/ Thoughts from the Editor-In-Chief, Fall 2014

by Hina P. Ansari

Thoughts from the Editor-In-Chief, Fall 2014

Oct 02, 2014

The Neighbourhood of Fashion

An anthropologist by hobby, I love to sit at a cafe and people-watch, dreaming up backstories of each person who catches my eye. As someone who loves fashion, one thing that stands out to me is the person’s ensemble. To me it’s a reflection of the neighbourhood or the city they’re from or the person’s cultural or economic standing. Sure, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but when you’re people watching, the cover is all you have to work with. And when it comes to fashion that tells me plenty.

Every city and its inhabitants reflects a unique sense of style. In addition to the factors mentioned above, others include the weather, if the city has a strong walking or driving culture, or if culture (celebrity or otherwise) plays a hand in dictating what’s hot or not when it comes to creating an ensemble each morning.

I love to travel, and seeing the difference in each city’s style is something I look forward to discovering. This summer was filled with travel and ample opportunity to mentally clock the popular fashion trends threading through the cities.

My trip to Italy (Rome, page 106) brought me a fashionable feast of people-watching. From head to toe, locals and tourists sported their own version of vacation chic. The Italian women looked fabulously chic in all black (in 90-degree weather no less) while the men rocked white linen and sockless Toms. Tourists rocked the strapless dress, and thankfully not a sneaker in sight.

Right after Italy, I jetted to Los Angeles for our cover shoot with singer Siva Kaneswaran, formerly of The Wanted (page 20). From the airport to our abode, the Andaz Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, morning brought forth the spandex-clad, dog-walking crowd comfortable in their couture neon sneakers. During the day, locals sported loose boyfriend jeans with tanks and of course the obligatory (hopefully spray) tan. Shades of all shapes and sizes finished off each person’s West Coast sunny disposition.

As I write this letter, I delightfully stumbled upon a mini-marathon Sex and the City. The ’90s crop tops, the (now iconic) Dior saddlebag and of course Jimmy Choos, elevated Carrie and her crowd to the stratosphere of New York chic.

That’s why I love putting together our Fashion, Style & Holiday issue. It gives us the opportunity to deliver substantial style news directly to you with our expanded fashion and style sections. Give your wardrobe a fall freshening up with Monika’s Must-Haves (page 38). We chat with internationally renowned fashion designer Manish Arora direct from India (Arora Borealis, page 52). And we give you a front row seat to the runways of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore with our expanded fashion special (Colour Collage, page 60). We continue to explore today’s buzz-worthy topics with a closer look at why we air our dirty laundry online (Social Media Soapbox, page 130) and the controversial practice of fast fashion (Style vs. Substance, page 66).

’Tis also the season for fests and festive evenings, so we give you tips on creating your own candy bar (Treat Bars: The Perfect Spread, page 118) and maybe you’ll be inspired by our roundup of top foodie cities (Top 5 Global Foodie Cities, page 110). And last but definitely not least, we bring you our annual Holiday Gift Guide (page 87), with ideas for your loved ones, to make your gift-giving as stress free as possible.

So, take some time to enjoy this issue. From page to page, we take you on your very own stylish adventure. Be sure to sit back and enjoy the ride!

Hina P. Ansari
Editor-In-Chief

Love to hear your feedback. Write to me at: [email protected]

_{PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDY LEE; HAIR AND MAKEUP BY BREE POWELL}

Hina P. Ansari

Author

Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...