fashionologie

Musical Chairs at Modeling Agencies As Supreme and Women Founder Paul Rowland Leaves for Ford

fashionologie — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:33:37 PDT

>> Last week, rumors of a major shift in the New York modeling agency setup floated around; eventually, it came out that Paul Rowland, the founder of Women Management and its Supreme offshoot, was leaving Supreme to head up the women's division at Ford.

According to Page Six's industry insider, Rowland, who sold the company which he founded in 1988 a few years ago, "had a huge salary there, but wasn't really getting along with management. So basically, he just left." Ford "cleaned house and canned everyone," says another source, to make way for Rowland and the agents he was bringing with him.

Caroline Poznanski, meanwhile, who ran Ford's women's division until Rowland's arrival, has been chosen by Supreme to take Rowland's old job. "It's one big game of musical chairs," reports the source. "There were rumors around that Supreme was just going to close, but instead they hired Poznanski and absorbed some other people who had been let go from Ford."

One booker notes: "The models at these places are in a tailspin. A lot, including [Ford girls] Chanel Iman and Jacquelyn Jablonski, don't know if they're staying or going. There will likely be a spate of lawsuits because both Paul and Caroline are trying to bring their girls over, but they have noncompetes in their contracts."

Some models have already switched »

Kate Moss Covered, Mario Sorrenti Uncovered for Purple Fall 2008

fashionologie — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:57:13 PDT

»Mario Sorrenti returns to his modeling days, Kate Moss days for the cover of Purple Fall 2008 [FAD]

»Jenni Kayne is pregnant, will be missing her Spring 2009 presentation [FabSugar]

»Anna Sui, staunchly anti-Forever 21 though she is, seems to have copied a vintage bag for production [Fashionista]

»Calvin Klein launches e-commerce [FWD]

»Who's more expensive: September Vogue or September Elle [Jezebel]

»Designers are increasingly using embellishments and high-tech fabrics to ward off knockoffs [The Cut]

»American Apparel to do shoes? [Fashionista]

»Avion Feminin launches lingerie [Style File]

»Kate Moss has backyard teepees that are causing problems [Daily Mail]

»More Spring 2009 show packages: DNA, 1 Model Management, Women, Trump [Of the Minute]

Pamela Love Is Clawing Her Way to the Top

fashionologie — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:00:53 PDT

»On the rise: Pamela Love, whose claw bracelets appeared in the Fall 2008 Gap ads, and who is collaborating with Marchesa for Spring 2009 [The Cut]

»Does Jane Mayle already have placement at another, larger label? [The Pipeline]

»Preen, Roksanda Illincic, Marios Schwab on their Spring 2009 inspiration [Dazed Digital]

»Diane Pernet is launching a touring fashion film festival [FWD]

»Siri Tollerod stars in a really over-the-top Harajuku Lovers commercial [Fashionista]

»Julia Stegner has moved from Women to IMG [Chic Report]

»New York Models Show Package [Of the Minute]

»Alison Lewis, formerly of Mooka Kinney, to launch solo line [The Pipeline]

Bestselling Author Tyra Banks Has Considered Producing Food and Doing Spas

fashionologie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:10:19 PDT

>> Tyra Banks says she "got a little alopecia from the stress" of writing her debut young-adult book, Modelland, but it's panned out for her - the novel is now topping bestseller lists.

Banks, who early next year will complete the owner/president/manager program at Harvard Business School, tells the Wall Street Journal the classes have helped with the direction of her business: "Professors explained to me that focus is great. Being the biggest and having your foot in a bunch of things is not necessarily the best thing. So I came back and focused the message of my company ... I said, "If it's not about expanding the definition of beauty and making women feel physically and emotionally better about themselves, then we're not doing it." We put away ideas to produce food. I've been approached to do real estate with homes geared toward first-time women buyers, spas, all kind of stuff, and we put those ideas away, too."

She also seemed to be fully comfortable with her career growth: "I've found that I enjoy being at a business meeting more than I enjoy being on a photo shoot. And I can lead a meeting better."

Manolo Blahnik Makes a Comeback, Is Again in Demand

fashionologie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:29:37 PDT

>> After being overtaken for a few years by Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik is back in the spotlight. Recent deliveries of a particular Manolo pump sold out so fast, Bergdorf Goodman had to institute a waiting list. “Manolo’s shoes are very much in the spirit of this moment’s clothes, pared down, with simple lines, and I hate to say ladylike, but classic,” said Linda Fargo, SVP for women’s fashion at the store.

“We do a very, very strong business in his shoes,” added Jonathan Joselove, SVP and merchandise manager for Neiman Marcus, noting that the stores have difficulty keeping certain Manolos in stock.

