Fashion News Alert: D&G Shutters Stores, Versace Villa for Sale, and John Casablancas Transitions

July 22, 2013 by 3 Comments

Versace_03As of last Thursday Gianni Versace’s palatial Miami villa was put on the market and is expected to sell for more than $50 million. According to Lamar Fischer, the president of the Fischer Auction Company which is handling the sale, the property is expected to sell very quickly, maybe in 30 minutes.

“You never know for sure in these cases but you could say that the real estate value of the property is certainly above $50 million, so we expect the price to go higher than that,” says Fischer. The current owner of the villa had transformed the property into a boutique hotel.

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D&G’s Protest

In response to public outrage over their tax evasion conviction, Dolce and Gabbana closed their Milan stores for three days, starting on this past Friday. The words “Closed” were vividly placed on the store window of the D&G signature store in Milan.

“We are no longer willing to suffer undeservedly the accusations of the financial police and the income revenue authority, attacks from public ministers and the media pillory we have already been subjected to for years,” stated the design pair. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were given a 20-month jail sentence for tax evasion on royalties (1.3 billion) after selling their brand to a Luxembourg-based holding company.

The 250-plus employees will continue to be paid while the nine Milan stores are closed. The iconic design team’s attorneys expect to appeal the decision and because the appeal process is lengthy and complicated, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are expected to spend no time in prison.

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Casablancas Dies

John Casablancas, founder of Elite Models, died Friday of cancer in Rio de Janeiro. Casablancas launched Elite Models in 1972 and helped launch the careers of Iman, Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and many more.

Casablancas was instrumental in elevating models from just beautiful women on catwalks and in photo editorials to celebrity status. “[Casablancas] was largely responsible for glamorizing the business and turning models into idols, their egos expanding in direct proportion to their earnings potential,” said The New York Times in its obituary.

John Casablancas is survived by his wife Aline Wermelinger, a brother, Fernando and five children from two marriages: John Jr., Fernando Augusto, Nina, Cecile and Julian Casablancas. Casablancas was 70 years old.

—William S. Gooch

 

Fashion News Alert: Kanye’s Collaboration, Diane Kruger’s Love Affair with Chanel, Uniqlo Opens Stores in Bangladesh, and Christian Lacroix’s Return

July 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

 

Image courtesy of Reuters

Image courtesy of chanel.com

Diane Kruger’s love affair with Chanel extends beyond the red carpet as Karl Lagerfeld revealed that Kruger is the new face of Chanel’s Resynchronizing Collection, which includes the Le Jour de Chanel, La Nuit de Chanel and Le Weekend de Chanel creams. The German actress began her career as a fashion model and was chosen for Chanel’s Allure fragrance campaign in 1996 and the Paris-Biarritz bag advertising campaign, shot by Karl Lagerfeld in 2007.

Kruger is frequently on the red-carpet best dresses list and a favorite of celebrity photographers. “I admire personal style. I love someone being themselves. I want to look most like myself on the red carpet,” the actress revealed. Aptly, said, and Kruger’s personal has obviously rubbed off on one of the most influential fashion icons, Karl Lagerfeld!!

Image courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Image courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Kanye Gets Down with A.P.C.

Last month W Magazine put a little bug in our ears about Kanye West’s “new men’s capsule collection of jeans, T-shirts, and hoodies for a hip French brand, to be unveiled in July.” Well, all the rumors have  confirmed that Kanye has teamed up French hipster brand, A.P.C.

The Jean Touitou‒helmed brand revealed the collaboration on Instagram and their website with the no frills announcement, “A.P.C. KANYE CAPSULE COLLECTION, JULY 14. #apc #kanyewest,” with a pair of jeans labeled A.P.C. Kanye.  New baby and new collaboration, Kanye what’s next!!

 

Image courtesy of Reuters

Image courtesy of Reuters

Uniqlo Courts the Middle Class

Aimed at Bangladesh’s small but growing middle class, Uniqlo has opened two stores in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Japanese retailer, Fast Retailing Co., has teamed up with Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank, founded by Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, to tap into Bangladesh’s 30 million middle-income earners.

The Uniqlo stores will concentrate mostly on menswear in that Bangladeshi women prefer to wear traditional Muslim clothes. “We want to deliver innovative designs and fashion to the middle class customers here and have plans to open more stores across several cities that will create more jobs,” said Yukihiro Nitta, chief executive officer of the joint venture. Uniqlo plans to invest 4.6 million in Bangladesh.

