Transgender Project Runway finalist Andy South debuts identity as a …
June 27, 2012 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
Comments Off
By
Victoria Wellman
08:57 EST, 26 June 2012
|
13:16 EST, 26 June 2012
Project Runway favourite Andy South who made it to the finale of Season 8 of the hit show, is now living as a woman.
The Waianae, Hawaii native who was 23 at the time of appearing on the fashion reality show in 2010, has changed his Facebook page profile to ‘female’ and has added his new name in parenthesis.
Now 25 and returning to his cultural roots with a new moniker, Nong Ariyaphon Southiphong, that incorporates his family’s last name, the talented designer has already posted plenty of photographs of his striking new look.
Transformation: Andy South (left) was an openly gay fashion designer when he appeared on Project Runway’s eighth season in 2010 and is now living as a woman named Nong Ariyaphon Southiphong (right)
Though details as to the extent of any surgery is unknown, Nong very definitely looks every inch a woman.
Long, dark hair cascades down her narrow back, and once delicate male features lend themselves well to her newly accentuated femininity.
Known for avoiding the behind-the-scenes drama while competing in the television show and always remaining soft-spoken and polite, Nong’s gender transformation seems to have taken place with her trademark modesty.
Photographs of the slender-framed and statuesque designer as a woman appear to have been posted as early as March on her Facebook page with no great announcement.
Transition: A thin Andy South poses with a friend in what could be the midst of his transformation into a woman
Cocktails with the ladies: Nong (third from left) has been a woman for quite a few months already choosing not to make a big show of her transformation on Facebook
But in an interview in February with Hawaii’s Expression Magazine, Nong had already made her debut into the world.
‘People who are close to me know who I am and I have continued to receive support, especially from my mom who is still by my side every step of the way,’ she told the magazine of her transformation, adding: ‘She is my role model and I learned everything I know by observing her strength as a woman.’
Glamour queen: The Project Runway star has taken on his family’s name Southiphong for his new moniker
On Facebook, a subtle acknowledgement was made on June 10 according to Radar Online in which she stated: ‘Much has changed in a year. And much has not. Love my cousin and sister. A year of intense growth shared.’
Nong has seemingly taken any pointing and whispering calmly in her stride. At the March launch of her Andy South collection for Neiman Marcus in Honolulu, she told Expression: ‘There was girl who turned to her boyfriend and said, “that’s a guy”.
And the verdict is…: Andy South and his models await the judges’ comments on Project Runway in the weeks leading up to the finale
‘It didn’t bother me too much, these are real situations and I accept that it’s a part of my transition. Besides, I saw her boyfriend looking at my butt.’
Nong has also posted a grateful message to her supporters along the way.
On June 3 she allegedly wrote: ‘Thank you to my fans and friends who have supported me all the way. To my family for seeing me for me and for all the love I am surrounded with.
‘I am blessed to be so accepted and welcomed just the way I am. May that love flow through me and onto many others. Live in love for the world needs it.’
-
TSA agent opens jar of man’s ashes, spills them on the…
-
Devastated Rielle Hunter reveals she has SPLIT from John…
-
RICHARD KAY: How Kate’s curtsies hurt royal reform
-
Woman, 24, ‘seduced boy, 15, in tanning room as his mom…
-
Army wives strip off to show their support: Awareness…
-
Woman, 25, snaps her spinal cord and is left paralysed after…
-
‘He was found with blood and fur all over him’: US man on…
-
‘Rotting food, urine, and feces’: Boy, 2, found locked in…
-
California couple jailed in Ghana and their biological…
-
Hilarious moment dock collapses during wedding photo…
-
How U.S. Army spent $5BILLION on ‘failed’ pixel…
-
‘Casey Anthony wasn’t guilty because she was mentally ill’:…
Share this article:
Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
Still looks like a bloke…
Report abuse
Eeeeeew gross. Enough already.
Report abuse
Live your life as you see fit. Great to see she has the strength!!!
Report abuse
Hes posing with other Project Runway Contestants. Bravo to Him!!
Report abuse
He actually looks really good as both a man or a woman.
Report abuse
Good luck to Nong, I am sure this was difficult. She has some beautiful designs.
Report abuse
I guess he “made it work”, although I thought he had finer features as a man.
Report abuse
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Share and Enjoy
Small luxury firms make modest way to global market
June 27, 2012 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
Comments Off
PARIS |
PARIS (Reuters) – Poupie Cadolle’s family has been making handmade lingerie in a workshop on Rue Saint Honore for five generations, with Qatari royals, American actresses and Swiss bankers’ wives all crossing her doorstep in search of the perfect bra or corset.
Now, with times tough and sales to French and American women sluggish, Cadolle, like many small French luxury firms, finds itself struggling to tap into a $191 billion global boom driven by customers from emerging markets.
