SPOTLIGHT: Carlos Falchi

If you haven't heard of Carlos Falchi, today is your lucky day!

Carlos Falchi is a Brazilian-born handbag and accessories designer well renowned for his high quality pieces and his use of exotic skins and leathers.

At the age of twenty, he moved to New York where he worked as a busboy.
It was here that he came in contact with rock and rollers and started designing stage costumes for
Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, and even the king himself, Elvis Presley!

Falchi got his big break in the 1970's when he showed his designs to
Geraldine Stutz, former president of Henri Bendel.


For over 30 years, Falchi has been designing bags with classic style.
His bags are soft and unstructured and often combine colors and patterns for a whimsical look.

His bags are showcased in movies such as Sex and the City and
 enjoyed by celebrities from Madonna and Cher to Rihanna and Blake Lively.



Carlos Falchi has also made an impact in the environment!
He has tried to create farm-bred, exotic skins which would protect the species, boost employment in developing regions, and provide environmental controls.

In 2004,  he received the Lifetime Award from the Accessories Council.
Many of his bags are also showcased in the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Musuem of Art.

Recently, Falchi made a line of more cost efficient bags for Target and HSN with the same craftsmanship that is evident in all of his work.

Here's to you Carlos Falchi for creating bags with an exotic flair that has never ceased!!

xoxo
Flirty Fanny

SPOTLIGHT: Claude Montana

Claude who???? I said the same thing when I first heard of this amazing designer a few years ago.
Many of the 'it' trends we see on runway and even the streets are inspired by Claude Montana. Read on to find out what a significant impact he made in one of my favorite eras--the 1980's!


French native Claude Montana started out designing papier-mache jewelry at 20 years old. A few years later, he began designing biker's leathers and mastered the technique. His very first collection came alive in 1976.


In 1979 House of Montana was born. His affinity for sharp silhouettes in luxurious fabric like cashmere, leather, and silk made him a huge success. Throughout the 80's he was hailed an innovator of high fashion, most notably for sparking the shoulder pad trend alongside Thierry Mugler. Montana's shows were elaborate and full of energy, everyone who is everyone flew in to see them. Including me....in my dreams of course.


In 1992 Claude Montana designed a haute couture collection for Lanvin, winning two consecutive awards.

House of Montana closed up shop in 1997 but it's influence lives on in every shoulder pad, every leather glove, and every sharp tailored jacket. Here's to you Mr Montana!

xoxo Ferocious Fanny.

SPOTLIGHT: Lacoste or Haymaker?

Everyone knows what that little crocodile emblem represents but you're probably wondering why on earth the tag says Haymaker. This isn't a fake it's actually an authentic Lacoste shirt. So why doesn't it say so? Allow me to break everything down.

Originally, Lacoste was a brand of tennis shirts developed by French tennis star Rene Lacoste and knitwear company owner Andre Gillier in 1933. Each shirt had a croc logo representing Rene's nickname 'the crocodile'. In 1952 he signed an agreement with David Crystal, owner of Izod who combined the two brands to boost Izod's prestige.

By 1966, Lacoste shirts and polo dresses were made and distributed in the U.S. with variations of labels on clothing tags including Izod Lacoste and Haymaker, a sportswear division under Crystal.

These tennis style garments were very fashionable during the late 1960's to early 1980's when 'preppy' was THE look.

Today Izod and Lacoste are separate entities while David Crystal no longer exists.

For Spring 2010, luxury labels put a spin on retro tennis style as their interpretation of the current sportswear trend.

Who knew such a small symbol had so much history behind it?

xoxo Ferocious Fanny.

SPOTLIGHT: Andrea Pfister

Andrea Pfister is a one of a kind designer known for his love of detail and whimsical design.

Nope..contrary to the name,Andrea is not a woman, he is a man of genius shoe creations...
A magnificent couturier of opulent, colorful and innovative shoes if you will.
He is known for his sexy designs,high quality,and attention to comfortability.

Andrea was born in Pesaro, Italy on August 30,1942.
His shoes are also Italian made and created with attention to detail.

In 1963..at the age of 21,he began his career designing for Lanvin and Jean Patou.
He showed his first collection in 1965 and began production for his own line in 1967.
In 1974 his ready-to-wear line was finally launched.

He also designed for Bruno Magli and Mariuccia Mandeli,as well as collaborated with Anne Klein from 1974 to 1993.

Pfister has an eye for shoe perfection..starting with color, shape, proportion and styling...
Quite notably, vibrant color and then continuing with jewels, sequins, glitter or appliqués. He also uses handcrafted embroidery, silks and plastics.

His most notably famous style was the birdcage shoe in 1979, which is a flat pump with a closed-back, opened-toe, and the main body constructed in an open latticework of thin leather straps. This later became copied by many using plastic instead of leather.

He is THE leading designer in making sexy shoes in a variety of themes such as starry skies, the sea, music, the circus, Las Vegas, fruit and some with cocktail glass heels like this Martini inspired shoe design..



He loves motif appliqué..as do I!And has designed for Elizabeth Taylor and MADONNA
le sighhh..

Pfister has always said: "If a beautiful woman’s feet hurt, she becomes ugly."
We couldn't agree more!

Kudos to Sir Andrea Pfister for creating some of the most interesting shoe designs we've ever laid eyes upon.

Blue Jean Baby..

Denim is America’s most known contribution to fashion. It’s begi

nning can be routed to Levi Strauss in the early 1800’s. He changed the fashion game by creating a tough fabric that was durable for hard working labor jobs.

Altering the name from ‘overalls’ to ‘jeans’. The fabric called ‘jeans’ comes from the French word "genes" which is the name for blue denim fabric.

