NINObrand Brings the Genderless to Philly

   

By Catherine Drussell

  Draped capes and cocoon silhouettes are two signature styles one might associate with the designs of Bela Shehu of NINObrand, but genderless clothing? The adventurous Philadelphia designer is now branching out into the realm of sexless clothing - cutting and sewing henleys, hoodies, capes and pants. How can this be so, you might ask? The idea is not as outrageous as it sounds, for the enthusiasts that the Albanian-native designs for. Her customer is not afraid to layer piece after piece in luxury fabrications, creating androgynous shapes for the body. In other words, her customer is not concerned with flaunting his/her figure. These American-made garments are neither feminine nor masculine, but wearable because of their functionality.

 NINObrand gear cannot be found just anywhere. There is a level of exclusivity to this line, where one must either schedule a fitting at Bela’s hidden South Philadelphia studio, or make an appearance at one of her monthly trunk shows. Teaming up with Studio Christensen, NINObrand and HYLO boutiques have joined forces to host monthly pop-up shops in Rittenhouse where locals can experience the collection, and meet the designer herself. You can visit her website at http://www.ninobrand.com.

Staten Island and Sandy

 By Bianca Vasaturo, from Staten Island

 Nikki and Sarah, a typical Staten Island couple, have been dating for over four years. This past May, Sarah had to tell her parents news that wasn’t so typical: she was pregnant. A baby girl was on the way, She was 24 and not married.

 Sarah’s parents were initially outraged, and the story quickly spread throughout the entire island. Two months later, Nikki proposed to Sarah in what would soon be their new apartment on the bottom floor of his brother’s house. After much drama, Sarah, Nikki, and both families made up and eagerly anticipated the arrival of the child.

 They threw a baby shower soon after, and the couple received tons of gifts. The carriages, cribs, clothes and other baby supplies were all placed in the nursery on the first level of Nikki’s brother’s house. They were pleasantly surprised at the support their family and friends showed and were beginning to feel at home in the new apartment waiting for the arrival of their baby. What they didn’t expect though, was the arrival of Sandy. On Monday, October 29^th, Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast like a bully knocking over sand castles at the beach. It destroyed.

 Although Nikki and Sarah had been warned to evacuate their house, many neighbors and friends were convinced that the area was totally safe. They had dealt with heavy storms before and never been flooded, and they convinced themselves that they would be fine. The night of October 29^th, after a black-out and dramatic temperature drop, huge rivers of water broke through the first floor windows of the house and swept through the entire apartment. The couple grabbed a few things and left quickly, their unborn baby’s safety their only concern.

 The next day, in the calm after the storm, Nikki and Sarah went back to look at the damage. The house still stood, but six feet of salt water had flooded their apartment and destroyed almost everything, including all of the brand new baby supplies. They have nothing but each other now, and a baby on the way.

 While the hurricane was traumatizing for all New Yorkers, it hit Staten Island the hardest. Thousands of families have been displaced from destroyed neighborhoods and homes, and Staten Island Representative Michael Grimm says it will take almost three years for a complete cleanup. Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, is spending more time and money on other boroughs even though more lives have been lost in Staten Island than in any other part of New York City. Just the number of businesses lost alone is threatening to push Staten Island down a path of economic crisis that has never been seen before. Staten Island needs more money, more volunteers, and more effort on Bloomberg’s for the borough to recover. This story of Nikki and Sam is just one of thousands of examples of families that need help.

"Valentino: The Last Emperor" Director Visits Drexel

Matt Tyrnauer, director of Valentino: The Last Emperor, visited Drexel this month and met with Design & Merchandising and Fashion Design students. After a showing of the film, Tyrnauer delighted the audience with behind-the-scenes anecdotes about making the movie and about iconic fashion designer Valentino Garavani and his long-time partner Giancarlo Giametti.
How did the fashion diva and Giametti like the film when they viewed it? "They hated it," said Tyrnauer, "And each time they viewed it, they hated it more."
But, he added, "Now they are asking me to make another film about them, which is the worst idea I have ever heard."

I like to stare at men in their underwear

By Naomi Izen

I like to stare at men in their underwear.

Yes, that’s right, I don’t mind taking a few extra seconds to glance at a male underwear ad.

That being the case, I attended a recent lecture by Shaun Cole, Director of the Masters Programs for Curatorial Studies and Cultural Studies at The London College of Fashion. Cole spoke at The URBN Center at Drexel University about, “Jocks in Jocks”.

Cole started his talk off with a clip of David Beckham’s Bodywear line for H&M.  A few seconds of Beckham’s skin being shown and I was hooked…

Yet, next to me my male friend sat, eyes half open, trying not to look too closely.

The history of advertising men’s underwear fascinated me since indeed, it was always the sportsman that wore the jocks and the idolized ‘Greek statue’ body of the athlete has become the focal point. These ads are not just about the underwear but showing off of an ostensibly perfect man that all other males could  look up to. It seems the only option for male underwear ads is to show them on a muscular heterosexual athlete so that other men can feel safe looking at another male’s package or at least justified in wanting to buy the same undies.

