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WWD reports that Angelina Jolie will be ending her three-year position as the face of St. John knitwear, for which she starred in a series of iconic black and white photographs by famed fashion photographer Mario Testino. According to the paper, Jolie will be replaced by four up-and-coming fashion models in color print ads shot around New York City by Mark Seliger. “It was a great run we had,” says St. John’s chief executive officer Glenn McMahon of the decision. “Three years is a long time to maintain any campaign, and we felt it was time to do something new and different.” Send us you suggestions to replace Angelina.

From ITV:

International stars of fashion and film have attended the Paris funeral of legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent.

One of the 20th Century’s greatest couturiers and credited with revolutionising women’s wardrobes, he died on Sunday aged 71 of a brain tumour.

Long-time friend and fan Catherine Deneuve gave a reading during the service at the Saint-Roch church located near one of the French capital’s most exclusive streets, the Rue Saint-Honore.

Deneuve was followed by Saint Laurent’s long-time partner and business associate Pierre Berge, who said: “You could have slid into fashions at times, but instead you remained faithful to your own style, and you were quite right, for that style is now everywhere, perhaps not in fashion but in the streets of the whole world.”

The service was attended by model Laetitia Casta, former supermodel Carla Bruni and her husband, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and stars from the fashion world including Christian Lacroix, Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Sonia and Nathalie Rykiel, Kenzo Takada and Valentino.

Notably absent was rival Karl Lagerfeld, “away on business,” according to Chanel, and Pierre Cardin, also not in Paris.

In homage to Saint Laurent, YSL shops worldwide closed for two hours from 1.30pm UK time.

Saint Laurent was considered the last of a generation that included the fashion houses Christian Dior and Coco Chanel and made Paris the fashion capital of the world.

The oldest child of a rich French industrialist, Saint Laurent was born and grew up in Algeria, then a French colony, and showed an early talent for design, making clothes for his younger sisters’ dolls.

After moving to Paris at the age of 17, he was hired by Christian Dior and soon became chief designer, producing a stream of acclaimed collections under the Dior label before striking out under his own name in 1962.

With Berge taking care of the management side, Saint Laurent built up the YSL brand into one of the world’s most widely recognised fashion labels with hallmark designs like his women’s tuxedo and trouser suits.

However, he struggled with alcohol and drug problems as well as ill health and he became disillusioned with the fashion scene after he retired from designing in 2002.

Saint Laurent’s body is to be cremated and the ashes spread in the garden of his villa in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh.

From the New York Times

Eric Wilson

With fashion, as with sex, fantasy is far more aesthetically pleasurable than the reality of, say, Alex McCord in “The Real Housewives of New York City.” As far as fantasies go, “Sex and the City,” as a series on HBO, was to fashion what “Hotel Erotica,” on Cinemax, was to sex: unbelievably plastic porn, without all the messy bits or the credit card bills.

In the film version of “Sex and the City,” which opened on Friday, the fashion is jaw-droppingly fantastic, Herbal Essences good. In two recent screenings in New York, the audience reacted most vocally — there literally was moaning — when Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, discovers that Mr. Big, her noncommittal boyfriend, played by Chris Noth, has built her a walk-in closet with carpeting and flattering lighting. She hangs a single pair of $525 Manolo Blahnik shoes there as a dog would mark its territory. (Oddly, this was not Mr. Blahnik’s best effort, unless he was inspired by a foot fetish that involves blue leprechauns.)

In the television series, broadcast from 1998 to 2004, fashion — the industry, the designers, the clothes — was a regular character, cleverly manipulated by the stylist Patricia Field to refine the personalities of Carrie (whimsical, eclectic), Miranda (independent, biting), Samantha (racy, sensational) and Charlotte (preppy, endearing).

Each character was bestowed with an individual style so distinct that women could identify with one of them. They could then buy a $39.99 T-shirt at the HBO gift shop to announce, “I’m a Carrie!” (for lovelorn philosophers) or “I’m a Samantha!” (for narcissistic man-eaters).

