Currently viewing the category:
"Off the Press"
Rejoice, fellow shoppers! Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of both Chanel and Fendi and all-around-fashion-dictator-vampire is launching a collaboration with mega-retailer Macy’s, to much fashionista-fanfare!
The Karl Lagerfeld Impulse Collection will be unveiled in more than 200 Macy’s stores nationwide and online on August 31st. The 45-piece capsule collection is sure to be an instant sell-out, with prices ranging from $50 to $170. Word to the wise: Lagerfeld’s 2004 collaboration with H&M sold out in mere minutes.
It’s safe to assume the collection will feature tweed, black and white colorplay, and Lagerfeld’s inimitable “classic-meets-rock-n’-roll” spirit. For those devoted enough to make the opening day, Lagerfeld will make a personal appearance at the Macy’s Herald Square flagship in NYC…
See you on the Acela? Yeah, thought so.
We’ve waited, and it is here. No, we still have weeks to go before New York Fashion Week Spring 2012 and we must hold on yet one more day to see our local favorite, David Chum, wow Heidi Klum and friends on the season 9 premier of “Project Runway.” Sadly, I’m referring to the will of the great, late fashion designer Alexander McQueen…
- £250,000 [$410,000] to each of his three sisters and two brothers
- £50,000 pounds [$82,000] to each of his housekeepers, his godson, his nieces, and his nephews
- £50,000 [$82,000] for the continual care of his dogs, Minter, Juice and Callum
- £100,000 [$164,000] each to the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Blue Cross Animal Welfare Charity, two charities that provide care for abandoned animals
- £100,000 [$164,000] each to the London Buddhist Center and the Terrence Higgins Trust, both of which promote sex education and sexual health.
The designer left the remainder (and majority) of his £16 million [$26 million] estate to his charity, Sarabande, named after his Spring/Summer 2007 collection best remembered for look number 46: an English country garden-style dress made entirely of fresh flowers. He requested that some of the money be used for scholarships at London’s Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design, his alma mater.
McQueen’s will serves as further reminder that there is much to be missed in his passing: his impact on the world of fashion and his unbridled artistry, of course, but also, his compassion and his generous heart.
Women’s Wear Daily announced that Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, the power duo behind the wildly-successful Opening Ceremony brand, will show their first collection for the 41-year-old fashion house of Kenzo for S/S ’12. Known for a discerning taste that spans from eclectic to avante-garde, the Leon-Lim duo is well positioned to build upon the Kenzo philosophy.
I’m super stoked to see what these two will bring to the label, hopefully using their roles as co-creative directors to inject some much-needed new life into this venerable fashion house. They may not be designers per se, but it’s clear they’re talented merchants, editing and presenting only the most covetable merchandise in their Opening Ceremony mix. It doesn’t hurt that Opening Ceremony has a near-cult-like following. Undoubtedly LVMH was thinking the same.
Keeping my eyes open for more to come…
By now most of you know the brand moniker ”Elizabeth & James” is a reference to the Olsen Twins’ brother and sister. So it’s strange that while the label is all but ubiquitous, we’ve seen very little of the ‘other two’ Olsens. Until recently, that is. As if the two pint-sized dynamos weren’t enough to inspire feelings of gross inadequacy…
MK & Ashley, never one to miss a PR beat, trotted out their beautiful sister from whatever gilded stall they’ve kept her in for the launch of their newest addition to The Row: a handbag collection. I’m guessing they were hoping to distract from the ticket on their crocodile back pack, which comes in it at a oh-you-kn0w-chump-change $39,000. It was a smart move, but I’m on to you, Olsens.
Sticker shock or no sticker shock, the collection is quite impressive. Classic, structured designs rendered in beautiful exotics. Sleek enough for the fashionfolk to covet, and streamlined enough for their more discreet monied clients. I’m willing to wager the line will be the hottest thing since over-sized Arthur-the-Aardvark sunglasses.
That said, I can’t get over the $5,000 opening price point. Yes, you read that right. For a collection whose homage to Hermès is anything but subtle, the prices seem a bit… premature. Hermès was established in 1837. The Olsens were born 25 years ago. Who is competing with whom here?
