Top Fashion Editor Declares The End Of 'Slut Clothes'

T Magazine editor Deborah Needleman thinks that women will stop wearing sexy clothes this summer.
"Say so long to slut clothes," Needleman tweeted, linking to an article about how modest clothes were coming back in fashion.

That article, by Suzy Menkes, showcases a collection by Valentino that looks more grandma than couture. The Valentino pieces are long, loose-fitting frocks that cover the models from their necks to their ankles.
" Out of Italy has come a fashion miracle: a look that suddenly puts 'la moda da puttana' ('hooker chic') right out of vogue," Menkes wrote. She proclaimed that the Valentino collection will set the tone for the entire fashion industry.

"The word that best describes their clothes is so ancient and out of fashion that it requires a good dust off: modesty," Menkes said reverently.

But Faran Krentcil at Fashionista  wrote that seeing the tweet and story " feels like I’ve been stabbed in the gut with my own stiletto."

Krentcil argues that most women are too poor or curvy to wear Valentino's designs, and that T's commentary creates an unreasonable standard.

"How about we get over this idea that the only way to look demure, or intelligent, or elegant, or anything other than 'a slut,' is by reaching for a caftan?" Krentcil implores.
The T article isn't the first to encourage wardrobe austerity in recent weeks.  Victoria's Secret came under fire last week after zealous parents demanded the retailer pull its racy Pink line targeted toward teens.

A Disguise for When You Want to Be Seen

No one saw it coming. The men’s fashion collection that Dries Van Noten showed for spring was a cavalcade of camouflage.

He paired it with a clashing palette of white and safety orange that would make a crossing guard proud. The various camouflages might have been cribbed from the Army, but the patterns and fine tailoring were far from military issue.

“I sought to use camouflage as any other print or motif,” Mr. Van Noten said, “to demilitarize it and use it as a stripe, a floral or a paisley might be used. It was purely decorative and in no way political.”

But how camo can you go?

Pretty far, actually. Mr. Van Noten’s impressive show was just the tip of a brown and dark-green mottled iceberg. There were spring collections with heavy camouflage slants from Comme des Garçons, Kenzo and Valentino. Then came the men’s fall collections, the aggressive pattern marching across Perry Ellis by Duckie Brown, Patrik Ervell, Phillip Lim and DKNY before crossing the gender border in women’s shows like Christopher Kane, Michael Kors, Rebecca Minkoff and L.A.M.B.

The designers, a disparate lot, shared one sentiment with Mr. Van Noten. Their inspirations varied but, at least consciously, the messages were apolitical. Nary a desert pattern appeared to comment on 12 years of combat. Nor, apparently, were any of the designers inspired by reality television shows like “Doomsday Preppers.”

“My goal was to make a camo that was beautiful and romantic,” said Patrik Ervell, who created original shadowy photo-realistic prints. For his men’s line, he used ivy and bark; for women, closed night flowers.

Mark McNairy opened his spring show with an overcoat in a pattern of daisies overlaid on a bed of camouflage.

“It started with G.I. Joe as a kid,” said Mr. McNairy, who acknowledges an obsession with military camo. “Certain ones are like art. When I go to another country, I go to military surplus stores and buy camos from all over the world. The colors and patterns are just beautiful.”

Mr. McNairy was clear that it is not just any pattern that piques his interest. “I don’t care for hunting camo,” he said. “Tree-bark camo doesn’t appeal to me at all.”

Military is a perennial go-to theme in men’s wear, but the utilitarian aspects of the design are usually emphasized on the fashion runways; camo patterns have been predominantly a street and skate-wear staple.

“Camo is the leopard print of men’s wear,” said Nick Wooster, the recently named creative director for men’s clothing at J. C. Penney, who owns camouflage swim trunks, tailored shirts and an iPhone cover, among other items. “It’s a safe way for a guy to feel a little bit radical without actually being radical.”

As for the new patterns on the runways, Mr. Wooster is scarcely surprised. “The unorthodox use of something is what fashion is all about,” he said.

Most of the women’s wear interpretations were brash “kooky camo,” halogen bursts of acid color that erase the very purpose of camouflage: that the wearer is not to be seen. Anti-camo, if you will.

One impetus seemed to be the 1980s, but not Rambo. Warhol’s late-period camouflage paintings and self-portraits, and Stephen Sprouse’s neon 1980s collections riffing on the artist’s series, set the tone.

“The collection was based off the electric colors you find in the city,” Mr. Kors said. “Taxicab yellow and neon orange. The bright takes on camo were a wink to ’80s nights at the Mudd Club, where you definitely wanted to be noticed. Camo is about blending in, but this is fashion, after all.”

Mr. Kors, whose collection included items like a royal blue felted wool camo coat and a matching jacquard camo jacket and pants, was also influenced by Hurricane Sandy. “We were surrounded by a spirit of survival,” he said, “and camouflage is a hallmark of that.”

Camo has its practical merits, like disguising stains and allowing you to stealthily lie in wait for your enemies. There is also its paradoxical handiness: it goes with nothing, so therefore it goes with everything. But it can lead to an unsettling confusion when encountered outside of an urban center.

On a recent trip to Kentucky, I wore a vintage Army camouflage coat. I fielded the question, “What do you hunt?” several times. Then, in the airport connecting to my next flight, I was surrounded by four ladies of a certain age who profusely thanked me. One even hugged me. Confused, I asked if it was because I sat in the exit row. She responded, “For putting your life on the line for our country,” and tapped the “Airborne” patch on my sleeve.

Fashion week in O.C. keeps the focus close to home

The organizers and sponsors are understandably excited. They've put a lot of work into each night's doings, and they believe in supporting emerging fashion talent, says Kathryn Marino owner of HauteOC, a main sponsor and organizer of OCFW, which is the creation of the Orange County Fashion Association.

"After weeks of working with this group, I recognized and experienced first-hand some of the barriers that emerging designers face just to create a line, brand it and build it like a business. It's not something that can be completely achieved through a vocational school, networking events or a single prize scholarship fund," Marino said. "It takes perseverance through rejection, guidance, resources (and) corporate programs long after graduate schools. I have really been humbled by the experience. Recognizing that this group had gone through a lot just to give designers a chance, it hasn't been easy, and they've done so with a humble spirit."

But, I wondered, what would it take for Orange County Fashion week to be uttered in the same breath with Paris, Milan and New York?

Move to Paris, Milan or New York, says Marshall Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group.

"To be successful outside of New York, Paris or Milan, it's going to be about showcasing product on a local level; see what makes these lines special; get (local people) interested in fashion and to have an understanding what it would take to make this market different," he said. "Otherwise, it becomes no different than a mall fashion show."

Cohen suggests there is a market in Orange County and the region (Los Angeles' fashion week, still struggling to reach legitimacy, took place last week) because of the large apparel industry here. But he says a so-called fashion week must "go beyond surf and denim, beyond reaching the local consumer; it's reaching the fashionista at all levels."

Michelle Tyree, editor/creator of Fashion Trends Daily, a fashion and style website, agrees – somewhat – with Cohen.

"These areas make the mistake of having a 'fashion week' – it's not going to happen," Tyree said, explaining that the people you would want sitting in the front row at a fashion week – high-powered magazine editors and buyers, as well as celebrities – are all booked for the established fashion events. "The editors are not going to go to Los Angeles" or Orange County, she said.

But if organizers targeted consumer fashion instead of couture or designer ready-to-wear, they could be successful.

"The relevance is here (in Orange County) for contemporary or for surf, but they need to be smart about what they want that time to be, what they are trying to highlight. They should be focused on key industries here."

But OCFW – with its mix of local designers and relative unknowns from elsewhere – seems to be aiming for a charmed intersection of high fashion, avant-garde and consumer-friendly.

From the opening day accessories and jewelry event featuring several Orange County-based designers, to Wednesday night's menswear, race wear and tech-wear focus at Fisker of Orange County in Irvine, to Sunday's kids-wear runway in Laguna, there is something for the consumer.

Still, the final nights' lineups aim for that higher style profile the experts say is hard to hit. Thursday OCFW will present "Runway Expose" – emerging and established ready-to-wear designers; Friday features a late night "Avant Garde" designer show (during which models will appear on a glass catwalk at AnQi by Crustacean at South Coast Plaza) and Saturday's theme is "Haute Couture" Laguna Beach.

With these shows, Marino says, OCFA is staying true to its mission, which is "giving designers a chance and shining a spotlight on fashion in Orange County to grow into a business that can stimulate jobs in the local economy if they continue their retail work here."

W Hotels Worldwide Sends CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} Designers on Fashion-Focused Inspiration Trips Around the World

W Hotels Worldwide and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) today announced the second phase of their multi-layered partnership as they unveiled the weeklong trips on which the CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers will embark in order to seek inspiration for their upcoming collections. The dynamic group, which includes designers from fashion and accessories brands Ari Dein, Burkman Bros., Daniel Vosovic, Emanuela Duca, Isaora, Jonathan Simkai, Reece Hudson, NUMBER:Lab, Timo Weiland and WHIT, will draw creativity for their Spring 2014 collections from the vibrant destinations and cutting-edge W Hotels they visit around the world.

“W Hotels is proud to be a partner of the CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} program, and together, we have created a unique global platform to elevate exposure and drive business for these rising fashion stars,” said Carlos Becil, Vice President of Brand Management, Starwood’s Luxury and Design Brands, North America. “In addition to the designer showcases at W Hotels around the country, these ten inspiration trips allow each designer to leave home and soak in the energy, creativity, and spirit of dynamic destinations around the world to inspire their next collection.”

Passports and Sketchbooks in Hand, Designers Jet Off in Search of Fashion Inspiration
American menswear design brand Burkman Bros. and womenswear designer Jonathan Simkhai will separately travel to the newly opened W Bangkok, set in the pulsating heart of the city near glittering temples and spicy street markets. Founded by brothers Ben and Doug Burkman, the contemporary menswear collection Burkman Bros. is heavily influenced by travel and incorporates prints and fabric treatments from countries around the world. Jonathan Simkhai offers sophisticated dressing for the modern, cosmopolitan woman, bringing forth classic predominantly menswear codes translated into sexy and feminine silhouettes
Emanuela Duca, an award-winning jewelry designer, will travel to W Doha Hotel & Residences where sand dunes soar next to towering skyscrapers. A rapidly evolving destination, Doha offers juxtaposition of old and new with its historic forts and camel racing, ancient souks and luxury shopping, and old Shisha cafes and modern cuisines. Originally from Rome, Duca, whose designs are inspired by the marriage of movement and sculpture, creates earth-bound, highly textured surfaces, evocative of volcanic ash and ancient ruins of her native city.

