Tue, 11/17/09 — 08:48:45 AM
>> Last night, with the help of keynote speaker Alber Elbaz, who doled out gems on the perils of success — "It's like a bottle of perfume. You smell it, you don't sniff it or drink it" — Alaia veteran and Michelle Obama favorite Sophie Theallet took home the 2009 Vogue/Fashion Fund prize of $200,000 and a year of mentoring. Fellow nominees Patrik Ervell and Monique Pean were named runners-up, and received $50,000 each plus a business mentor.
In her speech, Anna Wintour said that in addition to the US, Italy, and the UK — which just started a similar talent-nurturing program — she just met with the French minister of culture about mirroring the contest there. "And Brazil, India, Russia, and China aren't far behind."
Theallet Tweeted of her win: "my american dream comes true tonight thanks and much love to all of you!xox." Cathy Horyn, too, weighed in on the choice:
"The money and the mentoring will help Ms. Theallet because she needs to be able to offer more range in her collection, as well as expand her production options. She has such a distinctly feminine eye, and the skills, that I’ve often wondered why a big retailer doesn’t ask Ms. Theallet to design some blouses and summer dresses for them, using the store’s resources and manufacturing connections."
Videos of the nominees going through the competition and the awards ceremony last night can be seen here and here, respectively.
Sat, 09/12/09 — 12:44:11 AM
>> Marcus Wainwright and David Neville are expanding Rag & Bone in every which way for Spring 2010 — sunglasses in three types of tortoiseshell, accessories spanning belts to stick pins to sure-to-be-clamored over wedge boots. Just as much as the show is about cool girl basics — this time flutter-backed tops and fitted leather jackets — and how show stylist Tabitha Simmons pulled them all together, it's about the models. Iselin Steiro, who hadn't walked a runway in a year, opened; model-to-watch Emily DiDonato made it her first runway show ever; Kinga Rajzak debuted a newly-dyed brunette 'do; and Jessica Stam, who is said to have collaborated on the collection, sat front row and Tweeted about it — she's only doing two New York shows, the first is Anna Sui.
Wed, 07/15/09 — 03:11:08 PM
>> In Early '90s, Hamish Bowles Went Drag Queen in Couture —Nowadays, Hamish Bowles is known for his dandy attire, but back in the early '90s, he broke out some of his prodigious couture collection for Kinky Gerlinky, a London club night that ran from 1989 to 1993. Apparently he was partial to wearing Balenciaga ballgowns from the '50s — and there's a video of the man in action (see 1:00). [BryanBoy]
The video! »
Wed, 07/15/09 — 12:37:29 PM
>> Isabella Blow, discoverer of Stella Tennant, Sophie Dahl, Hussein Chalayan, Philip Treacy, Alexander McQueen — and muse to the latter two — passed away at 48 a little over two years ago after ingesting weedkiller. The motive was suspected to be a recent ovarian cancer diagnosis; Blow had a history of at least two suicide attempts, one involving her throwing herself from the elevated Hammersmith Flyover road in London.
Needless to say, there's a story to be told, and two different biographies, both scheduled for 2010, are in the works, reports the New York Observer. The first, Blow by Blow: The Story of Isabella Blow, is co-written by Isabella's husband of 18 years, Detmar Blow, and author Tom Sykes, who first met Isabella when he was 20 and his sister Plum Sykes was her assistant at Vogue.
