Fortress of Luxury - Hermès securing its assets

Following the riveting conflict of LVMH taking over 17.1% of Hermès' shares in October 2010, the founding family is bracing itself to preserve its precious heritage.

The extended family of Hermès International - which owns 73.4 of the company - reportedly pooled more than 50 percent of the shares in a holding company. This defence mechanism now depends on regulatory assent.
Within the holding company, a certain part of the future dividends will be put aside and locked up as a security to buy out family members who might want to sell their shares to LVMH.
Despite the fact that none of the family owns more than 5% of the shares - which equals about 0.8 billion euros at current market rates- the clan has profited quite nicely from the LVMH coup.

The market instantly reacted to those precautions: the price of Hermès shares fell by 3.15 percent and settled down at 148.90 euros that very day.
As a result of the common believe after the LVMH buy-in was that Bernard Arnault - CEO of luxury conglomerate LVMH and richest man in France - was about to seize control of Hermès, the artisan brand's shares had risen over 200€ in October 2010.

Bertrand Puech, direct descendant of Thierry Hermès and chair of the management family board at Hermès once more stressed that "LVMH will not be able to take control of the group" and announced that the creation of the holding company was another "demonstration to all those who do not want to believe us. We are a united family, driven by the same spirit of transmitting to our descendants the unique jewel which we have received from our parents."

Let's hope the new fortress wipes away the bitter aftertaste of insecurity and disaccord within the family which might have been stirred up by the peculiar events. And let's also hope that the family members of the Hermès clan did not pull the Trojan horse within its walls.

xoxo
Glamazone


Source: reuters.com, fashionmag.com, ftd.com

Model of the Moment: Freja Beha Erichsen

Freja Beha Erichsen is absolutely no newcomer - but you simply have to love her style. With her unobtrusive beauty, her rockstar looks and locks, the 23-year old Dane is currently one of the most requested models in the business.

Freja Beha made her debut in 2005 and has not missed out on many of the major catwalk shows these last few seasons.
Chanel, Pucci, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Chloé, Lanvin, Stella McCartney, Celine, Bottega Veneta,... you name it, she walked it.

You have certainly seen her face numerous times, as this Danish beauty is featured in so many editorials and ad campaigns at the moment that you cannot manage to flip through a magazine without spotting her: Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino, Max Mara, Roberto Cavalli, as Balenciaga, Jil Sander, Gucci, Hugo Boss,Tom Ford eyewear, CK, Gucci & H&M...

Also, she is one of the faces of the fragrance Gucci by Gucci along side Natasha Poly and Raquel Zimmermann.
A tad bad girl, a tad hippie a lot of rock'n roll (she notably has 16 tatoos), she definitely has one of those versatile faces and the kind of charisma you cannot get enough of.

Being ranked No.2 at models.com, hardly any other model seems to represent the 2010 zeitgeist as much as Freja Beha Erichsen.

xoxo
Glamazone

Source: www.frejabeha.com
Picture Source: style.com, tomford.com, chanel.com,

Hermès takes a plunge with a new flagship store

Hermès International has opened another flagship store in Paris, Thursday, 18th November 2010. The brand's 134th store comprehends the second biggest sales floor to date and is located on Paris' Rive Gauche on Rue De Sèvres. After 173 years of fidelity to the Rive Droite, the artisanry brand opened its first boutique on the left side of the Seine bank.

The former Lutetia Hotel’s indoor swimming pool, which is offering 15, 800 sq.ft (1467.868 m²), dispersed over three floors, has been converted to a luxurious space displaying Hermès' precious lines of products.

As the opening of the Rue de Sèvres flagship coincided with the launch of Hermès' interior line, nearly half of the space is dedicated to the new home range. The mega boutique showcases furnishings, fabrics, carpets and the new furniture re-editions by Jean-Michel Frank.
Also, the boutique houses three nearly 30-foot-tall huts carved from latticed ashwood, designed by architect Denis Montel of RDA, its own florist, stocked with flora rarities, a book store (Chaîne d’Encre - a little worldplay with Hermès' signature Chaîne d'Ancre) and a salon de thé with the apt name Le Plongeoir (The diving board) situated on its balcony.

As newsworthy as the spectacular interior of the new flagship was the appearance of one special guest amongst the numerous felicitators: Salma Hayek-Pinault, wife of PPR's François-Henri Pinault paid a visit to congratulate on the new retail space extraordinaire. A very political appearance given the recent public conflict between Hermès and PPR's main competitor LVMH. 

Never underestimate the effects of a common concept of the enemy.


xoxo
Glamazone

Source: style.com, rositakerdlarppol.blogspot.com,
Picture Source: style.com, rositakerdlarppol.blogspot.com

Lanvin goes Mainstream IV - Fashion Show Fabulous

Yesterday, 18th November 2010, we got another milestone closer to the actual launch of the Lanvin ♥ H&M collection, which will finally hit stores this saturday. With a bright, sparkly, kitsch-fabulous major shabang, Alber Elbaz presented his collection to a select fashion crowd at the Pierre hotel in New York. Fashion editors, bloggerati, fellow designers and industry crowd as well as celebrities were witnessing a show that felt like the most excessive, exuberant yet fun and relaxed fashion show seen for a long while.


The models were "making love to the camera" like back in the days and the usually rather reserved "been-there-done-that" audience raved about the latest high fashion meets high street fusion. Also a major highlight was a picturesque Anna Dello Russo strutting down the catwalk in a pink one-shoulder dress, with a grey poodle on a leash.
The collection presented yesterday was a special edition that was modified from the pieces, which will be available in select H&M stores worldwide. The uniquely customized high-end items of the show (24 pieces) plus five signed Alber Elbaz sketches are auctioned for the benefit of UNICEF on 26th November 2010. Bidding closes at 11.59 CET. 


 xoxo
Glamazone


Source: style.com, WWD.com, fashionista.com
Picture Source: style.com, fashionista.com

Outlook Pitti Uomo #79

Details about the 79th edition of Pitti Immagine Uomo that will take place in its usual spot at Fortezza da Basso in Florence, Italy on January 11 - 14 2011 have been made known to the public. As Raffaello Napoleone, Pitti Immagine’s CEO, announced beginning of this week, the trade fair organiser will launch two online trade fairs in January to complement Pitti Uomo and Pitti Bimbo.

As this year's special guest designer for Pitti W, the woman's pre-collection exhibition that is held parallel to Pitti Uomo, British designer Gareth Pugh has been selected. As a special events director leaked, he will be showcasing his collection in a rather unusual location - one that had never before hosted a fashion show.

