| Fashion News |
Fashion Designers Behind the Political Look
Business Daily (Nairobi)
NEWS
20 December 2007
Posted to the web 20 December 2007
By Millicent Kamau
As the election carnival enters the final leg, the fashion gurus are looking back proudly after designing outfits for the various political candidates.
Off went the formal look as candidates threw away the dark coloured suits with matching ties for African kitenge shirts and casual clothes.
Whoever thought that fashion and politics could not mix, this year's election campaigns have proved them wrong as bright party colours painted
the country as politicians searched for votes.
"There has always been this misconception that a suit is the only outfit that one can wear to portray a serious and a decent look," says Ms Lucy
Rao, the managing director of Rialto Fashions and one of the designers who worked on the party uniforms.
There was a bevy of colours to pick from: screaming orange, royal blue, blood shot red, snow white, and jungle green. Ms Rao says the idea of the
screaming colours is to uniquely brand the party that each politician represents.
Colours emerged strongly in Kenya's political terrain during the referendum in November 2005.
Before that, only Kanu's distinguishable red shirts were clearly known. "Before the referendum, colour was not highly embraced, but after the
referendum, colour for branding was highly used," said Ms Rao
"It is crystal clear that after the referendum, orange was taken up as an official branding colour for ODM and since then the colour has been highly
embraced. It saw other parties taking up the idea of using screaming colours for branding," says Mr Francis Obong'o also known as Fundi Frank,
who designed some of the ODM outfits.
Mr Obong'o says that the referendum was the point of change in the way politicians dress.
According to Mr Obongo what might have also contributed into politicians embracing casual outfits was that such clothing brands more easily
compared to a suit.
"Branding a casual outfit is easier compared to branding a suit," Mr Obong'o said. The party colours are making it easier to identify political
parties.
"Politicians have realised branding is not only in the name, it is also in the colour because that it is what people identify with easily," said Ms Sue
Muraya, a top fashion designer in the country.
Ms Muraya is among the creative designers behind the PNU's flashy casual shirts. "It was as easy as ABC," Ms Muraya said with a big smile.
ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his wife, Ida, in party colours .
"During one of their regular meetings, PNU members decided to change the way they dress and pick a casual look and the search for a designer
began. My name was mentioned and I was given the job," says Ms Muraya adding that there are, however, different designers behind PNU's
African look.
"Designing the outfit was not difficult because the colours were already decided upon by a different party. Designing the outfit was all I had to
do," said Ms Muraya, who took one day to design the shirts.
She made 300 shirts for PNU and since the successful project with the party, different ministers from the same party approached her individually
to design outfits for them.
"The project with PNU was my first (in politics)," Ms Muraya said.
When designing, she decided to come up with different designs so as to kill monotony and ended up with 10 different designs and now had to
choose different material - cotton and linen.
For Obong'o, it was not the first time he was dressing politicians. " I have been doing it. However, this is the first time that I have seen politicians
craving for the African shirts," Mr Obong'o said.
The shift from official suits to casual wear, Obong'o says, is a big step forward in embracing the African culture through dressing.
Mr Obong'o revealed what he earned when he designed five shirts for ODM's Pentagon during the launch of campaigns and took home Sh30,000.
When working, he said, political affiliation does not influence his relationship with the customers.
December 21, 2007
Paul Jewell’s fashion statement sets tone at Derby
Peter Lansley
Paul Jewell has warned Robert Earnshaw to roll his sleeves up but Giles Barnes to leave his socks down if they are to start proving their Barclays
Premier League potential. The Derby County manager believes there are too many players who are more concerned with image than performance.
Neither Earnshaw, Derby’s record £3.5 million signing in the summer, nor Barnes, for whom the club reportedly rejected a £6 million bid from
West Ham United, earned a regular starting place under Billy Davies, who was succeeded by Jewell last month.
The new manager held a meeting with Earnshaw, who scored 14 goals for West Bromwich Albion when they were in the top flight in 2004-05. “I’
ve had chats with each of the players and said you have to impress on me that you need to be in the team and that starts in training,” Jewell said.
“Robert Earnshaw’s goalscoring record is good. I want to see more off [the ball work] from him. I want to see more from every player here; it’s up
to me to get as much as possible out of them.
“Giles Barnes has got the potential to be a good player. He’s young, he’s confident - he’s got a long way to go. He has got a big future if he
channels his talents. He’s got bundles of talent but there’s more to it than talent.” Jewell believes that young players can get sucked into the hype
of the Premier League. “Some are followers of fashion, more interested in how they appear than in how they play,” he said. “That winds me up.
