Summer Glow

Photo credit: Nessa Khalifardi

To all my beautiful readers, I know some of you are crazy about makeup, and yes.. Now, I'm in that zone too!!

Recently I discovered that having a makeup on is a fun thing, yet you know all I did was only add some eyeliner and lipstick, that's it! 

Now, I have the guts to add some eye shadows, foundations, bronzer, etc.

I used to dislike my brown skin and craving to have brighter skin, but now I embrace my own skin and adding some bronzer too. 

It has that rich exotic vibe in my opinion.

If you want to have my glowing summer look, you can try:

1. Clinique moisturizing gel

2. Kiehl's line-reducing eye-brightening concentrate

3. Concealer by H&M in White Sand number 12

4. Revlon PhotoReady fond de teint number 005

5. Maybelline Fit me! blush in Deep Mauve 

6. MAC eye shadow in Engaging 

7. Revlon ColorStay eyeliner in Black

8. Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes waterproof mascara

9. MAC eye shadow in Carbon for my eyebrows 

10. Bronzing Powder by H&M

11. Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro number 202

xx,

DU

Faux Love

My favorite part is dressing up, and glamor is the look that I'm crazy about.

I collect faux fur jacket, vest, and tops in different kind of dark shades, and yes I know that I cannot wear it everyday in Jakarta.

Playing dress up or dressing up for a party has been my ultimate chance to wear it, I like to mix it with bold statement accessories or long black nails for examples. Have fun is the whole idea, that is why I love styling:)

If you want to have my virgin glam look, you can try:

1. Clinique moisturizing gel

2. Kiehl's line-reducing eye-brightening concentrate

3. Rimmel Match Perfection in Light 245

4. MaxFactor Ageless Elixer 2in1 Foundation + Serum in Natural 50

5. Maybelline Fit Me! blush in Deep Mauve

6. MAC eye shadow in Engaging

7. Cosmos eyeliner in Smokey Eyes

8. Giorgio Armani mascara in Eyes To Kill

9. MAC eye shadows in Carbon for my eyebrows

10. Bronzing Powder by H&M

11. Revlon Matte lipstick in Mauve It Over number 003

12. Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro number 202 

xx,

DU

Conscious Life

 Some of H&M Conscious collection, made from conscious materials : Organic cotton, Recycled polyester, Recycled polyamide, Recycled plastic, Organic linen, Recycled cotton, Recycled wool, TENCEL ®, Organic hemp, Organic Jute.

"There is no way for us not to think about and invest in our sustainability, because it simply makes business sense." Says H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson.

That simple statement was inspiring me in between our group discussion with Karl-Johan Persson himself, and some fellow journalists. I never knew that H&M has a very big dream to make the world 'better', literally.

H&M Conscious is the name for all H&M’s work for a more sustainable fashion future. H&M like to think of sustainability as a word of action, something they do rather than something they simply say. It is an ongoing process with a clear direction to be continuously improved. It is a journey that requires determination, passion and teamwork.

In their opinion it is all about the magic 3 Ps, which are PEOPLE, PLANET, and PROFIT.  Three of them are highly interconnected, and equally important. As we know, the earth is facing scarcity issues on many fronts. Clean water, energy and cotton, to name a few. H&M sees those problem, and their vision is that all of H&M operations should be run in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. 

Turning this vision into a reality helps H&M do great business using fewer resources. It also allows them to contribute to better lives for people and communities around the world. Yet, H&M always goes beyond that. They want to make more sustainable choices in fashion available, affordable and attractive to as many people as possible. 

Together with millions of H&M customers, they can bring massive change – from improving the livelihood of a cotton farmer to how their customers care for the clothes they buy.
H&M want their colleagues to be proud of where they work. H&M want their customers to feel reassured about the fashion they buy and that we have exceeded their expectations. H&M want to take on the challenge of making fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable. 

That is why they have created H&M Conscious. With seven ambitious strategic commitments at its heart: 

1. Provide fashion for conscious customers
2. Choose and reward responsible partners
3. Be ethical
4. Be climate smart
5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
6. Use natural resources responsibly
7. Strengthen communities 

H&M Conscious collection

Are you conscious enough???

