cafebabel.com

God Save my Shoes: one French woman explains why

('Sophetta',) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:08:47 -0000

Women own at least five pairs of shoes according to the debut documentary by Franco-American director Julie Benasra, which celebrates women, sexuality, shopping and shoes. Any less means you’re not a real woman

'Green' weddings – a Strasbourg myth?

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:09:43 -0000

It's meant to be the best day of your life, but this is hardly the case for the environment - just take into account the mountains of waste produced. However, the American trend of 'green weddings', where importance is placed on organic and ecological products from clothes through to food and hairdos, has now reached Europe. Strasbourg-based Caroline Lindenlaub, an ethical wedding dress designer, is a pioneer of the movement

Recycle, reuse, design: eco-creativity in Rome

('Lucy Knight',) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:59:33 -0000

Between designers, actors, musicians, cartoonists and environmentalists pure and simple, a look at the hidden side of Rome, where creativity and art combine to save the environment

Fashion crisis: buying second hand clothes in Brussels

('Peter Robbins',) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:22:38 -0000

In November, French designer Lanvin releases its new collection for Swedish budget brand H&M – but the haute couture forces beyond once claimed they’d never go mass-market. The people of Brussels' flea markets advise on how citizens are dipping into alternative clothes-buying forums

Why a Norwegian fashion brand calls itself ‘Anti Sweden’

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:15:43 -0000

The rebellion is turning Swedish flags upside down and burning Swedish jeans, in a warped recognition of their elevated status in the fashion industry. Creative director Kjetil Wold, 37, co-founded the black jean collection in April 2009 with Kenneth Pedersen, 36 – making sure everyone on the Scandinavian continent knew they were there from the get-go. Interview

Natalie Weiss: German fashion blogger 'Schnati in Paris'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:00 -0000

'Schnati', 22, has been blogging on the biggest German fashion blog LesMad ('Les Mademoiselles') since 2008. In her own blog 'Schnati à Paris' she presents her own outfits, shares inspirations and reports from fashion events

Recap: 'Brigitte', Germany's approach to 'normal' models

('Ellie Banks',) — Sat, 15 May 2010 12:00:00 -0000

No-one wants to see big girls, according to fashion tsar Karl Lagerfeld, a vehement defender of the Size Zero Model. While all of Europe discusses the dress sizes of the fashion world, the German women’s magazine Brigitte has turned the whole question on its head with their new ‘Initiative Ohne Models’ (Initiative: No Models), where its the readers who get to try on the haute couture

WAMP: inside the monthly Hungarian design fair

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:15:00 -0000

Since 2006, the monthly design market has attracted hundreds of young local designers like 'Musu' who display their creations in front of an ever-growing crowd of visitors. But WAMP is not only a collective promotion of Hungarian design, it’s also a formidable economic catalyst, with its international design week too

Wanna go out in Athens? Try the Gazi neighbourhood

('Aatish Pattni',) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0000

You could almost call it a phenomenon that has worked its charm on the Athenians over the years. Some of the prostitutes in the area even parade around in the latest fashions, like it’s some kind of catwalk

Ties and tees: three innovative fashion initiatives from Ljubljana, Lille and Berlin

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:00 -0000

Between 20 - 22 January, the historic Berlin-Tempelhof airport compound served as the venue of Bread and Butter, the most prominent trade fair for urban and streetwear, for the second year in a row. We pick tie manufacturers, T-shirt street fashion and an eco-sports label as top of the crop

Dominika Nowak: 'I want to stay unusual, even if I've had to become more commercial'

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:27:38 -0000

The designer untames convention with her 'Nunc' shoes, insisting that her furry fabric fantasies are made to be adapted to daily life. We discuss Paris-Krakow, fashion uglies and what it's like to go it alone as a one-woman brand at 27

Trade of Nazi propaganda is booming in Poland

('Steven Lydon',) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Punishable in Germany, legal in Poland: SS badges, swastikas, t-shirts illustrated with extreme-right symbolism and far-right music are sold in border markets on the Oder and Neisse. Poland is the biggest producer of nazi propaganda in Europe. Although the marketing of political goals is forbidden, trade with Nazi devotees is not

Are you a hipster, a bobo or a bananowe dziecko?

('Diane Choi',) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0000

These slang terms have defined generations of a decadent middle-class youth, from the US to Poland via France and the UK, since the 1940s. Overview

Quality, not quantity during fashion week in Europe

('Rosh Mahtani',) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:45:00 -0000

From the old classics of Paris, Milan and London to the new modes in Stockholm, Madrid or Berlin: the 2009 autumn-winter fashion shows are streaming through Europe, despite the economic crisis and the criticism erupting around it

Fiat 500: inexpensive and successful despite the economic downturn

('Helen Swain',) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:00:00 -0000

The car industry is in crisis, but Fiat has responded well with the successful marketing of a new product. The 'Italian Dream' now costs less than 12, 000 euros pr £10, 609

Barack Obama inspires art and fashion in Paris and Barcelona

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:59:45 -0000

Whether it's his face in gravel viewed from the air, or his face in sequins viewed from the catwalk, Cuban artist Jorge Rodríguez Gerada and French Moroccan designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac are inspired by the democratic presidential candidate. Cross-portraits

Teen rock bands: the Tokio Hotel phenomenon

('Martyn Hawkins',) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Young, extremely successful - and extremely annoying for some. Why are teen bands like Estonia's 'The Bedwetters' and Denmark's 'Dúné' storming the charts across Europe?

Estelle Swaray: 'the singlest woman alive'

('Titus Aguigah',) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Why the British rapper, hip hop singer and producer, 28, swapped London, its boys and the UK music industry for Brooklyn's cabbies, leading to ‘an unexpected duet’ with American rapper Kanye West

'Sarkozy or YouTube 3.0?' in Bologna

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Better processors, improved data management possibilities integrated into consoles. Report from the 'Future Film Festival' in Italy

Hairy Portuguese women

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0000

The French and Spanish joke goes that Portuguese women have moustaches

Tecktonik - arm-splaying, mullet hair dance craze

('Annika Thornton',) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0000

TCK. Three letters that stand for a phenomenon: tecktonik. Similar in style to electro, it has been a sensation amongst teenagers in France, Belgium and Holland over the last six months - and is also a registered trademark

Guinea pigs in the spotlight!

('Andrew Burgess',) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Study reveals men not only prefer blonds but those with small brains

Baltic style

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 06:52:00 -0000

33 year-old Daiva Urbonaviciüté is a stylist in Vilnius. Her original brand, both stylish and comfortable, seems all set to infect the West.

Alternative lifestyles: 'I came to Amsterdam to live in a squat'

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:00:00 -0000

In the 1980s, a political movement of squatters changed the face of the Dutch capital. Today, young apolitical Eastern Europeans are joining the squatter movement