“Thierry Henry started wearing his socks over his knees and all of a sudden you see players at all levels doing it. The easiest thing to do is to wear
your socks up like Henry; the hardest thing is to play like he can.”
Nexia's Black Chandelier Winter Fashion Show Gets Rave Reviews in 'Variety' and More
December 20, 2007: 09:00 AM EST
SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nexia Holdings, Inc. , through its wholly owned subsidiary Gold Fusion Laboratories,
announced today its Black Chandelier Caspian Collection Fashion Show held on December 7, 2007 was a smash success, with approximately
1,000 persons in attendance. Since the sold-out event, the positive reviews of Jared Gold's latest winter collection, a combination of everyday wear
and haute couture for the holiday season, continues to be posted on the Internet. The Stylephile, powered by Variety(R), wrote a glowing article
at: http://www.thestylephile.com/blog/330000033/post/1290018529.html?category_id=0
Host Clint Catalyst, an author, artist and Internet persona whose work was published in Paris Vogue, is among a growing online social community
creating a buzz about Jared Gold and his latest fashion show. The Company is compiling the most recent media clips, and invites you to visit http:
//www.nexiaholdings.com to see the photos, articles, and blogs for yourself. Nexia's homepage is currently displaying streaming video provided by
KUTV's news footage of the event.
President of Nexia Richard Surber commented, "Our team is overwhelmed with the positive response to the show. Video clips raving about the
collection are cropping up everyday on YouTube, Buzz.net and MySpace. This type of viral marketing is what Black Chandelier is all about. His
fashion appeals to anyone tired or uninspired by big box retailers and their de-personalized mass marketing. Black Chandelier connects to their
consumers on an intimate level, and we believe this retail phenom will continue to blossom. We have received a boost in orders on the Black
Chandelier website just this past week, and as this momentum continues, we expect record retail sales in the months of December and January."
Beginning in January of 2008, Gold Fusion will begin accepting sponsors for Jared's upcoming fashion shows. Surber added, "I am currently
pushing to raise over $100,000 for the next fashion show from sponsors seeking to connect with like minded consumers. Our expansion plans for
Black Chandelier will include Southern California. The fashion show will hopefully boost web sales as well as introduce Black Chandelier to
southern California in anticipation of embarking upon a huge retail market."
Business Daily (Nairobi)
NEWS
20 December 2007
Posted to the web 20 December 2007
By Millicent Kamau
As the election carnival enters the final leg, the fashion gurus are looking back proudly after designing outfits for the various political candidates.
Off went the formal look as candidates threw away the dark coloured suits with matching ties for African kitenge shirts and casual clothes.
Whoever thought that fashion and politics could not mix, this year's election campaigns have proved them wrong as bright party colours painted
the country as politicians searched for votes.
"There has always been this misconception that a suit is the only outfit that one can wear to portray a serious and a decent look," says Ms Lucy
Rao, the managing director of Rialto Fashions and one of the designers who worked on the party uniforms.
There was a bevy of colours to pick from: screaming orange, royal blue, blood shot red, snow white, and jungle green. Ms Rao says the idea of the
screaming colours is to uniquely brand the party that each politician represents.
Colours emerged strongly in Kenya's political terrain during the referendum in November 2005.
Before that, only Kanu's distinguishable red shirts were clearly known. "Before the referendum, colour was not highly embraced, but after the
referendum, colour for branding was highly used," said Ms Rao
"It is crystal clear that after the referendum, orange was taken up as an official branding colour for ODM and since then the colour has been highly
embraced. It saw other parties taking up the idea of using screaming colours for branding," says Mr Francis Obong'o also known as Fundi Frank,
who designed some of the ODM outfits.
Mr Obong'o says that the referendum was the point of change in the way politicians dress.
According to Mr Obongo what might have also contributed into politicians embracing casual outfits was that such clothing brands more easily
compared to a suit.
"Branding a casual outfit is easier compared to branding a suit," Mr Obong'o said. The party colours are making it easier to identify political
parties.
"Politicians have realised branding is not only in the name, it is also in the colour because that it is what people identify with easily," said Ms Sue
Muraya, a top fashion designer in the country.
Ms Muraya is among the creative designers behind the PNU's flashy casual shirts. "It was as easy as ABC," Ms Muraya said with a big smile.
ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his wife, Ida, in party colours .
"During one of their regular meetings, PNU members decided to change the way they dress and pick a casual look and the search for a designer
began. My name was mentioned and I was given the job," says Ms Muraya adding that there are, however, different designers behind PNU's
African look.
