fashionologie

Stefano Tonchi to Be Named W's New Editor-in-Chief?

fashionologie — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:44:37 -0700

>> All those rumors last year of T editor Stefano Tonchi jumping ship to Conde Nast were apparently not for naught: Just a day after it was announced that longtime W editor Patrick McCarthy would be stepping down, Fashion Week Daily reports that an announcement of Tonchi as W's new editor-in-chief is expected imminently.

As launch editor of T, Tonchi has propelled the magazine "into the ad-rev stratosphere," as The Daily puts it; he was previously fashion creative director at Esquire.

WWD, meanwhile, says it also expects a new editor-in-chief to be named quickly, and cites Tonchi, Carine Roitfeld, Katie Grand, New York's Adam Moss, and former Men's Vogue editor Jay Fielden as frontrunners, although none would comment.

Adriana Lima, Bar Refaeli, Laetitia Casta, and Elle Macpherson Add Voluptuousness to Louis Vuitton's Fall 2010 Runway

fashionologie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:56:04 -0800

>> Natalia Vodianova was front row yesterday at Louis Vuitton, but it was the cast on the runway for the And God Created Woman-themed show - after the Brigitte Bardot film - who demanded all the attention. After Miuccia Prada started the "womanly" casting trend this season, Giles and now Vuitton (both styled by Katie Grand) continued the idea.

Marc Jacobs's below-the-knee full skirts and bosom-baring scoopnecks were donned by opener Laetitia Casta, as well as Bar Refaeli, Noemie Lenoir, Lara Stone, and Catherine McNeil. Karolina Kurkova and Adriana Lima - both fresh off pregnancies - also walked, as did Lily Donaldson in her only show of the season. But the major closer: Elle Macpherson, who reportedly turned down Marc before rethinking and saying yes.

“Designers are always saying they’re going to do a collection for women, but then every girl on the runway (catwalk) is under twenty,” Jacobs said backstage. “I wanted a variety of ages and sizes. We set out to cast gorgeous women, women who feel happy to put their make-up on, get dressed up, get all their accessories.” “It’s a bit old-fashioned, I know, but I think it’s nice for a change.”

fashionologie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:33:18 -0800

>> LOVE Covers Popping Up - Katie Grand loves her multiple covers, and with the third issue of LOVE debuting just over a week away, cover images have started to appear. Models.com confirmed that the Janeil Williams image below is a cover, and LOVE posted a similar image - also by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott - of Lara Stone on their blog today, which is likely a cover as well. LOVE is on stands Feb. 8, Dasha Zhukova's much-awaited second issue of POP is out in two weeks. [Models.com, LOVE, @thepop]

The Word on Marc Jacobs Spring 2010

fashionologie — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:59:23 -0700

>> Marc Jacobs's Spring 2010 show is just a little over an hour away - and there's plenty of hints that have been going around. It's all front row again, according to today's The Daily, and Lorenzo Martone told The Cut it will celebrity-free: "I think Marc is really tired of the rock-and-roll thing, so it’s going to be very romantic. So: ruffles and prints and very kind of sweet.” Word a couple of days ago is that Marc was trying to convince some new faces to dye their hair black for the show, and The Imagist told us earlier today that it's supposedly not just black, but blonde, as well. As for whether the show will commence early, on-time, or late, Katie Grand "reliably" told Grazia that the lights will go down start 4 minutes late; that is, presumedly, unless Anna Wintour, who is coming from the US Open, is running late. [The Cut, Grazia Twitter]

Update: Supposedly the show is Geisha-themed. [Nylon Twitter]

The full play-by-play »

Alexander Wang Takes His Spring 2010 After Party to a Gas Station

fashionologie — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:09:29 -0700

>> Alexander Wang may have changed up his collection's look for Spring 2010, but he's not about to lose his street cred. He partnered with Katie Grand and LOVE, rented out a Mobil gas station last night, and brought a crowd - which included Trish Goff, Daphne Guinness, L'Wren Scott, Erin Wasson, Vanessa Traina, plus fellow designers Esteban Cortazar and Gareth Pugh.

Despite the fact that the station's gas tanks were drained yesterday afternoon and the venue drenched with nonflammable suds, cigarettes were verboten; nicotine-dependent guests were constantly reminded with "Please stop smoking!" announcements. To take their minds off those forbidden cigarette, there were performances by both Courtney Love, who told the audience she received (ironically) a carton of cigarettes and a pair of shoes to play, and Santigold; plus guests had a free run of anything in the station's convenience store: Bee Shaffer took advantage of the candy aisle.

Alexander, for his part, seemed to be enjoying himself - he chatted up Lily Donaldson and Frankie Rayder, got down with Hanne Gaby Odiele (below), and jumped onstage and into Courtney Love's arms during her performance.

Alexander Wang Evolves With Sportswear-Centric Spring 2010 Collection

fashionologie — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:16:58 -0700

>> Alexander Wang hinted recently that he was ready to evolve, telling W's September 2009 issue: "As soon as people get used to what you’re doing, you have to change direction." And evolve he did for Spring 2010: the look of his last few collections, with their body-clinging shapes and primarily black palettes, was replaced by a generally looser silhouette and all shades of khaki, tan, olive, and gray. He told WWD that Spring 2010 for him "is very much about classic American sportswear," and the idea is visible in pieces like a sweatshirt dress with football pad detailing (below) and all the shinguard-like socks cut out at the back of the calf.

