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rag trade
Michelle Cool In Kors; Will Christian Lacroix Be Saved?
- Michelle Obama wore Michael Kors to celebrate the National Design Awards winners on Friday. "What I love about design is the artistic and scientific complexity that becomes useful," said the first lady, to a crowd that included Francisco Costa. [WWD]
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rag trade
Stella Loves Critters; Diane Von Furstenberg Is A Swinger
- Stella McCartney's fall ad campaign makes a Bambijoke out of all that nature imagery that suddenly became hip over the past few years. For everyone who's ever considered an ironic taxidermy at a bar and concluded, "Why?" [WWD]
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rag trade
'90s Supes Are Unstoppable; Christian Audigier Picks On Posh Spice
- 42-year-old Kristen McMenamy, whose deeply unconventional beauty shone in many of the most memorable fashion photographs of the early '90s, was chosen by Steven Meisel for the new cover of Italian Vogue. [FWD]
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rag trade
Rodarte Wins CFDA; Barack Obama Officially Most Stylish Man
- Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy scooped up the Women's Wear award at last night's CFDAs. In another surprise, the menswear prize was a tie between Calvin Klein's Italo Zucchelli and Band of Outsiders' Scott Sternberg. [WWD]
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rag trade
Eva Mendes Cries At Cartier; Michelle Obama Will Not Wear Fur
- Eva Mendes got all verklempt at a Cartier press conference talking about a charity that matches actors and musicians with sick kids. "Thank God for waterproof mascara," said the star of such films as Ghost Rider and 2 Fast 2 Furious. [WWD]
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Critical Distance
This Recession Will Change Everything (About The Way We Dress)
Everyone has a theory about what the recession will "mean" for fashion. Wanna hear often correct New York Times critic Cathy Horyn's? Oh yes you do! More » -
rag trade
Kanye Buys Hoodies, Stands Up Agyness; Stella To Design For Gap
- Kanye West and Amber Rose hit up the American Apparel in NoHo for hoodies and sunglasses. "He was really nice about getting his photo taken for our blog," said the store manager. Doesn't he look it! [AmApp]
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rag trade
Meet Posh In New York Now; Buy Anna Sui At Target Soon
- Unlike her husband, who plans on doing zero promotional work for his Adidas line, Victoria Beckham is in New York to unveil a new 20 ft Emporio Armani ad at Macy's. [UPI]
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rag trade
WWD Really Wants To Know Michelle Obama's Dress Size
- Michelle Obama wore French-born Brooklyn-based designer Sophie Theallet to unveil a bust of Sojourner Truth at Emancipation Hall yesterday. Naturally, journalistically, WWD asked the designer to specify the First Lady's measurements. Theallet declined. [WWD]
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rag trade
Kohl's Banking On Lauren Conrad; Liya Thinks Fashion Feeling "Obama Effect"
- Kohl's seems to think a Lauren Conrad fashion line will be a winner. And we had been so joyful when it seemed the Lauren Conrad Collection was taking a permanent vacation! [NY Times]
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rag trade
Kanye Uses Naked Woman To Sell Luxury Louis Vuitton Sneakers
- What appears to be Kanye West's campaign for his Louis Vuitton sneakers has leaked. Amber Rose, the woman he squired around fashion week, is featured, along with a truly hideous crocodile bomber jacket. [Nah Right]
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mag hag
Vogue's Multi-Model May Cover Leaks
"Fashion magazine with models on its cover" should be a flippin tautology, but the infrequency with which clotheshorses grace the front of American Vogue meant that its May issue was hotly anticipated. Well, it's here. More » -
rag trade
Audrey Takes A Holiday With Chanel; Valentino Tried To Suppress Documentary
- Audrey Tautou reunited with Amélie director Jean Pierre Jeunet to star in an Orient Express-themed Chanel No. 5 ad, which took three weeks to shoot. The reel's not up till May 5. [WWD]
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modelslips
Off The Runway: Fashion Models Now Falling In Magazines
Someone at Singapore L'Officiel has a gloriously twisted sense of humor. An editorial called "Balancing Act" spoofs the runway falls that have become ubiquitous over these last few seasons, as shoes have climbed skywards. More » -
rag trade
Supermodel Stays In Style Without Men; Sasha & Malia Take Topshop
- Helena Christensen told InStyle magazine that she's never lived with a man — although she was actually married for five years. [Daily Mail]
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rag trade
Dita Von Teese Will Wear As Much Couture As She Wants
- Dita Von Teese wears two Elie Saab couture creations in her limited-run Paris show. Is it strange that the only people who can afford couture these days are burlesque artists and Saudi princesses? [IHT]
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rag trade
Oh, God: Pixie Geldof Gets Cover Of Italian Vogue
- It's too early for this heartbreak. Pixie (Pixie!) Geldof got the March Italian Vogue cover. Have Franca Sozzani and Steven Meisel lost their minds? The cover line is "So young, so cool." So barf. [Telegraph]
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model behavior
Will Milan Fashion Week Be Colorless -- Again?
