

I've definitely taken note of this one. After happily obliging to the many photographers he pulled his colorful beanie over his head and was off in smiles, into the increasingly chilly parisian evening. I myself went back inside the Palais to have a seat, warm up and go through the pictures. John Galliano was to be the third show at the Palais but it wasn't until a couple of hours and seeing as I was happy enough with the days' pictures, I decide it would be best to head back, I've got a long week ahead of me. On my walk back some snow starts trickling form the sky, in some manner of magic. It is a breathtaking sight and I anticipate what this might lead up to tomorrow, perhaps an epic white winter day for creating white winter visuals? -NL

'FACES' a Fashion Film by Naqia Lee:

About Naqia:

With a fascination for seeing magic in faces, Naqia Lee has been out on an adventure to experience, in it's nature, the illustrious wonders that lie in this world and it's people. With an ever lasting love for photography and imagery, Naq set out to fuel her passion for uncomprehensible beauty three years ago at her first Fashion Week experience at Bryant Park in New York amidst traveling the globe. It's been an amazing love affair ever since. It was only recently though that she decided to start sharing her work, after some persuasion from friends she looked up to. "I didn't think people would be interested because they were just my simple musings but it seemed they were, and so I was happy to share." It is the simplistic approach to showing beauty in a human nature above the fashion sense of it all that set her first film 'Facing' apart. Abbey Lee Kershaw, Isabeli Fontana, Natasha Poly and many others star in this short which has has been described as beautiful and honest.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York City is Now Free and Open to All, Here's How

04 02 2013 11:47:48 +0000

Listen up fashion people, you can take in every bit of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week extravaganza, February 7th - 14th, without the cost of airfare, hotel and all the other ridiculously expensive aspects of New York City if you do not live here. If you do happen to live here and cannot get those precious tickets to the Ralph Lauren, Anna Sui, Charlotte Ronson or whichever designer among the 80+ who are presenting in the Fall 2013 shows, NO WORRIES, go to this MBFW link and watch from the comfort and warmth of your home (or work!). It is February and damn cold outside in New York City, so take advantage of this wonderful opportunity offered by IMG Fashion during MBFW to have live streaming of each of these shows on your laptop, maybe at the Starbucks near Lincoln Center.

“At IMG Fashion, we constantly look to provide innovative solutions for designers to connect with buyers, press and consumers around the globe,” said Peter Levy senior vice president and managing director for IMG Fashion Worldwide Events and Properties to Lisa Lockwood of WWD. “Our extended partnership with Rightster will allow us to bring the rich content live from the runways to fans and media who support the event, opening the doors for designers worldwide.”

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to film and photograph the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week shows next week and are finalizing a special project in collaboration with a renowned composer and singer to create fashion films with the spectacular footage we look forward to capturing, starring the world's most beautiful women, wearing the new looks of the world's top designers in the always electric New York City. We'll let the cat out of the bag shortly on all details of this project.

So to finish up I will add the MBFW social media links to navigate all the fashion news next week and look forward to seeing all the action, countdown 3 days!

M-BFW SCHEDULE

M-BFW DESIGNERS

SOCIAL

M-BFW TWITTER: @MBFashionWeek

M-BFW FACEBOOK

M-BFW TUMBLR

L'Oréal Professionnel Artist Joe Dimaggio will again be backstage creating the hair look for a few designers. See him in action, as told by Charlie Wan.

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY PORTUGAL - FINE ART (NUDES) by Andre Brito

30 01 2013 16:18:03 +0000

EXHIBITION ANDRE BRITO - 11-23-2012 TO 1-25-2013

7S Art Gallery curated for the first time the work of Portuguese photographer André Brito from Porto, Portugal.
At a very young age Brito became fascinated with photography. At the age of seven, he first looked through the lens of his father's Nikon, who taught young Andre the basics of photography, buying his son an Agfa Matic, his first camera. André's passion for photography was born! In the beginning explains Brito, he mainly did underwater photography, becoming and expert in the challenge of refracted light. Thus the subtle use of light and lines becomes the basis of his work.

The female nude is extremely intriguing to him. By making full use of light he manages physical beauty and sensual graphic display, wherein the model is a true living sculpture, by canceling out colors, making the character and personality remain. Some movements and postures of his models even defy the laws of gravity. The supple postures and poses of his compositions are such that he often prefers to work with models with strong athletic bodies, such as dancers and athletes.

Brito does not identify his work with the term "nude photography". When you experience his work that is immediately clear. His pictures in monochromatic tones lay special emphasis on the beauty of the forms of the human body, an art in which he is clearly a master. He deliberately does not use photoshop to enhance his work, an exceptional dimension as well.

Besides his artistic "fine art" photography André Brito is an active fashion, beauty and advertising photographer. His work appears in numerous international and fashion magazines. -7S Art Gallery

MORE OF ANDRE BRITO's WORK CAN BE FOUND HERE

Paris Men's Fashion Week by Photographer & Fashion Film Director Naqia Lee (#1)

29 01 2013 17:10:54 +0000

by: NAQIA LEE

So it's mid-day on the 15th of January, a nice day albeit a little cold, and I am sitting by the window in the room, looking out to a lazy Wednesday in my beloved Amsterdam. Occupying my thoughts with what the day could bring, I think "I want to go somewhere."

The next morning I find myself sat on a bus headed for Paris. It was an easy enough destination and the mens and couture shows were about to take place, so why not? After what was one of the most beautiful bus rides I've ever taken in my life - think fields covered in snow for as far as the eye can see - I arrive in Paris. It is nightfall and after a quick dinner with my friend I find myself in bed, ready for the crazy week that is to come.

Today is day one of the mens shows for me, though technically it is day two. But day one in the sense that it is the very first time I am shooting at the mens' shows, charting new waters. I've never particularly paid much attention to male models, except for a few whose elven features made me curious to find their names. Like Jaco Van Den Hoven, Paul Boche and Felix Bujo. Then of course there are the ones who everyone knows, like Simon Nessman, Sean O'Pry, Noah Mills, Jon Kortajarena, Cole Mohr, Miles McMillan (a beautiful thing), Mathias Lauridsen, Francisco Lachowski, Marlon Teixeira, Jeremy Young, cand now I just find all these names pouring out, maybe I've given myself less credit than I deserve. Haha nonetheless, I still think it is only the surface that I've uncovered, so I am excited to see what entails from this week and all the things I can learn from it.

Rick Owens kicks off the day, I arrive at the location, the glorious sun is out, I see friends I haven't seen in a couple of months, and before we know it the show is over and the guests start pouring out. It is a sea of black, and every once in a while you'd spot someone 6 ft tall. I don't do more than just to observe at first, to see how the flow is different than that at the women's shows.

