Chanel Paris Venice Cruise 2010 Collection

5 years ago Karl Lagerfeld decided to take the Chanel Pre-Collections to another level by showing these collections the way it deserved to be shown. The idea was to give the collections a ‘travel spirit’, beginning with Paris Tokyo for the Pre-Fall 2005 collection.

After showing past Cruise collections in New York’s Grand Central Station, Santa Monica, and Miami from 2006-09 respectively, Karl transported us to Venice to discover more than just a collection.

On May 15th, 2009,  Karl brought the house of Chanel to Venice to present its Cruise 2010 collection at the venerable and exclusive Lido beach Hotel Excelsior. Karl  is not shy to draw inspiratation from Venetian and Baroque styles, as was seen in past seasons such as the Haute Couture F/W ’90 and ’93 collections.

More importantly, Venice was an inspiration for Gabrielle Chanel, whom in love with all that this unique city has to offer: museums, somptuous churches. She was particularly seduced by the Byzantine gold adorning Saint Mark’s Basilica.

Characterizing the city’s essence and infusing it into Chanel elegance, Karl Lagerfeld truly delivered on a promise of a Paris meets Venice collection. Venetian masquearde masks modernized with a pair of Chanel sunglasses, while Carnaval harlequin prints and ‘voile‘ lions printed dresses. The lion the symbol of Venice and Mademoiselle’s birth sign. The Lion of Saint Mark is the emblem and the protector of Venice. Lions are everywhere in the cientrance to the Arsenal, on the Porta della Carta.

Looking at this collection, one cannot help but feel that this Paris-Venice show continued a conversation that Karl started with the Paris Moscou Fall 08/09 Collection . It’s as if thought Karl Lagerfeld wanted to share more of Gabrielle Chanel’s history to make us better understand her inspiration and her choices.

We have the same impression watching this new collection inspired by Gabrielle Chanel’s travels in the 30′s.  Lagerfeld’s collection recalls Visconti’s stylised films and Venice’s sparkling society of the 1930s. Fabrics were inspired by the rich Venetian reds of the Renaissance, Fortuny’s prints, and the chiaroscuro technique of the great Italian masters.

A “Who’s Who” of international press made it to the event, such as French Vogue’s Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt, Vogue Italia’s Franca Sozzani, Jefferson Hack and Model Anouck Lepere among others.

Venetians such as the Countess Brandino Brandolini and the Count and Countess Luca Marzotto were also Karl Lagerfeld’s guests.

Celebrities such as Rinko Kikuchi, Vittoria Puccini, Olivia Magnani, Caroline Sieber, Kasia Smutniak also trekked out to see the collection on the cool Venetian sands.

French actress and Chanel “ambassadoress” Anna Mouglalis was wearing a beige dress from Paris-Moscow 2008/9 collection with spectacular Chanel Fine jewelry “Franges” earrings  in white gold 18 karat and 82 diamonds.

Kasia Smutniak was wearing a classic little black dress from the RTW Spring Summer 2009 collection.

See more pictures below:

Pictures Copyright : © Chanel
Obligatory Caption : © Chanel

Festival De Cannes 2009 Opening Day

Jury Members Actress Shu Qi, Actress Asia Argento,  Actresses Robin Wright Penn and Sharmila Tagore attended the Jury Presentation Photocall at the Palais des FestivalsSoon members of the jury, led by French actress Isabelle Huppert (wearing Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2009) will be wrangling over which auteurs should receive Cannes’ coveted prizes – from Quentin Tarantino to Ken Loach and New Zealand’s Jane Campion, Pedro Almodovar, Lars von Trier…

The Cannes International Film Festival Wednesday night opened with the 3D animated comedy “Up”

Robin Wright Penn arrived in a off-the-shoulder silver Elie Saab gown and Louis Vuitton “Les Ardennes” jewels, Shu Qi choose a green Roberto Cavalli bustier gown , and Asia Argento in an Armani Privé bustier dress.

Addressing the audience, jury president Isabelle Huppert twinkled in a champagne-hued Armani Privé, accessorized with a pair of diamond cuffs by Chopard.

The screening was followed by the Chopard’s Belle de Nuit party at the Hôtel du Cap Eden Roc for the launch of the jewelry house’s Cascade scent, actress Elsa Pataky wore the house’s Red Carpet Cascade diamond earrings, inspired by the shape of the scent’s bottle.

Pictures Copyright : © Louis Vuitton
Obligatory Caption : © LOUIS VUITTON

Phillip Lim Launches New Products

Lim and Zhou are launching new products such as shoes, lingerie and swim. In Parallel they will open in August a flagship store in Seoul and are in negotiations to launch others in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai in the next few years.

