Sophie Theallet wins CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund

Photo credit: Getty Images (via Harper's Bazaar)

This photograph of Michelle Obama in a Sophie Theallet dress took the designer from fashion insider secret to, if not a household name, then a name that opened fashion doors worldwide.



And, if dressing America's most photographed woman wasn't enough for her this year, tonight she was named winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which brings with it $200,000 and a year’s worth of mentoring. (To give you an idea of its influence, wunderkind Alexander Wang won last year, & Proenza Schouler picked up the award in its inaugural year, 2006)



Sophie Theallet's atelier may now be based in Brooklyn, but her roots and training are wholly French. Born in the South West of France, the only girl amongst five brothers, she was a tomboy who dreamt of princesses in beautiful gowns. She trained at Le Studio Bercot in Paris, graduating a year early when she won the National Young Designer Award



Although she’s best known for the decade spent at Azzedine Alaïa’s right hand, she worked first for Jean-Paul Gaultier and, after Alaïa, set up a resort line, Motu Tane, with François Nars, and named after his Tahitian resort, which was enormously successful.

In the Spring of 2006 she launched her Sophie Theallet label in NY, which has become known for its exquisite detailing, a direct link to her years with Alaia. But, lest you think this means her collections speak to a body con aesthetic, Theallet describes her signature as ‘bohemian luxe seen through the eyes of a sophisticated couturier’. What that translates to is eminently desirable, grown up clothing, which flatters a woman's body as only a combination of exceptional skill and training can do.


All other photos from Sophie Theallet SS10 via style.com

The DKNY Cozy

I first saw one of these almost exactly three years ago when the ever chic JD from Show Me Your Wardrobe turned up at Heathrow for a Halloween trip we took to New York before moving over here.

She has the art of travelling down to a T. She's always swathed in beige & cream cashmere & wool, pants tucked into sheepskin boots, hair tied loosely up, looking like she gets upgraded just by existing. I follow in her effortlessly chic wake, dropping my passport & boarding pass, trailing wraps & shawls, arms full of magazines & water bottle, feeling cosseted by her professional traveller shtick.

When I saw her wrapped in her DKNY cozy, essentially a long sleeved cardigan, short and fitted at the back, long and flowing at the front, I immediately wanted one. I hoped it would confer on me the same kind of traveller style that had evaded me up to that point.

But I didn't get round to trying one on until my mother came to Manhattan a year later for her annual Christmas shopping expedition. We wandered into the Midtown flagship store and there, just by the door, was a rail of cashmere cozys emitting a subliminal siren's call. They weren't cheap but they looked great on her. I flexed my press discount; she bought one for herself and, a day later in the DKNY store on Broadway she bought me one too in black merino.

It's perfect: I wrap it around my body under my coat when it snows here in midwinter. I wear it loosely over LBDs when I don't want to reveal my curves at work cocktails, drape it around my torso to look chic with pants and, finally, wear it over a T shirt on planes when I want to look like I, too, might just deserve an upgrade.

Black Merino Wool Long Sleeve Cozy $160 from DKNY.com

Object of desire: Norman Norell Little Black Dresses

1960s Norman Norell LBD $1000 from Katy Kane (via 1stdibs.com)
Apart from its utter chic, and the fact that Normal Norell can be considered the American equivalent of the French Golden Age couturiers, the hidden detailing on this classic piece make it worth the investment. The belt, which appears to be a decorative element with two large black buttons, actually "disappears" inside the dress, where it closes with hooks and eyes at the center back, just under the zipper. This is not the only hidden design element in this dress, the low gathered skirt conceals a narrow fitted skirt underneath with a kick pleat at the center back.



1950s Norman Norell for LBD $950 from Katy Kane (via 1stdibs.com)
A narrow satin band at the hemline is used to create the pouf or bubble look of the skirt at its hem.The vendor describes it as a pouf dress, but it is more accurate to describe it as Watteau backed.

More on Norman Norell here

Getting carried away: A studio visit with accessories designer Sang A

Back in May, Carine Roitfeld told The Guardian (UK): "You know, I think as you get older, the snake is more chic than the leopard." She happened to be wearing a pair of Margiela python boots, but her mantra applies just as well to the delectable python bags from accessories designer Sang A.

The bags have that rare combination of immaculately well-made good looks and neat solutions, (detachable chains, deceptively & beautifully lined interiors, and well thought out clasps).

