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Tamara Mellon, one of Britain’s most respected female entrepreneurs announced over the weekend her formal resignation from the multi-million dollar accessories firm that she helped build. Mellon, who co-founded the business with Malaysian-born British cobbler Jimmy Choo in 1996 and has since served as Creative Director for the firm, will stay on until a suitable replacement can be found. According to The Telegraph and Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) Mellon’s resignation will coincide with the departure of Jimmy Choo CEO Joshua Shulman. The pair will make their exit just over six months after the brand was bought by private equity firm Labelux, yet according to WWD both departures are completely amicable despite the fact that neither executive is leaving to fill another position.
Speculation that Mellon may be winding down her business commitments to launch a project of her own have persisted since mid-summer when she stepped down from her adviser position with beleaguered American fashion house Halston. Mellon exited Halston on the heels of the high profile departures of President Sarah Jessica Parker and Board Member Harvey Weinstein who left the label on less than amicable terms. However sources close to the Reimann family, primary shareholders of Labelux have hinted that certain Labelux executives are less then pleased with the state of Jimmy Choo since they bought the label from rival private equity firm Towerbrook for the hefty price tag of $800 million.
Whatever the reason behind Tamara Mellon’s departure it will certainly mark the end of an era for Jimmy Choo, as with all businesses but especially in fashion, a company always takes on a new identity after the departure of a founder. In an interview with Footwear News Joshua Schulman summed up the impact that both he and Mellon had best, saying “From a financial point of view, we grew the business significantly. And we transitioned Jimmy Choo from a niche brand focused on the U.S. and Europe to a [global] lifestyle player.”
Well, if the sales and new TV shows weren’t enough of a hint of a fast approaching winter, the weather is sure to bring it to your attention. The brisk air hasn’t yet become bitter and frigid but there is a chill none the less. With this cold, dry air making its rounds in the northern portions of this country, it means time to take a look at yourself. This time of year brings out a whole new line of products as our skin, hair, nails, and other aspects are in need of indulgence. For instance, maybe your lotion just isn’t doing its job in this weather. A great option to using a simple lotion is to use a heavier source, oil. Josie Maran makes an amazing product, Josie Maran Organic Argan Oil. This product can be used to assist in hydration issues for hair, skin, and nails. Anywhere hydration is needed, this product claims to do the job, and is available at Sephora (online and in-store) as well as wherever Josie Maran products are sold.
In addition, oils like this can be added to any lotion or body butter to once again, to ‘amp up the hydration.’ A great body butter to use would be an almond, coconut, milk body butter. Laura Mercier has created one of these and includes; shea butter, jojoba, honey, aloe vera gel, illipe butter, and grape seed oil. This product smells great and because it is a body butter, opposed to a lotion or cream, the hydrating value almost doubles.
Oils like Josie Maran’s oil products can also be added to hair products for extra hydration in a drying climate. Products like shampoos and conditioners are always open to a drop or two of oil to perk up dull hair. Another option to the oils is leave-in conditioners and mask treatments. The most renowned company in hair products of this kind is Kerastase; specifically, Kerastase Masqueintense. This is a “highly concentrated nourishing treatment” for the hair. Treatments like these all pretty much work the same, for this specific brand and treatment one would towel dry their hair and then apply a small amount, massaged through the hair to leave-in for five minutes before thoroughly rinsing.
Well, that was the first edition to not letting the winter dry you out. Next time, some tips on keeping your color and your skin smooth.
By now if you’ve so much as glanced at a news story in the last two months you are aware of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests. The loosely organized, seemingly leaderless group has been protesting corporate corruption, what they view as undue corporate influence in government and growing social inequality in America by rallying outside financial institutions on Wall Street every day since September 17th. The message of the group, who refer to themselves as the 99% (as in everyone except America’s wealthiest and most influential) has resonated with many across the country as evidence by the off-shoot protests that have sprung up in major cities throughout the United States. As with all things the popular, the message of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement as garnered some high profile endorsements from celebrities such as Mark Ruffalo, Kayne West and Brad Pitt.
While the 99% does not seem to be bothered by these members of the 1% who’ve thrown their weight behind the cause, recording artist turned media mogul Jay-Z found out the hard way that the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement does not take too kindly to the 1% trying to make money off of their message. Last week Jay-Z’s clothing label, Rocawear unveiled a t-shirt that ostensibly supported the movement. The black tee featured the words ‘Occupy Wall Street’ with the ‘W’ crossed out and an ‘S’ added to the end to create the phrase ‘Occupy All Streets’. In a statement to Gawker a Rep for Rocawear said that “the ‘Occupy All Streets’ T-shirt was created in support of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement. Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social. ‘Occupy All Streets’ is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street.”
