14:23
17:20
VALENTINO "SALA BIANCA 945" HAUTE COUTURE SHOW
17:20I should start off by saying that I had high expectations. Scratch that, I had ridiculously high expectations for the haute couture...
I should start off by saying that I had high expectations.
Scratch that, I had ridiculously high expectations for the haute couture
collection that Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli presented on
December 10th at the former Whitney Museum of American Art to celebrate the
opening of the new Valentino flagship store at 693 Fifth Avenue. As it very
often happens – remember, RIDICULOUSLY high – my expectations were not met, not
even close, but this does not mean that the 47-look collection that walked down
the runway wasn’t enjoyable or nice. And this is exactly the problem: lately
Valentino has given us plenty of perfectly nice, cute, ethereal looks and very
few “wow” pieces and I really miss those days. The show, titled “Sala Bianca
945”, was supposed to be an homage to
the first collection that Valentino himself presented at the Sala Bianca in
Florence in 1968 – a collection which included the dress that Jacqueline
Kennedy worn to get married to Aristotele Onassis- and then revisited
for his spring 2007 couture collection, therefore the all-white looks (with
just a bit of gold) and a recreation of sorts of the Sala Bianca in the Whitney
Museum. There were some interesting pieces, for instance a short, intricate,
Elizabethan tulle dress or a star- studded, short-sleeved coat, and the
gowns were beautiful, as expected, but all in all the collection just seemed an
all-white version of looks that we’ve already seen and come to expect from the
duo. The designers specified that they will still show at Paris’ Haute Couture
Fashion Week this coming January: I promise to keep my expectations low if they
promise to wow us.
Click inside to see the 10 Best Looks from the Collection and the moodboard!
19:37
VALENTINO HAUTE COUTURE SHOW IN NYC
19:37It seems that Valentino is in a New York state of mind and we could not be more excited! To celebrate the opening of their new st...
It seems that Valentino is in a
New York state of mind and we could not be more excited! To celebrate the
opening of their new store in The Big Apple, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo
Piccioli are going to create an exclusive, haute couture collection that is
going to be presented on December 11, 8 p.m. (New York time). Although the mood
for the collection has yet to be revealed, we might have been given a hint with this tweet that was posted on Valentino’s official page… what you think, is
magic in the air?
You can watch the collection live here
12:56
"REINCARNATION" THE NEW CHANEL FILM BY KARL LAGERFELD
12:56It premiered yesterday "Reincarnation", the new short film directed by Karl Lagerfeld to accompany the CHANEL Paris-Salzburg ...
It premiered yesterday
"Reincarnation", the new short film directed by Karl Lagerfeld to
accompany the CHANEL Paris-Salzburg 2014/15 Métier d'art collection show on
December 2nd, 2014 in Salzburg. The short film features Pharrell Williams - who
wrote and performed "CC The World", the score for this new film- Cara
Delavingne and Geraldine Chaplin, making her come back as Mademoiselle Chanel
after having already portrayed her in last year’s short film “The Return”. Once
again, Lagerfeld imagines a new moment from the designer’s life: in 1954 Gabrielle
Chanel is holidaying in Salzburg when she sees a jacket worn by a young
lift-boy that will later inspire the iconic Chanel jacket. "Reincarnation"
is the story of a lift attendant’s jacket being reincarnated as a timeless
piece of women’s wear," declares Lagerfeld. But it also is the story
of another reincarnation, the one of Empress Elizabeth of Austria and her husband,
Franz Joseph I, who, at the stroke of midnight, come back to life for one, last
magical dance.
Click inside to watch the short
film!
19:16
ALEXANDER WANG X H&M
19:16Ladies (and gentlemen, of course) gird your loins ‘cause THE day is almost here: in less than 48 hours the “Alexander Wang x H&M” co...