Sang A didn't start out dreaming of making bags. Far from it. With a background as a highly trained dancer, she spent her early twenties in Korea as a successful singer & actress, with three albums to her name. Although she had styled her own videos, it wasn't until she moved to New York, and signed up to study at Parsons that she moved across to the fashion industry.

(Sang A in her studio). Since the launch of her eponymous collection for Spring 06, she has specialised in bags made in both exotic skins (croc, ostrich & python) and leather, all of which are manufactured traditionally in Italy.

I've carried her bags at events:

(yup, those are my stubby fingers) and included them in editorial but never had time, until last week, to visit her studio to see the collection in its entirety.

Hidden away in a building in the heart of New York's SoHo, the studio is the accessories equivalent of a candy store:

These bags are the Jade clutches, (starting from $982 for leather, and available in alligator, python & ostrich). Big enough for more than just a $20 bill & a lipstick, they make great evening bags. As Sang A told me, "I carry around three data devices, so I always design my bags to fit these at least." They work equally well during the day for the same reason: they fit plenty of stuff, not just pared down essentials, without looking like an urban survival kit's been crammed inside.
Of course there's more to see than just enchanting evening bags. Intelligent women will appreciate the chic backpack styles (next season's big thing), which include removable exotic exterior shells so they can be worn in several different ways, which makes for a sensible return on what can be a hefty fiscal investment.

I'm inexorably drawn towards a table of her Migration Duffel (the cream & yellow Degrade bag $1895 in the foreground is from her latest collection) & Cine bags.

This is the Cine Bag in hand waxed rustic grey python. An investment piece through and through at $4749, it looks substantial, yet is unexpectedly light, as I discovered when I started getting carried away.

The detailing is perfect, from the simple magnetic clasps

to the capacious, easy to use open wide interior, with its pretty polka dot print lining (a Sang A trademark), and sensible pockets.

If these prices have you choking into your cocoa, rest assured that the entry level prices for Sang A's bags are distinctly more achievable. These delicious Python Pouch bags are $484.


and these striking card cases start at $209:

But my current lust after pieces from the collection are her series of parallelogram shaped Flash bags, especially this one in Bronze Mirror leather at $695:

Sang A is stocked in the following stores, amongst many others: Augustina in London, Vivre online and Kirna Zabete in New York. A full list of stockists can be found here and her online store is here.

The perfect swimsuit: Ginger's Island custom swimwear

I've been obsessed with finding the perfect swimwear ever since I started my first job and could afford to look further than the High Street. Blessed with a very small back (32) and a very, very large front (fluctuating between F & GG), I had been reduced to wearing Speedo tanks, purely because I could shovel myself into them.

Swimsuits are a problem as ones without cups aren't an option (too much wobble), and off the rack standard ones with cups are never, ever big enough on top in my size. As for bikinis, it's only recently that you could buy tops & bottoms separately, but that hasn't solved my problem because bikinis that fit my front are at least a UK 16-18 & so are always way too loose at the back.

Working on the theory that boob jobs and curves were more prevalent in Miami, I did once find a bikini that fitted in South Beach, but it was wetlook, Brazilian cut on the bottom & downright pervy on top. I never had the balls to wear it in public. (My girlfriends referred to it as my pornstar bikini).

I was charged to buy one for an equally well-endowed best friend who had better remain nameless. She never managed to get further than the bedroom door in it as her husband pounced every time she wore it. Effective but not so useful for swimming purposes.

I have tried all the retailers who now sell bra sized swimwear but it has a tendency to look like underwear not swimwear, with a bias towards pastel prints. And anything above an F is very very limited in range.

The Queen's corsetiere's Rigby & Peller is often cited as THE shop for properly fitted lingerie & swimwear. When I was a 32E I did find an expensive, very dull but useful black halterneck bikini but everything else there was (and is) way too granny or just plain hideous, and they have hardly anything above a 32F.

Then a couple of years ago Tara & I went on a mission to chic swimwear retailerHeidi Klein & I dropped a mind-blowing £140 on their own label, absolutely perfect, hidden underwire string bikini - my holy grail. And then promptly went up a cup size, beyond their sizing. (Useless website for larger breasted women tho as you can't search by size, and few of their pieces go beyond a D, so you have to check every style to see what size it comes in.)

