Flávia Linden
Lisa Dengler
Millie V R
Austin Levine
From global pop sensation to high fashion model, is there anything Madonna can’t do? Apparently not. Joining forces with Iconix Brand Group, Inc. (the company behind such labels as Candie’s and Badgley Mischka), the Queen of Pop is set to take the fashion world by storm with the launch of her own style empire, called MG Icon. “Joining forces with Iconix to bring my fashion ideas to consumers is very exciting for me,” says Madonna in a press release. First up will be a junior collection, appropriately labeled Material Girl. Launching exclusively at Macy’s stores and Macys.com in August 2010, Material Girl will include apparel, footwear, handbags and jewelry — all retailing from $12-$40. The collection was inspired and designed by both Madonna and her daughter Lourdes along with the in-house fashion team at Iconix Brand Group. And come 2011, Madonna plans to add beauty and fragrance options to her juniors line, so stay tuned for more details on Madonna’s growing fashion brand. For now, we’re counting down the days till we see what cutting-edge designs this quirky mother-daughter team come up with!
Suneet Varma’s stunning grand finale collection inspired by Lakmé’s night fever Summer 2010 was an extravagant end to Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2010
The Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel was draped with metres of fabrics cascading down from the ceiling in lush panels. Three giant silver globes rotated from the ceiling throwing twinkling stars on the walls. A windmill gently rotated to the left of the stage while a silver balcony on the right of the stage was reserved for Medival Punditz Shai’r and Func who provided the most exciting live music for the show. As the show started a white curtain slid back to reveal a tableau against a glittering Spanish mansion. It was time for the most spectacular show of Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/resort 2010.
Inspired by LAKMÉ’S NIGHT FEVER Summer 2010 collection which, comprises Enrich Satin Lip Color, Lip Artist, Eye Magic Black, Impact Eyeliner, Lash Artist, Aquashine and Glide on Eye Color; Suneet Varma created a dream of a line aptly titled NIGHT FEVER that was a breathtaking vision to behold.
Presented in five segments the collection with the glitter of Swarovski Elements was a modern look at fashion.
“Color My World” was filled with a blitz of colours mixed with patchwork and mix and match options. A glamorous array of creations - chiffon coat, easy tunics, draped dresses, were worn with colourful tights. Zigzag print coats and side knotted minis, panelled beach wraps, Spanish black floral tunic, long ponchos and embroidered jackets along with belts in large crystals and metallic armbands and necklaces completed the look.
“Call of the Wild” was an animal print, motif and texture story with colours like black, beige, chocolate and a bit of turquoise. Slinky evening bias cut gowns dazzled with peridots and topaz. Net kaftans, layered frayed edged skirts, tiny blouses and capes and stoles had tie-dyed, shading and Shibori. The glam turbans and gold bronze armlets gave a luxurious look to the creations.
“Pucchi Prints” was all about graphics and geometrics for minis with fabric buttons, hip length fitted jackets, skinny pants with slits and zips, and stately gowns in peach, cobalt, blue and emerald green. Hooded long gowns, psychedelic minis and kaftans along with pant suits were a colourful presentation.
“Preppy Argyle” had checks in purple, lilac, beige and black, featuring collared tunics, dresses, wide pants with high waistbands and sexy gowns. Saris appeared with tights and minis with stockings and ruffled net capes over golden gowns.
“The Bold and the Beautiful” line was a Hollywood Red Carpet inspired look for long will-power dresses, cowl creations and evening pant suits recreating the 70s and 80s eras. The slinky gowns in shimmering brown, black, and green and with floral appliqués were sensational.
The show ended in a shower of gold confetti over the ballroom as the three faces of Lakmé, Lisa Haydon in a slinky redblack gown, Amrit Maghera in a black gown with a net cover and Indrani Dasgupta in a gold gown walked down the ramp with Suneet Varma to thunderous applause as Saturday Night Fever by the Bee Gees set the night rocking.
