FRENCH SERIE HAUTE COUTURE

thecollectionFrom December 29, the French channel “France 3” broadcasts a new serie called “The Collection”. This serie is in association with the BBC and Amazon. It follows the adventures of the couturier Paul Sabine in Paris in 1947, a talented character with a troubled past.

In 1947, in Paris, the American have kicked off the Nazi from France which is back to work. However tensions are still palpable. It is in this difficult context that the Haute Couture house Paul Sabine tries to make a place in the fashion world.

On the eve of a major partnership, an American photographer is sent by Life Magazine to draw the portrait of its leaders. Immediately debauched by the French company, the young man will not delay to discover the troubled past of his new employers … Continue reading

WASHING DIRTY LINEN IN PRIVATE

carolineBorn and raised in Venezuela, Carolina Herrera was exposed from early on to international culture and fashion. As she elegantly puts it: “My eye was accustomed to see beautiful things”. Welcome to the wonderful world of fashion.

The fashion world is airing some of its dirty linen and who knows what else could come to light as the lawsuit filed by Carolina Herrera against Oscar de la Renta.

The hearing is in connection with a preliminary injunction request to bar Kim from working for de la Renta until her six-month non compete agreement runs out on April 8.

While Herrera’s business, which is owned by Puig, is substantially larger, its primary category is fragrance, while de la Renta’s business is centered on ready-to-wear and accessories. Continue reading

FRANCA DIED AT 66

franca3The “Lady of Fashion.” Franca Sozzani died in Milan at the age 66 years old. She dedicated her life to support fashion and creativity in all its forms.

She was Vogue Italia editor in chief, born in Mantua, Italy, in 1950. Sozzani headed the Italian magazine for 28 years, shaping it into one of the most influential fashion titles in the world. Sozzani’s career unfurled at Condé Nast, as she started at Vogue Bambini in the Seventies, followed by women’s magazine Lei and men’s magazine Per Lui in the Eighties.

He pointed to her sense of humor and healthy distance from the industry. “She had a very transversal idea of life and would find the irony in vanity.” Continue reading

SIX FEET DEEP FASHION DESIGNERS

pafweeksNext Januray, six new fashion designers have been invited to the next edition of the Paris Haute Couture Week. Paris Fashion Week will host no less than six new names: Antonio Grimaldi, Galia Lahav, Georges Hobeika, Hyun Mi Nielsen, Maison Rabih Kayrouz and Xuan.

The Chambre Syndicale has also re-invited the members hosted in previous sessions: Aouadi, Francesco Scognamiglio, Guo Pei, Iris Van Herpen, Julien Fournié, Ralph & Russo, Schiaparelli, Ulyana Sergeenko, Vetements, Yuima Nakazato and Zuhair Murad.

The new foreign labels will benefit from a great deal of media exposure, offering a big boost to these  couturiers comprising both well-established names and emerging designers.

The most important is to find young talents and to support them. If you really want to boost your presentation, you have just to invite the group Canal-Luxe which represents today 21 millions of readers.

SUPER SATURDAY

fournieThe weekend wasn’t quite the knockout retailers hoped for because of frigid weather, snow and ice storms in the country. The key question was whether the last-minute rush over the weekend will be enough for stores to hit their holiday targets of 3 to 4 percent growth  and at what price to margins those sales will come.

Saturday was actually pretty busy. It was almost the equivalent to last year’s final Saturday. Although we were slightly behind in traffic, the malls had been lagging, mostly because the holiday selling season has been spread out, beginning before Black Friday and extending out due to the extra shopping weekend this year.

Typically for Black Friday, 50 percent off is almost always planned promotions. This past weekend, maybe a few were planned promotions. I would venture that because promotions were deeper, the management teams did not think this was a successful holiday. Continue reading

VUITTON, THE ART OF GIFTING

bow2Tradition states to do the Christmas tree on the 8th of December, but who can wait two weeks? I make no mistake, I did it three weeks ago. I started to see the decorations around the shops and I could not resist! You can smell the scent of gifts since then, but how to create the perfect gift packaging?

