We already gave you a sneak peak at Parsons's Designer of the Year candidates (more on the winner later!). Now, check out some of the best looks from yesterday's student fashion show.
It's been a season of second, third, and even fourth chances. After stints at Perry Ellis, Paco Rabanne, and Gap, designer Patrick Robinson is once again staging a comeback--this time, as creative director of Armani Exchange. Currently waiting in the wings is former Dior designer John Galliano, who has been assisting in Oscar de la Renta's atelier and is purportedly in talks to teach at Parsons. We can't say for sure whether either of these comebacks will take, but we can tell you about the returns other designers have staged in the past. Here are fashion's greatest comeback stories:
When we interviewed Patrick Robinson about Paskho, the oddly-named sportswear line he just launched on Kickstarter, we asked if he'd ever consider designing for a big brand again (his last gig was creative director at Gap). His response? "Never say never." Oh, Patrick. Considering he told us that exactly one week ago, he likely already knew that he would be joining Armani Exchange as creative director, as WWD just announced.
Patrick Robinson has finally made his first move after being fired from his creative director position at Gap almost two years ago. And we can pretty much guarantee it's not what you'd expect.
It's been more than a year since Gap fired creative director Patrick Robinson, and now they've finally hired a replacement, and she has a pretty impressive background.
Much credit is due to those hard working editors, models, and designers in the industry who juggle motherhood along with their demanding fashion car
One Small Step for Vogue: One giant step for fashion-kind. All 19 editions of Vogue announced this week they will no longer work with unhealthy-looking models or girls under 16. Linda's Child Support Demands: Making her "$10,000 to get out of bed" claims look downright tame, Linda Evangelista is asking for $46,000 a month in child support (that's $552,000 a year). Unsurprisingly, the court battle is getting a little dirty. Rules to Retail By: An anonymous ex-retail employee lays down the law when it comes to shopping. Learn it. Live it. Love it. Tom Ford's Naughty Lookbook: In typical Tom Ford style, his spring 2012 menswear lookbook features nudity and ass pinching.
When we first heard that Patrick Robinson had been dismissed as the head designer of Gap almost exactly a year ago, we can't say we were completely surprised. With sales still looking dismal, the brand cleaned house at an executive level days before they canned Robinson--you could say he was a sitting duck. Still, we wondered, with a talent as big as Robinson's (the Vogue darling has designed for Giorgio Armani, Perry Ellis, and Paco Rabanne) and a brand as powerful as Gap's: What went wrong? Apparently, a lot of things. This weekend the Sunday Styles took an in depth look at the various ways the Gap is trying to get back on its feet, namely with cleaner, better organized and peppier stores. More interestingly, the article delves (in a really dishy way!) into why Gap has been floundering these past few years, and, well, let's just say it doesn't exactly reflect kindly on Robinson.
The Gap went through some tough times this year. They fired Patrick Robinson, the creative director and face of the brand (and still haven't named a successor), and then there was that whole logo change fiasco. So we're happy to report, after taking a tour through Gap's spring collection yesterday, that the retailer is back on track. They've returned to the casual Americana that made them a staple in everyone's wardrobe. It's back to the basics--jeans, tees, cotton dresses, striped sweaters--but with a focus on making them true quality stand-bys you can rely on and mix with your fancier designer pieces. There's an emphasis on comfort, but not at the cost of style.
Usually, it’s editorial shakeups that get us all confused and inspire us to create befuddling charts and guides to recap and (at least attempt to) make sense of movement within the fashion industry. Lately, however, it seems that most of the movement is taking place at big fashion houses. Whether it’s the economy or designers getting burnt-out, it seems like a top level position opens (or gets filled) every week. From Galliano's exit from Dior to Marios Schwab's from Halston (which happened so recently we didn't have a chance to include it), here’s our little visual guide to the recent ins and outs at major fashion houses.
In news that will probably surprise no one, Patrick Robinson is out at the Gap. Back in February, the Gap cleaned house at the management level, installing Pam Wallack as the executive director of the new Gap Global Creative Center. They also replaced their longtime creative agency, Laird+Partners. It was inevitable that more big changes would come, since Gap’s North American performance has been dismal and uninspired for several years. “After spending the last three months in New York with the creative team, I’ve made the decision to make a change within our Gap Adult design team,” Wallack told WWD.
