The Trench is Back Yet Again, But With a Twist This Time Around

With the holidays upon us, you’re probably looking forward to wrapping up in a cashmere blanket and settling down for a long winter’s nap. Don’t get too comfy. The Spring collections will be arriving in stores a few weeks after New Year’s, and the season’s must-have coats will go fast. In 2010, you’re going to want a trench.… OK, we know what you’re thinking: Every season, it seems, publications like ours are proclaiming, “The trench is back.” But this time, we’re not talking about the classic version. The utilitarian topper has been tweaked: At Aquascutum, Michael Herz added feminine ruffles. Alexander Wang sliced the sleeves off. Nina Ricci’s Peter Copping went long, and the designers at Christian Dior, Comme des Garçons, and Hermès chopped their versions at the waist. -Style.com

Here are some pics of the latest trench styles hitting runways. The First one at the Top is Alexander Wang.

Sacai

Pringle of Scotland

MAXMARA

Hermes

Roberto Cavalli

Burberry


You guys like?...I do.

Is Tilapia the New Snake Skin???

All up and down runways of various designers, snake skin has been incorporated some how. Well Angie and Penny Designs are now creating Talapia, YES FISH, skined bathing suits and purses.The fabric is waterproof, and the model says it's pretty comfortable. And you know no one else will be wearing the same suit. It is priced at $84 on the Angie & Penny's website, so you can get your hands on it if you want to.

Check out the video

Lacoste Attempts to Save Its Mascot: Crocodiles

Fashion companies frequently sponsor charity galas, but mostly to fund medical research for things like heart disease or HIV/AIDS. Usually they're not putting money toward saving animals, unless it involves a fancy party where they can bring their dogs dressed up in embarrassing outfits under the auspices of promoting pet adoption. It's not often they support saving reptiles, because they like to make bags, shoes, and purses out of them. However, Lacoste will spend $500,000 over the next three years to help preserve endangered crocodiles. They're a giant corporation, but a corporation with a heart. Besides, half a mil over three years isn't a whole lot for them to spend on a charitable marketing device.

Lacoste was talked into the scheme by the people at the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature who run the "Save Your Logo Initiative." Lacoste is the first fashion company to sign on:

“We hope to be able to give back to our iconic crocodile — to whom we owe so much — a small part of what he has brought us,” [Lacoste president Michael] Lacoste said. “Seventy-five years ago, we were the first company to embroider a logo on apparel, and now we are the first company to support ‘Save Your Logo.’”


Much of Lacoste's croc-saving efforts will concentrate on the Gange gharial crocodile, of which only 1,400 are estimated to remain in the wild. Already Lacoste bigwigs are prancing around on the Indian subcontinent with their crisp, white, croc-emblazoned polos, taking pictures with the little guys. (Facebook!)

Save Your Logo says more than 300 large global brands use animals or plants threatened by dwindling biodiversity in their logos. And so it falls on Vineyard Vines to save the whales. You know anyone wealthy and foolish enough to buy these can afford it.



Read more: Lacoste Now Attempting to Save Crocodiles -- The Cut. New York Magazine.

Stylin' Zoe Style

Zoe kicked things off last Thursday at the Avatar world premiere in a silver mermaid gown with structured shoulders from RM by Roland Mouret accentuated with a long Neil Lane diamond necklace.

For the L.A. premiere of Avatar earlier this week, though, she kicked it back into high gear (and high fashion) in the Versace Spring 2010 mini chain dress and Brian Atwood gold Maniac pumps.

When she headed to The Late Show with David Letterman on Monday, Zoe dressed classically casual with a L’Agence jersey scoop-neck top, white ultra skinny jeans and a grey blazer.

I found this on concreteloop. Perfect for my blog =)
And by the way, if you haven't seen Avatar, GO SEE IT! It was really good!

SEX AND THE CITY PART 2 SNEAK PEAK

Project Runway Season 7

Check out this just-released photo of the new cast of Project Runway's seventh season. The last installment was low on drama--and talent, some would argue. We called Irina Shabayeva's season-six win from episode one!--but here's hoping in this group shot is the next Daniel Vosovic or Christian Siriano waiting to wow us with runway-ready designs made from fresh produce. For now, we're at least happy the show is moving back to New York, so we'll at least tune in to the premiere, January 14 at 10/9c on Lifetime.

