"A Million Girls Would Kill for this Job"

By Suphattra Fatlowitz

Drexel’s Westphal College brought Christina Binkley and the world of fashion journalism to the newly finished URBN Center this fall.  Students and professors were jammed into a small lecture hall and eagerly awaited Binkley’s arrival.  Binkley was every bit calm, cool and collected when she appeared before us. 

Binkley has been with The Wall Street Journal for 18 years, however, she has only been writing about fashion for about 8 years now.  Binkley writes On Style each Thursday and contributes to WSJ Magazine, Off Duty, and Weekend as well as other newspaper sections.  She admits that she knew nothing about the world of fashion when she first got the assignment, but her outsider’s opinion gave her column a fresh take.  Prior to writing about fashion, Binkley wrote about real estate scams, gambling and the hotel industry – quite a different subject. 

One of the perks a fashion journalist has is the ability to attend Fashion Weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris.  While there, Binkley attends big name ready-to-wear and haute couture shows, like Vera Wang, Gucci and Givenchy.  It seems as though Binkley has the life everybody in the fashion industry wants.  However, Fashion Week is a grueling time.  She said this is the most exhausting and toughest job she’s ever had.  During these five weeks, twice a year, days will last from 9 am – 12 am.  The writing doesn’t start until 12 am and then the next day is a repeat.

Binkley is a self proclaimed “factory nerd” who visits at least one factory in Europe each time she travels. This fall, she visited the Missoni knitting factory in Italy and said she now understands why the garments are so expensive. They simply take a long time to make, even by maching. She plans to go to a Hermes factory on her next trip.  Binkley has yet to travel to Asia where most of our clothes are being produced.  Her interests lie in rights issues as well as the translation from designer to production.

After Binkley’s personal account of how she began in fashion journalism, she opened up the floor to questions.  Here are a few of those questions.

How do you choose which shows to go to? There are shows I have to go to and shows I want to go to, which are often different.  In Milan I have to see Gucci.  I go to major shows every season.  This gives me less time to go out and explore.  I’d like to see smaller designers.

Explain your editing process. I sleep on it and then come back to it. 

How do you think up what to write about for the different shows?  What do you look for? I didn’t critique collections for the first couple of years.  I didn’t understand it enough.  Now I try to compare lines by critiquing on what they’ve done in the past.  It’s easy for designers to get carried away.  In their mind their client is Anna Wintour, not Neiman Marcus or Saks.  I’ll look for trends consumers want to know about.  I rarely downright think something is ugly.  I keep in mind price versus wearability.  I hate criticizing.

What kind of trends besides fabrics and colors are predominant now? Black & white, stripes, checks, volume – sack dresses, sometimes belted, and full skirts.

What’s your favorite fashion blog? The Cut.  It gives an insider feel.  I ignore some of the most popular blogs. 

Are there other parts of the industry you’d like to explore? Asia, production for mass markets, patternmaking.

How do you balance family time with such a busy career? I live in LA, make sacrifices and have strict rules.  There are a lot of functions I don’t go to unless they’re really important.

What should we (students) be keeping in mind in terms of what to deal with in the industry? People are willing to work their butts off for nothing.  If you’re at an unpaid internship, don’t stay long.  Move on.  A lot of fashion students race out to have the big job before they are ready for it.  I get a ton of pitches a day and I always have to determine if I should waste my time.  I look at where they’ve worked first.  I’ll move on if anything doesn’t hook me.  Get experience to build your resume, abilities and skills.

