Vanessa Seward To Head Azzaro

31 year-old Vanessa Seward is the new darling of the fashion world this season after succeeding Loris Azzaro as Azzaro's new creative director. The House was left in turmoil when Loris Azzaro died last November, but Seward's appointment has already catapulted her to fashion same.

Diane Lane, French Vogue's Carine Roitfield and Claudia Schiffer have all worn her designs, while London's most glamorous retailer, Mrs Burstein of Browns South Molton Street, hailed her autumn/winter 2004-5 collection as one of the season's most beautiful.

Also, from this week her designs will be available on NET-A-PORTER.COM, the stylish site where the fashionable execs who don't have time to shop get the season's hottest clothes. Seward stated in an interview with Condenast: "I was seduced by the team because I really liked their personal style." Having worked for nine years in Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel studio and a further two at YSL Rive Gauche under Tom Ford, Seward is well placed to bring Azzaro - once favourite of Seventies sirens Marisa Berenson, Jane Birkin, Liza Minnelli and Raquel Welch - back to the fashion forefront.

"My mother worked in his shop during the Eighties and he made a big impression on me early in my life," she goes on. "I have always loved Seventies glamour and so it seemed natural to carry on his legacy. In fact it's my perfect job."

22 April 2004

Fashion High On The List For BA

British Airways is not normally associated with mile-high fashion. Their old uniform, a silky geometric print blouse and grey wool skirt designed by Paul Costelloe back in 1993 seems well out of date to most travellers and fashion followers alike. Surprisingly, it was only in the year 2000 that stewardesses were allowed to fly without the frumpy red, white and blue boater hats, highlighting that BA has never been quick to adapt to change or score high on the fashion style-stakes.

Costelloe's look, which incorporated BA's old colour scheme, has been given a re-fitting in BA's attempt to implement change in a commercially difficult moment. The "old" image has now been revamped by daring designer Julien MacDonald, who's aim it was to put "the glamour back into flying," by creating a new figure-hugging silhouette reminiscent of the retro uniform. MacDonald wasn't shy to remark the old uniform was unflattering and "looked like someone's granny queuing for a bus."

Since the 70s, BA has commissioned international designers, which include Costelloe, Hardy Amies, and Roland Klein to create its uniforms. Other famous designers have ventured into sky-couture, with Yves Saint Laurent designing for Qantas, Calvin Klein for Scandinavian Airlines and Ralph Lauren for TWA.

The new uniforms for British Airways, which were unveiled yesterday, are Julien MacDonald's take on a retro and 50s influenced ensemble. Famous for his sexy evening frocks favoured by the likes of Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue, MacDonald updated the uniform for a modern, image-conscious BA. Costelloe, who told the Guardian yesterday: "MacDonald should stick to designing evening slapper stuff," said he felt flattered people where still talking about his design after 10 years.

BA staff tested the new uniform and chose it themselves.

7 April 2004

Fashion Per Gender: The Not So Great Divide

If the recent Paris shows were anything to go by, designers are re-interpreting the Masculine/Feminine divide with regards dressing and making the wardrobes of 'typically male' and 'typically female' overlap.

Dress codes have long been an inspiration for designers, from Victoriana to Asian culture, and from office garb to Army uniform, and the suggestion of whether they celebrate our distinctness or restrict us from expression, designers continue to explore and blur the distinctions between the male and female dress code.

The term metrosexual; today a common description for an urban chap who is open about his masculine and feminine impulses (to include his taste for high fashion), is only the tip of the iceberg of media interest referring to a gender neutral aesthetic.

The concept of the unisex urban uniform in modern fashion was very much pioneered by Helmut Lang and this season this influence made it's way onto the catwalks of Chanel, Christian Lacroix and John Galliano showing their signature looks on men. In a non-descriptive, no nonsense form Nicolas Ghesquiere showed the same outfit designed for both men and women at Balenciaga while Christopher Bailey presented his much lauded truncated trench for women at his AW '04 menswear presentation.

The greatest indication of this trend (for winter) was the presence of the cape (the ultimate gender neutral garment) in several men's collections. Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten, Burberry, Missoni and Byblos, all showed a variation on the cape to tremendous success. Whether the trend will be a hit on the high street remains to be seen, but the great divide between genders seems to be narrowing all the while.

30-3-2004

Fashion: From Radical To Mainstream

Once at the forefront of design and creativity, radical fashion has left the building and may even be presumed dead. Clothes that once pushed boundaries, call it radical fashion or conceptual, has in this industry of all-powerful big groups, simply gone out of fashion.

