fashionologie

The September Issue Premiere: All About Anna Wintour

fashionologie — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:57:50 -0700

>> Last night, Anna Wintour hosted a premiere of The September Issue (which opens Aug. 28 in NYC, Sept. 11 nationwide), and no one dared be late. Arrivals were scheduled to start at 7 pm, but Anna appeared and was joined (despite all the digs about her appearance she receives in the film) by September 2007 cover girl Sienna Miller promptly at 6:45 pm. Even Sean Combs and entourage, when realizing they were late, "sprinted across the lobby," the New York Observer reports.

Despite the general consensus that the film's true star is Grace Coddington, last night was all about Anna. Grace and Andre Leon Talley both avoided being photographed on the red carpet, and it appears that Vogue staffers were required to wear t-shirts for Fashion's Night Out (Anna's pro-shopping pet project) to the event. Grace did comment on her portrayal in the film, however:

I hate to say it, but true to life! A very annoying person. But it’s not really bickering. It’s a process you have to go through for the job we do and it just makes everything stronger. Whatever gets through is then very valid and very strong. I think they focused on me in the movie because I’m a bit more outspoken and because I don’t care about the cameras, I’ll say whatever I want to say and I won’t hold back.

Bee Shaffer, who attended in Proenza Schouler and reminded her mother to put on her sunglasses while on the red carpet (which Anna duly did), thought her own scene in the film was "so embarassing":

It’s funny because that was two years ago and I wanted to go to law school then and that’s basically all I’m talking about and now I don’t want to go to law school at all so . . . [I] still don’t want to work in fashion, that was never a possibility. Now I’d like to work in theater.

Marc Jacobs, who was apparently speaking with a French accent, had his own Anna tribute to share. "She’s a risk-taker unafraid of taking chances. She doesn’t suck up,” he said. “And she’s been very good to me on a personal level as well. When I was having some personal problems, Anna was always there for me. She’s very maternal and caring to people she cares about."

Burberry Brings Rain, A New Skyline Addition to New York

fashionologie — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:56:28 -0700

>> New York Mayor Bloomberg declared yesterday "Burberry Day," in honor of the lighting of the brand's logo atop its new US headquarters - watch a video of it going down here - and the weather complied with rain, appropriate for a brand known for their trench coats. "I was worried about the drizzle before, but now I love it," said Christopher Bailey, in town to celebrate. "It's all very English."

Christopher arrived to the unveiling last night with Lily Donaldson on his arm, who grinned and gushed about being "a Burberry girl" and "part of the [Burberry] family." He went on to explain what an honor it it is to have the Burberry logo lit in the first place: "It's one of only six grandfathered buildings in New York where you can do that, so it's a big deal for us to be able to affect the iconic Manhattan skyline, which I love."

The excitement seems to have made him chatty - he covered a range of topics, from admitting that he dyed his hair blue once to discussing advertising fees - like Mario Testino's, which runs $140,000 a day: "You’re buying talent. And I think talent never goes away with the changing economy, and talent is something we all need to keep nurturing."

Models (Hilary Rhoda, Helena Christensen) mingled with editors (Kate Lanphear, who apparently has dyed her hair black underneath, Amy Astley, Cecilia Dean) and it girls (Byrdie Bell, Alexa Chung, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Harley Viera-Newton), and the mix left at least one girl confiding that she didn't recognize Blake Lively - Lily Donaldson, who admitted: "I don't watch Gossip Girl. But you can't blame me. I don't even own a TV at the moment!"

The celebration seemed a success, except for skimping in one area. An alcohol shortage kicked in around 9:30 pm, leaving one guest unhappy: "That's the driest party I've ever been to." Same goes for Harley, Leigh Lezark, and Derek Blasberg, The Cut tweeted: "The party has run out of glasses, and the trio is displeased."

Hilary Rhoda, Like Gisele, Got Herself a QB

fashionologie — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:45:12 -0700

>> Now that Gisele Bundchen and her quarterback Tom Brady are all settled down and married, a new model-QB pairing is hitting the town. Hilary Rhoda and the Jets' Mark Sanchez, who met on a GQ shoot three months ago, are supposedly an item. It must mean something that she took her Twitter down when the news broke . . .

The three photos of them together from the GQ shoot, below.

