Unisex, wide-brim, vintage, or handmade––wool hats are in and they’re going to be huge this summer. The return of the wool (or felt if you can’t afford the real deal) is nothing new, but this spring will see mass variation on the black standard. Watch out for dark reds, blues, purples, and oranges.

These hats can be worn year round, but with the sun coming out in a couple months you’ll be thankful for the wide brim. Take it to a horse race, a club, a beach, a music festival, a funeral; the options are endless.

Fine Hats at California Shop in Tokyo

These hats don’t just go with a blazer, they fit well with a tank top and jeans, a bikini, or even a sundress. If you are having a bad hairday they can be a life saver. Don’t be afraid to take a risk and wear the hat at an angle, over one eye, or leaning back. These hats are meant to be worn with attitude. Think Al Capone when you put your hat on in the morning.

Designer and founder, Ade Hassan reinvented nude lingerie when she created the Nubian Skin brand. Frustrated with her inability to find lingerie that matched her skin tone, she decided to create her own line of undergarments and hosiery specifically created for women of color.

“My nude isn’t the nude I see in shops,” explains Hassan. “Despite the reality that women of colour have the same needs as all women when it comes to lingerie and hosiery, the industry simply doesn’t cater to us. So, I thought, it’s time to rethink the definition of nude.”

Guided by the precept, “Empowering Women. Embracing our Color,” Nubian Skin’s goal is to encourage women of all ethnicities to feel appreciated, included, and most of all sexy. The brand was established in October 2014, and was met with immediate success. Ade Hassan’s capsule collection comes in rich tones ranging from Café au Lait to Berry, and features luxurious and comfortable fabrics.

In designing her collection, Hassan kept in mind the young, modern women of color. With lace undergarments and convertible bras, as well as hold ups and tights, Nubian Skin aims to meet the contemporary woman’s every lingerie need.

The Nubian Skin capsule collection is available exclusively online, with prices starting from £8.00. Undergarments range in size from 30B to 36DD, and hosiery from S to XL.

Credits: Nubian Skin

Caven Etomi is an up-and-coming streetwear brand that focuses on producing high quality garments that are inspired by African art and culture. For their Fall/Winter 14-15 collection Joan and Doreen Caven and Oseyi Etomi––the creative force behind the brand––were inspired by abstracted geometry. This shows in the collection’s sleek graphic prints, bold color combinations, and cubist-inspired backdrops. According to the designers, “This collection combines simple geometric forms, primary colors, [and] images in an abstract composition on T shirts and Sweatshirts.”

Caven Etomi’s refined and unmatchable use of prints and colors make this Fall/Winter 14-15 collection one of our favorite this season.

This collection is available now on www.cavenetomi.com and in Temple Muse, Lagos, Nigeria.

With Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest tour-de-force in theaters now, a resurgence of turn-of-the-decade 60s/70s fashion is upon us. AMC’s Mad Men brought American 1950/60s fashion back into vogue in 2007, and this year marks the long awaited finale to the series. Along with the end of a fictional, highly influential decade begins a new one. Mark Bridges, Oscar nominated costume designer for Inherent Vice, is leading the pack toward the future of fashion.

Reese Witherspoon’s wavy, A-symmetrical-parted hair and dark blue, white ringer one-piece dress make us do backflips. She hasn’t looked this cute since Legally Blonde. “Penny’s (Witherspoon’s character) navy and white dress was inspired by a pair of vintage shoes I found,” Bridges said.

“I love to use contrasts to play up the idea that a character’s clothing isn’t always who they really are, just how they want the world to see them,” Bridges said about Reese Witherspoon’s costume.

Katherine Waterson’s tic-tac orange crochet dress was the biggest jaw dropper and is sure to make many appearances at music festivals this spring. “Shasta’s crochet dress was an original dress from the period found in an antique mall—a lucky find since most crochet dresses from the period have not survived these last 45 years,” he said. “I dyed it a bit to make the color stronger and more appealing yet still accurate for the period. We had to be very careful handling it, it was such a unique piece.”

In Thomas Pynchon’s novel Shasta (Katherine Waterson’s Character) is described as “looking like she said she’d never look.”

