Posts for May 7th 2009

Olivier Theyskens

Olivier Theyskens at Halston: Not Happening

>> Despite the supposed lobbying of Anna Wintour herself, Olivier Theyskens won't be taking a post stateside — not at Halston, anyway.

>> Despite the supposed lobbying of Anna Wintour herself, Olivier Theyskens won't be taking a post stateside — not at Halston, anyway.

Fashion Week Daily reports that the brand has no immediate plans to hire Theyskens, citing a "well-placed source" with knowledge of Halston's creative director search: "Olivier [as creative director at Halston] will never, ever happen.  It's no secret that [the brand] is struggling — they need a designer who can sell lots and lots of clothes, not just get great press."

Great press but not-so-great sales describes Theyskens in a nutshell with regards to his past two posts at Nina Ricci and Rochas, but maybe Schiaparelli or his own label will work out?  As for Halston, so far the label has allegedly approached several European designers — including Marios Schwabas well as Narciso Rodriguez for the creative director role, but it sounds like none have panned out so far.
*image: source

Pierre Cardin

>> INSIDER WIRE —Pierre Cardin was hospitalized last Friday following a fall from scaffolding on his property in Lacoste, France and then readmitted to the Marseille hospital for high blood pressure.  After two days in the hospital, the designer has returned home; the doctors found 86-year-old Cardin's health to be "completely satisfying" after he underwent various medical tests.

>> INSIDER WIRE Pierre Cardin was hospitalized last Friday following a fall from scaffolding on his property in Lacoste, France and then readmitted to the Marseille hospital for high blood pressure.  After two days in the hospital, the designer has returned home; the doctors found 86-year-old Cardin's health to be "completely satisfying" after he underwent various medical tests. [WWD, AP]

*image: source

Proenza Schouler

Anna Wintour Upset, Proenza Schouler Worried About Headbutting Aftermath

>> Kiefer Sutherland has just been officially charged with misdemeanor assault for headbutting Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler — the damage of which can be seen here — so the story is far from finished, but what does Anna Wintour think about the whole incident?  A source at Conde Nast told StyleList: Anna is furious that the Met Gala got upstaged by Kiefer doing something stupid at an after-party that wasn't even part of her event.

>> Kiefer Sutherland has just been officially charged with misdemeanor assault for headbutting Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler — the damage of which can be seen here — so the story is far from finished, but what does Anna Wintour think about the whole incident?  A source at Conde Nast told StyleList:

Anna is furious that the Met Gala got upstaged by Kiefer doing something stupid at an after-party that wasn't even part of her event. Now that's all anyone is talking about, not her party. And she is so genuinely fond of Jack, she has supported him and Lazaro for years, she really feels they are part of the future of American fashion. So she's doubly annoyed.

Meanwhile, Proenza Schouler is concerned »

Gareth Pugh

>> INSIDER WIRE —Models aren't the only ones with a hankering for the bleach blonde: Gareth Pugh has one, too.  He and boyfriend Carson McColl (right), are in Singapore for a runway re-show today of his men's and women's collections at the Audi Fashion Festival — apparently they were all lovey at the after-party and then jumped in a pool during a thunderstorm later with Pugh stylist Katie Shillingford and publicist Mandi Lennard.

>> INSIDER WIRE —Models aren't the only ones with a hankering for the bleach blonde: Gareth Pugh has one, too.  He and boyfriend Carson McColl (right), are in Singapore for a runway re-show today of his men's and women's collections at the Audi Fashion Festival — apparently they were all lovey at the after-party and then jumped in a pool during a thunderstorm later with Pugh stylist Katie Shillingford and publicist Mandi Lennard. [Purple Diary, ONTD_FF, Mandi]

ford models

Kendra Spears Spurs Lawsuit, Feud Among Agencies

>> Kendra Spears, the promising 20-year-old Seattle-born model talent who is rumored to be one of the upcoming Fall 2009 Prada faces and has been called "one of the most supermodel-esque new faces to emerge in a long while" by Models.com — she has a mole above her lip, causing her to be billed "the next Cindy Crawford" — is now at the center of a lawsuit.Kendra, who was discovered by Ford Models on MySpace last year and was then a finalist in the agency's Supermodel of the World competition, recently jumped ship to Next, spurring Ford to sue both Next and Spears (the former for poaching the model, the latter for breaching her contract — which was supposed to span three years).
Kendra Spears Spurs Lawsuit, Feud Among Agencies

>> Kendra Spears, the promising 20-year-old Seattle-born model talent who is rumored to be one of the upcoming Fall 2009 Prada faces and has been called "one of the most supermodel-esque new faces to emerge in a long while" by Models.com — she has a mole above her lip, causing her to be billed "the next Cindy Crawford" — is now at the center of a lawsuit.