Cole’s talk included many half-naked men, the definition of Sporno (if you don’t know what that means, enjoy looking it up), and Babe Ruth’s underwear line (this is not a joke).

Every seat in the auditorium was filled, since apparently I’m not the only one who likes to stare at men in their underwear. Cole could have gone on and on about the history and all the different topics associated with men and their underwear, and we sure would have stared, I mean, err, listened.

If this intrigued you a bit, you can check out Cole’s book, The Story of Men's Underwear at Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/The-Story-Of-Mens-Underwear/dp/185995622X

Can No Doubt’s New Album "Push and Shove" its Way into our Hearts?

By Catherine Drussell
What happened to the days of Gwen Stefani bantering about making out and screaming, “Hey Baby,” or “Hella Yeah?” Eleven years later, No Doubt is still rocking steady with its edgy-pop tone, but the band's recently released album, Push and Shove, has combined synthesized tones with more seasoned ballads and grown-up themes. The album may not lack Gwen’s signature Ska-Cali feel, but the band has seemed to stray away from the raw-punk edge they were once known for. With acoustic sessions and softer choruses, the only song that seems to feed our hunger for the '90s No Doubt is “Push and Shove.” The title track has guest appearances from Jamaican dance hall star Busy Signal and producer Major Lazer, who have kept it youthful and catchy. Although Gwen has stuck with her ska roots for "Push and Shove", the song is a product of its time with auto-tuned voices and hints of Dubstep. There is a good chance that Gwen’s new album will “push and shove” its way into fans hearts, and they won’t be reminiscing too much of No Doubt’s Rock Steady days.

Discovering Food Heaven

By Maggie Reid

When my sister casually text messaged me, “So I got two free tickets to the NYC Wine and Food Fest on Sunday, do you want to go?”

I nearly had my first heart attack at the young age of 22 (this was before I had the bite-sized duck confit with poached quail egg sandwich!) We arrived at our new Mecca, Pier 57 on W.15^th Street and 11^th Avenue, at around 12PM and could not have anticipated what the next four hours had in store.

Upon entry, we were given a wine glass for the various tastings and a tote bag full of sample-sized food products. It was everything I could have hoped for and more. Table after table of local food vendors and restaurants sprawled across the intimidatingly large warehouse. The many wine, beer, and liquor merchants that were waiting to give us as many free samples as our hearts desired.

Though everything we tasted was delicious, some of the food highlights were as follow: tender pulled pork quesadillas with chipotle barbeque sauce, sharp cheddar, and avocado cream, and creamy chicken liver mousse with flavorful caramelized onions on a toasted crostini. Not being a huge drinker, the alcohol aspect of the event didn’t make as big of an impact on me, however I must say that I did taste a variety of red and white wines ranging from fruity and light to bitter and heavy. The grand tasting was just the appetizer (if you will), leading to the main course: a cooking demonstration by Bobby Flay. For 30 minutes my sister and I sat in our food coma stupor watching Flay perfectly prepare a Thanksgiving meal complete with turkey, mascarpone mashed potatoes, and marinated carrots. As I sit here with a bloated stomach two days after the fact, I still have to admit that it was all worth it.

Stephen Chbosky Still Makes Me Feel Infinite

By Emily Stall 

When I heard that Stephen Chbosky’s young adult novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, was being made into a movie, I was first excited and then a little nervous. Everyone knows that film adaptations of books are rarely as good as the original novel. This movie is an exception, probably because the author actually directed the film.

Perks is a coming of age story about a lonely, depressed boy named Charlie who is starting his freshman year of high school. He befriends an eccentric senior, Patrick, and his beautiful stepsister, Sam, who welcome Charlie into their friend group in an act of genuine kindness. As the story unfolds, we learn more about Charlie’s past and the difficult situations he has been through.

Chbosky explores difficult topics including homosexuality, abuse, drugs, alcohol and love. Even with the serious subject matter, there are many witty and humorous moments, like when Charlie inadvertently tries marijuana for the first time in the form of brownies. As someone who is notorious for crying at movies, I actually did not find myself sobbing during this film, though there were many moments that were so touching my eyes just filled ever so slightly. The three mains characters are so sincere and good that you can’t help falling in love with them, and wanting to be more like them.

In one of my favorite moments of the film, Sam, who just learned that her boyfriend had been cheating on her for months, asks Charlie, “Why do I and everyone I love pick people who treat us like we're nothing?” To which Charlie replies, “We accept the love we think we deserve.”

Charlie learns to be active and participate in his life, something we could all be reminded of. Driving through a tunnel at night with his two best friends, listening to his favorite song and standing up on the bed of Patrick’s truck (as any fan of the book will remember), Charlie asserts, “Right now we are alive and in this moment I swear we are infinite.”