The news that US Glamour managed to bag an interview with President Obama for their November issue was slightly baffling. Granted, the magazine's readers are the female votes that he wants to appeal to as his campaign gets underway, but the decision to talk to Glamour over some of the more serious fashion magazines is questionable. After all, the magazine have admittedly increased their fluffy, throw-away celebrity content over the last few months so talking to the President about serious issues like health care seems at odds with that. By the sounds of things, I'm not the only one that had that feeling.
On the whole the critics have been unncessarily harsh with some going as far as saying that he deliberately opted for the magazine to avoid having to talk about the serious issues but as The Cut points out, whether you like the magazine or not, he was hardly talking about mascara. However, I can see what National Review contributor Jim Geragthy was coming from when he told WWD that, 'the grumbling about Obama's fluff interviews would be quieter if the country were in a time of peace and prosperity or if he hadn't gone close to eight weeks without a press conference.'
What do you think? Was the Glamour interview a good move?
The September issues are all out so you know what that means. The reports on what we can expect from the December issues are coming in and the most surprising one is the news that US Glamour editor Cindi Leive recently sat down with President Obama for an interview that will appear in the magazine's next issue.
Appearing in the magazine makes sense for the President, especially as his campaign has recently shown signs of diversifying their media strategy to press their message forward and after all, Glamour does have a big female audience.
The surprise comes from the fact that the magazine pushed so hard to have the interview in the first place. As part of their shake-up they decided to opt for a lot more weekly-style celebrity content to help increase circulation numbers so having Obama in the issue seems like a departure away from that, albeit a departure that I can totally jump on board with. According to WWD, the interview touches on women's health care and the recent controversy over the Todd Atkin's rape comments.
Times aren't too bad for Diane von Furstenberg. Forbes recently ranked her as the 33rd most powerful woman in the world, several places higher than Anna Wintour, and business is as good as it always is and by the sounds of things, it's only getting better.
This week WWD ran a piece on the designer's latest hire, top-level executive Joel Horowitz, and rightfully, his appointment as the brand's new co-chairman is a big deal. According to the title, Horowitz was 'one of the architects of Tommy Hilfiger's success' after serving as the CEO of the company for 19 years. Now at DVF, many have begun to speculate that he has plans to take the company public or at least look for big outside investment.
If you cast your mind back to the mid-nineties you might remember once shopping at fashion retailer C&A. I say mid-nineties because to be honest, that was the last time to most people ever shopped there (if at all) but it looks like things are about to change because today, they confirmed that they've just snapped up Cindy Crawford to design a collection for them.
According to WWD, the collection will be available in 1,500 store across Europe starting in the retailer's home soil, Germany. The 31-piece range reportedly includes everything from leather jackets and blazers to jeans and simple tops with prices ranging from €12 (£9.50) to €149 (£117).
'My goal is to help design comfortable fashion for everyday wear. I have always dreamed of having my own fashion line and am thrilled to be partnering with C&A,' the model said in a statement. 'They have a long-standing history of providing quality designs at an affordable price point to their customers. It's important to me to be affiliated with a company that offers feel-good fashion with unparalleled customer offerings.'
Despite the ever-continuing success of his brand, the last few months haven't been the most ideal for Alexander Wang. Since March his name has been in the headlines but for all of the wrong reasons after thirty of his workers filed a $450 million lawsuit against him for allegedly running a sweatshop. Based on recent developments, though, the dispute has come to an end.
This week a New York judge dismissed the lawsuit after both sides managed to reach an undisclosed settlement two weeks ago, WWD reports. 'We are gratified that this matter has been dismissed, as the allegations were unfounded and completely false,' Wang's spokesperson said in a statement, while the the lawyers of the two main claimants opted not to comment.
By last week we'd all seen just about all of the major September issue covers but Vogue Paris was notably missing. That all changed today, though, as the glossy finally revealed their all-important issue and it's an interesting one.
As always, the cover was all about models with Vogue Paris favourites Kate Moss, Lara Stone and Daria Werbowy bagging their own separate covers. All three models appear sporting the same hair and make-up and black Dolce & Gabbana dress in line with the issue's black theme and that's where the similarities end. The issue also sees the magazine undergo a major revamp. 'The magazine features a calendar, airier design, with remodeled typography and the use of a craft-paper-like brown background - both of which hark back to its look in the Sixties and Seventies,' WWD reports.
Emmanuelle Alt has been under a lot of criticism since taking the reigns at the magazine and the September issue seems like a conscious step on her part to finalise the changes she's been making to put her stamp on things.
It's as though Marchesa designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have heard what we've all been talking about all these years. While the brand has always been a red carpet favourite, you can pretty much forget getting in on the action if you don't have pockets deep enough to pay the four figure starting prices. Thankfully, though, that will change with the launch of their upcoming affordable line and following on with that new accessibility, soon you'll be able to get the Marchesa smell too.
Last week WWD unveiled the bottle for their debut fragrance, Parfume d'Extase. 'Eveningwear evokes an emotion, and this scent does the same thing,' Chapman told the title. So if you think of iris, young violet leaves and freesia when you think of their gowns, you won't be disappointed, as they are the top notes that the fragrance includes. 'We didn't want anything too sweet. Georgina and I don't like perfumes that can smell sort of sickly, so that was very important when we were going through the process.'
It's August so you know what that means - fashion week is officially only a month away so all eyes are on the various schedules and Milan seems to be the one with the most changes. As we previously reported, Giorgio Armani has moved his shows from their usual spot and today WWD pointed out that that's not the only brand shaking things up.
Jil Sander is notably missing from the schedule. 'According to a published report in La Repubblicca, Jil Sander opted out of inclusion in the calendar and will hold two shows independently,' the title reports. But the changes don't end there. Several brands have pushed their shows forward leaving the last two days of shows pretty empty due to fears that editors will leave for Paris early. Maybe Sander had the same concern. Either way, her comeback womenswear collection will no doubt attract a full, and very excited, house.
Just when you thought things were getting better at BillBlass, well, they aren't. Yesterday WWD confirmed that the brand dismissed women's designer Jeffrey Monteiro this month along with his nine-person design team.
A former Blass employee told the title that president Scott Patti told staffers that the S/S13 show will not go ahead next month as planned shortly before handing out pink forms, telling employees that they were 'free to go'. According to the source, no explanation was made nor were there any talks about a redundancy package.
The news isn't a complete surprise. The brand have had their fair share of problems in the past. If you cast your mind back to 2008, you'll remember the 60-plus employees that they laid off without severance after their former owner announced that he wouldn't be able to fund them in the way he had planned. Even after being bought by Peacock Holdings shortly afterwards, the brands was forced to file for bankruptcy and more recently were forced to used fabrics that they already had rather than investing in more.
Fragrance deals have long been the bread and butter for many a brand along with accessories lines, and Issac Mizrahi is the latest designer to tap into it.
WWD confirmed that the designer is set to launch his debut fragrance, Fabulous, which is the first product to be released from his new beauty licencing deal with The Cloudbreak Group. 'I've worked on other fragrance ideas before but this is the first time I'm actually launching one. I feel like if you get married too young, it rarely works out. It's the same thing with this - you get really very few changes at [creating a scent. You have to get it right,' he told the title. 'There has to be care taken. That's what all these years of experience have brought to this. I really want it to mean something and be special. Good perfumes are more cultural than product.'