I know many people swear by Bravissimo, but I find it all a bit frumpy, with lots of huge boulder holder tops yet worryingly skimpy bottoms, and they never have quite the right combination of colour & style for me. Large size bra specialists Freya & Fantasie do interesting swimwear & are worth a look through sites like Figleaves, but there's nothing there that looks like it will work for my figure or that has ever induced me to spend $100 on a suit.

So, still no swimwear that fitted.

And then I discovered the miracle that it is Ginger's Island.

Whether you want a bondage style bandeau suit, a modestly cut costume with skirt, a classic tank or a string bikini, have two water balloons attached to your front or are flat as a pancake, California-based custom swimwear company Ginger's Island can help you custom fit swimwear to your body and in your choice of colour, pattern & finish. And, if you have a particular style in mind that isn't just a case of a small adjustment to a current style, they can also, for an additional cost, create a pattern just for you. They aren't cheap: the average suit comes in at around $150 (still substantially less than their competitors), but they fit perfectly and that's got to be better than having five badly made suits in your drawers.

Don't let the slightly tacky website design put you off: the product is fantastic, and the customer support is exceptionally good, possibly the best I've ever dealt with both professionally and personally. They also use real, older women as the models, which is fantastic and extremely unusual for a swimwear site, and a lot more helpful for the prospective buyer than seeing swimwear being modelled by whippet-thin 16 year olds, (although some of the lovely ladies do look a little alarming in a mane of hair, Baywatch kind of way.)

With 49 different types of bikini bottoms, from thongs to hipster board skorts (no, I don't know either), 62 tops from bandeaus to a crisscross back full tankini, 14 swimsuits, 37 different skirt, sarong, sundress & cover-up options, all of which are made to measure, and more fabric selections than I've ever seen:




(This is a compilation of just some of the options, which includes plain colours too) I have absolutely no idea how anyone comes to a final decision.

They cover girls' sizes (2 mos. to 14 years), adult sizes (0 - 24) and cup sizes A - J, and happily send out fitting samples worldwide (for free if you purchase!) to your exact measurements, and fabric swatches too. If you need padding they offer three different types of cup pad, including silicone, and everything is properly lined, especially important in a pale or print suit.

I orderedthis style as my basic template:



When ordering, they ask for seven separate body measurements to put together the first fit samples, which arrived within ten days. The parcel included several suits with different cup styles to accommodate different breast shapes, and I was fascinated to see how some of them didn't fit at all, even though they were the correct cup size.

Once the samples arrive, it's a matter of calling their brilliant fit team, who have masses of experience, and talking through any changes. The basic suit shape worked very well for me, but I needed a higher leg, the waist taking in, & wanted to add a couple of amendments to their design to better fit & flatter my body shape.

I have a nice back (as opposed to my horrid tummy), so I wanted the reverse to be scooped out more, lowering it by a couple of inches.

Halternecks are the most flattering for all chest types: they give a little lift to smaller fronts, and support over-sized breasts. Bra style straps can often result in swaying bosoms as the support in a swimsuit, even with an underwire, isn't comparable to a proper bra. So, on our 'phone consultation, I asked for the bra straps to be converted to a tie neck. This also gives the visual impression of smaller breasts as the eye is drawn to the narrow neck area by the straps rather than to the width of the shoulders. (Strangely this isn't the case with smaller breasts: they benefit from the added volume added by bringing the breasts closer together.)

I wanted to lose the bra back too, but the incredibly helpful & well-informed girl on the other end of the 'phone was dubious, pointing out that the lower back & halter combination meant that my erm, ample, breasts might well escape out the sides without the back strap to pull it all in. This made complete sense, so I stayed with the adjustable bra back.

Although I flirted with the idea of a polka dot costume, I went for a plain French navy as this would be my everyday suit and I wanted it to be a building block for my summer wardrobe.

The finished result:





It may not look particularly exciting but it fits me immaculately: it doesn't look like reinforced underwear, it doesn't ride up, (so no wedgies) as the coverage is perfect on my lower half, my breasts fit into the cups with no chafing or spillage, yet is plunging enough to be sexy whilst giving me plenty of support. Perfection.

Obie Accessories: How to make your hair the star of the show

Breaking into the fashion industry is almost impossible. It takes not just talent but guts, tenacity, exposure and a healthy dose of luck. This makes it extremely important for fashion editors to support new & upcoming designers, not just the advertiser brands, by writing, shooting and, hopefully, wearing their collections.