"Gareth Pugh was already one of the leaders of the generation of young British fashion designers who helped to make that evening so exciting.  We have followed his work in London and Paris, seen his style evolve – from the Gothic atmospheres of the early days to today’s decidedly flamboyant effects – as well as the way he presents his collections: the video screened at the last Paris fashion week brought new energy to the discussion on the use of multimedia technologies in fashion. So we had all the right reasons for inviting Gareth Pugh to Florence and Pitti, where there is plenty of space for fashion experiments which can dialogue with the city’s unique historical and artistic venues. We are very happy that Gareth Pugh responded to our invitation with such enthusiasm." Pitti Immagine Press Release

Also, a special role at the 79th edition of Pitti Uomo will be held by the Trussardi Group.  To herald its centennial next year, Trussardi will host a multi-part event, which will include fashion, art, design and food showcases.

Pitti Uomo has a very special position in its function as Europe's biggest trade fair for male fashion. As the fair runs just before Milan fashion week, Pitti Uomo holds a reputation as a pioneer trade platforms as it allows the companies at to showcase their products very early in the annual fashion cycle. Strategically speaking, the brands can capitalize on capturing the attention of the buyers and the share of the buyers’ budgets before everybody else does. Also, Pitti Uomo has the reputation of being extremely contemporary and men's fashion brands frequently showcase new trends here first.

The summer edition of Pitti Uomo - #78 had attracted a total of 32 000 visitors out of which 19,200 were buyers. The special guest for Pitti W was Haider Ackermann, who bedazzled with his beautiful atmospheric show and his first tentative steps into men's wear. Special guest brand in summer was Jil Sander, who had menswear designer Raf Simons bring lots of colour to the topiary gardens of Villa Gamberaia.

Let's see what Pitti Uomo #79 has in store for us.

 xoxo
Glamazone

Source: style.com, WWD.com, pittiimmagine.com

Hermès throws down the gauntlet to LVMH

What a sight for sore eyes in today's Le Figaro business section: "Hermès repousse LVMH" - Hermès fights back.

Ten days after the rather surprising and sudden announcement that LVMH had at last managed to buy its way in on his competitor, French artisanry maison Hermès, the gloves between the two competitors - or the shock waves that shook the industry- are off.

Despite a statement of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy that there are no current intentions of making an official offer or taking over the Hermès Group though to become a long-term investor, the article published today suggests that this coup was not as amicable and friendly as it was presented at first glance.

Heir Betrand Puech - direct descendant of the founder Thierry Hermès, who in 1837 established Hermès, and CEO Patrick Thomas insist in today's in Le Figaro that the purchase of 17.1% of Hermès shares was an unwanted, undesired and stealth action of Monsieur Bernard Arnault and his conglomerate. 72% of the remaining shares are dispersed within the family.
The duo also point out that the maison clearly was not in need of any capital support, mentoring, guidance or whatsoever from LVMH, as its financial performance has been showing a steady healthy growth since 1993. Hermès' performance was particularly strong during the last year, where many high-end fashion and luxury companies struggled significantly. In the interview, Patrick Thomas goes to such lenghts as to publicly doubt the correctness of the incident and calls the business transactions that have happened end of October 2010 more than just a little strange and even dubious - refering to LVMH business branches in Panama that were involved in the hostile buy into the company.

According to WWD, the French market regulator (AMF) is currently examining the circumstances purchase of the 17.1% shares

To the declaration that the buy-in was of amicable nature, Patrick Thomas and Bertrand Puech reacted indignantly with the response: "If you want to be amicable, Monsieur Arnault, you have to withdraw." - for the sake of completeness, one has to mention at this point that in a phone conversation following the buy-in, Monsieur Arnault had even stated that he does not even claim a seat on the board of Hermès International.

A conspicuous uproar of the last insurgent standing up against being locked in the golden cage of LVMH - after all, "'C'est n'est pas un combat financier, c'est un combat de cultures." Seems like front men Patrick Thomas and Betrand Puech will stop at nothing to impede Hermès International becoming the Koh-i-Noor in Monsieur Arnault's LVMH crown jewels.


xoxo
Glamazone



Source: lefigaro.com, WWD.com
Picture Source: magazine.wsj.com, lefigaro.fr

Lanvin goes Mainstream III - Official Footage

Et voilà, the official footage revealing the complete Lanvin ♥ H&M collection, which will hit the stores on 23rd of November 2010.
The four-and-a-half-minute short film directed by Mike Figgis is a Alice-in-Wonderland meets Kafka curiosity, which accentuates some of the ideas Alber Elbaz is voicing in the trailers explaining the odd collaboration of haute couture house Lanvin and mass retailer H&M.





The bizzare, quirky film portrays an motley excerpt of a nightmarish dream of the young Alber, displaying his influences and thoughts in a creative-chaotic mélange of strands of plots in the most fashionable hotel ever known to mankind. With the likes of Natasha Poly and Hannelore Knuts modelling Alber's beautiful collection, the short film promises printed shirts, diverse skirts, a zebra trenchcoat, a faux-fur jacket, funky accessories and a variety of assymetric ruffled dresses in colours ranging from moutarde to geranium red, black or floral prints as the key items to the collection.

In one of his trailers, Alber Elbaz expresses his bemusement about that fact that couture is interchangeable between three generations -  daughter, mother and grandmother could wear the same dress and interchange it- a theme that has been taken up in his short film as well.

"A happy collection for happy people" , which will be visible online at hm.com on the 4th of November


xoxo
Glamazone

Source: lanvin.com, hm.com
Picture Source: fabsugar.com

Lanvin goes Mainstream II - Preview

After Alber Elbaz nailed the Lanvin spring/summer '11 collection on the catwalk, the desirability of the affordable luxury collection Lanvin ♥ H&M has been increased even further and has created a major buzz within the industry.

As the collection is about to hit the stores on 23rd November 2010, the pictures and footage of the complete collection will be officially published on 2nd November 2010. To ease the countdown, the first two pictures for the much-anticipated collection have been published in addition to the teasers featuring Alber Elbaz.

According to the pictures, the collection promises to contain Lanvin's signature assymetrical necklines, puff sleeved dresses, feminine silhouettes and ruffle details.
Prices are quoted to range from £14.99 for sunglasses, £24.99 for bracelets and clutches, £34.99 for skirts and £99.99 for the asymetrical dresses. Loving the black one shoulder dress!

All I can say is: Who is going camping with me???

Glamazone ♥ Lanvin!!!

xoxo
Glamazone


Source: vogue.co.uk
Picture Source: vogue.co.uk

Stepping Up: YSL Spring/Summer 11

This season, Stefano Pilati deviated from a few of his habitual patterns - and it seems it paid off. Instead of showing the défilé of his Yves Saint Laurent spring/summer '11 collection in the Grand Palais where he had been showing in previous seasons, Stefano Pilati decided to have the show in the more intimate setting of a Rothschild townhouse, the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris' eigth arrondissment. 

