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.

Marc Jacobs, Lorenzo Martone Now Aiming for a 2010 Wedding

fashionologie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:05:28 -0800

>> Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone originally planned on having a very small, two-person wedding at the end of August. It was never confirmed after the fact, though, and it sounds like that's because it hasn't happened yet. Jacobs told the Times UK: "We still haven’t fixed the date but Lorenzo and I believe in commitment. We’re quite classic like that. We’ve got the licence, hence the rumours that we’d already got married. So hopefully it will happen in 2010. When it does, it will be very low-key."

Jacobs says that the economy has affected him personally - "I’ve cut back, because my partner Lorenzo and I are buying a house in the West Village in New York" - but it sounds like it hasn't affected Louis Vuitton the way it has Versace, Zac Posen, and Gucci - the former has announced impending layoffs, and cuts are expected to be announced at the latter two. "In terms of what’s selling at Louis Vuitton, the recession hasn’t changed anything . . . our sales are up and I haven’t noticed that people’s tastes have got more subdued. There’s this huge cult following of almost crazy people at Vuitton who just want whatever they buy to be exclusive."

fashionologie — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:08:19 -0700

>> Siri Tollerod, Dree Hemingway Both Go Blonder -Yesterday, Siri Tollerod turned up at Zac Posen and then again at Marc Jacobs with substantially lighter hair than the day before; looks like she's jumped on the platinum blonde bandwagon, as her agency just posted photos of her with the lighter shade. And Dree Hemingway, too, was sporting a blonder look than usual when she turned up at the Jane Hotel to party with Another Magazine last night. [TFS]

fashionologie — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:40:53 -0700

>> Zac Posen's Spring 2010 Venue Switcheroo Causes Retailer Grief? -Zac Posen switched the big Tent at Bryant Park for the much smaller Altman Building this season - because it was better for the collection, not for financial reasons, he says - and this morning he had everything set up like an old fashion show: round areas of chairs, with the models posing and spinning for each section; Tiiu Kuik walked (left) - her first time on the runway since the Fall 2008 season. But later today at Carolina Herrera, a rumor was floating around that a few major retailers boycotted Zac's show because it wasn't handled as efficiently as usual . . . [The Cut Twitter, StyleWriterNYC Twitter]

New York Fashion Week Tidbits: Juergen Teller To Make an Appearance, Zac Posen Explains Venue Change

fashionologie — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:49:30 -0700

>> New York Fashion Week is a little less than two weeks away, and the tidbits are flowing freely - a compilation of the highlights from the past couple of days:

Juergen Teller is meeting Cathy Horyn for a free, open to the public, discussion about his work at New York's Visual Arts Theater Sept. 12, 7 pm [On the Runway]

Zac Posen explains his move from the big Tent at Bryant Park to a smaller Altman Building show for 400: “For this collection, an intimacy between model, clothing and audience could only be achieved in a smaller space. I really enjoyed the experience of a more intimate show after Pre-Fall 2009, followed by our successful Resort 2010, which was held at my downtown atelier." [WWD]

Who's Kate Lanphear styling? »

New York Fashion Week Tidbits: Zac Posen Downsizes Venue; Karl Lagerfeld to Make an Appearance?

fashionologie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:26:19 -0700

>> New York Fashion Week is just about two weeks away, and the tidbits are flowing freely - a compilation of those so far:

Venue Changes

Zac Posen, who usually shows at the largest Bryant Park venue in Fashion Week's last evening slot, has switched to a 9 am slot at the much smaller Altman Building [Fashionista]
Organic, but not vegetarian: John Patrick is showing his eco-friendly Organic line in an upstairs speakeasy at iconic New York steakhouse Keens [FWD]

Alexander Wang bags a top-tier stylist »

The September Issue Premiere: All About Anna Wintour

fashionologie — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:57:50 -0700

>> Last night, Anna Wintour hosted a premiere of The September Issue (which opens Aug. 28 in NYC, Sept. 11 nationwide), and no one dared be late. Arrivals were scheduled to start at 7 pm, but Anna appeared and was joined (despite all the digs about her appearance she receives in the film) by September 2007 cover girl Sienna Miller promptly at 6:45 pm. Even Sean Combs and entourage, when realizing they were late, "sprinted across the lobby," the New York Observer reports.

