Archive for the 'Fashion Weeks' Category

Everyone left the Christian Dior SS ’12 show with the same lasting memory – Karlie Kloss’s backside. Imprinted in our thoughts forever. Not to say that it was the only memorable thing about the collection, but in a flimsy transparent veil it undoubtedly closed the show.
For the past six months, talk about Dior has only been about who’s next? Which big name designer will take up the reins of this luxury juggernaught? But spare a thought for the designer who is in the meantime responsible for turning out some clothes. Bill Gaytten worked with Galliano for twenty years, and, temporarily, the house is in his hands. His couture collection was widely panned by critics in July, which may explain the slight reserved feeling about the ready-to-wear. Don’t get me wrong, the clothes were pretty, some beautiful and others exquisite, but Gaytten has pulled Dior back to basics. Tailoring? Check. Trapeze coats? Check. Enough evening gowns to dress the world’s rich and fabulous? Check, check, check. But there was something a bit apologetic about it all. Although maybe it’s just that for the first time in a long time the crowd has actually imagined themselves wearing Dior, as Galliano’s interpretations were so theatrical, so over the top – I can’t say I miss his ‘acting’ models (nothing worse by the way) – whereas Gaytten’s Dior is about the clothes, not about outrageous make-up and styling. And I quite liked that.
It also means that whoever is to be announced as the new Creative Director has a blank canvas to work with, because Gaytten has proved to be the Dior palette cleanser and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Report from Paris Fashion Week 2011
Roland Mouret collection.

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A crop of younger designers will make their debut on Tuesday at Paris Fashion Week, in what will be the fashion world’s grand finale, after major events in New York, London and Milan, to showcase the Spring-Summer 2012 ready-to-wear collections.
There will be 92 shows, but the speculation and gossip about top jobs is creating as much buzz as the outfits.
At Friday’s Christian Dior show, many are expecting an announcement about who will succeed John Galliano at French couture house Christian Dior.
The British designer was sacked in disgrace on the eve of the March ready-to-wear shows after using anti-Semitic insults in a bar in Paris, an outburst which led to a court conviction in September.
New York designer Marc Jacobs is tipped to move from Louis Vuitton for the job, but negotiations over salary are still ongoing.
Dior’s Spring-Summer collection for Friday has been signed by Bill Gaytten, Galliano’s number two, who has overseen the house’s collections since March.
US rapper Kanye West is expected to make his pret-a-porter debut in Paris – he has reportedly recruited London fashon students to work on his collection.
And there’s a new face at Balmain, where chief designer Olivier Rousteing, the 25 year old who took over in April, will unveil his first womenswear line for the French label.
At Kenzo, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim make their debut after replacing Antonio Marras who was at the helm for eight years.

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Fashion historians and observers have always found a direct relation between fashion and the economy. They have gone on to make certain trends as economic indicators—the lipstick index, the rise and fall of hemlines, and most recently, the sale of men’s underwear if Warren Buffet is to be believed. Fashion as a reaction or reflection of the times.
What then do we make of all the gold embellishments, the flapper dresses, and the exuberant prints seen on the Milan spring 2012 runways? Are we headed for better days? Will the global economy be on the upswing when these clothes make it to the stores in February? Or do the glitz and swingy vibes serve merely as diversions from all the bad news? An escapist’s route?
You would thing that we’re in for happier times ahead at the sight of all the black and gold flapper dresses at Gucci or the gold beaded jackets and evening gowns at Roberto Cavalli. There was a lot of shine and sparkle, especially at Gucci where the inspirations were the gleaming skyscrapers of New York, particularly the Chrysler Building.
There was also a cacophony of prints in trippy colors in Milan. Dolce & Gabbana’s collection was heavy with vegetable prints— flirty skirts with red chilies, swimsuits covered with tomatoes, and dresses drowning in aubergines. Does the use of produce as a motif signify a bountiful harvest for global economic markets come spring? Here’s to hoping it would be for Dolce & Gabbana since they are shutting down their D&G line after this season.

Milan Fashion Week 2011 is ending
Milan Fashion Week 2011.

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Cheryl Cole is considering having her own fashion line because she enjoyed working on her debut shoe collection.
Cheryl Cole is considering having her own fashion line.
The ‘Fight for This Love’ singer recently launched a shoe collection with website Stylistpick.com and says she enjoyed it so much, she would be happy to create her own range of clothes.
When asked if she’d like a fashion range, Cheryl told the Guardian newspaper: “Do you know what? I wouldn’t rule it out, actually. I have loved designing these shoes. I haven’t enjoyed a project so much in a long time. So, yes, it might be the start of something.”
While she is often spotted out wearing high heels, the Girls Aloud beauty admits she always carries around a pair of flats so she can give her feet a rest.
She said: “I don’t walk in heels all day. The key with high heels is to take them off any time you have the chance. And I always have a pair of scrunchie flatties with me, so I can change into those. When I was on ‘The X Factor’, I used to walk across the stage and then, as soon as I was sitting down at the judges’ table and my feet were out of shot, I’d kick them off.”
One style of footwear Cheryl would never wear is knee-high boots – because she thinks, at 5ft 3ins, she’s too short to carry them off.
She said: “I’d take ankle boots every time. I think it’s because I’m short, I can’t do a knee boot.”

Cheryl Cole at London Fashion Week
Cheryl Cole.

