fashionologie

Karl Lagerfeld, Donatella Versace, and More React to Kate Middleton's Wedding Dress

fashionologie — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 05:45:54 PDT

>> Vera Wang was on CNN this morning, weighing in who she hoped designed Kate Middleton's dress; but, now that it's been revealed to be Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton, how do Burton's other designing colleagues rate the dress? (And one can't help but wonder what Alexander McQueen would have thought of a partnership between his label and Middleton, given that he once famously wrote "I am a c*nt" in the lining of a jacket destined for Prince Charles.) But without further ado . . .

Karl Lagerfeld: “[Middleton] is very elegant. The dress is classic and goes very well in the Westminster decor. It almost reminds me of (Queen) Elizabeth’s wedding, the royal weddings in the '50s. The proportion of the train is good. The lace is very pretty. I like the veil a lot.”

Christian Lacroix: “I like the dress very much, simpler than expected: A combination just in between 1956 Grace Kelly and 1947 Queen Elizabeth dress. I love the modest veil with the Queen Mother’s '30s scroll tiara and balanced volume of the whole gown. She’s radiant; she never was so beautiful. And Prince William’s red Irish uniform is gorgeous.”

Hubert de Givenchy: “The dress is very simple and very nice. The veil is a little flat, but because she has such a lovely face, she can afford to wear it this way. She is very pretty.”

Peter Copping of Nina Ricci: “Very much in a royal tradition, reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth’s - and a little bit Grace Kelly. She looks happy, radiant, and natural.”

Donatella Versace: "Kate's dress was beautiful. She looked very regal."

Prabal Gurung: “I thought it was pretty and appropriate. A high-profile wedding like this is not the place for making a crazy fashion moment. It sounds like an oxymoron but it was a personal moment in a very public place. The dress clearly said she’s a modern girl and of this generation. It was not McQueen at its theatrical sense but McQueen in its quiet but beautiful sense. I loved the bustle and how her silk tulle veil was moving softly in the wind.”

Jason Wu: “I thought Catherine’s dress looked stunning. The details were very well done and I loved the emphasis on craftsmanship and the use of British talent. Her choice to pay tribute to Alexander McQueen was both touching and exciting.”

Viktor & Rolf: “Kate’s dress was simply elegant. Her hair down was a beautiful and natural touch, and the tiara was stunning. She looked as at ease as humanly possible and was radiant. Our compliments.”

Diane von Furstenberg: “The dress was beautiful. I think she is irresistible, she is so beautiful. I am happy it was McQueen. It was absolutely the right thing to do. They made [the dress] simple, so it wasn’t costumey but a beautiful evening gown. I was happy for Sarah, happy for the Met, and happy for McQueen."

Tory Burch: “Kate looked stunning. Choosing Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen reflects Kate’s modern aesthetic and style, but the handmade lace details and craftsmanship are a great nod to British tradition. The lace, the clean lines of the dress, Queen Elizabeth’s tiara - every detail was stunning.”

Donna Karan: “The dress was extremely elegant. For me, it wasn’t so much about the dress though, it was all about her. She was the most beautiful bride in the world.”

Francisco Costa: “Kate’s dress had a classic elegance with a modern edge. The superb detailing really characterized Sarah’s expert hand.”

Oscar de la Renta: “She looked absolutely ravishing. She looked like a bride should look and she handled herself tremendously. And they look like a much loving couple. I am happy to see fresh blood coming into the family. It was a very traditional, beautiful dress which it needed to be for that kind of wedding. Most of all she devastated with her charm. Listen, she will wear anything and will look ravishing.”

Valentino: “I loved the dress . . . it was very simple and young even if a hint of Grace Kelly's dress spoke of 1950s! I loved the flounce on the back of the skirt and the little decoration all around the short veil. I loved the choice of the tiara: simple, pretty, very right for the dress and for her attitude . . . it was used almost as an hairpiece to keep the hair and the veil, not as a heavy decoration. Compared to the famous Diana’s dress, Diana’s was a dress of a fairy-tale princess . . . still a dress everybody remembers. Kate’s one is a very pretty, modern dress that will be copied everywhere but lacks that fairy-tale element. Today most of the new princesses are young, modern, nonroyal women who have clear ideas, independence from stiff protocol . . . they want to be themselves and not anymore a symbol of the crown.”

Reed Krakoff: “I thought the dress was very modern. It bridged the gap between modern and youthful, and was respectful to the position she is in. It didn’t look to traditional or expected though. I particularly liked the neckline. It was more youthful than I expected. The fact that the bodice was fitted and formfitting was great, because she is a beautiful young woman and it accentuated that.”

