FASHION Magazine

With summer wedding season well underway, the not-so-little sartorial dilemma of what to wear on one of life’s most momentous occasions probably has a bride or two stressing. While our Style Panel has already found solutions for unique wedding-guest styling, brides, grooms and bridesmaids need not worry – we have some modern styling tips from […]

The post The fashionable wedding: Tips for brides, bridesmaids and even the groom on how to up the style ante on your big day appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

One of fashion’s most revered yet reclusive players has finally announced a return to the retail world after more than two decades of absence: Azzedine Alaïa, whose last store shuttered in New York City in 1992, will be settling into a new home at Rue de Marignan, right off of Avenue Montaigne (otherwise known as French luxury mecca).

Also known as the “King of Cling,” Alaïa’s heyday in the ‘80s had him dressing everyone from Grace Jones to Stephanie Seymour in his figure-flattering, body-con designs. Even Cher (not that Cher—the Clueless Cher) knew the gravity of Alaïa – remember the scene when she tells the armed robber who screams at her to get on the ground “Oh, no. You don’t understand, this is an Alaïa”?

After the death of his sister though, the Tunisian-born designer retreated from the industry for most of the ‘90s, only catering to a small group of clientele and presenting his collections (on his own time, of course) in his apartment/atelier/headquarters in the heart of the Marais district. In other words, Alaïa had the fashion world come to him: he didn’t advertise, he didn’t get online and he didn’t get sucked into what he called a “stressful” system. He didn’t even bother kissing up to Anna Wintour, even daring to say “who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion?” Unsurprisingly, she didn’t take well to that — the two have been engaged in a longstanding feud for years that’s seen Alaïa completely ousted from the pages of Vogue.

Even without Wintour’s backing, the past decade has been a period of revival for Alaïa’s eponymous brand, especially after partnering up with luxury goods group Richemont in 2007. For instance, last year Barneys doubled their Alaïa space, the designer showed his Fall 2011 couture collection to rave reviews (also marking his first time at Fashion Week in eight years) and as any Sofia Coppola fangirl knows, he designed her stunning lavender wedding dress.

The question now is, given the designer’s well-known skepticism of the business side of fashion, will he be able to make a return to the retail world without sacrificing his independence?

Word: Weddingitis

Meaning: According to the inestimable Urban Dictionary, it’s an “ailment from attending too many weddings or the byproduct of having too many friends become engaged when you are still single. Side effects include outbursts of “AWWWWWW!!” and deep sighs. Lately, this -itis has become a far greater threat: studies show you can catch it even from people you don’t know, and a rash of celebrity weddings, spreading virally, has everyone in danger.

Alaïa and Thakoon and Balmain, oh my! The hunt for ready-to-wear gets even easier this month with the highly anticipated opening of The Room at the Bay downtown (674 Granville St., 604-681-6211, thebay.com). Its well-edited roster includes top homegrown labels, such as Erdem, Jeremy Laing, Dsquared and Jason Wu. Where will I be? Drooling over the Proenza Schouler shoes and handbags.

Back in March, Carine Roitfeld was unveiled as Barneys New York guest editor and stylist for the Fall 2011 campaign. As could have been expected, shots of said campaign leaked this week. As was not expected, they featured Roitfeld as the model. What’s more? The images released by WWD yesterday show Roitfeld’s children, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld. Now, it makes sense that the campaign is titled “Carine’s World” (as if it wasn’t already).

Even the Queen knows she can’t rule without her subjects, so, naturally the campaign will also feature her stylish subjects: Marie-Amelié Sauvé in Balenciaga, Victoire de Castellane in Azzedine Alaïa, and Dasha Zhukova in Proenza Schouler. Everything was shot by Mario Sorrenti and the images will appear in Barneys’ windows as well as inside the stores and on the website as of September 2.

Yesterday there was also a campaign image released for an I.N.C project that Vogue Nippon editor-at-large, Anna Dello Russo is working on, and—surprise!—it features her as the model. Starting this fall, Dello Russso will act as editor-at-large for I.N.C, an in-house brand of Macy’s. We wonder which editor set the trend and who followed… Either way, it looks like Roitfeld and Dello Russo are on board for Operation Vogue Editors Dominating the World.

Couture Week in Paris came to a close today with Azzedine Alaïa showing his first presentation in ages. As we’ve been reporting, the past few days have been marked with highs (Givenchy) and lows (Dior). Regardless, the overall messages of unabashed luxury and attention to detail, inherent to haute dressing, were unanimously heard loud and clear from the handful of couturiers who showed.

It was a success story at Valentino, where designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli made a solid argument for the relevance of couture. The collection was inspired by the flight of the Russian aristocracy after the breakout of revolution, but it sometimes felt more like a medieval fantasy. Sheer, light fabrics, gilded ornamentation, and house signatures such as vibrant red, bows, and lace felt youthful not stuffy, proving that haute couture can still be fresh and exciting when modernized.

At Alaïa, things were more secretive. Showing during an organized fashion week isn’t usually the designer’s style, and today’s presentation wasn’t an occasion to attract endless media attention. Images of the clothing have yet to be released, however Jeanne Beker described strict lines, croc coats, and some pieces in Mongolian lamb. If the move towards exclusivity sounds strange in today’s world of democratized fast fashion, it does make sense in terms of couture’s traditional exclusive nature, only being accessible to a select few. Despite the scant media coverage, big names like Kanye West, Donatella Versace, and Sofia Coppola were in attendance. You can bet there were no members of Vogue present as Alaïa’s feud with Anna Wintour rages on.

Miu Miu’s muse: Take a look at the first shot from Hailee Steinfeld’s fall ad campaign for the label. [Fashionista]

The usually reclusive Azzedine Alaïa has announced that he plans on showing a collection during the upcoming Paris couture week. [Fashionologie]

Visiting London anytime soon, and looking to indulge your royal curiosity, or simply looking to snoop? We did some of our own, and found some of the princess-to-be’s favourite hotspots.

Me-ow! Kiki Dunst‘s campaign for Bulgari‘s new fragrance, Mon Jasmin Noir, surfaces, and features a lion to boot. [InStyle UK]

Sears has a new Attitude – the line will be headed up by ANTM judge Jay Manuel at LG Fashion Week. [Jaymanuel]

He’s like, a totally important designer! The ever elusive Azzedine Alaia emerges for an interview with model Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele: [Interview]

Rumors are swirling that Miranda Kerr will walk the Balenciaga runway in Paris, less than two months after giving birth. [PopSugar]

In her continuing quest for world domination, Kelly Cutrone is launching a clothing line. [WWD]

Sophie Théallet was awarded the sixth annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund grand prize of $200,000 and a year-long mentorship at last night’s awards dinner. Keynote speaker Alber Elbaz was introduced by Nicole Kidman and said of success: “It’s like a bottle of perfume. You smell it, you don’t sniff it or drink it.” With the career boost that last year’s winner Alexander Wang received, things are looking good for Théallet’s future.

Now that the whole Olivier Theyskens/Nina Ricci whirlwind has settled, we can concentrate on the drama that is Peter Som’s replacement at Bill Blass. It’ll probably be Richard Chai. [Fashionologie]

Alaïa likes to do the Single Ladies dance. Designers: they’re just like us! [Fashionista]

Warning: The following is only for those who grew up in the ’90s. One of our own eds was once a guest editor for best-mag-ever Sassy, a fact that we are eternally impressed/jealous of. Here, the writer of the famous Kurt/Courtney article reminisces about the interview. (Complete with PDF of the original story!) [I Heart Daily]