Of course I don't want to wear a lot of the collections I support, so it’s immensely satisfying when I do find something I really love AND that I want to order. And that was the case when I met Honor & Natasha, the charming girls behind new hair accessories label Obie Accessories.



Based in Los Angeles, their fledgling business is based around handmade bejeweled, feathered and flower adorned clips and bands. Sure, I see plenty of pieces like these, but what drew me to Obie was their attention to detail, (even the backs of the clips are jewelled),



and that I can see a gap in the market for what they do at their price point, which is less than say Tarina Tarantino’s. And, of course, there’s the Gossip Girl effect. Blair’s penchant for Brooklyn based Jennifer Behr’s hair bands has seen hair accessories take an enormous rise in popularity over the past couple of seasons.

We met at Honor’s home in Laurel Canyon, as she & Natasha were shooting the images for their first look book.




My magpie eye caught their blue crystal clips, and they sent me one in New York. It makes such a difference when postal orders arrive in pretty packages, and Obie go the extra mile, with a crystal securing the carton in which their clips are packed, and a little handwritten tag swinging from the handle.





Thank you girls: I shall look forward to wearing it.

Marios Schwab to move to Halston & to New York

Marios Schwab, one of London’s design darlings, was today named Design Director at Halston, following in the not entirely successful footsteps of relaunch designer, Marco Zanini. He will present his frst collection for the house for Fall 2010.

When Halston relaunched in New York for Fall 2008 (at the Feb 08 collections) to much fanfare with the fiscal backing of Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo and of The Weinstein Group, with input from Rachel Zoe, much was expected. In a first for a designer label, Net a Porter introduced an online exclusive of two of the key Halston runway looks, which were made available immediately after the show. They sold out.

Unfortunately the people who really mattered, the critics, were underwhelmed, and US retailers weren’t enthused, with Zanini's refusal to play to Halston’s design heritage cited as the reason for smaller than expected orders. (He produced a collection consisting of two thirds daywear pieces, rather than the expected eveningwear more commonly associated with the label, and refused to utilize the extensive Halston archive.)

By the summer when Zanini exited the label, rumors were swirling that Zoe was disenchanted with the label, after she failed to attend the inaugural collection, and there were little or no appearances by Zoe’s celeb clientele in Halston on the red carpet.

Zanini resurfaced at Rochas last November, but Halston remained rudderless until today’s appointment. Although Olivier Theyskens was rumoured to be a contender, the lack of sales of his critically acclaimed collections for Nina Ricci were unlikely to appeal to Halston.

Schwab, whose family comes from a bra manufacturing background, is known for his body conscious and detailed designs, which often focus on eveningwear. His brand of intelligent 21st century slink which sometimes seems to reference early 90’s Versace could be just the route that Halston needs to take into the future, whilst respecting the house’s past.

Halston, meanwhile, have listened to the retailers whose main criticism of Zanini’s two collections was the lack of Halston DNA. The label will attempt to cover its fiscal back with the Spring 2010 launch of the Halston Heritage collection. Featuring reproductions of archival Halston looks, it will speak directly to those retailers looking for recognizable Halston pieces at mid-range prices (thought to be comparable to Marc by Marc).

Special Christina Oxenberg dress discount for LLG readers!

So many of you left lusting after comments regarding the utterly brilliant Oxenberg Wiggle dress that I got in touch with the designer, Christina Oxenberg, to see if she would be interested in selling the dress directly to my readers, as apparently it is now sold out for the season in the stores that bought it.

I’m happy to say she thought it was a great idea and, even better, she has suggested a special LLG discount.

The dress normally retails for $500, but as her stocks of this style are now somewhat depleted, she is offering it at a 50% discount for $250 (plus standard postage) to you all. The dress comes in grey & in espresso brown in S, M & L. (I am a pretty average UK14/US 10 and I wear the large.)

If you are interested, please email Christina at wooldomination@gmail.com. Stocks are limited, so please include your first & second colour choices and size required and she will see what she has in stock.

(The offer does not include the matching bolero jacket, but do ask Christina if you are interested in purchasing it also.)

