Paweł Lewandowski
Hedvig
Nhi Py
Guiri Uribe
Ala Konturek
The U.S. Open's top-tier tennis matches are a chance for the fashion set to celebrate the last days of summer, as we prepare for the month-long marathon of runway shows ahead.
Back in June at the Resort collections, we witnessed an uptick in kicky skirts and stretchy sheaths that would fit right in at the tournament. For our date courtside, we'd like to be wearing a deep green pleated leather mini from Alexander Wang or Viktor & Rolf's flouncy thigh-grazer.
As for the courts themselves, we could imagine trendsetting players like the Williams sisters, Ana Ivanovic, or Caroline Wozniacki (sadly, Maria Sharapova withdrew from the tournament last minute due to a shoulder injury) sporting Opening Ceremony's sporty set or Preen's fit-and-flare frock during a pre-match warm-up. Positively smashing.
Even those lucky ladies leading the most charmed of lives—filled with cocktail parties and red-carpet events every night of the week—have their dressed-down moments. And now, designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig are addressing their glamorous customers' day-to-day needs with a new contemporary collection, Marchesa Voyage, which they officially launched last night with a celebration on the Gramercy Park Hotel rooftop.
"We always wanted Marchesa to be a lifestyle brand," Chapman told Style.com. Craig added, "For us, Voyage is all about creating clothes for the global-minded woman and the global-minded traveler, whether she's going somewhere exotic or just venturing to the office." The designers mingled with a posh crowd, including Courtney Love, Sami Gayle, Michele Hicks, Rachel Roy, and Lorraine Schwartz, all of whom sipped cocktails and checked out select looks from the premiere Fall and Resort'14 collections. Many of the wares, like the sequined shift Chapman herself was wearing, are arriving in stores such as Saks, Bloomingdale's, and Neiman Marcus this week (prices will range from $260 to $1,000).
Other highlights displayed on mannequins included a cool biker jacket and matching kilt skirt with allover artisanal embroidery, as well as a bohemian pleated silk maxi dress, printed with celestial moons and stars, paired with a tailored tuxedo jacket. Chapman's jovial studio-exec hubby Harvey Weinstein also made the rounds. "I actually inspired the entire collection," he joked, adding, "I love seeing Georgina being able to finally do the kinds of clothes she really wears most of the time."
From the Teen Choice Awards to movie premieres, red-carpet-watchers had a lot to keep them busy this week. Saint Laurent was a popular choice with the weekend crowd, with several A-listers attending Saturday’s events in all-black looks by the Parisian powerhouse. At Disney’s D23 Expo, Angelina Jolie looked the epitome of casual elegance in a light wool sweater paired with tailored pants and ankle boots, all by Saint Laurent. That same evening, Rachel McAdams continued her About Time premiere circuit with a screening in Munich, walking the red carpet in a quietly sexy dress from Saint Laurent’s Resort ’14 offering. In L.A., Miley Cyrus played up her rocker image at the Teen Choice Awards, opting for a Saint Laurent see-through blouse and buckled-up skirt from Fall ’13‘s grunge-inspired collection.
Lily Collins (above) is quickly becoming one to watch on the red carpet, and had several strong sartorial picks this week. Among her best was a white cutout Cushnie et Ochs Resort ’14 sheath, which she wore to the L.A. premiere of her film The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones on Monday. The following evening, Diane Kruger put a ladies-who-lunch spin on tartan, donning a midi from Carven’s Resort ’14 collection at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Installation Luncheon. Finished off with barely there gray sandals and a side ponytail, the actress made plaid look effortlessly chic.
Ask any red-carpet vet or model who knows her way around a pose. Nothing gets the flashbulbs popping quite like peering over the shoulder of a dramatic open-back gown. Lately, designers have been translating that idea to daywear, adding interesting details to the reverse side of looks that are guaranteed to turn heads in the streets. Alexander Wang’s debut Balenciaga collection included a slinky split-back number paired with a sporty bandeau top underneath, and feminine knots adorned the rear views of LBDs in the Resort lineups from Nina Ricci and Burberry Prorsum. On Raf Simons’ Dior Couture catwalk, meanwhile, all eyes lingered on the unexpected, contrasting straps that delicately crisscrossed the models’ jackets as they slunk back down the runway. Talk about a grand exit.
