fashionologie

Quote Of The Day: Plum Sykes Attempts To Define Topshop

coutorture — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:38:31 PDT

“

It is very cool, it’s very edgy, it’s taking like an Ossie Clark–type inspiration, which is a cool dress as opposed to a preppy dress...It’s very English in its treatment of dresses; it’s always dresses with the ripped fishnet tights and biker boots. Probably more what you would think of as the Lower East Side cool, but even beyond that, with the English eccentricity wrapped in. It isn’t like that sort of American Main Street brand, like a J. Crew or a Banana Republic, that is very much trying not to be too cool, do you know what I mean?

”"Will You Drop For Topshop", The New York Observer

he who laughs last . . .

philleif — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:02:00 PDT

>> The awesome caricature that The New York Observer recently ran, parodying the April 2008 cover of Vogue with Anna Wintour and Conde Nast owner Si Newhouse in place of LeBron James and Gisele, has a new owner.

Observer owner Jared Kushner gifted Andre Leon Talley the original illustration after purchasing it for somewhere in the range of $1,000-$10,000. Especially fun is the fact that ALT was bidding on the drawing himself, so he really did want it. Can you imagine it sitting, framed, in his office at Vogue? Or maybe it's a gift for Anna herself . . .

*image: source

fashionologie — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:59:50 PDT

>> Simon Doonan Leaves the New York Observer After 10 Years for Slate –Right before New York Fashion Week, the New York Observer has just lost Simon Doonan, a columnist for the paper for the past 10 years. Slate's chairman, Jacob Weisberg, has reportedly been courting Doonan for some time now, and he leaves on the heels of Alexandra Jacobs, the longest-serving editor at the New York Observer, who took a position as an editor at The New York Times's Styles section. Observer editor-in-chief Kyle Pope wrote in an email: "Simon has been a star of the Observer for 10 years, and he’ll be missed. But, as he said, it’s time for someone new to step up. We’re searching now for who that someone will be.” [Business Insider]

Carey Mulligan Selling Met Gala Dress on eBay and Vogue India Starts a Fashion Fund

Justin Fenner — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:22:26 PDT

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

Carey Mulligan will sell the gold-and-silver Prada dress she wore to Monday's Met Gala on eBay and will donate the proceeds from the sale to Oxfam America. The auction ends on May 19. Bidding started last night at $500. As of this post, the highest bid was $1,025. [The Cut]
Vogue India will follow in the footsteps of its sister magazines in the United States, Italy, and the UK by establishing a Fashion Fund to support young designers. The magazine wants Indian talent to be able to compete with incoming established Western luxury brands. [Material World]
Andrej Pejic was the only man to be cast in the Rosa Clara show during Barcelona's Bridal Week. Pejic has walked as many men's runways as women's runways and closed Jean Paul Gaultier's Summer 2011 couture show in a tiered wedding dress. [The Huffington Post]
Menswear blogger Lawrence Schlossman says he and friend Kevin Burrows are responsible for the cult Tumblr F*ck Yeah Menswear. Schlossman and Burrows had been running the blog anonymously since October 2010 but stopped posting when they were offered a book deal last November. [The New York Observer]
And finally, because it's Thursday, here's a picture of Karl Lagerfeld's cat Choupette playing with an iPad. [@KarlLagerfeld]

Billy Norwich Exits Town & Country; Alexandra Kotur's Successor Named at Vogue

fashionologie — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:16:28 PDT

>> With the influx of one Vogue alum at Town & Country - former style director Alexandra Kotur, who recently joined the magazine as creative director - out goes another. Billy Norwich, who left Vogue to join T&C a year ago as special correspondent, has exited his position in the wake of the Town & Country's January editor-in-chief changeover.

Norwich was told he would now be working exclusively as a writer by new editor Jay Fielden, who added, "We thank Billy for his contributions to the magazine during his tenure and look forward to publishing his freelance work if the opportunity presents itself.” Norwich for his part, noted, “Alas, there isn’t a web site yet to satisfy the urge to write more in real time so I think it is really time for me to do something out of the box."

