fashionologie

Manish Arora Out at Paco Rabanne, Nicola Formichetti's New Line, and Birkin Shopping Online

Justin Fenner — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:25:31 PDT

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

Hermès doesn't sell its Birkin handbags online, but flash sale sites like Gilt, Rue La La, and MyHabit do. Here's a look at how they ensure authenticity. [BuzzFeed]
A new deal with Sandow Media will expand Fred Segal beyond its Southern California roots. The retailer is expected to set up shops in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, as well as in Europe and Asia, with the first of the new stores opening some time next year. [Racked]
Karl Lagerfeld has signed on to give the exterior of Monaco's Hotel Métropole a redesign. The first part of the project, which involves refreshing the hotel's pool, terrace, gardens, and a new restaurant, will be unveiled in July. [The Daily Telegraph]
Paco Rabanne's artistic director Manish Arora is leaving the brand after designing just two season's worth of clothing and despite the fact that Arora's designs had gotten favorable press coverage. Lady Gaga even wore one of his dresses to the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards. [The Cut]
Iris Apfel will debut her own handbags in collaboration with HSN, which also sells her jewelry line. The bags are made from Mongolian lamb's wool, snakeskin, and calf hair, and will retail for $228 to $398. [WWD]
Greg Kessler's latest installment of Model-Morphosis shows off Chanel's most popular lacquers. Nails go from unadorned to coated with the flick of a mouse. [T Magazine]
Nicola Formichetti will debut an eponymous fashion label next year. The clothes will be "digitally oriented and high-tech . . . Why do you have to have a zipper when you can have a jacket that's molded to your body?" Formichetti explained. [Styleite]

See the Chocolate Statue of Baptiste Giabiconi That Karl Lagerfeld Created

fashionologie — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:30:00 PDT

>> Yesterday it was announced Jason Wu is collaborating with Brizo on a line of bathroom faucets, but Karl Lagerfeld still has him beat in the odd designer collaboration arena. As part of his partnership with Magnum Ice Cream, Lagerfeld designed a Paris hotel room - made solely with 10.5 tons of Belgian chocolate - and housing a chocolate statue of Baptiste Giabiconi in his underwear. [Boing Boing, AP, Reuters]

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.

Karl Lagerfeld Chooses Kristen McMenamy As Bride for Chanel's Spring 2011 Couture Collection

Chi Diem Chau — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:08:34 PST

>> Chanel's current ad campaign spans three generations, and at the brand's couture show today, Karl Lagerfeld highlighted the idea that Chanel is for any age, tapping 40-year-old Stella Tennant to open the show and 45-year-old Kristen McMenamy to close. VIPs galore filled the front row: Kirsten Dunst, Ines de la Fressange, Pedro Almodovar, Karen Elson, Alexa Chung, Daphne Guinness, Diane Kruger, Vanessa Paradis, and Jerry Hall, plus Baptiste Giabiconi, who, for once, didn't walk the Chanel runway. As previewed yesterday, the collection was filled with black patent mule flats and tunic dresses over skinny pants, and at the end, Lagerfeld, joined by his bride McMenamy in a dress fitted with an embroidered train of thousands of gold beads, blew the audience a kiss.

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Gisele Bundchen for Isabel Marant, A Nude Freja Beha Erichsen for Chanel, Plus More of the Latest Spring 2011 Ad Campaign Images

fashionologie — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:55:15 PST

>> Gisele Bundchen has turned up in another Spring 2011 campaign to pair with her only-girl Balenciaga: Isabel Marant. A first peek at that, plus new images of Bundchen for Balenciaga, a Chanel ad of Stella Tennant spraying a nude Freja Beha Erichsen with a hose - and more - in the gallery (NSFW).

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Watch Karl Lagerfeld's Latest Chanel Short Film, Window World

fashionologie — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:04:52 PST

>> It's hardly a secret that Karl Lagerfeld loves to dabble with short films for Chanel. His latest, Window World, features Magdalena Frackowiak and Barbara Dvorakova in an orange wig, and Baptiste Giabiconi, playing boutique mannequins against a score of ominous music. [Chanel]

The Latest Spring 2011 Ads - Crystal Renn in Colorful Jimmy Choo, Plus Ralph Lauren, D&G, and More Chanel

fashionologie — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:21:17 PST

>> In the latest round of Spring 2011 ad campaigns to pop up, Crystal Renn nabbed a starring role in Jimmy Choo's colorful, colorblocked set shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin; Baptiste Giabiconi sprays Freja Beha Erichsen and Stella Tennant in their Chanel suits with a water hose; and Ellen von Unwerth, who first found fame photographing Claudia Schiffer for Guess, is back for another round with the brand.

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Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Tom Ford - All the New Spring 2011 Ads You Missed Over New Year's

fashionologie — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 09:55:21 PST

>> Spring may not be in the air just yet, but the Spring 2011 ad campaigns sure are: The new year brought the release of a bevy, including Abbey Lee Kershaw's Tom Ford eyewear campaign and a look at Louis Vuitton's latest trio - Raquel Zimmermann, Kristen McMenamy, and Freja Beha Erichsen. There's also a peek at Chanel and Burberry (minus faces Ines de la Fressange for Chanel and Jourdan Dunn for Burberry, whose images have yet to appear), plus Gucci and Roberto Cavalli, left, featuring Laetitia Casta and Malgosia Bela.

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Preview Karl Lagerfeld's Pirelli 2011 Calendar with Erin Wasson, Baptiste Giabiconi, and More (NSFW)

fashionologie — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:13:13 PST

>> For the 2011 Pirelli calendar, which launched in Moscow today, Karl Lagerfeld said that he produced “the visual version of Homer. I did with my camera what he did with his pen, although we understand that he probably didn't use a pen.” Lagerfeld gathered 15 female models, 5 male models, and Julianne Moore in his Paris studio back in April to produce 36 black and white images of deities from ancient Greece and Rome for the calendar. “I wanted to do something different. I looked at all the other calendars,” he explained, adding: “With such a concept and boys and girls like this, it was an easy job.”

Lagerfeld was surrounded by a cadre of the models featured for the Moscow launch, including Natasha Poly sporting a new brunette hair color. But who did he cast as whom? Julianne Moore plays Hera, Brad Kroenig poses as Zeus, Lara Stone gives her best Aphrodite, Jeneil Williams channels Hades, and Baptiste Giabiconi embodies the roles of both Narcissus and Apollo.

The rest of the cast includes: Bianca Balti (as a Bacchante), Elisa Sednaoui (Flora, Echo), Freja Beha Erichsen (Apollo, Pollux, Orpheus), Isabeli Fontana (a Bacchante), Magdalena Frackowiak (Athena, Estia), Anja Rubik (Hermes, Terpsichore), Abbey Lee Kershaw (Echo, Castor, Eurydice), Lakshmi Menon (a Bacchante), Heidi Mount (Aurora, Amphitrite), Erin Wasson (Ajax, a Bacchante), Natasha Poly (Melpomene), Daria Werbowy (Artemis, Penthesilea), Iris Strubegger (Athena), Sebastien Jondeau (Mars), Garret Neff (Bacchus), and Jake Davis (Achilles).

A peek at the calendar and launch below.

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Listen to a Clip of Baptiste Giabiconi's Single "Showtime"

fashionologie — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 08:21:56 PDT

>> Karl Lagerfeld has reportedly been pushing Baptiste Giabiconi to become a pop star, and the model recently released his first single, "Showtime," which is mixed by 50 Cent, on French television. A preview of the song in the video above. [Fashin]