As the New York Times points out, Kate Moss wore a classic pair of Manolos for her wedding this past Summer, and Sarah Jessica Parker was shot exclusively in the Blahnik BB pump in the August issue of Vogue. “I walked in [for the shoot] and looked around and saw all these shoes, and then I spotted the Manolos and it was like water in a desert,” Parker explained. “I was just so excited to see a simple black pump.”

Of Louboutin's more embellished shoes and signature red soles, George Malkemus, president of Manolo Blahnik USA, says: “It was a chic idea for a minute. You wore a red sole, and everyone knew you spent $1,200 or $1,400 for your shoes. And I would say there was a period when certain customers abandoned us and moved into that world.” But, as Blahnik himself added last week: “The gimmicky thing I’m not very keen on. I’ve never been tempted to do these hideous furniture shoes.”

fashionologie — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:26:17 PDT

>> THE MODELIZER -If a modeling comeback is in order, there's no better way to do it than by opening a Marc Jacobs show. Jamie Bochert, who was big back in the early 2000s until she took a break to focus on music, was asked personally by Marc to do his Spring 2009 show - and now she's fully back in the game, with new representation by Women. [Women Blog]

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Talk John Galliano, Full-Fledged Runway Shows, and Twitter

fashionologie — Thu, 26 May 2011 12:44:12 PDT

>> Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are wary of the press - and they keep their presentations for The Row very intimate, in part because, Ashley says, "I don’t like being around a lot of people." But they sat down with Style.com recently to talk lengthily about everything from Twitter to that moment when they first genuinely burst on the fashion scene - when they started going to NYU. Of that time, Ashley says of their highly-layered "bobo chic" looks: "That moment for us was us waking up, going to school, and not wanting anyone to take our picture. Kind of a piece of protection." And Mary-Kate adds: "For me, it was so cold, like the wind chill. How could you not put on 20 things when you’re going from Los Angeles to walking through the snow? . . . I think it was probably that. And laziness." More highlights from the interview, below.

On hanging out with other designers: A: "I mean, honestly, I don’t leave my house." MK: "We’re either here or at the house." A: "I’m friendly with a lot of people, but when it comes down to it, you won’t see me actually in that [scene]."

On joining Twitter: A: "That gives me so much anxiety." MK: "We’ve spent our whole lives trying to not let people have that accessibility, so it would go against everything we’ve done in our lives to not be in the public."

On doing a full runway show for The Row: A: "I really don’t like going to runway shows. I don’t like being around a lot of people, I don’t like being in crowds, so that’s another more personal part of it. It’s hard for me . . . [But] there are a couple of shows that I’ve been to that are just stunning . . . so if you’re going to the right thing at the right time, it can be fantastic." MK: "We just feel bad for all of you guys who have to schlep everywhere and then write your reviews in the car on a BlackBerry."

On selling one of their brands to a fashion conglomerate: A: "I think it depends on the brand. Right now we have no plans for anything. The main thing is we’re really focused on making the strongest brands we possibly can at the moment, and we’re just getting into accessories."

On why their Spring 2011 presentation for The Row got canceled and moved to Paris: A: "Samples were really delayed based off of new techniques we were using, and we decided instead of putting a halfway thing together and rushing through it, to move it, and we were fortunate to be able to move it to Paris. Thank God for our team. Everyone pulled together, and we were able to deliver a beautiful presentation in Paris . . ."

On the design process for The Row: A: "It all starts with the fabrics . . . Then we go into kind of silhouette development, so we start figuring out our silhouettes, what we’re liking, what we’re leaning towards, an evolution of the previous season, certain pieces, so it really starts with this stylized proportion. Then, through that process, we start our pattern making off the silhouettes that we’re liking and the consistent themes that we start finding, the shapes. So we start twisting the fabrics and then we start trying different fabrics and patterns. And once we have all the fabrics, we have about three weeks to produce the collection."

On The Row's brand consistency: MK: "If you go through our entire collection, you’ve seen it all before. Meaning, pieces repeat. That fur T-shirt, for example, that’s this T-shirt [points to plain one she’s wearing] from a couple of seasons ago, so it’s always consistent. It’s just about how we can evolve and also give the option to either buy this version or that version, creating a story."

On their long hours spent managing multiple brands: A: "I don’t think it’s the creative process that has ever gotten to us. More than anything, it’s about trying to find balance with work and how we can personally stay balanced while having our corporations grow, and I think that’s been the biggest thing that we are constantly aware of. We have to put boundaries on scheduling. We work crazy hours every week, so it’s been more about figuring out when we need to put our foot down. 'We can’t add this extra meeting. It’s one too many meetings in a day; push it later.' So it’s been about that. And with The Row, it’s about how to elevate the process with growth without putting too much on the overhead."

