"Fashion concerto" to serve as platform for the launch of Anne Curtis fragrance

Kapamilya star Anne Curtis is set to launch her recently unveiled perfume line in a big way.

The "It's Showtime" host will hold a "fashion concerto" at the SM Mall of Asia main atrium on Saturday as part of the ongoing Philippine Fashion Week, local lifestyle brand Bench announced in its official account on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Curtis' perfume line -- available in three scents: Sweetheart, Fierce and Glamorous -- is the latest in Bench's "Celebrity Scents Collection."

Although the Kapamilya actress is the newest face of Bench fragrances, she is still an endorser of the brand's rival clothing line Folded & Hung, specifically of its women's wear items. It was with the same brand that Curtis launched her first scent series in 2010.

Curtis now joins other celebrity endorsers of Bench fragrances including Dingdong Dantes, Kris Aquino, Lucy Torres-Gomez, Piolo Pascual, Regine Velasquez, Richard Gomez, Willy Revillame, Georgina Wilson, Richard Gutierrez, Jake Cuenca, Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu.

News: Mattel builds on lifestyle brands with local partners.

Article written by: Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)

Barbie has been loved around the world for over half a century since 1959, and now she is more than just a perfectly figured doll that comes in various themes, professions and ethnicities.

“Barbie is not a character brand; it is a fashion brand that has hundreds of licensees or partners that make Barbie perfumes, Barbie shoes, cosmetics, jewelry, laptops and even hair salons,” Claire Gilchrist, Mattel’s top executive of consumer products in the Asia Pacific region, said in an interview with The Korea Herald last week.

“The world’s first Barbie hair salons are set to open in Korea before the end of this year.”

Claire Gilchrist. Image credit: http://nwww.koreaherald.com

 

Gilchrist became Mattel’s vice president for Asia Pacific overlooking key brands such as Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, Barbie, Matchbox and Monster High in April. Mattel is the world’s biggest toy company by revenue, although it does not share sales figures.

With over 25 years’ in the global retail and licensing business from Arcadia to Diageo, Walt Disney and Mattel, the British executive is based in Hong Kong and often travels to Seoul for business reviews and key marketing events like the Barbie and Ken Award.

“Like for many other global companies, Asia Pacific has been Mattel’s key growth engine in recent years,” she said.

“In my personal observation, Korean women are incredibly stylish, chic and sophisticated. Teenage and young girls are setting trends and are early adopters of fashion trends, making Korea a key test bed for creators of lifestyle brands.” 

All Barbie dolls are made in the U.S., but the fashion items named after her are produced in different countries under license contracts with Mattel.

The primary target market for Barbie hair salons, to be run by local chain and licensee Park Seung-chol Hair Studio, is women in their 20s and 30s, according to Lee Yoon-ji, Mattel’s country manager in Seoul.

Partnering with Barbie can be a major opportunity for local companies to expand abroad since Mattel looks for global best practice that can be adopted in other markets.

Saera, a women’s shoes brand in Korea that joined hands with Barbie four years ago, exported to Japan.

Barbie’s cosmetics licensee in Korea expanded to Japan and is scheduled to launch in China soon.

“The three core tenants of the Barbie brand are fashion, aspiration and cultural relevance,” Gilchrist said.

“She was quite controversial when she was born in 1959 wearing swimsuits, and in the 1960s, girls played with Barbies in ways that were different from now. She has grown into the No. 1 girls’ brand and has retained this fashion position making sure she is culturally relevant to girls of a certain age.”

Barbie, the 17-year old blonde girl from Malibu, is about dreaming big, Gilchrist added.

“Barbie encourages girls to try on different roles, ideas and role play any dream. She’s about dreaming big, empowering big and little girls, which I personally love most about Barbie,” she said.

Barbie has seen more than 130 different careers including astronaut, architect, computer engineer and reporter.

There is the “dolls of the world” collection comprising of Barbies of different ethnicities and costumes, a “fashion” collection designed with famous designers’ own interpretation of Barbie, a collection of Barbies made of silkstone, seasonal collections with new themes such as “fashionista” and “princess,” as well as a collectors’ series among others.

Aside from Barbie, Fisher Price is a hugely popular brand under Mattel for infants and preschool children aged below three years.

“Fisher Price does a massive amount of scientific research reviewing how babies develop cognitively and socially as well as all the different ways a child is exposed to the world,” Gilchrist said.

“We have a new global marketing campaign with the tagline ‘the joy of learning’ that introduces products in different designs and colors, soon to be launched in Korea. It has also changed how we talk to moms. We have redesigned our digital content for communication on the Internet and started a whole new television campaign.”

