Cat’s Meow: We’ve missed you this season, Catherine McNeil, though you look perfectly content posing for Greg Kadel in Vogue Italia. {Models}
No Models? Mon Dieu!: German magazine Brigitte’s banned professional models from its pages. They say they’ve been using Photoshop to fatten up girls for years and they give up. So from now on, it’s “real women” only. {The Guardian}
Style Like Me: We’ve mentioned it before, but stylist Elisa Goodkind’s awesome blog jumps into closets across the city (and its outer boroughs) in search of inspiring wardrobes. Today, ogle over Becka Diamond’s Chanel pumps and Rick Owens jacket. {StyleLikeU}
Don’t Stop Believin’: It’s the song that never dies. Apparently Kate Moss was accosted in the street by a Journey-loving thong-wearing gentleman after Simon Cowell’s 50th birthday party. And this is where our moms would tell us nothing good happens after 2 am. And we would disagree.{Page Six}
Continue reading Mid-Day Snack…
The fashion world’s been waiting for ages to get a glimpse of Christopher Kane’s Versus collection for Versace.
Last season, the duo teased us with a peek at killer shoes and bags, as black and studded and sexy as expected. But this Sunday, he and the boss lady finally revealed the whole thing during a presentation in Milan.
In the video, he talks to The Guardian’s Jo Jones about the process, the importance of Donatella, and why he steers clear of too much color (to showcase his almost manic attention to detail). A few of the dresses actually bear a striking resemblance to Kane’s Topshop collection, with their lace panelling and detached sleeves and of course all of them sort of scream sex.
Red carpets should be flooded in no time.
What Did You Think?: Hadley Freeman wonders whether or not it’s really true that models subsist on coffee, cigarettes, vodka and champagne. Just for the record, we’ve seen them eat sandwiches, with champagne of course.{TheGuardian}
Risky Business: Karla Martinez just left her job as Market Editor at T, The New York Times’ style magazine, for Karl Templer at Interview. {FWD}
Surf’s Up: Yigal Azrouel took a trip to Costa Rica & took lots of pretty pictures. What we’d have given to be on that boat… {TheMalcolm}
Too Good: Mickey Boardman, Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos will be manning the dunk tank at Bird & Vena Cava’s Fashion Week Block Party. It’s over 90 degrees outside & we love all those people and it pretty much sounds like heaven. {Refinery29}
Continue reading Mid-Day Snack…
In other fashion movie news, Coco Avant Chanel continues its international release rounds.
The movie comes out in the UK next weekend, July 31, where it’s being welcomed with various festivities. The Guardian’s Jess Carter Morley breaks down the impeccable fashions while the newspaper’s offering £100 to Selfridges - not quite enough for Chanel ready-to-wear, though plenty for this.
If you’d rather embrace something more authentic, QueensOfVintage.com is hosting a shindig at St. Pancras train station on the 30th. They’d like everyone to wear their “finest attire” and you’ll have a chance to win Chanel related memorabilia. Though of course Chanel would like you to know this has nothing to do with them.
As for us, well, by time it comes out here September 25th we’ll be in London anyway!
Even if you’re not in LA, you probably heard about Erin Wasson’s garage sale, where she practically emptied out her closet and sold her Wang and Balenciaga (among others) for $100 per piece.
It sounded fun, it benefited charity, but many wondered aloud why you would clear your closet so ruthlessly (the last time we tried this, we ended up with a Hefty bag full of Urban Outfitters from high school, which we’re pretty sure nobody was willing to buy) when your average dress comes from Fendi instead of Forever. Turns out, there was a real reason behind it:
In this weekend’s Guardian, Erin described her dream closet, “a rolling rack and it’s like your four T-shirts, your five dresses, your two pairs of jeans,” which Erin considers to be “very Japanese” and a more “utilitarian” approach than what she had pre-sale.
So there you have it. The next time you see Erin in a party dress, you might be able to talk her into giving it to you in exchange for a donation. Just start the conversation with konnichiwa.
If Daphne Guinness sounded like she was distancing herself from the POP project after the world pretty much laughed at Dasha Zhukova’s appointment as editor-in-chief, it’s because she, apparently, really was.
Yesterday, in regards to her involvement with POP, she told Derek Blasberg that she would like to “emphasize that I’m completely neutral here—I’m a free agent! Fashion is my family and I love everyone just the same.” It sounded weird, but ok.
And now today, she’s blogged on the Starworks site that “it was so FUNNY to read on the web that I am on the new board of POP Magazine with Dasha Zhukova and my friend Ashley Heath. It was flattering but not true I am afraid. It came as a complete surprise. A complete misunderstanding! That is the nature of the web.”
Guess the web - er, the Guardian, actually - got it wrong…
Rumors over the last week have just been confirmed by the Guardian: Dasha Zhukova, the designer behind Kova & T (also well-known as the girlfriend of Roman Abramovich, the billionaire who owns the Chelsea Football Club) is the new editor-in-chief of POP.
The first issue of the new POP hits newsstands September 1st, an ambitious date considering Bauer Media’s had to hire a freelance team to replace the masthead Katie took with her to LOVE.
Bauer’s also established an editorial board to “provide guidance and inspiration”, a team that includes Daphne Guinness and Julia Restoin-Roitfield.
This job will be Dasha’s very first in magazine editorial.
Everyone’s talking about Zara - Hayley got a new dress, I got a winter coat and now they’ve overtaken Gap as the largest fashion retailer in the world.
The Spanish chain’s profits increased by 9% while Gap’s fell 10% in the first quarter according to the Guardian. Blame’s fallen on the American consumer for cutting back on spending - but shouldn’t some of it be placed on the Gap, too?
While Zara’s devoted itself to absorbing high fashion runway designs and interpreting them for the masses with an incredibly fast turnover rate, Gap’s flailed its image all over the place - Euro designers, capsule collections, the all-American Patrick Robinson - to no avail. Their profits might increase the week their new white shirts hit the racks, but that customer won’t return until the next special collection - they’ll probably be at Zara instead.
Why did I buy my winter coat full price from Zara two weeks ago? Because I know it’ll be gone by the end of the month, replaced with some other diluted Rick Owens interpretation. Meanwhile, Gap’s overproduction means that if I like something, I can wait months with the guarantee that it will go on sale for a fraction of the price (good for me, bad for Gap) - but the bigger problem might be that I don’t like anything.
If Gap wants to cater to a jeans and t-shirt customer, then do that, without mixing in Pierre Hardy shoes and ThreeAsFour dresses, but if they want to cater to a customer who cares about Philip Crangi and Rodarte, do that. They’ve overreached, leaving their customers, and apparently their own brand strategists, quite confused.
Zara picked a customer early on and continues to target her while opening almost 4,000 stores internationally. If Gap wants their crown back, they better start paying attention.