M.A.C are the masters of collaborations. Over the past year they've worked with everyone from Iris Apfel to Beth Ditto and yesterday the brand announced that they have a new collection in the works inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
The 30 piece limited edition collection will include everything from eyeliners to nail polishes and naturally, a selection of lipsticks too. While they are keeping quiet about the details, M.A.C have confirmed that the collection will be priced at an accessible $15 to $27 and will hit stores in October.
ELLE UK have had a strong year of covers. Off the top of my head six already spring to mind so it comes at no surprise that their December cover is a strong one too.
Michelle Williams is the cover model of choice and subject of a fashion story and accompanying editorial where she talks about her experiences playing Marilyn Monroe in her latest film, 'My Week With Marilyn'. The magazine opted to focus on Williams rather than following American Vogue who styled the actress up as Monroe for their October cover and the departure definitely works.
Double heeled platforms, harem pants, snoods, high-waisted everything, exaggerated shoulders, jump/play suits, over-the-knee boots, sequins and cinched waists, amongst other things, are currently the fashion industry and style-savvy fashionistas' 'flavours of the month'. These trends have slowly and steadily inundated the catwalks before filtering down to the high street over the last few seasons. Shoppers have flocked in droves to empty the rails and get their manicured mitts on these 'hot new trends'. This all sounds fine and good. However, it does beg the question of whether our generation has its own look and if so, what trends would sum up our 'look'? In previous decades, the trends of the era were more often than not reflective of the happenings and changes in society at that point in time and as such, the fashions of the particular decade could be seen to play an important role.
The big question is, are our generation simply copying old trends from different eras, or do we actually have our own identity?
Costume designer Orry-Kelly won an Oscar for his work on the 1959 comedy 'Some Like It Hot', starring Marilyn Monroe. Orry-Kelly also designed for 'Casablanca' and 'An American in Paris', among others.
Richard Avedon's minimalist black and white photos were revolutionary in that he did not simply photograph clothes but was interested in the model's state of mind coming across in his images. Having worked for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and The New Yorker, Avedon has photographed a number of celebrities, where he used his talent of getting the stars emotion to translate to his photos, sometimes even asking them uncomfortable or indecent questions in order to provoke a reaction. This often resulted in his subjects looking out of character, Marilyn Monroe distracted, Elizabeth Taylor sombre, an individual quality unmatched by any other photographer at the time.
"A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth." he said. Portraying more than just the clothes, and provoking reactions from the models is something that later photographers have taken form his work, most notably Mario Testino.
Lindsay Lohan has been a busy girl of late. Between acting as artistic adviser-come-muse of Emanuel Ungaro since August, and all that partying, most recently at Vogue's 90 years of magazine covers party in Paris on Friday, she has can now add model to her CV. The sometimes flame-haired actress has posed for an advertising campaign in which, she dons the new range of leggings for her brand 6126. Sporting newly dyed tresses and a sultry pout, Lohan showcases an array of cut out, nude coloured ribbed and studded leggings all of which are priced between $60 and $132.
A film starring Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable? We clearly love.
The costume designer Travilla was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on 'How To Marry A Millionaire', the 1953 film about three models hoping to pay their bills through speedy weddings.
Travilla (first name: William) won an Oscar for 'Adventures of Don Juan', but perhaps is best known for costuming Monroe in eight films. He also designed for 'Valley of the Dolls' and a little show called 'Dallas'. Perhaps you recall it?
In response to Lindsay Lohan'slatest (millionth?) attempt to pose as Marilyn Monroe, Jezebel has a question: Why are people so obsessed with recreating an inimitable style? Especially when said style was made famous by a tragic figure forced by movie studios to reinvent herself?
We get that the white-dress picture is legendary, and yes, the girl born Norma Jean Baker was gorgeous. But Baker/Monroe was objectified by those around her and died under suspicious circumstances at only 36. Is it the "live hard, die young and leave a beautiful corpse" phenomenon that makes her image last? Or is it time that, like Jezebel says, we realise that pretending to be someone else, as Monroe had to do, is exhausting, and learn to be happy with our own icons?