Speaking of Kotur, her successor at Vogue has been named. 25-year-old Chloe Malle (left), daughter of Candice Bergen and the late French film director Louis Malle, will take the title of social editor. Malle previously spent a year as the residential real estate columnist at The New York Observer and has been freelancing for The New York Times for the past six months.

Guillaume Henry on Carven's Upcoming First Fashion Show and the Brand's Next Step

fashionologie — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:17:23 PST

>> In the course of four days, Guillaume Henry has made a whirlwind tour of personal appearances at Barneys in three different cities - San Francisco, Chicago, and then finally, New York yesterday - marking his first personal appearances in the United States since joining Carven as creative director in 2009. A former assistant to Riccardo Tisci, Henry is heading into his fourth collection for the brand - which for the first time, he will show during Paris Fashion Week in March. In between toasts from trunk show host Alexa Chung and chats with supporters like Sally Singer and new Barneys fashion director Amanda Brooks, we caught up with Henry to pick his brain.

Heard you just made your first trip to California! How was it?

I loved it there. It was super quick, so I definitely have to come back. The weather was amazing, the people were super friendly and supportive. San Francisco is a city with the good vibrations of a village. It’s fresh.

How long are you here in New York?

I arrived about three hours ago, and I’m leaving tomorrow morning. Quickest trip ever.

What's the first thing you plan to do when you get back home to Paris?

I have to go to the fabric fair. It started yesterday, and I’m going to be there for only one day, so I have one day to choose fabrics for next Summer’s collection. That’s something I’m going to have to do quick.

Any hints on the Fall 2011 collection?

I’m kind of superstitious, so I don’t talk about the Fall collection until it’s finished. I’m still working on it, and we’re going to show it in Paris in the beginning of March. We’re going to do a show - it’s the first time we’re going to put on a show. It’s not a proper show - you won’t expect girls on the catwalk, walking fast, but we’re definitely going do to it during fashion week. [It will be] a presentation - intimate, it’s all about intimacy. For me, we have to be close to the people, definitely.

What do you think is the next step for the brand, aside from a show?

We’re going to up our shoe line and our bag line - slowly, because it’s a real business. And I hope we’re going to relaunch perfumes, because Carven in the ‘50s was super famous for the perfumes. That’s something I would love to do, because it’s the smell of a collection, the smell of a house. I hope maybe in one year [we will relaunch perfumes]. And for next winter [Fall 2011] we will have lots of new shoes and bags - it’s going to be a proper line. And we’re going to be doing some of the shoes in collaboration with Robert Clergerie, the French shoemaker - it’s going to be a nice marriage.

Do you ever speak with Carven’s founder, Carmen de Tommaso?

Yeah! She’s 102 years old today, but I met her twice. The first time it was eight years ago. I did a contest, and actually the funny thing is I got the first prize. At the end of the day, when she offered me the prize, she said to me, ‘You have to understand now that I am your grandmother in the business.’ I couldn’t expect at that time that a few years later I would design [her] collection. And I met her two years ago at her 100^th birthday, and she was super nice - an old lady, but super nice.

Does she like the collection?

I have no idea. I hope that if she looks at it, she would find the DNA of the brand, because I really respect what she did with it.

What other shows are you looking forward to this season?

I’m looking at everything; I’m super interested in the job that I do, so I do have to look at everybody’s work and consider what’s happening. Commercially, I do have to consider what’s the reality in the streets, so I’m a real observer.

Who embodies the Carven woman for you?

I guess I hope Carven is a super democratic brand, so anybody would feel herself in our clothes. We’ve got girls like Rihanna wearing our clothes, girls like Emma Watson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore . . . older actresses, as well. I really believe that there’s no real small market about Carven. I would love to dress Natalie Portman, and I would love to dress older actresses as well - like Susan Sarandon - so it’s not a question of age.