(From Rick Owens)

Then when it is quieter I start taking some pictures. Some street style shots, also to test the light, then I see two models walking over. I later found out that their names were Dimitry (Dima) Dionesov - who is apparently into poetry as well - and Gleb Haradkou. I showed that I was going to take a picture and sure enough, exactly as a friend had warned me about male models before, they began to pull funny faces. Haha so we got some nice pictures and they were off to their next show, and they happened to be the last ones at Rick Owens as well.

I decide to skip Louis Vuitton and go on a nice stroll to the next location, I've missed the gorgeous city. An hour later I arrive at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle for Viktor & Rolf Monsieur. A beautiful location. The trees, the gravel, and again, the sun - which the clouds have done well to hide up till this day. We have a few moments so we test our light, taking pictures of the twins Tommy and Nam who are dressed in identical checkered blazers and blue beanies. The show is over and after taking some pictures at the front we head on over to the backstage exit. A couple of guys, Peter Bruder, Robert Laby (I only find these names when I get back), a couple of pictures, then a group of three come down. Thomas Bukovatz, Mayrone Herry, and Alexander Ferrario. Thomas is adorable, Mayrone has an amazing face and appears to have some sectoral heterochromia in his left eye which is always fascinating and Alexander is well, Alexander. Haha he's got a lot of personality and was directing the shoot, leaning on a wall, posing, all for good fun. We spend a bit of time chatting with him and before we know it it gets dark, seeing as how the light goes away at 5 these days.

My next show is Yohji Yamamoto since it was a bit late to make it to Jean Paul Gaultier, and off I was on another nice walk, really you can't get enough of Paris. I arrive just in time for the exits. And what an exit it was. Guys with all kinds of beards and mustaches, some you've only ever seen in pictures, and some you've never seen at all. It was pretty fantastic how you were brought over to another world for a bit. And in this world I spot Ben Waters, François Verkerk, Anthony Thornburg and Nick Heymann. Then I see a model with beautiful long hair and an amazing structure of a face. At first I thought - oh cool Mr. Yamamoto didn't spare the girls either, they were given mustaches too! When I finally realized that he was in fact a guy I was even more amazed. One Erik Andersson. More on him to come. While I was left in awe of the face I'd just seen, the man himself, Mr. Yamamoto walks through the door with the most wonderful smile on his face. I smile back and with that comes the close of a wonderful day, and a new experience. ~NL

WATCH THE FASHION FILM FACING BY NAQIA LEE:

THE MASTER OF MOVEMENT (& FASHION FILM) - DOMINIQUE PALOMBO

27 01 2013 17:21:46 +0000

BY: KEELY-SHEA SMITH

I previously wrote a piece for Film Annex titled The Fashion Film: Expecting the Expected that discussed the banality of many fashion videos being pumped through the web. After doing further research, it seems as fellow bloggers agree. Many thanks to Stacey Jacobs for writing "Why (Most) Fashion Films Suck" in which she notes, "Considering the budget and talent that gets thrown at most of these branded promos, the majority of them should be impeccable works of art. Rather we often see over indulgent, overtly long and boring displays of narcissism which, outside the close knit world of fashion, barely get a mention." I wholly agree with Jacobs, and am always thrilled to shine the spotlight on the few who get it right.

Introducing Dominique Palombo also known as "The Master of Movement." Accurately dubbed, Palombo takes movement in the fashion film to a new level through experimenting with different filming techniques that leave viewers in a mouth open/glazed eyes trance (no exaggerations here.) The subjects of Palombo's works are often dancers, producing a naturally more stimulating visual performance than even the best fashion films.

But the element that differentiates Palombo's works from others is his distortion of time during the editing process. Through various combinations of slow motion and time remapping, the dancer's movements are accentuated, allowing the viewer to take a moment and note details that would otherwise be lost.

In his award winning fashion film, "MOVE", Palombo showcases Rachel Roy's 2011 Spring collection. The film is a constant transition between slightly haunting and edgy, one that is facilitated by movement, music, and the colors of the featured garments. The film opens with a single dancer in front of a white background. Wearing a bright dress, she dances to the song "MOVE", which won the work Best Music Award at the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival that year. As the film progresses, the music escalates and the lone dancer is joined by a mélange of talents who are all wearing pieces from Roy's spring collection.

Considering the numerous elements of the video (think dancers, choreography, styling, music, setting, etc.) it is truly amazing that, when intermixed, they produce something so fantastic. Combine these with Dominique Palombo's editing style and a genius advertisement and marketing piece is created.

The purpose of the fashion film has been questioned. Some say its sole objective is to sell a product, others deem it an expressive form of art, and many say that the fashion film is used to convey a brand image or story the designer wishes to tell. When executed successfully, as in Palombo's case, it can fulfill all of the above objectives and serve as a real asset to designers in the industry.

Although its purpose is not definitive, fashion marketing has arrived and settled (for now) with fashion in film. And as editing techniques are Dominique's forte, other directors will also need to discover their creative niche in order to differentiate themselves in the constantly changing and ever growing world of the fashion film. @keelysheasmith

FACES OF FASHION NEW YORK CITY; My FIT - Fashion Merchandising to Entrepreneurship

23 01 2013 19:28:22 +0000

BY: KRISTINA VELKOVA

Nestled in the bustling Garment District, in the city known as the "center of the world," New York's Fashion Institue of Technology has made a name for itself worldwide. Divided into the School of Art and Design and the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology, the SUNY College offers about 43 majors from fashion marketing, fashion merchandising to illustration. Taught by industry professionals whose qualifications include their PhDs and 10+ years of experience in the industry. FIT has an army of fashion gurus full of industry insight.

My journey through FIT has been very beneficial to my fashion career goals and personal aspirations; to build my own business, one which contributes to society by utilizing my talents, strengths and education. After researching videos, articles, and exploring various fashion networks I turned down Parsons, SVA, and the Art Institute of San Diego and submitted my application for admission to FIT in the fall of 2010 as a Graphic Design major. At the time, I did not have a particular career path in mind, but I noticed the movement and power of the Internet and how adaptive my generation, Gen Y, was with this new lifestyle. I automatically knew that FIT and graphic design would give me a strong foundation with emerging software and technology, much needed skills with the increased demand for internet based careers today.

From Fall to Spring a few fortunate events occurred to propel my academic and professional career forward. I was offered a contract with one of New York City's top modeling agency's to begin a modeling career and I also began to develop strong curiosity into the business side of the fashion industry.

These events encouraged me to voyage blindly into a new arena in my education, and I decided to switch my studies to fashion merchandising management. Through the course of my studies, I now realize the benefits of my decision, as I truly understand the perfect marriage of fashion, business, and marketing.

