For most designers fashion's Holy Grail is to transform

For most designers fashion's Holy Grail is to transform, twice-yearly, the way we dress.

Others aim higher, dreaming instead of changing the world, or at least its appearance, in a more far-reaching way. For 40 years now, Issey Miyake has aspired to just that. First came Pleats Please. "For me, it's a very powerful idea to actually change the meaning of something," he once told me. "Like the Walkman, for example. You know, it completely changed the idea of sound, and that's great. My dream, and the reason I first decided to open my studio, was that I thought to myself, 'If I could one day make clothes like T-shirts and jeans, I would be very excited.'

"But the more I worked, the more I felt very far away from doing so," he continued. "I was always doing such heavy things, far away from the people. 'Are you stupid?' I said to myself. 'Don't you remember why you started designing in the first place?' And then I thought, 'Okay, Pleats Please.' So I began to think how to make it, how to wash it, how to co-ordinate it, even how to pack it. And I worked on how to keep the price down."

With this in mind, a little over a decade later Miyake, in collaboration with Dai Fujiwara, came up with the equally innovative A-POC (A Piece of Cloth), taking an unusually democratic mindset further still.

Portland fashion designer Gretchen Jones wins the eighth season of 'Project Runway'

Portland fashion designer Gretchen Jones was trying on something new Friday morning -- her public status as winner of the eighth season of "Project Runway."

In what host Heidi Klum called "the toughest decision in 'Project Runway' history" during Thursday night's season finale, Jones edged out fellow designer Mondo Guerra. The show's judges -- Klum, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and guest judge Jessica Simpson -- split over who should win; Klum and Simpson supported Guerra's colorful collection, while Kors and Garcia argued for Jones' bohemian pieces.

Her success comes on the heels of Vancouver's Seth Aaron Henderson's victory last season, and a win by former Portlander Leanne Marshall in season five. Another Portland designer, Janeane Marie Ceccanti, competed on "Project Runway" the season Henderson won. Such visibility may be raising Portland's national fashion profile. But Jones says to get her career to the next level, she needs to move to New York.

"I've been struggling here for five years now," Jones said Friday morning. She's in Portland until Sunday, when she will travel on a media junket for her "Project Runway" win. While being in Portland has allowed Jones -- who grew up in rural Colorado -- to "cultivate my aesthetic and point of view as a designer, I've also found other limitations."

"I have high ambitions for myself," she says, adding that she needs to learn how to build a business. "I need mentors of the likes of Michael Kors. I'm not going to be able to learn the things I need to learn without a network to pull from."

This season of "Project Runway" has been one of the most talked-about. Jones, 28, made a strong early impression, winning the first two challenges. As the season continued, she encountered bumpier times, notably in a team challenge that prompted Tim Gunn -- the designers' typically supportive adviser -- to chide her teammates for allowing Jones to "manipulate, control and bully" them.

It's also enough to pique interest in luxury goods this holiday season

Just in time for the holidays, it looks like the luxury consumer is back.

“We’ve been hearing that luxury goods sales globally, have been accelerating, and it’s in all categories, whether it is watches and jewelry or whether it is fashion and leather goods," said Dana Telsey, chief information officer at Telsey Advisory Group, in an interview on CNBC. "The demand is there.”

As the year has progressed, a trend emerged where higher-income shoppers came back to the stores to buy—and the trend has continued as long as the stock market is heading higher.

Just to be clear, this isn't the heady, spend-with-abandon-type buying we saw before the recession, but it is enough of an uptick to make a significant difference, and allow luxury retailers to see a jump in sales.

It's also enough to pique interest in luxury goods this holiday season.

a performance by Grammy Award-winning artist and ELLE icon Estelle

 ELLE magazine celebrated its 25th anniversary in New York on Tuesday night, Oct. 26, with the launch of a new book, The ELLEments of Personal Style, featuring advice and wardrobe suggestions from 25 of their favorite style icons, and a performance by Grammy Award-winning artist and ELLE icon Estelle.

Featured icons in the book, like Diane von Furstenberg and Padma Lakshmi, offered up their style advice and secrets on the red carpet.

I woke up at 6, she said.I nursed. I ran up and down 70 flights of stairs. Then I had breakfast. Then I went to the gym and lifted weights for an hour, and then I walked home.

