Fashion news 2011: Lauren Goodger to launch a fashion range that’ll make you well jel: The Only Way is Essex' star is adding to her hair extensions and tanning range with a fashion collection suited to the curvier woman.
Lauren Goodger promoting her Lauren's Way tanning range
If you feel like your pet dog is the only remaining creature on the planet who hasn't turned his paw to a fashion range, then you're probably right. Today, news that Lauren Goodger - the fiancée of chief "protagonist" and man-about-town Mark Wright in the hit TV show, The Only Way is Essex - is going to design her own line of clothes is filling our inboxes.
"I have always loved fashion! This is why I am so excited about designing my very own Lauren's Way collection," says the 24-year-old, who already has an eponymous range of tanning and hair-extension products.
Goodger's style motto is simple: "It is time for every lady to look gorgeous," she enthuses. "I want it to be affordable and suited to the curvier woman as well."
But this is just the beginning: "I plan to also launch my catwalk collection this year" she revealed.
Her collection is being designed in collaboration with Fashion Capital, the UK's biggest fashion portal, and manufactured in its London-based workshop and factory. The clothes, which will be available in sizes 8-18, will be launched on November 10 during a fashion show in central London.
However her TOWIE co-star, Joey Essex, has already piped her to the post. The highly-coiffed 20-year-old recently launched a line of T-shirts at Selfridges , which feature the taglines that the hit show has become famous for, such as: "Keep Calm And Be Ream", and "No Carbs Before Marbs", all priced at a purse-friendly £30.
But the whole cast: Arg, Lydia, Harry, Amy, Sam et al , will no doubt be cashing in this Christmas as Superdrug launch TOWIE gift sets. Yes, fans of the show will be able to go that extra mile and attempt to smell like the British county…
Fashion news 2011 - David Beckham to design for H&M: The celebrity footballer is making a foray into the world of fashion with an affordable 'bodywear' line for high street retailer H&M.
'Brand Beckham' is about to go well and truly global as David Beckham has confirmed that his bodywear line - namely underwear and T-shirts - will be distributed and sold exclusively by the high street chain, H&M.
The L.A Galaxy midfielder and former England captain has teamed up with the Swedish-based retailer in what will mark a long-term partnership - unlike the previous single-season collaborations by design houses such as Jimmy Choo and Lanvin.
"Over the past year, I've been developing my Bodywear range with my team and I'm extremely positive about what we have designed and produced," said Beckham.
The 36-year-old added: "The final piece in the jigsaw was a retail partner who has the vision and capability to distribute these products globally. In H&M we have found the perfect partner to collaborate with going forward, I'm excited and looking forward to showcasing the range to H&M customers from February."
Unlike his fashion designer wife, Victoria - who shows her high-end, ready-to-wear collections at New York Fashion Week, and whose exclusive designs cost upwards of £1,000 for a dress - Beckham's offerings will be available in 40 countries worldwide, across 1800 H&M stores. The initial range will be launched on February 2, 2012.
Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M's head of design said: "David Beckham is a true icon both of sport and style. It is incredibly exciting for H&M to be entering into a long-term partnership with him for his DAVID BECKHAM Bodywear line. It is the start of an amazing adventure for us at H&M. Valentine's Day in 2012 is going to be a very exciting time indeed."
Beckham had previously revealed that his inspiration for designing underwear and T-shirts came from his stint as the 'face' of Emporio Armani underwear. While he fronted the advertising campaigns for four seasons, the Italian fashion giant saw its turnover almost double. "It proved to me that there is a real market for good-looking, well-made men's bodywear" said Beckham.
Simon Fuller, David Beckham's long time business partner and manager, said: "This partnership with H&M is an important step in the evolution of David's journey from sporting hero to entrepreneur and icon. H&M's enthusiasm and support for this venture, combined with their scale and reach, will continue to enhance the power of David's image around the world."
Chanel's Bags 2011-2012 for Women - Latest Chanel's Bags Trends 2012 For Women: Chanel's new piece of arm candy is as androgynous as ever, but has a love story behind its conception.
Style insiders might have relegated the concept of the "It-bag" to the humble home of the dust bag, but the top fashion houses are still going neck-and-neck in creating the most desirable, must-own accessories of the season.
In the same week that Mulberry's new Carter has gone on sale, Chanel is shouting from the rooftops about its new piece of arm candy - and there's not a piece of hand-stitched quilting in sight.
The fuss-free Chanel Boy is intended to appeal to the androgynous side of its wearer - British model and girl-of-the-moment Poppy Delevingne already being one.
Creative director Karl Lagerfeld explains: "Chanel used men's underwear to make dresses; she had this boyish attitude, in fact, it is the very spirit of Chanel. She got it from Boy Capel, the great love of her life, which, incidentally, explains why the new bag is called the Boy Chanel."
So, although the mannish Boy is "far removed from the conventional feminine clichés" (goes the press release), the new member of the Chanel handbag clan possesses a warm heart.
Inspired by a cartridge bag that was originally made for hunters and was carried by Madame Chanel herself, the Boy comes in three varying sizes and in practical, no-nonsense shades of red, black, grey, green and ivory.
