Jezebel: top design

Andre Leon Talley: Vogue Editor, Style Adviser, Political Surrogate For Obama?

Sadie — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:30:00 EDT

Like everyone in Fashion, Vogue Editor at XL Andre Leon Talley has many opinions, feels they should be heard. "Asked how Americans can still look fabulous despite the recession, Talley said, 'Wear something old that you love' until Election Day. 'Then, vote for Barack Obama, who'll fix the economy.'" [NY Daily News]
Most depressing/embarrassing WSJ video ever. "Guy" reporter goes to the Mall of America and interviews people about Republican style. [WSJ]
Beloved former Chloe brain Phoebe Philo snapped up by Celine! [WWD]
Nastia Liukin is so over gymnastics. The gold medalist, who's gonna be front and center at Fashion Week, is launching a line. "The five foot three athlete is working with Vanilla Star jeans on launching Nastia Liukin Gold jeans and tops for holiday sales. She is also in talks to design a line of activewear for GK, the company that makes her leotards, which she designs with her mom." [NY Mag]

Chanel boycotts Russia because of Georgian situation...?! Oh, wait, no, the conflict just meant they couldn't get the venue they wanted. "A Chanel spokeswoman said the decision to nix Moscow was made in July before the crisis in Georgia as the company could not secure the venue it wanted in the Russian capital." [WWD]
Crasher alert! "A man calling himself "Tom Klein" has been infiltrating chic soirees, claiming he works for Women's Wear Daily. This Klein character got caught when he tried to get on the list for last night's Gossip Girl party at the Empire Hotel, hosted by Dior Beauty, a source said. The crasher, claiming to be a senior editor at Fairchild Media, sends e-mails from a fake address. A WWD spokeswoman told Page Six, 'He is not an employee of Fairchild or Condé Nast.'" [P6]
Here's how to deal with the recession: Meet the new status phones! "Constructed of precious metals, studded with diamonds and other jewels, and wrapped in exotic leathers, they have struck a chord among the small group of people who can afford them—namely, millionaires and celebrities." [BusinessWeek]
Banana Republic courts Details readers...or the other way around? Are they different? "Beginning Wednesday through Sept. 17, each retail location will have extensive in-store magazine branding with "look cards," store displays, signage and fitting room signs. Bananarepublic.com will host a microsite with more style tips from Details and special offers from the retailer." [WWD]
Stefano Pilati's beautiful YSL fashion look book being ignored because it's in a free tote. "When the news hit the fashion blogs last week, it was all about the cute bag, not the amazing images of Naomi Campbell, photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. To think, a real ‘It’ bag, for free, considering a Muse starts around $1,395. And, on the handout, the YSL logo is fetchingly printed upside down." [NYT]
For those of us who already can't afford Tracy Reese, the news of her new, high-end line will not come as a joyful surprise. [WWD]
Uniqlo might be bringing its cheap cashmere to India, Russia. [WSJ]
What recession? H&M expands. Says the CEO, "Our strategy is based on the concept of fashion and quality at the best price...It helps us stay balanced even during economic downturns." [Business Week]
Apparently, fashionistas have no qualms about fast fashion! Reports a Racked spy,"I was in the Forever21 in Soho and heard the one of the managers tell her staff in a meeting to 'look out' and 'be prepared' for stylists, editors and celebrities coming this week for Fashion Week." [Racked]
Todd Oldham admits his show Top Design kind of blows. Okay, not really. "I would not want to be a contestant on this show at all," he says. "It's just too brutal. I said it before, but this is the only show I know on TV that is a thousand times harder than what it looks. It was way, way harder than what it looked like." [Breitbart]
Designer and glamorous eccentric Isabel Toledo feted by the fashion elite: "A drag queen performed a cabaret homage to Ms. Toledo—"Isabel, you've chaaaaanged!"—which featured the word "motherfucker." Then Emcee Simon Doonan, of Barney's...narrated a slideshow of Ms. Toledo's life, from 'the Cuban Revolution to this incredibly un-Communist luncheon.'" [Observer]
The Hef effect? "At New York fashion week, which kicks off Friday, designers including Phillip Lim, Michael Bastian and Tim Hamilton are expected to show a number of pajama-inspired clothes that are meant to be worn in broad daylight. The looks include colored piping on jackets and shirts, spread-open pajama collars, soft, unpadded jackets that hang loosely off the shoulders — and, of course, voluminous drawstring pants." [WSJ]
Jonathan Saunders for Target might be awesome. Why must they tempt us with their fast fashion?! [Fabsugar]
"With casual sweaters and sharp suits in shades of black, white and grey, Ji Wenbo became the first Chinese designer to showcase a collection at Japan's Fashion Week in a bid to woo customers in fashion-savvy Tokyo." [Reuters]
With fashion in transition, we lack a Savior: "Still, there is no world-beater. There are no names that suggest clear-cut potential both to reshape fashion and somehow with it the global culture of style. There is no one, to take the obvious example, likely to replace Yves Saint Laurent, who died in June and seemingly took with him not merely a genius for conjuring glamour from whole cloth, but also for draping his designs to suit the mood of his time." [NYT]
The New York Observer throws its pink hat into the fashion-glossy ring with Observer Style, "a semiannual magazine due to make its debut Nov. 16 and focused on the local fashion scene." [WWD]
Carlos Miele is expecting a baby. "Insiders" say it's a boy called Leonardo. The item is titled, "stork to bring stylish baby." [P6]

