miércoles, 20 de octubre de 2010

J-Woww Forced to Shutter Filthy Couture Line” y 11 mas

J-Woww Forced to Shutter Filthy Couture Line” y 11 mas

J-Woww Forced to Shutter Filthy Couture Line

Posted: 20 Oct 2010 06:40 AM PDT

J-Woww launched her Filthy Couture line of lacy barely crotch-covering mini dresses and rhinestone encrusted midriff-bearing tops just four months ago, but the line has already shuttered.

Threatening law suits are to blame, according to Radar.com.

Apparently J-Woww’s line was infringing on a similarly named line’s copyright.

“Due to trademark issues the company was shut down,” a source tells Radar.

What’s more, even if you managed to place an order for a lingerie-inspired bikini in the past few months, you’re out of luck. According to the same source, “Money needed to be returned to the people who had ordered clothing.”

Sadly, it seems this is the end of J-Woww’s fashion pursuits.

“She could have given her line a new name but instead just let it go,” a friend of JWoww’s tells Radar. “She’s no longer designing clothes for her line and I’m not sure if she’ll ever do it again.”

Now we only have Sammi’s hair extensions and Snooki’s forthcoming line to look forward to. Don’t disappoint us Snooki!



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20 Top Looks from Spring 2011 Fashion Month

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 03:57 PM PDT

SS11 fashion week was filled with amazing collections, which were in turn filled with inventive and unique fashions. We couldn’t just pick ten, so we’ve selected 20 top looks for you instead.



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Last Night’s Parties: Kenneth Cole’s Digital Getdown and Metallurgy at the Museum of Arts & Design

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 03:00 PM PDT

Lauren’s Party
Kenneth Cole is many things: activist, designer, marketing whiz. But one would never call him conservative. Or backward thinking. That’s why it’s no surprise that he’s jumped on blogger bandwagon, inviting a slew of us to view his Spring 2011 collection at the company’s showroom. (Which happens to be the former Astor stables–a gorgeous building.) The invite to the event was a Bloggie video camera, complete with a clip of Cole inviting us to “join his social network.” Pretty clever–and of course hilarious.

Along with a delicious dinner inspired by the collection–which was in turn inspired by different terrains, including the rain forest and the mountains–we got a sneak peek of the Spring 2011 clothing and accessories collections. Each guest got to order a pair of spring shoes. I chose the 9-2-5 ballet flat in army green snakeskin, although it seems most of my counterparts couldn’t part without the mesh heels in black and yes, army green. (It’s big for spring, didn’t you know?)

As for the clothes, they were classic Cole. Day to evening wear that you could easily insert into your current wardrobe. There’s a safari jacket, some beautiful skirts, a gorgeous printed dress here and there. Mostly everything was in army green, yellow, brown, and of course some black and white for good measure.

“I really think that this is really where it’s all going,” said Cole, as he made a brief speech at the beginning of dinner. We do too, Kenneth. We’re glad you’re with us.

Leah’s Party
The Museum of Arts & Design hosted their second annual young patron’s gala last night, called Metalball. Metal was the theme last night and guests clad in shimmering metallics, including co-chairs Richard Meier, Joe Manganiello, Hannelore Knuts, Waris Ahluwalia and Julie Ragolia, sipped champagne while browsing works in metal by everyone from Surface to Air to Richard Maier to Jen Kao. Kao’s silver-plated fern chandelier was amazing. Also, it was $15,000.

We were pretty taken with this metally owl in a birdcage installation which also featured a spiral staircase being mounted by gold-painted army figurines and a penguin. Again, $15,000. :( But the sky high prices were all set to raise money for the museum’s arts education program so we hope someone with deep pockets snagged these treasures.

Somehow we got stuck behind True Blood’s Joe Manganiello on a private tour of the exhibition with a cookie-cutter blonde bombshell type. They didn’t say much but seemed pretty into the art. Or he was…acting. Either way, he was as nice to look at as the art.



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What Happened at Today’s “Save The Garment Center” Rally?

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 02:30 PM PDT

A motley crew of people from all walks of fashion life attended a rally today to support NYC's ever-shrinking Garment Center.

MC'ed by artist Robert Savage, otherwise known as Mr. Nanette Lepore, the rally's speakers included politicians, designers, students, union workers, and factory owners. In the lively and supportive audience, I spotted fashion students sporting bedazzled signs and seamstresses with years of hard-earned callouses on their hands. Anna Sui was roaming among the crowd, too.

Congressman Tim Ryan started off the rally with some inspirational quotes about America. Then Jerry Nadler, a congressman from New York, said that when he attended a rally to save the Garment Center back in 1985, there were about 500,000 garment industry jobs in NYC; today there are only about 100,000. Rather sobering statistics, to say the least.

