Women’s Wear Daily reports: MILAN — Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce are continuing their push for revolution in the fashion industry — this time taking on prices.

Evidence of the lower prices is seen in the following items: A pair of five-pocket jeans for spring will sell for $450 (for spring 2009 they cost $695); a dress will cost $1,469, down from $2,295; a leather bomber jacket will be priced at $1,499, compared with $2,296, and an iconic stretch silk tulle corset dress will go to $3,589 from last year’s $5,200.

Gabbana doesn’t believe customers will feel betrayed or taken for a ride by having paid more in the past. “Our goal is the consumer and to keep the thousands of people that work for us,” he said.

Added Dolce, “This is the only way to save the market and our companies. It’s time to turn the page.”

Read entire story at WWD

Guest Blogger: Lyndsay Cabildo

Another pride of Pinoy’s talent showcased his creations at the Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2009.  Gerry Katigbak’s designs represents Philippine Culture and natural fabrics.  The ethnic designs he used interpreting Filipino Culture on his designs are patriotic. Continue reading

Pinoy Fashion Week - Gerry Katigbak

June 5, 2009-NY, New York- Taxis across New York City are displaying the distinctive Catherine Malandrino yellow banner to celebrate the launch of fashion designer Catherine Malandrino’s new website CatherineMalandrino.com featuring an innovative e-commerce portion Shop.catherinemalandrino.com.

The site is an interactive journey throughout the world of Catherine Malandrino; establishing a true connection with fans, and giving them a place where they can relate to Catherine’s story and lifestyle in a variety of ways. CatherineMalandrino.com allows the visitors behind the scenes to discover her passion, emotions, inspirations, and thoughts through her blog. You can follow Catherine on Twitter, Facebook, and even check out her latest posts on YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr!

CatherineMalandrino.com leads the viewer through a seamless ribbon of exploration over six main sections; Catherine Malandrino, Malandrino, Passion, Happening, Boutique, and Shop.

There are also unique VIP special offers and future exclusive online shopping events!

Shop catherinemalandrino.com Now!

Prada is full of color for the summer season. With casual and straight lines, warm and bright colors. Prada is illuminating the runway with yellows, oranges and greens. But keeping it classic with the black sliced in. Great looks start simply -hence simple bright colors offer a really refreshing change to the down turn of grays that we were seeing. Surley the economy isn’t getting to Miuccia Prada, as her Resort collection sure does not reflect it. With her sharp contrasts her Summer shows, pretty draped-back dresses in camel color-blocked with pastels; cheeky scarf-print bikini briefs with ties at the hips, worn and neon-bright button-downs; and of course handbags which vouch as great eye candy in the form of little duffel bags in colorful florals that match the models’ ankle-tie sandals. The bow is a recurring motif, appearing at the neckline and elbows of an asymmetrically draped black top, at the hem of narrow underskirts, and at the back of float-y, vaguely 1920’s-ish wallpaper-print dresses. The cumulative effect looks very bright indeed. Call it Prada’s antidote for trying fashion times.

Source: Style.com

Fashion designers have been favoring shades of blue this spring. As just one example, Aquascutum’s spring 2009 collection was almost all in blues, from soft and powdery to sophisticated and navy. Purples this season have a lot of blue in them, making some of them more of a periwinkle blue. That’s good news, because lavender is flattering to many skin tones and hair colors, from platinum blonde to shiny black.

One of the greatest things about blue is that, aside from flattering most people, it works just as well in the most casual pieces as in the most formal.

Spring and summer fashion embraces lots of dreamy blues this year, from denim used in new ways to blue jeweled sandals.

This Lanvin lacquer-heel denim pump is touted by Elle magazine as a clever way to circumvent “no denim” rules at work. They may be denim, but they’re anything but casual. $785 at Bergdorf Goodman.

While this casual blue ombre dress won’t fly at most offices, it is perfect for summer picnics and laid back weekend activities. Made of cotton, this wrap dress by Converse One Star is available at Target for $33.

