Noticed at the shows: the return of fringe. Apropos of a seventies-inflected season, designers—especially those showing in Paris—covered dresses, accessories, and jewelry with dangling wisps, often in evening-friendly black. At Chanel (top left and center), Karl Lagerfeld hung feathers off hair clips and showed collarbone-skimming fringed earrings with tufted dresses. At Louis Vuitton (top right), [...]

Two days into the Paris shows, the spirit of ‘77 is in the air. It’s never blared more clearly than at Balmain (and the soundtrack, by the way, was Sid Vicious’ famous cover of Sinatra’s “My Way”). Christophe Decarnin has long borrowed punk culture’s tropes, but the affect here was full-on mosh pit: tattered fishnets, [...]

Balenciaga has revamped its Paris flagship. At the newly redone Avenue George V store, you’ll find more of Ghesquière’s (left) covetable collection, an ornate banister borrowed from the Balenciaga archives, and an enormous starburst clock—just don’t try to tell time by it, as it runs backwards. “Back to the future,” CEO Isabelle Guichot explains. [WWD]Fashionista [...]

The British Fashion Award nominations are in! For designer of the year, Phoebe Philo (pictured) faces off with Christopher Kane and Erdem Moralioglu; for designer brand of the year, it’s Burberry and Mulberry vs. Pringle of Scotland and Victoria Beckham; and for menswear designer of the year, Christopher Bailey, Margaret Howell, Paul Smith, and the [...]

Welcome to the constellation, Nicolas Ghesquière: The Balenciaga designer will be honored with the Fashion Group International’s Superstar award this October. [WWD]Speaking of awards, the newest Marc Jacobs store has already won one, and it’s not even open yet! The new MJ Collection flagship building in Tokyo’s Aoyama (rendering pictured at left), designed by Stephan [...]

Balenciaga is heading to the Hamptons, but don’t expect ticking stripe pillows and wicker furniture. Space probes and satellites are more like it. Not unlike the brand’s other retail locations, the seasonal boutique at 54 Main Street in East Hampton is a collaboration between artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière and the French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster. The [...]

The chic set celebrated the joy of high heels last night at the 10-year anniversary fête for Parisian cobbler Pierre Hardy. Actress Joana Preiss, who spent the majority of the night sitting down with the likes of friends Nicolas Ghesquière and Hide Nakata, explained that the real pain after breaking her foot two months [...]

Was anyone truly surprised that Nicolas Ghesquière chose Charlotte Gainsbourg to be the face of his first fragrance at the house? That would be a non. Less expected, perhaps, was the venue chosen to celebrate the announcement: a hotel in L.A., not a hôtel particulier in Paris. Designer and muse gathered an intimate cross section [...]

Proof that Parisians love clothes? Witness the suited and booted guests at Vincent Darré and Inès de la Fressange’s cocktail celebrating Maison Darré’s one-year anniversary. Less is more might be the mantra of stateside summer dressing, but in Paris what you wear is not something to be taken lightly: Note de la Fressange’s velvet boots, [...]

Hadley Freeman is ready to welcome their return, are you?
To say that the eighties are back is almost as much of a cliché these days as palling up with Beth Ditto—and in no way is that meant as a negative comment on either Ditto or the aforementioned decade. But last week in Paris, the expressions [...]