Lakshmi also mentioned women who, not featured in the book, were her own personal style heroes.

I think Daphne Guinness is a definite style icon, she said. Issy Blow, who was a friend of mine, was a definitely somebody who I loved. Grace Coddington, to me, is somebody who is more influential in fashion that we realize.

Designer Nicole Miller said she loves Penelope Cruz, and would follow Cruz's style advice without thinking.

Of all those actresses, she really gets it right, she said.

Christian Siriano, the young designer who has been dressing top stars left and right as of late, including Estelle and Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, has his own favorites when it comes to personal inspiration.

You know, if it helps you get to where you need to go, great, but if it makes you feel like them, not so great, she said. I think we have a fingerprint for a reason, and we're meant to express our own original style and authenticity. I think we can look across to people, to be inspired by them, but we should never look up, because we'll be disappointed. Myself included.

 

Young designers invade Brussels with fashion trail

Brussels might not have the couture cachet of London, Paris or Milan, but a small group of avant-garde fashionistas is giving the Belgian capital an underground designer edge.

Using unusual and even surreal spaces such as thrift shops, a bakery, a bicycle repair shop and a former electricity power plant to show their work, the young designers and design students are giving Brussels a fashion buzz.

"In Brussels, what is unique is Brussels itself," said Veronique Heene, the coordinator of Modo Brussels Fashion Designers Trail, a bi-annual fashion and art exhibition.

"It's a small town. It's not a big, big town. It's a mix of culture, really an international city even if it's a small city, and many people are coming from elsewhere."

Scattered along the route are boutiques and galleries displaying art, photographs, paintings, graphic designs and even studios for DJs to "show" their audio work, making the fashion trail a multimedia design experience.

This is Modo Brussels' 10th fashion designers' trail. While it happens every two years at the moment, such is its popularity that organizers are hoping to make it an annual event.

Heene said the event is designed to appeal to anyone who has even a passing interest in fashion.

a New York girl turned Italian countess who helped shape postwar high fashion by modeling

Consuelo Crespi, a New York girl turned Italian countess who helped shape postwar high fashion by modeling, editing Italian Vogue magazine and, perhaps most importantly, wearing the chic new thing to exactly the right places, died last Monday in Manhattan.

Her death came a half-century after she appeared in Life as one of the “High-Born Beauties of Europe as Elegant Sweater Girls,’’ and almost that long since she was a guest at Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball in 1966.

“The last of the parties where people weren’t ashamed to be glamorous,’’ she said of the legendary party at The Plaza Hotel.

Mrs. Crespi moved effortlessly between the artistically effervescent scene in post-fascist Italy and a New York where fascinated newspapers covered her walks with her dogs, Fu Manchu and Snoopy. A friend of stars such as Audrey Hepburn, she was regarded as a social arbiter in both nations at a time when high society had a definite meaning.

The countess’s editing, public relations work, and sartorial example helped launch the careers of designers such as Valentino, Missoni, and Fendi. Valentino once said that her wearing of his creations was his big break. A regular on best-dressed lists, the countess was inducted into the Fashion Hall of Fame for “faultless taste in dress without ostentation or extravagance.’’

Italy in the 1970s presented Mrs. Crespi with its highest civilian award, for her role in helping the country become a fashion powerhouse.

 

aesthetics of plus-size fashion virtually guarantee that fashion

But that's a big request with a small chance of success, experts say. The proportions, economics and aesthetics of plus-size fashion virtually guarantee that fashion — fashion of the trendsetting, desire-stoking, magazine-filling kind — will always favor the thin.

Creating stylish clothing for larger women isn't as simple as making bigger sizes of existing styles, says Rosemary Brantley, chairwoman of fashion design at the Otis College of Art and Design.

"There are a lot of styles that won't size up," said Brantley, a designer and former model. Pattern makers can more easily enlarge or shrink proportions for sizes 0 to 10 because the body's proportions expand in a more universal manner in the lower sizes.

"The human form is nothing but a bunch of curves," Brantley said. "Those curves get very exaggerated as one gets bigger. The more exaggerated the curve, the more seaming, the more shaping, more darting, more fitting and more expense."

