>> The Fall 2011 Chanel ad campaign has the same photographer as always — Karl Lagerfeld — and Freja Beha Erichsen back for her fifth consecutive campaign, but thanks to new campaign stylist Carine Roitfeld, the set of images — previewed at the Cannes Film Festival and shot at a photobooth in Paris — has a decidedly edgier feel than seasons past.
>> The long Memorial Day weekend means plenty of breezy leisure time, even if you're not planning anything other than a lazy little staycation. On our shopping list? Cheery Elizabeth Peyton-esque colors and prints, a super-soft blazer in graphic stripes and, of course, the ultimate Summer-fun accessory: a Kate Spade for Adeline cruiser in neo-preppy green.
Shop these styles, clockwise from top left:
1) Elizabeth Peyton: Ghost, $53
2) Suno Boxy Striped Blazer, $645
3) Nicole Miller Addison Ameldi Mini Crossbody Bag, $260
4) Jil Sander Floral Print Flats, $390
5) Kate Spade New York Abici Bicycle, $1,100
6) Assad Mounser Nomad Bracelets, $270 each
>> Last night, 600 people — including Grace Coddington, Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld, and Donatella Versace — gathered in New York to celebrate Mario Testino's illustrious career as part of the El Museo del Barrio gala. Kate Winslet, who presented Testino with an award, said of working with the photographer: “He’ll say, ‘It’s beeuuutiful, but I think it would be better naked, no?’ Quite frankly, how could one refuse? No matter what insecurities about oneself a subject may have, Mario makes them go away like a magician. One moment you are in the hair and makeup chair fully clothed and wishing you had smoother skin, longer legs and smaller feet and then Mario comes in and in that charming way he takes you by the hand and says, 'Don't worry it's going to be amazing.'"
Carine Roitfeld, meanwhile, said of collaborating with Testino: "What I love about him I can tell him anything and that is very rare with a photographer. If I don't like these shoes, or I don't like this picture I can tell him. It is his complicity . . . to be able to say what you want to someone. I just finished a book about my work so far and 80 percent of it is with Mario."
Testino, meanwhile, credited his career to Anna Wintour: “Long ago she decided I was a good photographer.” As for his favorite photographic subject, he replied: "It would have to be Princess Diana, it took my career to another level. Top five? Kate Moss has been one of my favourites for a long time. I have worked a lot with her. I think I have managed to document her through the 20 years that we have worked together. But there are many people like that: Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, it is hard to pick just one."
>> The latest on Carine Roitfeld's wide-ranging current projects? Yesterday, she was collaborating with Terry Richardson on a project for the jeweler David Webb, and last night she gave a little more insight on her upcoming work for V: "I'm doing an entire issue of V magazine with Mario Testino, and we'll start the shooting tomorrow." Kate Winslet is on the cover of the issue, she said. But it sounds like that may not be the only magazine she's working on — when asked about whether the rumor that she's starting a magazine is true, she laughed: "Maybe. Now I have freedom like a butterfly, so I can go from one place to another." [The Cut]
>> 40 gorgeous Summer pieces to help you celebrate the official start of the season — in style, from Memorial Day Weekend to beyond. Wherever you're headed — from the beach to the great outdoors — we've got everything you need for one long, chic summer.
Click through to shop our guide full of Summer weekend style inspiration.
>> H&M just released their seasonal video lookbook for Fall 2011, a few short days after offering up stills of Karlie Kloss modeling the collection. Kloss is back for the runthrough, alongside appropriately Swedish model Josefine Ekman Nilsson, which features cozy cable knit sweaters and a plethora of earth tones.
>> Azzedine Alaia, who typically closes out Paris Fashion Week with an off-the-schedule intimate presentation in his studio, has announced that he will make a rare appearance during the upcoming Paris couture week. The designer indicated that he will show what he described as "semicouture" designs sometime during the week, which runs July 4 through 8. [WWD]
>> There have been rumors circulating in the last couple of months that Dasha Zhukova — since resigning from POP last November — was working on a new magazine. Now, she confirms the rumors are true.
Dubbed Garage (the same as her flagship Moscow museum, the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture), it's set to launch in September and will be an art magazine with a strong fashion angle. "It's going to be a girls' magazine," Zhukova says. "I have more ideas than I know what to do with. I guess I'm a bit of a fantasist and a daydreamer — all sorts of things come to me during the day."
She's also enlisted former Vogue Paris editor Joan Juliet Buck as a consultant for the magazine, as well as Vanessa Traina. "I'll set projects up and hand them over," Zhukova explains. "I'm a delegator and I find that quite easy. I feel I do it intuitively. But I have to trust that the people I work with are going to make decisions I approve of."
>> Fresh, crisp, and cool. Keep your chic in clean, bright whites. From sweet flowing dresses at Derek Lam to silky pajama pants at Alexander Wang to sporty separates at Band of Outsiders, this easy neutral was all over the Spring 2011 runways. Embrace the trend and go head-to-toe, or mix it up with a just one or two great statement pieces. Click through to see our favorites, all under $100.
Photo courtesy of Greg Kessler
>> Christopher Kane and Net-a-Porter have teamed up to offer four exclusive clutches in the designer's Spring 2011 flourescent laser-cut leather. Retaiing at $530 each, the wristlets — available starting today — come in four vibrant hues: orange, pink, yellow and green. Of his uber-bright Spring offering, Kane says, "Neon gets me going." If neon gets you going, too, pop over to Net-a-Porter to shop the special selection. And why not? After all, as Kane puts it, "Every other color is so banal."