Image courtesy of style.com

Image courtesy of style.com

Lacroix and Schiaparelli

As the Paris Couture shows wrapped up on last Thursday, one of the biggest returns to the Paris Couture stage was Christian Lacroix. In a tribute to fashion icon Elsa Schiaparelli, Lacroix’s 18-piece “Homage to Elsa” referenced and reinterpreted Schiaparelli’s love affair with circuses, fairgrounds, and military uniforms.

Since losing his own design house in 2009, Lacroix has been all but absent from the fashion industry. When asked if his current couture outing for Schiaparelli suggest a permanent return, Lacroix emphatically replied, “No. What has always excited me about fashion is theatre costumes. My childhood dream—I am achieving it now.”

—William S. Gooch

Fashion News Alert: Converse’s Big New Digs, Jourdan Dunn’ Boobs, and Sienna and Tom’s Cozy Burberry Ad

July 1, 2013 by 3 Comments

Jourdan_Dunn_03The more things change, the more they stay the same!! Just as it seemed that the fashion industry was welcoming more diversity in race, silhouettes and sizes on the runway, a big, iconic fashion house decides to dismiss one of the hottest supermodels of color for her breast size. Or so, British supermodel Jourdan Dunn revealed in one of her tweets from couture week currently underway in Paris.

In one of the biggest couture shows of the season, Joudan Dunn tweeted that she was passed over for the Dior show because her breasts were too big. ”Ahahahahahaha I just for cancelled from Dior because of my boobs!,”  explained Dunn.

Now, not even by industry standards is Dunn considered top heavy. And wagging fashion tongues are wondering if Dunn’s ‘supposed big boobs’ is just an excuse to minimize models of color on Dior’s runway. Since Galliano’s departure, Dior’s runways have been strangely absent of diversity.

Dunn followed up her Dior cancellation tweet with the following tweet. “I’m normally told I’m cancelled because I’m ‘coloured’ so being cancelled because off my boobs is a minor.”

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Converse Goes Big

Go big or go home. And it appears that iconic sneaker and sportswear brand, Converse took this saying to heart, literally, by opening up its biggest store in San Francisco this past weekend. The 8,200 square foot store, located on Market Street in the heart of the Union Square Shopping District will offer the largest assortment of Converse footwear, apparel and accessories globally, along with Converse Customization, a unique and personalization process for designing one-of-a-kind Converse sneakers and clothing.

“Opening a retail store in San Francisco is a perfect fit for Converse, a city with a creative spirit similar to ours. We’re thrilled to offer local consumers an outlet to unleash their creativity and participate in our brand through our in-store customization and various music and art programs supported by the brand,” said Jonathan Tappan, General Merchandise Manager, Direct to Consumer for Converse.

The store’s design pays tribute to the building’s original structure as seen through authentic and raw industrial elements including original concrete and tile throughout. The store’s operating hours will be Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Image courtesy of Burberry

Image courtesy of Burberry

Burberry’s Love Duet

As fashion brands continue to use celebrities to promote their fall/winter 2013 campaigns, Burberry has discovered that there may be a special type of magic in having a celebrity couple endorse their fall collection. British cinema royalty Sienna Miller and her fiancée actor Tom Sturridge heat up Burberry’s fall/winter 2013 ad with steamy affection.

Creative Director Christopher Bailey told theUK Telegraph, “This was a shoot full of love and laughter.” Miller and Sturridge’s cooing and cuddling was photographed by Mario Testino and accompanied by Tom Odell’s new British single, “Hold Me.”

—William S. Gooch

 

 

 

 

Breaking Fashion News: Global Protests Target Bangladesh Factory Violations

June 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Spanish trade union activists with 'blood' on their hands stand outside a Mango store in protest. (Lluis Gene / Getty)

Spanish trade union activists with ‘blood’ on their hands stand outside a Mango store in protest. (Lluis Gene / Getty)

Global concerns and protest continue as concerned groups unite this Saturday to protest against multinational retailers that have yet to support improving labor conditions and safety protections in Bangladesh’s booming garment sector. Activists will stage protest around the world in major cities to draw attention and raise consumer awareness on safety violations and labor abuses in Bangladesh factories. These protests will coincide with U.S. campaigns against the working conditions of Wal-Mart workers in stores and warehouses.   Activists groups will stage a variety of protests and demonstrations  from Osaka, Japan to New York City.

