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Yesterday marked the opening of the couture season with a Christian Dior Fall/Winter 2011-2012 Haute Couture show held at the Musee Rodin in Paris. The event was the first big show by Dior since the ugly departure of creative director John Galliano and was billed as a “team effort” between a number of designers, including studio assistant Bill Gaytten who arrived at Dior in 1999 with Mr. Galliano and is rumored to be under consideration for the creative director position which was already turned down by Azzedine Alaia. While many in the fashion world have applauded Dior for moving forward so aggressively despite being unable to fill the creative director slot the compliments end there. The pieces that hit the runway yesterday have since been roundly criticized for their lack of vision and lack of Dior’s signature polish.
The collection drew on modern architectural shapes as a primary reference but that did little to create a uniform feel between all the designs with the exception of some rather silly spheres and cubes turned headpieces. The collection was criticized by the Style section of the New York Times for it’s “tutti-frutti palette” and multiple reviews pointed out a number of clashing colors and patterns that served only to jolt or distract rather then grab interest. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that the collection had the look of a line where management was involved in the design, a well known industry no-no.
While it makes sense that Dior would show even without the singular vision provided by a creative director, they do have to keep interest up for their other products such as fine jewelry after all, the show went a long way to proving that a fashion house needs a creative director as badly as any ship needs a captain. And unfortunately while Mr. Gaytten proved to be a very adept assistant he is no creative director.
This Friday the marriage of 37 year old supermodel Kate Moss to longtime fiancee Jamie Hince kicked off a spectacular weekend of high fashion in the British countryside. Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik and Zelda Fitzgerald each took their turn to shine during the festivities at Moss’ Cotswolds estate but the real show stealer was the custom made Galliano gown that Moss wore when she said “I do.”
John Galliano, whose messy implosion has captivated the fashion world for the past few months was not a surprise pick for Moss, the two have been friends for many years. Galliano had designed many special occasion gowns for the supe, including her 21st and 30th birthday dresses and it was Galliano designs that Moss wore 20 years ago when she first hit the big runways of London, Paris and Milan. According to sources close to Moss the custom Galliano design, which featured the finest raw silk embroidered in an elegant vintage motif, was inspired by Moss’ Zelda Fitzgerald engagement ring.
While Galliano’s behavior and personal lifestyle choices of the past few months have gotten him blacklisted, and in our opinion rightfully so, by most of the fashion world it is hard to argue that Moss’ gown wasn’t a wonderful inspired piece. Manolo Blahnik shoes rounded out the supe’s look while fiancee and guitarist for The Kills Jamie Hince looked every bit fit for the part of groom in a stylish Yves Saint Laurent suite.
Many other designers including British mainstay Stella McCartney contributed dresses to Moss’ wardrobe for the weekend long celebration and it goes without saying that similar styles will be offered soon in many of the designer’s lines.
This season is shaping up to be a wild one in the fashion world. The animal motif trend which went mainstream last winter with Miuccia’s monkeys debuting for Prada’s Spring 2011 women’s wear collection has shown that it has legs, four of them to be exact. Because the first images of Givenchy’s Fall 2011 collections have begun to hit billboards, news stands and the net; and with them come Riccardo Tisci’s snarling rottweilers. So now the question that is on everyone’s lips for late summer and early fall is: what kind of animal are you?
Over the course of 2011 the monkey has been brought to the forefront of fashion by Miuccia Prada with a colorful collection of shirts and dresses that made good use of the playful and whimsical creatures as an overarching motif. Early converts to the monkey movement included many of fashions most “in” trendsetters including Marc Jacobs who went so far as to trade his signature kilt for a skirt bearing Miuccia’s monkeys, and Mugler’s newest Angel, Eva Mendes who monkeyed around in a colorful Prada dress for the premier of her latest comedy The Other Guys. Alas nothing last forever and the monkey’s monopoly on fashion’s finest was bound to be challenged eventually.
