Link Love: Fashion Gone Rogue

For her much-hyped Super Bowl Halftime Performance (#GoGiants), Madge channeled the late Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra with a 13-minute extravaganza eleganza featuring “relevant” artists, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., Cee-Lo Green and LMFAO.

To do justice to that great queen, the Queen of Pop turned to the house of Givenchy where Riccardo Tisi – who had designed costumes for her tour three years ago — was more than happy to conjure up some couture.

“People say everything has a limit, but limits do not exist with Madonna,” Tisci told WWD. “It is a great honor for me to be part of yet another historical and iconic moment.”

The Lady Ciccone also wore some white and gold diamond earrings from Bulgari, plus a stunning gold headpiece by none other than milliner king Phillip Treacy. If you’re like me and missed the Super Bowl and everything therein, take a look at Madonna’s blinged out performance below (before it gets taken down for copyright infringement).

- Taking two very different interpretations of ballin’,  Karl Lagerfeld showed Chanel’s fall 2012 haute couture show on a specially-built luxury airplane and Riccardo Tisci chose the oldest gymnasium in Paris for Givenchy.

- Tim Gunn hasn’t been laid in 29 years. Well, that explains the crusty demeanor…and his personality. [The Cut]

- Some attendees of Chanel’s Numéro Privés installation in Vegas – who were flown via private jet —   weren’t feeling classy enough, so they bee-lined it over to the AVN Adult Film Awards afterwards. [Page Six]

- Cynthia Nixon showed off her shorn scalp this morning on Live with Kelly! (that exclamation point is mandatory otherwise it would be a “?”). The actress formerly known as Miranda shaved her head for a new role on Broadway. [E!]

- Terry Richardson shot Kreayshawn for V Magazine and surprisingly she didn’t end up topless. [Refinery29]

Photos: Style.com

Mary Alice Stephenson wears a lot of hats!  Her Facebook followers are in the five figures, she is a media go-to for her red carpet commentating and heart-filled fashion segments, a world renown stylist who has styled for icons such as Avedon, Hiro, Demarchelier, Lindbergh and Richardson as well as serving as a brand ambassador and spokesperson for many Fortune 500 brands.   Oh, and we can’t forget to mention how cool it is that she and Barbie are talking fashion in her “dream” closet for BarbieWow.com next week, while still making time to be the national fashion ambassador for the Make a Wish Foundation.  She gives her time and love for fashion to many charitable organizations all while being a single mom.  She’s our new hero and we think soon to be yours, too!

As a fashion consultant, you get to do something different every day- which days are you favorite?

Every day is different and I love it that way!  It’s such a mix — from red carpet commentating to consulting behind the scenes for Fortune 500 companies, to creative directing, to styling editorial shoots with top photographers. Each week it’s high fashion to mass fashion, it keeps me happy to be in both worlds!  I can reach so many real women all over the world via social media, my followers love that they can get a look into the real world of fashion and learn how they can apply that glamour to their lives in a realistic way.  One day I’m shooting for a European Vogue, doing a fashion segment for the Nate Berkus show or styling a supermodel for Estee Lauder and the next day I could be helping real women get their glam on in a mall in middle America!

Who are young designers that we should be looking to for the future of fashion?

I just had lunch with the talented designers of Cushnie et Ochs, I try to support as many up and coming designers as possible.  I know how tough this business can be and how much support they need to make it.   I love Flora and Alexa from Ohne Titel, Juan Carlos Obando, Joseph Altruzara, Christian Cota, Suno, Frank Tell….  There is so much talent out there right now.  I try to shoot their clothes, or get them on the red carpet as well as talk about their clothes in the media to help get their point of view out to mass America.  The American public needs to know there are more options than just the big brands that can afford to advertise.  It’s still a struggle, for example, there were a wide range of luxury brands seen on the Golden Globe red carpet but where were Erdem, Prabal Gurung, Thakoon, Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler?  I was happy to see Givenchy, Nina Ricci and Jason Wu, though —  so that is some progress!