Fashion Icon Tara Reid Launches Clothing Line

Sadie — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:40:00 EDT

I think we can all agree that there's a real dearth of trashy fashion lines by C-List stars. Thank god Tara Reid is filling the void with "Mantra." The new collection "includes t-shirts, dresses, bikinis, ponchos and hoodies decorated with beads and charms." [Perez Hilton]
Which is good, because fellow I-don't-even-know-what-letter-Lister Kelly Osborne's reality show, Project Catwalk, was just dropped in the UK. [The Star]
Janice on Tyra: "Nor did I ever get a note or call thanking me for helping to put her show on the map. Whatever. She’s not my favorite person." [NY Mag]
Presses, stopped: "Barack Obama has a 33-inch waist, and his jacket is a 40 long." This info comes from his tailor! [Racked]

This is how we want our birthdays celebrated from now on: "Rumor has it (Sonia) Rykiel’s daughter, Nathalie, has asked a host of international designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan and Jean Paul Gaultier, to design an outfit in the spirit of Rykiel to pay homage to the sweater queen as part of her jubilee." [WWD]
Not surprisingly, French Vogue editrice Carine Roitfeld's Paris pad is huge, chic, less than cozy. [Fashion Week Daily]
Just in time for alleged "Twilight vampire mania," black lipgloss is everywhere but on our mouths! [LAT]
Both American Eagle and Chico's had better-than-expected profits, even though they had to slash prices/launch a "Debbie Phelps line" to do it. [NYT]
Thanks to Nuclear Wintour, tennis has had the fashion seal of approval for a while now. No wonder Lacoste and Ralph Lauren can't keep tennis couture on the shelves! [WWD]
Those of us getting nostalgic for the days when Madonna was awesome can check out icons of her sartorial career at a London exhibition next year. "Highlights of the 300-item show will include her iconic pink Material Girl dress, which she wore in the video to her 1985 hit, and the gown she wore playing Argentinian heroine Evita in the 1996 movie." [The Telegraph]
Kate Moss talks dirty — or at least talks about talking dirty — in Interview, despite our specific injunctions to avoid speaking. Also does nude pictorial. (NSFW although it's "artistic.") [The Sun]
And wanna see her in a Turkish bath? Knock yourselves out. [Fashionista]
"Telephoning from his 152-foot navy-hulled yacht moored off the island of Capri,' Valentino acts exactly as one would wish an iconic Italian designer to. [BlackBook]
Victoria's Secret model Doutzen Kroes: '"I always went over the top when I liked the guys! I would send flowers and love notes," the lovely blonde dished. "I'm sure they're laughing now, because they're like 'Oh, shoot!' But this was when I was 13. Men now send me flowers, and I like it that way,"' Oh, shut it. [Radar]
Former model Carol Alt's novel: "I wanted to teach in an entertaining kind of way. I have a wealth of knowledge about the modeling industry and how to create a career, not just survive the season. I wanted to be able to teach the girls coming in to the business what it's all about and what to expect. Nobody tells them and they're shocked," [CBS News]
"I Kissed A Girl" singer Katy Perry, and Betsey Johnson, who kissed Anna Nicole, love each other. [BlackBook]
Lifetime piggybacks on its Runway coup with Blush: The Search for America's Greatest Makeup Artist. Two words, Lifetime: Top Design. [Variety]
