“It’s not just about clothes. It’s about the dream, the image and most of all what it represents. Welcome to the boys club of overachievers, dreamers, thinkers who are inspiring, sexual, brilliant and over zealous. What’s inspiring is that they exist and that they’re real. The men who look in the mirror and genuinely understand that they are tomorrow and take that role seriously. If not for the art, I create this brand for them. An honor if I must. It’s not every man’s world…it’s theirs, the new American man.” – Whitney Michel.
Michel Men is a contemporary menswear brand for the new man discovering fashion, and who is passionate about expressing his masculinity. Whitney Michel, the founder and designer of Michel Men was raised as the only girl in a first generation American home of four boys. Ever since she was 8 years old she knew she wanted to be in fashion, and being raised in a household full of men had a heavy influence on her designs. At the age of 18, Whitney moved to New York City and she attended the prestigious Parsons, The New School for Design. During her junior year she discovered the Michel Men brand and began designing her first menswear collection. Fall 2010, her collection will officially launch and we’re excited. Michel Men speaks to the young, entrepreneur and very ambitious man.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Whitney Michel over the phone to talk about her new Michel Men line. I can honestly say that she is extremely passionate about her craft. She is driven, motivated, and excited about embarking on this fashion journey that is Michel Men.

For more information about Whitney Michel and her Michel Men line you check out her blog at michelmen.blogspot.com and her website www.michelmen.com (launching very soon). You can also follow Whitney Michel on twitter @michelmen.

Words by Kiescha Cherry, Editor-at-Large

Detroit native Tracey Reese is one of the most successful female designers in the fashion industry. Tracey’s love for fashion actually started while she was a young girl where she along with her sisters and mother would have contests to see who could finish an outfit first. Fast forward to 1982, Tracey entered New York City Parsons School of Design where she continued to sharpen her design skills. Two years after graduation she started her first label and quickly realized that she didn’t know enough about business and had to shut it down. This is when she demonstrated what I deem to be a quality that every leader possesses and that is that they don’t quit.

She came back with her line Tracy Reese, a collection of colorful, classy, feminine wear followed in late 2004 with the launch of Plenty Home, a line of bedding, curtains, and throws. “When I’m designing the line,” said Reese, “I always think about how I would love to have sheets in these fabrics, curtains in these fabrics.” Shoes and accessories came next, both of which were launched in the fall of 2005. By the end of 2005 her company had annual sales of $20 million.

Today, Ms. Reese is the epitome of feminine chic with not one but two lines, Tracey Reese and Plenty. She has a fabulous eye for details and her extensive knowledge of color and fabric allow her to continue to create timeless wearable pieces that the modern woman craves. She combination of modern craftsmanship and vintage flair creates looks that are distinctly her own.

Her focus and commitment to her craft led to her to be inducted as a board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). Not one to rest upon her past successes, Tracey continues to expand her company. She’s added a third line called Frock, which contains flirty and fun dresses that can transition from day to evening.

I love strong, confident women who follow their passions and Tracey Reese definitely qualifies. She is only now hitting her stride and I predict that we will see many grand creations in years to come from this young designer.

Words by Golda Smith, Editor-in-Chief

James Houston is a true visionary artist that understands what it means so capture beauty in its true art form; raw. The body of his work is photographer’s dream. His work embodies great lighting technique, lack of excessive retouching and use of space is breathing. The enclosed pictorial ‘Great Faces’ is breathtaking and speak volumes. If you are a new photographer, James is the perfect mentorship to help train your eye.

James Houston is recognized as one of the leading beauty/body photographers working in America and Europe for clients including Chanel, Clinique, Donna Karan, Gap, Givenchy Paris, HUGO BOSS, Neutrogena and Victoria’s Secret.

James’ Website

Bio

James Houston — Photographer: James Houston was born in 1965 in Sydney, Australia. At an early age, he began to study ceramic sculpture and design at school, where he was awarded first in the state of NSW for Art in the HSC (High School Certificate). At 19 years old, shortly after leaving school, Houston held his first solo exhibition of ceramic sculpture. He was awarded an AFA (Advertising Federation of Australia) scholarship and subsequently spent three years as an art director in Sydney and Los Angeles. While on a business trip to Tokyo in 1990, Houston bought a second-hand Nikon 35mm camera and took up photography as a hobby.

With his background in sculpture and design, Houston started photographing the naked form and developed the clean and graphic style that has become his signature. In 1993, his first photographic exhibition, “Black and Blue”, focused on the human form interacting with natural landscapes.