For the rest of the interview, click on over to LOOKBOOKS.com!

Photos: Fucking Young!, Morphoman

If the talks prove succesful, Nicki Minaj would — correct me if I’m wrong — be the first rapper on the cover of Vogue. Although god knows Gwyneth Paltrow‘s been known to drop a hot verse in her day.

What do you think, Indies? Are you excited for a Nicki Minaj Vogue cover or has Anna finally gone over the deep-end?

I’m getting a little, or a lot, of Janet Jackson circa “You Want This” slash TLC circa “Waterfalls” right now.  Which means I’m fully on board. Hopefully there’s more to come but until then, do yourself a favor and check out this performance of “Love. Sex. Magic.” featuring one Ms. Justin Timberlake from SNL to see what all the hype’s about.

Photo: Oh No They Didn’t!

Photos: Design Scene

“The Great Designers” will also be accompanied by the book The Great Designers: Fashion’s Hall of Fame from A to Z, highlighting 500 of the museum’s masterworks by 100 of the 20th- and 21st-century’s most important designers. Publishing in April 2012, the book will include an essay by museum curator Valerie Steele on the history of fashion museums and exhibits,  along with short bios on the 100 designers. Click through the gallery for some of the designs featured and to keep you occupied until you can make your way to the FIT Museum to see them in person. [WWD, FIT]

Photos: Models.com

Photos: W

The caveat that broke the camel’s back was Jacobs’ insistence on taking his Louis Vuitton team with him to Dior, leaving Vuitton — LVMH’s cash cow — without a heel to stand on. To make matters worse, Arnault had wanted Céline‘s Phoebe Philo to replace Marc at Vuitton should he move to Dior, but Philo is happy where she is — outfitting Kanye West in billowy blouses.

So with Jacobs more or less off the table, LVMH has reportedly approached Alexander Wang, Jason Wu and Jil Sander‘s Raf Simons; though out of the three Simons would seem the most likely choice, that is unless Dior plans on eschewing breathtaking gowns and impeccably-crafted ladysuits for sweatpants and cocktail dresses.

Then there is Givenchy‘s Riccardo Tisci, whose name has been bandied about since Gallianogate got into full swing. But he — along with Lanvin‘s Alber Elbaz, Alexander McQueen‘s Sarah Burton and Balenciaga‘s Nicolas Ghesquière – has turned down the Dior deal, citing brand loyalty.

So the question still remains — and frankly, the question is getting really tiresome — who will take the reins at Christian Dior? However, by the time someone is announced, the question might be, who the hell cares? [WWD]

With sky high pyrotechnics and background videos of the wildest animals in the jungle, the skirt came across as slightly surprising yet somehow still pretty masculine.  We’ve been seeing the man skirt as of late (Yohji Yamamoto and Rick Owens both rocked skirts down the runway) and we’d like to know: would you wear it?

Link Love: Vogue.com

If you haven’t browsed the men’s and women’s offerings on SSENSE.com lately, you’re missing some of the coolest designer fashion and accessories to come from the Canadian retailer yet. Whether your vice is Givenchy dresses, spiked Fallon accessories or sky-high Jeffrey Campbell boots, SSENSE is the place to go when you’re looking to do some serious shopping. Whatever you’re looking to buy, you can always count on SSENSE to have the chicest offerings online.

How can you win $500 worth of merchandise from SSENSE.com?

1. Head over to the SSENSE Facebook page, “Like” it

2. In the comments below, show us what you would buy from their site and why you want it. Be sure to include a link to the product!

The best comment & most stylish buy wins! Good luck and happy shopping.

The two kooky kids were also seen at Givenchy — and we all know that once you attend a storied French fashion house’s runway presentation together, it’s serious. If the rumor is true — and for kicks, let’s just say it is — Chanel will be the latest in an increasingly crowded stable of models to get in the Louis Vuitton Don’s saddle, including Angela Martini and Amber Rose. [The Fashion Spot]

Photo: Trendland

Italian designers are forming a united front to decide on their own dates, out of the three following options: 1.) move to July; 2.) show before New York in September; or 3.) leave things the way they are, which could mean an overlap between Milan and London.

