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November 13, 2009
We take our hats off to Marylou Luther, Fashion Group International’s creative director, who was able to come to a summation of the Spring 2010 collections in tweet format—140 characters or less. Here it goes: “Squeeze/ease. Goth/froth. Drape/shape. Reality/romance. Transparent/apparent. Undies outed/utility touted.” But as neat as Luther’s summation is, the panel discussion that followed it at FGI’s Trend Overview presentation was just as open-ended. Moderated by Donna Karan, the panel’s speakers touched on everything from the necessity of educating customers and salespeople about quality and inspiration to the phenomenon of information overload. Nothing was off-limits. Karan even introduced a seemingly untouchable topic when she went so far as to wonder if pre-season—which is shown intimately, is on the sales floor for a long time without markdowns, and generates the lion’s share of profits—should take the place of the Spring and Fall collections.
Timing, as they say, is everything. The experts worried that media-savvy consumers want the styles they see immediately and don’t account for what Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo calls “fashion’s gestation period”—that is, the time it takes to manufacture them. Ikram Goldman, Michelle Obama’s go-to woman, explained that she can be on a buy for the coming season and get a call from a customer already armed with look numbers from Style.com to request. (We think that’s pretty cool, but we’re not exactly unbiased.) There’s no solution in sight, but one thing is clear: Today’s fashion-hungry consumer has more outlets than ever to feed her yen for the latest news, and many think that’s a good thing. “We’re talking to the world now,” said Style.com’s Candy Pratts Price. As for too much information, there’s an easy solution for that: “unplug.”
tags: Bergdorf Goodman, Candy Pratts Price, Donna Karan, Fashion Group International, Ikram Goldman, Laird Borrelli-Persson, Linda Fargo, Michelle Obama
At Aloha Rag, The House Always Wins
November 13, 2009
A store’s in-house label should act as a sort of sartorial caulk, filling in the cracks of its stock for a seamless shopping experience. That’s how Aloha Rag founder Tatsugo Yoda has been working for some time, lining the racks with occasional one-off pieces. But he’s now making it official with the store’s first house label for Spring 2010. The ten-piece capsule riffs on iconic pieces but transcends the basics with Yoda’s love of deconstruction and detail. (This is, after all, a guy who buys heavily into Margiela, Demeulemeester, and a host of Japanese labels.)
You can see the subtle flash of a gold zip running up the side of a classic white boyfriend shirt ($240). Apparently Yoda, like us, is a fan of modular clothes. Simply undo that zip for an A-line shape. A heather gray hoodie ($185) has the same feature, only in the middle of its back. There’s a strong utilitarian vein running through a military blouson ($380), the shorts-over-sweats Rocky pants ($280), and a boxy Chanel-esque jacket in distressed plaid flannel ($320). Also part of the new private label is Thakoon Panichgul’s men’s cardigan collaboration with 5+1 Annapurna. Here’s a wish-out-loud for an equally cool women’s collab for Fall.
tags: Aloha Rag, Ann Demeulemeester, Maison Martin Margiela, Meenal Mistry
Sara Beltrán Wants to Be Your BFF
November 13, 2009
Clunky metal bangles, meet the challenger to your throne—one that stylish girls may remember from that great fashion institution, summer camp. Yes, embroidered bracelets, the kind we used to call friendship bracelets, are having a bit of a moment. (It girl Alexa Chung’s been rocking a wrist-full lately.) The good news? You don’t have to knot them yourself anymore. Stylist-turned-designer Sara Beltrán’s got you covered, with her new collection, Dezso.
Beltrán weaves her bracelets in electric hues of cotton and finishes each off with gold- and silver-cast embellishments: shark’s teeth, seashells, leaves, and her line’s totem, sea horses. All play nicely off spring’s surfer-hippie vibe, without making you look like you live on a VW bus. The friendship bracelets generated most of the buzz at Beltrán’s trunk show at the Crosby Street Hotel yesterday, but the Texan designer, who recently moved to Jaipur, India, has a full jewelry collection as well, with bangles, rings, necklaces, and cuff links. She’s been making the most of Jaipur’s resources, working with 18K gold, fossils that date back 65 million years, raw diamonds, and red sapphires. Each piece has her signature sea horse worked into the design, sometimes carved on the back or as the clasp for a chain. “It’s funny,” Beltrán says, “I grew up in the desert, now I live in the desert—but everything I design is about the sea.” As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Available at Roseark, Los Angeles, (323) 822-3600, www.roseark.com, and www.dezsosara.com.
