Products

• Julia Restoin Roitfeld models Tom Ford’s debut womenswear collection 2011

  
  26 December 2010
  

  Julia Restoin Roitfeld models Tom Ford’s debut womenswear collection 2011: Julia Restoin Roitfeld interviews Tom Ford for the latest issue of V Magazine and snaps herself in his spring/summer 2011 collection.

  

  Julia Restoin Roitfeld and Tom Ford share a fashionable history together. Julia, 30, an art director and occasional model, is the stylish daughter of Carine Roitfeld, the outgoing editor of Vogue Paris, who worked with Ford in the '90s when he was at the helm of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, acting as the muse and stylist of the brand.

  

  After Ford left Yves Saint Laurent and launched his own fragrance, Black Orchid, he called Julia and asked her to star in the advertising campaign. And when the Texan designer premiered his first womenswear collection to a select group fashion insiders during New York Fashion Week in September, he picked Julia, (along with Beyoncé, Julianne Moore and Lauren Hutton to name but a few) to model the collection.

  So it's only natural that two collaborate together again, this time with a fashion shoot for V magazine, in which Julia photographs herself wearing Ford's much anticipated spring/summer 2011 womenswear collection, and interviews her mother's style-partner in crime.

  

  Ford opens up to Restoin Roitfeld, revealing what inspired his collection and dramatic catwalk show: "Real clothes for real women. I want to concentrate on my real customer. That's why I showed idealised versions of her - different women of different ages. It was about individuality, different body types, women who have their own style."

  

  He also tells her: "I told myself that I would not come back to women's fashion until I felt I had something new to say. I feel that fashion has become too serious and that the actual customer's needs have not really been addressed. Fashion needs to make one happy. It is a luxury and should enhance one's quality of life."

  Restoin Roitfeld is pictured in several dresses from the collection for the shoot, posing seductively on a plush, velvet sofa and in front of a gold mirror.

  When she probes Ford about what his New Year's resolution is, he says: "I don't have one. I believe in living life the way that you want to live it every day, and if you do that you don't really need to have New Year's resolutions."

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Tamara Mellon with her stylish Christmas 2010

  
  22 December 2010
  

  Tamara Mellon with her stylish Christmas 2010: Christmas on an exotic beach? Only for Jimmy Choo designer, Tamara Mellon.

  

  Every year, my daughter, Minty, and I spend Christmas unwinding on the beach in St Barts. But before we go, we decorate our Christmas tree at home in New York.

  On Christmas morning, we have a big breakfast and open the presents. My favourite Christmas outfit is a Lanvin cocktail dress. The best shoes for this party season are from the Jimmy Choo 15th Anniversary Crystal collection: the Marine heels are so sparkly, and perfect for Christmas. On the beach, I will wear my bikini, a Melissa Odabash kaftan and Montana flat sandals from our Cruise 2011 collection.

  The best gift for me would be to have more free time with my daughter.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Megan Fox for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics 2010

  
  22 December 2010
  

  Megan Fox for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics 2010: Watch Megan Fox make her debut for Giorgio Armani Cosmetics, as she models the new 'Eyes to Kill Excess' mascara.

  

  We've become accustomed to seeing sultry actress Megan Fox writhing around in her smalls for Giorgio Armani underwear since the summer, when she took over from Victoria Beckham as the 'poster girl' in the advertising campaigns.

  But now the 'Transformers' star has added another string to her Armani bow: starring as the face of the new 'Eyes to Kill Excess' mascara.

  Fox, 24, stars in a short film for the cosmetics branch of Giorgio Armani's fashion empire, sporting a natural, barefaced look, contrasted with a smoky-eyed, red-carpet ready glamour look which she has become famous for.

  The actress, who recently married fellow actor Brian Austin Green, 37, has enjoyed a fruitful working relationship with the Armani brand, wearing Armani Privé creations - the label's haute couture division - on the red carpet, and sitting front-row at the fashion shows held during Milan Fashion Week.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Michelle Obama wears vintage, sparks panic 2010

  
  19 December 2010
  

  Michelle Obama wears vintage, sparks panic 2010: What will America wear now Michelle Obama's gone vintage?

  

  If Michelle Obama wears something, the rest of America usually follows suit, such is the level of interest in her sartorial selections. Ever since Mr O entered the presidential race, Mrs O has become fashion blog fodder and the inspiration for a book about her style - not to mention the inspiration for glamorous mothers the world over.

  So news that Michelle Obama wore vintage for tonight's broadcast of TNT's 'Christmas in Washington', will come as a blow to all the adoring designers who cross their fingers and prey Obama will choose them for her next big photo opportunity, and all the women who rush out to buy her latest outfit.

  Obama selected a vintage 1950s black lace dress by one of America's once-great designers, Norman Norell, courtesy of New York Vintage that is estimated to be worth around $2500. Much excitement surrounds their claim that Obama is 'possibly' the first American First Lady to wear vintage at a public event, with owner Jon Schneck gushing to The Huffington Post that he is "truly honoured that the First Lady has chosen a gown from New York Vintage as her first venture into vintage couture."

  You can't blame him for being excited really. Had anyone heard of Jason Wu before Obama wore one of his dresses for a 'Barbara Walters Special' shortly before the November 2008 election? Not really, however, one inauguration ball gown later, Wu became the hottest ticket at New York Fashion Week. Obama is also credited for hugely boosting the market value of American high street brand J.Crew - currently being sold for $3 billion - through her tireless support of the label.
  
  Schneck is sitting pretty, his business already has the celebrity stamp of approval with other clients on his books including Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Lange, and Beyonce.
  
  But Obama's old favourites from Wu to Thakoon and Narcisso Rodriguez will be quaking in their boots at Schneck's bombshell that 'Other dresses from the archive have been scheduled for use by the First Lady later this year'.
  