H&M Design Award 2013

Award-Winning collection from Minju Kim for H&M

Another excitement from H&M is the H&M Design Award 2013. Finalists came from design schools in Europe, and they brought fresh ideas with their personal twist. The winner will receive a prize of €50,000, the chance to show his or her collection at Mercedes-Benz Stockholm Fashion Week, and develop selected pieces from his or her collection to be sold in selected H&M stores this autumn.
 
List of this year grand jury:
- Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Head of Design
- Fashion designer Jonathan Saunders
- Editor-at-large of style.com Tim Blanks
- Photographer Sølve Sundsbø
- Stylist Leith Clark
- Blogger and photographer Hanneli Mustaparta
- Fashion journalist Kristopher Arden Houser
- H&M’s Creative Advisor Margareta van den Bosch.

Minju Kim is the winner of the H&M Design Award 2013. Minju is a 27 year-old graduate from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and was selected by a jury of international fashion experts for her collection which transformed characters into outfits. 

Minju Kim

“Creating this collection with H&M has been an amazing experience. My designs are about turning characters into outfits, and it’s exciting to think that these characters will soon be worn by people around the world. Winning the H&M Design Award has given me a unique insight into the global fashion industry,” says Minju Kim.
 
Minju’s pieces for H&M bring the dream world of Manga to life with unique cuts and clever fabric combinations. A collarless coat in vivid yellow, a short jacket in two contrasting jacquards or a cape made of black wool creates a sweet rounded silhouette. The textured heavy knit links the sleeves to the body with cartoonish curves, while a neoprene-fronted sweatshirt is printed with Manga-inspired images drawn by Minju herself. A paneled mini-dress mixes matt with shine, while jacquard trousers keep their structured shape. To complete the look there’s a black and white wedge platform lace-up and a characterful turquoise leather collar.
 
“I’m so happy that pieces from Minju Kim’s winning collection from the H&M Design Award 2013 will soon be available. Minju has such a unique design signature, one that combines playfulness, fantasy and optimism with great creativity and technical skill. These pieces by Minju Kim show H&M’s commitment to the future of design and to helping move fashion forward,” says Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Creative Head of Design.
 

 Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M’s Creative Head of Design

As part of her overall prize, nine women’s pieces and two accessories have been developed with the H&M design team. The collection will be available from October 17 at selected H&M stores in Sweden, Denmark, the US, UK, Japan, South Korea, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany as well as online. It will also be available at Opening Ceremony in New York, Los Angeles and London, the first time an H&M collection will be sold at Opening Ceremony stores.

My New Favorite Store

The ribbon cutting ceremony at the first H&M store at Gandaria City

H&M finally here!

October 5th was their first opening at Gandaria City, people literally went crazy over this Stockholm based fashion brand.

From basic to show collection, H&M cater fashion collection for all ages. Men, Women, to children, they can spend their money wisely on its two floor gigantic store.

From my previous trip to Stockholm with fellows journalists from Kompas, Seputar Indonesia, Jakarta Post, and Fimela, we had a chance to talk with H&M CEO, Karl-Johan Persson. It was a very interesting discussion, here are some of our questions:

CEO of H&M, Karl-Johan Persson

Can you tell us the first time you involve with H&M?
Karl-Johan Persson (KJP): I grew up with H&M, a lot of talk about H&M around the breakfast day. My father and I always really curious about H&M. So I asked him a lot of questions during weekends, summer and holidays. 
I worked at the store, also I worked in logistic as well. So, I tried out a lot of different things. 
Back in 1999, I worked in production and went to India, to Bangladesh, Hong Kong and China. Work at marketing and buying office in short period of time, that is why I have tried lots of different things.

Why Indonesia and why now? 
KJP: Indonesia is a fantastic market , a huge market, with two hundred and forty million people approximately living there and the fashion interest is enormous, this is what we see. That’s a great opportunity and a great next  step for H&M. 
I hope there’s a good match between what we offer in terms of fashion, quality and good price, which is what Indonesian customers want.

So what’s your strategy in Indonesia? 
KJP: Well the strategy is roughly the same in all markets, and we have the same business idea in Indonesia.
We offer wide range of fashion from ladies-wear, mens-wear, kids-wear, to very young customers. Lots of different styles with good quality products. We work on sustainability in the same way as we do it in all our market.
It’s a global thing with great prices, would be in Indonesia as well. That’s the main strategy, together with H&M culture and we employ people that fit our way of working.

