For weeks, the gossip factory has been smoking hot about the possible changeover of the designer Marc Jacobs from Louis Vuitton to Dior. The reason for new speculations could be suggested by an exhibition now initiated by Louis Vuitton in honour of his Creative Director. From 22nd September to 9th October, the Triennale Design Museum in Milan will show a retrospective of Jacobs. Exhibited are designs from over 70 ready to wear collections, which the designer has created in his 14 years work for the long-standing French firm. The exhibits are selected by Katie Grand, who has worked for a long time as stylist for Louis Vuitton.

Simultaneously with the exhibition opening, the fashion house will present its redesigned store in the Via Montenapoleone on 21st September. The store rebuilt under the direction of architect Peter Marino with more shop area contains the first ‘Travel Room‘ in Europe. This room includes the suitcase and travel accessories section and offers an exclusive made to order service for handbags.

Triennale di Milano
Viale Alemagna, 6
20121
Milan

www.triennale.org
www.louisvuitton.com

Credit: Axel Siebmann

On 5th September, the adidas SLVR/Porsche Design Sport satellite store opened its doors in Düsseldorf. Distributed over 250 sqm are the adidas SLVR and Porsche Design Sport autumn/winter 2011/12 collections. In addition, a SLVR spring/summer 2012 pre-selection for men and women is available. Apart from adidas Originals, Y-3 and Neo, both the SLVR and the Porsche Design Sport line are part of the portfolio of the adidas Sport Style Division. In January 2012, the satellite store will make way for an adidas Neo Store.

adidas SLVR / Porsche Design Sport Satellite Store Düsseldorf
Flinger Straße 38, 40213 Düsseldorf

Opening times: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

slvrstore.adidas.com
www.adidas.com/de/porschedesign

The British fashion designer John Galliano accused of racist remarks this February was let out on probation with a monetary penalty of 6,000 Euros. Galliano who was not present in Paris at the pronouncement of judgement was represented by his lawyer. The reason for his absence is to avoid confrontation with the press, because he was supposedly beleaguered too much by reporters at the start of the trial in June. After the verdict, Galliano’s defending lawyer Aurélien Hamelle stated that Galliano now wants to “look to the future and hopes for forgiveness and understanding”.

In February, the former designer of Dior and his label of the same name hit the headlines after he is supposed to have insulted a couple in his favourite Paris pub. Anti-Semitic comments on the part of John Galliano are supposed to have been made. He excused his faux pas at the beginning of the trial with his medication and alcohol addiction, which is supposed to have set in after the death of his father and his close friend Steven Robinson. Due to the lawsuit, the creative brain lost both his post as Head of Design with the long-standing company Dior as well as that of his label Galliano.

Credit: Axel Siebmann

For the strictly limited Pirelli calendar 2012, the Italian company has rounded up the supermodel stars. For the now 39th issue, posing apart from routiniers Kate Moss and Mila Jovovich, there are among others Lara Stone, Isabeli Fontani and eight more well-known names of the model world. With the motto ‘natural feminine beauty‘, the twelve beauties were photographed on Corsica during a one week shooting. Mario Sorrenti was behind the camera for the first time for Pirelli, who in comparison to the pictures of the last issue banks on natural and improvised photographs.

www.pirelli.com

Credit: © Backstage Pirelli Calendar 2012, Alessandro Scotti

In its concept store ‘Galeria Melissa’ in Sao Paolo, the Brazilian shoe brand Melissa is demonstrating artistic creativity itself as tribute to the various exhibits and installations which were previously shown in the store. In cooperation with Post it/3M, the six façades of the concept store were given a new look with the world famous self-sticking notes. Following the pixel technique, the notes put together paint a large picture. Each installation will stay put for 15 days. The company home page and social media platforms present the exhibits already shown as well as those in the making.

Apart from its function as concept store, the ‘Galeria Melissa’ additionally understands itself as a stage for art, design, architecture and fashion. Each season the brand requests an artist to design the façade of the gallery in an individual way.

www.melissa.com.br/pt/galerias

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, designers from the American fashion house Proenza Schouler, are going to place a jeans collection on the market prospectively at the end of this or the beginning of next year. The creative brains are already said to be busy with the manufacture of the first fits. Already in 2010 the pair had designed a denim collection with the jeans brand J Brand. The new segment is made possible by the financial support of Andrew Rosen, who already runs brands like Helmut Lang, Theyskens and Theory and has been also supporting the up and coming label since summer. Additionally on the agenda are innovations in the accessory sector.

www.proenzaschouler.com

Credit: Axel Siebmann

In the scope of its ‘Exploration’ tour, the American footwear brand Palladium has again tied up its laces and sent the rapper and songwriter Pharrell Williams on an urban discovery tour to Tokyo. With the motto ‘Tokyo Rising‘, the artist embarked on a trip which is captured on camera. Interviews with natives, above all with artists who refused to be discouraged by the natural and atomic catastrophes which devastated Japan in March and quite on the contrary are carving out a new future with creativity and do it yourself mentality. These are local artists like Verbal, co founder of the Ambush Design streetwear label, the musicians Teriyaki Boyz or the electro pop band Trippple Nippples, who all mirror the creative and contemporary spirit of Tokyo. For this reason, the ‘Tokyo Rising‘ does not travel over tourist venues, but over intriguing insiders’ tips for anyone craving to experience Tokyo in an extraordinary way.

Pharell Williams comments on the ‘Tokyo Rising‘ tour: “The inhabitants of Tokyo always were a great inspiration for me. The way the Japanese bring together life and culture is unsurpassed. For me Tokyo is like a second home. I was delighted to take up the opportunity to return there and meet old friends again on my discovery trip”. The interesting documentation is in five episodes and can be viewed under: www.palladiumboots.com/video/tokyo-rising.
In the course of the project ‘Explorations‘, Palladium is seeking for forgotten paths and terrains. Already tours through Berlin, L.A., Detroit or the Pirate Radio Stations in London were documented via videos and pictures. “Our brand message is all about putting your boots on and going on a discovery in urban terrain way off the tourist attractions”, explains Barney Waters, Vice President of Marketing Palladium. “Tokyo is one of the most wonderful cities in the world. We had the feeling that after the natural catastrophe of March, there would be a new story of the metropolis to tell. We wanted to see for ourselves on site and learn how the young, creative scene is dealing with the consequences of the calamity and which visions for the future it has.”

www.palladiumboots.de

In the scope of the celebrations for the 160 year jubilee, the long standing company Bally has opened a new flagship store in Tokyo. Situated in the in-quarter Ginza, the store at the moment presents the AW 2011 women’s and men’s collection, including shoes, bags, leather accessories and the ready to wear collection. The occasion was celebrated with two events, which also the CEO Berndt Hauptkorn as well as Creative Directors Graeme Fidler and Michael Herz attended. In honour of the opening, Bally showed the ‘Beaumont’ tote and the ‘Sabatino’ laced boots with ‘Ginza‘ labels among other things.

Following the occasion, there will be a jubilee exhibition in the Tokyo shopping centre ‘Isetan‘ from 31st August on. In a Bally Corner set up for this occasion, the Swiss label will give insights into its history for a week. In the exhibition for the first time, pieces will be on show which can otherwise be viewed in the Bally Museum, Zürich. In a ‘Made-to-Order‘ area there will be models like the ‘Pina‘ tote or court shoes from the ‘Zurich‘ collection offered. Apart from the Bally jubilee collection, in addition there will be a special shoe and bag collection which was exclusively designed for the Japanese market. Each collection item bought in the Corner will receive a personalised name tag.

Bally
8-8-5 Ginza
Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan


Bally Corner at The Stage, Isetan
14-1 Shinjuku 3-chōme
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

www.bally.com

The post of the Creative Director of Dior left vacant after the dismissal of John Galliano seems to be taken again. In insider circles, Marc Jacobs, at the moment still Chief Designer of his brands Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs as well as the long standing fashion house Louis Vuitton, is being talked about as new Creative Head. According to the branch magazine WWD (Womens Wear Daily), there are already said to have been negotiations between the lawyers of Jacobs and LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), the group which includes Dior.

The first signs of an impending possible change were provided by the British designer Kim Jones, who has already taken on the direction of the design of the Louis Vuitton men’s line by Marc Jacobs. At the moment, Céline designer Phoebe Philo is being talked about as the successor for the women’s line. In case of a possible change to Dior, Marc Jacobs would be in charge of all women’s collections, the men’s line continuing to be under the direction of Kris van Assche.

www.dior.com

Credit: Photo ©Axel Siebmann

Hollywood actress and Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon is the new role model of the Swedish subsidiary retailing business Lindex. Witherspoon is at the same time the face of the new concept: ‘Get the Look‘. The concept is to reveal new styling possibilities to fashion conscious women with the mixture of the trend orientated and basic-heavy collection pieces. “Reese Witherspoon is the perfect model for the launch of our new concept - Get the Look. She personifies the brand Lindex in an ideal way. She is positive, warm and full of energy and she wears an uncomplicated look with a touch of Hollywood glamour”, thus Johan Hallin, Director of Concept & Marketing Lindex. In the autumn/winter collection, the fashion supplier presents 70ies California touched looks consisting of denim, knit and layering looks.

www.lindex.com

Next autumn, the American brand Lee will support the ‘Revival Tour’, which will be for the first time in Europe. The tour initiated by musician Chuck Ragan brings together all well-known acts from folk and rock. The tour is based on the idea of the folk music tradition to live out openness and generosity. Chuck Ragan with the REVIVAL TOUR carries on this original idea and since 2008 has been rounding up musicians to make music and sing together. The live performances will take place in a comfortable club atmosphere, which apart from Chuck Ragan will include names like The Glaslight Anthem, Dan Andriano of the Alkaline Trio and Dave Hause from the The Loved Ones. “The most important aspects of the REVIVAL TOUR are the community spirit and the way people are drawn to each other, no matter whether they play mandolin or violin, sing or sit in the audience. We live and breathe this music, so it is a natural requirement to share this music with like-minded people,” explains Ragan. The Europe tour will start off in Great Britain, then carry on to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Tickets can be obtained from now on.

www.therevivaltour.com
www.lee.com

Come to fame as one of the most significant style icons and muses of the fashion and design industry, Daphne Guiness will now have an exhibition dedicated to her in the New York FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). The show, which will be open to the public from 16th September, presents approximately 100 clothes and accessories from the personal wardrobe of the British creative brain, accompanied by films, clips and pictures featuring her. Her trademarks are her eccentric platinum blonde hair with black streaks, but also her vast collection of haute couture creations and jewellery collections, which have catapulted Guiness several times into the List of the Best-Dressed People in the world. Her fans on blogs often call her ‘the ultimative fashion fantasy‘.