“The last four months have been difficult,” said Poupie Cadolle, a small woman with a warm smile who spends her days fitting 5,000 euro bustiers and 600 euro bras.
“We thought hard about how to get clients, beyond word of mouth. It is not easy. We decided on going into Brazil, not China.”
Unable to wield the financial firepower of conglomerates such as LVMH (LVMH.PA), Richemont, or PPR (PRTP.PA), small family-owned enterprises are finding modest and innovative ways to attract new customers.
Some, like Cadolle, are choosing one country over another and relying on invitation-only trunk shows and other private events.
Others are opening stores in Hong Kong but not Shanghai, while for a few the focus is on still rich markets in Japan and the United States.
All are choosing carefully. The internet is not seen as a route to market – few small luxury companies feel comfortable selling goods online given the luxury experience is one where items need to be handled to judge the quality and design.
“China is definitely the big prize and, by and large, the customer there only wants big, recognizable brands,” said Pierre Mallevays, a managing partner at Savigny Partners, a corporate finance boutique specialising in luxury and retail.
“You cannot have a China-only market. For your brand to be credible, the travelling Chinese will expect to see your stores in Paris, Milan or New York.”
That kind of reach is difficult for smaller brands unable to afford a presence in several European cities and major Chinese cities where real estate prices are high, salespeople increasingly scarce and the best distributors already engaged.
LVMH and other luxury giants, meanwhile, are tapping into the Chinese market by scaling back in department stores and, instead, opening giant flagship stores in large and mid-size cities across the country.
Smaller European brands hope Chinese customers, as well as the newly rich from Russia and central Asia, see the appeal of a tasteful shop in Paris with an elite clientele in the French tradition of discretion and craftsmanship.
Many are bringing design inhouse, eliminating suppliers and ensuring clients know everything is handmade by French artisans.
“BIG, BIG, BIG”
This type of branding is vital to the appeal of French luxury, yet it is not always easy to convince emerging market clients that handmade is better. Many live in countries where goods are only made in small shops out of necessity.
Corthay is a bespoke men’s shoe shop in the 2nd arrondissement where Pierre Corthay works in the front room making crocodile and elephant skin shoes that take six months to complete and cost upwards of 3,000 euros.
It recently teamed up with Groupe Edmond de Rothschild to sponsor a road trip for select clients through the Alps in high-end sports cars. Chief executive Xavier de Royere said the event was expensive for Corthay but worth it because it created a sense of glamour around the brand.
“The Chinese do not always understand our store,” said Royere, who joined from Louis Vuitton. “Small is not good there. They want a big shop. Lots of options. Big prices. Big, big, big.”
Royere, planning to open shops in Dubai and Hong Kong in coming months, said he was in less of a hurry to go to China and will not open there until 2013 at the earliest.
In the United States, the brand is confining itself to department stores in New York, San Francisco and Beverly Hills for the moment.
“We counsel companies to go to Hong Kong first. Learn about the customer. Then go to mainland China,” said Ponsolle des Portes, head of Comite Colbert, a luxury industry lobbying group.
Chinese customers need to become acquainted with the notion of truly high-end luxury, and smaller brands can still make a lot of money from established markets, she said.
“It is hard to convince some Chinese women that she should have wonderful undergarments,” said Poupie Cadolle. “This is not a culture that even has nightgowns.”
Asia makes up 19 percent of the luxury market but is growing faster than any other region, Bain research showed. By 2014, it will be on a par with the Americas in size.
PRESENT BUT PRUDENT
Yet it will still lag Europe, the largest luxury market. And while many customers in European shops may be tourists, small companies still see money in established markets.
Luxury brand Camille Fournet began with watch straps and has recently broadened out into handbags, wallets and pouches.
CEO Jean-Luc Dechery said opening a big store on stylish Avenue Montaigne in Paris would lend the brand instant credibility, but the cost was prohibitive.
Instead, he has invited well-heeled clients to a private showing at the George V hotel at the end of June. Items sold there, including a 34,000 euro alligator handbag, will not be available in the store.
“We are hitting that good time during fashion week but before Ramadan,” he said.
He remained mindful that half the brand’s clients in the Paris store were French, and that a Chinese business will be slow to start up. He is opening a store in Beijing this October.
“We want to be present,” said Dechery. “But also prudent.”
The advice is sound, say industry analysts, who note that any change to the tax regime in China or Hong Kong could quickly alter the dynamic and that the luxury market may be in a bubble that could burst if the Asian market ever slowed down.
“Whenever companies tell me they are going abroad I ask one question,” said Joelle de Montgolfier, a director in consultancy Bain Co’s luxury practice. “Are you absolutely convinced that French women have nothing more to spend?”
(Editing by Dan Lalor)