Posts for January 22nd 2013

Alexis Mabille Jan 22, 2013

Alexis Mabille Couture Spring 2013

What better way to celebrate his first foray as an official haute couturier than with an explosion of pretty-in-pink tulle and a cotton-candy-colored runway?

by Christina Perez

What better way to celebrate his first foray as an official haute couturier than with an explosion of pretty-in-pink tulle and a cotton-candy-colored runway? Alexis Mabille's debut Couture collection had both, plus a healthy helping of Chantilly lace, pleated organza, and silk crepe — all of which came in ice cream parlor hues to match that sugary catwalk. But it wasn't all romance and froth; the emphasis, Mabille said, was on "craftsmanship," and thus there were plenty of artisan details and expertly wielded cuts. Dresses in tulle nipped in below the natural waist and flared out from the hip in elegant flares of ruffles and tiers, while neatly tailored trousers in shiny silk made a crisp counterpoint to more voluminous tops.

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Giorgio Armani Jan 22, 2013

Armani Privé Spring 2013

Giorgio Armani continued his sleek streak with the Spring 2013 Armani Privé collection he presented in Paris on Tuesday.

by Justin Fenner

Giorgio Armani continued his sleek streak with the Spring 2013 Armani Privé collection he presented in Paris on Tuesday. There were some looks that pointed back to the designer's history of appropriating men's suiting for women, but by and large this offering was filled with feminine pieces rendered from high-gloss fabrics. Some of the garments, thanks to beading, patterned fabrics, and wooden accessories, had a vaguely tribal feeling, and each look was paired with Armani's rendition of the traditional fez.

Source: Instagram User Armani

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Giambattista Valli Jan 22, 2013

Giambattista Valli Couture Spring 2013

Giambattista Valli turned a fresh eye to modernist design with his Spring 2013 Couture collection.

by Justin Fenner

Giambattista Valli turned a fresh eye to modernist design with his Spring 2013 Couture collection. His fourth couture outing — staged at the Italian Embassy in Paris — featured restrained animal prints, wasp-waisted dresses and coats, and floral embellishments that were actually created from feathers.

Our full review will be posted shortly. In the meantime, a first look at the collection here in the gallery.

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Chanel Couture Front Row | Pictures Spring 2013

Chanel Couture Jan 22, 2013

The Chanel Couture Front Row Was Like a Mini Fashion Show

Karl's girls were out in full force at the Chanel Spring 2013 Couture show in Paris on Tuesday.

by Christina Perez

Karl's girls were out in full force at the Chanel Spring 2013 Couture show in Paris on Tuesday. Laura Bailey, who's lately been a Chanel front-row fixture, looked the picture of gamine chic in wide-legged trousers, a striped long-sleeve, and knit beret, while fellow Chanel favorite Diane Kruger channeled girlish charm in a puritan collared A-line frock. Also in attendance was Hailee Steinfeld, whose argyle cardigan and leather skirt combo made quite a statement thanks to a newsboy cap perched jauntily atop her head.

See all the notables who attended the show — including Clémence Poésy, Rita Ora, and Ana Girardot — right here.

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Chanel's Spring 2013 Video Starring Lindsey Wixson

Chanel Jan 22, 2013

Lindsey Wixson and Aymeline Valade Star in Chanel's Spring 2013 Video

Karl Lagerfeld must have gardens on the brain.

by Justin Fenner

Karl Lagerfeld must have gardens on the brain. After re-creating a full-scale pine forest for his Spring 2013 Couture show on Tuesday, he also released a video of models frolicking in the gardens of Paris's Rodin Museum.

In the three-act story, entitled Public Garden, Lindsey Wixson and a fellow blond beauty alight on a bench in the gardens to examine recent purchases from Chanel's Spring 2013 ready-to-wear collection. After they watch model Aymeline Valade stroll by, Brad Kroening and his 4-year-old son Hudson — who's also Lagerfeld's godson — come and sit on the adjacent bench.

Wixson and her friend encounter Valade and both of the Kroenig men in each of the subsequent acts, finally learning how the three are connected at the end of the film. A look at the story — and the all the clothing — in the video below.