Victoria Beckham’s Handbag Fall-Winter 2011-2012 For Women - Latest Victoria Beckham’s Handbag Trends 2012: It’s really important to do what you like, to do it with passion, to enjoy what you do.
And it is also nice to receive positive responses about your work. Victoria Beckham knows this better than anyone else. She was never good at singing and people liked to note that. Now, being a fashion designer she no longer hears or reads negative comments about results of her work. She is respected and can be proud of what she has achieved. A couple of years ago she focused on designing of dresses only. When she felt she could do it well she decided to expand her growing empire and launch a line of handbags. This is her first collection (Fall/ Winter 2011/ 2012) for you to judge.
The handbag collection by Victoria Beckham presented as a part of Fall/ Winter 2011/ 2012 fashion season looks very pretty to me. Classic shapes, saturated colors, chic materials – Victoria created pieces she would wear herself with the dresses in her ranges. Very beautiful, elegant, versatile and practical.
Alll photos of Victoria Beckham’s Handbag Fall-Winter 2011-2012 For Women:
Fashion news 2011: Forever 21 opens in London with 500-strong queue: Queuing began at 7am this morning, three hours before the store opened. US fast-fashion brand Forever 21 opened its long-awaited doors on London's Oxford Street this morning to a 500-strong queue. By 4pm, it announced that 11,000 people had been in store.
500-strong queue as Forever 21 opens.
The queue, which stretched around the block, began at 7am. Eager shoppers were treated to complimentary ice-cream, sweets and goody bags as they waited for the store to open at 10am.
The interior of the Forever 21 store.
Considering the flurry of interest, the crowd stayed orderly, avoiding the pandemonium of the Primark store opening in 2007 on the other side of Oxford Street, when customers were trampled.
The interior of the Forever 21 store.
Sitting in the old HMV building, Forever 21 spans three floors holding women's, men's and children's-wear. Its mainline autumn collections include Ivy League-style preppy blazers and baseball jackets, Navajo-inspired prints, Seventies-style bohemian knits, grungy laces and faux leathers, plus a vintage collection inspired by the Fifties and Sixties.
Do Won "Don" Chang started Forever 21 in 1984 in California, adding London 27 years later to his portfolio of 480 worldwide stores. The store first came to the UK in November last year opening in the Birmingham Bullring and Dublin.
Fashion news 2011: Beyoncé to launch her fashion line in London: Beyoncé's fashion line, House of Deréon, will be available for the first time in London at Selfridges this autumn.
Beyonce-wears-House-of-Dereon
Both Beyoncé and her wild stage alter ego, Sasha Fierce are committed fashion lovers. To that end, the star, along with her mother, Tina Knowles (who made many of the outré costumes for Destiny's Child, when they toured together), created their own clothing line in 2005.
Now their collection, House of Deréon, will be available in London for the first time, launching in Selfridges in September.
House of Deréon is named after the singer's grandmother, the late Agnéz Deréon, who was born in Louisiana in 1924. Deréon was a dressmaker who made custom-made clothing for private clients throughout the South and is described by Beyoncé and her mother as "a true Renaissance woman".
Beyoncé is her mother's muse for the line - "With her sense of style that's unmatched and her chameleon-like take on fashion that's ever changing" - and she collaborates on every aspect of the collection.
The look for the House of Deréon autumn/winter 2011 collection is inspired by their idea of a "city jungle" with leopard, snake and African rose prints, which blend "tribal cues with edgy silhouettes". Prices start at around £80 for a dress.
Tina Knowles said: "The combination of colours, exotic prints and silhouettes make for a cohesive collection with tremendous appeal. Beyoncé and I are so proud of the line-up and we can't wait to see the consumer's response and how she makes it her own."
The pair say the mission of their company is simple: "To fuse celebrity power and design artistry into a brand of global importance."
Fashion news 2011: Wedding Dress of Britain's Catherine 2011: It was the best kept secret of the royal wedding, but now the Alexander McQueen dress worn by the former Kate Middleton when she married Prince William is being put on public display for all to admire.
Catherine's ivory and white satin-gazar dress, designed by Sarah Burton, goes on show at Buckingham Palace on Saturday as part of the annual summer opening, where hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to flock to see it.
One million people lined the streets of London to see the couple, now titled the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, marry on April 29, but few will have got close enough to appreciate the intense effort that went into the stunning gown.
The lace applique on the bodice and skirt was made by cutting out individual lace flowers and sewing them in a unique design onto ivory silk-tulle, using tiny stitches every two or three millimetres.
Members of the Royal School of Needlework washed their hands every 30 minutes as they worked to keep the lace pristine, and changed their needles every three hours to keep them sharp.
In a video interview played at the exhibition, Burton explains for the first time the ideas behind the dress, in which Catherine herself was said to have been closely involved.
"We wanted to look to the past, yet look to the future as well," says the designer, who was long tipped for the coveted commission but was only confirmed by palace officials when Catherine emerged wearing the dress on the day.
