>> INSIDER WIRE —Marc Jacobs has Marc by Marc, Alexander McQueen has McQ, and pretty soon, Zac Posen will be joining their ranks by rolling out a number of lower-priced lines, including a diffusion line. The time is right in this tough economy . . . [FWD]
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>> INSIDER WIRE —Badgley Mischka recently made a cameo on Ugly Betty, and Zac Posen is carrying on the tradition — he just filmed a guest spot for the show last week: "It all came together rather last minute. I had just canceled my three-day trip to Paris, and they called me to do it. My call time was at 9 am, and I stayed all day." [The Cut]
>> For its fifth anniversary, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund went with the obvious choice, naming Alexander Wang the recipient of $200,000 plus a year of mentoring last night. Vogue favorite Vena Cava and a less expected choice, milliner Albertus Swanepoel of Albertus Quartus, were both named runners-up and will receive $50,000 plus a business mentor. The night's keynote speaker, John Galliano, and his date Charlize Theron were seated next to Anna Wintour and presented the top honors to a teary-eyed Alexander Wang, who said his thank yous onstage as John Galliano rubbed his arm in comfort.
Top hats seemed to be the order of the evening — Julie Gilhart and John Galliano each sported one, the latter with a daisy chain, and Agyness Deyn had on a squished version — while carrot pants and one-shouldered dresses also received numerous nods. Plenty of models are already back in town from the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show: Anne Vyalitsyna came with Costello Tagliapietra, Maryna Linchuk with Rag & Bone, Doutzen Kroes with Irene Neuwirth, and Arlenis Sosa Pena with Rogan.
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>> Despite a scathing review in The New York Times yesterday, the" black hole of bad art and superficial temptations," otherwise known as the Chanel Mobile Art exhibition, brought out the well-heeled last night. Editors were in full force — Carine Roitfeld and Franca Sozzani swarmed Karl Lagerfeld upon his arrival, Glenda Bailey and Amy Astley made early cameos — but there was no Anna Wintour in sight . . . nor Bee Shaffer for that matter. Strange, considering how close they are with Karl — Bee was at the Versace-hosted Whitney gala the night before, but no Anna there either. But speaking of missing persons — Catherine McNeil and Freja Beha Erichsen fans will be happy to know that after their well-documented disappearances during Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks, they've popped up again — together, no less.
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>> It's weird having Marc Jacobs show in the middle of Fashion Week rather than at the very end like he used to — everything seems so anticlimactic from here on out. This morning, backstage at Matthew Williamson, Coco Rocha disagreed: She's really excited about Zac Posen's show on Thursday, and thinks he's going to have some wind machine action on the runway — but she wouldn't elaborate further than that. Definitely something to look out for, no?
>> INSIDER WIRE — You may not be able to buy style, but you can most certainly buy your way into New York Fashion Week — if you have an American Express card. For $250 a pop, you can choose two-show packages that include 3.1 Phillip Lim, Zac Posen, and Vera Wang, or if you're feeling even more spendy, you can nab yourself a whole day at the Tents.
For those who protest at the notion of buying invites, rest easy — the money helps fund American Express's donation to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. [FabSugar]
>> Last night, Bravo aired a preview for The Rachel Zoe Project, and it turns out to be pretty "bananas amazing" — her words, not mine — in a guilty pleasure kind of way. The 21-minute segment features cameo appearances by Zac Posen, Donna Karan, Peter Som, Marc Jacobs, and Oscar de la Renta, not to mention the overload of dresses, shoes, bags, and jewelry panned and pawed across.
I could do without all the drama between Rachel's two assistants, Taylor and Brad, but the show definitely catches some moments that give you a look at the unstyled stylist: Rachel doing so much credit card damage on designer vintage, AmEx calls with a fraud alert; Rachel dealing with her studio flooding and waterlogging the bottoms of all the one-of-a-kind designer dresses she stocks; Rachel breaking down and crying while her makeup is being done. But she seems to think it's worth it: "At the end of the day, it's a pretty glamorous, fabulous life." The first full episode airs September 8.
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[break]Full video preview after the cut. >>[/break]
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>> Victoria and Vanessa Traina's summer gigs sound very much like those of another set of sisters . . . three years ago. In the Summer of 2005, Ashley Olsen interned for Zac Posen and Mary-Kate Olsen worked with Annie Leibovitz; This summer, Victoria (left) is said to be working in Christian Lacroix's Parisian atelier, while her younger sister Vanessa (right), who just recently appeared in the May 2008 issue of Vogue Paris, is now working in the magazine's editorial department.
Funny how it's all connected — Vanessa styled a video for the Olsens' line The Row a year ago or so — does this bode a high-end line in the making for the Trainas in a few years time?
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>> About the "host of British and international beauties" that an Agent Provocateur spokeswoman said would be repping the lingerie's main line come September: former Zac Posen muse Paz de la Huerta (left) and Helena Christensen are rumored to be joining Alice Dellal among the chosen ones.
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>> We covered most of the highlights from Monday's night CFDA Awards yesterday, but today come the videos shown to the audience.
First up? The Mike Figgis-directed tribute video to Style.com's executive fashion director Candy Pratts Price, which contains such gems as Kate Moss, dubbed over with a man's voice, saying (what I assume is a quote from Candy): "You haven't got a Birkin, oh my god, you have to have one, we're going straight back to Hermes now." Also, Anna Wintour, describing Candy: "She is a fashion character . . . a fashion . . . nista." A word which I never imagined to come out of Anna's mouth, but it does, and she simultaneously twirls her fingers for emphasis:
Then, the Douglas Keeve-directed spoof of HBO's In Treatment, which was used to introduce the Menswear Designer of the Year nominees — Tom Ford, Thom Browne, and Michael Bastian. Only Tom Ford's clip is to be found, but Tom sobs, sips a martini, and vents to therapist Gabriel Byrne with all the gusto you would expect from Tom Ford. It's like a peek at the Hollywood Tom Ford, when he left fashion to direct films, which never really happened . . .
