While everyone has been talking about the dress (and, tangentially, the jewels) that Kate Middleton will wear when she walks down the aisle, we haven’t heard much about her shoes. We’re guessing that might be because they’ll be hidden underneath a waterfall of white silk or cream tulle or cloudy lace or something of that stripe. But that doesn’t make them any less important, so Regina Popp Smith, fashion editor at Footwear News, reached out to shoe designers to see what they’d make for the queen-to-be.
Check out a few of the designs below, and head over to FN to see more and, more importantly, what each designer had to say about their sketch. (Spoiler alert: Manolo Blahnik’s shoe is a meditation on springtime.)
[Author's note: In the spirit of full disclosure, we should tell you we cut our fashion reporting teeth at FN. But we'd reblog this even if we hadn't because hello, how awesome are the drawings and how good an idea was this?]
Designs Fit for a Princess [Footwear News (Subscription Required)]
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Article source: http://www.styleite.com/media/kate-middleton-wedding-shoes/
The funkiest footwear in town is the preposterous brothel creeper
Travel budgets being what they are in these straitened times, I wasn’t able to make the menswear fashion shows for SS11 (that’s spring/summer 2011, for those who don’t speak catwalk), which is a pity. Anyone who did will have witnessed a thrilling sight – the return of the brothel creeper.
Not every retro trend pleases me but this one does. I’ve always loved brothel creepers, you see. Partly it’s because I owned a pair in my teens. Partly it’s because The Clash wore them. But mostly it’s because they are so utterly preposterous in both name and design.
Of course designers being designers, they can’t just bring back the old rockabilly-style creepers with the buckle and the leopard-skin uppers. Instead, they have to “reimagine” and “reboot” (or, in this case, “reshoe”).
Pick of the new bunch is the Prada version. They cost an eye-watering £510 and resemble a tap shoe balanced on a Weetabix. “Is it a bird, is it a plane … is it even a shoe?” asks GQ style editor Ben Reardon in this month’s edition of the magazine. And well he might.
“In fact,” he continues, “it’s a brogue/espadrille/brothel creeper hybrid and even though you may feel as if you’re dragging a dead weight around – and you will walk like Frankenstein – place a pair upon your feet and you’ll be guaranteed to stand tall in the office.”
You’ll have to take his word on that.
Hard on Prada’s heels (sorry) are shoemakers Oliver Spencer, Cesare Paciotti and Grenson. Those last two employ a white Vibram sole, rather than the more traditional crepe ones used by Northampton shoemaker George Cox, the godfather of the brothel creeper.
Vintage Cox creepers cost a small fortune on eBay but the company has teamed up with online fashion retailer oki-ni for a special SS11 range. They’re calling them Chukka boots, in a nod to the shoe’s pre-teddy boy origins (something to do with the Desert Rats, apparently).
I’m not sure I’ll return to the land of the brothel creeper, despite my fondness for the shoe. I might have looked like Joe Strummer once, but these days I’d be more like the fat one from Showaddywaddy. But I’m glad they’re back. At the very least, I can admire them from a distance – or, as is more likely given nobody has £510 to spend on shoes, through a shop window.
Article source: http://www.heraldscotland.com/life-style/fashion-beauty-wellbeing/male-order-retro-shoes-1.1087696
By
Liz Jones
Last updated at 11:33 AM on 28th February 2011
Did Samantha Cameron really wear the reported 20 different outfits for her first season as ambassador for British fashion?
I counted only 12 over the five days at London Fashion Week. But that’s still good going, as her post of adviser-cum-ambassador for the British Fashion Council means it’s her ‘job’ to showcase as many homegrown labels as possible.
All in all, I think she did really well. Sam Cam has stuck firmly with homegrown designers and boutique, up-and-coming labels as well as good old British High Street.
Fashion icon: Samantha Cameron in the front row of the Holly Fulton show last week
And before anyone starts moaning about the profligacy of Samantha’s choices, let me point out two things. First, Samantha merely borrowed many of her outfits. This proves she is cost-conscious, which is just as well, given British Fashion Council chairman Harold Tillman’s speech to open proceedings, when he mentioned the devastating government cuts that are already affecting many in the garment trade.
It also proves that she’s probably a
sample size eight or ten, as this is the only size designers carry to be
used by stars on red carpets, or in magazine shoots. And everyone
remarked on how quickly she seems to have got her figure back after baby
Florence.
