Last year, Woolmark revived its International Woolmark Prize, a global fashion competition that is credited with springboarding the careers of Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld in the ’50s.
Today, the U.S. finalists have been announced and the list includes some of our favorites. They are:
Whoops! Did Sigourney Weaver wear her Lanvin dress backwards at the SAG Awards? See for yourself. {HuffPo}
During her six hour testimony in court Gaga claimed her former assistant (who’s suing the pop star for overtime pay) was always partying with Terry Richardson and using her YSL discount without permission. {NY Post}
In all his spare time, Karl Lagerfeld is going to write a book–using 19th century daguerreotypes–about Roman fountains called The Glory of Water. {WWD}
Attention, all you Drew Barrymore fans: Rumors started swirling back in October that the actress and new mom was launching a color cosmetics line, and now it’s confirmed. Barrymore will debut her new makeup range, Flower, this January.
Along with warmer temperatures and sunshine, summer also brings unpredictable rain storms like this morning’s terrifying torrential downpour. In a city like New York, rain means you can expect to see a lot of people trying to carry umbrellas without crashing into each other and probably just as many people wearing Hunter rainboots.
The ubiquitous brand has expanded tremendously over the past few years, most recently with the well-received introductions of outerwear and handbags. Their ever-increasing success can be attributed to a few things, not the least of which are the current popularity of heritage brands and the company’s U.S. CEO of the past four years Wendy Svarre. Last week, Svarre invited us over to her lovely upper east side digs for a British-themed cocktail party (it’s a British brand, after all), where we chatted about the brand’s heritage and how they became so damn ubiquitous.
Gucci Accused of Inhumane Conditions In China, Responds: After reports of unsafe working conditions surfaced from employees at one of their China outposts, the company countered that “Gucci does not and will not endorse or tolerate the alleged malpractices” and they have made several management firings, changed the “communication channels” between employees and the company and hired consultants to review their staff. {Vogue UK}
Jean Paul Gaultier Calls Anna Wintour “Monstrous”: While discussing fashion films and The Devil Wears Prada, the designer said, “Anna Wintour is a lot more monstrous than she is described!” and when asked if he thought she was an influential figure, he only replied, “She is a figure.” {The Independent}
Tiffany’s Is Doing the Jewelry For The Upcoming Great Gatsby Film: Naturally. The one-of-a-kind period pieces are inspired by the vast Tiffany archives and include platinum and diamond-encrusted bracelets, rings, headpieces and long pearl necklaces. Vintage Tiffany on Carey Mulligan? Sounds amazing. {WWD}
Project No. 8
Deal: Markdowns on labels like Adam Kimmel, Henrik Vibskov, and Siki Im. Men’s brown leather oxfords from Maison Martin Margiela are $308 (were $615); a strapless dress from A Detacher is $165 (was $550.)
When/Where: Thursday, August 18 through Saturday, August 20. Daily noon—7pm. Men’s: 38 Orchard St at Hester St (212-925-5599.) Women’s: 138 Division St between Orchard and Ludlow Sts (212-925-4271)
Link: www.projectno8.com
Ends: Saturday, 20 Aug 2011
The Lake & Stars
Deal: Up to 80% off archival collections, plus 30% to 50% off the spring 2011 line
When/Where: Thursday, August 18 through Friday, August 19. Thurs 1pm—7pm, Fri 9am—7pm. 373 Broadway at White St, #205 (no phone)
Link: www.thelakeandstars.com
Ends: Friday, 19 Aug 2011
Gargyle
Deal: Up to 80% off men’s and women’s clothing from names like Surface to Air, United Bamboo, and Vena Cava. Sale applies to the website as well.
When/Where: Thursday, August 18 through Saturday, August 20. Daily 11am—7pm. 16A Orchard St between Hester and Canal
Link: www.gargyle.com
You can’t walk a block on a rainy day in New York City without seeing a pair of Hunter wellington boots. Also the unofficial Glastonbury uniform, the rubber boots have become somewhat iconic and are indisputably what the Hunter brand is known for. Recently, however, the brand has been expanding into other categories including leather footwear, handbags, accessories and now outerwear, which is set to hit stores at the end of this month.
The coats are classic, well-made and functional–exactly what we’d hoped for when we found out Hunter was planning to launch outerwear back in May. There’s a classic trench, wool peacoat and trench, a quilted coat, a field coat, a duffle coat, a fur-trimmed parka and a couple of down coats that look like they might actually keep you warm without making you look like a ridiculous eskimo. The men’s coats are great too and there’s nothing over $650.
Hunter may always be known for their ubiquitous wellies, but they definitely got it right with this outerwear collection, which will be available at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Saks and Nordstrom, as well as on their e-commerce site in September. Click through for the full look book.
Fashionista favorite Of-a-Kind, a cool e-commerce site that sells small quantities of special edition merchandise from emerging designers, is launching a blouse by Tucker as their latest featured product today. This is despite the fact that Tucker’s New York studio burned down the weekend of July 23 (yes, that’s just a little over three weeks ago). And it wasn’t just a little smoke–shit burned. down. Luckily, no one was hurt, but they lost every single thing in the studio, including their computer servers and all their current stock (including the pieces for Of a Kind). Could you imagine?
This is the kind of thing that could put a company out of business–at least temporarily. Instead, here’s the crazy story of how they turned around and went right back to work without missing a single shipment, as told to us by the Of a Kind peeps:
Tucker Blair is a Washington, D.C.-based line of uber-preppy needlepoint belts and headbands–the kind worn by women named Muffy who summer in Martha’s Vineyard and bear lacrosse-playing children. Blair’s wares are certainly cute, but perhaps not the first line one would consider fitting in with Opening Ceremony. A store that features stuff by Chloe Sevigny and Alexander Wang hardly screams Cape Cod.
But that’s the brilliance of Opening Ceremony. Needlepoint belts and Band of Outsiders blazers sit seamlessly with Delfina Delettrez jewelry and Nicholas Kirkwood shoes.
Comprised of five hand-sewn leather belts, this unisex line is totally wearable.
Through the hallowed halls of The Lambs Club we went, off to see Gaby Basora’s latest Tucker offerings. The rich-with-faux-history space provided a surprising contrast when paired with her cheery clothes, leading us to think that Zoe Kravitz or some similar rock-star offspring was about to pop out from behind the racks. It’s this bohemian yet intelligently flirtatious vibe that’s found Basora a boatload of fans. Her signature off-kilter prints have paved the way for what’s becoming the Tucker lifestyle, and from the looks of her holiday line, shown yesterday, this is only the beginning. While simple in silhouette, Basora is a purveyor of what most cool women want–interestingly detailed clothes with the perfect amount of panache. Nary of pretension and full of personality, her holiday textiles are a quirky mix of oriental and Victorian references–perhaps alluding to the British conquest of Hong Kong during the era, a feat that Basora is similarly seeking to accomplish, albeit for fashion rather than opium. “It’s a very special point of view, our take on more fanciful fabrics,” she said of the collection’s gold-embroidered silks.
We queued up to chat with Lake Bell last night at Target’s GO International celebration because we thought she was HILAR in No Strings Attached. (A seriously good movie, despite what the guy on TaxiTV says.) We also wanted to grill the actress on her personal style, because unlike many of her peers, she actually has some.
