The label A.P.C., whose clothes often rival Jil Sander for their slim fit, is coming out with a new line of overpriced denim called “Butler Worn Out.” The jeans, which feature a distressed, worn-out look, are named in part not for their look — which is usually achieved using sandpaper or some factory device — but the way their look is achieved: by having somebody else wear the jeans before you. You’ll even know the name of just who walked around in your pair before you, because the person’s name will be written inside the pants. We know these type of jeans by another name: used. [HS]
The money, which often isn’t as much as one might think, that recording artists make off of their music these days is enough to make the average person very happy, but not quite enough to fund the crazy, extravagant lifestyles that they like to publicly flaunt. Hence, the ubiquitous clothing lines, colognes, footwear lines, and other branding deals. In recent days there have been a flurry of such deals, from high brow to low brow.
Don’t expect to see many black models at Paris Fashion Week. Top designers, who are doing some preemptive damage control, say so themselves. They blame the agencies, which they say have a limited selection of models and color and an overwhelming number of Eastern Europeans.
Harper’s Bazaar is v. v. excited about the new fragrance from Estée Laude, Sensuous. So excited that they’ve booked Gwenyth Paltrow, the face of Sensuous, for the cover (considered a major get!) and dedicated 40 – four zero – pages to Paltrow as well as Elizabeth Hurley, Carolyn Murphy and Hilary Rhoda, who also, in their off time, collect fees as the faces of Sensuous. Critics might say that there’s some sordid pay-for-play advertising/editorial deal going on at Bazaar, but that’s nonsense! After all, do you see an ad from Estee Lauder in the magazine? Nooooo! And the magazine said in a statement, “Like many magazines, we often feature celebrities to coincide with their beauty and fashion launches.” Obviously, “coincide” does not refer to some outlandish sponsorship deal set up by the publisher, but a pure editorial decision that gives readers what they want: beautiful women in a magazine. CONTINUED »
Christian Audigier, the ridiculous fashion “designer” who prints cursive letters in gold colors on hideous T-shirts, and the guy who pays Michael Jackson to show up at his birthday party (Britney Spears came free), is opening his own nightclub in Las Vegas, aptly titled Christian Audigier The Nightclub. It is, and we believe you’ll agree, the most grotesquely themed nightspot Vegas has ever seen, and you know how much weight that statement carries. Look at this crap, below. CONTINUED »
Suddenly, after several years of being at the bottom of the fashion heap, black models are back on top. In a big way. Not only are they exclusively populating the pages of this month’s super-hyped Vogue Italia, Wintour & Co. also begrudgingly gave them some attention. At Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week, the designers of Dsquared used a group of models, led by Tyson Beckford, made up almost entirely of black men. And rumor has it that Lanvin’s show next week has an “all-ethnic lineup.”
“24-year old beauty and Victoria’s Secret model Karolina Kurkova is being criticized over her appearance in recent days at Sao Paulo Fashion Week, especially after a runway appearance in a bikini.One Brazilian paper blasted her back fat and cellulite, as did other outlets. The impetus for the stories were two still photos taken at the Cia Maritima fashion show at the end of last week.”
Vera Wang, who’s lent her name to everything from Serta mattresses to HP computers, will now lend it to Brides.com. In the form of a byline. The designer today begins blogging there for the week, which, as we guessed before we even clicked on over, is less an opportunity for Ms. Wang to wish you a happy ever after than a chance to plug her latest offering: VeraWangWeddings.com.
This is the work of Walter Van Beirendonck and, while he’s quite frank about his desire to “shock and amuse” the industry, and despite what we may tag this post, this man does not create fashion. He creates pranks. “Models wore full-body leotards, some emblazoned with skeletons, some with fleshy muscles and, ahem, appendages. Others came down the runway in T-shirts with cartoonish prints and superhero-inspired tops. But all sported beards meant to look like twigs and leaves (garden-gone-to-seed versions of Van Beirendonck’s own). That may have been the provocateur’s most wearable look: faux facial hair fit for a wood nymph.” Do not buy this garbage, unless you are looking for a very, very expensive Halloween costume. CONTINUED »
How did fans react to the public unveiling of David Beckham’s new Emporio Armani underwear campaign? You’re looking at it. The bulging soccer star, who was on hand to sign photos of his package, appears in a giant billboard, a half-dozen stories tall, on Macy’s store in San Francisco’s Union Square. But this photo doesn’t give the real manufactured pandemonium. That’s below. CONTINUED »
Because nobody else will. The designer’s ad campaign with fembot Victoria Beckham was praised, by Vogue, as being “brave” for allowing Ms. Beckham, somebody so controlling of her image, to step into a giant shopping bag while being photographed. Eh, says the Daily Mail’s Liz Jones: “Hmmm. To me, these pictures sum up exactly what is so very wrong about ‘high’ fashion. A small group of people - stylists, photographers, hairdressers, make-up artists, designers - are, I’ve come to the conclusion, having a great deal of fun, and making a great deal of money at our expense. These people do a very skilled and persuasive job: they bully us into buying more stuff.”