But in the film the characters are now four years older and, in a disappointing way, their styles appear to have changed into one: the offbeat, orgiastic, do-it-yourself madness of Carrie, the dominant female. It is not only that they now dress alike. In every scene the women are practically coordinated by both color and style, as if they had received a morning memo detailing the day’s dress code. Let’s all wear primary colors to a jewelry auction! Let’s all wear psychedelic hippie dresses on a trip to Mexico! Let’s all wear smart black-and-white ensembles and fur coats to a fashion show!

Sometimes the clothes even match the scenery, as when Miranda wears a droopy yellow turtleneck keyed to the blossoms in Central Park, or when Carrie, reading a copy of “Cinderella,” wears a sailor’s top with red stripes, which echo the dangling legs of a stuffed toy bug on a shelf behind her.

Now middle-aged, the women seem to be mellowing. As Carrie says, their 20s were for having fun, their 30s for learning from their mistakes and their 40s for buying the drinks. They are still enthusiastic cheerleaders for fashion, but they don’t seem so overcome by a dress.

Instead, they struggle with losing their identities, as they transition to coupled lives, to single lives and back again, to life on the Left Coast or to life as a mother. Fashion is the metaphor for the struggle. In Samantha’s case, this is represented by a fancy diamond ring that she wanted to buy as a symbol of her success, but it takes on new meaning when it is given to her by a man. Miranda, meanwhile, seems desperate to establish any sort of personal flair by wearing grossly oversize earrings, one pair dangling like ninja stars, another like serving spoons.

It’s easy to bash the show’s over-the-top materialism, but “Sex and the City” has never bothered to rationalize it, no matter how absurd or overpriced an item may be. (Nor has the show explained how a freelance writer could afford all those clothes.) It simply accepts that fashion is good and assumes the audience, just like Carrie, so badly wants to be a part of Vogue.

Yet, to the credit of Ms. Field and Ms. Parker, the film rarely bothers to identify the labels worn by the actors during the never-ending fashion parade, never once mentioning Manolo’s surname (as if that were necessary). There are exceptions, as when Carrie wears several designer wedding gowns for a Vogue photo shoot and credits each during a voiceover, and in some painfully unfunny banter between Carrie and her assistant (Jennifer Hudson), a woman named Louise from St. Louis who loves Louis Vuitton.

For her big wedding scene, Carrie characteristically bucks convention and champions a dress by Vivienne Westwood, one of the most original and radical designers of the 20th century, and not one of the darlings — not Dior, nor Ricci, nor Balenciaga — of today’s fashion elite. The gown is a showstopper, a frock so bubbly it looks like an overflowing glass of Champagne; in her hair, Carrie has affixed a turquoise-feathered bird. After this film, Westwood will surely be the new Blahnik.

Of course, labels appear every time a closet door or a Mercedes trunk opens, revealing an improbably neat display of shoe boxes and shopping bags from Dior, Gucci, Versace and, um, Bluefly. But part of the fantasy of the Manhattan high life is that women keep all the packaging because it’s so pretty. (O.K., O.K., so I store my tax returns in a box from Hermès.)

Whether these were product placements, a result of cross-marketing deals or just type-casting, the labels become as distracting as a lover with a tic — a lip biter or a navel licker. Wait. What? Did Charlotte just say she was pregnant while I was staring at the Gucci I ? New York bag sitting on the credenza?

The mention of a brand on the show has led to the success of several designers over the last decade, as Carrie Bradshaw represents the ultimate endorsement of a luxury system that is built on the aspiration to look rich or famous. Buying $1,000 handbags brings fulfillment. Buying knockoffs brings emotional impotence. Carrie can justify the extravagance of a wide leather belt with gold studs because, like Viagra, she can get a lot of mileage out of it, wearing the belt with a pink sheath dress one day and over the Burberry coat the next.

Nevertheless, “Sex and the City,” the movie, tries to undermine that message when Carrie hauls out a churchy, label-less skirt suit and declares, at one point, that this is going to be her wedding dress.

