Thursday, September 3, 2009

Prachi Desai is new face of Neutrogena cosmetics in India !!!

Bollywood actress Prachi Desai is the new face of international cosmetics brand Neutrogena in the Indian market.

US-based pharmaceuticals company Johnson & Johnson launched Neutrogena in the Indian market Thursday, offering around 25 beauty items ranging from fairness creams, face cleansing lotions to sun protection and hand and body care products.

Speaking about the endorsement, Prachi said: "The arrival of Neutrogena in the Indian market is going to be a gift for thousands of consumers who have waited long for products that really work."

The range is meant especially for the Indian skin type and the company has been testing the product for the past two years to suit Indian skins.

"We are bringing science to the art of beauty. For the past two years, we were understanding the needs of Indian customers because we wanted to give our consumers only the best, " said Swami Raote, managing director Johnson & Johnson (J&J), at a press conference.

"We are targeting mainly women living in metro cities. Therefore, our products will be available in major Indian cities and towns, " he added.

According to a survey, the skin care market in India is around $67 billion. This is because of the fact that women have become beauty conscious over the years.

"People want to look good and are concerned about fairness, aging, blemishes - in short they want to look beautiful. We have products that not only give complete solutions but also complete satisfaction as well, " explained Tina Mistry, vice president of J&J.

"The Indian skin care market is still in a nascent stage because there was a time when women were very indifferent about the way they looked. Things have changed today and young women want products that give them results, " she added.

The product range starts at Rs.85 and goes up to Rs. 500.

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For Gossips And Mirch Masala Log On To Bollywood Paradize

Exclusive: Carolyn Massey AW09 at Daniel Jenkins

We know how frustrating it can be when you see something on the runway, tell yourself that your life is incomplete without it but then find out it is near impossible to buy it. We had this feeling after watching Carolyn Massey's Aw09 show back in February. So when we heard that Daniel Jenkins would be offering a selection of exclusive pieces online and in store (the only physical store in the UK to do so) we were more than a little excited. Dan has entrusted us with a preview link of the stock before anyone else has had the chance to feast their eyes on it and of course we just had to share it with you.

Our favourite piece. The Aubergine Balaclava Jumper is simply beautiful. Made in Scotland, the piece is100% wool. Shown with Carolyn Massey 'Shooting' Mittens. Dan wears a medium here.

Dan on the collection:
"Modern menswear is increasingly focused upon individual products, mixing labels to create an overall look. Carolyn Massey has created a collection of individual pieces of outstanding worth which worn together creates one of the most coherant menswear collections of recent years. Detailing is properly thought out and perfected. Nothing is over the top. Everything serves a purpose. The main one being to give the wearer an air of confidence. This is real stand up straight, shoulders back and chest out clothing."

The Dark Navy Trench Coat with stiped satin lining and sleeves is perfect for the hovering grey clouds. Made in England. Dan wears a medium in the shots above.

Inspired by the Museum of London and National Army Museum, Massey’s collection saw her revive seemingly forgotten historic details and silhouettes. Throughout the collection sharply tailored trench coats and capes offered an edge whilst the knits provided an element of calm and romance. These feelings are replicated in the offering at Daniel Jenkins. It is rare to leave a show with the desire to own every single look but the February show had that effect on us and we are pleased that we can finally get our hands on it.

The Tie Neck Jumper is both a wardrobe staple and a statement piece. This colourway is an exclusive to the store. Made in Scotland. Dan wears a medium.

Style Salvage Speaks to... Lodger (Part Two)

Following on from where we left off yesterday, please make yourself comfortable for part two of our interview with Nathan Brown. In part one we talked about how his passion for shoes developed in to Lodger and how the last nine months have been. In the concluding part we talk about balancing traditional craftsmanship with the very latest technology and kit, the idea behind the Gentleman's Corner and finish off with a few recommendations.

