FASHION Magazine

The invitation that has New York fashion lovers waiting by the mailbox is that of tonight’s Costume Institute’s Met Gala. This year’s extravaganza opens the exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty (May 4 to July 31, metmuseum.org), which encompasses everything from McQueen’s Central Saint Martins post-graduate collection of 1992 to his final presentation, which was shown days after his death.

Yet another of the hot young Canadian talents burning up NYC, Toronto native Kaelen Farncombe is one expatriate you might want to keep dibs on. Relocating to the Big Apple to study fashion design at Parsons New School for Design a few years back, Farncombe honed her skills while interning for designers Stella McCartney and Jenni Kayne. Channeling the easy sophistication favoured by those two designers, Farncombe launched her own effortless line of standout separates, Kaelen, early last year. With only three collections to date, the 26-year-old has developed a reputation for spinning unusual inspirations (her starting point for Spring was literal tornado chasing) into richly modern pieces that seem to transcend trends. The young designer’s aesthetic is already easily identifiable: effortless, elongated geometry with pops of colour like fall 2011’s riffs on chartreuse, red and tangerine.

We chatted with Farncombe about her aesthetic, chasing tornadoes and the business of fashion.

Check out our New York fall 2011 fashion week photo gallery »

Continuing the reign of Canada’s presence in the Big Apple (first Tim Hortons, then Aritzia…) Joe Fresh has finally announced the details of its long-time rumoured upcoming US flagship opening. Set to open next fall at 510 Fifth Avenue at 43^rd Street (steps away from the New York Public Library and Bryant Park!), the US opening coincides with Joe’s fifth anniversary in Canada and the launch of a sleek new logo to boot. Shaping up, shipping out!

New York! Milan! Paris! Oh, my! FASHION editor-in-chief Bernadette Morra sits down with fashion director Susie Sheffman and senior editor, fashion news Sarah Casselman to discuss the hottest trends, moments and runways of the spring 2011 season. Complete with runway footage of the shows, we present our ultimate primer for the freshest season.

The post Editors’ video: Spring 2011 trends appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

With so many press and wealthy clients in Paris for the haute couture shows, many of the luxury jewelers in the Place Vendome are using the occasion to launch new collections. So off I went to Van Cleef & Arpels to see their new Zips. It was the Duchess of Windsor (the sometimes scandalous, always stylish legendary Wallis Simpson) who first suggested in 1938 that the house craft a zipper necklace in precious materials, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that technology caught up with the duchess’s imagination. By then, Wallis was over it. And though her character is seen wearing a Zip in The King’s Speech, the real duchess never did.

MY FAVOURITE…PARTY:
The reopening of Chanel’s SoHo store. The guest list included S.J.P., Liv Tyler, Jessica Stam, Blake Lively, DJ/It girl Alexa Chung and the man of the hour, Karl Lagerfeld. Guests channelled their inner Basquiat by grabbing a canister of Chanel-branded infrared spray paint from one of the handsome cater waiters and unleashing on the digital graffiti wall.

MY FAVOURITE…SHOW:
Michael Kors’ sunshine state of mind. I can’t get enough of his cool-as-a-cucumber crinkled linens, tissue cashmeres and hand smocking.

The New York fashion pack crowded around mayor Michael Bloomberg at a press conference where he delivered new details about Fashion’s Night Out. Among his self-aware quips, we learned that 1000 shops are participating and the largest fashion show in New York history, with 150 models and 1,500 spectators, will take place. Anna Wintour, according to eyewitnesses, actually looked happy. [The Cut]

Oh this is adorable: In honour of Peanuts’ 60th anniversary, Lacoste is teaming up with Charlie Brown and co. The collection of limited edition polos will feature the Lacoste crocodile interacting with Woodstock, CB, Snoopy and Linus. [Racked]

We worked up an appetite for Brooklyn’s culinary delights after spending time wandering the borough’s selection of cool boutiques. Here are our favourite stops.

Bird (220 Smith St.,718-797-3774, shopbird.com) This little gem of a shop carries 3.1 Phillip Lim, Current/Elliott, Alexander Wang and everything in between.

Butter By Eva Gentry (389 Atlantic Ave., 718-260-9033, evagentry.com) You feel like you are entering a gallery when you pass the stoop of this directional boutique. They carry everything from artfully-crafted Japanese shoes to delicate diamond micro-bands and scented candles.

Brooklyn’s gentrification in recent years has led to many great things, including ones to satisfy our hunger pains. If you’re in New York this summer, hop over the East River to check out one of these spots for a low-key nosh.

You finally have your chance to share a drink with the Kaiser: Karl Lagerfeld has designed a limited-edition bottle for Coca-Cola Light (Europe’s equivalent to our Diet Coke) complete with his own high-collar silhouette.  [Styleite]

Yet another -ista term is making the rounds: kitchenista. The New York Post talks to a group of fashion lovers who are dealing with Manhattan’s cramped closet conditions by filling fridges and ovens full of shoes and clothes. One asked her superintendent to turn of the gas in her over so she didn’t accidentally bake her wardrobe. [NYP]

Vogue‘s most visible caftan wearer, André Leon Talley, told the Globe & Mail that he would never make it to Toronto Fashion Week:

“I’m too busy. I just would never be able to. My schedule just can’t permit it.”

But then Jeremy Laing, Erdem and Mark Fast show in New York and London to get the audience they need.

Well, then that’s what they have to do.

Well. That’s that then. [Globe & Mail]