Image courtesy of Associated Press

Image courtesy of Associated Press

Since the Rana Plaza factory collapse in April that took the lives of 1,100 workers, Bangladesh factories, as well as multinational brands have come under international scrutiny. According to the Death Trap campaign, about 50 international retailers have signed on to a proposed safety agreement that establishes a “binding contract between the brands and worker representatives that make these commitments enforceable —so the brands have to follow through, even if it means increased costs or longer turnaround times on orders.”

International retailers H&M, Esprit, and many other European retailers have signed on to the proposed safety agreement that would introduce a worker-led system of safety oversight. The big holdouts are American retail giants, Wal-Mart and The Gap.

—Staff

Fashion News Alert: Lauren Hutton’s New Ad, Vivienne Westwood’s Protest, and Armani’s Men Bags

June 26, 2013 by 1 Comment

vivienne_westwood_menswear_2014Iconic British designer Vivienne Westwood used her men’s spring/summer 2014 show as an opportunity to reflect her political views. Male models and some staff donned tee shirts supporting U.S. Army private Bradley Manning, who is accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of classified files, videos and other data to the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website. No stranger to controversy, Westwood has always been in the forefront of using fashion to express political point of view and her own personal stance on environmental issues.

Westwood also expressed in a recent interview that she would be opting out of opening up additional stores in China. “I want to backtrack and control it … “I don’t want to expand in China anymore at the moment.”

In step with her environmental stance, for this spring/summer 2014 menswear outing, Westwood incorporated sustainable fabrics from South American countries, cutting down on the carbon footprint. “We do a lot of T-shirts and at least I’ve managed to get the jersey that we use for the T-shirts, which comes from Peru mostly. It’s organic and it’s not harmful,” continues Westwood.

Emporio Armani, Menswear, Spring Summer, 2014, Milan

Armani Incorporates Bags and Smiles

Tapping in to the growing men’s accessory boom, Giorgio Armani for his spring/summer 2014 menswear runway show, gave more attention and focus to his men’s accessories than in previous seasons. Instead of the melancholy, nonchalant saunter identified with most male catwalks, this season Armani’s male models smiled, grinned and looked sunny while carrying small male handbags.

According to Claudia D’Arpizio of the management consultancy firm, Bain, in 2012 men’s accessories made up 41% of the luxury goods market, and is growing faster than the women’s segment.  “Men are becoming much more similar to women in the way they approach these fashion goods … Now men —in particular the younger generation —are much more fashion aware and the real target for many of the luxury brands,” contends D’Arpizio.

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Hutton Still Has It

It’s not over til it’s over, and it aint for Lauren Hutton. At 69 years of age, legendary model/actress Lauren Hutton has booked an ad campaign with Lucky Brands. Hutton looks fit and fabulous in skinny jeans while posing alone and with seven other models in Lucky Brands fall 2013 denim campaign.

According to WWD, Hutton, the consummate professional during the shoot, “brought her own makeup and took care of every last brush stroke herself.”  You go, Lauren Hutton!!

 

—William S. Gooch

D&G Convicted, New York State’s New Protections for Child Models, and Jason Wu’s Side Gig

June 20, 2013 by 1 Comment

Dolce_GabbanaWill Dolce and Gabbana be singing caged bird tunes? If the recent conviction by a Milanese court for tax evasion holds up, they will.

On Wednesday designers Domenico Dolce and Steffano Gabbana were found guilty of failing to declare 1.3 billion in income to Italian authorities. Domenico and Steffano were both sentenced to 20 months in jail. Though both designers have denied the charges, prosecutors contend that the design team evaded taxes on earned income through a Luxembourg‒based company.

When brought up on charges of fraud two years ago, this highly publicized case was thrown out of court. Still, Italy’s high court stated the Dolce and Gabbana could be charged with evasion of taxes. Hmm, I guess the high court was right!!

Jason Wu_headshot

Jason Wu’s New Stream of Income

If running his own eponymous fashion brand was not enough, Jason Wu has now taken on the role of creative director for Hugo Boss’ womenswear line. In his role of creative director, Wu will expand Boss’ womenswear offerings. Never having hired a matinee designer for the brand, Wu’s hire is a first for Hugo Boss.

