subscribe to style file blog via RSSFashion at the Oscars, Scandal at Ungaro, and More…
November 20, 2009 1:28 pm
Valentino could be Oscar-bound. The Last Emperor is “on the shortlist” for best documentary nominations, which means that if A Single Man makes the cut, this could be the most glamorous awards ceremony in history. [WWD]
Eva and Jamie’s ads for Calvin Klein may be too steamy for a long shelf life, but the old “sex sells” adage seems to be truer than ever. The duo have been signed again for CK’s spring ads, which will be shot by Steven Klein and boycotted by prudes everywhere. [WWD]
The backlash over Lindsay Lohan’s appointment at Ungaro has apparently reached the upper echelons of management. Chairman Asim Abdullah is “locked in a fierce battle” with CEO Mounir Moufarrige, who hired Lohan. And to think, all this over some nipple pasties. [Page Six]
Demi Moore claims her skinny-mini W cover—in which a piece of her hip seems to have actually been removed—has not been airbrushed. “I have no hips!” she tweeted. Dems, this will not gain you sympathy points. [HuffPo]
Sadie Frost, ex-wife of Jude and best friend of Kate, is writing a memoir. We’d love to see the casting if this gets turned into a movie. [Daily Express]
tags: Calvin Klein, Demi Moore, Lindsay Lohan, Sadie Frost, Valentino
Our Favorite Hi-Los Return, And More…
November 19, 2009 1:05 pm
Collab department, item 1: +J returns! Jil Sander is working on a second line for Uniqlo. [Catwalk Queen]
Collab department, item 2: Stella McCartney is coming back to the Gap for Spring 2010. This time we’re rooting for some items in XXL. [WWD]
Collab department, head-scratcher: Michael Stipe and Maison Martin Margiela have made a very mini, very limited-edition mix tape for you to wear any which way. This satisfies all of our accessory needs. [Racked]
Perhaps you’ve noticed there’s an androgyny trend afoot? Well, it’s trickled down to little kids, who are “experimenting across gender lines,” and has made its way to Australia, where men are wearing tights. This could be the signifier of a huge cultural shift, or an indication that some men just really like to wear tights. [NYT]
Emerging trend: boudoir photography. “The aim is to create a portrait that is more Matisse or Renoir than Hustler.” Duly noted. [Washington Post]
Lauren Conrad, original star of The Hills and New York Times best-selling author, is releasing a style guide. How we got dressed before this is really a mystery. [People]
Frost French reportedly wants Gemma Ward for their next ad campaign. We just got all nostalgic for when she used to rule the runway. [Fashionista]
tags: Gemma Ward, Jil Sander, Lauren Conrad, Maison Martin Margiela, Michael Stipe, Stella McCartney, The Gap, Uniqlo
Lanvin’s Big Business, Zac’s Lower Line, And More…
November 18, 2009 12:39 pm
Alber Elbaz got a present: “a capital injection estimated in the tens of millions of euros” for Lanvin. We’ll take two. [WWD]
Monday night’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Sophie Théallet runs a tight ship. In her home-cum-studio in Brooklyn, it’s just a three-person show. Four including the baby. [WWD]
Zac Posen is heading to double-digit territory. His new, lower-priced line, Z Spoke (get it?), will only be available at Saks, but prices start at $78. “Chic sportswear should be at this price point,” the designer reasoned. We couldn’t agree more. [WWD]
No pants in Paris—it’s the law. An age-old rule forbidding women to wear trousers—unless they’re “on a bicycle or holding it by the handlebars”—has resurfaced. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy better get out of town. [Telegraph]
Claudia Schiffer is almost definitely pretty sure she’s going to go into fashion design. “I would love to do cashmere…but I’d love to do something a bit more price-friendly…. Or I could imagine doing handbags.” Low-end cashmere handbags. Sounds great. [WWD]
tags: Alber Elbaz, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Claudia Schiffer, Lanvin, Zac Posen
Lindsay Gets Confused, Alber Gets Pinned, And More…
November 17, 2009 1:37 pm
Cleared up: Lindsay Lohan is not designing jewelry for Pascal Mouawad, despite Lohan’s red-carpet claims stating otherwise. [WWD]
Speaking of celebrity lines, Robin Givhan employs the best analogy yet for the trend: “I can’t imagine Donna Karan saying I’m going to cut an album because her friends say she can sing karaoke.” Zing! [WWD]
More news on the Ridley Scott Gucci movie: Rumors that Angie and Leo are set to star are still just rumors, but we’re looking at an early 2011 release. That’s not too far, right? [WWD]
Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz is receiving an honorary medal with an impressively long name: the Grande Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris. Past recipients have included Valentino and Gianni Versace. [WWD]
Recession scorecard: Paparazzi pics are going for peanuts. Those in the know claim the infamous Britney Spears head-shaving shot would only go for $100,000 in the current economy, versus the $300,000 it fetched in 2007. Brangelina pics, however, do not depreciate. [The Daily Beast]
