PARIS–The word wunderkind is often attached to Brazilian designer Pedro Lourenço–and for good reason. Though he’s only 21 and has just shown his fourth ever collection, his designs show a depth and maturity far beyond his years. It probably has something to do with the fact that both his parents are established designers in Brazil and, according to his father Reinaldo, he’s been sewing since he was three years old. But I digress…
This spring he told me he was inspired by the idea of a toy soldier army and green architecture. They might sound like wildly disparate sources of inspiration but it worked on the runway.
PARIS–There are few designers who can expect editors to not only stay at a show, but stand, after multiple benches creak, crack, and finally give way, sending fashion notables to an ungainly heap on the floor. But it happened today at the Balenciaga show in Paris.
According to an anonymous birdie who had the good fortune to be at Balenciaga’s show earlier today, first the bench the Traina sisters were sitting on started creaking like it was about to give–they looked at each other and jumped up before it gave. Then the bench that Kate Lanphear and Eric Wilson were sitting on broke and they fell. After that everyone stood up for the duration of the show. Wouldn’t you??
Vogue Italia reports that the first row benches were included in the chaos, and the likes of Salma Hayek, Francois Henry Pinault, Anna Wintour and Catherine Deneuve were all forced to stand, though we don’t think they were among the ones that actually fell. Vogue UK’s editor Alexandra Shulman said in the mag’s online review of the show, “It created quite the spirit of camaraderie.” Of course, luckily for those of us still asleep in the US, Twitter proceeded to go crazy.
Here are some of the best tweets from those standing on the front lines:
PARIS–Last night at soon-to-be It-club Silencio (think Gold Bar plus Kenmare), Proenza Schouler‘s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez along with POP magazine threw a party to celebrate the release of their new Harmony Korine-directed fashion film, Snowballs. The title is entirely misleading because not only is there nothing snowy or bally about this film, but snowballs also connote a sort of childhood cuteness (a snowball fight! fun!) and this film is not that. It’s disturbing and most of the posh fashion-y crowd (which included both Traina sisters and Lauren Santo Domingo) left the screening room feeling a bit unnerved and gripping their champagne flutes a little tighter. The creepy baby voices singing, the models dressed up like Native Americans with distorted faces and feet shod in trash bags, the not-so-sober rotund shirtless Southern preacher type character in a trailer, the part where the shirtless fat Southern guy and the two characters dressed up as Native Americans all dance together in a circle–it’s provocative to say the least.
Jack McCollough even acknowledged to WWD that the film is “not like a sales vehicle. It’s a sales deterrent if anything.” But that’s precisely why it’s awesome. Read more »
]A very sad (or happy, if you don’t like them) rumor has been circulating on the celebrity gossip sites today: Demi Moore and Ashton may be splitting up. And while we know not to believe everything we read on gossip blogs, this rumor is somewhat believable for a few reasons: they spent their six-year anniversary apart, and the chronic Twitter oversharers haven’t been tweeting at each other. Also, on the day before their anniversary, Demi tweeted (on a Twitter handle that she is going to have to change if this rumoris true): a quote from Greek philosopher Epictetus that said, “When we are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself & study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.” Hmm.
Regardless of their veracity, these reports got us reminiscing about Demi’s history: both romantic and sartorial. She’s gone through several transformations since the early ’80s, when she married rocker Freddie Moore and joined the cast of General Hospital. Among those transformations were some nerdy glasses, very short haircuts and an unforgettable Charlie’s Angels beach moment. So, click through for a guide to Demi’s style evolution during all her relationships, with an especially close look at the Ashton years and her inability to age.
Metallics were shining brightly on the runways of Milan this past week, continuing a trend we saw in London and New York before that. While the word “metallic” usually means hard and shiny, the offerings on the runways were decidedly more soft and fluid.