Last July, the "all black" issue of Italian Vogue hit newsstands, but as Milan Fashion Week kicks off this week, it's a "whiteout," says Guy Trebay of The New York Times. More » -
rag trade
Scarlett Poses For D&G; D&G; Cheer For David Beckham
- Scarlett Johanson is the new face of D&G; cosmetics. A face that looks mightily like Marilyn Monroe. [Popcrunch]
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rag trade
Katie For Miu Miu Looks A Lot Like Victoria For Armani
- The first images from Katie Holmes' campaign for Miu Miu have arrived... [Vogue UK]
- ...and she looks a lot like her BFF Victoria Beckham, whose ads for Emporio Armani are just out as well. [Telegraph]
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Rag Trade
Katie Holmes As The New Face Of Miu Miu?
- Katie Holmes is the new face of Miu Miu. Srsly? [New York Magazine]
- Marc Jacobs' company has been accused of bribing a state official so the designer "could get a desirable venue for his fashion show." They're paying $1 million in fines. [TMZ]
- In happier news, Marc is open to marriage! Even if California isn't. “I refuse to let anyone tell me who I can and cannot marry, and who I can and cannot love. That’s just bullshit...Wherever we’d have to go. If he’s up for it, I’m up for it.” [New York Magazine]
- Are women overreacting about American Apparel's latest ads? Reverse Cowgirl's Susannah Breslin thinks so. Personally, I just hate leggings as pants! Seriously, we're talking blouses tucked into leggings, kids. [Reverse Cowgirl]
- Jessica Biel is not, we repeat, not, designing handbags for William Rast. [Fashionista via People]
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Rag Trade
Escada's Honored by Sarah Palin's Patronage...Because She's "Attractive"
- After Palin names Escada as her fave brand, the creative director is gracious: "If she does wear Escada because she likes it, I mean, I’m honored actually. It’s not politics; it’s clothing, after all. No? She’s an attractive woman, so why not?" [New York Mag]
- Fashion's totally in the tank for Obama — but we knew that. [WWD]
- Halloween update: Blake Lively was Cleopatra, Martha Stewart was Medusa. [Sassybella]
- Andre Leon Talley: "Fashion may not be the most important thing in life, but it definitely helps you get through it," [Philadelphia Inquirer]
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dior shoes
The Shoes Of Spring Are Simply Terrifying
The New York Times has a slideshow called "Shoes From The Shows," featuring footwear from the major collections in Milan and Paris. And, please, take it from me, a person who truly loves shoes: It's absolutely horrifying. I watched it while barefoot and felt my heels tingle and ache. Let's start with the evil, twisted, bondage-inspired John Galliano for Christian Dior heel shown at left. Even if you like stilettos, even if you like tough-chick, kick-ass heels, there's a word for that shoe, and the word is: Ouch. As for Galliano's other shoes: More » -
mother may i?
