Fashion forward pop icon Lady Gaga will be given the Stylemaker Award at tomorrow night's 13th annual Accessories Council Excellence Awards, to take place at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York. The ACE Awards, as they are commonly known, pay homages to individuals and groups that have made great strides in raising awareness of the accessories industry. And Lady Gaga, America's renowned accessories extrovert often snapped in an oversized hat or two, is the obvious choice.
Awards are given to designers, retailers, journalists, celebrities and emerging companies, and Gaga, who has stated that se is "very into fashion" and that it is "everything" to her, will be given the award by Marc Jacobs. Other honorees include Diane Von Furstenberg, Tomas Maier of Bottega Veneta, Blake Mycoskie of Tom's shoes, and Barbie, who will be this year's fashion icon.
When my brows were bleached, I felt like I was on another planet. I just didn't feel like myself. Once they dyed them back, I instantly felt stronger and more confident.
The question on the mouth of everyone that left the Bottega Veneta show was, how does he do it? They're referring to designer extrodinaire, Thomas Maier of course.
Almost all of the collection was in shades of cream, like one would expect from Veneta, but was still interesting and chic. It wasn't all about neutals though. Maier introduced halter dress in a yellowish orange that were nipped in the waist as well as two theatrical strapless gowns in deep purple that helped break the neutral colour palette. Maier also worked white onto cream pieces that didn't work as well as the plain looks.
This season the neutral colour palatte was inspired by him watching a group of children waiting to go into a karate class. "I liked the look of the canvas, and that became my color card—white, cream, straw. And the idea of the soft belt," he told Style.com, which translated into obi style belts on dresses.
Want the good news or the bad news first? Let's get the bad out of the way. LVMH reported a financial decline recently, and now marketing has been cut completely from all brands but the top performers, according to Fashionologie. And PPR's profits have declined by 76 percent in the first half. Now, the good news: Tomas Maier should be happy that his brand, Bottega Veneta, saw an 8.6-percent increase. That makes BV the only label in the umbrella company to boost finances.
PPR chairman Francois-Henri Pinault gave kudos to Frida Giannini ofGucci for generally boosting PPR because of a demand for the label's handbags in China. Although Gucci is the flagship label of Gucci Group, that organisation also handles Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Sergio Rossi and Yves Saint Laurent. Details about their monetary well being was not immediately available, but Pinault said, again, that PPR will not buy or sell any brands and will focus on trimming debt.
Welcome to our next round of Spring/Summer 2010 Milan menswear week coverage, where we bring you the latest designs from Giorgio Armani, Burberry Prorsum, Missoni, John Richmond, Frankie Morello, Gucci and Bottega Veneta.
This time, we have an appearance from Luke Worrell and a suit that should make Jack White very, very happy. (Know which one we're talking about?)
It is very difficult to find something that you dislike in a Bottega Veneta show. Thomas Maier just understands what women want, from the exact length and tailoring of a peg-leg trouser to a sophisticated, belted dress that is as beautiful in the boardroom as it is in a private cocktail party. In his resort collection this week, he did not disappoint.
This season’s woman is a “warrior”, said Alber Elbaz backstage before his show. This definitely shone through the clothing this season. Designers reinvented 80s power dressing with strong structured shapes and sharp tailoring but in a feminine way. Women no longer need to wear huge shoulder pads a la Margaret Thatcher and dress in a masculine way to be taken seriously in the workplace. Looks were strong but were feminine. Dresses were nipped at the waist accentuating the female form and skirts were beautifully slit at the side, flashing a bit of leg.
