To say that the launch of Carine Roitfeld's new magazine CR Fashion Book has been highly anticipated would be a serious understatement. The last few months have been full of speculation about what we can expect along with controversy surrounding those reports about Condé Nast banning their stylists and photographers from contributing to the publication. Now the wait is over because the cover has been revealed and the issue is set to drop on September 13.
Kate Upton was shot by Bruce Weber for the cover carrying five chicks, in line with the issue's rebirth theme, and her appearance doesn't come as a surprise. Back in June reports began to emerge that Roitfeld had snapped her up particularly after she booked the Sports Illustrated model to walk in that amfAR fashion show in Cannes. And besides, we know that Carine likes models a good curvy blonde (hello Lara Stone) and Upton is just that.
'Maybe people will be surprised that she was my first cover, but you know, I always like to surprise people,' she told The Daily Beast. 'I wanted someone with a sensual body, someone who could be a mother of all these babies. Honestly, from the first time I worked with her - I saw in Sports Illustrated some pictures she did with Terry Richards. I would not say she's a controversial model, but she's not a classic model, and I like that.'
The last few weeks have been tough for Rachel Zoe. Her ready-to-wear collection was publicly dropped by Selfridges with other department stores reportedly looking to do the same and rumours were also circulating that Bravo had given 'The Rachel Zoe Project' the axe. While the retail reports are true, it looks like team Zoe won't be leaving the small screen anytime soon.
Yesterday Bravo confirmed that they've given the green light to the fifth season of the reality show. According to the press release, the show will focus on Zoe's transition 'from being a successful celebrity stylist into a the Rachel Zoe brand' and also expect a lot more appearances from 'little fashionisto Skyler...now a walking toddler' too. Zoe used the announcement as an opportunity to comment on the reports about the state of her business saying that, 'My business is up significantly. Just launched jewelry, things are doing well. None of those points from the NY Post article were true and it got picked up by everyone. Our retailer's didn't even blink, though, because they know the truth.'
Debenhams have been lucky over the past few years. Their designer offerings include an impressive line-up of brands ranging from John Rocha to Matthew Williams but now, John Lewis is getting in on the action too. Earlier on this week the department store released the latest Somerset by Alice Temperley collection and already, the sales have exceeded all expectations so much so that it has become the most popular brand in the store's history.
More than a hundred shoppers queued outside the department store on Oxford Street on Tuesday to be amongst the first people to get their hands on the line and on that day alone, the brand took in eleven times the sales usually brought in on the day of a brand launch. But it doesn't end there. The line sold so well on the first day that by the afternoon, it had already met it's target for the week.
Joanna Coles departure from Marie Claire to Cosmopolitan came as a surprise. Coming from a fashion background it instantly became interesting to find out what Coles would do at Cosmo, what with it's focus on sex, and well, more sex. And by the sounds of it, she wants to give the title the shake-up that we've long been waiting for.
'I have some ideas for partnerships and leveraging some of the brand and expanding various bits of it. Opening it up more editorially,' she told WWD. In other words expect to see more fashion content and less 'how to please your man in bed' stories. Talking to the title she explained that she wants to change the way the magazine covers fashion week and make sure that it has a strong 'front representation at New York Fashion Week.'
When Ryan Lochte's people confirmed that he's working on a fashion line, I took his fashion ambitions with a pinch of salt. I mean, aside from those speedos, it's not very often that his fashion choices are a point of discussion but it looks like he's taking the whole fashion thing pretty seriously after all.
The New York Daily News reports that the Olympian is covering New York Fashion Week for E! after his successful appearance on Fashion Police. According to the title, he's already covered the Joseph Abboud show where he sat 'front and centre' and I can't say I'm surprised by the move. Lochte's made no secret of the fact that he has his eyes set on bagging a reality show and considering that E! have huge shows like 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians,' getting him to cover fashion week may be a trial run.
Louis Vuitton's new collaboration with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama might not have been the most obvious partnership but clearly they were onto something because the collection has been a complete sell out.
This week Selfridges confirmed that the polka-dot collection has repeatedly sold out and according to the brand, it's their most successful partnership with an artist ever. In other words, it's pretty safe to say that it's one of the biggest collaborations between the art and fashion world of all time. To celebrate the success, the department store has added a giant Yayoi above the front doors of their Oxford street store.
When we all started to saying that Katie Holmes was making a comeback after she appeared on the September issue of US ELLE, I don't think any of us quite appreciated how much of a comeback she had planned. First up was the news that she was taking her line, Holmes & Yang, to New York Fashion Week this season and yesterday, WWD reported that she's signed a deal to be the face of Bobbi Brown.
I must point out that the report is still a rumour and neither party has commented but if the claims are true, it's a pretty big gig for Holmes. While she's not a stranger to appearing in campaigns (think H. Stern, Ann Taylor and Miu Miu), this would be the first time that Brown has tapped a celebrity to front one of her campaigns. The move seems like a good one. Aside from the fact that the whole world is watching everything she does post-Tom Cruise, Katie does have a wide appeal especially with her with the young working mums demographic and besides, she's beautiful too.
You've probably already seen this image of Jessie J arriving at the GQ Awards this week so please forgive me; the outfit is too interesting for me to go without commenting as it marks the first time that she's attended a big red carpet event styled by her new stylist.
As you know, the singer recently decided to part ways with her long-term stylist Karl Willett, replacing him with Reggie Yates' younger brother Cobbie, and so far the transition is working. As Jessie admitted, her outfits were making her look like a 'cartoon character'. It was starting to feel like the constant jumpsuits and trainer combos that Willett persisted to style her in were no more than a way of making sure that she would be in the papers the next day, much in the same way as Nicki Minaj's team does.
The long tuxedo jacket makes her look sexy in a Gwyneth Paltrow way rather than Kelly Brook and the new short bob feels fresh too. The outfit, while still not perfect (what was he thinking with the shoes?), is definitely a step in the right direction and makes me interested to see what he'll do with her next.
As far as today's top models go, Freja Beha Erichsen is up there with the best of them so naturally, she's finally managed to bag an all-important beauty deal.
Yesterday Maybelline New York confirmed that they've just signed the model to be their latest spokesperson to star in their print and TV ads this fall. 'Freja is an incredibly beautiful and confident woman,' Maybelline's global brand president Damien Bertrand told WWD. 'Not only is she a top model for a new generation, but she is also a modern style icon off the runway. She truly captures the catwalk-to-sidewalk spirit of Maybelline,' and she's in good company. Everyone from Christy Turlington to Charlotte Free are spokesmodels too.
Models making the transition from fashion into the world of film isn't anything new. Cameron Diaz has done it and more recently so has Lily Cole, Agyness Deyn and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Now it sounds like Cara Delevigne might be following suit.
Not much has been said about it but this week at the premiere of Keria Knightley's new 'Anna Karenina' film it was revealed that the British model does have a small appearance in the film. Delevigne plays the marriage interest of Aaron Johnson's Count Vronsky and while she barely says a word, talking to Harper's Bazaar the 20 year-old explained that the role is only the start of things to come.
