German Designer Marcell Von Berlin Brings Street Couture To Los Angeles

Since the opening of his eponymous store in Los Angeles last year, designer Marcell von Berlin has confidently landed on his feet in the USA’s competitive fashion market. Berlin’s unique street culture that continuously inspires Marcell von Berlin to create clothes that are labeled “street couture.” Masculine and feminine, confident and sensual - the bold sex appeal of his looks were already spotted on some celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Malika Haqq, and Zedd. In addition to his womenswear, menswear and accessories collections, Marcell von Berlin has expanded this Fall with an underwear line that pays homage to West Hollywood’s increasingly gender-fluid crowd.

Understanding your target customers is one element of success, but it is not everything. Reflecting on his first year doing business in the USA, I sat down with German designer Marcell von Berlin to better understand his formula for success as a young fashion brand on the rise.

How would you describe the current state of fashion in LA? In Berlin?

Both cities transport a hip "easy-to-wear" vibe that inspires me. They also have a lot in common - it's not for nothing that they are sister cities. Both Berlin and L.A. offer enough space for personal development. Everyone is free to make their own choices and choose their own clothes to express themselves with. For me, fashion means a combination of things - freedom, a light attitude toward life that can be projected onto the style and a certain sexiness.

Why was it important for you to open a physical store in LA vs other US cities, like NYC?

Los Angeles has become my second home next to Berlin, which made it clear to me that we needed to open the flagship store here.  There is a special spirit in L.A. – it’s the place where a large majority of stars call home and the world pays attention to the fashion on the Hollywood red carpets. I loved the idea of adapting the color scheme of the two cities within the store concept.  While Berlin is a bit darker, sexier and more glamorous, the color concept at the Los Angeles store is more aligned with the blue sky, the ocean, the sun and thus creates an individual experience for each location.

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Why Sustainable Fashion Matters

Summer is over and professional woman are falling back to the work routine. Whether you're shuffling between boardrooms or attending your nonprofit’s annual gala, most of us struggle to find tailored clothes for business environments that are sustainably made. Whether you are dressing for function, durability, or comfort, it is important to find pieces you can be proud to wear that still meet your sophisticated lifestyle when commitments call.

In recent years, sustainability has become a buzzword and turned a few heads. Just as consumers today are taking a closer look at the food they consume and the chemicals they put into their bodies, they are also shifting their purchasing decisions to create a cleaner environment through the clothes they wear.

What it really means.

Today, professional woman are savvier than ever and not only pay attention to the quality of their garments, but also the entire supply chain, production processes, and product afterlife. They are more aware that a hang tag using the word "sustainable" does not mean the retailer is using clean processes to develop that garment.

One of the biggest culprits in the fashion industry is "fast fashion," or clothes made cheaply to meet demands for the hot new styles. However, fast fashion is putting our future planet at risk.

After nearly 25 years in the industry, Melissa Nataadiningrat has over a dozen patents and immense product successes under her name, not to mention her extensive knowledge on sustainable fashion.

                                                     Ballkjoler

Planning A Wedding In Nature? Get Hitched in Mendocino

Mendocino County is one of the most splendid destinations in the county for its miles and miles of rugged coastline, charming inns and glamping spots, locally driven restaurants, and eternal views. Whether your style is high-toned or hippie, Mendocino has an outdoor wedding spot that will tickle the fancy of you and your betrothed. And because it is only a few hours drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, you can easily get guests up to Mendo from SFO. It feels remote, but it's not too remote, logistically speaking — a perfect combination for wedding-planning.

One cool choice is situated just a half-mile from Mendocino National Forest. The Oak Granary is a land-based environmental education organization in the Potter Valley, a 305-acre organic farm with a steel barn for events that can accommodate up to 150 people. Three houses on-site can comfortably speel up to 20, and there are campground facilities for up to 50.

Over by the coast, Spring Ranch Agricultural Preserve is a 1,000-acre dairy and cattle ranch amidst a fragrant eucalyptus forest — the largest on the entire California coast. The working organic farm morphs into a rustic-chic event venue with its classic 1840s salvaged wedding barn from Ontario, Canada. On the property is a 5,500 square-foot, 19th century Victorian home, as well as a honeymoon loft, which invokes the feeling of being in a tree house.

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Meet Caroline Constas, A Female Founder In Fashion

It's the days leading up to Montréal Grand Prix and designer Caroline Constas is being fêted the by the luxury Canadian department store, Holt Renfrew, at their annual Grand Prix event.

She enters the party being held at the top floor of the Ritz Carlton, her statuesque framed draped in a long, white, strapless goddess-gown of her own design. Earlier in the day, she posted a photo of herself with her collection's display at the store with a caption that read, "Dreams to come true.”