Womenswear designer Daniel Vosovic and Reece Solomon, of the designer handbag collection Reece Hudson, will each travel to W Istanbul, located in the center of the historic Akaretler Row Houses. Vosovic’s collections embody a modern signature style, which caters to those who appreciate an easy sophistication. The Reece Hudson collection, made in Italy, aims to bridge the gap between luxury products and street style through strong design sensibilities mixed with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship
Timo Weiland and Alan Eckstein, the designers behind Timo Weiland, and Whitney Pozgay, the designer of contemporary women’s collection WHIT, will separately travel to W Retreat & Spa Bali – Seminyak, set on one of Bali’s most famous beaches. Timo Weiland reflects the designers’ personal aesthetic, sensibilities and broader desire to spur a return to the art of dressing. WHIT specializes in beautiful modern clothing with a fun whimsical twist. Her silhouettes celebrate color and are made to mix and match to incorporate your personal style.

Lingerie designer Arielle Shapiro, whose Ari Dein brand is largely inspired by boutique hotel living and art deco style, will travel to W St. Petersburg, where Russian tradition is fused with Antonio Citterio’s avant-garde décor. Architectural details and exceptional tailoring contribute to Ari Dein, a line that is unique, nostalgic and versatile.

Ricky Hendry and Marc Daniels of ISAORA will take to the road in search of adventure on America’s West Coast, visiting three of the W brand’s newly renovated hotels: W Seattle, W San Francisco and W San Diego. Covering almost 3,000 miles, they will take in everything the left coast has to offer— from the surf, to the cities, to the snow, to the desert— meeting with like-minded innovators and inspiring creatives along the way who share their passion for design driven excellence.

Finally, sportswear label NUMBER:Lab, founded by established architect Luis Fernandez and serial entrepreneur Greg Lawrance, will travel to W Barcelona, a skyline icon designed by renowned architect Ricardo Bofill. Anchored by a defined aesthetic and vision, NUMBER:Lab offers a collection of essentials for the athletic side of the discerning man.

“One of the interesting aspects of our partnership with W Hotels is how the brand can help to create global exposure for our {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers,” said Steven Kolb, Chief Executive Officer of the CFDA. “We thank W Hotels for sending our designers on these incredible inspiration trips and adding this unique layer to the {FASHION INCUBATOR} program.
”
This past September, W Hotels and the CFDA announced a partnership that will bring {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers out of New York City and into markets that are important to growing their businesses, a first such opportunity for the {FASHION INCUBATOR} program. In addition to the Inspiration Trips, the partnership will travel {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers to W Hotels around the country for fashion showcases and special events, the first of which took place this past December at W Atlanta – Buckhead with designers Burkman Bros., Daniel Vosovic, Emanuela Duca and WHIT. W Dallas will host the second {FASHION INCUBATOR} showcase later this spring.

Since its inception in New York City in 1998, W Hotels has identified fashion, a direct extension of design, as one of its key passions to appeal to its jet set guests, who are always looking for what’s new and next. As the reach of W Hotels has expanded globally, it has become a more active participant in its passions of design, fashion and music, which has enabled the W brand to champion emerging talent around the world.

This Spring, The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto Is What's in Fashion

From March 18-22, 2013, the eyes of the fashion world will be focused on the sparkling jewel of Ontario as Toronto celebrates World MasterCard Fashion Week Toronto 2013. As the official hotel of Fashion Week, The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto is pleased to offer exclusive events, specials, and savings for its guests.

Fashionistas from around the globe can stay in style with The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto's World MasterCard Fashion Week Experience. Created especially for Fashion Week, this exclusive hotel package includes accommodations in a luxurious Corner Suite overlooking the runway at David Pecaut Square, a one-of-a-kind VIP hair and makeup experience, tickets to two designer shows nightly, access to the Sponsor Lounge and the services of the Ritz-Carlton Club Level, all from just $925 CDN/night* through March 22, 2013.

After the show, guests are invited to see and be seen at the official World MasterCard Fashion Week Lounge at DEQ, conveniently located at The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto. There, hotel guests can relax fireside with a fashion-inspired cocktail like the Tanqueray-based Fashionista or the strawberry-infused Prêt-à-Porter. They can also refuel with a selection of the city's most stylish snacks or let loose and dance the night away with DEQ's in-house DJ until 1AM.

If the excitement of Fashion Week becomes too much to handle, guests are also invited to wind down and relax with the designer treatment at Spa MyBlend by Clarins at The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto. This first-class, 23,000 square-foot spa includes exclusive, fashion-forward experiences like the Runway Recharger package, Jet Lag Reviver and the Paparazzi Polish.

Ideal for business or leisure stays, this luxury Toronto hotel's premium downtown location puts it just steps away from world-class theatre experiences, iconic landmarks like the CN Tower and the Hockey Hall of Fame, cultural attractions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum, and specialty events including Fashion Week.

Rate is per room/per night, based on double occupancy, exclusive of taxes, gratuities, fees and other charges; does not apply to groups; cannot be combined with any other offer and is not applicable for Rewards redemption. Advanced reservations are required. Hotel suite upgrade available for an additional cost. Offer is subject to availability. No credit back if inclusions are unused.

About The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
Among Toronto luxury hotels downtown, there is only one Ritz-Carlton. As one of Toronto's newest luxury hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto welcomes hotel guests to the heart of the city's bustling financial and performing arts districts. Located across from Roy Thompson Hall and only steps from the Toronto International Film Festival Bell Lightbox, The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto features 267 elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites that offer magnificent city or lake views from floor to ceiling windows.

Along with its legendary service, luxury amenities and offerings include North America's only Spa MyBlend by Clarins, the spacious  outdoor terrace at DEQ Lounge, the bespoke cocktails of Ritz Bar, signature Ritz-Carlton Club Level service (with complimentary culinary offerings and alcoholic beverages) and the impeccable dining experience of TOCA restaurant, a top choice among downtown Toronto restaurants.

Combining guestroom comfort, unmatched amenities, business guest convenience and world-class dining experiences, this downtown Toronto hotel consistently offers uniquely enjoyable experiences with every stay.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. of Chevy Chase, Md., currently operates 82 hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. More than 30 hotel and residential projects are under development around the globe. The Ritz-Carlton is the only service company to have twice earned the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award which recognizes outstanding customer service. For more information, or reservations, contact a travel professional, call toll free in the U.S. 1-800-241-3333, or visit the company website at www.ritzcarlton.com. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marriott International, Inc.

Pop Music Sensation Kaya Jones to Launch Hollywood Doll Fashion Line at Style Fashion Week L.A.

Kaya Jones, best known as one of the lead singers for popular girl band The Pussycat Dolls, will be launching her Hollywood Doll fashion line at Style Fashion Week L.A., held March 11-15 in Los Angeles.

The Hollywood Doll fashion collection was inspired by Jones’ belief that girls should be allowed to be girls and not forced to grow up too fast. Hollywood Doll encourages girls to show their “inner diva” and express themselves by what they wear and giving them a look that is fun, fresh, whimsical and bold with lots of color and energy to create an edgy fairytale-like feel.

The Hollywood Doll fashion show will be held on Wednesday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the historic Vibiana Cathedral at 214 South Main Street, Los Angeles. Jones will be giving a special live performance just prior to the start of her show. The show is open to registered buyers and media.

Jones designed the collection with noted fashion designer and stylist Traver Rains, who co-founded the fashion label Heatherette and has been a judge on both “America’s Next Top Model” and “Project Runway.” Rains has dressed celebrities including Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and dozens of others. He has appeared as a fashion correspondent on MTV, E!, CNN and The Today Show.

“I wanted to create a look that would inspire young girls about individuality and freedom of expression in a way that would be appealing to them and their parents,” said Jones. “A lot of what is designed for young girls today lacks a sense of fun and whimsy, and I’m hoping to bring that back because I think it builds self-esteem and confidence and provides a release for many of the pressures faced by young girls in today’s world.”

The Hollywood Doll brand will also include accessories, beauty products and a collection of dolls that will wear replicas of apparel from the fashion line.

Style Fashion Week L.A. has made a global impact on the fashion scene by giving Los Angeles-based designers a world-class platform to showcase their collections. SFW represents the diverse culture that embodies the people of Los Angeles, making the City of Angels a fashion hub and being a leader in the world’s fashion community. More information is available at StyleFashionWeek.com.

Kaya Jones was a lead singer for The Pussycat Dolls, which was one of the most popular girl groups in history having sold more than 15 million albums and 40 million singles worldwide making them one of the most recognizable and bestselling music brands of the decade. Since leaving the group, Jones has brought her own sound to the masses and developed her career as a solo artist. Her solo hit singles include “Hollywood Doll” and “Take It Off,” both of which became top dance songs throughout the world. More information is available at KayaJones.com.

Macy’s Returns to NBC’s Fashion Star for Second Season, Premiering Tomorrow

Macy’s (NYSE:M) is back for the second season of NBC’s “Fashion Star,” allowing the retailer to once again bring exclusive merchandise directly from the television to its eagerly awaiting fans at home. New this season, shoppers can go online at macys.com/fashionstar to purchase winning items from their favorite designer as soon as it happens during each episode. Visitors to the site can also enter to win a shopping spree with Macy’s buyer Caprice Willard. “Fashion Star” Season Two features returning celebrity mentors Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos, alongside new host Louise Roe, and returns to NBC tomorrow night at 8 p.m./7c.

“The first season of ‘Fashion Star’ offered a unique opportunity for Macy’s to reinforce our credentials in identifying, nurturing and delivering great talent as part of a groundbreaking television concept for a national audience,” said Martine Reardon, Macy’s chief marketing officer. “Our customers responded and we’re thrilled to join again for Season Two, offering Caprice’s pick for winning designs in real-time during each episode.”

