It takes a lot to make New York stop and take notice but when ARISE came to town for the African Fashion Collective show at Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week it not only paid attention, it stood up and applauded too. The ARISE runway showcased four designers (Tiffany Amber, Stoned Cherrie, Xuly Bet and Momo) as well as international cast of models includedg Alek Wek, LIya Kebede, Oluchi, Tyson Beckford, Chanel Iman and – drumroll please – the imitable Grace Jones.

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ARISE is the first global magazine dedicated to African fashion , music, culture and polity.

To see more of Arise Magazine click here: ARISE MAG

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If the show isn’t wow-worthy, it can be easy to flip through Style.com without really absorbing what I’m looking at, much like I did with my textbooks in high school (and, let’s face it, college). But I looked through Gucci Handbags Spring 2010 twice, with rapt attention – not only is this Frida Giannini’s best collection of clothing since her era at the brand began, but it’s also the strongest lineup of accessories that I’ve seen from the brand in years.

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The collection’s clothes have a way of being minimal and ornate simultaneously, and that’s the only way to describe the bags as well. Even the lean, angular clutches are fashioned out of candy-colored crocodile skin that makes me want to say “I’ll take one in every color,” hand over my credit card, and not look at the total on the receipt.

And that’s just the beginning. There’s texture galore by way of exotics like crocodile and python and Gucci’s signature logo embossing, and a few of the company’s classic details, like bamboo handles and horse bit hardware. The collection was varied and nuanced, containing a little bit of something for everyone; it was perhaps the most wearable, beautiful bag collection I’ve seen grace the runway in several seasons.

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To see the hottest new purses in fashion go to: Purse Blog

To see more of the Gucci: Gucci

Financially, what is the real support system for urban modeling?  In the other Fashion Industry, when a new model enters the scene, she’s scooped up by an agency,(real agency meaning,  with a real company structure, operating in a real office building, with multiple employees working to book models)  Sex and or dating the models is not allowed. He/She is  given  the opportunity to work real national or international ad campaigns, real paying jobs, real contracts with real clothing companies, runway shows, and magazine spreads. This is the  support system of the other Fashion Industry, but not the urban modeling industry.

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Since Vogue was started in the late 1800’s, magazines have consistently celebrated “thin” as the model figure. Well, thin use to be “in,” but now? It is on the way out. Finally, there is a slow shift from sizes 0 to 6 as being the standard of beauty to sizes 8 and up being the norm. American women, on average, are a size 10 and up. So it’s about time for our magazine culture to represent what we see everyday. Please post your thoughts on this in the comments section. Congrats V Magazine! Even though your concept preceded ours, we admire your efforts, so we can’t hate.

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Check out this issue at: VMagazine
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