fashionologie

Diane von Furstenberg Fall 2012

Christina Perez — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:57:15 PST

>> For Fall 2012, Diane von Furstenberg riffed on the idea of a "rendez-vous," or, as her show's liner notes put it, "a meeting with suspense and expectation." The result was a collection steeped in subtle sultriness, with wrap jackets, pencil skirts, and the designer's signature jersey dresses cut in body-hugging silhouettes, and featuring more plunging necklines and thigh-revealing slits than we've seen from the designer in seasons past. But von Furstenberg is a designer who always keeps her customer close to heart, and so there were plenty of work-ready suits, blouses, and shifts in the mix.

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Designers Disappointed by CFDA's Impending Relocation

Christina Perez — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:47:54 PST

>> The CFDA has decided to move from its current location in the Garment District to a new residence in downtown Manhattan, leaving some New York designers none too pleased. "We are extremely disappointed by the CFDA's decision to leave the Garment Center," said Nanette LePore, whose husband, Bob Savage, has been a staunch proponent of the Save the Garment Center campaign. "We only hope this does not signal the end of their previous support for New York City manufacturing and emerging American designers."

For its part, the CFDA has stressed that the decision has nothing to do with a lack of support for the Garment District, a neighborhood the CFDA has always championed. "We are not abandoning anything," The CFDA's chief executive officer, Steven Kolb, told WWD. "We considered buildings in the Garment District significantly in our search. The criteria by which we were finding space was ultimately based not on neighborhood, but what the best space for a functioning office for the CFDA was." Kolb went on to say that the Council had outgrown its current space, adding "we are busting out of the seams."

CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg echoed the sentiment: "We needed a very large space so we can have board meetings and clinics there. We found a great space with a great deal, and that's that. We looked for a long time." Von Furstenberg added that she will always think of the CFDA as "the soul of the Garment District."

The CFDA has signed a 10-year lease at its new location at Bleecker Street and Broadway, with plans to move this Summer.
Above: the CFDA's Steven Kolb and Diane von Furstenberg. Getty

Diane von Furstenberg Pre-Fall 2012

fashionologie — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:36:22 PST

>> With a Pre-Fall 2012 collection called Macadam Diva, Diane von Furstenberg is on a mission to "conquer the city as an urban jungle." Oversized houndstooth swirls around sleeveless dresses and trim skirt suits, while studding pocks a black and white minidress. "It's sexy and a little aggressive," von Furstenberg notes.

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Altuzarra Takes Home the Big Prize at the 2011 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards

fashionologie — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:17:43 PST

>> Last night at Skylight studios in New York, the 2011 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winners were announced. Joseph Altuzarra, a favorite the past two years running, took home this year's prize - $300,000 and a year-long mentorship. But the impact of the award lasts much longer than a year, CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg explained: "Once you are in the Fashion Fund, we will protect you and continue to provide you with opportunities.” Pamela Love and Creature of the Wind's Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters were named runners-up, collecting $100,000 each.

Calvin Klein gave this year's keynote speech, focusing on his own days as a young designer. “I started out with less money than probably all of you nominees tonight,” he told the crowd. Of coming up in the '60s and ’70s, he noted: “I dealt with truck men, unions, and gangsters. I got a call from the Gambinos one day, telling me, ‘We are your truck men.’”

Altuzarra's friend and the 2008 Fashion Fund winner, Alexander Wang, told him to "just zone out" during Klein's speech, and just before Rooney Mara announced Altuzarra as winner, von Furstenberg went over to the designer's table, pinched his cheek, and asked him something in French. “She asked me if I went to pee,” Altuzarra told The New York Times. When the announcement finally came, Altuzarra told the audience, “I’m so grateful and humbled.” Love, while accepting her award, announced: “I didn’t prepare anything because I didn’t expect this - and I’m shaking!” before running backstage to hug her fiancé, Matthew Nelson. And Gabier said to the crowd, “You’ve made us really happy and we hope to make you really proud.”

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Andre Leon Talley Gets a Museum Gallery of His Own, Wants It Perfumed

fashionologie — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:18:05 PDT

>> Savannah College of Art and Design, of which Andre Leon Talley is a board member, will as of Saturday have an Andre Leon Talley Gallery in its new museum of art.

Talley has been helping the museum build a costume collection out of his own archives and donations from friends. The first exhibit will include the black gown Penelope Cruz wore to the most recent Costume Institute Gala, sent by Oscar de la Renta; a black sequined wrap dress, sent by Diane von Furstenberg; a Fall 2007 Prada coat trimmed with plastic fringe and feathers; a column dress trimmed with natural string from Tom Ford's debut womenswear show; and the blue satin Manolo Blahniks featured in the Sex and the City movie.