Newsflash: Geren Ford IS a woman

I'm a hack. Of course being a brilliant one, I try not to make factual errors. But generally, if I do, they get weeded out by my editors. If they miss them, then subs fact check rigorously, & then make squiggly marks all over the page proofs to highlight my idiocy. And, even if something misses their eagle eyes, then there are dummies & page proofs & chromalins & all the myriad versons of a mag that float around the office being read by editorial & art & production before it goes to print.

So someone please explain to me why no one at British Vogue noticed that, in the January 08 issue, American designer Geren Ford is described as being male? She can't be too chuffed that they have decided that fashion designers had better just be men...

A Manhattan birthday

If I had to plan my perfect birthday party, then Thursday would probably have been it. I’ve never, ever been a fan of the restaurant/dancing model in London. It’s expensive: at least £150/$300 by the time you’ve paid for dinner, drinks & taxis, and the scene is so fragmented that any feeling of an intimate evening slides away, especially once you’ve had to engage with travelling half way across the city to get from a good restaurant to a half way decent club, one that isn't filled with drunk Royals, trustafarians, City boys, vomiting teens or sleezebag men.

Here it’s a completely different story. Manhattan is so tiny that you can walk from place to place, at worst hop in a $10 cab for a fifteen minute journey. Venues have a better mix of customers, as it’s cheaper to eat out, so good, stylish restaurants don't have that curiously London clientele: Russians, hedge funders and your parents' contemporaries. Frankly, Manhattan is just more fun, younger, hipper & cheaper(so long as you avoid the weekends).

I postponed my partying as L flew in from London the day after my birthday and I wanted to celebrate with her. So I invited fifteen friends to Soho House in Meatpacking on Thursday for pre-supper drinks from 7-9pm. L & I managed to arrive on time, & bagged the three over-sized squishy velvet sofas under the Ron Arad anglepoise installation in the middle of the Drawing Room, ordered Champagne for all, and hoped people would turn up. (Hipsters may raise a sardonic eyebrow at SH, but hell, there's plenty of room, the drinks are good, and you don't HAVE to talk to the i-bankers.)

And, thank goodness, everyone came. The boys looked a little over-whelmed at the sheer volume of ravishing females in stunning frocks. Then again, not unexpected as it was a fashion heavy gathering, including the beautiful designer Francoise Olivas (check out her wonderful collection here), and the girls behind Heidi Klein, in town to meet editors.

Seven bottles later, I staggered off with five girlfriends to Morandi in the West Village for supper at 10pm. Part of the usually dismal McNally stable (Pastis, Balthazar), the food here is actually good, and the wine list better than. There was a snapper in from New York Mag who cldn't keep his lenses away from the girls all through the meal.

We ate bruschetta with super fresh mozzarella di bufala, & a dish of fried olives. Nearly everybody had the special: a chicken liver risotto and I had a double order of the appetizer special: artichokes, peppers, more of that creamy mozzarella, tomatoes. Simple food, perfectly done, washed down with quite a lot of a very good Dolcetta d'Alba.

Half way through my gorgeous friend Christina arrived with a stupendous present for me: a wonderful, light as a feather, cream cash-llama scarf from her latest Oxenberg collection.

After blowing out the birthday candle on my chocolate hazelnut torta (thank you girls) we bundled up (did I mention it was snowing?) and walked through the narrow, tree-lined streets of the Victorian West Village to the Beatrice Inn for very naughty shenanigans.

Hidden away between some brownstones, at the top of the metal stairway to the basement entrance, the bouncers gave us the usual Beatrice line, “Whose party are you here for?”. The only obvious answer was, ‘mine’. After a beat they waved the five of us downstairs, where we found a large china greyhound to stash the coats & presents behind.

Beatrice, owned by Chloe Sevigny’s brother Paul, is a down & dirty dive bar & club with just two rooms filled with furniture & pictures seemingly scavenged from a carboot sale by a blind man, a tiny bar, and a pocket handkerchief dance floor & DJ booth in a grubby back room.

The hangers out are models, rockers, actors, film makers, hedge funders pretending to be rockers, and generally creative people pretending they aren’t enormously successful. There’s just one loo (with a useful-looking wooden table in the corner), everyone smokes like chimneys, and the music is a just-up-my-street mix of Pulp, The Clash, classics like Spirit in the Sky, and the dance music we jumped around to in the early 90s.

