It's sample sale season and you don't want to miss these. Trust.
Raquel Allegra's sale kicks off tomorrow morning and I've heard there are 10 racks of clothes including some from the vintage archives - #musthave! Scroll down to read more on sales this weekend and next including Rachel Pally, Hudson, Seven for All Mankind, Comune, Isabel Lu and Lucca Couture. And don't miss out on the last weekend of Michel Berandi's sale for some seriously avant garde looks.
Double bonus: Check my previous post for all of the upcoming sample sale action in LA.
One of the best parts of visiting Israel for Tel Aviv Fashion Week, was a day trip to Jerusalem coordinated by the show organizers and Ministry of Tourism. There we visited the sites including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Wailing Wall and the local market or shuk. My vintage blazer was a perfect choice to wear for the day. Its bold colors and ethnic print seemed to suit the neighborhood as captured by my new friend Gabriele Dirvanauskas's iphone. A special treat? One of the local delicacies - fresh fruit juice. Pomegranate, orange and grapefruit. Delish!
From ethnic prints to bold colors and vintage finds – it was an eclectic mix. I always enjoy visiting other countries if for no other reason than to see what people are wearing. I've never visited the Middle East before and it was quite exciting to see Israeli designers on the runway and scout the local fashion scene. Many attendees favored local designers including Nethanel Zikri, Alembika, Galit Levi and ‘70s era Maskit. Dresses, skirts and moto jackets topped the list along with artsy necklaces and colorful embellishments and plenty of shades. Here are a few of the best looks I captured at the historic HaTachana train station in Tel Aviv. For more.... go to my home base at ApparelNews.net.
Tamar Karavan in Alembika
Guest in Nethanel Zikri dress, Keren Wolf earrings and bag, Zara heels.
Model Amit Machtinger and friend. She’s in Maskit vintage and Paula Bianco necklace.
Designer/actress Dorit Bar Or in her own design.
Stylist Rony Ilan
Sami Zeibak in Juliet dress, Ruby Star necklace and Ralph Lauren sunglasses. Dana Friman wears Cynthia Vincent clothing, Nori Tamy necklace and a Maison Martin Margiela hat
Michal Shapira in Galit Levi dress, Dori Csengeri earrings and Custo Barcelona jacket
Actress Inbar Lavi in Nathanel Zikri
Gabriele Dirvanauskas and Poppy Dinsey, photo courtesy of Styleite
With the holidays around the corner, it's time to put these sample sales on your calendar! Kicking off on Dec. 1-2, eM Productions will host its always amazing sale downtown at the Cooper Design Space. Brands include Society for Rational Dress, Wren, Funktional, Brian Lichtenberg and more. Prepare to accessorize at Rebecca Minkoff's Shop-in-Shop from the 2nd to 4th at Confederacy - shoes, bags, jewelry and more. Be sure to get in line early on Dec. 8 to 10 for Cynthia Vincent's casual chic clothes, bags, and shoes which are always a cause for sample sale mayhem. While you're downtown, also be sure to check out the first-ever Michael Antonio Pop-Up which is taking place all month long. Think glitter heels for the holidays. And if you are able to venture outside LA, I highly recommend heading north to Style West's Friends and Family sale for Cia. Marítima swimwear, Jules Smith jewelry and Dav rainboots. Happy holidays and Happy shopping!!
I was there covering its first ever fashion week - or at least the first in over 30 years. As Fashion Editor for Apparel News, I was invited to cover this historic occasion along with journalists from around the world including England, Italy, Russia, Mexico and the US. It was an international event and that's exactly what was on the runway. Like the city of Tel Aviv, its fashion was not only modern, but infused with culture. Organizers brought in the big-guns - that is Roberto Cavalli - to create a high profile fashion debut. The Italian designer showed his Spring 2012 collection to help kick start the Nov. 21 to 23 run of the event at HaTachana, Tel Aviv's historic train station. Israeli designers ranged from established names such as Gideon Oberson of Gottex fame to upcoming talents from the renowned Shenkar College of Engineering and Design whose alumnae include the one-and-only Alber Elbaz. Top names on the runway included Sasson Kedem, Yaniv Persy, Yossef, Alembika, Dorit Bar Or, Ishtar, Israel Ohayon and Project Runway Israel's Alon Livne. Here are a couple of highlights from the week. For more, go to my home base at ApparelNews.net.....I'll be posting coverage throughout the week.
