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.
Lyn Devon‘s Fall 2011 look is undoubtedly inspired by the Halston era. But unlike some of the uber-referential collections we saw last season, hers is a more subtle, studied reflection. Along with the ultra suede and long lines, there was a theme of travel. Devon’s customer can mix her cashmere drawstring bottoms, silk blouses, and graphic dresses to create hundreds of brand new outfits. A drawstring waist jacket in Colombo cashmere–black, mustard, navy, or grey–serves as the finishing piece.
While Devon doesn’t seek out red carpet attention, her long jersey bustier dress is sure to garner some. We see a lady like Cate Blanchett–or perhaps Julianna Margulies?–pairing it with a dripping diamond necklace and nothing more.
If you thought Hilary Swank was the kind of serious two time Oscar-winning actress who wouldn’t become the latest in a never ending chain of celebs to launch a clothing line, think again.
Hilary Swank is developing a clothing line, WWD is reporting. Swank is working with DMA Designers Management Agency, the same agency that arranged the collaboration between Amar’e Stoudemire and Rachel Roy, to develop a concept for her collection.
Swank’s line will reportedly have an athletic bent, given her gymnast background. “Our platform is a contemporary, outdoor, athleisure brand,” DMA co-founder Marc Beckman told WWD.
While this news might seem a little out of left field, given that Swank isn’t an actress who is particularly known for her style (though we’ll never forget the Guy Laroche she wore when she won the Oscar in 2005), there was that head-scratching item last month that she is developing a fashion game show for the CW. Two years ago she signed on to produce a movie version of Falling Out of Fashion, a novel by Jane Pratt’s former executive assistant Karen Yampolsky. We’ve yet to see anything come out of that deal yet but the title is listed in IMDB for 2011. And then let’s also not forget that she’s buds with Marc Jacobs and has been known to work in his West Village store just for kicks. So maybe Swank is more of a fashionista than we thought.
Even if Bruce Oldfield seems to have pinned down the honor, designers still had fun imagining what they would create for princess-to-be Kate Middleton, if indeed she chose them to fashion her royal wedding dress.
Women’s Wear Daily asked 29 designers to sketch their fantasy. Karl Lagerfeld gave her boots. Chris Benz gave her color: yellow, to be exact. And Christian Lacroix–yes, the man, not the brand–gave her a collage of the old (a Victorian skirt), new (a patchwork gown), borrowed (Queen Elizabeth’s veil), and red (an “Elizabethan top, as red was the wedding color until 1900!”). Other impressive participants included Tory Burch, Lyn Devon, Prabal Gurung, and Jason Wu (shown here). Which look did we like the best? Well, we have to hand it to our friend Chris Benz. While we know Kate won’t go with his sunny yellow–as fun as that would be–we do think the slinky, nipped in silhouette he chose is perfect for the soon-to-be royal. (And we promise we aren’t being biased.)
Click through to see our 12 favorite designs.
“It’s my Beene Bag!” Lyn Devon exclaims as she holds up a vintage Geoffrey Beene “Beene Bag” dress, given to her by a writer friend. The dress is cream with a red rope cinching the bust. “She knows that Beene is such a huge influence for me,” she says. Clearly, the writer understands Devon’s take on sportswear. Actually it’s not really a take–it’s a very literal expression. Devon creates real sportswear–you know, the easy, comfortable, bold work and evening wear pieces inspired by less-formal attire. There are very few designers who create real sportswear these days, save for Michael Kors.
This season you’ll find a long, lime green, nearly sheer shirt dress with…a drawstring waist. Or a three piece suit in…pique cotton.
This, to me, is how I want to dress everyday. Devon’s windowpane dress trench, or the windowpane blouse and shorts, are dream pieces. There’s also a gorgeous button down blouse with black pearls individually sewn on all over–Devon’s take on polka dots. “I wanted to play with the idea of being a lady, so we used things like pearls and bows–but I didn’t want it to be too precious,” says Devon. The pussy bow, for instance, shows up in a sleeveless a-line dress–made from avocado-colored leather, natch.
