fashionologie

Kate Middleton's McQueen Gown Deemed a "Triumph"; Plus, Why Pippa Middleton's Dress Is Causing Controversy

fashionologie — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 08:53:11 PDT

>> Karl Lagerfeld, often a quick detractor, seems to approve of Sarah Burton's wedding dress for Kate Middleton, and The New York Times's Eric Wilson agrees: "It was an enormous success for the bride, and a triumph for Ms. [Sarah] Burton. The gown was a triumph not merely because it was pretty - or flawless, actually, a dress that is destined to create a global demand for long lace sleeves." Robin Givhan also echoes the sentiment: "The bride’s gown was a true stunner. It was not a designer’s indulgence. It did not play to our culture’s need for grotesque ostentation. It did not overwhelm the woman - the princess - herself. And with that Herculean act of restraint, Sarah Burton, exceeded all expectations."

Though Middleton's gown is being widely praised, some are questioning whether her sister and maid of honor Pippa Middleton, who also wore a white McQueen dress by Sarah Burton, overshadowed Kate at the wedding. The Sun, for instance, declared: "Gorgeous Pippa is a style hit." But unlike the US, where bridesmaids and wedding guests are told not to wear white out of respect for the bride, it is said to be a superstitious tradition in the UK for bridesmaids to dress similarly to the bride to ward off evil spirits. In fact, all of Princess Diana's bridesmaids wore white dresses similar to her wedding gown.

Wilson notes: "It was a controversial, though savvy, decision for her sister and maid of honor, Pippa Middleton, to wear white, also by McQueen. When Pippa picked up the bride’s train, their matching dresses made the sisters appeared almost as one entity, distinct from the royals but still part of the family."

Is Hannah MacGibbon's Future at Chloe in Jeopardy?

fashionologie — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:57:57 PST

>> As if the fates of enough designers aren't already in question, now Hannah MacGibbon's future at Chloe has come up. Sources knowledgeable about the house told the New York Times's Eric Wilson that MacGibbon's contract is up after this season, and the reaction to today's show could determine whether it is renewed. However, Wilson points out: "It’s unusual for a designer to negotiate a new contract so close to the expiration date of his or her last one, and what’s more, Chloe is said to have already interviewed other designers."

Vogue UK reports, on the contrary: "A spokesperson from the label told us a statement will be released later today to confirm there is no truth in the allegations that MacGibbon's contract is up after this season."

Minimalism - Just a "Blip on the Fashion Radar" Come Spring?

fashionologie — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:20:59 PDT

>> Is fashion's minimalist revival going to be over come Spring? In the wake of Paris Fashion Week, a number of insiders seem to think so.

Marc Jacobs is on board with the idea - the campy Spring 2011 Louis Vuitton collection spurred Vogue.com's Sarah Mower to write: "The excitement of stylized, decadent fun, running rampant as a backlash against minimalism [is] an idea that fashion editors will take up." Style.com's Nicole Phelps, too, made note of Jacobs's about-face from last season: "Not unlike his seventies-inflected signature show back in New York more than three weeks ago, this was a flat-out refusal of the minimalism that was all over last season's runways, his own included."

The New York Times's Eric Wilson chimes in: "It was striking to see jarring pink-and-orange combos at a number of shows: Martin Grant, Yves Saint Laurent, Cacharel, Giles Deacon, Christopher Kane and Marc Jacobs. (Not buying it was Karl Lagerfeld, who, at the Chanel show, told Cathy Horyn of The Times: 'I really don’t think women want to go around looking like a Saint Laurent shopping bag.') Regardless, it made last fall’s foray into minimalism feel like just a blip on the fashion radar." Paper's Mickey Boardman adds: “After the Céline-ification of fashion, everything became about good taste and beige. I think we all hungered for hot pink.”

Retailers seem to be feeling similarly. Ed Burstell, managing director at Liberty of London, told WWD: “I think there’s going to be some boredom for minimalism [by Spring]. I’m not sure everyone’s willing to walk away from things that are a little more fun and sexy to [looks more suited to] a Connecticut soccer mom heading for lunch.” Lane Crawford's Sarah Rutson agrees: “The customer has had enough of neutrals from fall. We need to set the sales floor alive with color and print."

Rebooted French Heritage Brand Carven Garnering Buzz

fashionologie — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:47:06 PDT

>> French heritage houses like Nina Ricci and Vionnet have both been reinvented in the last couple of years with a more contemporary approach; now, add Carven to the trend.

Founded in Paris by couturier Madame Carmen de Tommaso in 1945, Carven was originally launched for petite women. Two seasons ago, former Givenchy designer Guillaume Henry was tasked with kickstarting the label again, and judging by the reception, he's succeeded.

Last night, Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet feted Henry in London, where she gushed: "The clothes . . . Not only did we love them - the Parisian street attitude really struck a bell with us - but we just couldn't believe the amazing prices. Does this guy look like a young Saint Laurent or what? . . . These clothes are going to change your life. I'm really looking forward to watching this man blossom and to seeing what he becomes in 20 years time."

The New York Times reports "raves" over the line »

Lindsay Lohan and Estrella Archs's First Emanuel Ungaro Collection for Spring 2010: The Reviews Are In (And Not Pretty)

fashionologie — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:50:41 PDT

>> Three weeks after they were tasked with designing the Spring 2010 Emanuel Ungaro collection, Estrella Archs and artistic advisor Lindsay Lohan took their runway bow - the former dragging the teary latter by the hand - yesterday to a beefed-up photographer's pit and an audience, many of whom just came because of the expected spectacle.