NBC’s “Fashion Star,” the hit reality show that follows aspiring designers as they compete to sell their creations to America’s top buyers, including Macy’s own Caprice Willard, returns for season two on Friday, March 8 (check local listings). During each episode, designs bought by Willard will be available on macys.com/fashionstar in real-time as they are revealed during the broadcast, building momentum and excitement around the show and providing instant gratification for viewers.

Shop Like A Star
This season, “Fashion Star” fans can “Shop Like a Star,” by entering for a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles and a $1,000 Macy’s shopping spree with Caprice Willard by entering online at macys.com/fashionstar, via QR Code or texting “fashionstar” to 62297. (For details, see official rules posted at macys.com/fashionstar.)

Fashion Outlets of Chicago Announces Retail Lineup

Premier U.S. outlet developer and manager AWE Talisman and Macerich, one of the nation's leading regional mall owners, operators and developers, today named the full slate of anchors and the list of specialty stores coming to Fashion Outlets of Chicago.  The new property is set to open just outside of Chicago – minutes away from O'Hare International Airport - in Rosemont, Ill., on August 1, 2013.

Anchors opening at the two-level, 530,000 square-foot outlet mall include Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th and Forever 21.

Fashion Outlets of Chicago marks the first fully enclosed, multi-level property with this level of amenities in the Chicago area in more than two decades.

"We don't believe there is another shopping environment that reaches this caliber of global brands with this level of customer care and market access," said AWE Talisman Chairman Arthur Weiner.  "Beyond the robust slate of retail and dining attractions, Fashion Outlets of Chicago also will offer an exciting set of customer amenities and social experiences, including a world-class art installation."

Fashion Outlets of Chicago is the latest development in an increasingly rich Rosemont area, which has seen a number of new restaurants and entertainment venues open in recent years. It is located on Fashion Outlets Way off of Balmoral Road in Rosemont and off of I-294 at the intersections of I-190 and I-90. Dining is another focus of the new property: Fashion Outlets of Chicago will offer two fine dining restaurants, Prasino and Villagio, in addition to a first-level food court and variety of other quick-service options.

"Fashion Outlets of Chicago marks our commitment to the changing face of outlet retail in America," said Art Coppola, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Macerich. "Today's announcement of the outstanding tenant mix and opening date for Fashion Outlets of Chicago is a significant milestone for our company, demonstrating Macerich's ongoing commitment to the market, as well as to our outlet strategy."

Fashion Outlets of Chicago will provide a variety of convenient amenities designed to appeal to the thousands of travelers passing through nearby O'Hare International Airport every day of the year. These include regular shuttles to and from the airport's terminals, as well as downtown hotels from our transportation partner Go Airport Express. Additionally, Fashion Outlets of Chicago is partnering with TSA-certified BAGS Inc. to operate a special concierge service that allows travelers to print boarding passes and check shopping bags and luggage directly to their flights.

Best of the runway at Paris Autumn/Winter 2013

With New York Fashion Week now a distant memory, London long-gone and Milan having finally caught its breath, Paris Fashion Week is winding to a close after a truly storming season.

Cara Delevingne, Joan Smalls and Karlie Kloss ruled the runway once again, while trends have ricocheted from svelte and chic monochrome to all-out embellishment via florals, rich colour, sharp shapes and playful textures.

So from Stella McCartney and Jean Paul Gaultier to Lanvin, Chanel, Givenchy,Christian Dior, Chloé, John Galliano and a whole host more, check out the very best of the Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week fall 2013: Chloe review

As Chloe continues to celebrate its 60-year anniversary with a collection of greatest hits arriving in stores soon, the French brand’s current designer, Clare Waight Keller, showed her fall 2013 collection Sunday afternoon under a tent in the Tuileries Garden during Paris Fashion Week.

The inspiration: Tough girls, night buses, dorm rooms, bike sheds, cold nights, bare legs and independent spirit, according to the show notes.

The look:  Tomboy. Nubbly wool felt coat. Patchwork fur pullover worn with leather sweatpants. Pinafore dresses with straps that resembled utility belts. High waist, cropped pants. Chain-link fence T-shirts. Hiking boots and lace-up, lug-sole oxfords. 

The verdict: Keller could have used a bit more of the brand’s signature softness to counter the toughness in this collection.  Some of these clothes just looked plain clunky.

Fashion designers harness Dutch grannies' knitting power

A small room at the back of a retirement home in the suburbs of Rotterdam has been given over to the weekly "knitting club" for women aged 58 to 85, their cheerful chatter almost drowning out the rhythmic click-clacking of knitting needles.

"I think I'll make this one next," says an excited Willy Mollenaar, a grandmother in her seventies with dyed light brown hair, pointing to a thick grey woolly hat displayed on a table.

Once she will have copied the design, created by a young Dutch fashion graduate from the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague, the hat will be sold in a small shop in Rotterdam called "Granny's Finest", set up by businessmen Jip Pulles, 31, and Niek van Hengel, 27.

Her only payment will be a photograph of the happy customer wearing the fruits of her labour.

"I was visiting my grandfather in a retirement home and I always saw an old lady knitting," Van Hengel told AFP, as he served cups of tepid coffee and soft cake to the team of grannies.

"She didn't have any relatives or friends to knit for but she kept on because it kept her busy and she enjoyed it," he said.

That "oma", the Dutch word for grandmother, and the return of knitwear to the catwalk gave him the idea to team up modern designs and traditional techniques, fashion designers with knitting grannies, in a project that combines social inclusion with a commercial spirit.

"My grandchildren don't like to wear what I knit and I didn't have anyone to knit for anymore," said Mollenaar.

"I learned to knit at school and it's really fun to do, it's relaxing, but it's really sad when no one wears or uses what you knit."
Fellow knitter Loes Wijnbergen, at 58 the youngest of the group, said: "It's really worthwhile when someone buys and especially wears what we've made with our own hands."

Eager to be resupplied with fresh yarn and new designs to execute, Wijnbergen, Mollenaar and the other women get together every Thursday afternoon, finding new use for a skill passed down through generations.

They look at the designers' creations, anything from bow ties to bags, before choosing one and starting to knit. But the social side of the club is as important to the elderly women as the knitting patterns.

"I come here just as much for the new designs and for knitting material as for the social contact," said Niza Rauws, 80.

"It's not always obvious how to stay busy and meet new people when your old and retired," she said.

The shop sells a selection of hats, scarves, bracelets and bags ranging in price from 25 to 145 euros (33 to 190 dollars).

The project is partly financed by subsidies from Rotterdam municipality and organisations promoting social cohesion, but it's not making any money yet.
"It's a good project for young and old to meet each other," said the Oranje Fund, which promotes activities to get residents involved in the local community.

The entrepreneurs stress that they're far from exploiting idle and lonely senior citizens.

"The project's main aim is social, it's social cohesion and creative contact between the generations," said Ven Hengel.

"We make the most of the grannies' skills while at the same time providing them with a meeting place," he said.

The fashion designers, often fresh graduates at the start of their careers, see the project as "a way to make a name for yourself while learning the ropes by working with the grannies," said Annemarije van Harten, 28.

Another designer, Rosanne van der Meer, 33, wants to make a baby knitwear collection for next year's spring-summer collection.

"I really learn a lot of things from the grannies, about how to make the designs, about which are the right techniques to use," she said.

"Although, well, sometimes they don't have the same tastes and aren't convinced by the designs," Van der Meer laughs, holding up a pair of baby knitwear dungarees.

99 shows, 22 countries: Bonjour Paris fashion week

The world's largest traveling circus of fashion editors, models, buyers and journalists has descended on the French capital, clutching their metro maps and city guides, to cap fashion season for nine days of intensive ready-to-wear.

And this fall-winter 2013-14 is the biggest to date, with some 99 "on-calendar" shows that see the week almost tearing at the seams, starting earlier and finishing later than ever.

"There are 12 shows a day. Twenty-two different nationalities this season. With new top designers at work," says Didier Grumbach, president of the French Fashion Federation. "It's an impressive mix, an energy that sets Paris apart from what's going on elsewhere."

Tuesday — day one — saw collections dominated by three up-and-coming Belgian designers: Veronique Branquinho, Cedric Charlier and Anthony Vaccarello, who dressed actress Charlotte Gainsbourg at last Friday's Cesar film awards.
The similarities start and end with their nationalities; all three threw together strong but highly individual collections.

If Branquinho was elegance, Charlier was edgy architecture, and Vaccarello was retro sex-appeal.

In other shows of the day, Le Moine Tricote spiced up the bread-and-butter knitwear with woven fabric.

Wednesday's shows include Guy Laroche, Damir Doma and London's enfant terrible, Gareth Pugh.

ANTHONY VACCARELLO
The no-holds-barred sex appeal for Anthony Vaccarello is not for the faint-hearted.

The third Belgian designer to show on Paris fashion week's first day served up a black-and-white ode to the early '80s in a show that featured micro skirts, chainmail, a lot of skin and lashings of sensual leather.

Strong retro shoulders, asymmetrical, diagonally cut skirts, upturned lapels and cowl collars set the fashion time dial firmly back to the era of the New Romantics.

This was fused with the innate sexiness of his variations on the Little Black Dress.

The best look was a black kimono-style top, which billowed in great contrast to the tight, bright shiny black mini.

Subtle this was not, but then, subtle isn't glam-loving Vaccarello's thing.

VERONIQUE BRANQUINHO
It was the modern bohemian woman on parade.
Veronique Branquinho mixed and matched eclectic references, from wooden African bracelets to Obi-style dresses with belts.

The soundtrack included Marilyn Monroe's sultry "One Silver Dollar" from the Western "River of No Return," which played as cowboy boots and denim studs peppered the looks.

Stetson cowboy hats in Shetland went too far, but overall it was a strong collection for the up-and-coming designer — reined in only by its feminine silhouette proportions and textural contrasts that unified the show.

The graceful, slouchy style, now a Branquinho signature, was seen on several of the dropped waist looks, often in beige and fawn.

