>> INSIDER WIRE —Introducing two September 2008 Vanity Fair cover shots that could have been. Too bad Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, and Stephanie Seymour were beat out in the end by Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. [Chic Report]
»Bee Shaffer turns 21 today, and is celebrating at mom Anna Wintour's country house near Mastic, Long Island this weekend [Style File]
»Karen Elson nabs the September 2008 Vogue UK cover [Models.com]
»Kate Schelter and Charlotte Ronson love their neon Alexander Wang [Chic Report]
»Sean Avery wore shorts suits during his time at Vogue [The Cut]
»Patrick Robinson shows how Gap denim is done [Nylon]
»A second shot from Lanvin Fall 2008 [TFS]
»Fashion editor fave Current/Elliott, now stocked at eLuxury [Racked]
»Raquel Zimmermann, spotted at Whole Foods [Fashionista]
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>> INSIDER WIRE —Did Erin Fetherston get married recently? I don't recall seeing any announcement, but an article today refers to her fiance Hedi Ferjani as her husband, and a quick look at her "official page" MySpace identifies her as married. If it's true, congrats! [Style File, MySpace]
Temptalia introduces us to an at home waxing kit. We admire women who have an understanding of the art of diy waxing.
Style Bubble falls for puffy styles. It's nice to see the style translated beyond the wind resistant puffy jackets of Winter.
Some of the most unfortunate accidents can occur when you don't need them to. Periodic Elements of Style provides quick fixes to some of those unfortunate occurrences.
See Pretty Things finds a clutch that combines the mot unconventional of materials. Lucite combined with old fashioned door closures is sure to be a conversation piece.
Shop Diary lucked out receiving vials of Hermes Vetiver Tonka and Ambre Narguile. Their in depth review explores the complexity of these fragrances.
>> In the past couple of years the fashion industry has come under fire on two separate issues: for showing a lack of diversity and for promoting an increasingly slim silhouette. In the past two months, Vogue Italia provided a whirlwind answer to the first issue, but as for the latter issue, a new study may halt any forseeable progress.
The research shows that although ads showing thin models make women feel worse about themselves, they make the same women feel better about the brand featured. In fact, despite the negative effect on their body image, the women studied preferred ads showing thin models. And get this: They were more likely to buy products featured in the thin model ads than ones showing "regular-size models."
With justification like this, and especially in the languishing economic climate we're in, there is no doubt that brands will continue to cast tiny models in their ad campaigns — regardless of the unhealthy eating habits those models have to use to achieve "the right size." It's a dirty, dirty, spiral we're in . . .
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>> THE MODELIZER —Did Erin Wasson get the idea for her $1000+ jewelry line Low Luv that debuted on Alexander Wang's Fall 2008 runway (left) from Bliss Lau's jewelry collection (right)? Bliss seems to think so, and the styles are definitely very similar . . . [Fashionista]
We've been trying to imagine the Spring 09 trends the way a seven year old shakes their presents under the christmas tree. Transparency is one we've been thinking about. Transparency, the break-out trend for Spring 08, has pushed on strongly enough. We predict the numbers will be high come Spring 09. The trend-forecasting seminars always tell you that the trends for next season are the same as they were two seasons previous. No miraculous discoveries--just summaries of what, because of various websites, we've seen plenty of already. So our thoughts on transparency aren't unsupported. Just in case a little evidence is needed, however, here's some of what we've seen since Spring 08.
Fall is a season that calls for heavier layers and so transparency is necessarily peripheral because of its impracticality. We did, however, see plenty of it crop up on evening frocks and on blouses that could be easily layered. Ashleigh Verrier used it on feminine frocks that were made season-appropriate by way of fur stoles and thick hosiery. On the darker side of things Alexander Wang used it on shell tanks and leggings in many of his Fall looks and Preen (shown left) used transparency despite every other aspect of the collection being wintery perfection.
Then came Resort and with warmer weather; more freer usage of the textile. Christian Dior used generous portions of transparency for his cruise ship-worthy evening gowns. Chanel, on the other hand, stuck to mini-frocks that were prefect for the Miami-staged runway show. Calvin Klein (shown right), our favorite by far, showed a few examples of transparency in the colorless, structured collection.
Finally menswear came along and gave us the duds that will sit on the other side of the boutique and closet and dresser drawer to ours, come Spring 09. Transparency--check. We saw it unabashed and blazing from Givenchy, we saw it in lace from Yohji Yamamoto, and from Costume National (shown left) masquerading as a normal work shirt--complete with blazer and tie.
We think it's time to stop shaking the present now. We're pretty sure we know what we're getting when it's time to open the gifts. You never know though, like when you're a kid, there's always one that surprises you...
>> Almost exactly one year ago, Gap launched its Fall 2007 European campaign, featuring fashion figues like Pierre Hardy, Amanda Harlech, Coco Rocha and Elettra Rossellini Weidemann shot by Mikael Jansson. The ads must have been a success, because rather than going with the high-wattage stars stateside Gap campaigns usually feature, the black-and-white, fashion-figure concept has been lifted for the Fall 2008 American campaign.
Shots of a smiling Cecilia Dean, a pouting Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, and a coy Georgina Chapman are sprinkled among those of Clemence Poesy, Maryna Linchuk, actress Catalina Sandino Moreno, Chanel Iman, and Lily Donaldson (plus Liv Tyler, apparently star wattage couldn't be totally nixed). More shots are still to come — including those of Scott Schuman and Ryan McGinley.
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>> THE ZEITGEIST —The original run of the July 2008 Vogue Italia sold out in the US and the UK within 72 hours of hitting stands, followed up by reprinting of 30,000 copies for the US, 10,000 for the UK, and 20,000 for Italy. By sheer numbers, the issue was a runaway success, with no question that black women can sell magazines. In the aftermath, the lasting impact of the issue is starting to be called into question, especially with the follow-up August 2008 Vogue Italia featuring all white models on the cover. [Jezebel, Time]