Encouraged by the response to the mini film and campaign by that name it launched a year ago, Dior is unleashing a second installment — another dreamy escapade filmed at Versailles, this time in a foggy forest not far from the Petit Trianon. Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin reunited with model Daria Strokous for “Secret Garden 2 — Versailles,” creating a surreal, fairy-tale atmosphere as women gather amidst barren trees, some cloaked in ivy. Christiaan Houtenbos did the hair and Lisa Butler the makeup.
The accompanying print campaign is slated to debut in Vogue China this weekend before rolling out to Italian Elle and Korean and French Vogue later in the month.
One image takes inspiration from Édouard Manet’s famous painting “The Luncheon on the Grass” — minus the nudity. The three protagonists are dressed in the fall Dior collection by Raf Simons, their picnic blanket is strewn with Diorissimo handbags, in addition to a basket of fruit. The one-minute film is slated for a June release on the Diormag Web site and dior.com.
At long last, Kim Kardashian has met the Met Gala. While rumors swirled last year that the reality star and fashion plate was banned from the industry event by Anna Wintour herself, Kim's coupling with Kanye West, boyfriend/baby daddy/friend of Riccardo Tisci, has helped the girl get in.
Naturally, he's the designer Kim chose to wear to the Costume Institute's festivities. "Riccardo's vision of punk for me is not the typical mohawk you'd envision," Kim said on the red carpet Monday night. She wore a long-sleeve floral number with attached gloves (!) and a thigh-high slit -- which featured her baby bump prominently, of course.
What do you think of Kim's "fashion Oscars" outfit? Tell us in the comments!
NEW YORK (Reuters) - With their black leather, studded jackets, ripped jeans, bondage trousers and messages of rebellion and anarchy, punks from the 1970s probably never envisioned that a major museum would be celebrating their influence on fashion 40 years later.
But the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is doing just that with a new exhibition, "Punk: Chaos to Couture," that opens on May 9 and runs through August 14.
It includes 100 punk styles and ranges from the mid-70s at Vivienne Westwood's and Malcolm McLaren's London boutique and images of The Sex Pistols to examples of punk's impact on haute couture and designers such as Alexander McQueen, Helmut Lang, Miuccia Prada and John Galliano.
Films and music from the era and a re-creation of the graffiti-covered toilet at New York's CBGB punk rock club, where Blondie, the Ramones and Talking Heads played, add to the gritty authenticity of the exhibit.
"Punk was all about celebrating the individual, celebrating creativity and not being afraid - to be brave in your self-presentation and to be brave in your fashion statement," Andrew Bolton, the curator of the exhibit, said in an interview.
"Punk was all about challenging the status quo," he added. "I think all those elements very much impacted fashion."
ORIGINALITY AND INDIVIDUALITY
Thomas P. Campbell, the director and chief executive of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, described punk as "a tale of two cities, New York and London."
The exhibit, arranged over seven themed galleries, focuses on punk's concept of do-it-yourself and its impact on high fashion and ready-to-wear.
No other cultural movement has had a similar impact on fashion, according to Bolton, who added that designers engage with punk on different level.
Shirts emblazoned with "God Save the Queen," "Anarchy in the UK" and "Anarchist Punk Gang - The 1% ers" from Westwood's 1970s Seditionaries boutique are testament to punk's political message and desire to shock and provoke.
Torn clothing and garments incorporating chicken bones, tin studs, metal chains, bottle tops, horsehair, safety pins and other types of hardware show punk's do-it-yourself ethos and its themes of deconstruction and destruction.
"I think it is rather stunning. There are a lot of collector's items," British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, who was nicknamed the "princess of punk," said about the show.
"The most amazing thing that you spot from this exhibition is, in fact, that you have the street-edge stuff. You have it edited into couture ... But then you have the amazing Japanese seeing it with another eye ... turning it into a totally new art form," she added.
Punk's influence on Italian designer Gianni Versace is shown in his gowns with silver and gold safety pins and a black knit and leather dress embroidered with gold metal studs.
