FASHION Magazine

The Kelly, the PS1, the Speedy: It bags have become so major over the years, that they scarcely even need a designer name attached! We discuss the appeal at length in our Winter 2012 issue, but today, we’re putting these bags to the test: in the battle of It bag supremacy, which comes out on top?

View our top 10 »
Vote for your favourite »

View the photo gallery»

A black carpet, sprinkled with male models in white tuxes, beckoned guests to the second floor of the Bay Downtown Vancouver for the Thursday night grand opening of The Room, the department store’s second den of high fashion. Erdem Moralioglu and Brian Atwood—both on their first visit to Vancouver—Jason Matlo, Monika Deol, and Jessica Stam (to name a few) were among the crowd of well-dressed revellers air kissing, clinking glasses, and noshing on Hawksworth Restaurant–made canapés.

Praise the red carpet gods! The stars really pulled out all the stops this year at TIFF, which was great to see, given some years’ lackluster outings. Lace, length, and print were big trends this year, and so were megawatt designers, from Marisa Tomei‘s Proenza Schouler, to Madonna‘s Tom Ford, to Elizabeth Olsen‘s Erdem. They’re all big winners in our eyes, but if you HAD to choose, who would be your favourite? Vote after the jump!

View the photo gallery »

The master of cool, disheveled hair, Paul Hanlon described the look backstage at Proenza Schouler ‘50s-inspired, with a nod to Elvis. “But it’s not too literal because it can obviously look a bit retro, a little bit tacky, so we had to be very careful in the way that we did it.” In Hanlon’s mind, this is a girl who’s borrowed her dad’s pomade and tried to recreate his style but with her own spin on it. Prepping the hair with Fekkai Ocean Wave Spray to create a dry, matte texture, he then applied Fekkai Coiff Forming Wax through the hairline. “Then we’re using a blow-dryer and melting the wax into the hair. That way when it cools down it sets, so it has a lot of hold in the hair.” Employing a men’s barbering comb, the sides were raked up for that ‘50s touch with the volume on top kept low. “I don’t want it to look like a big quiff.” In the back, transparent elastic was sewn into the hair with a tapestry needle to prevent the length from hanging all the way down. Fekkai Sheer Hold Hairspray and a blow-dryer melted the raw shape into place. “We wanted something tougher and cooler but at the same time quite chic. It’s a continuation of what we did with the hair last season, this idea of very organic, weathered hair.”

Following the recent conviction of John Galliano, the buzz around Marc Jacobs replacing him at Dior intensifies. The latest rumour is that Jacobs and business partner Robert Duffy are in negotiations and asking for a salary package of $10 million.

If Jacobs cashes in on the deal, he’ll be one of the highest-paid designers in the world. The new position of creative director also means more work for Jacobs, adding Dior’s two couture shows on top of his existing workload.

Now that it’s looking more and more likely that Jacobs will say goodbye to Louis Vuitton, the people at Vuitton seem to be scrambling to find a replacement. Apparently they’ve approached many of fashion’s heavyweights including Alber Elbaz, the Proenza Schouler boys, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Sarah Burton, and Hedi Slimane. So far, Elbaz, Ghesquiere and Burton have declined.

We break down the biggest (and most decorative) hair moment on the runways and give you all you need to know for fall.

By Lesa Hannah and Sarah Daniel

See the top hair trends for fall »

View by trend: Top Heavy | Bottoms Up | Male Forwarding | Weaving Pattern | Artistic Expression | Special Toppings

View our top hair products »

Help FASHION celebrate our 10^th annual Reader’s Choice Beauty Awards by telling us which products are your ultimate must-haves. Vote at fashionmagazine.com/beautyawards for a chance to WIN a beauty pack with your top picks!

Word: Polymath

Meaning: A person whose knowledge and skills span numerous of subject areas. In more common terms, a Renaissance man or woman.

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.

By Sarah Casselman and Susie Sheffman

From swinging ’60s to cowgirl chic, the hot looks
and perfect pieces you need for fall.

View the runway report now »

View by trend: Colour | Strict Rules | Tux Luxe | Flash Mob | Mod Squad
True Grit | Geometry Class | Accessories

Speculation surrounding a change in Proenza Schouler’s investors has been circulating for quite some time now. That change seems to have been confirmed yesterday by Cathy Horyn of The New York Times. According to the writer, the label’s current backer, the private equity firm Permira (also the primary owner of Valentino), will be selling its shares in the label as early as Friday.

The 45-per-cent stake will reportedly be transferred over to a group of New York investors including Andrew Rosen, CEO of Theory and Helmut Lang. Designers and founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez will likely hold onto their control over the other 55 per cent of the company.

While we’re excited to see what Rosen’s plans are for the brand, we’re hoping that too much doesn’t change. New investors can often demand a lot of designers, but that won’t necessarily be the case with Proenza Schouler. McCollough and Hernadez’s It-girl aesthetic seems in keeping with Rosen’s previous ventures (think Olivier Theyskens at Theory). What we are hoping for is the production of more accessories, which seems inevitable with the success of the PS1 bag.

Word: Psychedelicate

Meaning: “Something that is simultaneously psychedelic and tender,” says Urban Dictionary, because every time you think you’ve made something up, Urban Dictionary is there to prove you wrong.