roundUP: Recycled Necklaces

Edited by Jessica Lapidos

These nine necklaces have fascinating backstories. They were all something else before besides raw materials. Some were broken china. Some were bullets. Some were vinyl records, and all were found by their crafty creators. Marni even dabbled in the recycled jewelry front. It’s far better to wear the world’s trash in a beautiful (clean) way, than to have the discarded materials sit forlorn in landfills. See nine necklaces you can feel great about wearing.

Spotted Spring! Our Favorite Polka Dot Shoes

Edited by Zosia Baroody

Looks like Cruella De Vil is in luck because black & white spots are trending this season.  Put your paws up for this edit of our favorite polkadot shoes to satisfy your dotty Dalmatian needs. Woof.

Art by Design: Picasso Inspires Marni & Vivienne Westwood

Edited by Jessica Lapidos

After a period of somber (and cheap) blue, Pablo Picasso broke out of his depression and into his Rose Period. ‘Twas a time of harlequins and acrobats, Parisian nightlife and a deep cheerfulness. The palette is a burning red, with yellow-orange accents and black and bronze undertones. Picasso’s two-year red phase started in 1904; get inspired by the turn of the century look. 

Rumor Has It: H&M Planning Luxury Brand

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

When one thinks “luxury,” H&M is perhaps not the first brand to pop into one’s head, despite high-profile high fashion collaborations with Versace, Lanvin and most recently Marni. Well, all that might change as the fast fashion retailer is rumored to be planning a luxury brand all its own.

Which Fall 2012 Collections were Made in China?

Edited by Jessica Lapidos

Probably more than we could begin to count, much of fashion is being sourced in China; it’s that sweet sweet price that keeps bringing us back. But now designers are taking something completely different and free from the Chinese: Inspiration. There’s a turn toward the orient that is translating in a traditional manner. Gilded birds glide down Dries Van Noten and Proenza Schouler garments, referencing Song Dynasty’s luxurious governmental garb. Marni dipped a toe into splashes of mod Chinese red, but stepped full foot into kabuki shoes that translated the collection into Mandarin. Josie Natori may take the prize for who took the theme most literally, with obi belts, Mandarin collars and a feathered fan. Meanwhile, Jason Wu twisted his own heritage into Maoist jackets and looks that lean toward what Americans in the 1930s thought Chinese clothing was like. Ironically, most of these designers produce locally. 

Sofia Coppola Directs Marni for H&M in Marrakesh [Film + Behind-the-Scenes]

Edited by Jessica Lapidos

Sofia Coppola burst her fashion film virginity all over Marni for H&M - she must be in love with the collaboration as much as we are.  In distinct Coppola style, the scene is set in a swanky locale; a house in Marrakesh that she had been to once before with friends. It involves beautiful people giving meaningful glances, becoming slightly forlorn, then ending with a sense of harmony, all set to uptempo jazz. Fusing vivacious Marni prints with the eclectic nature of this Middle Eastern abode, Sofia Coppola captures the copacetic capsule du jour. Indulge the short film, then go behind the scenes with the Oscar winning Coppola herself. Then just wait it out till the Marni for H&M launches on March 8th. 

City Cycling Chic: Terra Raincoats for Riders

Edited by Jessica Lapidos

Yuck, looks like the kind of day that’s going to rain all over a parading day of city cycling. The sky has turned to murk, and that means a mucked up outfit or a plastic poncho if you’re still planning on two-wheeling it to work. Bicycling has become so chic, what with its environmentally sound nature and efficiency for navigating the city, especially Brooklyn, but fresh rain gear for said cyclists has been a sad search. Which is why Yurika Nakazono and Marie Saeki did just what proper, frustrated New Yorkers should do. They created their own, well made and fit for a feminine body with a helmet: Terra New York. 

Marni x H&M! Full Collection Sneak Peek

Edited by Jessica Lapidos

We got lusty over the glimpse of Marni x H&M earlier today in the Open Lab editorial, when not hours later, the entire collection shows up in my inbox. While it showing up in my real life mailbox in all its printed glory would have been far preferable, I’m sure that I, too, will have to battle the crowds when the Marni collaboration drops in 260 H&Ms worldwide on March 8th, 2012. See the collection right here. And stock up on brass knuckles for the line’s launch.

Viv Westwood Thinks You’re Ugly, Top Model Thinks It’s British and Stella McC Thinks She’s an Episode of “Glee”

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

- ”People have never looked so ugly… We are so conformist, nobody is thinking. I’m a fashion designer and people think ‘what do I know?’ but I’m talking about all this disposable crap. So I’m saying buy less, choose well, make it last.” — delightful harridan Vivienne Westwood. [Guardian]

- Speaking of delightful harridans, these paper dolls of Dame Maggie Smith‘s sublime Dowager Countess from Downton Abbey are everything. Ever. [Vulture]

- America’s Next Top Model is still happening. Now in its 18th cycle, this time around it’s a “British Invasion” with seven British models versus seven American models. Sort of like a 21st century Revolutionary War with bikinis and smizing. [The Cut]

Watch Sofia Coppola’s Romantic Short Film for Marni at H&M

Edited by Lester Brathwaite

H&M, in a constant stepping-up of their game, tapped Oscar-winner and noted style icon Sofia Coppola to direct the commercial for its newest diffusion line with Marni. Starring model/actress Imogen Poots and set in Marrakesh, Morocco to the dulcet, dreamlike tones of Roxy Music‘s “Avalon,” the clip could easily be a fashionable relic from the 70s. See if you can spot top model Liu Wen after the jump (hint: she’s the Asian chick)!