fashionologie

Karl Lagerfeld Wishes He Could Be a Rapper

fashionologie — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:52:32 PDT

»September 2008 Harper's Bazaar features designers dressed up and photographed in their fantasies — and Karl Lagerfeld picked to be a rapper [FWD]

»Ralph Lauren likely had to pay to design the US Olympic opening ceremony uniforms, but at least he's making money off of it now [The Cut]

»A first look at Samantha Pleet's "goth-and-lollipops" Rapscallion collection for Urban Outfitters [The Pipeline]

»Bergdorf Goodman is hosting a Bill Cunningham retrospective during New York Fashion Week [Fashionista]

»Behati Prinsloo and model boyfriend Jamie Strachan: still going strong [Chic Report]

»Hearst is launching a competitor to Conde Nast's Fashion Rocks in September called 30 Days of Fashion [WWD]

Get Pinned

Christina Perez — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:35:37 PDT

>> Swap out your statement necklace with a pin, à la Alexa Chung at the launch of 30 Days of Fashion and Beauty in Sydney earlier today. Strategically placed right in the center of her buttoned-to-the-top collar, Chung's bow-shaped brooch is a cute alternative to this season's collar necklaces and chokers. Like the look but want to wear something a little less twee? Try the same placement with any style of brooch - we think something hard-lined and geometrical would look equally cool. For a few ideas, shop the look below.

Marc Jacobs on His "Great Talent" and Trying to Top the Last Louis Vuitton Show

fashionologie — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:54:00 PDT

>> In anticipation of his Lifetime Achievement Award, which he will receive during the CFDA Awards Monday, Marc Jacobs (who notes of the award, "It’s not my achievement, number one. It is Marc Jacobs as a company") sat down with WWD to wax philosophical on everything from Alexander Wang to Twitter to whether he considers himself a "great talent."

Highlights from the interview, below.

On what he did for Memorial Day: “Memorial Day? I don’t think I’ve had a Memorial Day off in 30 years. We’re all here [at the office]. The design team’s here, working through Saturday, Sunday, Monday. I’ll go to the gym every morning, but I’ll be here after the gym. It’s resort.”

On his success and being recognized in public and approached by fans: "I can’t help but remember the days when Robert [Duffy, his business partner] and I were interviewed for 48 Hours [in 1988]. Robert was building a runway. I’m vomiting in the bathroom because we hadn’t slept in three days and we were delirious and hallucinating. So none of that ever goes away."

On whether he's a "great talent": "No. I still wouldn’t say I am ... I don’t mind if you say it but I’m not going to say it myself."

On winning this year's CFDA Lifetime Achievement award: "I haven’t even sat down to write the [CFDA] speech yet but I’ve been thinking a lot about it, about what does this mean to me and what does this mean to us. I just turned 48 but I don’t feel 48. I still feel like a young person but I really see the difference in the work. I’m trying to understand what all of that means and how I feel about it."

On younger designers: "People ask me about the younger designers, Alex Wang and all of them, I think they’re great. I couldn’t do what they do. It’s not what I do. But just like in pop music and in the art world, people always want new work from the artist that they like but they also want new artists. I don’t think one changes the other. There’s always room for new designers, new musicians, new artists, new writers. Madonna, I don’t think is showing any signs of slowing down, but that doesn’t mean Lady Gaga isn’t taking over the world."

On the most recent Louis Vuitton show: "I loved the Vuitton show. I think as a show it was probably my favorite presentation we’ve ever done of a collection. I really loved it ... I’ve spent the past two weeks, which is superpremature, thinking that I don’t know what we’re going to do to top that last Vuitton show. I thought it was the most beautiful presentation. I think, 'Why am I doing this to myself?' but it’s inevitable. When I get back to Paris two weeks from now, I’m just going to be like, 'What are we going to do? What are we going to do?' The answer won’t come right away."

On designers he admires: "I think the greatest contributors to fashion are women. Chanel, Vionnet. I think Vivienne Westwood; I think Miuccia Prada; Schiaparelli, Rei Kawakubo ... The one that I probably feel the most strongly about is Miuccia, because of the aesthetic and the mood. There’s something so shocking and so tender about it, and it’s also very real ... There’s an eccentricity but there’s also a chic old world sophistication, but it’s so new. It’s young but never vulgar. There’s a sex appeal that’s kind of naïve. It’s all the things I love."

