KARL LAGERFELD and Tina Brown

KARL  has hit back at US magazine Newsweek and its editor, Tina Brown, after one its journalists - Robin Givhan - described him as "overrated" in a profile piece published in January. Brown previously worked as editor-in-chief at Vanity Fair, before joining Newsweek in 2010.
"First of all, Tina Brown's magazine is not doing well at all," he said in a press conference on Friday, WWD reports. "She is dying [professionally]. I'm sorry for Tina Brown, who was such a success at Vanity Fair, to go down with a shitty little paper like this. I'm sorry."
Brown shrugged off Lagerfeld's comments, responding with a Tweet: "The Kaiser doth protest too much! 'Diet issue?' Newsweek ads up 27 percent for Q1."
Newsweek also offered an official statement, defending its recent success.
"In the past year since Tina Brown took over as editor-in-chief of Newsweek, newsstand sales have increased 30 per cent year-on-year; advertising pages have seen a 27 per cent increase for the first quarter of 2012; we have over 2.2 million people engaged in our social media communities and, perhaps the most telling indicator of the renewed vitality of Newsweek, subscription renewals - in a consistent state of decline since 2005 - rose by 3 per cent last year," a spokesperson for the publication told Stylelist.

Chechen first lady unveils Islamic fashion in Dubai

"My designs are inspired by natural beauty and the grace of Arab women, to whom I dedicate my collection," Medni Kadyrova said, Chechnya's first lady, adding that she hoped the show in Dubai would be "the first step towards the organisation of many others in the region."

Kadyrova, has displayed her Islamic fashion collection to a captivated audience in Dubai, faithful to the politics of her husband who has sought to impose Islamic dress codes in the Caucasus republic.
More than 20 veiled Chechen models paced the catwalk in a Dubai palace on Saturday evening, clad in silk and carefully embroidered muslin dresses that covered them from head to toe but also managed to outline their figures.
The show culminated in a display of wedding dresses.
Organised by the Firdaws (paradise in Arabic) fashion house, launched by Kadyrova three years ago, it was the first such show for the label outside Chechnya.

Kimono with attitude at Japan Fashion Week

AFP Relax News - The traditionally modest and freedom-inhibiting kimono is getting a new lease on life at Japan Fashion Week, with an edge of defiance and seductiveness.
Historically a garment whose multiple layers and tight wrapping have been viewed by some as restricting a woman's mobility and keeping her subservient to men, Jotaro Saito's kimono collection betrays expectations.
The style in his "Futurism" 2012-2013 autumn/winter collection remains graceful and true to form, but it is definitely not modest.
"Jotaro's kimono treads the line between the traditional style and the frisson of the entertainment quarter," said Tokiko Someya, 60, after the show. "That's what makes his kimonos so attractive."
A kimono-clad vocalist sang to pounding techno as models with spiked hair strutted down the runway at Wednesday's show, premiering Saito's chic and modern designs, a highlight of the twice-annual event featuring a range of designers that wraps up this weekend.
Models struck attitude-filled poses and flaunted the lines of their kimono, including an accentuated knot on their back.

The Vogue Festival

VOGUE - One of the world's most powerful casting directors, Russell Marsh, is the latest name to be added to The Vogue Festival line-up. Marsh - who kick-started the careers of Lara Stone, Daria Werbowy, Gemma Ward and Sasha Pivovarova - will join Vogue fashion director Lucinda Chambers, Harrods fashion and beauty director Marigay McKee, and internationally renowned designer Matthew Williamson for a panel discussion entitled My Fashion Life, in which the group will explain how they established their illustrious careers and what their jobs entail today.
more:here

Model Call: Yasmin Bidois

WWD - Yasmin Bidois :
 “I was scouted three times,” the 17-year-old Auckland, New Zealand native laughs. After being approached at the mall, then the movies, then the airport, the then-14-year-old gave in. “I was like, OK, might as well take a look at this,” Bidois says in her charming accent. After doing the modeling circuit in her home country, she signed with Ford and jetted up to New York. The towering brunette had a modest collections season in February, hitting eight shows in New York and skipping the European shows. “They didn’t want me to start out too full-on,” Bidois says. “But at Nahm I got to meet Tommy [Hilfiger] so that was pretty cool!”