  Between the world's other major fashion icon of the moment, Kate Middleton, choosing to recycle her wardrobe for her engagement portraits last week, and Mrs Obama going vintage, it looks like it's in with the old and out with the new for 2011.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Cruise pre-fall and resort collections 2011

  
  19 December 2010
  

  Cruise pre-fall and resort collections 2011: The pre-fall collections are in full swing around the globe, but what are they all about?

  

  Cruise pre-fall and resort collections 2011

  As the world grows increasingly impatient, waiting six months between fashion shows to see what we'll be wearing next, is just not an option.

  The solution? Add more fashion weeks!

  More dedicated followers of fashion will have long been aware of the existence of pre-fall and resort (or cruise) collections, but for those of you that live in a world where spring/summer and autumn/winter pretty much covers the seasons, allow me to explain.

  'Resort' or 'cruise' is the collection that lands in stores around November to fill the gap between autumn/winter (which arrives in store in September), and spring/summer (in store February). Originally targeted at wealthy customers jetting off to warmer climes in winter (hence 'cruise'), the collection would historically be full of light summer clothing and swimwear. Although you'll still find summery pieces in the collections more traditional labels such as Christian Dior and Ralph Lauren, most resort ranges have evolved to simply offer customers fresh ways to part with their cash, whilst giving a taster of what's to come for the following season.

  Similarly, 'pre-fall' bridges the gap between the spring/summer and autumn/winter shows, hitting stores in May.

  Both of these inter-seasonal collections have started to gather momentum over the past few seasons, attracting a similar level of coverage on fashion blogs and in monthly magazines as the main collections, leading to the number of designers 'showing' their collection - usually presented on static models, rather than a catwalk - increasing dramatically. Menswear is starting to get in on the act too, with many designers adding men's looks into their presentations, while even the high street has started presenting four collections a year to the press: spring/summer, high summer, autumn/winter and Christmas.

  Pre-fall and resort collections are more commercial than the main collections too, with designers saving the big show-stopping numbers for the catwalks of New York, London, Milan and Paris.

  "It has become the season you sell the most clothes," Michael Kors told US Vogue at his pre-fall presentation earlier this week, "And they're clothes that can be whatever season you want them to be. Often it just depends on what's on your feet."

  Because pre-fall and resort bridge summer and winter, in places like the UK where the climate remains much the same for the greater part of the year, the clothes on offer have more long term appeal. For anyone who's experienced the misery of trying to buy a warm coat in February when the snow is falling, only to find the shops full of summer dresses, this can only be a good thing.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Graduate Fashion Week rescued by George at Asda 2011

  
  19 December 2010
  

  Graduate Fashion Week rescued by George at Asda 2011: Asda's fashion line George will sponsor Graduate Fashion Week 2011.

  Britain's Graduate Fashion Week, the largest student fashion event in the world, has been handed a lifeline.

  

  A model wears a creation by Rebecca Thomson, from Manchester University School of Art, who won the £20,000 River Island Gold Award last year at Graduate Fashion Week

  Its 20th anniversary event in London in 2011 will be sponsored by George at Asda.

  It had been feared the annual event, which represents the work of more than one thousand BA fashion graduates from more than 35 universities and colleges up and down the country, might slide into oblivion for lack of sponsorship. The organisers had been seeking a replacement since the River Island fashion group's three-year sponsorship contract came to an end in June.

  Fiona Lambert, brand director of George at Asda, announced today that the supermarket chain would sponsor the event as part of its five-year business plan to become the number one non-food retailer in the UK.

  Graduate Fashion Week, which began in 1991, features a full programme of catwalk shows, an exhibition, and a Gala Awards night at which the student designer of the year is chosen. The judging panel has included some of the world's best-known designers, such as Stefano Pilati of Yves Saint Laurent, Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, Victoria Beckham, Matthew Williamson and, most recently, in June this year, Alberta Ferretti. Head-hunters see GFW as the ideal hunting ground. Following this year's event, dozens of graduates found employment at major brand names, including Burberry, MaxMara, Lyle & Scott, John Lewis, Alberta Ferretti, River island and George at Asda.

  Ms Lambert, who has been a business mentor at Graduate Fashion Week for the last two years, said: "It is a brilliant place to recruit the best of British creative talent. One of the 2010 winners now works for us as a graphic designer and we are passionate about nurturing young talent. We see our sponsorship as a direct way to demonstrate the huge variety of job opportunities in the retail sector which exist for fashion graduates."

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Menswear designers chosen for NewGen sponsorship at London Fashion Week 2010

  
  17 December 2010
  

  Menswear designers chosen for NewGen sponsorship at London Fashion Week 2010: Eight menswear designers have been awarded NewGen sponsorship for the autumn/winter 2011 season.

  

  Christopher-Shannon-spring-summer-2011-collection

  Eight of London's best young menswear fashion talents have been selected to receive NewGen sponsorship, at next London Fashion Week in February.

  

  James-Long-spring-summer-2011-collection

  Under the scheme, supported by Topman, the designers will all be part of London Fashion Week's Menswear Day, on Wednesday 23rd February 2011.

  

  JW-Anderson-spring-summer-2011-collection
  
  * Catwalk show sponsorship in The British Fashion Council (BFC) show space at Somerset House:- Christopher Shannon , James Long and J.W. Anderson .
  
  * Salon show sponsorship at the TOPMAN show space at the Royal Opera House:- Lou Dalton .
  
  * Presentation sponsorship in the Portico Rooms :- Katie Eary , Omar Kashoura, and SIBLING .
  
  * Installation sponsorship in the ground floor showrooms winner goes to 'the king of army surplus', the Esthetica designer, Christopher Raeburn .
  
  NEWGEN MEN began in February 2009, building on Topman and Fashion East's successful MAN initiative. It has since been instrumental in raising the profile of emerging British menswear designers.
  
  Jason Griffiths, Topman's Marketing Director, says :"This season NewGen Men boldly expands further with the introduction of new exciting tiers in the form of presentations and installations to further compliment the catwalk shows which have formed part of the Menswear Day over the last two seasons. Topman is proud and excited to be part of this continuing men's fashion revolution.''