Suneet Varma’s Night Fever extravaganza inspired by LAKMÉ’S NIGHT FEVER Summer 2010 collection was one of the grandest events witnessed by the glitterati of Mumbai and a perfect end to Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2010.
Increasing pollution from vehicles and industrial units, deforestation, excessive use of chemicals, plastic, metals and other non-biodegradable material, expanding landfill sites are leaving devastating impacts on the environment.
This has intensified the need to minimize the environmental damages and make the earth a better place to live not only for the present generations but also for the future generations to come.
Fashion Industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. It is the second largest water-consumer of all the industries of the world.
An interesting area of research is to emancipate the role of technology integration in the fashion industry and its contribution in the emergence of an ethical and green fashion value-chain.
The intervention of green technology in the fashion industry is bringing forth various aspects such as green material, green design, green manufacturing, green transportation, green retail, and green post-consumer management and so on.
These concepts have relevance to various key areas in the fashion value chain where eco-friendly technology and alternate solutions can replace the conventional methods.
The coming years are going to witness integration of green technology in various stages from fibre to fabric, from raw material to the finished fashion goods.
This will encompass the whole value-chain from across, farming, sourcing, designing, manufacturing aspects and manufacturer to retailer and finally to the consumer covering the warehousing, ordering, transportation, retailing, consuming and post-consumer management.
Between Fragrance, Beauty, Fashion and Accessories, the story of Vanessa Paradis and the House of Chanel continues. Karl Lagerfeld has been won over by this well-rounded artist; Vanessa Paradis moves with ease from actress, to singer, to composer.
The artist and the designer have enjoyed a long friendship, and benefitted from numerous collaborations, beginning in 2004 with the “Cambon” leather goods ad campaign, followed by “New Mademoiselle” in 2005. Most recently, Vanessa Paradis brought her musical talents to the Cabaret Chanel Club, during the “Paris-Shanghai” show in December 2009.
In a new campaign coming this May, Vanessa Paradis, ambassadress for Chanel Fashion, will be the face of the Coco Cocoon. Karl Lagerfeld has photographed the actress-singer in his campaign for the leather goods line, which has been enriched with several new designs this spring. The campaign will feature images that highlight the actress’ style, characterized by her blend of subtle audaciousness and fragility.
Fila and ATP World Tour tennis star James Blake debuted the second season of their co-branded Thomas Reynolds by Fila men’s tennis apparel line at the 2010 Australian Open. Inspired by Blake’s contemporary sports lifestyle and keen sense of style, the expanded Spring 2010 collection includes men’s training apparel.
Blake debuted the new collection during his first match at the Australian Open, a hot, challenging environment ideal for displaying the excellent performance characteristics of the Thomas Reynolds by Fila collection. The versatile line will carry Blake through the US sweep of the ATP World Tour calendar including the Fila sponsored BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA and Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, FL.
Blake collaborated once again with Fila’s international design team to develop a collection that embraces both the heritage of the Fila brand and Blake’s own signature look that has strong emotional ties to the styles worn by his father the lines namesake. Blake subtly blends this authentic and personal commitment into his designs, such as adding a reflective heat seal to the sublimated Crewneck shirt as a nod to his father’s professional career at 3M. Consistent with Blake’s desire for transitional flexibility from court to a night out, the silhouettes, lines, and designs of the Thomas Reynolds collection are imbued with intelligence, strength and elegance qualities that Blake adheres to on and off the court.
The expanded spring collection sticks primarily to an elegant black and white theme with hints of jester red detailing and embroidered TR Fila logos. Blake also chose to add additional pieces to the line with a particular emphasis on training. Light, warm and comfortable with a look that works both on and off the court, long sleeve warm–up tops include a french terry snap placket top with high collar, a half zip knit sweater with high collar that features blended wool and cashmere for ultra softness, and a long sleeve top for warm climate training with side vents and patterned front --- with a jacquard design that was inspired by a tennis net. Two jackets include a short collared track jacket in poly twill and a signature Fila knit jacket in cotton/poly/spandex with jester red detailing and high rib knit collar. Two different pant styles, both in black, offer two weights and performance qualities to compliment the choice of tops – one in 100% matte polyester cire with a rib knit waist and the other a peached poly twill with elastic waist.