Also, this season, Stefano Pilati had two trends in favour of the YSL look - the interplay between femininity and masculinity and the homage that several designers had paid to the heritage of their brands.
The Yves Saint Laurent retrospective, which had been exhibited in the Grand Palais from March until September 2010 might have just been the inspiration - the one missing component- that put the Milanese designer at ease with the challenging heritage of the brand.
It seemed as if a heavy weight had finally been lifted of his shoulders as he managed to present a collection that was so classic Yves Saint Laurent, yet felt so contemporary and coherent at the same time.

The duality between strict, sharply cut jackets, bourgeouis pantsuits, timeless trenchcoats and romantic paysanne ruffles, gypsy dresses, semi-translucent pussy bow blouses, lantern-sleeve tops was executed perfectly and reflected the maison's bourgeouis spirit.The through and through elegant and sophisticated collection combined softness and feminity effortlessly with sharp masculine smoking jackets, trenchcoats and glamorous jumpsuits.

A colour palette ranging from classic black, white and navy to sophisticated taupe was spiced up by the mesmerizing tangerine blouses and dashes of turqouise and blue.
Beautifully cut dresses, subtle displays of just enough skin, great cross-shaped collars, cinched waistlines, elongated 40ies lines - the Yves Saint Laurent spring/summer collection '11 was an impeccable display of subtle elegance and sophistication. The styling of the models featured sleek braided updos with centre parting  that brought out the elaborate neckline of the dresses and blouses even better. The make-up consisted of a flawless porcelaine complexion, bleached brows and timelessly chic rouge noir lips and fingernails that were just the icing on the cake.

With subtle eroticism, powerful YSL signature looks, fine details and effortless sophistication, Stefano Pilati finally delivered the collection the industry had been waiting for so impatiently. To check video footage of the show, go to ysl.com.

xoxo
Glamazone

Source: style.com, WWD.com, ysl.com
Picture Source: style.com, WWD.com, breaktherules.com

Jean Paul Gaultier's fulminant farewell

An era has come to an end, Jean Paul Gaultier presented his last collection for French traditional house Hermès on October 6th 2010.

It was not a silent goodbye - it was a swan song with stomping, clapping and attitude. The flamenco sounds thudding out of the speakers were accompanied by appreciative applause of the audience, which had gathered to witness the last extravaganza the designer had created for Hermès' womenswear.

Working with Hermès' best colours, black, chocolat, gold, etoupe, crème, Rouge Hermès and a dash of the signature orange that Hermès uses for all its packaging, Jean Paul Gaultier presented a collection reflective of Spanish dressage look. A whiff of flamenco, a dash of gaucho and a lot of classic noble Hermès equestrian style inclusive of riding crops and harnesses.
The former enfant terrible of French fashion, managed to combine austere elegance, soigné artisanry and signature craftsmanship with a hint of eroticism and his characteristical mischievous wink.

Beautiful tailoring, the savoir-faire of handling the most precious leathers (an exceptional translucent crocodile leather jacket!), Jean Paul Gaultier delivered Hermès chic with the likes of classic pantsuits, ultra-high-waisted pants, leather skirts in various lengths, jodhpur influended pants and elegant mousseline capes. The actual tone of the collection however was set by the fetish-looking, body conscious leather bustiers and torsolettes as well as the elegant blouses endorsed with harnesses. What was it with the harnesses this season? We saw them everywhere (Lanvin, Rag & Bone...).
Naturally, there were also plenty of splendid Hermès accessories (the to-die-for leather bracelets (!) and gloves) and playful modifications of the maison's signature bags (miniature Birkins, miniature Birkins inside semi-translucent Kelly bags, a wicker Kelly...).

A majestic goodbye for Jean Paul Gaultier. We shall see where Christophe Lemaire is leading Hermès' reins to in future collections.

xoxo
Glamazone


Sources: WWD.com, style.com, thebaghagdiaries.com
Picture Sources: WWD.com

The Future is...

...contrast.

This season, British designer Gareth Pugh - famous for his preference of goth-influenced looks - made a statement by completely relinquishing to have a catwalk show for his spring/summer '11 collection. He replaced his live show with a 11-minute film that was shown yesterday, 29th September 2010 in Paris. Let me rephrase that - "film" does not quite do it justice. We are talking about an artistic masterpiece displaying his collection in a virtual framework that would put a considerable number of sci-fi films and music videos into place.

Director Ruth Hobgen, who, as part of Nick Knight's SHOWstudio - also in charge of imagery of Lady Gaga's Monster Ball World Tour - created this stimulating short film, featuring supermodel Kristen McMenamy and male dancer Jonathan Baker.

The film conveys the emotion and the vision of Gareth Pugh, which is habitually sinister and slightly outlandish. The captivating piece of virtual artistry, which was created in collaboration with ingenious SHOWstudio was projected on a gargantuan screen in the Parc de Bercy sports stadium in Paris instead of a classic runway show.
By abandoning the catwalk for a virtual spectacle instead of merely complementing his show by film material, Gareth Pugh is taking the virtual marketing efforts of fellow designers and fashion brands one step further. Clearly taking sides of advocates for immediacy and overall accessability of fashion, the video was simultaneously accessible on the SHOWstudio website and youtube for thousands of aficionados worldwide.

The elaborate black and white video displayed an alienating yet beautiful composition of Japanese-inspired sharply tailored clothing, some androgynous futuristic shapes as well as some rather unexpected soft and delicate flowing garments. Also, the shades of this season were dominated by silver, grey and white, some monochrome graphic prints but still featured some of the designer's signature dark goth/fetish-inspired looks. 

Following - of what feels to be - the footprints of Alexander McQueen, who smoothed out the way with his cross over show "Plato's Atlantis" on year ago in his last show for spring/summer '10, Gareth Pugh took over the sceptre of virtual fashion showmanship. Certainly as resource consuming as any fashion show, the designer took full control of the representations of his designs.

It feels like this season, we are clearly witnessing a shift towards both ends of the spectrum.
Fashion accessibility, immediacy and ubiquity versus intimacy, luxury and elitism.

xoxo
Glamazone

Sources: showstudio.com
Picture Sources: style.com

Happy 25th career anniversary Naomi

It is commonly known that supermodel Naomi Campbell and Dolce & Gabbana are very close.
So it is not surprising that to celebrate her 25th career anniversary her extended Italian family is throwing not only one massive VIP studded party for her - but eight. And what kind of a present do you give to somebody who supposedly has everything? Well, if you are a world reknown designer brand, what's could be nicer than to dedicate something to her.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are celebrating their close friend - and one of their favorite models & muses - with an exclusive collection of limited t-shirts.