 H&M Ladies Collection

H&M Men Collection

  H&M Kids Collection

H&M store is increasing rapidly,what is your future dream?
KJP: We have the yearly expansion growth which is 10 to 15% every year, depending on the  supplier and great locations. But, the most important thing from me and the company is to improve the existing business. 

We always want to give back to the customers, that is why we try to maintain the efficiency in business, give customers better quality products, better prices, more fashion, nicest store environment, even more efforts and sustainability. These are what we want our customers to get. 

Those are my dreams, and we try to improve everything every single day, and hopefully one day lots of people will have the opportunity to get that great H&M. 

I think one of the most exciting feeling is opening store in new market, seeing the excitement, people lining up, but not only the opening effect. Seeing  people lining up and really happy about the products, walking around H&M, I think that’s the great feeling. 

Cool Collaboration

Anna Dello Russo x H&M

I think lots of you familiar with the collaboration projects between H&M and high end designers, well H&M has done it every year since 2004. "Excited" probably the right word to explain how those projects could lead to a chaotic retail therapy. 

"High-fashion design doesn’t have to be a matter of price," well that is the aim of these amazing collaborations, and let me do the data:

Karl Lagerfeld x H&M

-2004: Karl Lagerfeld
-2005: Stella McCartney, Elio Fiorucci, Solange Azagury-Partridge

 Viktor & Rolf x H&M

-2006: Viktor & Rolf
-2007: Roberto Cavalli

Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons x H&M

-2008: Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons
-2009: Matthew Williamson, Jimmy Choo, Sonia Rykiel

 Lanvin x H&M

-2010: Sonia Rykiel, Lanvin

 Versace x H&M

-2011: Versace

Marni x H&M

Maison Martin Margiela x H&M

-2012: Versace, Marni, Maison Martin Margiela

 

Isabel Marant x H&M

-2013: Isabel Marant

Not only with high end designers, H&M also has the 'Style Icon Collaboration.'

Starts from 2006, Madonna was the first style icon for H&M, and then Kylie Minogue in 2007, David Beckham in 2012, Anna Dello Russo in 2013, and Beyonce in 2013.

 

 Anna Dello Russo x H&M

 

 Beyonce x H&M

 

Hello H&M

Just like a dream I could visit the H&M HQ, and it was a breathtaking experience

The famous 'White Room' a place to get inspiration and choosing the right colors for H&M next collection

One of the staff was looking for the right color samples

Culture books = the major inspiration for H&M design ideas.

 Some color samples

Color samples and then translate into fabrics, amazing process for ideal result

Petra Lundgren, H&M Color Creative Responsible

Hi to all my readers...
It's been a while since my last post, but it's all worth it since I have a very interesting story about one of my favorite brand.
My wish come true, and finally H&M invited me to visit their HQ in Stockholm, Sweden.
You can imagine, as if I was a kid in a candy store, I amazed, that's all.

It was a three days trip that I won't forget, Absolutely breathtaking... Not just because I met the sweetest people in retail business, yet I had a chance to actually looked around their HQ and their 'white room' (you can see from my pictures).

I've been religiously shopping at H&M since ... God knows when, and not just because of the affordable price reason, they also have trendy clothes in a very good quality. From my previous trip, they showed me about the process and why they really take it seriously in terms of quality and what people needs in fashion.

If you see fashion week street style or blogs all around the world, you can see that people actually wear collections from H&M. What makes me more crazy about it, is that H&M has lots of collaboration collection with high end designer, Isabel Marant for H&M is in my mind right now!!

Thanks God, I don't have to wait for another holiday trip to Europe or else, because H&M is finally OPEN its first store in Gandaria City, Jakarta, OCTOBER 5th, and its second store in Pondok Indah Mall 1, October 9th. mark your calendar girls!!!

What makes it more special is that IF... I repeat IF you are the FIRST person in line and queuing at the store opening, you will receive H&M voucher worth 1 million rupiah, and if you are the second person in line until the 20th, you will receive 350 thousand rupiah, and for the 21st to 250th person in line you will get an easy 250 thousand rupiah. So.... happy queuing girls and hopefully I can catch you there.