Blake’s signature long shorts in two colors (black and white) are complimented by five different 100% polyester short sleeve shirt styles, all with curved hems and drop tails --- three crews and two elegant polos. Comfort being Blake’s mantra for optimal flexibility and performance, his crews are eye catching: A solid crew (black, white and jester red) cools and vents using mesh side panels; a mesh crew (black and white) cut from popcorn mesh offers the ultimate in moister control with unique contrast inserts; and a sublimated crew (black/white and Jester red/white) made from printed poly interlock. Blake’s polos offer extraordinary patterns – the horizontal striped polo in gray heather and black cut from coconut carbon jersey with popcorn mesh side panels, and the uniform box patterned jacquard polo in both black and white.
James Blake has been a Fila athlete since signing with the brand in 2008. The Thomas Reynolds name was selected and the TR trademark designed by James Blake. The collection, launched in 2009, is branded with the Thomas Reynolds R-dot logo and the linear Fila logo. Thomas Reynolds is carried at Dick's Sporting Goods, Sport Chalet, Tenniswarehouse.com, Tennis Express, fila.com and select specialty retailers around the country.
Victoria Beckham wants to dress Michelle Obama.
The singer-turned-fashion designer says she would love to create a dress for the US First Lady because she's such a "strong woman".
Victoria - whose clothing lines have won widespread praise - said: "I would love to dress Mrs. Obama absolutely absolutely absolutely! I just think she's incredible and she's a very strong woman and she's beautiful. "I love women and I just want to make women feel good and beautiful and it's just been a huge compliment that ladies have enjoyed wearing my dresses and they look great! It just goes to show they can flatter women of all different shapes and sizes, all different heights, and that's what it's about. It's about creating an illusion and having a great cut."
Victoria - who is married to soccer star David Beckham - admits she gets a huge buzz when she sees someone wearing one of her designs.
She said: "Seeing anyone wearing my clothes is exciting, whether it's someone famous, a family member or a stranger. A few weeks ago, I bumped into a woman wearing a design of mine and screamed with excitement. I'm sure she thought I was crazy."
Celebrities to have donned some of Victoria's creations include Sarah Jessica Parker, Elle Macpherson and Heidi Klum.
An event based around hundreds of fashionistas flying in from all over the world was never going to be a convincing platform for environmental campaigning, but designers in Paris haven't let that stop them.
While British designer Vivienne Westwood regularly rails against global warming, fashion king Karl Lagerfeld trumped her with a rival theory at the Chanel show on Monday: the globe is in fact cooling, and he has an iceberg to prove it.
"Have you felt any warming this winter?" Lagerfeld, with trademark black sunglasses and white ponytail, told reporters after showing his autumn collection, referring to freezing cold weather outside. "Maybe that's all nonsense, who knows."
Lagerfeld had erected a huge iceberg in the middle of the glass-domed Grand Palais to mark his chilly theme, dressing models in fake fur trousers and yeti boots to prepare them for the coming ice age.
"In any case, nature has its surprises," he added wisely.
Chanel's classic tweed suit was reinforced with fur-trimmed sleeves and hems. The tweed itself was lightened up as Lagerfeld used wool-embroidered organza instead of classic heavy tweed.
Animal fur has been making a comeback on catwalks in recent years, despite fierce protests from animal rights activists, but Lagerfeld said he had opted for a compromise.
"There wasn't any real fur, it's all fake. The word 'synthetic' is horrible, fake fur used to be hideous but there's been enormous progress," he said.
In a celebration of Lagerfeld's northern German roots, a deep male voice sang "Ich moechte ein Eisbaer sein" ("I want to be a polar bear") over techno beats as models trotted around the iceberg in swinging long coats and snug white dresses.
