Products

• New fashion 2010: Naomi Campbell celebrates her 40th birthday

  
  24 May 2010
  

  New fashion 2010: Naomi Campbell celebrates her 40th birthday: It is an age when many celebrities and superstars prefer to forget their birthday - and some, in fact, do. But the British supermodel, Naomi Campbell, is hitting "The Big Four-0" tomorrow - and she doesn’t care who knows it.

  

  Left: A teenage Naomi Campbell back in 1989, aged 19, and most recently, at the Cannes Film Festival

  Campbell is planning to celebrate her fortieth birthday with a sensational party on the French Riviera, funded by her Russian millionaire boyfriend, Vladimir Doronin. The date will mark a double celebration for the supermodel, as it is also the first anniversary for the couple’s relationship.

  Doronin has reportedly told friends the birthday bash will be full of surprises and bigger than Simon Cowell’s 50th birthday party last October.

  Guests are expected to be flying in from all over the world, but with the Cannes Film Festival in full swing, many star invitees and friends of Naomi Campbell, may well be there already.

  One present the birthday girl undoubtedly did not want was the news she may be summoned to the war crimes tribunal investigating Liberia’s former president, Charles Taylor, following allegations she had received a “blood diamond” from him.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• New fashion 2010: Osman Yousefzada stars in new V&A Fashion in Motion series

  
  24 May 2010
  

  New fashion 2010: Osman Yousefzada stars in new V&A Fashion in Motion series: For one unique day, May 21st, the designer will present a hand-picked selection of pieces from his collections from launch date in 2005 to the present day, in a series of catwalk shows in the museum’s Raphael Gallery.

  

   
  

   

  Osman Yousefzada, one of British fashion’s secret weapons, is the star of the latest Fashion in Motion event at the V&A in London.

  Yousefzada designs through instinct, his creations reflecting a deep-rooted sensibility and poetic approach, inspired both by history and the future. He is renowned for his innovative cutting and dramatic draping, and so contemporary dancers will also be on hand to demonstrate the extraordinary way in which his designs move on the human form.

  
  
  Born in the UK to Afghan parents, Yousefzada was inspired by an early age by his mother’s dressmaking business in Birmingham. He studied at Central Saint Martins, and established his own label soon after graduating, in 2005. He showed his first collection under the "Osman" label for spring/summer 2006, a collection which displayed the juxtaposition of tradition with modernity and precision tailoring with sensuous draping, imbued with a feeling for ethnicity and the costumes of ancient cultures, which has become his hallmark.
  
  Yousefzada was nominated for the annual Designs of the Year 2007 award at the Design Museum, London, an event which showcases the best 100 designs internationally, selected from all disciplines, including architecture, furniture, transport and graphics. His co-nominees in the fashion section were Issey Miyake, Jil Sander, Christian Dior, Giles Deacon and Pierre Hardy.
  
  In 2008, he won praise for his high street collaboration with Mango, "Osman Yousefzada’s Little Black Dress Collection", which was sold in more than 200 stores in 35 countries.
  
  Last year, the Parisian fashion guru, Didier Ludot, an authority on haute couture and vintage, showcased Yousefzada’s work in his Palais Royal boutique, alongside creations by Claude Montana and Thierry Mugler. Yousefzada also launched a capsule jewellery collection, inspired by Art Deco and futurism, in 2009, in conjunction with Astley Clarke, and released his first pre-collection, which focused on his signature sculptural draping and powerful silhouettes, and is stocked exclusively at Browns.
  
  Yousefzada recently announced a new collaboration with the Italian company, Vaprio Stile, for his latest label, R-T-W.
  
  Since his first show at London Fashion Week, he has built up an impressive roster of celebrity fans of the Osman label, including Charlize Thereon, Mary-Kate Olsen, Anna Friel, Mischa Barton, Lily Cole, Sarah Brown, Thandie Newton, and Kate Moss.
  
  The V&A’s Fashion in Motion is a regular series which aims to bring a slice of the international catwalk to the general public, free of charge. Leading designers who have been featured in the past include Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon and Gareth Pugh.
  
  Osman Yousefzada/Fashion in Motion is on at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 8pm on Friday, May 17th, 2010; admission is free but booking is essential.

  (telegraph fashion news )

   

• Fashion news 2010: The Top 10 most iconic dresses of the past 50 years:

  
  20 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: The Top 10 most iconic dresses of the past 50 years. The Spice Girl's Union Jack dress has topped a new poll announcing the top ten most iconic dresses of the past fifty years.

  The "Union Jack Dress" worn by the former Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, has topped a new poll to find the 10 Most Iconic Dresses of the last 50 years.

  Halliwell, who wore the dress to the Brit Awards in 1997, captured 82% of the votes, narrowly edging out the runner-up, Liz Hurley and that dress (the Gianni Versace safety pin design), which the actress unveiled in 1994 at the London premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral.

  The white halter-neck dress, which Marilyn Monroe wore in The Seven Year Itch - famously blowing up to her waist as she stood over a subway vent - polled third, ahead of Audrey Hepburn’s Little Black Dress and pearls, from Breakfast at Tiffany's.

  Other iconic ‘outfits’ included Kylie Minogue’s gold hot pants, worn in the Spinning Around video, 2000, and the "swan" dress, designed by Marjan Pejoski, which Björk wore to the 2001 Oscars.

  Eve Atkins, founder of OffersSupermarket, said: “Everybody remembers the moment Geri Halliwell hit the stage in that Union Jack dress. It made everybody watching the Brit Awards feel patriotic, plus she looked amazing. I was shocked to realise it was simply a tea towel sewn on to a basic dress, with no designer involved.”

  The Top 10 most iconic dresses of the past 50 years:

  1. Geri Halliwell – Union Jack dress – 82%

  2. Liz Hurley – Versace safety pin dress – 79%

  3. Marilyn Monroe – White dress – 74%

  4. Audrey Hepburn – Black dress and pearls in Breakfast at Tiffany’s – 67%

  5. Lady Gaga – White outfit and wig worn to the Brit Awards – 63%

  6. Diana, Princess of Wales – Wedding dress designed by The Emanuel’s – 58%

  7. Kylie Minogue – Gold hot pants – 56%

  8. Jennifer Lopez - Sheer green Versace dress worn to the Grammys – 53%

  9. Björk - Swan dress worn to the Oscars – 49%

  10. Cindy Crawford: Red Versace dress worn to the Oscars – 44%

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Maison Martin Margiela exhibition at Somerset House

  
  20 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Maison Martin Margiela exhibition at Somerset House: Martin Margiela delights and confounds in equal measures. Yet the now retired designer, who trained at the prestigious Antwerp Academy and broke through as part of the infamous Antwerp Six group (which included Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester) in the late Eighties, has bewitched the design world for more than 20 years, changing not only its shape (exaggerated shoulders, trompe l’oeil effects, recycled fabrics, frayed edges and men’s suiting for women are all part of his lexicon), but its operation.

  

  Martin Margiela's infamous wigs jacket from spring/summer 2009 (centre); strong shoulders from autumn/winter 2007 (right); and quirky trousers from autumn/winter 2010 (left)
  Throughout this time, Margiela, who is now in his early fifties, remained – and still remains – anonymous (much to the chagrin of the press), and deeply provocative in the way he shows. Disused metro stations, cafés, containers by the Seine, empty warehouses, “faceless” models, eerie music and no front-row seats are methods used to communicate his concepts, which value the “extra” in the ordinary, and community over hierarchy. To that end, the employees of his label, Maison Martin Margiela, all sport white coats (the uniform of traditional couture ateliers) and statements are made from the collective, rather than personal, voice. You either “got it” and were in the Margiela club, or were out.
  The exclusivity was further emphasised by the fuss-free labelling of the clothes – a white tag distinguished by four white stitches at the neckline. Such subtlety and gamesmanship, not to mention exceptional tailoring, has attracted the creative, the intelligentsia and A-listers in droves: Tilda Swinton and French Vogue’s Carine Roitfeld are fans, and Marc Jacobs and former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane are among the many who have taken inspiration.

  

  White kid-leather top from spring/summer 2001 (left); the house's signature fuss-free label (centre); and Margiela's iconic tabi boots (right)

  
  
  The Margiela aesthetic has always offered a radical alternative to what we might deem as chic and “designer”, yet his view is not anti-fashion (his business, now reaching to perfume, fine jewellery and furniture, is hugely successful), but rather an alternative. And it is this enigma that a new show at Somerset House hopes to capture in an arresting display that harnesses the big themes and playfulness of 20 years.
  
  Curator Claire Catterall has a big task on her hands. Before her lay boxes of exhibits, sacks of white confetti and silver sequins, and a room of junk-shop chairs that need to be wrapped in the house’s characteristic white fabric. There are also giant polystyrene cut-outs of the members of Maison Margiela who will welcome visitors once they have purchased tickets from a whitewashed caravan in the courtyard. (The original caravan that sits in the entrance of the HQ in Paris is a paradigm shift from the wenge wood and honey carpets of designer-land.) Catterall is also in negotiations with the council to wrap the trees that line the embankment entrance to Somerset House in white like a Christo installation.
  
  “Margiela is one of the most influential and cutting-edge designers in fashion,” says Catterall. “Looking back, one can see how inspiring his work has been – the show isn’t just a showcase, but an intelligent examination of the house. The idea is to feel immersed in Margiela world.” The acclaimed exhibition, which previously showed in Antwerp and Munich, has been adapted to the gallery space. Margiela’s love of trompe l’oeils is reflected right through to the decor, with images pasted over walls and screenprinted on to curtains.
  
  Step into Margiela’s world and you begin to experience things differently. Nothing is quite what it seems in the unmarked, whitewashed shops, which are now located everywhere from LA to London, and the same is true of this exhibition. Intricately-curated capsules take you through Margiela’s weird world, where you will see giant suits and sweaters that are perfectly upscaled versions of original Barbie, Ken and GI Joe outfits from his autumn/winter 1994 collection. Another area shows the shift in shoulder proportions, ranging from the super-skinny and tight, to the ballasted shapes that have been all the rage these past two seasons. In the first room, there is a wall of his famous tabi boots, a heeled design based on the one-toed socks worn in Japan to accommodate flip-flops.
  
  On a rail hangs a series of raw-edged nylon dresses with unnerving trompe l’oeil photographic prints of the creases and patterns, folds and darts taken from a dress hanging on a real female body. The Artisanal collection – Margiela’s version of couture – is a sight to behold, with extraordinary pieces meticulously assembled from found objects and discarded materials, such as a jacket made out of blonde wigs (spring/summer 2009) and a halter top crafted from white kid-leather gloves (spring/summer 2001) which seem to caress the body.
  
  But what may seem perverse was often the outcome of no money and rabid imaginations. Scenographer Bob Verhelst, who has worked with Margiela since the get-go and is collaborating on the Somerset House installation, recalls the early days. “I went to Paris to see his collection – I think there must have been only a handful of people working there, so I offered my help.” Two weeks before the next show, he got a call. “Martin had this idea inspired by his mother and aunts during the war who would make their clothes from old scarves as nothing else was available, so the entire collection was made out of headscarves.
  
  “I helped with everything from the invitations, to the street casting and the make-up – we painted the patterns from the scarves on to the models’ skin.” Verhelst, who worked with Margiela for nine years, witnessed the growth and evolution of the house. “Another time, we had the idea to handwrite the invitations and personally sign them all. There were 2,000 letters, and I think there must have only been six signatures.”
  
