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If Universal Studios had a fashionable Parisian sister, it would be last night’s blowout launch party for the upcoming Isabel Marant for H&M collection. Inspired by the city’s boho ‘90s scene, Tennis Club de Paris was transformed into a bustling city scene, complete with a roller derby, a shoppable bodega, photo booths, endless late night take out options and a souvenir shop, where the collection made its pre-shop debut. Guests including Audrey Tautou, January Jones, Freida Pinto and Olga Kurylenko (all in Isabel Marant for H&M, of course) took in the fantasy fair scene, while others broke a very literal sweat in the pre-shop line up. Around 11pm, a group of Marant-outfitted models launched into a glitter-inducing dance party, followed by a performance by none other than Grandmaster Melle Mel and Rappers Delight. God love Parisians and their appreciation of good old American fun.

See photos of Rihanna’s Chanel tour here » As if Rihanna’s life wasn’t already fabulous enough, the singer was treated to the crème de la crème of fashion experiences in Paris today. Earlier this morning, Rihanna tweeted,“Got the keys to #CoCoChanels apartment!!! Yesterday=Most Legendary day in Paris!!!!” Along with the tweet, she Instagrammed a number […]

The post Rihanna Instagrams her visit to Coco Chanel’s apartment in Paris and once again, improves on her swag factor appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

An Ottawa model, a Toronto-bred photographer and a Paris hotel room packed with haute couture. What a perfect way to illustrate FASHION’s mandate—bringing the international world of fashion home.

PHOTO SHOOT:
See the gallery of images now »

BEHIND THE SCENES:
Goes behind the scenes at our haute couture shoot in Paris »

VIDEOS:
Watch as we share two videos from the shoot »

ON LOCATION:
Hôtel de Crillon in Paris »

Miuccia Prada isn’t exactly known for being all that press-friendly, and a rare interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica may shed some light on why the legendary designer hasn’t warmed to the media in the same way chatterboxes Karl Lagerfeld and Roberto Cavalli have.

In a translation by WWD, Prada’s feature in La Repubblica details all her concerns about the flagging Italian fashion industry. More than any other nation, Italy has the most family-owned luxury fashion houses: Prada, Gucci, Missoni and Fendi are just a few brands that still have an active voice from the founding designers’ families. But with more and more Italian fashion houses looking to sell (Valentino sold to Qatar’s royal family for over $850 million) or to expand by going public with IPOs, Prada is worried Italian fashion may become “second league.”

“[…] If our brands cross our borders, the credit, glamour, fame and decision making is in the hands of others, and we are abandoned, downgraded,” she cautioned.

Prada doesn’t fault the designers themselves; after all, she shows Miu Miu in Paris because of the city’s “attraction that is called glamour,” and Raf Simons’ move from Jil Sander (which shows in Milan) to Parisian fashion house Dior will mean “his value will further be emphasized.”

According to Prada, the real culprits are the Italian media and left-leaning intellectuals. Journalists’ treatment of their nation’s fashion industry as “frivolous” instead of a relevant industry contributes to the view that Italy is seen as a place with “less resources, culture, protagonists, ideas, vitality and money,” meaning that like Simons, “fashion goes elsewhere, looking for the best.”

In your daily dose of Karl Lagerfeld news, the eclectic designer apparently has another job on top of his many other ones (father to Choupette, Chanel designer, Snoop Dogg music video star, etc). During his off time, Lagerfeld sometimes likes to pretend to be a street statue.

By Chadner Navarro

One of the best perks of checking into a hotel is rushing to the bathroom to see what kind of products await. Some offer perennial favourites like Kiehl’s or cool niche brands such as Malin + Goetz, but others commission beauty brands to create exclusive items, making them that much more likely to disappear upon checkout. Herewith, our picks for hotels that provide the squeal factor when it comes to travel-size toiletries.

See our beauty travel picks »
JUMP TO: AMSTERDAM | ISTANBUL | MEXICO CITY | PARIS

Drink in the magic of Fall 2012 with FASHION’s first look at the hottest shows, most bewitching sets, best new trends and more.

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JUMP TO: NEW YORK | LONDON | MILAN | PARIS

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Montreal native Rad Hourani managed to make fashion history not just once, but twice last week: not only was he the first Canadian to show during haute couture week in Paris, but he was also the first designer to ever show a unisex haute couture collection.

He described his collection as “unisex, pure and complex” to FASHION Montreal editor Patricia Gajo last month, and the collection was all that and more: luxurious, sleek and meticulously tailored. The makeup and hair was also true to the Jordan-born designer’s bare-boned, androgynous style. At the hands of senior M.A.C artist Luc Bouchard, models were sent down the runway in a palette of neutrals inspired by “angelic creatures,” their slicked back hair baring their minimalist faces.

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?

Last week we were in Paris to interview Kristen Stewart about being the face of Balenciaga’s new Florabotanica perfume, which launches this fall. Between attending a garden party—hosted by Stewart and the fashion house’s creative director Nicolas Ghesquière—and chatting one-on-one with the actress the next day about everything from fashion to fragrance, here are three things we learned about KStew.

The Russian fashion elite (also known as the “Russian Fashion Pack”) are having a moment right now, one that may have culminated yesterday in street-style-star-turned-designer Ulyana Sergeenko’s debut couture collection.

Rolling out right in between Chanel and Armani Privé’s shows, the couture collector’s first-ever collection was an ode to her country’s folklore and heritage, complete with babushkas, hand-carved wooden shoes and fur-lined military coats. Grace Coddington and Carine Roitfeld sat front row, which if anything, is a testament to Sergeenko and the rest of the Russian Fashion Pack’s appeal right now.

“America has Jackie O, and the world has Audrey Hepburn, but Russia never had a fashion icon of the moment,” Anya Ziourova, the fashion director of the Russian version of Tatler, told the New York Times in a feature titled “The Czarinas Are Back.” “Maybe that is what is happening: the modern Russian icons are being born.”

If street style blogs are any indication of style, then the Russian fash-pack has it in spades. Something about their individually distinct aesthetics and sartorial risk-taking has caught heavy-hitting and influential photographers’ eyes, turning them into fashion stars overnight.

Take designer Vika Gazinskaya, for example: the Russian gamine quickly gained visibility online, thanks to heavily circulated photographs of her by Garance Doré, Scott Schuman and Tommy Ton across the blogosphere. In a strategic move, she wore her own designs to the fashion show circuit, and thanks to the blogosphere pics, the move worked out: her pieces are now carried at Colette in Paris and Fivestory in New York.

There’s also Miroslava (or Mira) Duma, the daughter of a Russian senator and the former editor of Russia’s Harper’s Bazaar, who has become as known (if not more so) for her quirky, colourful style as her popular fashion website Buro 24/7.

And then, of course, there’s Sergeenko, arguably the leader of the pack: like her couture collection on Tuesday, the former model’s signatures are full, ‘50s-esque skirts paired with tight wool sweaters, dramatic Russian touches like babushkas and stunning makeup that hearkens back to another time.

The leading ladies of the Russian Fashion Pack may have some deep pockets (Sergeenko’s husband is an insurance billionaire), but their inimitable style and work is what’s really distinguishing them among their peers.

It should come as no surprise that Hedi Slimane’s much talked about collections for Saint Laurent Paris (his revamped moniker for the legendary Yves Saint Laurent) are being kept well under wraps as he prepares for their debut this fall. Fortunately for us, a handful of select retailers were invited to view his first designs […]

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