LE MOINE TRICOTE
Fall-winter sees bright-eyed designer Alice Lemoine brimming with ideas.
First of all, in the unique presentation of her Le Moine Tricote collection via three different mediums in three different rooms: there were edgy photos, vintage-looking video projections, and the clothes themselves on mannequins.
Second of all, there were new ideas in the direction of the up-and-comer's knitwear line itself, which saw the repertoire this season spun out to include stricter woven fabrics. They provided a subtle but welcome contrast to the more feminine thick-knit tailored jackets in black, beige and gray.

The strongest piece in the show was a fantastic black mid-length coat dress that had pockets, a lapel and sleeves in billowing wool to imitate fur.
Despite sporty flashes, the collection overall remained thoroughly feminine, thanks to the natural roundness of the thick-knit silhouettes.
This season, ladylike is the name of the game.

CEDRIC CHARLIER
Architecture, "art brut" and Dutch Master Brueghel were all inspirations behind Cedric Charlier's diverse show.

The first pieces, among the collection's best, mixed up sharp geometric paneling alongside oversize coats with fluid, rounded shoulders.

Ensembles were made up of several layers, like square navy skirts on top of knee-length leggings with a rectangular bib form hanging down.

There were also some great structured sheaths in silky navy and black leather.
It's a far cry from the more fluid looks seen in Charlier's last collection.
The designer said medieval painter Brueghel inspired the bright colors of some of the prints and patterns, as did an early 20th century movement called "art brut" that celebrated art from shunned circles, like mental asylums.

Dark times at Milan Fashion Week

Fashion designers at Milan fashion week delivered a dark palette and masculine styles for autumn-winter wardrobes in a reflection of Italy's bleak economic and political landscape.

Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Roberto Cavalli were among the fashion houses whose darkly colored catwalk collections for the 2013-14 autumn/winter season catwalk shows evoked the anxiety over grim expectations for Italian fashion sales, worries over European economic health and uncertainty over domestic politics.


Designer Miuccia Prada, whose sleek collections are eagerly awaited at the Milan week, chose a post-industrial setting to present her look for a modern woman hemmed in by the grim realities of life since an economic downturn began in 2008.

"It seems to me that in the contemporary world you cannot let yourself go completely," Prada said after her show.

Armani re-worked a masculine style for a collection that included suspenders and jumpsuits in black velvet accessorized with black berets.

"We must create clothes that women wear," Armani said backstage from a show attended by Princess Charlene of Monaco.

Luxury retailers have fared better than other industries during the prolonged recession in southern Europe thanks to demand from wealthy travelers from Asia, the Middle East and Russia.

But global sales of Italian fashion - including those of smaller brands hit hard by the crisis - are expected to fall by 3.5 percent this year after dropping 5.4 percent in 2012, textile and fashion body Sistema Moda Italia (SMI) said.

Designers expressed concerns about stability in Italy, where the uncertain outcome of parliamentary elections held during the fashion week rekindled fears of a new euro zone debt crisis.

"We need infrastructures to attract tourists but we also need a long-term government for such long-term measures," said Michele Norsa, chief executive of Salvatore Ferragamo.

Gucci designer Frida Giannini offered jackets narrowed at the waist with egg-shaped shoulders and worn over pencil skirts below the knee. A mostly pragmatic look designed for work.

Giannini, who is going to have her first baby in a couple of weeks, used colors like purple, rust, moss green and dark blue for a femme fatale she said was "steely yet sexy".

If colors were dark, materials were bold.

Neoprene, lurex and vinyl surfaced everywhere, with Versace delivering the most daring looks in a rock-and-roll show.

Creative head Donatella Versace showed ankle-length silk dresses with vinyl details contouring the body, while oversized coats came in bright yellow and black-and-white colors.

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Designers reserved their boldest ideas for accessories, where sales have risen during the recession because they are more affordable in price and can be used for more than a season.

"Sales of my accessories are growing," Armani said, after showing shoes with sculpted heels and a variety of handbags.

Versace opted for silver spikes on chain necklaces and studded boots, while Roberto Cavalli crafted necklaces in the shape of snakes and roses and large earring enveloping the ears.

Dolce & Gabbana, who drew inspiration from Byzantine mosaics, had shoes with inlaid sculpted heels, capped their models with golden crowns and draped them in jewels.

Other trends for next winter include zips, seen at Etro, pleated skirts from Blumarine, and a return of padded shoulders.

Some Play to the Crowd and Some Are for Real

More and more high fashion resembles an extreme sport, the X Games of glamour. Everything is amped-up: furs, glitter, nice Italian tailoring. Even the language wears extra padding.

This was especially true at the Oscar ceremony, where the red carpet is, after all, a marketing arm of the fashion industry. Dior, Prada and Giorgio Armani were the night’s big winners (“We did well,” an Armani executive said before the designer’s show here), but between the frantic commentary of cheerleading pundits and the mad race to wear spectacular fashion, you are less aware of a star’s charm or personality than an empty space on the carpet.

In Milan, because of the sheer number of outfits on a runway and the blinding amount of redundancy, you can see and not see. Dolce & Gabbana showed 75 looks, nearly twice as many as other designers. Half the collection was in the rich red and gold patterns of Catholic icons. The other chunk was in bourgeois-looking tweeds.

But the problem was not that the opposing selves refused to meet, or that the church pieces looked like costumes — some were dazzling. Rather, it was the sense of waste. How many of these garments will be produced? And if only a selection of the runway pieces winds up in stores, what are the many reviewers at the show or online really reviewing?

The public knows that much of fashion is smoke and mirrors. It’s also entertainment and part of the social-media contract, with Twitter feedback increasingly used by companies to decide which styles to push. At Ferragamo, the designs of Massimiliano Giornetti can be generically sophisticated, but you have to give him credit this season for emphasizing sleek coats and a sexy pair of lace-up boots with a semidetached pump. They’re visually grabbing, ideal for digital imagery.

Still, the most arresting fashion has a strong human element. It’s not shamelessly touting brand power. Nor is it all brain, which was the problem with the Jil Sander show and, to a lesser extent, Tomas Maier’s collection for Bottega Veneta. Peter Dundas is a somewhat underrated designer, but his Pucci show was full of unfettered charm. He nicely reprised the house’s 1960s Otto print for silk tunics and blouses, and kept the silhouette short and breezy, using wool shorts and stick-thin suede boots. So far, he’s one of the few fur-friendly designers to think playfully, turning shaved marabou or curly sheepskin into chic fuzz balls.

“Languid is the word,” said Angela Missoni of her deceptively simple collection based around pajama dressing. Well, PJ’s are in the air. They also suggest a longing for a more realistically intimate connection with fashion, and that’s what Ms. Missoni offered with gorgeously soupy coats in cashmere and alpaca knit, silky pants and jackets that appeared to be printed but were in fact knitting bonded with chiffon.

Marni looked as if it had been abducted by Prada mavens. Except for a lighthearted shag coat in autumn-lead shades, the collection was as dark as it was drenched in fur. Maybe the company’s new partner, Renzo Rosso, who was in the front row, will help restore some of the Marni funk.

Though black with silvery white was the dominant tone at Armani, and the collection retold the boy-girl theme, there were some good switch-ups. One was the low-slung cut of trousers, mixed in with the more classically elegant Armani tailoring, and another was the everyday use of black velvet. Rather shrewdly, Mr. Armani also stuck to lightweight fabrics, and throughout the collection used a man’s vest in clever ways, glazing it with smoky sequins or violet petals for evening.

Despite misgivings among women about wearing wool (it’s too hot), Mr. Maier made a statement with it at Bottega Veneta. Boiled, bonded or washed, the wool left a dry impression, though it gave him the precise shapes he wanted, especially for belted coats with a ’40s flair and skirts with raised, fluttery pleats.

There were also a few slim black dresses lightly mixed with black duchess satin, and one in black wool twill with a flat knitted bodice set at a slight diagonal. These were more successful, to my eye, than the collaged or pleated numbers.

Ms. Sander’s collection was all about control, and, as her press notes stated, the shapes indeed cut “a regal figure.” She also used the word “incorruptible.” I knew what she meant, from the serene lines of the clothes, but I thought: impenetrable.

Why does control obsess designers? Again, the effort to create rigor seemed another case of extreme thinking, without a drop of emotion. Strangely, she had a gem of that buried in all that minimalist wool — a silky brown coat in beaver that was rough on top and smooth on the bottom. That bewitching piece could have been the starting point for an entire collection.

Fashion show documentary highlights the importance of diversity

Anna and Pat Cleveland talk to the director of Versailles '73: American Runway Revoultion during the filming of the documentary. Photo courtesy of Coffee Bluff Pictures.

Kent State hosted a screening of “Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution” Saturday night to fundraise for a trip that MODISTA: Minority Fashion Group will take to New York City in April.

The event, in honor of Black History Month, opened with a VIP reception where guests were able to speak with film director Deborah Riley Draper and models Billie Blair and Pat Cleveland about the groundbreaking fashion show in 1973.

Draper said the fashion show was originally meant to raise money to fix $60 million of damages at the Palace of Versailles. She said the event did much more than raise money — it made American history and would forever change the fashion industry.

“The most significant part about Versailles is how American designers who were unknown at that moment were able to step onto the global stage and show the entire world the level of creativity and talent and design that was in New York, because at that time everyone looked up to Paris for fashion,” Draper said.

American designers who chose the models to wear their garments for the Versailles fashion show included Halston, Anne Klein, Bill Blass, Stephen Burrows and Oscar de la Renta.

Draper said out of the 36 models chosen for the fashion show, 11 were black, which created a huge shift in American and fashion history.

Pat Cleveland, a black supermodel who modeled in the Versailles show, said people in the ‘70s enjoyed the presence of the black models.

“People liked the rhythm and culture of the black models. It was a time when America loved music and jazz and wanted that feeling,” Cleveland said. “It was just the right moment.”

Cleveland said many emotions filled her while on the runway.

“I think what I was feeling the most was that I had to represent my country. I was very patriotic and dedicated,” Cleveland said. “We were like a family that allowed everyone to partake in America’s creativity.”

Billie Blair, also a black model in the Versailles show, said she didn’t realize they were making history during the event.

