catwalk Archives • We Are Fur

Azzedine Alaia, the truth teller

July 13, 2018

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution, on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first.” - Jim Morrison I know, I know. I told you the next post would be about Alexander McQueen's little treasures found...

McQueen, restoring life’s square deal

June 22, 2018

“You have the power to read in-between lines and look through people… that’s a hitch that will haunt you for the rest of your life.” - The Guru’s dad regular quote whenever he encountered the threat of her questioning the real meaning of life… words, rules, the system or people’s real intentions. And so, it is my darling readers. My father was right; it keeps haunting me. But, it’s good to know I’m not alone in this world. Oh no (no, NO!). Not under any...

REMIX 2018: For the love of nature

February 16, 2018

“Nature always wears the colours of the spirit.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Hola! (little wave) I have been busy putting together images and words about this year’s REMIX finalists (Whoop whoop!). Using nature as their source of inspiration, these ten talented crafters and thinkers bring to the catwalk their vision of how fur and fashion can be used as tools to make a positive difference to the world, with a specific focus on preservation of the natural environment, sustainability and giving back to communities that...

Yves Saint Laurent Museum, the romantic escapade

January 12, 2018

“I have always believed that fashion was not only to make women more beautiful, but also to reassure them, give them confidence”. – Yves Saint Laurent Happy New Year my darling readers! The Guru has been working a lot but hasn’t forgotten about you. As a treat and, for you to forgive her long absence, she has brought you the epitome of the Parisian romanticism: Yves Saint Lauren. For many years, Laurent studied fashion and took numerous classes to enhance his knowledge on designing...

Christian Dior, the creator of the indivisible whole

December 8, 2017

“Women, with their unfailing instinct, must have understood that I dreamed not only of making them more beautiful, but also happier. Their favour was my reward”. – Christian Dior Click here for a sneak peek of the Guru's visit! Every beginning is messy… and so is the Guru’s brain. But finally, here it is! I have been selecting the best of the images from the exhibition extraordinaire in Musee des arts decoratifs in Paris: Christian Dior, Designer of dreams. This woman was for several days...

Fur Accessories Are In Full Bloom

October 20, 2017

It used to be the case then when it came to fur in fashion, you would think of bulky coats and perhaps the occasional pair of daring earmuffs. Nowadays however, due to the continuing technical and creative innovation of fashion designers, fur is being made increasingly available in a variety of forms. Of course, you wouldn’t have expected to see big fur pieces in the form of coats or jackets in the recent Spring Summer catwalks. But major brands continued to incorporate the material...

The real power of anecdotes

October 13, 2017

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. – Martin Luther King, , I have a dream, August 28th, 1963. The Guru believes politics and religion are daring topics. It might be because she comes from an extremely religious family. Or because she has grown up with a strongly political sister who slaps her in the face with weekly reality updates about all sort of social and political misfortunes in the world. Don’t misinterpret the writer of this post;...

About the real, good things in life.

August 25, 2017

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” – John Keats, Endymion: A Poetic Romance Last week, the Guru introduced you to Wang Yutao and his refreshing approach to life and fashion. All this love for the small and big things in our daily life existence were so revitalizing and uplifting that she couldn’t get enough. She got you the answers to some of the questions that popped out of her head when looking at Mr Wang’s collections but, more importantly, at his latest work...

The magic of the quotidian with Wang Yutao

August 18, 2017

“Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.” – Albert Szent- Gyorgy Not that long ago, the Fur Guru heard of this man: a designer that finds inspiration in the ordinary life and with it, re-invents the world around him and creates a much better place to be. He relies on human introspection, heritage, simplicity, nature, peace and enjoyment. All this without forgetting the purpose of fashion: understand what people really need. His name? Wang Yutao. This lover...

Fendi rises to the occasion yet again

July 14, 2017

“Haute Couture is a mass of whispered secrets. Rare are those who have the privilege of passing them on”. – Yves Saint Laurent If there was going to be one show to close Paris Couture week, it was most certainly going to be Fendi’s Haute Furrore showpiece. One year after walking on water in Rome, Karl Lagerfeld returned to Paris with a high fur collection with wonderful garden tunes. The Italian brand’s collection paid tribute to nature and the world of flowers. Lagerfeld certainly didn’t...

People, get ready: FUR NOW Campaign 2017/18

May 12, 2017

“Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life.” – ― Bill Cunningham. Morning my darlings! This Guru is full of excitement as the shooting and filming for FUR NOW 2017/18 Campaign is approaching quickly. Everyone is excited just to look at the pieces that so many of our members have generously sent from all around the world to be showcased. I wish my eyes could take pictures of the detail, the vibrant colours and patterns… Every single one of them reflects a...