The custom fit starts out with a 3D laser scan to build a virtual model of each foot. Above is the scan of Steve's feet.


SS: We love how Lodger strikes the right balance between beautiful, time consuming handcrafting, traditional shoe making machinery and the very latest technology and kit. Was this balance a key facet of your vision for Lodger?
Nathan Brown: With the laser scanner, it was my view that there was all this technology but no one really knew how to apply it. You could go out there and say you want to revolutionise shoe making but I think that is a very dangerous thing to say. The way we pitch our technology is that it is an additional benefit. However cool the scanner is, if you are a size nine and have a regular width it can't really do anything more for you but if your foot is like mine it comes in to play. We can take six different widths and nobody else can stock that. It was very much about starting off the company from scratch, not accepting the standard fair. Like shoe trees for example. A proper shoe tree will make your shoes last longer than anything else you could possibly do and the shoe companies know this but they use it as an excuse to sting you for another £50 to £75. I thought this was a bunch of crap. We just price it in now and don't take a margin on the shoe tree, which is why we include them with every pair. The shoe bags are made out of bamboo, because it is better for the environment, it is shaped for less waste etc. We design everything, from the images on the shoe boxes to enable you to see what's inside.


Aside from just the tech it was us reimagining and taking nothing for granted. Reimagining from the ground up. What it is built around is twofold. Firstly, we are passionate about shoes and we want to show that we have thought about all the details and secondly, we like people so the experience in the shop is all about the product whilst relating to people. The rest of it, we don't really give a shit about, we don't have the attitude which comes with luxury sometimes. We love sitting down and having an espresso with a customer and chatting about shoes.

The July shoe of the month on display with a few sartorial options.
SS: Gentleman's Corner is an extension of that idea. What frustrates us about many shop/label blogs is that they tend to be pointless aside from updating people on stock and new products. Whilst talking about product design, Gentleman's Corner discusses other brands that you admire and ones which you think your customers might be interested in which is extremely rare.
Nathan Brown: Originally the Gentleman's Corner wasn't a blog. The idea was to have a corner of the shop devoted to things that we like and that is where the gentleman's corner started but by the time we got going we decided against doing it in the shop and turned to the web instead. The concept was formed in the real world but then applied online and I think that is why it has a different feeling, it wasn't "let's do a blog" but "let's find a way to talk about the things we like".

SS: Do you think you'll go back to having a physical corner in store?

Nathan Brown: We incorporate elements of it in to the store now. We have the display table which currently has the Scabal suit on it because we want to show the shoes in context. With that blue striped shoe alot of customers told me they liked it but they just didn't think they could wear it. So a lot of what we are going to do with the photography of the Gentleman's Corner is going to put the shoes in to context. The blog has become an organic part of what we do. We only serve the booze that we like, we only show the clothes on the table that we like and wear, the magazines we like. At the moment we are stocking Man About Town and the Rake. The Rake is a great magazine and I thought that it was stupid that you couldn't get it in this country and now we are pretty much sold out of it. The reason we sell Man About Town is because I love Hugh and the magazine, I felt guilty that we would be stocking a different title so called him up and asked for a few copies. We big up things we like and things we think are good. We don't make a penny on the magazines but we like showing off cool things people might not see otherwise.

Issues of the Rake and Man About Town on sale in store.

SS: Having grown up literally surrounded by trainers, have you got any desire to explore that area with Lodger?
Nathan Brown: Quick answer: yes. Longer answer: yes but. Haha! The thing is, most of the trainers that shoe companies put out are awful, they are heavy, they are poor, they are what an old fashioned shoe company thinks a sneaker looks like. So I definitely want to reinvent. We were actually doing something with one of the big three sneaker brands about doing bespoke, English made trainers and we've got a couple of prototypes in the office. I can't talk about it but they are freaking gorgeous, they are stunning. We are going to do something at some point but it certainly won't be the usual, traditional shoe company trying to make sneakers.