Kendra, who was discovered by Ford Models on MySpace last year and was then a finalist in the agency's Supermodel of the World competition, recently jumped ship to Next, spurring Ford to sue both Next and Spears (the former for poaching the model, the latter for breaching her contract — which was supposed to span three years).

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, reads:

Kendra Spears is one of the shining stars of the Ford development system.  Signed as a prospect while still a teenager in braces, for more than a year, Ford has painstakingly cultivated Spears — literally, taught her how to be an international fashion model.  She was not a high-fashion model.  In fact, she was an unknown — a teenager with braces, with no modeling experience to speak of.
She is a beautiful, fresh, all-American 'face' who, having been discovered by Ford, trained by Ford, and professionally developed by Ford, is at the precipice of a breakthrough.  She is about to become one of a handful of the world's most sought-after high fashion models.

A look at some of her recent work, below.

*image: source

Anna Wintour

>> INSIDER WIRE —A recession-inspired development over at Vogue: Anna Wintour was captured walking home, sans town car or any kind of flack, yesterday evening.  Meanwhile, in seemingly richer times Monday night, she was spotted looking "thick as thieves" with Rihanna, who she chose to perform the Costume Institute Gala, at an after-party, spawning rumors that Rihanna might be an upcoming cover girl.

>> INSIDER WIRE —A recession-inspired development over at Vogue: Anna Wintour was captured walking home, sans town car or any kind of flack, yesterday evening.  Meanwhile, in seemingly richer times Monday night, she was spotted looking "thick as thieves" with Rihanna, who she chose to perform the Costume Institute Gala, at an after-party, spawning rumors that Rihanna might be an upcoming cover girl. [Heron Preston, NYDN]

feature

Coutorture Community Must Reads 05/07/09

Style It previewed the Fall 2009 collection from White House Black Market.  Hip Candy reported that Marc Jacobs isn't the only man wearing a skirt.  Eye4Style revealed her purchases from the Loeffler Randall sample sale.  Haute & Bothered decided that not everyone looks good in a hat. 

Style It previewed the Fall 2009 collection from White House Black Market

Hip Candy reported that Marc Jacobs isn't the only man wearing a skirt

Eye4Style revealed her purchases from the Loeffler Randall sample sale

Haute & Bothered decided that not everyone looks good in a hat

Natalia Vodianova

Natalia Vodianova Credits Career Success to Post-Pregnancy Weight Loss

>> Natalia Vodianova made a splash last year when she hit the Paris runways three weeks after giving birth to her third child, Viktor, and now the June 2009 British Vogue cover girl tells CNN she credits the success of her career to her pregnancies: My agency thought that I might never do shows because I was a bit shorter and not skinny enough, but when I gave birth to my first son I was 19 and I lost a lot of weight.  I guess the stress on the body was extreme and I suddenly just turned into this stick — just the way designers love models.

>> Natalia Vodianova made a splash last year when she hit the Paris runways three weeks after giving birth to her third child, Viktor, and now the June 2009 British Vogue cover girl tells CNN she credits the success of her career to her pregnancies:

My agency thought that I might never do shows because I was a bit shorter and not skinny enough, but when I gave birth to my first son I was 19 and I lost a lot of weight.  I guess the stress on the body was extreme and I suddenly just turned into this stick — just the way designers love models. My career took off after Lucas was born because I opened a lot of shows on the runway and that's where a lot of stars are made in my industry.

CNN recently followed Natalia around Moscow for their twelve-minute segment My City_My Life, during which she introduces some of her favorite bars, boutiques, and even a banya (Russian sauna), where she goes to get "whipped with" a "branch" by two men.  One such highlight — a stop in a market with her children Lucas and Neva, where she pronounces (as she eats it): "I'm buying some lard.  It's fantastic on toast and something that in my culture we eat all the time."

Video: The full episode! »

Olivier Theyskens

>> INSIDER WIRE —Olivier Theyskens may come off as delicate, but at a Costume Institute Gala after-party Monday, he revealed his subversive streak: "The parties tonight are great, but they don't compare to three days ago, when I sat by the Seine on my own and smoked cigarillos.

>> INSIDER WIRE Olivier Theyskens may come off as delicate, but at a Costume Institute Gala after-party Monday, he revealed his subversive streak: "The parties tonight are great, but they don't compare to three days ago, when I sat by the Seine on my own and smoked cigarillos. It's my favorite thing in the world. I smoke this brand La Paz — they're cheap but it's what I always buy. And then, I peed into the Seine. It's the best thing I did all week." [Hint]
*image: source