Condé Nast, for its part, is not having any of this. In a letter to Mario Boselli, head of the Italian Chamber of Fashion ”obtained”  – *cough* stolen *cough*– by WWD, CEO Jonathan Newhouse writes that Vogue editors “like the schedule the way it is presently organized. We at Condé Nast do not want the schedule to be changed. We very much oppose moving the Milan shows earlier so that they overlap or conflict with the London fashion shows — or with the New York fashion shows or those of any market.”

Newhouse then goes on to basically threaten a boycott by all Vogue editors — American, British, French and Italian — of Milan shows, stating matter-of-factly that “they will not under any circumstances abandon the London or New York shows if the Milan shows are moved earlier.”

The root of the conflict stems from a pact in 2008 when all four cities agreed to kick-off the fashion weeks on the second Thursday of February and September. Boselli claims that the agreement was only for three years while the CFDA‘s Steven Kolb and the British Fashion Council‘s Caroline Rush contend that it was indeed a permanent arrangement.

As for the fromage standing alone, Paris is expected to side with Milan. However, Didier Grumbach, head of the Chambre Syndicale, would rather come to a compromise and wants everyone to just chill the eff out: “When planning our schedules we have to factor in the time constraints of houses such as Jean Paul Gaultier or Givenchy that deliver couture, men’s and women’s shows with one designer. In any case, these things can’t be improvised. We have our locations. To move dates on venues like the Grand Palais cannot be improvised. Those dates are decided months and months in advance. If [anyone wants to] move dates for 2013, why not, we have the time to talk about it, to arrange it.”

Frankly, it’s a little odd that London is siding with New York considering the hubbub over model castings earlier this season, with London designers blaming New York for hogging all the best girls and the general feeling that LFW was being squeezed out. Now it seems Milan is feeling the crunch and are going to have to come to a decision soon or face the wrath of Wintour. [WWD, sub req'd]

All photos from Style.com.

Meanwhile, Brad Goreski of The Rachel Zoe Project fame and Tracee Ellis Ross of Girlfriends and Diana Ross‘ daughter fame will co-host this year’s Fashion Forward, held at the Metropolitan Pavillion on November 17th from 7-10 pm. The evening will consist of a cocktail reception (as if there’s any other kind of reception), an auction and of course what fashion event would be complete without a runway show? Tickets are available for purchase here.  [WWD, GMHC]

Beyoncé shot two campaigns, one for fall with Tony Duran (above) and one for the holidays with fashion’s very own St. Dick Nick, Terry Richardson. Of the experience, B had this to say: “Working with Tony and Terry on these two separate campaigns was such an amazing experience. Their approach is so different, yet to me the end results are so beautiful in their own unique way.”

As co-creative director — that happened — I guess she has to say that and as a gay I guess I have to support it. At least she brought out the Foxxy Cleopatra hair this time around so I can have something to hold onto. [WWD]

*Meanwhile, can we talk about the Knowles and their obsession with inconveniently-placed accents?

FashionIndie‘s own Jessica Lapidos captured
during last Fashion Week by NY Mag

Go East, Young Tran!

Asia is booming! With many designers flocking to the Far East not only for business but inspiration, why not give a knowing wink to the Orient with this look, featuring a Boudicca cape, cropped McQ jersey harem pants and of course, what Asian sensation is complete without a little Hello Kitty?

I’m not the only one who would live in this rainbow mountain of Givenchy Pandora bags. Celebrities like Reese Witherspoon, Kate Beckinsale and Hilary Duff are also huge fans.

We love this bag to death, but, unfortunately, won’t be buying one anytime soon. Check out page two for our “look for less” picks.