Fisher Price has a campus-based on the East Coast of the U.S. with a research & development facility where it invests a lot of resources and expertise in understanding children’s development and talking to moms from pregnancy.

Mattel also has toy car brand “Hot Wheels” and a unique doll and lifestyle brand launched in 2010 named “Monster High.”

Slated to launch in Korea next year, Monster High is a set of children of famous monsters that go to the same high school including the daughters of Dracula (Draculaura) and Frankenstein (Frankie Stein). 

Targeting “tweens,” or girls aged between eight and 12, the Monster High brand comes in franchise dolls, clothing, beauty, sporting items, and publishing such as storybooks and magazines, as well as electronics and food items, especially confectionery. 

“Monster High says to girls in this particular age group who often feel insecure to celebrate your differences, your imperfections and that it is great to be unique,” Gilchrist said.

Mattel also has Max Steel, a line of action figures for boys similar to G.I. Joe toys. 

“Mattel will continue to develop new intellectual property, toys and franchised consumer products,” the executive said.

She attended “Barbie the Dream Closet,” a marketing event that gives the opportunity to experience the Barbie lifestyle, and the Barbie and Ken Award in Seoul last week. Jessica of Girls’ Generation and U-Know Yunho of TVXQ were chosen as the third real-life Barbie and Ken of Korea.

Absolutely stunning: Katie Holmes in elegant LBD at New York fashion launch

Spotted a while ago, KATIE Holmes comes up looking very stunning, and lets say stylish in a simple black dress as she attends a New York fashion launch. The screen diva wore her glossy waves loose and accessorised with a simple black clutch bag and nude stiletto court shoes.

Amazon Just Might Acquire online fashion retailer Asos

Insiders say the online clothes retailer has sparked the particular interest of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, after he met its founder Nick Robertson in Seattle.

It is not known whether Amazon is still looking at Asos, a British firm, but sources have told The Sunday Telegraph that it looked at Asos’s books earlier this year.

Earlier this month Amazon’s former UK chief executive, Brian McBride, joined Asos as chairman.

The listed fashion retailer started in 2000, selling copies of clothes worn by celebrities and quickly expanded to become one of the UK’s biggest clothes firms.

Last year its pre-tax profits nearly doubled from £15.7m to £30.3m, as revenues surged 46pc to £495m. It is expected to report profits and revenue increases of more than 40pc at its full-year results next Thursday.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

News: Afrikan Fashion Walk to go regional.

With the continued expansion of East Africa’s fashion industry, the Afrikan Fashion Walk awards have remained committed to providing the public with the region’s best fashion trends.

After a successful awards ceremony last December at Cayenne lounge, the awards are back in their third season to showcase East Africa’s finest. A nomination party was held at Club Le Beaujolais in July to launch new categories. There will also be regional search tours in Nairobi and Kigali for the industry’s future big names.

Daudi Baraka, the awards chairman, says they are aimed at rewarding and encouraging new entrants, pioneers and gurus as a means of improving and expanding the industry’s standards. The Afrikan Fashion Walk awards are an annual event where new labels and new collections are showcased.

Different from the past two years, the 2012 awards will cover Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. The nominations will be featured on a weekly live show on Record TV as candidates await the awarding ceremony early November.

“On top of awarding the sixteen categories from across East Africa, the night will showcase the best of African couture with a collection of eleven designers from Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda,” Baraka said.

For Baraka, the awards are also about giving back to society. For instance, the 2010 season was dedicated to the plight of children infected and affected by HIV/Aids. The 2011 awards were launched with a special donation of foodstuffs, clothes, beddings, books and utensils.

This time round, the proceeds from the awards finale will be dedicated to the women of Kireka, a group of widows of ex-war soldiers working in a stone quarry to better their lives.

To nominate, go to your phone messages and type ‘Fashion’, leave a space, type the nominee’s name, leave a space and type category then send to 8777. The public voting will weigh 49% in influence, with the rest coming from the judges.

Written by: wanyenze@observer.ug

Bytes: Presenting Sarah Duah's Collections at the recent Ghana Fashion Week.

Sarah Duah continues to impress with her never-ending genius in fabric appreciation and representaion. The 22 year old German designer who showcased a very creative and breathtaking collection at the recent Ghana Fashion and Design week.  All her collection of dresses, jackets, skirt, and bikini were all made from HUMAN HAIR.

Check the pictures out.

















All Images courtesy of 360NOBS.COM

Video: Top 10 Bridal Fashion for Fall 2012

 

Come rain come shine, people get married every week. Here are the top 10 bridal wears showcased for this Fall. Check them out and lets hear yours views on them.