“For me, the experience is still blossoming and it will continue to blossom,” she said

Tameka Ellington, assistant fashion design and merchandising professor, said the event was very important to Kent State.

“They traveled around the world and changed the fashion industry. Before 1973 black models and designers were very rare, they were mostly underground,” Ellington said. “The Versailles event brought them mainstream.”

Dawn deFoor, receptionist at Vacca Office of Student Services, said she was excited to meet the models and better understand the history of the event.

“Hopefully I’ll get to learn about the journey of how these people got to Versailles and how it still impacts the industry today,” deFoor said. “I think this made a big splash and there’s still a rippling effect going on today.”

Draper said four months after the show in 1974, Beverly Johnson was the first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue.

“The show really elevated the presence of African American models,” Draper said.

Ellington said she hopes the documentary taught people how important diversity is in the fashion industry.

“I’m hoping that being able to showcase this movie and showing how important it was for these women to be recognized and that the world started to view diversity in a better light, people will see how important it is to accept everyone for their own individual beauty,” Ellington said.

Cleveland said the greatest advice is to “use the gift you were given.”

“You should build a team to work together like a family. It’s not a one-man show, it’s more like a circus,” Cleveland said. “All that dreaming, just don’t stop it. Your dream makes the world go ‘round.”

A Front-Row Seat via Video

As the Belstaff runway show began in New York City last week, buyers, designers and bloggers crowded into their seats, jotted notes and took smartphone photos as the models strutted by.
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Belstaff live streams its shows, and the online behavior of its Web viewers is used to help predict which of the runway items might be hits.

But it was another crowd, outside the tents, that Belstaff executives were particularly interested in this season. For the second time, it was live streaming its fashion show. And the Web viewers were not just potential fans, they were data sources to help Belstaff predict which of the runway items might be hits in stores this summer.

“If you can have a bit of information that helps you beat the market and pick more winners,” said Damian Mould, Belstaff’s chief marketing officer, “you’d be stupid not to take it.”

Fashion Week, which wrapped up last week in New York and moved on to London and to Milan this week, used to be an insular industry event. Buyers and editors attended and made calls as to what their customers would want months from now.

But that has changed. Fashion houses in recent years started to sidestep the middleman by giving the public a front-row seat via webcam video. While that was more of a marketing tool at first, live streaming — and other ways to give consumers digital access to runway fashion — is now being seen as a research opportunity.

As more brands offer live videos of the shows, regular viewers see exactly what the buyers and editors are seeing, and influence what will be made by pausing on an outfit or posting Twitter messages about a particular style.

On retail fashion Web sites like Lyst and Moda Operandi, designers are allowed to track consumers’ early orders to gauge demand before they make clothes. And a handful of brands, like Burberry, are allowing regular customers to order runway clothes as the shows are live streamed.

Increasingly, the public is weighing in on fashion — and designers are listening. “It’s creating a commercial opportunity around an event that was previously an industry event,” said Aslaug Magnusdottir, the chief executive of Moda Operandi.

Mass-market apparel has long embraced the Web, but high fashion brands were wary of even having e-commerce sites a few years ago, fearing that would cheapen their brands. Now, the embrace of the Twitter-using public is causing some tension in the high-fashion world, where buyers’ tastes used to reign supreme.

“Of course the buyer knows their customer,” said Mortimer Singer, chief executive of the retail consulting firm Marvin Traub Associates, “but I think it’s hard to ignore when someone turns around to you and says, by the way, we got 50 preorders of this style.”

Live streams are an important way of measuring customer interest. They became popular a few years ago and are now regularly syndicated on fashion blogs and style sites.

“It’s not only what consumers are watching, but the devices they’re on, the geographies that they’re in, the engagement — what part of the video stream was of most interest, where did they abandon the video,” said Jay Fulcher, chief executive of Ooyala, which makes a video player that streamed Fashion Week shows, including those for DKNY, Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Belstaff and Tory Burch.

According to B Productions, which produced the video for those shows, viewership has grown by about 20 to 40 percent every year for brands that have been streaming for a few years, and the data is becoming more precise.

“It’s not just that they stopped watching five minutes in,” said Russell Quy, president of BLive by B Productions, “but we’re able to attach that to an actual outfit.”

Belstaff, a British brand known for its outerwear, gathered data via the live stream of its recent women’s show in a few ways. It syndicated the live streams on a number of fashion sites.

By looking at Twitter mentions timed to the live stream, the company saw that the first five looks — new twists on classic jackets — drew enthusiastic responses.

“I’ve informed the buying team of that interest, so I know they’re going to buy big and deep in that category when the product comes in,” Mr. Mould said.

Mirror, Mirror: Fashion Week on iPad: So close yet so far

I giggled last week when Betsey Johnson led models through a mock workout routine wearing froufrou sportswear - carrying champagne bottles as weights.

The next day, I dreamed of owning my own cap-sleeve sheaths that Badgley Mischka sent down the fall runway.

And the day after that, I was surprised that the collection by the usually light and airy Nanette Lepore was edgy and black.

During New York Fashion Week, I tweeted about clutch bags, blogged on hairstyles, and didn't have to guess whether any of the models were wearing red or pink lipstick.

That's because I snagged one of the best seats I've ever had - right in front of my iPad.

While most newspaper journalists sit near the fifth row at Lincoln Center shows, I ended up watching (and rewatching) the majority of the collections live on the event's website. The shows that weren't live-streamed were eventually posted on designers' Web pages or on Style.com.

As a trend watcher who needs to consume as many shows as possible and deliver the news as quickly as possible, this is an effective way to see collections and translate trends to readers. In fact, if I left it up to Lincoln Center's slow WiFi connection, you probably wouldn't see my Twitter, Facebook, or blog posts until next season's collections came out.

So just as shopping online makes more sense for time-crunched women, watching shows online makes more sense for journalists with deadlines.

Yet the technology that makes reporting more efficient will likely also rob the shows of their intimacy. With all these resources used to telecast the inside activity to people outside the building, less attention is paid to the tactile experience. On a screen, people can't truly study the movement of a train, the crispness of a suit, or the way an iridescent coat sparkles in the light of the runway. So in an effort to broadcast fashion's appeals to the masses, what remains is little more than a series of 15-minute commercials.

In my 10 years as a fashion writer for The Inquirer, I've watched New York Fashion Week morph from a trade event at the Bryant Park tents, where clothes were the focus, to a magnet for celebrities who snarl Sixth Avenue traffic. Still, until recently, its objective seemed clear: Introduce buyers and journalists to collections and have us digest trends.

Then New York Fashion Week moved to Lincoln Center in September 2010. At first, organizers tried to convince us this was the same experience, just at a new, uptown address that was clean, and much harder for fashion devotees to crash the show. Instead, it's more like a rock concert, with corporate-sponsored lounges, overpriced lunch cafes, and $15 cocktails. (No more free wine!)

These days, there are so many people tweeting - from Joe Zee to the kid who took the train from Toledo - that most tweets hang out in a kind of WiFi purgatory until those phones see the light of day again.

Yikes.

Of course I didn't cover all of Fashion Week from 801 Market Street in Philadelphia. Over the weekend, I saw in person (although not up close) nearly a dozen hot shows, including Tracy Reese's rocker-chic collection, Diane von Furstenberg's long-sleeve perfect-for-work dresses, and the splendid gowns of Philadelphia's own Ralph Rucci.

I headed to the Meatpacking District, where Milk Studios hosts collections by emerging designers.

I even attended a reception at the Time Warner Center where J.C. Penney introduced its new designer, Duro Olowu. Although there were lots of fashion insiders there - stylist Robert Verdi, former model Bethann Hardison - organizers looked confused by my request for a press kit. Clearly, they didn't need me to get the word out.

Nonetheless, being at the shows meant being a part of the energy of Fashion Week. I was excited to be there, even as I interviewed designers and compared notes with trend analysts. I was, however, unable to get any writing done.

So Sunday night I headed back to Philadelphia to watch the rest of the week's shows from my office. I didn't have to fight a path to the runways, nor did I have to kick crashers out of my seat. I wasn't forced to talk my way into shows to which I wasn't invited, and most important, I could see models from head to toe - shoe booties, socks, and all.

Toronto Fashion Incubator Brings Press & Buyers Brunch to Fashion Week

The Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI) will debut its popular TFI Press & Buyers Brunch onsite at World MasterCard® Fashion Week (WMCFW) for the first time ever this upcoming season. The new partnership with IMG Fashion will bring the TFI to the tents on March 21st and March 22nd from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, and will continue for the next two seasons, ensuring the TFI''s presence onsite throughout 2013 and beyond. Homegrown designers will exhibit their work in the Studio space during an intimate brunch that invites media, buyers and fashion industry VIPs to discover new brands and collections.

The TFI Press & Buyers Brunch will be presented with a renewed look and location, providing an ideal opportunity for the Toronto fashion community to come together. Beginning at 12:30pm, guests will join exhibitors for a light brunch, catered by The Ritz-Carlton, and peruse the curated selections of Fall/Winter 2013 ready-to-wear apparel and accessory collections from entrepreneurial Canadian designers.

"TFI''s Press & Buyers Brunch has always served as an effective and accessible platform to introduce designers to the market," said Susan Langdon, TFI''s Executive Director. "We are thrilled to be hosting our next event right in the hub of Canada''s main fashion event, giving participating designers the opportunity to interact with national and international media, retailers, and industry influencers."

As Executive Director of the TFI for almost 20 years, Susan Langdon continues to inspire, mentor and support Canada''s talent. Committed to promoting the Canadian fashion industry, Langdon has harnessed valuable relationships and partnerships for TFI, including this new synergistic partnership with IMG Fashion, who produces World MasterCard® Fashion Week.

"World MasterCard® Fashion Week is the home to Canada''s top designers and in collaboration with programs like the Toronto Fashion Incubator Press and Buyer''s Brunch, it also offers emerging designers key opportunities to grow their business outcomes," says Jarrad Clark, Director of Global Production, IMG Fashion Events and Properties. "We are excited to work with TFI to include this significant Canadian platform into the eco-system of events at World MasterCard® Fashion Week and further support the Event''s mission to move fashion forward in the global market."