SS: What are you thoughts on the current state of the shoe industry? What excites and infuriates you?
Nathan Brown: Firstly, I'm a lover not a hater. I've got as much of a shoe collection as my large feet allow, so I genuinely love other brands. Starting Lodger wasn't because I thought that there was nothing good out there but I thought we could push it further. I'm certainly coloured by my perspective which is why we do shoes which are classics with a twist rather than full on fashion. I just feel that luxury brands in general aren't moving with the times, a lot of luxury brands, whether that be Savile Row or Luis Vuitton, became world beaters because they were exceptionally innovative in the products they did one hundred years ago but it feels to me that many are resting on their laurels a bit now. The fear to embrace online properly, the fear of letting go of control of your brand... all of the things that the younger brands are doing. If you go to Pitti Uomo, there is a completely different sense of energy between the luxury hall and the young fashion hall. My feeling is if you just jam those two feelings together, that will be really cool. I am trying to mash up those two energies with Lodger, to bring that enthusiasm, relentless innovation, keep pushing and push it some more.
Each pair comes packaged with a shoe tree inside a bamboo fabric bag with a product shot on the label.

SS: It does seem that many luxury brands have been coasting on cruise control...Nathan Brown: And taking the piss out of customers. All of my friends are demanding customers, maybe because we work in the industry, but why would a customer let a "luxury brand" get away with charging you thousands of pounds for a bag simply because there is a short run of forty. Now there is no reason why there can only be forty. For the Kudu shoe we are releasing, we can only make twenty five pairs because there is only that much leather available. So many brands however, create illusionary limited numbers and it is so frustrating.

SS: Finally, harking back to the idea of Gentleman's Corner, we always ask our interviewees for recommendations, who would you like to big up today?
Nathan Brown: As a wine fan: Oregan Pinot Noir. It is on the same latitude as Burgundy France, same soil type, is it amazing... you just have to find it.
Hairdresser: Although long overdue, I always go down to Olivier at Gentleman's Tonic on Bruton Street because he takes very good care of me.
Tailors: If I'm on the Row I do a lot of stuff with Scabal because I think they just have the most beautiful cloths in the world. I got married in suit cut from Scabal cloth so I personally like it a lot. The problem I have is, being in such close proximity, if I name one I need to name quite a few but a cloth merchant I can just about get away with. I'm happy to make personal recommendations.
Shops and Labels: Albam, Smedley, E. Tautz, I'm sure we'll do some stuff with Carolyn Massey so congratulations to her on her place at New Gen Men. Those are a few of my favourites. I spend half my time in denim and the rest in suits so that is a good mix. I like giving personal recommendations to customers. For international travellers, typical Bond Street guys I always recommend that they should walk down Lambs Conduit Street and you can go to Oliver Spencer, Folk, Pokit, It is such a nice street and for someone who spends a lot of time in Mayfair it is an eye opening thing but for readers of your blog they know all about the street.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Pretty Young Thing: Agyness Deyn Channels Michael Jackson




You've probably already seen this, but sometimes I'm on a slow post sched, so forgive me for being tardy to the party. It's Agyness Deyn in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar. Anyway, I love MJ (duh), and Agyness is one of my favorite models because she's not all tragically model-y and has the ability to look like a Glamazon, Holly Hobby, OR an angry, pouty little mop-topped boy. Enjoy!

Stella McCartney jacket


Moschino jacket


Rag & Bone blazer with Crystallized Swarovski Elements

Balmain pants and jacket


YSL jacket


Also -- random -- check out this photo of Agyness as a teenager. Thankfully she (like I), learned to chill on the brows. I, however, am still awaiting a modelling contract. I'M WAITING!

What Is Love? This Sobella Train Tote In "Explosion"

($158, Sobella, Angelhandbags.com)
What is love? This ridiculous graffiti-printed Sobella bag, which features the art of graffiti artist John “Crash” Matos. It's like Keith Haring meets Peter Max. But, PLEASE, DO NOT -- repeat -- DO NOT wear this bag with anything more bold than a camel-colored trench. PLEASE.