I guess most of us don’t really need a blue formal silk chiffon gown for our social plans this summer, but hey, a girl can dream, can’t she? This silk chiffon gown embroidered with agate is $3250 at Gucci stores.

Is there anything more glamorous than jeweled sandals to show off perfectly pedicured feet? It would be hard to find a pair of sandals more gorgeous than these Valentino leather sandals detailed with jewels (sigh …) These are $675 and along with similar styles can be found at Jeffrey, NYC.

Gaspard Yurkievich - Forward Exclusive Dress in Multi - $1,485

Designer Gaspard Yurkievich, from France, has been on the international design scene for a little over a decade. After studying at Studio Bercot, he won the grand prize at the international photography and fashion event  Festival d’Hyeres in 1997. Yurkievich presented his first women’s ready-to-wear collection in 1998, later adding shoes and menswear (2003) and accessories (2005).

Yurkievich draws on inspiration from artists, musicians, and the street scene to formulate his collections, which feature a fresh mix of modern and urban styles. He also designs for luxury brands outside the realm of fashion, including Jaguar, De Beers, and Van Cleef & Arpels. Since 2008, Gaspard Yurkievich was made art director for Rodier, a French fashion label.

Here are a few of the exciting pieces featured in Yurkievich’s Spring 2009 line, called “Y.”

Gaspard Yurkievich - Blouse in Brodee Beige - $1,735

It is easy to see from the above ensemble that Gaspard  Yurkievich has a very Parisian design sense. This blouse with ruching above the bust and detailed neckline, paired with a very French take on short shorts would be perfect for strolling down the Rue St. Honoré  on a sunny day in June.

Gaspard Yurkievich - Dress in Fuchsia - $499

The swing dress, done above in a fabulous magenta is a classic dress shape for summer. Here Yurkievich pairs them with hosiery in an athletic style and a great pair of heels.

Gaspard Yurkievich - Cropped Trench in Black/Tan - $462

The blouse and shorts outfit from before suddenly becomes the perfect outfit for a night out at a club with the simple addition of a fabulous cropped jacket.

Gaspard Yurkievich - Fringe Dress in Neo Argento - $1,147

Or, if you’re feeling more flirty, you could wear the above fringed swing dress with bright hosiery and chunky black shoes and dance the night away in style! Gaspard Yurkievich’s Spring 2009 “Y” line is, how you say, “Fantastique!”

Gaspard Yurkievich - Socks in Noir/Fuchsia - $39

Here is another example of Gaspard Yurkievich’s hosiery, this time in a fun basic black accented with bright pink, white, and orange detail.

Gaspard Yurkevich’s collection, exclusively available on ForwardForward.com - the only US online store to carry this French designers line.

Erika Hendrix is currently offering her Spring and Summer 2009 collection, An Urban Romance, through April 30. The label is famous for making limited production runs and using 95% sustainable fabrics in the manufacture of its clothing. Started by Erika Bates in 2005, Erika Hendrix started out making exclusive, custom made pieces, but now produces just enough to make the garments more affordable. Two goals of the company are avoiding mass production and the risk of inadvertently hiring sweatshop labor that goes with it, and using sustainable materials to be kind to the earth. The company will also introduce handbags and jewelry later this year.

Here are a few new Erika Hendrix items to lust after:

This Collared dress is the perfect softly draped style for spring and summer. The cut shows off your shoulders and the short length means you could wear it over skinny jeans.

The Twisted Bubble Skirt is a hot look for spring. Paired with a simple top, this look goes from city to beach with only a change of shoes.

The adorable Bustier Shirt will go with many items you already own. The bias cut sleeves float over your upper arms, and the silhouette is perfect for pairing with this year’s long shorts.

Shop An Urban Romance Spring/Summer 2009 Collection by Erika Hendrix today!

The colors in Diane von Furstenberg’s Fall 2009 Ready To Wear collection may be muted, but that’s only so that bits of brightness in the pieces stand out more. Darkish prints like leopard and tapestry graced von Furstenberg’s collection, which she called “Nomad” in New York last month.  Perhaps giving a nod to the tottering world economy, von Furstenberg topped her sexy wrap dresses and tunic-with-miniskirt combinations with comfort in the form of snuggly cardigans, leggings, and knit tights. Her confections were topped off with big knit hats covered in soft pompoms.

