Joe and Charlie Casely-Hayford were both born on May 24, exactly 30 years apart. It’s just one of the parallels linking the father-and-son designers, who manage to co-helm a luxury fashion house while balancing their contrasting creative identities.The younger Charlie, 30, recalls sitting in his parents’ East End London studio — a workshop for Joe’s then-eponymous line, worn by rock ’n’ roll stars like the Clash and U2 — and absorbing the fundamentals of cutting and sewing.It sparked Charlie’s interest in styling; he’d eventually cultivate his own famous-musician clientele, which has included Drake and Nas. But he was never expected to follow in his father’s designer footsteps.“Growing up, fashion was always around me,” he tells Alexa. “But I remember when I was about 13, I asked my dad what he thought of me going into it myself. He told me ‘No way in hell,’ because it was so tough. To this day I don’t know if that was reverse psychology — if he was warning me — or if he’d planned this all along!”By 2008, Charlie was studying art history at London’s Courtauld Institute and modeling for brands like Converse and Dr. Martens on the side.Joe, meanwhile, had been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (for his services to the fashion industry) and was immersed in his third year as creative director for Savile Row label Gieves & Hawkes.After spending hours trading notes behind the scenes, an idea struck: Why not team up? “We have not looked back since,” Joe, 60, says with a smile.
The first thing Courtney Spears does after a ballet performance is put on her silver David Yurman ring, a gift from her mother.“I always have it with me,” says the 22-year-old dancer, who just finished a run with Ailey II, Alvin Ailey’s ensemble for young rising stars. “When I don’t have it on, it’s weird seeing the world without [my mom] with me.”Spears moved to New York City from Baltimore to pursue dancing when she was 18, and her mother wanted to give her only child something special.“To me, it was a symbol of maturity, because my mother had never bought me anything of that magnitude to wear before,” the Harlem resident says. “I would say it’s good luck. It reminds me of the love she has for me. It’s a sense of comfort.”
It’s not all gloom and doom at department stores — at least not for Steve Madden.The accessories designer is rising to the top of the shoe heap, selling more women’s fashion sneakers than most of his competitors at Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor and Dillards this year, per a Wall Street analyst.“They have a very unique test-and-react model, which allows them to stay close to the trends,” CL King & Associates analyst Steven Marrotta told On the Money’s Lisa Fickenscher. Madden’s “fashion is better and more in tune with what the customer wants.”Call it fast fashion without the rock-bottom prices.
Actress, comedian, jazz singer and “professional lesbian” Lea DeLaria doesn’t care if you call her “Sir.” “Obviously, it’s a look I’m going for,” she joked in her previous live show, “The Last Butch Standing.” As for her pronoun of choice, the 59-year-old — who plays Big Boo on “Orange Is the New Black,” voices Miss Fritter in “Cars 3” and guest-stars on Season 4 of “Broad City” — prefers “Empress.” Now prepping for upcoming concerts, the Bushwick-based LGBT activist shares with Alexa the items — from suits to screwdrivers — that rock her world.
Here’s one for your inner preteen: the denim skirt is having a new moment.The ’90s and early-aughts throwback trend is making the rounds this summer, in varying lengths and styles — as seen here on Bella Hadid, Khloé Kardashian and Kendall Jenner.Denim skirts were popular in the ’70s, when boho types retooled their jeans into a breezier version, but it wasn’t until the ’90s that denim skirts became “the look,” thanks to the grunge movement and movies like “Clueless.”Anyone who grew up in the early aughts can attest to the onslaught of the Abercrombie & Fitch denim-miniskirt craze. You could visit any dimly lit A&F store in any mall, and you were guaranteed to see a clutch of young girls in matching A&F tees, chokers and, of course, distressed denim miniskirts.The trend peaked and fell, as trends do, but it’s finally making its way back around. Denim lovers, to the mall!