The result wasn't pretty: the collection's super-short minidresses and heart-shaped pasties peeking out of blazers and on the models' foreheads were ruled "a bad joke of a fashion show" by Style.com. Lohan's involvement was compared to "a McDonald’s fry cook taking the reins of a three-star Michelin restaurant" by the New York Times's Eric Wilson. Fabien Baron's take? "Call the fashion police!” And Harper's Bazaar's Glenda Bailey wouldn't even comment: “You know, if you don’t mind, I have to run out the door.” Even Dree Hemingway weighed in: "the first half might as well be alex wang last spring and i did see [Lohan] sporting that hot pink blazer of his..."

Lohan, who is reportedly being paid millions by Ungaro, called the show "the hardest thing I've ever done." Beforehand, she selected $150,000 worth of Ungaro clothes at the Paris flagship with CEO Mounir Moufarrige's blessing, supposedly cancelling an interview with Suzy Menkes. Some expect her to be gone before next season - even though she already said she was sketching for the next collection - but her contract is multiyear, and Moufarrige said his main goal in hiring her was to generate publicity, noting that he was suprised criticism hasn't been more negative. And even after the wave of bad reviews came out yeseterday, Ungaro's owner Asim Abdullah was defiant that either Lohan reignites the long-struggling Ungaro, or “we go down in a blaze of glory. Or unglory."

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Alexander Wang, Gareth Pugh, and More Are Scooping Up Chance to Show at MAC and Milk's Free New York Fashion Week Venue

fashionologie — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:31:12 PDT

>> Soon after Maybelline announced it would be be taking over from five-year Bryant Park cosmetics sponsor MAC, MAC - presumedly, as New York Times' Eric Wilson put it, tired of having to share "a rather circuslike stage with other sponsors who were competing for attention, sometimes including makers of doughnuts, cameras, toilets and Big Macs" - announced that it would be producing the tentatively-titled MAC and Milk Fashion Week with Milk Studios at the same time as the traditional New York Fashion Week.

The event can be seen as either a complement or a competitor to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, but on the record, anyway, there seem to be no hard feelings. Milk Studios founder Mazdack Rassi says of the initiative: "This week is not an alternative show space, it's a way of cultivating designers and helping them come up with new ways of selling their clothes." And Zach Eichman, a VP of IMG Fashion, which produces the shows at Bryant Park, told the New York Times last week the company welcomed the MAC and Milk event and that bus service between shows would be available when possible. “We can’t do every show in the tents. We hope they will be successful.”

Alexander Wang will be there, so will Preen »

Quote Of The Day: Eric Wilson At Last Night's CFDA Awards

coutorture — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:51:46 PDT

“

In the midst of the worst economic climate in decades, with consumers in revolt, it was almost a relief that Ms. Ullman did not shy away from a bit of a roast. It would have been disingenuous to declare anyone a real winner this year, though awards were handed out for best designers in several categories during what felt, at times, more like a pep rally than a glamorous event.

”"Hard to Name Real Winners at Fashion Awards", The New York Times

Quote Of The Day: Eric Wilson Ponders Round Sunglasses

coutorture — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:03:23 PDT

“

When Proenza Schouler introduced round sunglasses in spring 2008, the designers were actually so far ahead of the trend that they were at a disadvantage. Circular frames are not face-friendly, Ms. McCabe said, and usually look best on women with strong jaw lines, so the line’s initial styles were difficult to sell. But newer versions, which are slightly larger and more angular, with the stems positioned higher on the frame, have been a success. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the designers of the label, said in an e-mail message that they had been bored with the prevailing Wayfarer look and that, while looking at images of midcentury factory workers in goggles, “something about the simplicity of that shape against the face turned us on.”

”"Why Round Sunglasses? A Style Investigation", The New York Times

Fashion Magazines With Less Retouching: The Future or a Current Fad?

fashionologie — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:38:02 PDT

>> In the March 2008 issue of Vogue, premier retoucher of fashion photographs, Pascal Dangin, tweaked a total of 144 images, from ads to editorial spreads, and in The September Issue, which focuses on the making of Vogue's September 2007 issue, Anna Wintour definitely displays a reliance on retouching, asking Mario Testino to superimpose cover girl Sienna Miller's head from one shot onto her body in another shot, and requesting that a cameraman's gut from an editorial shot be diminished, to Grace Coddington's dismay: "Everybody isn't perfect in this world. It's enough that the models are perfect."

When digital manipulation programs first came into use in the early '90s, reports Eric Wilson for The New York Times, art directors originally used them to create a heightened sense of reality like images achieved through movie special effects - "hyper real" style, as former The Face art director and current Love creative director Lee Swillingham coined it - as a reaction against the images of supermodels that looked too perfect. Editors weren't suggesting the resulting look be attainable, Swillingham explains: “We were trying to create a future fashion. You could do something that looked gritty and real or something that looked like plastic.”

Now, some major photographers are pushing for less plastic, more real »

Quote Of The Day: Eric Wilson Goes To Topshop

coutorture — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:42:47 PDT

“

So much about the Topshop phenomenon-the mania is new to Manhattan but well established in England-is predicated on the company’s ability to cast itself as less a store than a service station for style, with its own spokesmodel, the Kate Moss Factory for Fast Fashion. You walk in with your clunky old boot-cut parts and, presto, replace them with shiny, skinny new ones that will make you look cool. It can be a bewildering place for anyone not yet accustomed to the modern culture of constant updating - iPods and Facebook pages and, of course, clothes - so Topshop has, among its sales staff, an elite team of employees called style advisers who are there to help. Their mission is to spread the gospel of mixing orange with pink.

”"Trust Me. You'll Look Cool In This." Eric Wilson for The New York Times