|
|
This weekend saw the official launch of the Versace for H&M collection and now that the fervor has died down a little the reports are in and like Missoni for Target before it, this collection caused plenty of chaos when it went on sale. However unlike the Missoni collection at Target, Versace’s partnership with H&M will not be a one-off occurrence as it was announced last week that a spring collaboration will begin selling in February!
First all the dirty details from this weekend’s sales spectacular: Having learned a lesson from the madness caused by the Missoni for Target collection, H&M took steps to ensure a more orderly experience for their shoppers by adding additional security to many of the larger stores and creating a color coded bracelet system that was designed to let shoppers move through the collection in an orderly fashion. To see H&M’s strategy for trying to control a hundreds deep line of fashion fanatics you can check out the entire set of instructions as obtained by Fashionista. We say ‘trying’ because their efforts, while effective here in the U.S. were less well executed in places like Beijing, Hong Kong and Dubai. In fact according to reports from IOL News the situation got violent enough in Hong Kong that a pair of H&M security guards ended up taking a trip to the hospital. Meanwhile despite efforts to beef up their website in the hope of avoiding a crash like the one experienced by Target’s online store, frenzied U.K. shoppers still managed to bring down H&M’s website for a brief period of time.
As the above paragraph suggests the collection was very popular, so much so that certain international stores sold out in 30 minutes and there are even reports that some shoppers were trying to resell the pieces right outside the stores. Which is probably exactly the environment that Versace and H&M had been hoping to use as a backdrop to their big announcement about a Spring 2012 collaboration. At the moment details are scarce but according to The Mirror the next installment of the collaboration will arrive in H&M stores in February. Sneak peeks have so far revealed pieces like a fruit print bikini, shorts and strappy sandals also available in Versace’s staple gold with plenty of hints toward more jewelry and some fun spring dresses. We can’t wait to see the complete look book!
As we reported last week a number of pieces from the Marc Jacobs Spring 2012 collection were stolen Wednesday morning and thus far the thieves remain at large. Contrary to the original story that came out of Paris, the items were not stolen off a train but rather out of the back of a delivery truck near the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store in London. Scotland Yard issued a statement to the New York Times saying that it was currently investigating the theft of “a quantity of clothing, bags and shoes” that were taken around 8am Wednesday morning.
Fortunately for Marc Jacobs the items taken were not actually the original samples seen on the runways during New York fashion week as we had originally reported but rather a duplicate set that was scheduled to make the press rounds in Europe prior to the collection’s official launch next spring. While this definitely damages the collection’s scheduled PR campaign it at least means that any fashion mags looking for samples for their editorial pages will still be able to review Marc Jacobs Spring 2012. According to a statement released by the Marc Jacobs label the monetary value of the missing items is roughly $65,000 so it is a safe bet that Scotland Yard will not be taking this theft lightly.
On Thursday night the label went to their twitter followers offering a reward for any evidence of “chic truck drivers cruising around Europe dressed in #SS12 Collection”. Though considering that it has been the better part of a week and there are no reports of any leads coming in from twitter it is starting to look like Marc Jacobs and the British authorities will have quiet a search ahead of them.
Late last week, Justin Bieber helped to kick off the first Gala for a great organization called, Pencils of Promise. This organization was started by Adam Braun, a man that turned $25 into 30 schools and endless education all over the world. It is a really sweet story, beginning with Adam’s trip to India. He was approached by a young boy begging on the streets and Adam asked him, “What do you want most in the world?” The boy responded, “A pencil.” Adam proceeded to search in his backpack and as he handed the boy a pencil Adam “watched as a wave of possibility washed over him.” This is how Pencils of Promise was started, with a good heart and a $25 bank account. To read more or to donate to Pencils of Promise go to their website.
Back to the Biebs; Thursday night (Nov. 17th, 2011) in Manhattan, New York, Justin Bieber made a big appearance at the Pencils of Promise Gala. He wore a velvet Dolce & Gabbana suit jacket with his signature, low-riding skinny jeans. Justin made quite the impression during the Gala’s auction. Justin, already part of the auction prize (a private basketball session with the likes of Shaq, Usher and the Biebs) chose to jump on stage, grab the mic, and M.C. – if you will – his own auction. Previous to the Biebs random auctioneer gig, the real auctioneer was holding bids at $20,000, and the final bids made POP enough money to build four schools at $100,000 – maybe Justin could re- think a future career. With money being donated at hundreds by the minute, supporter and philanthropist Robert Hollander agreed to “match dollar for dollar the rest of the donations for the evening — up to $500,000,” according to Women’s Wear Daily (WWD). Not to forget the night’s honoree, Justin also “raised nearly $300,000 by donating $1 from each ticket during the second half of his 2010 concert tour”, reported WWD.