The t-shirt collection features 14 iconic pictures of the supermodel that were taken throughout her 25 year long career by the world's most esteemed fashion photographers such as Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, Steven Klein, Peter Lindbergh, Patrick Demarchelier, Ellen von Unwerth.
The limited collection is available at eight exclusive events around the globe (NYC, London, Paris, Milano, Moscow...), where Naomi will be making appearances and signing them.

The 25th Anniversary t-shirt collection's proceeds will support the charity Fashion for Relief, which was founded by Naomi Campbell in 2005 to raise funds in the fashion world.
The charity has raised over $1 million for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and is also providing financial support to Russian orphans and the numerous Haitian earthquake victims.

At yesterday's party at the D&G boutique on Old Bond street, celebrities like Didier Drogba, Lilly Allen and Alexandra Burke chatted away with fashion notables like Mario Testino, David Gandy, Claudia Schiffer, Erin O'Connor and Janice Dickinson -just to name a few- who had all did Naomi's hometown event the honour of stopping by. While sipping delicious berry cocktails with Martini Gold ( Dolce & Gabbana's latest collaboration with Martini) out of elegant heavy crystal goblets, everybody discussed the Burberry show they had attended earlier during the day and of course which of the fourteen Naomi motives was their favorite one.

xoxo
Glamazone


Sources: dolcegabbana.com, naomicampbell.com

The LOVE Machine

Love is all you need. Well, isn't that what they say?

If you are staying at St Martins Lane Hotel sometime during fashion week and October 15th, never mind if you did forget your Rolex at home. Simply pop down to the lobby and get one out of the 24h vending machine. Sounds ludicrous to you? Well, it isn't.

The LOVE Machine by Selfridges is a unique temporary retail concept, which will dispense a delicate choice of carefully selected luxury goods of Selfridges' product range. Curated by Katie Grand - editor in chief of LOVE Magazine - the luxe vending machine is a hybrid of a hotel gift store and a micro high-end boutique, which offers 32 exclusive items of the Selfridge product empire.
Amongst the eclectic selection are luxury items like the Amazona handbag by Loewe, an Alexander Wang leather & sequin dress and a vintage Rolex watch but also more affordable items like exclusive nail varnishes by Dior or Nixon Nomadic volume-control headphones.

“I wanted the products to be a mix of extreme luxury – so there’s a vintage Rolex watch – to the affordable, my favourite items being ‘secret socks’. I had no idea just how many fashionable men wear secret socks – and how many male celebrities, one very famous male pin up in particular!” stated Katie Grand.


Instant love available at:
The LOVE Machine
St Martins Lane Hotel,
45 St Martin's Lane
London

xoxo
Glamazone

Source: motilo.com, blogs.colette.fr, lovemagazine.co.uk
Picture Source: motilo.com

Tom Ford is back

After 6 years of deprivation of his influences on women’s ready-to-wear collections, the multi-tasker extraordinaire Tom Ford finally launched a new collection Sunday, 12th September 2010.
The designated dandy persuaded once more with his unmistakable flair for suspense, glamour and a grand entrance:

Tom Ford conspicuously vitiated common contemporary believes and deliberately acted anti-cyclical to everything fashion seemingly has developed into. No live streaming, no release of video footage, no democratization of fashion. He made his show an exclusive and intimate top-secret event in one of his menswear boutiques on Madison Avenue, Sunday 12th September at 6.30. He invited not more than 100 privileged spectators who had to sign a nondisclosure agreement and leave behind their camera equipment at the entrance. The only photographer inside, was his trusted in-house photographer Terry Richardson.

The strategy of secretiveness worked out wonderfully, the tweets from the event evoked the industry’s curiosity even more than usually. The itch to get a first glimpse at Mr. Ford's latest pieces is tremendous.
According to various tweets, the designer narrated his collection personally and had inspirational female celebrities like Lauren Hutton, Juliane Moore, Beyonce and Daphne Guiness strut down the catwalk alongside super models like Karen Elson, Freja Erichsen and Karlie Klos who presented his women RTW comeback. According to the tweets, the collection sported lots of silk, black & white as well as leopard print and gave a synopsis of Tom Ford’s various influences and previous opus. The atmosphere and collection was described as personal, fun, seductive, luxurious and chic and very “Tom Ford”.

The designer is quoted to have stated that he „does not get this need for immediacy" and also did want to avoid piracy of his collections by complete exposure and transparency. But much more than that, he acted upon the maxim of luxury and exclusivity. His strategy instantly suggests confidence and natural poise as well as a clear provocative message to fellow designers that despite his temporary absence, he is clearly still ahead of the pack.

Mere mortals are kept in suspense for another 4 months until January ‘11 when the collections and pictures are finally revealed to the public. Until then, we are doomed to experience what feels like the exquisite pain of unrequited love and admiration.

You must be one hell of a chess master to adjourn your comeback after 6 years of absence in the womenswear RTW circus by another few months.

Delighted to have you back, Mr. Ford!

xoxo
Glamazone

Source: guardian.co.uk, WWD.com, 
Picture Source: upscalehype.com

Socks and sandals

Yes, you read correctly - and no, this has nothing to do with the fact that I am German - I swear! I do know that it sounds wrong and like a classic fashion faux-pas but obviously, I am not talking Birkenstocks & white tennis socks. I am talking the stylish options proposed by Prada, Mark Jacobs and others for this fall/winter season.

As an autumnal chill is starting to creep up our legs, we start wondering how to amend our styles for the cooler seasons ahead.
We are all aware that pulling of this look we'll be balancing on the edge. Which shoes to wear with which types of socks is the obvious question.

 #1: Do instantly ban all imagines of nerdy tourists, ageing hippies, misguided men - actually all lapses of fashion within this category out of your head. Do it now.

#2:  Generally I would really avoid the colour white - and obviously sport socks (!) and opt for some grey, black or neutral shades

#3: Frilled socks? Think about the following: Do you look like a cheap adult entertainment starlet who is trying to fulfill some cliche phantasie? Do you look like you stole them from your little sister?

#4: Texture: Take some inspiration from what's out there - while Prada is proposing the heavy knit knee high socks, MJ is going for thinner ankle socks

#5: If you decide to go for that look, go it all the way! Don't go halfway - it is doomed to look like an accident. Go for the ankle high version or the knee high version.

#6: If it feels wrong - it most likely does look wrong as well - don't force it! Alternative: leg warmers?