Joaquin Phoenix makes leaps and strides in turtlenecks, the color brown, and denim. The mutton chops may have a hard time finding their way back into the mainstream, unless you are still trying to work the hipster angle.

Joaquin Phoenix as Doc Sportello

“Neil Young iconoclast—scruffy, laid back, a bit frayed and almost accidentally cool,” as the production notes put it. “Many times when I needed an idea for Doc I would look at Neil’s choices during that era and often find a unique period look that was great then and still looks great today,” Bridges said.

Watch the trailer and see more of Mark Bridges costuming genius.

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Bottega Veneta’s latest artistic collaboration is with famed Japanese photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki. Araki joins the ranks of artists like Ryan McGinley, David Sims, and Nan Goldin in the brand’s ongoing series of creative campaigns titled The Art of Collaboration. The Spring Summer 2015 campaign was photographed on location in Tokyo and showcases Araki’s unique photographic talent. The campaign features both the men’s and women’s collections and stars models Saskia de Brauw and Sung Jin Park.

Photo by Nobuyoshi Araki, Courtesy of Bottega Veneta

Nobuyoshi Araki, also known as ‘Araki’ for short, is considered to be one of Japan’s most famous and influential photographers. Araki was born in Tokyo in 1940 and studied photography and film at Chiba University. After his university years, Araki worked as a commercial photographer but he quickly quit to pursue his interest in more risqué subject matter.

Araki’s photography is regarded for being highly sensual and unapologetically erotic.
His most famous—and controversial—images depict women who are bound in a type of Japanese rope-tying called kinbaku-bi. His other works often depict women in various stages of undress and suggestive closeups of flowers. Despite his choice in subject matter, however, his photographs are far from vulgar. Araki’s images are tasteful and leave the viewer with a sense of intimacy that is increasingly rare and hard to come by in the time of Tinder and 140 character love letters. This sentiment has not been lost on the art world, and Araki’s photographs have become a part of numerous collections, including Tate Modern in London and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Bottega Veneta’s Creative Director and lover of Japanese art, Tomas Maier, said “More than simply provocative, Araki’s images have a powerful honesty and human poignancy that make them unforgettable. He has his own visual language, which I was very excited to see translated to the collection. I am pleased to say I am very happy with the results of our collaboration.”

As for the clothing, both the men’s and women’s lines were influenced by the idea of freedom in movement—a fitting complement to the liberal nature of Araki’s work. The garments feel relaxed, yet graceful, and many of the fabrics have been given a weather-worn treatment. The color palette is quiet and mainly consists of pale navys, blues, and greens. Fabrics like linen, gingham, and buttery lambskin are accentuated by hints of sequins and caviar beads for women, and various stitching and smoking techniques for men. The whole collection incites a sense of nostalgia and ethereality that is perfectly captured and synergized by Araki’s lense.

A video documenting the photo shoot will be added in February to The Art of Collaboration video series at bottegaveneta.com.

Credit: Bottega Veneta

Largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave into the mainstream, not only is Dame Vivienne Westwood a fashion designer, activist and businesswoman, but also most certainly a fashion mastermind.

Punk pioneer Vivienne Westwood is undoubtedly one of Britain’s most recognizable living icons and has left a clear mark in the fashion world, as well as in other areas. Her contributions to modern times are not only creative but also political and cultural.

Get to know the fashion world’s favorite rebel with these interesting facts of her life and career.

1. She was born Vivienne Isabel Swire

   She became Vivienne Westwood when she married Derek Westwood. The marriage only lasted 3 years.

2. Vivienne is a war baby.

   She was born during World War II on April 8, 1941 to working class parents in Tintwistle, Derbyshire, England. She lived in a part of the country that had grown up in the Industrial Revolution. She didn’t know about art galleries, seen an art book, nor been to the theatre.

3. She almost gave up fashion and art

   Vivienne started sewing clothes for herself at the age of 12 and studied fashion and silversmithing at the University of Westminster’s Harrow School of Art at age 17. But after only 1 term, she left to study at a teacher-training college and eventually became a primary school teacher. Reason why she left the university — she didn’t know how a working-class girl like herself could possibly make a living in the art world.