Ever since Givenchy's Fall 2011 show, I've been after the perfect leather pencil skirt to wear with oversize sweaters and neat sweatshirts. Luckily, Patrick Robinson and his team at Gap have offered up a more accessible version, along with several other desirable pieces for the specialty retailer's Fall 2011 collection. In addition to the leather pencil, I'll also take the leather dress, the long flowing skirt, the grey marled sweaters, and those bone-colored mary janes, which I very much hope are part of next season's Pierre Hardy collection. Which looks are your favorites? Click through to view the gallery.
Gap is all over the news today. The front page of this morning's WWD reveals that Gap Inc’s chairman and CEO, Glenn Murphy, has cleaned house at the brand. Marka Hansen, the former president of Gap North America, was sacked and will be succeeded by Art Peck, president of Gap Inc.’s outlet division and executive vice president of corporate strategy. And, Ogilvy & Mather Wolrdwide is the new ad agency for Gap. (That means Laird + Partners, the label's longtime creative agency, is out.) Pam Wallack, currently president of Gap Adult North America, will become executive director of the new Gap Global Creative Center, based in NYC. In a move reflecting Gap’s serious need to attract more creative talent, the Global Creative Center will function as a central headquarters for design. As WWD points out, it’s probably easier to find design talent in NYC than in San Francisco where the brand is currently headquartered. Gap's creative director, Patrick Robinson, has definitely done his part in improving the design and image of Gap. The second free-standing 1969 store just opened today in NYC. The first is in LA. These stores are meant to highlight the two-year-old Gap spin-off brand 1969, to offer pieces that are currently in Japanese and European Gap stores, and to be a showpiece for the “cool, sexy part of the brand,” as Patrick Robinson mentioned to me at the opening of the store this morning.
The internet is freaking out over the new Gap logo (a hater created this new logo for them) and we get it. It looks like Gap is schilling for Lipitor. The thing is, the logo change wasn’t actually that sudden. Gap started using the same helvetica font in advertisements for 1969 jeans over a year ago and it’s also been used in stores and on tags. This can be seen as one of many strategies the company has employed in an attempt to improve business, which hasn’t been doing so well over the past few years, a downfall many have attributed to the company’s lack of direction. Gap’s creative director since 2007, Patrick Robinson, revealed his interest in keeping Gap modern and fresh as part of his plan to “elevate the brand.” However, some are criticizing Gap for taking this too far by getting rid of the “iconic” logo of the “heritage” brand. But is Gap really a heritage brand? 1969 was not that long ago. Maybe a step forward, visually or otherwise, is what the brand needs.
When I met Gap's creative director Patrick Robinson a few weeks ago, pants were on his mind. The specialty retailer was just about to launch its new trouser collection, which aims to elevate Gap from Casual Friday to Monday-Sunday, or "7-days-a-week dressing." Yesterday, Gap sent me a pair of the slim crop pants to try on for size. They retail for $49.50. (There are seven styles in total, including a traditional wide leg trouser, boot cut, skinny, boy fit, and a straight leg.)
The man who headed up Gap's marketing and advertising campaigns has left the company, according to WWD (subscription required). After a 14-year run at Gap, Dennis Leggett decided that enough was enough, and has decided to move on. Sources told WWD that Leggett was frustrated with Gap's poor performance over the last decade. It seems that Leggett's position might not be filled. Instead, Laird+Partners--the creative consulting firm that does most of Gap's campaigns--will likely be playing a bigger role in things. Of course, the fashion world is wondering: What does this mean for Patrick Robinson?
Gap may have enjoyed an elevated fashion profile since Patrick Robinson came on board in 2007, but financially, it's just as disastrous as ever. Sal
This morning, the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted a press preview of the Costume Institute's newest exhibition, The American Woman: Fashioning A Nat
more We pass the Gap on the corner of Oxford Street on the way to and from our hotel, and we've been staring at these brown suede shoes for days. T
The Costume Institute just announced their Spring 2010 exhibition and the hosts for the Gala Benefit (to be held on May 3.) This year Anna will be sha
This morning marked the final debut of Gap's new 1969 denim collection, (we think). So despite the fact that it's fifty blocks away from my apartment,
We've been anxiously awaiting the new CFDA Design Edition khakis at the GAP. Not as much as the white shirts, but still we're excited. Even better, we
Gap's mini-5th Avenue concept store is getting a new tenant. Patrick Robinson's teamed up with the people at Pantone for a line of brightly colored te