Anyway, as
Alexandra Shulman points out in Vogue: ‘For heaven’s sake, let’s allow
her [Samantha Cameron] to wear a £750 dress if she wants to, without
getting our knickers in a right old twist.’
Shulman
urges Samantha not to be brow-beaten and go the way of Kate Middleton,
who wore top-to-toe High Street brands — Reiss and Whistles — for her
engagement photos.
Rather,
our ‘First Lady’ should follow in the footsteps of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
(who wore only Dior for her visit to Britain) and fly the flag for our
own, homegrown industry that makes £20 billion a year for the economy.
Samantha’s
only unpatriotic slips during London Fashion Week were to wear a pair
of Spanish shoes, namely from Zara, for a party at No 10.
Bar a few mistakes, such as a leather
midi-skirt, I think Samantha walked the tightrope between dressing in a
sober fashion and not going all dowdy
But enough of the politics. Did
Samantha look pretty, fashionable, appropriate? Yes, she did. I loved
the way she mainly wore separates — meaning she could keep the CEOs of
lots of beleaguered fashion labels happy at the same time.
Samantha
threw her first London Fashion Week party at No 10 last Friday —
hosting Claudia Schiffer and Vivienne Westwood. She wore a jazzy skirt
by Scottish wizard Christopher Kane, a grey blouse by Emilia Wickstead.
Bar
a few mistakes, such as a leather midi-skirt, I think Samantha walked
the tightrope between dressing in a sober fashion and not going all
dowdy. And she worked hard, too. She spent 90 minutes walking around an
exhibition of small brands on the first show day.
And
what a shot in the arm she is proving to be for British fashion. I went
into the Mulberry store on London’s Bond Street over the weekend. It
was packed with Japanese tourists clutching iPads, desperate to buy
‘what Samantha wore on Friday’ — their gadgets bore her photograph.
If that’s not proof Sam’s an international fashion ambassador, I’m not sure what is.
At Burberry, she wore an Osman coat, £658, Whistles blouse, £95, and Zara shoes (old season), £19.99.
For this important show, Sam Cam really should have pulled out all the stops . . . the blouse under the jacket is awkward, while I’d have preferred a dress instead of the too-casual trousers (£79, from Jigsaw).
5/10
At Aquascutum in a McQ by Alexander McQueen tuxedo, £320, Hamilton-Paris blouse, £400, and leather skirt from Whistles, £225, in the new midi-length.
She looks a little dowdy.
I’d have liked a zing of colour, maybe by swapping the black LK Bennett shoes, £160, for a pink pair.
3/10
For the fashion week opening ceremony, she wore a Sykes (this label is no more; the designer, Joanna Sykes, having been snapped up by Aquascutum) jacket, £695, Mulberry dress, £403, and LK Bennett shoes, £160, an outfit that was a little too black.
I’d like to see her have a bit more fun with colour, but this will come with time and confidence.P.S. Great legs!
6/10
The shoulders and colour of this Roksanda Ilincic dress, £965, worn for the Elle Style Awards, are daring, as is the Erickson Beamon necklace, £750.
The nude peep-toe Jimmy Choo shoes, £395, are just genius, meaning she knows a true fashionista will tone down colour with nude — the only accessory colour to be seen in this summer.
9/10
At the No 10 reception co-hosted by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of U.S. Vogue, she wore a black pleated Emilia Wickstead dress, £850, teamed with Alexander McQueen shoes, £450.
This was a little dour, but Sam cleverly livened it up with the Lara Bohinc necklace, £610, and made the Vogue editor, in her purple tights, look a little over-dressed.
7/10
In this outfit (worn at No 10), Samantha managed to look very fashionable, but also approachable.
The Emilia Wickstead grey top, £460, is brightened by a Mawi statement necklace, £400, while the Christopher Kane galaxy skirt in soft pink, £930, proves how well bright colours work against her dark hair. Only the old Zara shoes, £19.99, disappoint.
8/10
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She needs complete makeover! She looks like she’s dressed from a Charity shop. Chunky neckless over the top plus galaxy stars skirt! Hmmm….
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I’m sorry but even I can see this woman has all the fashion sense of a insect.
If this is all Britain has to offer as a fashion guide then we deserve to be the laughing stock of Europe.
