Posts for September 2010

Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss Rumored to Have Fallen Out; Plus, Naomi Talks to Interview October 2010 About Being "Controversial"
Kate Moss

Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss Rumored to Have Fallen Out; Plus, Naomi On Her "Many" Mistakes

>> Naomi Campbell is celebrating 25 years in the business this year, and Dolce & Gabbana threw her a party to honor the occasion during London Fashion Week.
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>> Naomi Campbell is celebrating 25 years in the business this year, and Dolce & Gabbana threw her a party to honor the occasion during London Fashion Week. It was noted that Kate Moss, in attendance just down the road at a Longchamp party, didn't stop by. Moss also didn't appear at Naomi's 40th birthday party this year, spurring rumors that the two have had a falling out. Apparently Moss was rude to guests at a charity show Campbell organized earlier this year, and Naomi still hasn't forgiven her. According to one source: "Kate was a little worse for wear that night. Naomi wasn’t impressed. She wants to dedicate herself to good causes and there’s some feeling that Kate drags her down."

As Naomi Campbell says in Interview's October 2010 cover story, she's not one to get along with everyone: "I mean, look, I’m controversial. It’s not that people don’t know who I am . . . If people want to work with me, then they want to work with me. If they don’t, they don’t. You also have to create your own things. I’ve had my own perfume now for how many years? I’m doing my twelfth perfume and I’m with Procter & Gamble. If something doesn’t come your way, then you find another way. I was brought up with a very broad mind. I am a woman of color and I will always be proud of that. I also know that I will always have to go that extra 10 miles. And that’s fine. I’m okay with that. I’m okay with doing the extra 10 miles . . . My whole career is a challenge. I’m a challenge."

However, when she's hit with adversity: "I don’t get depressed. When I feel an attack, I withdraw. I disappear, I replenish, and then I come back. I’m not going to wallow in self-pity and not live my life. There are always going to be some falls in life for everybody, no matter what career you have. You have to roll with the punches and keep going."

She also offers a mea culpa: "Listen, I make many mistakes. Many mistakes. I’m not a perfect human being. I have to learn from my mistakes. And a lot of the ones I’ve made have been public. So I always get nervous when people speak about something that sounds like a role model, because I don’t know if I’ve been a great role model myself. I don’t think I have in certain aspects of my life . . . But I’m trying to do better. I admit to my mistakes. I admit to the things that I’ve done wrong. I admit it. But I’m trying to do right by myself and my life now."

Photos of Jil Sander's Fall 2010 +J for Uniqlo Collection, Out October 7
Shopping

A Look at Jil Sander's Third +J Collection for Uniqlo, Out October 7

>> Jil Sander's third and most comprehensive +J collection for Uniqlo — 169 pieces — hits stores on Oct.
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>> Jil Sander's third and most comprehensive +J collection for Uniqlo — 169 pieces — hits stores on Oct. 7, one year to the day after the premiere collection's launch.

Sander, who has signed on to do the collection through 2013, introduced her Fall 2010 offering to Hilary Alexander. The palette runs black, navy, white, silver-grey, beige, and all shades of blue — "Storm to sky," Sander says. There's a silvery down jacket with little leggings ("almost couture," Sander notes); a midnight felt coat, with detachable gilet and hood ("the most expensive felt, and real buttons, NOT plastic, which we hate"); a black wool and cashmere jacket ("very Jil Sander"); duffle coats in pewter wool, tight-fitted, and high-waisted ("they could be £2,000 at designer level"). The collection ranges from $15.90 for cut-and-sewn to $229.90 for outerwear.

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Prodos Makes Bid for Gianfranco Ferre; Brand Designers Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi May Not Stay Under New Owners
Milan Fashion Week

Will New Owners Mean New Designers at Gianfranco Ferre?

>> Douglas Song, an executive at US private equity firm Prodos, which has emerged as the final bidder for Gianfranco Ferre, attended the label's fashion show on Friday.
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>> Douglas Song, an executive at US private equity firm Prodos, which has emerged as the final bidder for Gianfranco Ferre, attended the label's fashion show on Friday. Prodos, together with Samsung, has made a binding offer of just more than €10 million ($13.5 million) for the brand, which went into bankruptcy protection last year. The Italian government is expected to make a final decision on the offer within two weeks' time.

It is understood that of the five bidders for Ferre since the auction process launched in June, Prodos and Samsung prevailed because of their deep pockets, vital for the expensive relaunch of the brand which has struggled since the death of its namesake designer three years ago. Already, Ferre has pulled out of many markets; in the US, only Bergdorf Goodman still sells it.

As part of the deal, Prodos has committed to keep the company's 150 employees; sources indicate the new owners also plan to open stores in Asia through franchise partners. As for the Ferre's current designers, Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi, whose expensive designs place the brand in competition with the likes of Chanel, it is unclear whether they will stay.

