Posts for October 2012

Link Time

Gisele's Latest Cover, Hedi's Newest Photos, and Naomi Campbell's Face

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.



Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

  • Terry Richardson photographed Gisele Bündchen for the November 2012 issue of Harper's Bazaar Brazil. The issue marks the magazine's one-year anniversary — which explains the celebratory balloons Bündchen is holding on the cover. [Made in Brazil]

  • Hedi Slimane is keeping his photographic skills sharp now that he's designing Saint Laurent. He photographed models Georgia Hilmer and Sarah Engelland during fittings for his Spring 2013 show. [Style.com]

  • Kenneth Cole will stage his runway comeback in February during New York Fashion Week. It will be his first show since Spring 2006. [WWD]

  • Azzaro announced today that Mathilde Castello Branco, its creative director of less than a year, will leave the brand and that it "will shortly be announcing her successor." [Vogue UK]

  • Oscar de la Renta, who's dressed first ladies from both political parties, is the subject of a retrospective that will go on display next month at the Clinton Presidential Library. André Leon Talley curated the exhibit, titled Oscar de la Renta: An American Icon. [Fashionista]

  • Promos for the new model reality show The Face — starring Naomi Campbell, Coco Rocha, and Karolina Kurkova — reveal a glimpse of just how intense the competition will be once the show goes on air in February. [Modelinia]


Agyness Deyn

Agyness Deyn Promises She's Not Officially Retired From Modeling

Agyness Deyn told us that just because she's landed several leading roles in more than one feature film doesn't mean she'll never model again.



Agyness Deyn told us that just because she's landed several leading roles in more than one feature film doesn't mean she'll never model again.

Deyn, who stars in the film Pusher, says reports of her leaving the industry are the result of a big misunderstanding.

"It's really funny — it's like I stood on a podium and was like 'I'm retiring from modeling!' And it's so not the case," she said. "Someone asked me if I had stopped modeling and I was like, 'Uh, I suppose so, cause I've not modeled for a while.' But it's not like I'm never going to model ever again. There's a lot of actresses and actors who model and do work. So I'm not like totally ruling it out. I think like, just the basic fact that I've not done a modeling job in a while was what I was trying to communicate."

Her work on stage and screen is what's kept her away from fashion photographers and in front of film directors. In Pusher, Deyn plays Flo, the heroine-addicted stripper girlfriend of the film's protagonist, a drug dealer named Frank. Deyn shadowed a stripper to prepare for the role, and "had a lot of input" in creating Flo's wardrobe for the film.

"You have a certain idea of who she is and what she's about, and you put on a certain thing and its like 'Oh my God, this is her,'" Deyn said. "When she's at home, it's kind of super laid back and neutral and not in your face, her casual wear. And then when she's at work it's like 'Woah, holy sh*t!'"

And Deyn says Flo's duality — in both her personality and her wardrobe — is what makes her such an engaging character.

"She's like this childlike, angelic, delicate flower at home, and then when she's at work, she's this red-haired vixen in total control," she says. "That was the fun thing about playing her: It was kind of like playing two different characters."

Pusher premieres in theaters on Friday, Oct. 26, and is already available on video on demand.

Agyness Deyn and Richard Coyle in Pusher. Photo courtesy of Radius TWC.

Sarah Jessica Parker

Who Wore What at the Maison Martin Margiela For H&M Bash

OK, so most of the notables wore pieces from the capsule, but that doesn't make it any less fun to look.
Maison Martin Margiela For H&M New York Party Pictures

OK, so most of the notables wore pieces from the capsule, but that doesn't make it any less fun to look. In fact, it's pretty interesting to see which guest chose what: Leigh Lezark channeled a modern geisha in the collection's multiprint kimono, Mena Suvari took an adventurous turn in a flesh-colored bodysuit with a trompe l'oeil black bra, and Mia Moretti went head-to-toe scarlet in a red dress and plexiglass wedge shoe combo. All those, plus all the rest of the evening's chic arrivals, here.

