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If you consider yourself a fashionista and have never heard of Kelly Wearstler you can be forgiven for now. For the last 20 years the 44-year old mother of two has made a name for herself with one of fashion’s closest relatives, interior design and in the decorating world everyone knows her name. Wesrstler’s impressive decorator’s resume includes the Viceroy hotel chain, Maison 140, the prestigious Avalon hotel in Beverly Hills and countless celebrity mansions and villas; beyond that she has released a home furnishings line with Bergdorf Goodman, her own brand of sheets and rugs, and penned three popular titles on the subject of decor Modern Glamour, Domicilium Decoratus and Hue.
“My motto in life is take risks; you don’t have a voice if you don’t. You have to venture outside your boundaries. That’s what life’s all about,” Kelly told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month while being interviewed about her latest departure from the boundaries of decor: a ready-to-wear women’s fashion line and jewelry collection that will hit shelves in less than six weeks. When asked about her inspirations for the line she explained that it was to be in the same vein as her signature decor brands, a mixture of modern chic with the classic and opulent aesthetic of 1940s through 1960s Hollywood. When asked about her favorite contemporary designer Wearstler named Sonia Rykiel and added that her all time style icon was none other than the opulent and elegant Peggy Guggenheim.
While it is impossible to accurately predict how the line will be received by shoppers when it appears in Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter and Holt Renfrew at the end of next month it is fair to say that the fashion world has already taken note and is eager to see if Wearstler’s venture into style will be anywhere near as successful as her career in decor. If so then it will not be long before not knowning Kelly Wearstler’s name will be as big a faux pas in fashion as it already is in design.
Between May 2010 and May 2011 rates for domestic leather surged 13.9 percent. Meanwhile in Italy, home of the world’s most sought after tanneries used by most major brands the price of raw hides increased a whopping 40% over the same period. While this increase in price, and for most brands thereby cost, has not dissuaded the world’s fashion elite from seeking out the hottest new jackets, clutches and shoes it has forced designers to begin thinking outside of the box, or bag as it were.
Uri Minkoff, chief executive officer of Rebecca Minkoff, a relative newcomer to the leather handbag industry spoke to Women’s Wear Daily about some of the ways his company is beginning to get smarter in their approach to designing their much sought after bags. “We began to think of little things: should the hangtag be metal or leather, how many studs do we need on a bag, and if there are some places where you have a piece of leather that wasn’t visible, was it possible to get away with a different material,” Minkoff told the mag. Rebecca Minkoff however has taken an interesting approach to the rising prices by actually cutting the cost of many of their best styles by anywhere from 15 to 18 percent, hoping to gain in market share what they loose in profit margins.
Most designers however have gone in the other direction, raising prices to meet the increasing costs of leather. “All of the Italian tanneries are aiming strongly at the luxury brands because we can guarantee the quality they want. They aren’t happy about the price increase, but they’ve sort of accepted it,” says Giuseppe Volpi co-owner of Tuscan Tanneries which supplies leather to brands such as Burberry, Gucci and Trussardi. Many brands such as Furla and Dooney & Bourke have already begun to change tact in the use of the now more expensive leather, cutting down on metal hardware and pursuing more precise stitching methods to avoid waste. Volpi does point out thought that many of the more low end designers with fabrication facilities in China and other low cost labor nations have given up Italian leather entirely opting instead for cheaper alternatives made in South America.
Rocker turned designer Gwen Stefani announced over the weekend that her Harajuku Lover’s line would be releasing a juniors collection exclusively through Target which will be available come November. Stefani is no stranger to juniors lines having already designed one for her more mainstream L.A.M.B. label, which began her foray into fashion back in 2004. However unlike L.A.M.B., Harajuku is a more whimsical and artsy collection designed as an ode to the street dressing styles of the Harajuku section of Tokyo. The Harajuku neighborhood is regarded as the inception point for the new Japanese fashion movement centered on exploring Kawaiiness, roughly translated as cuteness, the movement focuses on non-threatening forms, fun and outgoing design themes and attractive styles designed inspire openness and ease; making Stefani’s Harajuku label an idea point from which to delve into junior’s fashion.
