CLIO GOLDBRENNER

I read about her for the first time in an article in the September issue of the Belgian Marie Claire, titled 'Young Talents to Follow'. The article wasn't at all about the products that she designs, but about the woman behind the brand, and I was immediately captivated by her inspiring story. 

Born in a family that owned a leather shop, Clio studied commercial sciences at university and specialized in finances. Not long after having graduated, she found a job at L'Oréal, a company for which, I assume, most young girls would want to pull each other's hair out.

Clio, however, felt differently about that. 'I had just bought myself a new hat', she explains. 'A big, furry hat. I loved it! And I could see people staring at me in the streets like I was some sort of crazy woman. It was wild!'. It was then that Clio discovered the power of accessories, and that she decided that that was the industry she really wanted to be in. Using her leather knowledge from when she was little, and her financial specialization from University, Clio started up her own brand: Clio Goldbrenner. 

Today, she has over twenty points of sale.

As I said, I felt really inspired by the article on Clio and felt even more passionate about fighting for my own dreams after reading about Clio's switch from the marketing business to the designer business. Luckily, I read that article on my way to a job interview, so, as far as motivational speeches go, I think that was a pretty good one.

About a week later, I bought myself an all new batch of fashion magazines (yes, I have an addiction). 

And flipping through all the specials covering ' the fall/winter must-haves', '12 new trends for 2012' and 'you NEED this in your closet NOW', I noticed a very elegant, very signature style brand, not coincidentally called 'Clio Goldbrenner'.

The Clio Goldbrenner logo is derived from her last name. 'Goldbrenner' is the German word for 'goldsmith', so it was a logical decision for Clio to choose a gold sign as her signature mark. As she didn't want the logo to be all bling bling, she went for a simple golden rectangle. Pure elegance.

Her inspirations? 'I tend to think back to the ancient greek myths and their beautiful women when I look for inspiration. I, myself, was named after the daughter of Zeus, so I enjoy looking at back other greek muses and try to translate their style into a modernized look. Terpsichore, for example, the muse of dance, was my inspiration for the sophisticated evening bags.'

Polymnie

Clio

Erato

Caliope

Terpsichore

So, whaddayathink? Let's get Goldbrennerd? No, let's think of a new catch phrase first. 

But FIRST, let's get our fashionable selves to a Clio Goldbrenner point of sale as quickly as we can! See you there!

x Magel

Hot child in the city!

Okay, I know that I've already made a name for myself as a SERIOUS Isabel Marant-addict (and it's sad, actually: I want it but I can't have it), but I have to say: the S/S 2012 that I.M. showed in Paris last week was, once again, a sight for sore eyes. Why, oh why, Isabel, must you be so pricy??

 

 The most eye-catching items in the 2012 Isabel Marant collection are soft pastels, knitted dresses, glossy high heels and slouchy boots. Yum!

A message that Isabel OBVIOUSLY hasn't gotten yet, has made its way to the Balmain house. Because yes, oooooooh yes, the fabulous Parisian brand is launching a second line: Pierre Balmain. And guess what: it's rumoured to be a lot more affordable than its older brother.

The brand is being very mysterious about the new line, though (childish, is what I'd call it!), and doesn't want to give away too many pictures of the collection yet. 

They did, however, release a smokin' hot video showing pieces of the collection. Actors/models are none other than the members of Our Mountain and lead singer Matthew Huntchinson's girl slash supermodel, Abbey Lee Kershaw. Check out that video pronto! Here!

And staying on the topic of cheaper lines of designer brands (yes, there's more than one), it's almost time for the Versace for H&M launch! Yay! As we're marking our calendars and counting down to November 17th, Vogue Russia kindly went and offered us a sneak peek of the upcoming collection. Wanna see? Yea you do!

Okay, I'll admit, I don't understand a word of it either. But an image speaks louder than a thousand words, njet?

And finally, I urge you to get your butt to the store and get your hands on OPI's limited edition Pink of Hearts - Pink Shatter. 

For every bottle of this bubbly shade that's sold during the month of October in one of the Planet Parfum shops, one euro gets donated to the fund of breast cancer research.  I don't even need to say more, you should be there already!

If you're not really sure how the shatter polish works, you can visit this website to watch a simple tutorial.

Enjoy those goodies!

x magel