In 2013 I teamed up with fellow model Tasha Moore to put my newly acquired knowledge into action to build the online boutique PeaceLoveThreads.com. By understanding the fashion industry and the technology shift in this new age, Peace Love Threads is a smart beginning in fashion entrepreneurship. It is the vessel I use to combine my growing knowledge of fashion merchandising, internet marketing, and business management. -KV

As many of us fight to work for top companies with branded names in fashion and marketing, we tend to forget that we have the outlet and opportunity to put our time and energy into something of our own. Ten years ago, you were given an unwritten promise that if you go to college, study hard and educate yourself, you'll have a job waiting. This college to work force model no longer exists. Today that route consists of hours of managing unpaid internships, school work and quite possibly a side business such as a blog or retail business. Or as in my case, a modeling career, trying to squeeze a campaign shoot in Puerto Rico in between your final exams!

Thoughts on Entrepreneurship from FIT Chairperson, Professor Henry Welt:

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY ARGENTINA ~ ELVIS IS ALIVE by NATASHA YGEL

23 01 2013 16:19:37 +0000

Our latest find in the global world of fashion photography comes from down south, WAY down south in sunny Argentina. Her name is Natasha Ygel and her beautiful editorials caught my eye this past week. After many emails I was delighted to find in my inbox this Monday morning 4 fashion stories from Natasha to share with you. The difficulty now lay in deciding which of the 4 to post first. So I picked the following editorial, Elvis is Alive!

Natasha graduated as a Photography Director, completing her studies with a degree in Visual Arts specializing in Painting, Costume Design for Opera and Stage lighting at the Colón Theater and Communication Science.
By the end of the 90s , she started to take pictures in the rock and Dj scenes. At the same time, Natasha worked as an Art Director in advertising. Soon she began to photograph for numerous advertising, media and

fashion campaigns. Now a days she also directs advertising spots and videoclips.

Her clients include; Airborn, Alma DDB, Axa Insurance, Bacardi, BLACKMAMBA, Chivas Regal, Euro RSCG, Maria Cher, MTV, Santander Río, Sony BMG, Saatchi & Saatchi UK, SANTO, Universal Music, Warner Music,Young & Rubicam.

Credits for Elvis is Alive:

Photo: Natasha Ygel
Styling: Sol Montalvo
Art: Simon de Iriondo
Makeup: Jazmin Calcarami
Hair: Johny Dean
Fantasy Nails: Martina Mateini
Elvis: Eliana Bertoluso - visage

South-East Asian based Fashion Designers: The Woes of Winter in the Quest to go International

21 01 2013 13:53:24 +0000

BY: NICOLE TAN

In the span of the last two months, I have been submerging myself into Asia’s world of fashion. Upon graduation, I have taken up a role at Inverted Edge, an e-commerce start up that serves at a platform for up and coming Asia Pacific designers. Needless to say, as their Content and Social Media Executive, I had a lot of learning to do about the fashion industry in my “native” region.

Although there has been coverage (and more increasingly, recently) on the fashion industry in Asia, most news are centred around the production and manufacturing level. For the lucky few, Asian fashion brands that have received global coverage for its designs and luxury goods mostly hail from Japan (think: the popular 80’s welcoming the explosion of Junya Watanabe, Rei Kawabuko, Comme des Garcons and the likes). Other coverage on luxury goods, on the other hand, were around the expansion of international luxury brands into the region, particularly to China. The news of Asian fashion brands, especially South-East Asian ones, however, basically does not exist.

Having had the opportunity to speak with a few people working familiar with the fashion industry, particularly in the design/creative side, it seemed that the biggest hurdle from allowing these talented designers, based in South East Asia, to expand into the fashion capitals of the world (which are primarily Western), is the absence of a fall/winter collection. “The designers that we have sent to New York generally receive good reviews. However, when they present during market week without a winter collection, it’s hard for them to be represented,” said Michelle Weiss, a Market Officer of International Enterprise Singapore, an export promotion organization supported by the Singapore government.

This statement was again heard during my first week at Inverted Edge, when I had the opportunity to meet my favorite Singapore designer, whose label’s called, Yumumu. Lu Yilin, who owns the label, mentioned she was moving to China next month so as to begin creating a Fall/Winter collection that will enable her to be on a level playing field with other fashion designers globally. This would mean designing a collection that comprises of Outerwear, something which many Western and seasonal countries think of automatically, but something that South-East Asia-based designers who cater to their local market(s) have never needed to consider before.

Although Singapore’s fashion scene has been growing steadily: according to Global Language Monitor, Singapore currently holds the 19th spot for most fashionable city, below Hong Kong (12th spot), but above Tokyo (20th spot), the popularity of a South- East Asian designer seems to still be limited to the Asian region. This is inspite of Singapore’s efforts, dubbed the regional hub, having hosted several fashion shows each year, ranging from Audi Fashion Festival (coming up in May), Mens Fashion Week, Fide Couture and Blueprint, a tradeshow targeted towards East-West exchanges.

Alas, perhaps this is still all very new, and in time, the success and recognitions these designers deserve will come. For now, we -- those of us who are cheering on these Asia Pacific designers- can look forward to e-commerce ventures such as Zao Zao and Inverted Edge in aiding to propel these talented designers onto a global stage through the power of the internet’s global audience reach.

Meanwhile, I think it’s time for the world to set a wider cast in its view of the Asia Pacific:
1. We do more than produce and manufacture. We create, design, and in fact, we’re actually pretty good at it.
2. Oh- and don’t forget that Australia and New Zealand exists, too.

KEN RIVAS for L'Officiel Thailand

Alber Elbaz: Mastering the Fashion Film

17 01 2013 12:43:29 +0000

BY: Keely-Shea Smith

Known for his quirky personality and unique style, Alber Elbaz, has never been one to conform to the masses. Since coming into the role of Lanvin's Creative Director in 2001, the label has transformed, blossoming into one of color, originality, and success.

From Lanvin

In 2011, Elbaz tested his talents by producing a short fashion film. Shot by Steven Meisel, the film features Karen Elson and Raquel Zimmermann dancing to Pitbull's 'I Know You Want Me' in pieces from the F/W collection.

PHOTO FROM LANVIN

The initial view of the film is awkward, even slightly uncomfortable. Watching 5' 10" models in high-end designs attempt to dance stoically to Pitbull is almost unbearable. Truthfully, the elements shouldn't add up. When combined, they should produce a disastrous projection of a confused and muddled brand. But after a few more clicks of the replay button, the film shifts from awkward to brilliant.