Just how did sneakers become an obsession?

This is a guest blog post by David Hellqvist.

Some say fashion is like art:
perfectly designed and with the
sole purpose of making the world
a more beautiful place. There's one
difference: art that hangs on
gallery walls is only admired from
a distance, and that's not how we
treat our jumpers, coats and
shoes.
Of course, "sneaker heads" can
relate to this approach. Sneaking
into Fashion, a trainer exhibition
which opens today at Covent
Garden's Piazza, tracks the trainer's
cultural importance all the way
back to 1920, and nicely
demonstrates the sartorial
obsession of those who are head-
over-heels with their high-tops.
Among the hundreds of trainers
on display are those in which
Roger Bannister ran the first four-
minute mile in 1954 as well as Mo
Farah's Nike Volts, worn on "Super
Saturday". Trainers from Liam
Gallagher's personal collection can
be spotted, as can a pair of Beyoncé's Isabel Marant heeled high-tops.
But what is their appeal? Today, just about everyone owns a pair, but for those of us who grew up in the Eighties and Nineties trainers played a pivotal role in bridging music and fashion with everyday life.
"For me, trainers are the flag bearers of youth
culture. They represent a coming-of-age mentality, of getting into trouble, of discovering bands that changed my life," says the creative director of VICE, Ronojoy Dam.Trainers took their place on the street thanks to athletes who neglected to take them off after training. Quick to catch on to their cool appeal, music and fashion borrowed heavily from what was happening on the street and fed it back into the pop culture cycle. "Fashion will always take and appropriate from the street because it's what real people wear," explains Dam.
Since then, trainer culture has grown by epic
proportions: sneaker brands, sportswear giants and high-end fashion designers are in constant
competition to release the most desirable trainers on the planet. Consumers, in turn, go wild for expensive and exclusive kicks, queuing for hours and, in some instances, days.
"Certain shoes can sell out in minutes, even
seconds," says Hannes Hogeman, co-founder of
fashion and trainer online retailer Très Bien. "The
most intense one for us so far was Nike's Air Yeezy II.
Our webshop was down for eight hours because of
the amount of traffic." While customers do still queue up outside physical shops for their trainer fix, more and more collectors have taken to scouring the internet for rare editions.
"I remember reading about the riots in New York
when the Pigeon Dunk was released in 2005 — it put me off the idea of queuing for a while. But I have stayed up all night to buy a pair online — that's how I got my Adidas Adicolor Hi W2s," says Katie Corris, a 27-year-old graphic designer living in Canary Wharf.
But whose sneakers are the most desirable? Adidas is up there but Nike is true trainer royalty, it seems.
The Portland, Oregon-based company has long
understood the importance of mixing trainer
technology and superior design with smart
marketing. "The most idolised trainer has got to be Nike Air Jordan. It looked fit for outer space and because it was endorsed by the biggest sports star in the world, it broke all barriers in its lusting-after," says Dam.
The psychology behind this fixation with footwear is fairly simple: we live in a consumer-crazed society with a constant hunger for new products — but unlike many other collectible items, trainers are a true lifestyle choice. "I tend to spend three to four weeks narrowing down a new pair before I make the decision," says 23-year-old Dan Ross, a freelance photographic assistant from Archway. "Trainers need to complete and complement wide ranges of outfits
but, to be honest, I tend to dress around my trainers, not the other way."
Ronojoy Dam traces this passion back to our
formative years: "The obsession usually develops in our childhoods as they are naturally integrated into music, film and sport, more so than any other
clothing garment."
Hannes Hogeman highlights their rarity and potential value: "There's a true collecting aspect to sneakers since they come in different editions and models. Collecting rather than wearing them, keeping them in the box, selling or exchanging — trainers are ideal." But for Corris, trainers belong on the streets, not in boxes.
"For me, there's nothing like going to town to buy a pair of trainers, taking out a box-fresh pair and
wearing them for the first time, it's a real rush," she says. "I'd wear a new pair every day and have even been known to sleep with them on."
Sneaking into Fashion in association with
Javari.co.uk is open 9am-7pm from October 18-28 at Covent Garden Piazza.
David Hellqvist is the online editor at PORT Magazine.

Little Fashion Week 2012.

Fashion month is finito but to get over post LFW blues there is… wait for it.... Little Fashion Week. River Island has joined forces with toy range Harumika in one of fashion’s most unlikely collabs to bring us mini models in mini dresses on a mini catwalk. Who will be on this LFW FROW? Barbie and Ken?
 