In 1995, the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) awarded Houston the prestigious “Highest Score Overall” in Print for his “Buried Nude” series. In subsequent years, Houston became one of Australia’s leading fashion photographers, contributing to magazines such as Australian Vogue, Italian Harper’s Bazaar, Wallpaper and Oyster. Houston also photographed the first-ever nude cover for Australian Vogue (January 1997)….read more

Social Capitalism created a platform to elect our 44th president, while seemingly standardizing the virtual channel on how we communicate with one another. From the 1988 invention of Internet Relay Chatting (IRC) by Jarkko Oikarinen to real time status updates via the web, viral dialogue reigns supreme on how we conduct our business, casual, and interpersonal relationships.

Then Whuffie Factor, in laments terms, is the “How To” source for effectively growing your brand through the phenomena of Social media. Tara’s “Whuffie Factor” is a collection of short stories where she recounts successes, as well as, failures as she worked to anchor her consulting and marketing firm in the disenchanting utopia of online businesses.

Tara’s success trek is passionately authentic.  Through and through, her book reveals that even with technology and all of its social graces; it should never be a road block for individuals to embrace the human connection, and that’s what Whuffie’s all about!

Born in Brussels, Belgium, Diane von Furstenberg   first came into the fashion scene in 1972 where she introduced the wrap dress.  Her wardrobe dynamics stamped Furstenberg into the fashion industry where she went on to sell millions of dresses.  Furstenberg took a hiatus from the fashion industry in the 1980’s, and re-emerged in 1997 with the re-launch of the wrap dress.  This transformed Furstenberg’s line into a global company.

Furstenberg prides herself on issues such as diversity on the runway and underweight models.  She also believes in giving back and being active in her community. In 2005 she was awarded from the Council of Fashion Designers of America for her influence on fashion, and a year later she was dubbed president of the CFDA, a position she still holds. She also is on the board of Vital Voices, an organization that empowers rising women leaders and social entrepreneurs.
Furstenberg has taken her company and extended it into a luxurious brand that many women admire. Just like her wrap dress, she continues to create pieces that are classy, empowering and timeless. Her runway is always filled with sexy prints, denim, color and patterns. Over 20 years ago she designed a dress that symbolized freedom and power. With those themes, she has inspired a generation of young emerging designer’s ready to change the fashion world.

“I never wanted to become a fashion designer, but I understand it’s a never ending job and it is important to keep up with the changes in fashion. I see many young designers try to emulate what has already been done.” Yet, Furstenberg doesn’t have to keep up with the times; when you have an ingenious eye such as she, career longevity is guaranteed.

As a young Fashionista, I have always admired and respected her eye for style.  She loves uplifting women. Through her designs, she reminds us how strong and confident we are. Season after season, Furstenberg’s delivery is impeccable and effortless.  Whether it’s a night out on the town, or busy day at the office she captures the essence of what a woman is and what she wants to wear.

Words by Crystal Hardman

Jennifer JJ Smith has the best of both worlds. Her looks are sensibly sexy that women appreciate her beauty, and she can chime into the machismo of her metro male counterparts.  Yet for Jennifer, the confidence and candor is a fairly new existence of sorts, which is the mainstay of her popular dating journal “Why I Love Men: The Joys of Dating”. Smith placed herself under the microscope in her personal case study to gain a better understanding of what works, what weirds men out, and simple, sensible advice on what women can do to really employ the Wow Factor when shopping the market for a new male suitor.

From exploring the idea of an “Open Relationship” to a step by step checklist on how to steer clear of the “Unavailable Men”, Jennifer is quintessential Queen on getting and keeping the man you want.

In 25 Segments and 220 pages, this dating playbook will coach any star player into the league of extraordinary women who score in the boardroom and in the bedroom!