Somehow, it works. The campaign is refreshing, however peculiar, and unapologetically quirky. So much so, that it went viral, receiving rave reviews and oodles of thanks to the designer who isn't afraid to merge fashion and fun.

PHOTO FROM LANVIN

The rave reviews started flowing once again this past week when Lancome announced a new collaboration with Elbaz. "We are extremely proud and happy that, with us, he is set to channel his universe into the world of make-up for the very first time," Lancome stated in a press release. And rightly so! Elbaz' success as Creative Director has reinvented Lanvin with quirk and femininity, a skill that will undoubtedly cross over into the upcoming collaboration.

With the makeup line set to launch on June 15, 2013, Lancome and Elbaz released a short fashion film titled "Lancome Puts on a Show." The 23 second teaser features a montage of chic, animated cartoons attending fête-ing; shadowed eyes roll, polished nails text, and rouged lips seamlessly faire la bise. It's all so painfully and irresistibly French. And the best part? All of the sketches were completed by Elbaz himself.

Photo From Lanvin

The fashion film has proven to be a strong marketing tool for Elbaz and his projects. Around the time of Lanvin's F/W campaign release in 2011, RSA London Executive Producer Melody Sylvester was interviewed at La Jolla Fashion Film Festival stating, "Anything that's going to combine films with fashion, music or art is where things are going to head." She proceeded to note the desire to pursue the fashion film sooner than later. And she wasn't alone.

Elbaz was right alongside Sylvester in her intent to get a jumpstart on the trend. After nailing it with his 'I Know You Want Me' and 'Lancome Puts on a Show' film debuts, Alber has proven his talent not only in the fashion and beauty industries, but also in the fashion film. -K-SS

MELODY SYLVESTER SPEAKS AT LJFFF

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK CITY (photo-sculpture) ~ by MAY LIN LE GOFF

16 01 2013 13:19:05 +0000

I stumbled upon the work of May Lin Le Goff recently and became an instant admirer of her outstanding photography. She is 1/3 of the group of artists that comprise the agency Love Lucy along with Wenjun Miakoda Liang and Xi Sinsong, whose work I have promoted to our fans in the past. Love, Lucy is a boutique collective that champions the development of emerging female artists. Based in New York, the collective brings to the table a spectrum of fresh takes on contemporary fashion, beauty, portraiture and commercial photography. Our production department offers casting, location and other specialized services with regards to photography related projects.

The photo's attached are titled 'A CUBIC NOTION'
"It is when the model has been photographed, the image has been retouched, printed and laid out in front of her, that the real work begins for Brooklyn based artist May Lin Le Goff.

The task of deconstructing and displacing the lucidity of the studio shot photograph and reconstructing it into a dynamic photo-scultpture fractures the notion of the conventional fashion image. Le Goff creates an object that is a manifestation of her rebellion. ‘A Cubic Notion’ is the latest work of Le Goff, it’s inspiration drawn from elements of the Dadaist movement, Italian futurists and inevitably the cubist paintings of Pablo Picasso.

Yet the images exist by lose definitions within the realms of fashion photography and art, editorializing the high-end collections of Helen Yarmark, Issey Miyake and accessories of Ben Amun amongst others. Le Goff worked with a team of like-minded creators- emerging New York based talent seeking to have their work find a home in the industry."

Photographer: May Lin Le Goff
Stylist: TJ Gustave

Make-up Artist: Liz Olivier

Hair Stylist: Liz Furlong

Models: Samantha X (Muse NY) & Hallie H (Re:Quest Models)

Production: Kamil Tyebally for Love Lucy

May's bio read's as follows: May Lin Le Goff offers a rebellious approach to fashion photography. Integrating her acute sensibility towards color and composition with hand-made collages, she creates work that exists in both the realms of sculpture as well as fashion illustration. Le Goff was recently named in Her World Magazine Singapore’s top 25 women to watch in fashion, and was awarded the Tierney Family Foundation Fellowship Award in New York upon her graduation from the School of Visual Arts in 2012.

NEW FASHION FILMS DIRECTED BY MIGUEL ANGEL FONT BISIER

15 01 2013 13:44:32 +0000

It is with great pleasure that I introduce the latest filmmaker whose work has made it's way to Film Annex & Models WebTV online film distribution platform. I was originally introduced to Miguel Angel Font Bisier's film at the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival. The fashion film Miguel directed, 'Aeterna in Search of Love' was one of the most highly regarded submissions to the event and one of my favorites. Every aspect of the production brought together some of Spain's top talents, from hair and makeup (Tono Sanmartín) to the custom costume (Francis Montesinos) and jewelry (Antonio W Rodrigues) design.

Though 'Aeterna' took only a day and a half to shoot, the post-production according to Miguel "took us over 6 months to do because of the color and VFX, and María José Belenguer had to record the instruments." The time invested certainly shows in the final cut as you can watch here.

Though it is exciting as I mentioned that Miguel Angel has uploaded his work to his WebTV including the behind the scenes (BTS) that go with the final production, I am even more captivated by the 2 blogs he immediately contributed to how he created 'Eienesis' and 'Aeterna'. I mentioned to Miguel Angel the power of his (the Director) words in describing how he conceived and produced his work, and he delivered brilliantly. The viewer/reader gets a wonderful perscpective from the creator himself on what it took to make these projects come to life and the challenges in doing so. Also you can immediately view both the final cuts and BTS directly from his post. Here are links to both blogs: "From Darkness Into Open Light" and "Art and Love - Aeterna" and to Miguel's WebTV.

Going forward I suggest for all creators who upload work to the platform to do as Miguel Angel has done. Writing about your productions will bring your fans into your circle to see how you think, to understand why you did a certain something in your production with "x" results, the challenges or successes involved, your mission statement for production, and etc. Also if you have the opportunity to video behind the scenes absolutely do so. It will add a little extra to your budget but it will bring your fans closer to you and your team.

FASHION FILM 'EIENESIS - IN SEARCH OF LIGHT' (3NESIS PART 1)

FASHION FILM: 'AETERNA - IN SEARCH OF LOVE' (3NESIS PART 2)

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK CITY ~ PORTRAITS by ALENA SOBOLEVA

10 01 2013 18:28:53 +0000

This selection of model portraits were shot by fashion photographer Alena Soboleva in 2012. I'm excited to have had the opportunity to film the behind the scenes for some of these models while Alena works in our studio. Danielle Knudson's video attached, is an example of documenting the day and not getting in the way of the shoot. A bit of music and another strong piece of content for the world to see. Possibly Victoria's Secret or Sports Illustrated is paying attention!

We're certain many of these models are at the very beginning of wildly successful careers.