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld Doesn't Expect to Marry Her Boyfriend Robert Konjic

fashionologie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:45:29 PDT

>> Julia Restoin-Roitfeld is now the owner of a lucrative, much-coveted Lancome contract - "I guess it’s any girl’s modeling dream come true," she tells Into The Gloss. But a few years back, she wasn't modeling, period - "not at all hoping for anything or thinking about it." Her chosen career is art direction, and she works with a lot of young designers on small budgets: "I feel that's the whole thing about New York; it's all about supporting each other. Designer, photographer . . . you don't need to choose anything, which is what I like, just being creative." But the modeling has paid off in more ways than one - when she's on set, she observes the set design and lighting: "I need to know this for my clients. Modelling is like a constant internship because I keep learning."

Speaking of sets, that's where her mother, Carine Roitfeld, first met Julia's current boyfriend, 36-year-old model Robert Konjic: "Maybe 15 years ago for his first job, a Gucci campaign. When she found out we were dating she found it funny. I mean, 15 years ago I was 15, so she would never have expected him to date her daughter." She's been with Konjic two years, but, Restoin-Roitfeld says: "I don't think he wants to get married again - he's done it and it didn't work out for him. I'm really close to my family, and I really want one of my own. But the wedding, it's not necessary for me." (Her parents, who have been together 30 years, have never married.) If it were to happen, she says, "I'd want the dress to be by John Galliano. He makes the most beautiful dresses with a fishtail. I wouldn't mind that in satin with long sleeves - it makes the best silhouette. I have him in mind." (This interview seems to have been conducted pre-Galliano scandal.)

Sally Singer's First T Cover Subject? Reportedly Mick Jagger

fashionologie — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 12:06:58 PDT

>> Sally Singer has spoken about her vision for T, but how does that vision translate? Apparently into a Mick Jagger cover, shot by photographer Max Vadukul for Singer's first issue - Holiday-centric, and out Dec. 5. Singer has also reportedly assigned a piece on autism for the issue - causing some to draw similarities to the New York Times Magazine's subject matter (as opposed to Stefano Tonchi's more stylized, ad-heavy take on the book), but when contacted for comment, Singer emailed from Paris: "I don't really feel comfortable discussing the holiday issue because it's still being put together and all sorts of things could happen." [NY Observer]

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld Planning Two More Art Shows, Including First in Milan

fashionologie — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:45:10 PST

>> Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld is working hard to make a name as a "curator" or "art tailor," as he reportedly prefers to be called - he's formed a company, Feedback Ltd., is renting an office in Manhattan's artcentric Chelsea neighborhood, and is hiring an assistant. All three of his art shows have gone down in New York City - two of them coinciding with Fashion Week - and next up, he plans to work again with artist Richard Hambleton for an exhibition in Milan, followed by another show with an as yet unnamed artist in New York, reports The New York Observer.

Despite growing up amongst the fashion world, which is, needless to say, enamored with the idea of exclusivity, Restoin-Roitfeld doesn't seem so taken by the concept when it comes to his approach:

“I was going to different exhibitions and it always had this feeling of a closed circle, and it was something very hard to enter for many. So I thought if I just did it in a different way, I could capture the interest of a different crowd of people. I just decided to rent very large spaces and invite a huge crowd of people and present art that I believe to be amazing and just make it more fun and open-minded.”

His ultimate aspiration and even a bit on Giovanna Battaglia »

fashionologie — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:38:18 PDT

>> Alexander Wang Reportedly Buys $2 Million Manhattan Apartment -On Monday, the same day as the CFDA Awards, Alexander Wang purchased a $2 million Tribeca apartment (one-bedroom, two bath with exposed brick and chef's kitchen) from former New York Times Style editor Holly Brubach, according to city records - a couple of pictures can be seen here. Wang last bought a $675,000 one bedroom loft in the East Village back in 2005, during his sophomore year at Parsons; he sold the place last September for $750,000. [NY Observer]