>> After Chanel's bow bootie, flowy skirted Spring 2009 ad teaser appeared earlier this month, the big reveal is finally here, and Resort 2008 face Heidi Mount is continuing her house reign. It's a fitting choice, since she opened and closed the Spring 2009 show. The campaign also gives us our first look at the interior of Karl Lagerfeld's newly purchased Vermont home, though unfortunately it looks like it was photographed pre-furniture installation.
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Heidi Mount
Chanel's Spring 2009 Mystery Girl Revealed
Karl Lagerfeld's Influence in Olsen's Book: Models Who Don't Talk
>> Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's book, Influence, doesn't come out until Thursday, but The Cut got an advanced copy — an advanced look at all the interviews the Olsens conducted for the book — among their subjects are favorite designers Francisco Costa, Diane von Furstenberg, John Galliano, Christian Louboutin, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Giambattista Valli, favorite photographers Peter Lindbergh and Terry Richardson, plus pictures by Rankin of the interviewees and their work.
Needless to say the Olsens didn't leave out their favorite Karl Lagerfeld — The Cut excerpted parts of his interview, including his views on models:
KL: [N]owadays you start to model because you're young. Now the girls are sixteen, seventeen, fifteen, and Russian. They are like from another planet.
AO: They can look very bizarre!
KL: I hate all these tall women. They are all giants!
MKO: If only I were a little taller — that would make me happy!
KL: You are one meter fifty-one. You are taller than that?
AO: We're five feet and one inch.
KL: Oh, I thought my office told me that you were four-foot eight or something. Not that it matters. What you need is a face. If you have a face you don't need height or a voice. Models know this; that's why the good ones don't need to talk much.
KL: I like to work with models for a long time. Sometimes the girls change, but some girls I work with for years and years.
Enlightening, perhaps, since some think the Chanel Spring 2009 campaign will host not long-time Chanel girl Claudia Schiffer but either Heidi Mount or Russian model Sasha Pivovarova . . .
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Heidi Mount Grabs Chanel Resort 2008, Maybe Spring 2009 Too?
>> Karl Lagerfeld has a new favorite blonde, and her name isn't Claudia Schiffer. Meet Heidi Mount, who opened and closed Chanel's Spring 2009 presentation and is now appearing in the house's Resort 2008 campaign, shot by none other than Lagerfeld himself.
Rumors are flying that after three Claudia Schiffer campaigns (Resort 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008), Karl Lagerfeld is ready for some new blood — and Heidi might just be the right choice: He did personally give her some freebies after the Spring 2009 show, after all, and the Resort campaign portends well.
It does seem plausible that Karl would be ready to switch it up, he tends to use a different model every year (Claudia for 2008, Freja Beha Erichsen did Fall 2007 and Spring 2007, and before that he really liked Daria Werbowy, who did Spring 2005, Fall 2005, Spring 2006, and Fall 2006). So if the pattern continues, and Heidi is the girl — that means she would not only do Spring 2009 but be a likely contender for Fall 2009 as well. Two seasons at Chanel would be quite the grab.
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>> A LITTLE TURN ON THE CATWALK —Sure, we've already seen our fair share of model trips, stumbles, and falls this season, but can you blame them? Heidi Mount had to walk on an entirely broken heel at Doo.ri (left) yesterday, and this afternoon, Atuai Deng hobbled along on a Manolo Blahnik at Juan Carlos Obando with a stiletto heel that had warped into a 45 degree angle . . . [ONTD_FF]
Rodarte Spring 2009: Making It Big
>> When Natalie Portman comes to the show, Keira Knightley hits up the after party, and Anna Wintour brings Bee — who usually only goes to Marc Jacobs and Proenza Schouler — along, you know Rodarte is really starting to make it big. Even Vogue Italia's editor-in-chief, Franca Sozzani, had a little trouble getting in — apparently, she tried to follow Anna and Bee through the velvet rope, but the PR staff wouldn't allow it.
Onto the clothes: They followed the same thought process as the Fall 2008 collection, but with a few key changes — the colors, the shoes (those treacherous shoes, made by Nicholas Kirkwood instead of Christian Louboutin this season), and the leggings, which were leather instead of knit, and although they looked laser cut, were entirely handmade. Some think the look veered into Balenciaga territory, but me? I'm just enjoying the view.
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Preen: Pregnant with Pretty for Spring 2009
>> It's hard to imagine being pregnant and designing hot little minidresses for other women to wear, but when you're Thea Bregazzi, one half of design duo Preen, and those hot little minidresses happen to be what your label is known for, that's just what you do.
