Clutch And Cover: Valentino Rockstud Camouflage Clutch
THE ZOE REPORT BY RACHEL ZOE: BE GLAMOROUS. EVERY DAY. |
As opposed to the technical intent of camouflage, military-printed pieces are certain to get you noticed! A hot commodity this season (and surely, next), the earth-toned trend is begging to find its way into your daily dressing agenda. One infallible option is to carry Valentino’s Rockstud Camouflage Clutch.
…Keep on reading:
http://pulse.me/s/kawJq
My eyes have been peeled to the Mercedez-Benz China Fashion Week Fall 2013 all week. It’s only halfway through and one person has already caught my eye. Yes, he’s one of the world’s best make-up artists, Mao Geping.
For his MGPIN Make-up Styling Collection Show, Geping used crazy large lashes, large faux brows out of materials like coins and crystals (!!), and glued flower appliques onto models’ eyes. The results will leave you awe-struck. Of course I dare to put on such bold make-up. On Halloween and maybe, at glam themed parties. Why not?
Check them out:
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via Getty Images
Since we are on the subject of Hérmes and THAT cool US$91,500 croco-shirt for men, THIS is the Hérmes Birkin bag that went on sale last year at ONLY US$2 million ;-) I’m sure Tamara Ecclestone bought one (she’s the glam daughter of the Formula One boss - Bernie Ecclestone)
Hérmes Birkin and Kelly bags are some of the priciest handbags on the market, often selling for upwards of US$50,000. And now, despite the recession, designers at the French fashion house have challenged themselves with creating some of the world’s most expensive handbags. The asking price: US$1,980,034.
The Bag Is So Tiny That It Won’t Even Hold a Pair of Sunglasses … But It Does Boast More Than 1,000 Diamonds
Famed French couturier, Hermés and jeweler/shoemaker Pierre Hardy have created a series of bags that pay homage to the company’s famous Kelly and Birkin bags, with precious materials like gold and diamonds. The solid gold Kelly bag, seen at left, for instance, has been created to give the gold the appearance of a crocodile skin pattern, while the handle is studded with diamonds.
There are four versions of the bags, and only three of each will be produced, Styleist reports of the very expensive, very limited totes.
The bags are also tiny, by necessity … solid gold in a regular-sized version would make the bag too heavy to carry, as Styleite points out. And The Financial Times terms them “functionally a bracelet.”
Nevertheless, everyone seems sure the bags will be snatched up. Hermés CEO Patrick Thomas told the Times, “We are a little crazy here,” while designer Hardy, when asked who he thought would make such a luxury purchase, laughed and said, “I have no idea … but maybe they will have two bodyguards!”
Well, the price of a Hermès Birkin bag typically starts at roughly US$9,000 — and that’s IF you can even get one — there’s a very long waiting list for the coveted accessory. But, in 2011, a rare version of the bag has made that outrageously priced Olsen’s Row backpack look like garbage-bin chic.
Yes, Yes! The above red crocodile skin Hermès Birkin bag, with white gold and diamond hardware, was sold to an anonymous bidder in 2011 for a record-breaking US$203,150, at the Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas.
The auction price wasn’t expected to exceed US$80,000, but we imagine some wealthy Texan oil tycoon got carried away with the bidding for his wife. Revealing a little of the bag’s background, Matt Rubinger, director of luxury accessories at Heritage Auctions, explains “It was owned by a lady from Florida. She bought it in 2006 and had it as the trophy of her collection but then Hermès offered her the same bag in black and she thought that she might actually use a black one.”
And I thought America was in the middle of a recession! ;-)
Do you have an unnatural aversion to classic lipstick? Too much color, gets on your teeth, difficult to apply, etc., etc., You’re not the only one, and the beauty industry is sympathetic to your plight: Sheer lipsticks–tubes that can be applied without looking in a mirror–are all the rage right now.
Of course, sheer lipsticks with nourishing qualities are nothing new. Clinique made its first Chubby stick in the late ’90s (who remembers the originals? You had to sharpen them!). The company re-released a more hydrating version that you didn’t have to sharpen back in 2011, and lots of other companies followed suit–there are plenty of crayon-like sheer lip products out there now.
They’re not lip balms or lip glosses or even lipsticks exactly (and not all are in crayon form–Chanel and Dior both released luxe versions of sheer lipstick back in 2011, too), but rather a newfangled hybrid of all three. And they’re one of the more practical beauty products to come down the pike. Most provide a wash of color, meaning you don’t need to be precise with application. Unlike some classic lippies–especially the matte ones–these also provide some level of hydration, making them balm-like. And finally, they provide a shiny, but not sticky, finish.