On being women designers: A: "I think the way being women has helped us in our designs is that we do a lot of research on what women like, what women don’t like."

On whether there will be more women designers in the future: A: "It doesn’t seem that way. Like when you look at the up-and-coming designers, there’s not a lot of women."

On John Galliano: A: “I think he’s an amazing designer.” MK: “I think he’s a brilliant designer.”

Alexander Wang on Tweeting, His Bestsellers, and the Upcoming Costume Institute Gala

fashionologie — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:25:39 PDT

>> Alexander Wang's New York flagship is just over a month old, but it sounds like there's been no shortage of shoppers passing through. Within a week of opening, he told us, some of the bags had already sold out. Late last week, the designer threw an exclusive shopping event for American Express cardholders - to encourage a few more shoppers to do some damage - and took a minute to chat with us about his upcoming trip to Coachella, whether or not we might see him Tweeting, and what he's currently excited about. Also, for those who haven't been able to make the store in person, Wang just posted a behind-the-scenes video documenting the making of the store, in which he describes his ideas and inspiration for the space.

You guys have had such good luck with awards! The Swiss Textile Award, the GQ Menswear Award a couple of months ago, and now three CFDA Award nominations . . .

I always say that I really owe it to my team and I share it with everyone that I work with, because they really are the ones that make it happen. Yeah, it’s my name on the door, but I could not have done it without my entire team.

And you just recently started a Twitter - can we expect to see you Tweeting at all?

Yes! They actually just taught me how to use it, in terms of signing up and actually posting things. Right now, it’s been a collective [effort]. We want to be very mindful in terms of what we want to put on there - making sure it’s only the best news and the things that people really, really want to pay attention to, to make it have good value. But yeah, definitely. I don’t know, I’m going on some big trips, and then maybe I'll . . . something will come up . . . whatever it may be. Maybe tonight!

Are you going on these big trips for inspiration hunting?

Yes, I’m going to Coachella . . . my yearly retreat. I’m going with friends, four of us. We’re renting a house for the first time, actually - I usually stay at a hotel. I stayed at the Ace [Hotel in Palm Springs] the first time, and that was so far [away from the festival], and then I stayed at another hotel last year. This year we were like, we’re going to rent a house so we can play music at night when we get back and not have people complaining about it, so, yeah.

Anyone you’re really looking forward to seeing at Coachella?

Yeah, Kanye’s headlining, so I’m really excited, and Lauryn Hill’s going to be there. I don’t know, I feel like I always . . . I don’t really care who’s performing, I’m always just like: for the experience, I want to go, and then when I get there I plan out my day . . . you know, see who’s going on. But just those two [alone], it's worth going for.

What has sold well in the showroom and during buyer's appointments from your Fall 2011 collection?

Oh good, we just did our merchandising meeting this week! Our handbags have really taken off as a part of our business, our footwear is actually growing tremendously as well. I’m actually learning a lot from the store [and] what’s on the floor right now: our Diego and our Rocco from our Dumbo group, which is all of our handbags with the studs on the bottom, are still our best-sellers, which has been awesome. The first week [after the store's opening], we did this really special display in the back, and within the first week they all sold out, so it’s great that there’s still life [for a design] beyond one season.

Of course, I’m a big fan of our new Prisma group, which is all the [handbags] with the metal corners. My favorite bag is the Jade clutch, just this toiletry clutch that we put metal corners on. I think for Fall, what was great is that we did a lot of things with fur, and with the higher price point, it was kind of like . . . we wanted to test the market and see how the buyers would respond. They have really . . . they’ve been great. Our bestseller from the entire ready-to-wear collection was the grey vest with the yellow zip-out windbreaker pockets and the fur collar. It was great, to see an item like that . . . I feel like it had a really strong impact in the show, so it really kind of transcended into the market week.

Have you been in the store a lot while people are shopping?

Yeah, I’ve been in here at least once a week. At least.

Do you like to interact with the customers?

Well, one day, we came in and the phone rang, so I just picked up the phone and was like, "Alexander Wang," and I helped the lady on the phone - she was looking for one of our Rocco bags. So that was kind of fun. Other than that, a couple of times I’ll be in and people will be like, "Oh, hey!" and I’ll be like, "Do you have any questions?" You know? It’s been great to have that really direct communication with the customer and really, this is the first time we’ve been one-on-one [with] what works, what doesn’t work . . . not even in the product itself, just the entire experience of shopping with us.