Despite the general consensus that the film's true star is Grace Coddington, last night was all about Anna. Grace and Andre Leon Talley both avoided being photographed on the red carpet, and it appears that Vogue staffers were required to wear t-shirts for Fashion's Night Out (Anna's pro-shopping pet project) to the event. Grace did comment on her portrayal in the film, however:

I hate to say it, but true to life! A very annoying person. But it’s not really bickering. It’s a process you have to go through for the job we do and it just makes everything stronger. Whatever gets through is then very valid and very strong. I think they focused on me in the movie because I’m a bit more outspoken and because I don’t care about the cameras, I’ll say whatever I want to say and I won’t hold back.

Bee Shaffer, who attended in Proenza Schouler and reminded her mother to put on her sunglasses while on the red carpet (which Anna duly did), thought her own scene in the film was "so embarassing":

It’s funny because that was two years ago and I wanted to go to law school then and that’s basically all I’m talking about and now I don’t want to go to law school at all so . . . [I] still don’t want to work in fashion, that was never a possibility. Now I’d like to work in theater.

Marc Jacobs, who was apparently speaking with a French accent, had his own Anna tribute to share. "She’s a risk-taker unafraid of taking chances. She doesn’t suck up,” he said. “And she’s been very good to me on a personal level as well. When I was having some personal problems, Anna was always there for me. She’s very maternal and caring to people she cares about."

Spring 2010 New York Fashion Week: Ralph Lauren Expands to Three Shows; Two Designers Dare to Overlap with Fashion's Night Out

fashionologie — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:39:01 -0700

>> New York Fashion Week is still over a month away, but Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week just released its official calendar today and the Fashion Calendar - which shows all of the shows not included in the Bryant Park festivities - has appeared online, so we can get an idea of what will be going down in that crazy time period between Sept. 9 and Sept. 17.

Despite the industry's economic doldrums, a few designers are adding an extra show for Spring 2010 - Ralph Lauren is upgrading from two showings to three in his usual morning-of-the-last-day spot; Phillip Lim is following in close friend Richard Chai's footsteps, doing a two separate shows this season, one for men's and one for women's, rather than combining them like he usually does; and Thom Browne, who chose to show his Fall 2009 collection in Florence instead of at New York Fashion Week, is back on the schedule with not one but two shows.

Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld is hosting an event again »

Vera Wang May Be Dancing With the Stars

fashionologie — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:05:38 -0700

>> It's all about TV these days: Elle just started filming for The City, Zac Posen is working on the early stages of a scripted show, the ladies at WhoWhatWear are developing a fashion news show with MTV . . . and now E! is reporting that Vera Wang has signed on for the ninth season of Dancing With the Stars, which premieres Sept. 21.

Although neither Wang's rep nor ABC would confirm the report, the casting is feasible - Vera trained as a professional figure skater and competed with a partner in the 1968 US National Championships before trying to qualify for the Olympics the same year. She also has experience designing the glitzy, tight outfits that are worn on the show - she once designed for figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Michelle Kwan.

fashionologie — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:09:28 -0700

>> INSIDER WIRE -Zac Posen spoke to an auditorium of high school students this morning about muses, models, and what he likes to eat: "I love grocery shopping. I’m a produce fanatic. I’ve gone through very different waist sizes, but right now I’m eating really healthy. Just vegetables and rice mostly. I cook three nights a week. After the Met Ball I went home and made whole wheat pasta and puff pastry!" And speaking of designers and food, Rachel Roy just shared her food diary from over last weekend with Grub Street. [Fashionista, Grub Street]