THIS WEEK IN FASHION 30 MAY- 3 JUNE

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large assisted by Bethan Holt.

Every Friday I'm going to share a digest of the fashiony stories and happennings that caught my attention during the week.  This week an historic appointment at the New York Times, big girls on the cover of Italian Vogue, Freja and Carine for Chanel and a revealing out-take from my Haider Ackermann interview for POP from last Spring... Oh and what has the International Herald Tribune writer Ruth La Ferla got against Marc Jacobs?
1. Vogue Italia uses THREE plus-size models on front cover....

Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine and Robyn Lawley


2. Tom Ford makes a documentary... And tells the story of Yves Saint Laurent's reaction to his collection for the label...(via the Huffingtonpost)

"When I started to get great press and business [at YSL] started to become successful, Yves became really quite hostile," recalled Ford, "and we had a little bit different taste. I have letters that he wrote to me about it, you know: 'In 13 minutes on the runway you have destroyed 40 years of my career.'"

3. Speaking of YSL, Pilati's Resort 2012 collection revives this delicious print from 1971. Divine...



The Poppy Print revived for 2011/12

4. The New York Times appoints its first ever female editor...   Jill Abramson, I salute you and look forward to your New York Times.

Jill Abramson is applauded by her new her team. I love this picture

5. Karl Lagerfeld wins Gordon Park Foundation creativity award and discusses the leaked pictures of his collaboration with Carine Roitfeld... Sexy!

Freja Beha Erichsen stars in the campaign, styled by Carine Roitfeld

The setting... A photo booth!

Chanel branches into masks?

6. Fascinating " interview " in the International Herald Tribune by Ruth La Ferla with Marc Jacobs ahead of his Lifetime Achievement Award at CFDAs on Monday...

Marc in  make-up from Francois Nars portrait book.

While Marc is smarting that his should be "a half-life time achievement award" there seems to be a darker force at work in her piece. In it La Ferla seems to be suggesting that Marc Jacobs has lost it. She alludes to store buyers from Bloomingdale's, Barneys New York and Nordstrom who "declined to comment on the designer's performance". She also quotes a blogger who says that overall the message of his clothes is "pretty banal". She also spoke to stylist Ms Tracy L Cox who works for SJP among others. Cox tells La Ferla that Marc's "clothes don't neccessarily translate on the red carpet." The pull quote of the article, published today, says "In a survey in 2009, his label was ranked 11th in perceived value and prestige. It plummeted to 25th last year."

7. Haider Ackermann adds even more intrigue to Dior rumours according to the LA Times...
"No announcement has come yet, but Ackermann, who is visiting Los Angeles for the first time this week for a special event with Saks Fifth Avenue, hinted that he is ready for a new challenge. "It would excite me," he said over green tea in the garden at the Chateau Marmont. "Sometimes you're drawing a collection, and something doesn't fit. I have more things to say and another house might help me with this."

We shared a glance at a long table of proper-looking ladies Champagne brunching under the porch, with their elegant handbags close at hand.

"I might dream of a woman more elegant and pure," Ackermann said. "Like those women over there?" I asked. He laughed. "Different, but yes."

Could Ackermann rival Galliano's finale outfits?

When I interviewed Ackermann 18 months ago for POP (SS11 edition, read here),  I asked him if - after turning down the job offer to be Creative Director of Maison Martin Margiela - he might consider working for another house in the future. His answer to me was "My tree is too young still. I need to have strong roots for me to be able to divide myself. Step by step. It took me 6.5 years to be standing here and that is good. Lets not rush into things. I don’t want to be at a house just for three years. If I do something I want longevity. I like longevity. I like intimacy." Hmm. So if he takes on a Dior or a Givenchy shaped job he will be doing it for the very long term....

8. Stefano Pilati tells Womens Wear Daily that he is scared of bloggers... oh and on another note I had no idea Kate Moss and Stefano were such great mates....surely with John Galliano in recovery he is a shoo-in to design her wedding gown? Or maybe her dress IS what Galliano is doing in recovery?

Kate and Stefano at the Etam fashion show in January. These two are always hanging out. (image from Zimbio.com)

“I pay attention to all of them and I’m very scared,” Pilati told WWD. “Because who are these people? I would like to sit with them and ask them where they come from. because it’s very easy to judge from your bed. At the same time, I’m fascinated. I’m fascinated by this era and this medium. If people are thirsty about fashion, I like to have a dialogue, but now it’s not a two-way dialogue: it’s a one-way dialogue.”

