Posts for May 7th 2012

by Justin Fenner

Met Gala Red Carpet Fashion Pictures 2012

Monday night was the industry's biggest, most glamorous party, and each look that came up the steps for the Met Gala was more stunning than the last.

Anna Wintour arrived first, clad in a Prada update of Elsa Schiaparelli's famous lobster dress — the first time she hasn't worn Chanel to a Met Gala in six years — followed shortly by Miuccia Prada herself, wearing a shirt and pants of her own design.

But even though Monday's gala honored Prada's work, other fashion houses turned out lots of good looks. Scarlett Johansson wore custom Dolce & Gabbana, Jessica Stam stunned in Dior, and Lauren Santo Domingo slid into Oscar de la Renta. A list of who wore what sits here, but pictures of all the best looks can be found in the gallery.

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by Justin Fenner

Heidi Klum, Karolina Kurkova, and Arizona Muse, among others, have revealed what they'll be wearing to Monday night's Met Gala.

Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing told Style.com that he'll be taking model Joan Smalls as his date. Anthony Vaccarello has confirmed he'll be accompanied by Anja Rubik. Jason Wu will attend with Karlie Kloss, and Haider Ackermann will walk the red carpet with Constance Jablonski.

The site has also confirmed another spate of pairings: Roland Mouret is taking Doutzen Kroes; Rachel Zoe and her husband, Rodger Berman, will attend with Karolina Kurkova; Erdem Moralioglu will dress Arizona Muse; and Thakoon Panichgul is taking actress Christina Ricci.

It has also recently been revealed that Heidi Klum will wear a "very very lacy and very very see-through" one-of-a-kind dress by Escada. Chanel's official attendee will be French actor Gaspard Ulliel, face of the brand's Bleu de Chanel fragrance.

Previously confirmed pairings include Alexander Wang and rapper Azealia Banks, who tweeted that she would perform at the Met Gala last week; Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez with Australian actress Isabel Lucas; and Joseph Altuzarra with Lana Del Rey. Coco Rocha will attend with her husband, James Conran, wearing a vintage dress by Givenchy.

The Met Gala will be live streamed for the first time from 6:30-8:30 p.m. EDT on May 7.

Update: Everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker to Giovanna Battaglia has decided what they're wearing tonight. Below, a list of everything we know so far:

Kristen Stewart will wear Balenciaga and attend the Gala with Nicola Ghesquiere.
Gwyneth Paltrow will wear Prada. Linda Evangelista will also wear Prada, and will attend as Miuccia Prada's date.
Renee Zellweger will wear Emilio Pucci.
Jessica Stam will wear Dior.
Cameron Diaz will attend with Stella McCartney.
Lauren Santo Domingo will wear Oscar de la Renta.
Kate Upton will attend the gala with Michael Kors, who is also dressing Jessica Alba and Liu Wen.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Lily Cole wil both wear Valentino.
Amy Adams will wear Giambattista Valli Couture.
Scarlett Johansson is wearing custom Dolce & Gabbana, but the house will also dress Bianca Brandolini d'Adda, Andrea Dellal, Giovanna Battaglia, and Marpessa Hennink.
Brooklyn Decker, Liya Kebede, Rashida Jones, and Tory Burch will all wear gowns of Burch's design.
Kristen Bell and Dee Hilfiger will both wear Tommy Hilfiger.
Dree Hemingway will wear Topshop.
Farida Khelfa will wear vintage Schiaparelli.
Emma Stone will wear Lanvin.
Stella Tennant, Poppy Delvigne, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, and Sigrid Agren will wear Chanel.
Claire Danes will attend the gala with her husband Hugh Dancy and Gilles Mendel. She'll wear J. Mendel, and so will Aerin Lauder and actress Christine Taylor. Taylor will attend with her husband Ben Stiller.
Burberry will be dressing Cara Delvigne, Jourdan Dunn, Gabriella Wilde, Vanessa Kirby, Douglas Booth, Mario Testino, Casey Affleck, and Roo Panes.
Prabal Gurung is dressing Greta Gerwig.

Photo: Doutzen Kroes wearing Giambattista Valli to the 2011 Met Gala.

by Justin Fenner

Tod's owner Diego Della Valle is taking advantage of the new attention directed at Schiaparelli by bringing the long-dormant brand back to the market early next year.