Even though the big names of fashion business like Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino, Tom Ford or Dolce & Gabbana have taken her as inspiration, Guiness does not call herself a ‘Muse‘, but a ‘Bee‘, flying from one designer to another. Due to her deep friendship with the deceased Alexander McQueen, the exhibition shows more than two dozen models of the British designer. The exposition running until 7th January 2012 will be co curated by Daphne Guiness. In addition, the exhibition will be a part of the Fashion Symposium in November taking place each year in the museum, which will deal with the subject ‘Fashion Icons and Insiders‘.

http://fitnyc.edu/3662.asp

Credit: Photo© René Hebermacher

With the aid of a design competition, the American lifestyle brand New Era is on the quest for new and creative emerging artists. The international campaign with the claim of ‘Introducing the creative minds of tomorrow’ is calling up young designers to take part in a contest with a prize money of 10,000 British pounds, in which a 59FIFTY cap has to be turned into an individually designed model. The campaign, which is first taking place in UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, in the United Arab Emirates as well as South Africa, is to give young up and coming artists a platform for presentation. There are also plans next year to take the campaign to the USA, Mexico and Brazil.

Up to 7th September, people can still apply in explaining why they are taking part in the competition. For this they can use any way of expression they like. In addition the works submitted can be viewed in a virtual gallery on www.neweraintroducing.com. There will be 15 finalists selected per country, who will then receive a 59FIFTY cap to give free expression to. The works will be subsequently judged by an international jury. The best ones will also be seen in a touring exhibition in the capitals of each participating country.

Take a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix6S8Ic_jDY&feature=player_embedded

www.neweraintroducing.com

For the next autumn/winter season 2011, the cashmere label Repeat and the Dutch top model Doutzen Kroes are presenting a Capsule Collection. After her maternity leave, the model, already the face of the brand for scarcely two years, has developed the “Repeat by Doutzen” collection together with Repeat Creative Director Noemie Tugendhaft. The selection is inspired by natural materials like sand, wood and water and includes a leisure suit, fine cardigans, pullovers and dresses with big collars and finely woven scarves. On the occasion of the launch of her first collection, Kroes will personally attend on 15th October in the Berlin Repeat Store in the KaDeWe, as well as in Munich in the Kaufhaus Kronen. Anyone buying a Repeat collection item on this day receives an autographed scarf from the Capsule Collection as limited goodie.

www.repeatcashmere.com

After cooperating with the Swedish subsidiary retailing business H&M seven years ago, Karl Lagerfeld has again devoted himself to the project ‘fashion for little money’.

Together with the American department store chain Macy’s, Lagerfeld has designed a 45 piece collection. The Capsule Collection reflects the typical design signature of the Parisian by choice: sophisticated, elegant and modern-classical, the dresses, tops, tweeds and jackets are the signature pieces of the collection.

The highlight: none of the styles costs more than 120 Euros and are sold from 31st August on for an eight week period in the Macy’s stores as well as the in-house online store.

www.macys.com

The Dutch fashion design prize Lichting 2011, initiated in the scope of the Amsterdam Fashion Week, was this time awarded to Sanne Schepers. The graduate of the ArtEZ Institute of Arts won the award sponsored by G-Star Raw, complete with prize money of 10,000 Euros. Further Schepers obtained the opportunity to participate in a G-Star collection to be shown during the Berlin Fashion Week.

There were 14 contenders in the final, all being the best graduates of the seven Dutch fashion academies. They presented their collections in a catwalk show to the jury. Finally, Schepers’ minimal-conceptional collection based on the twin set principle won everyone over. Being inspired by ‘two-in-tone‘ clothes which can be combined with each other, she banks on modern separates.

www.lichting.nl
www.g-star.com

The fashion house Kenzo shows solidarity with Japan and produces a limited edition of products, whose proceeds are to go to the victims of the terrible earthquake catastrophe. The special issue is supported by the Red Cross. The products are marked by the rising Japanese sun, which shines in bright reds.

The selection includes a pagodon bag, two small purses, key rings and an emblem. With the edition which will be sold worldwide from October on in the Kenzo stores, the fashion label, whose founder Kenzō Takada is Japanese, acknowledges its roots.

www.kenzo.com

In late summer, the first flagship store of the Berlin designer Kilian Kerner will open in the Hackesche Höfe. The complete premium line Kilian Kerner as well as the knitwear and jersey line will be distributed over 350 sq m. Designed as concept store, the fashion label is sharing the two storey space with the BFN Store who had taken up the complete area previously. The two shops will be separated from each other by design and space.

Kerner’s store is true to the understatement principle and is to consist of only grey and white. Among other things the highlights will be catwalk displays on tiles, created for each fashion show at the Berlin Fashion Week and from immediately a permanent feature of the interior. Set to bring the label and its creator closer to the customers are video installations of the catwalk shows, as well as a documentation about the designer.

Kilian Kerner Flagship Store, Rosenthaler Straße 40-41, Hackesche Höfe, 10178 Berlin

The sustainable sports and streetwear label bleed organic clothing won the animal welfare organisation PETA’s Progress Award 2011 for the ‘most animal-friendly fashion line’. Each year, the organisation honours animal-friendly achievements and developments in economy and culture with this prize.

In creating the collections, bleed organic clothing works with materials which are natural, environmentally friendly and recyclable. Among other things for A/W 2011/12, the brand for the first time presents vegan jeans which were made from GOTS certified organic-cotton. Here no animal products like leather have been used.

www.bleed-clothing.com

For its renown as national and international label, the Danish brand Inwear with its head designer Lene Borggaard was now awarded the ‘Guldknap Award 2011’ (the Golden Button). Inwear already won the annually bestowed fashion award in 1991.

The award ceremony will take place on the first day of the Copenhagen Fashion Week, where the label will also show its S/S collection 2012.

www.inwear.com

With a cocktail, the Italian fashion label Stefanel launched the new Organic Cashmere Capsule Collection as part of Fashion Week. The location was the historic ballroom building, the S/S 2012 Capsule Collection consists of 25 special garments inspired by the 70s and Bianca Jagger’s styles. The range included pullovers, cardigans, tops, trousers and dresses, using a batik technique with organic colours. Further important features of this new line are layering, colour blocking and various textures.

"Choosing and using organic products is the simplest way of protecting oneself and the environment. For this reason, it has become extremely trendy to wear organic clothing in the fashion world. I am convinced that the Stefanel Organic Cashmere Capsule Collection will be very successful because we offer products of a high-quality and at an acceptable price. We decided to present the collection as a worldwide preview in Berlin, because Germany is our key market and I am sure that German consumers, who are very aware of sustainability, will honour this," says Giuseppe Stefanel, Stefanel Spy Chairman, at the launch of the collection.

www.stefanel.com

For their A/W 2011 campaign, Jimmy Choo worked together with the famous photographer Steven Meisel for the first time. The inspiration for the photos is taken from the glamour stars of the cinema of the 70s. Charlotte Rampling, Veruschka and Catherine Deneuve are the stylistic icons for the shooting. The New York Waldorf Astoria Hotel with its sophisticated hotel rooms was the setting for the new production. The label celebrated a further premiere with the debut of their first men’s collection, which was integrated into the campaign.

Tamara Melon, OBE, Founder and Chief Creative Office of Jimmy Choo, said: "This season I looked to the women who have always inspired me for their chic, empowered sense of dress, who experienced everything that life had to offer during such a glamorous and free spirited time. The artistic talent of Meisel blew us away within seconds to a secret love, which gave me precisely the ideas I needed for this season as well as the energy and spirit of the Jimmy Choo perception of women."

www.jimmychoo.com

Two legendary sports icons have got together. Björn 'Ice-Bjorg' Bjorg and John 'Crazy Mac' McEnroe, one of the most famous and former best tennis players in the world are not playing against each other, but together with a joint underwear collection.

From August, both men will be presenting under the same label of Björn Borg a limited collection 'Björn Loves John' consisting of four different styles. Two will be designed by Borg and two by McEnroe. "I love the idea of Björn Loves John. I now have a second chance to compete against John and win, although in a different way, without tennis racket and ball," says Björn Borg with regard to the teamwork.

The collection is a homage to the poignant Wimbledon finale of the friendly opponents from 1980. Four per cent of the sales revenue will go to the John and Patty McEnroe charity, which supports various charity organisations. In addition, original tennis articles from the two will be auctioned online. All proceeds will go to the McEnroe charity. The first 100 models autographed by both tennis icons is a highlight of the limited 'Björn Loves John' collection. These are available to buy worldwide in Björn Borg-stores.

www.bjornlovesjohn.com

The Berlin eyewear specialist Mykita presented a new design concept in their shop in Berlin. The central idea – to take objects out of their usual environment and place them in a new context. An important design feature is the backlit wall presenter – the Mykita Wall. In addition to the usual range of high-quality, hand-assembled frames, selected cosmetics and beauty care products will be available. With regard to frames, the company intends to work more intensively with Zeiss Optics.

www.mykita.com

'Our trip to somewhere else'‚ is the title of the S/S 2012 collection by Kilian Kerner who is also presenting a further collection. At the fashion show, as part of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin, models showcased moccasins from Kerner and the well established German company Sioux. For men, two models from the 'Sioux designed by Kilian Kerner' moccasins collection in seven different variants were presented. Styles are all beautifully produced and come in clean shapes and various colours.

The young German designer commented about the co-production: "Designing shoes was new territory for me and I gladly took the plunge. Providing the classic moccasin with a touch of something new was brilliant. Cooperation with Sioux was very professional and great fun."

www.sioux.de
www.kiliankerner.de

The second round of the fashion competition 'Start your Fashion Business' secured the Berliner label Augustin Teboul first place. Annelie Augustin and Odély Teboul, the two designers of the winning collection won the contest Project Future, initiated by the Berlin state government, against two further competitors from Berlin, Issever Bahri and Hien Le. All three labels presented their collections as part of a final presentation, which was then judged by a jury including Jette Joop (Jette GmbH) and Christiane Arp (Vogue).