A former fashion stylist, McCann said she discovered she was clairsentient, clairaudient and clairvoyant — meaning she can feel, hear and see spirits and future events — in 2010.“I was in a bodega [in Williamsburg]. I went in to get a sandwich in the middle of the night,” she said. “I [had been] working on a presentation, supertired and superhungry, and I heard a man’s voice say, ‘There’s going to be a fight about bananas, and he’s going to be 32 cents short.’ I spin around, there’s no one there. And immediately after, the whole thing plays out in front of me: A guy comes in, puts the bananas down, [he and the cashier] start fighting.”She wrote the experience off as a sign that she needed more sleep, but the universe had other plans.“[I would be] walking around NYC and having random street people come up to me and say, ‘You’re a healer. You’re a shaman. You need to go get trained. I see your aura,’ ” she said. “I ran [at first] — I was like, ‘That’s not my bag.’ But the more I ran away from it, the louder the situation was becoming.”Finally, she went to see a psychic. “I went in with a list of reasons why I thought I was crazy, and he opens the door and grabs my hand and says, ‘Honey, you’re not crazy — you’re psychic!’ ”At his urging, she found a mentor and studied at a shaman school in Joshua Tree, Calif. She’s since studied Nordic, Peruvian and Mexican shamanism, as well as reiki. “I said, ‘OK, what do I know? I have strong intuition, and I know a lot about fashion.’ ”
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The first thing Courtney Spears does after a ballet performance is put on her silver David Yurman ring, a gift from her mother.“I always have it with me,” says the 22-year-old dancer, who just finished a run with Ailey II, Alvin Ailey’s ensemble for young rising stars. “When I don’t have it on, it’s weird seeing the world without [my mom] with me.”Spears moved to New York City from Baltimore to pursue dancing when she was 18, and her mother wanted to give her only child something special.“To me, it was a symbol of maturity, because my mother had never bought me anything of that magnitude to wear before,” the Harlem resident says. “I would say it’s good luck. It reminds me of the love she has for me. It’s a sense of comfort.”
It’s not all gloom and doom at department stores — at least not for Steve Madden.The accessories designer is rising to the top of the shoe heap, selling more women’s fashion sneakers than most of his competitors at Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor and Dillards this year, per a Wall Street analyst.“They have a very unique test-and-react model, which allows them to stay close to the trends,” CL King & Associates analyst Steven Marrotta told On the Money’s Lisa Fickenscher. Madden’s “fashion is better and more in tune with what the customer wants.”Call it fast fashion without the rock-bottom prices.
Actress, comedian, jazz singer and “professional lesbian” Lea DeLaria doesn’t care if you call her “Sir.” “Obviously, it’s a look I’m going for,” she joked in her previous live show, “The Last Butch Standing.” As for her pronoun of choice, the 59-year-old — who plays Big Boo on “Orange Is the New Black,” voices Miss Fritter in “Cars 3” and guest-stars on Season 4 of “Broad City” — prefers “Empress.” Now prepping for upcoming concerts, the Bushwick-based LGBT activist shares with Alexa the items — from suits to screwdrivers — that rock her world.
Here’s one for your inner preteen: the denim skirt is having a new moment.The ’90s and early-aughts throwback trend is making the rounds this summer, in varying lengths and styles — as seen here on Bella Hadid, Khloé Kardashian and Kendall Jenner.Denim skirts were popular in the ’70s, when boho types retooled their jeans into a breezier version, but it wasn’t until the ’90s that denim skirts became “the look,” thanks to the grunge movement and movies like “Clueless.”Anyone who grew up in the early aughts can attest to the onslaught of the Abercrombie & Fitch denim-miniskirt craze. You could visit any dimly lit A&F store in any mall, and you were guaranteed to see a clutch of young girls in matching A&F tees, chokers and, of course, distressed denim miniskirts.The trend peaked and fell, as trends do, but it’s finally making its way back around. Denim lovers, to the mall!
A former fashion stylist, McCann said she discovered she was clairsentient, clairaudient and clairvoyant — meaning she can feel, hear and see spirits and future events — in 2010.“I was in a bodega [in Williamsburg]. I went in to get a sandwich in the middle of the night,” she said. “I [had been] working on a presentation, supertired and superhungry, and I heard a man’s voice say, ‘There’s going to be a fight about bananas, and he’s going to be 32 cents short.’ I spin around, there’s no one there. And immediately after, the whole thing plays out in front of me: A guy comes in, puts the bananas down, [he and the cashier] start fighting.”She wrote the experience off as a sign that she needed more sleep, but the universe had other plans.“[I would be] walking around NYC and having random street people come up to me and say, ‘You’re a healer. You’re a shaman. You need to go get trained. I see your aura,’ ” she said. “I ran [at first] — I was like, ‘That’s not my bag.’ But the more I ran away from it, the louder the situation was becoming.”Finally, she went to see a psychic. “I went in with a list of reasons why I thought I was crazy, and he opens the door and grabs my hand and says, ‘Honey, you’re not crazy — you’re psychic!’ ”At his urging, she found a mentor and studied at a shaman school in Joshua Tree, Calif. She’s since studied Nordic, Peruvian and Mexican shamanism, as well as reiki. “I said, ‘OK, what do I know? I have strong intuition, and I know a lot about fashion.’ ”
Bags Outlet Sale: