Posts for September 12th 2010
Nicola Formichetti Confirmed as Thierry Mugler Creative Director
>> Thierry Mugler has finally confirmed the rumors: Nicola Formichetti, most widely known as Lady Gaga's stylist, is the house's new men's and women's wear creative director.
>> Thierry Mugler has finally confirmed the rumors: Nicola Formichetti, most widely known as Lady Gaga's stylist, is the house's new men's and women's wear creative director. He will oversee Sebastian Peigne, a 10 year Balenciaga veteran and Mugler's new women's head designer, and Romain Kremer, who has shown experimental men's looks since 2005 and has been named Mugler's new men's head designer.
Formichetti, who will show his first collection for Fall 2011, succeeds Rosemary Rodriguez. He is also fashion director of Vogue Hommes Japan and a contributing editor of V, Dazed & Confused, and Another Magazine; a Mugler spokeswoman said he would continue his editorial and celebrity work.
“We were looking for a young talent who could really bring new energy to the brand,” said Joel Palix, director general of the Mugler company. “Nicola is a multicultural, techno-savvy expert involved in fashion, communication, image and entertainment. He and the appointed talented designers will represent a new direction for French fashion."
Alexander Wang Ditches the Black "Uniform," Goes Light for Spring 2011
>> When Alexander Wang took a trip to check out the retail contemporary floors, he was struck by the fact that “everyone’s doing the same skinny jean, long tee, leather motorcycle jacket.
>> When Alexander Wang took a trip to check out the retail contemporary floors, he was struck by the fact that “everyone’s doing the same skinny jean, long tee, leather motorcycle jacket. It’s become a uniform. Too much.” It was time for a change. So no more of the "urban thing of a pair of tiny shorts and a big top —the inverted triangle," he said. "We turned it upside down this season.”
He also did without black for Spring 2011: “I thought it’s time to do something optimistic and pure.” Which meant that his models — including Karolina Kurkova, Agyness Deyn, and Omahyra Mota in a runway return — went without makeup and had their eyebrows bleached and what looked like White-out applied in their hair.
The collection had a construction theme — pieces derived from painter's overalls, worker's boots, and duct tape detailing — reflective of Wang's current state of mind: he just added a new floor to his office, is renovating a Tribeca apartment, and is working on his first retail location. And it marked the debut of his first in-house print, made by having his staff and interns doodle on a 5-foot-by-5-foot sheet of paper in the studio.
Prabal Gurung Wanted to Make a Statement About Something Other Than "Vulgar Dresses" for Spring 2010
>> Prabal Gurung says his Spring 2011 collection was inspired by Tilda Swinton’s role in I Am Love and dedicated to "the intelligent woman.
>> Prabal Gurung says his Spring 2011 collection was inspired by Tilda Swinton’s role in I Am Love and dedicated to "the intelligent woman. The brain is her most important feature." He continued: “We’ve had a decade of tight skirts and vulgar dresses, and I wanted to make a statement about something different.” Hence the collection's predominant silhouette: a hemline five inches below the knee.
Gurung prides himself on his technicality, talking backstage about a skirt with side slits that took him a week to perfect and a sheath dress spliced with neoprene: “This is a pattern-maker’s nightmare. When you see the pattern all laid out it looks like a maze.” A few cocktail dresses with seam tape fringe came off a bit heavy, but the brightly colored ensembles — Frida Gustavsson's opening dress, Irina Kulikova's sky blue blouse and saffron yellow pencil skirt — were striking, and Heidi Mount's blue mesh paneled gown deserves a major red carpet moment. The show also marked Gurung's first shoe collaboration with Nicholas Kirkwood, who said after the show: "I'm just happy no one tripped!"
Tom Ford Unveils His Womenswear Preview with Models Like Amber Valletta, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, and Julianne Moore
>> On this rainy evening in New York, Tom Ford welcomed a select few editors and guests to his Madison Avenue boutique for a secret preview of his womenswear relaunch, where they were met by "a group of beautiful greeters clad in black tie, each holding an oversized Tom Ford umbrella."
>> On this rainy evening in New York, Tom Ford welcomed a select few editors and guests to his Madison Avenue boutique for a secret preview of his womenswear relaunch, where they were met by "a group of beautiful greeters clad in black tie, each holding an oversized Tom Ford umbrella." Inside, Ford treated guests like Anna Wintour, Joe Zee, Nina Garcia, and Carine Roitfeld, seated in gilded bamboo chairs, to a couture-style presentation in which he introduced every model and garment, controlling the volume of the show's music as he talked, and beginning each time with a "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce . . ."
He explained that he chose "women that inspired him" to model the clothes, and as Terry Richardson — Tom Ford's go-to campaign photographer — and his team documented the entire event, out came a parade of models — including Du Juan, Liu Wen, Karlie Kloss, Lakshmi Menon, Abbey Lee Kershaw, current Tom Ford eyewear face Freja Beha Erichsen, Anja Rubik, Daria Werbowy, Karen Elson, Natalia Vodianova, Liya Kebede, Stella Tennant, Chanel Iman, Amber Valletta, past Tom Ford eyewear face Carolyn Murphy, Monika "Jac" Jagaciak, Lauren Hutton, and Joan Smalls in an afro, of whom Ford said, "And she just turned me straight . . ."
Ohne Titel's Floral Gill and Alexa Adams Are Feeling Alaia-Like Knit Skirts and Neoprene Tops for Spring 2011
>> Flora Gill and Alexa Adams say that their Fall 2010 collection resulted in a 300 percent jump in sales for Ohne Titel, but they're still attracting the art fashion crowd that has been with them from the beginning: pre-show, Cecilia Dean, wearing an Ohne Titel dress, tucked away a bicycle helmet into her bag, while Olivier Zahm arrived half an hour late — just after a curtain was dropped at the entrance — still stuffing change from a cab ride into his pocket.
>> Flora Gill and Alexa Adams say that their Fall 2010 collection resulted in a 300 percent jump in sales for Ohne Titel, but they're still attracting the art fashion crowd that has been with them from the beginning: pre-show, Cecilia Dean, wearing an Ohne Titel dress, tucked away a bicycle helmet into her bag, while Olivier Zahm arrived half an hour late — just after a curtain was dropped at the entrance — still stuffing change from a cab ride into his pocket. Carine Roitfeld, who's attended the past couple of seasons, was nowhere to be seen, however (It seems she had not yet arrived, as she was first spotted this morning at Derek Lam).
For Spring, Gill and Adams were inspired by the Japanese woodblock artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi — thanks to a Japan Society exhibit earlier this year — and sent out neoprene tanks (which will apparently be special order-only), Alaia-esque knit dresses with flared skirts, and oversized tailored vests, all on a womanly cast of models: Catherine McNeil, who opened, Cameron Russell in her first and only appearance so far this week, Emanuela de Paula (who hasn't walked a Fashion Week since Fall 2007), and Lakshmi Menon among them. The designers, who collaborated with the artist Tauba Auerbach on lucite and elastic-banded jewelry — marking her first time as a jeweler — also premiered their first handbags.