We chatted with Jenna Menard, Clinique’s Global Colour Artist, about how to wear the Chubby stick–her advice works for this whole category of lip products. “I would recommend starting with a first layer of color and then building more color if needed. It all depends on the desired look,” she told us. “My favorite way to wear [them] is to generously apply all over the lips then lightly blot down with a finger to soften the edges and color for a hassle-free lip look.” You don’t need a mirror. You can even do it after a few glasses of wine. (Guilty.)
Click through for 13 versions of spring’s most versatile beauty product.
http://fashionista.com/2013/03/13-lipsticks-for-people-who-hate-lipstick/tomford-5/
Article first appeared in Fashionista.com
The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress….—
It’s such a shame none of the girls who walked in to Valentino’s Fall 2013 show on Tuesday wore pearl earrings. The collection was an ode to Flemish artists and artisans that visited everything from Rembrandt to Delftware, and even threw in some less-than-obvious references to Vermeer.
But even shoppers who didn’t major in art history will find things to appreciate and love in this offering, like the white, embroidered leather collars on dresses that called “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” to mind and enhanced their wearer’s faces. The many blue and white dresses in the show were cut from fabrics developed to look like Delft pottery, seen often in Vermeer’s paintings.
The clothes themselves toed the line between Valentino’s place in the fairy tale of fashion (a few ermine pieces made the models wearing them look like Renaissance royalty) and the current vogue for rounded shoulders and generous outerwear. What Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have shown here is that they can work a theme without getting too thematic. And the results are simply stunning.
To view the entire Valentino collection, click here:
http://www.fashionologie.com/Valentino-Review-Fashion-Week-Fall-2013-28392278?fullscreen=true
Above: The dynamo-duo - Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli for the House of Valentino
Pictures courtesy of Fashionologie.com
If you’re only going to send 10 looks down the runway, as Sarah Burton did for Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2013 show, those looks had better be something spectacular. And by fusing the intensely intricate decoration of Queen Elizabeth’s wardrobe with religious references and a hint of the Ballets Russes, Burton turned out some truly stunning works whose beauty defies everything that is current and conventional.
The first looks to appear could almost have been worn by the Virgin Queen herself: white dresses with box-pleated crinolines and lace skirts. Then came pearl-studded black suits and gowns, followed by white dresses with gold corsets. The final looks, spun from ostrich feathers, brought another level of opulence to the richly layered collection.
If piling on decorations and embellishments is Burton’s response to other designers cutting simpler clothing, it makes for an interesting commentary. But the clothes would be just as beautiful if all she wanted to do was have a conversation about history and true splendor.
To view Sarah Burton’s out-of-this-world creations for the House of Alexander McQueen, please click here:
Pictures courtesy of Fashionologie.com
The library at Lycée Henri IV, one of the most prestigious high schools in Paris, was transformed into a runway for Hermès’s Fall 2013 show. Leather chairs and benches were arranged into rows, and more than one attendee commented on how comfortable the seating assignments were.
The clothes looked plenty cozy too. Christophe Lemaire sent a variety of great coats down the runway, including a few varietals in fur and one with wide bands of brown, red, gray, and black. Of course, if you’re going to show your wares in a school, then they have to be smart. So Lemaire’s offering was heavy on well-tailored suiting separates, crisp shirts, and functional dresses, but it was surprisingly low on bags. Perhaps the designer — and the house — want customers to study the clothing as closely as they do the accessories.
To view the entire Hermès collection by Christophe Lemaire, please click here:
http://www.fashionologie.com/Hermes-Runway-Review-Fashion-Week-Fall-2013-28397880?fullscreen=true
Pictures courtesy of Fashionologie.com
Chanel’s Fall 2013 ready-to-wear collection was a study in how to be a global brand. Start by putting on the largest production of Paris Fashion Week, complete with a glowing globe dotted with your store locations spinning in the middle of the Grand Palais. Then line up a celeb-packed front row, including Jessica Chastain and Frank Ocean. And finally, send out a strong collection that capitalizes on the DNA of the brand while hitting all the right notes for the season. Jackets had the de rigeur rounded shoulder and boxy shape, while high hemlines skimmed the leather of thigh high boots. Footwear took on a tough edge with chains strewn across the front, and there were endless varieties of the iconic Chanel bag — some familiar, some brand-new. Based on this collection, we might see some new dots on that globe come next season. Click through to see the full Chanel 2013 collection.
To view the entire Chanel collection by Karl Lagerfeld, please click here:
http://www.fashionologie.com/Chanel-Review-Fashion-Week-Fall-2013-28388887?fullscreen=true
Above: He needs no introduction! But just in case you are not aware, he is the Designer of all Designers - Karl Lagerfeld.
Pictures via Fashionologie.com
What happens when a designer known for making feminine clothing borrows from the boys? For Fall 2013, Giambattista Valli fused his womanly aesthetic with sporty menswear staples like parkas, sweatshirts, and sneakers.
