Barneys New York: Brooks X Roitfeld
lundi 5 septembre 2011 
While we anxiously await our first look at the windows Carine Roitfeld has envisioned for Barneys New York, here is our lovely and eloquent editor-at-large, Dara Block, to talk with us about the style of Amanda Brooks, fashion director for Barneys New York and author of I Love Your Style
As of now, I think the question on everyone's mind in the fashion world is: What will Carine Roitfeld's vision be for the windows display at Barneys New York? Fortunately, in just a matter of days we will find out. As we all know Carine Roitfeld will be working closely with the ultra-chic department store and with that in mind I thought it would be appropriate to focus some attention on a certain individual of the Barneys team... Amanda Brooks. So who exactly is Amanda Brooks? Well for starters, Brooks was recently named fashion director at Barneys and she is in charge of identifying women's trends each season and translating those looks into the store. In addition, her tasks include working closely with both established and up and coming designers, members of the press, as well as the visual and merchandising teams. And, in case you were wondering, she will be working with Carine Roitfeld this season to promote Barneys fall collections. I think it is important to note that long before Brooks was fashion director for Barneys, she was a prominent fashion journalist for such magazines as Vogue, Men's Vogue, and The New York Times. Also, in 2009, she published her first book entitled I Love Your Style, a book about how to define and refine your personal style, definitely a must have for all lovers of style and fashion... I know I like to reread many sections of this book when I need some style advice or find myself in a fashion conundrum. What I find so interesting about this book is that she references Carine Roitfeld as one of her style icons in a section of the book entitled High Fashion: the New Originals. Brooks perfectly sums up Carine's style:
Everyone in the fashion world is in awe of Carine. Her signature sexy Goth-ish look is so strong and consistent and yet somehow completely organic; it is her look, not something fabricated by a designer or a magazine. As the editor in chief of super cool French Vogue and a former muse to Tom Ford (at both Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci), she has wielded incredible influence. The flavor-of-the week celebrity may have thousands of teenage copycats, but inspiring fashion bibles and designer labels is a whole other story. She is amazing.
I absolutely love the way she describes Roitfeld's style and appeal. I think Brooks is such an eloquent and inspiring writer. She has a way of talking about style that is so cool and candid. Personally, I love how she is so thorough in her descriptions... as in the way she describes Carine Roitfeld's total look. Brooks clearly sees what an original she is with her personal style and I find it quite fascinating that they are now part of the same team at Barneys... I can only imagine how thrilled Brooks must feel to be part of Barneys new vision with La Roitfeld.
On that note, I think Amanda Brooks' writing is something with which IWTBAR readers should become more familiar. Recently, I was looking through my Vogue archives and came across an interesting article in the Nostalgia section of the August 2006 issue written by Brooks. The article was entitled Grunge and Glory, in which Brooks writes about how she discovered her style in the early 1990s, when she was a student at Brown University, through the help of Vogue magazine, Madonna, thrift shops, and the now defunct store, Contempo Casuals... this has to be one of my favorite Nostalgia articles written for the magazine... it is funny, honest, relatable, but above all, inspiring. I must share with you a brief excerpt... If you grew up in the early 90s and loved grunge fashion, I think you will enjoy reading this. Brooks has a real understanding of fashion, and to her, clothes are not just clothes, but an experience... let's take a look at one of the most memorable parts of the article.