Our Lady Of Couture
The church of Notre-Dame de la Daurade in Toulouse, France is seeking designer apparel for the black virgin statue it has housed since the fifth century. "Our black virgin has always been dressed by benefactors from the city or the region. This time, we asked ourselves if the top global designers, most of them French, would agree to make a gesture for her," said one preservationist. The madonna's wardrobe of four dresses is growing shabby, and the church has approached Sonia Rykiel, Christian Lacroix, Gucci, Prada and Valentino about donating a couture look for the 6 1/2' statue, granting full creative freedom to the designers. No word yer on whether anyone has heeded the plea; we'd really like to see what Lacroix does with this one: A puffball?![Reuters] -
tim gunn
Tim Gunn Is Totally Normal: "I Wear Jeans & T-Shirts All The Time"
- Everyone's favorite human being, Tim Gunn, likes Dunkin' Donuts (Grace Mirabella turned him onto it.) And he can't afford to buy an apartment in New York, either! (Stars! They're just like us!) [Time Out New York]
- Simon Doonan, the woman's champion, bemoans that there's "a lot of conformity, a lot of blonde hair ... I often wonder if feminism was just a dream. I can't believe how women feel so scrutinised, and they're still so self-critical - I thought they would have let go of that now but they haven't. There's a very masochistic thing with women now that I didn't used to see. My girl friends in the punk era weren't like that at all." [Guardian]
- How's the fashion set responding to the economic crisis? "Everyone's freaking out. Everyone." [WSJ]
- AOL pulls the plug on Glass-House dwellers Joan and Melissa Rivers' Emmy coverage because of repeated humorous references to the Third Reich, corpulence. [P6]
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prada
At Fashion Week In Milan, Prada Was A Real Problem
New York Fashion Week is over, but Fashion Week in Milan has just gotten underway. Yesterday, the biggest of the biggies, Prada, showed on a runway painted with fish. Those little suckers must have been slippery — or perhaps the unwieldy, chunky, wooden platform shoes were a poor choice? — because several models tumbled. And, horrors: Anna Wintour was there to witness the debacle. The New York Times has video of the end of the show — one model's ankles wobble so much, so hard, she gives up, turns around and heads backstage instead of doing the final walk. Additionally, one model Miuccia Prada sent down the runway in a cropped burgundy sweater was so thin that her ribcage is all you really notice. It's as though her bones are on display. As if all this were not bad enough: The clothes sucked. More » -
dita von teese
Fashion Films: Is Anybody Buying What These Brands Are Selling?
In the new film The Science Of Sexy, Dita Von Teese plays a bespectacled scientist who turns into… Dita Von Teese. Her lab coat gives way to lingerie. This movie has already been viewed over 200,000 times, but not in a theater: It's playing on YouTube. The short film is produced by Wonderbra, and, as Oliver Horton writes for the International Herald Tribune, the "fashion film" is having a moment. Prada has released two animated short films, and Louis Vuitton produced one as well. Of course, not matter how fancy they appear to be, these "fashion films" are really just commercials. More » -
Rag Trade
Tiny Titans Mary Kate & Ashley Are Going To The Dogs
- Mini moguls Mary Kate and Ashley are dipping their tiny feet into the world of fashionable footwear. They're teaming up with Steve Madden to add a shoe line to their Elizabeth and James label. [ElleUK]
- Weirdly, model Twiggy's husband calls her Twiggy too. [Daily Express]
- Moddles fall all over the runway on Prada's slippery runway. Try not to enjoy it. [NY Times]
- Following in the steps of such sex symbols as Gorbachev and the Berlin Wall, Sean Connery goes before Annie Leibovitz's lens for Louis Vuitton. [WWD]
- Just saying, if I were running for office, known ass Andre Leon Tally is kind of the last person I'd want carrying a tote with my name all over it, even if it was a DVF original. [Concrete Loop]
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Rag Trade
The Olsen Fashion Aesthetic: Twin-Sets No More?