But Wang didn't give up the sexy side of his label - there were plenty of bra tops, crop tops, and and lingerie-style shorts to go around. The house was unsurprisingly packed, with Katie Grand (Wang's after-party co-host), Terry Richardson, Olivier Zahm, Diane von Furstenberg (Alex's CFDA-appointed mentor), Erin Wasson, Devon Aoki, Liya Kebede, and Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin all front row. Frankie Rayder, Angela Lindvall, and Iselin Steiro walked, newcomer Mirte Maas opened, Karl Templer styled, and Wang's three styles of sunglasses debuted.

Fashion Week Tidbits: Gareth Pugh NY-Bound, Alexander Wang and Katie Grand Teaming Up, and Shalom Harlom Bartending at Organic

fashionologie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:15:40 -0700

>> New York Fashion Week is less than a week away, and the tidbits are flowing freely - a compilation of the highlights from the past couple of days:

Double (or Triple) Duty Presentations

Gareth Pugh confirmed that he will be showing a video directed by Ruth Hogben on Sept. 13 to "set the mood for [his] catwalk show that will take place as usual in Paris." After the private showing, he'll screen the short film in public nearby - get your name on the guest list via MAC's Facebook page. [Style File]
Temperley London is taking their interactive Spring 2010 multimedia presentation on the road for the second time, starting in New York Sept. 15 before evolving in format for London Fashion Week and then again in Paris, where it will become an exhibit. The film aspect, plus stills and a behind-the-scenes cut will be readily available online on Temperley's new website.

First look at Yoko Ono for threeASFOUR, and Karl Lagerfeld's attendance status answered »

David Bailey Joins Katie Grand, Peter Lindbergh in Reaction Against Airbrushing

fashionologie — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:27:25 -0700

>> Last year, there was a huge push for more diversity in fashion, culminating in the publication of Vogue Italia's all-black July 2008 issue. Unfortunately, attention on that issue has waned this year, even though there is still much work to be done; now, the issue du jour seems to be what has become a common practice among fashion magazines: heavy retouching.

Katie Grand, who while at POP was a huge proponent of the "super glossy" look, has since reigned in her reliance on Photoshop. Of her first issue of LOVE, which came out in February, Katie told Interview, "It's not so retouched. I just wanted to take pictures of iconic people without redrawing them." And she's continuing the tradition for her second issue, out Sept. 1 - she had Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (whose aesthetic generally lends itself to a good bit of retouching) photograph cover girl Coco Sumner as she walked in off the street, no hair or makeup. The Times UK wrote of that decision: "She is shrewdly tapping into the new spirit of the times - heavily airbrushed celebrities seem gauche and embarrassing during a recession."

David Bailey: "It’s f*cking ridiculous" »

Katie Grand Rolls Her Eyes at the Prospect of Replacing Alexandra Shulman at British Vogue

fashionologie — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:33:41 -0700

>> The second edition of LOVE comes out next week, and even though she just recently got married, editor-in-chief Katie Grand didn't have time for a honeymoon because she had to finish the issue. Katie is somewhat the antithesis of Anna Wintour in the so-called glamorous world of fashion: she doesn't feel the need to have every hair in place and she doesn't mandate high heels, like Vogue supposedly does.

“I’m really practical,” she recently told the Times UK. “I go to the gym most mornings and I walk everywhere, so that’s why I wear flat shoes and no make-up. It’s not vanity; it’s laziness. I didn’t wear make-up on my wedding day because I didn’t want mascara running down my face if I cried.” Also missing from the wedding? The traditional white dress. “I wore an Azzedine Alaïa brown snakeskin dress, which he tortured me for about two months to get into, but at least it’s something I can wear again. I didn’t want some stupid white dress; it seems like such a waste."

Food banned at LOVE's office? »

LOVE Goes for "The Young and the Reckless," Two Covers with Second Issue

fashionologie — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:56:45 -0700

>> Turns out the preview that hit the web early this month featuring a David Sims shot of Alex Hartley, a bass player from Birmingham, England, who Katie Grand "found on the Internet," is one of LOVE's two covers for its second issue, after all. The second cover comes courtesy of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, who did cover honors for LOVE the first time around, and features Coco Sumner, burgeoning it-girl and daughter of Sting.

Both cover stars are 18; in fact, most of the issue, which hits newsstands Aug. 24, is full of emerging celebrities and unknowns who are mostly under 21 - Allegra Beck Versace, Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Momsen among them. “The whole issue’s full of these kids, really, who are at that turning point of life when you’ve got no responsibilities, you’re quite free and everything’s exciting,” Grand told WWD.

Grand added "more words" to the issue, bringing on Isaac Lock as deputy editor because: “I always think visually, so it was really important that the words team was strengthened." As for how the magazine's holding up on the business end, there are 106 ad pages from advertisers like Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Chanel in the 296-page magazine. The magazine had 116 ad pages for its debut issue, but Grand said the issue had “exceeded the targets set” for advertising.