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Courtesy photos have been released for the new fall 2011 ad campaign by American retail and design giant Ann Taylor featuring a debonaire looking Demi Moore, who according to an interview she gave to style.com earlier in the week has always been quiet a fan of the brand. The photo shoot was done by Patrick Demarchelier and feature’s Moore looking New York chic in front of the very traditional big apple back drop, not surprising for a retailer that still calls NYC their home and especially in a fall season where New York is once again hot.
In a recent statement Ann Taylor president Christine Beauchamp offered the following reason for why the brand selected more: “Demi is a true inspiration for modern women today, managing to balanace her demanding career and her family life, while doing so much to create positive change and give back.”
The retailer’s fall line is looking to be one of the most eclectic and adventurous yet, at least by Ann Taylor standards. Often perceived as traditional and conservative American fashion Ann Taylor has introduced some more experimental looks into this year’s fall collection including a sleeveless trench which looks more refined then it sounds and may prove to catch on after a scorching summer. For years now many loyal Ann Taylor consumers have been willing the brand to move more aggressively into 20th century fashion.
It is a sentiment even Moore seems to share. “I look back at Ann Taylor and for quiet a while, they were geared toward the working woman, a lot of suiting, and a little more conservative. I think, as we’ve evolved into things that literally go from working out to work to weekend, from day into night, that there has to be a combination of practicality and a sense of fun,” Demi told an interviewer from style.com.
IFlorence Welch, the red-haired ivory-skinned beauty who is the front woman for the hit British alt-rock group Florence and the Machine is no stranger to the world of fashion. In a few short years she has already become a regular in front of the cat walks and has served as a muse for both Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel and more recently Frida Giannini of Gucci. Now according to reports from England’s Daily Mail, Ms. Welch is hoping to team up with stylist Aldene Johnson to create an inexpensive fashion line based on her own unique style that she hopes to make available through Topshop.
“Florence wants it to reflect her eclectic, quirky style,” a source close to the single told the Daily Mail “She has thousands of unique pieces, everything from vintage gowns to garments she’s been given by Karl Lagerfeld, and would love to work with Aldene to create a line inspired by her wardrobe, like Kate Moss did.”
Florence’s choice of High Street retailer Top Shop comes as little surprise since they designed a series of bespoke stage costumes for 2009 tour that immediately followed the release of Florence and the Machine’s hit debut album Lungs. It should be noted that Gucci has also designed a series of costumes for Ms. Welch’s recent US tour, though it is doubtful they feel jilted by her choice to go with Topshop considering inexpensive and Gucci are two words that rarely mix.
So far Topshop and Ms. Welch have not released any official statements but Promgirl News will be monitoring press releases from both to find out if and when this newest collaboration will go forward.
Coco Chanel has shaped fashion as much as any other designer and though it has been forty years since her death she remains one of the central characters in the story line of modern fashion, continuing to inspire designers like Karl Lagerfeld and draw the fascination of fashonistas worldwide. Numerous films and books have told and retold her life story for the past half century, with some of the most recent, like the film Coco before Chanel, having been released in the last few years. Now another retelling of Coco’s story is set to hit shelves and this one promises to touch on parts of the tale that no one has heard before.
According to reports from Women’s Wear Daily a new book entitled Coco Chanel: An Intimate Life contains details that have been left out of any other autobiography until this point. Some of these details include Coco’s apparently open attitude towards bisexuality, including lesbian affairs, as well as her secret struggle against a growing opiate habit. Biographer Lisa Chaney drew on newly discovered personal correspondence, including Coco’s own love letters to help piece together this new and unique look at a fashion icon.
It has often been said that Coco Chanel’s designs were for the more liberated and forward thinking women of her generation and so these new risque behaviors and (for their time) radical beliefs that Ms. Chaney’s book brings to light may not be to hard to imagine. The book also adds new detail to one of the darkest periods of Coco’s life, the time during the second world war where she was accused by many of collaborating with the German occupation. According to Ms. Cheney Coco was dating a man at that time by the name Gunther von Dincklage who was quiet probably a Nazi spy. Though Cheney has not been able to prove that Coco was ever aware of this.