  “It’s rare for a fashion house to sustain desirability and kudos when its namesake creative departs [Margiela left last year], but the team at Margiela is well and truly taking the brand’s heritage to new levels. With timeless classics and chic quirks, the label still has its cult following and continues to draw in youth with its achingly cool vibe,” says Yasmin Sewell, creative consultant to Liberty and an avid MMM fan.
  
  Maison Martin Margiela creates an unnerving, radical kind of beauty, one that keeps you wide-eyed with its innovation, humour and sheer audacity. Like Coco Chanel, Cristobal Balenciaga and Rei Kawakubo, of Comme des Garçons, the work operates as a back-current to the mainstream. “As a conceptual designer, you put your work out there and let it be open to interpretations,” says Kaat Debo, who conceived and curated the original exhibition in Antwerp. “And there have been many interpretations.” Now is the time to find out yourself.

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: The King is Celebrated at the "Prince of Persia" Premiere

  
  18 May 2010
  

  

  Fashion news 2010  – FWD109 Gemma Arterton attends the Film premiere of "Prince of Persia

  Fashion news 2010: The King is Celebrated at the "Prince of Persia" Premiere: Jake Gyllenhaal may be cinema's new "Prince of Persia," but even he bowed down to the real king of Hollywood on Monday, May 17, as the film's producer Jerry Bruckheimer was honored at Grauman's Chinese Theater before the film premiered there. Bruckheimer, who has been one of the most prolific producers in the history of both film and television, placed his hand and footprints into the concrete as a who's who of Tinseltown looked on.

  There was a smiling Tom Cruise, seated next to Nicolas Cage, along with Bruckheimer's other favorite actors, including Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Voight, Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Skerritt, Michael Clarke Duncan, Judge Reinhold, Jonathan Pryce, Kelly McGillis, and Gemma Arterton.

  Arterton, Kingsley, and Gyllenhaal then took center stage as the stars of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," as the film premiere followed and the party kept right on going. Look one way, there were Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy; look another, Orlando Bloom, Jon Lovitz and Seth Green. Directors Mike Newell, Jon Turtletaub and Tony Scott paid homage to the king, too. And while alpha Hollywood males were everywhere you looked, there were a few female Bruckheimer fans, too, like Michelle Monaghan, Melina Kanakaredes, Jaime King, Tia Carrere and Alanis Morissette.

  Gyllenhaal summed up what everyone who has been part of the Bruckheimer empire, from the early days of "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Days of Thunder" through "The Rock," "Con Air," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and right up to "CSI," "CSI: NY" and "CSI: Miami," was thinking.

  "To be playing the lead in a Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster movie based on a video game," Gyllenhaal said with a grin at an earlier press conference in support of "Prince of Persia," "I felt like my eyes would pop out of my head!"

  (Yahoo fashion news )

• Fashion news 2010: latest photos Christian Dior collection 2011 in Shanghai

  
  18 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Christian Dior  collection 2011 in Shanghai: Actress Charlize Theron, one of Christian Dior's celebrity 'faces', attended the show with Sidney Toledano, the president and chief executive of Dior

  Actress Charlize Theron, one of Christian Dior's celebrity 'faces', attended the show with Sidney Toledano, the president and chief executive of Dior

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Christian Dior's creative director John Galliano takes his bow at the end of the catwalk show

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Jean Paul Gaultier unveils first collection in Russia

  
  15 May 2010
  
  

  Fashion news 2010 – A model presents a creation by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier during his fashion show at Kazanskiy

  Fashion news 2010: Jean Paul Gaultier unveils first collection in Russia: French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier on Friday achieved a long-held dream by presenting his first haute couture collection in Russia at a Moscow railway station.

  Gaultier said he was delighted to use the Kazansky railway terminus, one of Moscow's three main rail stations, as the backdrop for his fashion collection, saying it was an invitation to a journey.

  "And my collection is a journey," he added.

  "One of my dreams in Paris was to do a show in the restaurant at the Gare de Lyon," he said, referring to the railway station's famous belle epoque Train Bleu restaurant.

  "That dream, I achieved it in Moscow."

  Gaultier, 58, opened his first boutique in the centre of the Russian capital in 2005.

  But he said he was surprised by the pace of change the city had seen since then. "This shows how much Russia is changing... Russia is open to the world," he said.

  "I have the impression that now the rest of Europe is like an old sputnik," he said, adding that he saw Russia as "young and fresh" but at the same time able to hold on to "traditions and a strong past."

• Fashion news 2010: Fashion at the Classical Brit Awards

  
  14 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Fashion at the Classical Brit Awards: Host Myleene Klass arrived at the awards ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in decadent red carpet mode. Her gown, which consisted of a corseted basque and a trailing, feathered skirt, was created by Quintana Couture

   

  Through the evening, Klass managed to change in to an equally cumbersome creation by designer Joe Challita

  Nominee Hayley Westenra's first outfit, a satin, one-shoulder gown

  ... the soprano then donned £1m worth of Garrard jewels, which she teamed with shoes worth £4,000 by Aruna Seth, and a dress by Jasper Conran

  Flowing satin was the look of choice for the ceremony. Camilla Kerslake, whose album was one of 10 biggest-selling classical albums of 2009, chose this neck-plunging floor sweeper...

  Linzi Stoppard, who is one half of Fuse - an electric-violin duo - opted for a custom-made purple satin dress with a fishtail-hem finish by Suzanne Neville

  Angela Gheorghiu claimed the Female Artist of the Year award, and celebrated in this dip-dyed frock

  Britain’s Got Talent star Faryl Smith looked older than her 14 years in this turquoise, full-length number. The teenager holds the record for the fastest-selling solo classical album in British chart history, and was nominated for two Classical BRIT awards

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Fashion trends of starts at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival

  
  14 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Fashion trends of starts at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival: British actress Kate Beckinsale is a member of the jury for the 'feature film' panel at this year's festival. For the first photocall, she chose a look by John Galliano for Christian Dior, adapted from the autumn/winter 2010/2011 catwalk collection...