Della Valle plans to hire a designer by September and aims to have accessories, fragrances, cosmetics, and some clothes in stores by next February. He's hired actress Farida Khelfa to be the face of the brand — her first assignment is attending this evening's Met Gala in vintage Schiaparelli — and will set up shop at 21 Place Vendôme in Paris, the same address at which Elsa Schiaparelli opened her first boutique.

"The idea with Schiaparelli is to propose the brand with all its modernity, and represent dreams, art and all the most sophisticated things we can do," Della Valle told WWD.

Della Valle has reopened old fashion brands before: in 2002, he brought the shoe label Roger Vivier back to life.

Schiaparelli is one half of the focus of this year's Costume Institute exhibit, Impossible Conversations: Schiaparelli and Prada. The exhibit will be open to the public from May 10 to Aug. 19.

by Justin Fenner

Schiaparelli and Prada Met 2012 Exhibit Pictures

Let's talk about fashion: that's the premise of this year's Costume Institute exhibit, titled Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

Through a series of videos directed by Baz Luhrmann, the exhibit — which was inspired by a series of Vanity Fair articles from the '30s — imagines Miuccia Prada and the late Elsa Schiaparelli (played by Australian actress Judy Davis) discussing their respective approaches to dressing women. Against this backdrop are clothing and accessories from each designer, arranged almost as if in conversation, too: In one gallery called "Waist Up, Waist Down," Prada's skirts are shown next to Schiaparelli's jackets. "To me the waist up is more spiritual, more intellectual, while the waist down is more basic, more grounded," Prada says in the coordinating video. "It's about sex. It's about making love. It's about life. It's about giving birth."

Other conversations include themes like "Hard Chic," which looks at the influence of menswear and military uniforms, and "The Surreal Body," which examines pieces like Schiaparelli's famous lobster dress and Prada's Fall 2011 skirts and shirts that are covered in large sequins resembling fish scales.

Prada told The New York Times that while she's never directly been inspired by Schiaparelli, she now understands "there actually were some similarities. But it is other people's vision."

Fashion's biggest names will get a first look at the exhibit tonight during the Met Gala, and the exhibit itself will open to the public on May 10 and close Aug. 19. For now, a sneak peek at the exhibit in the gallery.

Photo: A view of the exhibit.

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by Christina Perez

It's official: Marchesa has teamed up with Li & Fung USA to launch a lower-priced diffusion line. Though plans are still in their infancy — and the new line has yet to be named — the brand confirms that the line will include printed and embroidered daywear, as well as accessories. All will be priced from $150 to $750, with a projected launch date of Pre-Fall 2012.

"We have always had a vision for Marchesa to be a lifestyle brand," Designer Georgina Chapman explained. "We have been so specific for such a long time, and the idea to broaden out to a different consumer, and to our same consumer as well." Chapman also added that she was "hoping Marchesa will have something to offer that is very different from what's on the floor at present."
At left, Siri Tollerod models a look from Marchesa Fall 2012.

by Justin Fenner

Zac Posen went to the Met Gala long before he made his name as a designer. In fact, Posen was a teenage intern for the Costume Institute the first time he attended fashion's biggest party.

"The Met Ball was sort of my first experience as an intern, when I was 16, of seeing what a ball would look like. I was an intern there, so I bought my staff ticket for the Gianni Versace exhibition. I saved up my money for like, three weeks to buy my $50 ticket. It was a really dreamy experience. So when I then became a designer and started going, it just has a very personal significance. I try to make it the most fun possible for me and my date and anybody that's around me. And it's an amazing cause and has an incredible history around it."

Posen also told us about what it was like to see Diana Vreeland's old office at the Met.

"When I was there, Diana Vreeland's office was still intact, and that's where I did my interview. It's no longer there. It was changed to a video archive while I was there, but it was an amazing experience to see all the stuffed peacocks and the Maria Callas photos on the wall. It was just like a closed time capsule, and it all had sort of a '60s vibe to it. All the clothing was archived between Venetian blinds. It was very cold. You have all the Christy Turlington mannequins and tons of vertical filing. And that was where I sort of got the fashion bug — for the history."

Photo: Zac Posen with Christina Ricci at the Met Gala in 2011.