4. Fashion still calls for her.

   Even as a teacher, Vivienne still was able to create her own jewellery, which she would sell at a stall on Portobello Road. She even made her own wedding dress for her wedding with Derek Westwood. After her split with Derek, she met art student and soon to be music business maverick Malcolm McLaren and he became her business partner and lover for 10 years.

5. Vivienne Westwood is the Godmother of Punk

   Malcolm opened doors for her in the fashion and art world starting by dressing up the punk rock band that Malcolm managed, the Sex Pistols. The partners soon opened a boutique on King’s Road in Chelsea and called «Let It Rock», later known as «Sex», then as «Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die», «Seditionaries» and lastly “Worlds Ends”. When it opened, the shop proved to be an important fashion and cultural centre for the punk movement, which began in the 70’s in the UK, then spread around the world, and is still very much alive today.

6. A Fashion Mastermind continues to evolve

   After the punk era, Vivienne experimented with other themes in the early years of her career starting with her main women’s ready-to-wear line entitled “Pirate” that offered a romantic look which burst onto the fashion scene of the British capital and ensured the collection’s place in history. Her following collections took inspirations from diverse sources such as the film ‘Blade Runner’, the desert landscape, undergarments and Tokyo’s neon signs. She dubbed the period in her career from 1981 to 1985 as «New Romantic» and the one from 1988 to 1992 as «The Pagan Years». During the latter period, Vivienne’s heroes changed from punks and ragamuffins to ‘Tatler’ girls wearing clothes that parodied the upper class.

7. She does the unexpected

   Fast forward to present day… 2014 was a big year for Westwood. She designed not only the new Virgin Atlantic uniforms but also beloved pop culture icon Miss Piggy’s wedding dress for the Disney film ‘Muppets Most Wanted’. The highly anticipated wedding of Miss Piggy and her groom Kermit the Frog took place at the Tower of London where the bride walked down the aisle in a Vivienne Westwood long ivory court wedding gown, with corset detailing and paillettes made from recycled plastic bottles.

8. She’s a Rebel with a Cause

   Vivienne often uses her catwalk shows, especially for her menswear and Red Label lines, as platforms to campaign about issues that she supports, such as climate change and Scottish independence. During London Fashion Week in September 2014, for her Red Label Spring/Summer 2015 collection, she sent her models down the runway wearing ‘Yes’ badges, proudly showing her wish for Scotland to break away from the UK. So it is no surprise that Vivienne was inducted into the Scottish Fashion Awards Hall of Fame for consistently used Scottish textiles and fabrics within her collections as well as for the significant impact she has made for campaigning for human rights and environmental issues.

Vivienne Westwood’s distinct point of view and passion are very much unique and worthy of praise, as she has shown throughout her career which so far spans over five decades. To this day, she remains as one of the most sought-after and influential designers, inspiring other brilliant and creative minds such as Karl Lagerfeld and John Galliano. She has dressed everyone from the Sex Pistols, to the Princess of Wales and many of today’s most iconic celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams and Marion Cotillard, just to name a few.

We cannot wait to keep witnessing what Dame Vivienne Westwood will do next.

Get to know more on how this fashion mastermind on Fashion Masterminds: Vivienne Westwood, a special feature premiering this November 26, Wednesday at 21:30 (GMT+8 for Asia / GMT+1 for Europe), exclusively on Fashion One, FO, and Fashion First. Check your cable operators for your local TV channel listing.

“My clothes have a story. They have an identity. They have a character and a purpose. That’s why they become classics. Because they keep on telling a story. They are still telling it.”

— Vivienne Westwood

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About Fashion One

Fashion One operates a global lifestyle and entertainment TV network for women focused on glamorous and inspirational fashion in all aspect of life. With the latest updates and in-depth interviews with designers and celebrities, female audiences will be entertained with the channels’ original programmes including reality shows, documentary, travelogue, entertainment news and lifestyle magazine. The network is a subsidiary of Bigfoot Entertainment launched in 2010.

