When Julie Gilhart was let go from Barney's the speculation and rumours about who would replace her and everyone from Taylor Tomasi Hill to Virginia Smith's name was thrown in the hat. As we all know now, the fashion director role went to Amanda Brooks but now it looks like the speculation is set to return as Brooks has just handed in her resignation after working for the company for just over a year.
UPDATE:
"To be the fashion director of a store with such a unique and inspiring vision has always been a dream job," Brooks told WWD. "I have had the pleasure of working with an incredibly talented team but have resigned to temporarily relocate to England with my husband [English artist Christopher Brooks] and children in the interest of further pursuing other opportunities. It is a personal decision and I will miss working with the Barneys team."
American stores are working hard at the moment. Barney's have hired Carine Roitfeld to style their catalogue and Christmas windows, as well as securing the editor to appear in their Fall 2011 campaign and are currently working on a big collaboration with Lady Gaga. But Barney's aren't the only ones working on big projects. Today Macy's announced that they are teaming up with Giambattista Valli as part of their Impulse design series.
The collection will be based around the designer's signature pieces with prices starting at $50. "Our customer loves fashion," the store's executive vice president of marketing and advertising Martine Reardon told WWD. "[She] can't necessarily go to couture fashion shows and doesn't want to spend $1,000."
Since leaving French Vogue Carine Roitfeld hasn't been out of the press. From her styling gig for Barney's to her work on the latestChanel and Jean Paul Gaultier campaign, the fashion world have all been watching with bated breath to see what her next move will be. The latest rumour is that stylist is in the midst of launching a new magazine geared around new creative talent.
Roitfeld has spoken openly in the past months about the restrictions she experienced at Condé Nast so according to sources, the new magazine will be independently published to avoid those same problems. If true, it's definitely a good move. Roitfeld will be afforded the creative freedom that we're all desperate to see and will still be able to collaborate with brands on styling gigs, which she was inhibited from doing in her former role.
He might be relatively unknown on the fashion scene, but since the Bill Blass saga erupted back in 2008 Jeffrey Monteiro's debut for the troublesome company, which takes place next week has become a highly anticipated event. The financially troubled company appointed Monteiro as design director at the end of last year following the departure of Peter Som, and since then the brand has been fairly quiet.
Although his name might not be a familiar one in New York City, Monteiro launched his eponymous label in 1996, has headed the design direction at Derek Lam, Tods and the now folded Mayle, and has seen his Jeffrey Monteiro collection gather a solid but quiet following, after being picked up by Barney's, Castor & Pollux and Williamsburg's Jumelle. Fans of his eponymous line needn't worry, though - Monteiro revealed he is "working to further expand the Jeffrey Monteiro brand by experimenting more with knitwear, footwear and accessories". His debut for Bill Blass will take place in a presentation at the house's showroom on Thursday, 10 June where he will reveal the Resort 2011 collection.
As the Wall Street Journal quite rightly points out, Band of Outsiders - the label created by Scott Sternberg after he left his job as a talent agent at Creative Arts Agency - isn't that unusual in comparison with other men's collections available, but there is just something about it that makes it worthy of its somewhat pricey place in the market. Sternberg's women's range, Boy, which he launched in 2007 follows suit to Band of Outsiders, with a price to match - and so it could be asked what the key to the L.A. designer's success really is.
The answer, it seems, is right there in the description - Sternberg credits his residence in Los Angeles as opposed to New York for two successful collections, even for his CFDA award for Best Menswear Designer of the Year 2009, despite having little design experience under his belt. "If I was here in New York in this mix influenced by the same thing all these people are influenced by, the edge would be gone," he told the Wall Street Journal, "this L.A. bubble is vital to being able to do something that is not informed by fashion." Aiming to expand his L.A. influenced brand into a fashion empire, it seems Sternberg isn't doing too badly, with the menswear range currently sitting in Barney's, New York with labels like Gucci, Lanvin, Thom Browne and Bottega Veneta as its neighbours.
Whoever said big fashion brands are not conscious of the environment are clearly mistaken. YSL creative director Stefano Pilati will reportedly launch a "new vintage" capsule collection next month at Barneys. The eco-friendly collection will be made fom "recycled" fabrics from its inventories.
