Helen Yarmak is known as the “Queen of Fur”, so it was no surprise that I found her leisurely drinking a cocktail and smoking a slim cigarette when I arrived at her studio on 5th Avenue. Her studio is housed in the same building as Playboy Enterprises, and when I climbed into the elevator, I was joined by an older man and his much younger date. As we went up the elevator, he started instructing her to say she was a model and informing her about which names to drop. I couldn’t help but laugh at all the fashion clichés all around me.

Before the short show started for Helen’s Fall/Winter 2010-2011 collection of furs, I chatted a bit with the oft-seen fashion week staple Cognac Wellerlane, who is too fabulous for words. I definitely wasn’t expecting the thick NY accent she has, and I took great delight in her “glamorous” approach. The whole thing was definitely a league above what I was expecting. I was definitely the youngest person there and definitely one of the only few speaking English in the bunch. Think about it: An American in Doc Martens among a bunch of European fancies wearing fur. And Cognac Wellerlane. There was even a guest there (a man named Derek Warburton) with a bag made of fur (amazing and weird all at once).

For those of you that aren’t experienced in the fur world (like moi), Helen Yarmak is the furrier to the stars. Besides being featured in various magazines including Harper’s Bazaar and the like, Yarmak has outfitted ladies such as Beyonce on her trip to Russia and Rihanna. M.I.S.S. even caught rapper/mogul Damon Dash up in the Yarmak studio! More simply, according to her press release, “Helen Yarmak is considered one of the industry’s most luxurious fur and jewelry designers. A globally-recognized luxury brand, Helen Yarmak also boasts exquisite jewelry, accessories and home collections that embody an opulent sense of elegance.”

The models in the show mostly wore nude-colored bodysuits, probably to accentuate the richness of the furs. The silhouettes of the furs in the line (which included sable, mink, broadtail, sheared mink, and rex) consisted of oversized vests, cropped jackets, furs with three-quarter length sleeves, and shortsleeve Kimono-style furs. There were also capes and knee-length coats, but in my opinion, the most fashion-forward styles for Fall 2010 will be the shorter sleeve furs, which scream ultimate luxury – hello, they are FURS WITH SHORT SLEEVES!. Helen Yarmak also included furs in bright tangerine and jewel tones of purple, ruby, and emerald green, which is on trend with a LOT of the designers during Mercedes-Benz fashion week, including Luca Luca, Tracy Reese, Farah Angsana, Betsey Johnson, and J. Mendel (of course). Neutral furs showed up in Yarmak’s collection as well; this is on trend with designers such as Marc Jacobs, Venexiana, Jen Kao, Doo.Ri, Chado Ralph Rucci, and also with the majority of the fashion week attendees.

The jewelry by Helen was also on point, especially the jeweled collars and ties in her collection. Nothing says menswear for women better than jewel-encrusted neckties!

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Check out the runway vid!

Always A Lady—A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Everyone does it—and no one is safe. I’m talking about naked pictures. Humankind has appreciated them since evolution granted us an opposable thumb, a piece of flint, and a wall to scribble on. But considering the scope of today’s technology, hitting a simple “Upload” button can make you notorious for the sole purpose of showing your hoo-ha (Ask Kim Kardashian!). And while you’re praying that your barely computer-literate mother doesn’t Google you anytime in the next, oh I don’t know, 45 years, you’re silently fuming and asking yourself, “How the hell did I get in this mess?” Let’s go through a simple walk-through of the sequence of events as they may occur and how to prepare yourself. As with all ails, prevention is the best cure, but first, we’ll talk about how your ambition affects the likelihood of your intimate photographs being leaked.

What is your goal in life?

If it includes children’s programming, politics, academia, or “first-person-to-do-blank”, then you’re at the highest risk of damage. Common sense indicates that you probably shouldn’t take raunchy naked pictures ever if your role is to fulfill a contribution to the greater humanity. You’re allowed to funnel your untapped sexual exhibitionism in an alternate creative outlet, like an erotic screenplay or novel, but by all means, you will be stripped of your noble titles if pics surface of you in fuzzy handcuffs. Just don’t do it.

Next is PTA-mom, local pastor, and local pastor’s daughter, on the list of ruined reputation. While, yes, they’re whispering and looking in your direction, you might still be able to shrug it off and live in relative obscurity.  Or move outta your shit-small hometown, change your name, and hope no one gets too curious about you.

On the bottom of that list, entertainment, music, Miss U.S.A. contestants and talentless debutantes fear not, because sex sells and most likely you’ll turn it into a VH1 reality show spin-off.  You might be embarrassed at first.  But once the Playboy and Maxim offers funnel in, the money will ease the fall.  And in this society sex-sells. At the price of your dignity.For the regular person, it’s tough maintaining long-distance relationships and spans apart from your lover without utilizing technology to ease the separation.  Everyone has come home from a club, drunk and alone, missing their boo, and clumsily partaking in the one-armed photo shoot. It’s almost a rite-of-passage. But factor in the degrees of exposure of yourself and your reputation in the community, and you might be able to minimize the damage. After all, it is a possibility for all of us, known or unknown.

If you must do it, here’s how:

• Understand that anything taken on a camera has a high-likelihood of being stolen. While you can greatly reduce the chances of leaked photos by only capturing them on your devices and keeping it under lock and key, relocating, lending, or just being plain careless can put you at highest risk. Also, keep in mind that when you bring your laptop in to the Geek Squad, it’s their job to go through your hard drive.  Don’t give them a reason to call the coworkers after hours and gawk. If you are relatively known, the price of the picture itself can compensate a pink slip at Best Buy, easily. Take the pictures, move it into an external hard drive, and keep it in a high-security safe.  If it breaks, consider it a total loss.
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The Museum at FIT’s newest special exhibition, “Seduction,” explores the history of the expression of sexuality through dress.  With pieces spanning 1785 to the present, “sexiness,” is a relative term considering the flappers of 1920 were scandolous for showing their ankles.  FIT took pieces from their permanent collection to curate the show with pieces ranging from an open bodice gown from 1785 to a Playboy bunny suit. Designs by Jean Paul Gaultier, Azzedine Alaïa, Peter Som, Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein and Costume National are included in the exhibition. “The complex relationship between seduction and dress will present visitors with a history of fashion as well as that of sexuality, moral standards, and social norms.” I think this is a really interesting theme – let’s face it, humans have been dealing with sexuality since the beginning of time.  It will be cool to see how the concept of sexuality has influcened the way we dress.  “Seduction” runs through June 16, 2009.