Why I’ll Give "Girl Meets World" a Shot

By Emily Stall

News of the Boy Meets World spinoff can be found on the social media sites of virtually every 90s kid out there. In case you’ve somehow missed the news, Disney is creating a spinoff of the classic 90s TV show and calling it Girl Meets World. The new show will focus on the daughter of everyone’s favorite couple, Cory and Topanga. My natural first reaction? NO! They’re going to ruin the legacy of the greatest show of all time! However, the news gets better. Not only is the original producer, Michael Jacobs, returning for the new series, but Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel are also reprising their roles as Cory and Topanga. And Danielle Fishel has hinted on her blog (http://dfishel.tumblr.com/) that other cast members may join the project as well. Fishel also writes, “I promise with the entirety of my heart that we will make GMW with the same honesty, innocence, and intelligence that you learned to expect from BMW.”

So, here’s to hoping Girl Meets World can live up to the Boy Meets World legacy. It’s no easy act to follow. What 90s kid doesn’t wish they could have a relationship like Cory and Topanga’s? We all remember the time Topanga pushed Cory up against his locker and gave him his first kiss. Or when Topanga’s family moved to Pittsburgh, and she ran away to Philadelphia to be with Cory. I can practically recite Cory’s speech to his mom to convince her that he and Topanga need to be together in Philadelphia. “She gave me my first kiss. She taught me how to dance. She was always talking about these crazy things and I never understood a word she said. All I understood was that she was the girl I sat up every night thinking about. And when I’m with her, I feel happy to be alive. Like I can do anything. Even talk to you like this.” (Seriously, watch that speech and tell me you don’t tear up.)

What’s so great about Boy Meets World is that it’s not just a sappy teen romance story. There are plenty of other great characters, like Cory’s best friend Shawn Hunter, who grew up in a trailer park. Shawn was always the funny tough guy with great hair, leather jackets and plenty of girls to choose from. But as the show goes on, the characters mature, and we learn that Shawn is a troubled boy who expresses his emotions through poetry. And you can’t forget about Mr. Feeney, Cory’s neighbor, principal, and teacher for every year of school. He even follows him to college! Mr. Feeney was always there to give witty remarks, and also great life advice. Cory’s older brother, Eric, was a great source of comic relief, reaching out to Mr. Feeney with his ever-popular “Feeney call.” “Feen-ay! Fee-hee-hee-hee-nay!”

But I think what really makes BMW great is that it wasn’t afraid to make fun of itself. As a show that could have easily felt too sappy (Full House or Family Matters style), the writers struck the perfect balance of serious content and humor. In one episode, Shawn and Cory compare their school schedules and comment, “Feeney for all of them.” “Yeah, me too.” Cory’s little sister, Morgan, disappears for an entire season and then returns, played by a different actress, a season later. The writers played off this continuity error seemlessly, by making the “new” Morgan’s first line, “Wow, that was the longest time out ever!” There’s an entire episode called “Kid Gets Acquainted with the Universe,” where Eric goes to Hollywood to star in a sitcom that is basically a spoof of the whole series.

If Girl Meets World is even half as witty, heartwarming, genuine, and funny as its predecessor, I’m sure it will have a cult following all its own.

La Dominique Creperie

By Nicole Pollitt

Savory or sweet? It’s not an easy question to answer, especially when looking at the menu for La Dominique Creperie. Located on 34^th  and Market Streets, the food at this little truck packs a big punch. The owner Zbiginiew Chojnacki, a Polish native, offers a small array of crepes for breakfast, lunch and dessert.

For this breakfast enthusiast, the breakfast crepe made with egg, sausage and onion topped with pineapple sauce was tempting. Then there was the strawberry, banana and nutella crepe that only a fool would pass up.

However for this fool, the winner was the Italian Crepe complete with chicken, tomato sauce, string beans, rice and hot pepper flakes. The first bite into the crepe didn’t scream Italian cuisine. Yet the flavors of the assorted ingredients worked well together, like your one of your mother’s casserole concoctions. The crepe had a little kick thanks to the hot pepper flakes, but the biggest surprise had to be the green beans, which complemented the crepe quite well.

All crepes cost between $5-7 and are big enough for two people or even two meals. La Dominique is not for those short on time however. The crepes are cooked fresh to order. But if you have time, you’re in for a treat.

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