Fashionista

How to Make It in Fashion: June 21, Dream Hotel Downtown, New York

Material Girl

Thursday January 13th, 2011

Fashion News Roundup: Prince William’s Wedding Shirt, Dave Matthews Lands a Campaign and Uniqlo’s Profits Tank
Fashion News Roundup

Fashion News Roundup: Prince William’s Wedding Shirt, Dave Matthews Lands a Campaign and Uniqlo’s Profits Tank

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Cathy Horyn Laments a Dull Moment In Fashion: Horyn’s point here is that designers and photographers are using sexuality and gender crossovers to be shocking rather than push themselves creatively. She calls out restrictions placed on designers and publications by advertisers, as well as American society’s prudish hangups about sex. {NYT}

Dave Matthews Is The New Face Of John Varvatos: The campaign, shot by David Clinch, was inspired by Matthews’ love of vintage instruments and his fascination with carnies. {WWD subscription required}

More Details on the Royal Wedding Wear–Prince William’s That Is: In the latest royal wedding news, Prince William’s Italian tailor describes the groom-to-be’s royal marriage shirt as “classic yet innovative” and says it will feature a high wing collar and embellished button holes.
{Telegraph}

Taylor Momsen No Longer A Material Girl: We’re not surprised to hear that Lourdes and Madonna are “desperately seeking” a new face for their Material Girl clothing line. They are asking fans to decide which trendy young starlet should replace Momsen as spokesperson. Thoughts? Suggestions? {Styleite}

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Published at 2:30 PM

Monday November 1st, 2010

Norma Kamali Will Be the Keynote Speaker at FashInvest’s First Annual Conference
The Business

Norma Kamali Will Be the Keynote Speaker at FashInvest’s First Annual Conference

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Norma Kamali is one of my industry idols. Not only because she makes a great swimsuit, but because she runs a successful, independent business pretty much on her own. A business that includes a flagship store, a diffusion line sold at department stores like Bloomingdale’s, a bustling online retail site, a massive deal with Wal-Mart, and special projects with eBay as well as several other mini ventures.

That’s why she’s the ideal keynote speaker for FashInvest’s first annual conference, taking place December 15 at FIT. Neil Cole, CEO of Iconix Brand Group, which owns everything from Madonna’s Material Girl collection for Macy’s to Candie’s to London Fog, is the other keynote speaker.

FashInvest is a New York-based organization formed by a group of venture capitalists, private equity managers, and fashion company executives who want to help emerging designers and other fashion entrepreneurs find funding. Unlike Fashionstake, another fashion/business startup I’ve written about, there’s really no crowdsourcing involved. It’s all about finding the right investors for your specific brand.

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Published at 12:42 PM

Monday August 23rd, 2010

Why L.A. Triumph Can Sue Madonna Over “Material Girl” Line and Win
Adventures in Copyright

Why L.A. Triumph Can Sue Madonna Over “Material Girl” Line and Win

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Late last Thursday, apparel manufacturer L.A. Triumph Inc., filed suit against Madonna, claiming that her “Material Girl” line for Macy’s threatens their own “Material Girl” clothing line that they have been selling since 1997.

L.A. Triumph is hoping a judge will rule that Madonna’s new tween line creates confusion among consumers (“deception in the marketplace” in legalese) and that Madonna should fork over all her “Material Girl” profits to L.A. Triumph.

So how is it that Madonna, the original “Material Girl,” she who sang the song, could be infringing on L.A. Triumph’s trademark?

We checked in with our resident fashion trademark expert, attorney Anne Sterba, of leading intellectual property firm Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, to find out if L.A. Triumph has a leg to stand on.

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Published at 4:14 PM

Friday August 20th, 2010

Fashion News Roundup: Betsey Helps You Get Your Eyebrows In Line, D&G Has A Lover’s Spat With Selfridges, & Madonna Can’t Get A Break
Fashion News Roundup

Fashion News Roundup: Betsey Helps You Get Your Eyebrows In Line, D&G Has A Lover’s Spat With Selfridges, & Madonna Can’t Get A Break

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The Big Tweeze: Tweezing: we do it to look good, but we rarely look good while doing it (just watch the faces you make in the mirror next time you start plucking). Until now, that is–Betsey Johnson, in yet another somewhat strange collaboration, will release her line of designer tweezers for Tweezerman starting September 1. {Bella Sugar}

Dolce Dispute: Dolce & Gabbana and Selfridges have come to an allegedly mutual agreement to stop their partnership, come next spring. While neither party has pointed fingers, we can’t help but look on this with the same skepticism we have when couples “mutually” split–c’mon, guys. One way or another, somebody’s getting dumped. {Vogue UK}

Causing A Commotion: A Los Angeles clothing company is suing Madonna in regards to her new clothing line for Macy’s, claiming that they have been using the name “Material Girl” for years. Wait, who’s ripping off whom? Didn’t Madonna invent that phrase? Yeesh. {TMZ}

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Published at 12:30 PM

Friday August 13th, 2010

Adventures In Copyright: Material Girl? More Like Stolen Material
Adventures in Copyright

Adventures In Copyright: Material Girl? More Like Stolen Material

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This one is so close I had trouble telling which image was which for a good ten minutes. One clever tipster, upon seeing a piece from Madonna’s new line for Macy’s, pointed out that the “Material Girl” line blatantly rips off a design from Ronny Kobo‘s work for Torn.

I mean, it’s identical–the pattern, the cut of the top, and even the arrangement of the embellishments. There’s nothing “Borderline” about it– Madonna’s been a “Bad Girl.” What’s your take?

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Published at 3:00 PM

Thursday July 29th, 2010

Helluuur thurrrr, We Dissect Lola’s Lexicon
Fashion Is Fun

Helluuur thurrrr, We Dissect Lola’s Lexicon

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If you, like us, are entranced by Lourdes Leon’s Material Girl blog, you’ve surely noticed that Madonna’s daughter has her own language, replete with neologisms and wacky phraseology.

Now Lola’s got three posts up, the latest of which includes the word “FABNOSITY.” It’s like her own hipster tween spin on Kimora Lee Simmons’ “fabulosity.”

So I culled through her musings to put together this handy Lola Lexicon, and tried my best to interpret and define each new word and phrase (Brits please clue me in if some of these are British-isms I don’t understand). This girl deserves her own urban dictionary. Here it is in alphabetical order. Enjoy.

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Published at 4:08 PM