Wed, 01/27/10 — 01:01:52 PM
>> A year after Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli dropped their first Valentino couture collection — an ode to the archives — the designers have entirely switched direction. "We think that to keep a future in couture, it's necessary to bring a new customer who wants something cooler," Chiuri said backstage. Piccioli added, "We tried to make new strategies for going forward. To do that we have to experiment with new silhouettes . . . because we want to call the young girls. They can be new customers for couture because they want beauty, they want personalized things."
This injection of youth involved Alice Dellal walking the runway and sheer ribbon blindfolds created by Philip Treacy; the graphically colorful collection is already earning comparisons to Nicolas Ghesquiere's Balenciaga, with some terming it "Valenciaga." But Piccioli says the collection is "about a woman wandering in this beautiful Eden. It's a dream. Couture is a dream."
Wed, 07/15/09 — 12:37:29 PM
>> Isabella Blow, discoverer of Stella Tennant, Sophie Dahl, Hussein Chalayan, Philip Treacy, Alexander McQueen — and muse to the latter two — passed away at 48 a little over two years ago after ingesting weedkiller. The motive was suspected to be a recent ovarian cancer diagnosis; Blow had a history of at least two suicide attempts, one involving her throwing herself from the elevated Hammersmith Flyover road in London.
Needless to say, there's a story to be told, and two different biographies, both scheduled for 2010, are in the works, reports the New York Observer. The first, Blow by Blow: The Story of Isabella Blow, is co-written by Isabella's husband of 18 years, Detmar Blow, and author Tom Sykes, who first met Isabella when he was 20 and his sister Plum Sykes was her assistant at Vogue.
Anna Wintour will be interviewed »
Wed, 07/08/09 — 12:46:52 PM
>> Just as editors privy to a preview hinted yesterday, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli's second couture outing — for Fall 2009 — was heavy on the black, lace, feathers, and gothic look — "radical," in a word, for Valentino. As Elle's Joe Zee put it, "Not one piece of red in sight. It's a new day at Valentino. Hell, there was barely any long. Just wisps of fabric with bows and frills."
The show took place in an old convent, with the runway featuring moving images of smoke projected on screens. Philip Treacy contributed shredded veils especially for the collection, and though reception to the designers has been tepid in the past, initial reaction seems positive. Says Style.com's Derek Blasberg: "Ok, it was good. But so black! . . . Methinks [Valentino] would be proud." And Joe Zee: "Attention Hollywood starlets: Please wear short to your next red carpet. And please call Valentino for it. Short has never looked so chic."
Tue, 06/03/08 — 10:32:24 AM
>> Amidst all this hubbub about the upteenth return of the supermodels, Linda Evangelista has turned up on the June 2008 cover of Vogue Italia. She stars in "The Duchess," styled by Andrew Richardson and photographed by Steven Meisel.
It's not my favorite — a little too matronly — but how much does she look like Carolina Herrera in the bottom left photo? Also, how cool is the surrealist Philip Treacy hat she wears on the right?
For the full editorial, walk this way.
*images: source
EWA