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Kim Kardashian is so proud of her little sister, Kylie Jenner, who walked in Avril Lavigne’s fashion show in NYC! The reality star looked on from the front row with a huge open-mouthed smile on her face when she saw her lil sis strut her stuff.
“Just left @AvrilLavigne’s fashion show w my lil sis @KylieJenner walking in it! She was so fab (sic),” Kim tweeted on Monday night. Kylie, 14, must have been so excited—and nervous—to get out on that runway and model during fashion week! Obviously her whole family was very proud of her!
Kim Kardashian is so supportive of her younger sisters. Both Kylie and Kendall have a special place in Kimmy K’s heart, and it’s almost like she is mentoring them in some way. She was such a mom(ager) sitting there watching Kylie! Abbie Dawn (the name of Avril Lavigne’s fashion line) tweeted a picture of Kim all smiles when she saw Kylie come down the runway.
In case you were wondering about the Kardashian-Jenner-Lavigne connection, Avril has been dating Brody Jenner, one of Bruce Jenner’s sons from a previous relationship. It’s all about who you know!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIQT5gQt8vU

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Crowds gather around Justin Bieber wherever he goes, and Dolce & Gabbana’s Fashion’s Night Out on September 8 was no exception. In fact, when the Teen Dream’s New York fans found out he was visiting the Dolce & Gabbana store on Madison Avenue and 69th street, they showed up in such numbers that media observers described the crowds as “almost out of control.”
Yes, Justin Bieber’s first Fashion’s Night Out appearance must have seemed a bit too much like deja vu to his manager Scooter Braun, his security team, and others in his entourage. The hundreds of screaming beliebers who surrounded the D & G store were like a replay of the Biebs’ June appearance at Macy’s where he was tackled by an adult man who turned out to be an undercover cop. Fortunately, nothing that dramatic transpired on Thursday. However, the “complete madness” that ensued as a result of JB’s visit, caused the fire marshal to show up and order him to go upstairs. Apparently, there were so many people crowded around the entrance and exits, that the marshal must have considered it a fire hazard. Sadly, some of Justin’s fans didn’t get to see him.
Fortunately, however, according to Hollywood Life, Scooter Braun was there to help with the merchandise signing. Whatever that means. No offense to Scooter, but his autograph on a D & G purchase isn’t quite the same as the Biebs’.

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After the riots which swept the capital, there is no doubt that London is in need of some good media coverage. What better tonic than the froth and glamour of London Fashion Week? It seems though that this year’s offering is already falling flat.
While London’s fashion scene is famous for its energetic and eclectic vibe, the capital’s September Fashion Week is failing to pull in some of the biggest brands around. While London was named the “world’s top fashion capital of 2011″ by Global Fashion Monitor – doubtless helped by the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress – London Fashion Week itself seems to be slipping off the radar.
Of course, it doesn’t help that New York Fashion Week has moved its dates so that London is now the drab filling in the fashion sandwich, sliced up by Milan on on side and New York the other. Many models are simply flying from Milan to the Big Apple, leaving London in their jet stream.

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The third annual Fashion’s Night Out will kickoff Fashion Week on Thursday night with an evening of runway shows, designer sales and celebrity appearances.
Over 1,000 stores and designers will host events throughout the city, celebrating fashion and shopping. Many of them, like Stuart Weitzman, will be using these events to raise money for charity.
Mr. Weitzman will showcase at his 625 Madison Ave. flagship boutique his Young Hollywood Cares Shoe Collection, which celebrities Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Palermo, Michelle Trachtenberg and Hayden Panettiere helped design. The proceeds from these sales will benefit ovarian cancer research by the Folkman Institute in Boston.
“I do a lot of work with celebrities, and we have always tried to bring them into our fundraising efforts,” Mr. Weitzman said. “They really like to help out and give back.”
These four new shoe designs have been in store for two weeks already, and Mr. Weitzman has sold between 70 and 80 pairs so far at $375 to $475 a piece.

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Vogue magazine’s Fashion Night Out will come to Mexico to show that, despite the international image of the country as an unsafe place, “you can go out on the street and have a good time,” the magazine’s editor-in-chief for the country, Eva Hughes, told Efe on Monday.
For the third year in a row – albeit the first time in Mexico – on Sept. 8 a number of stores, especially luxury shops, in the Mexican capital and cities in 16 other countries will open their doors until late in the evening to allow the public to see the latest fashions and other products.
“It’s a chance to show the world that Mexico is able to have a fashion night rivaling the best that other cities in the world can muster,” said Hughes, who added that despite the fact that “there are situations that cannot be controlled” organizers expect “everything to go well and people to come out and enjoy themselves.”
Hughes said that the Fashion Night Out began in the United States in 2009, when many people stopped going out to shop due to the economic crisis. “There was a need to involve people again in the luxury world, in shopping … The success was such that new countries began to join in.”

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Fashion came alive in a cosmopolitan spirit on the evening of Day 2 of Van Heusen India Men’s Week 2011. With four designers slated to showcase their respective collections within a brief window of time, there were quite a few doubts that unsettled the minds of the people.
Would individual collections provide diversity in their range of ensembles or would the audience be exposed to an excessively ‘tailored’ line of creations? Worries of all kinds were put to rest once the show commenced.
A fast paced show of sorts, every package of designs streamed into the other with sheer neatness distinguishing one collection from the other. While Abraham and Thakore’s traditional Indian silhouettes mixed the ethnic with the modern, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna’s Joie De Vivre defined the menswear in celebratory shades of joy and style. Where handloom weaves and techniques of shibori and iktat credited an intensive cut to Rajesh Pratap Singh’s sartorial excellence, Abhishek Gupta’s garments experimented with modern patterns and traditional techniques infusing freshness to the creation.

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