fashionologie

fashionologie — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:29:45 -0700

>> Valentino: The Last Emperor To Hit DVD Sept. 8 -Matt Tyrnauer's documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor, comes out on DVD just before New York Fashion Week kicks off on Sept. 8 and promises a slew of bonus features, including clips of preparations for a party at Valentino's French estate; a ski vacation in Gstaad; a peek into Valentino's Fifth Avenue home in New York as he gets ready for the Costume Institute Gala; and a look at Valentino's couture seamstresses in action. [FWD]

House of Style May Be the Beginning of a Career Change for Chanel Iman

fashionologie — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:07:13 -0700

>> In anticipation of her television debut on MTV's House of Style this weekend (more details here), we snagged Chanel Iman for a few minutes to chat about how she landed the coveted role of show correspondent (first peek at her in the show, left), her recent coup on the runway at Balenciaga, and about how she might have already landed a date to this year's Costume Institute Gala. It also sounds like she has a career switch in mind - but Chanel will tell you all about it herself.

How did your role on House of Style come about?

Well basically, they called my agency, I went in to meet with them, I did an audition with all the rest of the girls, and they called - I was waiting for the phone call, I was hoping I got it - but I was waiting for about three months. And when I got back from Paris - I was in Paris for ready-to-wear and did the whole fashion tour for Fashion Week - they told me I got it. I was really excited because it's just another way for me to express myself!

Tell me a little bit about your upcoming Gossip Girl appearance.

It's just experience - it was just for me to get an idea of what it would be like to be on set, to really see what happens since I've never been on a set before.

Are you looking for more TV appearances in the future then?

Yeah. I'm kind of slowing down on the modeling right now and I'm branching out to other experiences and interests that I have. [Ed. note: She told Teen Vogue: "House of Style is definitely just the start. I want to do television, film, music and designing. I want to do it all!"]

Now about that Costume Institute Gala date . . . »

The Emperor Valentino Reigns at New York Premiere

fashionologie — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:00:14 -0700

>> Last night, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti were in New York to fete the opening of Valentino: The Last Emperor - arguably their biggest Manhattan party ever, between the screening and the dinner for 200 of fashion's finest (including Anna Wintour, Anja Rubik, Jason Wu, and Chanel Iman) at the Plaza's Oak Room. The designer's six pugs Molly, Milton, Monty, Margot, Maude, and Maggie, who director Matt Tyrnauer has dubbed "the costars of the film," weren't present - according to Valentino, "they're getting some time away from me in Italy" - but maybe that's a good thing: Karolina Kurkova admitted, “they’re really not nice to everybody” and Gwyneth Paltrow agreed, calling the pugs "kind of mean."

When Giancarlo Giammetti was asked about his comment on film that the designer looked too tan, he was quick to explain, "We'd come from the beach, and we were about to show summer suits, and he just . . . it just seemed like too much. But it was one time, and one time only." And as for those rumors that he was back to helping out at Valentino for Fall 2009, Garavani denied having any hand in it, "No, not at all. Very far from the truth. I don’t think about it. I wish my assistants to do the best. It’s a big job, though, and to know my name goes on the designs, I want them to do the best.”

Meanwhile, the film seems to have already inspired at least one person - Zac Posen. "I wouldn't mind being followed around too for two years. It's all about having the right collaborators."
*image: source, source, filmmagic

Valentino: The Last Emperor Hits US Theaters

fashionologie — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:55:12 -0700

>> Valentino Garavani may have retired from fashion - or maybe not, there are rumors that he had a hand in the Fall 2009 Valentino collection - but either way, he's been a busy man promoting the impending US premiere of Valentino: The Last Emperor tomorrow, March 18, in New York. He does, however, say he's "extremely happy to have quit from fashion. All of the designers are doing the eighties. I hate the eighties. I did it, and I hate it. When I go to see my dresses of the eighties, I vomit.” Instead, he's appearing on Oprah, The Martha Stewart Show, receiving a Rodeo Drive Walk of Style award, and contemplating designing for opera and ballet.