The Fur Guru: Past and Present in Madrid

March 21, 2017

“Certainly paradise, whatever, wherever it be, contains flaws. If it did not, it would be incapable of drawing the hearts of men or angels.” – Henry Miller, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch. She was born at the beginning of the 20th Century (1909 to be precise). Her name was a never-ending thread of six names of which she used the one of Raquel but, secretly, I always preferred the one of Rosario. She lost both her parents at a very young age...

The Fur Guru: REMIX 2017 Show (Part 2)

March 6, 2017

“Creativity takes courage.” Henry Matisse. Buongiorno my dear followers! Yes, in case you didn’t notice, I’m still in my Italian mood. Lets not lose the momentum people! I told you last week there were still great things to come. So, I thought I would continue talking a little bit more about the rest of the highly creative group that accompanied the Fur Guru in her travels in Milan’s Fashion Week. Ladies first… Ólöf is the typical Icelander: relaxed, happy and cool (I wish you could...

MILAN Mens Fashion Week Catwalk Report: Our Top 5

January 20, 2017

13 January Ermenegildo Zegna: Milan’s Fashion Week Menswear started with a surfeit of examples of the new trends for this FW17. The fashionistas continued to see athleisure attires and beautiful outfits that mixed cropped pants and fitted sweaters for FW17 as seen on the runways at Ports 1961 with their heavily embellished sweatshirt and Ermenegildo Zegna with its stitched padded jacket. The brand’s first ever overall artistic director, Alessandro Sartori, established a whole collection based on the continuing casualization of menswear. Sartori’s visual declaration to the...

LONDON Mens Fashion Week Catwalk Report (Part 2)

January 12, 2017

08 January Grace Wales Bonner: Directly from the South-East of London, Wales Bonner pursued to turn the average into something astonishing with street-wear raised to new and exhilarating apices. Wales talked about the sentiment behind this collection and this emotion could be felt in every aspect of the show: the inspiring display of clothes, the miscellany of those who walked in this new story that talks about a young generation full of variations, backgrounds and cultures from all around the world. In a choreographic...

LONDON Mens Fashion Week Catwalk Report (Part 1)

January 11, 2017

06 January 2017 Bobby Abley: Securely established and straightaway recognisable the unstoppable force of the Bobby Abley show continued to surprise us with its inimitable charm, waggishness and humour, blending yearning and light-hearted imagery with a contemporary menswear design. Pop culture (splashing Disney cartoon characters, Louis Vuitton-style logos and Muppet-like fur), a favourite theme of Bobby Abley’s inspiration has given way this catwalk to a memory that affected his childhood and those of his generation: the kids action cartoon Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, from 1993....

The Book of Beasts: Chapter 6

December 2, 2016

The Unicorn: —From Isidore of Seville [7th century CE] (Etymologies, Book 12, 2:12-13): “The unicorn is fierce, strong and swift, and no hunter can catch it. To tame the beast so it can be captured, a virgin girl is placed in its path. The unicorn, seeing the maiden, comes to her and puts its head in her lap and falls asleep. The hunters can then easily capture or kill it.” Shiatzy Chen’s collection for AW16 proved that strength and power also lies on the...

The Book of Beasts: Chapter 5

November 24, 2016

The Griffin: —From Bartholomaeus Anglicus [13th century CE] (De proprietatibus rerum, book 18): “The griffin is a beast with wings, and is four footed: and breedeth in the mountains Hyperborean, and is like to the lion in all the parts of the body, and to the eagle only in the head and wings. And griffins keep the mountains in which be gems and precious stones, and suffer them not to be taken from thence.” The spirit of Britain: the chaos, the passion, the hope,...

The Book of Beasts: Chapter 4

November 17, 2016

The Turtledove: —From Guillaume le Clerc Bestiaire: “Now I must tell you of another bird which is courteous and beautiful, and which loves much and is much loved. This is the turtledove. The male and the female are always together in mountain or in desert, and if perchance the female loses her companion never more will she cease to mourn for him, never more will she sit upon green branch or leaf. Nothing in the world can induce her to take another mate, but...

Smoda: The Spanish Fashion Love Affair with Fur Returns

November 2, 2016

“At the heart of all great art is an essential melancholy.” -Federico Garcia Lorca Passionate by nature and passionate by choice, Spain is a country that has gifted the world with invaluable endowments like the candorous words of Garcia Lorca, the playful art of Picasso and the tantalizing insanity of Dali. It is a country that has channeled its past and history through an inexhaustible creative force. All the originators of this force have reflected through art, design and fashion a personal vision of the...

The Book of Beasts: Chapter 2

October 31, 2016

The Phoenix: —From The Aberdeen Bestiary: “When its time is come, it enters the covering and dies. From the fluid of its flesh a worm arises and gradually grows to maturity; when the appropriate time has come, it acquires wings to fly, and regains its previous appearance and form. Let this bird teach us, therefore, by its own example to believe in the resurrection of the body; lacking both an example to follow and any sense of reason, it reinvests itself with the very signs...

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