Justin has been in support of the charity for quite some time as his manager Scott Braun is brother of POP founder, Adam Braun. Scott Braun was recognized at the gala as well for his charity work with Justin Bieber and the empire they are creating. The first was Justin’s fragrance for women, and others include the money raised from his ticket sales. Scott, sometimes better known as “Scooter” received an “enlarged, flat pencil” as his award.
Needless to say, I am pretty inspired by this foundation and the story behind it. This holiday season, if you are short on holiday gift ideas why not support a good cause. Haven’t you ever heard of planting a tree for someone as a gift? Well, if your special someone seems to have everything, take that gift money and put it towards a good cause. Pencils of Promise also sells bracelets, T-shirts, and other items to help raise funds for education. Items start at $5 and most are right around $20 or $25 (just enough for one full year of education for one child). Holidays are for giving, right? So not to sound cliché but, give the gift that keeps on giving!
It’s nearly been a year and Rihanna is already releasing a second fragrance. This fragrance will be a continuance of her original scent, Reb’l Fleur. Reb’l Fleur was released to the public in the winter of 2011 (Macy*s began sales in February, 2011). Parlux is the fragrance company Rihanna is paired with on this rather new and continuing business venture. Parlux has also worked with other celebrities for their fragrance collections; Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, and the Queen (Latifah that is) just to name a few. The collaboration between Rihanna and Parlux is what has allowed the public to witness first hand, and at home (rather than in concert) what Rihanna considers to be her signature scent. In an interview with PEOPLE, Riri gives us a little bit of incite on the original scent – which obviously leads the way for the latest, Rebelle; “My grandmother in Barbados used to call me her Rebel Flower…Over the years, I layered many different scents to get something that was truly my own, but I wanted…something that said ‘Rihanna was here.’ Something delicious and special, a fragrance with subtle hints that linger and leave a sexy memory.”
The sequel fragrance Rebelle is meant to be more on the sensual side than Reb’l Fleur was; “My new fragrance is about taking control but still being a lady. There’s a feminine, romantic element to the fragrance — but there’s also a defiant quality in it. I love its duality,” Riri tweeted. One thing that will stay the same about the new perfume is the bottle. Originally inspired by a stiletto heel (how fierce), the bottle has not changed shape, simply instead of a black ‘ribbon’ streaming around the bottle, it is red (definitely more sensual).
Unfortunately, Rebelle, by Rihanna will not be premiered soon enough. The singer won’t be releasing the scent for another couple of months, missing the holiday 2011 rush for gifts (don’t forget, everybody could use a new scent for the New Year). So if you had your heart set on purchasing the new Rihanna fragrance for a nice little holiday gift, you may need to stick with her original fragrance, Reb’l Fleur in the mean time. However, when it does get released, prepare for an interesting and definitely original scent containing plum, ginger, and some coffee.
As we reported last month, there was a bit of a misunderstanding between the organizers of the New York, Milan and London Spring 2013 fashion weeks, scheduled for September of next year. The issue was centered around agreement which the governing bodies behind the New York, London, Milan and Paris shows had signed back in 2008 that defined a clearly set order the shows would be presented in, thereby allowing editors, designers, models and fashion fanatics everywhere to attend each fashion week in sequence (if they were lucky enough to get invites and be able to afford the plane tickets that is). The problem was that Milan and Paris claimed the agreement was only valid for three years, while New York and London clearly thought it would be permanent. One thing led to another and before you knew it we had ourselves a fashion week stand-off with both Milan and London planning to show on the same days!
Fortunately it seems that a full on fashion fight as been avoided, as Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) is now reporting that the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) the governing body behind New York fashion week has agreed to move their dates up to the week of September 6th – 13th. This puts New York in the position they had hoped to avoid, showing during the Labor Day weekend, however it seems that the CFDA has no intentions of walking away from this empty handed. The compromise they are proposing would allow all the fashion weeks to return to their agreed upon 2008 order, in exchange for New York and London moving their dates next year.
The CFDA sent Mario Boselli, president of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana the CFDA’s Italian counterpart, a proposal that would make the original fashion week order a permanent fixture for years to come. Mr. Boselli will be sitting down with his people as well as representatives from the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the governing body on the French side, to consider the CFDA’s compromise. The meeting is scheduled to be held at the end of this month, so if all goes well the fashion world will have some set dates for the Spring 2013 fashion weeks by December. Let’s hope that compromise is still in vogue!