   

  telegraph fashion news

• River Island Gold Award last year at Graduate Fashion Week 2010

  
  17 December 2010
  

  River Island Gold Award last year at Graduate Fashion Week 2010: Asda's fashion line George will sponsor Graduate Fashion Week 2011. Britain's Graduate Fashion Week, the largest student fashion event in the world, has been handed a lifeline.

  

  Its 20th anniversary event in London in 2011 will be sponsored by George at Asda.

  It had been feared the annual event, which represents the work of more than one thousand BA fashion graduates from more than 35 universities and colleges up and down the country, might slide into oblivion for lack of sponsorship. The organisers had been seeking a replacement since the River Island fashion group's three-year sponsorship contract came to an end in June.

  Fiona Lambert, brand director of George at Asda, announced today that the supermarket chain would sponsor the event as part of its five-year business plan to become the number one non-food retailer in the UK.

  Graduate Fashion Week, which began in 1991, features a full programme of catwalk shows, an exhibition, and a Gala Awards night at which the student designer of the year is chosen. The judging panel has included some of the world's best-known designers, such as Stefano Pilati of Yves Saint Laurent, Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, Victoria Beckham, Matthew Williamson and, most recently, in June this year, Alberta Ferretti. Head-hunters see GFW as the ideal hunting ground. Following this year's event, dozens of graduates found employment at major brand names, including Burberry, MaxMara, Lyle & Scott, John Lewis, Alberta Ferretti, River island and George at Asda.

  Ms Lambert, who has been a business mentor at Graduate Fashion Week for the last two years, said: "It is a brilliant place to recruit the best of British creative talent. One of the 2010 winners now works for us as a graphic designer and we are passionate about nurturing young talent. We see our sponsorship as a direct way to demonstrate the huge variety of job opportunities in the retail sector which exist for fashion graduates."

  telegraph fashion news

• Men fashion tips 2011: Menswear for the party season 2011

  
  15 December 2010
  

  Men fashion tips 2011: Menswear for the party season 2011: Clare Richardson offers fashion-forward tips on how to up your game for the festive season.

  

  Rational velvet The challenge for men on a night out is not to look as if you're going to a fancy dress party. Avoid dressing in head-to-toe velvet, instead team a blazer with your favourite jeans or smart trousers. Velvet blazer, £99, from Marks & Spencer (0845-302 1234).

  Supermarket sweet Asda has launched a budget-conscious suit collection by the bespoke tailor Charlie Allen, for whose handmade creations you would normally expect to pay from £1,500. Wool blend suits come in a range of traditional styles and colours, and there is this evening suit for the Christmas party season. Tuxedo jacket, £50, trousers, £29, dress shirt and silk bow tie, £16, asda.com .
  
  Finishing coat Topman's smart coats give a festive flourish and are also wearable enough to have a life outside the party. Plain wool coat, £150; Harris tweed coat, £200 (0845-121 4519).
  
  It'll be fine Try a fine-gauge knit jumper under a suit jacket for a pop of colour. £22, from Asos, asos.com
  
  hyper links Dunhill has a vast choice of cufflinks, at prices from £95. Add a touch of glamour with this black mother-of-pearl four-leaf clover style, £425 (0845-458 0779).
  
  Take a bow For fashion-forward bonus points, this polka dot bow tie from Paul Smith constitutes an affordable experiment. £59 paulsmith.co.uk
  
  Whatever next For a quick festive wardrobe fix a new shirt is a good bet, and the selection at Next is particularly fine. Button to the neck or add a slick tie. Purple shirt and tie, £26 next.co.uk .

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion talent awarded NewGen sponsorship for Autumn-Winter 2011

  
  15 December 2010
  

  Fashion talent awarded NewGen sponsorship for Autumn-Winter 2011: Eighteen young talents bound for London Fashion Week glory as the line-up of the 2011 NewGen sponsorship is announced.

  

  Eighteen of Britain's most exciting young talents have been selected for NewGen sponsorship at next London Fashion Week in February.

  Three of London's most directional young female designers, Holly Fulton, Louise Gray, Mary Katrantzou, together with the cyber-bodycon wizard, David Koma, and Michael van der Ham, who breathes new life into vintage fabrics, will each be given funds to stage their own catwalk shows.

  The young army surplus-king, Christopher Raeburn; Craig Lawrence, who specialises in cobweb knits; JS Lee, the minimalist womenswear designer; Nasir Mazhar, the newest 'mad hatter' on the millinery scene; and the menswear designer, J W Anderson, who is planning to utilise the medium of film, will have their presentations sponsored, while Dominic Jones, whose extreme accessories have been noted by Anna Wintour, and the sculptor-jeweller, Jordan Askill, who formerly worked with Dior Homme, will hold installations.

  In addition, the NewGen scheme will provide exhibition sponsorship for a further six emerging names: Chau Har Lee (futuristic footwear), Fannie Schiavon (jewellery), Felicity Brown (who previously worked for Alberta Ferretti, Mulberry and Lanvin and now has her own womenswear), Heikki Salonen (ready-to-wear modernist), Thomas Tait (ready-to-wear and footwear), and print specialist, Yang Du.

  The line-up was released by the British Fashion Council today.

  BFC NewGen sponsorship, supported by Topshop, was established in 1993, and is recognised as the world's foremost talent ID scheme. NewGen alumni include Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson, Boudicca, Giles Deacon, Jonathan Saunders, Christopher Kane, Marios Schwab, Richard Nicoll, Erdem and Meadham Kirchhoff.

• Versace Spring-Summer 2011 at Milan Fashion Week 2011

  
  15 December 2010
  

  Versace Spring-Summer 2011 at Milan Fashion Week 2011: Bright and bold opposites attract at Donatella's Versace's Milan Fashion Week show.

  

  Donatella Versace made the attraction of opposites the key focus of her spring/summer 2011 collection at Milan Fashion Week tonight.