It’s nearly 1am on a Tuesday and I’ve found myself in yet another inner tug-of-war with the clock that I will ultimately and miserably lose. Try as I might, the resetting of another day from PM to AM always brings about the ugly reality that I must, against all of my exuberance and ambitious musings, take my ass to bed. These late hours I keep come quite naturally for me, for I’ve never been one to wake with the roosters. When I was in undergrad it was never an issue, I just scheduled all my classes after 11am. But now, I have a job, and each and every night I’m required to restrain my creative energy and often alcohol-infused social outings to ensure that I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the office in the morning. I resent it, not only because it reminds me of my social status as a corporate hack, but it utterly thwarts my truest life calling of doing complete jack shit for the greater part of daylight hours. Having a 9 to 5 ultimately means that each of my creative meanders, from photography, DJ-ing, writing or just artistically laying about are all road blocked as a result of the inescapable need to make money. Granted it’s a choice I willfully make, but when my alarm goes off each morning and I haul myself out of bed after sleeping only five hours, I can’t help bemoan how much it bites to have to try and fit in my life, after 6pm.
To be honest I really can’t complain. After all, the benefit of having a steady gig is that it allows me to travel pretty regularly. My hard earned vacation days are something I’m fully committed to using, often, and having the opportunity to see the world from different perspectives has dramatically (and positively) shifted the way I move through life.  As an American, travelling abroad requires me to widen my view on how other people live on this planet.
As a black man, traveling helps let some much needed fresh air into my consciousness, relieving some of the frustration and pressure that can build up over time and is often misunderstood here at home. Make no mistake, for me traveling isn’t about frivolity or fabulousness; it’s about maintaining my sanity. It’s about restoring my sometimes fragile faith in humanity by changing the channel for a while and deliberately pushing the limits of my understanding. Through seeing my country from afar I’ve come to discover over and over again the good that lies in people and how much we can learn from those outside our borders.
Politics aside, what travel gives me most are infinite sources of inspiration and ideas which ultimately influence my art.  It doesn’t matter if I’m standing shoulder to shoulder on a packed commuter train in Tokyo, reading a book in a park in Buenos Aires, or trekking through a rainforest in Mexico, there’s no better encouragement for me to create than boarding a plane and within a matter of hours finding myself in an entirely different culture, different language and food, and being forced to figure things out. As a photographer and DJ, to be confronted with an entirely new set of sights and sounds affords me never-ending opportunities to capture diverse moments in time and interpret them through my camera and my turntables. It allows me to absorb elements of different cultures and bring them home to mash together in a collection of beats, images and words. As clichéd as it may sound, I’ve come to see travel as my classroom, the streets of foreign cities as my office. The learning I’ve gained as a result is immeasurable and the energy, excitement and late-night creativity that it helps to inspire go way beyond any amount of education or promotion. Sharing all that I’ve experienced and translating it into art is really what makes my world go round, and it’s what keeps me traveling and continually going back or more.
Byron Mason lives in the Mission District of San Francisco, California where can be found sleeping in late on most weekends. To see (and hear) what inspires him go to www.byronmason.com.

Written by Byron Mason

We are firm believers of ‘Freedom of Speech’. Does this apply to advertisers too or should there be a limit? The ads below have been ranked some to the most bold, in-your-face and controversial ads in history. Some of them are very WOW and will leave you in awe. After viewing HUNDREDS of these type of ads, the common denominator was sex. We now believe that people will start processing advertising more instead of instant praise. What do you think?

The Dutch Sony PSP Ads Racist Or Not?

“Each time you sleep with someone, you also sleep with his past”. Campaign to promote HIV tests.

The illustration for Jamieson’s Raspberry Ale reinvents the fair-skinned cartoon ingénue as “Ho White.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/10/16/2009-10-16_beer_ad_showing_ho_white_in_bed_with_seven_dwarves_.html#ixzz0uXJZxJxC

Plane Stupid’s ‘polarizing’ anti flying ads.
Watch shocking commercial:

This controversial ad had the slogan “the tsunami killed 100 times more people than 9/11. The planet is brutally powerful. Respect it. Preserve it”.

Slim Fast Spoof Ad

Barbies manufacturer Mattel sent The Body Shop a cease and desist order after posters featuring Ruby – a self proclaimed Anti-Barbie spokesperson started appearing in American shop windows.

This ad from Dolce & Gabbana was highly criticized for insinuating gang-rape.

Shackleton agency created these controversial ads. Did the ads temp you to purchase a toast and/or knives?

Pedestrian Council of Australia: Family

RSF: Ink

Concordia Children’s Services: Piglets. Tagline: If you don’t help feed them, who will? WOW!

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Good Parent

Tom Ford

United Colors of Benetton try to join the circle of trust and tolerance by unifying white, black.

Lara Stone is all class and absolutely perfect. She’s ranked as one of the top models and is the face of multiple campaigns this Fall including Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani. Well, Playboy France was not making it very easy for her…read more

Source: http://zachsfashionsense.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/lara-stone-playboy-france/

In a time where Black models were scarce in the fashion industry, there was one model that broke down barriers and opened the door for models of color worldwide. Renauld White, the first African-American model to grace the cover of GQ magazine in 1979,  an accomplishment that catapulted him into iconic status.  In addition to conquering the modeling industry, Renauld White is an accomplished actor in both television and theater, starring as Julius Caesar in Julius and several years on the TV soap The Guiding Light. Today at 65, still refined and handsome as ever, Mr. White can be found educating and inspiring models as an fashion activist.

The next time you see a model of color gracing  fashion covers and editorials of your favorite magazines and runway shows, remember to pay homage to the man whose hard work and dedication changed the fashion industry for future Black models past, present and future.

Image Sources: GQ Magazine/Thurgood Marshall