HAPPY NEW YEAR + ALIYA LEEKONG INTERVIEW

2012 was quite the year, wasn't it? How was it for you? I'm excited to start 2013 and am especially excited to build on the foundation that I've laid over the past six (really 12) years by expanding the StyleChile brand! I have a feeling that great things await us in 2013, lots of wonderful opportunities are in store. I'd love to learn about your goals for 2013. I'm a firm believer in speaking things into being, so feel free to share your aspirations for the new year in the comments section.

 

I can think of no better way to kick off 2013 than by sharing one of my inspirations, Aliya LeeKong, with you, in the hopes that the success she has attained in the pursuit of her passion will be encouragement for you to follow your dreams. Check out the video below for a conversation between yours truly and the culinary creative director of the Michelin starred Junoon—who also happens to be my good friend, compadre, road dog and fellow food lover—who can appreciate the finest of the fine in dining, to the local street corner fried chicken spot, to street food from far flung countries across the globe, and everything in between. What inspires you? Follow me on Pinterest to see visual representations of my inspirations!

 

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." - Rumi

Filmed by producer and artistic director extraordinaire, Tanji Gilliam, of Oil House Productions, this interview took place back in July, in advance of Aliya's August 2012 Vogue India debut. I think it's hilarious that Aliya flips the script and starts to interview me. Her questions elicited thoughts on my long-held desire to do what I love! Click read more below to see an excerpt of the Vogue India article featuring Aliya and to see more of Tanji's work: a music video for recording artist Nyticka Hemingway, the internal scenes of which were filmed in my apartment! Be sure to check out Oil House Productions, and consider them for documenting your most significant occasions, like I do.

 

Enjoy & Happy New Year!!!

MANUEL CANOVAS: FABRIC + WALLPAPER

I've long aspired to be an interior decorator, and would like to share this post with you, because fashionistas like yourselves, if anything like me, are sure to have an appreciation for design that extends beyond apparel—and into the home. I love wallpaper, and am a big fan of de Gournay, but have recently become acquainted with Manuel Canovas while perusing wallpaper online. Founded in 1963, Manuel Canovas' eponymous company creates decorative wall coverings and fabrics that evinces the founder's love of botany and his long-held passion for drawing and color. Although the French fabric house was purchased by Colefax & Fowler in 1998*, the design aesthetic is still rooted in the artistic principles and tradition of its founder, and is known for its effusive use of color in its collections. Used primarily for upholstery and wallpaper, the woven, dyed and printed fabrics have come to be associated with excellence of design and luxury.

 

* Manuel Canovas shares the plight of another well known French designer: Hervé Léger, who like Canovas, lost the rights to his name and control of his company in 1998. The Hervé Léger brand is now owned by BCBG Max Azria and Monsieur Léger designs and sells dresses under the name Hervé L. Leroux. Similarly, Monsieur Canovas now designs luxurious fabric under another name, his wife's maiden name: Lorca.

EMERALD GREEN: PANTONE'S 2013 COLOR OF THE YEAR

1- Willy Daro malachite and bronze lamp, 1stdibs.com; 2- Emerald cut cocktail ring, made of green onyx, $128; 3 - BCBG pave stone earrings at BCBG, $58.00; 4- Elie Saab's Spring 2012 Ready-To -Wear; 5- Brazilian green agate coasters, $68 from Rain Collection; 6- 14.35 carat emerald engagement ring flanked by 3.95 carat triangular shaped diamonds, $85,000 at Sotheby's;  7 - 1950s arm chair from 1stdibs.com; 8- Gold and malachite Rolex, 1stdibs.com; 9 - Catherine Malandrino stretch silk-blend jumpsuit available at net-a-porter, $395
It ain't easy being green. . . actually, it wont be hard for you to incorporate 2013's color of the year—the most abundant hue in nature—into your wardrobe and home. The Pantone Color Institute,  a world-renowned authority on color, has released the result of its annual poll of designers and brands secret  meeting of international color standard groups, forecasting that one of my favorite colors, emerald green (Pantone color 17-5641*), will be having a moment next year. I've been recommending malachite accents to friends and family for their homes and almost wore this stunner to my birthday celebration last week (but decided that wearing sequins three years in a row would be doing way too much). I do wear these BCBG earrings often though! This color has positive psychological connotations as well. According to Leatrice Eiseman, Excecutive Director of Pantone, emerald green is "the color of growth, renewal and prosperity — no other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity." Here's to rebirth, revitalization, well-being and looking fab in 2013!

* Pantone believes that these colors are their intellectual property and cannot be used freely by others. But that belief is not supported by trademark law. Query how Pantone's position would play out in the courts following the recent decision in Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent, a case in which Christian Louboutin, he of the red bottom fame, challenged Yves Saint Laurent's use of the color red on soles of certain shoes. While a 2011 ruling by a Southern District Court found that the law does not support Louboutin, disallowing "recognition of a trademark for the use of a single color for fashion items", the Second Circuit Court of Appeals conferred limited trademark protection to Louboutin in "only those situations where the red lacquered outsoles contrasts in color with the adjourning 'upper' of the shoe".