fashionologie

Christian Dior Channels Film Noir for Spring 2010

fashionologie — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:20:09 -0700

>> A soundtrack of heavy breathing, a telephone ringing, a gun-shot, and then screaming ladies kicked off the film noir-themed Christian Dior show. Silhouettes of gangsters holding machine guns were projected against a derelict warehouse set swirled with dry ice smoke as Karlie Kloss opened.

John Galliano told Hilary Alexander he was inspired by archive photographs of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogary in the front row at Dior shows: “She was a regular client of M. Dior and I loved the idea of taking that 1940s Hollywood glamour and making it more contemporary. And I liked the idea of the link between film as an illusion and the illusion of undressed dresses.”

The models' hair was coiffed like Bacall's, the shoes still had platforms - estimated to be 7" high - and the peekaboo lingerie was actually built in to the dresses. Naomi Campbell was expected to attend, but never showed, and Tanya Dziahileva finally made her first appearance this season on the catwalk. But the iconic moment, judging by Tweets, was John Galliano's finale strut down the runway in fedora and trench coat with metal collar, complete with dry ice and explosions.

Naomi Campbell: The All-Black Issue of Vogue Italia "Didn't Work"

fashionologie — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:59:59 -0700

>> Naomi Campbell, long a crusader for models of color - who also happens to be verging on her 25-year anniversary in the industry - is still frustrated with ad casting, she tells the Telegraph UK: "This year, we have gone back all the way that we had advanced. I don't see any black woman, or of any other race, in big advertising campaigns."

In the upcoming issue of POP, she expresses a similar feeling: "The black issue of Italian Vogue was great but I feel it was great for just a moment. It didn't work. You still don't see black models, ethnic models, and models from different cultures in advertising very much." She continues in the Telegraph UK: "That [Vogue Italia issue] made some noise, but, unfortunately, we are the same as before. People, in the panic of the recession, don't dare to put a girl of color in their campaign, full stop. Nor of any other race. It's a shame. It's very sad."

What could help? »

fashionologie — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:24:56 -0700

>> Karl Lagerfeld Likens Favorite Male Model Baptiste Giabiconi to Gisele Bundchen-WWD thinks the athletic male model is making a comeback. Karl Lagerfeld weighs in: “I think after the ugly skinny boys of Hedi [Slimane’s] days . . . some ‘beauty’ was needed, but new beauty." Baptiste Giabiconi, who is peppered all over Lagerfeld's recent editorial and advertising work, Karl likens to “a boy version of Gisele [Bündchen]: skinny, skinny but with an athletic body - good for clothes and great with no clothes.” Even Naomi Campbell, according to Lagerfeld, was envious when she met Baptiste in Moscow recently - she told him: “It’s not right: We all have defects. You have none.” [WWD]

Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Karen Mulder Meet Up with Designers for a Little Yacht Vacationing

fashionologie — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:53:56 -0700

>> It's that time of year: When designers take to their yachts and famous faces join them. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been tooling around in their boat for the past week or so, first with Eva Mendes and then with Jennifer Lopez, before joining Naomi Campbell and her boyfriend Vladislav Doronin in Capri for a little karaoke over the weekend. The holiday hasn't been all fun for Naomi, though: a photographer claimed she slapped him and hit him with her handbag in Sicily; her rep denies anything happened.

And over in Saint-Tropez today, Kate Moss and her boyfriend Jamie Hince took to a yacht called "Serenity" with Karen Mulder - who hopefully got her arrest resolved - and Stefano Pilati, who has a summer place in the area. They lunched at Club 55 and then took to a little impromptu photo session (NSFW) and topless sunbathing; this isn't the first time Kate has vacationed with a designer - last year it was Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone.

Miuccia Prada Descends, Naomi Campbell Causes Commotion at the 2009 Venice Biennale

fashionologie — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:35:43 -0700

>> The Venice Biennale contemporary arts exhibition attracted plenty of familiar fashion faces by last Thursday, but it wouldn't have been complete without an appearance by contemporary art patron Miuccia Prada, who obliged on Friday with a party courtesy of the Fondazione Prada. The opening was temporarily put off by torrential rains, but still managed to attract the likes of Marc Jacobs, Lorenzo Martone, Franca Sozzani, Carine Roitfeld, Carla Sozzani, and Dasha Zhukova.

Many of the guests then carried on to Francois Pinault's Palazzo Grassi, where Gucci Group was sponsoring a party in honor of L'Uomo Vogue's art issue. Naomi Campbell - who one observer noted was keeping a lower profile than at the Biennale in 2007 - joined the crowd, apparently making quite the entrance with boyfriend Vladislav Doronin and his bodyguards and causing one guest to joke, "Does he need them to protect himself from Naomi?"

Venice Biennale Overflowing with Fashion Figures and Their Families

fashionologie — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:09:06 -0700

>> Where art goes, fashion is soon to follow, and with the contemporary arts Biennale going on in Venice right now, there are plenty of designers, editors, and even models in town. On Wednesday, Olympia Scarry’s installation brought out Patrick Demarchelier, Vogue Russia's Aliona Doletskaya, and POP's Dasha Zhukova, as well as Justin Portman and Natalia Vodianova, the latter whose face was reflected in a luminated, aged sketch on display called Dorian Gray, by artist Dasha Fursey.