YOU TOO ALENA. We're thrilled to be passengers on the ride!!!

KRISTINA

DANIELLE @FORD MODELS

ALWYN LANSING @ONE MANAGEMENT

ANASTASIYA @FORD MODELS

ALLISON FIALKOWSKI @ SUPREME MANAGEMENT

TAYLOR @FORD MODELS

SARAH ENGELLAND @ONE MANAGEMENT

POLINA BLINOVA @ONE MANAGEMENT

DANIELLE KNUDSON (FORD MODELS) BEHIND THE SCENES:

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK CITY ~ by Julio Gamboa featuring Model Gwen Lu

09 01 2013 13:35:19 +0000

I met Spanish fashion photographer Julio Gamboa at a good friends house party in Brooklyn this Saturday. We discussed fashion photography and fashion film for a while and I was pleasantly surprised when the first example of his work from his most recent editorial featured Gwen Lu. We had the pleasure of working numerous times with Gwen to create video's in 2010 & 2011. She is simply an amazing woman and outstanding model. You can view Gwen's video work on her WebTV here.

Julio's shoot was for the Spanish magazine CVB and the editorial is named Invierno and Gwen was on the cover.

ABOUT JULIO:

Julio, originally from Spain, has lived for many years in the U.S. where he initiated his career as a photographer. His work includes portraits, advertising and fashion editorial photography as well as beautiful fine art work. With a technique fine tuned through the years, he creates images with strong contrast and environments that emphasizes the peculiarity and beauty of the models with which he works.

Julio has been awarded with the International Aperture Award in the category “People & Portrait”.
His client list includes Vogue Eyewear, Vasari, Moët & Chandon, Pony Shoes, Lancôme.
Julio´s work is published frequently in magazines such as Vogue España, GQ,España and CVB, Chaos Magazine, Lookbooks.

info@juliogamboa.com

The credits are as follows for INVIERNO:

PH: JULIO GAMBOA REPRESENTED BY Current Studio

STYLING: DIXI ROMANO @ ERA MANAGEMENT & INFIDELZ MANAGEMENT MAQUILLAJE:PASCALE POMA PARA DIOR / PELO PASCALE POMA LÓREAL PROFESSIONAL

MODEL: GWEN LU @ MAJOR MODELS NY

PRODUCER:RUBEN RODAS @ NEO STUDIOS NEW YORK

ALL PHOTO'S ARE JULIO GAMBOA's

Embryonic Journey starring Gwen Lu

2013: Fashion Film, Interviews, Social Media, Master Charlie Rose, & etc.

05 01 2013 16:25:02 +0000

Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year to you all!

The week (2013) started perfectly on a roof terrace in Miami Beach with 100 other people from all around the world thanks to a close friend and his neighbor who put together the amazing event. The warmth & ocean of south Florida, plenty of Champagne, and many stunning women made for a memorable 3 days, a perfect escape from the cold and crowded New York City.

Now back to work and the start of a new year in fashion film and model promotion, social media, digital marketing and the photo and video production world, all areas amongst others I want Models WebTV to succeed in greatly in 2013.

- We have just finished 2 of the 5 videos for the Fashion Institute of Technology Chairpersons, Deborah Beard of Technical Design and Jeffrey Silberman of Textile Development and Marketing. My goal with taping these conversations with the professors was to utilize them as a catalyst for current and future FIT students who contribute as writers (PAID OF COURSE) for the Models WebTV platform. I bold the, PAID OF COURSE because I just ran into a high level photographer's website who listed a need for interns to file stuff at his studio with big UNPAID next to the offer. F%^@ him! That drives me up the wall how firms or influential people do that. Please all interns, get at least $7.25 per hour. It's the law in New York City!

Back to the videos, there is a blog just posted by Keely-Shea Smith who is currently a senior at FIT and editor of their newspaper W27, referencing Professor Silberman's video and the capstone project his TDM students participate in, The FIT Denim Project. I invite you to read and comment on Keely- Shea's BLOG, it's better than this one!

Last but not least, I watched a great interview with Twitter founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams by Charlie Rose. I'm not sure if the show on thirteen was a repeat or not but it was fantastic. One of the things mentioned about Twitter, Branch and The Obvious Collection, two new projects, was that Stone and Williams goal was "to help people build systems to make the world a better place". These guys have done a great job in doing so, and I think Film Annex is on a similar path building systems with it's Afghan Development Project and the financing platform providing filmmakers and writers funds to continue on their creative paths.

Also part of their conversation and what I must improve upon in the future was the discussion Rose elaborated on, the art of interviews. Simply he stated a good interviewer must PREPARE, LISTEN, ENGAGE and after a bit mentioned the need for CURIOSITY in the subject matter, regardless of what it is and how far it may be from your comfort zone. Wise words from Master Charlie! I will work on this with future guests to the studio.

Digital & Social Media and Marketing: Cohesive Campaigns Prove Key

04 01 2013 18:01:11 +0000

BY: KEELY-SHEA SMITH

In July 2012, the Urban Outfitters company posted a promotional fashion film titled The 2012 Denim Catalog on its YouTube account. The campaign video features seemingly teenage hipsters wreaking havoc on a retro high school, all while looking flawless in UO’s new line of denim. The retro high school setting is perfect: obnoxious, bright colors and, dare I say, thoroughly tacky walls and floors compliment the simple, grungy style of UO’s designs. Everything about the film just clicks: the models, clothes, the soft lighting and outdated setting. I almost want to be in that leggy model’s shoes.

Almost… but not absolutely, the sole reason being that the retro high school I speak of is my alma mater, Cinnaminson High School. Often viewed as ‘quaint’ by outsiders, CHS is deemed claustrophobic and archaic for most attendees and graduates, myself included. However, despite my distaste for the film’s setting, I found that I wanted not only the jeans, but to be a part of that experience as it took over almost every social media platform I normally frequented.

This got me thinking about what successful digital marketing and social media campaigns can do for a brand. Success in these two areas can ultimately generate connections and sales (which, let’s be real, is always the bottom line in business), but they can also generate talk and recognition, turning skeptics and non-believers into buyers.

Fast forward past my retro high school to my fashionable current school of enrollment: FIT. Innovative and cohesive marketing and media campaigns are essential for Fashion Institute of Technology students taking part in the Textile Development and Marketing Denim Project. Sponsored by Cotton Incorporated and steered by TDM Chairperson Jeffrey Silberman, Textile and Development Marketing students participating in the course are required to create and market a sustainable brand of jeans in 13 weeks.

