Superior Smizers: Caroline Brasch Nielsen

Caroline Brasch Nielsen is a Danish sweetheart. She was born in Copenhagen on June 21st, 1993, making her currently at the ripe age of 19. I know. I just spent the last half an hour at least watching model interviews and it turns out that Jac is only 18! Can you believe that?? And Aymeline Valade is only 21! I digress. Caroline was picked up to be a model by a scouter from Elite while having lunch with her friends in 2010. In March of that year, she debuted at Dries Van Noten in Paris. In her first season in the shows, she opened for Valentino and walked in Balenciaga, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chanel. That is big. I don't know of any model who became that successful in her first few days on the job. I still can't figure out how she did it. 

Since then, Caroline has been featured in editorials, on magazine covers, and has opened and closed some of the biggest shows in fashion. In 2011, just a year after beginning her career as a model, she became the face of both Marc Jacobs and Valentino. She has been working consistently with Valentino on their campaigns since then. 

In addition to being a really cool chick in general, she has incredible style. She is frequently photographed by street style photographers for her quirky take on classic shapes and garments (see: leopard print fanny pack). If you thought Hanne Gaby had awesome clothes...you were right. But Caroline has got a pretty bangin' wardrobe as well. You gotta check her out. 

[Photos via harpersbazaar.com, hanneli.com, intothegloss.com, and tumblr.com.]

The subtle change in direction of the stripes on her breast pocket combined with the Alexander Wang-esque (or maybe just straight up Alexander Wang) skirt and the leopard snap-purses-cum-fanny-packs. Not one, but two. In varying sizes. It just kills me. 

Caroline looking cherry lipped and classy hatted for Into the Gloss. 

Are those her hands? Are they someone else's? The world may never know. 

What an angel. 

 

You remember this photo from yesterday, don't you? The jacket is still really awesome. 

I could call it a derp face, but she looks more like she's barking. 

"Rrrrruff!" 

Damn, look at those smizing eyes. They are penetrating your soul, I can just tell. 

You should also check out this video of her from FashionTV. I watched nearly all of my favorite models' interviews, and it was quite an incredible learning experience. Anyone who happened to be on my blog's Facebook page about an hour ago would have seen first hand how I excited I got about the videos. I think I posted about five in a row. 

Have a happy weekend, guys! Is it just me, or has it been Saturday all week?

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On the Road (Clover Canyon Spring 2013)

I know it doesn't make much sense right now, what with Hurricane Sandy blocking off all mass transit in New York City so that I can't leave my borough, coupled with the fact that the next summer break is eons away, but think about spending hot, adventure-filled days in Southern California. Why, you ask? Because that's what the designers of Clover Canyon wanted us to do when they put out their Spring/Summer 2013 collection that I saw at New York Fashion Week back in September. The collection was called "On the Road," most likely intentionally sharing a name with Jack Kerouac's novel by the same title. If you haven't read the book, it chronicles the author's travels back and forth across the United States over the course of a few years--working on a railroad in California for a few months, hitchhiking to Denver, stopping in New York City for a few weeks, going back out West, over and over and over again. To be honest, it began to feel almost ridiculous how much he backtracked and revisited places, only because I am an extremely systematic person and like to go from point A to point B in a logical manner. But that wasn't the point of me mentioning On the Road. The entire book is about getting up and just leaving in search of a good time. That was basically Jack Kerouac's life (I've been reading a collection of personal letters between him and Allen Ginsberg, a correspondence spanning approximately fifteen years, so I'm getting all the intimate facts about his bumming around in Mexico and sleeping on other people's couches while writing). 

This past summer, the Rookie Mag team did a cross-country road trip, starting in New York and working their way west to California. It's just another example of a group of friends spending time together in a van, eating junk food and driving endlessly for miles and stopping at deserted burger joints off the side of some midwestern interstate that only their car and a few assorted pick-up trucks are traveling on. It's not just about going somewhere just to be on the move and not necessarily having a set destination. It's about freedom. The bright colors and scintillating prints in the Clover Canyon collection emulated the youthfulness and fun of a road trip. The brand's clothing is manually patterned, cut, and sewn on the premises. They refer to it as "old world craftsmanship," an aspect of their company that gives the collection's allusions to "candy-colored muscle cars," "wood-paneled motel rooms," "surf shacks," "disco balls and rodeos," and "cannabis leaves" a whole new meaning. [All of these quotations are taken from Clover Canyon's show notes.] Road trips, above all, are about fun. Even though I'm still just a kid, I know how tough it is as an adult to enjoy yourself the way teenagers do. They have responsibilities and obligations that jobless students do not. In Clover Canyon's collection, the juxtaposition between "boyish soft suiting" and fluid shapes and fabrics realizes the idea of adults trying to let loose and truly act like kids again. 