  She offset thigh-high hemlines with "the new long", a slim pencil that covered the knee.

  She contrasted cheeky cutouts, panels of see-through PVC, and rib cage-skimming jackets with high-waisted skirts and modest necklines.

  And she mixed plain white and beige with sharp, bright, primary stripes in red, turquoise and yellow, with black and white.

  The Greek "fret" or "key" motif, first used by her late brother, Gianni, was a major element in this snappy, sculptured show.

  Like a frieze on a Delphic temple, it traced a line down the torso, on a slim patent belt around the waist, or in the flurry of multicoloured fringing which marked the sexy little party-dresses, and cutaway tops with slim skirts.

  Many dresses featured equestrian-look "martingale" straps at the back, or sides, criss-crossing over bare flesh.

  Donatella Versace also wrote the epitaph for the famous Versace "platform", accessorising all her models with spike-heeled, multi-strapped shoes with a "zero sole".

  For red carpet devotees, she returned to a favourite theme, the Greek Goddess, with a parade of bra-top gowns, in red, turquoise, beige and white, swathed over the bodice with silk fringes, which then cascaded over the long skirts.

  The Mad Men actress January Jones, together with Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her singer-daughter, Willow, and Alex James of Blur, were expected at the second showing of the Versace collection later tonight.

  The Versace collection also featured several pieces of knitwear inspired by the young British designer, Louise Goldin, the British Fashion Council Fashion Forward winner, sponsored by Coutts, who has just started a consultancy project with the Italian brand.

  Photos of  Versace Spring-Summer 2011

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• January Jones has a Christine Keeler moment for Versace spring - summer 2011

  
  15 December 2010
  

  January Jones has a Christine Keeler moment for Versace spring - summer 2011: Mad Men star January Jones appears naked, but for her Versace accessories, in the spring/summer 2011 campaign.

  On screen, as the star of hit television series Mad Men, January Jones is known for her impeccable '60s style. The role of Betty Francis, the glacial blonde, former-model and frustrated ex-wife of ad man Don Draper, requires a perfectly polished wardrobe of the decade's finest fashions. So when Donatella Versace was looking to cast the face of Versace's spring/summer 2011 campaign, which references the spirit of the Sixties, Jones was the obvious choice.

  The campaign images shot by Mario Testino under the creative direction of Donatella Versace, are a nod to the iconic Lewis Morley portraits of Christine Keeler shot at the height of the Profumo affair scandal in 1963 which saw Keeler pose naked with only an Arne Jacobsen model 3107 chair to protect her modesty.

  Jones, has a strategically placed Versace bag instead, but the hair, make-up and lighting in the striking black and white photos conjure the moment perfectly for the modern age.

  Versace and Jones first met on a shoot for US Elle magazine last year and struck up a firm friendship which led to Jones sitting front row at the Versace show at Milan Fashion Week, wearing Atelier Versace to the 2010 Emmy Awards, and the pair hosting a charitable dinner together at London's Connaught Hotel to celebrate the launch of Central Saint Martins 20-20 Fashion Fund.

  "I am always on the lookout for the next Versace blonde," said Donatella, "and in January I feel I have found a perfect Versace woman for the twenty-first century. She is chic and elegant but deeply sensual too - it is a 'dramatic' combination."

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: British model Naomi Campbell 2010

  
  13 December 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: British model Naomi Campbell 2010: Supermodel Naomi Campbell has been awarded a prize by the British Fashion Council in recognition of her influence on the fashion industry over the past 25 years.

  
  
  The council says Campbell has been a "hugely influential ambassador for British fashion."
  
  The star-studded awards ceremony at London's Savoy Hotel Tuesday opened with a film paying tribute to the late designer Alexander McQueen.
  
  The four-time winner of the council's Designer of the Year prize, who took his own life in February, was given an award in honor of his career and his contribution to the global fashion industry.
  
  Phoebe Philo, the creative director of Celine, was awarded Designer of the Year 2010. She was competing for the best designer prize against Christopher Kane and Erdem.

  (Yahoo fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Taylor Swift savors the stylish perks of fame

  
  13 December 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Taylor Swift savors the stylish perks of fame: Don't look for Taylor Swift in rumpled clothes and no makeup: She's not interested in dressing down to go incognito.

  
  
  Gowns, red lipstick, hairstylists, front-row runway seats — and, as icing, a CoverGirl model contract — are perks of her fame. She's not going to run away from them, especially if her fans are watching.
  
  "When I'm in Nashville, I feel like I can go natural and not really worry about it, but I generally love makeup and I love dress-up. That's why award shows are so much fun for me," Swift says. "I'd never wish away makeup and getting all dolled up."
  
  She owes it to her supporters to put on a good show, she says, and at 5'10" she'd stand out in a crowd anyway.
  
  Swift, in a recent telephone interview, says she still sees her adventures in the fashion world with very wide eyes. The 40-year anniversary runway show that Roberto Cavalli staged in September and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala Benefit in New York this past spring were highlights.
  
  "I went to the Met Gala with Ralph Lauren! It was an amazing time, an enchanting night. I got to wear a white gown like a wedding gown from one of his collections," she says.
  
  One of her last big red-carpet appearances was at the American Music Awards where she wore her normally curly locks in an atypical blowout and her dress was short and edgy, unlike the more old-Hollywood looks the public got used to her wearing.
  
  That got fashion followers buzzing. Swift, who turns 21 Monday, says she was "amused" and "flattered" that so many people had an opinion, but, contrary to some of the commentary, she wasn't sending any larger message: She just followed her mood of the day — and that's what consistently guides her style.
  
  "I go through phases. When I was recording my new album, I wore a side braid on the left side every day. It just seemed to be the only style that seemed like the right one at the time. Then there was a phase when I'll pin my hair in elaborate updos. In wintertime, I'll usually straighten my hair, and in the summertime and spring, I wear a lot of headbands. In the fall, I wear a lot of knit beanies."
  
