Moscow

Moscow (/ˈmɒskaʊ/ or /ˈmɒskoʊ/; Russian: Москва́, tr. Moskva; IPA: [mɐˈskva]) is the capital and the largest city of Russia, with 12.2 million residents within the city limits and 16.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a federal city in Russia.

Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. By broader definitions Moscow is among the world's largest cities, being the 14th largest metro area, the 17th largest agglomeration, the 16th largest urban area, and the 10th largest by population within city limits worldwide. According to Forbes 2013, Moscow has been ranked as the ninth most expensive city in the world by Mercer and has one of the world's largest urban economies, being ranked as an alpha global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is also one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth. It is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe; the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe; and the Moscow International Business Center. By its territorial expansion on July 1, 2012 southwest into the Moscow Oblast, the area of the capital more than doubled; from 1,091 square kilometers (421 sq mi) up to 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), and gained an additional population of 233,000 people.

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren (/ˈlɔːrən/; born Ralph Lifshitz; October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and business executive, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation clothing company, a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise. He has also become well known for his collection of rare automobiles, some of which have been displayed in museum exhibits. Lauren stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of the company in September 2015 but remains its Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer.

In 2010, Lauren was declared Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. As of January 2015, Forbes estimates his wealth at $8 billion, which makes Ralph Lauren the 155th richest person in the world.

Early life and education

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx, New York City, to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants, Fraydl (née Kotlar) and Frank Lifshitz, a house painter, from Pinsk, Belarus.

Lauren attended day school followed by MTA (now known as the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy), before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957. He has said he had had heroes such as John F. Kennedy and James Stewart, hoping to acquire a "movie star" type of personality. In MTA Lauren was known by his classmates for selling ties to his fellow students. In a later interview about his early ambitions he referred to his Clinton yearbook, in which it stated under his picture that he wanted to be a millionaire. There has been a lot of debate over the correct pronunciation of the designers name. His niece Jenny Lauren clarifies this issue on her website. She states that Lauren is pronounced as Italian actress Sophia Loren [lo-wren]. However, according to the Journal Sentinel, a Polo Ralph Lauren representative wrote that the correct pronunciation is as in the first name 'Lauren', and not as in the last name 'Loren'.

Tom Ford

Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of Gucci and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.

Early life (1961–86)

Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961, in Austin, Texas, to realtors Shirley Burton (née Shirley Ann Thrasher) and Thomas David Ford. He spent his early life in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, and in San Marcos, outside Austin; his family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 11. In Santa Fe, he entered St. Michael's High School and later moved to Santa Fe Preparatory School, from which he graduated in 1979. Ford left Santa Fe at age 16, when he enrolled at Bard College at Simon's Rock, but quickly dropped out. He then moved to New York City to study art history at New York University.

Ford dropped out of NYU after a year, preferring to concentrate on acting in television commercials; at one time, he was in 12 national advertising campaigns simultaneously. Ford then began studying interior architecture at The New School's famous art and design college, Parsons The New School for Design. During his time in New York, Ford became a fixture at the legendary nightclub Studio 54, where he realized he was gay. The club's disco-era glamor would be a major influence on his later designs. Before his last year at New School, Ford spent a year and a half in Paris, where he worked as an intern in Chloé's press office. Though his work primarily involved sending clothes out on photo shoots, it triggered his love of fashion. He spent his final year at The New School studying fashion, but nonetheless graduated with a degree in architecture.

Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒordʒo arˈmaːni]; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer that Italy has produced, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a personal fortune of $8.5 billion as of 2013. He is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion.

Early years

Armani was born in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, where he was raised with older brother Sergio and younger sister Rosanna by his mother Maria Raimondi and father Ugo Armani, who was of Armenian-Italian descent. Whilst at secondary school at the Liceo Scientifico Respighi in Piacenza, Armani aspired to a career in medicine, particularly after reading A. J. Cronin's The Citadel. He enrolled in the Department of Medicine at the University of Milan, but after three years, in 1953, he left and joined the army. Due to his medical background, he was assigned to the Military Hospital in Verona, where he would attend shows at the Arena. He eventually decided to look for a different career path.

Fashion One

Fashion One is a global television network founded by Michael Gleissner and owned by the New York-based entertainment company, Bigfoot Entertainment. Launched on April 8, 2010, the TV network broadcasts programming related to fashion, entertainment and lifestyle internationally across multiple platforms, including direct-to-home satellite television, cable television, internet television and IPTV.

Fashion One operates internationally with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. It has also been the partner of various global fashion-related events, including Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, House of iKons, and Perth Fashion Festival. As of October 2014, the channel has 14 feeds and has reached over 100 million viewers worldwide.

History

Michael Gleissner, a German entrepreneur founded the channel and its parent company, Bigfoot Entertainment, in 2004. The Fashion One Channel began broadcasting on April 8, 2010 under Fashion One Television LLC. It was initially available in the Philippines and Thailand to millions of households across free-to-air (FTA) and direct-to-home (DTH) satellites. It was then distributed globally via three satellites, namely the Galaxy 19 at 97°W, Hot Bird at 13°E and AsiaSat 3S at 105.5°E. The channel raised US$14 million in September to boost its in-house production slate as well as expanding its reach by adding more satellite capacity and upgrading existing broadcasts to full HD. Fashion One TV network later expanded its operation in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Africa, Western Europe and the United States It updated its production format from HD to Ultra HD in 2014 and launched Fashion 4K under the Fashion One television network on September 1, 2015.