However the final part of the Rocawear’s statement to Gawker is what really turned heads when their Rep plainly said that “at this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.” Suddenly what looked like a powerful celebrity, and perhaps more importantly, corporate endorsement for the movement was re-framed as a member of the 1% capitalizing on the social distress of the 99%. While Rocawear had nearly a week to maneuver and perhaps offer an olive branch to ‘Occupy Wall Street’, the company instead forged ahead and placed the t-shirts on their retail site Friday morning. The resulting, and completely foreseeable, negative press backlash proved too much for Rocawear to endure and the offending tees were pulled from their site the very next day. In a message to TMZ a member of ‘Occupy Wall Street’ going by the pseudonym Grim issued a rebuttal to Rocawear’s actions saying “To attempt to profit off of the first important social moment of 50 years with an overpriced piece of cotton is an insult to the fight for economic civil rights known as #occupywallstreet”.
No word yet on whether or not Rocawear plans to work out some sort of compromise with ‘Occupy Wall Street’, but it would probably be in their best interest to start with damage control considering that the only thing their t-shirt based cash grab earned them was the ire of a movement that is decidedly anti-corporate.
Black Friday is getting closer and closer as each week comes and goes. This day is certainly a day to prepare for, as stuffing yourself more than the turkey was and then getting a few hours of sleep to only bounce up at 5am and shop your pants off. Well this year may be a little different, that is you plan to shop at any of the Gap Inc. stores. Gap and all of the retail stores associated with their corporation will open their doors on Thanksgiving Day! Yes, a store – rather, five stores as Gap Inc. consists of Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athelta, and Gap Inc. Outlet stores – will be open to shoppers on a national holiday, a day that is normally left to staying home with family and friends, watching football, making food, and any other tradition surrounding Thanksgiving Day. This year, get ready to implement some new traditions with the Gap and their other stores.
A whopping one thousand Gap stores will have doors wide open, lights on, and perky employees to help you bring in the holiday cheer with their promotional and traditional merchandise. The Gap Inc. has been taking some hard hits over the past year. The company’s lead designer left the position and are yet to place a successor, leaving the company with a lack of organization, direction, and overall are in need of an executive decider close enough to the collections and decisions at hand. On top of their misfortune, the Gap Inc. has also suffered profit loss in the past few quarters, which is never a good thing.
With high hopes, Gap Inc. is pursuing this venture to come out of one of the highest profiting days for retail and, hopefully, make enough profits from their Black Friday sales to sit comfortably with other retailers. Whether or not this endeavor will bring them back up to standards prior to their loss, it is a great marketing ploy. With that said, we wish them the best of luck as well as all the shoppers daring enough to go out on Black Friday, let alone the new Eve of Black Friday, “Black Thursday”.
A few weeks ago Promgirl News along with many other fashion news outlets took some exception to a symbolic West Hollywood ban on fur due to its rather broad definitions and the negative repercussions it would inevitably have on the local retail operations. Now Women’s Wear Daily is reporting that the Fur Industry Council of America, which wouldn’t you know is headquartered in West Hollywood, has vowed to file suite against the West Hollywood City Council if the ban is actually signed into law.
Currently the ban is making its way through the legal obstacle course that any proposal destined to become law must navigate, and while the process is admittedly slow, with strong support from the West Hollywood City Council the measure is expected to pass. That would mean that as of sometime in September 2012 it would be illegal for any merchants operating in West Hollywood to sell “any article containing fur found on the body, which covers clothes, belts, hats, shoes, gloves and scarves” according to the language of the soon-to-be-law fur used in the making of furniture or rugs would still be acceptable and there is a well known and some would argue unfair caveat that excludes leather from the ban. The actual definition of fur found in the law is another point that some take objection to, considering fur is defined as any “animal skins with hair such as mink, shearling, fox, chinchilla, rabbit, seal and bear.”
According to a study commissioned by the Fur Industry Council of America 46 percent of West Hollywood retailers offer some form of fur product that is meant to be worn and therefore in violation of the ban. While the actual legal avenue of the promised suite has not yet been discussed it is safe to say that the Fur Industry council would be filing suit on behalf of these retailers whose revenue would be effected by what will most likely be argued as a local law that violates state and federal trade practices. Whatever reaction the ban and the subsequent lawsuit draw from West Hollywood residents it is obvious that this case will be closely watched by groups on both sides of the issue who are far outside the confines of this California enclave. So with both sides digging in for what looks like a long and passionate fight, its safe to say there will be plenty more news to come on this issue.
