fashionologie

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.

Carine Roitfeld Styles Fall 2011 Chanel Ads; Plus, a Few More Campaign Tidbits

fashionologie — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:11:23 PDT

>> Carine Roitfeld isn't totally letting go of her French roots, despite teaming up with Barneys stateside for a multifaceted Fall 2010 initiative; she also styled Chanel's Fall 2011 campaign, which Karl Lagerfeld just shot in Paris. Featured is perennial Chanel face Freja Beha Erichsen - Fall 2011 marks her fifth consecutive campaign for the house but her first solo. “The mix with Freja was genius,” Lagerfeld promises.

Lagerfeld is also repeating a face at Fendi- he's shooting Anja Rubik for her fourth straight campaign next week (“I like to work with the same girls and boys all the time,” he quips.). As is Michael Kors, who tapped Karmen Pedaru for the second time in a row, posting a picture from the Fall 2011 campaign shoot yesterday on his official Facebook. Over at Yves Saint Laurent, meanwhile, the supporting team is the same - Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin behind the lens and Joe McKenna styling - but Raquel Zimmerman is reportedly the Fall 2011 subject, replacing Spring 2011's Arizona Muse.

But back to Lagerfeld: in preparation of the upcoming Chanel Cruise 2012 fashion show in Antibes on May 9, he's gathering Erichsen, Lady Amanda Harlech, Anna Mouglalis, and Kristen McMenamy to star in his annual Chanel Cruise short film. This one, he's shooting in Monaco and the South of France.

2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Winners Billy Reid, Prabal Gurung, and Eddie Borgo Come Home with Newly-Increased Cash Prizes

fashionologie — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:39:46 PST

>> Last night, the 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners were announced, but before they could be named during the dinner gala at New York's Skylight Studios, the results were leaked on WWD's Twitter: Billy Reid won outright, and Prabal Gurung and Eddie Borgo were both named runners-up.

Style.com's Nicole Phelps wrote that the results were a bit of a surprise: "Many in the audience had pegged Gurung and Joseph Altuzarra as the front-runners." But nevermind: the prizes were even bigger this year, with Reid granted $300,000 (up from $200,000), and Borgo and Gurung each taking $100,000 (up from $50,000). "The main prize is the mentoring we provide," CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg noted of the increase, "but a little cash never hurts."

The rest of this year's finalists - Christian Cota, Robert Geller, Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow of Loden Dager, Pamela Love of Pamela Love Jewelry, Moss Lipow and Gregory Parkinson - were treated to a keynote speech by Karl Lagerfeld, who talked about how much fun Yves Saint Laurent was "before Pierre Berge" and advised: "Young goes. But good? If you're good, it may all last."

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Chanel's Cruise 2010 Show Lands on the Boardwalk at Sunset in Venice

fashionologie — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:05:33 PDT

>> Yesterday was all fittings and a dinner party - which host Karl Lagerfeld and his entourage were a full two hours late for (blame it on the fittings and Lady Amanda Harlech's mosquito-stung eye) - but the Chanel Cruise 2010 was this evening at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Lido Resort in Venice.

Siri Tollerod, Heidi Mount, Liu Wen, Charlotte di Calypso, and Denisa Dvorakova were all in town to walk, powwowing with Lagerfeld for their fittings yesterday; add to that list Inguna Butane and Snejana Onopka, who sent photographic evidence of their arrival, plus Lara Stone and Tatjana Patitz, who walked the finale with Karl.

Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt were spotted lounging in the sun on the Hotel Europa's terrace pre-show, and at the Excelsior Lido, white tents were set up on the beach and the pier lit up. The catwalk was a boardwalk and the front row a line of deck chairs, with editors left to deal with their heels sinking into the sand.

Last night, Lagerfeld hinted that the clothes would be reminiscent of Peggy Guggenheim, the patron whose palazzo now houses Italy’s most important collection of twentieth-century art, and inspired by Venetian high-society of the '30s, with fabrics sourced from "the rich reds of the Renaissance, Fortuny's prints, and the chiaroscuro technique of the great Italian masters."

The show happened at sunset - Karl made everyone wait two hours because he wanted to start then - with the girls wearing Marchesa Casati-inspired wigs and makeup, the opening "sailor girl-inspired cream and navy knits" and a finale of metallic lace cocktail dresses. Guests brought home a Chanel beach towel as souvenir.

More photos of the collection here.

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Edita Vilkeviciute Gets Into Chanel for Karl's First Film

fashionologie — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:20:21 PST

>> Tom Ford is currently filming his directorial debut, and Wednesday, Karl Lagerfeld will show his own directorial debut, based on Coco Chanel's early years. Unlike Tom's feature film, Karl's film is only ten minutes - a length more fitting to kick off the showing of Chanel's Paris-Moscow collection in Paris. The presentation was originally supposed to take place in Moscow, but Karl changed his mind after Russian customs "wanted to have the clothes three weeks in advance, which means we wouldn't have been ready and the situation seemed risky, so we cancelled."

