When I grow up I want to be... John Fairchild

The super eighties style cover.

Looking for inspiration for my thesis, I found the book Chic Savages. It was written by John Fairchild, of Fairchild Publications. He was the heir of the company started by his grandfather, Edmund Fairchild, where he worked since he was 13.

The book is a really funny memoir, telling parts of his life and how he created W magazine out of Women’s Wear Daily. He writes about designers and fashion people in a hilarious (and sometimes inappropriate) way. He has amazing quotes and incredible stories of being around people like Yves Saint Laurent and Bill Blass.

Mr. Fairchild talking to Vogue editor Diana Vreeland.

With YSL.

In 1997, when he was around 70, he retired as chairman and editorial director of Fairchild Publications, which is now owned by Condé Nast. He was a very controversial person in the fashion world, getting into feuds with designers and journalists alike. It is rumored he had a huge fight with my beloved André Leon Talley. Still, it really is a must read. I tried to choose my favorite quotes but there are too many and too good.

Of course, the book is super old... Almost as old as me. But for someone wanting to go into the magazine business is a must-read. It's entertaining and shows how things used to be. And maybe how they should be again. I keep thinking (hipsterly) that maybe fashion should go back to being not so mainstream. I hope I get a magazine job soon. And maybe I could have as much fun as Fairchild did in the eighties.

When I grow up I want to be... Pamela Ocampo.

Remember I wrote a post about wanting to be Garance Doré earlier? There I wrote that she won a CFDA Award with her Sartorialist boyfriend. In the post about the award she mentions former winners and she cites them as inspiration for her own career. That inspired me to write about my own inspirations. She of course is one, but there are some other people I want to be (like). 

This, and the other pictures of Pamela Ocampo, were taken from a great interview with 

her by CoolHunterMx.

One of them is Pamela Ocampo. The name may not be very well know to you, but she is a fashion editor at Elle Mexico. You know, from previous posts, that I would love to work there after I graduate from my masters (less than two months now!). And she is one of the reasons I want to work at that particular magazine.

I like her articles on the magazine, her posts for the Elle Mexico in Quien magazine's blog and, of course, her tweets. And that she is very nice. Very, very nice.

 This is the February 2012 cover, styled by her. Image taken from 

Fashion Gone Rouge.

 

 One of her Twitter avatars. Doesn't she look super nice?

She studied the same thing I did at the same college (Comunicación at the Tec de Monterrey), and was obsessed with magazines when she was little. She also loves doing yoga and blogging. Just like me! Yay! I'm really a fan of hers.  

 She loves green tea and yoga.

And... We are finally meeting next weekend after being "twitter friends" for a while... I can't wait! I have so many questions to ask her regarding my thesis and the magazine world. I'm really excited! I'll let you know how that goes! 

*Most of her tweets are in Spanish, and so is her blog on Quien magazine, but I had to link to it!

Nylon made me happy...

I'm in finals so the little free time I have I use it to relax doing yoga and reading magazines. The November issue of Nylon made me very happy. Sometimes I don't really like Nylon that much because it seems a little costume-y... But this issue is great.

The cover.

Things I loved about the issue.

1. Christian Cota x Aldo

I am Mexican and love fashion. And Christian Cota is the most important Mexican designer at the moment. So I am a fan. He could tell when I met him at the SCAD Fashion Show earlier this year (I had to chase him to get this picture).


Anyway, I was really excited when I heard he was doing a collaboration with Aldo shoes because this means he's getting the recognition he deserves. And I really loved the way the magazine styled the boots he designed. I especially loved the second outfit with the red dress.

Courtesy of Christian Cota's Facebook page.

2. Rachel Bilson and Hart of Dixie

I am actually watching Hart of Dixie while writing this post. The show is kind of cheesy, but funny... And it's a little of a guilty pleasure, but it kind of makes sense when living in Savannah. Being the South and all that. One of the reasons I love it, is watching Rachel Bilson as Zoe Hart, and of course her outfits. I love Rachel Bilson's style and I absolutely love her wearing New York outfits in Alabama. (Both pictures taken from the CW's website).

This may seem like a normal outfit. But not in a
place where women dress like it's still the fifties with full
dresses and pearls for going to turtle races.

I love this dress... Of course I would wear it to a
wedding or something similar. Not to a gumbo cooking competition.

3. Arc

As you may recall, a couple of posts ago I wrote about Arc (here). I love that Savannah is written about next to cities like Sanf Francisco. And especially, seeing Arc in two different national publications makes me really happy.

And the break is over. Back to writing about the importance of fashion... More on that later!