It’s that time of year again, Halloween is long over and Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and everywhere you look stores are going all out with the decorations trying to create that one of a kind holiday shopping experience. However this year the store to beat may very well be Barneys of New York, where Santa, Rudolph and the elves are making room for a whole new kind of workshop. Back in August Promgirl News reported that Barneys would be teaming up with Mama Monster herself to create a wholly unique shopping space called Gaga’s Workshop. Earlier this week some of the details regarding this one of a kind holiday workshop were shared with Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) by longtime Gaga collaborator, stylist Nicola Formichetti and lets just say that it sounds even more amazing then we had first imagined.
Formichetti told WWD that Gaga’s instructions were to make the space “amazing and fun, for kids and for adults. She was very much involved in coming up with the ideas and overseeing the whole process, but I also got her mom, Cynthia involved. She knew Gaga’s favorite chocolates or her favorite books when she was little. We really wanted this experience to be like going through her memories, in a very surreal way. For that, I needed the help of Mrs. Germanotta.”
A tour through the memories of Lady Gaga with Mama Monster’s own mama leading the way, certainly sounds like it will be a one of a kind journey. The workshop will be open to the public on November 21st and will occupy the entire 5th floor of Barneys flagship store in New York City. According to Barneys the entire floor will be transformed into a giant sculpture featuring eight stations selling 170 holiday themed items made specifically for Barneys under the watchful eye of Gaga herself. The full list of what are sure to become very unique gifts is still under wraps but the items that have been revealed, like lobster claw Christmas stockings and handmade chocolate skulls certainly sound like a refreshing departure from the holiday norm. The workshop will stay open through the new year so if you find yourself on a shopping trip in NYC this holiday season, add Barneys to your must visit list because they will be offering some one-of-a-kind holiday cheer.
By now we all know that Karl Lagerfeld has a cosmetics collection with Sephora, and just in time for the holiday season. Well, if Karl Lagerfeld has done it, we know it’s good. Following suit, a certain Hollywood actress is doing the same. It has just been released that Kate Winslet is the other half of Lancôme’s latest make-up collection. This new collaboration sounds amazing, and that’s because it is; The Holiday 2011 Color Collection, by Kate Winslet is a limited edition collection (meaning, get to the store before the holidays or it will be gone) and it will benefit Kate’s charity, the Golden Hat Foundation. This foundation is bringing a topic to light which many people inadvertently ignore or are simply left uninformed on the topic. Kate’s Golden Hat Foundation is (in their own words); “The Golden Hat Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers for people with autism around the world, and creating an environment that holds these individuals as intellectually capable.
The mission of the Golden Hat Foundation is the establishment of innovative campuses that offer people with autism the opportunity to learn to communicate effectively, receive an education, job training and enjoy recreational activities, all within a supportive social network.
When given a suitable education and the means to communicate effectively, people with autism can truly realize their dreams.”
With this amazing opportunity at hand, Lancôme is in support and if you would like to support as well, their website takes donations. Also any purchase made of the Holiday 2011 Color Collection, by Kate Winslet will assist in the proceeds Lancôme is donating to the fund. Currently, Lancôme has committed to donating 150,000 euros and with the expected sales, this number will hopefully increase.
The collection will consist of the basics. The Holiday 2011 Color Collection, by Kate Winslet carries lipstick, nail polish, blush, highlighter, and a few other essentials. Each piece in Kate’s benevolent collection is elegantly adorned with a golden hat and Kate’s signature, all in gold over black (as Lancôme is known for). Products are now available nationwide, wherever Lancôme is sold.
Anyone who has been reading Promgirl News for any length of time knows that we love us some Dakota Fanning and Marc Jacobs so we were plenty excited to hear that the former would be modeling for the latter’s new fragrance. Unfortunately it seems that our excitement was matched with equal parts outrage from one of our favorite fashion foes, Britain’s ever-zealous Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has officially banned Fanning’s Oh Lola! ads from appearing anywhere in the U.K. claiming that the campaign is an attempt to “sexualise a child.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve reported on the ASA who earlier this year took action against the menace of Photoshop in cosmetics ads and later went on a crusade against overly sexual images despite not having a very solid definition of what they were, but this ban may in fact take the cake. The ASA issued the following statement regarding the ad:
“We noted that the model was holding up the perfume bottle which rested in her lap between her legs and we considered that its position was sexually provocative. We understood the model was 17 years old but we considered she looked under the age of 16. We considered the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality. Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad could be seen to sexualise a child.”