Did you always want to model?
No, growing up, I wanted to be a vet. My true passion is animals. I have a dog at home named Wallace and I miss him terribly. I really wanted a puppy and my mom was like, ‘I’m not paying for it.’ So I sold my iPod and bought him.

Did you have any jobs before modeling?
Yeah, I had an after-school job at the movies. Great perks: free movies and half price on all food and soda.

CFDA Fashion Awards nominees announced: Depp will be first male to receive 'icon' status

AFP Relax News - The nominees and honorees for the 2012 CFDA Fashion Awards were announced March 14, with Johnny Depp to become the first male recipient of The Fashion Icon Award.

Depp will be first male to receive 'icon' status

Organized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), the prestigious annual ceremony's 2012 edition will be presented by Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live and take place Monday, June 4 in New York.
Designer and CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg announced the nominees and honorees, with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award to go to Tommy Hilfiger. Ashley Olsen & Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row, Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler and Marc Jacobs are nominated for the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award.
Meanwhile Hollywood actor Depp will receive the Fashion Icon Award due to his "personal and eclectic sense of style." Last year the prize went to pop star Lady Gaga.

Here is the full list of CFDA Award nominees:

Womenswear Designer of the Year:
Ashley Olsen & Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row
Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler
Marc Jacobs

Menswear Designer of the Year:
Billy Reid
Patrik Ervell
Simon Spurr

Accessory Designer of the Year:
Alexander Wang
Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler
Reed Krakoff

Swarovski Award for Womenswear:
Chris Peters & Shane Gabier for Creatures of the Wind
Joseph Altuzarra
Max Osterweis & Erin Beatty for Suno

Swarovski Award for Menswear:
Antonio Azzuolo
Phillip Lim
Todd Snyder

Swarovski Award for Accessory Design:
Irene Neuwirth
Pamela Love
Tabitha Simmons

Honory award recipients:
Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, Tommy Hilfiger
Media Award, Scott Schuman & Garance Doré
Fashion Icon Award, Johnny Depp
Founders Award, Andrew Rosen
International Award, Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Ga

PRADA REAL FANTASIES SPRING/SUMMER 2012

PRADA REAL FANTASIES - Fashion films



The Italian label hired director James Lima, celebrated for his work with the likes of Alexander Wang and Versace, to create the trippy film. It features a mash-up of “found” footage, scenes from 1950s movies and dancing models Jessica Stam, Ginta Lapina, and Lindsey Wixson showcasing Prada's Spring collection.
Real Fantasies is a palimpsest of photography, graphics and text that pulls the reader into a realm of hyper reality.

Michael Kors is set to sell another 25 million shares of the company

WWD -Michael Kors is set to sell another 25 million shares of the company, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.The company, which went public in December 2011, has seen stock prices almost double since the initial IPO - and this second sale is thought to be set to raise in excess of $1.2 billion (almost £800 million), the proceeds of which will go directly to the founder, as well as to chairman and chief executive officer John Idol; senior vice president of business affairs Lee Sporn; and Sportswear Holdings, a company controlled by Kors directors Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll.

Sienna Miller covers British Vogue April in Stella McCartney

Sienna Miller -she is the cover star of the British fashion bible’s April 2012 issue , fresh-faced and fabulous in her gorgeous Stella McCartney spring/summer 2012 dress, as we imagine she will be throughout the entire editorial.
We love how natural and beaming she looks, which we’ll happily put down to that pregnancy glow we hear so much about!

“I’m in my second trimester, so I’m I-can-talk-about-it pregnant, even though I’m under strict instructions not to say anything as it would completely defeat the point of everything I’ve tried to achieve in the last eight years,” Sienna told Vogue about her pregnancy and trying to maintain her privacy.

