>> Brian Atwood to Leave Bally? —Despite a Bally spokesperson dismissing rumors of Brian Atwood departing the brand — "Brian is still the Creative Director for Bally. He is currently working on the next collection and, no, he is not leaving" — multiple sources say otherwise. Supposedly, the designer and label had been in negotiations, and he is expected to step down by the end of this year; he was informed of the decision a few days ago, according to one source, but plans to continue his eponymous line. [FWD]
Brian Atwood
Fashion Mourns Michael Jackson
>> Just today, Swarovski announced that they were going to clothe Michael Jackson head to toe for his "This Is It" tour kicking off next month — his costumes and sets were to feature over 300,000 crystals, in 53 different shapes, 43 different sizes, and 27 different colors. In April, The Imagist reported that Balmain stylist Emmanuelle Alt "would weep" if Jackson allowed Balmain to do his tour costumes because she was "100% obsessed" with him — a fact reflected in Balmain's flashy runway pieces.
Jackson had catapulted himself back into fashion's eye in recent months after he was spotted in a number of different Balmain looks — no doubt courtesy of Emmanuelle Alt — and a favorite gold studded Givenchy jacket. At the news of his death this afternoon, an outpouring of reactions — some incredulous — came from models, editors, and designers alike — those from a few, below.
Bally Sticks With Christy Turlington for Fall 2009 Ad Campaign
>> For Fall 2009, Bally stuck with the same team as Spring 2009 — Mario Sorrenti photographing Christy Turlington and Oriol Elcacho, this time styled by Lori Goldstein in a darker, more sophisticated light — because as Creative Director Brian Atwood put it, "For me Christy is simply the perfect Bally woman; graceful, intelligent, and natural; she exudes a sophisticated ease; her sensual beauty is perfectly complimented by Oriol's strong and confident presence. Both Christy and Oriol are wonderful to work with; consummate professionals who allow the process to flow so seamlessly, it is difficult to call it work." If rumors are to be believed, he'll be sharing Christy with Yves Saint Laurent this season, because Stefano Pilati thought she was the consummate YSL woman.
Brian Atwood, Rene Russo Collaborate On a Little Shoe Fetishism
>> Designers seem to have a new fixation on pairing mature women with younger men when it comes to advertising their accessories. First, Karl Lagerfeld paired up 52-year-old Jerry Hall with Baptiste Giabiconi for Chanel handbags, and now, Brian Atwood cast 55-year-old Rene Russo to sex his Spring 2009 footwear up with Jon Kortajarena, Tom Ford-style (Jon is even Tom's campaign model of choice). The steamy scenes were shot by Tony Duran over a period of two days at Russo's home, and are being collected in a limited-edition book, Role Play Rene, for Atwood to pass out. Russo and Atwood didn't even meet until the shoot, but celebrated the 1,000 editions last night with a dinner in LA and tonight, will be feting again in New York tonight at a party hosted by Julia Restoin-Roitfeld.
Gallery is NSFW.
*image: source




Henrik Vibskov
Prada
Labour Of Love