Archive for September 2011

Fashion Law

Madonna Will Stand Trial Next Month to Defend ‘Material Girl’

It’s been a little over a year since apparel manufacturer L.A. Triumph slapped Madonna with a lawsuit, claiming that her “Material Girl” line for Macy’s threatens their own “Material Girl” juniors clothing line that they have been selling since 1997. We thought it sounded crazy, considering the fact that Madonna invented “Material Girl,” the song (well, writers did, but you know what we mean), in 1984.

However, we learned last August that L.A. Triumph actually had a leg to stand on, because while Madonna may have the copyright to the name of the song, she doesn’t have the trademark, since she hadn’t yet sold any products bearing the name (several missed opportunities there if you ask us!)

Madonna, understandably, was hoping they didn’t–she requested that the court throw out the lawsuit, which the judge has denied.

Read more »
Fashion Is Fun

Watch: A Bare-Faced Lady Gaga in New ‘Fashion Film’ by Inez and Vinoodh

By Cheryl Wischhover Friday, Sep 2, 2011 / 8:45 AM

The Lady Gaga onslaught continues. After her stint as Jo Calderone at the VMA’s and yesterday’s tirade against Cathy Horyn (for which we’re eagerly awaiting a reply from the fashion critic), Gaga announced on her Twitter feed last night that she made a series of five “fashion films” (read: music videos) with Inez and Vinoodh to support her latest single, “You and I.”

In it, the singer reprises one of the characters she introduced in her original video, Nymph, (who bears a striking resemblance to Gaga on her Vanity Fair cover.) She’s bare-faced and mostly naked, save for a slip dress that doesn’t really stay on properly. Read more »

Fashion Is Fun

Fashionista’s FNO Guide #1: Where to Find the Celebrities

We can’t believe Fashion’s Night Out (and, thus, fashion week) is only a week away. As anyone who has ever been to a Fashion’s Night Out is probably aware, they pack enough events to fill an entire week into just a few hours, so pre-FNO planning is key. While Vogue‘s interactive map is quite handy, that is still a lot of stores to go through. So, we’re preparing a few of our own Fashion’s Night Out guides.

This one is for those of you who just want to see some famous people. We don’t blame you! Fashion’s Night Out offers rare opportunities to get up close and personal with real Hollywood stars. Maybe Tilda Swinton and Ne-Yo will become friends or Daniel Radcliffe will get wasted or Alexa Chung will debut a new haircut or Seth Meyers will screw up your drink or the Real Housewives of New York will be insane (that last one is the most likely)! Here’s our guide to where all your favorite celebs will be.

Read more »
Fashion Is Fun

In Honor of the US Open, Here’s a Look Back at Fashion’s Love Affair with Tennis

Ever since the US Open began Monday, something very funny has been happening over at WWD. The industry newspaper–dedicated to reporting the comings and goings of the fashion and beauty world–has been talking grand slams and sports stats.

We’ve been noticing tennis-related posts popping up on all sorts of fashion-related sites. In the past few days, NY Times has run a piece dissecting female players’ hairstyles, WWD has reported on Ryan Harrison’s “brat attack”, NOWNESS premiered a dramatic, smoke-filled video starring tennis A-listers taking swings, and Vogue has run several tennis-themed features including a profile on the sports’ newest stars and a look at Maria Sharapova’s fashion cred.

Yes, some of these have been legitimately fashion-related, but it’s still a whole lot more industry buzz than has been given to other sports (Can you imagine a football-related headline on WWD!?)

Let’s take a look at the evolution of the fashion industry’s love affair with tennis.

Read more »
Rants

Four-Year-Old Girl Sports Fake Boobs and Butt, Wins a Prize for It

Oh man, we really, really hope we can stop writing about “sexy” children soon.

The Daily Mail reports that on a recent episode of Toddlers & Tiaras a four-year-old contestant sported prosthetic boobs and a padded butt, which she promptly wiggled and shimmied on stage for a Dolly Parton routine. Interestingly enough, the costume was inherited by her mother, who also wore it when she was a toddler and competed in beauty pageants.

Read more »
Fashion Is Fun

Ladurée, Fashion’s Favorite Fancy Bakery, Opens Up Shop In New York

New Yorkers, get ready: The world’s chicest treat has finally arrived!

Of course, we’re talking about Parisian pastry company Ladurée, whose pretty pastel macaroons have taken the fashion industry by storm (seriously, what would Fashion Week be without them?)–and whose first US store has officially opened on the Upper East Side at 864 Madison Ave, between 70th and 71st streets.

But while Ladurée may have broken ground in America–don’t expect the company to compromise it’s Parisian roots.

Read more »
People Are Talking

Rumor Mill: Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning and Sofia Coppola Are the Only Celebs Attending Marc Jacobs This Season

Only three celebrities will have the honor of gracing Marc Jacobs‘ exclusive front row this NYFW, we hear from two separate sources: Sofia Coppola, Elle Fanning and her sister Dakota.

For the past few seasons, Marc has been especially selective in deciding which celebrities, if any, receive invites to his runway shows. He told Style.com last February: “I’m not into the celebrity thing like we used to. That’s boring . . . We’re not going to have celebrities. We used to have all the celebrities and people there, and I think that at that moment in time, that’s what people loved. It generated so much press and at a certain point it was like, ‘Did anybody actually watch the show?’”

Of course, the presence of Leighton Meester, Vanessa Hudgens, Woopi Goldberg and Martha Stewart at last season’s show seemed like a departure from that, but only one or two celebrities attended the seasons preceding that one, up until Spring 2009, to which every celebrity you can think of–from Jay-Z to J.Lo to Wynona Ryder–showed up.

If this rumor is true, we like this season’s tightly-edited guest list.

Read more »
Streetwalker

Street Style: Samantha Recycles Clothes And Listens To Lots Of 80′s Music

Name: Samantha

Age: 24

Occupation: Works at Aritzia

How would you describe your style? I like to recycle pieces. I wear the same few items with different things.

What was the last thing you bought? This skirt from Aritzia.

Read more »
Fashion News Roundup

Fashion News Roundup: 3-D Runway Shows, Snooki Is A News Anchor, and a Bad Kardashian Photoshop

3-D: The Next Big Runway Thing: Several designers are working on 3-D shows for the fall. Norma Kamali will show her 3-D look book and fashion film online starting September 15, and Thierry Mugler’s Nicola Formichetti is working with a fantasy-gaming company on a projected video that users can watch via iPad at his BOFFO pop-up shop on Sept. 8. Break out those red-and-blue glasses. {NY Times}

Khloe Kardashian Shrunk In Her Kardashian Kollection Photos: The 5’10″ Khloe appears to be the same height as her 5’2″ and 5’3″ sisters in the photos for the Kardashian Kollection for Sears shot by Annie Leibovitz. Talk about false advertising. {Jezebel}

Galliano Won’t Be Present For His Verdict: The court decides on Sept. 8 whether Galliano’s commentary was anti-Semetic, but according to his lawyer he won’t be there to hear it. {Fashionologie}

Read more »
Fashion Is Fun

Vera Wang Is Knocking Herself Off and Selling Kim Kardashian’s Wedding Gowns at David’s Bridal for $1,600

Kim Kardashian’s wedding was one of–if not the–most over-the-top celebrity weddings of the century, costing the bride and her groom roughly $10 million. Her engagement ring alone cost close to $2 million, so we don’t even want to guess how much the bride’s three custom Vera Wang gowns set her back.

Lucky for you though, come February 2012, you will be able to purchase two of the gowns–the ballgown and mermaid gown–for under $1,600 each at David’s Bridal, thanks to a special collaboration between designer Vera Wang and the affordable retailer, reports E! News.

Read more »
Fashion Careers

Closetista.com is looking for Fall interns!

Closetista is a blend of traditional e-commerce and video programming bringing trend-conscious shoppers across the country closer to designers than ever before.

We’re looking for interns with not just a great love of fashion and knowledge of young designers, but also with real work ethic. You’ll have plenty of errands and lots of somewhat mundane daily tasks, but you’ll also get to work closely with the small team of an exciting start-up. We’re looking for a few different kinds of interns:

Community Managers: You should be obsessed with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Chictopia, Polyvore, Lookbook.nu and everything in between. You must know HTML or have experience with Dreamweaver and other similar programs.

Merchandising and Logistics: Not only will you be sourcing exciting new brands to feature on Closetista, you’ll work closely with the designers from start to finish. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, sourcing, product selection, sales events, order fulfillment, and the all important customer service!

Video/TV Ops: You’ll be assisting with our actual live web-TV productions from beginning to end as well as producing B-roll segments. Perfect if you’re in film school or have experience in the field!

Read more »
People Are Talking

Lady Gaga Talks a Lot of Smack about Cathy Horyn in her Latest V Column

Cathy Horyn, the New York Times style critic, is one of the fashion industry’s most respected (and, it must be said, feared) writers. Many have felt the lash of her sharp tongue, and her more negative reviews have resulted in a ban from more than one designer’s show, including Georgio Armani. Not everyone can take the heat, including Lady Gaga, who directed her third installment of “From The Desk Of Lady Gaga,” published on V Magazine’s website this morning, at Horyn’s acerbic pen in what she calls an address of “Extreme Critic Fundamentalism.”

Gaga addresses the “insult vs. insight” of fashion criticism. She asks, “Doesn’t the integrity of the critic become compromised when their writings are consistently plagued with negativity? When the public is no longer surprised or excited by the unpredictability of the writer, but rather has grown to expect the same cynicism from the same cynic?” It’s a fair question, especially in this hyper-scrutinized industry where millions publish their own blogs and lob criticism at designers’ work from a relatively inexperienced standpoint. So while Gaga’s question is certainly valid, taking aim at Horyn, a journalist with years of experience covering the fashion industry for one of the world’s best newspapers, is not.

Read more »