Karl Lagerfeld

Breaking: Karl Lagerfeld Is Not Wearing Black

Whatever happened to all black everything?
Karl Lagerfeld Wearing Green in New York City | Pictures

Whatever happened to all black everything? It's rare to see Karl Lagerfeld wearing an ensemble that isn't predominantly black, but the Kaiser was spotted in New York's SoHo neighborhood on Tuesday wearing head-to-toe olive. He paired his green tweed suit with his customary high white collar and fingerless driving gloves and affixed an oversize bumblebee brooch to his blue and brown striped tie.

Lagerfeld once said that he sticks to black because "in black you can forget about yourself. I don't think about myself when I am looking at materials and doing fittings . . . When you work in fashion, and you have to work with all the colours, you can't be there in green, pink or something very fancy, because, in the end, you have the feeling that you are just a sample yourself."

The designer will be among his samples this week. He's currently in New York shooting Chanel's Spring 2013 campaign with models Stella Tennant and Ondria Hardin. He's also scheduled to do a shoot for Harper's Bazaar and to speak at WWD's CEO Summit. We wonder if the black will be back by the time he takes the podium?

Target

Don't Blink: A Tiny Glimpse at More From Prabal Gurung's Target Capsule

Hot off the heels of Monday's announcement that Prabal Gurung will be Target's next designer collaborator comes this: a glossy new video offering the tiniest glimpse of more of the collection.

Hot off the heels of Monday's announcement that Prabal Gurung will be Target's next designer collaborator comes this: a glossy new video offering the tiniest glimpse of more of the collection. There's a macro shot of a bright blue shoe, a peek at the sleeve of a seafoam green top, and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it close-up of an oversize crystal pendant.

The video also offers insight into why Gurung wanted to work with Target. He mentions the desire to offer what he does to a "wider audience," but he also says that ultimately it's all about love. "Whether it's having it, pining for it, losing it, wanting it — most of the collections I do have been inspired by love. If they can feel even a little bit of the love that I felt while I was designing this, I'll consider it a job well done."

Alexander Wang

Liberty Ross Stars in Alexander Wang's Newest Confessional Video

Alexander Wang may have gotten Liberty Ross to do something no journalist could: address her husband Rupert Sanders's affair with actress Kristen Stewart.

Alexander Wang may have gotten Liberty Ross to do something no journalist could: address her husband Rupert Sanders's affair with actress Kristen Stewart.

Ross, who walked in Wang's Spring 2013 show, stars in the latest of Wang's Confessional video series. The 34-year-old model says she's "very happy with her life, and I'm lucky." And while she doesn't get into specifics, she does talk about the importance of exhibiting grace under pressure.

"I believe that we're all on journeys and we are all given lessons at certain times in our lives, and sometimes when things seem really bad, you have to be able to see the good and learn from it, and just move forward as graciously as possible," she says.

Watch as Ross gets prepared for her graceful turn down the runway in the video below.

Link Time

Vogue's Documentary, Kate Spade's Saturday, and the Boys and Girls of Fashion Week

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.



Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

  • Shouldn't every day be Saturday? That's the idea behind the new brand Kate Spade Saturday, a standalone label with its own stores and website that will launch for Spring 2013. The price point is about 50 percent lower than Kate Spade New York; the average price for a garment from Saturday is $90. [WWD]

  • Vogue isn't just celebrating its 120th anniversary with a new book. On Dec. 6, HBO will premiere the documentary In Vogue: The Editor's Eye, a tribute to legendary editors from Polly Mellen to Grace Coddington. "They have always been our secret weapon," said Anna Wintour. "So it seemed to me that we could celebrate Vogue, and also, at the same time, celebrate these great editors." [Fashionologie Inbox]

  • Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Balenciaga, and M Missoni are each auctioning off one-month Summer internships through CharityBuzz. The money raised will benefit Rosie's Theater Kids, a New York charity that aims to improve the lives of children through performing arts. [Vogue UK]

  • The collaborations just won't stop. Kirna Zabete is working on a collection for Nine West that will debut in February. [The Cut]

  • Dita Von Teese's first application of red lipstick happened at age 13. "I remember one time putting on a red and thinking, 'This changes everything. This is all you really need,'" she said. [Into the Gloss]

  • Photographer Justin Wu cast an international laundry list of models — including Olivia Palermo, RJ King, and River Viiperi — in his latest edition of Boys and Girls of Fashion Week. [YouTube]


Natalie Portman

Dior's Natalie Portman Ad Banned in Britain

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad for Dior's Diorshow New Look mascara after receiving a single complaint, reportedly from L'Oreal UK, that the ad exaggerated what the mascara can do.