Phil, Sutton, 28/2/2011 15:35, you are absolutely right. You can’t really expect anything else from the Tory’s number one support rag.
The DM would say this woman was a fashion icon if she looked like Bet Lynch from Coronation Street.
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She’s a horse faced toff in very expensive but tasteless bag shaped clothing.
Tally ho
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Dear Liz Jones. In the immortal words of John McEnro, you must be joking! Samantha Cameron has done no favours to British fashion, as in every outfit except one (that you marked 6/10) she looks awful, which is a great shame as there are some very talented British designers. Of course, she shouldn’t look trashy and cheap, flashing bosom and acres of bare flesh, but neither should she look frumpy and dowdy, as she looks in all of these photos. She is tall and has a lovely figure and could carry of elegant, modern designs with ease.These outfits are ugly, lacking in style and totally uninteresting and do no credit to Mrs. Cameron or British fashion. Also, her hair is a complete mess all the time and her posture does not show off clothes well.
My daughter-in-law, who expecting her second child in August and who is the same age as Mrs Cameron, looks far better all the time than any of these photos, on a very limited budget (she buys many fantastic things in charity shops).
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I think she is a contender for Frump of the Year
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WOT A WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1361252/London-Fashion-Week-2011-Samantha-Cameron-flew-flag-won-vote.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Girls are walking around with glasses that my grandfather wears. Boys are sporting messenger bags and vintage flannel, while both genders are kicking back in hand- decorated shoes and shirts. “Hipster kids” are taking over California.
More specifically, teenagers who subscribe to do-it-yourself culture — a fashion movement defined by the creation or embellishment of unique clothing and accessory items.
Fashion in 2011 isn’t about who has the most expensive or sought-after purse: It’s about uniqueness, and displaying your creativity through art and individual expression.
“There are lots of rewarding things about making your own clothing,” says San Francisco’s Karen Macklin, co-author of “Indie Girl,” via e-mail. “It can be cheaper than buying name-brand clothes and the process itself is really creative. But I think what’s most rewarding about it is that you aren’t walking through the halls wearing the same exact thing as everyone else.”
As a teenager, I have often found it difficult to keep up with fashion trends. Because they are so fleeting, it’s nearly impossible to pin down a specific style before a new one crops up.
Aidan Merris, a sophomore at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, decorates his T-shirts and shoes. “I feel most inspired by Jackson Pollock — I’ve always been interested in splatter paint,” Merris says. “It’s a unique process, and something I feel expresses my individuality. So far I’ve decorated two T-shirts
and a pair of shoes. It’s a mess, but it’s fun.”
Another sophomore, Emma Silver of Castro Valley, creates jewelry through beading. “What I love most about it is how unlimited it can be,” she says. “Beading provides a ton of options. I can make everything from a ring to an anklet, and personalize it any way I want.”
The best part about do-it-yourself style is that you don’t have to start from scratch to make something unique. In fact, if paint splattering, sharpie graffiti, or beading jewelry borders on the overtly artistic, many indie folk are satisfied with altering a hemline or simply scrounging for kitsch finds in their local thrift store.
While stores like Urban Outfitters are stocking new products with a vintage, handmade feel, books like “P.S. — I Made This” and “Indie Girl” encourage teenagers who want to create, but are unsure of how to start. Whether it’s making a lace bangle out of a cardboard tube or stringing bottle caps together for a belt, books like these, as well as Internet blogs, are breeding grounds for a teen’s growing interest in DIY. Arts and craft stores also stock mounds of fabric pens and paint, perfect for detailing a pair of jeans or adding designs to a backpack.
However, ultimately the trend circles back to the consumer and the maker’s expression of his or her own tastes.
“When we go shopping, we pick a piece of clothing off of a rack that has 10 or 20 more just like it, sitting there waiting to be bought,” Macklin says. “When you design your own stuff, you know that it’s going to be original, and truly say something about your style.”
The Life in Perspective board is made up of teens who write columns and features for TimeOut. Celina Reynes attends Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. Reach her at lip@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-living/ci_17482798
HOLLYWOOD — From Penelope Cruz’s stunning red to Gwyneth Paltrow in subdued silver, all eyes were on the fashion choices as Hollywood’s A-listers hit the Oscars red carpet.
And as for the famously quirky British actress Helena Bonham Carter — shock! — she wore a surprisingly normal-looking black dress.
