A Glam Slam

WHO'S HAUTE? THURSDAYS: RYAN MILLER

Just a few days ago, Team USA defeated Team Canada in one of it's greatest Olympic Winter hockey game upsets since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice." And a huge factor in that win was goaltender, Ryan Miller. Just yesterday, Miller shined in a another USA win over Team Switzerland with a perfect game of 19 saves in 19 shots. Not only is he the #1 goalie for the Olympic team, but he's also been one of the best goaltenders in the NHL thus far this season, for the Buffalo Sabres. For now, Miller and Team USA are one win away from the gold medal game. And America couldn't be more excited.

It's more than just his goaltending skills that has made Miller a popular US Olympian. He shows his patriotism and does so in style. After all, if you look good you play well, right? Miller thinks so. He specially designed a totally cool face mask to include a muscular Uncle Sam along with Olympics logos and patriotic sayings. Unfortunately, the IOC decided to play fashion police and Miller was told to remove some of those phrases, including the “Miller Time” logo on the back of his mask.

But the man behind this mask is lending his style sense to his fellow Americans in other ways. Miller owns a clothing store in East Lansing, Michigan called The Refinery. The Refinery was started by Miller in 2007 and is a world-class clothing retailer with an amazing selection of denim. Miller has said that it's difficult to find the right clothing for a hockey player's build and his store caters to both those athletes and their wives. Seems like he's got the looking good thing covered both on and off the ice.

Ryan Miller is Who's Haute.

 
 

- Glam Gal -

T.O. 'AMUSES' FANS WITH A NEW LOOK

One of the most entertaining spectacles during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York was the A*Muse by Richie Rich show. A Glam Slam had the opportunity to attend and let's just say that it involved disco balls, body paint, confetti and colorful speedos. The rest will be left to your imagination.

While the show's featured celebrity was actually Pamela Anderson, Terrell Owens, in typical T.O. fashion, managed to steal the show. The NFL wide receiver strutted his stuff down the runway in a brown spiky-haired wig, white pants, an opened jacket and a large gold chain necklace. Channeling a mix of Tina Turner and a drag queen the look was, well, interesting to say the least.

What do you think of T.O.'s runway fashions? He admitted himself that not only was he talented, but he also felt that he looked real good on the catwalk. Shocker.

- Glam Gal -

WEAR YOUR OWN PIECE OF OLYMPIC GOLD

Roberto Coin, a high-end Italian jewelry designer, has recently unveiled a new line of Olympic-inspired jewelry, as an extension of his "Tiny Treasures" collection.

The seven piece collection is made of white gold, with black or white diamond embellishments. The items pay tribute to some of the most popular Winter Olympics sports, through a variety of delicate charms including figure skates, skis, snowboards and hockey sticks.

This is nothing new for Coin, who had previously created a $31,000 golden sneaker and boxing glove pendant for the 2008 Bejing Olympics.

And you can wear your Olympic pride around your neck for $640 - $800. The jewelry is available at select Roberto Coin locations. Will you be rocking Coin's Olympic gold?

 

 - Glam Gal -

 

OLYMPIC ATHLETES' GOOD LUCK CHARMS: LIGHTNING BOLTS, TIARAS & LADY GAGA

Rabbit's foot, dream catchers, old baby blankets. We all have our good luck charms. And Olympic athletes are no exception. Sometimes winning an Olympic medal takes a little something extra.

USA figure skater, Evan Lysacek, defeated Russian, Yevgeny Pleshenko, to bring home the first US male figure-skating gold medal in 22 years. Evan electrified the crowd with a flawless routine. But his win didn't come without a bit of good luck, in the form of a "lightning bolt." When Evan qualified for his first Junior Olympics, he decided to skate in a costume of his own creation: a blue superhero design with a yellow lightning bolts. He won the Junior Olympics that year and ever since, he has accessorized with a lightning bolt necklace for good luck. This time, that lightning bolt helped to bring him an even better accessory: an Olympic gold medal.