My personal favorite: knitted socks with wedges or pumps. Will upload a pic as soon as I find a decent one.

xoxo
Glamazone

Source: vogue.com, style.com, prada.com
Picture Source: style.com

Fashion's Night Out Fabulous

Vogue is celebrating fashion - and as fit for the bible of fashion, it is not content with a daytime slot. Fashion is celebrated at night. And, also, fashion is not just celebrated in one city - actually it deserves to be celebrated in all corners of the world.

Fashion's Night Out has established itself as compulsory fashion madness:
Designer darlings, marvellous models, industry superstars, bloggers, stylists and all other fashionable crowd are getting ready for a nocturnal foray through their favorite boutiques, department stores and shops.
Vogue supplies expert styling teams, fashion celebrity appearances and a lot of special events in every major city where the event is occuring.

As Fashion's Night Out does not require tickets and is open to everyone, expect mass pilgrimages of fabulous fashionistas and large numbers of curious spectators and fashion-/fun-loving crowd in every city.

Fashion's Night Out kick-off is in Paris today, Tuesday 7th 2010 at 18:00pm and a live webcast from New York City with Vogue's Andre Leon Talley on CBS at 7:00pm ET with the biggest fashion show NYC has ever seen. Over 150 models will be walking down a catwalk, amongst them industry superstars like Coco Rocha, Carolina Kurkova, Chanel Iman, Doutzen Kroes, Jessica Stam, just to name a few. FNO will revolve around the globe in 15 countries- the global event is certainly going to reach its climax in New York on Friday, September 10th 2010 and will end in  Greece & Turkey on September 16th. Make sure to follow the Twitter Buzz to know more details for Paris FNO: #FVN - for NYC: #FNO - check the website for Fashion's Night Out for more details.

"The 2010 edition of the biggest fashion party in history promises to be equally epic, splurge inspiring and full of even more stylish surprises." 

So if you're inhabitant of one of those superstylish fashion cities, get your heels your purse and your credit card and off you go. In the end, the stylish event is not just about Vogue, fashion and blatant advertising but about reflating the economy and giving us yet another opportunity to get the latest look.

xoxo
Glamazone

Source:  vogue.com, fashionnightsout.com, cbs.com

British Fashion Award Nominees '10

Wednesday, 1st of September, the British Fashion Council announced the nominees for the British Fashion Awards '10 at Soho House in London.

Amongst this year's nominees are some usual suspects - i.e. Phoebe Philo for Céline and Erdem for designer of the year, Christopher Bailey for Burberry and  as menswear designer of the year; Nicola Formichetti - Lady Gaga's stylist - and photographer Nick Knight for the Isabella Blow award.

Newsworthy is Victoria Beckham's nomination for Designer Brand of the Year - rather unexpected that ex-Posh Spice has been officially acknowledged in industry circles so fast. Beckham announced to be "So honoured to be nominated for designer brand of the year from the British Fashion Council!!!!in love and light x VB x" on her newly created Twitter account (vbfashionweek), where she will be tweeting the lead up of her spring/summer catwalk show during New York Fashion Week on 12 September '10. During the show, which will be held in an intimate circle, she will also debut with a line of handbags. Victoria Beckham is slowly but surely making her way to establish her ways towards fashion circles and even Anna Wintour prompted not to underestimate her.

Here the complete overview of all nominees of the British Fashion Award Nominees 2010:


1.    Emerging Talent Award - Accessories
Nominees: Charlotte Olympia, Husam El Odeh and Jessica McCormack

2.  Emerging Talent Award - Ready-to-Wear 
Nominees: Mary Katrantzou, Meadham Kirchhoff and Michael van der Ham.

3.  Designer Brand 
Nominees: Burberry, Mulberry, Pringle of Scotland and Victoria Beckham.

4.   Model
Nominees:  David Gandy, Lara Stone and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

5. Accessory Designer
Nominees: Camilla Skovgaard, Emma Hill for Mulberry and Nicholas Kirkwood.

6. Menswear Designer 
Nominees: Christopher Bailey for Burberry, E.Tautz, Margaret Howell and Paul Smith.

7. Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator
Nominees: Nick Knight, Nicola Formichetti and Rankin.

8. Designer of the Year
Nominees: Christopher Kane, Erdem and Phoebe Philo for Céline.


The winners of the British Fashion Award will be announced on December 7 in London's Savoy Hotel.

xoxo
Glamazone

Source: britishfashionawards.com, fashionologie.com, WWD.com, nytimes.com

Lanvin goes Mainstream

This post is dedicated to a very close friend of mine who is in love with Lanvin.
Seriously...her eyes sparkle every time she mentions the brand, she clutches her hands in front of her chest, feigns a slight swoon, smiles her adorable smile, giggles and lets the name Alber Elbaz melt in her mouth like a piece of luxurious dark chocolate.

After the news had already spread through the grapevine, H&M and Lanvin went public today to announce their design collaboration.  The Swedish retail giant is teaming up with France's oldest Haute Couture house for a designer collection which will hit the stores in time for holiday season on 23rd November 2010.

The collection will comprise womens- and menswear, designed by Lanvin's marvellous creative director Alber Elbaz and menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver and will be available in approximately 200 H&M branches worldwide.
As the collections will be revealed in a film on 2nd November at H&M's website www.hm.com, it is likely, that the buzz about this design collaboration will have 3 weeks advance to culminate in several hundred extatic fashionistas camping in front of the H&M stores, getting ready to bare their teeth, storm in and rip the boutique to pieces to get their hands one of the covetable pieces.

Karl Lagerfeld and H&M's first design collaboration in 2004, kicked off several more design collaborations. Considerable designers of the likes of Stella McCartney, Comme des Garcons, Sonia Rykiel and Matthew Williamson followed in Karl's footsteps to make pieces of couture accessible to the masses.

According to H&M's and Lanvin's common press release, however, the forthcoming collection seems to be aiming towards a slightly more luxurious approach:


“H&M approached us to collaborate, and see if we could translate the dream we created at Lanvin to a wider audience, not just a dress for less. I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. This has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world.” 
Alber Elbaz, artistic director of Lanvin


If the French powerhouse actually did sell its soul - and yes, this is a quote of the friend mentioned in the top paragraph - remains to be seen once the collection will be launched - or latest on 23rd November when I triumphantly hold that one piece of Lanvin for H&M in my hands, which I could save of its tragic destiny of being torn to shreds by the fashion mob who descended upon H&M in order to pillage itscouture gone mainstream pieces.


xoxo
Glamazone

Sources: h&m.com, modepilot.de, lanvin.com
Picture Sources: lanvin.com, glamour.de

Recession curves

A homage to women – and better times

While the effects of the crisis are still perceivable in many countries, the look of the 50ies and 60ies instantly reminds us of boom times.