As we draw close to the prestigous Soweto fashion week (26-29 Nov) the fashion world is anticipating another amazing fashion theatre showcase. SFW carries a heavy weight as it was established in the biggest township in South Africa with a great history- neighborhood of the late legendary Nelson Mandela. Soweto is a huge tourist destination and Soweto fashion week has also been named a tourist destination event as it attracts foreigners from other countries. Its a unique fashion week known for its fashion theatre concept that represents the history of Soweto. It stands with no competition unlike the Mercedes Benz fashion weeks, SFW has its only creative style of showcasing the designer pieces on the runway. It has managed to its own crowd with the fashion theatre concept.

Soweto fashion week is the biggest platform for empowering and enriching upcoming designers and models. It works with the government to create empowerment, skills development and commercing art. We have seen local young designers having the opportunity to showcase in Las Vegas, USA and commercing their collections there. We also have witnessed unskilled models growing in this platform and getting big jobs elsewhere.

As the Spring14/15 is around the corner there is a hype about this event, as it bring different designers from other African nations to showcase in Soweto. Designers from; Nigeria, Tanzania, Botswana and Zimbabwe are very excited to be showcasing in the big township with great history. The Creative Director Ngugi Velly Vere was quoted saying,»We bringing Africa to Soweto and commerce it global». The show has also partnered with a local TV soapie, and some of the casts will be seen taking on the ramp for a showdown.

STYLE IS EMPOWERING

Italian luxury brand Gucci is set to launch its first cosmetics line in September, marking the first time the fashion behemoth has stepped into the competitive world of cosmetics. The initial launch will be comprised of a 200-piece range, offering a complete makeup solution including face, eye, lip and nail colors as well as brushes and skin preparation and care products. Furthermore, the label has enlisted model Charlotte Casiraghi, granddaughter of Grace Kelly, to act as the public face of the launch campaign.

23-year-old British singer-songwriter and actress Rita Ora has partnered with sportswear and fashion giant Adidas to create a range of capsule collections for the brand, an appointment which marks her as the first female artist collaborator ever chosen by Adidas. The initial launch will feature five different capsule collections released globally from August 21, and items include footwear, apparel, outerwear and accessories. The dynamic collaboration will be ongoing, with the line continuing for three seasons until fall 2015.

In anticipation of the FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil, leading Italian online fashion boutique Yoox has collaborated with 10 international designers to create an exclusive unisex sweatshirt inspired by their native country. The fashion/sports endeavor features the designers of Opening Ceremony Carol Lim and Humberto Leon from America, Massimo Giorgetti of Italy, Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada from Spain, Brazil’s Barbara Casasola, Doru Oluwu of Nigeria, Korea’s Juun.J, Ksubi from Australia, China’s Masha Ma, Damir Doma of Germany and Ami will represent France.

Ethereal and technical, the work of Maiko Takeda summons a vision of fashion beamed from another planet.

Born in Tokyo and now based in London, Maiko Takeda recently completed her Masters in millinery at the Royal College of Art in London, and prior to this studied jewelry design at Central Saint Martins College, and has worked with Stephen Jones, Philip Treacy and Issey Miyake. The young designer’s work takes the form of headpieces, jewelry and body adornments that reflect her passion for science and mathematics, using multiple materials pieces utilize transparency, shadows, wind and gravity to reshape and obscure the human form in original and intense fashion.

In her collection titled “Atmospheric Reentry” for Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2014-2015, work is displayed in installations comprised of a sculptural head and body pieces informed by a sense of futurism, the works deftly utilizing space and geometry to achieve their innovative forms. Renowned American composers Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s piece “Einstein on the Beach,” whose minimal and repetitive characteristic effortlessly communicate a futuristic and utopian atmosphere, was the inspirational touchstone for the collection. Pieces were constructed from unconventional materials: Hundreds of spiky, feather-like units projecting away from the body were constructed from clear acrylic and color-tinted with delicate gradients, resulting in an airy spherical cloud seemingly encasing the human figure in a brightly hued haze that almost defies comprehension. The result was a study of both density and lightness that skillfully merging sculpture and jewelry, fashion and art into a graceful intangible presentation that again showed Takeda’s ability to create a unique, highly personal fashion narrative.