Menswear has long lived in the shadow of its more flamboyant sister, but if retail numbers are to be believed, the guys are catching up—and now they’ve got a new CFDA-approved guidebook, too. At the Ace Hotel last night, Assouline and the CFDA toasted American Fashion Menswear, a comprehensive history edited by former New York [...]

The hybrid shoe is here to stay. A brief recap: open-toe, high-heeled hiking boots at Rag & Bone, where Marcus Wainwright and David Neville are busily expanding their accessories business, including footwear. Alexander Wang: clog brogues, open-toe, high-heeled motorcycle boots; peep-toe dual animal-print wedge booties. Preen showed a pair of platform sandals with a bootlike [...]

Som and Tom? Perhaps. Peter Som and Tommy Hilfiger are reportedly discussing bringing Som on as a “part-time creative consultant.” Som, who was formerly the creative director at Bill Blass, presumably knows a lot about American sportswear. [WWD]
Richard Chai—Love is the name of the designer’s new “boy-loves-girl-girl-loves-boy’s-clothing” take on contemporary dressing, and the slouchy, languid-looking [...]

Believe it. Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy are Target’s next GO International designers, joining a group that includes Thakoon Panichgul, Richard Chai, Rogan, and Erin Fetherston. The 55-piece collection launches on December 20. On the face of it, it’s undeniably exciting news. The sisters, who just snagged the CFDA Designer of the Year Award, have [...]

Rejoice! Printemps owner Borletti is serious about Christian Lacroix. The firm made a legitimate offer for the couture house yesterday, so those latest “restrained and approachable” creations may make it to red carpets after all. [WWD]
When a new designer can convince fellow designer pals—in this case Richard Chai, Doo-Ri Chung, Lisa Mayock, Sophie Buhai, [...]

Is there anything sexier than a man playing soccer? Well, maybe, but for nine hours on Saturday at Chelsea Waterside Park, forwards, strikers, and goalies competing in Adidas’ eighth annual daylong Fanatic tournament made it hard to come up with a better answer. Twenty-four teams competed for the top prize (we were most interested in [...]

Admit it, fashion and art collabs were starting to make your eyes glaze over just a smidge. But Richard Chai’s joint effort with artist Ben Jones, the object of celebration (along with Chai’s menswear debut) last night on Barneys’ fifth floor, is proof that the conceit still has some life. “It’s not my first [collaboration], [...]

“Sexy and strappy.” That’s about all Richard Chai is willing to divulge about the shoes he’s showing with his Fall ‘09 womenswear collection today. Designed by Chai with Bruno Frisoni, the sexy, strappy heels mark Frisoni’s first true collaborative shoe design effort—and Chai says he counts himself lucky. “I feel very privileged to have worked [...]

And yet another change to the schedule that many seasoned showgoers practically have hardwired in their brains. (If it’s Wednesday morning, I must be bopping to the beat at Michael Kors.) Peter Som just canceled his Fall 2009 show, due to the end of his partnership with Creative Design Studios. Som’s president and CEO Elana [...]

Richard Chai has paid his dues. Prior to launching his eponymous line in 2004, the New York-based designer had worked with everyone from Geoffrey Beene (interning under Alber Elbaz) to Donna Karan (at DKNY) to Marc Jacobs (as the design director who launched the Marc by Marc Jacobs’ diffusion lines.) From the beginning, Chai put [...]