All those pop-up stores opening up in unexpected locations around town aren't designed to amuse you. They're part of a devious plot to trigger certain chemicals in your brain so that you'll open your wallet and mindlessly hand over every penny you have in your wallet to the person standing behind the register. Really.
This has been an absolutely awful year for the fashion industry thanks to the economic downturn. But you needn't be concerned that the financial crisis has forced Diane von Furstenberg to pick up a part-time job as a cab driver. She only slipped behind the wheel of a cab yesterday to film "a project" for her new line of eyewear. So let's all exhale now, shall we? [DVF]
It wasn't long ago that Louis Vuitton was scrapping plans to open glitzy new stores around the world. But times have changed! The French luxury giant opened its latest outpost this week. And it just so happens to be located in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. (If you're headed in that direction and you'd like to stop by, ask your taxi driver to take you to Sukhbaatar Square. You can't miss it. Really.) To pay tribute to Mongolia's "strong horse riding culture," the company says it's putting some Louis Vuitton equestrian gear on sale. Does this mean residents of Beirut will finally get the LV-emblazoned falafel fryer they've been waiting for when the company descends on the Lebanese capital for the first time later this year? We will soon find out!
Last week, the home accessories company Rosenthal USA teamed up with the salon Warren-Tricomi to open a "pop-up concept store" at the Plaza Hotel. To celebrate the occasion, last Wednesday designers Geoffrey Bradfield, Campion Platt and Antony Todd hosted a party in the hotel's Terrace Foyer. Party correspondent Douglas Marshall took a few minutes to chat with style maven Patrick McDonald, one of the most recognizable figures on the fashion scene (and someone you'll be seeing a lot more of when Bravo's new fashion-centric reality show, Launch My Line, debuts in December). On tap for discussion: men's fashion, shopping during a recession, and Barack Obama's wardrobe.
Why did the Council of Fashion Designers of America just publish a cookbook? Because "food and fashion both start with an 'f,'" explains Diane von Furstenberg, adding that "all designers love to cook," which may very well be true but fails to explain why these designers haven't been sharing their creations with the stick-thin models that appear in their fashion shows up until now.
This could be because Condé Nast is determined to prepare its most overindulged employees for the exceedingly tough times ahead—or it could just have something to do with the fact Vogue's November issue has an environmental theme—but Hamish Bowles, the fashion mag's European editor-at-large, was asked to head to survival school "in deepest southern Utah" as part of an article in the new issue.
If you're anything like us, you stay up late at night and ask yourself that age-old question: Now that the Olsen twins have outfitted us with clothing, shoes, and jewelry (not to mention quality TV programming), when will they finally take the next step and begin designing overpriced sunglasses? That day will soon be here, ladies and gentlemen. A line of Olsen-approved, "vintage-inspired" eyewear will hit stores this spring and will run $325-$390. Let's just hope the glasses are a huge hit. Because bringing them to you hasn't been easy—and may have even required the poor things to take work home with them: "Designing eyewear was definitely more complicated than we thought," reports Mary-Kate. [NYDN]
Proving once again that the fashion industry and France are bastions of racial tolerance and acceptance, the new issue of French Vogue features a photoshoot featuring model Lara Stone in blackface. While we're on the subject of tolerance and acceptance, please note that if you happen to be overweight, Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld (seen here awkwardly clasping the hand of a black man) most assuredly will not tolerate or accept you. In an interview with the German magazine Focus, the 95-pound former fattie (and notorious rabble-rouser) says that women who criticize runway models for being too thin are just jealous fat-asses who sit on the couch all day eating potato chips. Really. Not that these women should get up off the couch and go outside, mind you. "Nobody wants to see a round woman," he says. [Jezebel, NYDN, Telegraph]
Who says you can't protect yourself from swine flu and look stylish at the same time? A Japanese company is now selling a suit that supposedly protects its wearers from coming down with the illness, since the fabric is coated with titanium dioxide, a substance that kills off viruses. The $580 item doesn't cover your nose and mouth, though, so if you decide to make the journey, you may want to pick up an equally fashionable mask while you're there. [The Cut]
The big round of cost cuts and layoffs at Condé Nast isn't just being felt at 4 Times Square. The gloominess has also made its way to Paris Fashion Week. Instead of spending their days observing the action on the runway, some Condé editors have been forced to remain in their hotel rooms to take part in a "dizzying" number of "budget-related conference calls and team meetings," reports The Daily. This could be why Vogue editor Anna Wintour hasn't "been spotted since Dior on Friday." Budget cuts could also explain why poor Anna has been forced to make do with a single snakeskin coat at Fashion Week in London, Milan and Paris. [FWD]
Michelle Obama has been beloved by the fashion community since the early days of the 2008 campaign, as you're probably well aware. But she's now in danger of losing a fan in Tim Gunn. It seems the First Lady made the disastrous decision to wear a pair of crocs a few weeks ago and the Project Runway host isn't having any of it. On the Bonnie Hunt Show yesterday, Gunn started off by saying he was prepared to give Michelle the benefit of the doubt just this once. "I'm trying to look at this positively," he says. "I'm trying to think she was doing a footwear experiment. And she's decided to put them aside."
Reality TV stars artfully bare their souls on camera and in the tabloids, and even better, they do it all without a script. But a TV show is only the first step to building a brand, and now countless pseudo-celebs are milking their 15 minutes and peddling products that you couldn't possibly live without. (Or so they say!) We compiled the most promising items from the brightest minds in faux-showbiz. With these ladies' designs in your style arsenal, your look will never be the same.
Designer Tory Burch received approval last month to tear down her $22.5 million home in Southampton so she could replace it with something more to her liking. But is she also involved in the purchase of the $45 million estate owned by the late Howard Gittis? RealLI seems to think so, although it admits the "details are sketchy," and the Post reported yesterday that the buyer was "unidentified, recession-proof financier." Then again, Burch's fashion business seems to be enduring the recession just fine and it's always possible she decided to start up a hedge fund on the side, so maybe they're all right. [RealLI via Curbed]
It was once fashionable to hate hipsters. Then they all became yuppies and successfully suppressed our collective rage. Until now.
Moammar Khadafy may be completely crazy. And he may be one of the world's worst dictators as far as Washington is concerned. But just because you're a vicious dictator and an international pariah doesn't mean you can't be stylish, too. (And, really: If everyone is going to despise you no matter what, you might as well feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror, right?) Fortunately, we're here to help. Since Khadafy is spending the week in New York—the fashion capital of the universe—it seemed like an opportune time to give the Libyan leader a few style pointers. At last night's reception to celebrate the opening of the Spider Silk exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, reporter Douglas Marshall took celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch aside to get a few tips on how Khadafy could reinvent himself. And because Moammar has always been known to love the ladies—he's protected at all times by a contingent of attractive, female bodyguards, for example—we asked one of the most beautiful women around, actress Heather Graham, to weigh in as well. Some honest advice to Moammar is below.
Photographer Annie Leibovitz may be making an effort to dig her way out of the epic financial mess that nearly left her bankrupt earlier this month. Along five other "personalities," she's been tapped by Louis Vuitton to design a monogrammed canvas backpack for the company. It's actually part of a charity project that will benefit the Red Cross, so it's entirely possible she won't earn a dime from her contribution. Then again, as Grazia notes, here's hoping her work earns her a commission of some sort! [Grazia]
One good thing about summer ending and fall beginning, according to the blog EVGrieve: If you're not too into guys wearing pink shirts (or draping pink sweaters over their shoulders, as the mayor is wont to do now and then), you can look forward to seeing a lot less of that on the streets of the city from now on. At least not until next May. [EVGrieve]
