THE SCENE

XEX Magazine (pronounced "X") has long been an online and print publication that allows professional, as well as up and coming artists, to display their work and creativity. This past weekend was the launch party to celebrate the magazines first ever men’s edition, and neither the party nor the fashion disappointed. From a live model exhibition, and photo shoot to a gallery-like display of the magazine’s inaugural issue; the night was painted to be a success from the get go. Combine this with free booze and a hot DJ and you were in for a treat.

Music and a video footage featuring editorial material since the magazine's conception set the pace for a live model exhibition. Their highly stylized and outlandish looks featured some trendy pieces like a leather glove featuring cut-outs and leopard print, and a distressed leather fanny-pack with gold trim. But if you think the models were the ones to be watching, then you'd be wrong. This party gave way to some of New York City's local trend setters to strut their stuff. And because this was a men’s fashion event, the guys did not disappoint, also rocking some of today's hottest trends. Check it out!

To top things off, Editor-In-Chief Sailey Williams rounded his team, including fashion editor Inoisell Miranda, and decided to turn his guests into models with a live photo shoot where no one was safe. To delve into the plethora of fashions of the night, click here. In the midst of it all, there was still the magazine. The first men’s edition of XEX has the right amount of substance and features fabulous editorial material styled by some of New York’s hottest stylists. The “mode home” is everywhere to see, trying hard not to alienate the classic male, while still catering to the fashion forward. This launch had all the ingredients for a good party, and if you like a good party then you’ll love a good read!

For more info and recent issues of XEX Mag click here.

James King took the name James as a childhood nickname to avoid confusion at her top modeling agency, Company Management. She was born Jaime, back in 1979, but Company Management were already representing the high profile model Jaime Rishar. When "James" entered their Manhattan doors, she was a freckled, gorgeous, button-nosed blonde from Nebraska. She looked wholesome and all-American, but there was more to the model Polaroid. With her husky voice, stylish wardrobe, effortless taste in movies and downtown music, she was a lot like fellow peer Chloë Sevigny. She was an It Girl. Her boyfriend was super hip Italian photographer Davide Sorrenti. The only problem was It Girls get lonely.

If you haven't heard about the debut of the short film series screened by Miu Miu over the past two years, we are telling you they are a MUST SEE! The series is called the Women's Tales and have been directed by upcoming female directors such as Zoe Cassavetes, Lucrecia Martel, Massy Tadjedin, and Giada Colagrande. A personal favorite is the fifth Miu Miu tale directed by Ava Duvernay called "The Door." The stars of this short film are the beautiful and talented Gabrielle Union and Alfre Woodard.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week 2013 in Beijing, China was a rousing success. Asia has always had a high stake in the fabulous realm. We're not talking the cute, funky rainbow designs that dot local Harajuku school girls. We're talking grown up experimental designers, with a serious artistic feel. We're talking art. Of the cosmetic variety, The ready to wear designs shown on the left tell all. Complex makeup, especially around the eyes, took center stage at Beijing's Fashion Week. Makeup artist Mao Geping designed enormous kaleidoscopic eyebrows that glittered and crystal beads were painted beneath the model's eyes for the MGPIN makeup collection.

What happens to the beautiful people when they grow up?

Lisa Taylor was perhaps one of the most beautiful of the very beautiful of the 1970's scene. Among many other models, including Paulina Porizkova, Christy Turlington, and Jerry Hall, Taylor is the topic of a recent HBO documentary by Timothy Greenfield- Sanders, a portrait photographer, titled About Face: Supermodels Then and Now first debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012 and made its television premiere over the summer. The film examines a close up look of a glittering exterior.
Lisa Taylor had it all on the outside. The blonde goddess hailed from Oyster Bay, Long Island and was swept into the Ford Agency for her classic American good looks. She dated Tommy Lee Jones and had a cameo in his 1978 film Eyes of Laura Mars. Her weight during filming bordered on anorexic. She also eventually dabbled in cocaine use. She attributes the rampant drug use to constant pressure to lose weight as a model. The idea that you have to stay young is knocked aside by these gorgeous women. Serene Isabella Rosellini is featured. She looks ageless. Silver-haired model Carmen Dell’Orefice, at 81-years old, talks openly about maintaining your confidence when rejected by a designer or model agency. Beverly Johnson proudly discusses being the first African American model on Vogue. Yet she admits with chagrin, the industry does have a downside: "When I was modeling, the career lasted three to four years."
While the New York Times called Greenfield-Sanders film essentially surface deep, it does touch on some interesting points about racism, ageism, and feminism in the modeling industry. Perhaps there are too many points to be explored for a two hour documentary and his plethora of a dozen mega famous names can't explore the topic. Their star making looks do the talking, as always.
Perhaps the most important legacy of these aging supermodels is their photos. One of Lisa Taylor's most famous stints was a Dior ad. She holds her tanned arm in the clutches of a black Doberman Pinscher. The photographer was notorious bad boy Chris Von Wangenheim, famed for his sensuous portraits of doomed Gia Carangi. He captured her innocence in picture perfect quality. Chained to a brutal animal, it was a symbol of the dark side of the business. Hopefully, the models in this documentary are a testament to survival, and that anyone can get out of the business with their hearts unscathed.