 

USA skier Julia Mancuso has already won two silver medals in Vancouver. And like Evan, her victories came about with lots of hard work, dedication and a very special good luck charm. Due to her "opinionated" nature, Julia's coaches gave her a toy tiara prior to the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, along with the nickname "Princess." According to Julia, "I used to wear a tiara when we didn't have to wear helmets in the slalom, but then they changed the rules so I had a silver tiara painted on my helmet. Win or lose, that tiara is always with me." [People]

Julia loves her good luck charm so much, that she has turned it into a business venture. She has a line of lingerie called "Kiss My Tiara." IOC regulations have forced her to temporarily shut down the shopping pages where you can find these goods, but check back here after the Olympics.

And it's only fitting that one of the most talked about Olympians, USA figure skater Johnny Weir, would have some interesting good luck quirks himself. At the top of that list: Lady Gaga. Weir, who performs to Lady Gaga's hit "Poker Face" at exhibitions, recently attended her concert at Radio City Music Hall and sat next to the singer's mother, who is a skating fan. [WSJ]

He has even decorated his apartment at the Olympic village with scented candles, pink decor and posters and words of inspiration from Lady Gaga. While he didn't medal at the Vancouver Games, he did skate one of his best performances yet. Could there be a collaboration between these two in the future? We can only hope so.

- Glam Gal -

 

VANCOUVER PRESENTS: HALLOWEEN ON ICE

We're used to seeing sequins and sparkles and feathers when figure skaters hit the ice. But what we've seen so far from the Olympic pairs and men's figure skaters is way beyond the flamboyant, over-the-top looks that we've grown to love. Or love to hate is more like it. In fact, thus far it has appeared more like a Halloween Parade than an Olympic skating competition.

A Glam Slam has broken down "the best of the worst" fashions from the pairs and men's competition. And because you will probably look at these costumes and think "Where have I seen that before?" A Glam Slam has also provided the likely inspiration behind each skating fashion. Take a look:

Ukraine's Tatiana Volosozhar & Stanislav Morozov as "The Blue Power Ranger"

 

Russia's Vera Bazarova & Yuri Lariyonov as "The Incredibles"
 
   

 

USA's Evan Lysacek as "Derek Zoolander"

 
  
  

Belguim's Kevin van der Perrer as "A Dancing Skeleton"
 
 
 

Switzerland's Anais Morand & Antoine Dorsaz as "A Burberry Bag"

 
 

Italy's Samuel Contesti as "Farmer Ted"

 

USA's Johnny Weir as "Pink Halloween Barbie"
 
 

Russia's Artem Borodulin as "Bret Michaels"

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Czech Republic's Tomas Verner as "A Gondola Driver"

 

Russia's Evgeni Plushenko as "Craig Sager, All-Star Weekend 2010"

 
 
  
Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy as...do we really even need to go there?

 

Stay tuned for more skating fashion updates, once the women and ice dancing pairs have competed.

- Glam Gal -

OLYMPIC FASHION UPDATE: GOOD PANTS, BAD PANTS

A Glam Slam has been getting a lot of questions regarding the Olympic fashions thus far. And lately a huge topic of interest has been “pants.” While we expected to see some wild and crazy looks from this year’s athletes, some fashion choices have still surprised us. Exhibit A: The pants of the Norwegian men’s curling team.

 

These red, white, blue and gray argyle pants (yes, argyle pants) have probably been the most entertaining aspect of the Olympics curling competition. Here’s the back story: Christoffer Svae, a Norwegian curler, wanted to spice up his team’s attire. So rather than going with the traditional, mundane black curling pants, he thought these would be a nice change of pace. [NY Times]

Now when Glam Gal saw these, the first thought that immediately came to mind was Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack. And this happens to be pretty accurate because these are actually golf pants. And not just that, they are also the first argyle pants in the world. So if you're dying to own a piece of history, you can get yours here.  

