Tragic

(McQueen with his mother, Joyce, who died this month)

I was driving home, baby-talking to my son in the car when I heard the news on the radio. I was stunned. According to Times Online, Alexander McQueen was found hanged at his Central London home yesterday. He couldn’t cope with the recent death of his mother. I couldn’t believe it. It is truly tragic. The fashion world has lost one of its brightest designers.

Emanuel Ungaro Spring 2010

Have you seen the French label Emanuel Ungaro Spring 2010 show? With all the hoopla about Lindsey Lohan being hired as Emanuel Ungaro’s artistic advisor (what the heck does such a person do anyway?), it’s definitely generating more buzz for the label. I certainly didn’t pay attention to the label before. I’m looking at the colleciton and I’m kinda underwhelmed. The silhouettes are of the ubiquitous body-con variety. The prints and details are pretty simple. I do like the color palette, the hot pink dresses look pretty sexy. I don’t get the fur stoles for spring though. NYTimes has a hilarious review about it, A Controversial Debut for Lohan in Paris. It sums it up nicely. “Celebrity fashion designers have, until now, been a mostly American phenomenon, with lines targeted to department stores under labels by Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani and Justin Timberlake, among many others. But Ms. Lohan’s arrival at a 45-year-old Paris house known for $1,500 dresses and a tradition of couture craftsmanship is entirely different, something akin to a McDonald’s fry cook taking the reins of a three-star Michelin restaurant.” Lol.

Harvard’s new clothing line

I was browsing NYTimes’ slide shows and saw these pics from Harvard’s new line of upscale clothing. There are mixed reactions about whether Harvard should have an expensive clothing line or not, mainly that it would draw an invisible class line between students from really affluent backgrounds and students coming to Harvard on financial aids (which apparently makes up for 60% of all students). It is an interesting debate. What do you think of these clothes from a fashion standpoint? I’ve always liked preppy clothes (I’m actually contemplating getting a preppy blazer once my tummy shrinks down). I like the jackets, but some of the shirts seem to be a little flashy for me, lol.

“A ramble through Harvard Yard this week, as students returned for a new academic year, revealed more bow ties, polo shirts and Lacoste crocodiles than one might find on the average college campus. But for the most part, today’s Harvard students dress however they like. The usual hoodies, jeans and flip-flops are common.)”

Read the article here

Fendi Baguettes and Gilt’s expansion

These Fendi Baguettes in light pink and dark grey are just gorge. But dangit, at just under $700 I still can’t afford it . Check ‘em out at Gilt along with other goodies.

By the way, according to NY Times, “next month, Gilt is introducing a second site, called Gilt Fuse. It’s kind of like the Co-Op floor at Barneys New York, where the trendier, less expensive collections reside. Clothes from Diesel, C&C, Generra and Laundry will be offered for $75 to $150. Ms. Lyne said the company is expecting a big year: Its sales are projected to reach $400 million, or about half the size of Barneys.” Sounds pretty exciting . If you haven’t joined Gilt yet, sign up now!

NY Fashion Week Fall 09 – the fun (and pretty) ones

Some of the shows so far have been kind of drab, including a few of my long-time favorites. The colors are gloomy, and after looking through a whole slideshow, nothing really stood out in my mind. And of course there are the opposite ones. They are so much fun to look at and really lift my mood.

Betsey Johnson
You can also count on her to bring you the so so adorably messy crazy party girl.

Marc by Marc Jacobs
Furry boots, cute sweaters, loose wool pants, and oh my God knee patches on the tights! Looking so adorable AND warm!

Miss Sixty
kind of a rebellious ingenue look.

Tracy Reese
She does classic feminine pieces the best. And I love that she put glasses on some of the models, very sexy-teacher.

Nanette Lepore
Love the colorful prints (didn’t see much of those in this FW) and the biased cuts.