Vanessa Paradis Is the Face of H&M's New Line

H&M Jan 22, 2013

H&M's Sustainable Paradis, Steven Alan's Fashion Week Return, and Junya Watanabe's Loewe Line

All the bits fit to print here, in our daily news roundup.

by Robert Khederian

Vanessa Paradis is the new face of H&M's environmentally friendly clothing line Conscious. [NY Daily News]
Loewe and Junya Watanabe are collaborating as part of a joint initiative meant to strengthen relations between Spain and Japan. The first pieces from the collaboration will be unveiled during Watanabe's upcoming Paris Fashion Week show. [Vogue UK]
Dita Von Teese will wear custom Alexis Mabille at the debut of her new burlesque show in Los Angeles next month. [The Belfast Telegraph]
Barneys Chelsea Co-Op may be closing, but rumor has it the retailer is searching for a prime spot in downtown Manhattan for their next flagship. [The Shophound]
Giorgio Armani has opened a new women's-only retail concept in Paris to showcase the designer's couture accessories. [WWD]
Azzedine Alaïa has signed a fragrance and makeup deal with Beauté Prestige International. [Telegraph]
After last season's break, Steven Alan will return to the New York Fashion Week schedule — and this time he's presenting at Lincoln Center. [Fashionologie Inbox]
Betsey Johnson, however, has decided to cancel her usual Fashion Week show. [The Cut]

Photos Courtesy of H&M.

Missoni Jan 22, 2013

Three Weeks Later, the Search For Missing Missoni Still Not Over

It's been nearly three weeks since a plane carrying Vittorio Missoni disappeared off the coast of Venezuela, and his family is committed to keeping the search effort going.

by Justin Fenner

It's been nearly three weeks since a plane carrying Vittorio Missoni disappeared off the coast of Venezuela, and his family is committed to keeping the search effort going.

Vittorio's brother Luca Missoni told WWD that investigators haven't ruled out any of the theories about Vittorio's disappearance. "For this reason, I can confirm that in Caracas not only is the search at sea and on the coast not over, but that investigations continue, without neglecting any possibility," he said.

Luca had been in Venezuela helping with the search effort over the last few weeks, but he said that a family friend is now following the search party in his place. Luca will travel from Italy back to Venezuela in February, when a ship used for "deep sea submarine research" will join the effort.

Vittorio Missoni was flying from the Venezuelan resort archipelago of Los Roques to Caracas with his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, their friends Guido Foresti and Elda Scalvenzi, and two crew members on Jan. 4 when their plane disappeared. So far no sign of the plane or its passengers has been found.

Karl Lagerfeld Jan 22, 2013

Chanel Couture Spring 2013

By now, no one should underestimate Karl Lagerfeld's affinity for political statements.

by Justin Fenner

By now, no one should underestimate Karl Lagerfeld's affinity for political statements. He closed the Spring 2013 Chanel Couture show not with just one model in a bridal dress, but with two. And because they held hands as they walked down the runway — or was it an aisle? — with 4-year-old Hudson Kroening dressed as a ring bearer, some critics thought The Kaiser might be announcing his support for French President Francois Hollande's controversial proposal to legalize gay marriage.

"I don't even understand the debate," Lagerfeld told The Associated Press after the show. "Since 1904 (in France) the church and state have been separate."

But Lagerfeld didn't use the show to make a statement about equality: He also threw his shoulders behind, well, shoulders. Those wedding dresses had bands of feathers set just underneath the models' decolletage to emphasize their shoulders, and nearly every other look in the collection highlighted that part of the body in some way. The first tweed jackets down the runway, for example, had mini-capes attached to them, while others had sleeves accented by peaks of fabric set just below the shoulder. Other dressed exposed the shoulders through sheer pieces of tulle or with strategically place straps.

"The idea is to make the shoulders beautiful," Lagerfeld said in an interview with The New York Times.

But perhaps the biggest statement Lagerfeld made with this show was about nature. Some of the dresses had elaborate floral appliques, intricate beading, or delicate lacework, but none of it was more complex than the full-scale pine forest he constructed as a set underneath the glass dome in Paris's Grand Palais. Critic Nicole Phelps noted that the temporary woodland clearing was complete with birdsong — something Lagerfeld underscored with with the feathered headpieces each model wore down the runway.

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