Monday, August 29, 2016

Tim Christian ... bucking the trend



In today’s world of fashion, especially when it comes to runway, advertising and editorial, there seems to be this ageism that surely comes off as being rather discriminatory and ill-conceived as well as self-defeating. In the men’s area, apparently stylists, editors, photographers, casting directors and even designers flaunt these cookie cutter boys, not men, BOYS, as the ideal customer or image for so many coveted and ubiquitous prestige brands. Someone needs to explain to me how a 20 something who looks like he hasn’t had his first shave yet can afford $3,000 bomber jackets or $1500 shoes. Granted, so much of the clothing is geared to these absurdly young fashion victims but the schism between the reality and fiction broadens every season. Enter Tim Christian! He is here to signal a change in the winds.
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Tim possesses this sort of “bucking the trend” rocker image that might be the antidote to what ails the industry. He is youthful without looking foolish, he is debonair, when called upon to be, in this sort of Delon Euro way and he is slim enough to carry off almost any look. Those in the seats of power need to take note and not summarily dismiss the possibility that they are sending out the wrong message to well-heeled consumers who can easily afford what they sell. Do you think that a hedgie, a CEO or any man past his 20s relates to prepubescent looking muscle boys with bow legs and greasy hair? Think about who can afford and who can only aspire. Tim is of indeterminate age like somewhere between 35 and death whereas the stepford boys can’t be more than 25 and it doesn’t take a genius to see it; marinate that in your mind for a bit.
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So, I took it upon myself to speak to Tim Christian and listen to what he has to tell us about today’s world of being a male model and not being in the 18 to 25 age bracket. You’ll find it interesting that he has something or maybe even a lot to say about being Tim Christian.
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Jeffrey Felner: Can you tell us some history about you and how you got to this “destination?”

Tim Christian: The trajectory of my professional life has been something of an odyssey. As a young man I never developed any particular vocational aspirations; I always thought there was plenty of time for that. One thing led to another, one career (more-or-less) lead to another. I had a few chapters and then it stopped. Planning, learning, volunteering, networking and two college degrees came up short a couple years ago. I woke up one morning and thought, “there must be something more about me, and less about the work.” Not that I didn’t want to work, I’d worked since I was 16, through high school and then it stopped. A rude sort of awakening to getting out there and making something OF myself. So I did my homework about head shots, posted one on a casting website, and in 48 hours had been contacted by three theatrical/commercial agents in Los Angeles. Model managers and agents in the EU, UK, USA and Latin America came calling very soon thereafter. Eight professional relationships developed between September 2015 and June 2016. 
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JF: What made you focus on being a model and wanting to buck the current trend of the ubiquitous cookie cutter boys?

TC: Acting is incredibly tough and requires an abundance of skills and training, none of which I had when I started. The way I LOOK is with me every day so it is a biological accident, but one that makes me extraordinarily lucky. I can have LOTS of model agents (and functionally only one theatrical agent); so the more people asked – serious, professional people (I did my due diligence), the more opportunities I had to build a team of experts who are on my side. Try to find that in the “regular job” world!

As for breaking some mold well, that’s partly circumstances and partly design. I look the way I look, mostly and one thing I know well is that I can’t make it work if I look like someone else. Most of the guys my age, and lots of young guys, have classic good looks.  In cities like LA, truly beautiful faces (and physiques) are running wild on the streets so I tried to find my own niche; which includes a full head of long hair. I’m naturally lean so I take care to eat well (no point in eating bad food), and to exercise (another story entirely). I’ve never been tattooed or pierced, despite four years of college in the Eighties! I’m not a trend because I’ve not marked myself in any way that is permanent and at a typical casting,  I’m the guy who can show SKIN, not ink. The day I change that is the day I blend in!
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JF: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would they be and why?

TC: I have always adored creative people. My mother has long held the belief that I am a frustrated artist in search of a medium. Perhaps my medium is me. She’s always the first on my list because she knows me far better than I can ever hope to know myself. And after two glasses of wine, she can chat with ANYONE. A close friend is a scientist and an artist and he has a wonderfully creative mind which is always full of questions and opinions that cannot be found in the proverbial box. People who work with their hands inspire serious admiration especially finish carpenters … maybe it’s biblical. I’ve worked with a guy here in LA who builds decks, fences and gates. He used to be a chef. And he’s Italian. Good with his hands . . . My oldest friend lives here in LA; we finished college a year apart, and both migrated into civilization at about the same time. We’re both married now, working and life gets busy and so I’d love to have him to dinner more often. Finally, there’s someone on my family tree I would love to meet, assuming all the rules of physics can be broken for an evening. The first woman in my family known to have been born in California, around 1880, was a Native American. She fell in love with a less than loyal Caucasian man, and got pregnant. He could ill afford to marry a Native American, let alone support a mixed-race child but she fought for herself and her child, and went down a rabbit hole in the courts to prove his paternity. There were death threats, armed guards, a Winchester rifle remains, this woman must have been somebody special and had she failed I wouldn’t be here. I’m betting she’d be a fantastic dinner companion.
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JF: Do you have a constant inspiration, inner voice or mentor that drives you to achieving your goals and who or what might they be?