Enter Riccardo Tisci with his newest inspiration for Givenchy’s fall 2011 collections, a rottweiler motif that packs a real bite. The dogs, sometimes solo, sometimes in a pack, always snarling or barking are shaping up to be one of falls fiercest fashion trends. In fact they caused a bit of a stir at the Givenchy runway show when early adopter Kanye West was accused of stealing Liv Tyler’s style after the two sat in the front row wearing the same shirt. Arguments of ‘who wore it best’ aside there are plenty of signs that Givenchy is serious about their rottweilers even rolling out the big guns for their new add campaign which features the queen of the animal snarl herself, Naomi Campbell.
Only time will tell who ends up as the king of the fashion jungle.
Having taken the fashion world by storm with her chic and surprisingly successful label, Victoria Beckham is now releasing a secondary line slated for a spring 2012 release and aimed at expanding her customer base by making designs more accessible to women both through cut and pricing. The line, Victoria by Victoria Beckham, will still be a far cry from cheap, with a price range of $550 to $900 with a few $1,300 dollar items making an appearance as well. However it is still more affordable than its older sister. The real difference in the new line is the dresses themselves.
Victoria by Victoria Beckham will offer pieces that are less structured and more girly than the main line with plenty of looser shift styles, scallops and pleating, and even cat prints. The line was inspired by the cartoon character Emily the Strange and possibly in part by Victoria’s growing need for ease of movement and comfort due to her pregnancy. The star told Women’s Wear Daily that she was sick of wearing very tight form fitting dresses with high heels and this sense of confinement helped drive her to create Victoria by Victoria Beckham.
Asked what this meant for her main line and her position in the fashion world as a whole Beckham said “It means that I’m opening these designs to women and girls of all different shapes and sizes, people who maybe want something less tight and clingy and structured. It also makes it more comfortable for during the day. You can wear them with a pair of flats or a pair of heels and they look great.” The new brand will also be debuting in its own brick-and-mortar boutique, most likely in New York City, in addition to the e-commerce businesses that the main line already is partnered with.
Belgian designer Anthony Vaccarello beat out Adam Kimmel, Commuun, Jeremy Laing, Matthew Harding and Yiqing Yin to become this years winner of the ANDAM prize. The 31 year old designer, based out of Paris, will receive a $282,000 prize purse as well as $14,100 worth of Swarovski crystals for his spring 2012 collection and mentorship from former Chloe CEO Ralph Toledano. Vaccarello was chosen by a 22-member jury that includes Emmanuelle Alt, Pierre Berge and Hilary Alexander and will be added to a prestigious list of recent ANDAM winners that include Giles Deacon, Gareth Pugh and Hakaan.
Vaccarello is no stranger to taking first prize, having already won the top honors at the Hyeres Festival. He studied for two years under Karl Lagerfeld at Fendi before launching his own label in 2008. When asked after the presentation what he plans on doing with the prize purse from ANDAM he said “I want to continue to grow, to become more grand. To produce more pieces, especially show pieces.” Asked if this would effect his upcoming show he indicated that it would not, saying “I like the idea of keeping it small, but maybe more light.” That last comment is probably a reference to his Fall presentation earlier this year that was criticized for being too dimly lit, though it did not stop his designs from turning heads.
Twenty-six-year-old designer Yiqing Yin, meanwhile was afforded the distinction of receiving ANDAM’s first ever Young Designer Prize complete with a smaller purse that totals just under $100,000. “I felt like the baby” she joked after the presentation. Though she better be anything but the baby, as she will be showing her first ever made-to-measure collection of haute couture next week and will be presenting a mere one hour before design icon Azzedine Alaia.
Material Girl, the juniors label started by the original material girl, Madonna and her daughter Lourdes Leon, is planning for a fall advertising campaign that is going to be hard to miss. The company will be buying advertising space in multiple magazines including People StyleWatch, Seventeen, Teen Vogue and Cosmo as well as high profile billboards in Herald Square and Times Square. Madonna revealed yesterday that the star for this ambitious fall campaign is none other than second generation rocker Kelly Osbourne.
