Giving back to Mother Africa

Liya Kebede is a stunning 32 year old Ethiopian model who was discovered by a French film director in her hometown Addis Ababa.
Liya’s big break came when when Tom Ford asked her for an exclusive contract for his Gucci Fall/Winter 2000 fashion show. Kebede's popularity in the fashion industry sky-rocketed when she appeared on the cover the May 2002 edition of Paris Vogue which dedicated the entire issue to her.

I have been a huge fan of Liya ever since i saw her working the run ways of new york and Milan fashion week on Fashion Tv. And i have been following her career ever since.

In 2003, Kebede was named the newest face of Estée Lauder cosmetics, the first Ethiopian to serve as their representative in the company's 57-year history. Her contract was rumored to be for $3 million dollars .
In 2009, Kebede starred in the film-adaption of the bestselling autobiography Desert Flower by former supermodel Waris Dirie. The film recounts Dirie's childhood in Somalia, her rise to stardom and subsequent awareness campaign against female circumcision. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival and received a standing ovation. Kebede has also had minor roles in two films: The Good Shepherd and Lord of War.[12]

In 2005, Kebede was appointed WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. She then founded the Liya Kebede Foundation, whose mission is to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality in Ethiopia and around the world. The Foundation funds advocacy and awareness raising projects as well as providing direct support for low-cost technologies, community-based education, and training and medical programs.
In 2007 Liya started her own clothing line called Lemlem as a way to inspire economic independence in her native country and to preserve the art of weaving.
She makes all her designs back in Ethiopia that way she employs’ local weavers.
Lemlem meaning "to bloom or flourish" in Amharic produces beautiful hand-woven shawls in fresh white cotton with ethnic-influenced embroidery. New York's most fashionable have fallen for her super-versatile pieces which as Kebede explains "can be knotted into a scarf, worn as a sarong at the beach, or quickly tied into a bag", and are the easy-chic way to add a tribal twist to every ensemble.
I am very proud to see someone actually going back to their roots and helping the community and supporting local talent. I wish more of us Ethiopians living abroad could try and start something positive back home to help the economy and create more jobs.

i DIE.. Some of.Alexander McQueen's last collection

My Guide to Vintage shoping in Melbourne

Hello friends of Fashion

Here is my guide to vintage stores in Melbourne, if you live in a different city i am sorry but you can still use this next time you visit us
I am going to start with my most favourite of them all Shag ( they also have stores in Sydney). In Melbourne they have one of their stores at 377 Brunswick St ,Fitzroy.
I used to work at a shoes store on Brunswick street and going to Shag was my great escape from the real world to the fantastic world of retro fashion. They have amazing rages of clothes, shoes and their specialty jewelery.
And then there is the largest of them all Retro Star at located Firstfloor, Nicholas building 37 Swanston St ,corner of Flinders lane,.
Retro star is dedicated to music and street-wear, rock and band t-shirts, comic and specialty t-shirts, boots, leather jackets, bags, jewelery and accessories.
Check out Hunter gather on 82A Ackland street,St Kilda or at their Fitzroy store, they also have their own label, designed and made here in Melbourne which caters to both girls and boys.
And last but not least Meet me at Mikes on 63 Brunswick St, Fitzroy i love the way this store is Merchandised and they also have a cute and quirky blog look them up.
This is as far as i am going to go mainly because i am lazy, but please take a stroll down Smith and Brunswick street you won’t be disappointed and there is always those little cute vintage store we bump into on random streets of Melbourne.

Gotta love everything Vintage. except pictures of you when you were 5 with shaved head and your big ears sticking out(Me).

P.S I had pictures of some of the stores but i can't see to be able to upload them on here.....i am still knew to this so bare with me:-)

Fashion Suicide

The year 2010 has been kind of a dark year in fashion.
The king of Avant-garde legendary Alexander McQueen passed away on the 11th of February 2010. And what a tragedy that was.