“Target has given me the creative freedom to design kid’s clothing that is different than most anything you usually see out there with great quality, attention to detail and most of all, available at amazing prices” Stefani told Women’s Wear Daily. Being a mother herself may have led Stefani to explore a more accessible price range, knowing how short lived each piece’s usefulness can be. Considering that many of the high-end children’s lines that have launched recently seem to have forgotten this important fact Harajuku’s kids line is already being hotly anticipated both because of its accessibility and observations that Stefani’s own children Kingston and Zuma always seem to be in the height of style.
The first offerings from Harajuku’s kids collection will be available in Target stores nation wide come November and according to Stefani will range in price from $3.99 to $29.99. A second release has already been scheduled for January 2012 providing a very positive sign that Target also believes this concept has legs.
With many sectors of the global economy, including retail, still trying to fully recover from the collapse of the financial markets it is a rare sight these days to see any designer, fashion house or line outperform its economic predictions. Which is why Burberry’s recently implemented growth strategy must be praised, after the luxury retailer announced this week that it surpassed its own predicted first quarter revenue by a jaw dropping 34%. It seems that fashonistas the world over cannot get enough of the brands iconic trench coats and hand bags with the most staggering gains coming in the Asia Pacific region where the company announced a 67% increase in profits as compare to the previous fiscal year.
It seems that European style is very in vogue in Asia these days, particularly in China where Burberry just spent around $100 million to launch 50 luxury retail operations throughout China’s most populated urban areas. The company also pointed to Chinese tourists as a growing section of the European market.
Burberry has also implemented a new model for production and distribution that marks a dramatic break from the business as usual seasonal system the fashion world has lived and died by for the past half century. The brand has begun expanding on successful designs mid-season, eschewing the traditional approach of adding new variations on popular styles to the next season’s collection in favor of getting the designs in stores when they are still in demand. Many predicted that this would cause problems for Burberry when they announced this new technique as part of their growth strategy for the coming fiscal years, and it certainly can’t make the jobs of their suppliers or production facilities any easier, but considering the first quarter numbers the luxury retail has put up it definitely seems to be working.
It has been a tumultuous week for the Halston label. Earlier in the week it was reported that Sarah Jessica Parker was departing from her role as the president and CEO of Halston Heritage. Now reports are circulating that Harvey Weinstein, who placed himself on the company’s board of directors after Hilco Consumer Capital and his own Weinstein Co. bought the label back in 2007, will also be making a permanent departure. There is no word yet as to whether or not Hilco will try and buy out Weinstein’s shares in the troubled American fashion house. Industry insiders are already confirming that both Parker and Weinstein’s departures are collateral damage from the company’s continued financial woes that have plagued it since the death of its founder and namesake Roy Halston in 1990.
In the mid-seventies when Roy Halston was a permanent fixture at Studio 54 and his collections could be seen on the jet setting celebrity elite of America and Europe the Halston label was considered by most to be the pinnacle of American fashion. However today’s Halston is widely considered a shadow of its former self. So when Hilco and Weinstein purchased the company in ’07 to much fanfare, many in the fashion industry hoped to see Halston help lead a revival of contemporary American fashion. When Parker was installed as the president and CEO of the Heritage line in 2010 however some began to worry if Halston was sacrificing creativity and design for the sake of branding and prestige. Sure enough Paker did not follow the example of Victoria Beckham or the Olsen twins and failed to place her film career on the back burner for the sake of her studio.
Perhaps with the Hollywood elite who have been playing fashion designers and managers at Halston now departed the brand has a new chance to rise again. But rumors persist that Marios Schwab, who is the creative director for Halson’s main label, may not be around much longer either unless he relocates his design studio from London to Halston’s headquarters in New York. An unlikely scenario considering Mr. Schwab has his own label to look after in London. Hilco continues to insist that they have no plans on selling the label despite rumors to the contrary being very popular earlier this year.
At the moment it seems as if the Halston house intends to soldier on regardless of losses, but for those who appreciate the American slant on fashion that Roy Halston made so iconic, the next few years may be difficult to watch.