   

  ...to the premiere of Robin Hood later that same evening, the actress then changed into a ruffled, floor-sweeper of fairy-tale proportions by Marchesa

  Australian actress Cate Blanchett, who has a starring tole in Robin Hood, wore Armani Prive to the film's photocall

  ..she too then changed into a carpet-sweeping frock from the Alexander McQueen pre-fall 2010 collection

  Eva Longoria Parker also went for a trailing design by Pucci

  Helen Mirren dazzled in a dress with sleeves from the Elie Saab autumn/winter 2010 collection

  Singer Natalie Imbruglia made an appearance in a beaded gown by Alberta Ferretti

  Actress Salma Hayek chose a georgette gown from the first Gucci Première collection, a new range designed by Gucci's creative director Frida Giannini

  Kristin Scott Thomas shimmered in an iridescent, strapless dress

  Day two of the festival, and Eva Longoria Parker pulled another trailing show-stopper from what must be a gargantuan suitcase. This time her sparkle-factor was courtesy of designer Naeem Khan

  Helen Mirren is displaying a penchant for Elie Saab Haute Couture - presumably the designer's long gowns with sleeves tick all her red carpet boxes

  French actress Léa Seydoux went for a curvaceous look in an autumn/winter 2010 creation by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton

  Creations from Giorgio Armani's Haute Couture range, Armani Privé, are certainly in demand at this year's festival. Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan added to the list of actresses wanting a piece of the Armani-action.

  Model Liya Kebede attended the 'Tournee' film premiere in a beautiful wrap dress by Balenciaga

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

   

   

   

   

• Fashion news 2010: Chanel 2010/11 Cruise collection in St Tropez

  
  14 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Chanel 2010/11 Cruise collection in St Tropez: Karl Lagerfeld brought the town of St Tropez to a standstill for the presentation of his Chanel Cruise collection for 2010/2011

   

  Georgia May Jagger, 18, was reincarnated as a teenage Brigitte Bardot, another denizen of St Tropez?s glory years

  Elisa Sednaoui attended the show

   

  The models sported beach-hair and barely-there make-up

   

   

   

   

   

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Pregnant Claudia Schiffer poses nude for German Vogue

  
  11 May 2010
  
  

  Fashion news 2010 – A handout photo from the Conde Nast publishing house shows the cover of the June 2010 edition of the

  Fashion news 2010: Pregnant Claudia Schiffer poses nude for German Vogue: Heavily pregnant supermodel Claudia Schiffer appears naked on the cover of Germany's Vogue magazine, snapped by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, the publication said on Tuesday.

  Schiffer, 39, is proudly showing off her bump in the magazine's June issue, which hits newsstands on Wednesday. She is expecting her third child "in a matter of days," Vogue said.

  "There are probably not many other women who have been photographed as often as Claudia. But she has never been seen in such a different way," said the magazine's editor, Christiane Arp.

  Schiffer, who first graced the cover of German Vogue nearly 20 years ago and has appeared 11 times since, said: "It was important to show how beautiful womanhood is."

  The pose bears a striking resemblance to a controversial edition of Vanity Fair in 1991 when Hollywood film star Demi Moore, then seven months pregnant, appeared nude.

  Lagerfeld himself is no stranger to controversy, making the news recently for saying that no one wanted to see "curvy" models, after a prominent German women's magazine said it would publish only pictures of "real women."

   

  (Yahoo fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Giorgio Armani designs custom wardrobe for Alicia Keys

  
  11 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Giorgio Armani designs custom wardrobe for Alicia Keys: Giorgio Armani has announced his latest collaboration with the Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, Alicia Keys. Following on from their partnership for Keys' tour in 2008, the designer has produced a custom-made wardrobe for the singer's "The Element of Freedom" European tour, which kicked off in Portugal on April 29 and continues throughout Europe until early June 2010.

  Keys, a firm fan of Armani's work, has become close friends with the Italian designer. She has worn specially-made Armani creations for red carpet appearances such as the 2006 Grammy Awards, the 2007 American Music Awards, and Keys' own Black Ball, as well as at the Oscars in 2009. She is pictured here wearing Armani to the 2009 American Music Awards. Click on for the sketches of the latest bespoke pieces for Alicia Keys.

  A military, crocodile-print leather jacket with embroidered shoulders will add the wow-factor on stage. Wrists and the waist are embellished with a mix of metal elements, crystals and sequins. The jacket is paired with a one-shoulder top in silk cady and leggings. Leather boots with tone-on-tone Swarovski crystals complete the look.

  An LBD made from viscose lamé features strong shoulders and a cascade ruffle. The dress is paired with leather boots, and gloves embroidered with Swarovski crystals, metal elements and sequins.

  A one-shoulder, embroidered silk top, is teamed with leggings and leather boots featuring tone-on-tone Swarovski crystals. Cuffs are embroidered all over with a mix of metal elements, crystals and sequins.

  This one-shoulder, silk and chiffon gown in dark grey, with beaded bust featuring Swarovski crystals and sequins will ensure Keys sparkles on stage. The look is completed with black sandals featuring Swarovski crystals.

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: World Cup 2010 fashion trends

  
  11 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: World Cup 2010 fashion trends: Yes, we don't know how it happened either, but somehow four years have passed since the last WAG-fest took place during the 2006 World Cup in Baden-Baden. While the England team presented their best efforts on the pitch, their other halves took to supporting their men with what was a very public show of affection. We were hooked on every style detail.. from Victoria Beckham's itsy-bitsy shorts and slogan vest-tops...

   

  ...to Cheryl Cole's (back then we knew her as Cheryl Tweedy) eyebrow-raising taste in fashion...

  ..while Alex Curran, the Balmain-loving wife of Steven Gerrard, cut a more dressed-down figure. Follow our tips to injecting some World Cup fever in to your wardrobe...