Maybe I’m just cranky, knowing I won’t be able to afford one of these lustworthy creations any time in the immediate future. Handbags aside, it’s safe to say Elizabeth Olsen isn’t going anywhere. Which leads me to wonder what would happen were the sisters to form… a triumvirate.
What would a backpack cost THEN?
Like love at first sight, when you see it, you know it. Heck, even your unfashionable, khaki wearing, straight boyfriend who annoyingly wears athletic socks with loafers (God love him) knows it. They’re as identifiable as the crisscrossing double C’s of Chanel or the golden arches of McDonald’s. I’m talking about associating lacquered red high heel soles with French shoe guru Christian Louboutin. And I’m talking candy apple red. Not orange red or pink-red. Red-red.
It is as Christian Louboutin’s lawyer, Harvey Lewin, bluntly told WWD last week, “Unless you’ve been living in a cave,” you most definitely associate that red-red sole with Louboutin. It’s as iconic a brandmark as any logo could ever hope to be.
And that’s precisely the issue Monsieur Louboutin contends in his recent suit against another established French fashion house, Yves Saint Laurent. With specific respect to a pair of sky-high, candy-apple-red suede ‘Palais 105’ platform pumps with leather soles. The issue? The soles match the suede, my friends. Monsieur Louboutin wasn’t pleased about about YSL squatting on his corner of the color wheel.
YSL responded to the claim by stating it unfair for a brand, any brand, to monopolize a color.
Fair enough. But it seems beneath Yves Saint Laurent–the house of Le Smoking legend, and the savoire faire to turn safari fatigue into safari-chic–to pull such a stunt. Surely, the designers knew such an accusation would ensue. More to the point: why would YSL send to market a design that essentially, if inadvertently, advertises a completely different brand, when it can simply develop it’s own new signature sole color?
I don’t know the answer, frankly, but I would like to officially stake my own monopoly on fuchsia. One, I look fantastic in this shade of pink, and two, 95-percent of my wardrobe is already this shade, for the aforementioned reason. This probably doesn’t work for all of you lovely readers. I’m sorry I’m not sorry about that.
A little advice to the lot of you, and, apparently to YSL: get your own signature color.
In case it’s somehow escaped you, Jason Wu launched his first shoe collection this year for spring 2011 and his designs were to die for. You can see how it was music to this shoe-obsessed girl’s ears when I heard he would be following in the footsteps of designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier by working on a collaboration with plastic shoe purveyors Melissa for spring 2012. The chance to own a pair of designer shoes I could wear in the rain without a second thought is just too good to pass up!
I have to say, however, I was a little disappointed to find there would only be two shoes in the collection, both based off of Melissa standby designs, the Ultragirl ballet flat and the Lady Dragon slingback. Not that the shoes don’t look great, but I think we all know Jason Wu is capable of something more impressive than mere embellishment.
Here’s hoping this initial collaboration follows in the footsteps of Vivienne Westwood’s work with the brand, which has now spanned several seasons, and in the future we get to see full Melissa shoe designs by Jason Wu…
This past week, all of our favorite fashionistas migrated to Paris to attend the White Fairy Tale Love Ball at the Chateau de Valentino (proving that the fashion set live like royalty in real life… ). The ball was hosted by Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova to raise money for her organization, the Naked Heart Foundation.
While the guests provided plenty of eye candy(they were in town for the couture shows, after all), the highlight of the event was the much anticipated fashion show of 45 dresses, created specifically for the foundation by just about all our favorite fashion houses, from Lanvin to Oscar to Yves Saint Laurent… The gallery below will give you an idea of this winter-themed wonderland. If you ask me, the perfect salve for this sticky malaise of a Summer we’re having.
The illustrious French fashion house Maison Martin Margiela was recently commissioned by Hotel Maison Champs-Elysées in Paris to reconceptualize the interior design of the 5-star hotel. La Maison Champs-Elysées is located on 8 Rue Jean Goujon, in a corner of Paris that boasts all the most distinguished French couture houses, making it most fitting that Maison Martin Margiela would be chosen to redefine the image of such a lavish hotel.