It was not the first time Lagerfeld has dabbled in green politics. At the spring collection last year, he staged a country fete around a barn and declared that environmental activists had a point but should learn to dress better.
Oscar's red carpet swung into fashion action on Sunday ahead of the Academy Awards where several women including director Kathryn Bigelow and Sandra Bullock are favored to claim their share of Hollywood glory.
Vera Farmiga, nominated for best supporting actress playing a traveling businesswoman in "Up In the Air" wore a ruby red strapless gown from Marchesa with a dramatic ruffle.
Recording star Mariah Carey, who has a role in best film nominee "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," showed off a plunging neckline and much leg in her navy gown, joking that she feared a breeze might raise the bottom and make her look like the iconic photograph of Marilyn Monroe.
"I love Marilyn but I was concerned about a Marilyn moment," she joked with reporters on the red carpet, all the while tinkering with the fabric that fluttered at her leg.
But after the red carpet ends, all eyes will be on the world's top film awards where Bigelow and her Iraq war film "The Hurt Locker" and her ex-husband James Cameron's hit adventure "Avatar" are front-runners for the year's best film.
Bigelow is widely expected to win the golden Oscar for best director and make history as the first woman to win that award in the 82 years of the Academy Awards.
"America's Sweetheart" Sandra Bullock is favored to earn her first Academy Award for best actress for her role as a strong mom in "The Blind Side" only one day after being given a worst actress "Razzie" by a group of Hollywood critics.
No performer -- male or female -- has ever been best and worst in 30 years of that dubious distinction.
If Bullock fails on Oscar night, pundits say the likely best actress is veteran Meryl Streep as trailblazing chef Julia Child in the culinary comedy "Julie & Julia."
If she takes the Academy Award in her record 16th nomination, Streep will be just one victory short of legendary Katharine Hepburn, who had four Oscars in her lifetime, more than any man or woman.
BEST FILM DRAMA
Comedian Mo'Nique has claimed almost every supporting actress honor in sight for her dramatic turn as an abusive mother in "Precious: Based On the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire," and she is favored at the Oscars, too.
Jeff Bridges seems to be a lock for best actor as a drunken singer in "Crazy Heart" and Christoph Waltz is favored for supporting actor as a menacing Nazi in "Inglourious Basterds." Both have claimed numerous other awards for their work.
Yet, even with the acting categories all but sewn up, Oscar watchers say some drama remains in the top race for best film.
As Hollywood's award season has played out since December, Bigelow and her reality-fueled "Hurt Locker" have trumped Cameron and his effects-filled "Avatar" at nearly every event.
But in the past two weeks, "Hurt Locker" began seeing some unsavory headlines after producer Nicolas Chartier was caught campaigning for best film by disparaging "Avatar," causing the Academy to banish him from Sunday's ceremony.
At private Hollywood parties, there have been whispers that the 5,800 Oscar voters may prefer "Avatar" with its $2.5 billion at global box offices, compared to about $20 million for "Hurt Locker."
"We thought we were going to make some money but not nearly as much as we did," Cameron said on the red carpet.
As important, some Oscar watchers think a preferential voting system and 10 best film nominees for the first time since 1943, could cause the front-runners to split the vote and allow "Inglourious Basterds" or "Precious" to claim the award.
And if the drama around the night's biggest award fails to prove exciting, producers brought in Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin as co-hosts to turn up the laughter.
If green is the color of hope, John Galliano's latest collection for Dior perfectly captured the mood at Paris fashion week Friday as designers and fans dared to show optimism.
From Dior, where soft dresses in greens and pinks were spiced up with riding jackets and flirty stockings, to Vivienne Westwood, who matched princess gowns with paupers' rags, fashionistas acknowledged the tough times while allowing themselves to have some fun.
Bags, huge hats and thigh-high boots on the catwalk kept executives happy as accessories continue to be the bestsellers of the fashion world.
"It was gorgeous, very daring and beautiful," France's stylish economy minister, Christine Lagarde, told Reuters after the Dior show, lifting her thumbs and shouting: "Up!" when asked what this meant for French exports.
