Amen, amen I say to you! Tome Ford recently told WWD that he will, in fact, be launching a womenswear line “very soon.” Ford’s businesspartner, Domenico De Sole, is on the hunt for some financing, and once the monetary aspect is all squared away, we can expect a womenswear collection to hit the runways about 18 months after! I sense some of the best androgyny is lurking in the near future!

Thanks NY Mag!

READ MORE ABOUT: Domenico De Sole, Tom Ford, womenswear, wwd

Terrible or not (okay, terrible), everyone seems to hate Lindsay Lohan and Ungaro. Good thing it was just for publicity? Here’s what the big guns had to say about it:

1.) The Washington Post: “The collection was dominated by fuchsia. It included safety-orange ruched leggings, heart prints, genie pants and heart-shaped glittering pasties. It lacked finesse, sophistication, technical skill and any evidence of good taste. Everyone involved seemed in over their head — swept up in a giant publicity-spewing machine.”

2.) WSJ: “it was hard to imagine that Ms. Lohan and Archs could concoct a collection that is as cringe-worthy as this. Some models appeared on the runway with glittering heart-shaped pasties on their nipples, worn under blazers. Others wore the pasties on their foreheads. Highlights included hot pink streetwalker dresses, an unending hearts motif, and a skintight white mini dress so short that the model’s cheeks hung below the hemline.”

3.) Style.com: “This quickly devolved into a bad joke of a fashion show, one with questionable color combinations, “bad eighties” draped silk jackets and drop-crotch pants, old-fashioned and ill-judged fur stoles, and, yes, tasteless sequin pasties. To top it off, the fabrics and the construction lacked the finesse you expect from a famous Avenue Montaigne brand.”

4.) WWD: “As for the clothes, they looked cheesy and dated … Hot pink, orange and flashy, with an overworked heart motif relentless in its execution, the collection displayed none of the promised younger side Lohan was supposed to deliver. Nor in a million years would one guess that the lineup was designed by one young woman and “creative directed” by another. Glitter heart pasties all around, ladies?“

5.) The New York Times: “Ms. Lohan’s arrival at a 45-year-old Paris house known for $1,500 dresses and a tradition of couture craftsmanship is entirely different, something akin to a McDonald’s fry cook taking the reins of a three-star Michelin restaurant.”

LOL.

LINK LOVE: Racked

READ MORE ABOUT: everyone hates lindsay lohan for ungaro, lindsay lohan for ungaro, New York Times, style.com, The Washington Post, WSJ, wwd

Joe Zee gets chills..from the effects

WWD talks baked goods

V Mag is hungry

My conclusions: Everyone’s going crazy. Although it’s been a good one, every Fashion Week (#nyfw) goer can’t wait for it to be over.

LINK LOVE: Refinery 29

READ MORE ABOUT: #nyfw, joe zee, new york fashion week, rodarte, v magazine, wwd

Damn, Alexis Bledel can actually model! I’m impressed! And thumbs up to the 80’s!

GALLERY: SPREAD UM: “80’s Child” WWD Accessories Fall 2009 Issue

Thanks IMG Models!

READ MORE ABOUT: accessories, alexis bledel, jewelry, wwd, WWD Accessories

This morning WWD reported on the increase in road kill lining the highways of  the Hamptons. It was decidedly lame. You can read the incredibly boring and absolutely useless story by clicking on the link below, but seriously, is this what passes for fashion news now a days?

LINKAGE: WWD

READ MORE ABOUT: hamptons, road kill, what passes for fashion news now a days, wwd

WWD reported this morning that Erin Fetherston was excited to enter the short-film business along with Juliette Lewis.  However, Fetherston later set the record straight: no Lewis in the film (set to be made by Marisa Crawford), and no QVC either.

Fetherston’s husband, Hedi Ferjani was said, again by WWD to be setting up a project with QVC, but again, this was false.

SOURCE: Fashionista

READ MORE ABOUT: Erin Fetherston, Hedi Ferjani, juliette lewis, Marisa Crawford, QVC, wwd

World Wide Women’s Wear Digest, a spoof of Women’s Wear Daily that’s like the Onion of the fashion world, is going to go biweekly, starting with a Met Ball–themed issue on May 4.

READ MORE ABOUT: Onion, wwd, WWWWD

Japanese model Tao Okamoto has recently landed the Ralph Lauren fall campaign, a teaser (above) appeared in WWD earlier this week.