We can’t wait to see more of these summery covers hitting the newsstands, as Sienna’s cover has well and truly whet our appetite for the brighter issues that inevitably lie ahead. We want the magazine covers to take the lead, and hopefully the weather will follow suit! (British Vogue)

Women's Day

Angelina Jolie and Meryl Streep will join US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in New York today for the third annual Women in the World Summit, in honour of International Women's Day.
Hosted by Newsweek and the Daily Beast, the summit will see women from all over the world tell their stories - from escaping a forced marriage, to living in a conflict zone. Jolie and Streep will also speak, paying tribute to the women at the summit, as well as others they have met - and charity founder Lauren Bush Lauren will talk about the success of her Feed project, which has so far provided 65 million school meals for children around the world.
Supermodels Christy Turlington and Helena Christensen are also both supporting today's International Women's Day in their own ways. Christensen wrote for us earlier this week about her visits to Africa with Oxfam, and what she thinks we can do to make life easier for mothers in developing countries struggling to cope with the effects of climate change. Source: Vogue

Louis Vuitton Fall Winter 2012-13, Paris

Louis Vuitton's spectacular Fashion Week show - Orient Express-style into the courtyard of the Paris Louvre

Designer Marc Jacobs pulled out the stops for Vuitton's latest autumn-winter collection on the final day of Paris' ready-to-wear shows.
The look was all about the romance of a journey, but without the nostalgia, explained the tattooed 48-year-old, dressed for the occasion in long black dress and laced boots, jet black hair and green eyes, looking exhausted but happy.
"We just imagined this romantic notion. It's the idea of the trip," he said of the train motif.
"They made it from scratch," he marvelled. "The design started four, five months ago, right after the merry-go-round," explained the designer, who for last season's show had a giant candy-coloured carousel built in the same spot.
Jacobs' collection played heavily on contrasts between glitter and mat fabrics, with models stepping out in long skirts over cropped pants, and dresses with demure necklines and wide straps cupping the shoulder.

Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2012-13, Paris

Fashion show - opened with a flurry of winter whites – skater skirts gathered in vast swathes around the thighs below fitted jackets that flowered to wide peplums under huge shawls. Heel-less ankle boots or Mary Janes worn over woolly socks added to the futuristic, always slightly spooky element, before stunning silk and leather dresses featuring embellishments of unfurling petals in baby pink or white allowed the colour to slowly bleed to centre stage.

White on black doily printed coats with stiff collars and zips up the back, fur coats smothered in pompoms that then expanded to huge ostrich feather skirts and coats - which in turn grew into frothy marabou or tulle jellyfish dresses that seemed to breathe of their own accord.

Yves Saint Laurent Fall Winter 2012-13, Paris

Yves Saint Laurent Womenswear Collections Fall Winter 2012-13 - Smart coats nipped in by leather belts featuring exaggerated, rounded shoulders and more leather at the collar and cuff  - it was elegant and modern, with cropped, roomy jackets and sharply tailored trousers worn high on the waist and cut above the ankle giving a nod to the Eighties heyday of YSL, while an black all-in-one tuxedo paid homage to the house’s Seventies fame.
Cape coats and leather tunic tops of purple or green leather had an austerity that eliminated a romance we’ve seen from Pilati before, while mirrored Perspex heels were eye-catching, if difficult to walk in – giving a more aggressive, though still stylish, feel to the show.

Chainmail featured heavily for backless dresses in green in purple that were elegantly constructed, or the lapels of black jackets, or a pencil skirt worn beneath another tunic of cream leather and, just as things were threatening to venture too far from the YSL roots, there appeared a calla lily motif embroidered in black silk onto black wool trousers; in glittering relief on black leather; in purple silk on the wide collar of a black coat or in solid silver wound around the neck in a gorgeous neck piece. It neatly brought romance back into the equation and, symbolic both of triumphant trumpets sounding and even the resurrection of Christ, it implied all sorts of potential stories to an audience hungry to know what is going to happen next in the soap opera that is Paris fashion.