The Guardian has reported that Coty, makers of Oh Lola! fragrance have already defended the ad noting that it does not depict any “private body parts or sexual activity” but the ASA is sticking to its guns after receiving complaints that the company was trying to turn a minor (Fanning will be 18 on February23rd) into a sex object. When we reported on the banned L’Oreal ads the logic that beautiful women like Julia Roberts need not have every last wrinkle airbrushed away made sense to us, especially in light of the image issues many young people face in modern society. When the ASA moved against overly sexual images it was at least excusable considering the proximity of certain advertisements to schools. However after this latest ban, we are starting to wonder, is there any image of a female model that the ASA won’t find “sexually provocative”?
Last night, Glamour hosted their Women of the Year awards and everyone was there. All the Jens attended, from Alba to Lopez. The other Jen, Aniston, also attended side by side with laugh out loud pal Chelsea Handler (of Chelsea Lately) in a gorgeous dress. As beauty, comedy, and good deeds all met up for an amazing night, our favorite designer was also in attendance. Yes, Marc Jacobs went to support his amazing female clients and enjoy the night. While chatting it up with one of the biggest designers in the world, it was hard (for reporters) to resist asking Mr. Jacobs about his upcoming movie role, so they didn’t. Marc said on the topic, “I’m not going to talk much about it because I promised I wouldn’t…But it was a really super exciting experience — one that I probably will never repeat, but I really had a great time.”
However, Marc was willing to talk about another exciting, on screen event…his “appearance” on South Park. Marc Jacobs is overjoyed by the fact that South Park and its creators chose to use his persona as a character (miss the episode; catch up on Muscle Man Marc here). Marc Jacobs was absolutely gushing over the fact that he was made into a doll for Cartman – a main character on South Park – and was called, Muscle Man Marc. Jacobs said, “That was probably the greatest honor of my entire life so far. I am the Muscle Man Marc doll on South Park, and I joined the very great ranks of being one of Cartman’s toys — although I get boiled to death at the end of the episode, I think [South Park creators] Matt and Trey are just probably the two most brilliant people in the entire world, and it is definitely my favorite program on TV … I have two of Cartman’s toys tattooed, one on each forearm — Clyde Frog and the other one is Rumpletumskin.” Evidentially, Marc had no idea this was in the works, “I was shocked. I was actually in the trailer [on set for his role in the forthcoming film Disconnect], and Scott Campbell, who gave me the tattoos, he sent me an image, and he was, like, ‘Dude, you’re not going to believe this: You’re on South Park.’ And, I mean, we were all wrecked; we were in the hair and makeup trailer, and we downloaded it and watched it,” he said. “Honestly, without hesitation, it is the greatest honor, I mean, way above and beyond the lifetime achievement award, beyond anything. It’s like, to be immortalized on South Park, I can die a happy man.”
In honor of the “greatest honor” Marc told reporters, “That’ll be my next tattoo, the Muscle Man Marc from South Park,”
In a few short hours the most talked about designer/fast-fashion collaboration since Missoni for Target drove shoppers and the internet wild earlier this year, will hit the runway in NYC. Versace for H&M will be shown tonight at Pier 57 in New York City’s meatpacking district which has been re-christened “Versace for H&M Hall on the Hudson” for the evening’s festivities. Musical Performers will include loyal Versace wearer Prince and Hip-Hop’s fashion forward favorite Nicki Minaj, both of whom will almost certainly be wearing pieces from the collection.
Donatella Versace told Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) that “to have my friend, the great, the amazing, the one and only Price and the extraordinary Nicki Minaj both perform at the event, will create exactly the feeling of joy and glamour I want this partnership to express.” No official word yet but rumor has it the two may be pairing up for a duo during a song that includes vocals from Donatella herself.
The 43 piece collection is full of the Miami chic palm tree prints and wild patterns that Donatella is known for and will be starting at $19.99 for the jewelry with the most expensive pieces topping out at $299. The entire collection will be available in H&M stores and on their website next Thursday, November 17th. According to a story by WWD Donatella was actually approached about doing the H&M collaboration two years ago but declined saying that she “wanted to work to stablilize the main collection everywhere in the world.”
The Versace for H&M collection wont be the only show going on tonight in the big apple, as Victoria’s Secret’s annual show will be taping tonight at the 69th Regiment Armory in Kip’s Bay and according to reports on AllHipHop.com Nicki Minaj has just been tapped to replace Cee Lo Green in performing alongside Kayne West and Maroon 5 so let’s hope for her sake that mid-town traffic is light tonight.
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