YStyle Picks

Bazaar coincidence

MANILA, Philippines - Holiday bazaars are starting to pop up with Christmas about a month away, but instead of rummaging through the usual stands that sell factory overruns and other tchotchkes straight out of China, why not try including a Philippine-made gift or two in your haul? The Global Pinoy Bazaar, organized by Yabang Pinoy, is happening this weekend at the Rockwell Tent featuring local start-up brands like Denim Kitchen, Kape ni Juan, Manila Sole, Habi Footwear, Toppicks, Art Initiative, School of Satchel, Shiq Bags and Linya Linya. And if you want to shop while donating to the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda, drop by the Change Clothes booth at Platform Show III in the Samsung Hall of SM Aura tomorrow from 12 noon to 8 p.m. where all sales will go towards relief efforts. They’ll also be accepting pre-loved clothing donations at the booth. Other participating brands at the event include Proudrace, OS accessories, Salad Day, Daily Shirting Clothing, Greater Good and Elevate Apparel, among many others.

Blonde ambition

Though it’s clear that the Olsen twins have more than proven their design credibility in the fashion industry with four labels in tow — The Row, Elizabeth and James, Textile Elizabeth and James, and Olsenboye — here’s another opportunity for bragging rights: Ashley Olsen has been added to the board at the Council of Fashion Designers of America, along with Kate Spade president and chief executive officer Deborah Lloyd and Prabal Gurung. The three replace Yeohlee Teng, Kenneth Cole and Isabel Toledo who will join the special Emeritus Board. Last year, Ashley and her twin sister Mary-Kate beat out Marc Jacobs and Proenza Schouler to win the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Award. No mention as to whether Mary-Kate will also join the CFDA board, but we all know that she could always sub for Ashley on a sick day and no one would know the diff. It'll be like It Takes Two all over again!

All grown-up

Here’s something that’ll make you feel old and wildly unaccomplished: Blogging wünderkind Tavi Gevinson, who broke into the fashion industry and found herself sitting front row at NYFW beside Anna Wintour at just 12 years old, is now 17 and headlining the “Talented and Gifted” holiday campaign for Cole Haan. Joining Gevinson in the below-18 age bracket are filmmaker and choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall, Broadway actor Gregory Haney, actress and playwright Danai Gurira, coffee entrepreneur Cesar Vega, founder and owner of food truck Korilla BBQ Edward Song and all three members of Unlocking the Truth, a heavy metal band comprised of seventh graders. The campaign is in stark contrast to their previous “Born in 1928” campaign featuring noted public figures like Dr. Maya Angelou, photographer Elliott Erwitt and model China Machado. Though we’re happy for Tavi, it’s kind of weird that people have been referring to her as a “babe” because we’ll always see her as that little gray-haired kid obsessed with Commes des Garçons.

An eye on manila

Artist management agency Jed Root touched down in Manila earlier this week to build up a pool of local photographers, makeup artists, hair stylists, fashion stylists, illustrators and set designers to represent. The man behind the agency set up shop in New York City in the early ’80s with legendary makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin as his first client. From there, his talent pool grew to include photographers Michael Thompson, Scott Schuman and Mariano Vivanco, makeup artists Laura Mercier, Dick Page and Inge Grognard, along with stylists Joe Zee, Barbara Baumel and Grant Woolhead. With offices in New York, LA, Paris, London and Tokyo, this is Jed Root’s first foray into Southeast Asia in partnership with Hong Kong-based company At East, under the direction of makeup artist and corporate strategist Au Mauricio. YStyle sat down with Root himself to ask him about his plans for the Philippines, along with who’s up-and-coming in the fashion industry.

YSTYLE: Why did you decide to bring Jed Root here to the Philippines?

JED ROOT: Basically I’ve just always been interested more and more lately in emerging markets and local markets in terms of advertising, fashion, luxury and beauty business. I’ve always been interested in the Philippines and I know quite a few Filipinos back in New York. It was just kind of the perfect timing and I felt the Filipinos have a great sense of style, great taste, and it’s an up-and-coming market. I think the Philippines, in particular, is a very sort of western/eastern think pod of culture and taste and sensibilities. We’re looking to build a relatively small core group because we want to really choose the best — not only the best people in the market, but the people who are going to be best for us, people that we can bring something to.

What can Jed Root offer local creatives by becoming a part of your talent pool?

We’d be able to maintain a much bigger network of clients for them, both within the Philippines, across Southeast Asia, across Asia in general and even across the world, in terms of the US and Europe, and I’m also considering expanding into Latin America. Also a bit more of a structure to their business, really good business practices and just use my 25 years of experience to help support them, help them grow, and help them take the right steps to achieve the dreams that they have for their career.