The sombre-romantic collection was won by the duo Augustin Teboul with a prize of 25,000 euros. Issever Bahar came second with a prize of 15,000 euros , Hien Le came third with a prize of 10,000 euros. In addition to the prize money, the designers will be supported with workshops, coaching and fashion show participation over the next two years.

www.berlin.de/wirtschaftssenat

'Marc Loves Me' is on the front of the T-shirt from Alexandra Kiesel, this year’s winner of the 'Designer for Tomorrow by Peek & Cloppenburg Düsseldorf' young talent competition, which took place at the Berlin Fashion Week. With her collection 'Building blocks individualists 12/6/24', the 28-year old designer came first competing against four other finalists and enthused the jury together with patron Marc Jacobs. Bright colours, geometric shapes, straight lines and above all clothing that can be individually combined are the characteristic features of the collection. Kiesel received in addition to the award also a promotional programme tailored to her label as well as the unique opportunity to stage her own fashion show at the forthcoming fashion week event in Berlin.

www.peek-cloppenburg.de
www.designer-for-tomorrow.com

At the start of her promotion tour 2011 presenting her new album, the British singer Natasha Bedingfield will be outfitted by Freesoul. As part of the cooperation, Bedingfield was photographed in different outfits from the Italian denim label for the official press photos. The international successful singer will also wear clothes from the Freesoul collection on her world tour.

www.freesoulworld.com

This autumn, the Antwerp Fashion Museum will present the first large-scale retrospective exhibition of one of the most interesting fashion designers of the past 30 years. We are talking about Walter van Beirendonck, the renowned Belgium fashion designer and artist, who became famous as one of the "Antwerp Six", but above all provided plenty of furore with his W.&.L.T. label back in the 90s. Together with Mustang, Beirendonck established "Wild and Trash Lethal Trash" - correctly translated. In other words, this means colourful street, sports and outdoorwear made up of the latest and unconventional material combinations and an inspirational pool of pop and trash culture. The fictional character Puk Puk, an alien with an aerial on his head became the emblem of the label. The precise date for Retrospective will follow shortly on the museum homepage.

www.momu.be

Photocredit: Jean Baptiste Mondino,
1996

Guess is taking a trip to the Wild West. In their new campaign for A/W 2011/12, the company with the famous fashion photographer Ellen von Unwerth shot a campaign featuring Amber Heard and Silviu Tulu as Wild West lovers. The black and white photos are reminiscent of the Wild West classics from the 1950s and 1960s. The collection also reflects this subject: tight jeans with turn-ups, short denim jackets, knitted crop tops and retro-inspired dresses as well as leather bomber jackets, cowboy traveller and used-look jeans.

www.guess.eu

For the third time in succession, Wrangler won the top press award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. This year, the 'Stunt' campaign was awarded silver as part of the 'We Are Animals' series in the outdoor and print category. The campaign was photographed by Cass Bird at Paramount Studios in L.A. The ad features stunt men and women, jumping from windows, being set on fire or falling through panes of glass.

Last year, Wrangler made a name for themselves with the 'Red' campaign, pictures of topless men and women in exploding, red dust in a triumphal procession. The first advertising campaign 'We are animals' showed young people in the wild. In addition to the success in Cannes, the jeans company have been shortlisted for the Global Fashion Awards in the 'Most innovative Marketing' category. The decision will be announced in the autumn.

www.wrangler.com

It all started with a shirt factory at the end of the 1920s in a small town in New Haven, Connecticut. Up until the establishment of the famous label Gant in 1949, the company had already made a name for itself as one of the largest shirt manufacturers on the east coast of America. After moving to Stockholm, Gant is now returning to its roots on the East Coast. The company are now opening a large Gant Campus Store on 225 sqm in New Haven.

On the occasion of the store opening and the home coming, the brand has launched for S/S 2012 a limited new edition of its original OCBD shirts (Oxford Cloth Button-Down) from the 1960s. The shirts have the characteristic features of the original ones such as looker-loop, button-down as well as the original label from that time. In 14 different designs, the pieces are naturally boxed just like their predecessors from the 60s. The shirts are made of 100% cotton and are available in stripes, minimal checks and coloured tattersall checks; they will be available next year priced at € 129.

www.gant.com

Veronique Branquinho is the guest designer of this year’s autumn/winter collection of the Belgium lingerie brand Marie Jo. The designer duo A.F. Vandevorst designed the collection last year and this year the famous designer Branquinho will be following with a Capsule Collection for the Marie Jo l’Aventure range. The 50s inspired collection includes corset’s, demi-corps bras as well as pants from kind-to-the-skin materials with tulle, rep and pleats providing luxurious lingerie. The Look & Feel satin silk collection uses microfibres. In the mineral colours 'mysterious emerald' (green) and 'timeless onyx' (black), dessous will go on sale from September.

Veronique Branquinho got her inspiration for her collection from the old masters Dürer, Cranach, Raphael and Giorgione. She chose her favourite Eva and Venus shapes for her designs. She said: "Femininity is universal and timeless. It has always inspired me and is a recurring element in my work. I look at the collections of the old masters and realise that they hardly differ from the women of today and I asked myself what they would look like in the dessous. This is why I tried them on. I haven’t painted with oils since leaving university; it was a trip down memory lane. Whilst painting, I realised more and more how good the pictures harmonise with my painted designs".

www.mariejo.com

For the coming Fashion Week in Berlin, the Mongrels in Common label will be presenting together with Urban-Art artist XOOOOX their latest work. Together with the Berliner artist, the designers Christine Pluess and Livia Ximénez-Carrillo created a printed fabric, called 'Wild midges on a barcode on butterflies' that will be integrated into the S/S 2012 collection called 'Heidi is taking the plunge'. They have also jointly launched a limited printed scarf for the winter 11/12 season.

The collective print evolved from a barcode which the Mongrels in Common designers sent to XOOOOX; the print was then changed using a template technique and reinterpreted with new elements. In a bright glacier green, the motif appears on geometrically designed blouses, dresses and scarves.

Mongrels in Common deliberately decided to work together with XOOOOX, because the artist uses fashion themes in his work together with critical messages from the world of glamour, which are depicted in his work. For this purpose, the Berliner selects weathered house fronts and transfers the motifs using a template technique. The designers also intentionally use elements and styles that at a first glance don’t appear to fit together with their collections.

www.mongrelsincommon.com

‘Desigual inspired by Cirque du Soleil‘ is the name of the international partnership between the Spanish brand Desigual and the Cirque du Soleil, which is to present the artistic world of the world renowned circus bundled in a clothing and bag collection. “Desigual and the Cirque du Soleil represent the exciting cooperation of two symbolic worlds. We share the passion for emotions and develop products which are creative and innovative and thus invoke memorable experiences”, thus Manel Adell, CEO Desigual, describes the cooperation. The 60 piece collection consisting of clothing and accessories for women, men and children, will be sold from this November on the Desigual website and from December worldwide in 8 000 points of sale, as well as in the Cirque du Soleil show boutiques.

Beforehand, the collection will be presented for the first time to the European traders on 4th July 2011 in the scope of the Bread & Butter on the so called ‘SS11 New & Good Catwalk‘ and to North American traders on the Magic in Las Vegas from 22nd to 24th August.

www.desigual.com
www.cirquedusoleil.com

The singer Jade Williams, better known as Sunday Girl, is the new face of Firetrap’s A/W 2011 campaign. From July on she will smile from ads in selected core styles of the brand. In the scope of the cooperation, Firetrap has additionally designed a 13 piece limited edition named ‘Firetrap by Sunday Girl‘ with the artist, which will be sold from September on only on the British market, resp. on the firm’s home page. “We consider it important to promote young British talents. We love Jade’s unique style and her music. Apart from her talent as musician and songwriter, Jade enchants with her natural intuition as stylist“, says Firetrap Design Director Darren Bradford.

www.firetrap.com

Up to 10th July, the stilwerk Düsseldorf is showing the photo exhibition ‘Amazonen’(Amazons), a project by Uta Melles with photographs by Esther Haase and Jackie Hardt. The exposition is based on the experiences Uta Melles made during the course of her breast cancer. Melles had nude studies of herself made before and after her breast operation and this fired other women with similar fates to join her in being photographed. The 20 sitters reveal their feelings, strong but also vulnerable ones, in an aesthetic and intense way in the pictures. An exhibition which motivates contemplation, however also more courage and will to fight despite cancer diagnosis. After Düsseldorf, the show will also come to the stilwerk houses in Vienna and Berlin.

‘Amazonen‘ is presented with the book of the same name, published in the Kehrer Verlag with texts by Sophie Albers and Beate Wedekind. The hardcover book with 128 pages costs 30 Euros.