Ladies (and gentlemen, of course) gird your loins ‘cause THE day is almost here: in less than 48 hours the “Alexander Wang x H&M” collection will be available on line and in more than 250 stores across the world. To say that this collection is highly anticipated would be a huge understatement. Since first being announced in April, the latest H&M collaboration – the first featuring an American designer- has been on every fashionista’s mind, including ours! We finally got to see the full collection in October and we certainly weren’t disappointed: sporty, casual and effortless vibe mixed with super cool materials and textures, all in true Alexander Wang fashion. “This collection is made of pieces that can be worn both at the gym and in a club,” said the designer and that’s exactly what we are going to do!
Click inside for the complete lookbook and for the campaign video!
20:27
JOHN GALLIANO HEADS TO MARGIELA
20:27It seems like this time the rumor had it right! John Galliano is the new creative director at Maison Martin Margiela! The news was c...
It seems like this time the rumor
had it right! John Galliano is the new creative director at Maison Martin
Margiela! The news was confirmed today by OTB, Margiela’s parent company. “Margiela
is ready for a new charismatic creative soul,” said Renzo Rosso, president of
OTB. “John Galliano is one of the greatest, undisputed talents of all time — a
unique, exceptional couturier for a maison that always challenged and innovated
the world of fashion. I look forward to his return to create that fashion dream
that only he can create, and wish him to here find his new home.” In these last
few years Galliano, who has been Dior’s creative director from 1997 up to the
2011 controversy that lead to his resignation, has been keeping a low profile
and this marks his comeback to the fashion scene. And what a comeback! Galliano
will be responsible for all Margiela lines including women’s ready-to-wear and
couture. He’s going to make his runway debut for the house in January, during couture
week and we can’t wait to see which astonishingly visionary clothes this true fashion
genius is going to present!
20:42
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK - BEST SHOWS
20:42New York fashion week wrapped up just a few days ago. Click inside to find out the best shows!
New York fashion week wrapped up just a few days ago. Click inside to find out the best shows!
10:00
FASHION WEEK - PARIS
10:00September is here and while to many it means that the glorious days of summer are oh-too-soon gone to us fashion addicts it means only o...
September is here and while to many it means that the glorious days of summer are oh-too-soon gone to us fashion addicts it means only one thing: FASHION MONTH! For those of you who have absolutely no clue of what I’m talking about, Fashion Month is what we call the four fashion weeks (hence the name “Fashion Month”) that take place twice a year, September/October and February/ March, in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Unfortunately for us commoners, there is no way to actually attend the fashion shows without being invited, but over the last few years more and more designers have decided to live stream their fashion shows so that everyone could attend… at least in spirit!
From the 23rd of September to the 1st of October we have Paris' Fashion Week. Click inside to find the complete schedule and all the links to watch all the shows!
11:13
FASHION WEEK - MILAN
11:13September is here and while to many it means that the glorious days of summer are oh-too-soon gone to us fashion addicts it means only o...
September is here and while to many it means that the glorious days of summer are oh-too-soon gone to us fashion addicts it means only one thing: FASHION MONTH! For those of you who have absolutely no clue of what I’m talking about, Fashion Month is what we call the four fashion weeks (hence the name “Fashion Month”) that take place twice a year, September/October and February/ March, in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Unfortunately for us commoners, there is no way to actually attend the fashion shows without being invited, but over the last few years more and more designers have decided to live stream their fashion shows so that everyone could attend… at least in spirit!
From the 17th to the 22th of September we have Milan’s Fashion Week. Click inside to find the complete schedule and all the links to watch all the shows!
09:34
FASHION WEEK - LONDON
09:34September is here and while to many it means that the glorious days of summer are oh-too-soon gone to us fashion addicts it means only...
September is here and while to many it means that the glorious days of summer are oh-too-soon gone to us fashion addicts it means only one thing: FASHION MONTH! For those of you who have absolutely no clue of what I’m talking about, Fashion Month is what we call the four fashion weeks (hence the name “Fashion Month”) that take place twice a year, September/October and February/ March, in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Unfortunately for us commoners, there is no way to actually attend the fashion shows without being invited, but over the last few years more and more designers have decided to live stream their fashion shows so that everyone could attend… at least in spirit!