In a promotional video for The 2012 Denim Project, students and teachers provide insight as to why successful media campaigns are vital in a brand’s success. “Social media is really changing the way that the students can connect with their consumers. If it’s just through a viral video marketing campaign or Twitter account, they all have such great strategies on how to reach the correct demographic,” says one student. When interviewed by Models WebTV, Silberman also notes that social media has taken over as the primary form of marketing for students participating in the FIT Denim Project.

The impact digital marketing and social media has today is unlike that of any seen resulting from traditional media in the past. Digital marketing and social media combines sight, sound, and interaction to deliver the complete experience and the key to a successful campaign is knowing exactly how to combine them for a memorable experience. If done correctly, digital media proves to hold the ability to change the minds of even the most unbelieving consumers.

FIT CHAIRPERSON JEFFREY SILBERMAN

SOCIAL MEDIA & E-COMMERCE - IN MOTION AND MOVING FORWARD

28 12 2012 18:27:38 +0000

BY: Keely Shea Smith

As 2012 holiday sales continue to grow, online shoppers can find massive discounts and deals on almost every retail site. The National Retail Federation's digital division, Shop.org, recently predicted a 12 percent increase for online sales this holiday season. Though a step down from a 15 percent increase in 2011, this past holiday season's boost in sales proves there is a massive audience on the web that needs to be catered to.

This has been the case for online retailers time and time again; the shoppers are present, but the question hasn't been about whether or not there is an audience, but rather how to reach them and make the experience personal. It has become clear that a unique experience is what shoppers and, more generally speaking, online users desire.

And who can blame consumers? In 2007, the New York Times released the article Anywhere the Eye Can See, It’s Likely to See an Ad, in which market research firm Yankelovich stated that the average city dweller saw up to 5000 advertisements and marketing campaigns a day. That was 2007. Factor in today's social media/ e-commerce sites and that number soars. With those numbers, a helpless web-user should be entitled to a creative and seamless online shopping experience, courtesy of your friendly UX designer.

In previous posts, I've discussed the ways retailers are trying to creatively reach consumers through movement, namely the fashion film. Although a branding and marketing tool, the fashion film cleverly disguises itself as a visual stimulant that breaks up the monotony of the selling process; in other words, the fashion film is the cleverly disguised advertisement of today (a step up from those blatant advertisements of 2007, eh Yankelovich?)

But my not-so-new, favorite movement in marketing is flash video. With the help of this underrated tool, e-commerce sites have been making products come to life on live models. Two years ago, New York designer Patrik Ervell launched his e-comm site featuring virtual male models, serving as a dose of eye candy and refreshing approach to web design for consumers.

Since the launch of Ervell's site, numerous companies have followed in its wake. In 2011, Amazon launched its fashion site, Myhabit.com, in order to compete with Gilt.com and the virtual modeling trend. A flash video of products is a major step for e-commerce sites, proving that movement online does enhance user experience. Though there are still some aspects of functionality that the virtual feature lacks (think size and fit), it serves as a tool for personal judgment and, ultimately, user empowerment while shopping online.

Movement in e-commerce has proven to be an essential feature regarding user experience, projection of advertisements, and marketing campaigns. As the web environment grows and expands, the development of websites into creative, unique experiences is no longer an added marketing benefit, but a necessity for online retailer's success. -K-SS

MSGM presents 'FLOWERWORKS' a fashion film directed by Luca Finotti.

Fashion Film Festivals Worldwide in 2012

27 12 2012 15:18:54 +0000

There's big news out of Brazil from the Sao Paolo Fashion Film Festival (SPFFF). 'ANEMONE' directed by Amber Gray was the winner of the RED EPIC digital camera awarded a few weeks ago for best fashion film. RED also sponsors the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival as does Models WebTV. Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri was the recipient of the RED camera for her fashion film 'The Legend of Lady White Snake' starring Daphne Guinness at LJFFF 2012.

This creative genre is certainly making waves in the world of fashion, cinematography, art direction, marketing, hair and makeup, education, digital media - technology and advertising to name a few. To see these fantastic festivals pop up around the world to recognize the best of the best within the industry is telling of big things ahead for the creators of fashion film and their eager fans.

STILL FROM ANEMONE

Justin Anderson was the top prize winner at the Berlin Fashion Film Festival (BFFF) for his beautiful work 'Get Richard' shot for Vogue Italia. I'm a big fan of Justin's other work as well, Fleurs du Mal — Agent Provocateur is a must see and favorite fashion film of mine, also screened in La Jolla.

Still from 'Get Richard'

Other fashion film festivals around the world include in Paris, A Shaded View of Fashion Film Festival curated by Diane Pernet. Since its launch in 2008, ASVOFF has gained critical acclaim for encouraging both emerging and established artists to reconsider the way that fashion is presented and for challenging the conventional parameters of film.

The San Francisco Fashion Film Festival takes place in April; as we explore films that have inspired trend, beauty, design, and culture, we will look beyond the little black dress to the creators and influencers who have affected style through film. The School of Visual Arts sponsors the New York Fashion Film Festival which seeks to investigate the new, evolving genre of fashion film and explore its influence and impact on the fashion industry.

Models WebTV seeks to promote the best creators in the world of fashion film. Film Annex affords these artists the opportunity to promote their videos in a WebTV on the platform, allowing for their work to earn revenues from the viewership. Models WebTV gives the extra promotion to a very large audience on MWTV, but also on social media platforms like FaceBook which has 225,000 fans waiting anxiously for each new post.

Below is a fantastic fashion film, 'LADY', created by two amazing filmmakers, Luca Finotti and Damien Krisl who have each been screened at the above mentioned film festivals.

Fashion Film, Professors and Photography

21 12 2012 16:08:50 +0000

Previously I mentioned we had the opportunity to speak on camera with five Chairpersons from the Fashion Institute of Technology. I thank graduating senior Nicole Tan, editor of W27 the FIT newspaper and contributor to the Models WebTV blog for setting up these interviews. We have just now finished editing the video covering Entrepreneurship with Professor Henry Welt. Technical Design, Fashion Design and International Trade and Marketing are out for review. Each of these Professors brings a tremendous amount to the table from their pre academic lives affording their students fantastic preparation for when they graduate and begin their careers.

I am very excited with the results and believe each of these videos will be an asset to FIT. Each Professor was incredibly passionate about their respective departments and the students they serve. I'm looking forward for this content to be the basis of new relationships with talented student writers in any of these disciplines to contribute their writing to Models WebTV. If they can express as Professor Wong says, "their passion for fashion" in a blog post they will be compensated of course for their efforts and potentially open up doors and create relationships as Nicole has done.

