fashionologie

Franca Sozzani's Marriage, Elle Macpherson's Birthday, and Dolce & Gabbana's New Roles

fashionologie — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:51:00 PDT

>> Get caught up on all of those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

Did Vogue Italia Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani get marred and not tell anyone about it? The magazine's website posted a scan from the Ugandan newspaper Red Pepper, which pictures Sozzani sitting next to oil magnate Charles Mbire. The paper referred to Sozzani as Mbire's wife, but Sozzani said the newspaper had bad intel. "The marital status I prefer is being single," she said. [Vogue Italia]
Supermodel Elle Macpherson turned 48 today - and she still looks better than most people do at 24. [The Fab Life]
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have landed cameo roles in director Woody Allen's new film To Rome With Love, which debuts April 20. Penelope Cruz - the film's lead actress - will wear pieces from the duo's Spring 2012 collection in the film. [The Cut]
André Leon Talley has been off the airwaves since leaving the judging panel of America's Next Top Model, but soon he'll be back. In a new Bravo reality series - currently titled Fashion Stories of NYC - Tally will supervise competing teams of "emerging designers striving to build a business in New York City, which remains the heart of the fashion industry." [Fashionista]
Vogue UK Editor Alexandra Shulman has written her first book. Her new novel, Can We Still Be Friends, is about three pals who went to college together in the '80s, and afterward have to deal with what the real world does to their lives and their relationships with one another. [Fashion Etc.]

Franca Sozzani Defends Haute Mess, Jennifer Lopez May Headline the Met Gala

fashionologie — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:14:40 PDT

>> Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

Franca Sozzani defended Vogue Italia's recent Haute Mess spread against accusations that it was racist, saying that it was not her intention to cause controversy with images of candy bars pasted into models' hairdos. "A racist image, I really do not understand," she said. "I went through the pages so many times. Like when we did the Black Issue, everybody said that we did that on purpose because Obama was the person chosen to go to the White House, and if you just think one second, not more than one second, you can see that to make a magazine like what we did for the Black Issue, it takes six months [to do]. … What do you answer? They don't know what it means to work at a magazine. That's it." [The Cut]

Menswear designer Simon Spurr left his eponymous fashion label last week without explanation. "At this moment, I'm not at liberty to say anything about what's gone on," he stated in an email. His unexpected departure came just a week after being nominated for the CFDA's menswear designer of the year award. [WWD]

Despite a statement from Vogue to the contrary, rumors have persisted that current cover girl Jennifer Lopez will be performing at the Met Gala this May. She's been a regular attendee of the event in the past, and with the added attention of being on the magazine's cover this Spring, the idea that she'll perform makes sense. Wait and see. [Fashion Etc.]

Franca Sozzani Wears Runway Fresh Dolce & Gabbana For Legion of Honor Ceremony

fashionologie — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:16:23 PDT

>> Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani took home the grandest honor France has to offer on Wednesday when she was inducted into the Legion of Honor - and she chose a distinctly Italian dress for the occasion.

Sozzani donned one of the black-and-gold embroidered dresses Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana sent down the runway during their Fall 2012 show, and allowed French president Nicolas Sarkozy to affix her new legion pin to it in the ceremony this afternoon. She follows in the footsteps of American Vogue's editor Anna Wintour, who wore a Chanel couture suit that had been on the runway less than 24 hours before her induction ceremony last year. But even if Wintour hadn't won the award, Sozzani would still be in good company. This year's other inductees included actress Michelle Yeoh and pianist Aldo Ciccolini.

The newly knighted editor told Interview in a recent profile that she's successful because she's always had the freedom to experiment and do what she wants to do with her magazine.

"Everybody can give me their suggestions, but at the end, the final risk is mine because it's my name on the magazine. So I only do what I really feel. Everybody tries to influence you, of course . . . I listen, but I must go my own way."

Franca Sozzani on Carine Roitfeld's Celebrity, Supporting John Galliano

fashionologie — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:20:41 PDT

>> Franca Sozzani, who publicly stated her allegiance to John Galliano right after he was fired from Dior in February, hasn't changed her tune: “Hire back John Galliano."

She continues: “Look. I understand their point of view [at Dior]. I understand they couldn’t just say, ‘Bad boy! We forgive you! Come back!’ But it’s really a pity. And I will never believe he believed what he said. I think he was drunk and alone in a bar. When people go crazy, they go crazy. It’s a human case, it’s not political or religious. He didn’t kill anyone!”