“[Wu] will assume responsibility and creative direction for all product and image related aspects of the principal womenswear Ready-to-Wear and Accessory line in the HUGO BOSS Group. In his role as Artistic Director, Jason Wu will oversee his team at the HUGO BOSS headquarters in Metzingen, Germany, and also open a design studio in New York” details a Boss representative to nymag.com.

Wu will debut his collection for the brand for pre-Fall 2014 and also present for Fall 2014 during New York Fashion Week.

Sara Ziff image courtesy of modelalliance.com

Sara Ziff image courtesy of modelalliance.com

Child Model Developments

Child models now have the same protections afforded child actors, dancers, elite athletes, and musicians, well, at least in New York State they do. On June 12 the State Senate and Assembly unanimously approved legislation that gives models under the eighteen the rights they deserve in New York state.

Under this new labor law, proposed by  Senate Co-Leader Jeff Klein and State Senate Labor Committee Chairwoman Diane Savino, models under the age of 18 must now have chaperones and tutors on the set,  and provisions for financial mandatory trusts. These new regulations will be overseen by the Department of Labor, which has more resources to enforce compliance than the Department of Education, which formally oversaw regulations pertaining to employment and education for child models.

Model Alliance, a NYC‒based model advocacy group, has been in the forefront of this historic legislation. Founded by supermodel Sara Ziff, Model Alliance seeks to improve working conditions for models in the American fashion market.

—William S. Gooch

Breaking Fashion News Alert: Parsons Cancels Galliano

May 8, 2013 by 1 Comment

Downloads398 The Galliano drama continues. After much contention and political protest, John Galliano’s four-day workshop at Parsons the New School of Design has been canceled. The controversial former head of Dior was to teach a “Show Me Emotion” four-day workshop at the famed fashion school.

Fired from Dior in 2011 for anti-Semitic rants, Galliano is currently involved in a lawsuit against the iconic fashion house. Contention rose between Parsons and Galliano when neither party could reach a compromise of Galliano having a candid discussion about his career in a larger forum that Parsons had planned between Galliano and the student body.

Galliano_09An e-mail from Parsons, signed by David E. Van Zandt, Tim Marshall, and Joel Towers, the president, provost, and executive dean, respectively, goes as follows:

We are writing to follow-up on messages we shared with you on April 26 about the planned workshop with John Galliano. It was a condition of our agreeing to host Mr. Galliano that we also hold a larger forum, which would include a frank discussion of his career. Ultimately, an agreement could not be reached with Mr. Galliano regarding the details of that forum, and so the program will not move forward.

As we have expressed over the past weeks, a critical element of a New School education is the connection between creative and intellectual invention and an individual’s actions in the world at large. While we understand the pressures Mr. Galliano faces, we expected to invite students, faculty and staff to ask Mr. Galliano how his trajectory as a designer was changed by his offensive remarks and to learn from that example.

We continue to believe there is room at Parsons to explore Mr. Galliano’s efforts to make amends for his actions and that members of our community will decide for themselves how to view his contributions. It is certain this would not have been an easy or comfortable conversation but our mission is to provide uncommon learning opportunities that transcend the boundaries of the disciplines. We apologize to those students who anticipated participating in the workshop and to all those who looked forward to engaging Mr. Galliano in discussion.

Over the last several weeks, many members of the university community wrote to express their views about this visit. Regardless of your opinion, you remind us all that it is our commitment to debate, and our willingness to support the possibility of change, that makes Parsons and The New School such an extraordinary place to learn.

—Staff

 

Fashion News Alert: Gisele Bundchen’s H&M Return, The Not So Skinny of Elle Quebec, and Another Bangladesh Factory Arrest

May 6, 2013 by 1 Comment

Gisele_Bundchen_HMGisele Bündchen has returned to H&M. For its fall/winter 2013 campaign, H&M has enlisted the 32-year old supermodel. The campaign will launch in late August. Though officials have not released the exact figures of Bündchen’s H&M contract, it is predicted to be in the $3 million to $5 million range. Last year, Bündchen’s was rated by Forbes as the highest paid model at $45 million dollars in annual earnings.