On his debt to Tom Ford: "I felt that [being hired for Vuitton] was all born from Tom [Ford’s] success at Gucci. I believe Mr. Arnault was aware of that and said, 'We can do that with Vuitton.'"

On working for Bernard Arnault: "I meet with Mr. Arnault every time I’m in Paris. He’s such a hands-on sort of guy. He goes to every store in every country and he discusses things with me ... He was thrilled with the last [Vuitton] show. He felt that one and the one around the fountain were how he would like women to see Vuitton’s image as a fashion brand. He’s very up front and honest with me about what he likes and what he doesn’t like, what he thinks works and also what he thinks works in other places. Not that he’s asking me to do what someone else does, but to look at the success of certain things."

On the resources available to him at Louis Vuitton: "If you look at our first Vuitton show, we wanted to send out a nice collection of simple clothes with all the logos on the inside and one single bag on Kirsten Owen. It has evolved into, ‘OK, this is Paris. Let’s have three elevators.’ I asked for six; I got three. So we’re like, ‘Let’s get Kate Moss, Naomi [Campbell]. Let’s fly in Stella [Tennant]. Let’s fly in Carolyn [Murphy] and Amber [Valletta].’ You want a show? Okay guys, I’ll give you a show."

On critics: "You are dealing with a whole lot of highly sensitive people who [will react] depending on their mood and how they’re feeling that day or what they did or didn’t eat for lunch. I have no problem going on record with this and probably have gone on record with this before, there aren’t that many people who I respect. There just aren’t. I think journalists have the right to their opinions but I think their opinions should be based on history and what they see, not what they feel, how long they’ve been waiting or whether it’s raining or it’s snowing or whatever."

On whether traditional media matters anymore: "I’m not sure it does as much as it used to, and I’m not sure how much it ever did ... [But] I feel like it affects the energy of all of us. In fashion we all gossip about it because within our community it’s extremely important. I think it breaks momentum or a sort of energy when there’s harsh criticism, and I think when the critique is positive, we all feel quite robust and we’re out there. In that way, it has an effect. But in another, I think a woman’s going to go into a shop to find a coat or a jacket and I just don’t think she’s not going to go into a shop because of a bad review she probably didn’t even read."

On joining Twitter: "I’ve got better things to do. I don’t need to talk to like schoolteachers from New Jersey about what was valid [in a collection] and what was invalid and what was derivative and what was referencing. I mean, I’ve just got work to do. I really don’t care to argue with you."

Karl Lagerfeld Premieres Series of Magnum Ice Cream Commercials Starring Rachel Bilson and Baptiste Giabiconi

fashionologie — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:47:38 PDT

>> Last night, Karl Lagerfeld hit New York to debut a series of commercials he directed to promote the European ice cream brand Magnum in the United States. The three minute-long spots feature Rachel Bilson - portraying a fashion model, an art student, and a ballet dancer - as well as Baptiste Giabiconi, but Lagerfeld himself makes no appearances.

A waiter carrying a Diet Coke-filled stemmed glass on a tray followed Lagerfeld around the premiere party last night, as did his bodyguard Sebastien Jondeau. So why did Lagerfeld team up with Magnum, even though he admits he doesn't eat sugar? “I like advertising. I love my job in fashion. I love my job as a photographer, but making films was something I hadn’t done. If I was isolated in one job, I would get bored." Besides, he adds: “I would eat ice cream if I could. I made advertisements for Dom Perignon Champagne, and I don’t drink alcohol. After all, I’m a dress designer and I don’t wear dresses."

Bilson, meanwhile, estimated that probably had around 25 Magnum bars during the course of filming, which was done over three days in Paris on a soundstage and at the Folies Bergere. Lagerfeld said that he was given creative freedom, with the advice that the films' content should be “nothing very sexual,” and the budget for a crew of at least 80 people.

When asked whether there was anything he would not lend his name to, Lagerfeld replied: “I hate the idea of the politically correct, because it is very demode, but I would not make advertisements for something related to meat. Meat, no; fur, yes. I don’t think I would do advertising for condoms, even if it has the same name here [Magnum].”

As for the rumor circulating that he is working on a fragrance called "Paper Passion," intending it to smell like books, Lagerfeld said it's not happening. And his next film to debut is a 30-minute movie, "The Tale of a Fairy," starring Freja Beha Erichsen, Anna Mouglalis, Amanda Harlech, and Kristen McMenamy, and to be shown during the Chanel Cruise 2012 presentation in Cap d'Antibes.