The catwalk show will have 10 outfits on mini models move along a one metre rotating runway. The average LFW model is 5’8” – 5’11” but these girls are an eighth of the average model, which means lots of teeny tiny faux-fur coats and maxis.

The mini mannequins are modelling looks designed by 22-year-old designer Christina Ruby Walton with the River Island Chelsea Girl design team. She made the 10 outfits in two weeks using the same designs in the River Island’s A/W Winter 12 Chelsea Girl Collection. Ruby even managed to shrink their accessories including a mini silver sequin satchel. Clothes are so much cuter when they're teeny right?

Harumika toys let’s children play designer and create their own catwalk shows as they sell kits to design and make outfits for mannequins. Now that's even more fun than playing hairdresser and giving Barbie a bob.

Credit

Justin Bieber Unveiled as the Face of Adidas NEO.

Word flying around has it that, teenage pop star, Justin Bieber is the new Style Icon of adidas' NEO label.

The pop sensation has teamed up with the sportswear giants, who hope he will inspire young consumers with the label's stylish and fresh teen looks.



Bieber is quoted in the words; "I found a real connection with NEO because it is about fashion, freedom and being true to who you are.  With my new album, 'Believe', I am spreading the message of believing in yourself.  The first step is showing who you are, and one of the great ways to showcase yourself is through fashion.  For me style is an adventure, something to have fun with and NEO believes this too."
Hermann Deininger, Chief Marketing Officer adidas Brand, added: "Justin makes his mark in his own bold and expressive way through fashion, music and style. Justin will help us spread the spirit of NEO worldwide and showcase the brand's sports and lifestyle inspired apparel and footwear silhouettes."
 

Fashion DIY: how to make a Peter Pan collar

By Kerry Patterson, Sewing Blogger.

Peter Pan collars are often found on vintage clothing, think Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby, and have become equally popular recently on the high street.



You can easily make your own collar using small amounts of fabric. This 'How To' is for a reversible, removable collar that ties with a ribbon. It uses a plain and a patterned cotton and is great to wear to add interest to plain tops.

When choosing your fabric, a light to medium weight cotton or polyester cotton mix is recommended. I was able to use fabric scraps for this versions but if buying fabric specifically for the collar, buy in ¼ metre amounts. You might be able to get a piece of the right size in the remnant bin of your local fabric shop. If you're thinking about trying this, you could bring the pattern piece to the shop with you to check the sizing.
The pattern used for this tutorial can be found here.
 
What you will need
Fabric – two different types
The pattern
Needle
Thread
Pins
Sewing machine (preferably)
1 metre of ribbon
Fabric Scissors
Tailor's chalk or soft pencil
Small embroidery scissors (helpful but not essential)
 
1. Cut out your two pieces of fabric for the collar top and bottom using the pattern. Only the curved piece is needed, not the circular piece. To cut each piece, the fabric should be folded, with the flat collar edge (marked with double arrows) along the fold.
 
2. Place one piece of fabric down with the right side (the side you want to see) facing upwards. Cut the ribbon in half and place it 2.5 cm from inside edge of collar on each side. Pin to fabric or you can hand sew a couple of stitches instead of using a pin. Don't make these too small as you'll need to remove them later.
 
3. Place second piece of fabric on top, right side downwards. Pin together, making sure ribbon is tucked inside and won't get trapped in the seam line you will be sewing around the edge. The ribbon should be trapped inside the two pieces of fabric.
 
4. Mark a gap of 5 cm at the back edge of the collar – this enables you to turn the collar right way around. I recommend that you start on one side of this opening and then you can sew uninterrupted all the way around to the other side. Sew around the edges of the pieces, 2.5 cm from the edge of the fabric.  Take your time with this, as it can be tricky sewing around a curve and it will look noticeable on the finished item if you do it badly.
 
5. Remove pins and trim your seam allowance (the fabric on the outside of the sewn line) in half. Clip across the collar front corners – this helps to get a sharp point when turned right way around. Notch the inner curve by cutting small triangles at intervals – this removes fabric bulk when turned out.  Clip the outer curve by cutting snipping along at intervals - this allows the fabric to spread and sit properly. Small embroidery scissors can make this easier, but be careful not to snip over the stitched line.
 
6. Turn the collar right way around using the gap left on the outside edge at the back of the collar. You can use a pointed implement such as a knitting needle to help. If you used pins to secure the ribbon, be careful of these when turning the fabric.
 
7. Press the collar on the right side with your iron. As there is still a length of unsewn seam at the back of the collar, turn and press the edges of this under. Sew this length of seam by hand using a few small stitches.
 
8. Try on the collar and cut ribbons to the desired length. Finish the ends of the ribbon by folding length wise and cutting at an angle, so that you are cutting a triangle shape out of the ribbon. This helps to stop the end of the ribbon fraying.

You can experiment with different materials for the collar. The pattern piece has been used with kind permission of Colette Patterns. They used the pattern to create a faux fur version, which you can see here

Sourced from

Berry handbags: Fashion 2012

There is no gainsaying the fact that, Berry is most definitely the standout colour of the season and it's now time for you to inject that into your wardrobe. Find some samplings below:

This sells for £38, Topshop



 

Toplock Bowling Bag for £38, Topshop
 

Berry ostrich effect clutch @ £24, Miss Selfridge


Ollie & Nic Paola Hard Case Metal Bar Xbdy @ £40, House of Fraser
  


Tod's logo embossed tote @£584, farfetch.com
  

Snipet: A Chanel Handbag

This picture obviously gives for a second glance. However, one can call it a good work of art and creative imagination. Let's have your thoughts on this.

This is wishing Fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin a Hearty Birthday!

The birthday fashionista.

Ticker: How Lagerfeld reinvented tweed with Chanel's Little Black Jacket,

The Chanel Little Black Jacket project

Versatility is something inherent to the philosophy of the little black jacket's creator, Coco Chanel. With the design dating back to the early 50s, the boxy shape was strikingly different to the cinched-in waist of the New Look in fashion at the time. Silk-lined, with pockets, and weighted so it hung just so, this was a jacket to do things in. Writing in her biography of Chanel, Justine Picardie describes it as an example of how the designer advocated a "way of dressing that was masculine in its unruffled dignity, while remaining true to its creator's idea of femininity". This jacket showed she actually wasn't very interested in fashion. Instead, as her much-quoted adage "fashion passes, style remains" implies, she wanted to create clothes that could be worn for ever. 

You can imagine, then, that she would be delighted that Lagerfeld has reinvented the jacket again, for a new generation (arguably several, in fact). Taking over at the brand in 1982 (11 years after Coco died), he revitalised a dusty fashion house into something relevant again, with the archive at the centre. Coco staples such as pearls, quilting, monochrome and, of course, the jacket are grist to his mill. Chanel was associated with ladies who lunch when Lagerfeld took charge, and he deformalised it by taking apart the skirt suit, playing with the shape and constantly tweaking it over 40 years. A young Claudia Schiffer wore it on the runway in the 90s with a leather miniskirt, while the 80s saw the addition of power shoulders. Recent interpretations include grungy fraying and cropped shapes on the spring/summer runway.
   

  

 

Bytes: New Designs Spotted on Fashion and lifestyle website Handbag.com

The designs as seen on Handbag.com

Freshly observed: Fashion and lifestyle magazine Handbag.com, part of the Hearst Magazines offering, has undergone a revamp following research into the influences and purchasing habits of 25-34 year old women.

The research led to a new logo being introduced, as well as the editorial sections and interactive functions being improved.
Fashion and lifestyle magazine Handbag.com, part of the Hearst Magazines offering, has undergone a revamp following research into the influences and purchasing habits of 25-34 year old women.
 The research led to a new logo being introduced, as well as the editorial sections and interactive functions being improved.

Mango Saul, Handbag.com editor, said: “I’m delighted to unveil the new look handbag.com and through unique and inspirational editorial content mixed with new interactive channels and daily treats, we will be spoiling our users every day. We have totally reinvented handbag.com and designed the site with our users’ needs and demands in mind. From the high street to high end, the new handbag.com speaks to fashion conscious women who want to live their lives to the full.”

The website, built in-house, was created to feature responsive web design, to allow easy navigation across a range of devices.

New ad formats have been integrated into the site including sponsorship of the daily news feed and editorial content.

Milan Fashion Week Spring 2013 Weekend Special

 

Have you been following all the fashion shows of Spring/Summer 2013 this month? FashionTV has been there from the very beginning of the season, bringing them to you with live coverage at every angle--backstage action, behind-the-scenes interviews, front row fashion, and runways that roar.  This weekend, FashionTV will let you experience the world’s finest designers transform their collections into works of art.

Image Courtesy of Fashion Tv website

FashionTV highlights Milan Fashion Week with our Milan Fashion Week Weekend Special.  The best runways, backstage scenes, and model interviews will be running all weekend long.  Join FashionTV as the creativity of Italian high fashion comes alive on FashionTV. 

Print Purse and shoe made from Ankara fabric.

________________________________
Image taken with Screen Grabber.

Flashes Going in the 80s

Amazing Plus size woman, Jill Scott.

