If memory serves, Kanye had adopted CSM professor Louise Wilson as his mentor and even utilized students as interns. Undaunted by the (dis)likes of Anna Wintour, West plans to stick with the Brits and will reportedly show again in Paris come Fashion Week. Kudos to you, Kanye, for putting your enormous ego aside and not letting reason or common sense get in the way of your fashion dreams. Take notes, kids. This is how you buck convention. And Ye is bucking shit up. [Vogue UK]

Amy’s parents started this charity after her not-quite-shocking, but deeply saddening death back in July. Proceeds from the Amy Winehouse Foundation go to helping vulnerable kids do things like not say No No No to rehab.

As for the dress, it was winehouse’s stylist Louise Winwood who sought out the Disaya for the frock, and paired it with the iconic leopard peep toes and red leather belt. If you live across the pond, you probably have this image somewhere in your possession. On November 29th, from , for an expected £10,000-£20,000, the dress can be yours.

Link Love: Telegraph

- Speaking of schooling the children, Condé Nast UK is opening up the Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design in London come next September. I’m hoping André Leon Talley will teach a class on haberdashery and great-capes.[Styleite]

- Hey tranny, it’s tranny. Andrej Pejic channels famous Warholian tranny Candy Darling in Chris Benz‘s spring 2012 collection. [Fashionista]

- While everyone was consumed with whatever was happening on Tuesday in and around the Tents — days have just blended together by this point — Michelle Obama was holding court at the White House for the 2011 National Design Awards. [Telegraph]

- Scientists recently discovered a diamond star of 10 billion trillion trillion carats. I’m thinking of a platinum setting. [BBC]

- And it’s a sad day in retail. Borders is closing. #fuckoffkindle [Racked]

Aila Wang, Photo via The Cut

“When I was 15 and first got scouted to be a model, I didn’t know anything about fashion. I started paying attention to fashion by collecting magazines and tearing out pictures of models and putting them on my walls.” – Jessica Stam

“When I walked in the Marc Jacobs show in 2006.” – Chanel Iman

“I sneaked into the Valentino show when I was 17.” – Ronen Jehezkel, Parke & Ronen

“I’m 100 years old now, but when I graduated, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.  It was the early 60s, and I wasn’t fitting in with the Mad Men style of the times. But then I went to London where things we’re really beginning and fit in with the movement there. I started designing and six months later had full pages in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and thought ‘this is what I need to be doing.’ – Norma Kamali

“In about 1993 was the first fashion show I ever attended. It was in an old theater in Paris and it was so amazing, so exciting.”  – Terry Richardson

“My first fashion event was probably when I was 10 and at the YMCA. It was a ‘fashion show’ but really it was kids walking on the stage waving to their parents.” – Erin Wasson

“My first fashion event was probably in 2005. I was in New York and I couldn’t tell you the name of the designer, but there were a lot of very pretty women there.” – Amare Stoudemire, NY Knicks

“Two years ago at SoHo House in New York, a friend of mine was putting on these weekly fashion shows for different designers. There were models, synchronized swimmers, acrobats – the works. It was really cool and we went every week that summer.”- Carrie Preston, True Blood

“I went to Central Saint Martins and the first fashion show I ever went to was the graduate end-of -year show. Antonio Berardi was graduating that year, and I remember how great that show was. It can be a very emotive, incredible experience – it sort of speaks to something in your soul. It reinforced to me that this is right, that I loved what I was doing”. – Annabel Tollman

Let’s see, we have:

- Michael Kors celebrating his three decades at Bergdorf Goodman, along with live performances and their “BG Best in Show,” featuring designers such as Joseph Altuzarra, Reem Acra and Pamella Roland trotting down the runway with their dogs

- Live performances from Kelly Rowland and Joss Stone at Macy’s Herald Square, with appearances by Tommy Hilfiger, Rachel Roy and Amar’e Stoudemire

- Rachel Zoe and Erin Wasson will show face at Bloomingdale’s

- Jade Jagger will launch her new jewelry line at Henri Bendel’s

- Lord & Taylor will have Solange Knowles on the turntables and an appearance by Ivanka Trump

- Saks Fifth Ave will feature appearances by the inimitable Tilda Swinton with Pringle of Scotland designer Alistair Carr and Central Saint Martins professor/Kanye West mentor Louise Wilson, while Ne-Yo performs and signs hats

This is just a small sampling of the hundreds of  events listed on FNO’s website and you can filter through all of them by neighborhood, category or specialty. FNO also has an iPhone/Android app to help you plan your itinerary on the go thus ensuring this year you can make as many regrettable, booze-induced purchases as possible. [WWD]