Her presence was a sign of the changing mood. Last year, French politicians avoided the shows, wary of sipping champagne with the elite while voters were struggling with the economic crisis.
This year, the bubbly was back, and so was the elite, although some front-row seats were empty.
Hollywood wild child Lindsay Lohan, who will show her second collection for fashion house Ungaro next week after a widely panned debut, failed to turn up for her special appearance at Dior. She was seen hurrying toward the Dior tent in the sun-dappled Tuileries gardens just as the last models were wiping off their make-up, more than an hour after the show.
SHOULDER POWER
Other than Lohan, there were few A-listers, a reminder that despite moments of frivolity, budgets are still far from boom-time levels. Many shows were staged in a freezing hangar outside the city center, and even the creative side reflected the difficult conditions.
At Lanvin, designer Alber Elbaz drew strength from the 1980s power woman, with voluminous shoulders in a tribal-inspired collection.
"Shoulders are really a symbol of power," Elbaz told journalists, switching to a more tongue-in-cheek tone when explaining the black wigs worn by all his models.
"I see many women going to same doctor to get the same lips, the same eyes, the same hair. I just wanted to show how it looks when everybody looks alike," he said.
Westwood also played with strong shoulders and stronger heroes, building a collection around Prince Charming. Princely coats and Little Red Riding Hood dresses were worn with colorful paper crowns, knotted headscarves or huge fur hats.
Grey shrugs, held together with safety pins, gave an edge to romantic floral-patterned dresses and shimmering gowns.
"Fairy tales are all about injustice and cruelty and danger," Westwood told reporters backstage. "That's why it's very good for children to grow up with that -- in the end, it works out, and Cinderella goes to the ball."
Men looking for quality, timeless design to help get the most out of their apparel budget will find that the Spring 2010 line from Scott Barber fits the bill.
Scott Barber, creator of quality casual apparel for men, is known for his simple, classic and confident styling that has proven the test of time. Those are traits that today's savvy consumers look for in clothing as the past recession has shaped what true luxury stands for – quality and functionality vs. novelty and flash.
"Our spring presentation is filling an important void for the sophisticated consumer in today's economy," said Scott Barber, designer and owner of the apparel brand. "Our comfortable designs in shirts, knits, pants and shorts are made for those seeking true luxury sportswear, but wanting to maximize their investment in things that will last."
Spring features include:
• Unique use of color with knits (polos in 18 colors, sweatshirts in 10 colors and 19 tee shirt colors)
• Tattersall, gingham, vintage plaids, cotton fancies and broadcloth check styles showcase the iconic Scott Barber woven shirt assortment
• Cotton poplin camp shirts
• Wider selection of silk and cotton items including shirts, pants and Bermuda shorts
• New colors in silk and cotton flat front pants
• Extensive offering of Peruvian Pima cotton knits, including pique polos, jersey polos, tee shirts, and sweatshirts in crew neck, zip mock and cardigan vest styles
Gallatin, Westport and Chelsea Collections
Scott Barber offers his line in three distinct collections based on fabrics, styles and wearing occasions.
The Gallatin Collection – the most informal part of the offering – includes linen solids and patterns, cotton broadcloth vintage plaids and gingham cotton fancies.
The Westport Collection – the season's largest assortment – carries a variety of plaid, check and stripe designs in coral, orange, French blue, purple and green. This season, the collection will introduce gingham checks in soft blue, melon and spring green.
The most formal collection, Chelsea, is perfect for evenings out or business with its silky cotton twills in stripe and check patterns.
Scott Barber, designer and creator of high-end men's casual apparel, began Scott Barber Apparel in 1994. Since then he's been supplying men with an exceptional array of casual clothing that includes woven shirts, knit shirts, silk/cotton shirts, pants, jeans, shorts and sweaters. The Scott Barber collection is known for its casual, comfortable feel and classic look. Scott Barber develops each season's offering from scratch, creating his own unique color combinations for over 100 shirt designs.