If you haven’t heard of SSENSE.com by now, my friends you are in for a treat (the stylish kind, not the caloric kind).  SSENSE is a killer online luxury retailer with just one brick-and-mortar shop located on a beautiful cobblestoned street in Old Montreal.  The site has been a major influence in online luxury retail since 2003, with over 10 million visitors monthly  and over 400,000 visitors per day.

Hands down my favorite spread so far in this, the September issue season, Klein, Valletta and Edward Enninful envision an eternal heroine and her struggles over the course of a century, featuring looks by Chanel, John Galliano, Miu Miu, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Givenchy and Alexander McQueen.

“September 29, 1929: A month before the stock market’s Black Tuesday, our heroine’s opium-tinged 29th-birthday party in the Blue Room rolls on.”

Dior has been without a creative director since that little incident with John Galliano — you know, the anti-Semitism and the firing and the rehab and the court case — since March.

Arnault, chairman of LVMH — which also owns Marc Jacobs International — had initially planned on hiring Jacobs for Dior back in the 90s, but that idea was vetoed by Dior’s then president Francois Baufume. Instead, Galliano was hired from Givenchy to Dior and Jacobs signed on as Vuitton’s artistic director in 1997.

“Had I hired Marc Jacobs for Dior and John Galliano for Louis Vuitton, it would not have worked as well for both brands, even though both designers are geniuses of their own,” Arnault told WWD in 2003.

Meetings are scheduled for this week in Paris between Dior and Marc Jacobs’ legal representatives while the designer prepares for New York Fashion Week. Robert Duffy, Jacobs’ longtime business partner, is also reported to be integral to the deal, despite currently having legal troubles of his own.

Should Jacobs move to Dior, Phoebe Philo is said to be on tap to replace him at Louis Vuitton, while maintaining her current role at Céline.

Since March, Dior has approached a number of designers to replace Galliano including Lanvin‘s Alber Elbaz, Balenciaga‘s Nicolas Ghesquière, Alexander McQueen‘s Sarah Burton, Haider Ackermann and Hedi Slimane. Elbaz, Ghesquière and Burton have allegedly withdrawn themselves from the running due to their strong personal commitments to their respective brands, while talks with Ackermann and Slimane proved fruitless.

Then, of course, there is Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci whose name has been bandied about as frontrunner for months now and who is a favorite of Delphine Arnault, deputy managing director at Dior. Where Tisci stands in all this is uncertain, but do you think Marc Jacobs is what Christian Dior needs right now? [WWD]

- Vogue lopped off a few of Lila Grace Moss (Kate Moss‘ daughter)’s fingers in their September issue in a case of bad and badly observed Photoshop. I guess Anna is human after all. What a day of disappointments. [Styleite]

- In other Brit Kate news, Kate Winslet has joined forces with fellow Oscar winners, Emma Thompson and Rachel Weisz to form the “British Anti-Cosmetic Surgery League,” an informal group of acting superheroines fighting against Hollywood’s pressure to go under the knife. In other news, Demi Moore has formed the “Legion of the Evil and Ageless.”  [Telegraph]

Leather leaves molded to the outside of the locked boxy bag can only be done right by Alexander McQueen. $639

Freedman turned to a wide variety of artists, architects and interior designers, including Rafael de Cárdenas, Joe Grillo, Peter Shelton and Lee F. Mindel of Shelton, Mindel & Associates and Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, giving them carte blanche to create their own environments: “I said, ‘Here’s your space. That’s your room. Within that room I really want you to let your imagination fly,’” he explained.

Housed in those environments are looks by  Stella McCartney, Givenchy, Rick Owens, Holms + Yang, Azzedine Alaïa, Chloé and Céline.

Since his first installation – when Daphne Guinness turned the Barneys windows into her personal dressing room before the Met Gala — Freedman has tried “to bring in different kinds of talent to do projects and make something new and fresh.” Whereas Doonan’s windows were often whimsical and heavy on the kitsch, Freedman said he hopes to “have a dialogue between fashion and [other disciplines such as] art, design, music and architecture.”