For Constas, this year's Grand Prix event is not only a dream come true, but it's also a homecoming of sorts. Being honored by the department store coincides with the Montréal native's 5th of year in business at the helm of her namesake label.

"I've been dreaming of working with them [Holt Renfrew] for years and years because growing up in Montréal, that was the place you aspired to shop,” she says.

As a young fashion brand, to stay in business in a cutthroat industry after 5 years is, indeed, recognition-worthy. Constas, however, has done more than just stay in business—her brand is thriving, and the Holt Renfrew event is an acknowledgment of her success.

Her collection's whimsical-yet-elegant vibe is directly inspired by Constas' upbringing and globetrotting lifestyle, which is marked by life in New York, summers in Greece and inspiration trips to foreign countries.

"It started when I was 8 years old, and I was traveling to Greece every summer to visit family,” she says. She is the daughter of a Greek-Lebanese father and an American mother who, through these visits, exposed her to the world from a very young age.

During her childhood travels, she found herself sketching the clothes she wanted to wear on her holidays, and over time she became aware of the keen eye she possessed for spotting trends that crossed borders.

"I was always very focused and aware of fashion and how fashion differed, and how it was similar across different cultures. I was able to see what was overlapping between different countries,” she says.

A key factor to her success is that Constas herself is the ultimate muse for her brand—she knows her customer because she is her customer. "I start each season with the question: What do I want to wear that isn't in the market?” she says, admitting she is designing for herself first and foremost, knowing that women like herself will gravitate to what she's offering.

In addition, Constas is regularly featured on her company's social media in her designs and also posts pictures and musings from her personal travels. Images of her wearing her label bring the clothes to life in a way only she can, and the content, as a result, is a physical embodiment of the Caroline Constas brand story. She is undoubtedly one of her company's biggest assets.

In the beginning days of her label, it was this idea of creating clothes for her own personal lifestyle led to the creation of the Lou top, the design that put her name on the map.

Constas had always been searching for cotton shirting in feminine shapes and came up with an off the shoulder silhouette in a blue striped fabric traditionally used for dress shirts. An editor came in to view the collection, snapped a pic of the shirt and posted it to social media, which then led to Oprah's stylist pulling the shirt for a shoot. The next thing she knew, the Lou top was on the cover of O Magazine. "It was absolutely surreal,” the designer says of the experience.

Meet The Mastermind Bringing Marijuana To The Modern Mall

It’s official: marijuana has made its way into the modern shopping mall. Situated between two mainstream chains, J. Crew and West Elm, Higher Standards is readying to open the doors of its second location at Ponce City Market in Atlanta on April 20.

Last week dosist celebrated its standalone space and last month, The High End became a reality for Beboe and Barney’s New York. But first came Higher Standards, which opened in late 2017 at Chelsea Market in New York City. Co-founded as a side hustle to his role as chief marketing officer at Greenlane Holdings, an international distributor of cannabis products and accessories, Sasha Kadey is the mastermind behind sparking the retail revolution taking shape in the post-legalization era.

As the traditional head shop fades into history, an experience more closely linked to the cannabis lifestyle is the future. Kadey explains, "Higher Standards is not a cannabis brand, but a lifestyle brand rooted in cannabis culture. Cannabis use really is a lifestyle for many people, so naturally cannabis brands are lifestyle brands."

Also Higher Standards’ creative director, Kadey, 35, has created a concept intended to expand across the country in harmony with its own brand, which includes glassware, cleaning kits, accessories and a just-dropped HS Streetwear capsule collection. Curated pieces from classy cool consumption brands Storz & Bickel, LEVO, Grav Labs, Puffco, Tree Trunk and PAX are matched with marijuana-minded home goods from Malin + Goetz, Blackwing Pencils, Oxford Pennant and Revelry Supply in both brick and mortar locations with select HS supplies available online. There is no cannabis for sale, but yes, a small selection of CBD self-care items is also stocked.

Back home in Miami Beach following a launch party for a Jonathan Adler collaboration and a Greenlane IPO announcement earlier this week, I caught up with Kadey, to talk about the current cannabis retail environment, Higher Standards' new Atlanta location and the meaning of lit luxury.

Startup to Bring Holographic Video Glasses Into View

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences have developed a new breed of augmented reality display that is capturing high-tech imaginations. Inventor and professor Nasser Peyghambarian has been working on video holograms for over two decades.

Today’s popular virtual reality technology uses goggles that completely block out the outside world. In contrast, augmented reality creates an environment that layers computer-generated perceptual information like images, sounds or touch over what we experience in the real world.