The swim line and lingerie will range between $65 to $175, with feminin girly inspiration . Looks include slips with abstract pansy appliqués, mesh-trim bralettes and boyshorts with beaded embellishments. The lingerie line is named 3.1 Phillip Lim Initials” because it’s the initial thing you put on, before you put on clothes.” said Lim.

The shoe line will be launched this fall. Lim already collaborated with Birkenstock and Nicholas Kirkwood in the past and has no plans to abandon his relationship with Christian Louboutin. The shoe collection, priced from $290 to $675, is geared towards more practical environs, not the fashion circuit,  Louboutin designs will continue to accessorize his runway. “Everyone’s making crazy shoes,” says Lim, “so we were like, ‘Let’s do working shoes, but sophisticated and beautiful.’”

Pictures via Philip Lim

Matthew Williamson Men’s Collection for H&M

Matthew Williamson said he aimed to translate his women’s aesthetic for men.

The collection tells the story of an English gentleman who travels to Cuba for vacation and returns via the Greek islands.

The collection includes some English suits, some English schoolboy, some punk. Then you have Cuban cotton shirts and boardshorts, with highly decorative printed fabrics, and then beachwear, like someone would wear on a Mediterranean high-summer holiday.

The first delivery of Williamson’s women’s wear launched at select H&M stores on April 23. It expands to 1,600 stores on Thursday, along with the debut of men’s.

“The intention is not an immediate sellout, but to be present through the season so more people will be able to access it,” he said.

See the pictures below

Pictures via h&m

Isabelle Huppert in Louis Vuitton at the Cannes’s Jury Dinner

The red carpet is unfurled and the crowds are gathering on the French Riviera for the start of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.Festival jurors led by actress Isabelle Huppert will attend Wednesday’s gala opener, Disney and Pixar Animation’s 3-D adventure “Up.”

Isabelle Huppert along with Robin Wright Penn have been seen yesterday wearing Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2009 from head to toe while attending the  “Jury diner” at the Hotel Martinez.

“It’s an honor to have Isabelle Huppert as President of the Jury, she has not only starred in almost 100 films and twice won Cannes but she is also representing the elegant french woman” festival director Thierry Fremaux said Tuesday.

It’s the first animated film to open the world’s most prestigious film festival. The next 12 days will see plenty of weightier fare, including movies by Quentin Tarantino, Lars von Trier, Jane Campion, Pedro Almodovar and Ang Lee.

The lineup looks strong, but festival organizers and industry attendees are apprehensive about how the worldwide recession will affect the glamorous event.

The festival runs through May 24, when the top prize the Palme d’Or will be announced.

See the pictures below

Pictures Copyright : © Louis Vuitton
Obligatory Caption : © LOUIS VUITTON

Marc Jacobs’s New Perfume: Lola

After an initial infatuation with his best-selling Daisy scent, Marc Jacobs has a new girl: Lola.

The new women’s fragrance is due out in the fall and brings a whole new personality to the party. “Where Daisy is more innocent and sweet, Lola is more sensual — the name conjures up a flirtatious, warm spirit,” said the designer in a phone interview Wednesday. “It was the first thing that came to my mind, and I was very insistent with Coty that this had to be the concept. It just felt natural in contrast to Daisy.”

Where Daisy Marc Jacobs — which was launched in 2007 and helped catapult the designer’s fragrance house to worldwide prominence — works its girlish charm, Lola is intended to be the confident and slightly vampy older sister, the designer added.

The distinction was particularly important to Jacobs, who sees fragrance as an integral part of a person’s style. “Fragrance is just as important as accessories, bags and shoes are,” said Jacobs. “Not only does it help set a mood, it’s a luxury you can have no matter what your size or height or wallet. I’m happy to keep offering more choices. I know I like to rotate fragrances depending on my mood.”

Lola, which Jacobs developed with Calice Becker of Givaudan and Ann Gottlieb, opens with pink peppercorn, pear d’anjou and ruby red grapefruit. Its heart is of fuchsia peony, rose and geranium, and the drydown is of vanilla, tonka bean and creamy musk.

The scent will launch at Bloomingdale’s in August for a monthlong exclusive (it will also be available in Marc Jacobs stores in the U.S. at that time), then will roll out to its remaining U.S. distribution — about 2,200 department and specialty store doors — in September. It will also commence globally that month.

At launch, the collection will include eaux de parfum in two sizes — 1.7 oz. for $65 and 3.4 oz. for $85 — as well as a 5.1 oz. body lotion, $45; a 5.1-oz. shower gel, $40, and a 4.9-oz. body cream, $50. In November, a 1-oz. (for which a retail price has not yet been finalized) will join the permanent Lola collection, as will a limited edition solid perfume ring, $40. Both are intended to “reenergize the brand for holiday,” said Claire Fermont Langlais, senior marketing director for Marc Jacobs fragrances at Coty Prestige, adding that the brand will anniversary the ring’s debut with another Jacobs accessory.