  In her new CoverGirl NatureLuxe ads debuting this week, she has a more ethereal vibe.
  
  Yes, she says, there have been quite a few offers to be a spokeswoman for products, but some make more sense than others. Her partnership with American Greetings cards, for example, is a natural fit because her expertise lies with writing sayings and making memories, she explains.
  
  But, Swift adds, her whole life isn't going to become a commercial. "I love cooking, but I'm not going to pursue that."

   

  (Yahoo fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Rafael Nadal to strip off for Armani underwear

  
  13 December 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Rafael Nadal to strip off for Armani underwear: The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal is set to join the Beckhams, Ronaldo and Megan Fox in promoting Armani underwear.

  

  Tennis pro Rafael Nadal 2010

  What is it about sportsmen and underpants? From David Beckham wrapped in a rope in black Emporio Armani briefs, to Freddie Ljungberg posing with a cheeky thumb tucked in the waistband of his Calvin's, to Linford's lunch box, the two go together like meat and two veg.

  The latest sporting legend to strip off to sell pants is world number one tennis player Rafael Nadal, who will appear as the face and, more importantly, six-pack of Giorgio Armani underwear and Armani Jeans for spring/summer 2011. Nadal has already been shot by top fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, but we won't get to see the results until February next year.

  Going on Armani's previous campaigns starring footballers David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, we can expect to see a lot of muscle flexing, moody lighting, lashings of baby oil and pants so tight they look like they've been sprayed on (so to speak).

  Ball players have become big business for the underpants market with British retailers reporting sales increases of up to 10% when Beckham's ads launched. Oily 'winker' Ronaldo's campaign proved less popular in the UK, launching just as he left Manchester United and sashayed off to Real Madrid, but went down well abroad, scoring him a Vanity Fair cover, again in underpants, during the 2010 World Cup.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Alfred Dunhill to stage first menswear show in London

  
  13 December 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Alfred Dunhill to stage first menswear show in London: Alfred Dunhill, one of British menswear's most famous names, will stage its first ever catwalk show at the next London Fashion Week.

  

  Daniel Craig 2010 wears Alfred Dunhill to the Baftas

  Alfred Dunhill, one of British menswear's most famous names, will stage its first ever catwalk show at the next London Fashion Week, in February 2011.

  

  Jenson Button 2010 wears Alfred Dunhill

  Dunhill, founded in London in 1893, has outfitted legions of the well-born and best dressed, from the Duke of Windsor and Sir Winston Churchill to Frank Sinatra and Truman Capote. More recently, its suits have been seen on the likes of Daniel Craig, Ashton Kutcher, Jenson Button, Josh Brolin, Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland and, the former 'face' of the brand, Jude Law.

  

  Josh Brolin 2010 wearing Alfred Dunhill

  Dunhill will open the doors of its London headquarters, the 18th century mansion Bourdon House in Jermyn Street, Mayfair, to international press and buyers to launch its autumn/winter 2011 menswear collection, 'Home', on Tuesday February 22, as a prelude to London Fashion Week's menswear day.

  

  Kiefer Sutherland 2010 wearing Alfred Dunhill

  For the last four seasons, Dunhill has been showing its menswear collections, designed by the young tailoring modernist Kim Jones, during the Paris menswear weeks in January and June.

  The decision to show on home territory for the first time marks a determination to return to its roots and show the continuing strength of the brand which has continued to evolve under a strong studio team of designers, since Jones's departure in September last year.

  "British menswear has a reputation for innovation on a global platform. Dunhill is an aspirational British luxury brand and we are delighted that they will join a showcase of Savile Row tailors and directional emerging British designers to show the breadth of menswear talent at London Fashion Week," said Caroline Rush, the CEO of the British Fashion Council.

  London Fashion Week will run from Friday 18 - Wednesday 23 February 2011 and will be located at Somerset House, Strand WC2.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Jean Paul Gaultier spring summer 2011

  
  08 December 2010
  

  Jean Paul Gaultier spring summer 2011: Celia Walden talks to Jean-Paul Gaultier, the enfant terrible of the Fashion world, about his beginnings and life, and what the future holds for him.

  

  When Jean-Paul Gaultier was seven years old, he would dress up his teddy bear in a series of outlandish outfits.

  "The first coned-shaped bra I made was for that bear," he says, his unserious, seriously clever face breaking into a smile.

  "The poor thing went through a lot. When the Duchess of Kent got married and Queen Fabiola of Belgium, he had to wear wedding dresses.

  Then the first time open heart surgery was performed, he had to undergo that too." The long-suffering bear is still in existence, "but he's a catastrophe now," laments Gaultier, struggling to keep a straight face. "You should see him: he needs silicone and Botox - the whole lot."

  If it weren't obvious from the 58-year-old Frenchman's designs - the wry renditions of trench coats, high-camp striped Breton sweaters and conical corsets and bras that he created for Madonna's 1990 Blond Ambition concert tour - it's immediately clear when you meet Gaultier that he is that rare thing: a French man with humour.

  On the day of our interview, traces of his wit and whimsy are all around us. Dressed in a great coat and jeans, that closely cropped head pale against the dark cashmere, Gaultier is in the midst of transforming a freezing Vauxhall warehouse into a Terry Gilliam style wonderland for Elton John's yearly Grey Goose Character and Cocktails Aids Foundation winter ball.

  The place is scattered with trompe l'oeil furniture, pink lace Eiffel towers and hourglass shaped bars, and in the distance a man is hoisting a large cardboard Saturn, suspended on invisible wiring, to the ceiling.

  "We need that higher in the sky - much higher," he shouts over, chuckling along when the workmen start laughing at that ludicrous "'Allo 'Allo!" accent.

  It's the designer's sense of the absurd that's perhaps most un-Gallic about Gaultier, one of the only Frenchmen I've met who sees the point of Monty Python. "I've always felt more at home in the UK than in France," he assures me when I point this out, his face animated, all of a sudden.