“Simple and classic,” she says. “When I saw it, I said, ‘That is what I should marry Big in.’ ”

The only label that never goes out of style, Carrie tells us, is love.

Oh, but she looked just awful.

From ELLE UK.com:

Hollywood descended on the South of France yesterday as the 61st Cannes Film festival got under way.

And while we know this prestigious film industry week is supposed to be all about the serious business of premiering new films and awarding the Palme d’Or prize for best film, it has also become all about the fashion.

Last night for the opening ceremony and the premiere of Julianne Moore’s new film, Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, the red carpet was awash with beautiful gowns, and dazzling jewels.

Ms Moore herself chose Chopard diamonds to team with her regal look Christian Lacroix gown, adorned with black feather wings, while model Bar Rafaeli (Leonardo Di Caprio’s girlfriend and the new face of Chanel make-up) wore a custom made dress designed by Alberta Ferretti and Chopard - the lavender creation was encrusted with over 2,000 carats worth of Chopard jems.

Other sparkling looks from the red carpet included new mum Cate Blanchett in Armani Prive, Mischa Barton and model Devon Aoki in Alberta Ferretti, Eva Longoria in Atelier Versace and festival judge Natalie Portman in her favourite (and ours!) Lanvin.

Now search the internet for great fashion finds from top designers! From casualwear to designer gowns, you’ll find great buys from top stylemakers like Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Versace, Dior and many, many more.  Shop for women, men and even kids–its never too early to nuture future fashionistas!  Click on the picture to start shopping!

The world première of the soon-to-be released Sex and the City movie (May 30th)  is destined to be a major fashion event on par with the Oscars. And the stars are fully aware of how huge the fashion has to be. According to the Mirror, the cast of SATC are up in arms over who is going to wear which designer to the film’s début. The paper reports that Sarah Jessica Parker has been “inundated with more offers of designer gear than you can throw a Manolo Blahnik shoe at,” leaving her co-stars green with envy.

In fact, it claims that she has even been bribed by one fashion house with money (almost $4 million), with another label offering to dress her son for life.

A source has revealed that Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, have even threatened not to turn up to the première in New York.

“There is huge rivalry about who is wearing what. It’s insane. And the film’s stylist Patricia Field is stuck in the middle because everyone keeps secretly asking her who is wearing what. They are determined not to be outdone by each other,” they said.

It’s also said the travel arrangements are getting sticky. Originally all the women were set to arrive together at the premiere in one limo, but fears that SJP would snag all the attention have led to each star having her own limo and arrival time.

([Source; SHINY STYLE)

         From Reuters/Hollywood Reporter:

With NBC Universal contesting in court the move of the unscripted series from its Bravo home to rival Lifetime, the TV industry has a war on its hands worthy of its own reality show.

But with all the attention on the boldfaced names battling over “Runway” — series producer Harvey Weinstein and NBC honcho Jeff Zucker — there’s a deeper shift of cable’s aligned forces only true programming wonks can appreciate.

Picture ABC losing “Grey’s Anatomy” — that’s what Bravo faces with the loss of “Runway,” one of its longtime hits. While the network is no one-trick pony, possessing one of cable’s deeper benches, “Runway” clearly was one of its marquee attractions.

A better comparison than “Grey’s” could be offered by more recent TV history. Think back to 2001, when “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” switched channels from the WB Network to UPN. The loss of the former network’s signature hit spelled the death knell for a once-mighty brand.

“Runway” actually could end up being the second series to jump from NBC Universal to a Disney property, given that sitcom “Scrubs” is likely on the move from NBC to ABC next season. (Lifetime is a 50/50 venture between Disney and Hearst Corp.)

The “Runway” fracas also might bolster Weinstein and Zucker’s reputations as blustery tough guys, but this fight also is meaningful for executives who might not make headlines but are royalty within cable. The big winner has to be Lifetime CEO Andrea Wong, who has slowly been doing the programming equivalent of a face-lift on the grandma of networks. She couldn’t rightfully take credit for the network’s latest hit, “Army Wives,” because it was developed before her reign, but this one’s on her.

