FASHION Magazine

It may have looked like Wal-Mart on Black Friday, but over a thousand people outside of a Hong Kong Dolce & Gabbana store yesterday were there to protest rather than to shop. The angry mob took to the brand’s Tsim Sha Tsui location—they were demanding an apology for the ban on taking pictures of the storefront display.

The brand prompted the ban of photo ops outside the store after a distinguished shopper and apparent government official complained about shutters going off outside the store, for fear of appearing in the shots after being scrutinized for owning a luxury watch.

The plot thickened, though, with the rumoured comment made by a security guard at the Tsim Sha Tsui location, that only mainland Chinese tourists were allowed to take photos outside the store, adding fuel to ongoing racial clashes between Hong Kong natives and the mainland Chinese.

In a statement released earlier today, the brand said: “It is regrettable that Dolce & Gabbana has been brought into this matter, but we wish to underline that our company has not taken part in any action aiming at offending the Hong Kong public.”

Well, it looks like the future of American Apparel is a little sunnier than previously predicted. After scandal and bankruptcy trailed the company for most of last year, they have recently reported $157.9 million in sales during the fourth quarter of 2011, a 9.7 per cent gain over the same period in 2010.

Dior has signed Mila Kunis as the newest face of its Miss Dior handbags. The campaign, shot by Mikael Jansson, features a very Parisian-chic Kunis in black clothes and a chignon. (But of course.)

The advertisements are set to debut in international editions of Elle, Vogue, and Madame Figaro by January 15, reaching the American monthlies after January 29.

This will be Kunis’ first major ad campaign since she wowed audiences with her stellar performance in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. And the casting for the ad is an interesting one, if you remember Dior’s scrape with anti-semiticism last year. Kunis’ Black Swan co-star, Natalie Portman, also represents the brand, but threatened to leave the fashion house last March following Galliano’s anti-semitic comments. Despite Galliano’s outbursts, it seems that Dior has a soft spot for Jewish actress-ballerinas.

Perhaps this was Dior’s way of definitively stating that they do not share Galliano’s beliefs. Then again, Kunis was one of the most bankable cover stars of 2011, gracing Cosmopolitan, Elle, GQ, and W mags.

Delphine Arnault, deputy general manager of Dior, told WWD that Kunis’ print campaign would be part of a larger “worldwide media plan.” Does this mean a quirky fashion video of Kunis is in our future? We sure hope so.

And the case of the infamous red soles continues. After Christian Louboutin was denied from keeping his signature-hued soles from use by Yves Saint Laurent in a ruling this past August, the designer has fired back. Louboutin claims that the colour is central to the brand’s DNA, and to help his argument, he garnered the support of Tiffany & Co., whose “Tiffany Blue” is similarly used.

Today, a brief filed in support of YSL has been filed by 11 Georgetown University law professors, stating: “This court should recognize that the shadow cast by a mark in a single color on a fashion item creates enormous uncertainty for other designers and should regard claims of single-color trademarks in fashion with considerable skepticism.” According to the brief, Louboutin’s attempt for sole ownership of the red soles “should be rejected in order to preserve freedom of innovation and competition.” We guess all’s fair in love and war in the world of overpriced footwear.

By Bianca Teixeira

A first look at David Beckham’s advertisement for his H&M underwear collection has hit the web, and shall we just say, the Swedish brand sure knows its assets.

No stranger to flaunting his abs, pecs, glutes, and, well, you get it, the British soccer player first starred in Emporio Armani’s 2009 underwear campaign, and now he’s sharing once again. Set to launch on Feb. 2, the collection’s first campaign photo spotlights Beckham in all his glory—and a pair of $10 underwear.

The black and white photo features the star in his skivvies with his name in bold text stamped over his body. In an act of genius, the letters covering his inked chest have been photoshopped out. As we all wait with bated breath for more ads to be released, it gets us thinking: Should we all line up at H&M on Feb. 2 for Beckham posters to take home? Or shall we just hope that future ads come with a workable eraser—if you know what we mean.

Star magazine’s recently released cover story has the Kardashian fam under fire. Star is claiming that the lines K-Dash by Kardashian, the Kris Jenner Collection, and ShoeDazzle are all manufactured in sweatshops in China, where workers, some of them children, are exposed to inhumane working conditions.