Gender bending Yves Saint Laurent is the star of a new exhibit at the ING Cultural Centre in Brussels, Belgium up until May 5th. The exhibition, Yves Saint Laurent: A Visionary, focuses on his work from the '60s and '70s and includes approximately 100 display items some of which have never been on public display. The visionary unisex designer worked for Christian Dior when just a teen. Famous celebrities flocked to his shows during the sultry Studio 54 decade and luminous women like Catherine Deneuve were among his closest confidantes. He has had numerous experiences to draw artistic lifeblood from and even served in the French Army. Of the Dior fashion house, he explained: "Dior fascinated me. I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years I spent at his house." St. Laurent revolutionized fashion with the tuxedo jacket and safari pants. He was one of the early designers to broaden the spectrum of known beauty. He used the elegant and haughty model Pat Cleveland. One of his main inspirations are drawn from ballet design. Some of his sketches are included in the exhibit. Learn more about the designer here.

GorgeousChanel Iman has been in the news most recently for dating rapper, A$AP Rocky. But she has been been making news in elite fashion for much, much longer. The model (or supermodel, rather) has been making steady waves and devoted fans for several years now. The girl with the uniqely fashion name—both Chanel and Iman—is a superstar.

Although born in Atlanta, Chanel hails from LA. She signed with an agency at 13, and loved the camera. The camera clearly loved her, as she aced the Ford Look of the Year contest and won coveted 3rd place. Of mixed ancestry (both African American and Korean), Chanel has the exotic good looks that fashion was crying out for, Yet, as she spoke of on the Tyra Banks Show there were fews spots for black models like herself and her supermodel peers: Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls,and Arlenis Sosa.

Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld is shopping around a new trend. It is inspired by the look of the Middle East. On paper, this sounds fine. Yet, once on runways, it is scandalously turning heads. And not entirely in a good way.

It's called The Murban.

That's an abbreviation for the male turban. Once common headgear for beautiful goddesses in a David Selznick movie from the 1940s (think Gone with the Wind), the look is now being touted for men. The look entails a swath of white ivory fabric wrapped around the man's head and dotted with a diamond gem. The Murban evokes the style of Middle Eastern princes. Modeling the murban is Karl Lagefeld's young boyfriend and his fave male model, Baptise Gabiconi.

Beyonce, the fresh face of H&M's 2013 Summer line, is here to usher us in to our newest online shopping addiction, an H&M oline reltail site. Undoubtedly, online shopping is one of the biggest perks of living in the 21st century. Anything you can ever possibly want to buy can be shipped directly to your door without you having to get out of your pajamas. Modern luxury at its finest. You can order anything you want except for H&M’s apparel and accessories, that is. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve forgotten that H&M lacks a United States online shopping site. What gives? Americans, especially those that aren’t in reach of the Swedish company’s almost 300 stores nationwide, deserve the fashionable and affordable clothing direct to their door just as much as their European cousins across the pond.

It all started with Twilight. Who could predict the pale Gothic look would be such a hit with young girls? The pop culture film catapulted Kristen Stewart into the Hollywood universe. She portrayed Bella Swan, the angst-ridden ingénue romanced by a hunky vampire. Still, something in the film captured the hearts of American teens and legions of young followers have dedicated their fashion lives to imitating Kristen’s impulsive and uniquely casual everyday look which contradicts the typical mainstream. It’s a look that essentially made all the good girls eat their heart out.