TFI and IMG Fashion will co-curate the list of talented, handpicked exhibitors that will participate this March through a jury review process. Canadian apparel and accessory designers are invited to apply for a spot on the Studio floor before the closing date for applications, February 28, 2013. Interested Canadian designers should submit an application to TFI at tfi@fashionincubator.com. Applications are available online at www.fashionincubator.com. The selected designers will have the unique opportunity to gain important industry contacts including a post-event list of media, buyers and VIP attendees, showcase their brand alongside top calibre talent, enjoy complimentary catered brunch, and participate in a professionally coordinated event.

Fashion gets gender unspecific

It's been a bit hard to tell the difference between men's and women's runway presentations at the fall 2013 fashion shows.

Nautica's Black Sail collection had its male models in banana-yellow skinny pants rolled at the ankles. Coats with oversize fur collars featured a slight A-line flare.

Designer Patrik Ervell's presentation last Sunday included an iridescent, emerald-green cape with a wraparound, cowl-neck collar.

Even Michael Kors - whose manly clothes are typically classic American with a dose of Old World sophistication - dressed a model Wednesday in a fuzzy, short-sleeve sweater and skinny slacks, while another wore a bright-orange, belted trench.

Specialty Fashion's online focus pays off

Speciality Fashion Group's focus on growing its online sales has paid off, with the retailer almost tripling its first half profit.

The company reported a net profit of $17.97 million for the six months to December 31, significantly higher than the $6.16 million made in the previous corresponding period.

The result sent Specialty Fashion shares soaring, closing 7.5 cents, or 7.89 per cent, higher at $1.025.
The company said it had achieved the improved result mainly because if its focus on internet sales.

"Despite the challenging economic and retail market conditions throughout the half year, Specialty Fashion Group achieved a turnaround in its financial performance through sales growth and margin expansion, largely as a result of aggressively pursuing online sales growth, improvements made in its supply chain and minimising inflation of its costs of doing business," the company said in a statement.

It delivered earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation of $37.2 million, which was in line with the guidance the company provided on January 25.

Specialty Fashion declared a two cents per share interim dividend for its shareholders.

It also expects an improved trading performance in the second half compared to the same period last year.
"The strategic initiatives in relation to eCommerce, customer relationship management and the supply chain are expected to continue to be the key drivers of improvement in performance," the company said.

"However, the company remains cautious as to the extent to which macroeconomic factors, both in Australia and abroad, may adversely influence consumers propensity to spend on discretionary items."

While the retailer said it would continue with its plan to close underperforming stores, it now expects to open new stores as rental market conditions have improved in some areas.

Options Xpress analyst Ben Le Brun said Specialty Fashion had done well in a tough climate and the market was impressed with its internet sales.

"I think the market was quite surprised by a couple of things the company had to say, specifically the success in their online sales and it liked that it seemed quite well leveraged for a turnaround in consumer confidence later in the year," he said.

City Index analyst Peter Esho said the result was at the higher end of expectations, the dividend was encouraging and the investment in online was a positive.

"It's good to see a retailer being proactive," he said of Speciality Fashion's online focus.

Rihanna shows off raunchy first fashion collection

Pop star Rihanna showed off her first fashion collection on Saturday in London, with a raunchy street-style range displayed to the sound of thumping hip-hop beats.

The Barbadian singer has said it was a "dream come true" to design a line of clothes and accessories for the high street chain River Island, a range which had its worldwide first outing amid London Fashion Week and will hit the shops next month.

At the Old Sorting Office in London, the 24-year-old swapped a catwalk for a stage separated into compartments which the models moved between as hip-hop pumped out from the speakers.

The clothes on offer were street-style, with bra tops, dresses slashed to the thighs, tummy-baring tank-tops and thigh-high boots.

Rihanna came out at the end to give the designer's traditional bow and wore a short black dress with sparking jewellery.

"I've wanted to design my own fashion line for a very long time," she said beforehand.

"This has been something I wanted to do ever since I started loving fashion. I got passionate about it and I just felt like every time I saw something on a rack there was something that I would want to do to it to change it.

"And so I felt like the only way I could do that is by designing the perfect thing for me."
She said they were "clothes for young women with young, sassy personalities".

Meanwhile at London Fashion Week, Victoria Beckham, the Spice Girls singer turned designer, was on the judging panel of the International Woolmark Prize, which celebrates designs made from wool.

She was joined on the panel at the ME Hotel by fellow fashion heavyweights Donatella Versace and Diane von Furstenberg.

Elsewhere it was retro night with Mod girls, punk vibes and late 1980s ravers.

The achingly cool House of Holland took over the third floor of a car park in Soho, laid out some drab brown carpet as a catwalk and let rip the retro funk in what designer Henry Holland described as a "70s meets 90s nostalgic homage".

London's current 'it' crowd of models, actresses, singers and DJs packed the front row to view an autumn/winter collection of 1970s-style prints in oranges and greens, parkas, denim jackets and sweatshirts embellished with jewels, wool and neon zips.

Here were clubbers dressed to dance, stand outside in the cold queuing and even get up the next day and sway elegantly into a late lunch.

They might have bumped into the punk ladies of Moschino Cheap and Chic, the Italian label's lively little sister which rocked the normally elegant ballroom at the Savoy Hotel by the River Thames.

The collection was a mix of girly pink mini-skirts, suits and dresses with black leather and multiple ear piercings; monochrome and leopard prints matched against bare legs; and towering black shoes with silver heels.

Across town, Jasper Conran maintained the retro vibe by invoking the spirit of the 1960s with straight skirts and mannish shirts reminiscent of the Mod girls but updated with a spectacular palette of oranges, pinks, reds and blues.

The shapes were simple, echoed by neat hair in low ponytails under oversized cloche hats, sheer tights and low-heeled patents, and embellished with square pockets and the occasional burst of sequins glittering in the spotlights.

Rihanna arrives for the 55th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 10, 2013. Rihanna showed off her first fashion collection on Saturday in London, with a raunchy street-style range displayed to the sound of thumping hip-hop beats.

A model presents a creation by Moschino Cheap and Chic during the 2013 Autumn/Winter London Fashion Week on February 16, 2013.

London Fashion Week kicks off in monochrome, metallics

Monochrome dresses with bold bursts of colour and dashes of feathers and fur kicked off London Fashion Week on Friday as designers showcased elegant and minimalist creations for Autumn/Winter 2013.

Blacks, whites and greys formed the base palette for the collections that hit the runway on the London leg of the international fashion circuit, but outfits were spiced up with splashes of neon and exotic motifs.
PPQ, formed from fashion duo Amy Molyneaux and Percy Parker, showcased lime green outerwear and a hand-painted surrealist print before eveningwear of black velvet gowns with feathered cuffs swept down the catwalk.

"I was looking at doing a print that was a bit more freestyle this season, so I delved into surrealist shapes that weren't so regimented," Molyneaux told Reuters.

One of the big four catwalk fixtures alongside Paris, New York and Milan, London Fashion Week is best known as a cradle for cutting-edge talent and avant-garde trends.

Monochrome dominated other collections including that of British designer Zoe Jordan, who opened Fashion Week.

Jordan, an architect by training, said Italian cathedrals and the urban skyline of Hong Kong inspired the sharp silhouettes and metallic finishes of her designs.

"What we are trying to do is that nonchalant glamour, it's a very London thing, you know, the girl who doesn't try too hard," Jordan told Reuters after the show.

LONDON TALENT
Jordan praised London Fashion Week for nurturing new talent.
The city's art and design schools have been a treasure trove for fashion talent, producing designers such as John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and a raft of others.

"London really stands out as a fashion week because they are trying to help support younger designers and find emerging talent. It's not just about praising the big guys, they're looking for the next big thing," Jordan said.

London blends its up-and-coming names with veteran designers like Vivienne Westwood in a semi-annual burst of creativity to entice recession-weary consumers back into shops.

The direct value of the British fashion industry to the United Kingdom's $2.5 trillion economy is 21 billion pounds ($32.60 billion), the British Fashion Council (BFC) said.

Jean-Pierre Braganza, a graduate of London's Central Saint Martins fashion school, looked east with his tribal collection, dominated by geometric panelling and eastern designs reminiscent of Chinese dragon shapes in navy and grey.

Burnt pumpkin offset fashion duo Fyodor Golan's collection of black, ivory, adorned with baroque sketches or embellished with beads.

Skirts and dresses were subtly sexy keeping thighs and chests covered while showing off shoulders and the nape of the neck.

"For us it's all about sexuality - exploring, showing it but not in a perverse way - just going for it," Fyodor Podgorny, who shares the label with Golan Frydman, said of London Fashion Week.

ROARING TWENTIES
Contrasts of colour and texture also starred in London-based Turkish designer Bora Aksu's collection, which drew inspiration from the opulence of the roaring Twenties.

Models floated down the runway in leather corsets, loose shift dresses with high lace collars and cropped jackets in dove greys and bright fuchsias.

"The whole idea of the Twenties is this contrast," Aksu, who has dressed Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller told Reuters.

"There is this structure (to the clothes) but with it is such floatiness and dreaminess, like a fairytale kind of mood," he said.

Sheer capes were layered over fitted leather dresses, knitted jumpers were paired with sheepskin jackets and crochet and lace details were fused onto silky separates.

"I just love the way that he used all my favourite materials in one outfit. It's just so elegant and also really fun," said British singer Kate Nash from the front row of Aksu's show.

Looking ahead, the spotlight will shine on American designer Tom Ford, who will be showcasing his womenswear on the catwalk for the first time in London, having previously limited viewings to select fashion insiders and editors of glossy magazines.

Singer Rihanna will add a touch of A-list glamour on Saturday with the launch of her first clothing line with British high street retailer River Island, one of the 56 catwalk shows taking place over the five-day event.

Fashion Feature Package

The following feature package is a roundup of feature stories dealing with Fashion and is appropriate for special sections and for general use.

For each story included in this package, you will find the first paragraph of the feature release below, as well as its headline linked to the full text.

