Archive for December 2010

If you thought Hilary Swank was the kind of serious two time Oscar-winning actress who wouldn’t become the latest in a never ending chain of celebs to launch a clothing line, think again.

Hilary Swank is developing a clothing line, WWD is reporting. Swank is working with DMA Designers Management Agency, the same agency that arranged the collaboration between Amar’e Stoudemire and Rachel Roy, to develop a concept for her collection.

Swank’s line will reportedly have an athletic bent, given her gymnast background. “Our platform is a contemporary, outdoor, athleisure brand,” DMA co-founder Marc Beckman told WWD.

While this news might seem a little out of left field, given that Swank isn’t an actress who is particularly known for her style (though we’ll never forget the Guy Laroche she wore when she won the Oscar in 2005), there was that head-scratching item last month that she is developing a fashion game show for the CW. Two years ago she signed on to produce a movie version of Falling Out of Fashion, a novel by Jane Pratt’s former executive assistant Karen Yampolsky. We’ve yet to see anything come out of that deal yet but the title is listed in IMDB for 2011. And then let’s also not forget that she’s buds with Marc Jacobs and has been known to work in his West Village store just for kicks. So maybe Swank is more of a fashionista than we thought.

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Fashion Is Fun

Daphne Javitch’s Holiday Gift Guide

Thursday, Dec 23, 2010 / 4:30 PM

TEN UNDIES’ Daphne Javitch picks out five gifts she hopes to get this holiday, that are also perfect for any fashionable girl.

Click through for more info on Daphne’s picks!
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Name: Langley Fox

Age: 21

Occupation: Student

What is your nickname? Langster Virginia

How would you describe your style? I wear anything that I like…. I want to go into a 1950s Gothic stage soon.

What is on your holiday wish list? Sleep and playtime.

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PARIS–Reporters sans Frontières, a French association defending the rights of international reporters, turned 25 last week. To mark the event, Azzaro launched a capsule collection of t-shirts and accessories, to be sold at a pop-up store in Paris; 50% of the profits will be given to the association.

This is nothing new for the fashion house: Every year, it choses a humanitarian cause to support. Past projects include work with Sidaction, Orphanaid, Unicef and more.

Any self-respecting fashionista knows this type of project is hardly original: Lady Gaga auctioning her costume for Haiti, H&M x Lanvin for Unicef, Angelina Jolie’s line for Asprey, and the list goes on. Luxury-meets-charity affairs are frequent and appealing–it gives the latter glitzy coverage and the former an image makeover.

But how genuine are those really? An opportunity to wash your sins away by loudly donating to the conflit du jour?

“No–in our case, it is part of the company mission to donate to a cause we believe in, on an annual basis. This year, freedom of press and war reporters felt important to us,” Azzaro CEO Nathalie Franson told Fashionista.

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The Year In Bedbugs: Racked NY recaps the bedbug epidemic over the past year as it swept the city’s retail stores and shut down magazine HQs. {Racked NY}

Kanye Shops J.Crew: Kanye West and his entourage stopped by the J.Crew men’s shop in SoHo to shop for shoes, and took time to stop and pose for photos with fans. {Page Six}

Gaga Shoe Toss: Lady Gaga threw her Armani shoes at the crowd (it’s a dance tradition) as she closed her tour in Bercy, France. “Mr. Armani is going to kill me,” she said. {YouTube}

Fashion Editor Cribs: A look inside the apartments of fashion editors, from Carine Roitfeld to alpha kitty Atoosa Rubenstein. {Curbed}

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We love Geren Ford’s holiday collection, but if you’re still stuck on what to wear this New Year’s Eve, consider something from designer Geren Lockhart‘s little sister line, Hawks by Geren Ford. It’s available at Urban Outfitters and online here. We’re particularly keen on this electric blue getup, but click through to see the rest of the collection for yourself.

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It’s the end of 2010, and we’re feeling generous!