Opening times:
Mon. – Fri. 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sun. 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.

www.stilwerk.de

So that the young can also enjoy designer clothes, the Italian fashion house Versace has launched a children’s collection: ‘Young Versace‘. The range targets girls and boys from the ages of 0 to 12 and steps along with a youthful rock’n’roll attittude with playful prints, bright colours, pattern mix and the newly interpreted symbol of the company, the Greek Medusa head logo. The collection will premiere at the Pitti Immagine Bimbo in Florence and will then be sold in selected multi brand specialist shops for children, as well as exclusively in department stores for the S/S 2012 season worldwide.

www.versace.com

With a charity action, the Dutch shoe manufacturer Floris van Bommel supports the DREAM programme of the German Aids Foundation together with the actor Daniel Brühl. DREAM (Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS und Malnutrition) guarantees the medical care for HIV-infected and aids patients, especially young mothers and babies in Africa. “The PMTCT (Programme Mother-to-Child-Transmission) prevents women with HIV passing the virus to their new born babies, whether during birth or breastfeeding. In Africa, this is one of the most common ways of transmission and the possibility of a mother giving her child the HIV virus is up to 40 per cent“, explains the designer Floris van Bommel. Both men want to use their celebrity status to actively commit themselves against the virus infection. For this purpose, they have created a joint special sneaker model which is to go on sale with the S/S 2012 collection of Floris van Bommel for 180 Euros. The complete sales revenue is to be donated to the German Aids Foundation for DREAM. The charity sneaker can be admired for the first time at the Bread & Butter.

www.vanbommel-shop.nl

With the slogan 'Don’t destroy what you came to enjoy', the Quiksilver Group is staging the Green campaign for the second time to draw attention to the necessity of the preservation of water reserves. In the scope of the first edition, the proceeds of altogether over 80.000 Euro were collected, which were donated completely to three environmental associations in order to help them in implementing their indispensable projects for the protection of water. So it was this time too. Up to 23rd June, the actions are afoot on the websites and stores. Here a 'green line' can be followed which leads to the eco green-minded products. For each eco product sold, one Euro goes to the promotion of the projects of the three partner associations. In addition connected with the campaign, Quiksilver and Roxy, as well as their pro surfers, are committed to environmental protection by ecological design, environmental management, sensitizing events and partnerships with numerous associations.

www.quiksilver-europe.com
www.roxy-europe.com

After opening the Milan branch in 2007, the fashion house Dsquared² is due to open its first international flagship store on the 247/251 rue Saint Honoré in Paris this September. The 800 sqm large store is to take up three storeys and, not only with womenswear, to also present menswear aligned in theme worlds. In addition, one of the storeys is to form part of the façade of the hotel Mandarin Oriental. Dean and Dan Caten, Dsquared² designers, explain: “Since we started our label, we have both nurtured a dream to open a boutique in Paris. We had to be patient until we had found the right, prestigious location which meets the requirements of the brand. After this chance finally came our way, we are proud and overjoyed to inaugurate our Paris branch on the rue Saint Honoré, a place symbolising luxury and world class.”

The opening is to represent a significant strategic step in the development on the international market. After the extended licence partnership with Staff International and the start of a wave of expansion in Asia (15 stores are planned in the next three years), the brand wants to solidify its presence in Europe, its strongest market. Animated by the planned opening in Paris, Dsquared² intends to set up four more flagships in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London in the next two years. The strategic target is to initiate more stores in America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia with the flagship stores.

www.dsquared2.com

“This exhibition is not only a tribute to her beauty, but also her intelligence!” This is how the Parisian Galerie L’Instant describes their current exposition in honour of one of the most famous supermodels of the last two decades: Kate Moss. She made the “Heroin Chic” famous, paraded down the catwalk for all renowned fashion houses and was captured on camera by just as innumerable prestigious photographers. Apart from her meteoric career as model, the British girl also attracted attention with her rock’n’roll life. Her relationship with scandal rocker Pete Doherty or her cocain scandal in 2005 made her career plummet to rock bottom, to then with full power again charge into the spotlight. Whether as co-designer for Topshop and Longchamp or as living modelling legend in the last Louis Vuitton show, Kate is the fashion icon of our age. The exhibition in the Galerie L’instant shows pictures of Kate Moss from various stages in her career. The work of photographers Bettina Rheims, Patrick Demarchelier, Rankin and many more can be viewed up to 14th September in the French capital.

www.lagaleriedelinstant.com

Credit: ©Richard Dumas/Agence Vu, courtesy Galerie de l’Instant, Paris

The international 'Fly our own flag' campaign started by New Era last year is off into the next round. On board as new faces of the action is the American hip-hop/rock trio N*E*R*D, whose lead singer is the style icon Pharrell Williams. The campaign has set itself to encourage people to live out their dream. For this, famous brand ambassadors from the fields of design, street and hip-hop are brought in who have fulfilled their lifetime dream or are in the process. The protagonists are all represented with a recurring graphical element, white cubes. For the campaign, N*E*R*D were photographed on BMX bikes in New Era outfits, accompanied by the slogans 'Find Your Own Rhythm' and 'Follow Your Own Beat'. “N*E*R*D have succeeded in making their name in the international music business with their unique sound”, says Christopher H. Koch, New Era CEO. “The three are characters who perfectly embody the core values of the 'Fly Your Own Flag' campaign.”

See the shooting with the three band members under http://www.neweracap.com/en_US/Explore/Flagbearers.aspx.

www.newera.com

For the impending Fashion Week in Berlin, the capital welcomes Marc Jacobs as patron of the “Designer for Tomorrow” Award. Additionally in the scope of his task, Jacobs will scrutinize the young fashion talents on 6th July as a juror and finally coach the top 5 personally. Apart from financial support by P&C, the winner of the young talent contest organised by Peek & Cloppenburg will have their own show at the Fashion Week Berlin as well as the opportunity of visiting the designer of Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs in the New York atelier. At the beginning of his career, Marc Jacobs himself won numerous young talent awards. In 2009, he won the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award (CFDA) in the category “Designer International”.

Photo: ©Axel Siebmann

www.designer-for-tomorrow.de
www.peek-cloppenburg.de

The fashion roundabout has been turning surprisingly quickly in the last weeks. After Galliano leaving Dior and his label of the same name and Christophe Decarnin’s departure from Balmain, now the lot has fallen to the design duo Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi with Ferré. The designers responsible for Ferré since 2007 have packed up their pencils in the Italian fashion house. In addition both manage their own label Aquilano Rimondi. There were already rumours on their doubtful future at the beginning of the year. When the label was taken over by the Paris Group, the owner’s statement on the further cooperation with the creative pair was: “We will see.” Insider circles whisper the reason for the separation is the sluggish sales of the collection in the shops. Up to now it is not clear who their successors will be.

Photo: ©Axel Siebmann

www.gianfrancoferre.it

On 14th May 2011, everyone will be aglow with excitement again when international artists vie for the musical crown of the Eurovision Song Contest, formerly the Grand Prix d’Eurovision de la Chanson. To accompany the event, the NRW Forum in Düsseldorf opens up the Grand Prix Lounge from 29th April to 15th May. Under the working title “Douze Points”, the Forum illuminates the history of the music competition, now already 55 years old, by way of record covers of the respective winners as well as video clips of the most wonderful Grand Prix moments. These include the performances of France Gall with “Poupée de core, poupée de son” (1965), Abba with “Waterloo” (1974), Nicole, the first winner for Germany, with “Ein bisschen Frieden” (1982) or the current title holder Lena Meyer-Landrut with “Satellite”.

This collection is a must for anyone wanting to hop aboard a cultural time journey or simply as a Grand Prix fan. The exhibition is open on Tuesdays to Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays up to 12 p.m. Also there will be an additional musical programme on Fridays from 8 p.m. on.

Legend: This was how ABBA won for Sweden in 1974 with “Waterloo”.

www.nrw-forum.de

American Apparel has joined the denim business. The young fashion supplier formerly known for colourful t-shirts and jersey garments has now launched a jeans line under the name “Made in USA”. The range comprises two fits for women, a pair of jeans and shorts, each with a high waist. Wielding responsibility for the new denim line is the Director of Denim Georges Altan, who helped to build up the well-known label Guess? 30 years ago. Being planned are a further line for men as well as the expansion of the ranges within the new jeans section. The denims are sold in the own brand online shop and the American Apparel Stores.

www.americanapparel.net

Up to 19th June 2011, the Haus der Kunst in Munich is showing a progressive type of fashion exhibition. Japanese fashion, purposefully not aligned to looking becoming, contrasts strongly with established fashion aesthetics. Visionaries such as Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto bank on flawed fabrics and old materials, while fashion designer Issey Miyake puts cards on opulent materials creating voluminous space between fabric and body. For the first time in Europe, 130 garments, fashion show films, collection catalogues and more documentary material present Japanese avant-garde fashion from the early 1980s up to now.

www.hausderkunst.de

Answering the American Heritage call, Stetson and Red Wing Shoes will place a joint collection on the market in autumn 2011. The headwear range is made up of four styles, all integrating the Red Wing Shoes leather. These include two newsboy caps, one completely made of leather, the other one of dark checked fabric and with a leather peak. The third model is an aviator hat combining leather, checks and rabbit skin. The handicraft selection is made complete with a Marlon Brando cap in Red Wing leather.

www.stetson-europe.com
www.redwingshoe-europe.com

Christoph Decarnin and Balmain have separated. Rumours have been circulating about the fashion designer who was responsible for the past five years for the collections at the fashion house since his non-appearance on the catwalk at the Paris fashion week in March. A press officer said this was due to ill health. However, it was rumoured that there were disputes between the designer and management and a decision was finally taken to separate.

Before Decarnin took up the position as designer at Balmain in 2005 he worked for Paco Rabanne. With his creations he gave the French fashion house a touch of punk. His rock’n’ roll leather jackets, ripped slim jeans and tops as well as figure-hugging silhouettes provided Balmain with that certain something. Christophe Decarnin has not yet disclosed what he intends to do in the future and whether he will possibly present a collection under his own name. No replacement has been announced yet, but insiders believe Balmain will appoint a successor internally.

Photo: ©Axel Siebmann

www.balmain.com

Renée Zellweger and Tommy Hilfiger have teamed up to launch the new BHI charity bags. For the fifth time the American designer has designed a new limited edition collection with which he is supporting the "Breast Health International Organisation". A third of the sales proceeds of 299 euros per bag will go to the non-profit making organisation involved in research and supporting people with this illness.

Renée Zellweger is following in the footsteps of Carla Bruni, Milla Jovovich and Helena Christensen, who were chosen as ambassadors for this worthy cause: "Because of the experiences of close friends and family members who have had to endure and battle the challenges of breast cancer, I am happy to support the charitable cause with Tommy Hilfiger." The limited edition bags are available from 2 May in all Hilfinger stores worldwide as well as on the company’s website.

Photo: ©Tommy Hilfiger

www.tommy.com

The Italian footwear brand Superga is celebrating 100 years in business, and has chosen the British model-turned TV presenter to front its centennial campaign. Photographed in the picturesque Petersham Nurseries in Richmond Surrey, England, the It-Girl posed in casual yet quirky looks for the traditional label. As part of the centennial year, Superga is presenting a canvas sneaker in 2011 which is reminiscent of the original sneakers.

The company from Turin has been producing classic canvas sneakers with rubber soles since 1911. Under the slogan "People’s Shoes of Italy", they want to offer shoes for every age and for everyone.

Photo: ©Superga

Andy Warhol is back! In as much as a selection of his works will be exhibited at Beatlemania Hamburg. Under the title "Pop meets Pop" in the rooms of the Beatles museum one can also see portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Goethe, variations of Campbell Soup Cans, exerts from the "Ladies & Gentlemen" series as well as the famous "Cow".

There will also be works from the Beatles in particular from John Lennon, who was a friend of Andy Warhol. A total of 80 exhibits will be presented – some of which for the first time - in Germany and will also include photos from Billy Name, who was the archivist of the "Warhol Factory". The "Pop meets Pop" exhibition is open until 31 May at Beatlemania Hamburg.

www.beatlemania-hamburg.de

The Mister Freedom label has created a limited edition for the boot company Palladium. The model "Palladenim" is inspired by the "chaussure de brousse" (jungle boots) worn by French soldiers in the 50s. The upper material consists of 12 oz of raw selvedge denim forms and sourced directly from Mister Freedom’s vintage archive. The inner lining consists of striped vintage cotton, which like the upper material, is decorated with handmade ink prints in a military style.

Further features are artwork of the American-French brand on the insole and a special "Mister Freedom for Palladium" logo on the ankle and contrasting olive coloured seams to the denim.
The boots are available at selected stores and on the Mister Freedom homepage for 129.95 euros as well as at the Palladium Concept Store in Amsterdam.

www.misterfreedom.com
www.palladiumboots.com

Eccentric, anarchy and punk are best suited to Vivienne Westwood who is celebrating her 70th birthday. Vivienne Isabel Swire was born on 8 April 1941 in Derbyshire England. After studying to become a primary school teacher, marrying and becoming a mother at a young age, she met the former Londoner Malcolm McLaren with whom she opened her first boutique "Let it rock at Paradise Garage" in 1971. Westwood, who was interested in fashion whilst still at school, began designing clothes.

With her designs, she became an icon of New Romantics and a subversive style which orientated itself on historic costumes, in particular the Fin de Siècle. She became famous with her Pirates collection at the beginning of the 80s. Her first fashion show in Paris followed in 1982 and in 1990 the first collection for men.

In addition to being a fashion designer, she also lectured at the University for Applied Fashion in Vienna and University of the Arts in Berlin. After 40 years in the fashion business, the works of the "Queen of Punk" with her red hair has not lost her radical and artistic approach. Happy Birthday, Vivienne Westwood!

Photo: ©Axel Siebmann

www.viviennewestwood.co.uk

At the moment, the art of knitting at its highest level is being presented in the MoMu Fashion Museum, Antwerp. The exhibition “Unravel: Knitwear in Fashion” wafts visitors away into the fascinating world of knitting. Creations from the past centuries up to contemporary interpretations of famous designers, including Vivienne Westwood, Sonia Rykiel, Missoni, but also knitted adaptations of the haute couture designers Elsa Schiaparelli, Patou and Chanel, can be admired in the exhibition. A touch of avant-garde is conveyed in work by Belgium newcomers as well as labels like Maison Martin Margiela, Sandra Backlund and Mark Fast. With the aid of photos and installations, knitwear is examined in detail right down to single stitches and its charm for creative professionals is illustrated. The exhibition is open up to 14th August 2011 in the MoMu Fashion Museum Province of Antwerp.

www.momu.be
Credit: Photography by Craig McDean, Styling by Panos Yiapanis

Alistair Carr is Pringle of Scotland’s new design director. “We are thrilled to have Alistair in our crew. His talent in combining innovative and contemporary luxury design with each other predestines him for Pringle of Scotland”, explains CEO Jean Fang. Carr graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins School in London and founded his own label of the same name. He already participated three times in the London Fashion Week with his collections and during this time obtained some fashion prizes and sponsorship deals.

www.pringlescotland.com

“Rebuild Nippon” is the message and the name of the charity t-shirt line of the graffiti artist Slick, who is collecting donations for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. The native Hawaiian’s wife is Japanese and has relations and friends in the crisis area: “I felt so helpless, wanted to donate money right away. But then I saw that this would not be enough. For this reason I am now making use of our small t-shirt label ‘Dissizit’ for charity“, so Slick explains his concern. All sales revenue of the donation collection will go to the Red Cross in Japan and to the non-profit organisation Global Giving. In Germany, the shirt can be ordered online under mumbojumboshop for 32.99 Euros. The delivery will ensue in the second half of April.

www.mumbojumboshop.com
www.dissizit.com

Lacoste has now opened a flagship store on the elegant Hamburg promenade Neuer Wall. Apart from the sportswear collection, the traditional brand will be additionally presenting the kidswear line, the trendy young L!ive collection as well as a vast choice of accessories such as bags, shoes, jewellery and small leather goods on 350 sqm.

The entrance area leads to the “World of Polo”. Here the concepts of L!ve and kidswear unite forces, shoes and accessories completing the subject area. Womenswear and menswear are found upstairs. The interior reveals numerous light boxes with motifs from the brand history, as well as original René Lacoste trademarks such as the famous blazer with the first crocodile emblem. Also the innovative “Polo Bar” provides optical accents, being decorated with the L.12.12 polo shirt in 32 colours. The adjoining “Polo Wall” illustrates the diversity of the polo models and fits.

www.lacoste.com

The brand O’Neill is on the look out for a new face for their spring/summer superkini campaign 2012. Apart from good looks, the model to be must be very plucky, because she has to dive into the sea from a cliff at the end of a one way runway. Thus the girl has to prove that the superkini developed by O’Neill keeps its skintight fit during the dive. Each participant must present herself on Facebook with a photo for votes.

Altogether 15 girls will make it to the finals. The five girls with the most votes directly qualify for the One Way Runway, which will take place between 7th and 9th June on Ibiza. First of all the remaining ten have to appear before a jury, among others including the Victoria’s Secret model Else Taylor and professional surfer Raine Jackson, in order to later dive from the cliffs into the sea.

In September 2011 the winner will feature in a shooting for the new S/S 2012 campaign. Any girl from 18 years upwards can take part and votes for the candidates can be cast on Facebook up to 15th May.

www.facebook.com/oneillgirls
www.oneill.com

Mavi has now opened Germany’s largest flagship store in Düsseldorf. Also the worldwide new concept of the Turkish fashion brand has its premiere: the brand is presenting “Mavi Denim Kitchen” as highlight next to the typical Denim Wall. The kitchen is to be the symbolical central contact point in the store and at the same time to provide information on Mavi products. Imparted here for example is the production sequence of a pair of jeans – from cutting over washing up to finishing processes. The womenswear and menswear collections spread over two storeys with a 300 sqm area. After the flagships in Berlin and Frankfurt, Düsseldorf makes the third branch of the Turkish brand in Germany. More stores are being planned.

www.mavi.com

The new face of Mango’s men’s line “H.E. by Mango” is the footballer Gerard Piqué. The FC Barcelona player is featured in the campaigns for spring/summer 2011 and autumn/winter 2011/12. Piqué says on his new task as testimonial: I have been interested in fashion since I was 15 or 16 years old. I like it and I trust my judgement. But I prefer experts to advise me with big campaigns like this one.“

www.mango.com

The cult figure Hello Kitty now has its own footwear collection from June 2011 on. The limited edition born out of the cooperation of Sanrio, Inc., who possesses the trademark rights for the internationally known comic character, and the footwear label Vans unites the characteristics of both companies. Examples of the cooperation’s ideas are Hello Kitty prints on black-white checked slip ons or the high top Sk8 Hi D Lo printed with the pop cat’s motley portrait. The shoes sold in Vans stores, selected Sanrio boutiques and the respective online shops come in children’s to adults’ sizes.

www.sanrio.com
www.vans.com

Already the Social Fashion Label Armed Angels are wishing Fair Easter. Two Easter shirts were created together with the TV presenter Collien Fernandes, who already designed for the brand in the autumn/winter season 2009/10. The two bunny print t-shirts for men and women, each priced at 39.90 Euros, are made from 100% organic cotton and are fair trade products. For each t shirt sold, three Euros go to the children’s home St. Catherine’s Home in Mumbai. Collien Fernandes has supported this institution for a long time. The actor Christian Ulmen joined the presenter for the t-shirt shooting. The Easter line will be launched from 1st April on in the Armedangels online store.

www.armedangels.de

Prince William’s fiancée, Kate Middleton, now comes along as a real doll. The Franklin Mint, the American collector’s brand, has now launched the miniature version of the princess to be. Limited to 5,000 pieces, the price of doll “Lucky Kate” converted into Euros will be 140. The doll is dressed in a copy of Kate’s engagement outfit, the velvet blue Issa dress complete with the engagement ring of Diana, Princess of Wales. After the Royal Wedding on 29th April, The Franklin Mint will expand the “Royal Wedding Collection” with Kate the bride.

Credit: The Franklin Mint

www.franklinmint.com

Strellson is launching a special line for autumn in cooperation with the artist Marcelo Viquez. The “Marco Viquez collection” has four motives, which are new versions of the Strellson Sportswear logo created by the painter, photographer and sculptor from Uruguay. The prints unite the style of the South American, a mixture of graffiti, pop art and comics. The creations are printed on various tops in colours mood indigo, green gables and Moroccan. From autumn on, the collection is available in international specialist shops, Strellson mono stores and the company’s own webshop.

www.strellson.de

The French fashion house Dior have fired star designer John Galliano. In a statement, the company said the reason for sacking him was the "particularly disgusting behaviour" of the British designer recorded on video. The amateur recording showed a drunken Galliano expressing his admiration for Hitler and hurling abuse at a couple on an adjacent table. John Galliano admitted to arguing with the couple in the bar, but denies making any anti-Semitic remarks.

Galliano was suspended by Dior on 25 February after a complaint was made against him for anti-Semitic remarks. Dior has condemned this behaviour and underlined the zero-tolerance policy of its company towards racism. Galliano dismissed the claims made against him and is suing the couple for defamation and libel.

The incident is casting a shadow over the Dior show taking place on Friday and the presentation of the Galliano collection during the Prêt-à-porter shows in Paris on Sunday. It is assumed that Galliano will not be taking part in the Dior show.

www.dior.com

The denim and lifestyle label Guess is opening its globally largest flagship store in New York. Located on Fifth Avenue, the 1,200 sqm shop is on two floors. Womenswear is on the ground floor and offers exclusive limited collection items solely for the US-American market; on the first floor there is more womenswear and the menswear collection.