  Say it with a slogan vest-top

  Flutter your England eyelashes

  Pepper your look with hints of the St George's Cross

  Accessorise all (literally) areas

  From left: Giorgio Armani's World Cup T-shirt, £25.95 from Armani Exchange

  Show off some fancy footwork

  Tankini top and bikini briefs set, £31.50

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

   

• Fashion news 2010: Cheryl Cole wears designs by Mrs Jones on tour

  
  10 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Cheryl Cole wears designs by Mrs Jones on tour.

  The designer who put Kylie in that unforgettable white, cowl-neck jumpsuit, for the Can’t Get You Out of My Head video, back in 2001, is back in fashion.

  

  Cheryl Cole dons her military-style jacket on stage. The pieces was a one-off creation be designer Mrs Jones

  Fee Doran, who designs under the label “Mrs Jones”, has turned her hand to creating a collection of jackets for Cheryl Cole, as she supports the Black Eyed Peas on their UK arena tour.

  Continuing her penchant for all things military, the Girls Aloud star sported a camouflage-print, sleeveless jacket, embellished with gemstones and fringed epaulettes when she performed in Dublin, this week.

  As the tour travels on to Birmingham, Manchester, and London's O2 arena, more jackets by Mrs Jones will be revealed.

  Doran's design career took off 10 years ago from a mere market stall on London's Portobello Road, after an impromptu meeting with Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran. She went on to design stage outfits for Madonna, The Killers, Scissor Sisters and Goldfrapp, to name but a few, as well as collaborating with the designers, Giles Deacon and Matthew Williamson.

  Doran has now launched her spring/summer 2010 collection, entitled "Backstage", which is inspired by her experiences behind- the-scenes at festivals and gigs. Body-con dresses feature black and white chequerboard motifs, juxtaposed against a backdrop of fluorescent floral prints. Fringing, beading, embroideries and tribal -style prints form part of the mix.

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Summer boots fashion trends for 2010-2011

  
  10 May 2010
  

  Summer boots fashion trends for 2010-2011:

  Come sun, come storm, ankle-boots kick other pretenders to the kerb for the title of most versatile footwear of the season.

  A carry-over from winter, the freshest styles are cut to reveal the toes, and come in soft canvas and slouchy leather. We refer you to Prince of the Punky Heel, Alexander Wang (top right), who showed tough, black lace-ups paired with sporty socks, and jersey separates, and Chloé’s criss-crossed, canvas and leather versions, which perked up a plain LBD on the catwalk.

  So, sideline your usual gladiator-sandals and give your outfit an edgy uplift with these summer boots; view the gallery for our top picks.

   

  Leather hiker lace-up, £50,

  Suede peep-toes, £730

  Leather wove lace-ups, £65

  Leather peep-toes, £330.00,

  Canvas/leather, £55

  Zips/buckles, £55

  Leather lace-ups, £90

  Canvas/leather, £54.99, River Island

  Leather, £95

  Leather, £55

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

   

   

• Fashion news 2010: Versace wins $20 mln damages in counterfeit case

  
  06 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Versace wins $20 mln damages in counterfeit case: Versace won a record compensation of $20 million in a counterfeit case against U.S. retail stores, the Italian fashion house said Thursday.

  The medusa-logoed company, whose glittering gowns are worn by film stars such as Drew Barrymore and Penelope Cruz, said the damages awarded by a U.S. court were one of the highest ever obtained by an Italian company in a case brought abroad to protect trademark.

  Versace had revenues of 268 million euros ($359.6 million) in 2009. The ruling is immediately executable, the company said.

  "We have won a historic judgment, reached at the culmination of the anti-counterfeiting action undertaken by the Group and whose effects will benefit all the luxury Italian brands," Versace's Chief Executive Gian Giacomo Ferraris said in a statement.

  Santo Versace, brother of company's founder Gianni who was murdered in 1997, appeared as a key witness in the case.

  More than 70 retail stores in Southern California and Arizona and over 110 people were investigated during the case.

  Versace's seven-year lawsuit is one of many brought by luxury goods companies to protect their brand names from fraud.

  Fendi won a counterfeit case before a Manhattan court in March.

  (Yahoo fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Strong, Sleek and Minimalist at Calvin Klein for Fall 2010

  
  06 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Strong, Sleek and Minimalist at Calvin Klein for Fall 2010: "Minimal, sexy, powerful and very close to the body," was how creative director Kevin Carrigan characterized the latest looks for Calvin Klein women's and men's sportswear, jeans and underwear collections for Fall 2010.

  "I wanted all the clothes to have a streamlined, aerodynamic feel to them," he said at the preview for the collection on Thursday, April 29, in New York. "Almost athletic."

  Lest this sound like wearing scuba gear or a unitard, Carrigan emphasized that it was about a return to luxury, both in the tactility of the soft fabrics and in sharper, more elegant ensembles.

  "I feel that people are enjoying being dressed up again," he said. "But I want them to be comfortable."

  To achieve the close to the body look, Carrigan said that Lycra was used in everything to create something soft and supple that moved with the body.

  "The fabrics are all engineered to contour your body," he said.

  Highlights of the sleek designs for women, mostly in black and gray, consisted of skintight stirrup pants with leather panels at the knees like riding pants, a minimal take on the motorcycle jacket with a simple asymmetrical silver zip and jersey sheath dresses with waist-defining leather panels.

  There were also military influences, but not of the drab camo or olive green variety. Instead, Carrigan looked to dressier aspects of military dress, like the special occasion uniforms worn by officer cadets.

  The Calvin Klein Jeans collection was likewise dressy - "returning to a little decadence," said Carrigan - with a golden sheen on super skinny "jeggings" for women, a dirtier gold rinse on the men's denim and gold hardware all around. And continuing in the streamlined mode, "it's the skinniest, skinniest leg we've ever done at Calvin Klein," said Carrigan, but quickly added that they're designed to be very comfortable and engineered to flatter, whether you're skinny or curvy.