The tight sweaters shaped by the 50ies conical bra, suspender belts & girdles worn under petticoats or pencil skirts evoke a desire towards the classic femininity with its shapes and curves. The aesthetics of an era we instantly associate with the economically wealthy times of the 50ies and 60ies.

Golden Globe and Emmy awarded AMC series „Mad men“ brought us - together with the look of the early 60ies - a new femininity on the screen. On the catwalks, foremostly Miuccia Prada and Louis Vuitton confronted us with a new female paradigm. Curves replace androgynous shapes. Bosom, waist and hip have been re-discovered as the headturners of the seasons to come.
It's high time to celebrate feminity and its icons - time to say goodbye to utility chic and casualization after decades of androgynous, sober boy-ish figures on TV and on the catwalks. The body ideal has been changed to female heroines with explicitly curvy bodys.
A healthy share of the re-discovery of the feminine female body, can surely be attributed to "Mad Men" and its fabulously talented costume designer, Janie Bryant who has been digging up petticoats, pencil skirts, costumes, cone shaped bras and suspender belts to celebrate the gloriously iconic fashion times of the 50ies and 60ies.

Even the toughest jeans & t-shirt warrior is sighing in melancholy in sight of the 50ies a-shaped skirts or 60ies pencil skirts ...well, if these are leaving you cold, then it is the men in dinner jackets that make your heart melt.
Somehow the imagination of dressing up according to certain rules and re-inflicting real glamour and style onto us gains momentum, doesn't it?!


xoxo

Glamazone


Picture source: www.nydailynews.com, www.fashion-era.com

I love my scarf

If you consider Hermès scarves to be an old fashioned accessory only appropriate for elder ladies and polished upper class mademoiselles, think again.The traditional French fashion house has launched a new website called J'aime Mon Carre ("I love my scarf"), where the brand proves to be perfectly up to date with zeitgeist and young urban fashion culture.

The website has been launched to mark the creative liaison between Hermès and Parisian ueber-hip concept store Colette , who have teamed up for a special edition of scarves, which will be sold exclusively at Colette during September.

Jaimemoncarre.com is a cool omnium-gatherum of snapshot-like photographs, shortfilms from fashion & style capitals (Paris, London, NYC & Tokyo) and inspiration for Hermes devotees. Classic Hermès carres are featured  in hip & stylish street looks. Colorful pictures feature creative ideas of how to wear the carre as headbands, turbans, tops or belts and of course as a scarf.
Far from dusty, elitist snobbery, Hermès displays the fun and contemporary appeal of its silk pieces and invites younger generations to be creative, cool and sexy with them.

Hip footage, wide arrays of photo material, street style galore, a treasure chest full of ideas and inspiration to target younger trendier customers and involve them in what feels like a community.
A brilliant approach to make the brand accessible to a younger and hipper target audience who might have reservations towards the brand otherwise.


My opinion? Do I really have to spell it out? I heart Hermès.

xoxo
Glamazone 


Sources: jaimemoncarre.com, elle.co.uk

Shaping/Shopping the Future

Net-a-porter magazine - launch of a new iPad app 

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Abraham Lincoln once said - but some people live in compliance to that bon mot more than others.
I have just finished watching the live streaming of Natalie Massenet interview for Business of Fashion's Fashion Pioneers series. It was a truly inspiring interview with the "visionary on stilettos", who is the founder of the worldwide most successful online shop for designer fashion, Net-a-Porter.  Not only has Net-a-Porter been fronting the crisis (the sales numbers are proof to that) but also has she been launching an outlet for designer fashion in 2009 (theoutnet.com ) and is about to launch an equivalent to Net-a-Porter for male designer fashion (MrPorter.com), which will go online in January 2011.
In my opinion, the entire audience who was watching the life stream has just witnessed a solution for the dilemma that fashion magazines are finding themselves in - possibly even THE solution.
Somebody once said that the publishing houses worldwide owe Steve Jobs big time - due to his iPad, people will continue to read books and magazines. Maybe, there is a few more who have to thank Steve Jobs and his unperturbed intuition and vision. But let's not give all the credit to Steve Jobs, shall we - like the iPhone, the iPad's value stands and falls to a considerable extent with the apps developers create for it. So for this particular treat, we'll have to thank the think tank working for Natalie Massenet:

Net-a-porters latest magnum opus  is to combine fashion magazines and e-commerce directly - as an application for the iPad called Net-a-Porter Magazine. The app was presented during the live streaming interview by Net-a-Porters founder in person tonight and will be officially launched tomorrow. What Natalie Massenet pulled out of her couture hat is - in her own words "to offer a magazine-like experience", which is directly combined with etailing. The app will give you the possibility to "read, watch and shop wherever you are" according to the description in the iTunes store.The clou is, as opposed to most glossy magazines, offering actual couture photo spreads once a month, Net-a-Porter will update its app every week - yes, you heard right -52 times a year. One thing we can assume for sure: Natalie Massenet is not going to waste our time with cheap productions. Having had her origins in fashion journalism working for the fashion bible WWD and other magazines as well as being a stylist, we even can expect great editorials for the new webzine.

I am very happy about the idea and I am curious to see whether or not this will set a precedent in the etailing industry. I strongly believe that creating a hybrid between online retailing and glossy magazines is a great step into the future for both industries. Also, I am truly curious of how and when other online retailers will be jumping on the bandwagon.

xoxo
Glamazone

Sources: thebusinessoffashion.com, net-a-porter.com, iTunes Store

Time to re-think

Is it possible, that with our endless quest for security and safety in our lives, we increasingly find it difficult to adjust ourselves to new structures? Maybe, our old ideas of trends, seasons, haute couture, pret-a-porter, fast fashion and all the hybrids in between are outdated already... with our intuitive desire to label things new perspectives might be restricted. It is time to challenge our old thinking patterns:
When will the fashion industry and the satellite industries around it start to admit that mass market is dead and instead we are confronted with numerous micro markets? How can we target those micro markets in journalism, marketing and PR if every individual in it is insisting to be oh-so-different from his comrades? If the lasting vintage hype has shown us one thing, it is that people are beyond the stage of wanting to look the same and wearing a global uniform -  trend is done-  individualism is trump.  The spottet casualization of clothing during the last years might just be another extension of the desire to put behind global fashion conformity.

Are we on the verge of experiencing a renaissance of bespoke fashion? Of custom-made tailoring and of brands, which are delivering regional micro trends instead of global fashion? Are pop-up stores the answer to our ever-changing taste levels and the ennui that holds us in his tight grip when facing same-old retail environments?
We are confronted with an up to now unknown flood of textile possibilities and fashion diversity.  

