Models Continue To Book Campaigns Over Celebrities” y 10 mas

Models Continue To Book Campaigns Over Celebrities
Love is Blind. We are Not. Money Doesn’t Buy Fashion Cred.
Nowness Presents Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child at MoMA
Racked DealFeed: CO Bigelow, Gaultier, Moschino and more!
Ann Taylor’s Blogger Initiative Made the FTC Uncomfortable
The Reign of the Celebrity Stylist Continues With eBay Fashion

The Selby’s Making Louis Vuitton’s Place Pretty
Fashion News Roundup: “I Was Touched By Terry” Sticker, McQueen’s Coroner Report & Marc Jacobs Makes Time’s 100

The Business of Fashion’s Jefferson Hack Interview

Models Continue To Book Campaigns Over Celebrities

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 04:21 PM PDT

This morning, WWD published a story about models' edging out celebrities in fall campaigns.

The publication says that European houses have booked more models than celebrities for their recent ads, and that American houses—which tend to favor models over celebrities, anyways—will likely continue in this vein for fall as well. The one exception? Madonna for Dolce & Gabbana.

YSL's Stefano Pilati and Gucci's Frida Giannini agree that models are the preferred choice. Pilati, who is shooting fall ads with Daria Werbowy as I write this, said, "Actresses are fantastic, but they're not models and it's not easy. [Actresses] have an attitude, but will never be the fashion attitude. To me, fashion photography is with a model; otherwise, it's a portrait."

Giannini quips, "The other issue with celebrities is that they are characters who are often associated with a certain film. I prefer a strong, generic face that's not related to any world—whether that be music or Hollywood." Meanwhile, Brazilian beauty Raquel Zimmermann is set to star in Gucci's latest campaigns.

WWD's sources provided other examples: Balenciaga will cast ten models this season, among them Karen Elson and Stella Tennant; Louis Vuitton’s ads—recently shot by Steven Meisel—will feature Elson, Natalia Vodianova and Christy Turlington; and the Roberto Cavalli campaign will star Gisele Bündchen.

Karl Lagerfeld has also reinstated his band of Chanel and Fendi regulars: Abbey Lee Kershaw, Freja Beha Erichsen, Iris Strubegger and Anja Rubik. When asked why he selected only models, the designer replied that there are "not so many" celebrities to choose from. Plus, their “overexposure in 'people' magazines also makes it that one may be a little tired of celebrities and the red carpet. I love models and there are great ones for the moment."

Another reason celebrity faces have dwindled in ads is that the star-crowd are a risky bunch. The director of Marilyn Agency's celebrities and branding in Paris, Robert Ferrel, adds that “you have to understand that that movie star might have one hit movie and then a dry period. Especially in this economic environment, brands are definitely looking to get more out of their investment."

Pilati concludes the article stating, “I do the fashion. They, the models, know how to wear it, and the photographer knows how to take a picture of it. It's where the fashion dream comes from."

The industry consensus is more “models and less celebs,” and we couldn’t agree more. Now if only Vogue felt the same way about their covers.

Love is Blind. We are Not. Money Doesn’t Buy Fashion Cred.

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 02:29 PM PDT

Recently, a doyenne of the New York fashion scene was pitched by a big box to do a diffusion line. After a two-hour long presentation by the store, the designer simply said, “How much?” The store offered $1 million. Her response? “Eh, it’s just not me.” We guess for those at the top, it’s not worth risking your brand’s image over seven figures.

Nowness Presents Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child at MoMA

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 01:30 PM PDT

Nowness, LVMH’s editorial reincarnation of retail site eLuxury, has made few waves since its launch on February 25.

That was until last night, when the site hosted a screening of Tamra Davis’s documentary Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child at MoMA. Britt and I were lucky enough to attend, as were a gaggle of massive names, including Annie Leibovitz, Chris Rock, Julian Schnabel, Lily Donaldson, Alicia Keys, Clive Davis and too many others to keep track.

Sure, the guest list was impressive, but the film even more so. We were blown away. Davis, a good friend of Basquiat’s, had filmed him over an extended period in the mid-’80s. Until recently, she kept her footage a secret. Encouraged by art dealer-turned MOCA-director Jeffrey Deitch, Davis made the film with the help of the artist’s loved ones and colleagues. The result is a mix of old footage and new interviews, peppered with music Basquiat listened to while working.

But as wrapped up as we were in the film–and the fact that we were sitting directly behind Chris Rock–we couldn’t help but ponder what Nowness has up its sleeve next.

LVMH has hired a CEO to run the company, which means it’s taking it seriously as a business. If it continues to create quality content (under the quiet direction of Jefferson Hack) and produce once-in-a-lifetime events, monetization could be a part of Nowness’ future.

Racked DealFeed: CO Bigelow, Gaultier, Moschino and more!

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 01:04 PM PDT

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Deal: Enter code big20off at checkout to get $20 off any purchase over $100
When/Where: Through June 30 online!