Olympic golden girls Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, and Alicia Sacramone "will be the new faces of CoverGirl." Aren't they kinda young? [Chic and Untroubled via NY Mag]
Elton John auctions deco brooch; apparently will fetch a lot of money. [The Star]
J Crew's down; they're blaming "system upgrades" but I'm blaming "high prices." [WSJ]
Mark Ronson's spinning at fashion week. I feel manipulated; why do I love them all of a sudden? [Fashion Week Daily]
We're normally wary of fashion types co-opting lit cause they think it sounds cool or whatever, but the invites to Abigail Lorick (who does all the ghost designing for Gossip Girl's "fashion shows" nb) sounds genuinely rad: "it’s a battered copy of Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece “A Room of One’s Own,” all wrapped up in a silk scarf bow." [Style.com]
London's Jewish Museum of Art launches an exhibit on "Schmatte Counture" that seems to have very little to do with either rags or fashion. [Telegraph]
Free YSL bags! Well, sort of. "The limited edition cotton totes, designed by Stefano Pilati, are the latest wrinkle in the French house's ongoing "Manifesto" program, in which newspaper-style catalogues are handed out to women on the streets of key fashion cities. More than half a million copies of the catalogue will be distributed in Paris, New York, London, Milan, Tokyo and Hong Kong, with 5,000 in each city tucked into the black or white totes." [WWD]
They're also hawking a $50-something bracelet. "For their latest fragrance and lip gloss (as seen on the cast of Gossip Girl, as well as model Coco Rocha), YSL did something major: They put both beauty items into tiny gold charms, attached them to a YSL bracelet, and sent them straight to Sephora." [Nylon]

Posh Gets Glamour Editor Cindi Leive Thrown Out Of Boutique

Jennifer — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:00:00 EDT

Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive learned what it really feels like to be "just like us" when she got booted out of Parisian boutique Colette because Victoria Beckham had arrived to shop. And uh, Leive was in the middle of getting changed in the dressing room. Ouch. [Fashion Week Daily]
Memo to models: It does not make us like you any more when you say things like, "But my whole family is tall and pretty!". [Fashion Week Daily]
Olivier Theyskens is going to restage his S/S 2008 Nina Ricci show in interior designer/cracked out Top Design judge Kelly Wearstler's backyard in Beverly Hills. For breast cancer awareness, naturally. [Fashion Week Daily]
Speaking of cancer: Marc Jacobs will be reissuing his skin cancer awareness T-shirts with all our favorite naked (and we assume, lily-white and sunspot-free) tushes from last year — Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, etc. [WWD, 1st item]

Marc listed his own outfit on the run-of-show sheet given to all attendees at the Vuitton show. Right down to his Sponge Bob lunchbox. [So can you stop idolizing this freak already? -Moe]Fashion Week Daily]
French singer Francoise Hardy is probably going to start a clothing line herself. Le why? We would've hoped that the French were more evolved than us, and would have been able to spare themselves from Celebrity Designer Syndrome. [WWD, 2nd item]
Gucci is partnering with UNICEF, presenting a special, limited-edition bag that will benefit the children's charity. [WWD, sub req'd]
Apparently redheads have more fun these days. Alert Britney! [Daily Mail]