Are you dressing anyone for the Costume Institute Gala?

We are dressing someone, but it’s not confirmed yet who. Actually, a lot of my friends have been like, "Oh, you know, I’m taking blah blah blah, who are you going with?" And I’m like, "I don’t know yet!" It’s always a little last minute for us, and it’s great, because we really want to make it special. It’s always someone we feel like we have a special relationship with or someone who really means something to us, so . . . but no, we haven’t confirmed yet.

Is there anything else you’re really excited about right now?

Our menswear. I met with our store manager last week, and I was like, "What has been the one thing that everyone has been asking for or talking about?" And they said the men’s stuff. I was actually really surprised, because we only started men’s T about three seasons ago, and so I felt like we haven’t really . . . we’ve started to build a following, but it hasn’t been paying off as much. Women’s line has been around much longer. But it’s great that we’re going to have that audience, and it’s been perfect timing since we [just] launched our men’s ready-to-wear [with] a capsule collection for Fall [2011], and it will be fully launched for Spring [2012]. To have that audience already, we’re really honored and really excited to showcase it.

Victoria Beckham Still Subject of Fashion Industry's Sniggering; Daphne Guinness Denies Calling Beckham "an Ugly Pig"

fashionologie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:36:44 PDT

>> Victoria Beckham, who just announced that she's having her first girl in July, has had an uphill climb to prove herself as a fashion designer. Although it seemed lately that she'd made it over the hump, during her Fall 2011 presentation last month - which Beckham narrated to an intimate crowd of top editors - Robin Givhan reports: "There were muffled giggles, knowing glances, and plenty of eye-rolling over the non-stop narration . . . It called to mind the manner in which Tom Ford presented his women’s collection for spring. His rolling monologue drew gushing praise from the industry. Of course, Ford’s presentation dripped in irony. And Ford is the reigning prince of charm. Beckham’s great crime, it seems, was her earnestness. She was not being ironic. She was not being self-consciously hip. And the cool girls turned on her. It wasn’t pretty."

Then, yesterday, an article in the Times UK came out, with fashion insider and heiress Daphne Guinness quoted calling Beckham "an ugly pig ... downbeat miserable and awful. Of course she's going to make money - she's backed by Simon Fuller. I don't have anyone! She annoys the sh*t out of me."

But Guinness now denies that she made such remarks. "I would never make a comment like that about my worst enemy, let alone someone I like," she told Vogue UK. "I think Victoria is brave and fantastic for building up her business like she has. I did not make those comments. They were b*tchy and horrible and just not me."

Guinness says the subject of Beckham arose from a discussion with the Times about financial backing: "I like to make my own things - they're probably not of any commercial worth and it's not always easy to get funding for them. I used Victoria as a reference as someone that had managed to do that. I do things a little differently. I remortgage my house and do it that way [Guinness reportedly paid $15 million in 2008 for her New York apartment]. I really admire the way she has achieved what she has. She makes beautiful clothes - they're really very beautiful."

Guinness also took to Twitter to dispel the firestorm, explaining that she did the interview as a favor: "I am so sad stitched up by the sunday times. I thought [the writer] c. long was a friend. I would never call anyone an ugly cow, not my words . . . the journalist I knew from Issie [Blow], so i thought she would understand things, we had been friends, she has put words in my mouth." She added as further explanation: "And for the record I not only admire Victoria Beckham but know her and like her. My point was that I do most things alone without a backer."

Tyra Banks On Why She's Attending Harvard Business School

fashionologie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:08:40 PDT

>> Last month, it was reported that Tyra Banks has been attending Harvard Business School. But she's apparently been enrolled since last year, in the Owner/President Management Program for entrepreneurs, which requires its students to participate in intensive three-week sessions costing $31,000 a year for three years. So why has Banks undertaken the course study, despite her multimillion-dollar empire? "In order for my company to grow and be the best, and to reach these women, and to serve them, I needed the best. So I went to the best," she explains . "It's pretty exclusive. It's quite expensive. But, I feel like it is worth it. I feel like it is so, so worth it."

As for those surprised at her Harvard enrollment, she says: "[When it] got out that I was in school at Harvard . . . it's like, well, oh my God, why is a model going to Harvard? But that's actually a good thing, because when people have low expectations, you're just constantly going, 'Ta-da!' And they're like, 'Wow.' It doesn't take a lot to wow them when they have low expectations."

And tomorrow, she launches her new online magazine, TypeF.com - "her biggest publishing venture to date" promising "thousands of articles containing wardrobe, hair, and makeup tips for women of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities," The Cut reports.