“I thought it would be nice to celebrate film not fashion… I’ve got a bit of a complex about my bum so thought I’d make it even bigger,” she joked, shortly before the 83rd Academy Awards show got under way.
Bonham Carter, who lost out later in the best supporting actress category for her role in “The King’s Speech,” is known for her unpredictable dress sense and had forecast whatever she wore could be “catastrophic.”
At the Golden Globes she wore one red shoe and one green, but on Sunday she kept her vow to wear same-colored footwear, below a Gothic-looking black dress described as “something I got together with costume designer Colleen Atwood.”
Apart from a large bustle, the striking black silk taffeta gown with a velvet bodice and Elizabethan style cutaway sleeves was supremely conservative compared to outfits she has stunned fashion-watchers with in the past.
Natalie Portman, who won the best actress prize for her role as a paranoid ballerina in “Black Swan,” was in plum colored Rodarte with Tiffany jewelry, but insisted she felt at home whatever she wears.
“Most girls get so excited to get dressed up,” said the heavily pregnant star, adding that she could equally be happy “at home in sweats with, like, messy hair and no makeup. The biggest luxury of all.”
Cruz, arriving on the arm of husband and best actor nominee Javier Bardem, looked typically ravishing in a red number, the same color as last year’s best actress Oscar winner Sandra Bullock, in a structured Vera Wang gown.
“I chose it because it’s always so cheerful and my son recognizes the color red,” said Bullock, whose pale make up exaggerated red lips and complemented the gown perfectly.
Jennifer Hudson looked slender and glamorous in her halter necked Versace gown accessorized with Neil Lane jewelry and Jimmy Choo bag.
Her train with a diamond pleated off-centre bustle was so long that she needed three people to ensure its wellbeing as she made her way along the red caret.
Jennifer Lawrence, a losing best actress nominee for her role in Winter’s Bone, chose a simple red dress with spaghetti straps and a low back; her long blond hair loosely pinned.
Pastel tones, reflecting the most recent collections, were also a popular choice.
Kate Blanchett chose a pale lilac gown in pleated chiffon with a collar of chartreuse and lilac beading.
Her simple, sleek blond hair was a simple antidote to the complexity of the dress.
In Christian Dior haute couture, Nicole Kidman continued the pastel trend with a silk grosgrain lavender gown, richly embroidered with silver thread as well as a magnificent diamond choker, which reached down her back.
In sharp contrast to the dress, she wore her hair in a simple ponytail with minimal, very natural make-up.
However, the most striking trend at this year’s Academy Awards was the choice of silver, gold and platinum seen on so many stars.
Paltrow resembled the Oscar statue itself in a shimmering gold sheath by Calvin Klein and vertiginous heels.
Hilary Swank looked stunning in a silver strapless gown with ostrich feathered trim by Jean Paul Gaultier and Michelle Williams chose a form fitting heavy silver beaded gown by Chanel and very uncomfortable looking shoes.
Her white-blonde pixi-cut hair and dramatic dark eye make-up completed a winning combination.
Annette Bening was elegant in a graphite and silver sequined dress with huge emerald earrings and Celine Dion also chose a textured graphite colored gown – this one with long sleeves.
Helen Mirren, elegant as always, wore a dark grey silver gown with a jeweled buckle at the back.
Of the men, Colin Firth, unsurprising again chose Tom Ford, and Russell Brand, escorting his mother to the Awards this year, wore a petrol blue skinny cut suit by Marc Jacobs with a black shirt, straight black tie and wet-look hair.
Keith Urban chose the simple chic of Prada.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
More »
Article source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJm64BwuRi2wLWTTx0u4srfDtS2w?docId=CNG.363298fc7347ba63c4b288eb7bbce000.31
By
Liz Jones
Last updated at 8:26 AM on 28th February 2011
Did Samantha Cameron really wear the reported 20 different outfits for her first season as ambassador for British fashion?
I counted only 12 over the five days at London Fashion Week. But that’s still good going, as her post of adviser-cum-ambassador for the British Fashion Council means it’s her ‘job’ to showcase as many homegrown labels as possible.
All in all, I think she did really well. Sam Cam has stuck firmly with homegrown designers and boutique, up-and-coming labels as well as good old British High Street.