Style Alert! Rihanna "Hard"

Now everyone who knows me, knows that I am obssessed with Rihanna's style. When I saw these photos from the Video Shoot, I LOST MY MIND! lol Check them out! I haven't figured out who the designer was just yet, but as soon as I do, I will be sure to let you guys know!

Out of This World Looks from China Fashion Week 2010

VERYYYY INTERESTING!!

Check this out, I think its simply amazing, weird, crazy, and out of this world!

Designers who show in Paris have always been considered among the most avant garde in the world, but China Fashion Week took it to a new level recently with its kooky creations that included a polka dotted body suit affixed with clocks, a comic book-esque checkered jumpsuit with cat ears and paws, and colorful Harajuku girl-inspired ensembles (replete with stuffed animals of course). There was also a smattering of walking metal art sculptures and candy colored confections with matching tights!

Christian Lacroix Designs French Railway Uniforms

Ok remember when I made the post about Christian Lacroix being reduced to a licensing operation, well i jus found an article about an upcoming project he's doing.

Christian Lacroix may have been reduced to a licensing operation, but it looks like the designer is on the fast track to recovery.

French railway company SNCF has tapped Lacroix to design its uniforms, reports WWD.

Starting next month, some 20,000 SNCF employees will find going to work significantly more stylish in the new Lacroix gray and purple outfits.

Women can change up their daily designer look with the selection of blouses, skirts and jackets, while men have pants, striped shirts and jackets to choose from, says the source.

This isn't the first time, the couturier has gone mass appeal. Lacroix previously designed the train car interiors for TGV and staff uniforms for Air France.

The fall of the house of Lacroix has been making fashion headlines all year. Get up to speed on the current state of the fashion designer.

Here's a photo of Christian Lacroix's Air Fance Uniforms

Eighties Beauty: High Impact Eyes and Extreme Color!

In the last fifteen years, makeup legend François Nars has collaborated with photographers like Patrick Demarchelier and Bruce Weber; worked backstage at runway shows with such designers as Dolce & Gabbana and Karl Lagerfeld; and created his own blockbuster brand. No doubt about it—the man is a beauty arbiter. But ask him about his favorite decade for makeup, and you just might be surprised: "I love the eighties! The makeup was all about spontaneity and creativity." In fact, he returned to fashion week to create brilliant looks inspired by the decade—65 different ones, to be exact—for his friend Marc Jacobs's fall/winter show. This holiday, channel the spirit of an eighties rock star by wearing a punchy color on the eyes. "Start with a pencil in the shade you want and blend it over the entire lid," advises Nars. "It creates a creamy base, and when you go over it with a powder eye shadow, the color stays really well." Or if you prefer neutral tones, pick metallic colors that will give you a sophisticated, softly lit look. "Either way, don't worry if the makeup isn't perfect or gets worn in later," assures Nars (who, incidentally, is celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of his makeup line with two palettes packed with his best-selling shades, and a new book called NARS15X15 (Chandelier Creative). "It's cool to look a little wild!"
—JANE SHIN PARK from TeenVOGUE

Video Update! Rihanna and Jezzy "Hard" Video Preview

V Magazine to Devote January Issue to Plus-Size Models

After its recent flirtation with blackface, V magazine has settled on a new publicity horse for its January issue. "Page Six" reports that the magazine's first installment in the new year will be devoted to plus-size models. "Big, little, pint-size, plus-size — every body is beautiful. And this issue is out to prove it," V editor Stephen Gan said. Models, which include Crystal Renn, appear clothed and nude, shot by photographers Terry Richardson, Bruce Weber, and Karl Lagerfeld, among others.

Like giving nonwhite models a fair shot at landing runway shows, ad campaigns, and editorials, casting plus-size models shouldn't be so out there that it becomes an item to ooh and ahh over in "Page Six." After all, plus-size models are really just normal-size people deemed "plus" by fashion's extreme standards. Lagerfeld told Focus in October, "No one wants to see curvy women. You've got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly."

