Posts for June 16th 2008

Bottega Veneta

AgynessWatch 2008: Now Singing Live on YouTube

»Agyness Deyn performed her collaborative single live last night on British TV (with video) [PopSugar UK] »Anna Wintour has been bestowed with an OBE (Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to British journalism and British fashion in the US [WWD] »Bottega Veneta tops the list of the Luxury Institute's list of designer brands accorded the highest social status by affluent consumers [WWD] »Devon Aoki shot with Self Service and Yves Saint Laurent at the Chateau Marmont last week [FWD] »Karen Elson is naming her vintage shop "Venus and Mars" [Style.com] »Peeks at Dolce & Gabbana, Marchesa, Rag & Bone, Matthew Williamson, and Nina Ricci Resort 2009 collections [WWD, WWD, WWD, WWD, WWD]

»Agyness Deyn performed her collaborative single live last night on British TV (with video) [PopSugar UK]

»Anna Wintour has been bestowed with an OBE (Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to British journalism and British fashion in the US [WWD]

»Bottega Veneta tops the list of the Luxury Institute's list of designer brands accorded the highest social status by affluent consumers [WWD]

»Devon Aoki shot with Self Service and Yves Saint Laurent at the Chateau Marmont last week [FWD]

»Karen Elson is naming her vintage shop "Venus and Mars" [Style.com]

»Peeks at Dolce & Gabbana, Marchesa, Rag & Bone, Matthew Williamson, and Nina Ricci Resort 2009 collections [WWD, WWD, WWD, WWD, WWD]

Joe Zee

>> INSIDER WIRE —You won't see Joe Zee in makeup anytime soon, and he won't be on TV much either.  "My participation with [Stylista] was minimal, I did it every Thursday for a couple of hours at night and it didn’t get in the way of my day-to-day life.  But the luckiest part of it all was that I’m a guy.  I didn’t have to sit through hair and makeup.  I show up, I film it and I’m gone.  In and out!" [Chic Report] 

>> INSIDER WIRE —You won't see Joe Zee in makeup anytime soon, and he won't be on TV much either.  "My participation with [Stylista] was minimal, I did it every Thursday for a couple of hours at night and it didn’t get in the way of my day-to-day life.  But the luckiest part of it all was that I’m a guy.  I didn’t have to sit through hair and makeup.  I show up, I film it and I’m gone.  In and out!" [Chic Report

Balenciaga

Change, Charlotte in the Air at Balenciaga

>>  Is Nicholas Ghesquiere getting starstruck?  For the second season in a row, he's chosen to go celebrity: Jennifer Connelly for Spring, and now Charlotte Gainsbourg for Fall.  Granted, both women embody the Ghesquiere girl — Charlotte is well-known to be his muse, and Jennifer a good friend — but to hear him describe the reasoning behind his choice is striking, considering that he has built Balenciaga to be a true blue fashion-for-the-sake-of-fashion label, rather than a fashion label devoted to upping its star wattage.  Behold, he sounds smitten with actresses: They are used to playing characters and go deeper into the image.  There's definitely a celebrity effect when you shoot an actress.

>>  Is Nicholas Ghesquiere getting starstruck?  For the second season in a row, he's chosen to go celebrity: Jennifer Connelly for Spring, and now Charlotte Gainsbourg for Fall. 

Granted, both women embody the Ghesquiere girl — Charlotte is well-known to be his muse, and Jennifer a good friend — but to hear him describe the reasoning behind his choice is striking, considering that he has built Balenciaga to be a true blue fashion-for-the-sake-of-fashion label, rather than a fashion label devoted to upping its star wattage.  Behold, he sounds smitten with actresses:

They are used to playing characters and go deeper into the image.  There's definitely a celebrity effect when you shoot an actress. There's a real frisson.