READ MORE ABOUT: ralph lauren, Tao Okamoto, wwd

Last week we bashed Amnau Eele [photo'd center],  director of Black Artists Association,  for making comments against our first lady’s fashion choices on inauguration day. Rumors have begun to circulate that WWD’s reporting on Amnau’s comments were GREATLY FABRICATED (aka they were one big fat lie).

Basically, Amnau’s emails to WWD didn’t contain any mention of Kumbaya, “Our Moment”, or any of the vicious attacks the former model made about Michelle Obama’s freedom to choose. According to one of our adamant commenters (who compared Amnau bashing to a “lynching”) Amnau is claiming the story is false.

So did some press hungry WWD staffer make-up the story? My guess is no.

Of course the other possibility is that Amnau is just freaking now that members of her association are backing out and she’s received a couple death threats. Is she just realizing that she over stepped her boundaries by trying to speak for black designers (her organization only represents black artists)

My guess is that this former spotlight grabber is desperate to not fade away with a legacy that includes becoming America’s number one reason to hate again.

WWD was not available for comments on this matter.

MORE ON THE SUBJECT

Here is the comment from Janice Webb on Fashion Indie

In the 50’s a white woman would say a black man looked at her and white men would rush to lynch the black man with no proof. I found out today that a white woman at wwd said a black woman said we are the world, kumbaya and it’s our moment, and the world including black people rushed to lynch this black woman named Amnau Eele with no proof. I found out today on the radio that in tomorrow’s Washington, D. C. newspaper, the paper is going to show the e-mail interviews that Amnau Eele did with WWD and guess what? Amnau Eele never said one quote that was printed in the WWD article. not one. All of those Quotes belonged to the WWD writer. This is going to be huge.

Here are some responses from the industry on the issue.

- African American Designer B Michael

“I personally believe it is an unfair expectation to place on the first lady,” he said. “Fashion is subjective and a matter of personal choice.”

- Bethann Hardison (Tyson Beckford’s agent)

“The comment is inappropriate. You don’t wear a designer because they are just black; you wear them because they are great.”

- Karyn D. Collins of Asbury Park Press

“I think we start getting into some dangerous territory when we start expecting someone to look, act, speak, etc. a certain way just because they’re black. I think it does a disservice to the designers in question for suggesting that their work should have been selected because they’re black. I’m sure B Michael, Kevan Hall, Mychael Knight, Tracy Reese, Stephen Burrows and any other black designer would be the first to say they would want their design to be worn because the first lady liked the design, period.”

READ MORE ABOUT: amnua eele, black designers, jason wu, michelle obama, tyson bedford, wwd

These Jimmy Choo x Hunter wellies, available in June for $395 add a little class to puddle-jumping.

The boots from the two British mega-labels feature an embossed croc print, leopard print lining, and gold-metal hardware.

From WWD.

READ MORE ABOUT: Foot Fetish, Hunter, Jimmy Choo, wwd

Okay folks, you can put down the champagne bottles, party hats and noise-makers. The celebration (for most…) was fun while it lasted, but the party is over. It’s pretty safe to say that Anna Wintour is NOT retiring and is NOT being replaced by Carine Roitfeld. We all know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Anna Wintour, so let me help the fashion diva out and provide all of you indies with a few trustworthy sources and put this rumor to rest:

Wintour herself told the New York Observer this morning:

 ”I have no plans to leave American Vogue now or in the foreseeable future.”

Also, while speaking to a panel at the Plaza Hotel (Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and New Yorker editor David Remnick were present) she revealed that she wasn’t yet “fed-up” with her job:

“My father always said to me that when you get too angry that’s the time to stop. The day I get too angry is the day I take up gardening.” 

Carine Roitfeld, editor for Vogue France and supposed replacement for Wintour spoke to WWD from London and told them:

“I’m very happy at Vogue France.”

Si Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast, said through a spokesman on Tuesday:

“There’s no truth to it. This is the silliest rumor I ever heard.”

So there you have it. Wintour, Roitfeld and Newhouse all disaffirmed the rumors of Wintour’s retirement and replacement. This is a prime example of why we should ignore non-credible sources and not jump to conclusions. But I did hear that Anna Wintour was pregnant with twins…only kidding… Or am I? No, I’m really just kidding.

Thanks NY Mag!

READ MORE ABOUT: AMerican Vogue, Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld, conde nast, david remnick, graydon carter, new york observer, new yorker, si newhouse, vanity fair, vogue, vogue france, wwd

It can’t just be a result of the volatile economy; it has to also be a sign of the times, an indicator of the future!

Just a month after Men’s Vogue folded, 116-year-old menswear publication DNR is being absorbed into the more popular WWD.