(Source: nymag.com)

eLUXURY.com’s end is soon

I couldn’t believe it when I got this email from eLUXURY, one of the most popular e-tailers, that it will close soon:

“Over the next six months we will be transitioning into an online magazine with an emphasis in luxury markets. The new site will be utilized as a reference for providing information on a wide array of luxury categories. By June of 2009, the e-commerce portion of the site will be replaced with this new focus.”

Darn, I thought their higher-end luxury customers are still buying handbags left and right despite the economic slump. Let’s hope they will have a HUGE (I mean 90% off huge) sale at the end so we could snatch up somethin’ nice. I’m keeping my eye on this Marc Jacobs bag and this Tod’s bag, which are both already on sale. AND you can take another 20% off bags and accessories.

Marc Jacobs Collection Sethi Stripes Suvi Bag $1,250.00 $629.00 + 20% off

Tod’s Took Multitashce Media $1,550.00 $1,085.00 + 20% off

Phoebe Philo coming out of retirement

(from Chloé’s Spring 2002 show under the genius designer Phoebe Philo. I’d totally wear these clothes today.)

According Toronto Star:

In the LVMH stable of luxury brands, Paris fashion house Celine never really got up to speed compared to the conglomerate’s thoroughbreds Dior and Louis Vuitton. The two powerhouse money-makers rose to prominence under the creative guidance of star designers John Galliano and Marc Jacobs, respectively. Employing the same formula, a series of designers came and went quietly at Celine, never managing to make it a fashion darling. But this March, during the Paris shows, the name Celine will be on all fashionistas’ lips as designer Phoebe Philo, above, comes out of retirement to take up design duties. Philo comes with impressive credentials. She was a designer at hip Paris label Chloé and was a favourite of the fashion media. If anyone can bring the dusty Celine into the modern age, it’s Philo.

COMME des GARCONS for H&M Collection

The ad campaign for COMME des GARCONS for H&M collection and full lookbook are out now. What do you think? I kinda expected more. The basic pieces are pretty…basic. And there’s so much polka dot stuff, on button-down shirts, leggings, shoes, and a bag. Most of the pants and shorts have droopy crotches. I really have to see them in person and on the body to see how they look. In the pictures, they look weird. The trench coat and blazers look awesome though, loved the biased cuts.

See the full lookbook here.

I wanna see more!

Has everybody got their hands on a copy of the July issue of Italian Vogue? Am I the only one that just can’t seem to? *cries* I went to Chapters and it was all sold out. Thankfully NY Times had a slide show that let me have a peek. The photos are absolutely gorgeous. Mr. Steven Meisel was given roughly 100 pages for his photographs. I can’t wait to see all the rest!

Oh no, Steve & Barry’s is down and possibly out

According to Women’s Wear Daily, the company, which is famous for seriously inexpensive fashion, filed for Chapter 11 protection. Though the company did not reveal whether it plans to close stores while it reorganizes, “the firm cut 172 corporate and field staff positions Wednesday,” the fashion journal reported on its website.”It is a significant fall for a company that has experienced rapid sales growth, signed licences with stars such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Stephon Marbury and pro surfer Laird Hamilton, and snatched up vacant mall space,” WWD said.

“High costs of materials and fuel prices have increased our cost of goods and cost of operating,” said founders Steve Shore and Barry Prevor.

Even though we don’t have Steve & Barry’s here in Canada, I hope they get back up again.  Their lines are pretty cheap and of decent bad quality.

(Source: thestar.com)

Mischa Barton’s bag line

Mischa Barton has launched her handbag collection yesterday in the UK. I haven’t seen the whole collection, and correct me if I’m wrong, it doesn’t sound like she’s selling them in North America. “It’s a set of vintage-style leather handbags in earthy, typically bohemian colours, all priced Moss-level between 25 and 170 pounds. From next month, they’ll be dotted around as-yet-unnamed department stores.” Judging from the Mischa Barton Exclusive Launch On Line Embroidered Evening Bag (£20.00) on asos.com, I’m not holding my breath. It’s pretty frumpy-looking, not unlike Mischa herself (most the times she looks tres gorgeous) when she tried to bring back the high-waisted jeans.