In an unusual step, Lola’s bottles differ in shape according to their size. The 1.7-oz. bottle is tall and curvy, while the 3.4-oz. is wider and rounded. Both are topped with riotous free-form flowers of violet, fuchsia and red. “I had a color palette in mind from a cruise collection I was working on at the time,” said Jacobs of the cap design. “I started playing around with fabrics and swatches of leather, and that became the basis for the cap.”

Of the decision to create different bottle shapes for the 1.7-oz. and 3.4-oz. scents, Jacobs noted: “I don’t know all the rules and regulations of the perfume world. Robert [Duffy, Jacobs’ business partner] and I have always operated by instinct. We don’t design by calculators. I don’t know if we’re right or wrong, but I’ve learned over the years to trust my instincts. The bottle was a whim, and it came together.”

Purchase MARC JACOBS ‘Lola’ Eau de Parfum

The Met Costume Institute: The Model as Muse

The exhibition is on view at the Metropolitan from May 6 through August 9, 2009.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue. New York, New York 10028
Phone: 212-535-7710

The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion, the spring 2009 exhibition organized by The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, explores the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, focusing on iconic fashion models in the latter half of the 20th century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras.

The exhibition features approximately 80 masterworks of haute couture and ready-to-wear. Fashion editorial, advertising, and runway photography.

The exhibition, in the Museum’s second-floor Tisch Galleries, explores how models transmit cultural change via photographs that document turning points in society and design. With the post-WWII resurgence of the American fashion and advertising industries, the launch of Dior’s New Look and a proliferation of model agencies, an environment in which high-fashion models with celebrated personalities and distinctive identities emerged. Lisa Fonssagrives, Dovima, Suzy Parker, Sunny Harnett, and Dorian Leigh personified this Golden Age of Haute Couture.

Photographers such as Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, and Cecil Beaton portrayed the new ideal of feminine artifice. Daywear from Christian Dior and eveningwear from Charles James evoke the mood of the time, and in some cases, recreate scenes from important photographs.

Designers in the exhibition include Giorgio Armani, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Cardin, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, André Courrèges, Christian Dior, John Galliano for Christian Dior, Rudi Gernreich, Halston, Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis and Louis Vuitton, Charles James, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Helmut Lang, Ralph Lauren, Prada, Paco Rabanne, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio di Sant’Angelo and Gianni Versace.

Iconic models featured include Nadja Auermann, Naomi Campbell, Janice Dickinson, Dovima, Linda Evangelista, Lisa Fonssagrives, Jerry Hall, Shalom Harlow, Sunny Harnett, Lauren Hutton, Iman, Dorian Leigh, Donyale Luna, Peggy Moffitt, Kate Moss, Suzy Parker, Jean Shrimpton, Christy Turlington, Twiggy, Amber Valletta and Veruschka among others.

Photographers whose images capture the mood of fashion via their subjects, and whose work is in the exhibition, include Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Cecil Beaton, Gilles Bensimon, William Claxton, Patrick Demarchelier, Arthur Elgort, Hiro, William Klein, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Norman Parkinson, Irving Penn, Gösta Peterson, Franco Rubartelli, Francesco Scavullo, Melvin Sokolsky, Bert Stern, Juergen Teller, Deborah Turbeville, Ellen von Unwerth and Chris Von Wangenheim.

See our pictures below:

The exhibition is made possible by Marc Jacobs. Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.

Kelly Killoren Bensimon Birthday at the Gates

V Magazine Swimsuit Issue

V magazine’s May issue is the fashion insider’s answer to the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Editor in chief Stephen Gan and Mario Testino started talking about producing a different kind of swimsuit issue last year and chose models that had a special connection to Testino. The magazine, on newsstands now, has six different covers, featuring Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova and Daria Werbowy. “Our only requirement was that these were six cover girls known immediately by their first names,” said Gan.

See the pictures below:

Video editing and production by Tiffany Chang
Music “Let’s Buy Happiness” by Boys Noize

V59 is on newsstands everywhere May 6, 2009.

Lily Allen for Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld is surprising everyone by choosing again a new personality for his next Chanel handbag campaign. After Jerry Hall , here comes Lily Allen. “We have a great relationship with Lily” confessed Lagerfeld, who plans to turn his lens on the British pop star next week. There is no words yet on if this campaign will be shoot in Vermont like the Chanel Spring Summer 2009 campaign.

picture coutesy of Chanel

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