89 posts tagged "Madonna"
She Loved To Love You, Baby
A disco queen has died. “Last Dance” quips may be expected. But Donna Summer’s influence was great. She didn’t just have a moment—she had 17, the epic length of “Love to Love You, Baby,” the track she recorded with Giorgio Moroder, the Italian producer with whom she helped to shape the entire genre of dance music. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, borrowing may go one better—and everyone from Madonna to Whitney to Diana to Beyoncé has sampled Summer. Several generations of one-namers recognize her as one of their own.
Summer’s onstage style may not have been as influential as some of her fellow seventies dollies. But her music gave the beat to the better part of a generation. She had a catalog of hits nearly unrivaled among disco divas, and continued well into the pop/R&B of the eighties: In addition to “Love to Love You, Baby” and “Last Dance,” there were “I Feel Love,” “MacArthur Park,” “Bad Girls,” “On the Radio,” and “She Works Hard for the Money.” She won five Grammys and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The fashion world has long appreciated Summer. In 2010, she and Marc Jacobs duetted on “On the Radio” at the opening of Louis Vuitton’s New Bond Street maison. (Kim Jones, Vuitton’s menswear designer, later called on Moroder to create and spin the soundtrack to his Fall ’12 men’s show, too.)
Summer died this morning, following a private battle with cancer. She was 63.
Madge Gone Wild
Madonna fans got a sneak preview of her newest music video, “Girl Gone Wild,” earlier this month, but this morning, Madge fans got the full picture. And as expected, it includes the pop star writhing around (surrounded by a gaggle of nearly naked men) wearing hot pants, leotards, S&M gear, and a sexy pair of black stilettos (pictured). Style.com found out those shoes were custom-made for her by Paola Bay of Italian footwear label Zoraide.
“She wanted them as high as possible and to be able to dance with them on,” Bay tells Style.com of the heels, made of black silk embroidered with silver thread. “We did three fittings to make sure they were like second skin.” Call it a success—the Material Girl can not only dance in them, but do push-ups against the wall in them, too. Watch the Mert Alas and Marcus Marcus Piggott-lensed video, above.
Lam Leaves Tod’s, A First Look At Madonna’s New Shoes, And More…
Derek Lam has reportedly left Tod’s. WWD reports this morning that Lam, who has served as the brand’s creative director since 2006, has departed the brand but could not be reached for comment. [WWD]
The staff at Kensington Palace got their new Jaeger-designed uniforms yesterday. The red blazers, trimmed with gold buttons and black lapels, are the first new uniform for palace staff in two decades. [Telegraph]
Footwear News unveiled a first glimpse of Madonna’s new footwear collection under the Truth or Dare label today. The pop star received a little help from her friend and stylist Arianne Phillips, who serves as the creative consultant for the collection of over 60 styles ($89 to $349), launching for Fall ’12. [WWD]
Who are the most important people in fashion? The Telegraph released its annual 25 Most Important People in Fashion list this weekend, and included are Karl Lagerfeld, Lulu Kennedy, Samantha Cameron, and Sarah Burton. [Vogue U.K.]
On Our Radar: Zoraide Shoes
Buy a shoe, plant a tree? They aren’t two activities that typically go hand in hand, but Paola Bay, the designer behind Italian footwear label Zoraide, has managed to blend them rather seamlessly.
“I am delighted to be able to plant a new tree for every shoe sold,” she tells Style.com. And the environmental-friendliness of her line, launched in 2008, does not stop there: “It is currently impossible to make eco shoes, due to a lack of eco materials—I call them ethic shoes. I started by doing some evening vegan styles by using eco-reptiles, [like] stamped and embossed calfskin, as crocodiles, lizards, anacondas, etc. are all going down in numbers.” All of those materials went into her latest Carnivorous Plants Fall ’12 collection (around $680), which caught our eyes during Milan fashion week, and the results are truly luxe (the likes of Madonna and Nicole Kidman, two of her celebrity clients, seem to think so, too). The collection is made up of vibrantly colored heels (pictured), each inspired by their namesake plant.
Zoraide, stocked at retailers like Thecorner.com and Gente in Rome, has also teamed up with Global Goods Partners, a nonprofit organization that facilitates the sale of fair-trade products made by local artisans worldwide, on a Red Carpet Goes Green capsule collection, targeted at celebrities interested in furthering the eco-conscious dialogue with their footwear choices. The shoes, like the Greta or the Marilyn, are named after “the most celebrated movie stars of the past who, if still with us, would be the most passionate about preserving our planet.” We are fairly certainly these iconic screen sirens might be as passionate about Zoraide shoes, too.
A Gold Star For Gwyneth
Gwyneth Paltrow, wearing a white Tom Ford column dress and matching cape, was an absolute standout at last night’s Oscar ceremonies. Earlier in the month, the designer had indicated to British Vogue that one of the dresses for the collection he just showed at London fashion week would be on the red carpet—an out-of-character move for Ford, who usually likes to keep his dresses under wraps until they hit stores. Gwyneth, however, was lucky enough to convince him otherwise.
Enough about the chic dress; what about the cuff and eye-catching ring she paired with it? We found out they are both the work of New York-based jewelry designer Anna Hu—a favorite of stars like Madonna (who used Hu’s jewels in her film, W.E.), Hilary Swank, and Oprah Winfrey. “I was speechless,” the designer, who worked under the legendary Harry Winston head designer Maurice Galli and then founded her namesake haute joaillerie line in 2008, tells Style.com. “Gwyneth was so beautiful and breathtaking in white. And to see her in my jewels was the greatest birthday present I could image.” The one-of-a-kind Hearts of Winter cuff ($1,000,000) is made up of 2,368 rose-cut diamonds, which total 163 carats; the Duchess Hibiscus double-hoop ring ($160,000) is made up of diamonds and purple sapphires.