As the Wall Street Journal wrote of the just-shown Spring 2011 Ferre collection: "The challenge for Ferre’s new owners will be to build up a new following for this tarnished house. They may need to start with less-expensive clothing than what was shown Friday." And Style.com noted: "In general, this collection didn't have the distinctive point of view you expect not only from these designers, but also from one of Milan's once major houses."

Derek Lam Renews Tod's Contract for Two More Years
Tod's

Derek Lam Renews Tod's Contract for Two More Years

>> Derek Lam, who became Tod's first creative director ever in 2006 and had been collaborating with the brand for a couple of seasons before that, has reupped his contract with the Italian label for another two years.
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>> Derek Lam, who became Tod's first creative director ever in 2006 and had been collaborating with the brand for a couple of seasons before that, has reupped his contract with the Italian label for another two years. [@womensweardaily]

Photos of Emmanuelle Alt at Milan 2011 Spring Fashion Week
Shopping

Milan Fashion Week Street Style — Emmanuelle Alt

Milan Fashion Week continues to serve up some of the best street style we've seen yet this Fashion Month.
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Milan Fashion Week continues to serve up some of the best street style we've seen yet this Fashion Month. Emmanuelle Alt, Vogue Paris fashion director, donned a slouchy utilitarian top — note the cool cut-out shoulder detail — on day three, paired with striped pants, lace Givenchy sandals, and simple accessories, like a black leather watch and silver bracelet. Nab a similar look with a shirt from Vince, American Apparel striped pants, and lace sandals by Coloriffics.




Left to right: Peugeot Black and Gold Leather Watch ($65), Emmanuelle Alt at Milan 2011 Spring Fashion Week, Vince Lightweight Denim Utility Shirt ($210), AE Square Basic Leather Belt ($25), Judith Jack Thin Studded Bangle ($87), American Apparel Stripe Pant ($64), Coloriffics Women's Cyndi Lace Sandal ($53)

Photos: Greg Kessler

Roberto Cavalli Celebrates 40th Anniversary with $2 Million Paris Bash
Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli Celebrates 40 Years By Shelling Out for Paris Bash, Natalia Vodianova Runway Appearance

>> Roberto Cavalli celebrated his 40th anniversary show today in Milan with a spectacular venue — the 19th-century marble Arco Della Pace — and an equally stellar cast: Erin Wasson, Laetitia Casta, who closed, and Natalia Vodianova, who opened.
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>> Roberto Cavalli celebrated his 40th anniversary show today in Milan with a spectacular venue — the 19th-century marble Arco Della Pace — and an equally stellar cast: Erin Wasson, Laetitia Casta, who closed, and Natalia Vodianova, who opened.

Cavalli is reportedly paying Vodianova between 50,000 and 70,000 euros ($67,000 to $94,000) for both her runway appearance and her attendance at his gala dinner and bash on Sept. 29 at L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a party which is said to be costing the designer over $2 million.

Cavalli, who turns 70 on Nov. 15, has seen his become a family business over the years: his 51-year-old wife, Eva, serves as creative director and drives the brand's image, selecting models, overseeing the ad campaigns, styling and staging the catwalk. And of their three children, Rachele, 28, collaborates with her parents on the brand's accessories, and Daniele, 24, works with Roberto and Eva on the men's collections.

Although there have been rumors of strife between Roberto and Eva in recent years, they are still apparently close and dependent on one another. As Roberto puts it, when you work together all day every day, "you bring your work-related problems and troubles into the bedroom."

Jil Sander: The Collection of Spring 2011, Thus Far
Milan Fashion Week

Jil Sander: The Collection of Spring 2011, Thus Far

>> Raf Simons seems to hold the honor of electrifying the fashion audience the most thus far this Spring 2011 season.
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>> Raf Simons seems to hold the honor of electrifying the fashion audience the most thus far this Spring 2011 season. Suzy Menkes wrote of his Jil Sander collection: "This was a show that projected fashion into this new decade." Vogue UK lauded: "And in the space of 15 minutes, Raf Simons stole the show. The Jil Sander collection this afternoon did just what he does so well: make everybody forget everything they’ve seen before by giving them brilliantly conceived, complete distraction."

Joe Zee Tweeted: "I think Raf Simons has officially made me a color convert with his Jil Sander collection. So incredibly major! With a capital M," later replying "COSIGN" to Kelly Cutrone's Tweet: "Fashion Prediction: Raf for Jill Sander - show stopper - Takes the season." The Los Angeles Times's Booth Moore agreed: "At Jil Sander, designer Raf Simons' extreme color story packed more of a punch than almost anything else we'd seen so far this season."

WWD called the collection "extraordinary" and "fantastic," and Cathy Horyn wrote: "Mr. Simons has shown some exceptional collections at Jil in the past five years, but in this one he dealt more assuredly with the fundamentals of fashion — shape, volume, proportion, new materials — and pushed past the old frontiers to create a new example of minimalist dressing . . . Reaction to the show seemed very enthusiastic, with an immediate burst of applause at the end."