—Laurie Trott
tags: Alexa Chung, bracelets, Dezso, Sara Beltran
On Our Radar: The Generic Man Nadia lace-up
November 13, 2009
Speaking as someone who likes a bit of boy-ness in my wardrobe, I’m always pleased when menswear favorites go femme. Think the boyfriend jacket, the boyfriend jean, and now the boyfriend shoe. The Generic Man’s Brandon Day and Kevin Carney kept hearing that the ladies loved the kicks they made for dudes, so they decided to produce identical styles on a women’s last. Now in their second season, they’re jazzing them up a bit more, offering feminine tweaks like patent piping and Pop colors like yellow and purple that you won’t find in the men’s range. Works for me. I may like boy style, but as a wise woman once sang, I enjoy being a girl.
$290 to $365, available at Bird, shopbird.com, and Stuart & Wright, stuartandwright.com, both in Brooklyn.
tags: Bird, Brandon Day, Generic Man, Kevin Carney, Maya Singer, Stuart & Wright
Wang’s Win, Daphne’s Shoes, and More…
November 13, 2009
Alexander Wang can’t stop winning. The 2008 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner
scooped up this year’s Swiss Textiles Award, beating out five other
finalists including Thakoon and Ohne Titel. We guess sexy American sportswear translates everywhere.
[WWD]
Daphne Guinness gets the shoes. The pint-size muse showed up in Alexander McQueen’s fang feet at last night’s party for François Nars, and, of course, totally pulled it off. [British Vogue]
International modeling phenom Karlie Kloss made her mom cupcakes for her birthday. And she’s founding a charity to help underprivileged youth. And she’s 17. [WWD]
Lynn Hirschberg deconstructs Megan Fox. Is her sexed-up image all an act? Unclear, but the actress does use those chicken-cutlet boob enhancements. That’s kind of a relief, right? [NYT]
Costco’s made it to Manhattan. The mammoth food-clothing-electronics-and-everything-else emporium opened its doors today on 116th Street. Go there for a wall of Uggs ($124.99), Chanel
handbags ($1,999.99), and Louis Vuitton duffels ($589.99). No one has to
know where it came from. [NY Post]
tags: Alexander McQueen, Alexander Wang, Alison Baenen, Costco, Daphne Guinness, Karlie Kloss, Megan Fox, Ohne Titel, Thakoon
Stunner of ‘69
November 13, 2009
“The first Gap item I bought was with my first-ever paycheck,” Ugly Betty’s Becki Newton remembers. “I was scooping ice cream at Carvel, and when I got my paycheck, I went to the Gap and bought a black dress with little sleeves and white flowers on it.” While she’s come a long way from Carvel, the actress still supports the all-American brand; she was among the revelers last night at the Nylon-hosted launch party for Gap’s 1969 Jeans Shop in New York. The bilevel store—the retailer’s first in Soho and a permanent version of the 1969 Jeans pop-up shop in L.A.—was packed to the gills, and the crowd was in a shopping mood. (The party featured 30 percent off the entire collection, with a percentage going to Feeding America.) Emmy Rossum had a chance to stock up on scarves and admire the costume jewelry before the band TV/TV took the stage for a live set. Upstairs, Robert Verdi was more in the 1969 mind-set. “I was 1 in ‘69,” the stylist mused about the retailer’s founding year. “Which means that number also marked my fashion debut.” We guess fashion plates are born, not made.
tags: Emmy Rossum, Gap
On Our Radar: Cynthia Rowley’s Embellished Tights
November 12, 2009
Having already dabbled in sequined dresses, blazers, and shorts, I’ve been on the hunt for new ways to incorporate a dash of sparkle into my everyday look. By the time Miuccia Prada debuted her version on the Miu Miu runway, bejeweled tights were something of a Fall ‘09 micro-trend. I love the idea of embellishment on an area usually left plain, and this Cynthia Rowley pair would look great with black leather shorts and a cashmere sweater. Or if I’m feeling extra-bold, I could wear them, à la Miu Miu, with a matching beaded skirt. On second thought, maybe some looks are better left on the catwalk.
