>> Tory Burch went Southwest for Resort 2012, offering up her signature array of tunics, cropped print pants, and fitted jackets in deserty corals and pinks, yellows and turquoise. Espadrilles were done with Navajo-patterned soles and handbags came in printed burlap.
>> Imagining a city girl headed down to Miami for Art Basel in December, Marc Jacobs served up three different versions of florals — "day floral," "beach floral," and "evening floral"; polka dots in many shapes and sizes; and lipstick red looks for her to pack alongside her ubiquitous spectacles. Otherwise notable for the Resort 2012 collection? Jacobs's switch in his usual approach from separates to full looks.
>> While other labels tend to focus their Resort collections on clothes worthy of warm weather getaways, Nicole and Michael Colovos steered their Resort 2012 Helmut Lang collection to pieces more befit for cooler weather. "Our girls don't do resort," the designers offered by way of explanation, noting that the pieces will hit stores in November.
Feather motifs and the Colovos' tendency toward black and gray permeated the collection — with some warmer rusts and mustards popping up — while the ubiquitous asymmetrical hems came by way of the Spomenik Monuments in former Yugoslavia. “They’re these huge, asymmetrical sculptures that have been sitting in the middle of nowhere,” explained Michael. “We always gravitate toward something bold.”
>> Marc Jacobs has picked the queen of red carpet quirk — Helena Bonham Carter (who just so happened to wear a Marc Jacobs dress to the SAG Awards earlier this year) — as the face of his equally quirky, unpredictable label's Fall 2011 campaign. Only one image has leaked so far, showing Bonham Carter smiling in a pillbox hat, snapped from overhead by Juergen Teller. [TFS]
>> Shibori — think of it as tie-dye, but all grown up. Originally from ancient Japan, this method of fabric dyeing includes techniques such as binding, stitching, twisting, and compressing — which together result in an exotic and versatile range of patterns. From the delicate dot-like versions spotted in Proenza Schouler's Spring 2011 collection to the bold indigo prints on offer from indie up-and-comers Upstate (left), there's a bit of something for everyone in shibori. Click through to see a selection of our favorite pieces.
>> The bags Sofia Coppola did in collaboration with Louis Vuitton in 2008 have attained a cult following, and the brand's Resort 2012 collection, of which she consulted on all aspects, is sure to, as well. But would Coppola ever consider doing a fashion line on her own? “No, no,” she replied. “I really respect and love working with Julie [de Libran, Vuitton's studio design director] and the whole team because they are so knowledgeable. I don’t have the patience and the years you would need to really study and learn about all of this. It’s like doing a film when I work with experts in each field, the cinematographer, the costume designer. They all have the knowledge about that and then I can just say what I have in mind.” [WWD]
>> On Monday, supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Eva Herzigova, and Helena Christensen flew in to join Yasmin Le Bon on the two-day shoot of Duran Duran's upcoming music video for "Girl Panic." Directed by Jonas Ackerlund (who did Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" video and the recent Kate Moss Dior Addict commercial), the video was filmed in central London "at a posh hotel," with Crawford riding in the back of a Rolls Royce and the supermodels performing as the band.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were also on the set, which doubled as a cover shoot for Harper's Bazaar UK. The magazine's editor Lucy Yeomans Tweeted: "Longest, latest Bazaar shoot in history. Didn't start on cover til 1am & got home at 4, but utterly worth it. One more day to go..." And later: "This has to have been one of the most extraordinary days of my life. A little bit of fashion history made!" The video is expected to be serialized virally online before premiering in whole later this year.
Photos from the set, as snapped by Gabbana and Duran Duran, in the gallery.
UPDATE: Images from the set removed upon request.
>> Two top editors at British Vogue have just departed the magazine within days of one another, after putting in many, many years under Alexandra Shulman. On Tuesday, creative director Robin Derrick announced via Twitter: "After 17 years I have decided to leave Vogue. Times of change and time for a change. New projects beckon....Exciting things ahead." And today, it was announced that fashion director Kate Phelan, who has been at the magazine since 1993, is leaving for a post as creative director of Topshop. [@robinderrick, @TheSTStyle, @Topshop]
>> Hedi Slimane, who last acted as creative director of Dior Homme before leaving the brand in 2007 (and has since focusing on his photography) has confirmed that he does indeed plan to make a comeback at some point: "Yes, of course I am [intending to return to fashion design], but I’m really down to earth with fashion, and I have a business and brand-oriented mind. I know what it takes to make a brand strong in the long term in a global economy. Besides design and communication, I need to make sure I have the right tools to make a new design project successful in the long run."
Slimane notes that his designs would always be for a luxury customer; when asked whether he would collaborate with a mass retailer, he replied: "No, never. I could do my own jeans line, for instance, because I have legitimacy in launching the skinny jeans in fashion, and jeans for me feel like a real noble item in fashion, a social territory almost. On the other hand, I don’t like the collusion between high fashion design and high street. You have to know where you stand. I belong to luxury fashion. That’s what I’ve always felt and embraced. I like the best quality, the best fabrics and the most creative field in fashion. I will stay consistent. I belong to this world."