To celebrate Fashionista’s stellar year, we’ve put together three swag bags of our favorite items and products for three lucky winners! Here’s what’s included:

Bag#1
–a Kate Spade London Tote, with illustrations by Mara Sprakfin (check it out here and here)
–a copy of P.S. I Made This by Erica Domesek
–a P.S. I Made This DIY kit, courtesy of Erica Domesek and Kate Spade

Bag #2
–a signed copy of Janie Bryant’s The Fashion File: Advice, Tips, and Inspiration from the Costume Designer of Mad Men
–Flutter by Jill Golden Adamo cuff
–Faux fur-lined reversible vest from Apart

Bag #3
–a $100 gift card to Debut New York
–a set of the latest Estee Lauder makeup
–a Lanvin x H&M lipstick and lookbook, plus a cotton Lanvin x H&M tote and flower brooch

We love every single one of these items, and think you will too. Just click here to sign-up. The contest ends December 31, 2010 at 11.59pm. xo, Fashionista

Fashion Is Fun

Shipley & Halmos’ Gift Guide

Thursday, Dec 23, 2010 / 12:30 PM

Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos of Shipley & Halmos choose their favorite gifts to give for the holidays.

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News

Anna Wintour, Hipster? Anna Shops the Brooklyn Flea

Thursday, Dec 23, 2010 / 11:49 AM



Racked NY
is reporting that Anna Wintour stopped by the Brooklyn Flea yesterday to do some last minute holiday shopping. Brooklyn real estate blog Brownstoner spotted the editrix at the borough’s famed flea market and tweeted, “Guess who [sic] just walking into the @bkflea’s Gifted Holiday Market at One Hanson? Anna Wintour!”

Though we can’t really imagine Anna Wintour rummaging at a flea market, in Brooklyn no less (her outer borough excursions are mostly limited to Queens, home of Ashe stadium and the US Open and the kickoff for the first Fashion’s Night Out), she was there to shop the flea’s “holiday market,” Gifted. The Brooklyn Flea tweeted, “Hello Anna Wintour, thank you for joining us at Gifted.”
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It would be putting it mildly to say that Victoria Beckham is a bag enthusiast. She reportedly owns around 100 Birkin bags. So it’s little wonder that the designer decided to create her own handbag line, and that her bags seem inspired by the classic shape and timelessness of the Birkin.

Victoria Beckham is one of the few celebrities to design a successful line that has been well received by fashion critics and celebrities and the general public. She took her time and worked with the right people to create a smart line with a clear aesthetic. So it follows that her handbag line is a hit, too. Beckham paired up with former Luella and current Marc by Marc Jacobs accessories design consultant Katie Hillier (who now designs her own adorable bunny-filled line) to create a collection of understated, boxy, lady like bags with a severe edge.

Two of the styles–the leather and nubuck shoulder bag and the hexagonal chain bag in crocodile–went on sale yesterday at Net-a-Porter. The leather and nubuck sold out within the hour, Elle UK is reporting. The nearly $14,000 crocodile bag (pictured right) sold out by the afternoon.

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Julia Restoin Roitfeld plays journalist in the latest issue of V, interviewing Tom Ford, who’s on a major press binge. Not only does Roitfeld conduct the ultra-tame Q&A with the designer, she also took some self portraits for the spread, dressed in Ford’s finest. Click through for more. Read more »

First it was Virginia Smith. Now, Taylor Tomasi Hill. Someone’s been very loose-lipped over at Barneys New York, at least regarding the search for a new fashion director. (Julie Gilhart resigned at the end of last month.)

Now, the luxury department store is trying to quell those rumors. “As announced by Barneys New York on November 29, the search for a new fashion director was launched by Daniella Vitale, Chief Merchant and Executive Vice-President, who joined the company on December 1,” says a Barneys New York spokesperson to Fashionista via email. “Contrary to recent speculative reports, no employment offer has been made as of this date to any person for the fashion director position.”

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