"There were a lot of references to Victorian corsetry, the padded hip, the tiny cinched-in waist, and also to the arts and crafts movement with all of the hand-work on the lace of the dress and also the bustle inside to create the shape of the back of the dress.
"It has an essence of Victorian but we cut the dress in a very modern way, it is in a very light fabric, also the pleats and the folds create a modern feel rather than a historical piece."
Burton said the aim was to create "something that was incredibly beautiful and intricately worked" but which would also not be lost in Westminster Abbey, the 13th century gothic cathedral where William and Catherine wed.
The dress, which had a skirt with arched pleats and a 2.7-metre (8.8-feet) train, was a "real feat of engineering", she added.
The exhibition organisers are expecting huge interest in the gown, which is being shown alongside Catherine's shoes, her diamond earrings and the "Halo" tiara she borrowed from Queen Elizabeth II to hold her silk-tulle veil in place.
The handmade ivory duchesse satin and lace shoes from the team at Alexander McQueen, a UK size 5.5, show slight signs of wear and tear.
Sales for the summer opening are already double what they were this time last year, with 125,750 advance tickets sold so far, a spokeswoman for the Royal Collection said.
Although a ticket includes access to a Faberge exhibition, Buckingham Palace's 19 state rooms -- including the ballroom where part of the wedding reception was held -- and the garden, the gown will be the highlight for many visitors.
"The dress is obviously a big draw. We are expecting a very busy summer," the spokeswoman told AFP.
The summer opening at Buckingham Palace runs from July 23 to October 3. Last year it attracted 413,000 visitors, but has capacity for 643,000.
All Photos Wedding Dress of Britain's Catherine 2011:
Fashion news 2011: Versace joins campaign against sandblasting denim: The fashion house has added its voice to a campaign to stop the sandblasting of jeans - widely condemned as dangerous for workers' health.
The fashion giant said that none of its suppliers were using the controversial technique and that it had now joined an international campaign "to encourage the elimination of sandblasting as an industry practice."
Sandblasting is used to give jeans a fashionable faded look.
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) - a coalition of non-governmental organisations and trade unions aimed at improving work conditions in the textile industry - had previously called on Versace to end sandblasting. The technique was outlawed in Europe in 1966 but still goes on in countries outside the EU.
"After an intensive campaign... the Italian textile brand Versace has just announced that it will join other denim manufacturers around the globe in calling for a ban on the practice of sandblasting," the CCC said.
"After many months of silence, Versace now say they agree that the sandblasting operators who make the finishings on the jeans run unacceptable health risks. Previously they had refused to join the call," it added.
The CCC, which launched last year, said sandblasting operators worked for leading brands in countries including Bangladesh, China, Egypt and Mexico.
But the operators contract an acute form of silicosis, which has killed many of them.
Leading brands including Benetton, Burberry, Carrera Jeans, Karen Millen, Gucci Levi-Strauss, H&M, Pepe Jeans and Replay have already joined the campaign.
Emma Stone With New Style Fashion 2011 - Latest Style Fashion Trends 2011 of Emma Stone: Actress Emma Stone takes the fashion forward approach to red carpet dressing.
Wow. Emma Stone has been working it this week. The 22-year-old Easy A star, who's about to enter the major league as she features in three big summer films - Crazy Stupid Love , alongside Julianne Moore and Ryan Gosling, Friends With Benefits , and the upcoming adaptation of the blockbusting novel, The Help , attended premieres wearing two knock-em-dead dresses from the new season.
Stone is the first star to appear on the red carpet in something from Tom Ford's autumn/winter 2011 collection, choosing this highly structured take on the LBD. I love the weird disjointedness of its silhouette, which I'm christening The Magician's Apprentice, because the wearer appears to have been sawn in half and put back together again. And, yes, that's a look I very much dig.
Stone's triumph at the Friends With Benefits premiere (am I the only one who thinks that all film titles this year sound like films that came out last year and weren't very good?) is a Giambattista Valli runway look. With lace, colour-clashing, shoulder pads and peplum it could be a car crash but it looks better thanks to Stone's glorious titian hair it looks better on her than it did in the show. Oh, I do love a red head who breaks the rules.
Travel Style Trends 2011-2012: Holiday Travel In Style 2011-2012: Follow these tips and you'll travel in style and arrive in comfort, wherever you're bound.
I have never understood those who maintain a holiday requires a whole new wardrobe. Surely one should sport one's most ancient and expendable kit in circumstances in which one is to endure run-ins with sand, sun cream and novelty drink spillage?
My chum Hazzer has this sussed to the extent that, when en vacancies in Pembrokeshire, he resembles nothing so much as one of the underclass's edgier members. I have made three purchases for the week in which I will be joining him: two Zara rain hats (reduced to £4.99) and an M&S sun hat (£18). And I am troubled only by the mighty Marks having ceased creating Factor 40 faux panamas; I never understood the science behind these, but was grateful nevertheless when Hazzer and I tripped around a broiling Troy.
As to my other vacationing plans, I was under the influence of Dionysus on both occasions they were discussed, so I have no idea as to timing or venue. Accordingly, I intend to be in a state of permanent readiness until late September.