I think she throws a bonus to all bold and beautiful women by the way she carried herself in this picture.

In the news: Tom Ford is a father! Fashion designer, 51, and partner Richard Buckley, 64, announce birth of baby son Alexander.

Fashion designer Tom Ford today announced the arrival of his baby son Alexander with his long-term partner Richard Buckley.
Ford, 51, one of the most feted men in fashion - has been in a relationship with Mr Buckley, 64, for the past 25 years.
The couple met when Ford, who took over the reigns at Gucci before launching his own successful company, was just 25 and Mr Buckley, the former Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International, was 38.

The couple: Tom Ford and partner Richard Buckley today announced the birth of their son Alexander John Buckley Ford

As Paris fashion week ends, there was an ugly spat over YSL and Dior rivalry.

As was observed, the rivalry between the fashion houses of Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, who each presented collections by new designers, has spilled into the open and ended Paris fashion week with an ugly slanging match.

With tempers running high and long-held grudges made public, Hedi Slimane of YSL now finds himself waging a public war, not against Raf Simons of Christian Dior but against the fashion editor of the New York Times.

Dior played their hand first in a contest that seemed initially both evenly poised and tempered. The show garnered rave reviews. Writing in the International Herald Tribune, the revered fashion editor Suzy Menkes said "it was the roar that went up backstage behind the wafting pastel curtains, echoing the clapping in the graceful interlocking salons, that proved the designer Raf Simons had exceeded all expectations". Vogue called it "a resounding success". The influential catwalk website style.com dubbed it "a special kind of twenty-first century glamour".

Raf Simons of Christian Dior presented a face-net-and-glasses combo at Paris fashion week. Photograph: Francois Guillot

But a faint mood of fractiousness has emanated from the house of Yves Saint Laurent since June, when Hedi Slimane dropped the 'Yves' from some aspects of branding, giving clothes of his design (but not other items such as perfume, or keyrings) the label Saint Laurent or Saint Laurent Paris. At that time the house reacted angrily when the press, focusing on the thrust of the story rather than the detail, suggested that the move represented a break with the past. Slimane's spokespeople were at pains to explain the move was intended to forge a direct connection with the Saint Laurent Rive Gauche label set up by Yves himself in 1966.

The height of the bar set by Christian Dior's show did nothing to lighten the mood at YSL. In the run-up to Monday's show journalists were issued with unusually strict instructions as to what behaviour would be tolerated backstage. Photographs and questions, both of which are a standard part of the informal debrief session that takes place after a show, were banned.

YSL did not fare as well with the critics as Dior. The floppy hats, sheer capes and frilled blouses were too close to the YSL archives to please an industry on a perennial hunt for the new. "Witchy seduction was the agenda of the evening. A bizarre way to stake a claim to one of fashion's most unimpeachable legacies," was the verdict from style.com. Womenswear Daily described the collection as "costumey". (I felt it was "unmodified nostalgia" and "lacking in relevance to the real world".)

The most hard-hitting review came from Cathy Horyn, the longstanding fashion editor of the New York Times, who had not been invited to the show. Her review, which described the clothes as "nice but frozen", called attention to "the self-important air of Saint Laurent's media relations" and claimed her ban was part of a grudge held against her for an article eight years ago in which she wrote that the game-changing skinny silhouette attributed to Slimane – a look which made him a fashion demigod during a stint designing YSL menswear – was conceived not by Slimane, but by Raf Simons.

It was the latest thrust in a catwalk season that had been punchy even by the feisty standards of Horyn, a globally respected critic whose tongue can be harsh. Last month, after Horyn wrote that Oscar de la Renta was "more of a hot dog than an éminence grise of American fashion", de la Renta took out a full-page ad in Womenswear Daily comparing Horyn to "a three-day old hamburger".

Less than 12 hours after Horyn's review was published Hedi Slimane tweeted a riposte, describing Horyn as "a schoolyard bully", and mocked her good relations with Christian Dior, dubbing her "a publicist in disguise". When Horyn declined to comment on the row, describing it as "silly nonsense", Slimane took to Twitter again, calling her "an embarrassment for the newspaper". YSL declined to comment, demurring that Slimane's Twitter page was a personal matter.

The row has shone a harsh and unflattering light on the fashion industry. What had seemed a gentlemanly rivalry between two designers whose design synergy lent them a common purpose in modernising the Paris fashion world is recast as a long-running grudge match. It also gives rare insight into the delicacy of personal relationships in an industry where personal chemistry, critical opinion and commercial considerations can come into conflict.