Marshal Cohen, chief analyst for the NPD Group, a retail and consumer behavior research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y., puts it this way: "There is a very different science to the plus-size business. Half of what goes into the garment is different. Not all fabrics or techniques can translate to the plus-size customer."

Indeed, designers adept at making regular sizes often are not trained in techniques to maintain the correct fit and proportion of plus-size clothes.

The design process also requires larger mannequins and fit models on which to fine-tune samples, a significant investment of time and money for manufacturers or fashion schools.

Brantley and other fashion academics say design students have no interest in plus-size design, and as a result, few schools offer extensive courses in the specialty. To fit the multiple body proportions, retailers that cater to larger sizes often resort to carrying boxy, shapeless styles that accommodate a variety of body types.

In fashion classrooms and design studios, the human figure is proportioned to emphasize the clothing, not the body. Fashion illustrators traditionally use a body that is divided into nine or 10 sections, each the length of the head; the normal human body is seven to eight heads tall.

On the typical fashion figure, the distance from waist to knee is exaggerated and the legs are tremendously long, said Eddie Bledsoe, associate professor of fashion design and costume history at the Otis College of Art and Design.

"The stretched-out torso, defined waist and narrower hips ... make the clothes look and hang better," he said. Further, a lean body with subdued curves allows the flat planes of most clothing to drape without interruption.

"That's fashion. That's high fashion," Bledsoe said. "It's for the social elite, the aristocracy. It's not for the average person. That's the difference between high fashion and consumer or mass fashion."

Though runways and fashion editorials make clothes seem irresistibly glamorous, Bledsoe pointed out that "the fashion runway is art. It's a show; it's theater." And those magazine images? They're retouched, the clothes are pinned and altered, and the models aren't wearing them to be comfortable.

Yet with every edition of "Project Runway," and every behind-the-scenes blog entry or snapshot, high fashion's thin mystique blends ever more into popular culture, where its familiarity stokes expectations. The thin figure is ubiquitous. Models are no longer rare creatures who exist in faraway fashion ateliers; they're stars of talk shows, reality television, actresses, wives of rock stars and even fashion designers themselves.

"Our eyes have been trained to accept the proportions of the nine-head figure," said Kaye Spilker, curator of costume and textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The more we see of it, the more it becomes normal and seems attainable," she said.

Throughout fashion and art history, a plump human form was more often the aberration than the norm, as well.

All kinds of fashion accessories

Every season, there are a few prints that become popular trends. This season was no exception with animal prints everywhere. And while prints are great to add personality to an outfit, many women fear wearing printed clothing, fearing they look clownish and that patterns can add visual pounds. A great way to perk up a plain dress for work is to add print in a shoe, a scarf or handbag. Think of a solid dress for work as a blank canvas. By changing the accessories, you can change the whole look and feel of the same item. Adding animal print keeps this dress looking modern and relevant for the coming season with ladylike, sexy and slightly retro looks. This print looks great with kitten heels, framed bags and pearls. Be careful though — never pile on too much of the same print or it's just like wearing the trend head to toe! Keep it simple by choosing one or two pieces (they don't have to match exactly, just be in the same family) and add in a neutral piece to offset them.

Another big print trend this season was plaid. This is another great print to add to a work outfit — especially the menswear style — if you want something a bit more conservative and less girly. Try it with platforms and a wider leg trouser.

 

the youngest fashion designer in the country

Cecilia Cassini, an 11-year-old from Los Angeles, has her own kids' fashion line. She's reportedly dressed celebs like Heidi Klum and Miley Cyrus and she's about to star in her own reality show.

Her fashions are sold in the tony Fred Segal boutique in Santa Monica and online.

Cassini is credited with being the "the youngest fashion designer in the country - and maybe even in the world," according to her own website.

"It sounds like she is a prodigy. It’s just not normal to hear of a ten year-old with that kind of passion for fashion design," says Mary Stephens, director of Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

The Challenges of E-Commerce

The affinity for traditional commerce and marketing channels is strong among many purveyors of luxury goods, both in the fashion sector and elsewhere. In an international survey of 178 premium and luxury firms in 2008, Forrester Research ( FORR - news - people ) found that only one-third of them actively sold online, though 8 out of every 10 affluent consumers use the Internet to actively research and purchase luxury goods and services on a daily basis.