NEW YORK

- Off-Off-Opera head! Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O will “assault…the tragic joys of youth” when she bring her “psycho-opera” to St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO, Brooklyn from Oct. 13-16. [Paper]

- The Kanye West clothing line is a go! After Central Saint Martins prof Louise Wilson confirmed that the Louis Vuitton don was indeed working on a collection, turns out Harper’s Bazaar Australia‘s Christine Centenera and knitwear designer Louise Goldin are lending him their helping hands. [Styleite]

- Mulberry is killing it and not taking prisoners. Valued at over a billion pounds, the British label has left all other fashion roadkill in their wake to become the world’s best-performing fashion house, thanks in large part to Alexa Chung and her eponymous bag. [Telegraph]

- And speaking of roadkill, how do you feel about wearing some run-over possum on your head? [Guardian]

- Rihanna: “I don’t think I could walk down the street wearing bubbles or a dress made of ham, [but] what Lady Gaga has done has been kind of amazing. I am the opposite. I wear clothes I would wear on the street. I’m all about a real look.” The fact that RiRi looks like she’s working the street in said clothes is another matter. [Digital Spy]

- Paris Hilton walked out of an interview only to return after consulting her coach/agent when a reporter asked what we were all thinking: Has your moment passed? Some questions, however, answer themselves. [Digital Spy]

RAD HOURANI

IMPORT ORIGINS: He designs in Paris, by way of Canada, but grew up  in Jordan of Jordanian/Syrian descent.

DEISGN SPECS: Unisex transformability is his calling card. With angular cuts and zippers that zip infinitely, his aesthetic rides the edge of mascu-femme.

FACT: While his runway looks may run into the thousands, he considers Rad Hourani his laboratory. RAD by Rad Hourani applies those concepts conceived in the lab to materials we mortals can (?) afford.

“Hussein Chalayan: Fashion Narratives” charts Chalayan’s elaborate constructions and innovative presentations over the past 17 years of his career, beginning with his graduation show from Central Saint Martins in 1993. Missing from the exhibit, however is Chalayan’s 1998 “chador” collection because, as the designer puts it, “I don’t need more headaches.”

The exhibit is supported by Swarovski and features six designs bearing the precious crystals, including a dress with lasers and one with a morphing hood. “Hussein Chalayan: Fashion Narratives” will be on display through November 13th. [WWD]

Photo: NY Times

Vogue‘s Editor-at-Large revealed the big news during a lecture on Cristóbal Balenciaga last week at the Phoenix Art Museum:

“I’m about to start working on a more autobiographical book about my adventures in fashion and at Vogue.”

A graduate of Central Saint Martins, Bowles served as Fashion Editor and eventually Style Director for London’s Harper’s & Queen — which by the way is the gayest ( i.e. most amazing) sounding magazine ever — until 1992 when he became Style Editor at Vogue.

In addition to writing books on the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Yves Saint Laurent and Carolina Herrera, Bowles is an avid collector of historically significant fashions and haute couture.

When I went to the Balenciaga: Spanish Master exhibit at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, I was surprised — and painfully jealous — at how many of the clothes were lent by Hamish Bowles, who also served as the curator.

This autobiography is obviously topping my Can’t Effing Wait for It list, if only to learn how I, too, can start collecting historically significant fashions and haute couture. I’ve wanted to have the world’s largest archive of drop-crotch pants, bodysuits and tranny heels since I was a little girlish boy.

Twriling : NYT

- Got Klum? Heidi lands her third “Got Milk?” campaign. Little known fact: one of those three times, that wasn’t milk on her face. [Modelina]

- Rumor has it rapper/budding fashionista Kanye West has moved to Paris to work on his own high-end fashion line. He’s befriended Central Saint Martins‘ professor Louise Wilson in the process and will present new BFF Céline‘s Phoebe Philo an award at the CFDAs. The most surprising facet of these rumors is that anyone would let Kanye near any awards show. [Daily Telegraph]

- Alleged magazine FHM issued a half-ass apology to Andrej Pejic after referring to him as “it” and a “thing.” Note, “it” was not followed by “girl” and “thing” not preceded by “Miss.” [Styleite]

- Hedi Slimane‘s fashion diary features images from Yves Saint Laurent‘s final runway show from 2002, including stunning candids of Naomi Campbell and Jerry Hall. [Hedi Slimane]

- Karl Lagerfeld kind of openly hates everyone, especially “lazy pig” biographers who would dare relate his life story. [Elle]

“I was terrified,” Bowles tells New York Mag, “There were very few teeth, I remember, and quite a significant beer belly. [The teeth] bespoke street fights.”

