The omnipresent Gigi Hadid

As I proceed to write this article, I am floored by the dearth of fashion milestones this past year with no great moments akin to the Jennifer Lopez green Versace dress. Basically, the year was a study in a retread of fashion trends such as fringes, sheer, boho, minis, punk etc. Even celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna who usually stun and awe the crowd with their daring and risky fashion choices bored us with ho-hum elegance and conformity. We were swamped with the same faces appearing on the cover of every magazine and fashion runway including: Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Karlie Kloss-thankfully Cara Delevingne announced she was retiring but unfortunately that just means we will now be seeing her in movie theaters.

Lady Gaga

About the issue of retiring, Leonardo DiCaprio announced he was leaving the acting profession indefinitely in 2013 and just appeared in “The Revenant.” Similarly, Gisele Bundchen declared she was saying goodbye to the catwalk in April 2015 and yet she seems to be on every other page of Vogue and Bazaar. Alec Baldwin has repeatedly threatened to escape “public life” while still being seen on the silver screen even more than Robert De Niro. I myself was considering leaving the world of blogging yet here I am at three in the morning trying to decipher the past year. I am left with the conclusion the term “retiring” means “I am trying to elicit more interest in my career so I will use any means possible.” The decision to remain anonymous is defeated by broadcasting it.

Caitlyn Jenner in Herve Leger

However, there are those whom I wish would recede from public life and their last names start with “K” (Kardashian) and “J” (Jenner); Unfortunately, I have a feeling we will be seeing more of them but in less clothing-if that’s possible. Kudos to Bruce or Caitlyn Jenner for being the breakout fashion star of the year appearing in curve hugging Herve Leger, Vince and Intermix with elegance, and attitude. I think we are in trouble when Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner dominate the pages of “who wore it better.”

Perhaps, I am being a bit cynical because I have been stuck in the house since Christmas with little to do but eat chocolate chip muffins and call out-of-town friends, but let’s face it this year was a big snooze. The press which continually pushes a new ingenue to become the next “it girl” decided to foist Alicia Vikander on the public. Enough of this nondescript Swede whose bland acting and appearance add little excitement to the current fashion landscape. Another omnipresent force, Taylor Swift, continued her winning streak in music but her fashion choices were downright slutty appearing in dresses that barely grazed her thigh despite her protestations of innocence.

Taylor & her “girl squad” at the Video Music Awards

Furthermore, I am sick of seeing the Taylor crew which includes Victoria’s Secret models, Selena Gomez, Lorde, and any other famous girl Taylor can get her hands on – there is something weird going on here. The appearance of her “girl squad” at the Video Music Awards in August 2015 was cringe worthy; it was like reliving my high school days when I couldn’t make it into the cool girls clique and had to longingly gaze from afar. Similarly, Adele was everywhere, and I am not talking about her rear-end since she has noticeably slimmed down. What’s with the trend of celebrity heavyweights such as Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson, and Roseanne becoming svelte – we like them because they are fat. It is similar to Miss Universe bulking up; you got famous because of your weight if you lose it you should be banished.

Albert Elbaz takes final bow at Lanvin

Speaking of banished, there were a number of fashion designers who were disposed of starting with Alexander Wang and Raf Simons who lasted three years at Balenciaga and Dior, respectively; and culminating with the shocking exit of Albert Elbaz from Lanvin in October after fourteen years as its creative director. Moreover, waning powerhouse Marc Jacobs had trouble with his brand when it came out that he was paying attention to the bottom line of things other than his business-namely engaging in weekend orgies.

Me At H&M Balmain sale

The true designing luminary of 2015 was Olivier Rousteing from Balmain who broke records with his H&M Balmain collection which sold out in minutes and resulted in stampedes of shoppers. As a first-hand participant in this momentous event I must say it was not overrated. Whenever, an illustrious designer such as Versace or Chanel collaborate with H&M the stuff looks like Forever 21 rejects.
However, the Balmain collection was stupendous. I arrived the night before for a pre-shopping party and left with three spectacular dresses, pants, a jacket and t-shirt for a paltry $1500. The dress I purchased contained more than 250,000 hand-sewn beads and was priced at $650 – a hundredth of the price of a normal extravagant Balmain dress. Thank you Olivier for producing an authentic collection that truly celebrates the people who don’t make $5 million every time they show up to a party.