Last year American consumers purchased 3.2 billion T-shirts, a stat that went up 4% from the year prior and is to only keep growing. Which is why Hanesbrands Inc. the 4.3 billion dollar under garment manufacturer based out of Winston-Salem N.C. announced earlier this month the launch of its first fashion label, Hanes Ink, which will offer graphic and decorated tees through a number of Hanes’ retail partners such as Macy’s, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart and Target. With this announcement Hanesbrands Inc. has signaled that it believes the size and scale of its manufacturing and distribution network will allow it to make graphic tees fast and cheaper then its competitors and that this speed will allow it to keep on top of trends in women’s fashion.
Obviously there is a big difference between making underwear and design women’s fashion, but thus far Hanes Ink is signaling that it is a challenge they are ready for. They have already opened three creative centers in New York, L.A. and Miami as well as tapping Carole Bolger, who designed graphic tees for Gap back in its prime, to head up their creative division. While this shift may come as a surprise to some it is clear that Hanesbrands Inc. has been thinking about it for some time. Starting in 2006 the company restructured their supply chain switching from dozens of smaller production facilities to three central hubs located in the Dominican Republic, China and El Salvador. Since then they have branched out and begun designing shirts under contract for some of their larger retail partners such as Wal-Mart and Kohl’s.
However long before there restructuring Hanesbrands has been selling its blank tees to graphic designers who decorate them and sell them to retailers for a substantial mark-up, so this new business venture is little more then a large corporation trying to cut out the middle man. Hanes Ink has indicated that it will offer exclusivity to some of its larger retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target. Meaning that the Hanes Ink tees you find in Wal-Mart will not be the same as those in Target, or Macy’s or Kohl’s.
While this bold multi-million dollar stroke may have a lot of graphic designers worrying about their bottom line, many in the fashion world wonder if Hanes knows what they have gotten themselves into. “That’s the challenge here,” admits Jim Phelan, VP of Hanes Ink. “One’s a replenishment business. The other is very much being on trend.” Only time will tell if money can buy trend savvy in the world of designer tees.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s star is certainly on the rise in the second half of 2011. The blonde bombshell started her career as a model but has rocketed into the public eye over the past few months after she was selected to replace Megan Fox in the summer blockbuster Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The film is on track to be the highest grossing action flick of the summer and has led the box-offices for the last two weeks; and while director Micheal Bay’s special effects are certainly one of the film’s biggest eye catchers, its clear that Ms. Huntington-Whiteley is the other.
Now it would appear that Rosie is shifting gears back to modeling, at least for the moment, as it was announced yesterday that she will be the first body for Burberry Body the new fragrance from the iconic British label slated to be released in stores later this year. The photographer behind the ad campaign is none other than fashion photography master Mario Testino, who will be working in the years to come on a portfolio of “Burberry Bodies” designed to help make the fragrance as iconic as its namesake. The courtesy images provided by Burberry show Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in a golden-pink satin Burberry trench coat and nothing else, the simple yet sensual nature of the image is vintage Testino.
Asked how she felt about after being shot as the very first in what is sure to be a line of high profile “Burberry Bodies” Ms. Huntington-Whiteley replied “To be asked to be the first Burberry Body is a great honor.” It should come as no surprise that she was chosen to be the first given her currently popularity and sexy appeal combined with the fact that she launched her modeling career with the house. Burberry Body will be available for purchase September 1st.
Long seen as the most diverse fashion culture on the pacific rim and the trailblazers of cool throughout Asia, the Japanese fashion industry was left in ruins earlier this year after a massive 9.0 earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of the island nation unleashing tsunamis that wiped away whole towns and took thousands of lives. The scope of the tragedy and the huge amount of resources required for the subsequent relief effort left nearly every industry in Japan badly damaged and fashion was no exception. The Japanese fashion industry’s supply networks and production facilities were almost completely obliterated and much of the top modeling talent left the country shortly after the quake.
