Manolo Blahnik Disgusted by Hollywood Actresses in His ShoesAs you no doubt learned before your 12th-birthday, Manolo Blahnik is not just a shoe, but an actual human being. Today we are amusingly reminded that Mr. Blahnik is a real person, one who chooses words like “dreadful” when describing four top Hollywood actresses on the latest cover of a “smart society magazine.” Well, censor he doth not.
model tracker
Gucci Books Abbey Lee ExclusiveAfter everyone’s favorite new Aussie, Abbey Lee, made an impressive New York showing (she only managed to walk, oh, 29 shows), we were wondering what the Rodarte closer would have up her sleeve next.
Hot Off the London Runways: Westwood Returns With Legwear; Allegra Gets Our Attention With FootwearToday’s new runway slideshows fresh from the U.K. include Vivienne Westwood’s return to London after nearly a decade away, pretty printed scarves, and some boots that have captured our hearts.
• Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label announces her return to punk with some of the coolest star-spangled tights we’ve ever seen.
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London Has Big Ol’ Eyes for Masha TyelnaLondon not only continues to welcome an eye for the offbeat, but also to embrace all different beauty ideals on the catwalk. Koreans! Jamaicans! Belgians! Ethiopians! Even oh-so-exotic Ohio was on the map (what up, Edythe Hughes).
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Vivienne Westwood Fails to Raise a Single EyebrowThe buzz at last night’s Vivienne Westwood show was that there wasn’t any. The show marked the dame’s first runway appearance in her hometown of London after an absence of nine years, and it was tipped as the show of the London season.
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Anne Slowey Saga Continues; London Fashion Week Is Pretty White• Ass-electrocutionist Anne Slowey responds! The Elle editor commented on yesterday’s post about her quest to flatten her posterior and boldly admits to merely imagining a phone call to her psychic. Or perhaps we misread? Whatever, the woman still electrocuted her tush. [Cut]
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More From London’s Runways: Adventures in Headwear!And now, for your slideshow-viewing pleasure, the latest from London:
• Luella Bartley’s got Halloween locked down with witch hats, pumpkin tights, and black dresses.
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Vivienne Westwood Gets Political; Marc’s Latest Escort Allegation• In her first London show in ten years, Vivienne Westwood’s highly anticipated return to the runway wasn’t short on politics. One model walked with a placard protesting for the rights of Guantánamo Bay prisoners and Westwood took her bow in a blouse covered in protest badges. [Telegraph]
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Basso & Brooke, Gareth Pugh Keep London’s Freak Flag FlyingLacking the big names of New York, Milan, and Paris, London Fashion Week is always about creativity. Once designers make a name there, they can move on to New York, as Preen and Jonathan Saunders have recently done. But aside from spotting future stars, the fun of the week really lies in the fact that “creativity” is often just another word for “freak show.”
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MisShapes Take Disaffected Tour to London!On Thursday, Fashion Week headed east to Hoxton, London’s Billyburg equivalent, where London’s asymmetrically coiffed and skinny-jean-plastered demographic runs free. So we were hardly nonplussed to find their heroes, the MisShapes crew, making themselves at home at Henry Holland’s first solo show — which was held in a venue called, of all things, the Village Underground.
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Runways Cope With Agyness Deyn’s Eye InfectionWhen we saw pictures of Agyness Deyn wearing neon shades whilst partying in London two nights ago, we instinctively assumed it was typical offbeat Deyn style (and, yes, we were also humming the classic Corey Hart hit — so Deyn can, so Deyn can), until we learned, moments later, that she’s suffering from an eye infection! Kind of punk, no?
first looks
The London Runways Come AliveFinally, the clothes on the London runways are getting a little crazy, a look which defines London Fashion Week and is part of what makes it so great. Some observations:
• The geometric shapes and bright colors, especially one bright-blue coat at Aquascutum, happily remind us of Willy Wonka’s factory.
• Betty Jackson also used bright colors but cleverly concealed buttons.