Christian Lacroix Has His First Post-Bankruptcy Fashion Job, Designing Monsieur Lacroix for Desigual

fashionologie — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:11:37 PST

>> In the first fashion project he's endeavored since his financially strapped eponymous label was reduced to a shell at the end of 2009, the couturier Christian Lacroix, who has since been spending his time designing stage costumes, hotels, and trams, curating museum exhibits, and serving as the French mint's artistic adviser, has teamed up with Spanish brand Desigual.

Lacroix's capsule collection, known as Desigual by Monsieur Lacroix, since the designer is no longer authorized to use his name after leaving his former brand, will consist of 30 pieces - including jackets, skirts, and lingerie - for Fall 2011, with a bigger collection coming for Spring 2012. The collection was previewed this week at Barcelona Fashion Week. Lacroix says on Desigual's blog: “I was awestruck by the first girl dressed by Desigual that I saw in Paris. As I watched her, I could recognise in her a member of my own tribe. It was an explosion of colors and patchwork under the elegant, discreet and always monotonous French sky. It was fantastic, truly love at first sight, a breath of fresh air, all multicoloured, scorching, revitalizing, radiating Mediterranean colours and flavours and creeping into this global and colourless magma inhabited by zombies and clones.”

View Slideshow ›

A Look at Givenchy's Spring 2011 Campaign Featuring an Albino Model; David Lauren and Lauren Bush Are Engaged

fashionologie — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:49:09 PST

Riccardo Tisci is following up his Fall 2010 campaign featuring the transsexual model Lea T. with a Spring 2011 ad campaign featuring albino model Stephen Thompson, shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott in black and white alongside Mariacarla Boscono, Daphne Groeneveld and Iris Strubegger; the idea came from a Robert Mapplethorpe photo of an alabaster Roman bust juxtaposed against leopard print fabric [WWD]
39-year-old David Lauren and 26-year-old Lauren Bush, who met at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala six years ago, got engaged Friday at the museum; she Tweeted today: "Thanks for everyone's warm wishes about our engagement! I am so happy, and really enjoying every minute of it! I am truly a lucky lady!" [NY Post, @LaurenBushTweet]
Conde Nast looks to be in shopping mode: its parent company just raised $500 million for mergers and acquisitions [All Things Digital]
Karolina Kurkova posted a teaser photo of her and androgynous model Andrej Pejic on the set of Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2011 ad campaign [Frockwriter]
Before The Sartorialist's Scott Schuman stops someone to ask to take their picture, he says, "I pretty much know where I'm going to stand, where I'm going to place them in relationship to the light, where in the street . . . so as soon as they say, 'Okay,' I'm pretty much ready to go." He continues: "I'm not much of a people person, I don't push to find out that much more [about his subjects]. I want to shoot them the way that I see them; as opposed to really creating a true essence of who they are, it's my idea of who they are." [NY Times]
Christian Louboutin, on how extremes have changed in his twenty years in the business: "When I started, I remember people saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t walk in that!’ It was like, three inches - they look like kitten heels now. The low cleavage I was doing was considered too sexy, but now what I call a low cleavage is much lower. It’s really very much a mental shift. I remember doing very pointy lasts. People would say, ‘I like the shoe, but it’s too pointy.’ And then the year after, it’s fine." [Style File]
Marc Jacobs may bring his legendary holiday costume party - which hasn't happened since 2007 - back next year [The Cut]
Anna Dello Russo is evasive on how she affords her two apartments and thousands' worth of designer clothing; her only response: "Of course, I am journalist! Then I have discount, I am privileged!" [Guardian UK]
Peep Zac Posen's Pre-Fall 2011 lookbook, featuring "Zac-ettes" - his words (“They’re all women who have been significant for me this year”) - Hilary Rhoda, Crystal Renn, Anna Cleveland, and Leigh Lezark [Vogue]
Reiss is planning on reissuing the dress Kate Middleton wore in her engagement photos as part of their Spring 2011 collection [The Cut]
Former WWD Eye editor Emily Holt has been named fashion news editor at Vogue; she started last Monday [DFR]
Leighton Meester is rumored to be the new face of Missoni [InTouch]
Christian Lacroix is art directing and selecting the 150 Middle Eastern pieces to be featured in the Musee du Quai Branly's "The Orient of Women" exhibition, opening Feb. 8 [WWD]

Fashion in 50 Seconds 7/21/10 Lanvin Lands a Store in New York, Erin Wasson's x RVCA Is Kaput

coutorture — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:35:11 PDT

Lanvin will open its own New York flagship store this week.