Michelle Obama Fever Hits Models, Designers at American Ballet Theater Spring Gala

fashionologie — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:03:23 -0700

>> Michelle Obama attracted Ralph Lauren, Iman, and Anna Wintour front row as she promoted the arts with a speech on opening night at the American Ballet Theater in New York, and at the following Spring gala, she earned praise from another fashion fan - Francisco Costa, who arrived with Dree Hemingway. "She's proven that she has great sensibility, great tastes - she's feeling her way around and doing an amazing job." Costa has not yet had an opportunity to dress the First Lady, but getting there is on his agenda. "Of course I will try to talk to her! Why do you think I'm here? I bought a tuxedo for her!"

Sessilee Lopez, too, was excited to have dinner with Obama. "She is truly amazing in person. An aura just radiates from her. I'm so proud that she's our First Lady," she wrote. Coco Rocha and Hilary Rhoda also attended, in support of the evening's honorary chair, Carolina Herrera.
*image: source, source

WSJ. Magazine Names Hilary Rhoda Contributor, Takes New Direction

fashionologie — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:54:10 -0700

>> Now that the Wall Street Journal has closed their fashion bureau and fashion blog to put more energy into their luxury magazine WSJ., it sounds like they're trying to up the ante on the magazine's fashion spreads, which have been mocked in the past.

For this Sunday's edition, they named Hilary Rhoda a contributor for just this issue - she has a swimsuit spread, shot in Miami (behind the scenes video) that looks like it could be a Mert and Marcus-lensed Louis Vuitton or Eres campaign - to recognize that "the work models put into photo shoots is so much more than just looking pretty and posing for a camera," according to a spokeswoman, who promises via email: "[Hilary's] role is a sign of the new direction WSJ. magazine is taking! Expect to see creative and new contributors like this in the future."
*image: source

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld Launches First Photography Exhibit

fashionologie — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:28:11 -0800

>> Last night marked the opening of Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld's Louis Vuitton-sponsored, curated exhibit of three photographers and close friends of his - PC Valmorbida (boyfriend of Theodora Richards), David Mushegain and Salim Langatta. Both the party and after-party at Indochine (a Roitfeld favorite) were super crowded - the latter hit capacity and saw Carine Roitfeld dancing on the restaurant's banquettes. Sister Julia, girlfriend Lily Donaldson, and godfather Mario Testino were all in attendance, as were a number of other fashion folk - Lara Stone, Erin Wasson, Gisele Bundchen. And Carine was proud of her son's current career choice - according to Vladimir, it was his parents who pushed him to move to the US - "I don't know if he will do more shows or film, but when you try to produce things, it's a hard hard job, and I'm very proud of him. I'll be very happy if he becomes successful."
*image: source, source, filmmagic

fashionologie — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:19:54 -0800

>> THE MODELIZER -Outside of her Estee Lauder contract obligations, Hilary Rhoda makes a rare appearance these days - she doesn't have a showcard for the upcoming Fall 2009 season, so it looks like chances of seeing her on the runway are slim. She is, however, the face of Eres Spring 2009, and in the running for the as-yet-undetermined Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover - joining her inside the issue are newcomer Ariel Meredith, Cintia Dicker, and Anne Vyalitsyna. [ONTD_FF]

Video: A preview of her SI shoot in the Grenadines. »

Coco Rocha, Lily Donaldson, Hilary Rhoda Get Their Buttons Pushed

fashionologie — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:01:50 -0700

>> The Tents are loaded with plenty of freebies, but these might be the cutest - to go along with Fashion Week's election theme, someone took a page out of Henry Holland's book and printed model slogan campaign buttons for Coco Rocha, Lily Donaldson, Hilary Rhoda, Ali Michael, Jessica Stam, and Agyness Deyn. Apparently, Agyness has been seen wearing Stam's around, and Stam wearing Coco's . . .

fashionologie — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:39:58 -0700

>> THE MODELIZER — Yesterday, Hilary Rhoda joined her fellow Estee Lauder models Carolyn Murphy and Elizabeth Hurley to ring the opening bell at the NYSE. Today, a video popped up of a post-bell interview with ladies, featuring a very nervous, fidgety (but cute!) Hilary. [FoxBusiness]

Reporters Get Rhoda Rage

fashionologie — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:44:27 -0700

Hilary Rhoda with Carolyn Murphy, Elizabeth Hurley after ringing the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange; New York, July 8.
*image: source