Avant-garde designers and conceptualists seem to be ever-absent from the catwalk shows around the world. In New York, Imitation of Christ and Miguel Adrovar are mere memories. In Paris, Jurgi Persoons and Angelo Figus have gone out of business. And in London, a city with a high need to represent newness and desire to discover the next new thing, has barely any names left to seduce the international crowd.

Is it money that has killed the avant-garde? The big groups have so much power that no one designer, no matter how talented, can go on their own anymore. The large design houses have consolidated and exploited their power over the glossy magazines to create a kind of quid pro quo situation in which advertising money 0- the lifeblood of a fashion monthly - are traded for editorial coverage.

New designers, risky ones, may get a tiny picture and a few words in the news sections, the big full-colour pictures are reserved to the paying customers. How can you fight Gucci and Prada, quips one designer.

With Gaultier designing Hermes, Helmut Lang owned by the Prada Group, Martin Margiela launching a classic luxury line, and Yohji Yamamoto focusing on his lower-priced accessible line Ys, there isn't much left to seduce as being avant-garde. No more McQueen shows in carparks, no more cerebral, emotional work and no more risks.

Fashion is a business of confidence, and when people are not feeling confident in their financial state, it suffers. If you are an avant-garde designer no store will take a big risk on you, because people aren't buying. Therefore you end up with smaller volumes, so the manufacturers don't produce you, as you don't make enough. Then you have difficulty with your deliveries and the retailers don't want to take the risk and it all starts again.

There is a consensus, however, that the fashion world is in a state of flux and we are at a crossroads of some sort. The world as we know it is being reformed in a way that goes deeper than the trendiest of being avant-garde or establishment. Gucci can't be any Guccier, and gold can't be any gilder. Consumers already have everything they need. In addition, shoppers are smarter and know more. Maybe the avant-garde isn't gone, but is instead being reborn. Hopefully in a renewed emphasis on individual talent.

10 February 2004

Pure Spirit Fronted By Ben Sherman

Ben Sherman will front the young fashion area called Pure Spirit at womenswear show Pure next season. Other newcomers to the section include O by Isabell Kristensen, Designers Re-Mix and Punk 77.

In addition Fenn Wright Manson, Naf Naf, Aideen Bodkin and Sarah Watters Design also join the show, while Casch, White and Kryos are new international brands to Pure Visio, Pure's creative designer area.

Pure takes place at Olympia, London February 15-17.

28 November 2003

Anyway You Like It

In today's saturated market of fashion available to the masses, it is a real challenge to dress in an individual style. No matter how high-end your outfit, in cities like London, New York and Paris, you'll always see someone wearing the same shirt, same shoes, or worse the same bag.

Thankfully, the new trend to customize can cure you of your retail blues. From Stella McCartney's bespoke tailoring service to Gucci's made-to-order handbags and shoes, you never need to worry about attending an event wearing the same outfit as someone else. Having your wardrobe (and accessories) customized, no longer translates into an exclusive, difficult-to-attain commodity. From sunglasses to shirts to wellies; your face, your body, and your feet can be measured to design your perfect fit. Granted, it is expensive, but nonetheless practical. Some men, for example, have different arm lengths due to racket sports. Try finding a shirt that fits off the peg. It's nearly impossible.

So whether it's a suit, or t-shirt, or sunglasses you're after, next time you may be better off having one made for you. Why not have everything you wear optimized to fit you perfectly? There is a broad choice on the availability of bespoke clothes and accessories, which should be regarded as a good thing. Why buy something off the rail when you can have something made to your own dimensions? Otherwise you are buying into something that is made to fit the average man on the high street, and we know you're certainly not average!

24 November 2003

Fashion Turns To Politics

We've all heard of catwalk politics, designer egos clashing with financial backers and of fashion houses swooning major publishers to get editorial. The fashion press can be as political as any Westminster saga and is not adverse to it's own dramas. Fashion has not gotten so political, however, that it felt inspired to resort to signing a former president to be the new face of a particular brand...Until now, that is!
A small clothing manufacturer in eastern China says it hopes to sign former president Bill Clinton to represent its brand, citing his "worldwide charisma." "Our suits match Clinton's character and personality," Wang Zhen, an official at Fapai Xifu Co., said Thursday in a telephone interview.