As for the movie, Matt Tyrnauer, the documentary's director, promises "one explosion after the other. Valentino is very impatient. He’s a Taurus. He loves the drama. There are divo moments and there are tantrums, and a lot of them are directed at the camera. It’s sort of like a cross between a hurricane and a cyclone." Which made it interesting when he first showed Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti the director's cut: "It was not easy. To tell you the truth, they kind of freaked out. We had some healthy discussions and multiple screenings over the course of several months. And they have come to accept it."

You've probably seen the pug-filled trailer by now, but another clip is below, featuring Karl Lagerfeld telling Valentino after his show, "That's the way it should be done. Compared to us, the rest are making rags." After the movie hits New York, it travels to Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles - information here.

The clip! »

Valentino Garavani Uncensored

fashionologie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:53:38 -0700

>> In honor of the US premiere of Valentino: The Last Emperor today at the Hamptons International Film Festival, two more clips from the documentary, this time focusing on Valentino and his longtime business partner Giancarlo Giammetti, rather than the designer's pugs. Valentino pulls Giancarlo aside during the preparation of a show, angry: "Cheri, please, a bomb is going to explode here. Look at my hand shaking! I've been working for 40 hours straight." Giancarlo tries to remind him that the cameras are rolling, but Valentino says he doesn't care and threatens to quit the film altogether. As Giancarlo sums up their relationship, "To be with Valentino as a friend, as a lover, as an employee, you need a lot of patience." And patient Giancarlo is.

Valentino: The Last Emperor, and His Pugs

fashionologie — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:47:44 -0700

>> "I don't care about the collection. My dogs are much more important," Valentino Garavani exclaims during one scene of Valentino: The Last Emperor. The designer is supposed to be the star of the documentary, which is still making the film festival rounds, but from the clips that have appeared so far, his six pugs - Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie and Molly - seem to steal the show. One "little idiot," as Valentino calls her, urinates during photo shoot for the movie poster below, and all six get taken wherever their master goes, with dog butler in tow.
*image: source

Pugs gone wild, on film! »

fashionologie — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:31:55 -0700

>> INSIDER WIRE —If you're not yet convinced that Valentino: The Last Emperor is a must-see, here's another reason to watch: Valentino's six pugs — Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie and Molly — play co-starring roles, appearing on film as their dog butler brushes their teeth, sprays them with cologne, and dresses them in diamante chandelier earrings. [WWD]

Valentino's True Colors Fly in Venice

fashionologie — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:38:25 -0700

>> Today, Valentino: The Last Emperor, Matt Tyrnauer's fly-on-the-wall documentary that follows the designer from June 2005 to June 2007, debuted at the Venice Film Festival. Valentino favorite Natalia Vodianova was in attendance, and Valentino successor Alessandra Facchinetti even showed up for support.

The designer says that during filming, he didn't try to hide anything from the cameras, even when he got into a disagreement with his longtime business partner Giancarlo Giammetti:

When I work and I create, I am not very approachable. To . . . know everything I say was being recorded did irritate me. There were moments of anger, when somebody says something that I don't like, but I was completely myself from the beginning to the end and nothing was edited.

Director Tyrnauer praised Valentino for his willingness to be "wired" for two years and allowing himself to be depicted on film "warts and all," adding that there were very few times when he asked that the cameras be turned off: "They only screamed at us occasionally and we put most of it in the film."

One such moment? When Valentino, exasperated by the chaos backstage at one of his shows, proclaims, "People must learn that they have to follow me. They must be down on their knees in front of me!"

Valentino had no editorial control over the film, and apparently isn't always portrayed in the best of lights, but Karl Lagerfeld seems to think the world of his fellow designer: “Compared to you, darling,” he says in the film, “the rest of us are making rags.”
*image: source

fashionologie — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:54:27 -0700

>> INSIDER WIRE —Valentino Garavani to the Venice Film Festival: The big premiere of the Matt Tyrnauer's documentary on the designer, Valentino: The Last Emperor, debuts tomorrow night, and Valentino wouldn't miss the screening or the Vogue Italia-sponsored party afterwards. [Chic Report]