The even and rigid mask of mass consumerism has been dropped and shattered into numberless splinters, resulting in each and every broken fragment becoming an entitiy in its own right, with its own vivid psychographic profile, its own taste levels, desires and preferences.
Despite the financial reality that has hit us all in the face over the last years, we are all becoming more and more aware of the fact that the economy of scarcity is long gone and we have been living in an economy of abundance for quite some time already. What does that mean for us, the consumer? Well, very simple: WE get to chose - sometimes we even get to dictate. The internet as the most democratic medium in the world, has enabled us to have almost anything at our command one Visa Card and one click away.
We get to influence the market, due to a shift of power from producer to consumer: economical success of companies depends on our goodwill and them keeping us happy. Many companies have been shifting from being product oriented towards being consumer oriented, which means we'll get what we want and we even have a say under which conditions we get it.
Designer darlings and fashion faux-pas are no longer exclusively appointed by elitist fashion crowd working for Conde Nast but alternatively can be proclaimed by pretty much anybody: bloggers, unknown journalists and so on. One percentage of the world population is suddenly able to become opinion leader in a movement. For god's sake, don't expect a new world order just yet - but sometimes it is a good thing to realise and acknowledge significant changes.


Exciting times we are in - even more exciting times lie ahead of us.

xoxo
Glamazone

CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists 2010

The CFDA(Council of Fashion Designers of America) and Vogue Magazine have announced this year's ten finalists have been named for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fun initiative, which will provide business mentorship and as well the financial funding for its winner.
2010 is the seventh time a winner will be announced to receive an award endowed with $200,00 trophy money, whereas the two runner-ups will be put off with a consolation prize worth $50,000.

The finalists and their brands are the following:

 Joseph Altuzarra (ALTUZARRA), Billy Reid (BILLY REID), Christian Cota (CHRISTIAN COTA), Eddie Borgo (EDDIE BORGO), Gregory Parkinson (GREGORY PARKINSON), Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow (LODEN DAGER), Moss Lipow (MOSS LIPOW), Pamela Love (PAMELA LOVE JEWELRY), Prabal Gurung (PRABAL GURUNG), Robert Geller (ROBERT GELLER)

The selection process will be taking place in end of July and consist of individual interviews with the nominees, reviews of their latest collections as well as a visit to the design studio of each contestant.
The final decision will be announced in New York City on November 15 during a gala dinner.
 Amongst the now-famous winners and runners-up of previous years' CFDA/Vogue Fashion fund are designers like Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, Thakoon, Philip Lim, Derek Lam and Rodarte.
 Among the famous mentors were industry professionals like Howard Socol (ex-CEO of Barney's, Rose Marie Bravo (ex-CEO Burberry Group), Domenico de Sole and Mark Lee (both ex-CEO of Gucci).


The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund was created to support designers with a business perspective and is aimed to help them and their brand built a secure future and develop their overall strategy, their production, marketing, PR and sales.

Let's keep our eyes open about who's going to make the race... and how all the publicity will help the other nominees to establish themselves solidly within in the industry

xoxo
Glamazone

Fashionable World Cup

Glamazone is checking the fashion business side of the World Cup

Who of you was sitting in front of the TV, watching the World Cup Finals Netherlands vs. Spain yesterday? (At this point, I'd like to extend my congratulations to Spain! Well played! Deserved win!)

Well then...and who of you saw the scene, when Fabio Cannavaro, Captain of the Italian team, who previously won the World Cup in 2006 brought the trophy onto the pitch together with model Deborah Mukaz? Quite all of you, right? So did you notice that the trophy was carried in a custom-made Louis Vuitton travel case? What I am trying to get at is: There is a lot more fashion and luxury involved in the world's biggest sports event than people realise at first glance. Apart from the fact that everybody knows the World Cup event is big business - and with that I am not even referring to the millions of dollars the players contesting are worth- let's take a look at the fashion business/sportswear aspect involved, shall we?!

Actually, the other major finale during the World Cup is USA vs. Germany. Or let me rephrase that - Nike vs. Adidas. Being the world's biggest sports event, the big brands' battle over consumers' favourableness is nearly as old as global television broadcast. Usually Nike and Adidas brace themselves for a fierce competition during the four weeks of the event in terms of brand awareness, replica jersey sales, the sponsorship of the soccer ball (which for the 11th year in a row has gone to Adidas, who came up with the controversial Adidas Jabulani ball) , the best/most popular soccer ad etc etc.
As a preposition, whereas Adidas is one of the official sponsors of the World Cup, Nike has to content itself with a position as a non-affiliated competitor. Nike equipped 9 out of 21 teams with their jerseys, whereas Adidas equipped 12 teams. Spain - equipped by Adidas won against the Netherlands wearing Nike jerseys - is that representative for the soccer battle between the two mega brands?
Besides a lead position in the share of World Cup Online Buzz, which according to Nielsen market research went clearly to Nike this year - its star-studded "Write The Future" ad campaign directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was far more captivating than Adidas' also star-studded "Star Wars Cantina 2010". Let's take a look at the sales figures: As the global football market is estimated at $10.9 billion (with the UK spending the biggest share of over 7.8% ($1.4 billion)), Adidas's soccer sales in 2010 alone are anticipated to be near $2 billion, whereas Nike is anticipating $1.85 billion. For the latter, this will be an astonishing increase of 25% over the 2006 World Cup sales figures. Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer however does not appear to be intimidated by the strong competitor as he states that not only will his brand be over-achieving his sales forecast during the 2010 World Cup but is also extremely content with its brand visibility and market share. However, as previously stated - as Nike is a non-affiliated competitor, this also means that Nike does not have the presumptive mammoth investment to become the official FIFA sponsor like Adidas has. Consequently, one can only assume that Nike is making more profit out of the event.

The World Cup clearly is about the big bucks!

xoxo
Glamazone



Source: fastcompany.com, blog.nielsen.com, adidas.com, nike.com
Picture Source: © Antoine Jarrier / Louis Vuitton, adidas.com

Haute Couture - an historical excursion

Haute Couture (French for: High dressmaking/tailoring)  

For centuries, French Haute Couture has been the stuff that dreams are made of.
Year by year, these few days in Paris might be amongst the most luxurious spectacles worldwide - and surely for most Haute Couture houses, they are the most prestigious days in their annual cycle - where custom-fit, exclusive clothing is presented to a demanding high profile clientele and the world press.

