Diane von Furstenberg’s Favorite New Textile Artist Is Reinventing a Turkish Tradition

Desire Moheb-Zandi only started weaving a few years ago, but she’s been hooked on textiles since the moment she first set her hands on a loom. The Berlin-born, Brooklyn-based artist, who was raised in Turkey by her mother and grandmother, has always been surrounded by this type of handiwork—her grandmother knit everyday items like washcloths for Desire and her mother when Desire was growing up. “The idea of making a cloth is so traditional, but with the materials, it became more about experimentation and material research,” she says. “I’m kind of rough with the loom,” she says, explaining that a professional weaver would never put the materials she does through the age-old process. Moheb-Zandi crafts tapestries that combine unconventional, upcycled fabrics like rubber or shiny plastic vinyl with more loom-appropriate materials like natural wool.

Moheb-Zandi’s tapestries have been included in various feminist group shows in New York, including the upcoming Indira Cesarine–curated exhibition at Untitled Space titled “One Year of Resistance.” Her work is also on display at Diane von Furstenberg’s Soho storefront. In conjunction with New York Textile Month, Moheb-Zandi crafted two original tapestries for the brand’s DVF Studios campaign (which hang alongside a third one that she had already created). Moheb-Zandi has incorporated some of the brand’s iconic prints into these new works. She was particularly drawn to DVF’s Elsden print due to its half hand-drawn, half digitally manipulated composition. “I went to their fabric store, which is in Midtown, with their patternmakers and ateliers, and I picked a few fabrics, some sequins, some more different things, and then I manipulated them. I wrapped some around a sponge that I wove into the loom.”

Moheb-Zandi’s colorful, highly textured pieces, which will be up in Diane von Furstenberg’s Soho store until the end of the year, are a perfect encapsulation of her experimental approach to a traditionally feminine medium. “The things that I weave are almost like violence against the loom. I’m kind of rough with it. Sometimes I’m very poetic and I like to do more details and sometimes it’s just a raw piece sticking in there.” Catch Moheb-Zandi’s wonderfully raw yet refined works of art at DVF while you still can.

Meghan Markle’s Stealth Shopping Style Is All the Black Friday Inspo You Need

Meghan Markle might not officially be a member of the British royal family just yet, but she already has stealth off-duty princess style down pat. Yesterday the American actress was seen shopping in London dressed in a look that would be perfect for a Black Friday outing across the pond. Markle is used to combating chilly temps with puffers and parkas in Toronto where she’s been filming the USA series Suits, and her most recent outfit was a study in winter layering.

To contrast her all-black ensemble, Markle topped things off with an elephant gray flight jacket. Her Smythe ruffle trim knit was an elegant twist on the standard cozy cardigan and was a nice match for her tailored Mother jeans. As for accessories, Markle opted for Stuart Weitzman’s round-toe shoes, footwear that easily toed the line between chic and cozy.

Make Friends With Ami: The Cool French Guy Label Launches a French Girl Capsule

Often during the Paris womenswear shows, I encourage female editors, especially those who stay in the Renaissance, just opposite the shop on Rue d’Alger, to strike up an acquaintance with Ami. Yes, it’s an all-menswear label, so a good place to pick up a present before heading home. But also . . . it looks amazing on women, too.

Since launching in 2011, Alexandre Mattiussi’s Ami has become a firm favorite on the Paris menswear schedule plus built an impressive but un-shouty retail, e-tail, and wholesale business to boot. The 37-year-old alum of Givenchy, Dior, and Marc Jacobs specializes in totally unpretentious pieces—from suiting to sportswear, usually all seamlessly mixed up—that are lent a dash of elevated extra-specialness via thoughtfully unconventional beaux gestes in cut and fabrication. It’s not rocket science: It’s just great French guy menswear.

For several years now, Mattiussi has featured women on his menswear runway—Caroline de Maigret was the first—wearing sized-down versions of his masculine collection pieces. He reckons 1 in 4 of his customers are female—many of them, of course, buying for men. And a few years ago the Paris department Le Bon Marché began semi-surreptitiously stocking smaller size Ami pieces on its womenswear floor.

At last Mattiussi has taken the hint. Today sees the launch of Ami’s first-ever dedicatedly feminine offering, a tightly curated capsule collection created exclusively with 24Sevres.com, the LVMH-backed digital arm of Le Bon Marché. For this Ami habitué, the star pieces are the wool charcoal suit jacket and matching pants, cut specifically for women at last, as well pretty much all the outerwear.