The company, whose name translates as "French-style suit company," bills itself as China's 17th-largest clothing maker and is located in the low-cost manufacturing hub of Wenzhou, south of Shanghai.
It has offered Clinton $2 million to be its spokesmodel and sent several e-mails to the White House -- where Clinton no longer lives -- to make its case. The company hopes to enlist Clinton as soon as next year. "Whether Clinton has enough attractiveness is difficult to say right now, so we are still negotiating," said company president Peng Xing, quoted by the Beijing Morning Post.
Most of Fapai Xifu Co.'s suits are sold in China, Wang said. "In 2000 we were trying to export clothes and wanted to choose a figure with worldwide charisma," to represent the firm, he added.

The company sells $157 million in suits per year, each priced between $360 and $960.

13 November 2003

Fashion Gone Prudish?

Some leading figures of the Italian fashion world have criticised a trend towards naked breasts and bottoms on the catwalk, saying it demeans the industry.

"Nowadays you need a bare bottom even if you're just trying to launch a handbag," complained Giorgio Armani, whose reputation is founded on elegant, if sombre creations.

Armani and his fellow designers Valentino Garavani and Carla Fendi say the "splashes" of bare flesh that were always part of glamorous fashion shows have become a "deluge", and that an excess of nudity is not sexy, but vulgar. "Fashion is drifting towards a type of woman who looks like a soft-porn star," said Valentino.

This year's shows have seen a Jean-Paul Gaultier wedding dress without a bottom half, and John Galliano's models in scarlet G-strings beneath skin-tight, practically invisible skirts. Emanuel Ungaro paraded a dress with a transparent front panel in his "ready to wear" collection in Paris, and Dolce & Gabbana leave little to the imagination.

At one end of the less-is-more debate stands Armani, who sees his job as showing people that what they wear can be fashionable. The rival camp is led by those such as Domenico Dolce, of Dolce & Gabbana, who says the catwalk is about creativity, and has little to do with selling clothes in shops.

28 October 2003

Men Accessorize!

Judging by what was on show during the international menswear catwalks in Milan, Paris and London this season, men will be practicing what women have been preaching for some time. It is the little touches that count - from belts to shoes - as no trend is complete without the right accessories.

Bags are for show like never before and vary from low-slung fabric options to sturdy holdalls. Beads are back for that hint of hippy chic, and shades are dark and moody to turn the average Joe into a rock God. The way forward is to carefully accessorise in order to complement designer and vintage looks.

The ultimate men's accessory for the season, however, is the scarf. From urban shawls to cashmere cool, opt for bright colours such as Missoni or Dries van Noten. Printed silk scarves, worn like a cravat, are tied like a cowboy or donned like a football scarf. These were on every runway from Gucci to YSL and will certainly filter their way to the high street and into your wardrobe for the season.
(Don-Alvin Adegeest)

8 September 2003

Fat VS Fashion

Fat and fashion have long been fundamentally opposed, and attempts to reconcile the two have generally resulted in the triumph of the thin. Considering that JLo's once voluptuous bottom has now shrunk to supermodel proportions in the new Louis Vuitton ad campaign similar to Sophie Dahl who left her curvacious contemporaries to a more slimmed-down fraction of her former self.

The question is; do plus-sized women want more clothing options or is fashion off the radar? Despite the oft-repeated claim that about half the population is a size 16 (or bigger) these larger sizes account for only 34 per cent of womenswear sales, according to Taylor Nelson Sofres Fashion Trak. Many women are perpetually trying to lose weight, and are not prepard to invest hundreds of pounds on clothes if they think they will drop a size.

Mainstream designers, especially, seem to avoid the bigger customer. Brit designers Margarett Howell, Ronit Zilkha, Betty Jackson and Nicole Fahri cater for up to a size 16, while John Rocha and Paul Smith stop at a size 14. The answer to why retailers and brands are reluctant to service plus sizes is the added logistical complication of carrying too many sizes.

There is a lack of fashion, however, in the larger size departments and consumers are asking for more fashion - not just classics. While they can purchase Manolo Blahnik shoes and a Prada bag, they could not shop these brands for clothes. Designers, perhaps, share the prejudice that the plus-size market is difficult and not glamourous. To read any contemporary magazine will emphasize that being fat isn't fashionable and is only marketed toward a thinner customer.

It's an ongoing battle with an under-supplied market going up against the larger customer who is happy with being fat. While the choice for clothes is certainly not equally distributed across the size range, it must be more difficult to convince a woman who is size 28 to buy a pair of pants than selling jeans to a skinny girl.