After flirting, smoking, drinking and a lot of dancing (flailing?), we tumbled out into the cold at 4.30am when the place closed. M was wobbling like a new-born foal on her super high heels so we found a nice boy to prop her up and we all walked back through the narrow streets to Perry to see her safely home.

In between dropping M & then CA off on W10th, I managed to get thoroughly kissed on a street corner by J, a very tipsy boy we had met earlier in Beatrice, who insisted on walking L & I back to the East Village. It’s always good to have a sherpa to carry one’s birthday presents, even if one does shut the door in his face on arrival with no, um, tip. (He so knew that was going to happen).

And oh dear, the hangovers the next day. (Lola, darling, however did you manage to get to work?)

I wore: the shortest ever black washed silk V neck, cropped sleeve tunic, with black matt 80 denier opaque Wolfords & my vertiginous black patent dominatrix Pierre Hardy platforms heels (so comfy I danced for three hours and then walked home in them), and a huge Giles gold studded black plastic bracelet. Bright pink lipstick and lots of messy blonde hair.

Nicholas K

This Benoit Trench in heavyweight cotton by Nicholas K is the second piece I picked up from Lucky Shops (another bargain - $80 from $350). I've always liked their collections: there's meticulous attention to detail, clean sillhouettes, and great fabrics. It has a very European look, with a more sophisticated feel than many other American lines at this price point. The Fall 07 collection is particularly strong, with especially desirable knits and coats.

Nicholas K doesn't yet have distribution in the UK, but is stocked at Caravan, Saks & Big Drop amongst other in Manhattan.These images are from online boutique






Benoit trench picture from I Heart Luxe

Geren Ford

The lovely girl behind The Glam Guide gave me a pair of tickets to Lucky Shops on Saturday. It's a huge sample sale/end of season clearance in Chelsea branded by Lucky magazine.

I picked up this navy blue washed silk, inverted pleat dress from Geren Ford for $100 - which was especially pleasing, considering it's currently selling for $304 on shopbop.com

I haven't really paid much attention to Geren Ford before, but it's an all American, easy breezy line of clothes in relaxed shapes, mainly in washed silk. Geren Lockhart worked in advertising for twelve years before giving it all up to pursue her dream of designing her own fashion line, which launched in 2002.

Picture: shopbop.com

A weekend of excess

Back to New York after three weeks on location and Miss P’s wedding. Last week I unpacked and settled into my new quarters, a fourth floor walk up on St Mark’s in the East Village. (I foresee hamstrings of steel in less than a month.) On Thursday I spent a very enjoyable three hours between The Container Store & Bed, Bath and Beyond on Sixth – I swear these stores are like crack for the 30-something – buying shelving, boxes, special hangers, and cosmetic organisers. Sheer bliss.

And then my social life kicked off with a vengeance: Friday was drinks in the East Village with an English writer, NC, over here on assignment, and a long boozey (almost inedible) supper on the Roof at Soho House, swapping dating horror stories with J&L and their glam actress friend A. Rather the worse for wear I jumped in a cab back to the East Village at 1am for delicious cocktails with SE at Death & Co, possibly my favourite speakeasy bar in Manhattan.

Saturday was a late lunch at her UWS apt with Christina Oxenberg (I can’t decide if I love her more for finding me & my hangover a Flake & a packet of Smarties or for letting me play dress up in her AW collection), followed by a two mile walk through Central Park and down Madison to check out the new season’s collections.

Supper was at Sip Sak, a mediocre Turkish in Midtown with an old friend Stephane and his Euro crowd. Then we cabbed it to EuroCentral (the seriously overrated Soho bistro Felix) for a nightcap. I walked the mile & a half home through the raucous crowds celebrating the feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy & Nolita – alone. Sunday was a long brunch in the East Village with SE at Yaffa, and a bike ride round the neighbourhood to try to work off the excessive amounts of food I ate all weekend.(Although none of it was very good. New York may be known for plentiful restaurants but I have only had one or two meals I would actually recommend since I arrived.)

Peter Som appointed at Bill Blass

Wonderful Peter Som had been appointed Creative Director, Women's Division at Bill Blass. I'm a huge fan of him & his fab team as readers of this blog will already know. But whilst I am thrilled for him, Blass is only stocked in the US, and so the shows don't really receive coverage in the European press. So, he'll gain valuable experience, and a nice pay packet to help his House along, but it won't do much to raise his international profile outside of the industry.

