Spring 2009 Milan Fashion Week

Milan Fashion Week

>> INSIDER WIRE —Sacha Baron Cohen hit the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada runway this morning as "Bruno" in a goofy outfit, but at Versace last night, it was a different story.

>> INSIDER WIRESacha Baron Cohen hit the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada runway this morning as "Bruno" in a goofy outfit, but at Versace last night, it was a different story. Decked out in head to toe Alexander McQueen, he could have definitely passed for a fashion figure — but the security at Versace wasn't convinced.  Instead, he was left "frantically making phone calls and crying into his mobile phone trying to get into the show."  Now everybody's wondering: Will he show up again in Paris? [Go Backstage]

Milan Fashion Week

>> THE MODELIZER —Naomi Campbell, Domenico Dolce, and Stefano Gabbana are longtime friends — she sat front row at their Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan yesterday, where she debuted a new, shorter haircut.  But when it came time to celebrate Domenico's 50th birthday last night with the rest of the front-rowers, Naomi never showed up — she "was apparently having a bad hair day."

>> THE MODELIZERNaomi Campbell, Domenico Dolce, and Stefano Gabbana are longtime friends — she sat front row at their Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan yesterday, where she debuted a new, shorter haircut.  But when it came time to celebrate Domenico's 50th birthday last night with the rest of the front-rowers, Naomi never showed up — she "was apparently having a bad hair day." [WWD]

*image: source

Milan Fashion Week

Julie Verhoeven Takes on the Medusa for Versace Spring 2009

>> Julie Verhoeven has developed a cult following for her whimsical fashion illustration style — she's designed limited-edition bags for Louis Vuitton, capsule collections for Mulberry, and for Spring 2009, Donatella Versace commissioned her to rework the Versace iconography.  The result?  Colorful, cartoonish Medusas scrawled across bags, gowns, and swimwear, sure to be as coveted as those Prada fairy bags from Spring 2008.*image: source

>> Julie Verhoeven has developed a cult following for her whimsical fashion illustration style — she's designed limited-edition bags for Louis Vuitton, capsule collections for Mulberry, and for Spring 2009, Donatella Versace commissioned her to rework the Versace iconography.  The result?  Colorful, cartoonish Medusas scrawled across bags, gowns, and swimwear, sure to be as coveted as those Prada fairy bags from Spring 2008.
*image: source

Milan Fashion Week

Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno Causes Mayhem at Milan Fashion Week

>> Bruno is in Milan — that's Sacha Baron Cohen's gay Austrian fashion show presenter alter-ego — and he's filming for his upcoming movie at Fashion Week.  It all started Wednesday, backstage at Iceberg, where he threw himself on the floor, dragged down a rack of clothes that stuck to his Velcro-trimmed outfit, and appeared to tear off his clothes until security removed him.Yesterday morning, he tried to hit up Dsquared, but was blocked by security, and yesterday evening he tried to crash Versace, dressed all in McQueen, but was denied again — the Italian Chamber of Fashion has sent out a press release to designers, warning them not to accredit Cohen's film production companies, after all.

>> Bruno is in Milan — that's Sacha Baron Cohen's gay Austrian fashion show presenter alter-ego — and he's filming for his upcoming movie at Fashion Week.  It all started Wednesday, backstage at Iceberg, where he threw himself on the floor, dragged down a rack of clothes that stuck to his Velcro-trimmed outfit, and appeared to tear off his clothes until security removed him.

Yesterday morning, he tried to hit up Dsquared, but was blocked by security, and yesterday evening he tried to crash Versace, dressed all in McQueen, but was denied again — the Italian Chamber of Fashion has sent out a press release to designers, warning them not to accredit Cohen's film production companies, after all.

Unfortunately, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada didn't get the memo . . . »

Milan Fashion Week

>> THE MODELIZER —The rash of model falls in Milan continues — at Emilio Pucci yesterday, Angela Lindvall fell not once, but twice — something that has never before happened in her modelling career.  Karlie Kloss helped her up the first time she fell, but the same thing happened again during the finale, causing a domino effect among the procession.

