>> INSIDER WIRE —Speaking of ethical fashion, Ali Hewson addressed rumors about LVMH taking a financial interest in Edun last night — "Everyone keeps asking us that. I wish it were true." Which begs the question: Who else would Bernard Arnault have been hinting at? Edun seems to fit the bill perfectly . . . [Style File]
*image: source
>> Stella McCartney is synonymous with vegan fashion — she's a member of PETA and has been known to get upset when her pieces have been used in conjunction with fur. Next Monday, she's being honored in New York with an environmental award, because her commitment to ethical fashion goes beyond just a stance against animal cruelty, as she explained recently to Suzy Menkes:
Well I don't do leather and I don't do fur and it's not just because I don't eat animals or that I think that half a billion animals a year shouldn't be killed for the sake of fashion. It's because I also believe very much in the connection between fur and leather and the environment. There's a huge connection. Now, I think more and more people will start to take notice of that — the use of water for tanneries, the chemicals that are used — there's a huge impact environmentally.
>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —Calvin Klein and Yves Saint Laurent both seem to be sticking to their single model formulas for Fall 2009, and likewise, Gucci is staying true to their multi-girl mentality. Frida Giannini is said to be upping the ante for Fall — word comes from London that nine models have been cast for Gucci duty. [The Imagist]
*image: source
>> Since that serendipitous night in January when Michelle Obama wore his gown, Jason Wu has, in his own words, "gone from being a designer known just by those in the know in New York to a global name." Since then, he's apparently been offered a number of tell-all book deals and even a reality show, but he's turned down everything to focus on more pertinent projects, like an expansion into shoes and makeup.
They'll appear within the next two seasons, Wu says, but he wouldn't reveal who he's collaborating with on either, only hinting that it wouldn't be Manolo Blahnik, who did the shoes for his Fall 2009 runway, because he wants both to be commercial ranges.
And ultimately, that's what his brand is about. "I've never been trendy and I don't design trendy things. I design for real women, older women with feminine bodies. And I want my pieces to be relevant in 30 years' time," adding "I’ll never be about the $20,000 phantom dress that no one wears. I try to walk that fine line between commercial, editorial and runway looks.”
*image: source
Someone Spoil Me found a cute and memorable gift for the newest member of the family...
Nico Assatly tested out some new nail polish colors poised to hit shelves in April.
Solo Lisa reported on last night's reception for the start of Vancouver Fashion Week.
The Budget Fashionista reviewed the new fashion section in Martha Stewart Living.
In honor of the upcoming bridal season, we had to give a mention to Agent Provocateur, whom we visited in the showroom earlier this week. Just last year, the British lingerie brand launched their bridal range with an official (and infamous) send-off from Kate Moss. This season AP named the collection "The Brides Of Uylseess" and featured a whole cast of long-locked models in the campaign. Always brilliant in matters of publicity, AP will be hosting private bridal showers in their stores to celebrate the new collection.
New York based brand Pepper and Pistol are known for their graphic, colorful contemporary clothing. The duo behind this brand, Silvia Hillmann and Katrin Wiens, hail from Germany with separate but equal experience in the fashion industry--Hillmann has worked with many emerging brands and Wiens has created textiles for the likes of Calvin Klein. This season, the duo explored a circus theme which called up the Michael Jackson look while still allowing for P&P's relaxed silhouettes. Check out their Fall 2009 look book below, shot by Coutorture fav, Shannon Sinclair.
The Yves Saint Laurent Pre-Fall 2009 collection was complimented for being an accessible mid-season range. For this collection Stefano Pilati experimented with fabrication in order to drive costs down and keep sales up. When we happened upon the look book today, imagine our surprise when we saw a more avant-garde approach to its representation. The Pre-Fall 2009 collection was shot in every angle imaginable--is this an effort to mystify a range of YSL basics or did they think the clothing really looked better this way? Click on the title link to find your way through this curious look book, or right here, to see a more sober look at the clothes.
Yesterday, at the Centre For Fashion Enterprise pop-up showroom, we had the chance to meet designer Jean-Pierre Braganza and hear him speak about his Fall 2009 collection. This season, Braganza was informed by two distinct inspirations: Native American imagery and futuristic, sculptural tailoring. Overall, the collection communicated a sense of the exoskeletal, from the paneled dresses "that seem to grow over the body like petals or scales" to the prints comprised of digitally manipulated x-rays. Thanks to this, the collection had a post-apocalyptic feeling to it and the usage of Artic fox fur, hand-woven leather pieces, and Kirkwood-friendly heels certainly didn't hurt matters. Below, a few of our showroom snapshots and their corresponding runway images. To see Braganza's Fall 2009 in full, click here.
At the end of every season, after looking at hundreds of shows, there will always be specific qualities that resonate and stay with you. For us this season (and we're sure, many others) one of those things was the color palette at Rodarte. Although there was something almost medical to the grey/green that dominated the show, the glimpes of brilliant metals and pure-as-snow ivories kept it from feeling dismal or, for lack of a better word, ugly. To that end, we decided to round up some great current season leather jackets that touch on Rodarte's unforgettable Fall 2009 color palette.
