Donna Karan RTW Spring 2010

Women’s Wear Daily names their picks for the top 10 collections of Spring 2010 where the best runways served up fantasy, futurism and plenty of panache.  Those making the list this year include: Jason Wu, Donna Karan,
Missoni and Stella McCartney.

See the entire story here

Source: wwd.com

Quirky songstress Katy Perry chats with Karl Lagerfeld after his show at Paris Fashion Week in an exclusive interview for Elle.com. It’s certainly a rare chance to peek into the personality of one of the world’s most esteemed designers. Is he intimidating? Yes, but there is a certain warmth about his demeanor, even as he corrects Katy when she expresses her adoration for the fabric, not metal embellishment on a particular dress. The two discuss music and fashion, and we learn fun facts like what he listened to as he got dressed this morning and what song he feels describes himself best (by none other than Lily Allen, of course). His response to the requisite “if you could trade places with any designer” question is a careful mix of smug satisfaction and pure respect. Oh, and he makes jokes too! Click here to see the full interview for yourself.

From our friends at Stylehive

Marc Jacobs showed a memorable collection for spring 2010 in New York in September and in his front row were two rather iconoclastic women: Madonna and Lady Gaga. If Gwen Stefani wasn’t there, she should have been. Actually, it almost looked like those three could have inspired most of the looks, which were ruffled and frilled, yet closely fitted and brief. The models wore their hair in ballerina buns, and makeup consisted of pale faces with winged black eyeliner. All the models were in flats, too, which was unexpected.

Jacobs recently spoke with Women’s Wear Daily about the increasing media attention to famous people’s personal lives – including fashion designers. Jacobs says that it’s simply a sign of the times. People are entertained by people’s real lives, whatever their profession. “And fashion has also reached this kind of proportion like football or sport, you know – a spectator sport.” He mentioned the use of sports stars to peddle just about everything back in the 1970s (remember Joe Namath wearing stockings?). Perhaps now is the moment for fashion designers to capture that kind of attention.

Overall, Jacobs is positive about the trend of fascination with other people’s real lives, saying, “it demystifies the experience. Any behind the scenes look is always telling of the fact that these are real people doing real jobs and who work really hard.”

We have to accept the way the world – whether we think it is good or bad – is and deal with it, according to Jacobs. One thing that has changed in the past couple of decades is that you no longer have to go to Paris to get Parisian perfume. Because of the internet, pretty much anyone with the money can get anything from anywhere. Exclusivity is a different concept now. “Life changes, and the Internet and the media have been a big part of the change that exists now. It’s just better to accept things for what they are and enjoy them.”

Here’s to enjoying things like Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2010 ready to wear collection!

Source: wwd.com

At first glance, a casual follower of Paris Fashion Week might be forgiven for seeing the collection for John Galliano as a nod to eighties female executive wear. But if you look closer you can see who he has really used as his muse for the collection: Lauren Bacall. It even had a winking tribute to her other half, Humphrey Bogart, in the form of lovely belted trench coats. The collection was simply of feminine, beautiful clothing for women who are tired of “club crawling” clothing.

The trench, this time in gray lamé, went perfectly with the models’ forties-inspired wavy, controlled hairstyles and red lipstick. There were also lovely evening dresses with waists, hips, and embroidery, for unmatched femininity. The effect was heightened by the industrial look of the steel girders in his show’s set. The trench was shown in many versions: coat and jacket length. Suits avoided a matchy-matchy look by using unmatched pairings that had a fresher, younger look than the traditional matched suit.

Image credit: wwd.com

Lindsay Lohan

It’s Paris fashion week, and so far one of the biggest news items has little to do with fashion and much to do with celebrity. Lindsay Lohan, who was hired as an “artistic adviser” for Italian design house Emanuel Ungaro, presented her first collection at the Louvre, to the chagrin of style conoisseurs and struggling designers everywhere.

Largely seen as a publicity stunt for Ungaro – a brand that is rapidly fading into the background – Lohan’s collection was panned for being, well, tacky, with plenty of orange and pink, ruched orange slacks, and black, heart-shaped pasties. Guilty by association is Estrella Archs, who has designed for Prada, Christian Lacroix, Emilio Pucci, and Nina Ricci.

By way of explanation, president of Ungaro, Mounir Moufarrige, has said, “Twenty-first century muses are extroverts whose personal style and experience gives them strong creative and artistic focus.”