The Spring 2009 campaign cast will tell us all — three makes a trend.  Until then, enjoy the first look at the Fall 2008 Balenciaga campaign, shot by David Sims and featuring an archly posed Charlotte Gainsbourg, with the new Balenciaga store in LA forming the backdrop.
*image: source

Beauty

Coutorture Community's Must Reads 6/16

What is fashion without a bit of experimentation?
What is fashion without a bit of experimentation? Find experimentation inspiration in today's Must Read posts from: The Fashion-y Blog gets experimental, and we're all along for the ride. Denimology previews Madewell's Summer looks. J'Adore Couture is in love with Phillip Lim's Resort 2009 collection. Hope Robertson dares you to compare two knit bandeau dresses. Fashion Fillers is tempted to wear a vintage skirt as a dress.
Chanel

>> INSIDER WIRE —Olivier Zahm revealed this weekend that in the next issue of Purple magazine, artist Dash Snow will pull a Vincent Gallo and wear women's clothes from the Fall 2008 collections.  Zahm himself is also working on a magazine for Chanel to accompany their Mobile Art project because he's "good at doing magazines." [NY Times]

>> INSIDER WIREOlivier Zahm revealed this weekend that in the next issue of Purple magazine, artist Dash Snow will pull a Vincent Gallo and wear women's clothes from the Fall 2008 collections.  Zahm himself is also working on a magazine for Chanel to accompany their Mobile Art project because he's "good at doing magazines." [NY Times]

Mary-Kate Olsen

The Olsens Add a Little Gold and Silver to their Elizabeth and James Empire

>> It's all thanks to a video montage at last year's CFDA Awards.  The tribute to jewelry designer Robert Lee Morris, who has worked with everyone from Calvin Klein to Karl Lagerfeld, attracted the attention of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.  "I was so moved," Ashley said.  The twins asked Morris to help create an 80-plus piece jewelry collection for their wildly successful contemporary line Elizabeth and James, and the product — thick silver cuffs and rings, earrings and necklaces accented with turquoise beading, crosses and daggers — hits stores in September.  The cool part about it is that the pieces are made to be mix-and-match, with an emphasis placed on the classic — which sounds very much like Ashley's touch.  As she explained it to WWD, We liked the idea of having playful elements along with timeless and ageless pieces.  The symbols are attachable and you can take the jewelry and make it your own.  There are solid silver and gold pieces to wear forever and comfort pieces that you'll put on and wear everywhere.

>> It's all thanks to a video montage at last year's CFDA Awards.  The tribute to jewelry designer Robert Lee Morris, who has worked with everyone from Calvin Klein to Karl Lagerfeld, attracted the attention of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.  "I was so moved," Ashley said. 

The twins asked Morris to help create an 80-plus piece jewelry collection for their wildly successful contemporary line Elizabeth and James, and the product — thick silver cuffs and rings, earrings and necklaces accented with turquoise beading, crosses and daggers — hits stores in September. 

The cool part about it is that the pieces are made to be mix-and-match, with an emphasis placed on the classic — which sounds very much like Ashley's touch.  As she explained it to WWD,

We liked the idea of having playful elements along with timeless and ageless pieces.  The symbols are attachable and you can take the jewelry and make it your own.  There are solid silver and gold pieces to wear forever and comfort pieces that you'll put on and wear everywhere.

I wonder how long before we're hearing about Elizabeth and James bags and shoes?
*image: source

off the cuff

At first I thought that maybe it could have been a scam.
At first I thought that maybe it could have been a scam. But when I saw the card, I knew that it was real. Everyone knows Elite. It’s on America’s Next Top Model. And then I was really happy.
Naomi Campbell

Another Day, Another Unhappy Housekeeper for Naomi Campbell

>> Case closed for Naomi Campbell.  Unfortunately, she hasn't gotten her major case taken care of yet — the trial starts this Friday for her British Airways incident — but she did just settle with a former housekeeper on claims of racial and sexual harassment, unfair dismissal, and breach of contract.  This makes the eighth documented case of employee conflict for Naomi (!).

>> Case closed for Naomi Campbell.  Unfortunately, she hasn't gotten her major case taken care of yet — the trial starts this Friday for her British Airways incident — but she did just settle with a former housekeeper on claims of racial and sexual harassment, unfair dismissal, and breach of contract.  This makes the eighth documented case of employee conflict for Naomi (!).

The plaintiff says she was forced to quit her job last October because Naomi made her life a "living hell," and in return, Naomi has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum — rumored to be in the thousands — in damages.  Until Friday, when who knows what could happen . . .

*image: source

Kate Moss

>> THE MODELIZER —Turkish newspapers are reporting that Kate Moss is currently in Istanbul until June 19, shooting an upcoming editorial for W magazine.

>> THE MODELIZER —Turkish newspapers are reporting that Kate Moss is currently in Istanbul until June 19, shooting an upcoming editorial for W magazine. [Hurriyet (in Turkish)]