It's no secret that times have been hard at Gianfranco Ferré. Back in January they announced that they will not have a catwalk show for their menswear collection and last year they were facing bankruptcy after a big investor decided to pull out but it looks like things are picking up.
Yesterday Grazia's Paula Reed tweeted that Graeme Black has been appointed as the brand's new creative director. The move would definitely be a good one. We haven't heard from Black in a while but loved his namesake line so are confident that he could inject something new to the brand, which is definitely needed after a series of collections that lacked energy.
The past 12 months have been busy for Roland Mouret and full of new beginnings. Back in November the French designer bought his trademark back from investors after five years and announced the launch of his new flagship store and yesterday he announced that he's working on a new project.
The 33 year-old has been tapped by accessories and footwear brand Robert Clergerie to serve as their creative director in a bid to appeal to a contemporary audience. It definitely makes sense. Mouret's followers range from editors like ELLE UK's Lorraine Candy to the likes of Victoria Beckham and Kate Middleton.
I don’t need alliances, complicity, or need to surround myself with international jetsetters. I have too much respect for myself, for the public, and for the people that work both with me and the fashion industry to renounce any sort of intellectual honesty that influences and orients my life, even at the expense of attractive economic opportunities … I don’t need any of the money from the stock exchange — not for growth, not for globalization, not to aggregate my brand.
Anna Wintour's mantle piece must be running out of space as her list of medals and acknowledgments continue to grow. Alongside her title from the British as the Office of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, the French are now honouring her too.
This week President Sarkozy presented her with a Legion d'Honneur award, which she accepted in a two piece Chanel couture suit that had only made its debut the day before. Watching her accept the award were Karl Lagerfeld, Stefano Pilati, Alber Elbaz and fellow Vogue editor, Franca Sozzani.
For most brands, beauty comprises the sole bulk of their revenue allowing brand aware consumers without deep pockets to get a piece of the pie so it only makes sense that Balmain have decided to expand.
After launching a line of hair extensions a while back, the brand have decided to produce a line of seven products including a shampoo, conditioner and styling spray. If you're a fan of their fragrances you'll be pleased to know that they've worked with their archive of scents to make sure that your hair will smell as good as your body does.
Lindsay Lohan truly needs no introduction. When she is not being publicly criticized by film directors for her lack of professionalism, she is the centre of controversy for missing jewellery on magazine shoots or in the press for her latest court case saga. So with that background, we're surprised that Vanity Fair Italia chose her for their August issue ahead of her big September cover for the American version.
Although the shoot was a lot better than we expected, it is not our favourite editorial with the actress. Considering Vanity's Fair's embarrassing circulation numbers after choosing Justin Bieber to cover their February issue, it will be interesting to see how the Italian and American versions will fair numbers wise with Lohan on the cover. After all, who is her fan base now?
