I Dress Mistresses, Not Wives...

Emanuel Ungaro Fall 2011
From Style.com

  Giles Deacon has now firmly taken hold of Ungaro... The company had floundered for a while, and after the whole "celebrity creative director" fiasco (you know who I'm talking about Lindsay...), it really needed some help. Enter the formerly, London based designer, Giles Deacon, give him a season to get his footing, and we are on our way! Last seasons collection was so sexualized, while hinting at Lolita, but was too overt in the construction to actually pull it off. He repaired that this season! There were no hints at girlhood here, this was a collection for a woman! Emanuel Ungaro once stated "I dress mistresses, not wives..." and it shows!
  Giles showed second skin leather pants, and black miniskirts, topped, in nearly every exit, with a cinched waist top. I particularly, loved the sweaters with animal faces (from last seasons LV, Men's Givenchy, and Last night's Givenchy collection for women, I am sensing a trend...) worn below high collared necklaces. The printed silk dresses, and tops are gorgeous, and ALL the dresses were ready to party! The leather dresses especially were a huge hit, and with this show, I think that Giles Deacon has secured his place in the Ungaro family. See the whole show here at Style.com (Ungaro Fall 2011)!
 

LVMH + Hermes = Rape Says Hermes CEO...

  "If you want to seduce a beautiful woman, you don't start by raping her from behind..." Strong words from Patrick Thomas, the 6th generation CEO of the Hermes family business. As many of you know, the multi brand luxury conglomerate, LVMH, has secretly acquired 20 percent of the Hermes holdings. With the Hermes family holding another 70 percent between its different branches, and the remaining 10 still out there, the family has banded together, and is holding firm that they will remain in control of the company.

Inside Hermes Birkin... 

  The acquisition happened gradually, in October LVMH announced that it had gained 17 percent through different deals, and within the month it had gained 3 more, at which time Hemes asked politely, as is done in the old French manner, to stand down. M. Bernard Arnault, said flatly, they "have no intention" of selling their shares, and losing what they had gained.
  Arnault is a strong business man, and has done wonders in the fashion industry, taking the grand old houses, and reestablishing them on top. But at  what cost? Hermes see's what LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessey) does as crass, and undermining to the reputation of the luxury goods industry. For example, part of the revitalisation of Dior, consisted of $600 jacquard Logo totes, which in Hermes logic cheapened the brand... "If you told me to double Hermes sales by tomorrow, I could do it, but in 3 years, there would be no more Hermes..." Thomas said. He also "thought out loud" at a press conference held in Paris yesterday, that it would be in the families best interest to delist the company from the French stock exchange.
  This will be an ongoing battle of the LUXURY scions, and I will do my best to keep you posted! Drama is a brewing!

WOW! There Is A Lot Happening This Week.

Hanna MacGibbon at Chloe
From Style.com

  It was reported yesterday that Hannah MacGibbons performance today at the fall 2011 collection for Chloe, would determine her fate with the company. As I was doing research for this post, it turned out that it was just a rumor, but I can't help but wonder where these rumors start.
  We are constantly hearing from an "inside source" that Stefano Pilati is being ousted from his position at YSL, or that Nicolas is on the outs with the head honchos at PPR... Certainly Hannah MacGibbon is no Stella McCartney, or Karl Lagerfeld, but the work she is doing at Chloe is good. She has defined an element missing from the French Fashion industry, namely a cool, bohemian minimalism, that isn't really found anywhere else.  While Phoebe Philo is showing slim, cool, and interesting designs, Hannah is showing a more relaxed version, they have the same client, just different days of the week. Hannah is the weekend wardrobe to Philo's Celine work week.
  I don't imagine the sales are any worse than while Paulo Andersson was at the helm (a rather dissapointing position as fas as sales were concerned), or as great as when Stella was there (the showmanship of the Stella years won't be duplicated...), but she seems to be holding her own... Leave the poor girl alone! As we have seen in the last week, designers are under a great deal of stress, and have enough to worry about, without us firing them in our blogs! See the latest collection at Style.com Chloe Fall 2011!

YSL Manifesto!!!

