July 2011
18 posts
McQueen's Final Wishes
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN’s £16 million last will and testament was made public today - and his final wishes may help support young designers far in to the future. The designer, who committed suicide in February 2010, left the majority of his estate in a trust for his Sarabande charity, and asked it to consider using this money to fund bursaries or grants for students at Central Saint Martins.
The designer left £100,000 each to The Terrence Higgins Trust and the London Buddhist Centre, the Independent reports; £50,000 to his housekeepers, Marlene and Cesar Garcia, for their “long and faithful service”; £50,000 to his godson and each of his nieces and nephews; and £250,000 to each of his three sisters and two brothers.
He also bequeathed £100,000 to animal charities The Blue Cross and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. The designer, known for his love of dogs in particular, left £50,000 in a trust for the upkeep of his own beloved pet dogs.
from vouge.co.uk
#Fashion101: Be Your Own Fashion Editor
I’m not gonna lie. By Manhattan standards, I have pretty good closet space. On those days where fighting to move the hangers down the rail is just too much to bear, I start to get that “ok it’s time to edit” feeling. This then becomes a Saturday afternoon project from hell, whereby I literally remove chunks of clothes at a time, toss them on the bed and attempt to edit the ones that don’t make the cut.
The ones that are lucky enough to go back in are placed in the following order:
1. Type (skirt, jacket, pant etc)
2. Within type—->cut (mini, cropped, short sleeve etc)
3. Within type/cut—->color
(So when you plan an outfit and you think ooh I want a mini skirt, you don’t have to wonder where to look).
Sounds like a good plan except when I come across something I NEVER wear, something in me starts to make excuses. “I loved that pant”. “I used to wear that pant all the time”. “What if this style is the biggest trend ever next season?!” Etc. Etc. Etc. Then I start to feel badly for said pant and lo and behold it goes back into the closet.
Don’t get me wrong, if a piece of clothing is in poor condition, I have no problem tossing it. But if it’s a gorgeous, never been worn piece, it’s just well, harder. So what to do? The closet is not getting bigger you know…..
As such I have established a hard core editing filter I like to call “STATEMENT KEEPER”. Simply put, if a piece of clothing has a defined and powerful sense of style (even if it’s not currently something I would dare wear) it stays. For example, that multi-color sequins blazer may not be what I want to wear this week, but it is a “statement” piece. You don’t toss statement pieces. You toss the pieces that you can always buy again if an emergency need presented itself. So if it’s a run of the mill basic (even if it’s in good condition) and I haven’t worn it in a year, it goes.
I am really strict with this rule because I have conditioned myself to think a roomy closet just means more room for new clothes. Fashion Editors edit collections as a job and when we read a magazine we trust what they have chosen for us. Surely we can wear this hat in the confines of our own little closet?
Try the “STATEMENT KEEPER” edit. It’s going to be a little painful but in the end it will be worth it. Then round back with me and we’ll work on filling it back up again, with fresh, new, exciting clothes.
xo, DKNY PR GIRL
ASK KATCH
Do you have any questions about fashion, music, our office?
We don’t bite
:)