Networking today is a completely different animal in comparison to the ‘80s. With the advent of social media, how has Jed Root managed to stay relevant?

Well, we have a big presence in social media, but still, the old-fashioned face-to-face relationships are still super, super important. Who you know is very important, but being able to understand what they need, their taste and what they might be looking for is more important because someone’s not going to respect you because you know them and you keep throwing artists at them that may or may not be relevant. They have a limited amount of time and a lot to achieve, so as an agent, you really need to understand: What is their sensibility? What clients are these creatives working for? What do they need for the brands they’re working with? And just picking the right ones so they trust you.

In your current roster of talents, who are the young up-and-comers whom you are most excited about?

In particular, I can mention Damon Baker. I met him when he was 18. He never studied photography, he never assisted another photographer, he didn’t even have any money to buy any magazines, which was kind of great. And even today, he still doesn’t look at magazines too much because he really doesn’t want to be influenced by other people’s work. But he just had a fantastic, raw talent there that I was very, very excited about. He just shot Vogue Brazil last week in New York with Suki Waterhouse and he’s done a lot of covers with Rita Ora and people like that. So it’s really just great nurturing them and helping to discover what is the strong part of their talents and pushing them in the right way. And of course, giving them the right opportunities so they can really, really shine.

These days, everyone’s a photographer, a makeup artist or an illustrator. Who are the types of people that stand out to you?

It’s a combination of their originality, technical ability, creativity and personality, as well. Can they work with a team? They also have to have that certain personality to make a celebrity feel really beautiful. I think, especially for a makeup artist or hair stylist, you can make celebrities beautiful, but you have to make them feel beautiful as well before they get in front of the camera. So that’s the kind of intangible personality trait that’s really important as well.

Punk memoir

If you’ve panicked at the thought of leaving this earth without having ever picked the brains of punk fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, you’re in luck — next October, she’ll be releasing her memoir. Written in collaboration with friend and biographer Ian Kelly, the book will cover everything from her humble beginnings as a primary school teacher, to her meeting with the Sex Pistols’ Malcom McLaren and her eventual rise as the fashion industry’s punk queen. “The living deserve respect. The dead deserve the truth; Ian and I are working together on this and I am excited that this will be my story, the story nobody ever did before,” Westwood told Vogue.co.uk. The memoir, which will be published by Picador, will also include contributions from Westwood’s family and friends. “Vivienne is much more than what you first see,” Kelly told Vogue.co.uk. “She is passionately committed to human rights and to eco-politics, but as well as that, I am keen to tell the truth about a huge-hearted, warm and witty individual, whose face and clothes are known the world over.”

Hip-hop cou-tour

Unlike your average hip-hop star, Kanye West will not settle for being decked out in streetwear labels for his upcoming "Yeezus" tour — he’d prefer Maison Martin Margiela, thank you very much. According to the Grungrygentleman.com, West looked through the archives of MMM and selected iconic pieces which were then adapted to be consistent with artist Vanessa Beecroft’s scenography. Though easily one of the most polarizing public figures today, working with West was an easy choice for MMM. “We didn’t pay attention to what is being said about him in the press, we just focused on what could be done with him,” they told Vogue.co.uk. “We have wanted to work with Kanye West for a very long time, ever since he became a close friend of the Maison; supporting us a lot and coming to our shows. We like his music and the vision he had for the tour.” Among the items included in his wardrobe are an embroidered bomber jacket, a blanket coat, printed trousers and his own version of their iconic mirrored masks.

Hit retweet

Armani just committed the Instagram equivalent of blackface on social media: While posting photos of celebrities wearing Armani at the Governors Awards earlier this week, the brand accidentally posted a photo of African-American actress Alfre Woodard with a caption that read: “Idris Elba posing in a gorgeous Giorgio @armani dress at the 5th Annual Governors Awards.” As what usually happens in these types of situations, pulling out the offending post happens almost always too late. The backlash from the black community online was immediate and unrelenting. On top of the fact that Armani apparently can’t tell two black people apart, they also seem to have their genders mixed up because, if you aren’t aware, Idris Elba is a black male actor. As a reaction, netizens posted photos of black celebrities and intentionally captioning them incorrectly with the hashtag #armanicaptions. One example is a photo of Gabourey Sidibe in a green dress with the caption: “Young Terio shines on the Golden Globe red carpet in a stunning Givenchy dress. #armanicaptions” In times like these, it pays to pause and think before you post.