  "It's darted and seamed to support a woman's curve," he explained. "So if a woman is slightly slim, and she doesn't have a booty, it's literally lifting and helping give her one. And if she has more shape, it's controlling her shape."

  With such body conscious clothing, that is "slim, skinny, almost like a pencil sketch, or the shadow of a Sharpie sketch," the urgency one might feel in getting to the gym seems inevitable. But fear not, Carrigan reassured, because the futuristic scenario where clothes do the work of several thousand hours on the elliptical is here.

  "These clothes actually cheat a little," he explained. "They flatter you in a way that make you feel sexy when you put them on, because they're cut for a woman's body and curves, but at the same time they're comfortable. It doesn't matter about going to the gym. The clothes do it for you."

  (Yahoo fashion news )

• Fashion news 2010: Kristen Stewart's style

  
  06 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Kristen Stewart's style: You have to feel for poor Kristen Stewart. Ever since the 20-year-old actress first graced film screens as Bella Swan in the Twilight "vampire" series, she has been catapulted into the most blinding of spotlights.

  Every inch of her private life has been poked and prodded. But, as she travels around the world, appearing at endless press junkets and premieres, she’s proved how she’s a simple girl after our own hearts.

  

  (From left) Kristen Stewart's strapless style: in Jasmine Di Milo at the South by Southwest film festival, favouring a floor-sweeping creation by Monique Lhuillier for the Oscars, and sparkling in a mini-dress by Pucci

  With that slightly awkward, teenage-like stance, she looks much happier “off-duty”, in jeans and plaid shirts - and her hair never looks as if it has just been perfectly blow-dried. Her consistent formula for red carpet dressing also marks her apart from her Hollywood peers. No diamonds requiring a bodyguard - in fact, hardly ever any jewellery at all – and nearly always a strapless, body-con dress that ends somewhere around the upper thigh. A fan of all things that sparkle, she’s worn embellished mini-dresses by Pucci, chose a white, beaded dress by Chanel for this year's BAFTAS, and was spotted in a figure-hugging, brown leather design by Jasmine Di Milo at the South by Southwest film festival, which suited her minimalist style down to a T.

  However, she surprised fans at the Oscars, when she bucked her own trend and turned up in a midnight-blue, carpet-sweeping dress of fairytale proportions, by Monique Lhuillier.

  When it comes to beauty, it’s a case of working with what she’s got. She obviously adores her vampire-like complexion, because she hasn’t succumbed to the spray-tanning epidemic, and make-up is kept natural, with an occasional slick of colour to the lips.

  (telegraph fashion news )

• Fashion news 2010: Matthew Williamson's new design for Belvedere Vodka

  
  05 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: Matthew Williamson's new design for Belvedere Vodka: The designer has all but forgotten his grey Mancunian upbringing in pursuit of all things bright and colourful.

  

  Williamson has designed a limited-edition kaftan for Belvedere Vodka, seen here modelled by model and DJ Leigh Lezark
  

  1997: Bold, beautiful and bright - Matthew Williamson?s first collection, called Electric Angels, showed his flair for colour Photo: JEFF GILBERT
  

  2004: Exotic embroidery, citrus colours and an air of luxe hippie soon characterised his designs Photo: STEPHEN LOCK
  

  2005: The billowing maxi-dress is a seductive, signature cut Photo: STEPHEN LOCK
  

  2007: The singer Beth Ditto wore this eye-socking printed dress to the Glamour Women of the Awards in 2008 Photo: STEPHEN LOCK
  

  2009: Prints are less boho, and more graphic for spring/summer 2010
  

  2010: Minimalism? No thanks, says Williamson, who continues to use rich colours and vivid prints in his collections Photo: GETTY

  With his thick-framed glasses and slick of blue-black hair, Matthew Williamson resembles a young Yves Saint Laurent. Today, the 38-year-old Mancunian has mauve thumbprints beneath his eyes – a testament to the nights spent trawling through his archives for a new coffee-table retrospective, out in October. “I guess mine is a rags-to-riches tale,” he says wryly. “Researching this book has brought back all the highs and lows.” Williamson recently received Anna Wintour’s contribution, about which he remains mysterious: “All I can say is that she was incredibly flattering.”

  There aren’t many designers whose first show is remembered 13 years on, but the diaphanous, rainbow-streaked frocks of that 1997 collection – entitled “Electric Angels” and modelled by Kate Moss – set the designer’s Hacienda-in-Notting-Hill ethos. “People still mention that show to me. Joseph [Velosa, Williamson’s former boyfriend who is still the chief executive of the company] said then that it was all about having a vision, and he was right.”

  Williamson confessed to a fear that his tastes weren’t “always commercially viable”. But that was before the opening of worldwide outlets bearing his name, the three-year stint in 2005 as creative director of Pucci, the 2009 sell-out H&M collection and this year’s foray into menswear.

  “I see now that I don’t just want to create clothes that have no selling value,” he concedes. “I want people to look at one of my dresses or suits and think, 'I have to have that’. That gives me a real buzz.”

  British tastes, however, do surprise him. “Our best-selling garment this season is a black dress: completely plain, knee-length, with long sleeves. It amazed us all, but one could put it down to the current economic situation: people are playing it safe. If you’re going to invest a lot of money in a piece of clothing, you want something that’s timeless – something that’s more than just a whimsical trend.”

  And yet whimsy is in Williamson’s DNA. Fashion’s new minimalism – spearheaded by the likes of Phoebe Philo and Stella McCartney – is not for him. Success of that black dress aside, he intends to persevere with his colourful prints, jewelled trims and exotic embroidery.

  “Look,” he says, pointing out as proof the bright pink kaftan he has designed in collaboration with Belvedere Vodka. “There’s no beige here. This year’s spring/summer collection will be about going back to my roots – full of playful prints, but with this 'shipwrecked’ feel that I’m in the process of developing.”