The show was presented in the form of a box presentation, meaning the models were standing around the room and posing for the photographers. Luckily, I was a photographer, and some of the girls got really into it. I mean, it is their job, but I felt really grateful that they were posing for lil' ol' me, so I smiled at all of them after I lowered my camera, and some returned the grin, but others were slightly taken aback by my act of courtesy. 

You'll see how cool some of these girls were in their super cool clothes. 

[Photos by me.]

Imagine going to work in that suit. 

Way out, dude! 

That was my impression of a surfer. 

That print is pretty intense. 

Am I seeing cars? Am I seeing Aztec buildings? What am I seeing??

The Road. 

This reminds me of a ceramic sculpture I recently made inspired by adobe architecture.

Fun fact of the day.  

Try and tell me it doesn't look like the models are going to be sucked into a black abyss. 

She was smizing up a storm. If you can smize with your body...?

Can you spot the illegal drugs in this photo? 

When you don't have a cool '50s Cadillac to drive around town...wear one on your torso! 

The hair and the print on the jacket are screaming Grease mixed with the "SB-129" episode of Spongebob.

The cutest person ever. 

Don't tell anyone, but she was my favorite. 

Look at them smize. They make it an art form. 

This model even made her feet look all fancy for me. Wasn't that nice? 

That jacket is made of sequins. 

Yeah. 

That just about wraps up New York Fashion Week! Well, actually, it wraps up New York Fashion Week. Straight up. And it only took me, like, two months!

If you guys were seriously affected by that bitch Sandy this weekend...you probably wouldn't be reading this blogpost right now, because you probably wouldn't have power. Luckily I wasn't, as in my apartment didn't lose power and my neighborhood suffered minimal damage, but I know so many people who weren't as fortunate. The subway will be shut down for the next four to five days, which means: a) no school, and b) no going anywhere at all. So it's good but also fairly sucky. Hang in there, guys!

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The Sporty Surrealists (Milly Spring 2013)

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012, was probably the best day of my life (thus far). 

Why, you may ask? Well, my curious reader, you shall soon find out. 

On the second to last day of the end of New York Fashion Week, I left school early and headed over to Lincoln Center to attend Milly's Spring 2013 collection. This was the first of three shows I had invitations to for that afternoon/evening/night (Anna Sui and Clover Canyon followed this one later that day), and I was missing Chemistry, and it was Fashion Week, so I was already mega pumped to begin with. I entered the venue with enough time to scope out the scene, so I began checking out the front row and walking up the runway to see what/who that huge crowd of people was clustered around. I spotted a familiar face in the sea of heads--but to whom did this visage belong? It took me a moment to place it, but once I recognized him I went into a bit of paralytic shock for a moment. Who but W.B. Mason Ryan Lochte himself was standing mere feet away from me? The Olympic swimmer whose interviews I had watched countless times on the internet over the summer--the man who I can quote verbatim saying things like, "What defines me? ...Ryan Lochte," or that the answer to seven times four is twenty-one. Also his phone background is rocks. And he can't wait until the Olympics are over so he can, you know, go to the market...do a little shopping. Needless to say, my interaction with him did not progress past a) him looking disgruntled and confused by the flashbulb going off from my camera and b) him mumbling, "Yeah, sure," when I handed him my card and asked him to check out this here site. It was one of the highlights of my life, no doubt. 

Onto the show: it was inspired by the concept of surrealism. That's a hefty concept to be inspired by. When I think of surrealism, I think Salvador Dalí; but that might just be me. There are other surrealists out there, obviously. Michelle Smith, the designer behind Milly, chose to pull out the idea of playing with the eye through "illusions and unexpected combinations of technical fabrics, couture finishes, and dream-like photorealistic prints." (This quote was taken from the show notes, I'm not just putting my own words in quotation marks.) The trends I pulled out of the collection were silver/metallics, white, coral/orange, shades of blue, shades of green, yellow, and tweed. According to the designer, the official names are "neon coral, mentino, lapis and citron" (first of all, what the hell is mentino, because it is simply not a thing; secondly, there was no oxford comma included in the original text, which vexes me to no end). She was trying to portray movement--she got that down pat. The models all looked like they were going to play tennis or something, in the most high fashion way possible. And those science lab-inspired glasses are quite a quirky touch. I think...I think I like 'em. 

Now you may decide for yourself whether you're feelin' the vibes. 

[Photos by me.]

But first...

RYAN LOCHTE! 

She simply looks like she's a really fashionable tennis player, no? Serena and Venus need to step up their sartorial game on the courts, it seems.

I think visible seams are becoming a thing. Let's keep our eye on that one. 