That number has risen significantly, but it is still strikingly low. Federico Marchetti, founder and chief executive of Italian retailer Yoox, estimates that half of luxury brands now sell directly online, though several others suggest that the percentage is higher, due largely to recession pressures.

Yet many brands, particularly European manufacturers of high-end wristwatches and other luxury goods, refuse to set up shop online.

 

Growing demand for watches & clocks in developing world

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Watches & Clocks markets. The global market for Watches is forecast to reach US$31.5 billion, while Clocks market is projected to touch US$5.2 billion by the year 2015. Growing demand for watches & clocks in developing world including the BRIC countries, and increased acceptance of luxury watches and watches with fashion statement are impacting the market growth to a significant extent.

The worldwide watches & clocks market witnessed a decline in 2009 because of the economic turmoil. The Swiss exports that could be considered as the benchmark for the worldwide watch market movements fell noticeably in 2009. The decline was significantly higher across matured markets owing to low consumer spending, rising unemployment, bank failures, slashed stock prices and decreased consumer confidence. However, with the scenario on the verge of improvement, the market is likely to witness higher demand for luxury and other watches, especially in developing markets including the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries in the next few years. On the other hand, growing market for inexpensive, designer fashion watches is likely to drive the market in developed countries such as the US.

 

DiscountWatchStore.com is releasing Invicta’s new 2010 wristwatches

 With the beginning of autumn upon us, DiscountWatchStore.com is releasing Invicta’s new 2010 wristwatches. Discount Watch Store currently carries over 3,500 watches in its inventory, and is very excited to introduce Invicta’s newest line of watches.

Invicta – one of the world’s largest wristwatch companies – releases new watch models in the spring and fall of every year. This fall, its new releases are headlined by its new "F" series of reserve models. DiscountWatchStore.com introduced this new series by featuring each new watch on its unique "Daily Deal" special. Now, the online retailer will begin adding Invicta newest models to its collection, beginning with Invicta’s Exclusive Reserve Subaqua watch, the F0003.

All Invicta watches carried at are guaranteed to be new and authentic timepieces, and they are all protected with the manufacturer’s warranty. DiscountWatchStore.com has already added several Invicta watches to its catalog, and hopes to add more watches to its inventory in the coming months.

 

Dinos has a line up of authentic real clothes with a sophisticated feel

For autumn and winter fashion, Dinos has a line up of authentic real clothes with a sophisticated feel and versatility. Must-have jackets and coats, a set up which gives one a range for great coordination and a dress which makes a statement in one piece are in demand. With other items like knee-high boots to show off shapely legs, and sequined or fur-lined bags, there is an ample variety of fashion goods with close attention given to form and material.

Dinos also has a special collection of convenient and reasonably priced miscellaneous kitchen and bath goods. Dinos also plans to gradually expand the area of delivery for countries and regions where Dinos offers international shipping services beginning November 2010.

Fashion is famous for changing in the blink of an eye

Fashion is famous for changing in the blink of an eye. Either you keep the pace or you become extinct from the fashion world. You will see a plethora of trends this fall. Military inspired fashions have remained relevant. Also, leggings, knee high boots, cut-out clothing and double breasted jackets have persisted. However, other trends such as legwarmers and high-waisted jeans were not quite so lucky!

Past trends are making an abrupt comeback. Fifties inspired fashions such as cardigans, plaids, and pleats have begun to cause a stir; as well as the re-emergence of cowboy boots, skinny jeans, and denim jackets. These items, thought to have never been seen again can be found in the bargain bin at the nearest thrift store or Salvation Army.

Fashionable scarves, leather boots, and bright bold colors are also huge.

It is imperative to dress your best as you balance style and life. To make sure you are in style this autumn; ruffled blouses and boots for ladies, a crisp button up and cargos for men, however; cardigans and jeans will suffice for both genders. Fall is one of the most critical seasons of the year to dress impeccably and also offers the opportunity to mix and match with different textures and colors. You have been equipped with the necessary tools to be fierce in fall.

 

Lebanese designers have always been distinctive with their haute-couture

The top Western fashion designers suffered massively when purses around the globe snapped resoundingly shut during the financial crisis.