A Christian Dior Show Without John Galliano - Sans Drama, "Funereal" Instead

fashionologie — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:28:00 PST

>> Typically, Cathy Horyn writes, "a Dior show would be an occasion for a mob scene at the front gates, celebrities filling front-row seats, and the arrival of Bernard Arnault." But today, not so: there were no big name celebrities (just Anna Wintour, Emmanuelle Alt, Mario Testino, and Natalia Vodianova instead); there was no Arnault - "owing to the tug of other business obligations," WWD reports - and the mob scene outside was bigger than usual: "I would say more than 300 people were there, along with extra French police officers," Horyn noted. Security was up in all regards - guest invitations were checked multiple times on the way in, and photographers weren't allowed backstage or front row access.

There was no lack in attendance, however: Dior's PR described the demand for invitations as "overwhelming." But the mood at the show "was sombre and muted, with more than one guest suggesting the atmosphere was 'funereal,'" Hilary Alexander reports, "something heightened by the black ribbons which tied the name tags to each attendees' black chair; the black carpet; and the plaintive strains of Chopin and Debussy which echoed through the tent, pre-show."

Dior CEO Sidney Toledano, who is Jewish, took the runway at the start of the show to make his first public statements (full text here) since the scandal:

"What has happened over the last week has been a terrible and wrenching ordeal for us all. It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be.

"Such statements are intolerable because of our collective duty to never forget the Holocaust and its victims, and because of the respect for human dignity that is owed to each person and to all peoples.

"These statements have deeply shocked and saddened all at Dior who give body and soul to their work, and it is particularly painful that they came from someone so admired for his remarkable creative talent. So now, more than ever, we must publicly re-commit ourselves to the values of the House of Dior.

" . . . The heart of the House of Dior, which beats unseen, is made up of its teams and studios, of its seamstresses and craftsmen, who work hard day after day, never counting the hours, and carrying on the value and the vision of Monsieur Dior. What you are going to see now is the result of the extraordinary, creative, and marvelous efforts of these loyal, hardworking people."

Dior face Karlie Kloss opened the show as usual, but with John Galliano gone, Suzy Menkes writes, "The creative partners who supported Mr. Galliano over the years hardly had a look in: the milliner Stephen Jones had only a sprinkling of sensible felt hats and the makeup artist Pat McGrath created none of her dramatis personae. No stage set created a dramatic backdrop. Gone too were the outré accessories. Just a cameo at the throat was the main embellishment, although there was the usual complement of frills, bows and feminine prettiness."

Arnault's daughter, Delphine, who is deputy managing director at Dior, apparently wiped away tears at the end of the show, when the entire 30-person Dior atelier team took the runway in white coats to a standing applause. And Joe Zee tweeted, "The end of the show was an immensely touching fashion moment for me."

View Slideshow ›

Si Newhouse on Ousting Anna Wintour From Vogue - "Never. I Hope She's Here 10 Years From Now"

fashionologie — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:27:14 PDT

>> Mario Testino photographed Anna Wintour for the April 2011 cover of WSJ. - likely at her request (he often shoots Vogue's covers). Because if there's one thing about Wintour, it's that she does things on her own terms.

Si Newhouse (chairman of Advance Publications, which owns Vogue) attests with an anecdote about a Fashion's Night Out meeting Wintour held in Paris, which had 30 international Vogue editors and publishers in attendance: "It was the first time anybody had gotten them all together. She didn't need my authority to do it - she has a remarkable ability to impose her will. If I had had reservations, she probably would have gone ahead anyway."

Marc Jacobs, too, confirms: "If I get a request for something I don't want to do, first I get an email, then a phone call from someone at Vogue, and now I don't even bother to say no - I know the next call is from her." And New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who Wintour has worked with on a number of initiatives - including Fashion's Night Out - says: "Behind all Anna's grace and poise is some pretty tough resolve. She's not a person you want to say no to."

Even the Costume Institute has bowed to Wintour's requests (she has raised a grand total of $75 million for the organization, after all). For last year's gala, she had a 30-foot hot-air balloon trucked in from South Dakota to float above the museum's Engelhard Court. "When we first saw it, we go, 'Never! We can't have gas in the museum!' " says Met president Emily Rafferty. "Anna's changed our attitude - she's brought us to new levels of thinking of what we can do, but without ever losing sight that we're working in a museum context here."