While the Norwegians definitely score some points for thinking outside the box, they lose major style points. Sorry guys.

The other “pants” that seem to be of great interest are those worn by the U.S. snowboarding team. Not only are Shawn White’s incredible tricks turning heads, but people are loving the team’s snowboarding pants. And Glam Gal is one of those people.

The Burton brand designed these pants to look like a pair of distressed jeans. But they are actually made of a waterproof Gore-Tex material. A process called “dye sublimation” was then used to print the denim look onto the pants.

 

Snowboarders are known for their hip, individualistic, rebellious style. And what could be cooler than wearing “jeans” on the slopes? "Jeggings" (leggings that look like jeans) have recently become a huge hit. With the snowboarding pants taking on a similar concept, could they big the next big thing? 

 - Glam Gal -

WHO'S HAUTE? THURSDAYS: HANNAH TETER

It's been a successful Winter Olympics thus far for Team USA, with five gold medals and surely more on the way. Hannah Teter will seek to add to that list today, as she competes in the women's snowboard halfpipe. Hannah began snowboarding at age 8 and quickly became a star. At age 15, she was already the World Junior Halfpipe Champion and the wins just kept coming. Even participating in the Olympics is nothing new for Teter. She won the gold medal in the halfpipe at the 2006 Games in Torino. And now it's time for a repeat.

Off the slopes, Hannah recently appeared in Glamour magazine to chat about her fashionable side, and in the Sports Illustrated 2010 Swimsuit issue to show off her gorgeous figure. And in a nice combination of the two, Hannah even has her own line of underwear. But this is fashion for a cause. Her "Sweet Cheeks" line of panties are black and hot pink and read "Make Love Not War" on the backside.  For each pair sold, $5 will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. And that's just one way that Hannah gives back. She also has her own charity called "Hannah's Gold," which donates money to help AIDS victims in Kenya. To further help the cause, she often donates her prize winnings as well.

And this Vermont native is so popular, that Ben & Jerry's ice cream created a new flavor in her honor in 2009. Called Hannah Teter's "Maple Blondie," the flavor features a blend of maple ice cream, blondie brownie pieces and caramel. But Hannah doesn't always give into temptation. She eats an organic, vegetarian diet which keeps her at the top of her game. Stay tuned to watch Hannah Teter's quest for gold during the Vancouver Olympics.

Hannah Teter is Who's Haute.

 
 

 - Glam Gal -

Y-3, MONCLER MAKE FASHION A SPECTATOR SPORT

While the fashions take center stage at a runway show, the music, staging, theme and décor are always an integral part of the designer’s collection as well. During Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week, it seemed as though designers pulled out all the stops in an effort to make their Fall 2010 collections the most memorable. And two brands that succeeded quite well in doing so were influential sportswear brands, Y-3 and Moncler. Not only did they continue to showcase fashionable and functional sportswear, but they made their shows a spectacle to see.

The Y-3 brand is no stranger to over-the-top, attention grabbing runway shows. If you remember, back in the Fall the brand debuted their soccer-themed Spring collection, with pieces that were inspired by the countries who will be participating in the World Cup this Summer. With a runway designed to look like a soccer field, desiger Yojhi Yamamoto even challenged soccer superstar Zinadine Zidane to a shootout to end the show.

The Fall 2010 collection debut paid homage to “Superheros” such as Zorro and incorporated a "karate" theme. In yet another innovative and uniquely entertaining show, Yamamoto used lasers to add some spark to the runway. And this time he demonstrated his karate skills to close the show. Yamamoto engaged in a mock karate fight with one of his models, within a full circle of lasers.

 

 

Since Yojhi Yamamoto’s Y-3 line is owned by Adidas, sports influences will always be prevalent. The Fall 2010 collection successfully infused high-style with sports, while returning back to Y-3 signature looks. A bit different from the Spring collection, these new looks combined functional athletic wear with Yamamoto’s unique style. 