This is the latest in a series of topical feature packages PRN will carry as part of its regular Feature News Service.  Coming up in 2013 are features on:

Fashion Feature Package
1. Bloom's New Photo Sharing Beauty App Lets You Shop Your Favorite Looks Bloom.com, a photo sharing site and mobile app for beauty is bringing the beauty inspiration experience full-circle by allowing mobile users to shop the looks they want to recreate. It's no secret, image sharing apps are becoming more and more popular, but consumers are also gravitating toward niche social sites that provide a steady stream of photos appealing to their personal interests. 

2. Peepers Reading Glasses Launches All-New Designer Sunglasses Line
Peepers Reading Glasses, a leading manufacturer of both classic and fashion-forward eyewear for more than 30 years, has launched an all-new line of Designer Sunglasses. The line is voguishly designed for both men and women and comprised of nearly 40 pieces. With a variety of colors and 37 different styles, they will quickly become a staple in all wardrobes, especially with humble prices between $17 and $40.

If you would like a copy of the complete schedule, or if you would care to comment, please email featuredesk@prnewswire.com.  We welcome suggestions.  Copies of previous packages are available for the media.  Feature packages and feature photos are also available on the PR Newswire Web site,

Fashion statement: red carpet rules the roost, but real life can intervene

Once the red-carpet season gets underway, we become used to seeing the stars all dolled up, as if that's what they look like when they eat breakfast or pop out to the shops.

Couture gowns and trailing skirts are the norm at this time of year, but they've also become an essential part of designers' collections. There's a certain mindset that bemoans that the red carpet has come to bear so heavily on those who are trying to make their way in the industry. Award-ceremony exposure can make or break a label – celebrities choosing Zac Posen and Jason Wu made those designers household names. At the collections, it's easy to see the pieces destined for the Oscars – the long, spangled ones. But there are those who complain that creating dresses for celebs has become a distraction for young designers, who neglect the more mundane pieces that their less glitzy customer might want to wear.

In the old days, the gowns were made by the hallowed Hollywood costumiers – Edith Head or Adrian, for example. Marlene Dietrich was one of the first screen sirens to work with a fashion designer –Christian Dior – in 1951 . They worked out the angles and aspects that would feature most and devised the ultimate in statement dressing. Today, there's less choreography but no less planning. Stylists work for months to pick the best gowns for their clients. Then there's the jewellery, shoes and the perfect clutch.

But you can't avoid every pitfall. Take Barbra Streisand's sheer Arnold Scaasi tunic and trousers, which became almost transparent under stage lights. And Jennifer Lawrence's mishap last week, when a chair on her hem ripped apart her Dior couture. That's the problem with clothes and the red carpet: no matter how glamorous and magical they might be, real life can always intervene.

A fashion-forward guide to NYC

New York City is the most fashionable place to be seen this week when Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week rolls into Lincoln Center. One of the biggest draws of the event is the opportunity to rub shoulders with the fashion elite: models, photographers, designers, stylists and celebrities. Here's a guide from industry insiders for the best spots to catch a glimpse of a model, a drink with an editor or a bite with a fashionista. See you in the Big Apple in your stilettos.

Christian Siriano Flagship Store, 252 Elizabeth St., in Nolita; 212-775-8494. In August, the Annapolis-native opened Christian Siriano, a 1,000-square-foot boutique where he sells his frocks, shoes and purses. Siriano said he tries to visit the store every day, so chances are you might see him there.

Toy, 18 Ninth Ave. at 13th Street in the meatpacking district; toyrestaurant.com; 212-660-6766. Siriano celebrated there with friends the night of his show last fall. The hot spot is ideal for late-night dining, dancing or after-dinner lounging. The restaurant/lounge is designed to cater to "foodies, fashionistas, art-lovers, clubgoers and night/day-life aficionados," according to its website.

Miss Lily's, 132 W. Houston St. at Sullivan Street in downtown Manhattan; 646-588-5375; misslilysnyc.com. Siriano loves snacking on the Caribbean cuisine of this Jamaican-style diner. The restaurant is a collaboration between Paul Salmon and Binn and Genc Jakupi. Salmon owns and runs Rockhouse Hotel in Jamaica as well as serving as one of the founders of Joe's Pub in Manhattan. The Jakupi brothers are a part of some of New York's hottest nightclubs, including Bungalow 8, 1Oak, and The Box. The ambience is a huge draw for Siriano. "The servers all look like models and have Jamaican accents," he said.

Antiques shops: On the weekends, you might catch Siriano and his boyfriend, Brad Walsh, locating treasures. "We bought a bunch of things in the Hamptons," Siriano said. "We got some knickknacks and lamps from a store in Paris. We love the Chelsea antiques."

Zoey Washington

A fashion editor and stylist with ties to Baltimore, Zoey Washington knows the spots where fellow fashion gatekeepers choose to spend their time discussing trends and looking fabulous. After the runway, she suggests these spots:

INA boutique, 21 Prince St. in Nolita; 212-334 9048; inanyc.com. "It has the best consignment shopping," she said. "Balenciaga, Miu Miu and Lanvin galore from current and recent seasons. I always pick up a few dresses and jackets there before show season."

Barbico Enoteca, 2020 Broadway (Upper West Side); 212-595-2805; barciboenoteca.com. "I always hit it up for Lincoln Center postshow cocktails," she said. "Great Manhattans and handmade cocktails, and some of the best risotto."

Pad Thai Noodle Lounge, 114 Eighth Ave.; 212-691-6226; padthainoodlelounge.com. "If I am downtown for shows, then I always hit them up for their amazing lunch special," Washington said. "It is tiny and lovely, with just the right amount of ambience."

The Carlyle Hotel, 35 E. 76th St., Manhattan. 212-744-1600; http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/carlyle. "If you want to be seen, then hit up the Carlyle Hotel for drinks post-uptown shows," Washington said. "It was the outpost for every displaced fashion editor and model during Superstorm Sandy. But if you are only interested in sightings, then hang out at the Empire Hotel bar, the Starbucks ... near Milk Studios or across from Lincoln Center. Every fashion maven needs a jolt, and it is the smartest way to spot them."

The Ellicott City native's handbags have been stocked by the likes of Bergdorf Goodman, sold from Fifth Avenue to Tokyo, and carried by tastemakers like Rachel Zoe and Anna Dello Russo. Oprah Winfrey bought 5,500 of her bags in 2011. Her fashionista favorites include:

Piperlime store, 121 Wooster St. in Soho; 212-343-4284. A self-confessed fan of piperlime.com, DiFerdinando was excited to learn that the popular site was opening a store in New York. "Piperlime is my go-to store to shop the latest fashion-forward trends," she said. "It's got a boutique feeling but has everything I need in one store — apparel, shoes, jewelry and handbags." For shopping, she also recommends anywhere in Soho or in the West Village.

Lincoln Center, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza (Upper West Side); 212-875-5456. "It's a great a place to mingle with fashion insiders," she said. "Everyone from the industry is in one concentrated area at one time. It's great."

Hip hotels: "If you're unable to make it to the shows at Lincoln Center, great fashion hangouts are the Jane Hotel, the Mercer Hotel, Ace Hotel and Crosby Hotel," according to DiFerdinando. "There are excellent lobby bars and cafes for a great social scene."

The Reality of FASHION The Reality of AIDS NY Fashion Week Creator Defends February 9th Reality Star Concept

The Reality of FASHION The Reality of AIDS (http://www.realityontherunway.com) is a New York Fashion Week fundraiser slotted to take place on February 9, 2013 in New York City. The open to the public event is slated to have names such as Deena Cortese of Jersey Shore, Janice Dickinson, Alex McCord, Courtney Robertson, Tiffany "New York" Pollard, Lil Kim and more walking the runway to raise money for AIDS. RFRA has received considerable praise along with an even amount of backlash. Shocked at many of the mixed messages surrounding the HIV/AIDS awareness event, the creator of RFRA released a statement:

"I am well aware of the reputation that many Reality Stars carry. However, everything that you see on television is not real. Many people have stated to me that reality stars have no talent and that I should not be showcasing them. That showcasing them during a time like NY Fashion Week promotes that they somehow are entitled to this fame," states 31-year-old CEO of Beautiful Planning Marketing & PR Monique Tatum. "If you ask me, Reality Television is not going anywhere. If a single cast can get millions of viewers to tune in episode after episode for family arguments, Cabo travel, or a night on the town, then when they stand up for something that's real and quite serious, such as AIDS, people will listen. It is not about talent. We love them, and love to hate them because reality television is relatable. We see aspects of our lives, people we know and friends. That is why I created this event. People will listen because these stars are relatable."

The 300,000 people estimated within the U.S. that are infected with HIV / AIDS and are unaware of that fact is what Monique Tatum hopes the public will listen to. The messaging in recent months for the event states that these staggering numbers continue to grow yet can easily be slowed and diminished by regular testing, educating yourselves, family and friends.

"I have worked with these stars over months of show planning. These stars are intelligent, warm hearted, and extremely proactive about the cause. They are not being paid for their charity efforts for RFRA and are using the fame that many people believe they do not deserve for a much greater good. That is a fact that should be recognized and highly commended," continues Tatum.

Victoria Beckham Says When It Comes to Fashion, She's a 'Control Freak'

Victoria Beckham has managed to balance a successful fashion career with her family life – but not without some criticism ... from her children!

In the March issue of Elle UK, the 38-year-old mother of four says her cooking skills don't align with her design talents and her brood will attest to that.

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"You know what they say to me, because I'm not the best cook, although I try really hard? They always say to me: 'Mummy, we know that the main ingredient in what you make is love,'" she says.

But when it comes to her clothing line, Beckham is the expert.

As her family moves back to the U.K. after years in Los Angeles while her husband David played for L.A. Galaxy, Victoria says she's had to learn to rely on others more as she continues to articulate her vision in a growing fashion empire.

"You've got to trust people," she says. "And because I am a control freak, that's difficult for me because I want to micro-manage absolutely everything. I can't hand over," she said. "But I'm trying to do that more. It's hard because I have such a specific vision."

Beckham credits her own work ethic – and that of her husband – for catapulting her into the upper echelon of the design world, where the former Spice Girl was a fashion plate in her own right before earning global respect for her clothing and product lines.