Fashion icon: Samantha Cameron in the front row of the Holly Fulton show last week
And before anyone starts moaning about the profligacy of Samantha’s choices, let me point out two things. First, Samantha merely borrowed many of her outfits. This proves she is cost-conscious, which is just as well, given British Fashion Council chairman Harold Tillman’s speech to open proceedings, when he mentioned the devastating government cuts that are already affecting many in the garment trade.
It also proves that she’s probably a
sample size eight or ten, as this is the only size designers carry to be
used by stars on red carpets, or in magazine shoots. And everyone
remarked on how quickly she seems to have got her figure back after baby
Florence.
Anyway, as
Alexandra Shulman points out in Vogue: ‘For heaven’s sake, let’s allow
her [Samantha Cameron] to wear a £750 dress if she wants to, without
getting our knickers in a right old twist.’
Shulman
urges Samantha not to be brow-beaten and go the way of Kate Middleton,
who wore top-to-toe High Street brands — Reiss and Whistles — for her
engagement photos.
Rather,
our ‘First Lady’ should follow in the footsteps of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
(who wore only Dior for her visit to Britain) and fly the flag for our
own, homegrown industry that makes £20 billion a year for the economy.
Samantha’s
only unpatriotic slips during London Fashion Week were to wear a pair
of Spanish shoes, namely from Zara, for a party at No 10.
Bar a few mistakes, such as a leather
midi-skirt, I think Samantha walked the tightrope between dressing in a
sober fashion and not going all dowdy
But enough of the politics. Did
Samantha look pretty, fashionable, appropriate? Yes, she did. I loved
the way she mainly wore separates — meaning she could keep the CEOs of
lots of beleaguered fashion labels happy at the same time.
Samantha
threw her first London Fashion Week party at No 10 last Friday —
hosting Claudia Schiffer and Vivienne Westwood. She wore a jazzy skirt
by Scottish wizard Christopher Kane, a grey blouse by Emilia Wickstead.
Bar
a few mistakes, such as a leather midi-skirt, I think Samantha walked
the tightrope between dressing in a sober fashion and not going all
dowdy. And she worked hard, too. She spent 90 minutes walking around an
exhibition of small brands on the first show day.
And
what a shot in the arm she is proving to be for British fashion. I went
into the Mulberry store on London’s Bond Street over the weekend. It
was packed with Japanese tourists clutching iPads, desperate to buy
‘what Samantha wore on Friday’ — their gadgets bore her photograph.
If that’s not proof Sam’s an international fashion ambassador, I’m not sure what is.
At Burberry, she wore an Osman coat, £658, Whistles blouse, £95, and Zara shoes (old season), £19.99.
For this important show, Sam Cam really should have pulled out all the stops . . . the blouse under the jacket is awkward, while I’d have preferred a dress instead of the too-casual trousers (£79, from Jigsaw).
5/10
At Aquascutum in a McQ by Alexander McQueen tuxedo, £320, Hamilton-Paris blouse, £400, and leather skirt from Whistles, £225, in the new midi-length.
She looks a little dowdy.
I’d have liked a zing of colour, maybe by swapping the black LK Bennett shoes, £160, for a pink pair.
3/10
For the fashion week opening ceremony, she wore a Sykes (this label is no more; the designer, Joanna Sykes, having been snapped up by Aquascutum) jacket, £695, Mulberry dress, £403, and LK Bennett shoes, £160, an outfit that was a little too black.
I’d like to see her have a bit more fun with colour, but this will come with time and confidence.P.S. Great legs!
6/10
The shoulders and colour of this Roksanda Ilincic dress, £965, worn for the Elle Style Awards, are daring, as is the Erickson Beamon necklace, £750.
The nude peep-toe Jimmy Choo shoes, £395, are just genius, meaning she knows a true fashionista will tone down colour with nude — the only accessory colour to be seen in this summer.
9/10
At the No 10 reception co-hosted by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of U.S. Vogue, she wore a black pleated Emilia Wickstead dress, £850, teamed with Alexander McQueen shoes, £450.
This was a little dour, but Sam cleverly livened it up with the Lara Bohinc necklace, £610, and made the Vogue editor, in her purple tights, look a little over-dressed.
7/10
In this outfit (worn at No 10), Samantha managed to look very fashionable, but also approachable.
The Emilia Wickstead grey top, £460, is brightened by a Mawi statement necklace, £400, while the Christopher Kane galaxy skirt in soft pink, £930, proves how well bright colours work against her dark hair. Only the old Zara shoes, £19.99, disappoint.