TC: Lots of folks have said that if you’re going to be something, whatever it is, be the best. Performing just because someone wants me to has never been my style and having had all kinds of jobs in this life, I know the value of WORK. It’s more and more at the center of life for most adults. Even if it isn’t curing cancer or sending a rocket to the moon, most people really strive to be GOOD at what they do. Slow days, crazy days, tedium, thrills . . . Whatever life throws at me, if I’m gonna do it, my aim is to do it well. I have lots of dull days, slow days and times when I’m not being asked to do a lot. So it’s all the more important, when I’ve succeeded in beating out countless other guys (most of whom look or sound just like me on camera) to be the absolute best I can be and not just because it’s expected, but because there’s no other point to it at the end of the day.
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JF: If you could rewrite the path of your life, what would you change or wouldn’t change and why?

TC: I’m suspicious of “shoulda/coulda/woulda”. For me it’s too close to regret… or shame. I don’t always know why things happen, but I’m pretty confident that things happen for a reason. The smallest changes in the past would have had unimaginable effects on my life today. I like my life today. I have goals, and opportunities, and support and love and family and friends … none of which I’d care to lose. Whatever might have been doesn’t really matter, because it’s not real. This adventure I’m living is as real as it gets!
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*** Special thanks to Dietmar Kohl, Mark Bruce, Joey Carman & Tate Tullier for their expert lensing of Tim!

Monday, August 15, 2016

chatting with one of the greats... STAN HERMAN..



With the next New York fashion week in the very near future, I felt that now was the time to remind some and alert others about those who built the foundation of what we experience today. Though today’s version is not exactly as it was or intended to be, there is one thing that still remains and that it New York City houses and was home to  some of the world’s greatest design talents. With that in mind, today it is about Stan Herman. If you don’t know the name, then you best read and then delve deeper into the life and times of this living legend of fashion.
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At one time, somewhere around the mid to late 60s, designers came out from the backrooms (behind the showrooms) on Seventh Avenue and became personalities in their own right. Designers such as Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Leo Narducci, Donald Brooks and yes, Stan Herman, are a few of the names come to mind and fit the bill. They were employed by labels which hitherto never had a marquee designer attached to the label. My personal memory of Stan came from his tenure at Mr. Mort from the ads in Vogue, Bazaar and the New York Times with its ads from major department stores.  By the way, if none of these names are familiar to you, then please do not refer to yourself as a fashionphile or even an aficionado. These names were the dawning, and in many ways the foundation, of a burgeoning industry in New York City.  Up until this time, and with the emergence of such “upstarts,” fashion in NYC was no longer taking a back seat to Paris and other international fashion capitals. 

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Stan Herman is one of the originals and is one of the most enduring personalities that Seventh Avenue has ever produced. Very few designers can boast careers that span more than half a century, very few have accomplished what this man has and the likelihood of anyone even coming close to him is slim to none. Today we are conditioned and accustomed to the so called creative directors who have legions of designers and staff who do everything so that they can just point and opine. When Stan was hitting his stride and it was he who was doing almost everything … well, a lot of it anyway. Don’t get me wrong, yes there was staff, but nowhere near what it takes today to create a mega brand. In essence, it was a time when designers designed and they actually possessed amazing talents, vision and skillsets that more than likely knew no bounds. BTW, they rarely moaned about how hard they worked! ... a little aside ... you listening Raf?? Alber??

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Imagine a time when a brand was judged on a designer’s design prowess and not hype, meaning there was no blah blah blah and there was only product which spoke for itself and spoke to its clientele. Stan Herman was a prescient designer who saw what was going to happen way before it even was conceived of. Mr. Herman has designed every classification of apparel as well as uniforms for some of the most well recognized names/brands in the world of business. He has given selflessly to a business that has brought him prosperity and fame and yet 
 Stan Herman is one of the humblest, kindest and most respected men you will ever meet. To be honest, there aren’t many who live up to those words or his reputation amongst his peers and for those qualities alone, the man should be saluted and honored in a business that eats people alive, eats their young, turns the talentless into stars and then kicks them all to the curb. He has withstood the test of time and defied the odds of a fickle and often cruel business by remaining very much a vibrant participant and presence within the sphere of fashion to this day.

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 So, now, it’s my turn to salute and praise Stan Herman and as he speaks to us in his own words.