Courtesy photos that were released yesterday by Material Girl show Osbourne sporting the label’s newest additionos t its punk-rock glam styles in iconic New York City locals such as SoHo, Times Square, Washington Square Park and atop 30 Rockefeller Center, aka The Top of The Rock. The campaign was shot by Brooke Nipar who has prior experience working with both Osbourne and Material Girl and is clearly designed to reinforce the association between the brand and the big apple. “Material Girl is so connected to New York, and we wanted to shoot in different locations that expressed the different sides of the Material Girl customer” said Dari Marder, chief marketing officer at Iconix Brand Group, the firm that partnered with Madonna to bring the Material Girl label to Macy’s.
Macy’s currently enjoys exclusivity with Material Girl and considering that the line was one of the best performing launches for the department store over the past year, that exclusivity agreement is probably not going to change anytime soon. Martine Reardon, executive vice president of marketing and advertising for Macy’s indicated that the line, which was originally released in 200 stores nationwide will be expanding into more than 300 Macy’s locations by the beginning of the fall season. “We have seen a new customer come into Macy’s for this collection, and the goal is to continue to grow it within our stores,” said Reardon.
Reality TV star turned real serious designer Nicole Richie announced earlier this week that her lifestyle collection, House of Harlow 1960, would be offering a small selection of handbags for fall. “Handbags have always been a part of the equation since we first launched the House of Harlow 1960 brand” Richie was quoted as telling a reporter from Women’s Wear Daily “We just needed to make sure all of the components were aligned before setting foot into that category. The collection is quite small in terms of the styles we are launching with. I wanted to make sure that each piece is special and then be able to grow it slowly and organically season after season.”
The 14-piece collection blends seamlessly with Richie’s Seventies-inspired boho-chic line and included clutches, hobos and cross-body bags. The line is expected to be available by mid-July at Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and online at Shopbop.com. The line will range in price from $150 for a hard-cased, crocodile-printed clutch complete with crystallized jaguar head hardware all the way to $650 for a taupe and ivory burn-out pony hair hobo. Each piece includes a healthy helping of Richie’s personal style with vintage leather, velvet and young calf hair while staying true to the Sixties and Seventies chic that inspired the line with details such as triangle studs, toggles and fringes.
Though the number of pieces in the collection is limited it serves as an excellent compliment to the rest of House of Harlow 1960 which has grown to include other accessories like jewelry, footwear and eye-wear all of which speak to a mix of casual and luxe that Richie feels is an extremely accessible style. “When I design, I always try to design pieces that are universal, meaning anyone can wear and carry it. At this stage pf my design process, I really try to gather direct feedback from my customers” Richie told reporters “so I can try my best to cater to their needs, yet stay true to the brand’s identity.”
Hailee Steinfeld, the 14 year old actress whose leading role in last year’s box office success True Grit catapulted her into the Hollywood spotlight and onto the red carpet at the Oscars is now emerging as a new star of the fashion world as well. The California native who most recently appeared alongside Justin Bieber as a presenter for the 2011 Golden Globes can now be found trying her hand at modeling in Miu Miu’s 2011 fall/winter catalog, and so far it looks like Hailee has plenty of glam to go along with her already famous grit.
It had been rumored for months that Steinfeld was a possibility for Miu Miu’s latest ad campaign. The rumors were helped along by Steinfeld’s preference for the label and her appearance as Miu Miu’s special guest at their March runway show in Paris. Miu Miu’s list of celebrity models over the past few years has been extensive, from Katie Holmes and Evan Rachel Wood all the way to the now taboo Lindsay Lohan. The difference this time appears to be that Steinfeld was chosen prior to becoming an immediately recognizable face, unlike most of Miu Miu’s other celebrity models. Though Hailee’s name and face are not going anywhere soon with Steinfeld signing onto multiple upcoming film projects, most notably as Juliet in Carlo Carlei’s reinvention of the classic love story set for release in 2012.