From the 12th to the 16th of September we have Milan’s Fashion Week. Click inside to find the complete schedule and all the links to watch all the shows!
11:25
FASHION WEEK - NEW YORK
11:25September is here and while to many it means that the glorious days of summer are oh-too-soon gone to us fashion addicts it means only...
September is here and while to many it means that the glorious
days of summer are oh-too-soon gone to us fashion addicts it means only one
thing: FASHION MONTH! For those of you who have absolutely no clue of what I’m
talking about, Fashion Month is what we call the four fashion weeks (hence the
name “Fashion Month”) that take place twice a year, September/October and February/
March, in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Unfortunately for us commoners, there
is no way to actually attend the fashion shows without being invited, but over
the last few years more and more designers have decided to live stream their
fashion shows so that everyone could attend… at least in spirit!
From the 4th to the 11th of September
we have New York’s Fashion Week. Click inside to find the complete schedule and
all the links to watch all the shows!
23:31
HAUTE COUTURE - DAY 3
23:31From left: Maison Martin Margiela, Elie Saab, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vionnet and Valentino
 |
| From left: Maison Martin Margiela, Elie Saab, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vionnet and Valentino |
01:13
HAUTE COUTURE - DAY 2
01:13From left: Chanel, Bouchra Jarrar, Ulyana Sergeenko, Armani Privé and Alexandre Vauthier
 |
| From left: Chanel, Bouchra Jarrar, Ulyana Sergeenko, Armani Privé and Alexandre Vauthier |
13:26
HAUTE COUTURE - DAY 1
13:26From left: Atelier Versace, Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Giambattista Valli and Alexis Mabille They say Haute Couture is dead. It fi...
 |
| From left: Atelier Versace, Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Giambattista Valli and Alexis Mabille |
They say Haute Couture is dead.
It first died in 1957 along with Christian Dior, one of the best and brightest
designers of his generation, who had single-handedly brought back to life
French fashion with his “new look” after the Second World War. It died again
with Yves Saint Laurent’s last show in 2002, when the designer – who had been
Christian Dior’s dauphin – forever left the runway and the fashion house that
he had created. The same happened in 2007 when Valentino, the last remaining
designer of that generation of couturiers who had shaped and formed our idea of
fashion and couture, retired after celebrating the 45th anniversary
of his label. It probably died again in 2008, when our economy was crashed by
yet another financial crisis and the few people who actually bought Haute
Couture became even rarer. Yet, here we are, still talking about couture, still
fascinated with its beauty, its construction, its impossibly elaborated fabrics,
still irremediably drawn by the unspoken promise that what we are about to
witness is indeed an art form, that those walking down the runway are not just
incredibly expensive clothes but art pieces. It’s this unspoken promise that
has proven to be Haute Couture’s driving force, the reason why, after more than
one-hundred years and countless so called “deaths”, Haute Couture still stands,
why, for the extent of twenty-something minute show, we gladly forget that what
is being presented doesn’t really have to do with most women’s modern life and
just enjoy the spell created by the designer. Couture week it’s not the time to
think how wearable that garment is or how much that other garment is going to
cost, it’s a time when the best designers in the world present us with
something to dream about so we should just close our eyes and start dreaming.
17:15
WORKING CLASS
17:15From left: A. Détacher, Alexis Mabille, Gianfranco Ferrè, Jason Wu, Lanvin, Stella McCartney First created in 1920 by Italian futu...
 |
| From left: A. Détacher, Alexis Mabille, Gianfranco Ferrè, Jason Wu, Lanvin, Stella McCartney |
First created in 1920 by Italian futurist artist Thayaht (his real name was Ernesto Michahelles) the “TuTa” was supposed to become “the most innovative, futuristic garment ever produced in the history of Italian fashion”. Its simple and clean lines made it perfect for both men and women, rich or poor, for work or for a cocktail party. The TuTa, as Thayaht envisioned it, was going to become the one and only garment a person was ever going to need, making all previous and future articles of clothing useless. Unfortunately, Thayaht’s plan was just a tad too big and his precious TuTa ended up becoming the uniform of the working class.
