FASHION Magazine

See the Fashion Smurfs images » When photos surfaced of Karl Lagerfeld sporting the now famous “Karl Who” tote by French label Naco Paris, we knew the fashion parody trend was one that was here to stay. It wasn’t long before fashion’s fresh young things were spotted lingering outside NYFW shows in “Ballinciaga” tees by […]

The post Smurfashion! Illustrator Alexsandro Palombo transforms Karl, Anna and Marc into our favourite cartoon forest dwellers appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

London-based designer, J.W. Anderson, is having a pretty solid week. It started with winning the Emerging Designer Award at the 2012 British Fashion Awards and today it was announced that Anderson will be the first to design a capsule collection for Versace’s younger brand, Versus.

The collection will be released at a preview event sometime in the spring and will be comprised of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear as well as accessories that will be sold online at Versace.it and in major department stores worldwide.

Just weeks after news broke that Nicholas Ghesquière was leaving Balenciaga, Christopher Kane is doing the same with his role at Versus.

While busy designing his namesake line, Christopher Kane has been working at the helm of Versus, alongside Donatella Versace for the past six years. Today, the label announced a mutual separation agreement. Versus plans to slow down the production of its seasonal collections and focus more on the digital aspect of the brand, with Donatella Versace designing the label with help from young designers and stylists.

About his departure from Versus, Kane said, “the time has come to dedicate all my focus to the future of the Christopher Kane label.” Or could he mean Balenciaga?

If you’ve been placing bets like we have on who’s going to design Angelina Jolie’s wedding dress, you better re-examine your choices. The actress is looking for a designer who is “not so obvious for designing wedding gowns”. The one she’s after? Rumor has it that it’s L’Wren Scott.

Scott, although not known for designing wedding gowns, is a regular go-to for celebrities such as Nicole Kidman and Sarah Jessica Parker when they hit up red carpet events, and according to a “friend” of Jolie’s the designer is “the one who understands her body the most.”

To say that Raf Simons had a mountain of pressure weighing down on him for his couture collection for Dior would be an understatement. And yet somehow, Simons managed to pull off the impossible: his stunning 56-piece collection was a reverent nod to Dior’s heritage fused with Simon’s signature modernity. Even more impressive than the collection itself is the outpouring of approval from the tough-to-please fashion crowd, including Simons’ peers. Here are some of the reactions to the collection so far:

This might as well be called the Leather Jubilee, because that’s what Donatella Versace wants to see 86 year-old Queen Elizabeth wearing. Yesterday, during a speaking engagement at the Oxford Union, the Italian designer waxed on about her Majesty’s everlasting appeal. Queue the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen”? “If I could dress anyone I’d […]

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The coveted Versace for H&M collection hit stores last week, and if you’re going through Donatella withdrawals fear not. As we reported when news of the first collection broke, there will be a second Versace for H&M collaboration. The smaller Cruise collection will be available exclusively online January 19, 2012.  Before you get too excited, this means that technically the collection wont be available in Canada, since H&M Canada site doesn’t have ecommerce. We’re expecting the overseas H&M sites to crash again, only this time it’s sure to be of Missoni for Target proportions.

After a star studded-launch party and months of waiting, the Versace for H&M collection will finally be available to the fashion-hungry masses this weekend. We’ve seen the collection on campaign star Abbey Lee Kershaw and celebs like Blake Lively and Jessica Alba, but to see the clothes in print and on real women, the fast-fashion retailer’s target buyers, would have been refreshing.

New York Daily News planned to do a feature on real New Yorkers wearing pieces from the collection but it’s reported that the shoot was cancelled at the last minute. An H&M publicist explained to the Daily News that Donatella has to approve anyone who wears the collection for press and that she probably won’t approve of real women wearing the clothes. Apparently, the publicist was right. When the writer sent the publicist pictures of the three women to be approved, only one was deemed acceptable while the other two “didn’t fit Versace’s branding.”

The “normal” women were being considered for a feature on real people, not for a high-fashion editorial—H&M designer collaborations are meant to bring high-fashion to the masses. Lets thank god Donatella doesn’t approve our Facebook photos…

While not-yet-released Versace for H&M wares showed up on Chinese e-tail sites a few days ago, a more trustworthy option has now surfaced for the fast-fashion fans who just can’t wait to get their hands on the collection. With over a week to go until the Donatella-designed pieces are officially available, select styles and sizes of the coveted wares have been popping up on eBay—and with the majority of sellers living in New York City, the main culprits are Tuesday night’s party goers who are selling off their swag-bag items.

The launch party was the only time clothing and accessories from the collection have been available so far, and the gift bags and purchasable items from the party quickly appeared online, marked up by almost 50 percent. While there hasn’t been much bidding action yet, there are still a few days remaining. We can’t wait to see how much the already-popular floral pleated dress is going to sell for—but with the current bid at US$159 we’re sure it will skyrocket.

In a merging of all things wonderful, we are thrilled to report that the musical guests at the Versace for H&M launch in New York on Tuesday night will be none other than Nicki Minaj and Prince. The equally flamboyant performers are just a hint of what amazingness we’re in store for, and if H&M’s last blowout fashion show was any indication, we’re in for a three-pronged treat. Seriously. If a duet of “Super Bass” or “Purple Rain” actually happens, we just might explode.

Another day, another peek at all the action from Milan. In today’s batch of photos, we caught a bunch of off-duty models including the simply adorable Lindsey Wixson, Jourdan Dunn, and Hanne Gaby Odiele. Plus, check out none other than Donatella Versace arriving to her own show.

View the photo gallery »

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.