  "There is a particular humour in Britain that you don't find elsewhere, and one can see that in the way you dress. You're so good at making fun of yourself here, whereas in France people feel that they always have to be serious, tasteful, and adhere to 'the code'.

  !People think that everyone wears black in France; in fact they all wear grey. The other day I was in the Brasserie Lipp looking at all these people in their velvet corduroy jackets and there was this one woman wearing very red lipstick and a bright green dress who really stood out. Her colourfulness was such that it was a gift to the other people there. And guess what? She was English."

  He claims to avoid political discussion in public, but talks at length and with visible frustration about the "stalemate" France has found itself in. Recent strikes over pension reform only illustrate a deep-seated unwillingness to change, he maintains, that will hold the country back.

  "What they really want is a revolution, but people riot because they want things to stay as they are, and the majority of the French have this very negative attitude. They're like bureaucrats: it's all no, no, no - and that's our catastrophe."

  He admires Sarkozy for being one of the few Presidents to encourage change, but it's his wife Carla's chameleon qualities that draw a silent whistle of admiration from Gaultier.

  "She's been so clever because she's playing the role of the First Lady and she's doing it well. Carla would have been assassinated if she'd dressed the way she normally likes to dress. Then when she's promoting her albums, she dresses as a singer again."

  Gaultier's irreverence and refusal to conform set him apart early on when Pierre Cardin, impressed by a set of sketches the 18-year-old unknown from Arcueil, Val-de-Marne had sent him, hired him as an assistant.

  Working with Cardin had a formative impact on Gaultier, but a subsequent stint at the rather more BCBG Jean Patou failed to. "Everything was beige and gold and it was all so safe and old," he grimaces.

  The young createur would confound his staid co-workers by turning up in riding boots to the office. "I just liked the way they looked, but everyone would say 'what are you wearing? Are you going to go riding?'"

  Gaultier released his first collection in 1976 and by the early 1980s had secured the label "the enfant terrible of French fashion".

  "People reacted much better to me in the UK, which was where it was all happening. Jean Muir was big at the time here and she was fabulous, as was Zandra Rhodes. You could see the craziness in the British people, but I couldn't move because I'd already started in Paris."

  There was another reason to stay in France: Gaultier's first serious boyfriend and business partner at the time, Francis Menuge.

  In 1990, fifteen years after they first met, Menuge died of Aids, which is partly why the designer travelled to London last month and helped to raise over £600,000 for Sir Elton's Aids Foundation. "It was

  Francis who really urged me on at the start of my career, because I'm more of an abstract than an ambitious person. He saw my talent and felt my passion and would always push me when I was lazy or demotivated. He'd jokingly encourage me to build 'my empire'."

  This still elicits a soft laugh from Gaultier all these years later, and yet a global empire is what he built. As well as Haute Couture, Gaultier's labels now include denim, eyewear, jewellery, childrenswear and homewear.

  In 2003, Hermes made him their creative director, a post he kept until this year. "I would be a different person today if I hadn't met Francis," he says, and for the first time in our interview his face loses it's readiness to smile.

  "I would still have been in fashion, of course, but perhaps, I would not have made a record or done Eurotrash." But we all loved Eurotrash, I remonstrate.

  "I know," he agrees, smiling again, "it was ridiculous and fun. When Antoine de Caunes first asked me I said no because I couldn't act, but he said: 'we know - that's why we want you.'"

  Gaultier's theatrical streak was evident to his father, an accountant, and mother, a secretary, from an early age. But it was Gaultier's grandmother - a nurse who would ask for her grandson's help in lacing up her corset - who was responsible for an obsession with the female

  form that was to become his trademark. "Not because she had that shape," he giggles, "but I would watch her put on a corset that would give her that shape at a time when every woman looked like Twiggy.

  "I found the instrument so fabulous and beautiful, right down to the texture of it and the way it laced up down the back. From that moment I became fascinated by the idea of transforming one's body with clothes, and the idea that certain garments can accentuate something you want and hide something you don't want."

  Alerted, perhaps, by her grandson's addiction to a TV show based on the Folies Bergeres and his propensity towards making feathered headdresses for his teddy bear, Gaultier's grandmother gave him a book in which a gay love affair was implicit.

  Still the moment of sexual realisation didn't come until he went to see Zeferellis' Romeo and Juliet - and couldn't decide who he had the bigger crush on: Leonard Whiting or Olivia Hussey.

  "Thankfully times were changing. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge were overtly a couple back then and ten years later when I said I had met a boy, my parents just asked: "Do you love each other? Then that's wonderful."

  In a cruel twist, Gaultier's professional elevation coincided with his lover becoming seriously ill and dying. The corsets he designed that year for Madonna's world tour now rank alongside Marilyn Monroe's white halter-neck dress and Audrey Hepburn's black Givenchy LBD in fashion iconography. Did he realise how important they would be at the time?

  "No," he shrugs. "I was a fan of Madonna's so I was pleased to collaborate with her for that reason - not because it would be good for my career."

  Now that underwear as outerwear is pretty much de rigueur for any self-respecting pop star, some artists, like Lady Gaga - also a fan of the JPG corset - are forced to take things further still.

  "I think she's talented and very inpolitically incorrect, which I love. But I also think that she read up on Madonna's life and learnt it like the Bible."

  In the distance, an assistant clamours for his attention but Gaultier won't be hurried and as we talk at greater length about his work with the Aids foundation and memories of the man he still calls "the love of my life." Had Menuge lived, might the couple have 'married' or adopted a child?

  "Francis always wanted to have children," smiles Gaultier, "but I always felt that I was a child myself. Actually, the business that we forged together was like a child in the end - and the great thing is that it is still around today."

  Elton John Aids Foundation Winter Ball hosted by Jean Paul Gaultier

  

  

  

  

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Blake Lively the new ‘face’ of Chanel handbags 2010

  
  08 December 2010
  

  Blake Lively the new ‘face’ of Chanel handbags 2010: Rumours point to the 'Gossip Girl' star being signed up by Chanel to star in its forthcoming handbag campaign.