But Lebanese designers, who hail from a land where Fashion TV is the channel of choice at the swankiest bars, say they have managed to escape the brunt of the crisis because of two things -- affordable haute couture and rich Arab clients.

It's fair to say that Lebanon just doesn't do casual. High heels, form-fitting dresses and salon-styled hair are part of many Lebanese women's daily routine.

So it's no surprise that the country's top designers became more famous for their elaborate, long, sequined and chiffoned collections than classical ready-to-wear lines. And their clientele keep coming back for more.

"Lebanese designers have always been distinctive with their haute-couture, not pret-a-porter. What they present to the world is distinctive," Saab told Reuters.

But even that collection, already shown in Paris, was full of evening dresses frilled with lace, tulle and sequins in deep colours that he said were reminiscent of being in a "night-time forest."

Scarlett Johansson, Carey Mulligan and Emily Blunt have already been spotted wearing some of the collection's designs on the red carpet.

 

Ladies Market is Hong Kong's most famous market

Ladies Market is Hong Kong's most famous market. Located in Tung Choi Street, Ladies Market sells lots of items for ladies but also for men and children too. Look for the usual women's clothes shops, loaded with cheap yet great quality items. Shoes are a good buy here, as well as belts and handbags.

For men, they'll find a plentiful selection of bargain t shirts and shorts, hats, bags, belts, cigarette cases and lighters and, of course, a good selection of counterfeit designer brands, just like anywhere else in Asia. Kids too will enjoy Ladies Market with its stalls full of Chinese-style toys, stuffed animals and cheap games.

While there will always be jewelry and tokens worn to literally show one's faith

Pop stars Miley Cyrus and Taylor Momsen wear rosary necklaces, sometimes four at a time over a slinky corset dress or vintage rock T-shirt. "Eat Pray Love," whose protagonist travels to India in search of enlightenment, has spawned a collection of charms, rings and bracelets. And the reality-bending Kardashian sisters are designing replica hermes jewelry based on Armenian religious icons.

It's official: The practice of incorporating religious or spiritual symbols in jewelry has become ubiquitous among smaller niche designers as well as more commercial, mass brands. With the public's growing interest in yoga, meditation and personal talismans that offer protection or courage, jewelry and accessory designers are picking up the theme and adorning their work with icons deeply rooted in ancient beliefs and religions.

gave me lots of suggestions on how to maintain a tote

various types along with styles, however the particular maintenance of them has never occurred to me. A short time ago an old friend gave me lots of suggestions on how to maintain a tote, especially the particular brand leather bags, which turned out to be very practical.

Firstly of all, he created a leather cleaner named Wilson Maintainant, similar to that of a leather shoe shiner in high quality. After a thorough cleaning on the particular surface of the particular leather carrier, the particular Wilson Maintainant should be wiped on to keep the particular bags shining as time goes on.

Secondly, he recommended a leather conditioner. The very leather conditioner is a type of white oil with the particular function of softening the particular hardened leather surface of the particular replica hermes bags.

Where to come across custom made inspired totes

If that you are a vogue acutely aware person, then you most in all probability know all about replica hermes together with how considerably they could is priced at. Needless to say, all these vogue accessories are typically ridiculously pricey. Several individuals may perhaps wonder precisely the reason why that is so. That is due to the fact most typically, custom totes also carry a key vogue brand, so you pay out considerably a lot more for the particular brand than you do for the particular physical product. Presently, a lot more together with a lot more fashion-conscious nonetheless also budget-conscious individuals are turning to custom motivated totes sold by businesses that supply vogue totes for not as much. That is best for the particular fashion-conscious person who is also reasonable when it comes to vogue. Why precisely do individuals pay out so considerably for branded items? Many psychologists who have studied this phenomenon agree that it derives from a ought to impress our peers. If that you are truly comfy along with your self, but, you may not really feel the particular ought to lord it over your peers along with custom items. Instead, vogue should simply be about searching excellent.

most women are aiming for when they make at Victoria's Secret

Everyone knows what most women are aiming for when they make a purchase at Victoria's Secret: They want to be sexy.

But a new study says they might not have to wait until they get home to feel that way. For some, it's all about the bag.

A University of Minnesota study, due out in December, finds that for some women, just carrying a Victoria's Secret replica hermes bag can affect the way they perceive themselves and their personal qualities.