Scott Stringer, the Manhattan Borough President, was up next and made the excellent point, "You can't have Fashion Week in New York unless you have the designers here. It's like having the Academy Awards in a place where they don't make movies."

And indeed, according to Arianna Huffington, there are 846 fashion companies headquartered in NYC, which is more than Paris, London, and Milan combined. She called the Garment Center a microcosm of what is happening in America as a whole, referring to the loss of jobs overseas. Arianna was quite articulate and impassioned about this cause (and I refrained from slipping her my resume).

Some union workers and a local factory owner by the name of Mr.Park spoke, too. Well, Mr. Park alternated between politely thanking everyone and screaming his head off, much to the delight of the crowd. His best quote: "A lot of factory workers can become factory owners. It's better than working at Starbucks. How many Starbucks workers become the owners of coffee shops?" A valid point, I suppose.

Two students, Charlie and Amanda, from Parsons and FIT respectively, spoke about the amazing experience they're having in NYC because of the proximity of their schools to the Garment Center.

A punked-out Malia Mills reminisced about building her business in NYC and the amount of talented labor here. Then finally Nanette Lepore, the organizer, took the stage.

Nanette, looking very chic in a leopard dress and perfect golden highlights, warned everyone that she had a tendency towards ranting about this cause. She asked that legislation be put into place to provide tax and other incentives to keep garment production here in NYC.

It was certainly inspirational. For more information, check out the Save The Garment Center website.



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Invest in Saturday

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 02:00 PM PDT

If you thought an MBA from Columbia was only a possibility for mid-twenty-somethings in finance with two years to spare, think again. Columbia’s new EMBA program is offered on Saturdays only, which means you don’t have to upend your life or break the momentum of a career you’ve put time and effort into to attain it. It's the kind of degree that would get you that much closer to your dream job, or at least provide the network to ensure you find it.



It’s a program tailor made for busy New Yorkers (perhaps a redundancy) whose careers are just as important as their home life. All it takes to get to that next level is one day a week: Saturday. A day when, let’s face it, you might otherwise be shopping or going out to eat or catching up on DVR’ed television. (OK, so this is what we do on Saturdays.) Think of each Saturday (the program lasts for 24 months) as an investment in yourself, your career, or even your family.

And of course, lazy Sunday is still free for sleeping late, lingering brunches, and recharging for the coming work week.

It’s all about keeping your balance in New York. And in the city that never seems to stop working, where we commute from home to work to meetings back to home, blackberry in hand, looking up every so often to avoid getting taken down by a cab, it’s an important thing to maintain. Click here to learn more.



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Street Style: Freja From Sweden

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 01:45 PM PDT

Name: Freja

Age: 24

Where are you from originally? Sweden

What is your favorite Swedish food? Swedish pancakes

How would you describe your style? It's varied… a mix of different things.

What are you Listening to? jj

What was the last good movie you saw? Inception

What are you going to be for Halloween? Uncle Fester

What are you wearing? Copenhagen shoes, vintage shirt, H&M sweater, Mulberry bag and my boyfriend's scarf.

**All photos by Ashley Jahncke.

freja-closer freja-portrait freja



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Editorial Musical Chairs: Major Shuffling at Lucky and More

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 01:16 PM PDT

With fashion month over and done with, the glossies are starting to see some shuffling again, especially at Lucky, whose new Editor in Chief was announced in the midst of NYFW.

The first major masthead change occurred last month, when creative director Andrea Linett resigned. Most recently, Alexis Bryan Morgan, Elle's fashion director for just under a year, was hired as Lucky's new executive fashion director. "She's got a great sense of style and she fits perfectly with the path I'm setting here at Lucky," EIC Brandon Holley told WWD. Hope Greenberg, formerly Lucky's fashion director, has left the magazine and been replaced by former market director Anne Kwon Keane.

Managing editor Regan Solmo left Lucky and was replaced by Faye Chiu Mosley, formerly Solmo's assistant managing editor. Stephanie Trong, former editorial director at Gilt Groupe, will also join Lucky as deputy editor. Laura Morgan, formerly a contributing features editor at Harper's Bazaar, will be the mag's new special projects director. Finally, Maura Randall, who worked with Brandon at Yahoo Shine, will be online director of Luckymag.com.

Also at Condé, Nathalie Kirsheh is moving from W, where she was art director, to Details where she will be design director. W is also saying goodbye to managing editor Lawrence Karol, who Stefano Tonchi hired only six months ago. Lawrence has been hired as managing editor of Architectural Digest. Tonchi found a replacement in Lucky's former managing editor Regan Solmo.

Condé Nast Traveler recently welcomed Jim Baker, formerly development editor of Time Inc.'s lifestyle division, as its new executive editor. Meanwhile, the mag's longtime design director Robert Best has left.

Elle's former fashion news editor Alexa Brazilian has left to join The Wall Street Journal's Off Duty section. Alexa has been replaced by Nick Axelrod, formerly of WWD.