That's Iris Egber, rockin' a cut-out dress like it's her job. 

Because it is. 

Mesh sleeves! And tweed! Yah!

Elsa Sylvan showing some pretty funky prints. Is that a jumpsuit, or...?

There's that lapis Michelle Smith spoke so highly of.

Metallics are super on-trend for right now and next spring. Get on dat. I just painted my nails two different shades of metallics (purple on one hand, gold on the other). 

Laser-cut leather is an interesting approach to warm weather leathers. 

The graphicness of black and white is made super sporty with the visible seams and mesh. Slightly reminiscent of Alexander Wang F/W 2012, amirite?

Josephine Skriver, how I love you so, especially when you are a few feet away from me.

Neon + mesh + tweed = confused but totally digging. 

Sweaters get me every time. 

When Josephine Skriver walked out on the runway a) being Josephine Skriver, b) wearing an awesome dress, and c) wearing a TRANSLUCENT PONCHO, I flipped out. Because I have a girlcrush on Josephine and a flat out love for ponchos, especially those of the semiopaque variety. 

Tomorrow I'm attending StyleCaster's Style Summit at 92Y Tribeca. Playin' hooky because Derek Blasberg is more exciting than school. I will report fully on the event after I have recovered from its awesomeness. 

There was some surprisingly positive feedback on the playlist I posted a week or so ago, so I'm going to start posting playlists every Sunday (or every other Sunday, depending on if I can even see over the pile of homework I may potentially have to complete). Musique! Hoo-ray! 

It's almost Friday almostFridayalmostFridayFridayFridayweekendyum. 

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Superior Smizers: Karlie Kloss

Modeling is a tricky business. Like a lot of professions in the fashion industry, it's primarily dominated by non-Americans. It's always a nice surprise to find out that one of my favorite models is American. The sensation is similar to that of finding a plastic light-up Indiana Jones spoon in your Honey Nut Cheerios box. Glad we're on the same page now. A time when I experienced this particular, well, experience was when I discovered that Karlie Kloss was from Chicago, Illinois, reppin' da USA! I'm really not a patriotic person at all, but it's comforting to know that there is a place in the fashion elite for people from this country. Another huge shocker? Karlie was born on August 3rd of 1992, making her nineteen years old. She's not even a legal adult yet and she's walked, let alone opened and closed, doors some of the biggest shows the global runways house: Calvin Klein, Chanel, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Zac Posen, Marc Jacobs, Christian Dior, and has even walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Some small town girl that grew up in St. Louis, Missouri is now ranked 3rd on models.com's list of the top 50 female models. This shiz is the real deal.

Karlie officially began her modeling career in 2007 when she signed with Elite Model Management after participating in a charity fashion show in St. Louis two years prior at age thirteen. In 2008, she left Elite and signed with NEXT Model Management and that year walked sixty-four shows in one season collectively at all four major fashion weeks (New York, Milan, London, Paris). That year, she was only sixteen years old. OH. MY. GOD. From therein, her career exploded (figuratively). Since then, she's been in advertisements for Donna Karan, Chloé, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, Gap, Dior, Hermès, Oscar de la Renta, Topshop, Barneys New York, and Marc Jacobs as the face of the brand's fragrance Lola. That's not even all of them, I just didn't want to bore you to sleep. Karlie has been either inside or on the cover of every major magazine you can think of, in issues published in countries all over the world. This girl has it made.

What's so great about this Karlie Kloss chick, anyway? you may mutter aggressively under your breath. According to basically everyone, she's known for her powerful and graceful runway strut as well as her unique yet classic look. Karlie has described her walk as a "moody gait," and attributes it to her training in ballet. People magazine named her the best model of the year in 2008 and Tyra Banks has praised her on Twitter. I guess if the original smizer herself tweets about you, that's the be-all-and-end-all of your modeling career. Apparently, Karlie is fo' real. Also, she's BFFs with mah homeboii Derek Blasberg, so she's chill.

Photos via tumblr.com, style.com, and harpersbazaar.com. 

She's like a little cat! I just want to have a sleepover with her, don't you?

The smize. See the smize.

This is a prime example of the klassik Karlie pout. 

Okay, not only is she a babe when other people dress her, she's even more of a babe when she dresses herself. This is the sign of true fashion immersion. 

Salut, Karlie! That was a pun because she's saluting the camera but that word also means "hi" in French, and this photo was taken in the Tuileries in Paris. 

Here, Karlie has put on her I'm-trying-to-seduce-you-with-my-eyes face. It's working.

Don't feel too bad, she likes baking cookies and biking, just like you and me! She's a human maybe! Even if she is six feet tall! Whatever, man, I like being 5'3"-ish. ...I mean, it's okay. It's mediocre.