This was a huge undertaking for La Maison Champs-Elysées, and I really would like to sing Margiela’s praises because the result of the redesign is a luxurious universe that completely transcends time. The space allows you to leave reality behind, to forget the worldwide economic crisis that has dominated each and every newspaper, to just sit back and bask in contemporary opulence.
Maison Martin Margiela’s goal was to create “a theatrical environment where reality and trompe-l’oeil blend into a surreal atmosphere,” and it is clear the design house has more than succeeded.
Mirrors abound throughout the rooms, producing hallucinatory spaces within spaces that simultaneously entice and confuse. Intricately designed wallpaper and carpeting depicts traditional French architectural techniques, tricking the eye yet delighting the mind.
This is a building of cool paradoxes, all done in a palette of silvers, whites, greys, golds, and blacks – shades that echo royalty but truly appeal to the modern and cosmopolitan nouveau riche. The highlight of the building is a hallway completely veiled in silver leaf, alluding to the golden pavilions of Edo Japan. This passage is punctuated by a floating white diamond chandelier, and it is here we are pushed completely into the dream world, floating past the most beautiful of diamond jewelry, off to bask in the luxury of Margiela’s desirous illusions.
This is bollocks.
Frankly, Zoe is a talented stylist, a successful reality-TV personality (whatever that even means), and has emerged from her maelstrom of personal issues (both publicized and not-so…) as a very, very strong ‘brand.’ So it’s only natural that she’d capitalize on that brand equity with an eponymous clothing collection, non? Not so much…
I was skeptical when I first heard ages ago, then I saw her debut collection and nearly choked. Yes, ‘wearable’ and very Zoe-esque, but really? It begs the question: if she were not personally selling these garments, would she consider them special enough for any of her uberfamous clients? Doubtful, at best.
While the recently-released Resort collection is certainly an evolution (considering the debut collection was essentially an assemblage of low-rent interpretations of pieces Zoe has worn herself), it’s hardly worth looking at once, more the less twice. At one point, I sincerely believed I was looking at a pop-up ad from the ‘new Talbots.’ That Neiman Marcus is stocking the collection makes it clear the celebrity craze is both inexhaustible and commercially viable.
Dear celebrity folk: there are far too many slashes in your titles these days. Please quit it.
LE SIGH.
Gareth Pugh is collaborating with MAC for a limited-edition makeup line, to be launched globally in November. Just how Pugh will translate his macabre Haute Goth aesthetic into a collection for one of the most mainstream cosmetic companies in the world remains to be seen, but the very idea makes for some interesting hypothesizing.
Pugh, the young protégé of the inimitable Rick Owens, is known for breaking boundaries over the course of his six year’s worth of collections. And though his work has previously been restricted to a monastic, monochromatic palette, his recent F/W ’11 collection showed his first dive into ‘color.’ The highlight? A cobalt blue cape that sailed off the back of the model like a brilliant wave.
The collaboration is said to emphasize Pugh’s preferred palette–black, grey, white–but we’re hoping for a brilliant flash or two of color. Keep your eyes peeled this Fall for some dark and depraved makeup–the kind you thought only existed in your most beautiful of nightmares.
The left side of this composite image was used, in plain terms, illegally. Little surprise then that she is suing the beauty behemoth for its advertising campaign which a) incorporates an image from a test shoot, b) claims the model used a product and achieved the results (where it should have stated that the model never used the product but Estée Lauder has a healthy budget for photo retouching…), and c) states that the demographic of this supposed study was actually much older than the model herself.
Were my looks my income-earning asset (thank God this isn’t the case or a pauper I’d be, indeed) I would undoubtedly sue as well, if only to expose the ridiculousness of the campaign itself (oh, and to save face… literally).
But the question remains: though advertising is widely recognized as a machine of deftly-maneuvered euphemisms and platitudes, shouldn’t some form of fundamental oversight exist for products of this nature?
Dear advertisers: by all means, sell the fantasy. After all, it’s your bread, your butter, the butter dish, hell, it’s the damn dinner plate for you guys. Just understand that in the internet age, we consumers recognize the subtle difference between fantasy and forgery.