Fashion Week Daily has reported that today is DNR’s last day; starting Tuesday WWD (print and online) will integrate the menswear news that DNR would usually cover into their standing content.

Attention, Indies — now is your chance! Blog it, network it, style it, draw it! The continuing collapse of mainstream and print fashion publications just opens the door that much wider for digital magazines, blogs and websites, and independent designers, models, writers, and others. Let’s face it: the big names have their place, and I love flipping through September issues as much as the next girl. But how many time do you have to see the five same faces or looks?  Countless fledgling menswear designers out there get edged out by the top names.  Industry people and consumers/fans alike, possibly starving for information, will have to turn to alternative resources; will 2009 be a revolutionary year for menswear?

READ MORE ABOUT: DNR, wwd

WWD is reporting that Marc Jacobs has canceled his legendary holiday party this year. To have been themed “Rock and Roll Circus,” the party is a no-go “Due to the financial climate.”

Robert Duffy, Jacobs’ partner in crime, broke the news in an email Tuesday, and hopes the 18-year tradition will continue in 2009.

Image from Catwalk Queen.

READ MORE ABOUT: Marc Jacobs, wwd

Remember our contest with Maurices a few months ago?  Well the winning bag is getting produced and placed in stores next month.

Check out the story from WWD…

Maurices will sell the winning design from its Project Handbag contest at all of its stores beginning Sept. 8. 
With an eye for what’s classic and practical, Christina Oertel, a 27-year-old graphic designer and mother of two from Plover, Wis., won the contest staged by Maurices and FashionIndie.com.

“Christina’s design is fun, stylish and practical, and has a twentysomething attitude that perfectly represents the Maurices brand,” said Lisa Rhodes, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of the Duluth, Minn.-based specialty chain catering to trendy girls in small towns. 

The contest started in January, when aspiring designers and customers submitted handbag sketches. Of the 243 submissions, FashionIndie narrowed the field to 10 possible winners, and 16,000 votes cast on line determined three finalists. A panel of fashion experts selected Oertel as the grand-prize winner in May.

The winning “bag takes a somewhat classic style and enhances it with layering and great detailing,” Oertel said. “The silver and wood accents play off each other, and because the outside is sophisticated and structured, I added bright fabric to the inside to make it more fun.” 

A tag on the bag indicates it was designed just for Maurices by Oertel. Aside from the recognition, she also won a $500 Maurices shopping spree.

FULL STORY HERE

READ MORE ABOUT: Fashion Indie News, maurices, wwd

 “I just can’t walk three blocks without spending serious money.” 

According to WWD Betsey Johnson has moved uptown, and purchased two Madison Avenue apartments. Johnson purchased one for herself and the other for daughter. Johnson’s roots are downtown, so fans were surprised. Once asked about her new uptown dwelling and inspiration, she responded that she now drops crazier cash, like spending 8,000 at Alexander McQueen. For verification, check the quote above. 

Thanks to NY Mag for the pic! 

READ MORE ABOUT: betsey johnson, Quotable, wwd

Hermes is hosting three consecutive equestrian events, according to Women’s Wear Daily. Although Hermes is known for their iconic Birkin bags, divine designs,and celebrity clientele, Hermes origins are in the equine world. Hermes has been involved with the equine world for over 170 years. After all, Thierry Hermes was a saddle and bridle maker. Hermes has always stayed true to it’s roots, which is evident in their logo. Though, Hermes has hosted and sponsored horse shows previously, the brand will be running it’s first Le Galop Hermes event, a highly anticipated horse show, in, of course, France.  

READ MORE ABOUT: Hermès, wwd

Doo-Ri Chung

Zac Posen

Peter Som

WWD has reported that fur is no longer “relegated to designers of a certain age, the fur industry is relying on a cast of fresh faces, including Peter Som, Chris Benz, Doo-Ri Chung and Zac Posen, to help woo new customers.” I never realized that there was an age requirement for the use of fur but I guess I understand that fur requires a ‘mature’ taste.

The question remains; are fur sales down? Are young designers being asked to revamp the fur industry in order to sell more animal skins? According to an old article on Fabsugar, “despite a dip in fur sales last year, customers are currently more interested in smaller fur pieces like stoles and hats.” I guess we’ll see what happens next season.