Even among the notoriously tough fashion crowd, fangs were out for this collection. It was only one month ago that Emanuel Ungar “hired” Lohan as as artistic adviser. Many in the fashion industry consider it a huge insult to anyone who had ever really worked in design or graduated from design school.

Then again, the fashion industry has in recent years emphasized flashy, disposable fashion over forward thinking and style. Lohan’s collection for Ungaro was no exception, with plenty of tight micro-mini dresses and emphasis on hearts as a design element. It appeared as a sequin pattern on one jacket and as cutouts on another. But it was the heart shaped pasties that were most universally panned, perhaps as a symbol of a fashion house in a desperate bid for attention from a house that has been fading from view since its founder retired back in 2004.

It’s been approximately 20 years since Jean Paul Gaultier “launched” his rocket cone bra for Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour, so perhaps it was time for a rehash. For whatever reason, the cone bra featured prominently in Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2010 ready to wear collection in Paris last week. He did it up in style, too, with wasp-waisted silhouettes complete with girdles and garters.

The pointy bras were a central feature in overalls that were made like a bustier on top. It also appeared in a white tux, and a stretchy peach corset-suspenders combination. All 40 of Gaultier’s models marched out in a lingerie collection that included yet more cone-bras, stockings, corsets, and French knickers. Of course, being Jean-Paul Gaultier we would only have been shocked at prim, buttoned up “career separates” that annihilated rather than celebrated the female form.

Paris, France. Jean Paul Gaultier spring/ summer 2010 show held at the company’s quarters at 325 Rue Saint Martin in Paris is attended by the following personalities wearing Jean Paul Gaultier looks.

Janet Jackson wears beige silk taffeta trench coat

Rihanna wears charcoal wool gabardine bondage jacket

Rihanna, Jean Paul Gaultier and Katy Perry

Katy Perry wears black silk taffeta cross straps halter dress with sheer paneled hemline

Dita Von Teese wears crepe/ velvet/ leather black dress

The looks are from Mr. Gaultier ready-to-wear collection.

Image credit: wwd.com and G. Vejvoda p/o JPGaultier

Lindsay Lohan

Behind the scenes at runway show for Emanuel Ungaro’s Spring/Summer 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection in Paris, France on October 04, 2009. The Paris fashion house announced Lindsay Lohan will be their new artistic adviser!

Luella Bartley recently presented her Spring 2010 Ready to Wear Collection at London Fashion Week. Her new collection goes dressier and less cheeky than we’ve come to expect from Bartley. It would be easy to imagine the late Jackie Kennedy wearing these pieces in 1965. Silhouettes were very feminine, with princess seams, pinched waists, and padded hips. She also showed several summer weight car coats in very ladylike “trapeze” shapes in happy, gorgeous colors like a not-too-baby blue, and a wonderful lipstick-y red.

Other pieces included puffy dresses with velvet polka dots, sweetheart necklines, and Peter Pan collars. Bartley’s recent collections have been far more “precious” with an abundance of frilly touches like dainty flower prints, ribbons, and tulle. By comparison, the latest collection is much more dressed up, despite the sugar pinks and lemon yellows. Even the one or two dresses with tulle trim appeared more sophisticated than one might expect from a designer who does things unapologetically girly.

Louise Goldin’s Spring 2010 Ready to Wear Collection looked rather like the set of a science fiction movie. Though it was a knitwear collection, it included short, flaring skirts, leather insets, and pointy cone bustiers. The collection has been compared to the late Gianni Versace’s mid 1990s looks with a dash of Jean Paul Gaultier’s collection for Madonna’s 1990 world tour. The collection featured pastel green, yellow, violet, blue, and lavender, done in baby doll shapes complete with leather bloomers. Her fabrics are self-made, right down to the lacy edging on dresses and the tulle included as inserts in some of the pieces.

Goldin is also the designer of a new capsule collection for Scottish cashmere purveyor Ballantyne, with a 40 piece collection including skirts and tops. Goldin won the Swarovski Emerging Talent Award in 2008 and has achieved fame for her knitwear, making her a perfect choice to join forces with Ballantyne.

Image credit: wwd.com

Another successful fashion week comes to an end. Watch for exclusive runway footage, celebrity sightings, and celebrity interviews. Distributed by Tubemogul.