- Rumor has it that the mini moguls' "lifestyle differences" are tearing their fashion collabs asunder. “Ashley really wants to be a respected businesswoman and be taken seriously...MK does too, but she hasn’t been willing to give up her lifestyle and act like an adult for their job.” Result? MK is being "distanced" from the business end. [LA Times]
- Gossip Girls Blake Lively, Leighton Meester and Michelle Trachtenberg have all "designed" Stuart Weitzman heels for charity. "Blake's candy-themed kicks (no doubt courting comparisons like "sweet" and "confectious") are going for the highest of the three at $300 - Leighton's in the middle and Michelle's on the right." [Fashionista]
- A petulant Oscar de la Renta is skipping the Metropolitan Opera's opening night for the first time in 20 years. He "was none too happy to learn that Renée Fleming’s onstage frocks for the affair were designed by Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and Christian Lacroix." Um, is his ticket going begging? Sounds better than fashion week! [WWD]
- Markets rebound a tad; retailers still panicky. [WWD]
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prada
The New Prada Movie Stars Very Shady Characters
Back in February, Prada debuted Trembled Blossoms, an animated film that used creepy psychedelic imagery to push purses on hopelessly hypnotized fashionistas. Get ready to trip again: Prada has a new movie, Fallen Shadows, which features music by Antony & The Johnsons and makes little sense. Thank goodness we're here to do a (sorta) frame-by frame dissection. A breakdown of the stills from the film begins after the jump. More » -
kate moss
Kate Moss Is Solid Gold. No, Really.
- I know this is why I go to the British Museum: to see a life-sized Kate Moss rendered in pure gold. "A solid gold sculpture of the model, thought to be the world's largest gold statue built since the time of ancient Egypt, was given its first showing yesterday." [Independent]
- Working to combat any taint of elitism, Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker are hosting a fashion show to raise funds for the Obama campaign. "The Sept. 9 shindig at the Charles Nolan Studio will feature designs from Beyoncé and Tina Knowles for House of Dereon, Diane Von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen, Juicy Couture, Narciso Rodriguez and Proenza Schouler, among others." [E]
- Meanwhile on the left coast, "Michelle Obama will get her chance to meet fashion and entertainment types in Los Angeles." Tom Ford is one of the hosts. [WWD]
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Ewan McGregor for Davidoff Adeventure
Ewan McGregor Represents "The World's Great Wildness" Cologne
- Is no one safe from the lure of Designer Fragrance? Ewan McGregor is the face of Davidoff "Adventure." The cologne “explores uncharted fragrance territory. Its fresh spicy woody composition is daring and elemental, inspired by the world’s great wildernesses and raw, masculine emotion.” [BlackBook]
- Avril Lavigne's clothing line for Kohl's goes the way of Lauren Conrad...one way express to the bargain bin. [Perez Hilton]
- Teen Vogue launches book (presumably for teens) on getting into the fashion industry. "It's set to be a sort of archive of interviews with different people in fashion — designers, photographers, models, editors, etc. and meant to teach young Teen Vogue readers about what it takes to break into the industry." Seems like a cruel hoax. [Fashionista]
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Vogue Brazil
Vogue Brazil Learns Nothing From Vogue Italia
- Obviously, all the models on the cover of Brazilian Vogue — only one of the most racially diverse countries in South America — are Caucasian. [Models.com]
- And speaking of models! The ones at the Emmys (you know, the ones who come out and hand people envelopes) will be sporting Lauren Conrad Collection. [Fashionista]
- Is it just me, or is Mary-Kate Olsen incredibly uninteresting? 'What I find odd though is that a weekly [magazine] will come out describing my outfit as a fashion disaster, while the fashion industry actually respects what I wear," muses the mini-mogul. [ElleUK]
- More from self-described "dirty fairy" and Gwen Stefani sorta-stepdaughter Daisy Lowe: "One of the best lessons my mother ever taught me was not to always rely on designers. Fashion at its best is when it is mixed up. If I had to name a favorite piece, it would probably be an all-in-one sailor striped jumpsuit by Marc by Marc – completely off-key!" Um, good for every under-20-year-old to keep in mind! [New York Magazine]
- Jovovich-Hawk is no more! Milla's non-explanation? 'It's like, When one door closes...I'm in a time of rediscovery, from my career to my personal style.' [Racked]
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maghag
The Asian Model In Allure: Stereotyped?