"It was never my intention to prove anybody wrong," she says of her success. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I don't have to work. I need to work. I believe you can achieve anything if you work hard enough to get it."

L.A. fashion district project to include college, hotel

Ambitious plans have been unveiled for a 3.3-million-square-foot development that would bring a college, hotel, offices and apartments to the fashion district of downtown Los Angeles.

The owners of about three blocks' worth of faded commercial properties hope to build a project valued at $500 million to $1 billion called the City Market of Los Angeles. It would rise in an area that once housed wholesale produce businesses and is now home mostly to garment industry shops and warehouses.

City Market is in the early stages of seeking approval for the project from city officials, a process that could take more than a year. The boundaries of the proposed 10-acre development are roughly San Julian and San Pedro streets between 9th and 12th streets.

As planned by the six property owners led by Peter Fleming, City Market would hold a campus for one or more private colleges, 945 units of new housing, 210 hotel rooms and more than 500,000 square feet of creative offices, stores, restaurants and entertainment uses.

"With new academic facilities, creative office space, residences, hotel rooms, restaurants, nightspots, and event and exhibit spaces, the project seeks to become a globally recognized destination," said Fleming, chief executive of City Market.

Some existing buildings would be reused and others would be razed, said architect Douglas Hanson, design partner at Smart Architecture. The usable existing buildings probably would be developed first but the sequence of development would follow market demand.

"Ideally, we would all love to have the school there as the first phase," Hanson said. It would probably be a private post-graduate institution focused on fashion design.

It could take as long as two decades to complete the project, he said.

Koreatown apartment building sold

A 1920s-era apartment building in Koreatown has been acquired by a Los Angeles investor who plans to renovate the brick Tudor Revival-style complex near Wilshire Boulevard.

The six-story Windsor Apartments at 3198 W. 7th St. and an adjacent parking lot zoned for future development were sold for $10.75 million to a limited liability corporation, according to investment banking firm George Smith Partners.

The Windsor was built in 1926 at 7th and Catalina streets as an upscale apartment hotel in what was then suburban Los Angeles.

"It's a distinctive example of the great apartment buildings that characterized the neighborhood at the time — luxury living in a burgeoning area between Westlake (now MacArthur) Park and the Ambassador Hotel," said Linda Dishman, executive director of the Los Angeles Conservancy.

A Times story about renovation work at the Windsor in 1973 said the apartments were in easy walking distance of the hotel and the I. Magnin, Bullock's Wilshire and Saks Fifth Avenue department stores — all of which closed years ago.

The neighborhood fell out of favor in the latter decades of the 20th century but has experienced a jump in prosperity in recent years as new businesses and residents, many of them of Korean descent, have moved to the area.

The former Windsor restaurant in the apartment building is now a Korean restaurant called the Prince that has retained the Windsor's formal red-leather and low-light decor. It has been used for filming the television show "Mad Men" and other period pieces.

"The historic distinction of the Windsor building adds great value to the asset, while the development space that was included with the sale provides potential for future expansion," said Shahin Yazdi, a vice president at George Smith Partners.

The property's seller was La Senda Properties. The head of the corporation that bought it is Alireza Ghafouri, according to real estate data provider CoStar Group.

New offices for Beats by Dr. Dre

Musical electronics retailer Beats by Dr. Dre will move its headquarters from a plush office park in Santa Monica to gritty-looking former warehouses in Culver City.

Beats will occupy the entire 40,000-square-foot building at 8476 Steller Drive, plus 26,400 square feet in two adjacent properties at 8401 and 8454 Steller, real estate broker Joshua Gorin of Stanley Inc. said.

The electronics company that sells such music-related products as headphones, earphones and speakers is now in the Water Garden, a luxury office complex dating from the early 1990s. The Culver City warehouses that will become its offices were built in the late 1940s.

"This transaction provides an opportunity for Beats to move from a more traditional corporate venue to an exceptionally creative campus setting, better reflecting its brand and offering a vibrant, open work environment for its employees," Gorin said.

Terms of the lease were not disclosed, but real estate experts familiar with Culver City's burgeoning creative office market valued the deal at about $20 million.

Stylesight Expands Partnership with Luminosidade to Bring Sao Paulo Fashion Week to New York City

Stylesight and Luminosidade marked the expansion of their United States partnership on January 24 at Stylesight's New York City headquarters with Brazil in NYC, an event that featured Stylesight's F/W 13: Best of Brazil report  presented by Sharon Graubard, SVP Fashion Director of Stylesight, and a panel of Luminosidade executives, including Augusto Mariotti, Content Director; Fabienne Muzy, Strategic Planning Director; and Camila Silva, Communication Director on fashion and culture from Brazil. Stylesight, the industry leading global content and technology solution for professionals in the style, fashion and design sectors, and Luminosidade, creators and owners of the Official Brazilian Fashion Calendar, Sao Paulo Fashion Week and Fashion Rio, joined with key fashion and design executives to discuss the global emergence of Brazilian fashion trends from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo runways.

"Bringing creative and innovative fashion concepts to the forefront is part of Stylesight's core mission," said Frank Bober, Founder and CEO of Stylesight. "This partnership allows us to emphasize a platform that brings a critical point of view to the world of fashion and we will continue to seek opportunities that enable talented designers to bring their visions to life on a global scale."

"Luminosidade has been a strategic partner with Stylesight in Brazil for six seasons," said Jorge Grimberg, Marketing Director for LATAM at Stylesight. "Expanding our partnership gives New York designers and buyers direct exposure to the Brazilian market and helps retailers connect with Latin America's most creative professionals."

"Brazilian designers are gaining traction around the world," said Augusto Mariotti, Content Director of Sao Paulo Fashion Week. "It is a tremendous moment for Brazilian fashion and we are excited to enhance our partnership with Stylesight as we reinforce our talent and influence on a global level."

Stylesight has been an exclusive partner of Luminosidade since 2010, collaborating on projects including Sao Paulo Fashion Week, Fashion Rio, Clube SPFW and Rio-a-Porter, the official Fashion Rio tradeshow. Now evolving into the United States, the partnership was formed to raise awareness and stature around Brazilian fashion and Sao Paolo Fashion Week in key markets including Paris, London and Hong Kong.

Fashion Eyewear Launches Oakley Clearance Sale

As it comes to the end of the month, Fashion Eyewear is pleased to announce that, more products have been added to their successful January sales pages. Now is the perfect time for ski goggles as this is the heart of the ski season. Fashion Eyewear is aware of this and to get everyone ready and geared up they have added an Oakley clearance sale page perfect for winter sports. This sale page distinguishes itself from the other sale pages as it is specifically for the snow season and centers on Oakley ski goggles.

Fashion Eyewear has slashed their prices at up to 50% off and aim to clear last season's stock. All of the Oakley clearance goggles are in stock and in store which means once the order has been placed the product will be shipped out the next day. The company pride themselves in their next day delivery service which is prompt and trackable, using one of the best courier services; DPD. Delivery in the UK is free with charges made to international areas.

All of the products are 100% genuine and in pristine condition. Ski goggles are the ultimate accessory needed in winter sports to help protect and perform. Oakley are the number one performance and sporting eyewear brand. Their goggles are engineered for the mountains, with innovative frame construction and 100% UV lens protection. There are different styles, ranging from different prices, with 15 models altogether currently on the site. However, sale pages are always updated, so it is encouraged that customers keep checking for the latest models on offer.

A diverse selection offered is unisex and some of the models are limited so do not miss out. Eyewear in winter sports must be durable and flexible to ensure safety and comfort. Oakley promise this which is why they are number one. Though these products are on sale the option of being able to return and refund applies. The refund policy is 14 days after delivery/collection, so long as products remain in the same condition with all the tags on. This gives people the chance to try on at home and see for themselves. If customers have any queries or are unsure about anything, they can call up the customer service team or if they would prefer, e-mail them.

Unique Fashion Company Majella LeBlanc Has Just Launched Their Exciting New Concept: Design it Yourself Couture Fashion

Planet Fashion TV Has Found an Innovative Fashion Company. Majella LeBlanc Fashion Design Firm Has Launched an Amazing "Come to You" Couture Concept, Where People Participate in the Design of Their Own, Hand Made, Original Custom Fitted Wardrobe!

Miami, Florida (PRWEB) January 23, 2013
What if someone could manifest the inner fashion designer in another person, and literally make a custom fit Wardrobe based on that person's vision? Well its not a fantasy, now anyone can have just that! The design firm Majella Le Blanc has come up with the idea and it lets people explore their style in the most compelling and personal way.

Deep down everyone is an artist. It may be more apparent in some than others, but it still exists in all of us. When most people think of artists they think of painters, poets, or musicians, but everyone has a bit of an artist inside. Art is about passion, and fashion is art. It is an outward self expression of our individuality.

Marie-Joelle LeBlanc founded her couture fashion company based on this idea. As a young painter LeBlanc found herself drawn to the overall essence of the human form. She had a unique ability to capture ones inner and outer beauty and present it through her canvas paintings. LeBlanc also began to discover her love for fashion and the connection between the two mediums.

In today’s world perception is everything. Presenting an outward appearance of success might have the distinct possibility of good things following. The tradition of wearing a pressed suit or power skirt is not dead. Maybe now more than ever it is important to remember that we dress to impress and yet it's also important to maintain our individuality while doing so. That is where LeBlanc comes in.

LeBlanc offers a full clothing line specifically tailored to each client. She utilizes her unique ability to to truly read the aspiration of an individual. She also draws from her extensive international fashion experience to create a couture line for a person that is literally one of a kind.

The great thing about what LeBlanc offers the client is creative control. People can show her pictures, color combinations, and day-to-day input—call it interactive fashion if you will. LeBlanc sketches client’s ideas too, and she or someone from the team will even come to the client if necessary. The company will create 5 to 8 pieces. The price starts at around $5000, a total bargain!

LeBlanc’s innovative fashion company is about independence, which is why most of her fabrics are sourced from sustainable community projects that employ predominantly disadvantaged women. She believes that everyone deserves a fighting chance to succeed and prove to the world that his or her presence is unique and worthy of a third or even a fourth glance.