Grand Chic

vogue italia july 2012

Great fur headgear, where the demarcation between hat and hair is blurred and is lost in the ruffled fullness of the volume. The ample collar of a coat hovering between the French Revolution style and that of the gentlemen from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The cinematographic silhouette of a modern and forever willowy Mrs. Addams.

In the photographs of this fashion story by Sølve Sundsbø a carrousel of inventions unravels, a parade of quotations which, with ironic lightness, show how preciousness, elegance, the very spirit of couture can flow in the lively, everyday universe of prêt-à-porter, giving life to a totally original product, characterized by a strong creative value.

Clothes and accessories go beyond the concept of industrial creation, surpass the purpose of large-scale retail trade and give the wider public the ideas of a fashion that originates in a dream, lives it and makes it reality. The necessity to introduce luxury and dream of couture into the world of p-à-p has never been as strong as at the current time. A moment in which evading uncertainty and anxiety is sought after, by taking refuge in the true comfort food of the soul, which is beauty.

Th Fashion Olympics

Stella McCartney

Christopher Shannon, Michael Van Der Ham and Nasir Mazhar produced 350 costumes for the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, worn by  dancers in a section of the show representing the "present and future of the extraordinary influence of British creatives in the world of youth culture".

The Olympic Games 2012 is all set to become yet another fashion week of sorts, with big designers like Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, Prada, Hermès and Salvatore Ferragamo designing clothes for their national teams. Italian fashion giant Giorgio Armani, who has designed Italian Olympic team’s official kit, under its sportswear Emporio Armani EA7 has happily said that London 2012 would be “the most fashionable Olympic Games ever”. The Italian sailing team on the other hand will don clothes courtesy Prada.

Athletes aren’t the only ones who will be looking stylish this summer: a horde of brands have opened stores in London to celebrate the Games. Victoria's Secret opened its debut UK store in the Westfield Centre in London's Stratford this week. H&M opened two sporting-inspired boutiques in Covent Garden and the Westfield Centre in Stratford. Liberty opened its first store in the Westfield Centre in Stratford; while Opening Ceremony celebrated its debut London retail outlet last week, the same week as Chanel opened its debut UK standalone beauty shop.

Ralph Lauren Gets Lashed Out

ralphlauren.com

Ralph Lauren received a big lash out from lawmakers and observers in the media after ABC News reported in its night broadcast that the 2012 U.S. Olympic team’s uniforms were actually made in China.

Topped with embroidered cotton twill berets, men will don double-breasted blue blazers, along with white trousers and red, white and blue neckties. Women will wear single-breasted blazers and the berets, with patriotic striped scarves and either white skirts or dresses.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ripped into the company, proposing that the U.S. Olympic Committee “put the uniforms in a big pile and burn them and start all over again.” In a rare moment of bipartisan consensus, House Speaker John Boehner also expressed disappointment. “You’d think they’d know better,” he said. Tthe designer in question has been strangely quiet about the outsourcing and about the criticism of his design.

But now the company has released this statement:

“For more than 45 years Ralph Lauren has built a brand that embodies the best of American quality and design rooted in the rich heritage of our country. We are honored to continue our longstanding relationship with the United States Olympic Committee in the 2014 Olympic Games by serving as an Official Outfitter of the US Olympic and Paralympic teams.

Ralph Lauren promises to lead the conversation within our industry and our government addressing the issue of increasing manufacturing in the United States and has committed to producing the Opening and Closing ceremony Team USA uniforms in the United States that will be worn for the 2014 Olympic Games.”

Qatari royal family buys Italian fashion house Valentino

Iconic Italian fashion house Valentino has been snapped up by the Qatari royal family for 700 million euros , marking one of the most prominent purchases of a European top designer brand by an emerging market investor.

Valentino said Mayhoola for Investments S.P.C, which is backed by a leading Quatari investor, had acquired full ownership of Valentino Fashion Group SpA from London-based private equity fund Permira and Italian textile entrepreneurs Marzotto.

Valentino did not disclose financial details of the sale nor name the investor. But two sources close to the deal told Reuters the Quatari royal family had acquired Valentino in a deal that values it about 700 million euros.

Valentino is the latest Italian luxury brand to be bought by a foreign investor, a sign of the resilience of the sector even as Italy sinks into a deep recession.

reference: reuters

Valentino Fall/Winter 2012-13

Set in building symbol of Sicilian baroque,Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi, Valenino's Fall/Winter 2012-13 Ad captures a sophisticated, romantic atmosphere with a subtle darkness that characterizes the new collection. 

The campaign was shot by the renowned American photographer Deborah Turbeville. Models are Frida Gustavsson, Jac and Caroline Brasch Nielsen

Vogue Italia July

vogue.it

Vogue Italia plays with explores the laws of gravity for it’s July Fall/Winter 2012-13 Collections Issue. The Karl Templer, fashion editor explores the color black, with its innate adaptability, that may constitute the common denominator of many different declinations of the female spirit. Also featured are colorful prints by varied designers for Fall/Winter Season.

Proposed by designers are long evening gowns in embroidered tulle or silk georgette, bijoux and shoes with ankle strap: all Gucci. Pantie hose Calzedonia.

Hair Guido for Redken. Maquillage Pat McGrath for Dolce & Gabbana. Set design by Mary Howard.

Alaia to Open Flagship Store

Azzedine Alaia will open a flagship store in the heart of the French luxury retail world — ie Avenue Montaigne — next spring, the designer revealed recently with a certain amount of glee.