tags: Alber Elbaz, Donna Karan, Gucci, Lanvin, Lindsay Lohan, Pascal Mouawad, Robin Givhan, Valentino, Versace
Brangie’s Jewels, The Bling Ring, And More…
November 16, 2009 12:25 pm
Brad and Angie are designing jewel-encrusted snakes for Asprey. Re: choice of symbol: Jen is so not surprised. [WWD]
Intrigued by the Hollywood Hills Burglars, a.k.a. the Burglar Bunch, a.k.a. the Bling Ring? The L.A. teens accused of robbing starlets from Paris Hilton to Rachel Bilson are facing trial. Paramount is optioning screenplays now. [NYT]
The Daily Beast’s list of “the world’s ten most valuable models” leaves something to be desired. Doutzen Kroes is up-and-coming? And no Aggy? Tell us
who else you think they left off. [Daily Beast]
Cougar speed dating: Ben Franklin did it. [NYT]
tags: Angelina Jolie, Asprey, Brad Pitt, Rachel Bilson
Wang’s Win, Daphne’s Shoes, and More…
November 13, 2009 1:02 pm
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
Monteiro For Blass, Wu For Tse, And More…
November 12, 2009 2:40 pm
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
Galliano’s Christmas Spirit, Bailey’s New Role, And More…
November 11, 2009 12:15 pm
More info on John Galliano’s Dior Christmas tree for Claridge’s has surfaced since we first reported on it , and it sounds as awesome as we expected. In lieu of pine needles there will be “crystals, orchids, vines, and lianas,” as well as a leopard, which we’re pretty sure will be fake, but really, we can’t be too sure. [WWD]
Rumor rejected: News that Victoria Beckham was thinking of starting a modeling agency has been denied by her people. She’s got a line of dresses to design, thank you, and those sheaths do not get made by themselves. [Vogue U.K.]
Christopher Bailey gets a raise. We didn’t think you could go much higher than creative director, but Bailey is now Burberry’s first ever chief creative officer. [WWD]
Last year’s YSL auction was not for the bargain shopper, but this month’s second round may be (slightly) more budget-friendly. Art Deco enamel boxes will go for around $450, and Louis Vuitton travel bags start at $750. All in all, a small price to pay for a piece of Yves. [WWD]
They call me Mr. Nils. One-time Nina Ricci designer Lars Nilsson is launching a menswear line, which will debut in January at Pitti Immagine Uomo. [WWD]
H&M: big in Japan. Fast-fashion chains like Forever 21 and H&M are taking over Tokyo as luxury labels like Louis Vuitton and Giorgio Armani curtail plans for expansion. If we see an increase of Catholic schoolgirl styling at H&M, we’ll know why. [WSJ]
tags: Burberry, Christian Dior, Christopher Bailey, John Galliano, Louis Vuitton, Nina Ricci, Victoria Beckham, Yves Saint Laurent
Luella’s Tough Break, Jesus’ Family, And More…
November 10, 2009 1:42 pm
Recession scorecard: girly Brit department. Luella Bartley announced today that Luella has stopped trading after its global licensee withdrew its investments in the label. Even more heartbreaking? Spring 2010 orders will not be filled. [Vogue U.K.]
Before Tom Ford designed Tom Ford, he designed for Yves Saint Laurent. And he hated it. [Page Six]
Alicia Keys is hiding messages in her new (and first) line of jewelry, created in collaboration with Gisèle Theriault. The affirmations are courtesy of Dr. Masaru Emoto, the controversial Japanese author of The Hidden Messages in Water. How positively metaphysical. [WWD]
Madonna is not meeting Jesus’ parents on her upcoming trip to Brazil. Yeah, that was a really great sentence to write. [Page Six]
The 25th anniversary of the British Fashion Awards is upon us, and the British Fashion Council has created a new award for “an individual who embodies the spirit of London and who is an ambassador for the capital’s fashion industry.” Yes, fashion really is like high school. [Telegraph U.K.]
Gemma Ward has no plans to return to modeling anytime soon. So stop picking on her! [News Au]
tags: Alicia Keys, Gemma Ward, Luella Bartley, Madonna, Tom Ford
Moises’ Youth Group, Boys In Skirts, And More…
November 9, 2009 1:08 pm
Moises de la Renta,
The New York Times has discovered Rent the Runway, and they’ve visited the office. As you might expect, the twentysomething founders wear cocktail dresses to work. [NYT]
Hmm, wonder where Marc Jacobs would stand on the “can a boy wear a skirt to school” debate? Survey says… [NYT]
Technically savvy, social network-loving, British luxury brand aficionados, there’s now a Web site just for you: Burberry’s Art of the Trench. Sign yourself and your coat up today. [Racked]
Prepare for a red-carpet death match. Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Kidman have signed on as costars in The Danish Girl, with Kidman playing a post-op transsexual and Paltrow her supportive wife. We know press junkets are a long way off, but we’re looking forward to the Valentino and L’Wren Scott showdowns. [EW]
tags: Burberry, Gwyneth Paltrow, L'Wren Scott, Marc Jacobs, Moises de la Renta, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino
