Bridal shoes are not traditionally the sexiest kind of footwear. Sensible white heels you’ll never wear again, right? Wrong, if Brian Atwood has a say. He’s launching a bridal collection.
The Blonds are known for combining couture-level embellishment with Bob Mackie kitsch. The duo’s Swarovski-covered corsets have become signatures for many a pop star (Rihanna, Katy Perry, to name a few).
Designers Phillipe and David Blond’s latest creation was a commission for superstar Beyoncé’s latest world tour, The Mrs. Carter Show, and although the set list provides no new material (sad face), she’s retired her vintage Thierry Mugler for a provocative new number by the pair that’s making news the world over. Yeah, we’re talking about that crazy sparkly boob corset. We chat with the designers about the shocking look, their inspiration behind it, and working for Queen Bey.
Even if you’re not a musical person, I’d wager to say you’ll like Motown the Musical, which opened on Broadway this week. The show, written by Motown creator Berry Gordy, goes at breakneck speed through five decades of Motown history (including Gordy’s childhood) and through 50 of Motown’s greatest hits. You’re bound to hear one or 20 songs you know by heart, and at the show I attended, singing along was encouraged.
With a score that encompasses hits from The Supremes, The Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye (the list goes on and on), you’d think it would be hard to focus on much else–the story, the costumes, the set. The New York Times theater critic Charles Isherwood justly faults the show for prioritizing the music over storytelling (though when the music is this good, you can see why the producers would want to cram it all in there). But Motown was a style as well as a sound. And the task of creating the costumes for the show, which sparkled extra bright thanks to a sponsorship from Swarovski, fell to Tony Award nominated costume designer–and Project Runway Season 7 runner-up–Esosa.
KCD president Ed Filipowski is one of the most influential—and intimidating—execs in the fashion business.
As the head of public relations for KCD, he works with a wide range of prestigious clients, from Givenchy and Swarovski to Marc Jacobs and Victoria’s Secret. Filipowski is also revered for nurturing—and holding onto—talent. While public relations is known for its fast turnover, the publicist—an employee at KCD since the 1980s, an owner nearly as long—has been able to keep his staff close. Currently, the average tenure for a senior-level publicist is 9.5 years. (And a KCD publicist pretty much never defects to another agency, which is also rare.)
I spoke with Filipowski last week about how he got his job at KCD—and what he looks for when he’s interviewing both senior publicists and interns.
Always wondered what it would be like to be in Carrie Bradshaw’s shoes? Daydream no more! Sarah Jessica Parker has donated three pairs of heels that she wore on Sex and the City to a charity auction to raise funds for LaGuardia High School for Music, Art and the Performing Arts in NYC. {New York Daily News}
There’s no “Chasing Pavements” for Adele. The songstress was recently named the UK’s richest young musician—with a fortune of £30 million—for the Sunday Times‘s annual Rich List. {Vogue UK}
Miranda Kerr couldn’t find time to fulfill her Victoria’s Secret Angel duties because she’s too busy signing a deal with an airline and posing for Mango. {New York Post}
Kim Kardashian finds an unlikely ally in renowned journalist and feminist Gloria Steinem, who defends her from the media’s fat-shaming of her pregnant body. {US Weekly}
Nicholas Kirkwood is on a roll. This past January, he became the first accessories designer to pick up the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, beating out a slew of buzzy ready-to-wear designers like Mary Katrantzou and Peter Pilotto. And just today, the New York Post is crowning him the “new Manolo.”
But he never lets it go to his head. We caught up with Kirkwood during Paris fashion week to ask him about his big win, the possibility of handbags in the pipeline, and being a miserable fashion intern (he’s just like us!).
The J.Crew president on her longtime obsession with Giles & Brother, the return of pinstripes, and her next collaboration (of sorts).
Digital Fashion Shows, an online platform launched last year by KCD to present runway shows in a streaming format, is expanding to accessories with a little help from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the British Fashion Council (BFC). The two influential organizations have joined forces to select a batch of promising accessory designers here and across the pond to present on the new Digital Accessory Showcase sponsored by Swarovski.
Just moments ago, we stopped by our neighbors’ (our office building is around the corner from the CFDA) to hear Diane von Furstenberg and Nadja Swarovski announce this year’s nominees for the coveted CFDA Awards. Read on to find out who they are!
No, Katniss is not wearing McQueen.
Haute couture literally translates to “high sewing,” but what does the term really mean? When ready-to-wear dresses and coats can cost upwards of $4,000, what are the real indicators that a piece is truly couture?
A new exhibit opening at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris this week should clear those questions up.
What better than a magazine called Love to wish us a happy Valentine’s Day?
