Rare Vintage: One Frickin Day

Friday, May 13, 2011

One Frickin Day with the Frickin Amazing Tyra Banks!

Continuing with our dresses worn by models to be sold to benefit the charity, One Frickin Day, is this amazing haute couture ball gown donated by Tyra Banks. The amazing Tyra Banks. Tyra Banks of the Tyra Banks Show, Tyra of Entertainment Weekly magazine's 'Americas next top mogul', Tyra of Glamour magazine's 'Women of the Year'. Tyra of the intimidating glare on America's Next Top Model. Style and Substance.

The slogan for the Tyra Banks show is, "Every woman has a story and it has happened to Tyra too."
Well, I think in vintage, every dress as a story...

This incredible gown, beautifully made by the Lebanese designer Georges Chakra, was donated by Tyra Banks. The strapless bodice is trimmed in black and a sprinkling of gold feathers. The empire waist is jeweled and the elaborately flared golden and silver pleated chiffon skirt lies upon layers of gold tulle trimmed in matte gold sequins. I love those little details that are only from the wearer to know. Just Tyra and you...

And I am happy to say that though most of these dresses tend to be quite tiny, this gown is more of a size 6/8.

2007 Georges Chakra haute couture gown by Georges Chakra. Donated by Tyra Banks. $5,000

Fifty perent of the proceeds go to the charity One Frickin Day.

Size 6/8

33" bust, jeweled empire waist band (this continues to a low back) 30 1/2", the total length from the middle of the bust from is 54"

PURCHASE

INQUIRY

Monday, May 9, 2011

One Frickin Day with Elettra Wiedemann

One Frickin Day is a charity cofounded by model and eco-activist Elettra Wiedemann and James Marshall. Elettra was last seen looking beautiful on the red carpet of the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum's 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' in a Gattinoni gown which had belonged to her grandmother, Ingrid Bergman and was reworked by Prabal Gurung.

Elettra Wiedemann in Gattinoni in Vogue

We all have so many demands on our time and the idea behind the charity, is that though it may not seem like much or even enough, just One Frickin Day of our time, One Frickin Day of service, One Frickin Day of our annual salary can affect the rest of someone's life.

Top models were asked to donate a dress they wore one night on the red carpet to be sold to buy solar panels for clinics in Haiti and Rwanda. I will be posting dresses worn by Iman, Elle Macpherson, Isabella Rossini, Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum and other amazing women.

OFD has partnered with Solar Electric Light Fund and Partners in Health. I was thrilled when Elettra asked me to be a part of this project that will help bring solar power to remote health clinics in developing countries and provide much needed power to enable lifesaving care after dark and to operate medical equipment. Just goes to show that you can have style and substance.

Now onto the style! And the drama! This first piece, donated by Shalom Harlow is all about the drama! It is a billowing black taffeta domino designed by Bob Mackie in the 1980s. It is for a modern day Countess Mona Bismarck (you of course remember Mona Bismarck in a fabulous Balenciaga in her equally fabulous Hotel Lambert in Paris photographed by the very fabulous Cecil Beaton). Balenciaga was a skilled tailor and was able to create sculptural drama in silk.

Shalom's Bob Mackie also reminded me of this Alexander McQueen in the Savage Beauty show at the Met.

Alexander McQueen ensemble from The Girl Who Lived in the Tree Collection. 2008. Sarah Burton said that he wanted regality but also a sense of lightness.

Bob Mackie did not do small. Did not do minimalist. He did spectacular. He did beads. He did feathers and he did Glamour (note the capital G!). But this domino in black taffeta while still wildly glamorous is also restrained. And speaking of beading, when Shalom Harlow wore this to the Party of the Year at the Met two years ago, she wore a black beaded Olivier Theyskens catsuit underneath it.