  

  Blake Lively clutching a Chanel handbag after a photoshoot in Manhattan

  It was only a matter of time before the young, blonde, long-legged beauty that is 'Gossip Girl' star Blake Lively was snapped up to be the 'face' of an international luxury powerhouse.

  And so if rumours are to be believed, French fashion house Chanel has bagged the actress of the moment as the advertising campaign star of its sought-after handbags range.

  

  Blake Lively in a Chanel dress at 'The Town' Film premiere, Toronto International Film Festival

  E! Online reported that Chanel's creative director Karl Lagerfeld (a multi-talented man who's a dab hand with a camera), photographed Lively in a Paris hotel for the ad campaign last month.

  Chanel, who declined to confirm the rumours, have been courting Lively for her red carpet appearances for some time, providing her with haute couture gowns and accessories for public appearances, which in turn has helped raise her fashion profile, earning her a place in numerous best-dressed lists and two US Vogue covers.
  
  She was invited to the opening of the new Chanel boutique in New York's Soho district during New York Fashion Week, and was one of the front-row faces at the haute couture show in Paris in July.
  
  Lively, 23, is known for playing Serena van der Woodsen in the popular TV series Gossip Girl, and joins a seemingly endless roll-call of Chanel ambassadors, including British actress Keira Knightley, who is the face of Coco Mademoiselle perfume; Vanessa Paradis, spokesmodel for the Coco Cocoon range of handbags and the Rouge Coco lipstick; French actress Audrey Tautou, who took over from Nicole Kidman as the poster girl for Chanel No5 perfume and Georgia May Jagger, Sir Mick Jagger's gap-toothed daughter who stars as the pin-up for the Cruise 10/11 collection.
  
  Meanwhile, there's the Chanel 'ambassadors', who arrive to almost every public event clad in Chanel. British 'It-girl' Alexa Chung, who was voted Style Icon at last night's British Fashion Awards is one lucky recipient of Chanel's special treatment, alongside Emma Watson's stylist Caroline Sieber. French actress Anna Mouglalis, who played Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel on the silver screen is an ambassador for the label's Fine Jewellery and Watches.
  
  Chanel held its 'Métiers d'Art' fashion show in Paris last night, a handcrafted collection instigated by Karl Lagerfeld to celebrate the work of the specialist ateliers in Paris, including Desrues the costume jeweller, Lemarié the feather specialist and Lesage the embroiderer. And while Blake Lively wasn't there, the next time we might see her in Chanel is gazing staring back from the pages of a glossy magazine in the new year, toting a Chanel handbag.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Louis Vuitton host party for Sophia Coppola’s latest film ‘Somewhere’

  
  08 December 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Louis Vuitton host party for Sophia Coppola’s latest film ‘Somewhere’: Louis Vuitton-clad guests enjoyed a preview of Coppola's new film then partied the night away at the Chateau Marmont.

  

  Coppola, revered for her chic spin on laidback, androgynous style, sparkled in a simple, sequinned black dress by Vuitton.

  Stylish film director Sophia Coppola gets on famously with Louis Vuitton's artistic director Marc Jacobs, so it was fitting that the French fashion house threw a party in honour of her new film, 'Somewhere', in Los Angeles last night.

  After a preview of the movie, guests gathered at the legendary Chateau Marmont hotel - the setting of the film about a washed-up Hollywood actor (played Stephen Dorff) living a debauched existence there when his 11 year-old daughter (Elle Fanning) unexpectedly comes to stay.

  Coppola, revered for her chic spin on laidback, androgynous style, sparkled in a simple, sequinned black dress by Vuitton. Models Erin Wasson and Angela Lindvall, who have cameo roles as Hollywood groupies in the film, took the opportunity to premiere looks from Jacobs' oriental inspired spring/summer 2011 collection for Louis Vuitton.

  Up-and-coming actresses including Isabel Lucas, Lea Seydoux and Jessica Chastain all called upon the magic of Louis Vuitton to make an entrance at the party. Quite possibly the only guest not wearing Vuitton was 12 year-old Elle Fanning, the younger sister of fellow actress Dakota, who wore a black puffball dress by Valentino.

  Sofia Coppola counts Marc Jacobs as a long-time friend, and the two joined forces in 2009 after Coppola visited Louis Vuitton's historic workshop in Asnières and was inspired to create a capsule collection of bags and shoes with the French luxury house, which have become modern classics.

  Coppola was also photographed alongside her father, Francis Ford Coppola, by Annie Leibovitz for the award-winning Louis Vuitton advertising campaign. She also served on the jury of the first Louis Vuitton Journeys Awards competition for emerging filmmakers in 2010.

  'Somewhere' won the Golden Lion for best film during the 67th Venice film festival and is tipped for success at next year's Oscars. The film hits UK cinemas on December 10.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Looks Phoebe Philo - Céline collection 2010

  
  07 December 2010
  

  Phoebe Philo  wins Designer of the Year 2010: Take a look at British Designer of the Year 2010, Phoebe Philo's greatest hits for the luxury French label, Céline.

  Photos  of Phoebe Philo for Céline collection 2010

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

  

   

• British Fashion Awards 2010: Phoebe Philo wins Designer of the Year 2010

  
  07 December 2010
  

  British Fashion Awards 2010: Phoebe Philo wins Designer of the Year 2010: Phoebe Philo leads 'ladies night' at the British Fashion Awards 2010 as she, Lara Stone, Alexa Chung and Naomi Campbell are honoured.

  

  Phoebe Philo, British Designer of the Year 2010

  Phoebe Philo, who has been hailed as the 'Queen of the New Minimalism', won the Designer of the Year 2010 title at the British Fashion Awards in London tonight.

  

  Alexa Chung, the television presenter, received the British Style award,as voted for by the public; she wore an a-line Chanel dress

  The young English designer is the creative director of Céline, the French ready-to-wear brand she has turned into one of the world's most sought-after luxury labels, since her appointment two years ago.

