Maxim is getting a serious makeover with Kate Lanphear as the publication’s new editor-in-chief. Lanphear, who has previously worked for publications like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, is leaving her position as style director for T magazine in favor of Maxim.

The announcement has puzzled readers of both the Vogue and Maxim varieties. As a stylist and street style favorite, Lanphear’s dive into the world of overexposed swimsuit models seems unexpected at best. Despite being an expert on womenswear and curating her own sartorial style, the same cannot be said about Lanphear’s experience with menswear. According to the New York Times, Maxim’s publisher Kevin Martinez said about her appointment, “It’s such a curiosity.”

Despite admitting that she was nervous, Lanphear seems to be taking her new position in a stride. Her first Maxim issue will feature 3 fashion based editorials and based on a report from Fashionista, advertisers have bought 1300 percent more advertising space for fashion. Lanphear is delivering the new age of Maxim, and perhaps with it, a reworking of the male gaze.

Photo Courtesy of Maxim, via Instagram

In response to Maxim’s sexualization of women, Lanphear said, “I want women to be portrayed as three-dimensional as they actually are, that they are confident, healthy and energetic and happy. I want women that men can fall in love with and not just objectify.”

Lanphear’s first cover will feature Candice Swanepoel, who was also at the top of Maxim’s Hot 100 list. Swanepoel appears on the pages of the publication nearly nude, but Lanphear’s direction is evident. Swanepoel is nude, not naked––a subtlety that can only be achieved by the feminine gaze.

Fashion Week anywhere is notoriously hard to get into, unless you’re name ends with Wintour or Kardashian. Those who aren’t blessed with the title of Vogue’s editor-in-chief or born into a celebrity namesake have long consumed fashion weeks all over the world through secondhand media. First there were newspapers and press releases and then came Style.com and Instagram. Now, in the ongoing love story between tech and fashion, the game is changing again. Snapchat is allowing anybody who’s anybody––with a smartphone––all access to fashion week.

According to Advertising Age, fashionistas of all varieties are taking advantage of Snapchat’s public story functionality, which allows users to upload photos and videos for a duration of 24-hours; much longer than Snapchat’s original few second clips. Among the insiders taking advantage of this function include Eva Chen, editor-in-chief of Lucky Magazine, and Leandra Medine of the “Man Repeller” blog.

Leandra Medine brings Rodarte’s fall presentation right to your iPhone. Photo courtesy of Leandra Medine via Instagram.

Neha Gandhi, Refinery 29’s media expert, told Advertising Age, «It’s about bringing people along with you. Everyone gets to take a look around and honestly share it. There’s transparency in Snapchat.»

With the rapid and continued merge of technology and fashion, runway shows and brand presentations are becoming less exclusive and more tangible by the moment, which raises the question; how will the industry define high fashion when it becomes accessible to the masses? Will high fashion become as obsolete as a CD player? Only time––and tech––will tell.

Kelly Cutrone, author of the book ‘If You Have to Cry, Go Outside’ and judge on America’s Next Top Model, just called Kanye West a joke. The founder of one of the biggest fashion PR firms, People’s Revolution, has built a reputation for herself as being both cutthroat and the best of the best. Anyone that’s seen her in action on TV knows that Kelly means what she says and she isn’t afraid to say it––and today, she has called Kanye West’s attempt at fashion ‘a joke’.

True to her filterless reputation, Kelly told People NOW, “I’m not into his fashion thing. I think he’s fine as a rapper. I think he’s a joke as a fashion designer.” The diss didn’t stop there, however. Kelly hates the Yeezy sneakers too. The publicist and fashion critic called attention to the quality, saying, “I mean, it’s not, he’s not legit. Have you seen the product?” and threw salt on the wound by asking, “Didn’t he have his own line in London, which was a disaster that he spent $10 million to do, that no one wore?”. Ouch.

It appears that even Anna Wintour’s front row appearance at Kanye’s New York Fashion Week show wasn’t enough to sway Kelly’s opinion. Perhaps she was feeling bad about her comments, but Kelly did decide to offer Kanye some insider advice. She said, “I just think that you should stay focused at what you’re good at. Just because you’re a good rapper doesn’t mean you’re going to be a good fashion designer.”

GIF via Tumblr

The fashion god, aka Kelly Cutrone, has spoken. Sorry Kanye––if you have to cry, go outside.

Nike has just become cooler than ever with a collaboration with Japanese label Sacai. The sportswear giant has turned to Chitose Abe, Sacai’s lead designer, to launch an exclusive capsule collection. The collection will include 8 limited edition pieces that combine Nike’s sportswear functionality with Sacai’s feminine sensibilities.

In an interview with Business of Fashion, Abe said, “I’ve always been inspired by original silhouettes and ideas that often come from utility, performance and sportswear. Nike is a classic and an original that has a purity about it and a familiarity to the silhouettes that they’ve created over the years, so it’s a perfect fit with my aesthetic and inspiration.”

Chitose Abe with Binx Walton

The designer, who used to be a pattern maker for Comme des Garçons, is adding this collaboration to her resume just 3 years after Sacai first debuted its ready-to-wear line at Paris Fashion Week.

The GIF master, ballsy photographer, and motion graphic designer, John McLaughlin, has made New York Fashion Week fun again. It’s easy to forget that fashion is meant to be fun in a crowd of beautiful people that never smile and make you feel self-conscious. Fashion is often about attitude as much as it is about design, and smiling is usually not the face of choice.

McLaughlin has made some of the most fashionable and memorable GIFs of all time. There are a cornucopia of models, celebrities, and editors in his latest NYFW series––all of whom are holding his creation ‘Fuzzy Dude’.

Whoopi Goldberg and her granddaughter at Milk Studios.

The GIF genius spoke to the Huffington Post about his invention. «I was messing around in my downtime and experimenting with the dynamic hair texture,» he explained. «It started to look like a character so I threw eyes on it and it just looked funny. I made it move, posted a GIF on Tumblr and it randomly got tagged and shared.»

Girls’ star, Zosia Mamet, at Jill Stuart’s show.

The boy wonder of animation was invited to attend NYFW last year, but thought “What am I going to do? I’m an animator, and there are already all these talented fashion photographers.”

Anna Wintours at Wes Gordon’s show.

As McLaughlin continues to be part of NYFW, he is learning and becoming more aware of his surroundings. «I’m getting there… I’m learning more each time. This is definitely a big step up, I mean, I knew who Anna Wintour was this season.»

The founder of Man Repeller, Leandra Medine, with the Fuzzy Dude..

To see more celebrity and Fuzzy Dude, go to McLaughlin’s Instagram and Tumblr.

All photos courtesy of John McLaughlin via Tumblr.