"Designing the outfit was not difficult because the colours were already decided upon by a different party. Designing the outfit was all I had to
do," said Ms Muraya, who took one day to design the shirts.
She made 300 shirts for PNU and since the successful project with the party, different ministers from the same party approached her individually
to design outfits for them.
"The project with PNU was my first (in politics)," Ms Muraya said.
When designing, she decided to come up with different designs so as to kill monotony and ended up with 10 different designs and now had to
choose different material - cotton and linen.
For Obong'o, it was not the first time he was dressing politicians. " I have been doing it. However, this is the first time that I have seen politicians
craving for the African shirts," Mr Obong'o said.
The shift from official suits to casual wear, Obong'o says, is a big step forward in embracing the African culture through dressing.
Mr Obong'o revealed what he earned when he designed five shirts for ODM's Pentagon during the launch of campaigns and took home Sh30,000.
When working, he said, political affiliation does not influence his relationship with the customers.
December 21, 2007
Paul Jewell’s fashion statement sets tone at Derby
Peter Lansley
Paul Jewell has warned Robert Earnshaw to roll his sleeves up but Giles Barnes to leave his socks down if they are to start proving their Barclays
Premier League potential. The Derby County manager believes there are too many players who are more concerned with image than performance.
Neither Earnshaw, Derby’s record £3.5 million signing in the summer, nor Barnes, for whom the club reportedly rejected a £6 million bid from
West Ham United, earned a regular starting place under Billy Davies, who was succeeded by Jewell last month.
The new manager held a meeting with Earnshaw, who scored 14 goals for West Bromwich Albion when they were in the top flight in 2004-05. “I’
ve had chats with each of the players and said you have to impress on me that you need to be in the team and that starts in training,” Jewell said.
“Robert Earnshaw’s goalscoring record is good. I want to see more off [the ball work] from him. I want to see more from every player here; it’s up
to me to get as much as possible out of them.
“Giles Barnes has got the potential to be a good player. He’s young, he’s confident - he’s got a long way to go. He has got a big future if he
channels his talents. He’s got bundles of talent but there’s more to it than talent.” Jewell believes that young players can get sucked into the hype
of the Premier League. “Some are followers of fashion, more interested in how they appear than in how they play,” he said. “That winds me up.
“Thierry Henry started wearing his socks over his knees and all of a sudden you see players at all levels doing it. The easiest thing to do is to wear
your socks up like Henry; the hardest thing is to play like he can.”
Nexia's Black Chandelier Winter Fashion Show Gets Rave Reviews in 'Variety' and More
December 20, 2007: 09:00 AM EST
SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nexia Holdings, Inc. , through its wholly owned subsidiary Gold Fusion Laboratories,
announced today its Black Chandelier Caspian Collection Fashion Show held on December 7, 2007 was a smash success, with approximately
1,000 persons in attendance. Since the sold-out event, the positive reviews of Jared Gold's latest winter collection, a combination of everyday wear
and haute couture for the holiday season, continues to be posted on the Internet. The Stylephile, powered by Variety(R), wrote a glowing article
at: http://www.thestylephile.com/blog/330000033/post/1290018529.html?category_id=0
Host Clint Catalyst, an author, artist and Internet persona whose work was published in Paris Vogue, is among a growing online social community
creating a buzz about Jared Gold and his latest fashion show. The Company is compiling the most recent media clips, and invites you to visit http:
//www.nexiaholdings.com to see the photos, articles, and blogs for yourself. Nexia's homepage is currently displaying streaming video provided by
KUTV's news footage of the event.
President of Nexia Richard Surber commented, "Our team is overwhelmed with the positive response to the show. Video clips raving about the
collection are cropping up everyday on YouTube, Buzz.net and MySpace. This type of viral marketing is what Black Chandelier is all about. His
fashion appeals to anyone tired or uninspired by big box retailers and their de-personalized mass marketing. Black Chandelier connects to their
consumers on an intimate level, and we believe this retail phenom will continue to blossom. We have received a boost in orders on the Black
Chandelier website just this past week, and as this momentum continues, we expect record retail sales in the months of December and January."
Beginning in January of 2008, Gold Fusion will begin accepting sponsors for Jared's upcoming fashion shows. Surber added, "I am currently
pushing to raise over $100,000 for the next fashion show from sponsors seeking to connect with like minded consumers. Our expansion plans for
Black Chandelier will include Southern California. The fashion show will hopefully boost web sales as well as introduce Black Chandelier to
southern California in anticipation of embarking upon a huge retail market."
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