Naomi Campbell and boyfriend Vladislav Doronin stopped by a lunch for the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, and popped up again yesterday at the opening of Francois Pinault's new museum, the Punta della Dogana. Stella McCartney was there with husband Alasdhair Willis to support her financier in his new endeavor, as were Franca Sozzani and Marc Jacobs, always the fan of contemporary art, who apparently kept exclaiming, "This place rocks."

Meanwhile, down the river, Angela Missoni held her annual party on boyfriend Bruno Ragazzi's yacht. It was quite the family and friends affair: Angela's daughters Margherita and Teresa, plus son Francesco were all mingling, Franca Sozzani brought son Francesco Carrozzini, and Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld arrived with Carine Roitfeld, who neglected to follow the rest in taking her lace-up shoes off: "It would just take too long to undo them." Bee Shaffer was sans Anna Wintour, but Jefferson Hack brought fiancee Anouck Lepere.

Even those who aren't in Venice in person are there in spirit - Mario Testino sent one of his art consultants to scout the exhibition.

Karl Lagerfeld Hates Swans, Borscht, and Cell Phones, But Likes Naomi Campbell's Boyfriend

fashionologie — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:35:25 -0700

>> May was a whirlwind month for Karl Lagerfeld. He staged a cruise show in Venice, spent some time filming a ballerina while talking swans - "They are the meanest animals in the world, you know. I had problems with them as a child. They hate children. I was caught by one, so I know" - and how dancers are favorable to actresses - "Elena [Glurdjidze], she made everyone here [at the tutu fitting] happy today. And you don't get that from actresses, when they come, hmm? Elena has charm. Others, not so much. Don't ask me names."

Then, he finished up the month in Moscow - visiting the city for his first time ever on Thursday - for a presentation of Chanel's Paris-Moscow collection which first debuted last December; the show marked the first time a Chanel collection has been located in Moscow since 1967.

It must have been a short trip - he didn't even have time to do sightseeing at the Red Square and St. Basil’s Cathedral, which were near his hotel. “Moscow is a city I knew quite well without coming here because I’m an informed person - there are so many books, novels, photos, that in a way I know it . . . I have a feeling I know exactly what is in every museum,” Karl quipped. He explained that he prefers imagining a place to visiting it: "You’re never disappointed by your imagination, but you can be very disappointed by reality.”

"I'm a computer." »

fashionologie — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:11:28 -0700

>> INSIDER WIRE -It was appropriate that the same day Anna Wintour went on record citing preference for actress Vogue covers, the supermodels boycotted her main event. Well, apparently it wasn't just all about the Alaia snub: they felt that they should have had co-hosting duties alongside Kate Moss. Only thing is, Kate had the money to back her up - Sir Philip Green supposedly paid up to make it all happen. The Imagist warns about expecting another Vogue model cover anytime soon, but the editors over at Harper's Bazaar are supposedly at work recreating the iconic Peter Lindbergh motorcycle shoot with all the supermodels. [The Imagist]

Alaia Pulls Dresses From Costume Institute Gala After Exhibit Snub

fashionologie — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:55:21 -0700

>> Anna Wintour received criticism yesterday for co-opting the Met's reputation for her own means, but new Costume Institute Gala-related developments snuff out those complaints in a second. Seven models - including Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, and Linda Evangelista - were to wear Azzedine Alaia creations to the gala tonight, but the designer has asked them not to wear the dresses because his work, though strongly tied to a number of the supermodels' careers, has no place in this year's exhibit, save for one photograph.

As a result, Naomi Campbell - as rumored - plus some of the other (unnamed) models will not be attending tonight in a gesture to the designer. A spokeswoman for Campbell confirmed this afternoon: “As Naomi has been the muse of Azzedine Alaia for 23 years, she feels she doesn’t want to attend unless she can represent his work.” No word on whether Seymour and Evangelista will do the same.

Alaia blames Anna Wintour for the omission »

Naomi Campbell Still Has Three Phones, But Is Trying To Turn Over New, Calmer Leaf

fashionologie — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:30:14 -0700

>> Naomi Campbell still sees hitting out at racism in the fashion industry as her cause of choice, but she's also starting to reevaluate things on a more personal level. She's moved to Moscow with her "other half," Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin, she tells Giant in their May 2009 issue, and she's working on phasing out the behavior that has brought her a wild child reputation in the past . . . though she hasn't gotten rid of that phone - she still has three, each with a specific designation - UK-only, a Blackberry strictly for texting, and the last one for US calls.

"There comes a point when it all catches up with you and you have to deal with it. And that caused me to reassess myself and get real treatment for my anger and my addictions. Some people can handle a drink or a line of cocaine, but I've finally come to realize that for me, it's all or nothing - and it has to be nothing."

She blames her former modeling boss, Elite founder John Casablancas, for her bad reputation.

He had to attack me because I decided to leave. Models can leave agencies. I was not under a written contract. I was shocked to see how he acted. He started that first rumour (that I was tough to work with).

But now she's on the mend.

I'm in The Program, and I'm proud to be. I'm not able to drink alcohol. My body cannot handle it. The discipline of The Program has helped me in other parts of my day-to-day life . . . I wish I knew about it earlier, but I found out about it when I did, and life is good.

And she might even transition to motherhood.

If God blesses me to have a child, I'd be gratefully welcoming to that child. But I'm not putting myself under that pressure. I'm happy that my life is just what it is.
*image: source