Whatever your feelings regarding Coco Chanel it will be surprising if this biography doesn’t stir renewed debate about the life and times of fashion’s most famous woman.
Before her untimely and tragic death last week Amy Winehouse had already released several completed collections from her collaboration with fashion label Fred Perry. The collections, which were heavily influenced by Winehouse’s personal style including her love of retro clothing, big hair and pencil skirts, have been successful sellers for the brand since they were introduced in October of last year. Around that same time Winehouse gave a somewhat disastrous interview with Harper’s Bazaar in which she stated off hand that the “collections have been done up until Winter/Fall 2012” a comment that at the time was dismissed as a fashion novice misunderstanding the difference between a few concept sketches and a completed line. However looking back it seems that may not have been the case.
Ms. Winehouse, who is still the talk of the music world for how many unreleased tracks and vocal performances she apparently accrued in her short career may very well have achieved the same feat in the world of fashion. Considering the mainly retro centric nature of her brand it would not be a stretch of the imagination to assume that Winehouse’s next two or three lines were nearly completed by the time of her death.
Asked what would become of the Fred Perry x Amy Winehouse line, the label released the following statement via spokesperson to Vogue UK: “Fred Perry will not comment until a consultation with Amy’s family and management has taken place.” This extremely mute and measured reaction has unleashed a wave of rumors in the fashion world that not only is at least one more Winehouse collection ready, but there is a good chance Fred Perry will release it posthumously.
Another statement on Fred Perry’s website which reads, “Fred Perry is deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Amy Winehouse. Our thoughts are with her friends and family during this difficult time,” could be interpreted as a sign that the label is moving to close the perceived distance between themselves and the family and colleagues Winehouse left behind. This token of sympathy would make any posthumous release look more like a honor to a fallen friend then a cold-hearted cash grab by a corporation that still owns the rights to Ms. Winehouse’s line.
It seems with each passing year that the fashion industry takes more and more heat from concerned parents groups, standards organizations and the media as a whole for contributing to an ever growing number of young women with body image problems. Which is why it may sound so surprising that in a recent interview with Vogue UK Dutch supermodel Lara Stone admitted that when it comes to her body, she is not fond of “most of it”. Stone, who is currently working as the face of Calvin Klein in ready-to-wear, fragrance, lingerie and denim, is easily one of the most recognizable models in the world and is considered by many to be one of the most gorgeous. Yet in her interview with Vogue she freely admits that she does not see eye to eye with her greatest admirers, telling the fashion mag:
“Like most women, I have days where I feel like today I’m not leaving the house – you know days where you’ve got a spot on your nose or when you’ve just got off a flight, eaten fish and chips and feel really bloated – that one happens a lot to me.”
However Stone went on to describe her personal mentality towards body image and for once parent’s groups should be encouraging their daughters to follow in the footsteps of a supermodel who told Vogue “You have to accept yourself though, and accept that there will always be something to worry about. It’s much easier to just accept things.”
In the interview Stone went on to show a lighthearted side that many people believe models don’t posses, joking that she would love to start a film career with the movie Zoolander 2, scheduled for a tenative 2014 release, telling Vogue “I’d be good at that ‘Blue Steel’ pose.”
By now if you have read any fashion news at all in the last month you’re well aware of the fact that reality TV’s most recent darling, Kim Kardashian is suing clothing retailer Old Navy for what she claims was an intentional attempt to deceive consumers into believing she endorsed the retailer. At the heart of the suit is Old Navy’s “Super C.U.T.E.” commercial that has been airing since early spring, and at the center of the commercial is a young aspiring signer/actress named Melissa Molinaro who bares a very strong resemblance to Kardashian; a resemblance that Kardashian and her lawyers believe was designed to dupe consumers into thinking they were watching Kardashian in the commercial.