>> THE MODELIZER —The rash of model falls in Milan continues — at Emilio Pucci yesterday, Angela Lindvall fell not once, but twice — something that has never before happened in her modelling career.  Karlie Kloss helped her up the first time she fell, but the same thing happened again during the finale, causing a domino effect among the procession. [Telegraph, Grazia]

Prada

Model.Live Episode Eight: Two Out, One Grand Slam

>> The third Fashion Week in for the Model.Live girls, and things start to get difficult — for Madeline Kragh and Austria Alcantara, at least.  Austria went to over 30 castings for Milan Fashion Week and got nothing, except a call from a casting director to her agency IMG saying that she wasn't looking her best.  Ouch.  Madeline had the same troubles — she wasn't cast for any shows, and at one point got frustrated enough to tell the cameramen to stop filming.  Both girls, defeated, move on to Paris early.  Cato van Ee, on the other hand, scores Prada for the second season in a row — and does a little impromptu song and dance when she finds out.  Will Paris be a whole new ball game, as the girls are promised?  Next week, we'll find out.

>> The third Fashion Week in for the Model.Live girls, and things start to get difficult — for Madeline Kragh and Austria Alcantara, at least.  Austria went to over 30 castings for Milan Fashion Week and got nothing, except a call from a casting director to her agency IMG saying that she wasn't looking her best.  Ouch.  Madeline had the same troubles — she wasn't cast for any shows, and at one point got frustrated enough to tell the cameramen to stop filming.  Both girls, defeated, move on to Paris early.  Cato van Ee, on the other hand, scores Prada for the second season in a row — and does a little impromptu song and dance when she finds out.  Will Paris be a whole new ball game, as the girls are promised?  Next week, we'll find out.

Matthew Williamson

Matthew Williamson Gives Pucci the Sendoff

>> Matthew Williamson took his final bow as the artistic director of Emilio Pucci earlier today — Peter Dundas will replace him Oct.

>> Matthew Williamson took his final bow as the artistic director of Emilio Pucci earlier today — Peter Dundas will replace him Oct. 1 — but the reasoning for why he's leaving the company has been nothing more than he wants more time to focus on his namesake label — until now.

As the Guardian's Imogen Fox enlightens us, "recently there have been criticisms that the Pucci label was starting to look more like [Matthew Williamson's] signature line and less like a distinctive Pucci collection."  The Pucci bosses are also rumored to be less than happy with all the multitasking and travelling Williamson was doing, and "in a recent interview Laudomia Pucci, daughter of the company's founder Emilio, stated how important it is that Dundas will be based in Florence."  So among all the bright and happy Pucci prints, there was more than a little unrest . . .
*image: source

Milan Fashion Week

>> THE MODELIZER —Several models haven't shown up in Milan shows they normally walk in, but at least we have an explanation for one of them.  Catherine McNeil is this season's Sasha Pivovarova — her Sydney agent says that she is "unwell" and will miss Milan and most likely Paris, too.

>> THE MODELIZERSeveral models haven't shown up in Milan shows they normally walk in, but at least we have an explanation for one of them.  Catherine McNeil is this season's Sasha Pivovarova — her Sydney agent says that she is "unwell" and will miss Milan and most likely Paris, too. [Frockwriter]

*images: source

Fendi

Fendi Spring 2009: Delicate Dresses, Big Belted

>> Crazy bird's nest hair aside, Spring 2009 Fendi is quite pretty.  And actually, the hair grows on you, too, if you digest it for a minute.

>> Crazy bird's nest hair aside, Spring 2009 Fendi is quite pretty.  And actually, the hair grows on you, too, if you digest it for a minute. The femininity of laser-cut eyelet, full skirted dresses, and sheer pencil skirt petticoats underneath is juxtaposed with bold, graphic corset belts and neon bright underpinnings.  Suzy Menkes wasn't such a fan of the styling, calling it "a weird cross breed of sport and lingerie," and neither was WWD, who said the belts "maimed the middle of all too many looks," but I think it goes quite well, keeps things unexpected.  Now if only Karl Lagerfeld had edited out that one look that is like Prada Fall 2008 redux . . . because Karl, you're better than that.