While in Paris for Fashion Week, we went to an uber-cool house dance party at Maxims. DJ's mixed, the crowd danced and the electronic music didn't stop. Here is a mix I just discovered by one of my favorite acts of the night. Lazare Hoche's Charlie Naffah and Alexandre Sadoun. More tracks on Soundcloud here.
In honor of the US in-store launch today....here are images from the Versace for H&M ad campaign. It may be all some of us get to see of the collection. Fans queued for hours around the world waiting for doors to open, the website crashed and fights broke out. Clearly, the demand for designer goods at a price point continues to be a high priority for the fashion set. Versace, Lanvin, Commes des Garcons, Matthew Williamson, Missoni, Rodarte, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier....Who hasn't done an H&M or Target collab? So, the only question is who's next?
Hedi Slimane has an almost cult-like following in the fashion world. The renowned photographer and former designer for Dior Homme is one of the most influential designers in menswear design (think shrunken silhouettes and androgynous models). And his raw, black-and-white imagery is now iconic. "Calfornia Song" opened at the Museum Contemporary of Art on Friday night and marks the first West Coast solo museum exhibition of Slimane's work. And LA’s art and fashion set turned out in full force to celebrate. Celebs including Kirsten Dunst and Tilda Swinton made an appearance to fête the landmark occasion. The exhibition spans his “California period” which began in July 2007 and traces his exploration of urban youth culture and creative communities including music, art and fashion. Think tattoos, surfers and rock stars. I first blogged about the Hedi Slimane Diary after being inspired by his fashion photography and shortly after about "Hedi Slimane's Cali" following his trip to the Coachella Music Festival in 2009. It was exciting to see his California imagery transformed into an exhibition. His work is viewed in a two-part layout at the MOCA Pacific Design Center. Black-and-white print photos are featured on the ground level and a towering multi-projection installation rotates photos in a repetitive sequence on the second floor. Indie rock band No Age performed live at the opening event. The museum debut adds to Slimane’s growing list of publications and exhibitions which include “Berlin Project” (1999-2002) and “The London Years” (2003-2007).
Vanessa Bruno was in town last week to celebrate the one-year anniversary of her Melrose boutique. I was honored to attend the intimate dinner celebration held at Lucques restaurant. Key editors, stylists, and celebs including Kate Bosworth, Rachel Bilson, Mena Suvari and Molly Sims turned out for the occasion all dressed in the Parisian designer’s smartly chic attire. It’s no wonder Bruno has attracted Hollywood’s chic set to her brand. She designs her effortlessly chic clothing with an understated quality that appeals to stylish women around the world. While Bruno was in town, I stopped by her Melrose boutique to cover the event for Apparel News. We sat down to chat about her Spring and Fall collections and the anniversary of her flagship boutique. I also got a few behind-the-scenes details on her film collab with Kate Bosworth – muse and face of the brand’s Fall/Winter campaign. This season Bruno created a video entitled "LØV” which features Bosworth backflipping through modern day to a mystical setting modeled around Slovenia’s Lake Bled and its Lipizzaner horses. It was especially magical for me to see the collection come to life after previewing it on the runway in Paris (one of my favorite collections for Fall!). Bosworth, one of the chicest starlets in Hollywood today, perfectly captures the poetic mood of the season’s Nordic-themed campaign. So, just what is that effortless quality known as Parisian chic? Here are some of Vanessa Bruno’s thoughts on her collection, Kate Bosworth and all things very, very chic.
Vanessa Bruno Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 at Paris Fashion Week, photos courtesy of Style.com
Who is the Vanessa Bruno girl?
I think she definitely has this feminine [quality], she’s a bit chic, she has an edge, but with a very laid back, relaxed way of seeing fashion. She’s a bit more confident. She doesn’t need to show off. She’s definitely also [ageless] because I can see from a younger girl to a more mature woman, they will definitely find their way into the line.
What is your design aesthetic?