Speaking over the phone from Paris, where he is preparing to show the label’s first pre-collection in Milan soonish, Mattiussi said: “I’m not making a full womenswear collection—not yet, anyway. But there are a lot of women who work in the studio who love to wear Ami and the number of female customers is increasing, too, especially thanks to the trend for oversize. Le Bon Marché has been stocking our smaller sizes in the department for a while now, so when they started 24Sevres.com and said do you want to do a real womenswear capsule, I thought, Why not?”

According to Mattiussi, he asked those Ami-wearing women in his studio which pieces they would love most to see translated to a gender-specific cut and went from there. He was also sure to export a white-on-red polka-dot shirt that featured in last June’s menswear show because, “I’ve noticed so many girls here are wearing polka dots as they hang out drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes on the terrace.”

As I’ve urged so many others, why not try making friends with Ami? My hunch is that you’ll end up loving it.

How to Wear Head-to-Toe Plaid in Style

Plaid has been a tried-and-true print for a while now, as in, for centuries. In fact, checked fabric can be been traced back almost 3,000 years. But despite its rich historical traditions, plaid has been a favorite of experimental dressers ever since Cher Horowitz of Clueless proved the look could have leg-baring edge. Take Gigi Hadid, who last week stepped out in a saccharine plaid look from Jeremy Scott’s Fall 2017 collection, or Emily Ratajkowski, who wore a matching citrusy retro crop top and high-waisted trouser set a month ago.

Lately, plaid has been picking up speed on the runways too. For Fall 2017, Tommy Hilfiger rendered it into long, grungy mohair coats and slinky slip dresses with punk appeal. That same season, even Burberry—whose heritage check is so distinctive that it’s trademarked—had fun with the theme: Christopher Bailey made the print into head-turning trenches and kicky jackets. And at his most recent London show for Spring 2018, Christopher Kane whipped up a pared-back plaid pleated skirt and charming coat with an embellished collar for classic schoolgirl flair. The takeaway? This age-old look has a new lease on life—so don’t be afraid to step out in it head-to-toe.

Only Bella Hadid Could Make A Preppy Style Signature Look This Cool

Bella Hadid is hardly what you’d call a preppie. Quite the contrary, the supermodel is known for championing edgy street style and oozes dark glamour on the red carpet. But when she does work a geek-chic piece, she does it in a way that looks surprisingly cool, and at times, even hot. See the denim biker shorts she wore earlier this summer or the chain-link wallet she strapped onto a pair of khakis at Couture Fashion Week, an accessory that managed to look punk even when worn with a sweet little cardigan draped over her shoulders. Hadid test-drove a similar knit look today when she stepped out in New York, only on this occasion she swapped her slacks for jean shorts cut up to there.

 The marigold hue of her sweater coordinated nicely with the side stripes decorating her Off White daisy dukes. The shorts, too, featured an unexpected drawstring waist, which when coupled with a body-skimming white tank (a longtime supermodel signature that’s popular thanks, in part, to Hadid herself), had a particularly figure-flattering effect. Hadid had a fanny pack slung around one shoulder, extra proof that she can school us in how to rework more than one preppy piece at a time.

Tyler, the Creator Is the King of Weird and Wonderful Sneaker Selfies

The cover of Tyler, the Creator’s new album, Flower Boy, depicts Tyler, his face obscured by a bumblebee the size of his head, in a field of sunflowers. The sky, a burnt orange and deep red, holds space for fluffy clouds and other whizzing bees. Bumblebees, which Tyler is clearly interested in as of late, are attracted to shades of purple, blue, and yellow, and judging by the color palette of Tyler’s new One Star x Golf le Fleur collection with Converse, Tyler seems to share an affinity for these shades. The collection, which features some updates on the shoe’s classic design—Tyler outlined the iconic star with a flower stitch and there’s a little bumblebee logo on the back, which Tyler drew himself, among other neat updates—is all suede pastels: There’s a dusty pink, a baby blue, a sulphurous yellow, and a faded lilac.