  Growing up in the industrial environs of Manchester, where his father ran a chain of opticians, Williamson became entranced with colour. “It wasn’t a mosh pit, but it was grey and the weather was grey. I yearned for something else. I felt, not trapped, but enclosed, somehow.” It is a sensation which he now realises wasn’t entirely down to his surroundings. “I was different and I wanted to look different, so there was the classic schoolboy bullying going on. Then my sexuality came into play, which could have made my parents really uncomfortable, but instead they saw it as a positive thing. They realised that I had talent: rather than kick a ball around, I wanted to sit up and draw all night.”

  From the lack of anything androgynous in Williamson’s designs, one can deduce a sensory empathy with the female form. “I’ve always loved women,” he smiles. “They’re so wonderful to dress.” After graduating from Central Saint Martins in 1994, it wasn’t long before his love for the opposite sex was reciprocated. Jade Jagger was one of the first to spot his talent, after finding one of his designs in the Tatler fashion cupboard. Soon after, Kate Moss became a convert, then Rachel Weisz, Kirsten Dunst, Cheryl Cole and Sienna Miller. Miller, though, he says, is more than a fan “and more than a muse. She’s my best mate, beautiful on the inside and out. I am in love with her.”

  He’s not interested, he maintains, in pushing celebrities to wear his clothes. “It works better for me when someone comes to us, because then I know that they are playful women who want to feel sexy without being tarty or garish.” Two looks Samantha Cameron will be keen to avoid. “Samantha did call in some flowing pieces from the pre-spring collection, but whether she’s worn them, I’m not sure.”

  Should the leaders’ wives make more of an effort when it comes to fashion? “It’s tricky,” he sighs, “because if they were restyled, wearing high fashion and looking amazing, they would probably alienate the voter.” Comparisons with their Gallic counterparts, he feels, are unfair. “Carla [Bruni-Sarkozy] is an ex-model and the size of a Twiglet. She’s a beautiful woman, so whatever she puts on is going to work.”

  His advice to the wives is “to dress according to their personal style and be sure to feel comfortable in their own skin, whether they’re wearing a £10,000 jacket or a £20 skirt”. Who, would he say, is currently in the lead, style-wise? “Sarah Brown,” he says after a long pause. “She wears a lot of Erdem, doesn’t she?”

  Beyond the epic 40th birthday party he wants to throw himself in Morocco, Williamson has no master plan. He will continue to show at London Fashion Week, after returning from New York last year; wants to create a cheaper diffusion line; and dreams of following in Tom Ford’s footsteps by producing a film.

  When I remind him of a comment he made years ago, that fashion could be a “very lonely” world, and ask whether he still feels the same, he pauses and says: “I work all day, every day, and I live and breathe what I do. It consumes my entire being, and 90 per cent of the time I’m really happy. But some of the time, I do stop and think, 'Where is my life?’”

  

  1997: Bold, beautiful and bright - Matthew Williamson?s first collection, called Electric Angels, showed his flair for colour

  

  2004: Exotic embroidery, citrus colours and an air of luxe hippie soon characterised his designs

  

  2005: The billowing maxi-dress is a seductive, signature cut

  

  2007: The singer Beth Ditto wore this eye-socking printed dress to the Glamour Women of the Awards in 2008

  

  2009: Prints are less boho, and more graphic for spring/summer 2010

  

  2010: Minimalism? No thanks, says Williamson, who continues to use rich colours and vivid prints in his collections

   

   

   

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: The verdict on red carpet style at the Costume Institute Gala 2010

  
  05 May 2010
  

  Fashion news 2010: The verdict on red carpet style at the Costume Institute Gala 2010:

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s imposing façade was a stairway of the stars for the annual Costume Institute Gala on Monday night.

  

  Top style points went to Thandie Newton in Vivienne Westwood, Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Murad, and Sarah Jessica Parker in Halston Heritage

  Climbing up the world’s tallest red carpet, in Planet Fashion’s highest heels (Jimmy Choo’s, Louboutins and Roger Vivier were the faves) were a battalion of beauties to rival Hollywood’s Oscars.

  Curiously, black was very little in evidence and gleaming metallics, flesh-tones, cobalt blue, navy and white took the top spots on the colour charts.

  Hot young names on the designer label circuit, such as Alexander Wang - who designed special outfits for Gisele Bundchen and the singer, M.I.A. - and Jason Wu, were much in evidence. But, curiously, despite recent major publicity, Victoria Beckham’s red carpet gowns were noticeable mainly for their absence, as was the designer herself.

  Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sisters behind the fabulously eccentric Rodarte label, created one of the most unusual fashion marriages in history when they teamed up with the Gala sponsors, Gap, to whip up a custom-made piece for Kirsten Dunst.

  Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rachel Bilson were both lucky enough to snare a couple of "hot cleavage" frocks from Marc Jacobs’ autumn/winter 2010/11 collection for Louis Vuitton, while Nicole Ritchie, still looking stunning as a sultry brunette, snagged Jacobs’ retro, cap-sleeved molten silver, from his own label collection for next season.

  Kristen “Twilight” Stewart wore a Chanel gown which looked as if a vampire had taken a big bite out of the neckline and then ripped off half the skirt. Katy Perry looked like an advertisement for “Just One Cornetto”, in a Neopolitano-stripe gown by Cute Circuit, complete with LED lights. And I really think it’s time for Alexa Chung to quit working the “hey, aren’t I just too kooky for words?” vibe; the Phillip Lim black braces-trousers and dinner jacket was a riff too far on the "boyfriend" look.

  Long and short shared the spotlight; sometimes together in the same dress - as in Stella McCartney and Liv Tyler, both wearing Stella Mac’s mini-in-the-front/maxi-at-the-back gowns; and Sienna Miller in an electric blue Emilio Pucci by Peter Dundas. At times it all became a bit too knee-ious; ladies! Moisturise please, or wear "nude" tights.