Anna Wintour will be interviewed »
Tue, 07/07/09 — 07:15:36 PM
>> Bruno Frisoni Donated Shoes to Lacroix's Show; LVMH President Speaks on Lacroix Purchase Rumors —If the shoes at Christian Lacroix's Fall 2009 couture show seemed familiar, it's because Bruno Frisoni of Roger Vivier and Vivier owner Diego Della Valle donated them, according to the former: "I called Mr. Della Valle and told him what was happening and he said, ‘Yes, of course, we’re with [Lacroix].” As for the rumors of LVMH repurchasing Lacroix, LVMH President Yves Carcelle said after the show: “Oh, this I don’t know! I’m here as a friend and not as a member of LVMH.” For his part, Frisoni thought Lacroix "has to continue" — "the best thing is to keep the name and do it in a very simple way, like Azzedine Alaia does." Lacroix apparently agrees, envisioning "a move to a different house in a different location and a customer approach that mirrors that established by Azzedine Alaia in his own studio-emporium-salon," according to Hamish Bowles.[On the Runway, Vogue Daily]
Wed, 05/13/09 — 12:29:42 PM
>> While Conde Nast chairman Si Newhouse is off in Europe, prompting rumors that something big is on the horizon, Anna Wintour sat down with Jonathan Tisch for a public chat last night. PETA members peppered the audience, heckling Wintour with shouts of "This woman skins animals alive!" Before they were removed from the room, Anna replied, "Fur is still a part of fashion, so Vogue will continue to report on it."
The discussion covered a number of topics, including the Internet — Wintour said that Vogue.com, which has been noticeably increasing in content the past couple of months, will "break out on our own" from Style.com next year. She also mentioned that Andre Leon Talley, who recently started a blog for Vogue.com, Talley Ho!, was initially dragged kicking and screaming to the Web, saying he wasn't into the modern world, but now loves blogging. Some highlights, including a hint at the next cover, from the chat — more at The Cut:
You've said it's time to move on from a job when you get too angry. Are you getting to the point where you're thinking about other options?
Well, mostly I'm thinking about the next day. I think that I have the best job in the entire world. To be honest, I don't think I'd be very good at anything else!
So will we be seeing more models and less celebrities on the cover of Vogue?
Well, tomorrow is another day. We'll never know. But we certainly do have a model tied to the next issue, yes.
Her favorite Vogue cover; how she hires at Vogue »
Wed, 05/06/09 — 10:14:30 AM
>> INSIDER WIRE —Hamish Bowles, who accompanied Marisa Bensen to Monday's Costume Institute Gala, crowned Shalom Harlow his favorite of the night and in the meantime set the record straight on her showstopper of an outfit: "the golden apple would have to be presented to Shalom Harlow, wearing a billowing black taffeta domino created by Bob Mackie in the eighties, over Olivier Theyskens’s black and scarlet beaded catsuit for [Nina] Ricci." [The Hamishsphere]
Wed, 03/11/09 — 02:10:51 PM
>> INSIDER WIRE —Frida Giannini made editors nauseous with her dizzying Gucci catwalk pattern back in Fall 2008, and at John Galliano this evening, it was a case of "toxic" fake snow that had editors gagging. It stung eyes and the chemical smell had Hamish Bowles, Grace Coddington, and Glenda Bailey, among others, covering their mouths and noses. What a travesty: Galliano gave "his packed front row a collective asthma attack." [The Moment Twitter]
*image: source
Tue, 03/10/09 — 01:18:50 PM
>> Anna Wintour has had a camera crew running around after her all throughout Fashion Month for a video profile on 60 Minutes, but during Milan Fashion Week, she also got some unsolicited camera time.
Italian fashion website Fashion Times approached her at least three separate times throughout the course of the shows, asking permission to interview with the camera already on. Each time, they were denied — despite her recent uptick in smiling for the camera. You'd think they'd have learned from the last time someone tried to interview Anna for YouTube — 2006's infamous debacle at Costello Tagliapietra — and the responses, though cordial on Anna's part, became increasingly less patient, starting with a "Can we do it another time, do you mind?" and by the third try, ending with an "I'm actually just talking to my colleague right now," as she pointed to Hamish Bowles.
Videos: The three ill-fated tries »
Tue, 03/10/09 — 12:48:03 PM
>> INSIDER WIRE —Apparently the new Paris Fashion Week calendar of eight full days of shows isn't sitting well with the fashion flock — many are "cranky" and "grumbling loudly," and the Vogue team, except for Hamish Bowles, is departing tomorrow, which means they'll miss Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton on Thursday. [WWD Twitter, The Moment Twitter]
*image: source
L'Autre Chose
Aminaka Wilmont
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