Bündchen has had major campaigns from such iconic brands that range from Chanel to Versace to Esprit to Victoria’s Secret. The campaign was shot last week on the streets of London.

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Elle Quebec Embraces Plus-Size Model

“Thin’s where it’s been, but fat’s where it’s at,” crooned Totie Fields, a 70’s popular comic. Well, not   quite just yet, but things are a’ changing.

For the May issue of Elle Quebec, plus-size model Justine LeGault graces the cover. Now, at a size 14, most consumers would not call LeGault fat or plus-size, particularly when the size of the average American woman is a size 12. Still, in the fashion industry the standard size for female models, particularly those front and center on fashion publications is a size 2 to size 4.

Elle Quebec celebrates LeGault curves by showing her entire voluptuous frame from head to toe on the cover. “The fact that I only got positive feedback about my ELLE cover truly makes me happy. It seems people aren’t so shocked anymore to see curves in the medias [sic]. This is great news!,” details LeGault on her Facebook page.

Elle Quebec is not the first fashion publication to put a plus-size model on its cover. Plus-size model Tara Lynn has graced the covers of French Elle and Vogue Italia.

Image courtesy of cbsnews.com

Image courtesy of cbsnews.com

More Fallout from Bangladesh

An engineer that warned that the eight-story factory complex in Bangladesh was unsafe the day before the April 24th collapse has been arrested by police.  Engineer Abdur Razzak had been called by the owner of the factory to examine the cracks in the concrete pillars the day before the collapse. Though he warned of impending disaster, thousands of mostly female workers were allowed to work the morning shift the next day. Police arrested Razzak because he was involved in the original construction of the building. Razzak’s arrest makes the ninth person arrested in the April 24th disaster. To date over 500 deaths have been recorded.

Bangladesh’s garment exports is a $19 billion a year industry with many Western retailers taking advantage of the country’s duty-free access laws. Sixty percent of Bangladesh’s export clothing goes to Europe. About 3.8 million people work in factories in Bangladesh, with many workers making as little as $38 a month.

—Staff

Fashion News Alert: Victoria Beckham’s Store Venture, H&M Invades India, and Met Gala Red-Carpet Looks’ Quick Turnaround

April 29, 2013 by 1 Comment

 

H_and_M_02H&M plans to spend around 100 million euros ($130 million dollars) to open 50 stores in India. H&M (Hennes and Mauritz), the world second largest fashion retailer, is hoping to tap into rising incomes in India and the country’s huge population.  “It is a very interesting market with a huge population and a growing middle class,” said Fredrik Olssen, head of H&M expansion, to Reuters.

H&M has over 2,800 stores in 49 countries with 80 percent of its sales in Europe. H&M’s biggest competitor, Inditex, which owns the brand Zara, has over 6,000 stores in 86 countries with 20 percent of its sales in Asia, compared to H&M’s 6 percent.

There is no word on when the first H&M store will open in India.

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Victoria Beckham’s New Venture

Victoria Beckham has plans to open a signature store in London. “This is where I want to have my first store … I’d like to do something that is really new, really fresh. Something a little bit conceptual but not too much,” detailed Beckham.

Beckham who was a part of the 1990’s British all-girl band, The Spice Girls, ventured into fashion in 2004 with American denim brand, Rock and Republic, co-designing jeans, knitwear, and skirts before launching her own clothing line in 2006.

Victoria Beckham presents her collection regularly doing Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and has had her designs worn by Anne Hathaway, Beyonce Knowles, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

 

Met-Gala-2012-Top-TrendsMet Gala Red Carpet Looks

Red carpet looks seen at the annual Met Gala will be available for purchase hours after the event. Moda Operandi, the 2013 sponsor of the Met Gala, will have dresses by Nina Ricci, Balmain, Delpozo, Rodarte, Anthony Vacarello, and Wes Gordon available on May 7, the morning after the Met Gala on modaoperandi.com.

“Events like the Met Gala offer some of the most spectacular fashion moments because they inspire experimentation,” Moda Operandi co-founder Lauren Santo Domingo said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be able to provide women with access to the fashions from one the world’s most thrilling red carpet events.”

And for those antsy fashionista who cannot wait until the Met Gala, Moda Operandi will release a capsule collection featuring lower priced clothing by Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, and Vivienne Westwood, based on the Metropolitan Museum’s Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit.

—Staff

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