 |
| Jason Wu |
Thayaht’s vision wouldn’t be entirely accomplished if there wasn’t an overall even for a party but Lanvin and Zero Maria Cornejo are not about to let that happen: their shiny, comfy, metallic overalls make for the ultimate party garment. Moreover, the fact that even Valentino presented us with minimal, perfect, Valentino-style overalls might just mean that good, old Thay –yes, I refuse to write one more time a name that I can’t even manage to pronounce right- was right: the TuTa is the most innovative, futuristic garment ever produced.
20:07
BLOOMING SPRING
20:07From left: Alberta Ferretti, Marchesa, Mary Katrantzou, Dolce&Gabbana, Giambattista Valli, Christian Dior Flowers. Flowers in every...
 |
| From left: Alberta Ferretti, Marchesa, Mary Katrantzou, Dolce&Gabbana, Giambattista Valli, Christian Dior |
There must
be something about flowers in spring that really inspires designers because
this trend has been going on for quite a wile now – one of the best Miranda
Priestly quotes in the 2006 movie “The Devil Wears Prada” is “Florals? For spring?
Groundbreaking” - and it seems like it’s here to stay. I have to admit though
that, while the flower/spring combo might not be groundbreaking, it certainly
does make for a great and fun trend that can be interpreted in more ways than
one. Designers like Alberta Ferretti, Marchesa and Oscar de la Renta presented
us with the most exquisite, romantic and charming floral dresses that ever were,
making their woman look like an ethereal nymph while Mary Katrantzou, Mulberry
and Collette Dinnigan were ready toshake things up with their colorful and almost
cartoony take on this trend.
And if designers like Dolce&Gabbana,
Giambattista Valli, Monique Lhuillier and Marni were all for the pop-up effect
making it impossible for us not to notice the incredibly realistic flowers applied
to their creations, others chose a more subtle way to show their appreciation for
the mode. Christian Dior, Michael Van Der Ham, Preen and Stella McCartney proved
to us that bigger is not necessarily better by using small patterns that gave
the clothes an almost pointillist effect only in reverse: the more you got
close the more you understood what you were looking at!
Miranda Priestly might not be impressed with florals for spring, but I bet she would be impressed with these interpretations of the everlasting trend…I know I am.
 |
| Marni |
Miranda Priestly might not be impressed with florals for spring, but I bet she would be impressed with these interpretations of the everlasting trend…I know I am.
13:11
SIZEABLE FASHION
13:11“I really love these pants but I don’t know how they will fit!” How many times have you found yourself thinking this while trying...
“I really love these pants but I
don’t know how they will fit!”
How many times have you found
yourself thinking this while trying to buy on-line? Well, I did… many times!
While buying on-line can be great for accessories, bags and shoes it can become
tricky when sizes are involved. You can never be 100% sure that what you are
buying will fit you just like it fits the model in the picture (unless you have
a model-like body… in that case just consider yourself extremely lucky!) and
more times than not you end up not buying anything all together in fear that
what you bought will not fit you. Well, ladies fear no more because an Australian
on-line store has come to our rescue changing the rules of on-line buying! The website,
called Sizeable (www.sizeable.com.au),
presents six different models all with different sizes and bodytipes from which
you can choose from to know exactly how the clothes you are buying will fit you.
For the moment, the newborn website doesn’t offer a wide variety of clothes,
but I’m sure that in no time it will become one of the best on-line stores. I’m
ready to start buying… what about you?