9. Can't wait to read American Vogue European Editor-at-Large Hamish Bowles' autobiography... (via avenueinsider.com)

Bowles looking dapper in McQueen

10. Gisele is gearing up to be the first supermodel to become a US Dollar  billionaire... according to Forbes magazine Gisele Bundchen, 30, the model from Horizontina in Southern Brazil is a money machine. Last year alone she sold 250 million flip-flops in Brazil earning her in the region of £150 million, thats before we look at her beauty business (currently for sale), her growing property portfolio and various other product deals.

by Mario Testino

11. ASOS announces massive profits... crazy to think that in ten years ASOS has gone from being worth £12.3 million (October 2001) to £1.6 billion (June 2011) (Source: Ft.com.)

12. Erdem (who looked as dapper as ever at last nights Royal College of Art fashion show) has produced a stunning resort collection for 2012 inspired by Hitchcock and Romy Schneider... I would wear this look in a heartbeat.

Erdem continues to work with lace and beautiful prints in this new offering

13. Alexa Chung unveils yet another fashion collaboration... am I alone in thinking Alexa has got her fingers in one too many fashion pies?

14. Alistair Guy's new portraits of some of fashion's most influential people includes this one by one of my best friends, Yasmin Sewell. She look beautiful, as always.

Yasmin Sewell

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
http://www.fashionologie.com/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.nymag.com/
http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.fashionista.com/
http://www.vogue.co.uk/
http://www.howtozipyourfly.com/

MY PARIS AW11 A TUMBLE OF IMAGES

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

It was a monumental Paris. A game-changer, at least in terms of the business of fashion. The last time there was more to report on than the customary new trends and fashion shows was in the late 90s and early 2000's when LVMH and Gucci Group were snapping up designers and brands for their respective conglomerates.

Who knows what will happen between now and September/October when the next runway shows take place. Will Riccardo be moved to Dior as is the word in all quarters? Is Haider Ackermann commercial enough for a move into Givenchy? Can John Galliano recover enough to be seen in public, and can he hope to resurrect his career? Is Sarah Burton designing the Royal wedding dress; or is she, as she protests, busy working on the McQueen brands' hugely significant Met Museum exhibiton, and dressing the attendees of the accompanying ball (three days after the wedding) instead? One thing is certain, right now the fashion industry is the perfect muse for a contemporary Shakespeare. The actual fashion isn't bad either. I'm working on that too. As is customary post the catwalk shows, for the next week I will be sitting in a darkened room with the fashion junior creating a trend report of the season before it all dissolves from my mind...

So welcome to my Paris fashion week tumble.

At the end of the Dior show, which was pretty but surreal after years of seeing the Galliano spectacle, atelier staff came out to take a bow in place of John Galliano. The team, in their white coats, stood and modestly clapped us the audience, while we clapped them. It was a masterful and emotional moment, reminding us - following a decade in fashion that championed fashion designers as stars - that while the creative talent of a fashion house can be disposable, the fashion house itself remains sacrosanct.

This little book is indispensable to me throughout Paris, telling me where to go, when, and who to see about what.

David Bowie taken from Phoebe Philo's inspiration book, placed on seats at the Celine show. Phoebe has hit her stride at Celine. Her show was solid.

Rather loved the Jean Paul Gaultier invitation, and the show was the first one of his I have loved in a long time..

The Jean Paul Gaultier show finale

The Givenchy invitation tickled me; this is a close-up of the Jaguar head featured on one side of the invite. The eyes reflect the silhouettes of a naked make and female. I wonder if this is the exact print Riccardo used in his collection? (below) On closer inspection I don't think so, more's the pity.

The Hakaan invitation was beautiful; this is going into a memory box for future use.  

Below is the translation of Sidney Toledano's address from the beginning of the Dior show. While I respected and admire the manner in which the Dior brand reasserted its power, I still cannot help feeling sorry for John Galliano the man. I hope he will be forgiven for his outrageous conduct.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since its founding by Monsieur Dior, the House of Christian Dior has lived an extraordinary and wonderful story and has had the honor of embodying France’s image, and it’s values, all around the world. What has happened over the last week has been a terrible and wrenching ordeal for us all. It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be. Such statements are intolerable because of our collective duty to never forget the Holocaust and its victims, and because of the respect for human dignity that is owed to each person and to all peoples.
These statements have deeply shocked and saddened all at Dior who give body and soul to their work, and it is particularly painful that they came from someone so admired for his remarkable creative talent. So now, more than ever, we must publicly re-commit ourselves to the values of the House of Dior.


Christian Dior founded his House in 1947.


His family had been ruined in the Crash of 1929 and his own beloved sister had been deported to Buchenwald. In the aftermath of the dark years of the war, he sought to free women, to give them back their sparkle and joyfulness.


Christian Dior’s values were those of excellence in all that he undertook, of elegance and of craftsmanship reflecting his unique talent. His mission was not only to make his clients – indeed all women – more beautiful, but also to make them happy, to help them dream. He saw himself as a magician who could give women confidence and make them ever more feminine, more sublime. He believed in the importance of respect and in the capacity of this fundamental value not only to bring out the beauty in women, but also bring out the best in all people.