While there are obvious benefits to selecting a young actress on the rise, there are of course inherent risks as well, see the aforementioned Lindsay Lohan. What is most interesting about Hailee’s budding relationship with Miu Miu is that the folks over at the label seem to want her not as a celebrity but rather as a fashion icon in the truest sense. Considering her limited red carpet experience and the rave reviews it has gotten so far it seems like Ms. Steinfeld may be destine to make a name for herself in both film and fashion. To be considered a double threat in two such glamorous industries is always a compliment, and that much more impressive when it is bestowed upon someone who can’t even apply for a drivers license yet!
All across North America this summer is shaping up to be one for the record books as far as temperatures go, and with the warm weather returns a tried and true method for staying cool but looking hot. Celebrities of all stripes from Selena Gomez and Beyonce to Heidi Klum and Halle Berry have been spotted sporting short hem-lines, daisy dukes, mid-calf skirts and anything else that shows off those lovely long legs. Some have even taken this summer staple into the formal realm such as Cameron Diaz who rocked a sleek and sexy black micro-dress at New York’s Ziegfeld Theatre for the premier of her new film Bad Teacher.
While not fit for all body types, with a little work and the right accessories most ladies out there will be able to pull off this look, which is sure to only gain in popularity as the summer drags on and the mercury climbs higher. A few things to remember for any look where ‘skin is in’ is that you want your legs looking both toned and tanned, so this month forget the elevator, take the stairs instead and if you don’t have time to bask in the summer sun be sure to buy plenty of tanning lotion. When it comes to lotions you get what you pay for and a lot of the cheaper brands will streak no matter how you apply them so don’t cheap out on this step. Also remember to wear disposable gloves when applying the lotion as tan palms is a dead give-away no matter how smooth the lotion looks.
Shoes are the most important accessory for this look and if your worried you might not be leggy enough to pull off the look then it is time to find some pumps, platforms or ever stilettos to help give you that extra length. Strappy and sandal style are the best but don’t loose sight of the sexy either. If you’re worried about your legs looking like sticks then it is important that you buy skirts and dresses where the hem stops at the widest part of your calf, this will accentuate the curve of your leg and cut down on the ‘tooth-pick’ effect, and remember when you buy shorts to buy ones with a snug fit, that will keep skinny legs from looking stringy.
Since July is just about begin you still have time to prepare for this look even if you haven’t already started, remember that August is the hottest month in most parts of the country so that is when you are going to want to stay cool while looking hotter than the weather.
When questioned over the past few weeks by reporters as to who would be designing the gown for her up and coming wedding to fiance Kris Humphries, fashionista Kim Kardashian has remained more or less mute on the subject, telling reporters that she has not yet decided. Well it looks like Kim came to a decision sometime before yesterday afternoon when she was spotted browsing Vera Wang’s Madison Avenue boutique and later stepping out with the designer for some one on one time. While Wang is no stranger to celebrity brides, having designed gowns for Victoria Beckham, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Mariah Carey, many speculate that it was the gown she designed for Kim’s sister Khloe’s 2009 wedding to LA Lakers star Lamar Odom that convinced Kim to go with one of Wang’s designs.
So now that Vera Wang appears to be the official wedding gown designer for the Kardashian family, speculation has turned to what Kim’s dress should or could look like. World renown designer Micheal Kors who spent some time with Kim last week while the pair filmed an episode of Project Runway together, had a few insights to offer reporters from People Magazine. “When a woman has her own personal style and if you’re as beautiful as Kim, it’s all about a frame – frame a gorgeous picture” Kors was quoted as saying prior to the filming of the episode. When asked if there was any particular feature he would like to see accentuated on Kim for her big day Kors’ response was “Definitely skin. When you have Kim’s skin, you want to see more of it.” Kors also added that “Hopefully it’s clean, sleek and simple. But dramatic, because she can pull off dramatic looks.”
Whatever the gown will end up being, we wont have to wait long to find out. Kardashian and Humphries have confirmed that they already have a wedding date in mind. They have not yet given the exact date or location but they have narrowed it down to some time in early August and sources close to the pair report that they have been touring private estates in Los Angeles looking for the right venue.
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