I never thought it would take much to terrify the diminutive Bowles, who went to meet McQueen at the behest of the late Isabella Blow while he was still a student at Central Saint Martins:

“So I went to south, south, south London, it took hours to get there, and it was his auntie’s welfare apartment. And he had some mannequins in the front room, and this really terrifying creature greeted me, and he was inarticulate and abrasive and just absolutely brilliant. You could just see there was just a raw talent. And you could tell he was frustrated because he felt that he wasn’t ready to be showing me things.”

When Harried Met Dandy. [The Cut]

With each collection, Burton asserts her own aesthetic while subtly referencing past house motifs. This time around, for her collection themed “The Ice Queen and her court,” Burton was inspired by “heritage silhouettes,” and indeed there were echoes of Fall 2009‘s, Spring 2007‘s and Fall 2006‘s (among others) ready-to-wear womens shows.

Though instead of feeling like a re-tread, the gowns that strolled down the runway of Marie Antoinette‘s one-time prison were more of a reinterpretation. This was a softer, more feminine McQueen; breathtaking in its feathery-light construction, but the warrior woman often conjured in past collections was alive and strong through bodices resembling armor and leather straps tied about shoulders.

Marie Antoinette would have lost her head over Burton’s brilliant pieces…and then there’s that other royal who’s rumored to be wearing McQueen for her big day. If there is any British designer and label worthy of such an honor, it is no doubt Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

Photos: Style.com

Photo: Refinery29

- Dov Charney has been accused of behavior even despicable by his loose, scumbaggy standards. What could that possibly be, you ask? How’s about subjecting a young girl to sex slavery for her 18th birthday (allegations AA denies). Happy Birthday — slip on this muzzle!…The Charlie Sheen Story. [Racked]

- “Artist” Richie Budd has encased a bunch of not completely unattractive frat boys behind Plexiglass in the exhibition, “Come on Guy” (one must assume) for the sake of art. And also for the sake of perverts who have been banned from every other peepshow in town. [Refinery 29]

- Kate Middleton to wear Alexander McQueen at wedding? Reportedly, the princess-bride-to-be consulted British Vogue‘s EIC, Alexandra Shulman over the momentous gown. All hail the McQueen! [The Cut]

- Matthew Morrison‘s album art was clearly dug up from a never released early-90s Richard Marxx project. Meanwhile, shelve this easy listening snoozefest and give me Amber Riley‘s record, ASAP. [Just Jared]

- Kanye West will not be attending Central Saint Martins after all, it seems. According to a CSM spokesperson: ”He isn’t coming to study the MA course but he did visit the college regarding a separate issue last week.” I hope that “separate issue” involves renaming the college Central Saint Kanyes. [Vogue.co.uk]

- Recession, resmession! Is there even a recession anymore/does anyone even care? Well Michael Kors certainly could give two shits. He’s opened his largest store in the world: a sprawling 7,000 square feet in Paris. [NYT]

- And at the Paris opening of his new store, Mary J. Blige “confirmed a year-old report that she will portray Nina Simone in an upcoming biopic” by covering a Simone classic. I’m officially starting my Oscar pool early this year. [NYT]

- Miss J. Alexander once famously said (on one of the 62 cycles of Top Model): “Fashion has no sympathy or empathy.” Well, if you’re John Galliano, that may not be absolutely true. [The Cut]

- Walking lab experiment James Franco has been tooling around with supermodel Agyness Deyn and has uploaded some of their kooky exploits on the Twitter. [Oh No They Didn't!]

Photo: Anna Dello Russo’s Twitter

Ye reportedly met with the head of the course, Professor Louise Wilson, to discuss his future matriculation before jetting off to Paris to hang with Anna Dello Russo and take in the shows at Fashion Week.

A source tells The Sun:

“Kanye spends a lot of time with fashion students and often hooks up with Central’s arty pupils when he is in London. The rapper already has work experience with Fendi and Louis Vuitton on his CV. Now that he has been interviewed the school’s board will have to decide whether to allow him to start the MA fashion course later this year.”

West’s few high-profile internships may not be enough to sway the notoriously intractable Wilson, as rumors abound hat ”he has been turned down for a place because his portfolio wasn’t up to standard.”