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Marc Jacobs: Now Appearing in Comments Sections!In the wake of last week’s madness, Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn had a moment to catch her breath just long enough to nurse her flu and reflect on the direction of New York fashion. On her blog, she mentioned that illness had kept her from the Temple of Marc — an admission, it seems, that was enough to garner a response from the man himself.
video look book
Fashion Week Exhausting Even to ‘Teen Vogue’ EditorToward the end of Fashion Week, Amy Larocca crossed paths with Mary Kate Steinmiller, an editor at Teen Vogue. A Fashion Week veteran, Steinmiller claims that “you don’t even realize you’re going from show to show because there’s so much adrenaline.” However, she did concede that wearing heels for days at a time was rough: “Tomorrow, it might be a flat day.” See whom Steinmiller spotted at Miss Sixty by watching the Video Look Book.
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Miracles in London: Naomi Walks; Fashionistas Eat Mash, Drink Beer• Naomi Campbell took a surprise stroll down the catwalk at London Fashion Week yesterday for Kisa. [Telegraph]
• As London Fashion Week nears its halfway point, trends emerge including Amy Winehouse eye makeup, cropped leather jackets, thick eye-skimming fringe, and thick-framed square glasses. The LFW quarters also boast a pub that serves, of all things, pie and mash and beer. [Times]
• We saw a lot of short skirts at New York Fashion Week, but Christopher Kane and Marios Schwab showed long hemlines in London yesterday. Bonus: Kane’s highly anticipated show gets another rave review. [Guardian]
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What the Critics Said About New York Fashion Week, and What They Really MeantYou know what it’s like when you’re at dinner with a bunch of people who work together and they start talking about that “report” or that “weird new girl” and you have no idea what they’re talking about? In fact, they may as well be speaking another language? Well, fashion critics are the same way. Their reviews come out in a special breed of flowery, pretentious prose that — though fun to read because only they could come up with it — makes very little sense to fashion outsiders.
So we’ve selected some of our favorite New York Fashion Week excerpts from our favorite critics and translated them into language we hope you understand.
Harriet and Amy’s Fall 2008 Trend ReportAt the end of every Fashion Week, New York fashion director Harriet Mays Powell and fashion writer Amy Larocca gather to discern the major trends and styles coming out of dozens of runway shows. “Long and lean is the new silhouette for fall,” says Harriet. What else to look for in store windows? Watch the video before you go shopping.
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London Fashion Week’s Front Rows Are Way Different, Grungier Than New York’sToday marks the third day of London Fashion Week, and we’re already envious of the front rows there. The celebrities look like they came from the “They’re just like us” section of Us Weekly rather than the centerfolds of Vogue. Somehow, it just felt awkward to see celebrities in full-on red-carpet attire at 11 a.m in New York. (Think how you’d feel if your cubicle neighbor showed up dressed for Socialista rather than work.) But London is different, according to the Times.
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Gucci Dinner Persuades Malawian Official to Okay Madonna’s Adoption; Lily Allen Looks Upset at London Fashion Week• It’s not just New York that’s still buzzing about the dinner Madonna co-hosted with Gucci to raise money for UNICEF and Raising Malawi, a charity that helps orphans there. A Malawian minister said the country “owes her so much” and should allow her adoption of 2-year-old Malawian David Banda, which she has a final hearing on in April. [NYDN]
Video: Undercover Braids at Carmen Marc ValvoHow do you get your hair to look like the models at Carmen Marc Valvo? It’s complicated you’ll definitely need another set of hands (or two). New York’s beauty and market editor Aja Mangum took our cameras backstage to learn the secret from stylist Odile Gilbert.
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Karlie Kloss Is Fashion Week’s Top ModelAll Fashion Week we’ve pitted the bright-eyed rookies against the familiar runway beauties to determine the Model of the Week. Once again, our complex algorithm took into account the number of each model’s openings and closings at big shows as well as a general buzz factor in the tents.