READ MORE ABOUT: chris benz, Doo-Ri Chung, Fabsugar, Fur, Peter Som, wwd, zac posen

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdzHrau35jA&[/youtube]

Last night we missed French export Yelle as she preformed at Hiro Ballroom (indie friendlies Love Brigade didn’t miss the festivities), but its a quartet of ladies from the land of Evian that have gotten our attention lately. The Plastiscines are quickly becoming a group worth noting since they rocked the Coachella music festival last weekend and managed a WWD photoshoot just a few hours after their performance.  Lead singer Louise talked to the paper about her style saying, “I like to mix everything — Seventies, Sixties and Nineties stuff…I really like Patti Smith’s style and Debbie Harry’s style, but I don’t have one specific influence.”

When comparing style in Paris to the US the Louise said,  “It’s way easier to dress as you want [in the U.S.]…In Paris, people are stylish, but in a classical way. Like, Katty wouldn’t wear that (an electric blue vintage dress) on the street in Paris.”  Really, you can’t wear electric blue in Paris?  Not even in the Red Light district?

READ MORE ABOUT: the plastiscines, wwd

WWD just released a spread featuring designers who have “re-invented” velvet for todays luxeteer.  I must admit the looks are hot, but so is the way you’ll feel inside of these sweat inducing shells. Velvet doesn’t breathe ladies, so before you attempt make sure you’ve got a powerful speed stick working for ya and not the “Strong Enough for a Man” shit either, invest in some Mitchum Extra-Strength.  Or, better yet, get some aluminum filings and apply directly to all heat zones, yeah you might lose your hair, but you’ll be very, very in.

READ MORE ABOUT: wwd

Love you Irin.

WWD just rolled out this story about bloggers and big companies. I got a sound byte in. So did blogger friendlies Julie Fredrickson of Coutorture, Tiny Craig of Bag Snob, Lesley Scott of Fashion Tribes, Susie Bubble of StyleBubble, and Susan Cernek from Glam.com.  As always, I’m portrayed as the “complainer”. Hell, if a fashion brands gonna fuck up by not inviting me, the world’s gonna know about it.  I can’t stand idle while thrown to the sidelines.

WWD – March 28, 2008

Bringing Bloggers Into the Club

By Irin Carmon

Though it has long been a cliché to talk about an Internet revolution, in the fashion world, companies are still figuring out how to join it, especially when it comes to online media.
Fashion houses first dipped their toe in the waters of the blogging world by granting credentials for bloggers to enter the tents at New York Fashion Week and, if they were lucky, standing room space at a few shows. Eventually, some of the more reputable — or aggressive — were granted seats.

Now, between the seemingly anarchic independent online venues and the ever-striving but sometimes anemic Web offerings of magazine companies, fashion brands and public-relations firms are starting to suss out places where the relationships can progress.

“All these things we’ve been hearing about for years are starting to come through,” said Alex Bolen, chief executive officer of Oscar de la Renta. “In the blogosphere, the wheat is being separated from the chaff. I would say that respected and trusted authorities are emerging.”

For de la Renta, that’s meant tentative but pioneering steps to collaborate with bloggers in a manner similar to the company’s relationships with the big media companies.

And while Internet-only venues are still experimenting themselves, some are becoming more like fashion magazines in other ways. Julie Fredrickson of Coutorture, who has made herself prominent in the debate, said she no longer considers Coutorture a blog, since it has begun steadily producing editorial shoots with models (mostly working for free) and samples called in from designers. They shot de la Renta and Isaac Mizrahi fall collections for online spreads that cost about $300 to $400 each to produce — not exactly Annie Leibovitz for Vogue, but significantly more investment than some might expect.

“I got tired of blogging in a lot of ways,” Fredrickson said. “A lot of people are focused on re-blogging stuff. It’s not actually media — it’s looking at photos and commenting on it. Fast, real-time shoots, sort of guerrilla fashion spreads, are the next revolution.”

In an industry built partly on exclusivity and limited access, participating in such projects is a gamble for these companies. “We as brand managers spend a lot of time trying to protect and control our environment,” conceded Bolen. “There is a certain giving up of control once things go out on the Internet….[But] my feeling is that it will happen anyway, so I’d rather be involved.”

Deciding where to focus that involvement has become easier now that there are known quantities of online fashion writers among the countless bloggers out there — even if they aren’t commercial ventures on the scale of a major fashion title. “There’s a weeding-out period,” said Lesley Scott, editor in chief of Fashion Tribes, adding, “There are higher standards now. It’s not enough to have a blog. You have to earn your readership on a weekly and daily basis.”

Of course, some companies remain uninterested in dealing with bloggers. “The biggest resistance I feel is from brands that don’t want overexposure — the very elite, very high-fashion brands that are concerned with oversaturation in the market,” said Susan Cernek, fashion and beauty director of the blog network Glam.com.