It was October 1992, and Madonna was on the cover, dressed as a glamorous hippie — big floppy hat, studded bell-bottom pants, a striped turtleneck, and bare feet. She could have passed for a Brown student, albeit a particularly fashion-conscious one. Also in Vogue that season was Ralph Lauren doing the more tasteful bohemian look (the one I'd seen the real estate mogul's daughter wearing), with floral slip dresses over T-shirts and long, dangling necklaces. Ralph's version of hippie dressing was written in my language, while the "grunge" collection by Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis, shown in its full understated glory that December, was harder to get a fix on — until I saw a friend wearing the whole look to class (to class!) one day. After that I was sold. Fortunately for me, deconstructed outfits and eclecticism were the perfect way to combine the mundane clothes I already had (Converse All Stars, T-shirts, plaid flannel shirts, scarves, and wool hats) with a few trendier pieces that didn't break the bank. I began to prowl the Providence thrift stores, far more "curated" than the Bronxville variety, which had required spending many hours digging through bins of ratty garments in order to uncover one great find (worn Levi's, a Polo shirt, a Givenchy cashmere cardigan). My other great discovery was Contempo Casuals, sadly now defunct, which was a precursor to H&M and Zara. It had supertrendy clothes and was even more affordable than the Gap. I would leave with armfuls of bell-bottoms, crocheted knit caps, floral slip dresses, and frilled shirts to experiment with while studying my copy of Vogue. A little unsure of how my mall fashion — so not cool in those days — would go over with my much fancier friends, I showed up at my nineteenth-birthday party in a black chiffon ruffled blouse with outrageously exaggerated black bell-bottoms and a black crocheted vest. Everything but the choker and heart pendant someone had given me for my birthday came from Contempo Casuals. After quizzing me about my outfit and how much I paid for it, my designer-clad friends were following me back to the mall the next day.
For the rest of my freshman year, I continued to put together looks inspired by the now-infamous grunge story in Vogue. Most vividly etched in my memory is a black-and-white floral slip dress by Ralph Lauren (bought at Filene's Basement in Boston) worn over a white T-shirt with white Converse sneakers or Red Wing boots (a kinder, gentler version of Doc Martens). My hair was long, unbrushed, and firmly parted in the middle, and my make-up was sparse-a look that was authentically grunge but also authentically me.
I must have considered this my best outfit because I wore it that summer when I was a photo assistant to Patrick Demarchelier. Coming unexpectedly full circle from my moment of fashion inspiration just months before, I was invited to Madonna's birthday party after a day spent working on the shoot for her Bedtime Stories cover. It was a great party, with just 30 or so people. We feasted on Cuban food, drank too many mojitos, and danced all night with Madonna, her backup dancers, a slew of drag queens, and a handful of her close friends, including Gloria Estefan, Dennis Rodman, Mickey Rourke, and the Versace Family. Late that night (or was it early morning?), I was given a ride to my hotel by Gianni Versace (it was just him and Donatella and me in the back of their limo), and he told me he liked my look. I felt so shy that I think I said four words to them the whole ride: "Thank you" and "Good night."
As you can see Amanda Brooks has always been quite the fashionista... she has a very wise understanding of fashion and I love how she can relate to all women... not just the woman who shops at expensive boutiques, but also the woman who shops at malls... she clearly understands fashion from every perspective. I can only imagine what Brooks and her team will have planned with Carine Roitfeld for the windows at Barneys this month... just reading her analysis on 90s fashion is enough to make me believe that their collaboration will be sensational... both Roitfeld and Brooks have such a distinct vision, and most importantly, a personal style that inspires. I feel like this is a new beginning and direction for Barneys... with Brooks' knowledge of fashion and Roitfeld's sharp eye they are bound to create something out of this world. The clock is ticking as we speak... prepare for visual stimulation!
[Editor's note: On 18 October 2011, Rizzoli releases not only Carine Roitfeld: Irreverent but another exciting title, Nostalgia in Vogue
Carine Roitfeld and Amanda Brooks photographs © 2011 Condé Nast and courtesy of Dara Block, habituallychic.com, thewindow.barneys.com, and Fashion Spot. All Rights Reserved. Carine Roitfeld and Amanda Brooks style collages created by Kellina de Boer.
Carine Roitfeld in Amanda Brooks, Barneys, Dara Block, New York City, Style 
Reader Comments (12)
http://fashionandfrank.blogspot.com/
Yes, I remember Contempo Casuals...I remember thinking that was where all the cool girls shopped! Back then, the inexpensive stores were much less sophisticated than they are now.
Bon voyage! See you soon!
:-D