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Get in Bed With Thom BrowneWere you cold sleeping last night? Are your pockets deep? If so, consider getting in bed with Thom Browne. The designer is looking for a financial partner, according to WWD. He’s not saving money on his fashion shows, nor would we want him to. After all, as Amy Larocca put it, “they are the only shows we’ve ever been to in which the audience frequently laughs out loud.” Browne’s spring/summer ‘08 show featured lifeguards and palm trees, and his fall ‘08 line, as Cathy Horyn wrote, “offered the long-awaited thrill of seeing two men share the same trouser leg.” WWD takes care to note that Browne isn’t acting out of financial desperation (Browne also designs the Black Fleece capsule collection of men’s and women’s clothes for Brooks Brothers, and his signature collection is sold at Bergdorf Goodman). Nevertheless, cold, wealthy folk looking for something original to put their money into could do a lot worse.
Thom Browne said ‘Open’ to Financial Partnership [WWD]
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Fashion Week Starts in London; Marc Jacobs Dances Dirty With Two People at His After-Party• New York said farewell to Fashion Week, but don’t be sad! It’s not really over — it just moved to London, where shows began yesterday on a sober note, signified by the appointment of the prime minister’s wife as spokesperson. Look for slideshows on nymag.com soon. [Guardian]
party lines
The Dark Side of the Marc Jacobs Show and After-PartyYesterday’s punctual Marc Jacobs show was designed to feel like a night out clubbing, with banquettes in the front row, champagne on ice, and art-rock stalwarts Sonic Youth performing live onstage. Not everyone was feeling so glamorous, though.
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How Marc Jacobs Started (Almost) on Time, and Why Rachel Zoe Was LateMarc Jacobs kicked off last night’s show punctually at 7:20 p.m. we told you on time was the new trend! leaving the likes of Nina Garcia to tiptoe in halfway through, and Rachel Zoe to throw a screaming tantrum when she was completely shut out. We just happened to be chatting with Jacobs at the after-party at 24 Lexington Avenue when Zoe showed up to tell him the whole sorry tale.
harriet and amy
Five Things We Liked on Friday
1. Marc Jacobs’s cream cords with the wide bell leg very seventies Halston.
2.The chartreuse dress from Donna Karan.
new york fugging city
K-Fed Celebrates the Return of Sean JohnIt all happened so quickly: an orgy of flashbulbs, a whirl of a revolving door, and suddenly standing six feet from us in the Cipriani foyer was none other than the man, the myth, the Federline.
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Rachel Zoe Throws a Tantrum at Marc JacobsA spy at Marc Jacobs reports the following:
Rachel Zoe was seen screaming and cursing because she couldn’t get into the Marc Jacobs show. She tried to fight her way in through the bouncers, but they pushed her back. She ran off to her Town Car while the other celebs enjoyed mini-bottles of Moët and an on-time show inside.
reviews
Critics Laud Calvin and Vera, Puzzle Over Posen and SuiAt Calvin Klein, critics marveled at Francisco Costa’s geometric minimalism and also admired Vera Wang’s newfound sensuality. Anna Sui proved quirky but entertaining to most critics, while Zac Posen’s clothes raised brows and questions. See what well-chosen adjectives made it to press in our review roundup.
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Special Moments Backstage at Sean JohnWe had a lot of downtime backstage at the Sean John show, which gave us a good chance to hang out with the male models and drink Bellinis (we know, life is hard). Nearby was a makeshift “stage”: bright lights and a backdrop, evidently where Diddy had been doing his interviews earlier.
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Breaking: The K-Fed Has Landed at Fashion Week!Hot on the heels of yesterday’s rumors that Kevin Federline would be sitting in Marc Jacobs’s front row, we have now spotted K-Fed at the Sean John show at Cipriani 42nd Street. If we were the betting kind — and our twelve-step sponsor says we are — we’d say Sean John is just K-Fed’s warm-up act (with all due respect to Mr. Combs). If he’s here, it all but confirms that El Fed will be sweating out the six-hour wait at Marc Jacobs. As any self-respecting tabloid fixture would!
new york fugging city
PETA Finally Gets Aggressive at Donna KaranWhen we emerged from the cab at the Donna Karan show on Friday afternoon, we finally got our first gander at some PETA protesters. There were only two of them, but they had gone all out, as apparently Donna Karan is currently PETA’s Public Enemy Number One, judging from how people are breaking into her house and whatnot.