Other examples include Alexander McQueen's coatdress made of black synthetic material, imitating trash bags, and a coat of bubble wrap, Helmut Lang's jacket of silver and blue patent leather with aluminum foil and metal bottle caps and Rei Kawakubo's blouse and skirt of black polyester and silk satin and taffeta.
"Although punk's democracy stands in opposition to fashion's autocracy, designers continue to appropriate punk's aesthetic vocabulary to capture its youthful rebelliousness and aggressive forcefulness," Bolton said.
NEW YORK — Halle Berry's pregnancy announcement on Friday provided a case of perfect timing to herald her new partnership with Michael Kors to fight world hunger and jointly raise awareness and funds for the United Nations World Food Programme, or WFP.
"I knew I was going to be involved in this months ago, but I didn't know I was going to be pregnant then," said Berry, sitting in Kors' 42nd Street showroom Saturday night before a dinner at the Four Seasons to celebrate the collaboration. "It's still very new to me. I have a daughter, so I have gone through this before and always knew how important nutrition was during pregnancy."
According to statistics, hunger can start in the womb, and malnutrition in the first 1,000 days (pregnancy and post-birth) can cause irreversible damage to babies. It’s no surprise that this fact added much personal meaning to Berry’s new initiative.
"We are going to actually take a site visit, and I am hoping to go while I am pregnant to talk to women about the importance of the in-utero health of their children," she said. "Those are the most important days for women to get a good nutritional diet so that the child can be born healthy and thrive. Going there pregnant — as a mother, as a woman — will have that much more impact."
Coincidental as the timing of all this may be, Kors didn't miss a beat. "Look what she was willing to do," he exclaimed. "She was willing to get pregnant."
Berry wore a black sheath with a paillette strap from Kors' fall collection — "just a typical maternity moment" the designer said.
Joking aside, Berry's star power and philanthropy appealed to the designer as he was looking to step up his work — and, as he put it, "make the noise" — for the WFP.
“Whenever people say, 'Who is the Michael Kors woman? Tell me about the Michael Kors woman,' I always feel she is a glamorous juggler," Kors said, prompting Berry to chuckle and simulate juggling balls with her hands. “She is someone who can do a lot, and make it all look easy. Here is someone who has remarkable talent, who is an incredible mom and at the same time a very glamorous and compassionate woman. Who could be better than for me to partner on this with? Halle and I are here to let people know that you in fact can make a difference. And we’re both Leos."
Berry, who has done much work with women and children through the Jenesse Center in Los Angeles and Revlon Run/Walk for Women, was drawn to the initiative and, specifically, collaborating with Kors.
"I thought, 'I can take my voice and we can, together, put this on a global level,'" she said. "We can finally bang on tables, we can knock on doors and on walls, and use social media to get other people involved in a process that is really doable. It’s not something that we need a lot of research for. It’s something that can be done if we just really inspire and let people know."
The collaboration is long-term and multifaceted. The kickoff features two new versions of Kors’ Runway watch that were specially created for the designer’s Watch Hunger Stop campaign. The 100 Series watches are priced at $295 apiece and the sale of each watch will provide 100 meals to hungry children through WFP. The watches will launch in Michael Kors stores and on michaelkors.com this month.
"It's a conversation starter," Kors said. "It says 100 Series on the watch. Every time you wear it, you remind yourself and everyone around you that you provided 100 meals. Someone may say 'Oh that's a great watch, what is that?' You say, 'It's for the World Food Programme and I fed 100 people with this watch.'"
Kors added there are many things an individual can do to help. For instance, the $5 a person spends on a cappuccino could instead feed a child in need for a month.
"When you think of feeding the world, it seems to be so big, and people often think, 'What is one person really going to do?'" Berry said. "It's our job, and we hope that we can inspire people to realize that their one cup of coffee could feed a child for a month. We want them to know that that’s important, and we can do it."
The goal is to motivate five million people to get involved, beginning with the watch.
Kors celebrated the collaboration with Berry at a dinner in the Pool Room at the Four Seasons Restaurant, which was attended by the likes of Solange Knowles, Doutzen Kroes, Hilary Rhoda, Erin Heatherton, Constance Jablonski, Liu Wen, Alana Zimmer, Harley Viera-Newton, Amanda Hearst and Tali Lennox.