Plus-size models worked out pretty well for Glamour. After the magazine's photo of plus model Lizzie Miller became a sensation, editor Cindi Leive decided to use models of Miller's size in editorials for future issues, rather than rushing out a splashy PLUS MODELS ONLY issue. When magazines devote entire issues to that thing that they've shunned, it has the effect of tokenizing it. Look at the issue Italian Vogue devoted to black models. It was fantastic, but what then? Did the magazine incorporate new ideals into editorial concepts moving forward?

V is a very different sort of magazine from Glamour. You won't find life advice in there about boyfriends and destressing and loving yourself and having great sex all at the same time. You find terrific pictures of the trendiest models wearing (or sometimes not) the trendiest clothes out there. And the January issue sounds like just that: a trend.

Antonio Berardi Refused to Work With Lady Gaga, Cites ‘Meaningless’ Music

Not everyone in fashion is dying to get their wares on Lady Gaga. Antonio Berardi, who is perhaps best known for his heel-less shoes favored by Victoria Beckham, told Australia's Herald Sun he was offered the chance to work with her, and turned it down:

"I was approached to design a clothing range with Lady Gaga but I knocked it back because I wasn't interested in someone whose music is meaningless," says Berardi, whose celebrity clientele also include Megan Fox, Amber Rose, Eva Mendes and Gwyneth Paltrow.

"Her music is meaningless now so what impact will it have in 20 years?" he said in Sydney.


Berardi is entitled to dress whatever famous person he wants, and it is refreshing to know that not everyone in fashion thinks Gaga is the most compelling thing in the pop world since Madonna kissed Britney. But if he dresses a former Spice Girl and bases this decision off music, it begs the question: Does the line, "I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha" have more substance than, "Let's have some fun, this beat is sick I wanna take a ride on your disco stick?" Mankind may never know, but we're just putting that out there.

Spring 2010 Trends With Neiman Marcus' Ken Downing

Ken Downing, senior vice-president and fashion director of Neiman Marcus, took time out of his rather busy day to talk to New York's fashion director, Harriet Mays Powell, about the spring 2010 trends. From denim (and not just jeans) to tribal to the return of romance, Downing clues us in as to what will be in store this coming season. What's he most excited about from the collections? Believe it or not, biker shorts! Not the Lycra ones you have buried in your closet (seriously, burn those) but the gray knit ones from Prada. Want to know what five items you need in your closet and what's replaced the trench? Watch the video to find out.

New Louboutins on Mens Feet

Pharrell Williams was spotted in Miami on Thursday rocking the new Christian Louboutin “Freddy Flat - Las Vegas” shoes.
I love these!! What do you guys think? They're too hott!

Ever Wanted to Wear Your Fav Celeb's Dress?

HAVE you ever wished you could borrow a dress from Kate Moss' wardrobe, or that Scarlett Johansson lived round the corner and let you plunder her red carpet wares? Well, Topshop might be about to make your Christmas wishes come true.

The brand's new initiative, Dress Me Up, will allow shoppers to hire dresses owned by stars including Kate Moss, Freida Pinto, Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Palermo, Jourdan Dunn, Erin O'Connor, Naomi Campbell, Sophie Dahl, Nicola Roberts and Dita Von Teese - as well as designers including Richard Nicoll, D&G, Burberry, Zandra Rhodes, Meadham Kirchoff, Clements Ribeiro, Marios Schwab, Danielle Scutt, Jonathan Saunders, Christopher Kane and Emma Cook - for one day only.

The dresses will then be auctioned, giving you the chance to own your favourite dress forever with all proceeds from hire fee and the auction going to Topshop's chosen charities Age Concern and Help the Aged. And the best news is, the hire fee is just £40.

"Having worked with Topshop for so long, we didn't think twice about donating our dress. It's such a great cause, especially at this time of year," Emma Cook explained. "The combination of being able to help support Age Concern and Help The Aged and the chance for someone to wear our dress that wouldn't ordinarily be able to afford to, is such a fantastic concept."

Here are some of the dresses...