"These people carried the bag for an hour and as a result felt more glamorous, more sexy and more feminine. They didn't even use or wear any of the products," said marketing professor Deborah Roedder John, who conducted the study with Ji Kyung Park.

John said the study underscores that some women can be very affected by brands in a way that has nothing to do with the product.

"A brand like Victoria's Secret, people think of that as being very sexy and glamorous and feminine," she said. "We were interested in finding out, if you use that brand, will you start to believe that you are more glamorous, sexy feminine?"

the Sweetwater Flea Market and other defendants sell replica Coach bag

Coach Inc., which sells replica hermes, wallets and other accessories, last week sued the Sweetwater Flea Market and other defendants in U.S. District Court, alleging that an investigator who visited the market in June found four major booths with 50-100 counterfeit Coach products. The suit alleged that later in the month the company sent a letter to the market and its manager, advising them of the counterfeit sales and demanding that they stop.

In August, the suit alleged, the company bought a counterfeit Coach wallet at the market for $16.81. The suit said the company determined it was a fake because of factors including messy and uneven stitching; an interior lining that is different from those used in authentic products; and the fact that the average suggested retail price for an authentic Coach wallet is approximately $200.

The defendants' activities, the suit alleged, "are likely to create a false impression and deceive consumers, the public, and the trade into believing that there is a connection or association between the infringing products and Coach."

daytime hobo with small studded detail

Valentino also created a casual, daytime hobo with small studded detail. Valentino's hobo fits right into the soft hobo trend for spring and also has a slight edge making it appropriate for understated, rocker chic looks; another runway trend for spring 2011. The hobo featured two, thin straps and replica hermescould be worn on the shoulder or forearm. When worn on the shoulder, the top of the hobo bag would hit at the bottom of the rib cage.

Valentino created a clean, classic and fashion forward handbag collection for spring and summer 2011 that fits right into the current trends from New York, Milan, London and Paris. The collection is large and will be highly coveted for spring and summer by Fashionistas everywhere.

Distinguish Fake Hermes and Real One

There is no doubt that ladies love fashion. Almost every girl dreams of possessing a LV, Gucci, Hermes, Fendi. In the present society, fake products are hither and thither. As customers, maybe you are worried about being cheated. Don’t worry, here are some tips to distinguish a fake one and a real one.

To search for a “H” in the detail

On any handle of a Hermes canvas bag, you can see a “H” logo clearly. The logo “H” is made in the procedure of cotton weaving rather than embroid after finishing weaving cotton, therefore, it’s more expensive. A fake one is usually made roughly. Besides, on the root of the handle and the zip, you can also find a “H” clearly. However, before 1965, there is no “H” logo in Hermes. As a result, this “H” logo is not the most important factor in distinguishing a real Hermes.

To see the grains, As usual, an ordinary bag is made in the way of stockinet weaving. But Hermes prefers another way. When you approach to a Hermes bag, you can find that it is made by two different sides of grains. A fake one will never reach such a height in bag making. With such special grains, the price is surely higher than other bags.

Be careful of the numbers,While making a Hermes bag, craftsman will always follow the tradition —make the best one. Each bag is made by a craftsman. He has to put a number on the bag. In one way, it’s convenient for customers to get the bag repaired. In another, it shows us how proud the craftsman feels about his work. They believe that they create a excellent thing. Each Hermes gets a unique number to show its dignity to people all over the world. Hermes watch is so glorious. If you want a real Hermes, please follow the tips. I believe that you will get your dream bag certainly.Of course, for it’s high price, more and more people chosee high quality replica watches for saving money.It’s cheap but high quality in watchlux.com. You can’t miss it!

There is a huge demand for accessories

Leather replica hermes and high heeled shoes will continue to gain room in women’s wardrobes as luxury groups plan to increase their offer to spice up sales, Italian fashion houses said at Milan’s shows this week.

Sales of high-end accessories, which are easier to wear and offer higher sales margins than clothes, have boomed during the downturn, helping fashion houses offset the falling demand for more costly luxury goods.

“There is a huge demand for accessories. We will see a growing interest in hats, necklaces and big bracelets,” Italian designer Paola Frani told Reuters after her show, where minimalist and clean-cut dresses were twinned with belts in light gold and floral necklaces.