Happy Bastille Day to all mah Frenchies out there! For those of you who didn't see this on my blog's Facebook page earlier today, here's something to brighten your evening a bit: Joseph Gordon-Levitt singing Jacques Brel's "La Valse A Mille Temps," aka one of my favorite French songs since I was a wee lass of seven. Enjoy his beautiful face, gorgeous voice, and charming demeanor and then go watch "(500) Days of Summer." You can thank me later.

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Superior Smizers: Hanneli Mustaparta

Hanneli Mustaparta has become somewhat of a staple on this blog. I mention her so often that she's even got her own label. I suppose that my love for her began when I met her at the ADAM Spring 2012 show back in September; I saw her sitting in the front row and I knew she looked famous and familiar, so I took her picture. Little did I know that I was photographing/interacting with/slightly fangirling in front of a fashion celebrity. When I found out who she was when I got home, I recall flippin' my flippers out. This beautiful and extremely stylish model, blogger and Vogue magazine contributor has even become part of a joke here on You're A Tulle. Do you guys remember Hanneli Gabiele Mustaparisian? It's probably unnatural how proud I am of that creation.

Hanneli was born in Baerum, Norway, on October 13 of 1982. Why is that the best people are always foreigners? Emma Watson, Alexa Chung, Hanne Gaby Odiele...at least we can claim Arizona Muse.  There's surprisingly little information about Hanneli on the interwebz, but I did find out that she was discovered in 1999 at the age of 17 by the fashion photographer Per Heimly. She started her blog in March of 2009, so she's been doing this for quite a while. She contributes to Vogue quite often and occasionally models, but in recent years she's felt more comfortable behind the camera (she's a pretty darn good street style photographer). I advise that you check out her blog, Hanneli. It's yumyumyumyumyum delicioso!

Photos via hanneli.com and harpersbazaar.com. 

Hanneli is a huge fan of white. She wears it all the time. It takes a certain amount of courage to wear white pants, I think. It also takes a great deal of knowledge to know how to mix pale colors properly without looking washed out. She grounded her pastels perfectly with a dark belt and black heels. 

More white. See? I told ya she likes the color. The Opening Ceremony cat shirt is actually so perfect, especially when paired with white wide leg pants, white gloves and a black purse. Mind you, this was taken during February Fashion Week, when it was approximately 40 degrees Farenheit outside. She must have been insane. Hanneli really is dedicated to her craft. 

I don't quite know where this was taken, but based on the scenery it looks like a place in Europe. I've said it twice before and I'll say it thrice: Hanneli's wardrobe consists mostly of white garments. There is literally something white in seven out of eight of the photographs in this post. The sheer top paired with matching pants look modern but the retro sunglasses and platform brogues add a little twist. Where does she find such beautiful clothing? Halp me Hanneli!!! 

When you're a model, you can walk around wearing an abstract floral print bra, a matching jacket and a midi-length white pencil skirt and no one will judge you harshly. I usually don't like matchy-matchy outfits, but by pulling out the white from the blazer and mirroring it in the skirt, Hanneli avoided looking too monochrome. 

This is the only photograph in which Hanneli is not wearing white. The leather skirt and leather purse play nicely off of the pumpkin colored top. The silhouettes lend to a schoolgirl style, a theme that is also touched upon in Hanneli's hair clip. By keeping the silhouettes simple and not wearing any prints, she made the outfit look sophisticated and fresh instead of young and childish. 

And the white returns. I think Hanneli also has a thing for leather, and cool sunglasses. There is probably no one less perfect than this woman--or, at least no one more well-dressed. She has mastered the art of dressing oneself, and it is a pleasure to see the fruits of her labor. This look is very Parisian (Hanneli Gabiele Mustaparisian, eh?)

Leather and white, all in one piece of clothing. That's pretty fancy. The masterful mixing of colors, textures and hemlines is quite impressive, I think. 

Hey. Hey. Guess what color her dress is. It's freaking white. I love how flowy and free the dress is. I don't know why it seems to work so well with her mega tall boot-heel hybrid shoes and that cute lil' pastel bag, but it just does. That's the magic of Macy's Hanneli. 

Hanneli Mustaparta might be one of the best dressed people I know (I can say that I know her because I met her twice and she petted my ostrich feather jacket and told me she loved it). She is a huge inspiration to me, even though I know that her style doesn't really fit my aesthetic. A girl can dream, ya know. It's called REM sleep.


I don't know how much more of this "school" business I can take. It's really cutting into my down time and tampering with my sanity levels, so bear with me. Just know that I'd rather be blogging.

Here's to another long, rainy week. Cheers, mis amigos.

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