[PHOTO CREDIT: Jay Calderin]
I had the exciting opportunity recently to get a sneak peek at the Massachusetts College of Art ‘Voltage’ Senior Fashion Show (while filming a feature for the show…). It was certainly a daunting task to select whom to highlight, what with all the endless trains of chiffon, tulle, peacock feathers and beads. Oh, the chaos of completing a collection, only to send an army of leggy models to strut down the runway. Nonetheless, Shalyn Webber’s ombré chartreuse mermaid evening gown was a definite standout and I just couldn’t forget it, so I sat down with Webber to pick her brain about her education, the excitement of presenting her senior collection, and the whirlwind of fashion that awaits her, post graduation.
As much as it pains me to admit it, I am beginning to wonder if my wardrobe will rely as heavily in the coming years on the amazing deals I have, for the past few years, been fortunate enough to find on the flash-sale sites like Gilt Groupe and Rue La La.
The economy is improving, if inordinately slowly. And should it continue to improve, how many designers will continue to peddle their overstocked or overproduced goods via the discount-driven online retailers?
Gilt, lagging behind new concept sites like Groupon and Livingsocial, is on the way to revamping its cost-centric image, courtesy of a nascent major investment of 62.5 million dollars from Japan’s Softbank. One element of the plan? A full-price menswear site. If others shift or diversify their focus in a similar fashion, we’ll end up with ten new net-a-porters. And, frankly, they’re already doing it extraordinarily well. [Their recent menswear addition, Mr. Porter, being my homepage, of late.]
With Rue La La being Boston based (and with many of my close friends and some of the city’s most creative people working there), don’t get the wrong idea: I want these sites to succeed. But as with all things, particularly in this fickle game of fashion, you can only be innovative for so long, and I’m both curious and excited to see how these merchants will reinvent themselves in the months, and for the successful some, years, to come.
[Daphne Guinness getting ready for the Gala in a Barney's window... Why not?!?]
It was McQueen Mania at the Met last night, as the Costume Institute celebrated the designer and his body of work in their annual fundraising fête.
But the mania was well deserved, if regrettably posthumous. Few designers accomplished what McQueen accomplished with his work: an artistry that transcended his medium and lived purely in the world of fantasy, but that embodied so thoroughly what the rest of the world of designers and luxury giants are perpetually blathering on about: clothes that are, at their core, aspirational.
Master Milliner Philip Treacy said of the maelstrom at the Met: ”[McQueen] wouldn’t have come…”
My personal favorites, after the jump. [Clearly, Guinness is a goddess in McQueen, and as per usual completely overshadowed the myriad others who could only pay their lesser homage to Lee...]
[image via www.prada.com]
“My idea is always to avoid nostalgia.”
Easy for you to say, Ms. Prada. WWD reports that sales for the label were up over thirty percent this past year, to a figure over 2.7 billion dollars. Staggering.
Consider that she is all but a god of her industry, universally revered and unfailingly praised as the designer whose unique vision decides, for both consumers and the rest of her contemporaries, where fashion is headed.
That said, much like Balenciaga, the collection, as seen from the front row, is hardly the major moneymaker for the label; rather, it’s the accessories, the shoes, the identifiable if indistinct handbags, the fragrances, and well, the nine million other margin-hogging moving parts that bring in the cash.
To that end: What did you think of the recent collection, with its tooled-leather, baroque-inspired sneakerpumps, basketwoven multi-colored mary janes, and mind-numbingly wild prints? Is she really the singular beacon the fashion pundits (myself included) make her out to be , or just ballsy as all hell?
And are these necessarily different things?
Diane von Furstenberg, the president of the CFDA, announced the CFDA Awards nominees tonight in NYC. Alexander Wang made a strong showing (the veritable Meryl Streep of the Fashion world…), but I have to admit I’m gunning for a Proenza win for Womenswear Designer of the Year.
As for the Gaga nomination, I have little to say. Mostly, I loathe her, and her perpetual pandering and ploys. I wish, frankly, they’d nominate someone like Ms. Guinness who, while extraordinarily privileged, actually appears to live, eat, and breathe fashion. Gaga, by contrast, merely puts on the costume because she knows, as we all do, she has a captive audience. END RANT. [... for now.]
Of greater importance than my blathering: WHAT ARE YOUR VOTES, eh?
Nominations, after the jump. Continue reading »