JF-If there was one moment in your career that you would want to “freeze frame,” what would it be and why?

SH-It would have been the moment that I was interviewed at the 92 Y in the Fashion Icons series, when facing my peers, I felt the shock of complete acceptance and love. These highs aren't usually a part of growing older, but in this case, it summed up a long and very happy career.

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JF-If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would they be and why?


SH-Well for sure my first guest would be Gene Horowitz, my late lover of 40 years. To his left would be my Mother , who he never met, she died much too young, but since he was left-handed and she was right handed , there would have been an immediate connection .To her left, would be President Obama to show her how much life has changed in the past 70 years. To his left would be Mrs. Peterson, my 10th grade teacher who forced me to start taking life seriously .Sitting at her feet would be my dog, Mozart the standard poodle that held me together in my hardest times




JF-Can you speak to the current state of fashion?

SH-FLUX !!!!  Designers? BRANDERS, Trends? Circular. Media? Voracious, Likes? All the possibilities, Loathes? The hierarchy's alphabet soup … How would you change it? …. I wouldn't assume I had that power!

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JF-What is “the fuel that drives the engine” that is Stan Herman? Your inspirations? Your fears? Your modus operandi?

SH-The need for respect, the wonder of the world and the fear of failure; but all take second place behind the joy of sketching and seeing that sketch come to life.

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JF-What is your advice to young and future designers entering the world of fashion?

SH-If the talent comes naturally, make sure you learn how to harness that talent. Your best friend will always be yourself; don’t dissipate yourself by looking for answers in other places. It's a tough business, but those of us who have the DNA are motivated toward it. Good Luck!

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*** Special thanks to Stan for sharing his personal photo archive and to Jeffrey Banks for making this happen… my undying thanks to both for believing in what I do

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Monday, August 1, 2016

Fashion dreams realized .. MICHAEL CINCO..



One has to marvel at how life has changed with the increasing importance, availability and omnipresence of the internet. There are few, if any, areas of creativity that cannot be further examined or explored and that have not benefited from its unimaginable reach. For those of us in fashion, it has unquestionably expanded our horizons, broadened our purview of fashion and exponentially inflated our visual vocabulary to include designers from all over the world as well as those we already know who practice and continue to hone the art and craft of fashion. 
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I had the pleasure of spotlighting Michael Cinco and his career three years ago. At that time he might have just been categorized as a designer from the Middle East and yet just a scant few years later Michael Cinco is recognized as a designer with an international presence. Having shown his first couture collection for Fall 2016 in Paris, he has definitely crossed the threshold to an international audience. His incredibly opulent and statement making clothes are now available to just about anyone who can “afford the price of admission” so to speak. 
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The incredible thing about fashion is that we in the USA love it, give it ample press and  even follow it almost obsessively; yet we are, as a country, very unwilling to recognize it as an art form that should be nurtured by government and independent financial resources. To wit, enter the Asian Couture Federation ( www.asiancouturefederation.com ), who made Mr. Cinco’s Parisian debut possible and turned this designer’s dream to reality. The mission of the Asian Couture Federation (ACF) is to inspire, support, and promote the highest levels of Asian fashion design and artistry and offer that to Asian markets as well as to the global marketplace. The Federation approached Mr. Cinco and asked him to showcase 2 collections; one was to be couture and the other to be a newly conceived luxe ready to wear collection for COUTURISSIMO which is the retail arm of the ACF. 
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With the help and guidance of the ACF, Michael Cinco realized a dream that almost every designer from anywhere harbors and that is to show in Paris … let alone to show a Couture collection seen round the world! The images presented here are a combination of both couture and ready to wear but can you decipher the difference as there is incredible beauty and artistry within every piece. Cinco is a testament to the art and craft of fashion as well as a gifted designer with his own vision.
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You will see his oeuvre and hear from him via an excerpted past Q & A interview  I’d done with him, so feast your eyes and read about one of those that I classify as “ a designer that designs.”
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What’s your advice to the “newcomer?”
Dream great dreams. Believe in yourself. Believe that anything in this world is possible.
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What if any, book are you reading now or last read?
I read the book of DIOR a hundred times.

Who or what is your inspiration/style icon?
I love watching classic Hollywood films when I was a kid. I love Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Bette Davis. I first listened to opera music of Maria Callas when I was 12 years old and at that time I was inspired and I knew I will be a fashion designer
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If you won a $200,000,000 power ball (lottery), what is the first thing you would buy or do?
I'll open a couture house in Avenue Montaigne in Paris right across the atelier of Christian Dior. And I’ll buy taste and class and give them to women who don't have any...hahaha...
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Whose opinion do you value most?
I always ask for opinions from others. But I always follow my instincts. 

http://www.michaelcinco.com