8/10
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Samantha Cameron looks “okay” .. no more!
So many British women seem unable to do “simple, understated” … and Liz Jones!!! please do not
refer to Samantha Cameron as a “First Lady”. It is noticeble how the British press are continually doing this, it must be deliberate, a everyone knows that the Queen is the First Lady in the UK.
I think it is unhealthy the way that Prime Ministers wives have walked into the limelight, and are behaving like “celebrities”.
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- Maggie, London, 28/2/2011 08:33
And then people woudl critisise her for interferring in their personal life. She can never win, someone will always want to rip her apart for something.
————————
Ambassador for British fashion? I’m sorry but in the last picture in that skirt she looks like a peasant girl ready for the national harvest celebrations. I just couldn’t stop laughing. The remaining outfits are no better either.
- Anne, Warsaw, Poland, 28/2/2011 07:22
In your opinion Anne, in your opinion and there lies the fundamental problem with Fashion. Its someone elses view of what you should look like and they make millions teling you this.
I dress to suit me and to hell with anyone else. They can get a real job.
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She looks AWFUL in anything, everything she wears. Terrible dress sense and far too much money to waste. And don’t get me started on the ‘accessories’…
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Good on you Sam, I think you look great. Far better than the clothes hanger on the other side of the pond who doesn’t mind spending the tax payers’ money on a fashion wardrobe!
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The 8/10 galaxy skirt looks just badly made, frumpy. It is ugly, and makes her look fat and a bit shapeless with that elasticated waist look.
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I don’t think a Prime Ministers wife should be so concerned with fashion’ nor should she be ‘adviser-cum-ambassador for the British Fashion Council’. There are many other people who are probably more qualified to do this role. Her role should be something which impacts on many more people in society – perhaps something to do with obesity/health/exercise for families and schools.
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Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1361252/Samantha-Cameron-wins-fashion-vote-She-flew-flag-Fashion-Week.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
* CEO dismisses report of a possible IPO in Hong Kong
* Says no decision taken on a share offering
* Sales in first weeks grew in line with 2010 25 pct rise
By Antonella Ciancio
MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Italian luxury goods maker
Ferragamo, whose shoes have been worn by stars including
Marilyn Monroe and Al Pacino, is not considering a share
listing in Hong Kong like its fashion peer Prada, its CEO has
said.
Catwalk trailblazer Prada last month green-lighted a
long-awaited initial public offering in Hong Kong, which, if
successful, could value the company at more than 6 billion
euros ($8.25 billion).
“We have not taken any decision (over an IPO),” Ferragamo
Chief Executive Michele Norsa said on the sidelines of the
company’s womenswear show on Sunday, dismissing a report in the
Sunday Times indicating Hong Kong as a possible location for a
stock listing.
“We remain committed to Italy,” he said.
The British daily said the Florence-based company could
meet bankers over an IPO as early as next month.
Continued…
Article source: http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLDE71Q0CQ20110227
The tastes of China’s wealthy are shifting away from designer goods with flashy logos to more understated luxury brands, the chief executive of French fashion house Chloe said Friday.
That shift has helped Chloe become one of the Swiss luxury goods company Richemont Group’s fastest-growing labels in China, its CEO said.
“China has been very fast at picking up the most well-known brands,” Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye said in a group interview.
“But they are now looking for the brands that are not necessarily on the top of the radar screen. They’re looking for new interesting brands that bring something that other brands don’t bring.”
De la Bourdonnaye was in Shanghai for a fashion show marking Chloe’s fifth anniversary in China, which is expected to become Chloe’s number two market after Japan within two years.
China is the world’s fastest-growing market for luxury goods and is forecast to be the world’s top buyer of such products as cosmetics, handbags, watches, shoes and clothes by 2015, according to consultancy PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Chloe – which counts fashion heavyweights Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo among its former artistic directors – is currently helmed by British designer Hannah MacGibbon, who has assisted Philo.
The fashion house specialises in ultra-feminine, casual clothes in muted colours designed to go straight from the catwalk onto the street.
It plans to expand from 10 boutiques in China to 14 by the end of the year, including stores in the eastern city of Nanjing and the central city of Xian. Its number of employees is expected to soon double to 70, he said.
“We have to be selective. We don’t want to over-expose ourselves,” de la Bourdonnaye said of the firm’s expansion strategy in China.