"The only thing I haven't thrust upon them yet is that I want fragrance wafting through the ventilation system," Talley said. "Either Oscar de la Renta's Live in Love, or Diane von Furstenberg's Diane."

It sounds like he might get his wish. Paula Wallace, president and a founder of the college, said of the perfume idea: "He has not mentioned that to me, but if Andre wants it, he gets it. The multisensory concept is so important. We learn, we feel, we think, we smell. Actually, I think it's a grand idea."

It Happened Backstage - Snaps at Thakoon, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria Beckham, DKNY, and Diane von Furstenberg

fashionologie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 06:14:48 PDT

>> What did the Sunday show backstage scene bring us? Valerija Kelava mimicking her heart-embellished Thakoon top with her hands, a close-up look at the scrunchy leather spats from Victoria Beckham, and Karlie Kloss making a dash for the runway in her Tommy Hilfiger maillot. All that, plus peeks behind-the-scenes at Diane von Furstenberg and DKNY, in the slideshow.

Photos: Greg Kessler

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Diane von Furstenberg Spring 2012 Runway

fashionologie — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:19:24 PDT

Diane von Furstenberg Spring 2012

Christina Perez — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:34:50 PDT

>> For Spring 2012, Diane von Furstenberg visited the idea of "beginnings", opening the show with a series of crisp white looks and the upbeat music of Matias Aguayo. While new starts may have been on von Furstenberg's mind, evolution might have been as well, for the 50 look collection moved effortlessly from white to pastel to vibrant in one fluid motion. A series of solid-colored separates and dresses brought together smokey greys, mints, and topaz; a grouping of graphic florals mixed black, white, pink, and lilac; and an explosion of large-scale prints found their bearings in vivid coral, red, violet, and jade. Silhouettes were a wearable mix of slouchy mod-lines and tiered layers - swing-backed jackets, full-skirted wrapdresses, cropped trousers, and loosely-cut sheaths.

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Diane von Furstenberg, CFDA Recommend Carding Models for Age; Michael Kors on Models Under 16

fashionologie — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:00:08 PDT

>> Just before last season, CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg encouraged designers to forego hiring models under 16; however, after her show last season, von Furstenberg discovered that she had hired 15-year-old Hailey Clauson to walk, and subsequently issued an apology.

This season, von Furstenberg and the CFDA are taking preventative measures further, recommending that models produce a valid ID on the show day, ensuring that they are a minimum of 16 years old. “The casting agents for the Diane von Furstenberg show will be doing this and we encourage others to do the same,” the letter which von Furstenberg and CFDA CEO Steven Kolb sent out yesterday, stated. It also noted that all top model agencies had pledged not to send models under 16 for shows.

Von Furstenberg is not the only major New York designer who has had issues with model-age confusion. Michael Kors tells Lauren Hutton in the new issue of Interview: "I still think it’s weird when models come in on go-sees. I don’t understand how anyone can think that a model is a mannequin. I like to think of them as just women ... When they come in, I’m always like, 'Where are you from? Tell me about your life.' That’s the first thing I say. We were laughing, though, because two seasons ago, I said, 'You know what? These girls we’re seeing are too young. They are children.' It’s silly ... I said two years ago, 'No models under 16.' Well, of course, right after I said that, we started seeing all of these girls from Eastern Europe, and every girl who’d walk in, you’d say, 'Hi. What’s your name?' And she’d be like, 'I’m Svetlana.' I’m like, 'Svetlana, where are you from?' 'Ukraine.' 'Svetlana, how old are you?' '16.' Next girl walks in - she’s from Eastern Europe and 16. Next one? Eastern European and 16. I was like, 'Was there a bus?' But I still think it’s a tricky thing because no matter how beautiful you might be at 15 or 16, the simple truth is that you haven’t lived enough to really know how to project anything in a photograph. It’s like a kind of blank beauty."

Summer Reading - The CFDA's Travel Book, Plus 5 More Top Inspirational Tomes

fashionologie — Mon, 30 May 2011 09:45:51 PDT

>> A new crop of books, full of stylish inspiration. From an insider's guide to the hidden gems of NYC, to a book cataloguing the work of the world's first fashion photographer, here's our list of the best - and chicest - fashion books of the Summer.

Click through to see the slideshow.

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