  

  Supermodel, Naomi Campbell, who received a Special Recognition trophy to mark her 25 year-career

  Philo, 37, is arguably one of the most influential movers and shakers in modern ready-to-wear, and her approach to design has had a huge impact on the way women dress as we enter the second decade of the 21st century. A Hollywood A-list favourite, her customers include Katie Holmes, Victoria Beckham, Kate Bosworth, Leighton Meester, and Juliette Binoche.

  Philo graduated from the London fashion college, Central Saint Martins, in 1996, and her first job was as Stella McCartney's design assistant for the then late 1990's revival of the Paris label, Chloé. Philo went on to succeed McCartney as creative director, in 2001, when the Beatles' daughter left to launch her own name brand.

  

  Dutch model, Lara Stone, was named ‘Model of the Year’; she wore 'head to toe' Calvin Klein

  Under Philo's direction, Chloé became the passport to the Noughties expression of super-cool. High-waisted jeans, babydoll dresses, wooden-wedge shoes, military jackets, broderie anglaise and 'It' bags were all revived by the young designer and were the essential keystones of every stylish celebrity's wardrobe.

  In January, 2006, Philo resigned in order to spend more time with her husband and children, only to be enticed back into the fashion spotlight in 2008 by Bernard Arnault, the president of LVMH, which owns Céline, together with a stable of fashion thoroughbreds including Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Kenzo, Pucci and Fendi.

  Quietly, but determinedly, Philo has wasted no time in applying her Midas touch to Céline and her introduction of a lean, clean, uncluttered silhouette, devoid of fantasy inspiration, is the contemporary antithesis of vintage, bling or anything remotely tribal.

  Philo led a ''ladies'night'' charge in one of the strongest female showings since the British Fashion Awards were established in 1974. The gap-toothed Dutch model, Lara Stone, recently married to the British comedian David Walliams, was named 'Model of the Year'. Alexa Chung, the television presenter, received the British Style award, and the supermodel, Naomi Campbell, received a Special Recognition trophy to mark her 25 year-career. In addition, Mulberry, whose creative director is another British designer, Emma Hill, took the Designer Brand title, and Burberry received a special award for Digital Innovation.

  Other awards included: the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator to Lady Gaga's stylist, Nicola Formichetti; Menswear - Patrick Grant of E.Tautz; Accessories - Nicholas Kirkwood; Emerging Talent Ready-to-Wear - Meadham Kirchhoff; Emerging Talent Accessories - Husam El Odeh.

  Alexander Lee McQueen received a posthumous award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design.

  The British prime minister's wife Samantha Cameron was the surprise guest of honour at the British Fashion Awards gala at the Savoy Hotel tonight. She was attending in her new capacity as a Fashion Ambassador for the British Fashion Council. She opened the awards evening by announcing the posthumous award for Outstanding Achievement to the late Alexander Lee McQueen. The award was accepted by his successor, Sarah Burton, who worked alongside McQueen for 15 years. Mrs Cameron wore a long, midnight silk faille V-neck, cap-sleeved, belted gown, by the London-based designer, Osman Yousefzada.

  Other celebrity guests included Daisy Lowe, wearing Elie Saab; Kelly Brook in a Suzie Turner corset gown; Alexa Chung in cream A-line Chanel; Lara Stone in 'head to toe' Calvin Klein; Twiggy in a jacket from Per Una at Marks and Spencer and Mad Men-style skirt; Yasmin Le Bon in Christopher Kane; Ella Harris, the granddaughter of Richard Harris, in a black sequin Kate Moss for Topshop dress; Emma Roberts, the neice of Julia Roberts, in a blue and black lace micro-mini by Julien Macdonald; Thandie Newton in Peter Pilotto; and Daphne Guinness in a silver lamé gown she made herself, accessorized with a silver tulle scarf that "used to be a skirt", and her own diamonds - "of course, darling". Phoebe Philo wore a navy strapless jumpsuit, and modernist cuffs on each wrist, from her latest Celine collection

• Fashion news 2010: Angelina Jolie collaborates on ‘statement’ jewellery line

  
  06 December 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Angelina Jolie collaborates on ‘statement’ jewellery line: Film star Angelina Jolie has been working on a high-end jewellery collection which won't be coming to a store near you.

  

  Angelina Jolie at the Berlin premiere of Salt, where she wore a a faceted black and rose gold necklace on which she had collaborated with Procop

  Actress, film director, model, mother, humanitarian… As if Angelina Jolie didn't already have enough strings to her bow, she has now turned her hand to fine jewellery design, joining forces with the former chief executive of Asprey, Robert Procop, to create a collection of 'statement stones'.

  

  Angelina Jolie with Johnny Depp on the set of The Tourist, in which Jolie wears a vintage diamond choker sourced by Robert Procop

  Jolie has worn several pieces created for her by Procop over the past decade, including the striking black and rose gold necklace she wore to the premiere of her film 'Salt'' in Berlin last summer.

  If you're hoping to get your hands on a piece of Jolie's hotly anticipated range, you had better get acquainted with Procop fast. Jolie's collection won't be sold in stores, only through Procop's network of clients, with all of the proceeds benefiting Jolie's charity, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict.

  Those wishing to brush up on Robert Procop's work should take a trip to the cinema to see Jolie's latest movie 'The Tourist', in which she wears pieces sourced and designed by Procop, including a vintage diamond choker.

  Speaking about the designs, Procop told WWD "Angelina has very classic style. These are pieces she wears herself." Rumours are that the collection will feature a pale green 353 carat pendant and a tablet-shaped 12.02 carat emerald ring set in rose gold.

  It isn't the first time Jolie has dipped her toe in the luxurious world of jewels and gems. Last year, she and partner Brad Pitt designed a capsule collection for the British jeweller Asprey, also in the name of Jolie's charity.

  (telegraph fashion news)