If Kanye does make it through the program, however, he will join CSM’s list of luminary alumni, which includes designers Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Gareth Pugh, Christopher Kane,  Zac Posen, Matthew Williamson and Hussein Chalayan.

Let’s just hope he was taking notes while sitting front row so he can get that portfolio up to snuff.

Link Love: MTV.co.uk

All right, who else can’t fucking wait for this? I have to start digging through my closet to find the perfect McQueen ensemble to wear to next year’s gala…that I’m not invited to.

Cough.

Eyebrow raise.

…

Okay, subtlety’s not working, who do  have to kill to get ticket to next year’s Costume Institute Gala?

Please say a Kardashian….

My new favorite upcoming designer, Pedro makes clothes that are not only wearable, they are structurally genius (inspired by architecture). He is only 19, just graduated Central Saint Martins, yet his design aesthetic is so sophisticated. Both of both of his parents are designers, which helps, and Pedro is working quite hard at making a name for himself, separating himself from parental association and associating himself with the likes of Brana Wolf.

A graduate of Central St Martins BA fashion print design program in 2006, de Paula’s signature of soft floral prints and lingerie-inspired ready-to wear seems perfect for the current trend of underwear as outerwear.

Read more

Rachel Freire is a London based designer whose debut fashion collection was presented at London Fashion Week with On|Off in February 2009 at the Science Museum in London.  Already her work has been seen in publications such as Dazed and Confused, AnOther, Issue One, Timeout London, Juxtapoz, Illustrated Ape, Art Business Today and Metro London.

Educated at Central Saint Martins, her influences stem from her love of historical costume combined with futuristic imagery. Behind the dramatic silhouettes and decadent embellishments, the pieces are designed to be wearable, durable and flattering.

LINK LOVE

Nicomede Talavera is a Central Saint Martin’s BA Menswear fashion design student. For Spring Summer 2010 Nicomede turned to the future using the work of Anton Giulio Bragaglia as inspiration.

Find more photos like this on CULT

LINK LOVE

The Sunday Telegraph confirmed that Central Saint Martins grad Mark Fast will be doing a collection for Topshop.

LINK LOVE

Central Saint Martins alum Bora Asku showcased their Spring 2010 collection at London Fashion Week. The collection  features an assortment of this new hybrid of sheer and opaque tights with sequins, which might be the next big thing after leggings.

Thanks Highsnobette

On May 25th Atlanta native Wes Gordon got the great privilege and honor to close the world famous Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design womenswear fashion show with an amazing and innovative collection.

The seven pieces shown incorporated one of the most unique design elements seen on the runway to date: blown glass. Gordon worked with Peter Layton to create 7 expertly blown glass pieces which Wes used as oversized collars, sleeves, a bodice, and epaulettes.

Other CSM alums who have previously closed the womenswear show include John Galliano, Stella McCartney, and Alexander McQueen.

There is no doubt that Wes Gordon will continue to make a large impact in the fashion industry in America and Internationally.

Be sure to check out his website at www.wesgordon.com and become a fan of his on facebook.

This CSM ’09 collection is very Harajuku-inspired, something I’m sure Gwen Stefani would go crazy over.  I can’t say this is stuff that I’d actually wear, but it’s definitely creative.

GALLERY: Central Saint Martins ’09

SOURCE: Dazed Digital

GALLERY: RUNWAY RUNDOWN: Giles Fall 2009

LINKAGE: Style 

Second runner-up: Xiao Xiao Dong

First runner-up: Rachel Chan

Kumiko Tani

Stefano Beruschi

Shao Yen Chen

Last week was the Central Saint Martins Fashion Design BA show. “An eclectic mix of inspirations could be seen in all the students’ collections, taking everything from the ultra-futuristic to the performance-based, cubism to print-on-print and embellishment to minimalism,” as stated by Dazed Digital.

David Swetman

Hyung Soo Kim

Winner: Alithia Spuri- Zampetti

Emma Hedlund

Craig Lawrence

Alice Kirkpatrick

Particularly exciting collections came from David Swetman, Hyung Soo Kim, Kumiko Tani, Stafano Beruschi, Alithia Spuri-Zampetti, Shao Yen Chen, Xiao Xiao Dong, Emma Hedlund, and two Dazed favourites: Craig Lawrence, a young knitwear designer who makes knitwear for Gareth Pugh, and Alice Kirkpatrick, who appeared in Matt Irwin’s film for Armani Exchange last year. The L’Oreal New Talent Award for 2008 went to Alithia Spuri-Zampetti; first runner-up was Rachel Chan and second runner-up was Xiao Xiao Dong.