The 40 year old was found dead in his home and it was classified as a suicide.
It came as a huge surprise to the fashion world given that he was at the prime of his career, and no one saw it coming.
McQueen was very close to his mother and had taken her death last year very badly, it was reported he had suffered from depression.
But it makes you wonder what really drove him to his death, was it the pressure of the fashion industry? He was due to show in New York fashion week the next week, that show was cancelled.
He had previously won The British designer of the year four times, but I guess that wasn’t enough and so he cracked under pressure.
So it makes you think is this all worth it?
Nemours number of models die of anorexia every year and we had one of the world’s top male models who worked for the likes of Louis Vuitton,Burberry and Hugo Boss dies just hours before the prestigious Milan Men’s Fashion Week.
Catwalk favourite Tom Nikon died after falling four stories from his Milan apartment. Suicide?

The fashion industry is a bit superficial and pressures the people in to look a certain way or come up with a certain thing and can be pretty judgmental.
The trick is to survive in this business don’t let it all go in head, don’t get dizzy from all the glitz and glamour. Remember fashion is art and there is nothing deadly about art.

The cheaper the better

WHY did people start dressing a certain way?
I believe before coco Chanel and Valentino....we wore cloth for various reasons.
Basic things like protection, modesty and symbolism.
Where I come from, my elders wore the cloth they wore not because it was the latest thing in fashion or it was designed by a well known designer. They styled themselves depending on what tribe they were from, what religion they belong to or what occasion it was.
Even though each season their fashion didn’t evolve or change at all, it was never old, boring or predictable. In fact it’s timeless and classically beautiful, and that’s why we now see designers like Tina Kalivas using African prints and designs as an inspiration to their latest range.
So when did we get so carried away with this entire fashion race? Why do we care if we are wearing the latest outfit by the hottest designer?
I love fashion I can watch fashion TV for hours without blinking. I get goose bums when I walk backstage at a fashion show or meet a designer.
Each season the shows are different,bigger,better and more seductive.
But you won’t see me cleaning out my closet every season to replace it with this years latest must haves.
There is so much freedom and option now days in the way we choose our clothes, we can spend so much or so little and look just as good.
Its all about being inspired and expressing ourselves, we can say so many things about who we are just by the way we dress. I know the saying goes “don’t judge a book by its cover but trust me” we are constantly judged just by the way we dress and at times it can make us or break us.
People who say they don’t care what they wear are complete hypocrites, we all care about what wear and none of us would walk out the front door knowing we don’t look right. We have favourite s and comfort zones. We love our clothes and some we don’t even throw out until its nothing but shreds of fabric.
I remember meeting a man in my retail days who came into the store to buy a suit for his daughter‘s wedding and he told me everything he was wearing was at least 10 years old, he was from the country and hardly went shoping. Now he might not win fashionista of the year but he was a well dressed man with nice clean cloth that suited him and he looked comfortable and in the end thats whats its all about.
So friends no need to break your bank just to look the way Victoria Beckham did on the cover of Grazia.
Just do you. What makes you feel comfortable,confident or even sexy.
Figuring it out who you are is a blessing and you could do that through fashion.
I am lucky to live in Melbourne, nothing too flashy here.
Walking down Brunswick street is like attendind a vintage fashion show, people have their own unique style. Some stick to black and some like it loud and colourful,and some like to mix it up.
I love the vintage it had so many advantages besides saving us cash. Its enviromentaly friendly and its very unlikely you would bumb into someone wearing the same outfit .
Vintage stores on Smith street have so much to offer and the Fitzroy market is never dull. If you know what you like you can easly put an outfit togther for less than $100.
If you don’t believe me give it ago one Saturday afternoon and see what you come out with
The moral of this article is friends who cares how much your outfit cost as long as its doing its job and that to protect you,keep you warm and dry and most of all show the world what a wonderful creative personality you have.
So how much are you going to spend on your next shoping spree?