Rebekah Wing
Cassy Bhairo
Steve Frous
Austin Levine
Hannnah P
It is no longer breaking news for top fashion designers to collaborate with mass-market brands, but the fact that Lanvin, one of the oldest Paris fashion houses (one of the most pricy ones as well), has agreed to team up with H&M still surprises and excites fashionistas around the world. An exclusive collection created by Lanvin's artistic director Alber Elbaz for the Swedish high street brand will be available in around 200 H&M stores on November 23.
Elbaz, who had previously stated that he would never do a mass-market collection, talked about the collaboration: "What intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public."
Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor at H&M, said the collection will be "very much a Lanvin collection." It will feature the French fashion powerhouse's iconic cut and tailoring, with lots of focus on the form and details.
Since joining Lanvin in 2001, Elbaz has pioneered some of the biggest trends of the past decade, including ribbons, bows, pearls, raw edges, sumptuous color and metallic embellishment, among many others.
By working with mass-market brands, the world's most influential designers have managed to sell their philosophy of beauty and style to a wider audience.
Karl Lagerfeld, who has worked with H&M on a capsule collection back in 2004, has photographed the latest catalogue for 3 Suisses, featuring top Australian model Iris Strubegger in 15 selected items from the French mail-order company's fall/winter collection.
Strubegger's front cover style is very much like the female version of Lagerfeld himself: the red-haired beauty is dressed in black and white, with a wide tie and a pair of leather gloves.
"My dream is to turn the whole house of Lagerfeld into this kind of (mass) business, because I am at the peak of luxury with Chanel and Fendi," said the creative director at Chanel and Fendi. "Being at both ends of the market is the height of luxury."
The collection featured in the catalogue includes some coveted pieces full of French flair, including a stripped boyfriend blazer to be worn with a feminine silk shirt, a minimalist dress of intriguing lace and velvet details, a feather cape, a pair of leather gloves and a fake pearl ring.
Last year, Jil Sander has made a successful return to the fashion world through her collaborative line +J with Japanese fast fashion giant Uniqlo.
Best-known for her minimal, perfectly proportioned designs, the designer explores the territory between couture and sportswear with the line. The latest autumn/winter +J collection consists up to 150 items of "sculptured lines, fluid grace and modern sophistication for everyone."
They include the signature +J white shirts, light down jackets and sculptured coats in arctic blues, tempestuous grays and the warm hues of foliage. Ranging between 149 yuan (US$21.80) to 1,999 yuan, the collection will go on sale in Uniqlo's Shanghai stores on October 15.
Model Naomi Campbell performs a choreographed dance in front of the Dolce & Gabbana boutique during Fashion's Night Out in New York September 10, 2010. Campbell danced with models to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the beginning of her career.
Models present creations from the Edun Spring 2011 collection during New York Fashion Week September.
Models present creations at the Lela Rose Spring 2011 collection during New York Fashion Week September 12, 2010.
Models present creations from the Prabal Gurung Spring 2011 collection during New York Fashion Week September 11, 2010.
Models present creations during the Project Runway Spring 2011 collection at New York Fashion Week September 9, 2010.
A weaver of Bangalore is busy weaving world's lightest silk sari and scarf, which he intends to present to President Barak Obama to impress him, when he visits India this year.
Gurum R Narayanappa, a silk farmer has produced a silk scarf measuring one square metre which weighs just 30 grams. It took three days for the farmer and his wife to weave the scarf while using silk fibre from just two cocoons.
Both of them are now busy weaving a six meter long silk sari with gold zari which is 44 inches in width. Silk fibre from just three to four cocoons is being used to weave this sari which on completion would weigh just 70 grams.
TH Somashekhar, Former Director of Central Silk Board, stated that, both the items are supposed to be the lightest silk garments produced the world over, and they would thus approach the Guinness Book of World records for inclusion of these items.
Both these items will be presented to President Obama and is seen to enhance recognition while at the same time, boosting the image of Indian silk items in the US fashion industry. US is the biggest importer of silk products from India, but over the last few years there has been a sharp fall in silk exports to US.