Shot in a Paris studio in two days, Karl's film is inspired by Mack Sennett's flickering black-and-white silent slapstick movies with "spliced in newsreel footage of WWI because I think it's interesting to juxtapose fashion with the horrible images of the trenches." Rather than cast extras - "they don't know how to touch the clothes" - Karl looked within his own posse to fill positions - muse Amanda Harlech and daughter Tallulah Ormsby-Gore as customer and model, Brad Kroenig as Chanel lover Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and bodyguard Sebastien Jondeau as a Russian general. For the role of Chanel, Karl went with Lithuanian model Edita Vilkeviciute - in character in the film stills below.
*image: source

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fashionologie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:35:32 PST

>> INSIDER WIRE -For his Chanel Pre-Fall Paris-Moscow collection, Karl Lagerfeld is pulling a Stefano Pilati. The presentation Dec. 3 - in Paris at the Theatre du Ranelagh, not in Moscow - will open with a "laugh-packed" silent movie, loosely based on Coco Chanel's life between 1913 and 1923. Lagerfeld muses Lady Amanda Harlech, Brad Kroenig, and Tallulah Ormsby-Gore are all involved - Tallulah plays a Chanel model who has to sell her real-life mother, Amanda, a hat. [WWD, WWD]
*image: source

Gareth Pugh for Topshop: The Collection That Could Have Been, But Won't Be

fashionologie — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:33:13 PDT

»Gareth Pugh was asked to do a range for Topshop, but turned it down because he "hate[s] the idea of being in Grazia" [Dazed Digital]

»Roberto Cavalli compares models to "pieces of wood" [The Cut]

»Vanessa Traina appears out and about in Balmain boots with Nicole Richie [PopSugar]

»Karl Lagerfeld, dressed in white with blue striped bib, and Amanda Harlech, spotted in Saint Tropez [Jezebel]

»Did Ralph Lauren's Olympic opening ceremony uniforms embarrass America? [Gawker]

»A recent Bill Blass alum is about to go solo [Style File]

»Anna Selezneva is the Spring 2009 girl to watch [TI]

»Charlotte Ronson, re-imagined as Eli Cash from The Royal Tenenbaums [FabSugar]

»Rodarte among finalists for prestigious Swiss Textiles Award [FWD]

»According to Richie Rich, Heatherette is just taking a breather [The Cut]
*image: source

Gap Tries To Go All Fashion-y and Stuff with Cecilia Dean, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld For Fall 2008

fashionologie — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:48:52 PDT

>> Almost exactly one year ago, Gap launched its Fall 2007 European campaign, featuring fashion figues like Pierre Hardy, Amanda Harlech, Coco Rocha and Elettra Rossellini Weidemann shot by Mikael Jansson. The ads must have been a success, because rather than going with the high-wattage stars stateside Gap campaigns usually feature, the black-and-white, fashion-figure concept has been lifted for the Fall 2008 American campaign.

Shots of a smiling Cecilia Dean, a pouting Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, and a coy Georgina Chapman are sprinkled among those of Clemence Poesy, Maryna Linchuk, actress Catalina Sandino Moreno, Chanel Iman, and Lily Donaldson (plus Liv Tyler, apparently star wattage couldn't be totally nixed). More shots are still to come — including those of Scott Schuman and Ryan McGinley.
*image: source

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When Marc Jacobs Gifted Her His Perry Ellis Grunge Collection, Courtney Love Burned It

fashionologie — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:03:38 PDT

>> Courtney Love, who launched WhatCourtneyWoreToday.com last week, has been gifted many a designer dud over the years, but she's typically given it an unconventional welcome. She's set fire to some of it (“Marc [Jacobs] sent me and Kurt [Cobain] his Perry Ellis grunge collection . . . We burned it. We were punkers - we didn’t like that kind of thing.”); tried to take shears to some of it (“I went to whack [a floral, Empire-waist couture gown given to her by John Galliano in 1997] with scissors because it would be more useful that way . . . Somebody said to me, ‘You aren’t whacking s--t and this is why,’ and explained to me what couture was.") . . . and has even worked out in some of it ("I perform in Rick [Owens], I sleep in Rick and I jog in Rick. I have, like, eight pairs of his harem pants. I’ve been running in Rick Owens for years.")

She credits Karl Lagerfeld with turning her around »

Anna Wintour Wants to See Rodarte Design for Schiaparelli, and Other Sundry Details from the Mulleavys' New Yorker Profile

fashionologie — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:33:44 PST

>> In the Jan. 18, 2010 edition of the New Yorker, Amanda Fortini profiles Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte and their quest to go against your typical "high gloss, high fashion, glamour, put-together, shiny, perfect - everything too exact" label, in the words of Laura. The Fall 2009 thigh-high wraparound boots Nicholas Kirkwood created for Rodarte, for example, were meant to evoke "hands wrapped in plastic in a morgue."

Kate told the magazine, "The most unhappy Laura or I have ever been was when we heard we made 'a pretty dress.' We want to make people think, and, once you decide to do that, you will have people that don't like what you're doing." She later added, "The other day, we were laughing that if we could take our clothes and bury them, and in ten years take them out, we would actually be satisfied [with how they look]."

Anna Wintour gives her two cents »