It’s a five-floor hotel particulier with an interior courtyard/garden that will function as store/showroom/some offices — and it’s not exactly on Avenue Montaigne. The Maison will be Alaia’s first outpost since Jacqueline Schnabel closed the New York boutique in 1992, and as such is a testament to the growth of the brand over the last few years. Despite the fact Alaia doesn’t advertise and has no on-line presence, Barneys more than doubled its Alaia space last year, the designer is working on private orders at capacity, and it’s one of the few labels that has the power to refuse exclusivity to any store; they sell to both Harrod’s and Harvey Nichols, for example.

Though M Alaia has been close to many fellow designers, he has expressed well-publicised skepticism about the corporate side of the business. The Maison, due to open in late March of 2013, is in the process of being renovated. 

Burberry Fall/Winter 2012-13

Gabriella Wilde and Roo Panes for Burberry

English brand Burberry releases its latest Fall/Winter 2012-13 campaign starring models Gabriella Wilde and Roo Panes via a dozen different social networking sites, complete with video, and a song.

Burberry’s Autumn-Winter campaign celebrates once again the brand’s Britishness – the identity of the label has been tangled with London and the British tradition for more than a hundred years. It’s not just simple photos though. The campaign set in the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, with creative direction by Christopher Bailey and shot by Mario Testino, includes multimedia video content in black and white with short cinematic films to be unveiled on-line and off-line during the season.

"We wanted to play with everything that’s at the heart of the Burberry world” explained Bailey “Celebrating our brand and London through imagery, film, music, weather and our iconic outerwear all in a very poetic and British way".

Dolce & Gabbana Invades Brasil

Dolce & Gabbana in Brasil

Dolce & Gabbana invades Saỡ Paulo with its boutique featuring: mirrors, black walnut wood, red and plum velvet, baroque lamps.

The first Dolce & Gabbana store in Brazil is within JK Iguatemi shopping mall and covers an area of 670 square metres on one floor hosting menswear, womenswear as well as more exclusive areas such as the Vanity Room and the Black Tie Room which is dedicated to the brand new Dolce & Gabbana Jewellery collection.

China's Economic Slowdown

China Experiencing an economic decline | gettyimages

Shoppers visiting mainland China have cut back on purchases of luxury goods   dragging Hong Kong’s retail-sales growth to the weakest pace since 2009.

The slowdown of Asia’s biggest economy is felt throughout Hong Kong, which had record retail-sales gains as recently as last year. In  Macau, the center for Chinese gamblers, a report this week showed that casino revenue was below estimates in June, clouding the outlook for companies including Sands China Ltd.

“The consumption appetite of mainland visitors has dropped compared with last year because of the economic slowdown,” said Raymond Yeung, a Hong Kong-based economist at Australia Banking Group Ltd. "The data is a “warning sign for Hong Kong retailers.”

 “It’s just simple logic that if you have less tourists coming in to buy gold, to buy diamonds, then you would see quite a significantly bad retail-sales figure,” said Lily Lo, a Hong Kong-based economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd.

reference:bloomberg.com

Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2012-2013 Ad

Balenciaga’s Autumn/Winter 2012-13 campaign continues to maintain its feminine and pop appeal in an abstract and sophisticated approach. Staging a natural landscape with straws, wooden fences and sand, it sets a contrasts with the young women clad in uniforms inspired by formal office wear.

Indeed, the power of the images, conceptual yet approachable, with sharp silhouettes coupled with the striking chromatic choices of clothes and the set halfway between reality and fiction.

Photographed by Steven Meisel with models are Linn Arvidsson, Julier Bugge, Hirschy Hirschfelder, Juliet Ingleby and Anniek Kortleve.

Schiaparelli's Rebirth

Diego Della Valle of Tod’s | luxuryinsider

“I am not a reincarnation of Elsa Schiaparelli, but I am very proud to be an ambassador of this house,” said Farida Khelfa as she opened the gilded doors to the vivid interior of the apartment on the Place Vendôme — the very place where the original designer, known as “Schiap,” showed surreal collections in the 1930s.

Diego Della Valle of Tod’s is behind the rebirth of the house of Schiaparelli and is still searching for the right designer to give new life into the brand and ultimately create goods to sell.

Farida, as the cinéaste, stresses the importance of Schiap’s legacy. “I see her as a very strong woman for her time — and so in advance that she worked in fashion with artists nearly a century ago,” she says.

Nobody is thinking that the brand will be a new couture house but rather a home for special pieces, made to order and one of a kind.

“We need a house like this today,” Farida says. “Couture is changing. We need a touch of luxury and really interesting work.”

reference:nytimes

Dolce and Gabanna Couture

D and G's couture "test run" | huffingtonpost

Dolce & Gabbana will be showing its first ever couture collection to a group of clients in Taormina, Sicily on July 9th.

The unveiling will take place far from the fashion media. The choice is strategic, for a number of reasons:

1. It maintains the very exclusive, private allure of the couture;

2. It allows Dolce & Gabbana to avoid the stringent requirements the French couture world imposes on any brand that wants to call itself a full-fledged couture house;

3.  It gives them a chance to launch their first collection free of critics.

Apparently select few — three— media outlets are being invited to the unveiling.A source at the brand simply says the designers have been interested in exploring this area for awhile — the old “artistic challenge” line.