The shakedown from a tumultuous week in Paris has been complicated further by reports that retailers took a far more positive view of the Saint Laurent show than critics. While reviews are read straight away, the views of buyers often take several days to filter into public view. A report in Womenswear Daily quoted many important buyers warmly praising the collection.

Mark Lee of influential New York store Barneys described "a unanimous and spontaneous love from all the Barneys team members immediately following the show", while Marigay McKee of Harrods pronounced it "perfect for our customer". The feeling among many retailers is that this rendering of a recognisable YSL look will make for a profitable season.

If the buyers' predictions are true then YSL, having looked to be on the ropes, may yet have the last laugh.

http://www.guardian.co.uk

The trends from the Paris runway show us the beauty of French polish.

Karen Dacre rounds up the trends from Paris Fashion Week S/S 13
  
Socket and see

While recent beauty innovations have made much of the eyebrow, next summer it’s our sockets that are set to fall into focus. Sparkling shadow and diamanté details embellished the eyelids of the models in the Raf Simons Christian Dior show (pictured), while at Chanel a subtle metallic sheen glistened under the lights of the Grand Palais.

Locked in love
The world’s most lucrative luxury fashion brand chose Paris Fashion Week to launch a series of beautifully crafted gold and silver padlocks. Inspired by the padlocks left by lovers on Paris’s Pont des Arts, the collection will launch in time for Valentine's day. Aww.

The empire strikes back
The East India Company was founded in 1600 and dissolved after the Indian Mutiny in 1857-8 for being too powerful. Next season, however, a new design team will see the company resurrected. Expect elegant evening gowns with decadent couture details.

No-frills pedicure
Vivienne Westwood has never been one to splash the cash. It came as little surprise, then, that the designer should choose a pristine shade of polish with a striking resemblance to Tippex with which to decorate the toes of the models who walked in her show. It’s DIY beauty gone mad.

Don’t believe the hype
Where victims of their own grandeur are concerned there is none that compares with Saint Laurent’s newly appointed creative director Hedi Slimane. Having sent shock waves through the industry when it was announced that he would rechristen the name of the house’s ready-to-wear brand, many expected a collection that would entirely redefine the label. In reality, Slimane didn’t come close. Although a Twitter spat with Cathy Horyn of the New York Times ensured he hit the headlines.

The rest is noise
Forget fabrics that are pleasant to the touch — textiles that squeak, swish and crunch as we walk are all the rage for next year. Such sportswear fabrics were a major trend in the collections of Karl Lagerfeld and Miu Miu (pictured), while PVC with squeak appeal is the surprise hit of the season with those on the front row.

Post by Karen Dacre, Fashion Editor

In the name of Fashion: Lady Gaga changes song lyrics as a mark of support of fashion designers as they wage war with top style critic Cathy Horyn.

The news mills have it that, Lady Gaga has decided to add more fuel to a complicated and fierce fashion fight between The New York Times style critic Cathy Horyn and fashion designers Oscar de la Renta and Hedi Slimane.

The music idol preformed a rap redux of her single 'Cake Like Lady Gaga' at Thierry Mugler’s recent spring 2013 show in Paris, using the opportunity to attack Ms Horyn and her longtime partner, Art Ortenberg.

With her voice distorted to sound male, she rapped: 'Ortenberg you can suck my d**k, walk b***h you ain't Lady Gaga... Cathy Horyn your style ain't d**k. Walk a mile in these foot-high heels, I run in these you ain't running s**t. You chew beef, I wear meat - I'm getting fat and so is my bank. From a sold-out world tour, b***h.'

Feuding fashionistas: Lady Gaga (pictured yesterday with Dontella Versace) added more fuel to a complicated fight between style critic Cathy Horyn and fashion designers Oscar de la Renta and Hedi Slimane

The fight, which began last year but was revived during the current spring/summer 2013 shows in New York and Paris, first encompassed Dontella Versace, Gaga and Ms Horyn.
It has since grown to include Oscar de la Renta and now, the new designer of Yves Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane.

In 2011, Ms Horyn criticized Versace for outfitting Gaga in archival vintage pieces for the singer's Edge of Glory video. 

'Be choosier, Ms Versace,' she wrote in a piece for The New York Times, announcing she had 'unfollowed' the singer on Twitter.


Gaga used her V magazine column to respond, writing: 'In the age of the internet, when collections and performances are so accessible to the public and anyone can post a review on Facebook or Twitter, shouldn't columnists and reviewers, such as Cathy Horyn, employ a more modern and forward approach to criticism, one that separates them from the average individual at home on their laptop?'