Donald Trump

As far as hairstyles go this year we saw the same blue, green, pink colors being repeated by an overly pouty Kylie Jenner, Hillary Duff and other “Hollywood Desperados”. Frankly, Donald Trump had the most interesting hairdo of the bunch and his locks continue to generate the most buzz-literally. The question of whether it’s his or not continues to obsess the media but I would like to question the authenticity of the hair of some of Hollywood’s leading men including: Bradley Cooper, Johnny Depp, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt and John Travolta-if the rug don’t fit you must acquit.

What happened to real men aging gracefully like Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, and Jack Nicholson. Speaking of Academy Award winners and the interminable 2015 show, the fashion and talent at this year’s awards was unremarkable. The stars and their publicists chose to play it safe and therefore, there were few noteworthy moments. Choosing conventionality was a glaring mistake of People magazine when it picked retired soccer star David Beckham as “People’s Sexiest Man Alive”-this aging Brit has been off the sizzling radar for years. People’s “Sexiest” title lost all gravitas after this unfortunate cover boy-even 2013’s Adam Levine was preferable.

Before you become despondent, there were some great occurrences this year including the arrival of the Pope to New York City and the movement of fashion week to the Post Office (I am being sarcastic). However, with Ricky Gervais hosting the 2016 Golden Globes and a possible Donald Trump presidency I am optimistic that 2016 will be anything but mundane-especially in the arena of fashion.

-Lieba Nesis

The post 2015-The Year of Fashion Disappointments and Mishaps appeared first on lookonline.

The holidays are a tough time for those of us stuck in New York and I was anxiously anticipating Victor de Souza’s invitation to a Pre-Sylvester night dinner at the Hungarian Mission located at 227 East 52nd Street.

UN representative Katalin Bogyay and her husband

The email was addressed personally to Ms. Lieba Nesis so I knew this would be an exceptional affair. Upon arriving at the brownstone at 7:30 PM I was greeted by “Her Excellency” Katalin Bogyay, the permanent representative of Hungary to the UN who looked festive and elegant in a floor length coat dress with a diamond flowered brooch and earrings.

Danny & Tali Danon, Samantha Power, Olga and Alex Rovt

There were ladies in gowns and cocktail dresses socializing amidst UN honchos Samantha Power, United States Ambassador to the UN, and Danny Danon, Israel’s envoy to the United Nations. Amidst all the splendor of the holiday decor, stood Victor de Souza’s models who were referred to as “living sculptures” serenely standing in front of white walls or paintings. De Souza is a Brazilian born designer who dresses celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Katy Perry. The highly structured shapes and lines of his clothing transform everyday pieces to works of art, unsurprising for someone who designed his first collection at the ripe age of 18.

Victor’s ebullience coupled with his humble demeanor has made him a darling of the social set and his high octane smile has livened the living room of many Park Avenue apartments. However, de Souza is not adequately recognized for the high quality of his collections, and that might be due to his lack of pretension which is a necessity in the fashion universe. On this evening, his designs were perfection with models in highly intricate gowns and dresses wearing masks and furs with cutouts in all the right places.

The clothing was dramatic and show-stopping with meticulous attention paid to every detail of the model’s look-the shoes, jewelry and headgear were all in perfect sync. My favorite was the short haired African American model who wore a sheer armored gown with detachable sleeves-this was “Gladiator meets Diva” without any apologies. Victor is a super perfectionist and most of the evening he stood next to his creations and made sure their look was flawless.

Lieba Nesis, Judith and Leah Pisar

Amidst the Hungarian hors d’oeuvres and music I bumped into an old friend from Harvard, Leah Pisar and her mother Judith. Pisar’s father, Samuel, was one of the most renowned lawyers in Paris, and his recent demise was mourned by his wife Judith Pisar who remains one of the most globally renowned socialites. After the new opera “Bonfire of the Vanities” was beautifully performed by soprano Jasmina Halimic and baritone Robert Balonek, a buffet dinner was served with Hungarian music accompaniment.

As the guests began to leave, Judith Pisar began to dance to the melodious tunes with a gaiety that was so remarkable it had me in tears; The ability of Parisians to smile despite recent tragedies is what allows Europe to continually thrive as one of the cultural centers of the world.

– Lieba Nesis

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