The main source of these allegations comes from Charles Kernaghan, the executive director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights. Since the Star article was released, TMZ reported that Kernaghan went back on his allegations (“Wait on the article,” he told the Star, because he had no proof) closely followed by a statement on RadarOnline claiming that he stands by what he said in the article (“We don’t know what [TMZ is] talking about. I don’t disagree with a single thing [Star] said so I don’t know what they are saying”). Confused yet?

With 2011 wrapping up, many end-of-year lists have been popping up. Today, Forbes released their twelve 30 Under 30 lists of people who are making a mark in their respective fields. Fashion folk have a large presence in the art and design category.

The industry’s latest bright young things that made the cut include Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who have become respected fashion designers for their high-end line, The Row, which sold out of their $35,000 bags and designed T-shirts for shopping site stylemint.com. It’s no surprise that Pamela Love and Alexander Wang are included in the list, considering both of their brands’ successes this past year. Rounding out the fashionable list is recent CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner and industry darling Joseph Altuzarra. Tavi Gevinson, 15-year-old former fashion blogger turned editor-in-chief of teen cool-girl magazine Rookie repped fashion in the media category.

Taylor Swift is known for her knockout red carpet beauty looks, but today her work for Cover Girl’s Nature Luxe Mousse Mascara is coming under fire for the not-so-natural lashes in the ad’s photo. The National Advertising Division in the U.S. has banned the ad for excessive photoshopping and noted the disclaimer at the bottom of the ad that states Swift’s lashes are “enhanced in post production.” The ban was also based on the ad’s superior performance claims, which claim the mascara will give your lashes “2x more volume” and is “20 per cent lighter” than other mascaras.

Prior to the recent reports that Jil Sander creative director Raf Simons is the latest frontrunner to replace John Galliano at Dior, it was almost certain that Marc Jacobs would be the designer to succeed Galliano. However, after reports that money issues brought talks to an end, those rumours bit the dust. Throughout this whole ordeal, Jacobs has been quiet, leaving us all wondering if there was ever any truth to these reports.

Which brings us to today: Jacobs is finally setting the record straight about whether or not he was as serious about moving to Dior as we were all led to believe. In an interview with Vogue, he says that while he did talk about Dior, he didn’t have serious intentions of moving to the iconic French house. But not because of money: he’s just not that into… couture? “The idea of couture doesn’t hold that thing for me. It’s archaic—in my opinion. I mean, I am really interested in the craftsmanship behind couture. But I can explore all that in ready-to-wear.”

While Jacobs’ statement about couture is debatable (with good reason) at least the Dior rumour can finally be put to rest and we can all move on.

Donna Karan’s Spring 2012 collection was heavily inspired by Haiti. Karan’s been spending a lot of time in the Caribbean country doing charity work since last year’s earthquake, and uses her celebrity to raise money for her own charity and several others. All of the print ads for the collection were shot in Haiti, and they’re rich in the country’s culture but—surprise, surprise!—sources are claiming one of the pictures is insensitive and even racist.

The controversial picture has Adriana Lima in front, glowing in an olive-coloured jumpsuit and statement necklace, with two Haitian men lurking in the shadows in the background. The complaints again these ads range from the choice of using a white model in Haitian-based photos and the placement of Haitian men in the shadows of an otherwise glamorous photo, to the picture drawing attention to the huge divide between a luxe fashion brand and the Haitian population. None of the pictures make direct reference to Haiti’s extreme poverty, but the juxtaposition is very clear.

Last night in New York, Christie’s auction of the legendary Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery shattered records for private jewellery sales and raised $116 million. Known for her penchant for expensive and extravagant baubles, the late actress’ collection included pieces by some of the world’s most famous jewellers including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Chopard.

Androgynous model Andrej Pejic has popped up as a bride on Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2012 runway as well as the runways at LG Fashion Week—including the Pink Tartan show—and he’s even met the Queen. Now, he has a new gig modeling lingerie for Dutch chain retailer Hema. In the ads, Pejic models a double-pushup bra that promises to increase your bust by two-cup sizes. Seeing how feminine Pejic looks, even though he’s one of the most flat-chested models in the business since he’s naturally sans cleavage, the bra must be amazing, right?