46 Percent of Those Who Buy a Counterfeit Handbag End Up Purchasing the Real Thing....interesting!

New research coming out of MIT reveals people have a difficult time discerning real luxury goods from fakes, and rely instead on the social cues of the person carrying the handbag or wearing the garment. And though the fashion industry has waged a heady battle against the counterfeit industry, Renee Richardson Gosline, an assistant professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, found that 46 percent of people who buy a fake luxury item end up buying the real version of the same thing, even though no one can really tell the difference. [MITnews]



Read more: 46 Percent of Those Who Buy a Counterfeit Handbag End Up Purchasing the Real Thing -- The Cut http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/12/46_percent_of_those_who_buy_a.html#ixzz0Z7x3wjU6

Lilly Pulitzer Ups Its Cool Factor With M.A.C.

It seems as if Lilly Pulitzer is in collaboration overdrive as of late: The label's paired up with Garnet Hill and LeSportsac. Now the Palm Beach preppy is teaming up with M.A.C. to launch a line of polishes, glosses, and shadows set to hit shelves next month. M.A.C. is normally known for working with groovy artists like Marilyn Minter and Jin Soon Choi, and landing artists like Lady Gaga for ad campaigns, so the pairing did strike us as a bit odd. But M.A.C. added a much-needed dose of coolness to the pink-and-green paisley label; the products are bright, fun, and of course, colorful (it is M.A.C. after all).



Read more: Lilly Pulitzer Ups Its Cool Factor With M.A.C. -- The Cut http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/12/lilly_pulitzer.html#ixzz0Z7vGFCPR

Christian Lacroix to Be Reduced to a Licensing Operation With Only Eleven Employees

Dec 1st is a sad one for bankrupt fashion house Christian Lacroix. A French court has approved the restructuring plan submitted by the label's current owners, the Florida-based Falic group. The Ajman sheikh who was expected to buy the label for 100 million euros and transform it into a lifestyle brand beyond its most fabulous dreams (one that makes palaces) failed to submit financial guarantees on time. And now the fashion world is left to mourn what is hopefully only a temporary loss of Lacroix shows from the fashion calendar.

Under the Falic plan, the label's couture, ready-to-wear, and retail operations will close down. Only eleven employees of the 120 employed will stay on. Licensing deals will be used to pay off the label's debts. Deals remain for some menswear, wedding dresses, scarves, and perfume.

But it's anyone's guess as to when, or if, the 22-year-old label's heralded poufs and lace finery will return to the runways. Another very wealthy investor could still rescue the house negotiating directly with the Falic group.

Lacroix and his CEO had said weeks ago that despite the sheikh's paperwork delay, they felt confident in him and his plan, which they favored above all others. They are surely not the only ones disappointed this morning. Bailout fail.



Read more: Christian Lacroix to Be Reduced to a Licensing Operation With Only Eleven Employees -- The Cut http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/12/christian_lacroix_to_be_reduce.html#ixzz0Z7u07fTN

The Christian Louboutin Barbie

He may have said that Barbie has fat ankles but Christian Louboutin didn’t let that stop him. The shoe designer simply reshaped them and moved on to making the 50-year-old doll his muse and inspiration. Creating his own Barbie, Christian Louboutin turned her into a ‘Cat Burglar’ in head-to-toe vinyl and has four pairs of Christian Louboutin heels to call her own.

“Barbie is such an icon; how could I resist such a collaboration?” said Christian Louboutin.

To celebrate the launch of the Christian Louboutin Barbie on Net-A-Poter, the pair went on a journey around Paris that was documented for an official Christian Louboutin and Barbie calendar entitled ‘A Year in Paris’ where the pair was photographed around Paris together getting up to all kinds of mischief.

Both the ‘A Year in Paris’ calendar and Christian Louboutin Cat Burgular Barbie are available on Net-A-Porter.com now with a flash slide show giving us a preview of the calendar. Unfortunately the calender comes with the £100 collectors Barbie, so the slide show (or our images below) may have to suffice.

UPDATE: The Christian Louboutin Barbie sold out within 24 hours on Net-A-Porter.com. You’ll have to wait until next year when the safari, showgirl and Cannes Film Festival themed Louboutin Barbies are released to score yourself one of these collectables.


Preview of ‘A Year in Paris’ calendar
(screen captured from Net-A-Poter)