Erin Wasson's x RVCA is reportedly kaput.

Christian Lacroix's new designer wants to do something for H&M or Target.

Costume National's Ennio Capasa launches more affordable EEQUAL line.

Dolce & Gabbana credit Beckham with revolutionizing menswear.

Source: Getty

Christian Lacroix Update: Designer Working with the French Mint While His Former Brand Focuses on Menswear

fashionologie — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:15:24 PDT

>> Christian Lacroix's latest post-fashion foray? In addition to designing stage costumes, hotels, and trams, he has been named artistic advisor to the French mint, where he will design medals for marriage and civil unions.

Back at Lacroix's former label, meanwhile, new Lacroix creative director Sacha Walckhoff is busy trying to peddle his first menswear collection, funded by a licensee. The company is focusing on that, its bridal license, home textiles, sunglasses and stationery for now. Lacroix CEO Nicolas Topiol said in March he doesn't expect to enter into women's ready-to-wear again before 2012, and Walckhoff reiterated that fact yesterday to Fashionista: “We must first pay the debts.”

Fashion in 50 Seconds 07/13/10 Agyness Deyn Turns Photographer, Christian Lacroix's New Gig

coutorture — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 06:52:42 PDT

Agyness Deyn takes a turn behind the lens, photographing editorials for her site, Naag.

Christian Lacroix is named creative director of La Monnaie de Paris, the institution responsible for designing French Euros and medals and home to museum and photography shows.

The designer takeover of Manhattan's Bleecker street continues with Michael Kors opening a West Village store this winter.

Prada SpA has negotiated a three year loan agreement of 360 million Euros to refinance debt and propel the expansion of 30 news stores this year.

Christian Lacroix Has Severed All Ties with Label; Lacroix Womenswear Not Expected Again Before 2012

fashionologie — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:55:07 PST

>> Christian Lacroix has severed all ties with his namesake brand, instead focusing on designing theater costumes, hotels, and the like through his XLCX studio, but there's still plenty going on at the label.

Although ready-to-wear and couture were shuttered with the house's bankruptcy, Nicolas Topiol, Lacroix's CEO, is busy rolling out new licensing deals for the brand. Existing partners for menswear, silk, and bridal dresses stuck by the company, and soon there will be new product categories for Lacroix like women's eyewear and sunglasses, stationary, and home textiles. Topiol said he's also in advanced discussions to reenter innerwear and children's wear with new licensing partners, and talks are under way for the production of various other women's and men's accessories.

The future of Lacroix womenswear »

fashionologie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:47:46 PST

>> Devi Kroell and Lanvin Now Share an Investor -The Bartel family, founders of Travelzoo, who last November took a 12.5 percent stake in Lanvin's parent company, has been revealed as Devi Kroell's silent investor. Bartel quietly took a stake in Kroell in 2008, allowing the designer to open boutiques and expand her product range; she's also holding her first runway show Feb. 15 during New York Fashion Week. Bartel reportedly doesn't have the intention of building a fashion conglomerate, but has looked at investment opportunities in Christian Lacroix and Jil Sander in recent years. [WWD]

fashionologie — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:21:53 PST

>> Christian Lacroix's Couture Salon Furniture Said to Be Auctioned -Christian Lacroix was missed at couture this week - the French industry minister's aide noted that "Anna [Wintour] adored Lacroix and is very sad about [his absence]," but his troubles are far from over. Word is that an auction is being organized to sell the furniture French decorators Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti created in 1987 for Lacroix's couture salons; as for his massive archive of dresses, they're safe for now - but it's still possible the court could force them to be auctioned off. [The Daily Beast]

fashionologie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:39:06 PST

>> Christian Lacroix Shows Up on Golden Globes Red Carpet -Christian Lacroix's business may be reduced to licensing at this point in time, but it's a testament that without any new collections being produced, he's still scoring red carpet coups - to wit, his Spring 2009 couture at last night's Golden Globes on the much-watched Diane Kruger. On the other side of the spectrum, houses recently kickstarted under new creative direction also found their footing at the Golden Globes: Nicole Kidman and Carey Mulligan wore Peter Copping's Nina Ricci from Spring 2010, Ginnifer Goodwin was in Spring 2010 Vionnet by Rodolfo Paglialunga, and Chloe Sevigny took home her award in Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli's Spring 2010 Valentino.