17:20
WRITE IT OUT LOUD
17:20From left: Alexander Wang, Christopher Kane, JC de Castelbajac, Christian Dior, Kenzo, Rebecca Minkoff Once upon a time wearing cl...
 |
| From left: Alexander Wang, Christopher Kane, JC de Castelbajac, Christian Dior, Kenzo, Rebecca Minkoff |
Once upon a time wearing clothes that had labels or other writings on was ok, fashionable even, then, somewhere between my eleventh birthday and the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”, the fashion wind blew in another direction and this trend was soon forgotten. In the years that followed some like Moschino, Dolce&Gabbana, Maison Martin Margiela and Dsquare, tried to bring it back, but they all failed miserably until one day, one of the brightest designers in the fashion kingdom, Alexander Wang, got everyone dangerously excited for his labeled T-shirts. Designers like Raf Simons, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and Christopher Kane were quick to follow in his footsteps and from that glorious September day finding a simple, plain, white T-shirt became close to impossible while numbers, pictures, quotes and labels flourished on every possible fashion item. The trend, in fact, hasn’t limited itself to T-shirts, hoodies and dresses but has also taken over bags, hats and every other kind of accessory. While a quote here or there is always needed, I remember what it was like when logos where all the rage back in the days and I can assure you that it ended up not being so pretty. To those of you who are already in despair I can only say that my twenty-first birthday is not that far away and that there have been rumors about a possible sequel of “The Devil Wears Prada” movie; who knows, maybe the fashion wind will soon blow in another direction…
00:46
MET GALA 2014 - BEST DRESSED
00:46Every year the MET’s Costume Center – or “The Anna Wintour Costume Center” as it’s going to be called from now on- and Vogue team up to ...
Every year the MET’s Costume Center – or “The Anna Wintour Costume Center” as it’s going to be called from now on- and Vogue team up to host a gala to celebrate the year’s fashion exhibit and gather funds for the museum. In this single night, everybody who is anybody is called to attend what has become the biggest fashion event of the season. Each year, a different theme inspires the exhibition and this year’s theme was Charles James. For those of you who don’t know, Charles James was a British designer who then moved to America in the late ’20’s and became “America’s First Couturier”. His creations mostly consisted in sculptural and articulated ball gowns and have inspired designers like Cristobal Balenciaga, Christian Dior and, more recently, Zac Posen. In honor of James’s esthetic, this year’s dress code was “white tie” meaning that men had to wear top hat and tails and women ball gowns. I clearly remember complaining about the lack of voluminous ball gowns at the Academy Awards and apparently fashion’s god (a.k.a. Anna Wintour) heard my prayer because at monday night's Met Gala there were ball gowns galore! Arizona Muse, Taylor Swift, Hailee Steinfeld, Emmy Rossum, Claire Danes, Suki Waterhouse and many more braved the infamous MET’s staircase in gorgeous, Jamesesque ball gowns and impossibly long trains, but it was co-chair, Sarah Jessica Parker’s Oscar de la Renta gown that wowed me. Granted, maybe the hair was a tad too much, but the dress was impeccable with its full skirt, signed train and even a touch of Charles James’s iconic Clover Leaf ball gown; besides, you know what they say, go big or go home and SJP definitely went big! If some, like Zac Posen (and myself) were thrilled with this theme, others weren’t so much. When asked what Charles James meant to him, Tom Ford jokingly said “it means big dresses you cannot get close to! Women could not get pregnant in a Charles James dress. I’m serious! I keep trying to kiss these women and it (the dress) makes you automatically bow”. Tom Ford wasn’t the only one to have some difficulties with the dress code. Actresses like Rosamund Pike, Michelle Williams, and Elizabeth Olsen wore short dresses while Cara Delavigne, Kristen Wiig, Amber Valletta and Janelle Monàe opted for more comfortable looks with a touch of drama, choosing to wear pants instead of the required dress. One look that had people talking was for sure Lupita Nyong’o’s breezy netted Prada dress: personally, I didn’t like the dress or the accessories, but Lupita’s attitude was so laid back and happy that it made me like the outfit a little bit more. Between so many amazing looks, it really was a struggle to choose the best ones and, even though I liked many outfits per se – see Emma Stone’s beautiful hot pink Thakoon two-piece dress- I chose the ones that tried to stick to the dress code while still looking incredibly good and adding a little twist to it!