$250, available at www.cynthiarowley.com.
tags: Cynthia Rowley, Miu Miu, Miuccia Prada
Humane League
November 12, 2009
When the crowd includes Vanessa Traina, Richie Rich, Victoria Bartlett, and Maroon 5’s Mickey Madden among its diverse lot, you might be worried that fur would fly—but last night’s annual Cool vs. Cruel benefit, thrown by the Humane Society of the U.S. to support animal-friendly designers, was the rare fashion party where that wasn’t a concern. All were gathered to toast this year’s Compassion in Fashion Award winners, designer Charlotte Ronson and Paper magazine editorial director Mickey Boardman. “Fur was just something that I made a decision not to touch on,” Ronson said simply about her design ethics, and accepted her honor sans speech. Boardman, on the other hand, joked onstage that he would pull an “Adrien Brody and Halle Berry” acceptance kiss on Humane Society presenter Pierre Grzybowski. (He got away with a peck on the cheek.) Art Institute of Vancouver student Ingrid Bergström-Kendrick took home the Cool vs. Cruel design competition grand prize, a five-day internship with staunch anti-fur advocate Victoria Bartlett during New York fashion week. Her winning dress, in gray felt, emulated the volume of fur with a built-up shoulder. ANTM judge Nigel Barker was enthusiastic about adding young designers to the anti-fur list. “I’ve been campaigning against the seal hunt since I was seven years old in England,” the photographer and budding documentary filmmaker said. “Being humane isn’t just about being in vogue; it’s a way of life.”
tags: Mickey Boardman, Richie Rich, Vanessa Traina, Victoria Bartlett
Monteiro For Blass, Wu For Tse, And More…
November 12, 2009
Karl Lagerfeld used to sleep in a boxing ring. So not surprised. [WWD]
Rumor du jour: Jeffrey Monteiro is heading to Bill Blass. We’re cool with it as long as he keeps designing his own line. [WWD]
It’s not Jason Wu for Target, but Wu’s decision, announced today, to design a capsule collection for TSE is probably just the beginning of Wu’s cross-market domination—Wu-mination, if you will. The line will be on view during New York fashion week in February. [WWD]
Lorenzo Martone is one half of ARC NY, a new “boutique talent p.r. agency for catwalkers.” Lydia Hearst and Alessandra Ambrosio are already signed up, and we’d be surprised if more of Martone’s high-profile crew don’t join, too. [Page Six]
Speaking of Lorenzo, Marc Jacobs has admitted to being a little awed and impressed by his Louis Vuitton customers: “There’s this huge cult following of almost crazy people at Vuitton who just want whatever they buy to be exclusive.” Don’t get him wrong—he’s not complaining. [Times U.K.]
The Times investigates “the steady infiltration of 19th-century haberdashery into the 21st-century wardrobe,” which is a nifty way of saying guys are dressing like Civil War re-enactors. Muskets are going to be huge. [NYT]
Buy Luella to save Luella. At 50 percent off, this is a slogan we can get behind. [Fashionista]
Olivier Zahm is bringing his particular brand of photography to New York. His show—the editor’s first—opens December 1 at the Half Gallery. Don’t bring your mom (unless you’re a Roitfeld). [BlackBook]
Put down that bamboo. It may be toxic. The eco fabric gets a dressing down in the Wall Street Journal, which means we may have to go back to wearing hemp. [WSJ]
tags: Alessandra Ambrosio, Bill Blass, Jason Wu, Jeffrey Monteiro, Karl Lagerfeld, Lorenzo Martone, Luella, Lydia Hearst, Marc Jacobs, Olivier Zahm
Finn Jewelry Wants You To Come Over
November 12, 2009
In a statement-necklace world (both literally and metaphorically), Finn Jewelry’s Soraya Silchenstedt and Candice Pool fly decidedly under the radar. But that hasn’t stopped their collection of delicately wrought fine jewelry from being a top seller at Barneys or the go-to label for the likes of Naomi Watts, Gretchen Mol, and Miranda Kerr when they’re in the market for a little sparkle—though Pool and Silchenstedt tread lightly on their A-list clientele. “I think we have a few celebrities who are real clients,” says Pool. “They’re not people who just take things to borrow.” Watts actually became a fan via husband Liev Schreiber, who was an early adopter of their shark tooth necklace, apparently a must-have for the actor set. (Orlando Bloom, Brad Pitt, and Robert Pattinson all sport one. Not bad.)
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