He said it was against Richemont policy to provide sales or revenue figures.
The Frenchman took over as Chloe’s chief executive in September after three years leading London’s Liberty luxury department store. Before that, he was president of French couture house Christian Lacroix.
He said Gaby Aghion, who founded Chloe in 1952 – she turns 90 this year – stressed the brand’s understatedness when they first met.
“She said with a big smile: ‘I’ve always felt women are more beautiful naked’, which for a designer of clothes is a very interesting statement. It shows the approach of Chloe is so different from other brands.”
Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/china-shifting-to-nologo-luxury-says-chloe-ceo-2227299.html
She is known as much for her acting as for her distinct dressing style but Oscar-nominated actor Helena Bonham Carter, who is competing to take home the golden statuette for her portrayal of the Queen Mother in The King’s Speech, slams critics for poking nose in her gypsy fashion sense.
“On the whole I get things deliberately wrong. I provide a service because people don’t feel intimidated. Perfection is completely overrated. At least I make someone else go, ‘Yay, it’s OK to look catastrophically dressed’,” she says.
“Like the two shoe thing (at Golden Globes) – that was indecision. I don’t think I dress eccentrically. I’m just not conservative, I guess – I dress according to what like. And I’m not a mannequin, as you can tell,” adds the actor, who predicted her Oscar dress will be a ‘catastrophe’ after her Golden Globe stint.
“There’s always indecision. Of course I want to have fun. But I promise you I’ll wear the same colour shoes,” says the Vivienne Westwood regular.
Coming to her role, the 44-year-old reveals playing the Queen Mother was not easy.
“It’s always tricky to play someone who actually lived. With the Queen Mother… she has a soft, sweet, gentle exterior and underneath she has quite another personality going on and I wanted to play that duality and that underneath she was very strong,” she says.
Bonham Carter also had to undergo a lot of preparations to get into the skin of the character.
“I did meet people who knew her quite well and I read some biographies. William Shawcrass happened to publish the official biography just when I got the part, but it was so bland that it gave me no hint to the real woman,” she says.
“Hugo Vicker wrote another one that was much more astute. He gave me the Cecil Beaton quote that described her as a marshmallow but made with a welding machine… And by meeting lots of people, I’ve built a picture of her but… I had to work out what was suitable to the story,” she adds.
The actor was also gaga over director Tom Hooper. “Tom is very clear, very clever and it’s quite good playing the Queen because I get treated like the Queen. He was very polite to me. He is someone who sees the picture in his head,” she says.
“He works incredibly hard and expects us to work incredible hard too. There’s something unstoppable about Tom. A bit like Tim, you never know what’s in the head until you see it,” she adds.
Collin Firth mentioned a ‘triangle of man love’ existing on the sets of the film. Asked how was it working with him and Geoffrey Rush, she quips: “Well, on the set it was really about the two boys, Colin and Geoffrey. As long as Geoffrey was there Colin didn’t even notice me, not until Geoffrey finally finished his scenes and went off. I said to Colin when he realised I was there, ‘Well, I have been playing your wife, love’.”
She has also been described often to play pre-20th century characters. Asked if it doesn’t stereotype her, she says, “It is good for me to be seen as vaguely normal in a film (The King’s Speech) instead of being dressed as a witch or some strange character.”
Bonham Carter is also excited about her next outing, the last installment in the Harry Potter franchise.“It’s such fun to be involved, to be part of that world. I love witches and magic and dress-up and make-believe,” she says.
A regular in her filmmaker partner Tim Burton’s outings, she will be also seen in his Dark Shadows.
“He casts me with great reluctance because he doesn’t want to be so obvious and he’s worried about nepotism and all sorts of things,” she reveals.
Article source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/I-don-t-dress-eccentrically-Helena-Bonham-Carter/Article1-667412.aspx
Retro Fashion Style Guide
The fashion world is so spectacular. Throughout the years, people from different eras have used fashion as a tangible way to show their social class affiliation, their occupation, genre, religion, and even different thoughts, hopes and dreams. In these circumstances, fashion became an universal language and a symbol of free expression. Every decade had its own ways of expression using as main elements clothes, shoes, accessories, hairstyles and makeup.
Fashion and Style / New Trends
Article source: http://www.becomegorgeous.com/search-s1-q1-m1-a1-t1/1960s_fashions.html