My greatest discovery on this front has been Vida Vida's stupendous leather weekend bag, aka the nonpareil of luggagery (£195, www.vidavida.co.uk ). Words cannot begin to express how hotly I adore this rugged beauty. I have spent decades endeavouring to discover a durable weekend/hand luggage affair of suitable aesthetic attributes, with a Tardis-like capacity for feminalia without causing bankruptcy. And lo: behold the Vida V. I love the very smell of it: all warm hide and Moroccan souk. I insist that you invest in one immediately.
So that's baggage dealt with. For my next trick, I shall solve all your bikini dilemmas: don't wear one. The glossies conspire over the issue of being "bikini fit", when it strikes me as a garment suited only to the careers of E-list celebrities. And Liz Hurley, obviously.
I am not postulating a Nigella-style burkini, but I am saying this: avoid the whole sorry masochism/exhibitionism gamut, and paddle clothed. But if you must swim, the Antipodean brand Jets strikes me as pleasing: witty, strong on retro, body-friendly to both the boyish and the bounteous, with a penchant for chic, flesh-concealing, two-piecers (Fenwicks for Jets by Jessika Allen; Selfridges and Harvey Nics for Jets White Label). I even own one myself, though clearly I have never worn it. Bathing beauties speak highly of the boutique Heidi Klein, where one can purchase different-size tops and bottoms. Although, I confess, I do tend to look at their wares and think, "Gaaah: yoga-bunny Notting Hill chick alert."
The newish Style Passport ( www.style-passport.com ) makes a one-stop online shop for those who prefer to live their lives virtually. One can even select by locale, be it journey, city, staycation, spa, festival or beach. Much of its clothing is on the neutral side, but that may be just up your street. I have my eye on some gold Havaianas flip-flops - the comfort of which has to be experienced to be believed (£20). While Charlotte Sparre's silk mini frockage is Club Tropicana-tactic (the Empire butterfly dress, say, reduced from £275 to £137.50).
Rarely exposed areas - rear, hips, thighs - will benefit from dry skin brushing followed by a brisk exfoliating scrub. Given that circulation is the thing, Clinique's brusquely chill and gritty Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliating Cream (£20), followed by blasts of cold water, will prove bracingly effective. Then massage in British brand Balance Me's Super Oil to boost skin tone (£20).
Or dispense with the entire palaver and take cover. The trick here is to retain some degree of form. Jaeger's striped maxi is Seventies without being sloppy (reduced from £399 to £220, www.jaeger.co.uk ). The web page on which it appears features the boast: "As seen in Vogue, InStyle, Harper's Bazaar, Red, Grazia and Elle." Why? because it photographs brilliantly. Those of a bustier condition should eschew it for something more fitted: a Cath Kidston Forties-style sundress perchance?
When travelling, wear jacket, trews for the purposes of both warmth and dignity. A comrade maintains a suitcase of holiday clothing that she never dons in Blighty. Said outfits are brighter, lighter and a million miles away from her usual tailoring - escapism wrapped in tissue paper. Scarves and rocks are crucial to any vacation ensemble as they deceive onlookers into feeling one has dressed for dinner and the like, when, in fact, one has been supine for days.
My friend Laura lays down a different scent each time she heads off. On her return she tucks said flaçon in a drawer, to unearth it six months later: and with it her memories. James Craven at Belgravia's Les Senteurs (www.lessenteurs.com) is just the chap to aid such a decision. Half an hour in his company is a holiday itself.
Fashion news 2011: Corrugated Modernist Christian Dior Couture: A new broom swept through Christian Dior on Monday afternoon, July 4, a modernist gale and a witty architectural take on fashion, in the first show for the celebrated French label by its de facto new couturier, British-born Bill Gaytten.
Christian-Dior-Fall-2011-haute-couture-show
Angular, rippling with Pop Culture colors and cut in the twisting metallic shapes of architectural great Frank Gehry, this was a brand new Dior couture, but with a collection that powerfully worked the house's legendary atelier, while keeping enough of the inspired mania of its sacked designer, John Galliano.
Staged, like many recent Dior couture shows in the garden of the Rodin Museum, albeit in a noticeably smaller custom-made tent, the collection began with a series of colorful plays on the designs of Ettore Sottsass, the famed Milanese architect and guiding figure behind Memphis. And, just like that design movement, which celebrated absurdist combinations of bold colors and off beat geometry, the opening looks were artily graphic. From the printed silk jackets in layers recalling a Memphis "robot" cabinet to the remarkable wedges with bizarre Art Deco ball heels, the outfits had tremendous pep.
Gaytten then shifted rhythm with a snazzy series of more curvaceous silk tops and skirts embellished with metallic strips in hues of rose, beige and dusty powder, all playing on the novel material mixes of corrugated iron and plywood and deconstructed forms of Los Angeles architect Frank Owen Gehry, whose most famous building is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, a structure covered in titanium tiles.
