Time Out New York recently took a tour of Joan Rivers "tiny" closet inside of her New York City apartment. Wondering what's inside? The 78-year-old comedian and red carpet commentator fills her closets with revamped designer threads, basic black staples, fancy baubles in Ziploc bags, lots of shoes (including Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and Payless) and both real and fake Hermès bags.
"Fashion should make you feel happy. We're all our own Barbie doll. Anyone who takes fashion seriously is a fool. What's the wrost that's going to happen. You're going to go out somewhere, and you're going to put something on and you're going to look like an idiot? So what? You can take it off."
Women's Wear Daily recently asked an impressive roster of fashion designers for their out-of-the-box ideas on how to fix the economy. Here are 8 fashionable responses from 8 very different designers.
Karl Lagerfeld:
"I think they should make a tax so that when you earn a certain amount of money, you have to spend a certain amount on shopping. To buy whatever... And that way, we create tons of jobs. I think it’s a good idea. What I hate is people with a lot of money who don’t spend it. Money is there to be spent, because it creates jobs... Believe me, it’s not a bad idea. You buy whatever it is; food, furniture, design, clothes, cars... whatever creates jobs."
Donatella Versace:
"I believe that in tough times it is still important—more important than ever, actually—to look your best. It is a way of boosting your confidence and the confidence others have in you."
Following the success of Christian Lacroix and the Tale of the Sleeping Beauty, Camilla Morton has released the second book in her Fashion Fairy Tale Memoir series. Manolo Blahnik and the Tale of the Elves and the Shoemaker is a magical tale that combines Blahnik's biography with the well-known fairytale The Elves and the Shoemaker.
The fashionable book details Manolo Blahnik's journey from the banana plantations of his childhood in the Canary Islands to becoming one of the most celebrated and distinguished shoe designers on the red carpet and around the world.
The gorgeous hand drawn illustrations that appear throughout the book... are courtesy of
Manolo Blahnik.
Drug dealers in Spain have been busted after they were caught smuggling cocaine into Europe disguised as Manolo Blahnik shoes. The drug traffickers reportedly moulded the drug into the shape of the famous designer heels and then gave them to airline passengers to bring into Spain from Colombia.
After a two year investigation the Spanish police arrested six members of the drug trafficking gang -- five Colombians and a Spaniard -- and seized over $630,000 worth of cocaine.
The cycle started in Colombia where a couple turned the white powder into a paste and then carefully sculpted replicas of Manolo Blahnik shoes. The fake heels were then painted and given to smugglers to transport from Colombia to Spain. When the fake Manolos arrived in Spain, the other half of the drug smuggling ring would return the paste to its original white powder form and distribute.
Each pair of cocaine sculpted Manolo Blahniks had a street value of $87,000 US.
Kate Moss married rocker Jamie Hince in the English village of Southrop earlier today. The fashion world has been speculating about Kate's dress for weeks... after the church ceremony the bride happily posed outside wearing a custom John Galliano wedding gown.
Kate's sleeveless vintage-style gown was embellished with delicate rhinestones and featured beautiful gold stud details. The supermodel completed her wedding day look with a simple bracelet, a vintage-style veil that covered a satin and lace-trimmed headband studded with flowers and a pair of Manolo Blahnik heels which had been reported to include "something blue". The groom wore a custom Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent pale blue suit.
Wearing a design by the disgraced couturier was a bold move... but it was surely an acknowledgement of their friendship and that John was there for Kate during her cocaine scandal a few years ago.
The annual CFDA Awards bash is a night for America's top fashion designers to shine. The nominations were announced in the spring and last night Anderson Cooper hosted a truly fashionable night at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. Kayne West presented an award to Céline designer Phoebe Philo, Marc Jacobs received a Lifetime Achievement award and Lady Gaga wore a teal-coloured wig and towering heels to pick up a Fashion Icon award.
Here's the list of winners as selected by the Council of Fashion Designers of America:
Womenswear Designer of the Year: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler
Menswear Designer of the Year: Michael Bastian
Accessory Designer of the Year: Alexander Wang
Swarovski Award for Womenswear: Prabal Gurung
Swarovski Award for Accessory Design: Eddie Borgo
Swarovski Award for Menswear: Robert Geller
Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award: Marc Jacobs
CFDA Board of Directors Special Tribute: Arthur Elgort
Fashion Icon Award: Lady Gaga
Eugenia Sheppard Media Award: Hilary Alexander of The Telegraph
Eleanor Lambert Founders Award: Hal Rubenstein of InStyle
International Award: Phoebe Philo for Céline
Here's a look at just a few familiar faces who walked the 2011 CFDA purple carpet:
Lady Gaga wore a custom Thierry Mugler gown and a pair of Noritaka Tatehana Lady Mary heels. Mary-Kate Olsen wore a black skir, a gold Chanel jacket and Louis Vutton sandals while sister Ashley opted for a pale blue dress from The Row and gold Manolo Blahnik heels... both sisters carried handbags from The Row. Daphne Guinness wore an outfit by Abed Mahfouz and her own heel-less shoes. Lucy Lui wore a gorgeous Monique Lhuiller gown.
Anna Wintour wore a Marc Jacobs ensemble. Anderson Cooper suited up in a Ralph Lauren Black Label suit. Kayne West wore a white jacket, light wash Balmain jeans and Stubbs & Wootton loafers. Grace Coddington wore a black collared dress with black Prada platforms and carried a Miu Miu clutch.
A fabulous night. For more information check out: www.cfda.com
While everyone continues to speculate on who will design Kate Middleton's wedding dress WWD asked top shoe designers to share their thoughts on what the future princess should wear on her feet as she walks down the aisle.
Here's a look at sketches from Manolo Blahnik, Guiseppe Zanotti, René Caovilla, Cesare Casade and Georgina Goodman.
Manolo Blahnik
His design: An ivory silk pump with organza lilies of the valley and sea pearls. "It represents springtime and everything fresh and new, which is what Kate Middleton is all about."
As you drink your coffee this morning, here’s a look back at five stories from across the web that you may have missed this past week.
1. Supermodel Linda Evangelista and her billionaire boyfriend, Peter Morton, have split and ended their four-year romance. [Page Six] 2. Rumors have been flying for a couple weeks... now another publication is claiming that Rachel Zoe is pregnant. [US Weekly] 3. Manolo Blahnik has a new book coming out called Manolo's New Shoes, and the fashionable footwear designer claims that he's "suspicious of platforms". Seriously. [Huffington Post] 4. Amy Winehouse... yes... Amy Winehouse finds unlikely style inspiration in Elizabeth Taylor. Are you as confused by that statement as I was? [People] 5. A compilation of Cathy Horyn’s most memorable takedowns! Racked ranks ten of the Times fashion critic's harshest critiques from the past few years. [Racked]
Watch every Sunday for a little link love and what's caught my attention around the net. BTW... LG Toronto Fashion Week may officially start tomorrow but the shows in T.O. started days ago. Stay on top of everything Toronto Fashion Week here.