People always ask me what is it about this kind of French, Parisian style thing? And I always say [it’s] about not changing too much and to know yourself. Of course it’s about changing, but in a way you’re not radically changing your silhouette. I think the way I treat my collection is that a girl at one point will find a reference or pieces - beautiful shirts or jackets, or really feminine dresses - they will find a piece they feel confident in [and say] ‘Oh yeah, I had this dress I wore two years ago, but I can still wear it. I can find something different now, but it’s still in the same lecture.’ That’s what I mean. I think that you can go for something a bit more new and challenge yourself as a designer to see what you can do. But I always try to keep it in balance with truly, ‘would I wear it as a woman?’
Tell me about your Spring and Fall collections.
The lecture for Winter was this layering winter Scandi wrap all this beautiful white outfits and so on. And then for the summer I said let’s do something really clean and no layering this time. Just imagine this girl and she has one piece and it has to look stunning or maybe two - but basta. I’m trying to be challenging in a different way, but it still looks very Vanessa Bruno because you can still find the mix with the fabric, the crepe, but also this kind of a patchwork thing that I already had for winter in a different way, but I started it there. [Also] all the hand knits that I had for winter, I did differently for summer. So you can find this little code I would say.
How did the collaboration come about with Kate Bosworth?
She’s so inspiring. She’s really independent, but with a lot of class in herself because she knows what she wants. She dares to do things that a lot of actresses wouldn’t do. How we met? We were at a dinner and I showed her my little poetic movie. And she said, ‘I love that, I would definitely love to do one.’ And I called her three months later [and I said] ‘well, you said…and I just love your personality you’re like my little sister.’ She said, ‘I will do it,’ and she came.
How would you describe her style?
She has her own taste. She is elegant, and at the same time very relaxed. She doesn’t make too much about it. I always say less is more and she’s definitely that. She is exactly for me this kind of girl who represents Parisian style, but in a cosmopolitan way. For me, Parisian style is not just about being Parisian, it is about living in LA, having this little thing. Living in NY,…having this what we call Parisian style. And you can have it also in Asia.
What inspired you to do the film?
We always create starting from the collection. It was like I had this whole [idea] of the mood, an Ingrid Bergman persona. That was my mood board for the collection. And then when I do the film I always project into it and say, ‘Let’s imagine the short film, three minutes, the girl has to look at it, feel emotional. Look at the collection without putting it too in your face like it’s a marketing thing, or I’m selling a bag of something, but really taking the girl’s spirit out there. Emotionally she’s beautiful, she’s poetic, she’s vibrating with nature, she’s in osmosis with nature. It’s all those kind of elements that I try to [relay] which is actually just a trademark of the brand.
What inspires you as a designer?
I like a lot of contemporary art. Actually I’m going to the museum because I think LACMA and MOCA are really important. I need to see what is on. I think also what LA is doing with contemporary art is more and more important. There are very important American artists who are from the LA scene. I can also be inspired by movies. I love the movie I saw recently, “Drive.” It’s done in the aesthetic of LA, the music and everything. It’s a really cool movie.
What is VeryVeryChic to you?
Very, very chic for me is not to [wear] too many logos [and] not showing too much. Being chic is being chic but in a very subtle way - definitely you have to have this kind of allure and confidence.
Or at least the fashion world, that is. Have you noticed all of the blonde imagery recently? And it's not just blonde, it's doppelganger blonde. Most of the imagery is based on a carbon copy effect. I'm not sure what the underlying meaning is, but it's feeling a little sci-fi. First there's H&M's glam factory video with Donatella Versace and her multiple, lookalike blondies, then there's W Magazine's December cover featuring sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning and finally, Numéro's androgynous shoot with Ginta Lapina and Andrej Peji. Yep, it's official, blonde is decidedly in.
One of the most inspiring collections I saw on the runway in Paris was without a doubt, Pam Hogg. The British rock star designer turned on her mega-watt punk style at Paris Fashion Week. It's easy to see why the hard core fashion set including Vivienne Westwood, Ellen Von Unwerth and Diane Pernet graced the designer's front row. Hogg's avante garde rock n' roll style is everything you might hope to see on the Paris runway - theatric, edgy and chic - all rolled into one. And did I mention French? For her first time showing in Paris, Hogg said she wanted to pay homage to all things Parisian. Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Antoinette and the Hunchback of Notre Dame are just a few of the iconic - not to mention tragic - French figures that inspired her. Think military-style trench coats, enormourous feather headdresses, hunchback shapes and form-fitting body suits that left little to the imagination. Ah, a Brit in Paris.