1 September 2003

Fashion as Art

It used to be that music and fashion were inseparable, but nowadays its art you find in fashion, and fashion in art galleries.

The Victoria & Albert museum will be hosting an exhibition of the 50th anniversary of Italian fashion house Missoni this fall, in similar vain to showing milliner Philip Treacy's hats through their galleries in their first 'Fashion in Motion' series a few years ago. Marc Jacobs last season sent his limited edition Stephen Sprouse collaboration handbag down the catwalk, and there's been non-stop collaboration between both industries since.

Last month Kenzo placed two enormous beds in Covent Garden with 50,000 red paper poppies scented with its perfume in a fashion-led art installation. Next month the Design Museum will host an installation by Tord Boontje commissioned by Hermès, called Wild Silk and featuring, among other brand-related elements, a 20-metre long "film reel" of silk printed with Hermès' classic Maharajah pattern.

And the Chanel store at Brompton Cross is holding an exhibit of paintings by Ross Kirton. Acrylic on canvas, they are figurative depictions of a girl in spring/ summer Chanel.

Where a decade ago designers stole headlines in costuming famous musicians on tour - who could forget Gaultier's conical bras for Madonna? - it is now about high-art mixing with haute fashion. Designers get to showcase a different dimension of their brand, whereas artists can change the domain of their blank canvas. In today's market it is al about image, and luxury branding with an artistic edge seems to be inspiring the fashion world.

20 June 2003

Pure Fashion

To see the latest in creative design and fashion talent from Europe, head to Pure Spirit. Held in August, it now has its own hall at Pure Exhibition, Olympia. Pure Spirit is strictly for fashion's brightest brands with the kind of fashion you want to see on the catwalk.

Pure London 17-19 August 2003 Olympia. Apply for free tickets at www.purewomenswear.co.uk or call +44(0)870 429 4504.

12 June 2003
www.purewomenswear.co.uk

Has Celebrity gone out of Fashion?

Fame and fashion. It seems they can't get enough of each other. Just as we think our celebrity-driven culture has reached its peak, they meet again in ever-surprising ways.
The point in question is the recent news that actress Cate Blanchett has become the face of Donna Karan. For an undisclosed sum, she will enter an exclusive advertising agreement with Karan for three seasons.

And Blanchett is just the latest example. In the past month or so, J Lo has signed up with Louis Vuitton, Adrian Brody with Zegna (the Italian house wanted "inspiring and interesting real men"); Christina Aguilera with Versace, in their first celebrity campaign in six years; and just this week, Victoria Beckham with Dolce & Gabbana. Meanwhile, Winona Ryder is mocking her own shoplifting spree in adverts for Marc Jacobs.

Joanne Briscoe, author of 'Skin' states "the fashion world still clearly believes that heavy investment in a known name pays dividends, despite the retorts from various commentators that the celebrity machine has become a little tired." We've lived through an era in which Elizabeth Hurley can achieve global fame by wearing a frock, and broadsheets feel obliged to treat C-list actresses as news, goes the argument; has the Heat-reading generation not had enough?

It's obvious what Blanchett would bring to an ad: cool, ethereal - yet edgy, purity and effortless class. As Donna Karan says: "It was important for me to find someone who was as beautiful inside as outside." But J Lo? The message is mixed. Designer Marc Jacobs wanted a "sophisticated, influential and sexy woman" to front the Vuitton campaign, but while the image that the brand tries to convey is one of unashamed jet-set luxury, Lopez herself is keen to stress her bus-stop charms. Vuitton, like Burberry, promotes a notion of exclusivity, yet belongs to the Posh Spice classes at heart, and skillfully reaches the richer masses.
As for the celebs, the decision is simple: if you can't beat them, you join them, and play the game cleverly. The red carpet wars are highly ferocious, even mixing couture with a high street look carries a commercial implication. It's virtually impossible for a Name not to endorse a brand: at current levels of scrutiny, every sartorial choice is a product placement. "What do you call advertising?" asks fashion writer Melanie Rickey. "Everything is about endorsement.

Western celebrities, of course, have always advertised in Asia on the quiet. Lucratively paid, it ensured limited, specific exposure. And the celeb-as-model has a long history. Sophia Loren, Marlene Dietrich and Natalie Wood posed in pelts for Blackglama furs in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Brooke Shields famously and provocatively promoted Calvin Klein jeans, while Debbie Harry did her bit for Gloria Vanderbilt.
What's next? Or more relevantly, who? May we suggest Her Majesty the Queen for Aquascutum?