While companies like Microsoft are commercializing devices such as Hololens 2 that enhance virtual and augmented reality, the inventions that EARDG Photonics Inc. has licensed represent a different technological approach; the new technology will provide augmented reality wearable glasses that allow users to combine the real world around them and an augmented holographic video display with superior performance.

Peyghambarian is leading the company along with Lloyd LaComb, also a UA optics research professor and experienced industry leader. The two have a history of successful collaborations; together they developed TIPD, another company advancing 3D holographic displays. Working with Tech Launch Arizona, the UA office that commercializes inventions stemming from research, EARDG has licensed the technology, along with associated technology from TIPD, to develop it and bring it to the marketplace.

"While it is important to conduct state-of-the-art research at universities and publish in high-impact scientific journals," Peyghambarian said, "it is as important to have a consistent effort on translating innovative research out into the real world through technology transfer and creation of startup companies so that it not only creates jobs, but also improves lives."

A dedicated educator, mentor and National Academy of Inventors Fellow, he also notes that such inventions and startup companies represent excellent opportunities for students. "Those that work on such technologies with us are highly sought after as they gain experience in solving real-world problems," he said.

Naked Restaurant In Paris Closing Due To Lack Of Nude Diners

If dining naked in Paris seemed like a good idea to you, you are no longer in luck. O'naturel, the city's premier—and only—naked restaurant is closing. Conde Nast Traveler reports that after a 15-month run, the high-concept-low-clothing theme establishment has discovered that, for some incomprehensible reason, it turns out people don't want to eat naked in public. It will shut its doors in February.

Back in late 2017, Forbes senior contributor Cecilia Rodriguez revealed that at the then-new joint in the 12th arrondissement, diners disrobed upon arrival in the lobby—hence, the coat check became an everything you're wearing check—and a pre-opening soft launch was for members of the Paris Nudist Association. Apparently, a big curtain blocked dinners from bypassing voyeurs. And surrendering one's mobile phones and cameras meant your fellow diners weren't going to post your nudes to the 'net.

O'naturel is the brainchild of twins Mike and Stephane Saada, who were looking to capture a piece of the nudist-happy French market. As of this writing, there were a mere six reviews of O'naturel on TripAdvisor. "You [disrobe upon] entry and also [have] to leave your mobile phone with clothes- to prevent you sneaking photos of other diners!" one reviewer, who missed experiencing what it's like to dine naked at London's Bunyadi, noted. "

So, what's the problem with a naked-theme restaurant? For now, that remains a mystery. It's possible that it's simply too much of a niche strategy to be sustainable. It attracts people who want to dine out AND want to be naked while dining out. While consumers tend to enjoy dining out and sometimes enjoy being naked at, say, the beach, it may be that the Venn diagram overlap between the two is simply too small. And dining in the buff at home is one thing—but in public, it's quite another.

Will wearing glasses make my vision worse?

As we age, our eyesight can get worse. Although lenses can compensate for these changes, many people worry that wearing glasses will make their eyes become dependent on visual correction. In other words, they think if you wear specs, your sight will deteriorate even more.
Thankfully, this is not how our peepers actually work.
"Wearing glasses will not make your eyes worse," says Michael J. Duerr, an optometrist in Rochester Hills, Michigan. "Your actual prescription is based on the anatomy of the eye: the front curve of the cornea, the refractive power of the intraocular lens, and the length of the eyeball." And peering through spectacles won't change that anatomy, Duerr says. "Wearing glasses or soft contact lenses will not change what your required prescription is."
But when you take off your glasses, the world seems blurrier than you remember. Does this indicate that you "need" your glasses more now than you did before you got them? Not necessarily. That change probably just means you're getting used to seeing things clearly, according to the American Academy of Opthamology. Now that you know what the world is supposed to look like, it's hard to go back—even if you thought your vision was fine before.
It's true that you may find yourself needing stronger and stronger prescriptions as the years go on, but again: This isn't a result of wearing glasses. Our vision deteriorates as we get older, and chances are, you'll need to upgrade your prescription from time to time.

That brings us to another interesting worry: Some people fear that wearing an incorrect or outdated prescription can cause their eyesight to get worse. This is also a myth, at least in the case of adults—two studies found that incorrect prescriptions did slightly increase the progression of myopia, or nearsightedness, in children.
In addition, the special glasses given to children with crossed eyes or a lazy eye can actually change them—but in a good way. These aids help straighten the eye. The real harm comes from not using them, according to the Opthamology Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin: "Not wearing such glasses may lead to permanently defective vision."
But don't fear wearing glasses: There's no evidence that the correct prescription will worsen eyesight in children or adults. As long as you stick with your annual or bi-annual checkups, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Wear your specs whenever you need them, and enjoy the privilege of seeing clearly.