This is not to say that von Furstenberg forgot about glamour, particularly for evening. Reminiscent of the heyday of Studio 54, she closed her show with a metallic jersey gown that looked for all the world as if it could proudly clothe Diana Ross (who was in the audience), either back then, or right now.

In only her second collection to be shown at London’s Fashion Week, young visionary Louise Goldin showed just how far one could go with the color black, knitwear, and leather. Known for knits that are a far cry from the sweaters your grandma used to knit you for Christmas, Goldin presented a futuristic collection all in black last week.

Goldin proved once again the level of technical accomplishment that made her earlier collections famous. Knits, leathers, and clear space were used in this meticulously crafted, futuristic collection inspired by abstract expressionist painter Vasily Kandinsky.

Describing her style as “innovative, futuristic, and luxurious,” Goldin manages to create knits in intricate patterns that at once look like something from the future and something that could come from a vintage Missoni collection. This wasn’t terribly easy to tell because of Goldin’s decision to make this collection all in black, but form-fitting, avant garde pieces fusing leather and knits further cemented Goldin’s reputation as a young fashion visionary to watch.

Wmagazine.com: Editor’ Blog ran an amazing interview with Valentino that I thought I would share with our readers.

This whole retirement thing appears to be working out quite well for Valentino. Right now, while Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli are undoubtedly scrambling with last-minute details for the house’s show on Tuesday in Paris, the legendary designer has been wining, dining, skiing and apres-skiing in Aspen. Still, it’s not all snowflakes and hot toddies for the man. He’s in town to show his support for the documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor; which screened at the first annual Aspen Fashion Week.  Before he hit the slopes for a few morning runs — in one of the five ski outfits he packed for the trip — the designer took a few minutes to chat with W.

How’s Aspen?
It’s very well. Well, not very well because I have a cold, but it’s beautiful here. It was really terribly windy and cold while skiing yesterday but the snow is amazing.

You attended the screening there of Valentino: The Last Emperor. How many times have you seen the film by now?
Almost 10 times now. Sometimes they tell me, “Oh just go to the beginning and the end like an actor does.” But I find that so rude. It’s not my style.

Have people taken to calling you “Emperor” yet?
No, I hope not. That doesn’t sound very young or fresh.

Given the global recession, do you feel like you retired just in time?
I am very happy at this moment. I was lucky, probably, to decide to stop before this storm or whatever we want to call it. For me, the reviews or the runway was not the most important thing. My most important judgment of success was about how many pieces I sold. And today I know that I would be very unhappy.

Has the current economy made you think or act differently?
Of course. I wouldn’t be a human being if not. But it’s not a question of being able to do things or not. It’s a question of if you want to still do the same things. It’s more about how you really feel. People aren’t feeling anymore, and that’s what really worries me — people don’t feel like buying clothes.

The Valentino show is next week in Paris. Will you go?
No. I don’t do the shows anymore. On Saturday, we go to New York for the film’s opening at MoMA.

The sun in Aspen is very strong. Are you wearing sunscreen?
Yes, because we were burned on the first day. And Giancarlo [Giammetti] had a minor problem with his eyes because he was not wearing goggles. As you well know, I love to be tan but I didn’t expect this kind of strong sun.

Tell me about your ski outfit.
It’s not one outfit; I think I have five here. And I bought a couple of jackets because everything is on sale now. The prices are quite amazing compared to where I buy in Gstaad, Switzerland. But I wear different things, a lot of Bogner and Moncler and Ralph Lauren, who is one of my favorite designers for myself. I like to wear different colors, but nothing too fancy. My fanciest outfit is red.

Valentino: The Last Emperor opens on March 17 at MoMA and starts a two-week run at Film Forum the next day.

Source: Image: Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images — Article Wmagazine.com