Gaytten continued to riff on modern design in Dior's evening wear, featuring malachite prints reminiscent of France's most famous furniture designer Jean-Michael Franck, used in giant micro-pleated gowns that the models, arms raised high, swept up into dramatic fiery angel looks on the catwalk, whose entrance was a twisting modernist faux stairway.
"Architectural and modern, but also true to Dior," explained Gaytten backstage. A dry witted, off beat gent, Gayteen took his bow together with Dior design director Susanna Venegas, a fellow Britain of Latin American origin.
Gaytten had already taken a bow 10 days ago at the menswear show of John Galliano. Both Dior and his own signature label fired Galliano back in March, after a video showing him praising Hitler went viral on the internet.
Noticeably, the entire Galliano back up at Dior - from makeup star Pat McGrath and show producer Alex de Betak to DJ Jeremy Healy and hatter Stephen Jones - all played their usual roles in this show. And in the case of McGrath - who mimicked the vivid violets and machine greens of Memphis in some dramatic eyeliner shapes - and even more so with Jones - who evoked the off-kilter humor of both Gehry and Sottsass with his cuboids and spacey hats - this was a team hitting a reach vein.
In short, even if it did not quite capture the evocative femininity and outlandish beauty of Galliano's greatest Dior shows, the collection was a decided success. Plus, by taking such a defiantly modernist approached, Gaytten imbued the clothes with a certain freshness compared to recent Dior shows, many of which had delved back a half century into the house's archives for inspiration.
Fashion news 2011: Africa in vogue and loving it at Dakar Fashion Week: Fashion has never been as Afrocentric and African designers at the Dakar Fashion Week gave their own spin to prints and fabrics inspiring celebrities and fashion houses.
The event wrapped Sunday with a final show drenched in glamour, showcasing what's hot from Mali to Equatorial Guinea to Ivory Coast this season.
Dakar-Fashion-Week-on-July-2011
African prints are currently inspiring big names from Beyonce to Burberry, with the iconic British brand's 2012 collection shot through with bright printed batik material. Singer and designer Gwen Stefani also adopted the theme in 2011.
Designers in Dakar, such as US-based Senegalese Yolande Mancini, were on the pulse with her red dress with batik shoulders and gold dress with bright printed cape.
Malian designer Maria Bakhoum's collection was in earthy tones with the traditional Bogolan mudcloth while Equatorial Guinea's Alfredo Monsuy mixed satin and silk with traditional wax prints.
From Morocco's Meryem Boussikouk -- a collection of modern kaftans in "hot African colours" and contemporary cuts.
But, being an African designer isn't all about ethnic prints as Ivorian Patrick Asso showed with his all blue collection.
"There are African designers doing beautiful things which are not African," said Almamy Lo, the artistic director responsible for choosing the designers.
Organiser Adama Paris, a former model and now a designer, began the event nine years ago despite massive challenges and no government support in the west African nation.
"I really think that there is a market, there is an audience. People love fashion in Africa, they buy it. I dont know why it isn't structured. I sell, people sell, but we don't have distribution channels so everybody just sells where we can," she told AFP.
"The most difficult thing is showing your designs."
There is no venue in Dakar for an event like this and organisers are forced to hold shows in restaurants and hotels.
The budget was cut this year as the financial crisis discouraged sponsors and the event got off to a rocky start with a silent opening night as the country's copyright bureau shut off the music claiming their fee had not been paid.
Despite the difficulties Paris presses ahead with her dream.
"We have so much talent. They just need a push," she said, stressing that one should not underestimate the African fashionista.
"Even the girl who lives in a village goes to the hairdresser once a month at least," Paris said.
But like many of the designers, her biggest challenge is getting Africans to buy local, with European designers and brand names still the most coveted.
"Right now it is the time of African fashion and fabric. It is colourful and it's something different. We want to show a different Africa, not just war and death that the west shows, but a bit of glamour."
The biggest swimwear fashion week in the world is expanding this year, adding lingerie to the schedule for the first time. 2000 buyers from all over the world are expected to attend the annual SwimShow trade fair.
Scandinavian fashion weeks
August 3-14
Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Oslo, Norway
While August is a calm month for fashion in general, the Scandinavian countries are using the gap in between seasons to build an alternative scene that attracts more and more visitors each year and that has local designers return from big international fashion cities to show in their home countries.
Copenhagen: August 3-7, http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com Stockholm: August 8-14 (Mercedes Benz Fashion Week: August 9-11), http://www.stockholmfashionweek.com Oslo: August 8-14, http://www.oslofashionweek.com
Mercedes-Benz Sydney Fashion Festival
August 23-27
Sydney, Australia
The Sydney Fashion Festival features ticketed fashion events for the public, showcasing Australia's leading designer brands and retailers as their Spring/Summer collections arrive in stores throughout the city. The main fashion shows are held in the Sydney Town Hall and are accompanied by a satellite schedule of fashion and lifestyle events that span the city. The Rosemount Australian Fashion Week is Australia's most globally-followed fashion event but, like the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, the Mercedes-Benz Sydney Festival is popular with the locals as it is open to the public.
Fashion news 2011: Dolce & Gabbana's new online shop propels designers back to top:Burberry might have cracked seven million Facebook fans this week, but it's D&G that has Polyvore users shopping.