Different styles and variations of denim appear and reappear but never go out of style.

The 50’s introduced the world to 'rebel teens' in the famous movie 'Grease' like The Thunderbirds who wore denim jeans with their leather jackets.

The 70’s and 80’s introduced bell-bottoms,

Embroidery jeans for all the peace loving hippies,

Designer denim like Sergio Valente, Calvin Klein and Jordache jeans became mainstream during the later years.

The fashion world is always in a state of reinvention and alteration.
It's style has been around for a years, yet the blue jean will remain a classic piece of clothing for a timeless generation.

Peace/Love/Free Hugs

*FoxyFanny*

VOTE NOW!Teen Vogue/H& M Fresh Eye on Design Contest

So excited to share some news about one of our FavFanny's

Stephanie "Phafa" Roy.

We met Stephanie through ATWG's Radio Rose and she's been on hand at many FF events assisting with merchandising and all around awesomeness..

We adore her to pieces so we're SUPEREXCITED to announce that she's one of the Finalists in the
Teen Vogue & H&M: Fresh Eye on Design Contest

Her sketch is featured in the September issue of Teen Vogue
and we'd love for everyone to support this future top designers drive and
journey to success by
voting for her sketch.

The top 3 finalists go to Teen Vogue's Fashion University in NYC.
The winner receives a chance of a lifetime to go to H&M headquarters in Sweden to meet with an H&M designer.

We want Stephanie to kick sum fashion tail so Vote Vote Vote!
You CAN vote more than once and sorry, T-Mobile users are denied voting access
Weird right?
but all other carriers have voting access.

Voting ends September 7th so HURRY HURRY!!
Text 5 to 886483

Let's give her an extra push to take home the crown.

Spread the word,Tell a friend and Thank you in advance!



Big Brooklyn Hugs
Your Favorite Vintage Wondergirl
The FunkyFanny

SPOTLIGHT: David Evins

Let’s talk about shoes babbbbby!!!

My FAVE Vintage Designer of the week is...(drumroll pleaseee)

DAVID EVINS!

For Vintage shoe lovers and collectors his shoes are a dream come true
and I too drool over a David Evins creation.

Glamorous, enchanting and stunning..These are just a few words to describe his shoes.

He was the ‘it’ shoe man, the “King of shoes” for Hollywood’s glamoratie and for ladies like us too.
Evins was a master of his craft making shoes for classy, feminine women of the world but also to some of the most wealthy and beautiful women of his time. His fans included the Duchess of Windsor, the Queen of England, and so many of Hollywood’s starlets. These ladies routinely commissioned shoes from him and hailed him as a genius.

He would create shoes that embodied both the personalities of the movie star he was creating for as much as the characters they were meant to portray.

Gorgeous mules for Ava Gardner, clunky pumps for Judy Garland, leopard skin bootees for Marlene Dietrich and low heeled pumps that Grace Kelly wore when she married Prince Rainier.

David came from England when he was 13 and studied illustration
at Brooklyn's own Pratt Institute..

He then moved on to become a pattern maker for Vogue..

After his tenure at Vogue, Evins realized his true calling,as a shoe designer..

He then developed a label under a contract with I.Miller and as soon as his artistic, gorgeous shoes were presented to the world he was dubbed by the fashion industry as ‘the King of Pumps’.

Some of his innovations were halter-back sandals with Velcro, he was the first designer to dye alligator in vivid colors, made heels out of trophy stems and made vamps outta fishing line.
Amazing!!!!!

Evins is no longer with us but his vintage lives on and his wonderful fashion sense and artistic genius is reflected in the refinement of his creations.


He blessed us with 40 years of glamorous footwear and killer designs. The man with the gift to make a woman feel comfortable and sexy through beautiful shoes that not only were utilitarian but a piece of art and an important element in fashion expression.

All hail the king!!!
David Evins....We salute you!

SPOTLIGHT..Halston

With 4th of July upon us you can feel the excitement of summer in the air.

Barbecues,picnics,and fireworks are essential and hot summer weather means even hotter summer fashion!

So, in honor of celebrating all things American..
We're delighted to highlight one of the most influential American designers,
Roy Halston Frowick, aka Halston.


Born in Iowa and raised in Indiana,Halston began his career as a milliner.
He moved to NYC in 1957 and worked his way up to co-designer at millinery Lilly Daché before moving on to head milliner at Bergdorf Goodman.

One of his major notable moments came when he designed the pillbox hat that Jacqueline Kennedy wore to her husband’s presidential inauguration.

In 1968 he launched his eponymous womenswear label.
He was widely known for
unique and comfortable styles like caftans,tunics,and for popularizing the ultrasuede shirtdress.

His success quickly transformed him into a trendsetting icon of the ‘70’s and a fixture on the Studio 54 scene.
All of the disco mamas and celebrities of the era wore his creations including Bianca Jagger, Liza Minnelli, Anjelica Huston, and Lauren Bacall.


Despite his status as fashion royalty he also was one of the first designers to offer accessible high fashion to women of all income levels with his revolutionary licensing agreement with
JC Penney.

Although it was said to have been the catalyst for the demise of his career it was equal parts controversy and an accomplishment for a designer of the time.

And so we hail this man who was once dubbed as "The premier fashion designer of all America."

Next time you’re browsing in a vintage or thrift store and you come across
a Halston piece,know you’ve come upon a piece of American history.

Champagne wishes for a Safe & Happy 4th to all..

Big Red lipstick kisses..

~Fetish Fanny







images courtesy of life.com and steppinoutliza.blogspot.com