Posts for October 24th 2011

Vera Wang Black Wedding Dresses [Pictures]
Weddings

Vera Wang Explains Why She Showed Black Wedding Gowns

>> Vera Wang, who debuted 15 wedding gowns during her bridal show last week, nine of which were black — causing quite a stir — suggested that after a year of major white weddings, she was ready for something new.
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Vera Wang Bridal Fall 2012

>> Vera Wang, who debuted 15 wedding gowns during her bridal show last week, nine of which were black — causing quite a stir — suggested that after a year of major white weddings, she was ready for something new.

“I found black to be fresh and tongue in cheek,” Wang said. “With all the big weddings that happened this year, it was fun to step out of the box.”

Wang has experimented with purple, pale green, and neutrals in past bridal collections, but wanted to explore ways for black to read "wedding day": “I did take it to a witchy kind of place. For me, it helped build a sense of mystery that I was hungry for. And it added this sensuality and sexuality, and a little bit of severity, too.”

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Robin Givhan Grand Divertissement à Versailles Book Deal
Robin Givhan

Robin Givhan Lands a Book Deal

>> Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robin Givhan has landed a book deal to write about the supermodel-studded Grand Divertissement à Versailles fashion show, which in 1973 pitted five American designers (Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Anne Klein, and Bill Blass) against five French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior by Marc Bohan, Hubert de Givenchy, Emanuel Ungaro, and Pierre Cardin) at the Palace of Versailles.
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>> Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robin Givhan has landed a book deal to write about the supermodel-studded Grand Divertissement à Versailles fashion show, which in 1973 pitted five American designers (Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Halston, Anne Klein, and Bill Blass) against five French designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior by Marc Bohan, Hubert de Givenchy, Emanuel Ungaro, and Pierre Cardin) at the Palace of Versailles. Put together by Eleanor Lambert, the publicist who invented the Best Dressed List, the show used exclusively black models like Pat Cleveland, Bethann Hardison, and Billie Blair and was attended by 800 guests, including Princess Grace of Monaco. Givhan’s book will be “an in-depth look at how the Grand Divertissement a Versailles set a diverse group of American designers against the lions of French fashion in a seismic cultural event and turning point in the history of American fashion.” Givhan is also the author of Michelle: Her First Year as First Lady. [DFR]

2011 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Fashion Show [Pictures]
Party Dresses

Scenes From the 2011 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Fashion Show

>> The final challenge of this year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund competition — a fashion show by all 10 finalists at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles — took place last Thursday.
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2011 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Show

>> The final challenge of this year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund competition — a fashion show by all 10 finalists at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles — took place last Thursday. “You’re never really a spectator at your own show, so it’s an amazing experience," said second-time finalist Joseph Altuzarra. "I wasn’t so much looking at the girls as at people’s reactions in the audience.”

Ryan Murphy, Bee Shaffer's current boss — both were in attendance — revealed another project Altuzarra has on his plate: designing some costumes for Murphy’s new movie based on Larry Kramer’s play, The Normal Heart.

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Opening Ceremony Spring 2012
Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony Spring 2012

>> Fresh off dressing Chloe Moretz in head-to-toe Kenzo over the weekend, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim have unveiled their Spring 2012 Opening Ceremony collection, inspired by the major music festivals of the world, from England to the US to Argentina.
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Opening Ceremony Spring 2012

>> Fresh off dressing Chloe Moretz in head-to-toe Kenzo over the weekend, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim have unveiled their Spring 2012 Opening Ceremony collection, inspired by the major music festivals of the world, from England to the US to Argentina. Shot by Tim Barber and styled by Sara Moonves, Daiane Sondré, Hyoni Kang, and Camille Rowe model metallic anoraks, cat-faced dresses, and lug-soled suede sandals. The collection hits stores starting in February 2012.

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Karl Lagerfeld Masstige Affordable Line Launch Date Details
Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld to Launch More Affordable Signature Collection in January

>> Karl Lagerfeld, who stopped showing his signature collection on the runway in September 2010, will be back in January with two new signature lines.
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>> Karl Lagerfeld, who stopped showing his signature collection on the runway in September 2010, will be back in January with two new signature lines.

Karl, an 100-piece masstige women's line priced at about 60 to 300 euros ($95 to $450), and the higher-end Karl Lagerfeld Paris line — priced 300 euros to about 2,500 euros ($411 to $3,425) — will both be introduced on Jan. 25 during Paris Couture Week. The Karl line will then make its debut exclusively on Net-a-Porter, with sales on KarlLagerfeld.com starting Feb. 28, while Karl Lagerfeld Paris will first be sold for Fall 2012.

Of the relaunch, Lagerfeld says: "I just want not too expensive clothes that people may like and perhaps want to wear. That was my concept for a long time, but my business partners in the past wanted to be like Chanel or Fendi without putting behind what is needed to be like that ... Now I am feeling we are ready for the right job — the way to do things right in a modern, unusual way.”

The Karl line boasts a "street" and "rock" attitude, according to Pier Paolo Righi, the new president of Karl Lagerfeld, and is mainly targeted at women in their late teens and early 20s. It is rife with denim and leather, silvery jeans, and black cocktail dresses with plunging backs. The tags show Lagerfeld's profile, complete with sunglasses and ponytail, embedded in a K.