The second piece of news that is important for the fashion filmmakers, directors, photographers and creatives in general who a will consider Film Annex as a platform to distribute their content. We updated the "welcome" on the homepage to read as follows: Film Annex is an online film distribution and financing platform that enables Fashion Filmmakers and Fashion writers to monetize their content. Our platform showcases some of the best independent Fashion Films including short and feature-length narratives, animations, documentaries, classics, as wells as behind the scenes videos and interviews. A total of $1.5 million (MODELS WEB TV WILL SOMEDAY GET HERE) was earned by filmmakers since our launch. Check out our success stories and discover how you can promote, distribute, and fund your next project on Film Annex.

I took the liberty in adding fashion in a few key areas above, but the point is the same. Film annex is a website for making money. All creatives are welcome!

Last but not least the Models WebTV FaceBook fan page broke through the 220,000 fan level. The most recent post from Nico Iliev, SURFACE for FLATT magazine generated quite a stir but not as much BUZZ as did his "fashion film" shot in our studio starring Barbora Dvorakova from FORD Models.

One more thing. Make sure to check out the newest addition to the Film Annex arsenal, FA MusicTV headed by Fred Kurzh and Alexey Levchenko dedicated to the promotion of talented musicians worldwide. These guys are putting their heart and soul creating this channel and the wonderful results are already evident.

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK CITY ~ SURFACING by Nico Iliev for FLATT magazine

20 12 2012 11:58:26 +0000

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

The following photos are from Nico Iliev's editorial shoot titled 'Surfacing' for FLATT magazine starring NEXT Models Kolfinna K and styled by Ashley Pruitt.

BIO:

Nico Iliev first picked up a film camera at the age of 13 to photograph the people and locations he encountered during his family travels in North Africa and the Mediterranean strip of Europe. Fueled by his growing passion for portraiture and scenic landscapes, he soon moved to New York City where he completed a degree in film. Being immersed in the downtown art and fashion scene, Nico gradually returned to shooting still photography to become a favorite test shooter to NYC's top model agencies while sharpening his craft assisting industry-leading photographers.

Over the span of a decade, Nico's eye has evolved through training in the allied arts of film, design, architecture and fine art. While he still finds his greatest inspiration in people, his work is poised towards the iconic marriage of design and the subliminal; the authentic and other-worldly, the lush and understated. Yet, he draws from the simplicity of a shared moment: 'Creatively, anything can inform me... on set, I'm always looking to fall in love.'

Nico's work has been featured in W, Elle, Nylon, WWD, Grazia, MODA, FLATT, Gotham, the Hamptons Magazine and the New York Times while his book and cover credits include the CFDA's American Fashion series by Assouline.

Nico has worked in our studio testing ideas for a fashion film and here is the behind the scenes footage.

The Growth and Exit Strategies of Fashion Tech Startups

18 12 2012 19:22:28 +0000

By: Nicole Tan

In an industry where companies are being created by the hundreds everyday, it is only natural that only the best survive. In the fashion tech start-up world, for those that do survive, the end goal objectives, or an exit strategy, must always be kept in mind as one moves their business along.

Deciding to continue on with my previous blog posts’ topic, I decided to take a look into the exit and/or growth strategies that big players (Gilt Groupe, Haute Look, Net-a-Porter and Rue La La) who co-exist in the fashion tech start-up world have taken, and to identify the direction in which the industry might take.

Gilt Groupe Inc. is deemed as one of the most successful fashion tech startups of today. Once a website that hosted flash-sales for women, the company has since expanded into other areas: Gilt Kids, Gilt Home, Park & Bond (for men), Gilt City (the company’s equivalent and competitor of Groupon), Gilt Taste and Jetsetter (travel). The success of the company has also enabled it to acquire several start-ups to aid the company in their growth strategy; acquiring local deals start-ups Bergine and BuyWithMe. Most recently, there has been speculation that the company is gearing up for an initial public offering. Aside from Facebook and Groupon, there have not been many online ventures that have succeeded in going public, and Gilt Groupe would be amongst the first of fashion-tech retailers if successful.

Haute Look and Net-a-Porter on the other hand, have been acquired by larger fashion companies. Hautelook, also an online luxury flash sale retailer was acquired by Nordstrom for $180 million this year. Net-A-Porter, founded by Natalie Massenet back in 2000, was sold to Swiss luxury goods group, Richemont in 2010. Ms. Massenet remains Net-a-Porter’s executive chairman. On the acquisition, Ms. Massenet said, “Richemont has completely embraced our vision and strategy since they came on board as a shareholder and together we are going to continue to build the 21st century model for luxury fashion retailing.”

Alas, not all companies wound up with the same fate. Rue La La, another much talked about start-up that was a former subsidiary of GSI Commerce, was divested from their parent company after a $2.4 billion deal. eBay had divested 70% of Rue La La to a newly formed holding company led by GSI founder, president and CEO, Michael Rubin, stating that Rue La La was not part of eBay’s long term growth strategy.

Aside from e-commerce start-ups, StyleCaster, an interactive fashion community had acquired facial recognition start up and beauty tool Daily Makeover in October. Ari Goldberg, CEO of StyleCaster, is eager to expand his company, and had stated that, “this is the first of many acquisitions.”

Although there seems to be an infinite amount of fashion-tech startups being created everyday, major acquisitions in this industry seem to move at a slower pace, and so far, have been focused on the luxury e-commerce scene. Other smaller acquisitions have been done by other start-ups that are looking to further expand their business.

In an article published in techcrunch.com titled, 'Software Is Eating The Fashion World And The VCs Are Going Shopping', a comment was posted by Ted Rheingold, VP Social of Say Media: "Aside from discovery, fashion is a fool’s focus for 99.9% of technologists and VC. Every part of fashion, body sizes, taste, styles, is incredibly hard to calculate via an algorithm. It looks so appealing and un-crowded, that only after they raise their money, and try and actually get any reception by customers or the industry do they learn that their product isn't an improvement on the current system. Yes there are a handful of exceptions, but until people within the industry, backed by industry experts start working on these problems, we're going to see a lot of money thrown at non-viable strategies.”

Alas, there are companies who have been successful without the use of algorithms, but there is still much to explore in the production level of the fashion-tech industry. However, companies such as Warby Parker have been able to alter the supply chain of fashion for the better. The company, through taking full control in the supply chain of their eyeglasses, and educating their consumers via social media, have become a sensation and is known both for their quality prescription glasses at $95, and its social responsibility of the one-for-one deal. Another example of a successful fashion-tech company outside of the luxury e-commerce sector would be Fashion GPS, a web-based solution created for the fashion PR industry that helps with inventory tracking, contact management and event management.