She also gives an opinion on her former Vogue colleague Carine Roitfeld, who she says was “very good at building up her own image.” Sozzani suggests that Roitfeld forgot she worked for Conde Nast and became too interested in having her picture taken. “I’m not a celebrity, I’m an editor,” Sozzani says. “If you feel that to be the editor of Vogue you have to be a celebrity, something is wrong in your life.”

Fashion Descends on Venice for the 2011 Biennale

fashionologie — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:16:29 PDT

>> Every two years, the fashion flock meets the art world in Venice for a series of parties and power buys. This year, Hogan, Prada, and Missoni have been among the Venice Biennale event hosts, bringing out guests like Anna Wintour (who was spotted yesterday riding around the city's Grand Canal), Dasha Zhukova, and Naomi Campbell. While some have already come and gone - Anna Wintour, Francois-Henri Pinault, and Salma Hayek Pinault were already spotted attending the French Open in Paris today - we've the fleeting moments of the last couple of days' festivities captured in our slideshow at left.

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Vogue Italia Put Three Plus-Size Models on Its June 2011 Cover

fashionologie — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:59:43 PDT

>> Franca Sozzani is putting her money where her mouth is with Vogue Italia's June 2011 cover. After devoting a special section to "curvy" women on the magazine's website (of those highlighted she recently said: "Why should these women slim down? Many of the women who have a few extra kilos are especially beautiful and also more feminine"), Sozzani has cast a trio of plus-size models for the magazine's latest cover. No Crystal Renn, the current "plus-size" model du jour, in sight - instead, Steven Meisel shot Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine, and Robyn Lawley in black and white, marking the first time plus-size models have graced the magazine's cover since the days of Sophie Dahl, circa 2000. [Models.com]

Franca Sozzani on Why Steven Meisel Has Shot Over 325 Consecutive Vogue Italia Covers

fashionologie — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:07:34 PDT

>> Franca Sozzani recently explained why Steven Meisel has shot every Vogue Italia cover since 1988: "I needed to have a consistent, recognizable look to every cover. My idea was that even if you took the word “Italia” off, you know what Vogue Italia is. Many magazines don’t seem to have a connection between one cover and the next, and it becomes hard to tell them apart. Especially today - images can be printed in such a high quality, but that also flattens them out, in a way. There’s a similar problem in fashion. Everyone can buy clothes - the most accessible clothes are not of the best quality, but unless you look at the label, you don’t know who it’s by. It’s this kind of oversaturation that makes me believe we are on the brink of another huge change." Sozzani also believes that putting resources into the Vogue Italia website has paid off for the magazine: "The website is doing a great job because it functions as a teaser for the magazine. September, October, and November our sales were up 27 percent, and this is because of the web. Everyone has this idea that online will kill print, but it’s not true. Like everything else, it depends on how you do things." [Models.com]

Galliano Aftermath - Will Anyone Stick By the Designer? The Industry (and Natalie Portman) Comment on John Galliano's Scandal

fashionologie — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:54:05 PST

>> The Christian Dior show will go on, but who will be there to see it? Hilary Alexander reports: "Many international buyers and press feel uneasy about attending the show, leaving Dior in the double predicament of being without a creative director, and the strong possibility of disappointing sales of a collection which many feel is now tainted by the scandal."

So is Galliano's scandal a career destroyer? Kate Moss's cocaine scandal in 2005 did not have any longterm effects on her career, her agent said last year - in fact, her earnings doubled in the five years after. Of course, Moss's scandal and Galliano's scandal broach two vastly different subjects - drugs versus racism and/or anti-Semitism. But as The New Yorker's Judith Thurman wrote yesterday: "Galliano seems to have disgraced himself (and perhaps ended his career) by delivering a drunken, anti-Semitic rant to several fellow patrons at a Paris restaurant . . . But Chanel liked Nazis, too."

So will Moss, who is said to have enlisted Galliano to do her wedding dress, stand by the designer? What about any of the rest of the industry?

We know where Christian Dior face Natalie Portman stands - last night, before Galliano was let go, she released a statement: "I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano's comments that surfaced today. In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way. I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful."

After Galliano's dismissal, British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman said: "I think Galliano made a terrible mistake and such offensive behaviour could not be ignored. It is all the same true that he has a huge talent and has contributed enormously to the resurrection of the house of Dior. Who can predict what the future will bring?"

Jessica Stam tweeted: "I'll miss you John, you're so talented. I love the Jews and what he said is awful, but also sad to watch him leave Dior." And Chanel Iman said this morning: "I love John Galliano. I’ve been working with him for years and he is one of the most amazing, genius men in this business. He is one of the most creative, genius designers that I’ve worked with and he’s so open to all types of people. He’s loving and he’s caring and I wish him all the best."