Style Salvage Speaks to... Lodger (Part One)


We have previously hinted that we were thinking about launching a series of posts celebrating great British craftsmanship and the more we both thought about it, the more we wanted to do it. There are a number of inspiring brands showcasing great British craftsmanship but we'd like to kickstart the feature with an interview with Nathan Brown of Lodger Footwear.

Nathan Brown and his team at Lodger have an irrational passion for beautiful shoes and we think this should be applauded. The mix of continuous design, in combination with cutting edge technology and traditional craftsmanship makes Lodger a truly unique shoe company. After we posted about the July shoe of the month Nathan dropped us an email to thank us and invited us to the store for a chat over a glass of wine or two. We might just have had a little too much fun which is why we have had to split the interview in to two parts. In part one we discus his love affair with shoes, the catalysts for launching Lodger and his favourite shoes thus far. Come back tomorrow for the concluding part where we will talk about the balance between technology and traditional craftsmanship and Nathan will share his recommendations.


Style Salvage: You are undeniably a shoeist. Was there a particular pair you saw/owned which kicked off your love affair? How did this passion develop over the years?
Nathan Brown: It is quite simple really: two things. One: my father was an accountant so he certainly wasn't a fashion guru but he was old school. He bought quality shoes which he polished every week, as a man is judged by the state of his shoes. So I was taken out to the garage when I was about twelve and taught how to shine my shoes. But then I grew up in Beaverton, Oregan, which is the world headquarters for Nike and US headquarters for Adidas and I've worked for both of these brands. Growing in Beaverton it was a ten minute jog to either of these headquarters, we were right in the middle. I got in to shoes from clothing really. I used to make my own clothes because I couldn't fit in anything, so I'd make my own patterns.

SS: Did you have any formal training?
Nathan Brown: My Mom taught me. Not fashion but mainly for snowboarding. I'm 6ft9, 145 pounds. Back in the day, they just didn't make anything so I had to make my own clothes. So I got in to apparel initially, got in to shoe companies and then it grew.


SS: Did the size of your feet come in to play?
Nathan Brown: Sort of. It is really hard to get hold of good looking shoes in a size thirteen/thirteen and a half UK, size fifteen US. I am a product guy so I'm sure that it had something to do it and I love making things. It would have been a lot cheaper to buy a bunch of bespoke shoes than to start Lodger!

SS: Tell us about your background and how Lodger evolved...
Nathan Brown: I was running Adidas global tennis apparel business in Germany and my drinking buddies were the guys who launched Adidas Originals which went from nothing to about three billion Euros. It was launched by five guys and they've now become the Head of Advanced Design at Nike, Head of Lifestlye for Reebook in Tokyo, Head of Development for Reebok in Boston and one of them is turning around Le Coq Sportif. So, we would just sit around and get drunk on cheap red wine and talk about doing our own thing, "let's come at shoes from taking the design, innovation and technology from sneakers and apply it to classic shoe making and give that a kick up the ass, wouldn't that be fun?!". So we started talking about that in 2000 and I just kept building on it and going back to it, then I just decide to it as a hobby with one of my mates who happened to be working in London at London but he got a great job when Nike bought Reebok so off he went to Boston. So I decided that I was working in a job which I didn't care for much and so I thought "fuck it, I am going to take a punt and try and get some backers, if it didn't work at least I tried". Fortunately I got some great backers and I get to do this!