History:

Did you know that the origin of Haute Couture is generally awarded to Charles Frederic Worth, who in 1857/58 found the first big fashion house "Worth et Bobergh" in Rue de la Paix in Paris? The extremely precious designs, which he was the first to display on an actual mannequin (his wife) were presented to a selected exclusive clientele. C.F. Worth created wardrobe for crowned heads like Empress Eugénie, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth of Austria (commonly known as Sissi). And not enough with my historical sashay here, did you know that Paul Poiret - who later became an acknowledged dressmaker himself and who was said to be amongst the first to create a design fragrance himself -was one of his assistants?
And last but not least - did you know, that each designer/fashion house who wants to call themselves Haute Couture has to fulfill four criteria annually (yes, you read correctly, they are being checked each year meticulously by the „Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne“):

- Each design house/designer has to have its/his atelier in Paris

- Employ at least 20 people as full time staff

- The collections have to be presented twice a year

- Each collection has to comprise at least 50 pieces

Apologies for de-romanticizing this magical subject, but economically speaking, Haute Couture usually is a losing deal. It certainly is the big sister of Prêt-à-porter in terms of elaborate tailoring, sartorial skills and working hours of countless seamstresses who put all their handcraft to realise the head of design's lastest vision. In the end however, it is no big secret, that the pieces are rather vertu and pieces of art to be kept and shown in museums instead of generating turnover. The main mission of Haute Couture is to attract attention to the fashion house itself, the brand as such and the more accessible lines and accessories of the fashion house.

For all of you who think it is crude to vocalise "trivia" like the filthy lucre when it comes to couture wonderland - I do not intend to be the Grinch who stole couture - quite the opposite I have always been an advocate of "L'art pour l'art".


xoxo
Glamazone


Source: Rudolf Kinzel, 1996: Die Modemacher, Geschichte der Haute Couture; metmuseum.org
Picture Source: Britannica.com, metmuseum.org 

All Eyes On Firenze Pt. II - Pitti Uomo #78

Another special event presented in line with the 78th edition of Pitti Uomo was Raf Simons' Prêt-à-porter collection spring/summer '11 for Jil Sander, which was held in the topiary gardens of Villa Gamberaia, another picturesque Tuskan setting at the outskirts of Florence, yesterday, 18th of June 2010 at nightfall. Jil Sander also livestreamed the show on their website.

As Jil Sander is said to be the queen of minimalism and pure aesthetics, the brand's men's wear designer Raf Simons, stuck to the fashion houses concept at least concerning the shapes and cuts of the garments: The familiar raglan shirts, simple blousons, tight fitted cotton pants, slim fitted trench coats, creased shorts. In terms of colour however, you name it, it was there. The entire rainbow spectrum seemed to have found its way into the collection. Peach coloured and sunny yellow shirts, multi-coloured stripes, bright floral prints, bubblegum pink or turquoise jackets, (very) short pants in apple green and royal blue, trench coats with nested sleeves in poppy red and navy - just to name a few. The gaiety of colours seemed endless and gave a strong contrast to the rather romantic backdrop of the show. The colourful shirts, jackets and beautifully belted trench coats were often also combined with creased, fitted cotton pants and classic black and navy Oxford shoes. A rather nice eyecatcher were the soles of the shoes, which stood out in bright colours like orange, green or blue as well as the appliqués at the waisted trench coats and jackets.

The combination of electric colours with simple cuts and fabrics was powerful and very Jil Sander. The collection is definitely appealing and, singly worn and combined with a plain complementing garment, the pieces still are statements in their own rights. Raf Simons managed the balancing act between creating something strong, however stuck to the Jil Sander aestetic masterly. The collection is a representative example for one key trend that has been emerging from Pitti Uomo #78, as numerous designers have been offering a mentionable colour palette.
Spring/summer '11 promises to become a vivid season.


xoxo
Glamazone

Source: Pittiimagine.it, bryanboy.com, jilsander.com,
Picture Source: style.com

All Eyes On Firenze - Pitti Uomo #78

With Pitti Uomo's 78th edition opening its gates from the 15th to the 18th at Fortezza da Basso the fashion crowd, will one more flaunt the streets of the Renaissance metropole at the Arno river for the next days. The theme, which will be framing this years' edition of the world's most important men's wear fair is "Design Watching". With 972 brands showcasing 1047 collections - out of which 75 collections and are part of the Pitti W Woman pre-collection another record has been established.

As usual, apart from the exhibition itself, there is always a vast array of goodies and events not to miss in and around Florence. On of this years highlights must surely have been Haider Ackermanns Carte Blanche event "Opium" as part of Pitti W Woman, which took place yesterday, 16th of June at the Palazzo Corsini and combined a sneak peak of his pre-collection of women's wear with pieces of his eagerly anticipated men's wear debut. The designer who usually showcases his collections in Paris was offered an entirely different stage for his defile and a great opportunity to add a bit of excitement, fresh inspiration and a drama to his premiere in men's wear.

The atmosphere had been created all-embracingly in the oppulent palazzo. The abundant feasting tables overflowing with fruit arrangements and decanters full of wine as if they stood there ready to witness a bacchanal. Some dignified glory and the charms of a by-gone era, which emanated from the wall frescoes. Ackermann's defile took place open-air, in the atrium of the late-baroque Palazzo Corsini, where, under sumptuous chandeliers, the fashion crowd was taken away by his vision and the flair he had created around his collection. Jamie Bochert playing piano and singing was just the icing on the cake to this overall setting.

“Between force and fragility, between masculinity and femininity, the Ackermann women, with a distant gesture speaks about beauty, about melancholy, about wandering, about escaping a certain nostalgia…about love… for men whose gesture are as « lointain », élégant, masculine, illusive, decadent, reserved, debauched…his heart on the run… Carte blanche, named « opium ».”

Haider Ackermann sent his men and woman on a journey, where with flowy fabrics in plum, black, nude and grey shades, the draping and layers from his previous collections were picked up, yet, transformed by obi-inspired knots (woman's collection) and eclectic voyage wardrobe, with nomad-style layered shirts, male kimono-influenced waistcoats and brocade jackets, loosely fit embroidered pants in the men's wear collection, accessorized with Indian inspired slippers with peacock feathers and shawls that had a rather Middle Eastern air.

A wonderfully inspiring and cohesive collection and a bold and brave move into the male pret-a-porter, presented in an atmospheric picturesque setting. However, as much as I like the fact that he made a statement in his first men's collection, I very much prefered the simpler designs, which were quite wearable and a lot less costume-y than the brocade jackets. It surely will be worth keeping ones' eyes open on how Haider Ackermann will proceed with his male collection.

xoxo
Glamazone 

Sources: stylebubble.co.uk, pittiimagine.com
Picture Sources: pittiimagine.com