As compared to previous year there was a considerable 29 percent decline in the country's silk exports to US during 2009-10, which stood at Rs. 4.17 billion, representing 14.5 percent of country's overall silk exports which totalled to Rs. 28.71 billion.
Even then, US tops India's silk export charts, while Hong Kong and UK stand second and third with 12 and 10.7 percent share in country's total silk exports.
Hermes International SCA, the French maker of luxury handbags and silk scarves, said first-half profit increased 55 percent, beating analysts?? estimates, on demand for leather goods in Asia.
Net income rose to 194.6 million euros ($246 million) from 125.4 million euros a year earlier, the Paris-based company said today in a statement on its website. That compared with the 171.2 million-euro average of five analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue gained 23 percent to 1.07 billion euros, Hermes reported last month.
Sales may climb as much as 12 percent this year, excluding currency swings, the maker of Birkin handbags said July 20, after second-quarter sales increased faster than analysts estimated. Demand for luxury goods is recovering as Chinese shoppers buy more high-end clothing and accessories and U.S. and European retailers restock inventories.
First-half operating profit rose 52 percent to 304.5 million euros. That beat the 259 million-euro average estimate of four analysts.
Operating profit as a percentage of sales widened to 28.3 percent from 22.8 percent a year earlier. Hermes repeated today that full-year operating margin should widen by at least 1 percentage point.
This September, the Levi's brand is partnering with celebrated emerging men's fashion designer Billy Reid to unveil a limited-edition, high-end collection that couples the denim leader with Reid's Southern-bred approach to masculine design.
Hand-crafted in the USA, the resulting Levi's Workwear by Billy Reid assortment showcases the Levi's brand's own workwear roots, incorporating utilitarian, highly functional styles, with Reid's refined yet modern tailoring. The highly-anticipated range will be introduced through exclusive events held at the Bloomingdale's store at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue in New York City, along with Reid's namesake boutique in lower Manhattan. Both events will coincide with the second annual Fashion's Night Out shopping extravaganza in New York City on September 10.
"In terms of inspiration, our idea was to focus on the workwear and outdoor categories from the early days of the Levi's brand. We were able to work with some incredible people in the Levi's archives and found an old work apron from the turn of the century, complete with all its natural wear, tear and stains. It just really seemed to stand out," offers winning designer, Billy Reid on the collaborative process.
"The apron became a true muse and its influence is present in each piece of the collection. For example, the hunting jacket has a removable — and fully functioning — pocketed, work apron on the inside, providing an internal game pouch. And we then used it to design the tote bag, which was developed by folding the apron into a bag shape."
For the third consecutive year, the Levi's brand has teamed with the winner of GQ's "Best New Menswear Designers in America" project to create a collaboratively-designed, exclusive collection that marries the winning designer's vision with Levi's denim and workwear heritage and the often-imitated, iconic Original 501 jean.
The highly-influential, New York-based menswear designer Billy Reid is the third annual recipient to be recognized through this competition which celebrates the groundbreaking work of up-and-coming American menswear fashion designers. The "Best New Menswear Designers in America" was founded by GQ in conjunction with The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2008.
"The idea was to take a specific assortment of hunting styles from our archives and to re-imagine and reconstruct them for the gamesman of today," said Carl Chiara, director of Men's and Women's Brand Concepts for the Levi's Brand, the Americas. "Each piece in the collection retains its original purpose but they become completely modern, not only through the precise tailoring and fit, but also through the choice of fabrics and finishing techniques we elected to use."
"We are always on the lookout for new and talented upcoming designers to add to our men's assortment, so we are thrilled to be a partner yet again in the Best New Designer in America program,"says Kevin Harter, Bloomingdale's Vice President of Men's Fashion Direction. "And as one of the first upscale retailers to carry the Billy Reid collection, we are excited to bring yet another facet of his design to his growing fan base here at Bloomingdale's."