The source of inspiration for the new store came from the international flagship concept initiated last year in Milan. The interior comprises modern black and white design elements are complemented by contrasting treated steel and dark wood details. Elements such as installations of vintage jeans patches or authentic denim buttons reflect the history of the jeans label. Large LED screens provide an insight into past shows as well as videos of work behind the scenes of the advertising campaign.

Guess Flagship Store, 575 Fifth Avenue, Eke 47. Strafe, New York City

www.guess.com

The Benetton Group wants to save about 600 tonnes of plastic waste by using 100% bio-degradable and recyclable hangers of liquid wood. These were developed in cooperation with the Frauenhofer Institute for Chemical Technology to replace the conventional plastic hangers in all Benetton stores worldwide. Since the beginning of 2010, customers have been using more eco-friendly shopping bags sourced from sustainably managed forests printed with non-toxic and water-based ink. 30 per cent of Benetton’s children’s line is made of organic cotton and certified to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). This worldwide recognised standard ensures that products are manufactured in an eco-friendly and socially responsible manner.

www.benetton.com

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will pay tribute to the English designer Alexander McQueen who died last February, with an exhibition entitled "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" on 4 May. The exhibition will feature more than 100 pieces of work from McQueen’s 20-year career, including exhibits from his final collection from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, private collected objects and pieces from his final runway collection. In addition, a new book focusing on the fashion, design and iconic creativity of McQueen will be presented. The book gives an insight into his work and techniques as well as personal anecdotes about his work. The exhibition runs at the Met until the end of July 2011.

Credit: Photo by Sølve Sundsbø

www.metmuseum.org

John Galliano, chief designer for Dior has been suspended with immediate effect. The reason: Galliano is accused of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks towards a couple while in a restaurant. Galliano has vigorously rejected the claims. In a statement, Dior boss Sidney Toledano said that Dior has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and anti-Semitic comments. Galliano has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

Police confirmed that Galliano was involved in an argument while drinking at a café in the artist quarter of Marais. At the police station, he was breathalysed and found to have an alcohol level of 1.1. Galliano’s solicitor refutes the accusations that he made any racist or anti-Semitic remarks. This raises doubts over the Dior fashion show planned for this coming Friday. In addition, his own collection scheduled for the show has now also been put in jeopardy.

The British fashion designer John Galliano has lived in Paris since 1993 and been chief designer for Dior for the past 16 years.

www.dior.com

After opening its first German store in Cologne, True Religion is moving further north and opening its second store in Hamburg. Under the management of True Religion Brand Jeans Company GmbH, the 100 sqm store is set to open its doors on 24 March in Alstertal Einkaufszentrum Hamburg (AEZ). "After the successful start in Cologne, it was only a matter of time until we opened a further monolabel store in Germany. The attempt to realise this in a shopping centre is part of our new sales concept. AEZ is the perfect location," says Reinhard Haase, CEO True Religion Brand Jeans GmbH. The shop interior is similar to that in Cologne with hickory wood elements imported from the USA and a denim wall. The range includes the complete ready-to-wear collection, accessories, shoes and perfume of the same name. Two further stores are due to open in the course of the year; Munich, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf are being considered. In addition to the 71 stores in the USA and the two in Germany, the company also has a shop in London.

www.truereligionbrandjeans.com

Patrizia Pepe started this year with two new lines. In addition to "LoveSport", the first active wear collection from the fashion house in Florence, the company is also presenting beachwear. Under licence with Albisetti SpA, the basic styles will be available from AW 2011/12 with LoveSport and the swimwear collection will be available in spring 2012. The sportswear range includes overalls, sweatshirts, bodys, tops, jackets and joggers together with a range of accessories such as shoes, bags, caps, scarves and gloves. Pareos, beach towels and bags are also available in the beachwear collections.

www.patriziapepe.com

Prada is back with a store on the Kurfürstendamm after turning its back on the German capital in 2003. The Milan luxury label is presenting complete ready-to-wear collections, bags, accessories and shoes for ladies and men on an area of 500 sqm. The new store at Kurfürstendamm 186 was designed by the architect Roberto Baciocchi who combined the historical features of the new location with stylistic elements that bind all Prada stores worldwide. Ivory coloured morocco leather upholstered alcoves come together with pastel green walls on elaborately reworked brickwork of the historic building. With the Berlin Dependence, Prada is represented in Germany with its own stores in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf as well as corners in KaDeWe and Oberpollinger in Munich.

Prada Store, Kurfürstendamm 186, 10707 Berlin

www.prada.com

The fashion designer Stine Goya is once again joining up with the Swedish retailer Weekday. Back in 2009 the Danish creative’s designed a joint collection for the chain; a second is now to follow. "My new collection for Weekday has a soft and feminine side, but also embodies a confident and strong stance. Details such as gold press studs, zips, soft shoulder pads and small bags accentuate the playful character of the collection," says Goya about the edition, which will be available from the middle of April in Weekday stores.
Stine Goya worked as a stylist for American Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue before graduating in 2005 from Central St. Martins specialising in fashion design with print. In 2006, she started her own label in Copenhagen.

www.stinegoya.com
www.weekday.com

Georgia-May Jagger, youngest child of Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger and the former model Jerry Hall have joined the designers. The 19-year old talented model together with the denim label Hudson has brought out her own "Hudson by Georgia-May Jagger" collection. Together with chief designer Ben Taverniti, the collection comprises of five styles: "It was a fantastic experience and a great honour to work together with Ben. He taught me a lot about correct washes, fits and cuts." Georgia-May Jagger steered the first drawings for the rock slim fits with a medium-high waist. She gets her inspirations from female family members: "The old Wrangler jeans that my mother wore in the 70’s in Texas as well as the styles from Guns & Roses were my inspiration. To determine the perfect fit, I asked my siblings and friends." Jagger sees herself working in the fashion branch also in the future: "I belong in the world of fashion. It’s fantastic to be able to express one’s creative passion and work together with famous fashion brands such as Hudson." The collection is available from the spring in selected premium stores and immediately at the company’s online store.

www.hudsonjeans.com

This year Hugo Boss celebrates its 30-year partnership with McLaren and is launching various actions for the occasion. This includes a limited "McLaren Collection" from the Boss Black line with jackets, polos and sweatshirts for men and women, which will be available in over 800 PoS worldwide from March. Another will follow in September. In addition there is an international design competition "Dress me for the finale", where participants are offered the chance to design an overall for Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. For each of the Formula 1 races, one winning design will be chosen per country. From all the nominated designs, one will be worn at the last race in Sao Paulo that will be worn by both drivers in the finale.

www.hugoboss.com/mclaren
www.facebook.com/hugoboss

In spite of (or perhaps because of) her small scandal and affair with drugs, Kate Moss is big in business. Having just been voted the most elegant woman of the decade by US Vogue, she is starring in an elegantly suave image in front of the camera for Liu Jo. The Italian fashion label want to boost their brand with the aid of a well-know personality. Photographs of the top model were taken last autumn in a London studio by the photographer Mario Sorrenti. "We are thrilled to be able to present our joint project together with Kate Moss emphasising the strengths and designs of Lui Jo bringing the new emotions closer to our customers," says owner Marco Marchi.


www.liujo.it

To celebrate the 15th anniversary, Jimmy Choo opened its second shop in Frankfurt, Germany. In a typically glamorous and feminine ambience, the British luxury label is presenting the collection in Goethestraße 27 in Frankfurt on about 160 sqm. The range has been customised with the inclusion of a beauty world. In January, a new fragrance with the simple name "Jimmy Choo" by Saks Fifth Avenue in New York was presented. It will be available worldwide from February 2011. The nuances span from green notes to fruity elements up to orchid aromas, patchouli and sweet toffee. The stylish bottle was designed by Tamara Mellon, founder of Jimmy Choo. Dieselbiege is also the advertising face of the campaign. "We have become a lifestyle luxury label and this was the next logical step for us," says Tamara Mellon.


www.jimmychoo.com

Albert Watson the famous British photographer who was born in 1952 in Scotland and has lived in the USA since 1976 has just brought out a new book. He is well-known through his numerous advertising campaigns for brands such as Levi`s, Prada or Chanel; Watson has also photographed celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell for Vogue. His photographs comprise of serious graphic compositions and divine revelations with a particular insight into daily life. His new photo book "Unified Fashion Objectives", in short UFO, a 40-year retrospective of his best work. Price: 85 Euros.


www.albertwatson.net

Every year the Brit Awards get a new look. This time the exclusive design for the British pop music prize will be revamped by Vivienne Westwood. The dominant colour red is paired with innocent white, lilac and ochre. One wants to underline and emphasis the close connection between fashion and music. "Vivienne stands for all the things we want to inspire in tomorrow’s generation of artists. She is unique, innovative not to mention massively inspired by music and vice versa," said Chairman David Joseph.


www.brits.co.uk

Helena Christensen is the new face for the spring/summer collection 2011 from Caractère. Caractère have always looked for testimonials with character for the presentation of their collections. Helena Christensen represents the company philosophy of a contemporary, cosmopolitan and educated woman, according to the reason for choosing her. The campaign was photographed by Guy Aroch, the international photographer from New York. Caractère started in the middle of the 90s and has developed to become an internationally recognised label that is represented in 25 countries today.


www.caractere.it

The only large, high-quality international show which combines fashion and lifestyle, received a very positive feedback from all the exhibitors and visitors. Already the expansion of the exhibition area, which in turn enabled even more international collections to be presented, showed a positive tendency at the fair. This was confirmed by an increase of 27% in the number of visitors compared to the summer season, whereby most of these visitors came from abroad. The number of German speaking visitors remained constant. "On the first two day of the fair, we already had as many visitors as we did last year over three days with the same high visitor frequency!" said Norbert Tillman, Managing Director of Premium Exhibitions GmbH.


www.premiumexhibitions.com

In January 2011 as part of the Premium Messe Berlin, the “Premium Young Designers Award A/W 2011/12” was awarded. Proud winner of the 20,000 euro prize was the Berliner newcomer label "Liebig" in the womenswear category. The prize was awarded as part of a fashion show. Liebig was started last year by Sandra Liermann and Olivia Pflugfelder. Liebig was up against 50 other competitors. "It is wonderful when that what one has worked so hard for over such a long time is rewarded. This gives us encouragement and confirms that we are on the right path," said Sandra Liermann.


www.liebig-berlin.com

The French designer Jean Paul Gaultier was honoured for his life’s work with the Botón de Oro in the scope of the Mango Fashion Awards in Barcelona. The prize was handed over by the actress Scarlett Johansson, who is the testimonial of the Spanish fashion chain. One of the award jurors at the same time, Gaultier attended the ceremony in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC). This year the fashion prize El Botón-Mango, given for the third time and including prize money of 300,000 Euros, went to the Belgian designer Lena Lumelsky. On her future plans, the winner declared: “In Antwerp I will carry on creating a personal collection, but thanks to this prize I can now expand the points of sales on an international plane and above all fulfil my dream: a fashion show in Paris.”
BU: (l.t.r: Jean Paul Gaultier, Scarlett Johansson, Isac Andic (owner MANGO)

www.mango.com

With the motto BIG BANG, the lifestyle company Esprit is starting up an international campaign to drum up support for SOS Children’s Villages. From 5th to 13th November, end consumers in eleven metropoles, including the Berlin Europacenter as well, are invited to the so called “Super Drums”. Customers are requested to drum for the Children’s Villages. As soon as three million drum beats are reached, Esprit will donate an additional 500,000 Euros to the SOS Children’s Village in Alibaug. On 13th November, the BIG BANG day, Germany’s Top Model Marie Nasemann will give her support in Berlin. The action will be accompanied by activities to win prizes and additionally will be carried out parallel online, where the drum beats can be virtually delivered.
On 12th October, Esprit had opened an SOS Children’s Village in Alibaug, India, together with the international ambassadors of the campaign, the actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.

Credit: (l.t.r: Heinz Krogner, Executive Chairman Esprit, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard)

www.esprit.com/sos

Gucci has recruited Jennifer Lopez with her family for the start of the kidswear collection: in the scope of a worldwide campaign which will be waged in magazines, newspapers and internet among other things from November on, the luxury label photographed her together with her children on the beach of Malibu. To celebrate the launched line, Gucci donated 1 million dollars to the Unicef project “Schools for Africa”. J. Lo stated: “As a mother, I am proud to be part of this campaign benefiting the Unicef programme.”

Credit: © Gucci
www.gucci.com

The Louis Vuitton store on the Kö in Düsseldorf has undergone a facelift. The result: the luxury label is now glittering on an area of 550 sqm in a metamorphosed location. Tom Meggle, head of Louis Vuitton in Germany, praised the “grandeur” and creativity of the shop, which he baptised one of the best in the world. Louis Vuitton exercised a cornucopia of imagination, for example, in designing the display windows. Thus the conceptual artist Hans-Peter Feldmann bought handbags off passers by in order to present them together with their contents in the show window.

On the basis of Prada’s vast esteem for genuine handicraft, Miuccia Prada has now initiated the project “Made in…”. For this purpose, collection pieces are being made in all countries in which production for Prada has also taken place. The collection, including shoes as well as clothes, is manufactured in countries such as Peru, India, Japan or Scotland among others. The styles are given a uniform identification with a special labelling “Prada Made in Peru” etc.
Credit: ©Prada
www.prada.com

Stella McCartney is soon due to launch her own children’s line. The range addresses children from under one year to twelve years and will be 100% vegan like the adult collection. “There are many working parents in my company. My target was to create a collection which arouses covetousness, is fun, wearable and above all affordable”, explains the designer, who is expecting her fourth child. The clothing for girls and boys will be available worldwide from 3rd November under www.stellamccartneykids.com, as well as in the Stella McCartney boutiques.
www.stellamccartney.com

Photo-Credit: © Stella McCartney

At moment Karl Lagerfeld wants to introduce a new ready to wear line. Named “Masstige” – a word compound of mass and prestige – the head designer of Chanel, Fendi and his brand of the same name plans to offer a commercial collection. The designs are to be put online at moderate prices for this purpose. He already dispensed with presenting his Karl Lagerfeld show at the Paris Fashion Week for this new line. The designer explains that he had long harboured this dream of realising the “elitisation of the masses”. “I think that it is almost my duty to accomplish this using my name, this is the way of being modern.” Masstige is to premiere for the autumn/winter season 2011/12. Negotiations are still afoot about the sales and manufacture of the collection momentarily.

www.karllagerfeld.com

Tom Ford is back. The designer, who was creative director with Gucci up to the beginning of 2004 and after that especially won fame as men’s tailor and director, is back again with his own womenswear collection. He celebrated his premiere in the scope of the fashion week closed to the public. Only present to applaud his new designs were the well known photographer Terry Richardson and approximately 100 selected guests. Celebs paraded as models, among them Beyoncé Knowles, Lou Doillon, Julianne Moore and Lauren Hutton. Nobody apart from Richardson was allowed to make photographs of the show. Why so secretive? Being asked about this, Ford said: “I would like to see fashion being fun again, as back in the 1960s. In those days, one could hardly await receiving the dresses and putting them on. I think this feeling has got lost.” He criticises the contemporary habit of directly presenting the collections to the public. Prominent It girls would wear them on the red carpets and magazines would picture them without end. The garments would only come into the stores half a year later, up to which one would have had enough of seeing them. So the actual look of the collection will only be unveiled in December at the earliest, when it will be ready for sale in Ford’s stores.

www.tomford.com

Designer cooperations are not a new thing, but Gap and the fashion house Valentino teaming up does come as a surprise. The two head designers of Valentino, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, have given the most famous Gap classics a new interpretation. The idea behind the cooperation is the introduction of Gap in the Italian market. The Capsule collection is to be sold in the new Milan flagship store, in some select London Gap stores as well as in Colette in Paris. Valentino’s creative duo gave the following statement on their cooperation: “The project links the legendary world of Valentino with the fashion basics of Gap.” The starting date of the collection coincides with the opening of the Milan store in November.

www.gap.com
www.valentino.com

As part of their joint project “Lee Anglomania“, Lee and Vivienne Westwood have launched an online campaign. Entitled “100 days of Active Resistance“, the label and the fashion designer invites over a period of 100 days anyone and everyone to post photographs or artwork that best depicts this inspiring message on the website to promote positivity and individual expression. Downloaded submissions will reflect individual opinions of a political, social and cultural nature. From 8 September, one image will be selected daily and published on the website. After 100 days, the selected images will be displayed as part of an exhibition in London.

“It is not enough to follow world politics, watch films and read award-winning bestsellers. This is superficial. One has to go deeper to understand who one really is, how the world functions and how one can improve things. This includes culture, which can only be attained through self-education: people should reflect the world”, says Vivienne Westwood to the basic idea of “Active Resistance”.
(Credit: Style of the Lee Anglomania Collection S/S 2011)

www.ar100days.com
www.lee.com
www.viviennewestwood.com

Felipe Oliveira Baptista is the new creative director at Lacoste. The 35 year old from Portugal will be taking over from Christophe Lemaire, who is replacing Jean Paul Gaultier at Hermès. Olivieira Baptista's first collection for Lacoste will be presented for the spring/summer season 2012. The new creative director will head the entire design studio as well as the young collection L!VE and the sportswear collection and it is hoped that the new group strategy will renew the Lacoste brand and find fresh growth opportunities.

Felipe Oliveira Baptista a graduate from Kingston University, winner of the Hyeres Festival Prize and twice winner of the ANDAM prize. He has been presenting his ready-to-wear collections at Paris Fashion Week since 2009.
www.lacoste.com

For its men’s fragrance Dior Homme, Dior has brought out a new advertising film featuring the British male actor Jude Law who has been testimonial to the fragrance for the past two years. The film was produced by Madonna’s ex-husband Guy Ritchie. Over the past weeks, Dior has drawn attention to this 5-minute spot on its homepage with several teaser films. The subject: Jude Law plays an agent who meets a stranger in Paris. The film was made in March this year. Also on the set was star photographer Peter Lindbergh, who photographed the print campaign for the fragrance.
(Credit:©Dior)
www.dior.com

This autumn Mango’s new catalogue will feature the model Elettra Wiedemann Rossellini. Mango’s campaign and collection will focus on 70’s styles for the autumn 2010 season. The model with a Masters in Biomedicine is the daughter of Isabella Rossellini and granddaughter of Ingrid Bergmann. With her own charity project “Just one frickin’ day“, the daughter of the actress is drawing attention to natural resources such as solar energy and supports global environmental projects.
www.mango.com

Sonic youth singer Kim Gordon has designed a three-piece capsule collection for Sportmax. Entitled “Carte Blanche”, the Italian label gives artists the opportunity to design their own collection every year. This is the second Carte Blanche Collection. It all started in collaboration with the French art director Christophe Brunnquell. The singer Kim Gordon, who is also an artist and film producer, was inspired by her love of nature. Her fascination with forests, trees and wood is mirrored in her collection of water colours, metallic paint and black acrylic techniques. The “Carte Blanche Collection” by Kim Gordon is limited to 800 pieces.
(Credit:©Sportmax)
www.sportmax.it/carteblanche

After famous designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavalli or Sonia Rykiel, H&M is planning to extend exclusive fashion collaboration. Together with the fashion house Lanvin, the Swedish company will be presenting a womenswear collection designed by head designer Alber Elbaz as well as a mens range designed by Lavin menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver and will go on sale from 23 November in about 200 H&M stores worldwide. The collections will be revealed to the world on 2 November via the H&M website.
Alber Elbaz explains the reason for working together with H&M: “H&M approached us to collaborate, and see if we could translate the dream we created at Lanvin to a wider audience, not just a dress for less. I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. This has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world.”
(Credit: Paolo Roversi©H&M)
www.hm.com
www.lanvin.com

Fashion shows in Milan are to be held in future in the centre of Milan. Instead of the previous location, the Milano Fashion Centre, the organiser has chosen the famous and historic location Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana for the coming Milano Moda Donna event. This includes, in addition to the Palazzo Giuresconsulti, a building from the 16th century which now houses the Milan stock exchange and the Circolo Filogico, an art and cultural institution, as well as the Palazzo Clerici, a former royal residence. The service centre will in future be in the Palazzo Giuresconsulti.
The change of location, which has been fixed for the coming shows from 22 to 28 September, precedes a lively debate regarding the dates of the show which were the subject of much discussion in February. Large fashion houses jointly showed their collections over four days, which was highly criticised by the fashion world. In future, this problem should hopefully be resolved by holding the show for seven days. This should give young labels in particular the chance to be present at fashion week.
www.cameramoda.it

