Did you know that creating a green dye for clothing used to be virtually impossible centuries ago - and that at one point in history, there was a version of the color's dye that was so toxic that it caused skin blistering, vomiting, and death? We're referring to Paris green, to be exact. And…
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Fashion journalist Teri Agins In today’s installment of our “Who Is….?” series, we’re going to have a look at the life and career of fashion journalist Teri Agins, someone for whom the industry has amassed a wealth of respect for her hard-hitting journalistic pieces over the years. Teri Agins was born on November 14,…
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Eleanor Lambert; photo c/o Time Magazine For the next entry in our “Who Is….?” series, we’re going to take the opportunity to celebrate the institution of fashion week. Specifically, New York Fashion Week. We’re going to discuss the woman that made it all possible, and by all, we mean the infrastructure of the modern-day…
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Wanamaker's; photo c/o Smithsonian Magazine The second installment of our “What Was….?” series is the former Philadelphia retail giant Wanamaker’s. Wanamaker’s was opened in April 1876 by Philadelphia businessman John Wanamaker as an American response to European markets like France’s Les Halles and England’s Royal Exchange. The building chosen was a former Pennsylvania Railroad…
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Supermodel Gia Carangi; photo credit: Stan Malinowski Our next fashion figure in Manic Metallic’s Tuesday “Who Is….?” series is former supermodel Gia Carangi. Gia was born on January 29, 1960 in Philadelphia to restaurant owner Joseph Carangi and homemaker Kathleen Carangi. Though her parents’ relationship eventually turned violent, Gia’s home life remained intact until…
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Multiple Coty Award-winner Norman Norell and models, S/S 1949 collection; photo credit: Indiana State Library The first installment of our “What Was….?” series begins today with the Coty Awards. The Coty Awards, short for the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Awards, were created in 1942 by Coty, a cosmetics and fragrance company that is still…
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Elsa Klensch on CNN's Style with Elsa Klensch; c/o Pinterest The first installment of our “Who Is….?” series kicks off today with fashion journalist and television host Elsa Klensch. Elsa Klensch was born on February 21, 1933 in Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia to parents Hans Aeschbacher and Mary Margaret Aeschbacher. Having originally wanted…
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"Ravishing: The Rose In Fashion"; © Manic Metallic 2021 “Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? …O, be some other name! What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By Any Other Name would smell as sweet" Romeo and Juliet, Act-II, Scene-II,…
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Jewish Purim costumes; photo c/o Rebekah Lowin Chag Purim Sameach! The above saying is the proper greeting for those celebrating Purim. It means "Happy Purim" in Hebrew. Purim - the Jewish holiday - is occurring as we speak, so we wanted to give our audience an idea of both what it is and what…
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Chinese New Year lanterns; photo c/o National Geographic The Lunar New Year is fast approaching, with Lunar New Year’s Eve being tomorrow (February 11) and the Lunar New Year itself falling on Friday, February 12.Let’s have a look at what the Lunar New Year is, and what fashion is associated with it. What is…
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