But an ode to androgyny this was not. The first few looks down the runway, mostly white and cream, combined garments like a safari vest with a chiffon cocktail dress, or paired a skirt in the floaty material with a crisp white shirt and an overcoat with a fur-lined hood. That dichotomy played out through the rest of the show, with Valli eventually succumbing to his penchant for glamorous women’s clothing. A suit in a floral print was paired with a shirt whose ruffles spilled out of the blazer, and the last few looks served up the kind of sparkly red-carpet glamour Valli is known for.
To view the entire collection, please click here:
Above: One of my favorite designers - Giambattista Valli…
Pictures courtesy of Fashionologie.com
Never mind that Bono, Paul McCartney, Kanye West, and Jessica Alba were sitting front row. And never mind that the setting was Paris’s gorgeously gilded Opéra Garnier. The clothes on Stella McCartney’s Fall 2013 runway were plenty spectacular on their own.
But don’t go thinking that means glitter and glitz. Nope, this was pure McCartney, and that means clean, functional, comfortable, and very, very chic. The designer drew inspiration from her past on Saville Row, melding that world’s pinstriped wool and large-scale plaids with oversize cuts and asymmetrical shapes, striking the perfect balance between masculine and feminine. “It was a redirection of Stella classics,” the designer explained. “[They are] things I do instinctively and effortlessly, so paying homage to Britain and its classic tailoring and inserting a new femininity, bringing a sensual woman into it all.”
To view Stella McCartney’s entire collection, please click here:
Pictures via Fashionologie.com
Love the way she does her #hair!
The models in Yoshiyuki Miyamae’s Fall 2013 show for Issey Miyake did something we haven’t seen many models in Paris do: they smiled. But who wouldn’t be happy wearing the brightly colored mix of checks that Miyamae proposed as an antidote to the dreary gray of Winter? The designer, seemingly inspired by the Scottish Highlands, fused tartan, houndstooth, and the Prince of Wales check that so many of his compatriots have used this season together, then blew them up into oversize prints and filtered them through a technicolor palette of bright blue, pink, orange, and green. Black and gray made appearances, notably in a fur coat and a check coat with black piping, but perhaps the most interesting pieces were the colorful trousers with bites of houndstooth hidden in the pleats.
To view the delightful collection in its entirety, please click here:
Above: Helming the House of Issey Miyake is Yoshiyuki Miyamae
Pictures via Fashionologie.com
Andy Warhol’s drawings may have been featured on looks from Raf Simons’s Fall 2013 collection for Dior, but its name came from one of the most famous paintings by Salvador Dalí. Simons, who drew on formative moments in his life and in Christian Dior’s, named his show “The Persistence of Memory.”
The house called the show a “visual scrapbook” of things that were important to both men. Dior started his career as a gallerist and once represented Dalí and Alberto Giacometti, and Simons often references his obsession with midcentury art. Perhaps that’s why he collaborated with The Warhol Foundation For the Visual Arts, applying the artist’s 1959 work “Female Head With Stamps” to a strapless dress in navy blue silk.
“For me Warhol made so much sense,” Simons said. “I was interested in the delicacy and sensitivity in the early work he did, I was drawn to that graphic style naturally in this collection.”
Delicate and sensitive could describe this offering, and its sentimentality toward the house’s founder. More than a few looks modernized Dior’s original designs, like the 1947 Doris coat, but in double-faced black leather, and the iconic Bar jacket in denim wool. This was a respectful ode to Dior, but it was also a clear indication that Simons excels at operating in his territory.
More on Raf Simons’s art-filled collection here:
Pictures via Fashionologie.com
In a week of high-profile debuts (Wang at Balenciaga, Puglisi at Ungaro), there’s been a lot of talk about going back to the archives. But Geraldo da Conceicao, who made his debut as creative director at Sonia Rykiel for Fall 2013, paid homage to the brand’s founder while offering a new look for her house.
Da Conceicao’s show was heavy on the knitwear that has always been a Rykiel hallmark, but the mood of this show was a good deal sexier than it has been in past seasons. The designer said in an interview with WWD that he wanted to have “a certain conversation with the body,” and he had it with a black sweater dress with flashes of pink and white over its model’s erogenous zones, and with jumpers with what were essentially floral cutouts right over the breasts. But not every garment called attention so loudly. A double-breasted suit in pink hugged the curves without suffocating them, and a few leather dresses that managed to be slinky also stood out.
To view the new designer’s debut show and the entire collection, please click here:
Note:
The models used here are worryingly skeletal. I wish the designer would bear that in mind when hiring models for his next collection. Skeletal looking models doth not maketh the outfit looketh stunning.
Above: The new Creative Director for the House of Sonia Rykiel - Geraldo da Conceicao
Pictures via Fashionologie.com