The Italian brand has made another advance into the digital world, partnering with e-tailer Yoox to make all their collections available online, and the site's community is busy assembling outfits using the virtual shop, prompting D&G to re-enter the top brands in first place.
Also in brands, Dorothy Perkins is making its Polyvore debut, sharing the ranks with fellow affordable UK label Miss Selfridge.
New York it-girl Olivia Palermo is retaking the reign over the currently most stylish celebrities, but thanks to her recent fashion-forward videos and stage performances, singer Beyoncé Knowles can claim a spot in the charts for the first time and is sure to make for some fierce competition in the future.
In trends, friendship bracelets are cementing their status as this year's ultimate summer accessory, climbing up to the top spot. Bohemian looks remain popular this week, as do all things leather.
Fashion news 2011: Gwen Stefani designing kids' collection: Stella McCartney and Diane von Furstenberg are not the only designers collaborating with affordable retail brands for children's wear: singer Gwen Stefani, who also designs clothes under the L.A.M.B. label, has teamed up with US budget store Target.
As part of a collection scheduled to launch this fall, American fans of her fashions will be able to shop clothes for both boys and girls, priced from $3.99, making for a budget-conscious alternative to the newly announced kid offerings by the likes of Lanvin.
"I've always wanted to do a cool children's fashion line inspired by the supercute and playful kid's clothing you find in Japan," Stefani told Women's Wear Daily. "The whole idea is about being creative, expressing your own individuality and having fun getting dressed."
The collection will be named Harakuju Mini after the singer's Harajuku Lovers that has already released several fragrances.
Fashion news 2011: Kurt Geiger unveils new campaign with Anja Rubik: London footwear label, Kurt Geiger unveils the 'World's Most Influential Model', Anja Rubik as the face of its autumn/winter 2011 collection.
Footwear label, Kurt Geiger has unveiled a taster of its new autumn/winter 2011 campaign, starring the Polish-born supermodel, Anja Rubik.
In a celebration of Kurt Geiger's British heritage, which dates back to 1963, the street-style campaign features Rubik sitting on a London roadside in Sixties-inspired dalmation-print boots.
"I am thrilled to have Anja starring as the face of our AW11 campaign. She personifies the spirit of the Kurt Geiger girl, effortlessly stylish with an edge of urban glamour," says Rebecca Farrar-Hockley, creative director of Kurt Geiger, who can't be too upset by her campaign star's latest accolade either.
Recently voted the "World's Most Influential Model", Rubik topped internet forum The Fashion Spot 's Top Models list after appearing in 59 print publications, walking in 43 shows and notching up 55,000 Twitter followers in the past year alone.
And who can blame them? Just one look at Rubik in this latest campaign and I'm hankering after the boots already.
Fashion news 2011: Rihanna to strip for Emporio Armani - Pop sensation Rihanna is to star in forthcoming underwear and jeans advertising campaigns for the fashion label.
We'll have to wait until September to see pictures of the 23-year-old Bajan popstar in her new role as a 'global testimonial' for Emporio Armani, but the deal is sealed as she has already been photographed on location in New York.
The Grammy award-winner will model underwear and jeans from the label's autumn/winter 2011 collection, so expect plenty of close-up of her famous curves.
It seems like bagging an Emporio Armani underwear campaign is becoming a right of passage for the young, beautiful and rich who wish to flaunt what god gave them across billboards worldwide.
David and Victoria Beckham indulged in a little role play for two seasons as the face of designer Mr Giorgio Armani's underwear line, and the uplift in sales was so dramatic that David was inspired to launch his own line of 'bodywear', which is to be revealed later this year.
Jean Paul Gaultier Fall Fashion 2011-2012 Haute Couture Show in Paris - Latest Jean Paul Gaultier Fall Fashion Trends 2012 For Women: It felt a tad like an exam test Wednesday, July 6, when Jean Paul Gaultier presented his first haute couture collection since the acquisition of his fashion house from Hermes by Spain's Puig family in a $45 million deal in May.
Gaultier was busy on two fronts, also launching his latest men's scent, Kokorico, right after the show in a nearby theatre. By buying Gaultier, the Puigs significantly boosted their standing in the perfume sector, where the Catalan clan already controls Nina Ricci, Carolina Herrera and Paco Rabanne.
Evidently unburdened by what was apparently a fraught few final years of partnership with Hermes, Gaultier was an in ebullient mood, sending out 60 looks all centered on the theme of ballet.
With looks with names like Black Swan, Triple Pirouette or Swan Lake it was easy to get the message, even if many of their looks were not so obviously balletic. Yet, the couturier's imagination was clearly working overtime, whipping up such snappy combos as a pleated leather bomber jacket cut with a peplum hem, or striking posh punk ballerina in tulle mini cocktail and studded motor-bike jacket.
Gaultier's signature garments, his fluid deconstructed trench, also looked reborn as soaring down the runway, this season floating mousselines.
The Paris-born designer even sent out a pack of male dancers, models dressed in huge feather trimmed coats. Their star turn was chiseled cheek actor Jon Kortajarena in a coat of fur and ostrich feathers.