Anyone who has ever attended a runway show knows that the fashion world is home to as many spies as cold war era Berlin, and everyone who has been to a sample sale can tell you just how ruthless haute couture can make some people, but news out of Paris last night took the term fashion crime to a new level. Marc Jacobs, creative director for Louis Vuitton had multiple pieces of his spring 2012 collection for his Marc Jacobs label stolen off of a London bound train that departed Paris. Originally The Telegraph had reported that the entire collection, encompassing 46 looks (keep in mind that is looks not individual pieces) had been taken. However Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) is now reporting that only certain pieces and some matching accessories were lifted by the as of now unidentified thieves.
The samples taken were the same that were shown earlier this fall on the runways during New York fashion week and feature looks from the Marc Jacobs spring 2012 collection which has not even gone into production yet! That could make for a very sticky situation for the label, as it might not be able to provide fashion magazines with the samples they need to write up editorials on the collection. However sources close to Jacobs say that the designer often keeps duplicates of his pieces, so hopefully there is a back-up for each of the swiped articles.
With how much security is usually associated with new lines it would be a safe bet to assume that someone within the label itself or one of its affiliate companies must have tipped the thieves off as to where they could find the collection. Police are currently investigating what is fast becoming the fashion world’s very own great train robbery, but as of the writing of this article have not divulged any leads they might have. Plenty of jokes about keeping an eye out for very fashionable hobos or street thieves in haute couture are already making the rounds, but the truth is that anyone interested enough to steal these pieces would have to be smart enough to know that they could never wear them. So while the clothes themselves were the only articles taken, it is fair to say the thieves were more than likely after some of Marc Jacobs’ newest fashion secrets.
While we are not ruling out the articles being found by intrepid police work the fact is the damage is probably already done. Whoever made off with the clothes could have easily examined and photographed them inside and out by now, which would provide them with more than enough information to duplicate or knock-off the looks. You can bet that Marc Jacobs and Co will have a keen eye out for any “new” collections that bear an uncanny resemblance to the missing articles, and it is also pretty safe to assume that a number of other designs are tightening up security around their lines at this very moment.
Promgirl News will bring you updates as this story develops.
Supermodel and Victoria’s Secret Angel Adriana Lima would like to set the record straight. Last Tuesday marked the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show in New York City and amid all the buzz about it being the most exciting, most over-the-top Victoria’s Secret show yet (can you say musical performers Nicki Minaj, Maroon 5, Kayne AND Jay-Z) an interview that Adriana did with The Telegraph seems to have caused some lasting scandal. In her interview Adriana detailed the outright crazy diet she puts herself on for the run-up to the show including the final 9 days where she swears off solids, drinking only protein shakes, and the final 12 hours where she wont even touch a glass of water!
Clearly in a world where more and more young people fall victim to anorexia, bulimia and other diseases related to poor body image there were plenty of folks who were downright offended by what became known as Adriana Lima’s Victoria Secret diet. Among them was CNN anchor Anderson Cooper who put Adriana’s diet on his RidicuList, and plenty of parents groups that sounded off about their disapproval. However Adriana feels that comments about her diet have been blown out of proportion and she is intent on clearing the air around this subject. While appearing on ET Canada, she offered the following words of advice to any teens thinking about following in her footsteps:
“Those teenagers out there, don’t go starving yourself or only drinking liquids. Don’t do that please… I know it’s very intense but … I just have an athlete’s mind and I appreciate doing this thing. It’s not that I do crazy diets throughout the year. I just do it for this particular thing. After this show, I become normal again.”
To her credit Adriana even pointed out the coffee cake that she was having for breakfast on the show and her partial analogy to athletes and the rigors they put their bodies through does illustrate her point very well. While it may work for a few days before the show that sort of diet and level of discipline is something no-one should try to maintain indefinitely. Here at Promgirl News we appreciate Adriana’s honesty, because it goes a long way to showing young ladies everywhere that the Victora’s Secret Angel physique is something even a supermodel has a great difficulty maintaining.
As winter’s harsh breeze stampedes in, a girl simply can’t get enough beauty tips to protect her skin and hair this season. Last time we met in Part 1, we discussed a few tips for skin and hair. So, now that you are all moisturized and hydrated, let’s move on to color. Summer is over and that could only mean your tan will fade (if it hasn’t started to already) and tanning booths don’t always seem like the best option. If the sun is in the clouds and a tanning bed isn’t ideal for you, what are our options? Well, a bronzer may not be the best option once you start losing your color because different skin types, especially when we get into harsh weather, will react well to a new make-up. One option would be to take a test drive with a blush. This way you can add color to your face without using an all-over powder that could possibly cause a bad reaction. A really great, moisture-rich formula blush is available by Cargo. Cargo’s blush comes in nine different shades giving you the options of simply adding some color to brighten up your face all the way to matching your blush to the
city you are in. Cargo is fun and affordable; the blushes are around $26, depending where you shop. The design of the container is made for professional use, so make your friends jealous by thinking they could never afford to look as good as you.