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Fashion Reality: Saying Certain Words Is HardIf nothing else, Fashion Week is Everyman’s big chance to impress. So it was that we overheard the following conversation between one such young man and a French bartender at the Carmen Marc Valvo lunch held in a backstage VIP lounge:
video look book
‘Times’ Fashion Editor Gets Off Herrera’s BlacklistNew York Times fashion editor Karla Martinez was looking forward to the Carolina Herrera show when Amy Larocca and our cameras saw her earlier this week. “We haven’t been invited for the two years that I’ve been [at the Times],” she said. “I think there were some bad reviews that had been written in the past.” Scandalous! Watch the Video Look Book for more hard truths about Fashion Week.
Strip TeaseThe lingerie-inspired looks we saw on spring runways like Marc Jacobs got sexier this week.
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Fashion World Responds to Marc Bribery Scandal With Resounding ShrugWhile most of the Regular World got their off-brand panties in a bunch over the allegations that the superintendent of the 69th Regiment Armory took a hefty amount of bribes from the likes of Marc Jacobs so that the designer could hold his shows (including tonight’s) in the dramatic space, the Fashion World could barely manage a yawn.
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Slightly Different Universe at Custo BarcelonaHaving spent most of our week clustered amongst French folk, we welcomed the change to hang with their fun southern neighbors from Spain at yesterday’s Custo Barcelona show. As we don’t speak Spanish, we were sadly unable to understand any of the conversations happening around us, but actions speak louder than foreign languages.
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Breaking: Ferré Dumps NilssonAfter not even six months with Lars Nilsson at its helm, Gianfranco Ferré has released a statement saying that it has “ended its relationship” with the Swedish designer, sans explanation. Interesting — or, if you’re a Nilsson fan, this is just plain tragic.
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Celebs and Alumni Pick Their Winner at ‘Project Runway’ FinaleEvery year we wonder: Is this when people stop caring about Project Runway? Judging from the clamor in and around the tents this morning (we could hear them shouting, “Rami! Rami!” from a block away), we believe the answer is no.
ask a retailer
Sari Sloane of Intermix Likes Costa, Posen, Proenza, and WilliamsonWith shows coming to a close, Sari Sloane, Intermix’s VP of fashion merchandising, recapped her favorite picks from the week. She loved Calvin Klein’s attention to detail, Zac Posen’s fairytale gowns, Proenza’s jewel tone, and Matthew Williamson’s boho tops.
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Cynthia Rowley: Best. Front Row. Ever!You already know from our dear Fugs that Cynthia Rowley snagged Martha Plimpton, Parker Posey, Alan Cumming, Lindsay Price, Kim Raver, Aisha Tyler, and Karen Duffy for her show’s front row.
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Ali Stephens Is Thursday’s Top ModelThursday’s catwalks were full of unexpected moments. Karen Elson took a tumble closing Zac Posen and Diddy helped her up. Aussie Abbey Lee flashed her nipple piercing beneath a sheer top at an otherwise demure Calvin Klein show. Former cross-country runner Ali Stephens opened Klein for an impressive debut on Stateside runways. She’s our top girl to watch this week and takes Thursday herself. Kendall Herbst
video look book
The Image Guru’s Black MoodMontgomery Frazier is an image guru, which he says means he’s a publicist, marketer, and stylist all in one. These days he’s working with Julie Brown (née Downtown) on a new TV show. So what does Frazier like at Fashion Week?
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Miss J. Alexander Applauds Karen Elson’s Fall at Zac PosenAs you heard here first, the tents were abuzz last night with news that Zac Posen had virtually banned celebrities from attending his show — and that runway veteran Karen Elson had taken a catwalk tumble in the designer’s impossible platform heels.