So I guess that means no ball gowns made of recycled coffee cans? [WWD]

Forbidden love, over-saturation, and Marc Jacobs, oh my! This whimsical spread in Vogue for their August issue had us all sighing in wonderment. Raquel Zimmermann captivates in Givenchy, Mary Katrantzou and more, followed by a mysterious would-be paramour. The shoot was photographed by Steven Klein and styled by fashion editor Camilla Nickerson.

Jump down the rabbit hole and into fashion wonderland with the rest of the shots from this spread, below.

- Nicola Formicehtti said what we’ve all been thinking — “…old people should just be old and go away.” –  so what? [The Cut]

- Kim Kardashian is bored. [Refinery29]

- DailyCandy wants you to “Go Big” or go Home..or Go Fashion, Food & Drink or Beauty with their “Start Small, Go Big” — connecting you with some of the country’s most prominent entrepreneurs. The bigger, the fiercer, I always say. [FashionIndie]

Riccardo Tisci’s muse Mariacarla Boscono joins an all-stars cast of models including Naomi Campbell, Kristen McMenamy and Natalia Vodianova in this fierce fall 2011 campaign for Givenchy shot by Mert & Marcus. The upside to that many supermodels at one photoshoot is that you don’t have to spend any of the budget on the catering.

Fortunately it looks like this:

Giorgio Armani Spring 2011 RTW

Lancôme Color Design 5 Shadow & Liner Palette in Teal Fury $48 – The versatility of shades makes this the perfect day-to-night palette.

Most Sublime and Divine

Couture at its finest, eliciting emotions rarely experienced outside of a gay bar’s men’s bathroom.

Givenchy

Photos: Vogue.it

On hand to toast Wintour — who never met a Chanel bouclé tweed she didn’t drape over her frail back — were Karl Lagerfeld, Donatella Versace with bff Riccardo Tisci — fresh off his glorious fall 2011 haute couture collection for Givenchy – Lanvin‘s Alber Elbaz, Anna’s Italian counterpart Franca Sozzani, Mario Testino, LVMH head honcho Bernard Arnault, YSL‘s Stefano Pilati, Burberry‘s Christopher Bailey,  Tommy Hilfiger, professional dandy and Vogue‘s editor-at-large Hamish Bowles and the Rhoda to Anna’s Mary, Grace Coddington.

According to the Kaiser, “We had this very nice cocktail, where Anna made a very funny speech.” I have a hard time believing at least one of those facts. [WWD]

Click through for more picture from Vogue Italia that were apparently taken by a drunk intern with an iPhone.

*Editor’s pick* Givenchy’s Ange ou Demon is the new perfume of intrigue and was made to give a jasmine tea effect. Rather it gave indie editor Amanda @crystlmeatballs wild visuals of “gummy bears wearing caged crinolines”. @Mcarthurjoseph‘s favorite lady scent, too? Mmm intriguing indeed.

His intimate presentation at Place Vedôme included Tisci giving a guided tour of each piece and discussing the amount of work that went into the collection. We’re talking hand-cut tulle paillettes, embroidery rendered with invisible acrylic thread, hand-curled feathers, dégradé beading, metal intricately worked into fringe.

What does all that mean? Simply, stunning.

Tisci balanced this traditional couture attention to detail with his thoroughly modern take on sexuality that included sheer skirts, exposed zippers, cut-outs and in one gown, a full-on nipple-bearing lace bodice. This study in contrasts was also evident in the all-white palette that represented Tisci bringing his “darkness to light.”

When he spoke with Donatella Versace in this month’s Interview magazine, Tisci remarked that “in couture, I really show my romantic side, because in spite of the fact that everyone thinks I am very much a Rottweiler—that I am very dark and everything—I have a side that is very romantic that I show to very few people.” Tisci’s romanticism, in all its dark and sexual glory, is on display for the world to see in this, his beautifully ethereal fall collection.

Take a walk on the wild side with these animal inspired Jeffrey Campbell wedges – $190