Archive for September 2010

Reviews

Geren Ford’s True Identity

Before she launched her line, Geren Lockhart–the designer behind Geren Ford–was an ad exec. Long hours and constant traveling inspired her to create a label that would be versatile but chic, even in transit.

Yesterday, I stopped by Lockhart’s studio to preview her Spring 2011 collection. There were maxi dresses and flowy tops in an textured fabrics, as well as these awesome brown leather shorts that I want to have in my closet right now.

The most intriguing part of the collection was the prints. If you looked closely at one dress, it seemed to be covered in a print made of, well, fingerprints. Lockhart told me that the print is actually comprised of her own fingerprints, which were been scanned and translated onto the fabric (she also confided that her fingerprints had been altered a bit so that no one would steal her identity –ha!).

Read more »
News

Quote of the Day: Carine Roitfeld’s Song for the Fashion Industry

By Leah Chernikoff Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 / 5:00 PM

“‘You’re So Vain.’ I think in this business, it’s a good song. It’s dedicated to a lot of people.” –Carine Roitfeld’s response to Eric Wilson in the NYT when asked, “What would be your song?” And we love her that much more…

Trendspotting

Trendspotting: New Stripes at Jil Sander, Versace, Prada

By Samantha Tobias Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 / 4:00 PM

Read more »

Streetwalker

Street Style: Julia Would Get a Tattoo of a Hanger

Name: Julia Hafstrom

Occupation: Model

Agency: IMG

What is your favorite dessert? Ice cream! Absolutely!

If you were to get a tattoo today, what would it be? A black line drawing of a hanger.

Read more »
Trendspotting

Trendspotting: Garden Parties Galore

Designers took the phrase “spring collection” literally this season, and headed for the garden.

From D&G’s flower-lined runway, to Mulberry’s “secret garden” show, designers went beyond floral prints this season to incorporate every element of the garden party, and with good reason.

Read more »
Beauty

A Writer Goes Undercover…To Beauty School

Spas are luxurious places where a woman goes to feel pampered and beautiful. And usually drop a good chunk of coin–Americans spent over $200 billion on spa products and services in 2009. But are the results worth it?

That’s a question, among others, that Virginia was hoping to answer. Virginia (I’m withholding her last name so as not to blow her cover yet), a writer in upstate New York, recently enrolled in an aesthetics program to take a peek at the beauty industry from the inside out. She has a keen interest in the industry, the safety of its products, and the treatment of its workers.

Virginia enrolled in the program part-time, which took about ten months to complete. She attended school four nights a week from 6pm until 10pm.Tuition for programs like this average around $8,000 to $12,000. She just finished and is currently waiting for paperwork to sit for the licensing exam.

Read more »
Shopping

Most Wanted: Camel Coats, Our Favorite Trend for Winter

By Fashionista Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 / 2:00 PM

From Phillip Lim to Michael Kors to Celine, camel overcoats were all-over the runway for Fall. And we’re obsessed. Here’s a roundup of our favorites, courtesy of Nordstrom.


The cream of the camel crop, from left to right: 3.1 Phillip Lim Paneled Double Face Wool Coat, Piazza Sempione Double Face Camel’s Hair Coat, Ralph Lauren Black Label Drape Neck Sweater Coat, Smythe ‘Cadet’ Wool Blend Coat, Burberry Brit Hooded Wool Topper

Think of the camel coat like the LBD for fall. Throw it over any old thing you’ve got on and you’re insta-chic. Of course, we’ve got some thoughts on the perfect way to show off fall’s must-have item. For a mod-ish dressed up look, perfect for a dinner date on a brisk autumn evening, consider donning your camel coat over a simple shift and thick black ribbed tights (spring for Wolford’s if you can afford it), and black booties. If you’re on your way to work, try it with wide leg tweed trousers with a strong seam and some simple flats. And on a lazy weekend, while you’re out admiring the foliage (or running a quick errand before returning to the couch to watch some Lifetime movie marathon—we don’t judge!), camel goes perfectly over beat up skinny jeans and knee-high flat boots.

Nordstrom logo

For more fall fashion insight and to share your own thoughts on this season’s top trends, join the conversation at Nordstrom.

New Plus-Size Magazine Launches, Is It A Good Idea?

Just As Beautiful, the first glossy aimed solely at women sizes 14 through 20 launched this month, the Daily Mail is reporting.