Still, the targeting possibilities online are significant. As persistent job cuts and readership declines continue to afflict the newspaper industry, local bloggers become a way to fill the vacuum for brands looking to make a dent in that particular region. “There are fashion bloggers in a lot of major markets where the local offline press does not have a style section. In those places, targeting local fashion bloggers helps build that buzz in small but major markets,” Cernek said.

Hamilton South, partner at HL Group, recalled seeing such a phenomenon in action with Tina Craig of the blog Bag Snob at a Valextra event in Dallas, an experience that countered any supposition that fashion blogs’ readers are kids who can’t afford to buy. “These were very serious grown-up female consumers,” South recalled. “Many were middle aged, very affluent, and [Craig] was the voice of authority.”

And contrary to the image of the blogger setting up shop to reap freebies, Craig at least said she buys all of her own bags and sends back bags sent to her from p.r. firms to retain her objectivity, unless they’re to be used for giveaway contests on the site.

Craig and her business partner, Kelly Cook, have leveraged their audience of 200,000 uniques and 500,000 page views per month — and their previous experiences in the fashion and entertainment industries — to forge closer contacts with brands. At de la Renta, for instance, Craig visited the showroom and what she referred to as “Oscar’s inner sanctum.”

“I got more out of him in that hour than in any of my years in the fashion industry,” she raved. The Web site and the fashion house cohosted an event in Dallas and at the Melrose Oscar de la Renta stores.

“That was a culmination of two years on our part to show that we’re professionals,” she said. “We’re working to change the way consumers and manufacturers interact.”

She pointed to one de la Renta fall handbag, the Goya, which drew tremendous interest after being featured on Bag Snob. “The projected price was $11,000. After we featured it, there was such a huge response and so many people were calling, they dropped it to $4,750.”

(Bolen had a slightly different take, however. “What would be fair to say is that the demand that came exclusively from Bag Snob readers had us rethink our projections and production assumptions for that bag. Whether that had a price impact, I think that might be a bit of a stretch.”)

“We are not deluded in thinking our blogs will ever replace Vogue or Allure, but we think we strive to be a strong supplement to them and fill a niche that we feel is missing,” Craig told WWD.

As fashion brands experiment with online advertising and their own e-commerce and content sites, their editorial collaborations with online venues are helping them figure out what to do. But the ground is still shifting, both for them and for the bloggers, who are suddenly getting calls and e-mails returned they might never have gotten before. “The old way of doing things was very set in stone,” said Scott. “We’re all making it up. We all can have a hand in making it a good, healthy thing, or making it adversarial.”

Witness Gucci’s experience in trying to marshal fashion bloggers for its microsite to celebrate the opening of the company’s Manhattan flagship during New York Fashion Week, following a similar effort by Chanel, which in September flew a group of bloggers from around the world to Paris to promote its Coco Mademoiselle fragrance.

Gucci flew in bloggers from places like London and Japan, all expenses paid, and asked some to blog about their favorite New York experiences. Fashion Indie blogger Daniel Saynt complained on his blog, to broad pickup around the Web, that actual New York-based bloggers had been shafted, and he later received an invite to the brand’s lavish party at the United Nations. (A spokeswoman for Gucci said New York bloggers had always been invited, but that not all were able to attend.)

There, Saynt chatted and took photos with creative director Frida Giannini, and the company also had a bloggers-only tour of the store hosted by chief executive Mark Lee. “Can’t hate on Gucci anymore,” Saynt wrote on his blog. “Good job Gucci on keeping tabs on us rogue publishers. It’s the Wild, Wild West on the Web and it seems you’ve figured out ways to keep us outlaws happy.”

Inevitably, the more access independent online fashion media gets, the more liable it is to fall under the pressures of traditional fashion media: advertisers counting editorial credits, and write-ups glossing over certain things for the sake of relationships. Bloggers are still wrestling with the question.

“I’ll be brutally honest and say that when Gucci first approached me about participating in this trip and attending the event…I had to question whether me posting about Gucci, a brand that I have never shown great love for, would be blog-ethical,” wrote Susie Bubble of Style Bubble in London. “The way I did approach it is to perhaps try and see if I would personally have a change of opinion, whilst taking in a trip on behalf of the blog.”

But like print magazines, many bloggers believe they’ll be able to maintain their editorial integrity. Craig noted that even when her site is tough on bags from Louis Vuitton or those on offer at eLuxury — a site with which it partners — the posts are still referring readers and buyers to those sites. “They all realize that being talked about is good, even when it’s not so positive,” she said.

READ MORE ABOUT: wwd