Sure, Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham is all Balthus-esque in the August issue of Allure, but even more interesting is the "Art And Artifice" fashion shoot inside. Photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, the spread features "the best of the fall collections," which means lots of fur and boots and stars (gasp!) an Asian model. Did buzz around the recent Italian Vogue have an effect on the fellow Condé Nast mag? Or did the editors at Allure just realize they needed to branch out? (The November issue had no Asian models; December had zero Asian models and January featured absolutely no Asian models.) Is diversity finally returning to magazines? And can a mainstream American magazine shoot an Asian woman without resorting to any Asian stereotypes? A few images, after the jump. More » -
nina garcia
Nina Garcia: Just As Imperious In Real Life As On Reality TV
- It's not just for the cameras! Bad Cop Project Runway judge Nina Garcia queen bees it up at MarieClaire, reups for Runway. [WWD]
- Oh I'm sure this wasn't staged: watch Heidi Montag's 'Heidiwood' clothes fly off the racks at the Kitson boutique while Heidi preens, poses and signs autographs in front of a conspicuous sign announcing that the Lauren Conrad line is half off. Then LC just happens to walk by. Cameras follow them both, natch. [TMZ]
- French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld could give a toss what PETA thinks. Well, except that she just did a whole defiantly pro-fur photo shoot to piss them off. [Fashion Intelligentsia]
- Despite mixed reviews, Christian Siriano's collection for Bluefly is almost sold out. [Sassybella]
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well-heeled
The Dollar May Be Low, But Heels Are High, And Getting Higher
Yesterday's Independent featured a story by Harriet Walker about skyscraper heels. Prompted, of course, by Victoria Beckham making an appearance in spindly 5 inch stilettos. Writes Walker: "Just when you thought heels couldn't get any higher, guess what: they have." This season, Prada, Louboutin and Dior all have towering heels. And the Giambattista Valli shoes for fall (pictured) have a retro feel, but with platforms and heels so high they almost seem designed for toppling over. The Daily Mail points out that high heels have been around since 3500BC, when Ancient Egyptian noble women picked their way through the pyramids. Hundreds of years, billions of aching feet, twisted ankles, throbbing bunions and crusty corns. Why do we do it? More » -
eva mendes
Eau De McDreamy: Patrick Dempsey Unveils "Unscripted"
- Okay, it's slightly less random than it seems: Dempsey's wife, Jillian, has been Avon’s global creative color director since July 2006. Not that this really excuses it. Or why WWD refers to "Unscripted", ominously, as the actor's "first scent." And about that name: does he really want to take credit for ad-libbing the Grey's dialogue? [WWD]
- Meanwhile, in other fragrance news, Josh Hartnett is fronting "Emporio Armani: Diamonds for Men," [ET]
- ...while Eva Mendes is the, um, face of both Calvin Klein's new Secret Obsession perfume and its "Seductive Comfort" underwear line. Quoth the loyal pitchwoman, ""I wear [Calvin Klein] G-strings all of the time on the red carpet and when shooting for a film because you don't see the [panty] lines." [WWD]
- Christian Siriano: "I am honored to be a part of this amazing group of talent!” Siriano said. “It is a dream to work with legends such as [director] Charles Shyer, Uma Thurman and [costume designer] Milena Canonero on a wonderful story filled with creative inspirations." The project? Eloise in Paris. [E!]