Needless to say, Wintour's reach extends much further than fashion. Harvey Weinstein, who has known Wintour for 15 years (and more recently married Marchesa's Georgina Chapman), notes: "I'm a streak player, but Anna's there, good or bad. When I wasn't doing so well, Anna would throw a party and put me next to Bernard Arnault." Although he declined to be specific, Weinstein said that he had several business deals come out of that party. And Baz Luhrmann, who just recently cast Wintour favorite Carey Mulligan to star in his upcoming film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, says: "I always talk to Anna about what I'm up to, and I always listen to what she has to say."

Within fashion, too, Wintour is more than just an editor. As Francois-Henri Pinault, head of PPR, says: "She tackles things that are really much bigger than what any other editors take on." Because of Wintour, Pinault is currently discussing how to financially support young designers with the French government. But Wintour never straight-out asks him to do something: "She's much more subtle than that."

She's also something of a matchmaker - whether it's designer to brand (in the case of placing John Galliano at Christian Dior back in 1996; Bernard Arnault - chairman of LVMH, which owns Dior - says of Wintour: "She pointed us towards unexpected choices. I speak very openly to her, and this was quite audacious - it was not about picking the big names of the moment. It took her to see that there was a stylistic closeness between John and Dior. She was the discoverer.") or brand to financier (in the case of Bottega Veneta and Gucci Group or Michael Kors and Sportswear Holdings). "She does this very discreetly, but she's really a kind of consigliere to the entire fashion and retail industry," one former colleague who worked closely with Wintour says. Another former colleague, who attended several corporate matchmaking meetings with Wintour, adds: "I came to realize that she's really the McKinsey of fashion." As for Wintour's word on the matter? "We can suggest," she says, "but in the end, everybody makes up their own minds."

It sounds like Wintour isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Vogue is Conde Nast's most profitable publication, Si Newhouse confirms, adding that he has no successor in mind: "Never. I hope she's here 10 years from now, 20 years from now." Wintour, for her part, says: "With all the new media outlets out there, with all the noise, a voice of authority and calm like Vogue becomes more important than ever. The more eyes on fashion, the more opinions about fashion, the more exploration of fashion around the world, the better it is for Vogue. Vogue is like Nike or Coca-Cola - this huge global brand. I want to enhance it, I want to protect it, and I want it to be part of the conversation."

A few more quotables from the WSJ. profile:

Marc Jacobs on Wintour's cold reputation: "She gets such a bad rap. She stands by the people she believes in, and if you're not one of those people, perhaps you take a different view."

Wintour's take on her reputation: "I care deeply about my friends and my family and they know it, but work is work."

Wintour on cover choice regrets: "I'm not terribly proud of putting the Spice Girls on the cover."

Wintour on the John Galliano scandal: "This is all so tragic."

Wintour on being criticized for using the same people in Vogue: "I try to remain open to new people, but obviously there's a stronger element of trust with people you've known for a long time. I think we have a Vogue vocabulary, and there are certain people we like to have as the backbone of the magazine - Vogue's signposts. We try very hard to integrate the familiar signatures with people we feel are new and up-and-coming, but I would rather err on the side of being a little more familiar than being too . . . What's the right word? . . . Edgy."

WSJ. on Wintour's morning habits: "When I met Wintour in her big, artfully tidy office at Vogue, she had been up since 5 am - her normal waking hour. On most days she goes off to play tennis at 6, but lately she's been nursing a sore elbow and can't play. Which didn't mean no tennis."

Michael Kors Is the Latest Designer with Entertainment Industry Aspirations

fashionologie — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:20:01 PST

>> Michael Kors is hitting 30 years in the business this year, but just because he's celebrating doesn't mean he's slowing down, he tells the Los Angeles Times: "There will be another 30 years. I'm not 80. This isn't the hydraulic lift coming up at the Oscars and the slow wave. I still feel like a kid."

His attitude toward designing has changed since he started, however: "Initially, my clothes couldn't be expensive enough. I went from thinking fashion was only the provenance of big-city affluent people, to thinking you could be 14 or 80, live in the city or suburbs, have endless money or a limited budget, and buy something great-looking at the right price for you. The world has changed, and people look and feel better for it."

