fashionologie

Sophie Theallet Takes Home 2009 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Win

fashionologie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:48:45 -0800

>> Last night, with the help of keynote speaker Alber Elbaz, who doled out gems on the perils of success - "It's like a bottle of perfume. You smell it, you don't sniff it or drink it" - Alaia veteran and Michelle Obama favorite Sophie Theallet took home the 2009 Vogue/Fashion Fund prize of $200,000 and a year of mentoring. Fellow nominees Patrik Ervell and Monique Pean were named runners-up, and received $50,000 each plus a business mentor.

In her speech, Anna Wintour said that in addition to the US, Italy, and the UK - which just started a similar talent-nurturing program - she just met with the French minister of culture about mirroring the contest there. "And Brazil, India, Russia, and China aren't far behind."

Theallet Tweeted of her win: "my american dream comes true tonight thanks and much love to all of you!xox." Cathy Horyn, too, weighed in on the choice:

"The money and the mentoring will help Ms. Theallet because she needs to be able to offer more range in her collection, as well as expand her production options. She has such a distinctly feminine eye, and the skills, that I’ve often wondered why a big retailer doesn’t ask Ms. Theallet to design some blouses and summer dresses for them, using the store’s resources and manufacturing connections."

Videos of the nominees going through the competition and the awards ceremony last night can be seen here and here, respectively.

fashionologie — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:41:53 -0700

>> Vogue Cover Possibility for Rachel McAdams? - Is an upcoming Vogue cover - perhaps the January 2010 cover - in order for Rachel McAdams? She sat next to Anna Wintour at Alexander Wang today, then between Sally Singer and Virginia Smith at Altuzarra before heading to Boy/Band of Outsiders. Her next big movie, Sherlock Holmes, comes out Dec. 25, so a January 2010 cover would be right if it's in the cards . . .

More Details from The September Issue Vogue Documentary Featuring Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington

fashionologie — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:49:01 -0700

>> Despite screening in January at the Sundance Film Festival, details on Vogue documentary The September Issue - with the exception of a short clip - have been kept largely under wraps. A group of British fashion insiders who have seen the 90-minute special are under strict embargo not to discuss it until it is screened at the Edinburgh festival on June 22, and the movie doesn't hit theaters until September 11, but Fashion Week Daily got their hands on a screener and has plenty of details on the film, which features Anna Wintour, the "pope" as Style.com's Candy Pratts Price calls her, and creative director Grace Coddington, or "without question, the greatest living stylist there is," according to fashion news and features director Sally Singer. The highlights, as relayed by FWD:

Anna's apparently not a fan of black . . .

"I wonder if Anna would like this one?" Grace Coddington muses, flipping through pieces. "It's black," someone points out. "That's true," Grace says. "You'd get fired for that."

. . . And perhaps not Stefano Pilati, either?

We watch her drop in for walk-through with Karl Lagerfeld and Stefano Pilati, with whom she is surprisingly (not so surprisingly?) short. What, no color in this collection, Stefano? No evening?

But she pushes for more Olivier Theyskens/Nina Ricci representation in the magazine.

Mario [Testino]'s film from the cover shoots comes back, and Anna is not pleased. There aren't enough clothes, there isn't enough Nina Ricci, and where are the Colosseum shots? She looks through the cover options, and leaves a note on one, where Sienna [Miller] is flashing a grin: "like this best, but teeth."

Terrorizing assistants, angering Grace, and what's next for Bee . . . »

Vogue's Sally Singer Shows Off Apartment, Discourages "Yo-Yo Dieting"

fashionologie — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:00:48 -0700

>> During New York Fashion Week in February, Vogue's fashion news and features director Sally Singer allowed Atlantic Monthly editor Benjamin Schwarz to follow her around for a piece in the magazine's June 2009 issue. And more recently, she consented to being photographed in her eclectic Chelsea Hotel apartment by photographer Todd Selby. Between the two features, a nice look at the inner workings of Sally Singer, who thinks that women should "buy less, but buy better . . . the world does not need more things.”

In fact, she only bought one dress this season, at Barneys - a cocktail dress by Isabel Toledo, who "make[s] a garment that lasts" - and says that her idea of a stylish woman is one who “wears great things from five years ago, 10 years ago.” She discourages trend-driven, recreational shopping - “yo-yo dieting of clothes buying”; Speaking at a “Conscientious Consumption” panel, Singer told the audience the current economy made her "quite optimistic, " because it has made women think, “My God - why did I need all this stuff?”

And she hopes that consumers become more conscientious: “Things that are very expensive can be very expensive for just the right reasons - because they were made beautifully by someone who really gave a lot of care to the design and by people who were fairly paid along the way to execute something that was rather difficult. Those prices that often seem high are fair prices.”

In fact, she admires Michella Obama's approach, because the First Lady doesn't favor the biggest or trendiest names, and doesn't chose pieces tied to a “look” or a “moment.” She hopes that women see Obama chose to wear designers like Isabel Toledo, whose clothes are expensive because they're well-made and she pays her cutters and sewers well, "and they’re inspired to do the same.”

Below, Singer in her apartment.

Si Newhouse, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld Dismiss Vogue Replacement Rumors; Another Name Floated Around

fashionologie — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:40:34 -0800

>> After all the rumors on Gawker today that Anna Wintour was going to be replaced as editor-in-chief of Vogue by Carine Roitfeld starting in January 2009, Si Newhouse decided to put the talk to rest. After receiving a copy of the original Gawker item via fax in Europe, he denied through a spokeswoman that anything was amuck: "It’s the silliest rumor I ever heard. There is no truth to it."

When asked about the possibility of her mother Carine replacing Anna a couple of weeks ago, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld also dismissed the possibility: "I don’t know how that rumor started. She loves Paris too much - she’d never leave."

The general consensus seems to be that Carine wouldn't be a good fit for Vogue - unless there were some massive changes in the prioritities of ad sales, circulation size, and creative appearance made - but as for Anna being on the outs? Who knows . . . what executive would do anything but deny a rumor before he's ready for it to be outed?

UPDATE: Over at Fashion Week Daily, they've heard another editor's name floated around as Anna's possible replacement - British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, who as the clues indicate, trains the incoming Vogue editors and is "not too tall, not too short, 'deplores plastic surgery' and is sporting a fresh new fringe." My best guess for promoting someone within Vogue would have to ride with Sally Singer.
*image: source

ACE Awards Go Green for Stella McCartney

fashionologie — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:30:47 -0800

>> At last night's annual Accessories Council ACE Awards, Nicholas Ghesquiere may have been awarded Designer of the Year, Sally Singer the Marylou Luther Award for Fashion Journalism, and Tamara Mellon's Jimmy Choo the Brand of the Year, but Stella McCartney was awarded the most special treatment.

The designer, who was flanked by Helena Christensen, Coco Rocha, and Dean Koons and anointed with a new award, Green Designer of the Year, had her table completely set with salads while everyone else had "a decadent lobster plate." And out of respect for her vegan views, even her award - a Judith Leiber miaundiere - was made green, with a black hemp lining in leather's stead and no stainless steel plating. Such attention to detail kept Stella in a high mood - she joked as she accepted her award, "Little did I know that my award would be second to last and I would need to use the ladies' room after putting on my unitard outfit. But that's life!"
*image: source, source