YSL Manifesto
From Racked.com

  Every season Yves Saint Laurent releases their Manifesto, their version of a "What Wear How" guide... It contains a set of prints from that seasons campaign, a look book for the collection, and from what I hear some backstage shots from the show, all wrapped up in a collectible canvas tote... It is all done in a Guerilla Marketing sort of way because they only print about 2000 of them, and don't distribute them via the stores, they take them out  to the streets of selected cities, usually Paris, London, New York, etc... and pass them out to people on the streets! Well, I am obviously in San Diego, and not at liberty to just jaunt up to LA (an added city this season.) to wander the streets, and search for the manifesto... My connections at YSL left long ago, after the Tom Ford era ended, but... I GOT IT PEOPLE!!!

Image from Racked.com

  My dearest friend Elgin, also known as the Feel Good Guru of Style, made a couple calls, and not only got me one set, but 2 sets of the books!!! I am dying! I have been excited all day, and CANNOT WAIT to receive it! But in the meantime, you guys can check out the tote (Jealous?), and a couple great pics... This seasons Manifesto was shot by powerhouse photog couple, Inez Van Lamsweerde, and Vinoodh Matadin, and features the amazingly gorgeous Arizona Muse... I hope you like them... When I get the book, I will post more!!!

Arizona Muse in the Manifesto
From Vogue.co.uk

Manifesto Image From
Vogue.co.uk

Manifesto Image
From Vogue.co.uk

Junc Boutique! Brills!

  Every time I go to visit my friend Jeffrey at his South Park Boutique, Junc, I am blown away by his store. He has received the Best Retail Role Model Award from City Beat Magazine, the "Best Shop to go to on a Day Trip" accolade from Sunset Magazine, and not one to mention it himself, but Erykah Badu, whose aunt lives nearby, stops in every time she is in town. Junc is a perfectly curated selection of women's wear, men's clothing, and home/lifestyle pieces. The walls are lined with an assortment of great bags, flowing tops, and amazing party dresses he designed himself. The sitting area (where, by the way the furnishings are for sale...), is a mix up of burlap chaise lounges, zebra rugs, and antique church candle holders. My favorite home pieces are the wooden deer heads mounted on the walls like hunting trophies.
  I brought along Karla, to try on some pieces for me. Jeffrey and I pulled clothes while Karla admired the shop. While we did we discussed his stores concept. He thinks that in uncertain financial times women want quality, and at a really good price, so he has kept every piece of clothing in his store under $100. This concept has kept the women of, not only South Park, but all the surrounding areas coming back! He has clients that come from Kensington, where he opened his first store Sugar Ltd. five years ago, to visit and shop. His form of honesty is also a draw, he believes that no woman has to leave his store in something that doesn't flatter, so he is not afraid to tell a client if something doesn't work, and replace it with something that does.
 One of the best looks we were working with today was the adorable chiffon LBD (little black dress). It had 2 sets of shoulder straps, one a dangly black wisp, that was there just as a piece to create interest! It's the best party dress I have seen in a while. With layers of black chiffon, and short while staying out of scandal length, it was perfect for cocktails, or dancing!
  The second was a really cool play on festival dressing. The black maxi skirt, was made up of hemmed, and layered black jersey, that fell in gathers at the bottom. Very cool paired with a vintage inspired, illustrated Nirvana band tee, and studded vest! A skinny belt and a slick play on gladiator sandals finished the look perfectly! There were really dark denim, boot cut (yes, they are coming back people...), high waisted jeans, to pair with a huge selection of flowing tops, in all manner of sheer. One of my favorite pieces was the cream A-line dress. It has a plunging neckline, spaghetti straps, and a racer back! We showed it here under the army green band jacket. It was totally amazing on Karla, and both Jeffrey and myself, stopped to say so! I wish the pictures had turned out better of Karla without the jacket on, and the amazing necklace!
  Jeffrey's Junc Boutique Website has a great wealth of info on the concept and image of the store, but he, as of yet, doesn't use the site to sell much more than a small selection, so you have to go into the store and check it out!

Junc Boutique  Phone: 619-283-2611
2209 Fern St.
San Diego Ca 92104                                                                

Not Really a Post.

Sacai Fall 2011
From Style.com

  I just wanted to say that I love, love, love this concept! The bomber jacket that Chitose Abe showed in her collection Sacai is AMAY-ZING! I know it is a piece of women's wear, but, if any of you designer friends of mine want to custom make and gift one to me, I would Love Love Love you FOREVER! 
  The rest of her collection is a cute combination of lingerie inspired pieces, mixed in with day wear, and it translates really cute, Stylish girls should totally check out the whole collection (I posted the link below, as usual...), even if it is just used for inspiration on cool ways to mix shapes and textures, but the point is, I WANT THIS COAT!