It will be these companies that major investors should keep a close eye on, as well as the handful of e-commerce platforms that will succeed and breakthrough from the clutter in the cloud, particularly those that have, or intend to have, an Asian presence. As cited by Mary Meeker and Liang Wu’s KPCB’s most recent report on Internet trends- China, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines are the top four nations driving the use of the Internet, whilst the USA, Japan, China and Korea lead in the use of mobile 3G subscribers. -NT

The Fashion Film: Expecting the Expected

17 12 2012 11:46:07 +0000

BY: Keely-Shea Smith

In this day in age, it's nearly impossible to find a man who will cover a rain puddle with his suit jacket, let alone open a door for you. I can't remember the exact moment I realized that chivalry was dead, but I am certain it was somewhere between receiving a date invitation via text message and paying a cab fare home. This new trend among men was unexpected and I, along with many young women, have come to expect it. Unfortunately, instead of 'expecting the unexpected', the notion of 'expecting the expected' has seeped into the fashion industry as well.

The digital age has forced fashion to advance at a rapid pace from both creative and business standpoints. Instead of connecting with consumers solely through print and television, the industry now has social media, which has proven itself a monumental instrument for sales and exposure. I applaud the fashion realm and its ability to keep up with the changing times, but at what point does the unexpected convert to the expected?

This question was brought on by the multitude of fashion films being pumped through the Internet on a daily basis. Many are innovative yet still fairly commercial (I can't help but recall Chanel's Shade Parade), but there are many fashion films that border the line of creative and a desperate attempt to gain recognition.

Take, for instance, Lanvin's Fall 2011 campaign film (if you haven't seen it, do so immediately.) It's quirky, yet marketable and a true representation of Elbaz and the brand in one minute. Also an accurate representation of the brand, Chanel's The Tale of the Fairy is 15 minutes of over the top snobbery and luxury. However fabulous Chanel's film may be, though, there is still something about it that feels forced and excessive. Chanel is classic, luxurious, and always bold, and the film's outlandish storyline ultimately destroys the message.

When I said that it was unfortunate that the fashionably tuned are now expecting the expected, what I meant was that designers feel (rightly so) it is necessary to keep up with change, but have lost the voice of their brands amongst the havoc. And while there are fabulous fashion films circling through the Interweb, it seems like designers have gotten wrapped up in the idea of projecting their statement rather than their voice. Christian Lacroix said, "If I was a fashion designer just following trends or designing for celebrities, I would not be fulfilled." The interesting thing is that designers seem to be grasping onto the fashion film with white knuckled fists, making something that should appear natural and believable incredibly forced.

Like ungentlemanly men that have forced women to accept the fact that chivalry is no longer with us, fashion too has become something expected. When designers lose their voices and follow trends, we expect fashion films that are no longer marketable or relatable, but those that dilute the power this vehicle can hold.

'LADY' ~ A Fashion Film for VOGUE ITALIA by Luca Finotti

Eastbound: Where High-End Fashion is Heading Towards

13 12 2012 18:08:25 +0000

BY: NICOLE TAN

Recently, I had just completed a course in International Finance and have been completely fascinated by the topic of Mergers & Acquisitions. Even if one is not an avid reader of financial reports or even the finance section of a newspaper, mergers and acquisitions in the luxury sector is often a good indicator towards a well-performing, or at least, better performing country, and a good predictor of what direction an industry is heading towards.

Taking a look into the M&A that occurred during the last three years, I began to take note of foreign stakeholders who have acquired once American and European luxury brands, as well as the acquiring of foreign brands by the powerful luxury holding companies such as LVMH, PPR and Richemont. The trends were as one imagined, where the foreign stakeholders were Middle Eastern (think: Valentino acquired by Mayhoola, Qatar’s investment group and Barneys acquired by Istithmar), and primarily, Chinese.

In the last three years, multiple Asian companies have been making headlines. To name a few: Li & Fung’s Group, Trinity, which bought Cerruti for 53 million Euros in December 2010, Hong Kong based private equity shop Sportswear Holdings Limited which owns 51.9% of Michael Kors Holdings, Prada which opened talks in 2011 regarding a possible Hong Kong IPO in 2011, and recently, Ferragamo’s sale to Hong Kong partner, Peter Woo.

Just this year, Bain & Co. have announced that Chinese consumers have overtaken U.S shoppers to become the world’s biggest buyers of luxury groups, where Chinese shoppers account for 25% of global sales through purchases back home and overseas, with US shoppers accounting for 20%, and the Japanese, who account for 14% of sales. Therefore, it makes perfect sense for Chinese investors to be interested in acquiring these brands.

On a less financial aspect, it also seems that these Chinese investors are interested in brands famous for their leather goods and accessories (shoes and bags), all of which Michael Kors, Prada and Ferragamo are known for. Jeffry Aronsson, co-founder of the Aronsson Group and former CEO of Donna Karan International and Marc Jacobs, said in an article published in 2010 in WWD, “there will be an increasing number of cross-border transactions as Chinese apparel firms look to differentiate with design and branding,” adding, “the China market promises enormous opportunities to raise cash from strategic partners for struggling European and American fashion businesses.”

Likewise, large fashion holding companies that have recognized this trend have also begun to acquire promising local Asian companies. Examples of such acquisitions include L Capital, an investment firm co-funded by LVMH which are in the talks of buying a stake in Gitanjali, India’s biggest jewelry retailer, and PPR, the owner of Gucci Group, which has just acquired Chinese fine-jewelry maker, Qeelin Ltd., the company’s first Asian label. Perhaps the choice of firms acquired can be explained by Mr. Pinault, "clothing as a means of expression was born in Latin cultures, in France, in Italy. When you look at jewelry, there is a strong tradition in Europe, but also in Asia, in India and China," said Mr. Pinault, “a brand whose origins, its codes, its DNA are Chinese will benefit from a considerable advantage.” It seems that the groups have been preparing themselves for a new phase of the luxury market in China; the demand for luxury products that have created by local talent.

As these fashion powerhouses begin to capture the wealthy Asian market and start paying increasing attention to the local designers of the East, we can only wait and see who, when, and where, these soon-to-be coveted fine jewelry collections originating from Asia will choose its first location for global expansion, later on. Albeit, it will certainly not be for a while. -NT

ABEL FERRARA and the Film Annex/MTI team talk business in China.

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY NEW YORK CITY (BEAUTY) ~ Dreams in the Dark by TOMAAS

12 12 2012 19:16:14 +0000

'Dreams In The Dark'

Photographer: Tomaas

Photographer Assistants: Kosuke Furukawa

Make up Artist: Susan Donoghue, Represented by Ennis Inc
Hair Stylist: Seiji Uehara Represented by Ennis Inc
Post Production: Elena Levenets
Model: Diana Rudenok Muse Model Management

ABOUT TOMAAS: