I’m a massive fan of Vivienne Westwood’s shoes and recently added a pair from her collaboration with rubber sole label Melissa, to my growing collection. So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard that Selfridges is opening an exhibition of her shoes this week.
And it seems like it’s going to include everything from the new shoes I’ve got to the notorious towering platforms that landed Naomi Campbell on the floor of the catwalk.
‘Vivienne Westwood Shoes: An Exhibition 1973-2010′ is set to open in the London department store’s Ultra Lounge on Thursday and gives shoe lovers the opportunity to get up and close to 200 pairs of shoes. It may sound like shoe torture, being that you can’t try them on or take them home but I definitely recommend you get yourself over there. I’ll be the one standing and drawling on the sidelines.
If, in the past, you’ve neglected John Lewis, favouring other department stores such as Debenhams and House of Fraser, then we suggest you get your fashion feet back through those doors.
Why? Because, according to Vogue the department store has just announced that Osman Yousefzada and Philip Treacy have been named as just some of the designers who are helping to celebrate John Lewis’ £10 million fashion floor revamp, which will be introducing a series of new and limited edition designs.
The two key designers will also be joined by William Tempest, Terry de Havilland and Alex Monroe all of whom are also lending their designing heads to John Lewis’ new fashion offerings.
The store’s new look and new designer collection will be unveiled at Fashion’s Night Out on September 8.
Does Emma Watson ever stop working? Not only has she been endlessly promoting the next installment of Harry Potter, whipped up a beauty storm with her new cropped hairstyle and auditioned for the part of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but she’s also now pushing her range of ethnic clothing for People Tree.
The line is set to make its catwalk debut next month but instead of going down the London Fashion Week catwalk, Emma has decided to show off her SS2011 range at The Prince of Wales’ A Garden Party To Make A Difference.
The eco festival held in Prince Charles’ private gardens will play host to Watson’s ethical range on September 12. However, Emma’s busy schedule means she won’t be able to attend.
“I’m so thrilled that People Tree will be showing the spring/summer collection at A Garden Party To Make A Difference. I think The Prince of Wales’ initiative is such a brilliant idea and I’m thrilled,” she said.
We may have been banging on about A/W 2010 fashions this week, but we haven’t forgotten about our S/S roots, and, it’s still technically the summer right?
So we couldn’t resist telling you about this cute frock from Very, which is perfect for that last minute holiday, for a night out, or if you really want to glam it up for a festival.
Not only does it give a huge nod to the asymmetric trend but also to the tribal print look, that’s still hot this summer. And if this wasn’t enough it also comes with a detachable black skinny belt, which forms a staple part of anyone’s wardrobe this season and into the next.
Team up with killer gladiator heels for a smart summer look or dress down with flats. However, a word of warning, this dress comes up teeny tiny so consider buying the next size up.
There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding the role of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. And it was only last week that we reported that Emma Watson had cut off her hair in a bid to secure the role over starlets such as Carey Mulligan and Kristen Stewart.
However, we had a bit of a shock this morning when we found out it went to neither of these lovely ladies. Instead, the coveted role has been awarded to newcomer Rooney Mara, who is probably best known for her role in the remake of Nightmare on Elm Street.
The relatively known actress will join Daniel Craig, who’s been cast as investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the silver screen adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s bestselling book, which begins filming in Sweden next month and is set for release in December 2011.
Rooney may be unknown now but we give it two months before she becomes our new celeb du jour and the fact that she’s also signed up to the sequels makes us think she’ll become a huge star. Watch this space ladies.
There’s bad hair days, and then there’s very bad hair days. And unfortunately Paris Hilton has suffered the latter. The socialite is being sued by Hairtech International Inc., which makes the Dreamcatchers hair extension line that Paris fronted at the beginning in 2007 for $35 million after it claims she was spotted sporting a competitor’s fake locks in 2008.
And it’s also going that step further in a bid to win the suit alleging the heiress missed a launch party for a new product in 2007 because she was in jail.
If the company gets its way it will get more than 10 times what it paid her to sponsor the brand.
Paris’s attorneys said in a statement: “There is no merit whatsoever to any of these claims. We will pursue all of our defences vigorously and any potential counter claims.”
Their wives may wear his Topshop clothing line, but now it seems politicians also want a piece of Topshop mogul Philip Green.
The Arcadia boss has been hired by Prime Minister David Cameron to conduct an efficiency review into the government’s annual spending bill over the next three years.
He will work with the government free of charge to set out to cut inefficiencies and identify potential savings.
Green told the Guardian: “I believe that our shared experience in the procurement of many goods and services, across a broad geographical area of the UK will enable us to have important benchmarked information which will be extremely useful.
“I will give this efficiency review my very best effort knowing how hugely important it is to the recovery of the country. I want to help focus, motivate and energise to achieve these efficiency savings. It is these actions that will restart growth in the UK.”
Green will report his findings to the minister of the Cabinet Office Francis Maude and chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander in October.
We wonder if we’ll be spotting any of these politicians in Topshop or Burton suits in the future.
Stand by your laptops ladies, Gap has just announced it’s launching an online store in the UK this year.
The retailer will be joining the likes of Zara, which is launching its UK online store on 2 September and H&M, which will follow on September 16 to bring us all the delights of the store straight to our fingertips.
According the WWD, the store, which already has a transactional site stateside, will roll out its online venture to to around 65 other countries – including the UK. And it will also be launching online stores for its sister company, Banana Republic.