Post show Kortajarena was also the star model at the scent launch, since he performs in the snappy men's cologne ad, shot by Jean Baptiste Mondino in Pop Rock black and white. A quietly punchy mix of cedar, patchouli with hints of figs and vetiver, the Kokorico cologne smelled like a sure fired winner.
The Puigs did not get immediate control of Gaultier's scent business, as his global fragrance license, held by Japan's Shiseido, only ends in mid-2016. But the family members looked mighty happy at this show; they even brought along Peter Copping, the acclaimed designer of Nina Ricci, another brand in their group.
"It was beautiful and very Gaultier. I hardly ever get the chance to sit front row and enjoy a show, so this was a real treat!" said Copping as he exited the show.
Chanel Fall Fashion 2011 2012 Haute Couture Show in Paris, Latest Chanel Fall Fashion Trends 2012 For Women: All that glitters will frequently be in black this fall, especially at Chanel, whose latest haute couture show, staged Tuesday, July 5, in Paris, recreated the city's most elegant square, Place Vendome, in all its late night glory.
Chanel Fall Fashion 2011 2012 Haute Couture Show in Paris
Instead of the square's famed bronzed green column topped by Napoleon, the set starred a huge transparent column on which perched an effigy of Coco Chanel, arms akimbo, straw hat on her head - the centerpiece of a virtual 18th century square created by trompe l'oeil fluorescent tubing neon lights and Perspex copies of Vendome's triple bulb street lights.
A masterly setting for a memorable collection of gleaming dark fabrics, worn by models on a glistening anthracite runway. Glitter even covered the long terrace benches on which the audience of some 2,000 sat.
"A dark tale dating from 1640," explained Karl Lagerfeld of the medieval feeling and the chain mail like fabrics of much of this collection.
For fall, Lagerfeld suggests a power silhouette of broad shoulders and deep gorge neckline, used in a series of boucle opening suits.
His most audacious ideas were for early evening, cutting a slew of mini tops with stiff peplums, mostly worn over tight skirts and a great succession of darkly transparent boots. This autumn, Chanel's famed wool boucle suits practically glisten with silver embroidery and shiny embellishment.
Lagerfeld's finale had a dashing layered effect - tiers of fabric mixes with pearl embellished tops, shoulders dripping with crystals and sequins and columns finished with chards of chiffon.
This was a darkly romantic moment, best epitomized by the sprightly boaters with pleated silk trim and lace blindfolds worn by dozens of models.
Giorgio Armani Fall Winter 2011 2012 Haute Coutur - Latest Giorgio Armani Fall Winter Fashion trends 2012: Giorgio Armani paid stylistic homage to Japan on day two of the fall-winter Paris haute couture shows on Tuesday, with sharp bustier dresses making up a big chunk of his collection.
Giorgio-Armani-Fall-Winter-2011-2012-Haute-Coutur
No less than a dozen of the 44 looks from Armani Prive were figure-hugging, bare-shouldered numbers -- some in black velvet, others in tangerine sequins including one that suggested a mermaid that had just emerged from the sea.
Overall the styles -- matched with piled-up geisha hair-dos -- were edgier than the ivory wedding dress that the celebrated Italian designer provided Princess Charlene for her weekend nuptials with Monaco's Prince Albert.
Ever the Hollywood favourite, Armani's show at the Palais de Chaillot boasted such front-row VIPs as Cate Blanchett, Daphne Guinness and Katie Holmes, who jumped from her seat to give a solo standing ovation at the end.
Respectfully working the Japanese theme four months after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of the country, Armani balanced his trademark modernist tailoring with lots of silk and floral prints.
From a large black overcoat with floral details, the collection moved through black wool crepe blazers and suits matched with straight-legged trousers best worn by the slimmest of hips.
The bustier dresses came later, with the models seemingly poured into them like liquid mercury -- harking back to the space-age theme of Armani's previous haute couture outing in January.
Later on Tuesday, Chanel recreated the Place Vendome after dark in the Grand Palais for a virtual retrospective of its founder Coco Chanel's contributions to fashion, from the classic tweed suit to the boater hat.
It may have been a muggy summer night in Paris, but the mood was definitely mid-winter as models meandered around a replica of the Vendome column, with Coco at the summit in lieu of Napoleon.
By paying so much respect to Chanel's legacy, it was no surprise to find a boyish quality to many of the outfits. Jacket arms ended just below the elbow, and a purple sheath gown was a welcome break from so much grey and black.
In other shows, French designer Stephane Rolland took over another part of the Palais de Chaillot to send out his collection before a multinational crowd in which Americans, Chinese, Indians and Lebanese rubbed shoulders.
The venue's Grecian columns perfectly complemented the tubular detail that Rolland worked into finely crafted gowns, dresses and suits that oozed feminine power and authority.
An intricately knitted wedding dress with sparkling crystals was a celebration of the craftsmanship that defines haute couture, even if its broad sculpted lines veered dangerously close to those of a hotel bathrobe.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian architect-turned-designer Gustavo Lins pleased his small but growing fan base by taking over a perfume boutique next to the Palais Royal to show 11 outfits that highlighted his skill at structured draping.