The heavily expectant Thea stayed across the pond in London while her partner in design and life, Justin Thornton, carried on with the label's show today. He carried it well — everything went smoothly, save a slight wardrobe malfunction for Anja Rubik and the confusion that ensued at the end of the show, when Justin didn't appear at the end of the runway and no one knew when to start the final applause.
As for the clothes, the dresses with intricate paneled cutouts and peekaboo zipper slats, the piquante shots of tomato red, and the sexily laced up pleated skinny pants came together for a more refined collection than we have seen from Preen in the last couple of seasons. Maybe Thea should be pregnant more often . . .
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Alexander Wang: Now Anna Wintour-Approved
>> Alexander Wang's sweat-inspired Spring 2009 collection, featuring shiny-faced models, was quite appropriate — yesterday had the fashion crowd dripping from heat, and today, Tropical Storm Hanna blew in just in time for Alex's show.
Not that the weather would keep anyone away; Anna Wintour attended Alex's show for the first time ever — a symbol of his quick rise. As the lights went down, the sunglasses went on, and she only broke pose a couple of times — once to consult Virginia Smith's program, and the other to fiddle with her BlackBerry.
The show was definitely a different experience, now that Alex has moved on from Erin Wasson, collaborating with stylist Alastair McKimm instead, but all of the classic Wang elements — zippers, leather, a slouchy, downtown feel — were all there. The only major slip up was at the end, when all the models — stellar cast, I might add (Jourdan Dunn!) — took their final tour and got stopped up returning backstage. We're talking line of models, basically at a standstill, at the end of the show. Alex skipped out, did his usual jump and punch the air routine. And then Anna ran out.
To get the full experience, check out the runway video on Elle.com.
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Rag & Bone Goes Rock & Roll for Spring 2009
>> Take working-class fashion, add a pinch of Joy Division, and you've got the inspiration David Neville and Marcus Wainwright were drawing on for their Spring 2009 collection. The Rag & Bone show changed venues this season from the upscale Cipriani to the more hard-edged Pier 94 — a change from polished to slightly edgy that you could also say was reflected in the clothes.
Black wraparound leather belts with threateningly sharp silver spikes accented so many of the looks, and are sure to be a must-have — but even the typical Rag & Bone tweedy suits were rock-n-rolled up with a leather mini, like Julia Dunstall's closing look, or a silvery silk sheen, like Jessica Stam's blazer.
The model cast was full of high notes — stalwarts like opener Sasha Pivovarova or Coco Rocha — and the coveted new girls like Aline Weber and Liu Wen. Arlenis Pena was there too: she's had a big day, between being named as the new face of Lancome and slipping up at BCBG this morning.
To get the full experience, check out the runway video at Elle.com.
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Karl Lagerfeld: Still Bobbing Along for Numero September 2008
>> Two things are for sure: Karl Lagerfeld is still loving black and white photography and those bobs — he's used them for his Fall 2008 Chanel couture show, the Fall 2008 Fendi ads, the Fall 2008 Chanel ads, and now he's put Karmen Pedaru in one alongside Heidi Mount and Vlada Roslyakova. The three girls feature in "La Couture," a film noir-inspired couture editorial he photographed for Numero #96. Don't worry, it's not all Chanel couture, but those three must be his go-to couture girls — they seem like Karl's types, and they were all in Chanel's most recent couture show.
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Gap Goes With Models, Awkward Photoshopping
»A Spring 2008 Gap ad features Chanel Iman, Julia Stegner, Coco Rocha, Du Juan, Vlada Roslyakova, Anja Rubik . . . and a shoddy Photoshop job [ONTD_FF]
»Is Lily Cole edging Kate Moss out at Rimmel? [The Cut]
»An unnamed male designer had a face-lift gone wrong last year [Page Six]
»Models had to practice walking on a simulated dirt runway before doing Givenchy Fall 2008 couture [Style.com]
»A first look at Heidi Mount in Bally's Fall 2008 campaign [FWD]
»Meredith Melling Burke wears a mustache! [Fashionista]
»The full Richard Chai for Target collection [FabSugar]
»Roberto Cavalli: Taking his company off the market [The Cut]
»Calvin Klein may be using Kirsten Owen, Guinevere van Seenus, and Agyness Deyn in a new CK One campaign [Fashionista]
»Full Givenchy and Loewe Resort 2009 collections [Style.com, Style.com]