Oh dear, with three great stores moving online there’s no hiding from the huge possibilities. We’d better hide those credit cards.
Scarves have been hot this season, and they’ll be hanging around into next season too, which is great news considering how easy it is to accessorise plain outfits with these.
And it seems Hermes agrees with our fetish for these. The designer fashion brand, which is more known for luxury items, has teamed up with funky French store Colette to launch a website called J’aime Mon Carre, which translates as “I Love My Scarf.”
However, unlike it’s traditional brand style, the site has gone all modern on us featuring colourful pictures of hip and cool girls sporting the scarves on the street and giving us ideas on how to wear them. This includes as turbans, headbands, belts and, obviously as scarves.
At last, denim manufacturers are finally waking up to the fact that we all come in different sizes. After conducting research that found shape is more important than style or size when choosing well-fitting jeans, Levi’s has decided to launch a range of curve friendly jeans.
Curve ID, which launches later this month, will consist of three customised fits and a range of different styles including Slight, Demi, and Bold as well as with different rises and back pocket placements. There’s also high waisted styles to coincide with the a/w 2010 trends.
Company president Robert Hanson said: “One of the most frustrating things for women is that they are not finding the right jeans for their body.
“This is particularly a women’s issue because of the diversity in body type. Men tend to wear jeans that are a little less shape-enhancing, and most men don’t want to have a discussion with you about shape and they really don’t care.”
We’ve been moaning about this issue for a good few months now and we’re really pleased that someone’s woken up to the fact that we’re not all the same size. Come on retailers, follow Levi’s lead.
Despite many of you voting for Megan Fox over Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, the fashion world thinks otherwise.
The Victoria’s Secret model and Transformers 3 starlet has just been signed up by Christopher Kane’s new model for Burberry, replacing its famous face of Emma Watson, who (we imagine) rebelled against the brand by getting a super sleek short haircut.
Of course Rosie is no stranger to designer brands. She’s a favourite with Giles Deacon and Louis Vuitton having strutted her stuff on their AW 2010 catwalks. She’s also no stranger to Burberry having modelled for the brand back in 2008.
She’ll now be the face of the new A/W collection, alongside Nina Porter, Sam Rollinson and Charlotte Wiggins.
She’s one of the most stylish women in the world and already has a successful line of dresses (worn by celebs), jeans and sunglasses, but Victoria Beckham has now bagged herself another collection.
The singer, come designer, has announced she will now be creating a line of handbags (it was always bound to happen considering her personal collection of bags total to a huge £1.5million) with the help of top designer Katie Hillier, who has worked her designing magic on some of the world’s most recognisable handbags including Marc Jacobs, Luella and Stella McCartney.
Posh’s spokesperson told Mail Online: “There is a bag line in development.”
“Katie has consulted on the technical aspects of bag construction in line with her experience in the industry.
“This collection is not a collaboration – as with all her ranges, Victoria has sought the best consultants to ensure the highest level of quality at manufacture for her designs.”
She may no longer be starring in Transformers but Megan Fox hasn’t lost her popularity. She’s pushed out favourite Lara Stone (who pushed out Sasha Pivovarova) and become the new face of Armani Cosmetics.
The actress is no stranger to modelling, or to Armani for that matter. She already fronts Armani’s lingerie and jeans campaigns and has been spotted in the designer’s Prive collection on more than one occasion and opted for this label for her wedding dress in June.
In a statement Megan said: “Mr. Armani is an iconic visionary for all things fashion.
“I’m honoured to be associated with him”.
According to a spokeswoman for the designer, Armani chose the actress for the beauty campaign because “she embodies the spirit of the women of today: free, confident and seductive. Her beautiful features reveal femininity, sensuality and strength.”
So what makes Megan so special? We put together a gallery to show you exactly what Armani was talking about.
She bagged Taylor Momsen as her model and a spot in Macy’s so it was hardly surprising that people were queueing around the block yesterday to get their hands on Madonna’s new clothing range.
The pop icon who has also set the fashion world alight with her stage outfits over the years has ventured into the designing world with her daughter Lourdes and launched the Material Girl collection aimed at 15-25 year olds.
Yesterday’s launch saw girls eager to get their hands on the collection, presented with cupcakes by models and greeted by Madonna look-a-likes. They were also treated to a mini concert by Taylor Momsen, although Madge and her teenage inspiration didn’t show.
And the range of clothing which includes fishnet tights, low cut mini dresses, mini skirts, lace dresses, 80s ra-ra skirts and sequined hot pants, has already been criticised by children’s groups who have said the collection is “less than wholesome” considering the teen age target.
Considering the range is targeted up to 25 years old we’re not so sure there’s a need to be concerned, afterall the styles are similar to what’s out there at the moment. However, we thought we’d give you the chance to have your say. View the collection and then vote below to let us know whether you think the range is too much for teens.
Poor old Snoop must be feeling a bit down about his clothing line, The Rich And The Infamous, where business has slowed to a grinding halt.
The singer, real name Calvin Broadus (I can see why you changed it, Snoopy), appears to have packed up and called it a day with his business venture, having shut down production. The line received some initial success when it was debuted in 2008, but took a hard hit from the economy’s decline in 2009. At first attempts were made to salvage the business, with Snoop making attempts to “do what we’re doing and try to keep the prices a little lower”. That seems to have been abandoned, now – bye, bye, Snoop’s fashion career.
He shouldn’t be sad though, there’s so many other things he could do with his huge piles of money. Lunchboxes? A tupperware range? Chin up, Snoop.
From:Trend Alert: Grecian style dresses