Town & Country has tapped two new editors: Michael Callahan from Philadelpia will be deputy editor, while House Beautiful's Whitney Robinson will be senior editor.

And finally, Lea Goldman has been promoted from features editor to deputy editor at Marie Claire.



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Would You Rather…? Chanel Vs. “The Rent Is Too Damn High” Candidate

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 12:00 PM PDT


It was hard not to notice the many fashion statements of Jimmy McMillan, founder and “CEO” of the Rent Is Too Damn High party, during last night’s New York gubernatorial debate. Known for his singular fixation on rent, unique facial hair and black gloves worn indoors, Jimmy has caught our attention and reminded us of another pair of statement gloves from a certain Paris runway. Who would you vote for?



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Brian Reyes Discontinues Main Collection, Will Focus on Private Sales

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 11:15 AM PDT

Brian Reyes Fall 2010

We hear, from numerous sources, that Brian Reyes has stopped production on its main collection.

Update 1: We spoke with another source inside the Reyes camp, who told us that Brian did indeed design a Spring 2011 collection. However, the focus will be private sales, which Reyes has seen a major uptick in over the last 18 months.

Reyes, who got his start at Oscar de la Renta, showed his first collection in Spring 2006. He was an instant “label to watch” after Nicole Chavez put Rachel Bilson and Kristen Bell in his dresses on the red carpet. Carine Roitfeld attended his Spring 2010 show just last year.

But Reyes didn’t show this past season. His most recent collection, Resort 2011, is still up on his website, and it’s a strong collection. Nevertheless, strong collections (of which Reyes has shown fairly consistently, with a few blips here and there) does not a success make.

So what happened?

This might be a case of getting too big too fast, and not being able to sustain a certain level of production. Or, the brand’s major buyers might have pulled out. Right now, sell-through rate–or the percentage of an order the consumer actually buys compared to what the store purchased overall–is the most important thing to retailers. If the collection’s sell through wasn’t great, buyers probably dropped it fast.

Brian Reyes Resort 2011

When reached for comment, a spokesperson at Reyes’ office only offered that the brand had shifted focus and team was currently “working on different projects.” He declined to say anything further.



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Fashion News Roundup: PETA Crashes Donna Karan, Test Driving “Majeggings” and Behind the Scenes With Kim and Alexa

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 10:30 AM PDT

Michelle Obama’s PETA Moment: Donna Karan hosted a cocktail hour/fundraiser at her Central Park West penthouse yesterday, which was attended by a slew New York designers and Michelle Obama, all of whom were greeted by PETA members protesting Karan’s use of fur. {WWD}

Kim’s Screen Test: We all know Kim Kardashian was naked in W, but you might not know that Kim and Kourtney used to play a game where Kourtney was Donna Karan and Kim was her tortured assistant. Also, if she wasn’t doing…whatever it is she does now, she would want to be in fashion or crime scene investigator. All this and more in an intimate interview with Lynn Hirschberg. {W}

Oh Ma Jeggings: In an important experiment, writer Joshua David Stein went to Uniqlo to purchase and test the wearability of “majeggings,” or, jeggings for men. Hilarity ensues. {Racked}

Made Well: Check out this behind-the-scenes video of Alexa Chung on her Teen Vogue shoot. {Teen Vogue}

Mad Nails: Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant’s nail polish collaboration with Nailtini just came out. The four colors are retro-inspired and make us think of Joan Holloway holding a martini glass. It’s available now at Duane Reade and QVC.com. {Stylelist}

Forever 21 Gets Interactive: Forever 21′s new Times Square billboard is crazy and slightly creepy. It does that whole thing where there are cameras, so tourists who stand in the right place get to interact and be in the electronic billboard. But, somehow there are also models in the billboard who appear to pick people out of the crowd and throw them around. Apparently, the same technology is used in government security surveillance. “If you see the way the computer works, it’s like Predator or something,” says Billy Jurewicz, founder and CEO of Space150. {Retail Design Diva}



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Kmart Spring 2011 Preview: It’s Good–Yeah, That’s Right–It’s Good!

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 09:50 AM PDT

So I don’t expect Kmart to become the world’s next Topshop. But I must say that I believe it’s important to have good design at every price point. It doesn’t have to be trendy, but it should be good. And that’s what Kmart is offering up for Spring 2011.

There are some great-looking black sandals, wrapped with delicate gold chains, a pair of suede booties, a truly-covetable leopard scarf, and some blue cargoes that make me happier than J.Brand‘s. And of course, nothing really veers over $40. So if you’re on a budget, don’t forget about Kmart. (What’s more, their classic peds and unwashed men’s denim are totally worth a stop, regardless of how good the new collection is.)

Click through for some images from Kmart Spring 2011.