Raised in Amite, Louisiana, just south of the Mississippi line, Reid is one of the most celebrated, emerging stars in American men's apparel design today and is known for an aesthetic steeped in Southern charm. Currently designing out of his headquarters in Florence, Alabama, Reid marries a rugged yet dapper sensibility with artisanal, time-tested construction techniques, favoring fabrics with a lived-in yet refined hand. As winner of GQ's & CFDA's project, Reid was invited to visit and tour the extensive - and otherwise private - Levi's archives, located in the blue-jean-inventor's global headquarters in San Francisco.
Using Levi's museum-like, apparel archive as a starting point, Reid teamed with Carl Chiara and the Levi's design team to develop a workwear-focused range that speaks to the denim-leader's storied, highly practical origins, while injecting it with Reid's own laid-back, casual elegance.
The Levi's Workwear by Billy Reid collection consists of a tightly-edited assortment of ten menswear styles. Among these, the cotton jersey, crewneck pieces feature an exclusive Calabama graphic, a play on the mingling of aesthetics between the denim-leader's California-based headquarters and Alabama, the state Reid calls home. Beautifully-crafted, the collection consists of:
• Heavy Canvas "Apron" Tool Bag
• Re-conceptualized Archival, Rigid Selvedge, 501 Jean
• Sun-bleached Red Sweatshirt with custom Calabama graphic
• Sun-bleached Green Sweatshirt with custom Calabama graphic
• Sun-bleached Red Cotton Crew T-shirt with custom Calabama graphic
• Rinsed, Dark Indigo Denim Woven Button-front shirt
• Heavy Black Wool Trucker Jacket
• Heavily Distressed Twill Hunting Coat with Detachable Canvas Apron
• White, Washed Cotton Oxford Woven Button-front shirt
• Heavily Distressed 505 Straight Fit Work Pant
The highly-collectible Levi's Workwear by Billy Reid collection will be carried at Billy Reid stores in Texas — Houston and Dallas — New York City; Nashville, Tennessee; Florence, Alabama; and Charleston, South Carolina. It will also be sold in Bloomingdale's stores in: New York — 59th Street, Soho and Roosevelt Field — Aventura, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego and Costa Mesa in California; Chevy Chase, Maryland; Short Hills, New Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia; and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
The fashion-forward lifestyle brand famous for its trendsetting styles from denim pioneer GUESS, Inc., has announced American model Heide Lindgren as the new face of GUESS by Marciano. Heide Lindgren joins a long history of legendary supermodels who have been the face of fashion giant GUESS, including Claudia Schiffer, Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio.
The Fall/Winter 2010 GUESS by Marciano Campaign is a classic collection of black & white images that transport the viewer back to the set of a 1960's film classic and showcase the collection in the manner it was meant to be: beautiful, glamorous and provocative.
"The GUESS by Marciano Fall Campaign conveys elegance and timeless beauty," says Paul Marciano, Chief Executive Officer and Creative Director for GUESS, Inc., "Heide Lindgren is a perfect fit for the fall 2010 advertising campaign as she portrays sexiness, success and power-and that is who our customer is today."
Moving from hometown Boca Raton, FL to New York City in January 2008, Heide has quickly become one of the most sought after American models. She has already shot with famed photographer Bruce Weber and recently was featured in Elle, Marie Claire, Surface and Madame Figaro. Paul Marciano, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of the Board along with Maurice Marciano, Chairman of the Board operate the powerhouse company founded in 1981.
Today, GUESS designs, markets and distributes full collections of women's, men's, and children's apparel, as well as accessories. Throughout the years, the GUESS image has been portrayed in unforgettable, innovative campaigns that have made the brand a household name. GUESS is distributed throughout the United States and Canada in fine department stores, its retail specialty and factory stores, and domestically on its online stores. GUESS has licensees and distributors in South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
GUESS by Marciano, the first brand extension from GUESS, Inc., follows suit in true GUESS style with apparel and accessories that are on the edge of the fashion forefront. This contemporary fashion-forward collection, designed for the trend conscious woman, is daringly sexy, yet has highly sophisticated style that represents pure glamour in everyday fashion. GUESS by Marciano designs, markets and distributes full collections of women's apparel as well as accessories.
