February 2012

Letters to a Fellow Perfumer: Mandy Aftel & Laurie Erickson (ep. 2)

February 28, 2012

February 20th, 2012 / Berkeley, CA Dear Laurie, In creating this perfume, one of the things that I especially like (yet also find especially difficult) is trying to translate an emotionally visual experience into an equally emotional perfume experience. What I find so compelling about the art of perfumery is its seemingly direct access to [...]

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Luxury & Fashion Biz News: February 24th, 2012 (Raf Simons Leaves Jil Sander, Jil Sander Returns to Jil Sander, and the entire fashion industry tries to pull it together – plus, Britney Spears!)

February 25, 2012

1.) Raf Simons Leaves As Jil Sander Returns to Jil Sander Label: “The announcement Friday came the day after the house said Belgian designer Raf Simons was moving on after a successful 6 1/2 year stint as creative director. This is Sander’s second return to her fashion house, which she left twice when it was [...]

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The Perfume Lover by Denyse Beaulieu: The Arrival

February 18, 2012

I’m diverting from my usual Fashion News bit this week because I just received an advance copy of fragrance blogger/writer Denyse’s Beaulieu’s “The Perfume Lover” in the mail yesterday, and I’m chomping at the bit to dive into it. Forget that there was enough fur, leather and shearling on the New York runways this past [...]

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Luxury & Fashion Biz News: February 10th, 2012 (Brands try to affordably navigate New York Fashion Week, Karl Lagerfeld’s Big Mouth gets Chanel in hot water, and the troubled Halston brand Gives It Another Try)

February 11, 2012

1.) The Cost of Runway Shows has Brands Looking for Other Options: “‘Catwalk shows cost a lot,” says Rosie Vogel, Vogue’s fashion bookings editor, who produces London shows . . . ‘A venue might cost £30,000 or £40,000; production costs will be tens of thousands. Then there’s the set, £400 to £500 hundred pounds per [...]

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Letters to a Fellow Perfumer: Mandy Aftel & Laurie Erickson (ep. 1)

February 8, 2012

January 10th, 2012 / Healdsburg, CA Hi Mandy, I’m excited to work on this project with you! Many thanks to you and Nathan for inviting me to join in. When we initially spoke about working together on a Letters series, we talked about the theme of our project being the creation of a scent that [...]

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Luxury & Fashion Biz News: February 3rd, 2012 (Chinese Tourists are what every retailer wants)

February 4, 2012

U.S. Retailers Look to Chinese/Brazilian Tourists for Salvation: “Bloomingdale’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Gould is a fan of President Barack Obama’s efforts to speed up tourist visas for Chinese and Brazilian shoppers. Doing so would create an ‘immediate’ surge in retail sales as foreign shoppers clamor for Marc Jacobs and Kate Spade designs, Gould said [...]

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Making My Own Apple Sauce: Chunky vs. Smooth

February 3, 2012

I was not a fan of store bought apple sauce when I was a kid. I thought it was bland, and the pureed texture was a total turn-off, reminding me more of Gerber baby food than something to be enjoyed post-infancy. Because of that, I never bothered to make my own apple sauce until this [...]

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