>> Julia, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld Relationship Updates —Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Swedish model Robert Konjic, who have been seeing each other since earlier this year, have been spotted all around London Fashion Week — the Temperley London and Showstudio parties yesterday and the Burberry show and afterparty today, where they were seen holding hands. Meanwhile, there's been speculation about her brother Vladimir's relationship with Lily Donaldson: he was photographed kissing Giovanna Battaglia last week at his New York Fashion Week exhibition, even though Lily was also an attendee, and he and Giovanna have been snapped together frequently recently. [Vogue UK Twitter, Paper]
Lily Donaldson
Derek Lam Brings Back the Color for Spring 2010
>> You would never guess that Derek Lam has recently had to address rumors of label mismanagement — he gave the Wall Street Journal a lengthy interview that could be seen as his way of responding in detail — because there was no storm in his Spring 2010 collection, only sunny, beachy lightness, an "ode to summer."
For his first time showing at the Tents, Lam decided to switch things up; he told Style.com: "I haven't done full-on color for a while, and it feels like the right moment now." He peppered a star motif throughout, studding wrap belts (one of which, unfortunately for Charlotte di Calypso, popped open halfway down the runway, leaving her to smile embarrassedly and hold her dress together the rest of the way), printed on dresses, centered in Dean Harris's earrings for the collection. And the finale was a set of pinup-style "deckside one pieces," not for swimming. Vogue's Elissa Santisi styled, Caroline Trentini made her season runway debut, and Lily Donaldson accompanied Lam for his bow, the two chatting and holding hands the entire time.
Alexander Wang Takes His Spring 2010 After Party to a Gas Station
>> 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.
Vogue Paris, Three Stylists Turn Out 65 Pages Worth of Models in Iconic Brand Looks
>> Some thought that Vogue Paris's August 2009 cover with Daria Werbowy all decked out in Burberry check looked too blatantly like an advertisement, but in the context of Inez van Lamweerde and Vinoodh Matadin's 65-page accompanying editorial inside — with a plethora of models, each embodying a different brand's identity — it all makes sense.
It's a few of the magazine's usual suspects — Anja Rubik doing Gucci's "glam star" in fauxhawk, Kamila Filipcikova striking an eyepopping McQueen silhouette — plus a few new faces like Regina Feoktistova and Ranya Mordanova in Gianfranco Ferre and Junya Watanabe, respectively. The trifecta of stylists that produced these images — Joe McKenna, Emmanuelle Alt, Carine Roitfeld — prove that there is creativity to be found within the bounds of a studio shoot, after all.
Full editorial here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; gallery below NSFW.
>> We May Have a New It Brit Girl On Our Hands —There's a ruckus over Londonside because Pixie Geldof, Daisy Lowe, and Alice Dellal just switched agencies from Select to NEXT; their booker at Select, Sarah Leon (who is their close friend and also started the careers of Alexa Chung, Lily Donaldson, and Agyness Deyn), also left and may be starting up her own agency. While that last part is speculation, one thing is for sure — Leon's next protegee is Tali Lennox, daughter of Annie Lennox, who we all may be seeing more of very soon, judging by her past success. [Grazia]
>> Kate Moss a No-Show at Glastonbury; Lily Donaldson There In Her Stead —No Kate Moss at Glastonbury this year — despite rumors otherwise — but Lily Donaldson was there to see Kasabian (after meeting them on a Burberry shoot) and Neil Young in leopard and a fringed bag; Jacquetta Wheeler, Theodora and Alexandra Richards, Valentine Fillol-Cordier, and Eliza Cummings all popped up, too. [Style.com, Style File]
Burberry Brings Rain, A New Skyline Addition to New York

>> 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."
Chanel Teases Venice Cruise Collection; Karl Lagerfeld Directs Short Film with Lara Stone
>> Matthew Williamson launched a trippy online-only campaign video with H&M earlier this week, but his is not the only brand that has recently become fascinated with online video. Chanel just posted the first teaser for their Cruise 2010 show, taking place next Thursday, May 14 at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Lido Resort in Venice.
Karl Lagerfeld, according to press release, chose Venice as the newest Chanel runway hosting ground because Coco Chanel visited the city in the summer of 1920 to promote her beach pyjamas and soak up inspiration. A symbol that may play into the upcoming collection? The lion — Chanel collected many lion figurines while visiting, as she was a Leo. Two more cruise teaser videos will be posted under Chanel News on May 11 and May 13.
The brand has also recently launched a video highlighting their pink and jade Fall 2009 accessories, with guest appearances by a number of models, including Chanel favorites like Coco Rocha, Eniko Mihalik, Lily Donaldson, Anja Rubik, and Jessica Stam. But the best video added to their library is "Fitting Room Follies," a short film done by Karl Lagerfeld with Lara Stone trying on the Fall 2009 collection (NSFW) — you can hear him directing Lara in the background over the music.
Highlights from Inside the 2009 Costume Institute Gala: Gisele Dumps Galliano for Versace, Carine Roitfeld Showed
>> Despite all the drama before and after, the Costume Institute Gala itself furnished plenty of notable and quotable moments; for those who were wondering, Carine Roitfeld did attend, even though it was reported that Julia Restoin-Roitfeld would not.
Gisele Bundchen pulled out of John Galliano's table at the last minute, choosing to ride in with the Versace camp instead; it sounds like she might be returning as the label's Fall 2009 face — the New York Times reports that her custom Versace dress "was conceived while she was modeling for [Donatella’s] next ad campaign." Helena Christensen, meanwhile, joked of her Zac Posen dress, which read "Vogue," the V formed by a plunging neckline: “It’s so I can remember whose party I’m at."
And while Kate Moss was on hostess duty (and presumably her best behavior) for Anna Wintour, she still managed to be herself, pulling a big wad of gum out of her mouth when asked about being a muse: “I’m amused. I think it’s quite interesting for somebody to go outside of the box and think that a model actually has had some input into fashion. A lot of the time, the models don’t really get a say.”
Gucci Taps Face from a Decade Ago, Flanks Her with the Usual Suspects for Fall 2009
>> We found out a couple of weeks ago that Frida Giannini chose nine models for the Fall 2009 Gucci campaign, and now we've got more details. Apparently the designer is quite taken with London and decided to have her usual campaign photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin do the honors in a north London studio; she's even picked to feature native Londoner and 1999-2000 Gucci face Jacquetta Wheeler (left, Fall 1999). “We’re in London, so of course I had to have an English girl.”
Joining Jacquetta in the campaign are Raquel Zimmermann, Natasha Poly, Freja Beha Erichsen, plus Myf Shepherd and Abbey Lee Kershaw, whose television commercial for the brand's Flora fragrance, which was filmed over four days in Latvia last July and created using more than 20,000 fake flowers, just debuted.
Three faces are left to be named — Lily Donaldson is likely one of them, since Frida likes to stick with the same girls and Lily has been in at least two of her campaigns. Plus, a Gucci spokesman advises that the upcoming campaign will be similar to past seasons, “a continuation of Frida’s Gucci generation."
*image: source






Bottega Veneta
Adidas
Debut