WHO: DEREK LAM
WHO THEY ARE: Some thing Derek Lam is the next Ralph Lauren. He also designs bags for Tod’s.
COLOR TRENDS: Lam, like many other designers this spring, went a bit all over the map with his color palette: poppy red, peach, orange, grey, white, silver, black and grey, and a liquid bronze fabric. It was hard to find a consistent look in all this, although Lam is good at fit, cut and tailoring - and his shapes are always well drawn. But they are not always truly flattering. That peach had a nice look and would probably really pop on shiney bronzed summer skin.
MAJOR TREND: Who ever though the jumpsuit was a good idea? Lam decided to haul it back again - like many before him - with disastrous results. He did it in dressy fabrics, and it just looked like a farmer on her way to the opera. They were baggy and boyish and just all wrong - and can one quickly hit the ladies room in them? They just aren’t modern. But his dresses faired a lot better - some of them had anorak strings sewn into them, zig zagging across the dresses, to sport them up. Lam cuts a mean blazer - and this season, he did his signature long blazer in a peach tone, which he showed over black legging-pants. It looked chic - but not not new or earth-shattering. His dressy dresses at the end were the only thing here worth craving. Leave the great American sportswear to Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren, Derek - and stick to sexy dresses.
WHAT’S RELEVANT TO HOLLYWOOD: Well, not those jumpsuits, that’s for sure - unless your name is Chloe Sevigny and you are cool enough to carry that off. The molten bronze liquid looking dress is a nice early evening startler - for a casual Hollywood charity event. Also interesting were the molton bronze pants - there are a lot of silver, sequin, silk print and other unlikely fabrics in pants this season _ some of them work, some don’t. Some come off a bit harem. These actually work. A peach tight cocktail dress with a scarf back is stunning - again, perf for “Mad Men’s” January Jones - a little bit retro, and a lot modern and chic and Grace Kelly - just like Ms. Jones.
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Merle Ginsberg
Fashionrules.com’s Editor in Chief Merle Ginsberg is a reknown fashion, beauty, and entertainment journalist based in Los Angeles, who has a lengthy career as a magazine, internet, newspaper editor and writer, as well as television personality. She is also a bestselling author of books, and a consultant to fashion and beauty companies. With the Fashionrules team, she also helped create the first fashion boardgame, "Fashion Rules," currently on sale.
Ginsberg is best known for the Hollywood/fashion and beauty stories and essays she’s written for W Magazine and WWD, where she was Entertainment Director from 1992 to 2003. She wrote celebrity interviews, covers and fashion essays for Harper’s Bazaar from 2003 to 2007, and has been a frequent magazine writer/contributor to Ladies Home Journal, People Magazine, The London Times, The New York Times Magazine, Marie Claire (US, UK and Australia), Elle UK, Glamour UK, Elle Décor, Town and Country, Los Angeles Magazine, Details Magazine, Maxim, C Magazine, Interview Magazine, The New York Post, IMG’s The Daily and Fashionweekdaily.com, TheFind.com, MaxMara Magazine and Autore Magazine.
She is the author of the bestselling book, “Confessions of an Heiress,” with Paris Hilton, and the home style book, “Hip Hollywood Homes.” She is hard at work on a number of other book projects, and often consults to and plans events for Catherine Malandrino, Judith Leiber handbags, Company Agenda PR, TheFind.com, Gregory Parkinson, Autore Pearls, SAMA Eyewear, Morgane le Fay, Liv Ballard Jewelry, and has been a consultant to Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Charles Worthington Hair Products, and World of Wonder productions.
She has also appeared as a Hollywood fashion expert on “Entertainment Tonight,” “Extra,” CNN, MSNBC, the BBC, and is a judge on Logo Network and VH’s “Rupaul’s Drag Race,” which will shoot season two in the summer of 2009, and air in winter of 2010. Look for her soon on a new Bravo fashion competition show.