But before this morning's announcement that Galliano was fired, many other industry folk spoke out on the scandal.

Stefano Gabbana tweeted last Saturday (pre video release): "I'm so sorry for John Galliano!!!"

Franca Sozzani, said on camera last Friday (pre video release): "I'm so against anyone who could say something anti-Semitic or against any religion. I understand that [Galliano] was drunk. I can understand, for sure, because he's not a bad guy. But I do not accept that anyone can touch the religion of someone else . . . either you fire or you keep [him], I don't see anything in between . . . [Dior without Galliano] would be a real pity . . . I wasn't there, you weren't there, nobody was there, so who knows the truth. But you know . . . it's John Galliano, it's very easy to say he said something like that, because it's doing a big mess. If he was no one, nobody could tell about him, so we are to be suspicious about that. If it's really true, if it really went as they're describing, it's terrible news for [not only Galliano but] the human being."

Roberto Cavalli, on camera last Saturday (pre video release): "I don't believe [it]. Because I know John since many years, he's such a wonderful person. I can't believe that he makes some racist [comments] toward somebody, because he's so international . . . I think that somebody wants to try to be bad with him. I think la Maison Dior should make [for] him [a] big red carpet because he helped Maison Dior to be what it is today. I don't want to judge anybody, but I love John and John, I am with you."

Giorgio Armani, on camera Monday: "I'm very very sorry for him. It's obviously a difficult time for him. I am also very sorry that they videotaped him without him knowing."

Olivier Zahm wrote last Saturday (pre video release): "I know that you [Galliano] are not at all racist -whatever you said, drunk or not, to them! Your multi-ethnic shows, celebrating the beauty of nomadic worlds, and looking into visual languages of forgotten minorities (from everywhere on this planet), has brilliantly proved it to everyone from collection to collection since years. We are living in a dark world where the fashion system can celebrate talented people like you, use them as long as they want and fire them from a day to the next - exploiting an unfortunate private incident (and thusfar unproved anti-Semitic allegations), to get rid of an artist. Letting the international media suspect that you could be a racist, is not acceptable!"

And Hilary Alexander wrote yesterday: "What devils possessed Galliano we may never know. What private hell he is living through is equally unknowable. But one thing is certain: he needs help. I am not for a moment excusing his behaviour. There will come a time when he must confront the viper in his breast. But, right now, this is a moment in his life when he needs support and love from the industry he has given his life to."

Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt Are No Longer Speaking

fashionologie — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 20:07:55 PST

>> She didn't name names, but it was fairly clear that Franca Sozzani, in a blog post last month, was criticizing one of Carine Roitfeld's last issues of Vogue Paris - the December Tom Ford guest-edited issue. In a more recent interview, Sozzani said, “Honestly, I don’t think a stylist has a vision for a magazine.” Both Roitfeld and her fashion director - and now new Vogue Paris editor - Emmanuelle Alt are stylists.

Sozzani wasn't the only one who wasn't feeling that Tom Ford-edited December issue - people in Paris speculated, Cathy Horyn reports, that it triggered Roitfeld's undoing. Roitfeld last month told Horyn that her bosses received complaints from advertisers over the Ford issue. “I was killed for that,” Roitfeld added. “You know, it’s difficult to try to do something new each month.”

According to several close to the matter, Roitfeld offered to resign when the issue of her management came under question (she was frequently out of the office on shoots). She could have been bluffing, but her resignation was accepted. When asked whether her frequent office absence was a contributing factor, Roitfeld admitted: “Maybe, maybe. Everybody has an opinion. Before, it wasn’t a problem, and anyway the magazine was doing very well. It’s difficult to work with a big team. Maybe it’s good I go back to my roots.”

But she says she doesn't regret resigning: "I’m very sad, but in a way I’m very happy, too. I don’t want to get old in this golden cage. I’m very punk in a way.”

Apparently she and Alt no longer speak, however, and neither would say why. Alt, who is attending New York Fashion Week for the first time in years, notes: “I don’t look back and see clouds anywhere. Carine is someone who needs to be free. She’s the rebel of the class. She hates authority. She dealt with it for years but . . . ” The magazine was profitable and experienced a 40 percent leap in circulation under Roitfeld's tenure.

Candy Magazine Does Drag Versions of Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, and Tavi Gevinson

fashionologie — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:47:46 PST

>> Luis Venegas, editor and publisher of the “transversal style magazine” Candy, takes on the drag version of Anna Wintour to model and DJ Andrès Borque's Grace Coddington in the magazine's The Devil Wears Anna editorial. Franca Sozzani and Tavi Gevinson get play, too. [Frockwriter]

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