Under the title "Miele meets Ostertag", the company Miele together with fashion designer Marcel Ostertag will be presenting for the first time a collection of creative designs at the IFA in Berlin (Internationalen Funkausstellung) from 3 to 8 September. Fashion shows will take place five times daily, where selected items from Ostertag’s A/W 2010/11 and S/S 2011 collections will be shown. In addition, the Munich designer has designed a “Miele dress” of chiffon and silk, dyed in the typical Miele red. After the exhibition, the dress will be auctioned for charity. www.miele.de
www.marcelostertag.com

From the catwalk to nature – Michael Michalsky has designed an exclusive T-shirt collection for WWF under the title “PROTECT! - MICHALSKY for WWF”. His inspiration comes from endangered animals such as the Iberian lynx, Atlantic puffin and the monarch butterfly, which are printed on the shirts. "With the collection PROTECT! “, we want to make people aware of the aims and projects of WWF Germany and contribute towards helping endangered species," explained Michael Michalsky.
Individual styles are made of eco materials, the prints conform to eco standards of the Instituts Hohenstein. Five euros will be donated to the WWF from the sale of each T-shirt. The collection is already available in Michalsky stores and in the online shop of the designer as well as selected shops. “With this initiative, I would like to make fashion and trend-orientated people more sensitive and aware of how beautiful, but fragile nature is,” says Michael Michalsky. Cooperation is to continue in the coming season.
www.wwf.de
www.michalsky.com
Credit: © WWF-Canon resp. © WWF and © Michalsky

On 10 September 2010, the Düsseldorf trend store Jades will be holding a charity event in aid of dolphin aid e.V. under the motto “ART and FASHION for CHARITY”, where work from the artist Freddy Reitz as well as the spring/summer 2011 collection of fashion designer Markus Lupfer will be presented. Freddy Reitz has created a special edition just for the evening; the proceeds will go to the charity. Markus Lupfer’s men’s collection will be on show in the windows of moreJades stores. In addition, both men will each design a unique item that will be auctioned at the “Dolphins Night” charity gala set to take place on 2 October at the InterContinental in Düsseldorf.

dolphin aid was founded in 1995 by Kirsten Kuhnert, whose son fell into a coma after an accident and with the help of dolphins was able to have therapy. Since then, the organisation, which is supported by Prinz Leopold von Bayern, helps other children with similar illnesses using dolphin therapy.
www.jades-fashion.com
www.dolphin-aid.de
Photo: Freddy Reitz

The brand Gucci, which belongs to the French luxury goods company Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR), has won the suit against Elisabetta Gucci, heiress of the Florentine family firm. The company had sued the 58 year old for illegally using the company name. The interior architect was planning to open 40 hotels named Gucci in a 15 year period. The first one was already to be inaugurated in Dubai at the end of the year, another one due in China in 2011. Now the court obligated the counterparty to forbear using the brand name for business objectives and advertising purposes. PPR was exempted from law costs and now hopes this precedent will repel any future imitators.

The surf and skate lifestyle label RVCA will not prolong its design collaboration with the Texan top model Erin Wasson any more. During the 3 year cooperation, nonchalant outfits in the hippie/surfer style were developed under the name “Erin Wasson X RVCA”, which were shown at the New York Fashion Week among other places. At the moment Wasson is also the face of the line and still has her place in the current look book. Despite all rumours that they parted because Wasson’s difficult character was not making their cooperation work well any more, RVCA Creative Director Pat M. Tenore declared: “RVCA and Erin have not separated for good. She is a family member and we hope that we will work together with her again in the close future.” www.shop.rvca.com/erin_wasson.html

“Bang”: Marc Jacobs places his first men’s fragrance on the market. Especially for his premiere in perfumes for men, the American designer goes almost the full monty in a silver foil bed in the advertisement. Scent details: Jacobs, together with the perfumer Ann Gottlieb, has created a spicy essence containing three different peppers, elemi and benzoin resin, oakmoss, vetiver and patchouli. Bang is already being sold in the Marc Jacobs’s stores and Bloomingdales. In September specialist shops will also have the perfume line. Apart from the fragrance, there will also be an after shave balm, a shower gel and a deodorant.
www.marcjacobs.com

The Spanish fashion house Loewe celebrates its evergreens with a continuing collection named “Leather Icons”. The clothes, including trench coats, biker jackets and pencil skirts, are made of high quality nappa leather and lambskin. For the faces of the collection, the label was able to engage style models such as Pixie Geldof, Louis Simonon, son of the Clash guitar player Paul Simonon, his mother Tricia Ronane, former Clash manager and George Barnett, drummer of These New Puritans. The icon styles can be obtained in the Loewe stores in Madrid and Barcelona. www.loewe.com

Stella McCartney has designed a clothing range which shines in the dark for her Adidas sportswear collection. The line is part of the bestseller category “Running” with Adidas: “Running is one of our most popular categories and I wanted to highlight this. I believe that we have achieved this with the “glow in the dark” collection. When you run in the city, you like to feel safe. With the line you can identify the wearer at any time, especially in winter when it gets dark earlier. To avoid it appearing too masculine, we have used leo prints,” explains Stella McCartney. Apart from the glowing range, McCartney will introduce a winter sports line distinguished by narrow jackets and trousers with Alpine motifs, among other things in fleece. www.adidas.com/de/stella

Parsival Cserer is this year’s winner of the design talent competition Designer for Tomorrow by Peek & Cloppenburg Düsseldorf. In the scope of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, a specialist jury chose the collection of the Kunsthochschule Berlin Weißensee student as winner out of eight. Titled “Good morning Miss Obama”, Cserer showed colourfully patterned dresses in cashmere silk or mohair linen blends. Apart from an individual promotional programme and prize money, the young designer’s prize will include his own fashion show at the coming MBFW Berlin in January 2011. www.peek-cloppenburg.de

The world chess champion Magnus Carlsen is the new face of the G-Star ad campaign A/W 2010/11. The young exceptional talent was photographed by Anton Corbijn, who already directed the camera for G-Star for the fourth time. The female testimonial is still the American actress Liv Tyler, who has been advertising for G-Star since summer 2010. In the scope of the cooperation with the Norwegian chess player, G-Star is organising a virtual chess tournament, the “Raw World Chess Challenge”, on 10th September 2010 in New York. Chess players from all over the world can play against Magnus Carlsen. The moves are played on the spot by the world class players Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (F), Hikaru Nakamura (USA) and Judit Polgár (HUN). www.g-star.com/rawchess

For the A/W 2010/11 campaign, the Italian fashion company Salvatore Ferragamo chose a nature setting. The ad campaign was staged by Bruce Weber in the American nature and wild animal park White Oak Plantation. The models were Stella Tennant, Bimba Bosé and Kirsten Owen, the last with her two children. The nature reserve was selected as shooting location, because it mirrors the colourfulness, naturalness and the country side of the Ferragamo winter collection. www.ferragamo.com

The Armani Group entered into a long term licence agreement with the Italian premium chocolate maker Venchi. Thus Venchi receives the right to answer for both the production and the distribution of the Armani Dolci product range, including chocolate, pâtes de fruits, ice cream and panettone. Giorgio Armani, chairman and CEO of the Armani Group, says: “The cooperation with Venchi reflects the symbiosis of my wish to serve our customers dolci products of high quality and worldwide renown and of the unique skills and traditions of the Italian market leader in premium chocolate.” The Armani dolci sweetmeat shop is already in the Armani concept stores in Milan, Munich, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Kuwait and New York. www.armani.com

Designer Roberto Cavalli this year is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his label. To mark the anniversary, the Italian designer has created a new logo: The original emblem of the fashion house and the symbol of Venus are embedded in the number 40. Signore Cavalli is not disclosing whether the new logo will appear on future designs, but will say what the future has in store as far as his fashion is concerned for the next 40 years: “Always with my prints! Without prints, it’s simply not Cavalli.”

Jean-Paul Gaultier has designed a range of dessous for the lingerie and beachwear specialist La Perla. The collection consisting of 27 styles is called “Jean Paul Gaultier La Perla Collection Créateur” and includes bustiers, bras, bodysuits and high-cut shorties in black, coral, petrol and pastel shades. The range of dessous will be available from November at La Perla and Gaultier Stores, selected departments stores, including Les Galeries Lafayette and Neiman Marcus as well as specialised retailers. Cooperation is being extended by the addition of a beachwear collection, which will be presented in October this year. www.laperla.com; www.jeanpaulgaultier.com

Pina Ferlisi is the new creative director of Alexander McQueen’ s diffusion line McQ. She previously held the position at the fashion label Generra, Gap as well as creative director for the diffusion line Marc by Marc Jacobs and for the accessories label Coach. Ferlisi will work under Sarah Burton, who is the successor to Alexander McQueen who passed away in February.
http://www.m-c-q.com

Lacoste has extended his product range. After apparel, footwear, perfume, leather goods, glasses and watches, home textiles and mobile phones, the French company will be presenting their own jewellery collection. Overall there will be five ranges of jewellery including bracelets, necklaces, brooches and bags, which will embody the true roots of the crocodile the “joie de vivre” and relaxed elegance.
http://www.lacoste.com

In Paris, the doors have just opened for the first Balenciaga Men’s Store. The 60 sqm location in 5 rue de Varenne in the Saint Germain district is characterised by modern architecture – metallic details, cubistic elements, geometrical display counters and LED lighting. The complete range of clothing, shoes and accessories will be presented.
http://www.balenciaga.com

Givenchy will no longer be taking part at the Haute Couture shows. Instead, the French fashion house will be holding separate appointments with selected customers in a town house at Place Vendôme, where ten new designs instead of the usual 20 will be presented. Chief designer Riccardo Tisci rebuffs the reproach of saving costs of taking this step with the explanation “of making couture more exclusive”.
http://www.givenchy.com

John Galliano has the right to call himself Chévalier de la Légion d'Honneur. The 49 year old designer of Dior and his label was appointed a member of the legion of honour by President Nicolas Sarkozy in the Élysée Palace. The legion of honour is the highest decoration in France and is bestowed upon persons distinguished for civil or artistic achievements. Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld were honoured with this title in the past.
http://www.johngalliano.com