• After claims of promoting racist imagery in their Spring 2013 collection, Dolce & Gabbana have explained the meaning behind those controversial “fruit lady” earrings. Apparently the images reference Sicily’s Moorish-inspired art. The heads are based on ceramics that appear in Sicilian homes inspired by the Moorish people, who conquered Sicily for 75 years. Dolce & Gabbana‘s SWIDE blog says there is a legend behind the particular planter images they used: “Behind the Moor’s head vases there is a legend that is as interesting as its real history: they say that around 1100 AD, when Sicily was ruled by the Moors, a beautiful girl was living in seclusion and spent her days cultivating flowers on her balcony. One day a young Moor passing by saw her, decided he had to have her and entered the house so to declare his love. The young girl, surprised by such a gesture, reciprocated him, but just when she got to know him he had to return to where he came from, to his wife and children, she waited for the night to come and as he fell asleep she cut off his head and used it as a vase for her flowers and put it on her balcony displaying it to everyone. This way his love was forever hers. Since then, flowers grew lush in the vase and the neighbours, envious, built vases shaped like a Moor’s head.” What do you think? Do you still find these offensive, or do you just not care? (Vogue UK, SWIDE)
•Azealia Banks is spitting out music videos left and right! The rapper’s newest clip for ‘Luxury,’ a short track off her Fantasea mixtape was just released today. I dare you to shade her luxurious 30″ Yaki. (Azealia Banks YouTube)
• Guy Laroche is poised to release two diffusion brands. The label has signed a licensing agreement with Italian brand Ittierre SpA to create a Guy Laroche “Silver” collection, consisting of formalwear, and a daywear line, which WWD says “will have a sportier focus, with bright colors and an urban energy.” (WWD)
• Turns out H&M will be releasing that luxury brand “& Other Stories.” The womenswear-only store will carry items to complete every women’s wardrobe, and will range in styles from masculine tailoring to flirty, feminine fare. “& Other Stories is about bringing everything she can wear into one place, focusing on the whole look” H&M said in a statement today, “We believe shoes, bags, jewellery, lingerie and beauty are key for styling and just as important as clothing.” The retailer also promises affordable prices like at their other labels, H&M and COS. What do you think, Bombers? Will you be checking out the brand once it launches? (Telegraph)
• In “let’s try this thing again” news, Vogue is doubling down on its Health Initiative. If you remember, after the Fashion Bible announced this plan for all its iterations, Vogue China published an editorial featuring a 15-year-old model, and Vogue Japan was caught shooing another under aged model this week. Vogue China’s Editor-in-Chief, Angelia Cheung says the spread was shot before the initiative was announced, and was then mistakenly run in their August issue. Vogue Japan had no excuse for their slip-up, and have instead promised not to run the shots in question. Vogue international plans to have all modeling agencies provide hard proof that the models they provide are indeed over the age of 16. Let’s hope it works this time! (Vogue UK)
~Jihan
September 27, 2012 11:49 am
I like the Azealia song!
September 27, 2012 12:06 pm
My thing is u can put those earrings on them but can’t have black models in ur shows?
September 27, 2012 12:11 pm
Azealia is super gorg in the video, but I wish they had given her a love interest in this one.
September 27, 2012 12:58 pm
i like her music, her videos and styling leaves much to be desired.
September 27, 2012 1:14 pm
I see nothing wrong with the earrings, if they made earrings in the likeness of a white woman no one would complain. I dont see what the big deal is.
September 27, 2012 1:33 pm
I don’t see the big deal, the earring remind me of the women back home.
September 27, 2012 4:43 pm
And they made earrings out of that? lolz
the story reminds me of african tales and this is exactly what clay molders would do… they mold things out of tales x
September 27, 2012 5:36 pm
I love pretty much every song A.B’s released, I thinl she’s a real talent
September 27, 2012 7:55 pm
jeez Azealia is gorgeous!
September 27, 2012 9:30 pm
I dont know if its just me, but i barely understood a word Azalea said in her song. I agree with the other comments, that she looks good, but the song leaves me confused. I can decipher enough words to get like a general overview of what i think she might be trying to say. oh well.
September 28, 2012 11:10 am
Don’t see the big deal. They’re beautiful by the way. I’m just glad he acknowledges our history when others have tried to argue that moors weren’t black.
October 9, 2012 3:23 pm
I’ve written a pretty extensive piece on the origins of Blackmoor inspired work and the reality of using cultural heritage as an ‘explanation’ for the creation of these earrings–the topic is too long to address in a comments section, like this one. If you are interested please read the piece here: http://www.thecuratorial.com/2012/10/dolce-gabbana-earring-controversy-or.html