Complicated: Cathy Horyn, The New York Times style critic, has been publicly attacked by Lady Gaga and fashion designers after she reviewed their shows

The feud was reignited during New York Fashion Week in September when Oscar de la Renta misunderstood a line in Ms Horyn's largely positive review of his spring collection, specifically misinterpreting her use of the slang term 'hot dog,' which, as a verb, means showboater.

Gaga took the designer's side on Twitter, after he bought a full page ad in Women’s Wear Daily voicing his dislike for her review, asking why he shouldn't in turn call Ms Horyn a 'stale, three-day-old hamburger.'
Gaga then tweeted: 'Bravo Oscar. Only you would be so chic as to purchase an entire page in WWD, making statements like a good fashion citizen.'
And from there, everything deteriorated.
Mr Ortenberg, coming to the defense of his girlfriend, wrote a letter to the editor of Women's Wear Daily, calling Gaga 'vacuous,' while advising her to 'grow up'.

Referencing her earlier V magazine column against Ms Horyn, who critiques collections for a living, Mr Ortenberg wrote: 'I feel it necessary to cudgel Gaga for her... dumbing-down opinion that an uninformed opinion is as valid as that of a seasoned critic - as though Gaga and Bridget Foley of WWD or David Denby of The New Yorker or Ben Brantley of The New York Times or Brooks Atkinson or Pauline Kael or any professional critic is just another opinion and that Gaga's vacuous thoughts deserve the same status.'
Now, after Gaga's last word in rap form at the Mugler show, and in the spirit of timeliness, designer Hedi Slimane has joined in the war of words and media go-betweens.


After he barred the fashion critic from his Paris runway debut for Saint Laurent on Monday, Ms Horyn posted a review of the show based solely on digital images.

In her review, written for The New York Times' On the Runway blog, she concluded that the collection was 'a nice but frozen vision of a bohemian chick at the Chateau Marmont. Or in St. Tropez.
'Mr. Slimane’s clothes lacked a new fashion spirit,' she wrote of the former Dior Homme designer. 'Considering that Mr. Slimane was an avatar of youthful style, I expected more from this debut.
'Meanwhile, its competitors - Balenciaga, Dior, Givenchy, Celine, Lanvin - are having a terrific season,' she added.

Missives of mischief: Oscar de la Renta (left) and new Yves Saint Laurent designer Hedi Slimane (right) both sent open letters to Ms Horyn after they were displeased with her critical reviews of their shows

She also revealed Mr Slimane's reasons for not inviting her. (Business of Fashion editor Imran Amed was also banned from the show, he was told, because Yves Saint Laurent was unhappy with his 'tone of voice' when writing about the brand.)

Ms Horyn explained: '[He] objected bitterly to a review I wrote in 2004 - not about him but Raf Simons.
'I wrote that without Mr. Simons’ template of slim tailoring and street casting, there would not have been a Hedi Slimane - just as there would never have been a Raf Simons without Helmut Lang. Fashion develops a bit like a genetic line.

'Anyway,' she continued of the designer who hasn't spoken to her in five years, 'Mr. Slimane insisted that he was the first to show the skinny suit. It was a silly debate. Who cares? As time went on, he also felt (as best as I can tell) that I gave preference to Mr Simons in my coverage of the men’s shows'.
Indeed, Ms Horyn has made no secret of her fandom for Mr Simons' designs, and after he spent seven years at the design helm of Jil Sander, her glowing review of his debut ready-to-wear collection for Dior just days earlier is a clear reference.

Open tweet: New designer for Yves Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane, posted this letter on Twitter in which he calls Ms Horyn, 'a schoolyard bully and also a little bit of a stand-up comedian'

Dear Cathy: Oscar de la Renta bought a full page ad in WWD after he misunderstood a line in Ms Horyn's largely positive review of his spring collection, specifically misinterpreting her use of the slang term 'hot dog'

However, it was, and has always been, a deserved opinion - and one in the same line of thinking as countless editors, stylists and women in general, who genuinely smiled as Mr Simons sent one Dior look out after another.

However an unimpressed Mr Slimane thought otherwise. Later in the day, after her review had been uploaded, the designer posted a letter on Twitter in which he called Ms Horyn, 'a schoolyard bully and also a little bit of a stand-up comedian.'

'As far as I’m concerned, she will never get a seat at Saint Laurent, but might get 2-for-1 at Dior,' he continued, after attacking her physical appearance. 'I don’t mind critics, but they have to come from a fashion critic, not a publicist in disguise. I am quite mesmerized she did get away with it for so many years.'
Yet to publicly address Mr Slimane's message or Gaga's attack, when she was reached for comment last night, Ms Horyn told Women's Wear Daily, 'It’s just silly nonsense to me.'

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