(source: http://guardian.co.uk, http://uk.fashion.popsugar.com/1719128)

Estee Launder launches vibrating mascara

So beauty lovers all over the world are either elated or skeptical about Estee Lauder’s new battery-operated vibrating mascara, TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara. I am the latter, especially it’s said to retail for $30. Apparently they think the way we’ve been swiping on the mascara isn’t the most optimal. But rest assured, I will most likely try it when it’s available at my local department store the Bay. Gotta satisfy my curiosity

Whitney has her own show

Well, people just can’t get enough of the Hills’ girls. According to NY Magazine, Whitney Port “is shooting her own spinoff show in which she “becomes bicoastal” while working for PR firm People’s Revolution. She also befriends Olivia Palermo.” Olivia Palermo, if you followed the saga on the now-defunct socialiterank.com last year, was the young aspiring New York socialite that gave the reigning “it” girl Tinsley Mortimer a run for her money, but got “chased” out of the town and moved to L.A. to supposedly pursue an acting career when she couldn’t take the ridicule and the shunning anymore (Of course she denied that). So if Whitney continues to be the level-headed girl that gets along with everybody, we can expect Olivia to stir the pot a bit since she’s prone to drama. I like her, she’s a gorgeous girl.

AA’s boss is a dirty bastard

Did you hear American Apparel’s founder and owner Dov Charney has been sued by his employee for sexual harassment, “an employee called Jeneleen Floyd who alleges that, in the course of a telling-off, he ordered her to pretend to masturbate in front of him. When she didn’t, he turned to her line manager and asked him to do it instead; then, in the very proper words of the lawsuit, filed last week, “as Mr Swenson complied with Defendant Charney’s instruction, Defendant Charney moved next to him and simulated an oral sex act with him”. Apparently it didn’t come as a surprise ’cause the guy has a long track record of lewd behavior at workplace. He even harasses the models during photo sessions. “He has been known to walk through his office in underwear, and conduct meetings in a thong (his defence – he designs underwear, so why not model it?); during the interview process for an article by Claudine Ko, for the now-defunct Jane magazine, he had oral sex with a female employee in front of Ko; he also masturbated several times.” WTF? That is sick.

Read more here

The fashion world is in mourning

Most of you probably have heard by now…”Yves Saint Laurent, who exploded on the fashion scene in 1958 as the boy-wonder successor to Christian Dior and endured as one of the best-known and most influential couturiers of the second half of the 20th century, died on Sunday at his apartment in Paris. He was 71.

His death was confirmed by Dominique Deroche, a spokeswoman for the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation.

During a career that ran from 1957 to 2002 he was largely responsible for changing the way modern women dress, putting them into pants both day and night, into peacoats and safari jackets, into “le smoking” (as the French call a man’s tuxedo jacket), and into leopard prints, trench coats and, for a time in the 1970s, peasant-inspired clothing in rich fabrics.”

(continue reading at NYtimes.com)

For those of you who are lucky enough to live in/close to Montreal or will be travelling to Montreal this summer, you must go to The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for the incredible Yves Saint Laurent Exhibition. “The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco have designed and developed, in partnership with the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, the first retrospective spanning the forty years of creation of the Maison de haute couture Yves Saint Laurent. Presented from May 29 to September 28, 2008, the exhibition Yves Saint Laurent focusses on this virtuoso of haute couture, whose unique style blends references to the world of art with allusions to pop culture and social revolution. Structured around four themes, the exhibition develops the revolutionary nature of a body of work that has marked both the past and the present with a new definition of femininity and left a signature that transcends fashion. The display will include 145 accessorized creations belonging to the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, as well as drawings and videos. After Montreal, the exhibition (which is the first co-production of these two museums) will be presented at the de Young Museum of San Francisco, from November 1, 2008, to March 1, 2009.” The exhibition cannot have come at a better time. Get to it if you can.

(photo sources: nytimes.com, mmfa.qc.ca)