Sacai Fall 2011 at Style.com

Why Is Commercial Such A Bad Word?

Barbara Bui Fall 2011
From Style.com

  So often in the business of fashion we are so wrapped up in the concept of "cutting edge", and "the new" this or that, when we hear that a collection was "wearable" or god forbid "commercial", we tend to read BORING. It seems that we forget that we are in the garment business, and the point IS to sell clothing, and ultimately make money. Enter Barbara Bui.
  After Balenciaga, and Balmain showed this morning, I scanned to see if there was anything I had missed, and happened across the Bui show. I was instantly attracted to her collection. Was she showing cutting edge fashions that wowed at every exit? No. Innovative cuts, that scared women into saying they were Fabulous? No. What Barbara did was show a collection of  33 exits that her customer WILL WEAR! There were great aviator coats, (yes, still...) and terrific trousers cut slightly cropped, and close enough to the leg that they didn't balloon out when tucked into a woman's winter boot. She showed lots of black leather jackets, which is to be expected from her, and draped mini dresses, in jersey, and leather.
  Barbara isn't going to be worn on the red carpet, and isn't looking for lots of press, I feel like she knows her client, and makes clothing for her. I feel like this winter, a lot of women will be wearing this look, right along with the Slouchy trousers, and chiffon blouses. See the collection below, at Style.com.

Barbara Bui at Style.com

FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!

Formichetti for Mugler Fall 2011
From Style.com

  I swear I am OVER IT! I was not even going to bother with this post, but decided that if I let Dolce & Gabbana have it for their outre show of bizarre alphabet prints, why shouldn't I let Nicola Formichetti have some too! I get it you're designing for the house of Thierry Mugler, and his designs were edgy and creative, and NO, you should not be designing Harley Davidson Bodysuits, or lacquering up your models in metallic chrome, but you should at least give them variety! I don't mean to sound prudish, but I was hard pressed to find a wearable top in the whole collection, after the fifth skintight pencil skirt, and completely sheer top, it go very old. Even Lady Gaga, prowling down the catwalk in a cone bra couldn't rescue this ship! This sums up the collection, with the exception of the first pantsuit on the runway, a tailored black suit with the signature Mugler shoulders, this collection was a line of bad taste, and workout clothes...

  I do have to say the did a really good set for the show... Oops, apparently the lighting was horrible, and you couldn't even see the garments... Why? I believe that he has it in him, I think he is great, and adorable... But now both Men's and Women's Mugler has been a let down... Maybe if he just focused on designing, and left that woman out of it... Just saying...

TERMINATED!

John Galliano at his Show
Photo From Style.com

  For the last 15 years, John Galliano's vision of beauty and glamor has reigned over the house of Christian Dior. Things change. On Feb. 25 2011, news broke of Galliano's suspension from the role of creative director at Dior due to an altercation that broke out at the Parisian bar "Le Perle", where Galliano reportedly told a woman she was a "jewish whore" and she was "disgusting", which lead to his being taken to the police station and questioned. Later, upon his pressing return charges of slander against the patrons of the bar with which he quarreled, more reports surfaced, including one in which Galliano was caught on tape saying to a woman "he loved Hitler", and her "family should have been f...ing gassed"!
  After seeing the video, Natalie Portman, who is the face of the labels Miss Dior Cherie perfume, said that she was "deeply shocked and disgusted by the video", and that she "will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way", and quickly replaced her Dior Couture gown, for a plum Rodarte at this years Oscar Awards.
  News of John Galliano's termination broke this morning and has many people wondering how the show will take place in his absence. Scheduled for this Friday, the show will go on, just without hi signature rock star final bow.
  LVMH's (the luxury goods conglomerate that owns Dior) decision to fire Galliano comes as no surprise, with them stating "We unequivocally condemn the statements made by John Galliano",last year they had a similar scandal with the heir to the Guerlain cosmetics company. This all begs the question, who will take Galliano's place at the storied house? Stefano Pilati from YSL? Hedi Slimane? He already has history at Dior, designing their menswear for years... Any ideas? Post them in the comments!