Another option to bronzers and blush is a product created by make-up guru, Bobbi Brown. Bobbi Brown has created an innovative idea to give your skin a
glow and erase a faded look. The product is called Bobbi Brown Buffing Grains. These magical grains are created from a Japanese Adzuki bean powder that will smooth and renew the face. Bobbi Brown also directs us on use as there is not just one way to create the perfect complexion in harsh weather. Bobbi says her buffing grains for the face are “a true skincare innovation. These luxurious grains can be mixed with any Bobbi Brown cleanser or water to create a fully customized, gentle exfoliator for the face… (The buffing grains) help remove dry surface patches and encourage skin cell turnover. Leaves face soft, smooth, and glowing.” If you simply can’t resist this purchase, make sure you have $40 in your pocket and visit Bobbi Brown’s website or retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman.
We have been reporting on this issue for the past six-months and if things keep going they way they have been we will be at it for another six, but the latest industry buzz is that Marc Jacobs will not be heading to Christian Dior. The French Fashion label has been without an experienced creative director for the better part of a year now since former creative director John Galliano was dismissed after a widely publicized, profane and anti-Semitic outburst in a Paris bistro. Jacobs, who currently occupies the creative director role with Louis Vuitton was long considered the favorite choice after attempts to secure other big name designers like Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz, Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton and fashion industry maverick Azzedine Alia fell through.
However the most recent statements from Dior insiders point toward talks between Jacobs and the fashion house breaking down due to the designer’s request to bring his current creative team over from Louis Vuitton. Usually the opportunity to take a competitor’s entire creative staff would be something a fashion house would jump on, but in this case both Dior and Louis Vuitton are controlled by French conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) which has no desire to rebuild one label’s creative team by tearing apart another.
As of the writing of this article Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) as well as a few other fashion news outlets point to Raf Simmons, Alexander Wang and Jason Wu as being the front runners for the position, though Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci is apparently still an outside option. Still many have doubts that Wu, Simmons or Wang, all young designers currently growing their own labels, would have much interest being swallowed up by the marque name that is Christian Dior. Currently the creative director role at Dior is being filled by Bill Gayten, Galliano’s long time pattern maker and design assistant, who despite a clearly committed effort has not been very well received as a creative director for a major fashion label.
The ASA (advertising standard authority) is having a field day or rather, a field week. Promgirl News recently reported the ban on Marc Jacobs new perfume ad for Oh Lola!, featuring his new favorite model, Dakota Fanning. The Oh Lola! ad was banned for its possible sexual content. This came as a bit of a surprise to everyone as Dakota Fanning is a sweet, young actress who is known more for her innocent, adolescent roles as a doe-eyed little girl. Well, apparently someone took her innocent look as shying too close to seductiveness, and adding the position of the actual promoted product, the perfume bottle, well that was simply too much for the ASA to handle.
A mere few days later and the ASA are at it again. This time, instead of focusing on a possible over sexualized ad or an ad referring and/or simulating drug use, the ASA has refused to turn its cheek to a company called Drop Dead. At first glance, the assumption of what the ASA is banning would take you to the company’s name; however the ban is due to the models appearance in the new ad for Drop Dead, not their implicit name. Drop Dead’s new ad features a model dressed in a bikini but the real issue is the model’s body. The girl in the ad is quite skinny, enough so that the ASA has deemed Drop Dead “socially irresponsible.” The ASA feels this ad, nor any other, should feature a girl who is visibly underweight. The ASA’s formal message concerning the issue at hand is as follows; “In the bikini images her hip, rib and collar bones were highly visible. We also noted that in the bikini and denim shorts images, hollows in her thighs were noticeable and she had prominent thigh bones. We considered that in combination with the stretched out pose and heavy eye makeup, the model looked underweight in the pictures.”
This is not a vendetta against skinny people for the ASA. Sure some of their bans are slightly ridiculous, but this ban comes down to the fact that the girl in the ad does not appear healthy in weight. Also, young girls are very impressionable and if they see this girl they may want to achieve the same look to a degree which could potentially cause harm, as having this look implies poor health and has been reported as appearing anorexic.
Too bad Marc and Drop Dead for the bans, but congrats to YSL for finally creating an appropriate Opium perfume ad that the ASA doesn’t want to touch!
|
|
