Tue, 11/18/08 — 10:24:42 AM
>> For its fifth anniversary, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund went with the obvious choice, naming Alexander Wang the recipient of $200,000 plus a year of mentoring last night. Vogue favorite Vena Cava and a less expected choice, milliner Albertus Swanepoel of Albertus Quartus, were both named runners-up and will receive $50,000 plus a business mentor. The night's keynote speaker, John Galliano, and his date Charlize Theron were seated next to Anna Wintour and presented the top honors to a teary-eyed Alexander Wang, who said his thank yous onstage as John Galliano rubbed his arm in comfort.
Top hats seemed to be the order of the evening — Julie Gilhart and John Galliano each sported one, the latter with a daisy chain, and Agyness Deyn had on a squished version — while carrot pants and one-shouldered dresses also received numerous nods. Plenty of models are already back in town from the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show: Anne Vyalitsyna came with Costello Tagliapietra, Maryna Linchuk with Rag & Bone, Doutzen Kroes with Irene Neuwirth, and Arlenis Sosa Pena with Rogan.
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Tue, 10/28/08 — 11:28:10 AM
>> Anna Wintour's words may have mended things for a few months, but ultimately, Peter Som has still decided to part ways with Bill Blass.
Som left the brand after his contract expired a week and a half ago to focus on his own label, and Prabal Gurung, longtime second-ranking design director at Bill Blass, will be working with the existing team to produce the Fall 2009 Blass collection.
As previously reported, Som was unhappy with NexCen, the owners of Bill Blass, because he felt they couldn't financially support his creative vision; The Spring 2009 show was scrapped in favor of a retailer presentation, fabric vendors and embroiderers weren't being paid in a timely manner, and according to an industry source, NexCen "knew very little about how to run a luxury brand, much less rebrand one."
NexCen is still trying to sell Blass, a process that is taking longer than expected — just one more reason Som left. The delay in sale also caused some retailers to pass on the Spring 2009 Blass collection, due to all the uncertainty. For a brand that could use the money, that can't be good.
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Fri, 10/24/08 — 02:07:15 PM
>> After missing out on the Chanel Mobile Art opening and the Versace-hosted Whitney gala earlier this week, Anna Wintour was back in fine form — with Karl Lagerfeld at her side and Chanel on her person — at the Fashion Group International's Night of Stars last night. It was a night of family — Donatella Versace picked up the Superstar Award as Allegra Beck Versace looked on, Franca Sozzani was honored with her son Francesco Carrozzini in attendance — and friends — honorees Christopher Bailey and Francisco Costa brought Kate Bosworth and Ashley Olsen, respectively. Host Simon Doonan kept it light, at one point joking that Carla Sozzani had to make it back to the Marriott Marquis in time for a speed-dating session.
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Tue, 08/05/08 — 12:49:24 PM
>> Last night, Bravo aired a preview for The Rachel Zoe Project, and it turns out to be pretty "bananas amazing" — her words, not mine — in a guilty pleasure kind of way. The 21-minute segment features cameo appearances by Zac Posen, Donna Karan, Peter Som, Marc Jacobs, and Oscar de la Renta, not to mention the overload of dresses, shoes, bags, and jewelry panned and pawed across.
I could do without all the drama between Rachel's two assistants, Taylor and Brad, but the show definitely catches some moments that give you a look at the unstyled stylist: Rachel doing so much credit card damage on designer vintage, AmEx calls with a fraud alert; Rachel dealing with her studio flooding and waterlogging the bottoms of all the one-of-a-kind designer dresses she stocks; Rachel breaking down and crying while her makeup is being done. But she seems to think it's worth it: "At the end of the day, it's a pretty glamorous, fabulous life." The first full episode airs September 8.
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Full video preview after the cut. >>
Mon, 07/28/08 — 12:54:33 PM
>> The Peter Som-Bill Blass situation is rather turning into a Nina Garcia and Elle-like saga. The latest? Despite Peter submitting his resignation last week, he is now back in talks with Blass owners NexCen about the Spring 2009 collection, thanks to the orchestrative abilities of Anna Wintour.
She coaxed him back on board, "for the sake of the label," which is currently on the selling block, and is much more valuable with Peter Som at the company. A new retention deal was reportedly struck last Thursday; but Som can get out of his contract at any time.
The basis for all the unrest seems to be Nexcen's financial constraints: The company can't support what Som envisioned for Blass. However, the prospect of a Spring 2009 collection shown to retailers only is being tossed around, and if Blass is bought by a company that can lend better financial support, Som is said to be willing to stay.
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