Sequins added shine to the brighter colored garments in many of the spring 2012 shows, but Italian designers showed their deliciously butter-soft metallics in earthy tones and soft pastels. There’s nothing like a shiny combination of hard and soft. Read more »
In news that makes us really, really happy: Carine Roitfeld is slated to launch her own magazine.
While Roitfeld stays mum on many of the details, the former Vogue Paris editrix said in an interview for Dazed & Confused that she hopes to start a “really iconic magazine that’s fresh and exciting.” The magazine will “be something less frequent than a month” and will be printed in English. “There is no value in it being in French,” she said, “It needs to be international.”
According to ELLE, Roitfeld isn’t the only big-name fashion industry player involved: Marie-Amelie Sauve, Mario Testino and Stephen Gan–aka “the dream team”–will also play a role in the as-yet-unnamed publication. No doubt, with so many talented people involved, the magazine is sure to be a huge success.
Earlier this month, I got the chance to escape the craziness that is the fashion schedule and kick it with Liya Kebede down in Montauk where she was shooting her latest look book for her line Lem Lem. And it was hard not to feel like I’d really escaped the city, seeing as how the set–Chandelier Creative’s Montauk surf shack–was festooned with ten blow-up swans who were enjoying the ocean view along with the models.
It was the perfect setting for a collection grounded in easy, beachy woven pieces–the look we’ve come to know and love from Lem Lem. This season, though, Kebede had more in mind than just the beach: “Now we’re making it more city with little shorts and dresses.”
Lem Lem was established to save weaving artisan enclaves in Kebede’s native Ethiopia–but has since become a fashion industry favorite, even nabbing one of J.Crew’s coveted “In Good Company” partnerships.
Still, at its heart, Lem Lem is all about empowering the Ethiopian artisans it in employs.
PARIS–We spotted model-of-the-moment Lindsey Wixson looking cozy with photographer Theo Wenner at last night’s screening of Harmony Korine‘s new film Snowballs for Proenza Schouler. They’ve also been spotted together at some other fashion-y functions–do we smell a new couple?
Wenner is, of course, the 24-year-old son of Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, as well as Liv Tyler’s recent ex. Lindsey Wixson is, well, gorgeous. And 17. Maybe they’re just friends, but maybe it’s more?
Feast your eyes on this, ladies: New images of the Versace for H&M collaboration have finally arrived!
The expert sleuths over at Nitrolicious found a spread in Vogue Russia dedicated to the upcoming collection, which won’t hit US stores until November 19. As you might expect, the collection is veryVersace with bold, 80s-era prints dominating the body-conscious clothing. We’re particularly enamored with the leopard and pink scarf and the simple, black dress with gold accents.
You better get a good look at these duds now because we have a feeling they’re not going to last long in stores.
The latest rumors in the post-Galliano Dior saga say that LVMH is definitely interested in Alexander Wang, but, according to Vogue UK, for “other reasons”– i.e. not as the designer for Dior. {Vogue UK}
Karl Lagerfeld’s NY Apt on the Market: No one’s really sure whether Karl ever actually stayed in this 3-bedroom Gramercy Park pad, but for a cool (recently reduced!) $5.2 mil you can get a taste of what it’s like to live like the Kaiser. {Curbed NY}
Anna Wintour Invited Nicki Minaj to NYFW: Turns out those hilarious photo ops were more deliberate than we thought. Minaj told radio station Z100 that Wintour had personally invited her to the Carolina Herrera show, and later sent the rapper a framed photo of the odd pairing, inscribed “We match!” {NY Daily News}
Six-Month-Old Harper Beckham Already Has a Blog Dedicated to Her Style
Victoria's Secret Launches a High End Line: See the Full Collection
Now Boarding: A First Look at Chanel's Haute Couture Show on a Jumbo Jet
Effie Trinket Wears Alexander McQueen in the Hunger Games, Plus More Fashion and Beauty Reveals
Alessandra Ambrosio Walks the Runway 5 Months Pregnant for Colcci 