3 June 2003

UK Fashion Graduates in Global Demand

British graduate designers are still the most sought after by international employers in the fashion industry, according to supporters of Graduate Fashion Week.

Moira Bennigson, founder of Moira Bennigson Recruitment in New York, said; "We are constantly told by the likes of Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren: "get us British design school graduates - that's all we're interested in."

Design students graduating this summer have already been snapped up by retailers and brands to start work on collections as soon as they complete their courses.

Among them is Kristen Fross, from Middlesex University, who has secured a job at Marni. Rachel Bartlett, from Surrey Institute, will see her graduate collection retail in Selfridges, Dolly Rockers concession, Jennifer Bouchardon, from Somerset College of Art & Design has a placement at Balenciaga.

Jane Stammers, manager of design, technical and sales at Fashion Personnel, cautioned: "British designers in particular support British graduates and British retail brands give our graduates support too. But it's very cut-throat out there with fewer design positions than graduates looking for jobs."

GFW has produced a new magazine to promote graduate talent. Graduate Fashion Week takes place on June 2-5 at Battersea Park Areana, London. Around 900 students will show.
For details, telephone 01903 885 478.

27 May 2003

One size fits all in McFashion

From Gap to H&M, our high streets are full of the same shops, selling the same cheap chic: it is the clothing version of fast food. According to Michelle Lee, a leading US fashion writer, we are consumers of McFashion and fashion has begun to resemble fast food. Fast, disposable, easy, non-intimidating, entertaining and homogenous. Just as McDonald's has taken over the globe, so too have mass-market retailers succeeded in spreading a similar message: predictability in fashion. Just as we can enter a McDonald's in Dallas or Munich, Antwerp or London and order the same meal, we can enter an H&M in each city and buy the same shirt.

Nearly every major retail chain today represents McFashion. They may not carry the exact same merchandise, but they convey the same message of consistency. McFashion is bland and down-market, affordable and abundant. It allows the consumer to fit in with similar social groups, but the individualism disappears. It is now possible to buy cheap, fashionable clothes in the supermarket. Asda sells low-price George-brand tank tops and shorts along with the cat food and toothpaste. Soon, you will be buying your Levi's and Calvin's there too.

These days, shopping for clothes is a manufactured experience. Retailers know consumers are impatient and in store hassle can turn away valuable cash. Executives have brainstormed every aspect of the shopping experience and nothing is left to chance. It is not only the clothes that feel safe but also the experience of shopping. While shopping at a designer boutique requires a certain level of sophistication, at a McFashion store it doesn't matter how cool you are. Furthermore, designer and mass-market worlds have collided, so consumers are opted in believing they are engaging in high style on the high street.

The fact McFashion chains thrive is because they are cheap. No one expects to find the highest-quality merchandise there. More likely, they are surprised when they find something that is well made. Retail therapy is a lot more justifiable if the clothes are cheap. We cannot help but view these inexpensive clothes as somewhat disposable. And dispose of them we do. We are bulimic shoppers - the fashion victim binges then throws up the unwanted garments shortly afterwards. Still, we feel little shame purchasing disposable trends at the rate we do. Twenty pounds on a shirt we will never weardoesn't trigger a guilty mindset compared to, for instance, an expensive meal that we are not hungry enough to finish.

Our dwindling sense of culture isn't entirely the retailer's fault and we as consumers bear some of the blame. Retailers may make McFashion irresistible, but it can only survive because we buy into it. Just as McDonald's gradually blocks our arteries, too much McFashion gradually narrows our channels of creativity and individuality. It is McFashion's homogeneity that makes it desirable to many people in the first place. Just look at our American counterparts: 75 per cent of American men own a pair of Dockers khakis. One in five women's shoes in the US is sold by Nine West. Wal*Mart, the world's biggest retailer, sells 19 million pairs of women's jeans a year. At this rate McFashion stores will effectively push originality out of our closets. Eventually, we will forget that clothes can serve as a creative extension of ourselves and we will end up a society of outrageously boring dressers.

For more info. Please refer to Fashion Victim: Our love-Hate relationship with Dressing, Shopping, and the Cost of Style by Michelle Lee, published by Broadway Books.

8 May 2003

Also honoured for their influential fashion status in a catalogue compiled by the Daily Mail were Serena Rees, founder of Agent Provocateur and Jane Shepherdson, brand director of TopShop.
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April 1, 2003