Whether you think this lawsuit is justified or just plain ridiculous, it is hard to argue that Molinaro and Kardashian are not very similar in appearance. What Kardashian’s lawyers must prove in court is that this similarity has cost Kim the $20 million dollar sum she is suing for by depriving her of that most lucrative and sought after celebrity possession: the endorsement deal. Kardashian, who is in talks with Sears to release her own clothing label, The Kardashian Kollection, exclusively through their retail locations may not be overreaching as much as that $20 million dollar sum suggests at first glance.
In 1988 Bette Midler pursued a similar suit against Ford Motors after they contracted one of her back-up signers to sing like her in a widely aired Ford commercial. Midler won a partial victory because she was able to prove that not only was it too difficult for the average viewer to discern between her and the imposter but that the similarity was intentional (Ford had originally approached Midler to do the commercial but she declined).
While Kardashian may not have such a neat and tidy way to prove that the casting of a look alike was intentional what she does have on her side is time. It has been over 20 years since Midler’s suit and now more then ever a celebrity is a brand unto themselves, they are more aware of this and take a more aggressive stance when it comes to controlling their public image in the age of the 24-hour news cycle. Kardashian is certainly no exception to this rule. What is most interesting though is if Kim does get the victory she seeks, where does that leave Melissa Molinaro? A world where daring to look, act, or speak too much like an internationally renown celebrity is perfect for today’s modern celebs who in many cases make the lion’s share of their earnings through endorsements, but where does that leave aspiring stars who were (un)lucky enough to be born looking like a certain celebrity?
Rumors have begun to spread that PPR is in talks with Brioni about buying the Italian menswear brand with an eye for expansion into China. According to Reuters and Financial Times the French luxury conglomerate is interested in Brioni because the expanding Chinese luxury market, which is now the second largest in the world, is comprised mainly of male consumers and PPR, which has already achieved desirable market penetration in China with their Gucci products, is in need of a male centric brand.
While PPR refuses to issue any official comments on the possible acquisition Financial Times is reporting that PPR insiders have one primary concern about moving forward with the purchase of Brioni, that being the potential uproar that may come from a French company buying out yet another Italian label. What they are hoping to avoid is the same sort of nationalist backlash that was directed at LVMH when they purchased Bulgari. PPR, which began as Pinault-Printemps-Redoute is still controlled by the Pinault family who have a very positive history within Italy, helping to establish a modern art museum in Venice but it is doubtful that such philanthropy will do much to sway the die-hard Italian fashion loyalists.
If PPR can successfully negotiate the purchase of Brioni without public backlash tarnishing the labels reputation for authentic, hand tailored Italian suits and menswear then they will indeed find themselves in a favorable position to further their expansion into China. With PPR brands like McQueen and Gucci already gaining popularity in the Asian markets as traditional European fashion has become the new must have item throughout the far-east PPR should have little to no trouble generating exposure for the Brioni name.
According to press releases from both companies, financially struggling retailer American Apparel will be partnering with online auction giant eBay to offer what is being described as the site’s “first full online designer lifestyle shop.” American Apparel, which was saved from having to file bankruptcy to avoid defaulting on its loans earlier in the year by an investment group led by Canadian yogurt magnate Michael Serruya and private investment firm Lion Capital, is seeking new ways to reach buyers without exposing itself to undue financial risk. If there is one thing eBay has, it is an abundance of buyers and according to the company there are more than 30,000 searches for American Apparel products on eBay each month.
American Apparel’s online store will be accessible through their homepage and the company’s signature (and these days often NSFW) photography will be featured prominently on the site. All orders placed through the eBay store will be filled and shipped by American Apparel. One aspect of this new business model that has already come under criticism is that American Apparel products sold through the site will only be available at standard retail price while most of eBay’s loyal consumers turn to the company looking for deals.