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad for Dior's Diorshow New Look mascara after receiving a single complaint, reportedly from L'Oreal UK, that the ad exaggerated what the mascara can do.

The image, which stars Natalie Portman and was shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, was originally intended to advertise a lipstick, but Dior told the ASA that it was later changed to a mascara ad. The photo was then digitally altered to "separate/increase the length and curve of a number of her lashes and to replace/fill a number of missing or damaged lashes, for a more stylized, uniform and tidy effect." Dior also said Portman wasn't wearing any false lashes in the ad, and that it "did not consider that the post-production techniques went beyond the likely consumer expectations of what was achievable using the product."

Nevertheless, the ASA has ruled that the ad can no longer appear in its current form. Dior has agreed to "amend or withdraw" the ad instead of going through a formal investigation about how it altered the image.

This ban comes on the heels of other beauty ads that were shut down for their altered imagery. Earlier this year, the ASA told L'Oreal to stop circulating an ad for its Revitalift Repair 10 starring Rachel Weisz because it "misleadingly exaggerated" the face cream's effects. In 2011, it banned a Lancome ad featuring Julia Roberts and a Maybelline ad starring Christy Turlington because they were "not representative of the results the products could achieve."

Note: In an interesting twist, the original stories concerning this ad on both The Daily Telegraph and Vogue UK appear to have been taken down. The biggest difference in this case and previously banned ads is that the others resulted from consumer complaints, not reports filed by competitors. Both news outlets alleged that L'Oreal complained about Dior's ad. Might that have something to do with why mum's the word now?

Gossip Girl

Alexa Chung's Gossip Girl Moment

Alexa Chung's much-awaited appearance on the Upper East Side has finally come, and though her one-line cameo — in which she emphatically announces "there's no way in hell I'm going out there" right before ditching Blair's fiasco of a fashion show — lasts all but a few seconds, it's still pretty fun to watch.

Alexa Chung's much-awaited appearance on the Upper East Side has finally come, and though her one-line cameo — in which she emphatically announces "there's no way in hell I'm going out there" right before ditching Blair's fiasco of a fashion show — lasts all but a few seconds, it's still pretty fun to watch. Judging from Chung's cheery "I was on Gossip Girl last night. Lol," tweet this morning, it sounds like the model-TV presenter-clothing designer and soon to be author definitely got a kick out of the mini appearance as well.

Just in case you missed it, here it is.

Chanel

Chanel Says "No" to Ecommerce, For Now

Brands across the retail spectrum have rushed to make their clothing available for purchase online, but Chanel won't be one of them anytime soon, according to the brand's CEO.



Brands across the retail spectrum have rushed to make their clothing available for purchase online, but Chanel won't be one of them anytime soon, according to the brand's CEO.

"Our clothes are quite sophisticated and one of our strengths is alterations," said Bruno Pavlovsky, who runs Chanel's business side. "To be able to wear Chanel clothes, you need to try them on. You need to be in the fitting room. You need to have a tailor who alters the clothes to fit exactly to your body. I think it's part of Chanel. It's more than just our service. It's part of our differentiation to have ready-to-wear that is perfect for our customers."

Pavlovsky later added that "perhaps two years, three years, five years from now, we will start" online sales.

Chanel already sells its fragrances and cosmetics online, but it's one of a handful of luxury houses that hasn't taken strides to launch ecommerce for its clothing. Brands like Saint Laurent and Gucci have sold their clothing online for years, and Pierre Balmain launched its ecommerce site just last week.