Finalists announced for CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2007

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has announced the 10 finalists of its CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2007:
Phillip Lim for 3.1 Phillip Lim
Scott Sternberg for Band of Outsiders
Erin Fetherston for Fetherston Design Group
Nunthirat Koi Suwannagate for Koi
Michael Bastian for Michael Bastian
Philip Crangi for Philip Crangi Jewellery
Rogan Gregory for Rogan
Gabriel AsFour, Angela Donhauser and Adi Gil for Threeasfour
Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai for Vena Cava
Victoria Bartlett for VPL.

Image: Anouck Lepere in AW07 3.1 Phillip Lim. style.com

Valentino invests in Proenza Schouler

WGSN reports today that Valentino Fashion Group has bought a 45% stake, via a capital increase of $3.7m, in women's fashion label Proenza Schouler in a move designed to support its international expansion. They plan to work with existing management, and reconfirmed Shirley Cook as Proenza Schouler chief executive.

Industry movements

Tommy Hilfiger continues to attempt to ramp up its UK presence with the appointment of Carmen Haid, previously at Céline, as their in-house Director of Communications. It's a huge client loss for The Communications Store, (not that I'm weeping on their behalf).

Hilfiger have tried on several occasions to break the UK, but their UK flagship store on New Bond Street which opened to great fanfare in 1998, was forced to shut after high costs & disappointing sales proved insurmountable. The brand is perceived as just that: a brand without any real fashion credibility, so UK fashion magazines tend to only run Hilfiger pieces as bait/reward for a piece of Hilfiger's HUGE ad budget.

Since the brand's takeover in the first half of 2006, Hilfiger have opened anchor stores in Paris, Prague, Florence and, in December 06, on London's Regent Street.

It'll be interesting to see if Carmen can make this work.

Field in the city

Patricia Field has a Siamese cat called Carrie, two poodles called Sultana & Putana who sat on my lap during our interview &, yes, she really does have bright red hair.

Unfortunately that's about all I can tell you as I have signed a contract banning me from discussing any part of our interview for the next six months...so sorry, no dish for y'all.

Calvin Klein 'model presentation' Fall 07

Thoughts after the Calvin Klein static ‘model presentation’ for AW07 today. ( BTW model presentation did mean exactly that: a stepped, almost ceiling high pyramid in the middle of a show space with about thirty male & female models in Calvin clothes artfully arranged on the various levels, looking bored senseless for the two hour duration of the 'presentation'.)

1) Who thought it acceptable to make a very young female model stand naked bar a butt floss G string and tiny bra for two hours? For Christ’s sake I think we all know what a beige string looks like - we have them in our prop kits.
2) In an industry run by women obsessed with their weight how come the only size to run out immediately on the underwear gift table was size large?
3) Why are NYC fashionistas SO badly dressed? A Prada purse, Chanel coat and Gucci sun specs do not stylish make.
4) Why serve muffins? I have never ever seen anyone so much as take a nibble of anything that might remotely contain carbs at these events? (Apart from me of course. The Bateman cartoon: 'The Girl Who Ate Carbs At A Fashion Do."
5) Oh yes, the clothes. Fine. Minimal. Exactly what you’d expect.

Re-sees: Peter Som

One of the absolute joys of being here & not there is not having to do the endless AW07 press days in London. We've hardly recovered from the shows, it's still schizo weather central here, and I haven't even begun to address my summer 07 wardrobe when I'm supposed to be thinking about my a) stories for next season & b) personal orders for my wardrobe for NEXT bloody winter. Ha! I don't even know which city I'll be living in then, let alone whether I'll need a $2000 coat....( that's what it wld cost if I was paying retail - which I don't, obviously)

Fortunately the heavenly (& intelligent - thank Christ) P is dealing with all my mail and trundling off round London on my behalf.

I did make an exception to do a re-see at Peter Som today. Such a beautifully put together collection with an exemplary level of craftsmanship. There's a strong vintage feel - but more Lily et Cie than Oxfam. I WANT this coat. A LOT.



I wore: Plain black 60's A line mini dress with short sleeves from vintage warehouse in Williamsburg. Gold New Look bauble necklace as choker. Wolfords (again). Black round toe patent wedges (bit over now). Black & gold bangle from Express (yay!) Michael Teperson cream bag (Thank you Michael)