It is explained by one of the most famous French fashion house Louis Vuitton, who with his video gives us useful tips:
1. Prepare the packaging with fluffy feathers
2. Choose the prettiest box.
3. Make a perfect ribbon.

It seems easy but in reality, it is not?! But after having watched the spot a few times, you understand that the message is a bit different … Continue reading

SANTA WATCH

SANTA WATCH

SANTA WATCH

Each year at Christmas the same question comes back: what am I going to offer to my love?

Many ideas come to my mind. But this year I would like something special and different. I look for a present which beats regularly like my heart. What would be more natural than a watch which beats like a heart. Now my trouble is to find the right one. The choice is vast.

Now the question is: how to choose a true watchmaker to whom I can trust to give my heart. It is difficult to find a watch for a woman. Today, many girls love wearing men’s watch just to say: I have a man at home. The society is changing and the rules of consumption are changing as well. Continue reading

ON AURA TOUT VU AND ISADORA

isadora-dore-caron-par-on-aura-tout-vuON AURA TOUT VU loves to distort Couture, fashion and glam, everyday accessories, bags, glasses, jewels…

In association with the famous brand Caron, Livia & Yassem have revisited a spray of sequins and preciosity, with flaches of crystal, nacre and magical stuff. The spirit of the designers of On Aura Tout Vu redesigns our daily life, showing us new facets, giving it sparkle, and offering it back to us shiny precious and rafinated.

In 1910 while the elegant women, who adore Caron perfume from all over Europe, do not hesitate to travel to Paris, buying their bottle. Ernest Daltroff developed a wonderful fragrance called “ISADORA” in honour of Isadora Duncan, infamous dancer in the 10’s, early Art Deco era. Continue reading

THERESA MAY BE

Here, Theresa May attends the funeral of Margaret Thatcher in London, in 2013.At 10 Downing Street a war of words has been declared between David Cameron’s former education secretary, Nicky Morgan and Prime Minister Theresa May. Morgan accused May of Profligacy in her purchase of a pair of brownish-gold Amanda Wakeley leather trousers, which she wore at home during a recent shoot for The Sunday Times of London — and more recently for work at No. 10 Downing Street.

May is famous for loving fashion and promoting British Fashion Designers. She has long been wearing designer brands including Roland Mouret, Anya Hindmarch, and Russell & Bromley.

In September, May even hosted a cocktail at Downing Street to usher in London Fashion Week and give the industry a pep talk. “Thank you for what you are doing for British business out there, and across the world,” she told designers and industry leaders. “Long live British fashion. Let’s go from success to success.” Continue reading

LA POULAINE SHOES

poulaineThe history of fashion is studded with a host of iconic inventions: rhinegraves, the robe volante, the robe chemise, the chemise à la grecque, women’s trousers, skirts for men, the female tuxedo, the miniskirt, the “baggy” look and jeans, to list only a few.

From Jeanne d’Arc to Marlene Dietrich take center stage in a new exhibition at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Three years preparing the show, with loans from a range of institutions and private collections including the Royal Collection, La Fondation Pierre Bergé Yves Saint Laurent, the Cinémathèque allemande, and Paris’ Archives nationales.

At once entertaining and informative, the show also touches on the consequences of transgressing rules of dress imposed by law and society across the centuries. Continue reading

NEW BABY FROM GIVENCHY

givenchyBorn December 3, 1985, she is an American actress. She began her career as a model when she was 11, then her acting career at 15 with recurring parts on the soap operas “As the World Turns” and “All My Children”.

Amanda Seyfried had two big reveals on Tuesday night: She unveiled the new Givenchy Very Irresistible fragrance that she is the face of and a teeny baby bump.

The fourth scent in the Very Irresistible collection is encased in a hot pink package and comes with a corresponding heavy-on-the-pink ad campaign. But it still has that signature Givenchy feel, Seyfried said, pointing to the geometric spikes infused into the glass bottle. Continue reading

DIOR IN MELBOURNE

dior1The National Gallery of Victoria will stage a Christian Dior retrospective next year to commemorate Dior’s 70th anniversary. Christian Dior designed under his own name for only a decade, but his influence is everlasting.