11:57
THINK PINK
11:57From left : Prabal Gurung, Giles, Matthew Williamson, Chanel, John Galliano, House of Holland “To the women of America” no, make it ...
 |
| From left : Prabal Gurung, Giles, Matthew Williamson, Chanel, John Galliano, House of Holland |
“To the women of America” no,
make it to the women everywhere “banish the black, burn the blue and bury the
beige. From now on girls THINK PINK”.
No, it isn’t an official message from the
White House and no, I haven’t gone mad (yet). This is taken from the editorial
that Maggie Prescott, editor-in-chief of Quality magazine, wrote in 1957 in the
Audrey Hepburn/ Fred Astaire musical “Funny Face” but it might as well have
been written by Anna Wintour, Franca Sozzani, Alexandra Shulman or any of the
other editor-in-chief of any fashion
magazine nowadays because that’s exactly what we must do. One of the biggest
trends this season is, in fact, pink. Pink in all its shades: from light pink,
to hot pink, from amaranth to fuchsia, from baby pink to Barbie pink, you name
it.
 |
| Giorgio Armani |
.jpg)
21:59
THE GLAMOUR OF ITALIAN FASHION (IN LONDON)
21:59It features more than 100 pieces of clothing and accessories that showcase the beauty, richness and, most importantly, glamour of ...
It features more than 100 pieces
of clothing and accessories that showcase the beauty, richness and, most
importantly, glamour of Italian fashion the exhibition that opens tomorrow at
the Victoria and Albert Museum of London. Curated by Sonnet Stanfill, the
exhibition follows the evolution of Italian fashion through the last seven
decades: from the first, iconic catwalk show organized by Giovanni Battista
Giorgini in the “Sala Bianca” at Palazzo Pitti, Florence in 1952 -which effectively
propelled Italy onto the world stage-
 |
| 1952, "Sala Bianca" Palazzo Pitti, Florence |
 |
| Exhibition |
00:06
86TH ACADEMY AWARDS - BEST DRESSED
00:06In my short life as a nineteen year old I have a few certainties, (not many, but I do): the sun will come up every day and go down eve...
In my short life as a nineteen year old I have a few certainties, (not many, but I do): the sun will come up every day and go down every night, there’s no “mean red” that can’t be fixed with a bunch of good old comfort food and there can’t be an Oscar red carpet without at least one princess gown. Apparently, certainties are not what they used to be because during Sunday’s March the 2nd red carpet not a single princess gown was to be seen. Maybe it’s because of the recession and four extra yards of fabric were just too expensive, maybe nobody wanted to risk a repeat of last year Jennifer Lawrence’s fall or maybe they finally realized that sitting on those small seats for four hours with a ball gown it’s not the smartest choice in the world. Regardless, all the women on the year’s most prestigious red carpet wore fitted, plain dresses that struck for their disarming simplicity. From Amy Adam’s sexy, blue, navy gown to Anne Hathaway’s dazzling Gucci dress, all the way through Kate Hudson’s statuesque Atelier Versace and Jennifer Lawrence’s ever-present red Christian Dior gown stars opted for more rigid, simpler, safer but not any less elegant and lovely gowns than previous years. The person who got closer to fulfill my certainties was Lupita Nyong’o, the “12 Years a Slave” actress who took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, in a baby blue (or, as Lupita would call it, Nairobi blue) custom made Prada gown that was something in between Cinderella’s ball gown and a Greek goddess peplos dress. Then there were those who, like Cate Blanchett in her fairy-tale Armani Privé, went as far as opting for an A-line skirt, but nothing more: monochrome, straight and fitted seemed to be the unspoken rule for this unexpected yet fascinating red carpet. Here are the stars who proved to possess not only talent but even style.