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How I’m Making It: JF & SON

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 08:37 AM PDT

It’s been too long since our last installment of “How I’m Making It,” so we’re reviving the series with a pair of young designers on a mission. Jesse Finkelstein and Katie King design JF & SON, a line they launched just over three years ago and sell out of their LES storefront on 19 Kenmare Street. The line focuses on beautiful textiles and handwork, which they produce out of their studio in New Delhi. As globalization and cheap production overseas sadly forces many designers to produce parts or all of their collections in Asia to stay competitive and profitable (though we laud the many designers who make efforts keep as much production as possible in New York’s Garment District), the mission behind JF & SON was to find a way to produce responsibly overseas. Here’s how they’re making it work.

How did you two meet?
Jesse: We met at a factory in the garment district–it was very glamorous. Katie was working for another company at the time and my company was beginning to get itself together and then Katie and I started talking and I brought her over and it became a new thing. We started by trying to figure out how to do production overseas in a responsible way. I really had no clue what i was doing until Katie came along. We learned on the job as we worked together. There was a studio in Delhi that we started almost six years ago and it was six people. When Katie came on board we reorganized the studio and now we’re at 60 people.

What’s your fashion background?
Katie: I started out as a costume design major, that’s my undergraduate degree. I thought that I wanted to do that for a long time but I was really interested in the way things were actually made–pattern making and draping–so i went back to school to Parsons, got a new degree, and then i met Jesse at a factory. It was called match.

Jesse: I studied political science and visual arts at Brown, then I moved to DC for a year where I was really miserable working for a big company. That was a very tough year for me and while it satisfied my political science side the other side was gnawing at me. My folks do a lot of work overseas (and in India) so I’ve always been in touch with what they were doing. I was really interested in designing a business that could work overseas responsibly but that could also be a small business. And fashion for me is the most immediate and visceral experience of design.

The studio in New Delhi

How did you get started?
Jesse: Some of the money came from my previous job in DC and some of it came from my folks who were really generous to lend it. Then setting up in India, we started out with this gentleman who ran the textile division of what would be FIT but in Delhi.

Why India?
Jesse: We decided on India because India has the most varied and diverse and vast history of handwork and textile development. Not just every state, but every village in every state has their own textiles. So it made obvious sense to us that India was where we had to begin. And Delhi because it’s the textile and apparel capital of India and all the resources are located there.

The JF & SON store on Kenmare Street

What’s the ballsiest thing you’ve done to ensure the success of the company?
Jesse: I would say the riskiest thing we did was opening up a store in the middle of the recession.

Katie: We stopped wholesaling and just put all of our eggs into the store, and just hoped it would work and it did. The problem with production is often that there are so many middleman and you are disconnected from the people who are making the clothes. We felt the same way about wholesale. We felt disconnected from the customer. When you have a showroom, and buyers, and stores you never really know who is buying your clothing.

Jesse: It comes down to this principle of openness. Customers today really want to be involved in the product they’re buying–it’s like the food industry. Transparency is the key word. We thought, ‘Let’s just keep it vertical and do it all in the store.’ It also gets the customers involved. Right now we have a thriving customer order business where customers can come in and see us style and not only alter clothes to their measurements, but also change the color and the print.

Katie: We didn’t know how people would respond. We just offered it, and people really like it. People want to be more connected to how their things are made and what they wear.

What are your biggest challenges?
Jesse: Space. Our biggest challenge is that we have these two companies and they’re both, thank the lord, doing pretty well, and it’s hard to balance. We need more space in Delhi.

JF & SON is two companies?
There’s two parts to JF & SON: There’s our design company and we have a consultancy and production company so we work with designers and do development and production. We do all handwork and beading and embroidery. We consult for Opening Ceremony, Pat Field, we sell swatches to Vena Cava, the Gap, DKNY, so it’s big and small labels. We’re about doing production overseas that is fine quality, done on time, but most importantly, done in a responsible way. Responsible in a sense that everyone was getting three times the living wage and everyone was being treated as creative individuals, not just people who were doing rote tasks. It’s important that everyone has some sort of autonomy over what they were doing, and that we were connected to every stage of the process.

What are your goals?
Jesse: The goal of the company is actually to have many of these small studios in various developing countries working with local craftspeople to take advantage of the local skills and craft to bring to the store. So we started out in Delhi just because it captures such a wide net. We hope maybe one day, Viet Nam.

Who helped you the most along the way?
Jesse: We used to work with Koos Van Den Akker. He invented the Cosby sweater.

Katie: He was really big in the ’70s. He saw our swatches and was really excited and wanted to work with us so we took him to our showroom and he was like, ‘No, no, no, this is not the way you want to do it, you have to have a store and work out of your store.’

Jesse: And we looked at him like ‘You are crazy’ and then suddenly, I don’t know why, we were just like ‘Screw It.’

Katie: We thought about it and it started to make more and more sense.



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