While Tyler seems to be reaching new heights with his sneaker game, he’s always been drawn to comfortable skate shoes in loud patterns and colors. And as his extensive archive of sneaker shots on Instagram demonstrates, he’ll bend and contort his body in various ways so that his shoes always make a dramatic appearance. His Odd Future collaborations with Vans ranged from neon-bright donut-patterned high-tops to less garish yet similarly bold “Old Skool” skate shoes, but he’s also been known to finish off his own pairs with some hand-drawn doodles. He also sported some pretty adorable kicks in a recent throwback selfie, which seems to be a portrait from 1999. So to celebrate the new chapter of his footwear empire, take a look at some of his most memorable recent shoe moments below.

The Obamas Show How to Do a Family Vacation in Style

Summer vacations aren’t always a showcase for style. When given the chance to dress down and let loose, some people pull out the cargo pants, but the Obamas have always handled their casual moments with grace. Jetting off to Bali this week for a well-deserved holiday, the family provided a crash course in how to look great while sightseeing.

As Barack, Michelle, Malia, and Sasha took in Indonesian attractions like Tampaksiring Village and the Jatiluwih rice terraces, there were plenty of opportunities to shine. Sticking to his tried-and-true wardrobe of normcore essentials, the former president packed dad jeans and polo shirts aplenty, all of which paired perfectly with wife Michelle’s sportswear: in a breezy white vest layered over black leggings for the couple’s trip to Tirtha Empul Temple, the former first lady made athleisure look glamorous.

Not to be outdone by their well-dressed parents, Sasha and Malia added to the fun with casual looks of their own: Malia stood out with the navy patterned shirtdress she wore to tour Borobudur Temple in Java, while the sisters matched mom with yellow patterned sarongs during their trip to the temple. Looking coordinated, polished, and genuinely happy, the Obamas projected exactly the kind of poise you’d expect from a first family.

How the Deliveroo jacket became a streetwear must-have

Fashion has a new cult item: the Deliveroo jacket, which streetwear fans are buying up on vintage resale sites and wearing to raves. Hyper-reflective and water resistant, the green-and-grey blouson could be straight from the wardrobe of The Sopranos’ Paulie Gualtieri. Compared with – say – a classic Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking tuxedo, it might not seem like an obvious fashion choice. In fact, it’s bang on trend; clothes emblazoned with mundane logos are where it’s at right now. Here are three other style takeaways being served with a side order of irony.

DHL T-shirts

Warholian statement about late capitalism and globalisation? Daft gag that played well on social media? Simple case of the emperor’s new clothes? Whichever, Vetements’ DHL-logo T-shirt was the undisputed fashion “it” item of 2016. Its £185 designer incarnation was a sellout; the rest of us scoured eBay for the real deal for less.

Ikea bags

Forget your Billy bookcase and your Småtrevlig tealights: it’s all about Frakta, the big blue bag that has inspired a remarkably similar $2,150 (£1,660) Balenciaga shopper. Meanwhile, on Instagram, gargantuan Ikea sacks (40p) are being hoicked around by street-style stars and have even been repurposed into bondage gear and bumbags.

Royal Mail

In December, Skepta performed on Top of the Pops dressed in a postman’s hi-vis jacket; last summer, Off-White – the label produced by Kanye West contributor Virgil Abloh – created a shirt with the Royal Mail crest. To try the trend, take inspiration from online streetwear show PAQ, which recently dedicated an episode to begging, bribing and cajoling couriers and posties into parting with their uniforms. Or you can still buy the Off-White version: signed, sealed and delivered for a mere $349.

Alexis Bledel Steps Back into the Spotlight With a Fresh Twist on the Classic LBD

What do you wear when it’s time to step back into the spotlight? For Alexis Bledel, it was all about a fresh twist on a classic. Heading out last night for the Hollywood premiere of Hulu’s new adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Bledel chose an embellished take on the LBD. From afar, Bledel’s Cushnie et Ochs piece might have looked like another of the minimalist halter dresses that have become prevalent on the red carpet, but closer inspection revealed that it was anything but basic. Covered in thousands of tiny, colorful glass beads, the piece provided Bledel with plenty of sparkle—and a memorable ensemble for her first big event post-Gilmore Girls revival.

Bledel’s look, created with the help of her stylist Kemal Harris, was finished off with bright yellow Schultz heels and a pastel blue Lili Radu clutch, both of which nicely set off the colors of the beads. The high-sheen texture created the illusion of static patterns every time the flashbulbs went off—proving that sometimes even the most reliable wardrobe staples can cause a sensation.