  MY TOP TEN

  * Oprah Winfrey in Oscar de la Renta - for full-bodied glamour

  * Iman - in Prada, for marvellous modesty

  * Coco Rocha - in Zac Posen for managing fashion’s longest train

  * Kirsten Dunst - weird and wonderful in Rodarte-meets-Gap

  * Gisele Bundchen - simple hair, outrageous dress

  * Marion Cotillard - a shining star in Dior

  * Jennifer Lopez - no jewellery needed in a Zuhair Murad fairytale gown

  * M.I.A. - high-necked, high-octane by Alexander Wang

  * Sarah Jessica Parker, creative consultant of Halston - keeping it in the family in flawless Halston and headpiece

  * Thandie Newton - flying the flag in Vivienne Westwood

  What do you think of this years frocks? Add your comment below

   

  (telegraph fashion news)

• Fashion news 2010: Jean-Charles de Castelbajac exhibition at Selfridges

  
  05 May 2010
  

  Against a backdrop of Magritte-like clouds in a Provencal sky, black PVC mannequins are dressed in sequinned micro-shifts emblazoned with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" slogans, an American Express Card, and the face of President Obama. On the ceiling, another mannequin’s legs dangle from the underside of a UFO. Black and white photographs of the faces of Oscar Wilde, Arthur Rimbaud, Edgar Allen Poe, and Charles Baudelaire, are printed on porcelain dinner and dessert plates. Cowboy “Glasto Boots” are made in black and red rubber. Men’s briefs are vacuum-packed in plastic, like slices of smoked salmon.

  

  Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac with Katy Perry, wearing one of his designs; a look from the spring/summer 2010 collection, and singer M.I.A in a 'shark dress'

  Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, also known as JC/DC, the Marquis de Castelbajac, and “the king of the cartoon”

  The French nobleman has been in the fashion business for four decades, but admits “I’ve always been something of an alien on the fashion scene.”

  

  Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac in front of one of the window displays he has created for Selfridges

  De Castelbajac is renowned for his “Pop” approach to design which draws inspiration from art, music, comic strips, cartoons and contemporary figures.

  He is currently the subject of a major exhibition at the London department store, Selfridges, “An Encounter of the 5th Kind”, with a massive five window display along Oxford and Orchard Streets, which tells the story of an alien invasion, and a sci-fi inspired, in-store boutique showcasing his spring/summer 2010 collection, inspired by pirates, as well as his homewares, watches, stationery, carpets and light fittings.

  The window display also stars the yellow and black, sequinned “Obama” dress De Castelbajac made for Katy Perry, and which she wore to the MTV Awards in Liverpool, the very night Barack Obama was elected President. De Castelbajac also designed the costumes Lady Gaga wore in her “Telephone” video and has created customised, stage costumes for Lily Allen, Rihanna, M.I.A and Beth Ditto, as well as a coat made entirely of teddy-bears, which was worn by Madonna. He is currently in the process of making a stained glass creation for Lady Gaga.

  The Jean-Charles de Castelbajac experience follows similar iconic events for Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Louis Vuitton.

  (telegraph fashion news)

   

• Fashion news 2010: Strong, Sleek and Minimalist at Calvin Klein for Fall 2010

  
  02 May 2010
  

   

  

  Fashion news 2010 – FWD105 Models present designs at the Calvin Klein Fall 2010 collection show in New York on Thursday

  Fashion news 2010: Strong, Sleek and Minimalist at Calvin Klein for Fall 2010: "Minimal, sexy, powerful and very close to the body," was how creative director Kevin Carrigan characterized the latest looks for Calvin Klein women's and men's sportswear, jeans and underwear collections for Fall 2010.

  "I wanted all the clothes to have a streamlined, aerodynamic feel to them," he said at the preview for the collection on Thursday, April 29, in New York. "Almost athletic."

  Lest this sound like wearing scuba gear or a unitard, Carrigan emphasized that it was about a return to luxury, both in the tactility of the soft fabrics and in sharper, more elegant ensembles.

  "I feel that people are enjoying being dressed up again," he said. "But I want them to be comfortable."

  To achieve the close to the body look, Carrigan said that Lycra was used in everything to create something soft and supple that moved with the body.

  "The fabrics are all engineered to contour your body," he said.

  Highlights of the sleek designs for women, mostly in black and gray, consisted of skintight stirrup pants with leather panels at the knees like riding pants, a minimal take on the motorcycle jacket with a simple asymmetrical silver zip and jersey sheath dresses with waist-defining leather panels.

  There were also military influences, but not of the drab camo or olive green variety. Instead, Carrigan looked to dressier aspects of military dress, like the special occasion uniforms worn by officer cadets.

  The Calvin Klein Jeans collection was likewise dressy - "returning to a little decadence," said Carrigan - with a golden sheen on super skinny "jeggings" for women, a dirtier gold rinse on the men's denim and gold hardware all around. And continuing in the streamlined mode, "it's the skinniest, skinniest leg we've ever done at Calvin Klein," said Carrigan, but quickly added that they're designed to be very comfortable and engineered to flatter, whether you're skinny or curvy.

  "It's darted and seamed to support a woman's curve," he explained. "So if a woman is slightly slim, and she doesn't have a booty, it's literally lifting and helping give her one. And if she has more shape, it's controlling her shape."

  With such body conscious clothing, that is "slim, skinny, almost like a pencil sketch, or the shadow of a Sharpie sketch," the urgency one might feel in getting to the gym seems inevitable. But fear not, Carrigan reassured, because the futuristic scenario where clothes do the work of several thousand hours on the elliptical is here.

  "These clothes actually cheat a little," he explained. "They flatter you in a way that make you feel sexy when you put them on, because they're cut for a woman's body and curves, but at the same time they're comfortable. It doesn't matter about going to the gym. The clothes do it for you."

  (Yahoo fashion news)