In what was called a “traditional meets futuristic” collection, the looks had a fairly basic color pallete of grays and blacks, with splashes of color throughout.  Expect to see lots of layered, loose-fitting clothes like track suits, peacoats and big knits this Fall. Footwear was once again a highlight of the show, as Y-3 featured mesh heels, metallic wedges and neon colored kicks.

Fun Fact: What does "Y-3 mean? The "Y" in Y-3 stands for the designer, Yojhi Yamamoto and the "3" stands for the iconic Adidas three-stripes.

 

 
 
Moncler took a different approach as they created their own fashion spectacle. Rather than a traditional runway show, they debuted their Fall 2010 collection at Pier 59, the Golf Club at Chelsea Pier’s. The brand installed a monstrous scaffold, which housed 100 male and female models, who showed off the new Grenoble line. The idea behind the presentation was that the new line of jackets can withstand the bitter cold, such as the chilling temperature and winds the models were experiencing as they stood so close to the Hudson River.

 

You probably know the Moncler brand for their sporty, stylish and versatile puffy winter coats. The brand originated in 1952, in France. With the new Grenoble collection, the first collection in New York, Moncler took its signature ski style and made it city-chic. It's safe to say that New Yorkers will be looking pretty stylish in their ski gear next Fall/Winter. Take a look these new designs:

 

 - Glam Gal -

SHABAYEVA'S FALL COLLECTION TAKES FLIGHT

Irina Shabayeva was the Season 6 winner of "Project Runway." While she wasn't, shall we say the nicest contestant, it was clear that this feisty New Yorker was destined to be a designer. Her pieces were always stylish, sophisticated and impeccably designed. And this was evident in her first Fashion Week show, where she debuted her Fall 2010 collection.

Inspired by the "evolution of flight," the collection paid homage to The Da Vinci Glider, Amelia Earhart, and wings of exotic birds from around the world. Shabayeva also incoporated materials from Tupperware for an industrial, yet wearable look.

Models hit the runways is luxurious fabrics including cashmere coats, wool-knit sweaters, fur-trimmed hats and leather pants. Oh yea, and lots of feathers.

Shabayeva took the "flying" theme quite literally, as many pieces within the collection featured painted wings like these looks below:

 

And one of the coolest pieces was a white strapless cocktail dress, handmade with duck feathers, silk and Tupperware 8 foot wings. A white fox fur wrap topped off this look:

 
 
Does this look a little familiar? Perhaps like the white puffy coats worn by the Flag Bearers during the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Vacouver? It's interesting to see that Parade of Nations styles and Fashion Week styles continue to overlap.

 

While it might not appeal to everyone, Shabayeva's collection was absolutely stunning. Keep and eye out for this up-and-coming designer.

- Glam Gal -

LACOSTE: LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

The Lacoste Fall 2010 RTW Collection debuted this past Saturday, one day after the Olympics Opening Ceremony. And after seeing the new Fall looks, Glam Gal experienced a bit of deja vu. That's because the same vibrant colors and 80's influences that we saw during the Parade of Nations, were also evident within the Lacoste runway show.

The collection's overarching themes of optimism, confidence and happiness shone through via the ultra bright colors that hit the runway. But the show didn't begin that way. It started with big cozy knits in classic neutral colors, taking inspiration from photos of founder and tennis champ René Lacoste. And then the inspiration shifted, as Lacoste Ceative Director, Christophe Lemaire, showcased looks reminiscent of the '80's. Think color blocking, off-the-shoulder sweaters and even models who sported side ponytails. 

Lacoste has always been one of the most fashionable sportswear brands. And though it was a bit unconventional for the brand and featured less of the iconic tennis polos, this collection was fun and chic and definitely put an exciting new spin on sportswear.

Check out some of the looks:

   

 
 
 To view the full collection, click here.
 

- Glam Gal -