Passers-by peering through the shop window joined invited guests in the tiny venue in watching three models with golden lips emerge in apron dresses and overcoats in black washi, a tough Japanese paper used for origami.
Red copper necklaces found a purpose in clasping felt velvet collars over a silk mousseline scarf dress and a silk cape jacket over clinging trousers, while a mere leather string held up a long training black silk crepe dress.
Elie Saab Prive Autumn-Winter Fashion 2011-2012 At Paris Haute Couture - Latest Elie Saab Prive Autumn-Winter Fashion Trends 2012: Elie Saab's latest haute couture show in Paris catapulted him directly onto the fashion radar.
You can see why Hollywood's finest actress flock to Lebanese designer, Elie Saab, to dress them for the red carpet. His beaded tulle dresses ensure a goddess-like glamour to whoever wears them. Until now however, the designer has not found his fashion footing, existing in the parallel universe of red carpet fabulousness.
His haute couture show in Paris today signalled a new beginning, catapulting him directly onto the fashion radar. Although your typical haute couture customer doesn't have to concern herself with trends (if you don't have to worry where your next billion is coming from, who cares if you are trendsetting?), it is important couture collections steer fashion on.
Whatever happens here will impact eventually on silhouettes and styles you find in Zara. By choosing to make his couture gowns ethereal, light, transparent and luminous, Saab, a master of beading and evening wear, put them in a fashion context that will automatically gain respect from a younger clientele too.
His vision, although very Elie in spirit, echoes the collections of Givenchy, Valentino, Christophe Josse and Giambattista Valli. This makes him very much 'in' with the in crowd. There was a fin de siècle feel to Saab's collection, which followed the line of the body like a second skin before splaying out just after the hourglass hip-length. High necks added a prim, private elegance to them.
The celestial palette of slate blue, brown tinged with bronze, aquamarine and silvery white added to the overall lightness, along with the constant reflective qualities of those ever present twinkling beads.
"We wanted to explore the fragility of femininity," said the British stylist, Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, who has collaborated with Saab for three collections. "These dresses have a diaphanous fairy like feel to them but remain empowering. It's always a challenge to relate Elie's inspirations and themes to his couture customers but he remains mindful of this at all times."
Look all photos Elie Saab Prive Autumn-Winter Fashion 2011-2012 At Paris Haute Couture:
Valentino Prive Autumn-Winter Fashion 2011-2012 At Paris Haute Couture - Latest Valentino Prive Autumn-Winter Fashion Trends 2012: Step forward, the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlene of Monaco, two women who could slip into Valentino couture and find they fit as snugly as Cinderella's slipper.
There has been an air of youthful, almost regal elegance in the air throughout this Paris haute couture week. Until now however, no designer has been able to 'nail it', as a celebrity panellist might say.
It was up to the Roman house of Valentino to transform feeling into actual clothes. And what clothes! Exquisitely balanced, utterly simple in cut, appropriate for the lifestyle of the essentially private haute couture client and yet buzzing with precious decadence.
These were clothes fit for a Princess: Step forward, the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlene of Monaco, two women who could slip into Valentino couture and find they fit as snugly as Cinderella's slipper.
Two years after they took over the reigns at Valentino from the perma-tanned legend, Valentino Garavani, designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Picciolo have been quietly forging their own stamp on the house style. At yesterday's show the cord between old and new was finally cut. Transformation 100 per cent complete.
The duo's collection of 41 utterly flawless gowns shown in a Royal setting, the 18th century former home of the Baron Rothschild, in grounds that belonged to the estate of Louis XV1, had a Medieval feel to them.
Slim-fitting and crafted from gorgeous fabrics like sumptuous devoré panné velvets, gold thread brocades and Chantilly lace, they came in pale colours of gold, nudes, creams and eau de nil that accentuated the feel of lightness and radiance of youth.
A fleet of tall, super-thin ethereal-looking models with hair in braids piled Heidi style on their heads, wove their way through wood panelled rooms where guests sat, in gowns that appeared as light as feathers.
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Picciolo succeeded in capturing both the essence of haute couture, with these ultra-luxurious fabrics executed with faultless cut, and yet offered a new take on a traditional theme.
They also included day to evening pieces like white capes with elaborate Argyle patterns cut into the fabric, which could slip into the wardrobes of today's style conscious on-the-go Princesses.
Fabric plait belts mirrored the models' hairstyles and back detailing on gowns - perfect for making entrances and exits - were also a recurrent theme.
"We were inspired by the Russian aristocratic émigrés who came to Paris after the Revolution," explained Chiuri, post-show, showing story boards of old black and white photos of long necked beauties in paired down museum-like clothes.
"They had nothing but their grace but used this as a weapon to add to their regality. We have used simple, cleanness of lines and let fabric speak. This way it is more modern."
photos Valentino Prive Autumn-Winter Fashion 2011-2012 At Paris Haute Couture:
but has a love story behind its conception.