DJ Khaled’s Newborn’s Accessories Collection Is Worth More Than Your Rent

North West and Blue Ivy may be the world’s most famously stylish tots, but another fashionable little one is giving them some stiff competition: Meet DJ Khaled’s cherubic son, Asahd. Here are some crucial facts about the youngster: He’s still technically a baby at 4 months old. He has his own Instagram account @ashahdkhaled. He’s been to the Grammy Awards. His middle name is Tuck. He’s credited as the executive producer on his father’s upcoming album, Grateful. And he also boasts quite the amazing accessories collection. Just today, Asahd was shown on his Instagram beaming—sans baby teeth—while reclining in the ultimate stroller, specifically a Fendi Monster Inglesina stroller priced out at $1,760. Call it a literal “sitting in the lap of luxury” moment.

This isn’t the first time that Asahd has showed off his next-level toys and designer fashion sense on Instagram. He has a pint-size Mercedes convertible and a Rolls-Royce with a customized license plate that reads “Asahd.” He also boasts a stellar set of blankies, including a cashmere Gucci monogram one and another with the Hermès logo—and sometimes he even snoozes in them while wearing a Lilliputian Gucci knit sweater. But Asahd knows how to keep it high-low, too: He’s been known to sip from his bottle while wearing a casual pair of Babiator sunglasses. It’s quite a look for the youngster, but he pulls it off, straight out of the womb. Keep going, Asahd, or as DJ Khaled would say: “Bless up.”

Kendall Jenner Goes for the Gold in the Season’s Most Sensual Fabric

London Fashion Week might have just kicked off but there are already lots of surprises in the front row (Katy Perry!) and on the street. Earlier tonight, en route to the Love magazine and Burberry party, the evening’s other cohost, Kendall Jenner, shimmied in wearing what is quickly becoming the runway star’s signature palette, a bold metallic. But instead of the puffer or shearling styles in gold, Jenner amped up the sensuality in A.L.C.’s velvet robe-silhouette wrap coat dress.

Jenner has been toying around with boyish separates lately, including fringed jackets, modern spins on classic Americana dressing, and even track pants, but she unleashed her girly side earlier tonight. The mini-frock took its cues from disco-era dressing with a louche self-tie belt. Gold hoop earrings and a medallion necklace ratcheted up the ’90s throwback vibes while over-the-knee boots grounded the look with dance-floor-friendly soles.

Girl Meets World Series Finale: How Did It All End for Riley and Maya?

The show may be over (for now), but Riley and Maya will be friends forever.

Girl Meets World's series finale was filled with nostalgic nods to Boy Meets World—including nearly its entire cast and actual clips of the series finale—but there was also no shortage of the friendships and humor that we're deeply going to miss if the show doesn't find a new home.

We never really thought Topanga (Danielle Fishel) would force her family to move to London when they so clearly did not want to, but apparently the decision was so hard for her that she had to bring in her husband's entire family and two of their high school teachers (with not a single member of her own family in sight) to help. Everyone pretty much told her to follow her heart, so they really weren't very helpful.

It was, however, great fun to see everybody. Eric (Will Friedle) and Mr. Feeney (William Daniels) still appear to be feuding, and Mr. Turner (Anthony Tyler Quinn) regrets not having adopted Shawn (before Mr. Turner had that horrible motorcycle accident and disappeared forever). Both of the Morgans (Lindsay Ridgeway and Lily Nicksay) showed up as Morgan, with one even tagging the other out and taking over for her in a scene, leaving Auggie (August Maturo) to wonder if he was also going to be replaced.

Shawn (Rider Strong) also announced that he was going to legally adopt Maya (Sabrina Carpenter), meaning she now has a father, and we're not crying, you are!

Meanwhile, the kids prepared to say goodbye to Riley (Rowan Blanchard). It was a goodbye we knew they probably wouldn't actually have to say, but it was sweet to watch them express their love for each other anyway. Cory even got in on the fun with yet another lesson that directly compared to whatever was going on in his daughter's life, no doubt annoying the other kids in the class one last time.

Of course, Topanga decided not to take the job and uproot her family, and it all had something to do with how she always wished she had a bay window, and the cafe was now her bay window, meaning all the goodbyes were really just a way for the characters to say goodbye to us instead of each other.

So life will go on for Riley, Maya, and the rest of the crew, and hopefully we'll get to watch it happen if another network or streaming service finds a way to pick up the show. Hopefully this ending was just a new beginning.