Mon, 11/16/09 — 03:40:48 PM
>> Olivier Zahm, the man who recently described his trademark look as "a disguise" — "five or six years ago, I decided to wear this kind of outfit and behave as if I were a celebrity. It’s not out of narcissism. It’s for the magazine. For an independent magazine to exist, I had to incarnate it personally" — has been busy with projects other than Purple Fashion lately. He and art director Alex Wiederin have been working together "on Carine Roitfeld's book" — no further details given, and he's also "art directed and designed" the first issue of 31 Rue Cambon, a Chanel magazine — which seems to be in a similar vein as Yves Saint Laurent's Manifesto — to be distributed worldwide in Chanel stores. Featured, of course, are Chanel favorites like Lara Stone, Baptiste Giabiconi, and Freja Beha Erichsen.
Fri, 10/23/09 — 08:52:28 AM
>> Earlier this week, Claudia Schiffer and Karl Lagerfeld were snapped on the Chanel Spring 2010 campaign shoot in and around Buenos Aires; Freja Beha Erichsen and Baptiste Giabiconi, who are also supposed to be in the campaign, were not so easily spotted. On Tuesday, Lagerfeld and Schiffer were on location just outside Buenos Aires in Monte Grande, where local media reports they stopped for a lunch of "rich barbeque." Then on Wednesday, they started production in Buenos Aires's oldest neighborhood, San Telmo, before they had to stop because of rain.
*image: source, source, source, source
Wed, 10/21/09 — 08:31:46 AM
>> Spring 2010 Ad Campaign Casts for Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, and Chanel: Revealed — After skipping out on a traditional ad campaign last season, it sounds like Christian Dior is bringing it back for Spring 2010 — John Galliano revealed Monday that Karlie Kloss is his girl of choice for the brand. Karl Lagerfeld, meanwhile, is continuing the trio theme from the Spring 2010 Chanel show finale for his campaign cast — menage a trois participants Freja Beha Erichsen and Baptiste Giabiconi are both staying on, with Claudia Schiffer replacing Lara Stone; Lagerfeld plans to shoot the threesome on location in Buenos Aires, marking his first time in Argentina. And word is Nick Knight and Raquel Zimmermann, who worked together to produce the background video for Alexander McQueen's presentation, also collaborated on the designer's forthcoming campaign. [WWD, WWD, WeLoveModels]
Tue, 10/06/09 — 01:41:08 PM
>> Inspired by Marie Antoinette's Petit Hameau farm at Versailles and the fact that he spent part of his childhood on a farm — "You hear a lot about the environment these days. I thought it would be interesting to put a fashion twist on it" — Karl Lagerfeld sent his parade of Chanel models stomping through dirt starting at the sound of a rooster's crow.
Guests sat on burlap aged to look mildewed as the high heel-clogged (Lagerfeld called them 5 o'clock clogs), fake tattooed, wicker basket-carrying girls stepped one by one from a giant haystack. The barnyard set took a month and a half of construction beforehand and then a week to assemble at the Grand Palais, where the show was held. Apparently pigs were supposed to be involved, too, but Heidi Mount Twittered that they were too scared to be in the show. Chanel face Lily Allen and mock band popped up through a trap door in the floor — Iekeliene Stange and Charlotte di Calypso provided backup singing — and Freja Beha Erichsen and Baptiste Giabiconi walked the runway four times together.
The last time, they were joined by Lara Stone as bride, and all "fell upon each other in the hay as Karl walked past to bow" — in jeans, no less — while Freja and Lara shared a kiss.
Tue, 08/25/09 — 03:26:19 PM
>> 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 »
Tue, 07/28/09 — 05:54:41 PM
>> Freja Beha Erichsen Loves Chanel Shows for Their Food — W recently spoke with Freja Beha Erichsen, who is getting ready to go back to Denmark and then on a West Coast road trip now that she's done with couture. Karl Lagerfeld picked her as one half of the Fall 2009 Chanel ad campaign, and it sounds like the feeling of adoration is mutual: "There’s a special feeling that you get from Chanel that you don’t get from any other show. And they’re famous for their food backstage. At most shows, they don’t actually feed us that much, but at Chanel there’s a full buffet and everything is really good." [W Editor's Blog]
Mon, 07/27/09 — 03:20:11 PM
>> After bringing back Jerry Hall's mature woman for the Spring 2009 Chanel handbag ads, Karl Lagerfeld chose to go for a much younger look with Lily Allen this Fall. Reflecting the peek from the shoot we saw earlier this month, the only things the two seasons have in common is the photographer — Karl, of course — and appearances by Baptiste Giabiconi: Jerry was more Lea de Lonval from Cheri, while Lily's tiara and updo give her a touch of Breakfast at Tiffany's Holly Golightly.
Thu, 07/16/09 — 11:58:26 AM
>> Bernard Arnault, Francois Pinault Are Playing Nice, Still Rich —With the lapse of almost a decade since the fight over Gucci, LVMH's Bernard Arnault and PPR's Francois Pinault are experiencing a detente, symbolized by their willingness to appear on the cover of French business magazine Challenges together this week. The accompanying story credits Arnault's wife, Helene, with the warming of feelings when she embraced Pinault's wife Maryvonne at an event last November. Since, the Arnaults invited the Pinaults to dinner on May 26. The magazine also tabulates France's largest fortunes, with Arnault (14.58 billion euros) in second, the Hermes family (7.68bn euros) in fourth, Pinault (4.95bn euros) in sixth, and Alain Wertheimer and family, owner of Chanel, (3.5bn euros) in tenth. [WWD]
Tue, 07/14/09 — 01:11:13 PM
- Models fees are required in France, so Christian Lacroix chipped in to pay his 10 models 50 euros apiece. Normal couture fees are said to be around 1300 euros per show for new faces — every year of experience earns a "raise" of about 1000 more euros. [Imaginary Socialite]
- Jean Paul Gaultier had a 12-lb dress, Chanel had three seamstresses working on the bride look, and Maison Martin Margiela used 2,000 pen caps for a jacket: it's Fall 2009 couture by the numbers. [The Cut]
- Cathy Horyn yearns for Alessandra Facchinett's Valentino; Of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli's couture, she says: "Frankly I’d be worried about getting too close to one of those prickly, encrusted numbers. You might get a rash." [On the Runway]
Couture clients, a video of Chanel couture in the making »
Tue, 07/07/09 — 07:34:26 PM
>> Karl Lagerfeld Responds to Rumors of Chanel Retirement —Yesterday evening, Cathy Horyn asked Karl Lagerfeld about the veracity of the rumors that he might be stepping down at Chanel and be replaced by Alber Elbaz of Lanvin: "Mr. Lagerfeld said to forget about it. He was going to die with his boots on. He also mentioned that Alain Wertheimer, whose family owns Chanel, said he would sell the house when the designer leaves. This might not be the case, Mr. Lagerfeld said, but it was a nice thing to be told." [On the Runway]
Manoush
Marc Jacobs
Serfontaine