Whether this is a match made in heaven, as American Apparel hopes, or a relationship that is bound to be rocky from the start, as many suggest; it is clear that eBay will be getting the better end of the deal. While this could breath life back into American Apparel’s sinking stock prices and revenue stream most observers are viewing this as eBay testing the waters for a new online business model to be supported by their already ubiquitous name. It is clear from the wording of eBay’s press release that their primary focus in this new relationship with be marketing as the following except suggests: “eBay’s unparalleled market share and marketing abilities, such as targeted email communication, affiliate programs and personalization, will help promote American Apparel to a new audience of devoted eBay shoppers.”
However how devoted those shoppers will be when paying full retail prices has yet to be seen.
Two advertisements for L’Oreal cosmetics, one featuring Julia Roberts and the other with Christy Turlington, have been banned by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) because they have been overly-airbrushed, according to a report from the English paper The Guardian. The first ad featuring Ms. Roberts is a two page spread shot by Mario Testino for L’Oreal’s Lancome make-up products, the second featuring Ms. Turlington is an ad for Maybelline’s new ‘Eraser’ foundation. Both advertisements were brought to the attention of the ASA by Jo Swinson, a member of Parliament who claims that the overly manipulated photographs could have a negative effect on an individual’s body image.
“We should have some honesty in advertising and that’s exactly what the ASA is there to do. I’m delighted they’ve upheld these complaints,” Ms. Swinson told BBC news “There’s a big picture here which is half of young women between 16 and 21 say they would consider cosmetic surgery and we’ve seen eating disorders more than double in the last 15 years. There’s a problem out there with body image and confidence. The way excessive retouching has become pervasive in our society is contributing to that problem.” When asked why these particular ads were targeted she told The Guardian that “this ban sends a powerful message to advertisers: let’s get back to reality.”
L’Oreal admitted that both images had been retouched but disputed the ASA’s claim that the use of photo-manipulation was overly-excessive. Earlier this year the ASA issued a ban against an ad for Yves Saint Laurent’s Belle D’Opium fragrance because they claimed the images in the advertisement, which included model Melanie Thierry pushing her finger into the hollow of her arm like a hypodermic needle and feigning some sort of seizure, were intentionally simulating drug use. Last year saw the agency issue a ban on Diesel’s ‘Be Stupid’ advertising campaign claiming that it would encourage inappropriate behavior and ban a Louis Vuitton ad that it claimed would mislead customers about production techniques.
However earlier this year a Miu Miu ad which was brought to the ASA’s attention for having what many considered a “significantly underweight” model was deemed acceptable. This most recent ban may signal a change of policy for the ASA which received negative feedback from its supporters over allowing the Miu Miu ad to run. One thing is certain though, advertisers will be paying much closer attention to the ASA’s rulings now that the agency has entered into the realm of enforcing bans against photos that some feel effect body image.
The tween star of this summer’s J.J. Abrams sci-fi thriller Super-8 will be one of five faces to grace the cover of the supernatural issue of LOVE magazine scheduled to hit shelves next month. The only other cover girl who has been revealed thus far is Nyasha Matonhodze. Fanning’s photo shoot for the cover, done by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, is a slam dunk as far as matching the photo’s theme with the young actress’s style. The cover features Elle as an almost ethereal vision in white lace and blond locks, a look that while similar to the porcelain doll shoot her and her sister did for Vogue earlier in the month, seems even more suited to the younger of the pair.
Last month the fashion forward thirteen year old was featured in a very grown up photo shoot for Black Book magazine where she gave an insightful and intelligent interview on what it was like working with J.J. Abrams on Super-8. With so much exposure so quickly in both Hollywood and the world of fashion it is no surprise that Elle, who according to her older sis Dakota is the fashionista of the family, is quickly becoming a household name.
If you missed Super-8 and still want a chance to see the demure and dazzling young starlet on the big screen Elle will be starring in two more movies to be release later this year. The first is Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo and then second is film legend Francis Ford Coppola’s Twixt Now and Sunrise featuring Fanning alongside Val Kilmer in a haunting story of a writer who makes contact with the ghost of a young girl while trying to solve a mysterious murder, a story that will certainly fit Elle’s style.
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