Alberta Ferretti, Jean Paul Gaultier, Moschino, Liberty, More
Deal: 65 to 70% off sample and stock menswear, womenswear, swim, outerwear, shoes, and accessories from the brands above and Pollini and Basso & Brooke.
When/Where: Wednesday, April 28 through Saturday, May 1. Weds—Fri 10am—6pm, Sat 11am—5pm. 30 W. 56th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves, first floor, New York (212-632-9300)

Ann Taylor’s Blogger Initiative Made the FTC Uncomfortable

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 12:23 PM PDT

Last fall, the FTC promised to start regulating the blossoming relationships between companies and bloggers.

We wrote about it extensively on Fashionista, the New York Times covered it and almost every blog wondered a) how this crackdown would work and b) if print magazines would suddenly be held to the same standards.

Just a couple of months later we re-printed an invitation from Ann Taylor LOFT that appeared to break every single rule laid out by the FTC–and be condescending at the same time.

Well, now AdAge reports that the FTC did in fact investigate Ann Taylor after word of their event and its promised gift cards spread. They said Ann Taylor was cooperative with the investigation, and that they decided, in the end, not to take action because LOFT only held one such event, and when the FTC does make an example out of a company, they want it to resonate.

The Reign of the Celebrity Stylist Continues With eBay Fashion

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 11:43 AM PDT

The other night eBay threw a dinner, hosted by Annabel Tollman, to walk a few editors through their new fashion site, Fashion.eBay..

Aside from the obvious visual changes, they’ve upped their fashion cred by hiring a few stylists, including Annabel, Britt Bardo, Estee Stanley and Constance White, to talk through their favorite features, tape video tutorials to guide shoppers through vintage, and help you find “your vintage era.”

Annabel, the former fashion director at Interview and stylist to stars like Scarlett Johansson and Liya Kebede, is up first—her video just launched.

On top of their new sorting technology, eBay’s launching their new iPhone app next month. You can take a stock photo of yourself against a white background, pull the product off of eBay and then try it on. You can re-size the product to make a pair of sunglasses fit perfectly, or a dress shorter, and then just click to bid—it’s pretty amazing.

We give Net-a-Porter until the end of the summer to catch up.

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 11:00 AM PDT

The Selby’s Making Louis Vuitton’s Place Pretty

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 10:21 AM PDT

We’ve been playing around with Louis Vuitton’s new interactive site since last week, and today they’ve launched their Shanghai destination.

The luxury brand’s recruited Todd Selby (who hasn’t recruited the Selby?) to illustrate the “Journey of a Man’s Wardrobe.”

It starts with a globe, and an envelope that opens when you pick your destination. So far you can choose between Paris and Shanghai (New York and London go live May 12th and 19th respectively). Once you’re there you can click between the show, the workshop, the studio, the stores and even a family home. But even if you don’t click, the illustrations are gorgeous, and so outside the seemingly rigid world of Louis Vuitton.

Their heritage angle worked well last year, and this should appeal to anyone who felt left our (or didn’t care where their Louis duffel was stitched). And hopefully they’ll add womenswear journey in which Marc talks you through the airplane landing.

Fashion News Roundup: “I Was Touched By Terry” Sticker, McQueen’s Coroner Report & Marc Jacobs Makes Time’s 100

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 09:39 AM PDT

Laughing Out Loud: We’re not sure who makes this sticker, but we want one. People see the darndest things on the streets of New York! {Racked}

Tragic News: The coroner has confirmed that Alexander McQueen killed himself while on drugs. The doctor reports finding high levels of cocaine, sleeping pills and tranquilizers in the designer’s system. {Vogue.com UK}

Enchanted Evening: Are you excited for The Met Ball? We are! And this makes us even more so: Candy Pratts Price talks about what she wants to see on the red carpet. {Vogue.com}

Well-Done: Marc Jacobs is the only designer to make this year’s Time 100 list. The list is a compilation of the world’s most influential people. Liya Kedebe also made the cut. {HuffPo}

Bells Are Ringing: We’ve got weddings on the mind here at the Fashionista offices. So we were thrilled to see Refinery’s roundup of matrimony inspiration. {Refinery29}

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 09:00 AM PDT

The Business of Fashion’s Jefferson Hack Interview

Posted: 28 Apr 2010 07:57 AM PDT

Tomorrow, at 2PM New York time, the Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed will interview Jefferson Hack.

The founder and publisher of Dazed, AnOther Magazine and AnOther Man (and the creative source behind Nowness) will talk about both the creative side of things as well as the industry and business behind fashion and magazines—and Jefferson will be taking questions from readers and viewers via Twitter.

And since the interview’s taking place in a small venue in London, we’ll be livestreaming it here on Fashionista. It’s the first time an independent fashion blog has done this kind of livestream, so make sure to tune in tomorrow afternoon at 2 (and start thinking of questions for Jefferson now).