And what of Oxygen? NBC Universal’s latest acquisition now has to face off against its biggest competitor with an asset it brought to power. Ouch.

Switching networks will be the true test of time for “Runway,” which just might be the kind of franchise that has legs longer than Heidi Klum. Last month, the Season 4 finale topped the previous year’s ending by 9% in the adults 18-49 demographic, and the entire season run was up about the same. That’s a healthy sign.

But if it’s a false positive, maybe Bravo doesn’t have that much to fret over. Think how quickly its former signature hit, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” melted down after running hot for a season or two. And recall that when Bravo pulled its own network switcheroo with HBO’s “Project Greenlight,” it didn’t exactly cruise to the finish line.

What’s most fascinating about this “Runway” saga is how it gives the lie to cable’s most cherished principle: the power of the brand. Executives pretend every show on their lineup is like a different page drawn from the same playbook, but look how easy it was in this case to simply staple “Runway” into the Lifetime lineup. Whether cable’s grand dame can trade its orthopedic shoes for Jimmy Choos, only time can tell.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

 
The internet is a great place to find designer deals. The first site the amateu rfashion buyer thinks of is Ebay. I have managed a few good deals on Ebay, but have also gotten the fake label shaft. The problem is knowing whether your purchase is authentic or not. My real finds were shoes by Miu Miu, Prada, and Fendi, as well as an authentic, though slightly used, Louis Vuitton Abbesses Messenger bag. The shoes would have cost $300-$600 in the stores, but I was able to pick them up for half. The Louis bag was a steal at $375, although the auction itself almost caused a peptic ulcer. That bag will take a bite out of your checkbook at around $1000 in the store. I did have to endure the sideways glances and exasperated sighs of the uppity shop keepers at Louis Vuitton to find out if the bag was genuine. If you are going to use Ebay, have a plan to find out if the item is authentic. The site does have rules as to how items can be advertised as “authentic”, so be sure to check that out before you bid. Always remember to investigate your seller - if the seller has bad feedback and is located halfway around the world, think twice about the purchase. From Associated Content/Chris Amisaro

 With stints as a reality TV star, novelist, jewelry designer and now new mom under her always-fashionable belt — and rumors of a children’s line and signature fragrance in the works — what other ventures could Nicole Richie possibly undertake? At a recent Balenciaga party in L.A., Richie dished about her next project: a maternity line. The style maven told WWD that the design house’s creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere is the main inspiration behind the fashion-forward line. “I wore so much Balenciaga during my pregnancy,” she reveals, including the brand’s motorcycle leggings and scarves. Boyfriend Joel Madden’s shirts also made it into her pregnancy wardrobe. “When my shirts got too short, I wore Joel’s with a jacket on top,” she says. And her nine months spent carrying baby Harlow Winter can’t help but have taught her exactly what she wants in her own collection, which will feature designs for every stage from early-days to almost-due. “My line will be about making women look and feel good at a really emotional time. It’s about showing your best self, not your tired, worn-down self,” the seemingly inexhaustible mom reveals.

    From WWD: Published: Wednesday, April 02, 2008MADONNA TO CANNES: Madonna will be among the luminaries kicking up their heels on the Croisette at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. AmfAR said Tuesday that Madge will join Cinema Against AIDS chairs Sharon Stone, Harvey Weinstein, Michelle Yeoh, Carine Roitfeld, Chopard’s Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, producer Michel Litvak and amfAR chairman Kenneth Cole at the May 22 gala, presented by Litvak’s Bold Films, Chopard and The Weinstein Co. As always, the event will take place at Le Moulin de Mougins and include a formal dinner and a lengthy live auction called by Stone. This year Seal has been tapped to perform, and a clip of the Madonna-produced and narrated film “I Am Because We Are,” about AIDS orphans in Malawi, will also be shown. The film will be screened in its entirety at Cannes the night before.