In support of the Watch Hunger Stop campaign, Kors created a micro-site at watchhungerstop.com, which will focus on the company’s efforts to end world hunger, from content to a Twitter feed with a window onto the #watchhungerstop conversation, videos, statistics and text-to-donate information.
Kors and Berry plan to work together on the initiative for a long time. "We're in it," said Berry, "until they kick me out."
People run to work here, they spend their lunch hour jogging, and on a balmy evening, legions of the spandex clad crowd the roads. Then there are the cyclists, and the morning surfers, and the women doing boot-camp classes in the park—in every park. It’s no wonder that girls here have incredible legs, and the strong backs and shoulders of swimmers, and once you’ve spent a day in Sydney noticing all that, it’s also no wonder that the designers here make such a fetish of the athletic female form.
That sense of athletic sexiness has been one of the distinguishing features of Camilla and Marc (left). The Sydney-based brand opened fashion week here with its tenth anniversary show; the collection was overtly self-referential, with designers Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman sending out lots of updated takes on their signature silhouettes: notably flared skater skirts, racer-back tanks that looked especially fine in gold jacquard, and super-slouchy drop-crotch trousers. The Freeman siblings are very good at finding ways to distort or exaggerate silhouettes without sacrificing the essential sexiness of their clothes—those drop-crotch trousers are a case in point, and so too the show’s razor-sharp white leathers, a reiteration of pieces the brand showed in its Northern Hemisphere collection for Fall.
Christopher Esber is not yet a familiar name outside the Antipodes, but this emerging designer has a ton of promise. Though the silhouettes in his new collection were straightforward and accessible, Esber found various ways to give them an unexpected twist, whether by patterning his clothes to have a hang that was ever-so-slightly off, or integrating a sculptural flourish. Esber also has an interesting taste in textiles—a see-through check was particularly nice, as was a squishy technical fabric in royal blue. Occasionally, Esber revealed a tendency to muddle his looks; his talent really shone in the pieces that were simplest, like a gossamer white T-shirt dress or a wrap skirt with an off-kilter drape.
The final show this evening was from the highly theatrical Romance Was Born (above), designed by Luke Sales and Anna Plunkett. As the candy-colored mushrooms on the catwalk suggested it would be, this collection was a journey into a particularly girlish psychedelia. The designers’ technical abilities proved remarkable—their short bubble dress had the controlled volume of a beach ball freshly pumped with air, while the ruched pieces that concluded the show had a couture-like fineness. And it was easy to be charmed by Sales and Plunkett’s puckish sense of humor, notable especially in their hallucinogenic prints. But if you looked past their aggressive styling, you could see that the Aussie sensibility was there in spades—this was a collection with no shortage of abbreviated hemlines, the better to show off a pair of fantastic legs, and bustier tops suitable for women with sinewy swimmers’ shoulders.
During the summer there's something so lovely about being able to wear fun clothing that you can't get away with in the winter. There's such an ease with dressing and it is really your chance to be bold. You can pick up dresses from a market with crazy prints and still look great. I've got a strawberry-printed dress that comes out every year. But I only started enjoying summer dressing as an adult; I used to dread it as a teenager because I'm so pale. All my friends would go golden brown while I would be shoved under a tree with a bottle of factor-50 lotion by someone's concerned mum.
If you don't want to wear dresses in the summer, you could try my favourite look: a pair of loose denim shorts - I have a pair from Paul & Joe ( cbamd.com ) from years ago - with an oversized men's cotton shirt and sandals. Big cotton shirts are my summer staples, as they are comfortable, flattering and so easy to wear. Be careful with denim shorts, however, as you don't want anything too fitted if you're of a certain age. I have some very short denim shorts that should probably go into retirement. I lived in New York for 10 years and would always admire the amazing women who would go to fashion shows with bare legs and a short dress - even in the snow. I could never be like that, especially with pale skin: my legs would look like corned beef.
Jack Rogers' 'Navajo' sandals (available from cbamd.com ) are another of my staples; they come out every summer. One good pair is perfect, as you can wear them during the day with shorts and a T-shirt and in the evening with a soft, wafty dress. One pair of ballet flats are great, too - I get mine from French Sole - as they work well with jeans.