If there’s one thing in which Us Weekly shouldn’t be involved, it’s politics. So, naturally, the magazine has decided to judge the candidates based on their fashion — because the state of the country doesn’t matter if Barack Obama and John McCain aren’t looking good.
The target this week is Obama, who had the audacity to bicycle around Chicago in “ill-fitting jeans, a tucked in golf shirt and big tennis shoes.” The horror! Us‘ fashion police weigh in:
Some designer labels are concerned about copyrightinfringement in online ads. Some designer labels are worried about rip-offs being sold off the backs of trucks. But perhaps designer labels should be worried about their trademarks being used on arms.
The artist Peter Gronquist has turned assault rifles into Burberry bling, chainsaws into Fendi power tools, and grenades into Pac-Man trinkets. And at auction, where his works start at $2,500, they’re selling like hot cakes. Nevermind that Gronquist wants to refocus his efforts. On painting. CONTINUED »
If a stunted, cruel human being attaches his name to a hastily designed line of clothes, will anybody care? No, they won’t! Not at all, in fact, as a report from the Saturday debut of Perez Hilton’s clothing line indicates:
If you’ve got a smidge of patience and you find yourself on Broadway downtown, you can pick up your own custom Barack Obama spray tee. Or, if you’re a shop-at-home type, these Barack boxers might be more your style. CONTINUED »
As we flipped through the Observer at our corner deli this morning, we had to wonder if said deli’s front door was actually not a door at all, but a rip in the space-time continuum that had thrown us back to June 2007. Because what other explanation could there be for the pink paper’s stories on gladiator sandals and the, um, up-and-coming neighborhood of Williamsburg?
Seriously—both the Times and the Wall Street Journal had stories mentioning gladiator sandals. The Observer declares them “The Hot Shoe of Summer!”, but the Times, in June 2007, anointed as hip in “Another Summer of Love,” while the Journal did so the following month in “Strapped.” CONTINUED »
And girl is pissed.
SJP had 40 dresses selected for various Sex and the City premieres, and worse this Nina Ricci gown, designed by Olivier Theyskens, to the New York debut. She was assured it was the first time it had been worn by anyone in public. Except it wasn’t. [OTR]
Last month, socialite and Vogue intern Lauren (Davis) Santo Domingo worse the dress to the Met ball. And Theyskens went with her. And there were photographs, as there often are at those type of things.
“What bothered Parker was that she felt she had been deceived by both Grauso and Theyskens, who met her in the studio and assured her that the dress had never been worn except for magazine shoots,” writes Cathy Horyn. “Parker says she remarked to Theyskens during the fitting that she was surprised the dress hadn’t been worn before. He assured her it hadn’t.”
And also: That Theyskens actually thought he’d get away with it.
Mario Grauso, the president of the fashion division at Puig, which owns Nina Ricci, tries explaining it away this way: CONTINUED »
On West 55th Street Tuesday night, deejay and Lindsay Lohan paramour Samantha Ronson could be spotted chatting on her cell phone amidst a swarm of paparazzi. It helped that Lohan was spotted entering and exiting the Peninsula Hotel with Ronson already. But last night, the celebrity spinster was upstairs, at the the top of the Peninsula and Salon de Ning, the new rooftop lounge, which opened two weeks ago and is named after Shanghai socialite Madame Ning, and played host to Men.Style.com’s Women of Fashion party. In between biting her nails and receiving guests, Ronson played music while folks like Dolce & Gabbana’s Ali Wise, designer Tara Subkoff, Earnest Sewn’s Eleanor Ylvisaker, and stylist Natasha Royt were honored, which for all intents and purposes means they were photographed surrounded by guests drinking Veuve Clicquot or Grey Goose concoctions. It was a beautiful evening. The air was clear. The temperature very moderate. And were it not for the two guys who busted out a bowl and began lighting up on one of the outdoor balconies, it would’ve smelled nice, too.
CBS will air another edition of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, where Heidi Klum gets a chance to exhibit even less personality on TV. [B&C]
Editorial Director