Although Dior declined to confirm or deny that other similar exhibitions are in the pipeline for 2017, NGV senior curator fashion and textiles Katie Somerville said she understands the Melbourne show is one of three retrospectives that Dior has in development for its 70th anniversary year, with a Paris show at the Louvre and another in New York yet to be announced.

Showcasing 140 couture garments spanning 1947 until the present day and exclusive to the NGV, "The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture" will run from Aug. 27 through Nov. 7, 2017 at the Melbourne museum. Continue reading

CHANEL MÉTIERS D’ART 2017

canalWhen Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld took over the Ritz Paris and sent beauties like Mariacarla Boscono striding across the thick carpets in sophisticated French fashions, the Italian model in a sultry, fluted dress with a skirt composed of golden eyelash tinsel.

You must be convinced that you are the most beautiful and chicest woman in the world, Said Lagerfeld during a fitting on Monday for his latest Métiers d’Art collection. He dubbed it “Paris Cosmopolite” to evoke a time when elegant women from the world over converged on the mythic Place Vendôme hotel, established in 1898, the Ritz.

The soul of Paris and Gabrielle Chanel, the Ritz, and the Hemingway bar. This is the kind of Paris everyone would like to bring back. Karl confessed to fleeting references to the Twenties and Thirties, when the founding designer took up residence at the famous hotel a stone’s throw from her Rue Cambon headquarters. Continue reading

THE BIG BANG LVMH

hublot-big-bang-watchFerrari and Hublot, the Swiss watchmaker controlled by LVMH, unveiled the result of their latest collaboration at the Italian luxury car manufacturer’s factory in Maranello.

Called “Big Bang Ferrari,” it is a limited edition re-design and a customization of Hublot’s signature Big Bang watch, first launched in 2005. Available in three variations – titanium, carbon fiber and King Gold – the “Big Bang Ferrari,” features Hublot’s patented Unico movement with details inspired by Ferrari’s car designs.

The two companies started their partnership in 2011 when Hublot became the licensee of Ferrari’s watches and the official timekeeping partner of all the Italian brand activities.

“This watch is the natural result of the synergy between the Ferrari design team and Hublot, since we met many times to design each single detail,” said Flavio Manzoni, senior vice-president of Ferrari design. Continue reading

JONATHAN SIMKHAI RESORT 2017

canalJonathan Simkhai is a New York based women’s wear designer. Since launching his eponymous label in 2010, he has designed unique pieces capturing a balance between masculine strength and feminine sensuality.

Jonathan’s love affair with fashion began at age 14 working as buyer and merchandiser at a local boutique. Jonathan Simkhai was a member of the CFDA {Fashion Incubator} inaugural class and in 2015, Simkhai showed his first runway collection and was inducted into the CFDA. In November 2015 Jonathan Simkhai was named a winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.

Inspired by the iconic glass ceilings of the Grand Palais and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Simkhai filled his gowns with transparencies, gilded details and fantastical elements. Continue reading

PHILOSOPHY RESORT 2017

canal“I wanted to create the image of a very feminine and free woman who is free to choose her own way of moving through life, susceptible to change but also still staying true to herself, and free to use romanticism to reflect her own feelings all seasons”

How many times have you heard a designer name-check Brigitte Bardot? Countless, probably. Serafini likes clothes that look like they had a previous life. Since he arrived at Philosophy, he has mined Brooke Shields’s ’80s and Jeanne Mas’80s.

This season he dialed the time machine back a decade and a half or so further. Bardot’s St-Tropez is beloved ground in fashion, so this collection felt familiar, but that didn’t stop it from looking sweet.

Serafini’s got a thing for Liberty print–style micro florals, and they turned up on many dresses here, the best of which was patchworked with fringes of lace and descended below the knee. Continue reading

VERA WANG OUT

veraVera Wang will not be presenting her collection at the New York Fashion Week next season ?

Vera Wang will be debuting her Autumn/Winter 2017 collection via a film instead. It would seem that the designer would prefer to unveil her collection online on February 28.

One potential reason for the change of strategy could be the fact that Wang is set to be awarded the French National Order of the Legion of Honour on the same date, which also happens to be the opening day of Paris Fashion Week.