His values, his genius and his legacy have contributed to enhancing France’s image and culture around the world for more than sixty years.


The values that Monsieur Dior taught us are unchanged today. Those values are carried on by the wonderful and diverse group of people within the House of Dior who devote all their talent and energy to achieving the ultimate in artisanship and femininity, respecting traditional skills and incorporating modern techniques.


The heart of the House of Dior, which beats unseen, is made up of its teams and studios, of its seamstresses and craftsmen, who work hard day after day, never counting the hours, and carrying on the value and the vision of Monsieur Dior.


What you are going to see now is the result of the extraordinary, creative, and marvelous efforts of these loyal, hardworking people.
Thank you.

Chanel AW11 by Karl Lagerfeld. Chanel I would wear.

More Chanel pour moi.

Roland Mouret always sends us a little note.

The show notes for Nina Ricci, one of the highlights of my Paris and one of my favourite catwalk looks. I am making it my business to profile Peter Copping, that is if he will let me after I compared his looks to an old photo of Monsieur Dior. He took it well though.  

It was lovely for Phoebe Philo to share some of her visual inspiration with us. I can totally see how these images have inspired her work.

Stella McCartney is another designer sweet enough to add the personal touch to her fashion show notes. In her show Stella had a bit of an 80s Miyake, Alaia and Montana big-shoulder-small-waist moment that I have a feeling will be mighty influential in the coming months.

Stella McCartney AW11. Is Stella studying 80s Miyake and Claude Montana "State of Claude Montana" silhouettes? I like this a lot.

Chloe show notes, and a look from a show that can only be Chloe. I hope Hannah MacGibbon stays on there. She has her own very good thing going on.

The novelty show of the week was Nicola Formichetti's work for Thierry Mugler, the show began a week that was topped and tailed by fetish inspired shows - Louis Vuitton ended the week. (Givenchy was also rather fetish, as was Giles show in London.) By the end of Paris fashion week I was taking the fetish trend seriously.

Mulger by Nicola Formichetti

It also begs the question: why can Lady Gaga get away with smoking on a runway, and Kate Moss can't?

 Lady Gaga smoking on the Mugler runway

Kate smoking on the Vuitton runway

Another still from Phoebe's book.

Finally, to my fashion-show music of the week; Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld seemed to take inspiration from the 1979 Cure track A Forest (my all-time favourite Cure number).

Come closer and see
see into the trees
find the girl
while you can
Come closer and see
see into the dark
just follow your eyes
just follow your eyes

I hear her voice
calling my name
the sound is deep
in the dark
I hear her voice
and start to run
into the trees
into the trees

into the trees

Suddenly I stop
but i know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
all alone
The girl was never there
it's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
again and again and again

The show setting felt like we were in the middle of a post-apocalyptic forest with the models stomping in their flat boots through scorched, smoking earth. The quality of the sound coming from the speakers was pretty awe-inspiring. Five days afer the show, the song is still going round in my head. The collection also had some great not-typically Chanel elements too - the butchy trousers, workman inspired boots and some fantastic tweed capes. I leave you with The Cure in 1979. Here, Robert Smith looks like Ben Affleck. Clearly his thick eye-liner and badly applied red lipstick wearing days were just around the corner.

Images: Modem, Celine (Artists Research Management and Anna Kustera Gallery), Jean Paul Gaultier, Givenchy, Modem, Hakaan, WWD, Chanel, Kenzo, Chanel, Roland Mouret, Chanel, Nina Ricci, Celine (Larry Fink, Sibylle Bergemann) Stella McCartney, Chloe, New York Times, Celine (The British Council), Christian Dior, Chanel All catwalk images: Chris Moore/Catwalking

MY KATE MOSS BLAST FROM THE PAST!

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

How's this for funny. When I was 18, Kate Moss was 17. At that time my CV would have read "A-level student and wannabe fashion journalist/stylist who does bit of modelling on the side"; Kate was a gonnabe supermodel. I had a photographer friend called Peter Robathan who wanted me to style some pictures of "this girl called Kate" when she was just starting to get buzz as a model. He wanted the location to be the Rokit warehouse in Crouch End, North London - my home town. Working in Rokit's Crouch End store was my Saturday job, and at that time the owner was also keen for me to select the on-trend clothes to put in their stores and to grade and sort through their tons of jeans. So in the holidays and days off college I did that also. Behind Kate are the bales of compressed clothes (in tons) we sorted through. The excitement of opening a bale was indescribable. A million times better than a jumble sale. Once I found a  tie Salvador Dali had painted.

I forgot all about the day Kate came until yesterday when Peter sent this in my inbox. It was all about grunge then. No such thing as a straight middle parting.

Photo copyright of Peter Robathan.