And he plays his part to make sure the lower-priced Michael Michael Kors collection is quality: "I always say, 'If you blurred your eyes, would the wealthiest person in the world want to wear it?' If the answer is no, we don't make it."

Kors, who dressed Mark Wahlberg's wife, Rhea Durham, for the Golden Globes over the weekend, doesn't see himself as a red carpet panderer: "If it's a client of ours, or someone I'm intrigued by, then collaboration is great. But we're never going to have rolling racks with ball gowns all over town. That's not who we are."

But he does have ambitions in the entertainment industry. He's represented by Creative Artists Agency, and although he doesn't want to direct a la Tom Ford, he says, "My real love is theater and stage. But unfortunately, my day job is busy, to say the least. Could we see Michael Kors the impresario in the future? Maybe. Producing something would be intriguing."

Paris Fashion Week Street Style - Shu Pei Qin

Chi Diem Chau — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:22:24 PDT

We spotted Shu Pei Qin on Paris Fashion Week day six donning a charcoal riding coat with skinny ankle-length trousers, cream mushroom-printed blouse by Topshop, and studded Miu Miu loafers. Try out this equestrian-inspired ensemble with the exact pair of Miu Miu loafers along with similar picks from Undercover, Old Navy, and Clements Ribeiro.

Left to right: Undercover Long Coat ($1,898), Elizabeth and James Sterling Silver Studded Ring ($85), Clements Ribeiro Spotted Silk-Chiffon Blouse ($300, originally $1,000), Badgley Mischka Shoulder Bag ($349), Miu Miu Studded Penny Loafer ($750), Old Navy Skinny Ankle Zip Trouser ($30)

Photos: Greg Kessler

See the Model-Packed Fashion's Night Out PSA

fashionologie — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:59:45 PDT

>> Last year's Fashion's Night Out public service announcement featured designers and models, but this year's features the latter exclusively: 14 models, (including Karlie Kloss, Caroline Trentini, Doutzen Kroes, Liya Kebede, Karolina Kurkova, Lara Stone, Miranda Kerr, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Joan Smalls, Chanel Iman, Stella Tennant, Lily Donaldson, Sasha Pivovarova, and Jourdan Dunn) filmed by Peter Lindbergh for two days all around New York City.

“This year, it was really about fashion hitting the streets,” Trey Laird, who developed the segment, told WWD. “It was important that all of New York City was represented.” Thus, filming locations included PS 1 in Long Island City, the Bronx Zoo, Central Park, and Lincoln Center. Tabitha Simmons styled the shoot (behind the scenes images here), and the resulting 30-, 15-, and 10-second spots launch on television, in taxi cabs, and online today. From Sept. 3 to 10, they will be shown nine times an hour on the Toshiba screen in Times Square.

The video! »

Terry Richardson Under Fire with Numerous Allegations of Exploited Models

fashionologie — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:28:50 PDT

>> In 2004, Terry Richardson told the Guardian UK: "I don't like to exploit anybody. That's not my bag. Everyone has fun on my shoots." But in the last couple of weeks, all kinds of lurid stories about his work habits are coming out of the woodwork.

It started last week when reports of Rie Rasmussen confronting the photographer on March 8 in Paris were published by the New York Post. The model, who said that Richardson manipulates young girls into posing for pictures in compromising situations, told the newspaper: "I told [Richardson] what you do is completely degrading to women. I hope you know you only [bleep] girls because you have a camera, lots of fashion contacts and get your pictures in Vogue. Instead of arguing with me, Terry ran out of the bar. Then the next day, he called my agency and complained I called him names in front of clients in Paris. It was the most cowardly thing I have ever seen."

He's made no comment, but has removed certain pictures from his blog »

Spiky Eye Brooch - Sold Out	Balenciaga EDITION BOW BROOCH - Sold Out
ASOS Double Ended Spike Brooch - Sold Out	Sonia Rykiel Crystal-embellished heart brooch - Sold Out
ALEXIS BITTAR Amber/Gold Papillion Pin - Sold Out	Kenneth Jay Lane Swarovski crystal brooch - Sold Out
ASOS Brooch 3D Metal Bow - Sold Out	Nervous System "Dendrite" Stainless Steel Brooch - $50.00
Layered Star Brooch Pack - Sold Out	MARINA FOSSATI Brooches - Sold Out
Art deco jeweled pin - Sold Out	Lanvin Butterfly Brooch - $1,352.00