Like any glossy lifestyle mag, Just As Beautiful will feature fashion spreads, interviews, articles on cooking, entertainment, etc., with the exception of one glossy mainstay: the diet feature. Just As Beautiful will not put out any dieting articles (only exercise tips), and EIC Sue Thomason, a former lifestyle coach who is also size 18, says that only models size 14 and up will be used in editorials.

Thomason created the mag, because, told the Daily Mail, “If you’re a woman over Size 14, you’re likely to be stuck for something to read that doesn’t make you feel like you’re too big or ‘wrong’ because you’re not a Size Zero.”

Read more »
Fashion News Roundup

Fashion News Roundup: Heidi Klum No Longer An Angel, Lanvin Launches E-Commerce, and Team Zoe Breakup Not Amicable

Heidi Klum Bids Farewell to VS: After 13 years of wearing the VS Angel wings, Heidi Klum says good bye to Victoria’s Secret. With only four official angels left, and two of them pregnant, who will walk the November 10th show? Will a new angel be named? We smell a reality show. {Fashionologie}

Lorenzo Martone, Now Party of One: Lorenzo Martone, best known as Marc Jacobs ex, has given the NYT a look at his life post-Marc. He dishes on his relationship with Marc and the connections he made while they were together. {The New York Times}

Nasty Breakup?: Yesterday, we told you about the amicable split between Rachel Zoe and her assistant, Brad Goreski. But today, PopEater is reporting that the split was a tad more tumultuous then previously reported. “Brad was sitting on the front row of every show and getting invited to as may events as his boss. However the final straw was when Brad appeared on the cover of The New York Times style section. Rachel hit the roof and reminded him he was her assistant and it was called ‘The Rachel Zoe’ show not the Brad Goreski show. That was the moment that the two of them were over.” This is bananas. {PopEater}

Read more »
Reviews

Rochas Spring 2011: Marco Zanini Makes Editors Happy

PARIS–This is Marco Zanini’s fourth season designing for Rochas. Yet his short-lived tenure at Halston, as well Olivier Theysken‘s time at Rochas, is still very fresh in our minds. The good news: with every season, the Versace-schooled designer moves further and further away from those sticky associations, making Rochas his very own.

For Spring 2011, Zanini sent out a solid collection of floral satin tops and bottoms and plain satin slip dresses. All with handkerchief-wrapped hair that first reminded us of babushkas, then of 1930s and ’40s working mothers. It was as if Zanini had taken working class clothes and tinted them with wealth.

But there were some straight-up princess pieces, too, including an off-white ball gown with the tiniest Swiss dots and a milkmaid frock printed with a distinctly Scandinavian textile.

Zanini’s certainly got a few fans in the American section. T‘s Sally Singer out-n-out cheered when the designer took his bow, and we could see Grace Coddington crack a smile. Wintour was there, too, but it’s difficult to tell her expression behind those glasses. We’re betting she was pleased.

Click through for more looks.

Read more »
Reviews

Nicolas Andreas Taralis Spring 2011: Life after Hedi and Cerruti

PARIS–After leaving his own label for two years and making an express appearance at Cerutti, Nicolas Andreas Taralis is in the spotlight again. And the former assistant to Hedi Slimane is in good hands: the grande dame Michèle Montagne (the matron of Ann Demeulemeester and Haider Ackermann) is now looking after him.

His comeback collection contrasted severity and airiness, leather and paper-thin silk.

His Tuesday show at Palais de Tokyo felt like an organic evolution of last season’s designs: a similar play on contrasts, skinny belting on sturdier cuts, peaks of skin, sheer draping, all carried out on knotted wedges and boots, by male and female models.

“There wasn’t one obvious, direct inspiration, but more like a reflection of what I’ve liked for some time already,” Taralis told us backstage after the show.

Read more »
Reviews

Dries Van Noten Spring 2011: Strong-Shouldered and Dip-Dyed

Dries van Noten Spring 2011 Cheat Sheet:

  • deceptively narrow, squared-off wedges

  • ombre
  • menswear
  • THE white shirt dress
  • shimmer
  • sparkle
  • Oriental prints
  • wide shoulders
  • wide legs

PARIS–Has Dries Van Noten ever produced a bad collection? Not that I can remember, and I’ve been studying the printsmaster since the mid-’90s. But this one was particularly palatable, mostly because he kept the prints to a minimal–I’m getting sick of digital textiles, aren’t you?–and produced a collection that, while anything but trendy, was incredibly on-point and wearable.

Read more »