Which is why what the fashion world saw this past Saturday on the runway at Berlin’s Spring/Summer 2012 Fashion Week was so remarkable. Seven designers from Japan showcased their collections during two shows as part of the Tokyo Goes Berlin project, an initiative started by Japan’s fashion industry after the cancellation of their own Tokyo fashion week which had been slated to go on in April. As is to be expected the collections shown had been heavily influenced by the disaster that consumed Japan. For example a white button down designed by Ryujiro Tamaki for his label Public Image featured yellow, red and magenta squares scattered across the front; the seemingly random pattern was in fact a radiation topography map of the area surrounding the Fukushima reactor which was catastrophically damaged during the disaster.
All the collections presented were heavy with comfortable earthen toned fabrics and featured loose layered looks that were often designed for both sexes, signaling that like the rest of the nation, Japan’s fashion industry is searching for a sense of familiarity and comfort in the wake of tragedy. While the collections may have been limited their appeal was not, and much of the fashion world is eager for the next offering from Japan’s resurrected fashion industry which has proven that while styles may come and go, courage will always be in vogue.
In the upcoming August issue of Cosmopolitan U.K.,which will feature Rihanna as the cover girl, the outspoken and sometimes controversial singer talks about her take on love, what she looks for in a man and how she dealt with her split from abusive ex Chris Brown. The cover itself features the Barbadian beauty in a knit sweetheart top and sexy mini-skirt, and while there is a photo spread inside it seems those who are interested in seeing it will simply have to buy the mag. Rihanna, who has stirred controversy recently with the music video for her newest single Man Down, appears to have given a very serious and personal interview judging by excepts provided to E! news.
“It was a very aggressive and defensive time, and that allowed me to start not giving a s–t. I walked around with a very F–k you attitude,” the singer said in response to a question about what kind of emotional toll her turbulent relationship with Brown took on her, “I’ve always been good at masking my emotions. For me, it’s tougher to be vulnerable than to be tough.” An interview of this caliber may be Rihanna’s response to the controversy stirred by her most recent music video which begins with a depiction of a young woman shooting and killing a man, as the story progresses the viewer learns through flashbacks that the murdered man had in fact raped the young woman and the murder that begins the video was her intended revenge. Anti-violence groups have called for the video to be pulled but Rihanna’s people have pointed out that the imagery and the lyrics do not glorify the murder and in fact are primarily about the regret the young woman feels.
Regardless of how much controversy was caused by the video or the lyrics to her most recent hit S & M, the singers world wide popularity has continued to grow thanks to a massive and loyal fan base. So even with certain Anti-violence groups calling foul on the last video Emporio Armani was not dissuaded from tapping Rihanna to replace Megan Fox as the new face (and body) of their underwear line.
There is an old saying in fashion that goes: once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a trend. Obviously Kate Middleton, now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is very fond of the Alexander McQueen brand considering it was a Sarah Burton designed McQueen dress that she wore for what was probably the most televised wedding ever. Then last week in Canada, Catherine was spotted sporting a white with blue trim sailor dress also from the McQueen collection. So it was indeed a trend this past weekend when she attended the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) black tie gathering in Los Angeles wear another McQueen gown. Could it be that England’s future queen has found a label that suits her style more than any other?
There is no arguing that Brittan’s newest Duchess has quite a keen eye for style, and certainly Alexander McQueen is not the only label who has received a recent popularity boost thanks to Catherine’s wardrobe, but of all the brands that she sports McQueen is fast becoming the favorite. While the company is owned by the French conglomerate PPR and currently debuts its lines in Paris, Alexander McQueen’s label and style, like the late designer himself remain quintessentially British. This presents an interesting opportunity for the McQueen brand, a chance to push Burberry out of the spotlight of “true British fashion” that it has held a monopoly over these past few years.
Also not since William’s own mother Diana has there been a royal who the public at large identified so deeply with, and the fact that she has thus far embraced Alexander McQueen so confidently may allow the brand to shed it’s super chic niche reputation that many feel has kept a large portion of the British consumer market at a distance. Even if the label doesn’t heed the call and remains in France designing for the global market as a whole rather then a cultural one, it never hurts to have a future queen as one of your biggest devotees.
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