SS: The store is sandwiched between Bond Street and Savile Row on London's Clifford Street. Having grown in Beaverton, Oregan, what brought you to this great location in the style heart of London?
Nathan Brown: It took about a year to get this shop specifically. It used to be an art gallery run by a crazy Irish artist. The deal fell through three times but I was a like a dog with a bone, I really wanted this shop but it took over nine months of negotiation. I loved the space here but meanwhile I was looking at every other street in the area, I could be an estate agent. I looked at Mount Street which is a great street but it is mainly for women, not nearly enough passing trade. I just loved this neighbourhood but I love this shop, it is only six hundred square feet with a the two floors.

SS: The size of the store combined with the split levels, fits well with the two Lodger offerings...
Nathan Brown: We tried really hard to find a store with two levels or at least two clearly defined rooms where we could segment the ready to wear and then have an area where we could have a drink and relax because this experience is so important to our other offering.


SS: How do you balance the two experiences?
Nathan Brown: It is quite organic really. Usually the guys sitting down on the couch with wine or an espresso are the customers who keep coming back. That being said there is a certain kind of new customer who is up for sitting down and talking. So if people are up for it we could be sitting down here for a couple of hours with a new customer but it tends to happen over time when customers get a little more comfortable... but we want it to be a relationship with all our customers.

SS: You've been open now for nine months, how are the relationships building?
Nathan Brown: It has been great. My thoughts were on building relationships with guys and bringing them back. I did a quick analysis when we were six months old and 30% of our customers had already come back for a second pair of shoes or more. At that point we had one customer who had bought seven pairs of shoes! Now we have one customer who has got about a dozen pairs in nine months. Having such a high repeat hit rate is, I think a testament that people are liking what we do. It feels great that people are beginning to collect our shoes.


SS: Did your sneaker background inspire the shoe of the month, the desire to consistently release new models while the rest of the shoe industry moves with the seasons?
Nathan Brown: The whole shoe of the month thing was a calculated thing. Number one, I think seasons are artificial for shoes, black suede is not a six month thing but brogues should be around for ten years. So the shoe of the month addresses this, shoes are released for exactly the right month. Secondly, the biggest assets Nike and Adidas have are their back catalogues, the old school models they can release. It was a calculated idea that we wanted to generate a catalogue that we can mine in an intelligent way quickly. It is exhausting to do but it allows us to test new ideas before we put them out on our ready to wear collections and gives us a lot more information, we get immediate feedback. In nine months we have done around a dozen models which would take around six years if we did it the standard seasonal way.

SS: Out of the twelve have you got any personal favourites? I know it must be like choosing your favourite child...
Nathan Brown: You want me to pick favourites from my babies? Well, there a couple of pairs I just couldn't get; I can't justify having every model but kind of wish I could. I loved the Spectator but couldn't get a pair. They are beautiful shoes. I have a pair of the Oxford George boot but I just can't bring myself to christen them yet. Those are a couple of my favourites and I have to say that the white tennis shoes are spectacular, I've worn them so many times and they are still white and something else. None of those were our best sellers but they are my favourites, although the tennis shoe was our second biggest seller.


SS: Are there any which you just can't wait to release?
Nathan Brown: The thing with the shoe of the month is we can be very quick so we've not really thought beyond September but I'm excited by the Kudu work boot, made from the twenty five year old Kudu which is going to be spectacular, lined with purple Velvet- stunning.

SS: And of course you are working on the boat shoe...
Nathan Brown: Yeah. It will hopefully be released for February next year so we can drop it in early Spring and it is going to be gorgeous. We went back to the drawing board because I think it's good but we can completely blow it up, we can make is something else, so it is going to be a fun one to release. I can talk about all of them, it is so hard to narrow them down. Annejkh is the best show designer out there, she understands sneakers but she is obsessed with men's classic shoes so she understands the aesthetic. She is a sneaker head- I think a lot of us have not grown out of that and it affects how we address shoes, how we wear them and how we style them.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

We're almost back...

After refreshing our blogging batteries and enjoying the sunshine (when and where we could) over the last week, our short shorts have been replaced with suitable work attire and we are almost ready for business. In the meantime here's a glimpse of things to come...