Posts Tagged ‘Charlize Theron’

We knew Charlize would wear Dior to the Oscars – she just went to the show in Paris, is pals with John Galliano, and she’s worn Dior to the Oscars a number of times, as she’s on contract with the brand for advertising. And how AMAZING did she look in this orchid pink color? With her dark berry lipstick shade and flat shiney hair? It was a great look for her! BUT of course, we’ve heard and read a great deal about the bust detail of the dress – the circles in the bodice, what looking like palms gripping breasts. A lot of people said they couldn’t get past the idea that she clearly wanted people to stare at her breasts. Or did she? It could be that this is the dress John Galliano wanted her to wear, and she just let him run wild with his imagination. OR it could be something that overshadows everything else: Charlize broke up with her longtime boyfriend Stuart Townsend in the last few months. THIS is what we call A BREAK UP GOWN!!!! It shows the world and potential suitors that she’s looking for a new man. Now, it’s certainly not demure – but Charlize is no doubt also looking for a sexy new role, as her last few movies were as unglamourous as it gets – and she’s already got an Oscar!

There have been Givenchy gladiators, Chloe gladiators, Lanvin gladiators, Jimmy Choo gladiators – these strappy shoes in high heels or flats have been the tough-chic bomb for several seasons now, and they show no signs of slowing down. But we found the coolest pair of all today – at the Nike store on Wilshire in Beverly Hills, near Burberry and Barneys. It’s the Nike gladiator sandal – no, you can’t run or work out in it, so forget that right now. But it comes in black or white or gold, is crazy comfortable, and the salesman told me that Charlize Theron, Courteney Cox and Katherine Heigl just bought them from him – apparently, the white pair is the one that’s selling big. And at about eighty bucks a pair, they’re a lot more reasonable than Givenchy’s. And you will not find them at Barneys!

It’s always exciting to see who will make the cover of September Vogue – the mag’s biggest issue of the year. Sure, ad sales are down, but Vogue is getting a whole documentary – “The September Issue” – directed and produced by L.A. based documentarian R. J. Cutler (“The War Room”) – coming out in early September, so it’s bound to up the mag’s profile – and circulation. It’s not Charlize’s first Vogue cover, but it’s still a big deal: she was shot by Mario Testino in Sante Fe, New Mexico, in Georgia O’Keefe country – and she talks about how inspired she is by being near the ghost of O’Keefe. She wears classic black and white looks, and looks at aristocratic as O’Keefe herself in these photos – getting ready to promote the movie “The Road,” which opens October 16th. It’s from the novel by Cormac McCarthy – as was “No Country For Old Men” – and also stars Viggo Mortensen and Guy Pearce, and is the story of a post-apocalyptic journey of a father and son (Charlize plays Viggo’s wife).
Charlize has got a number of movie’s booked, including a film version of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” and she’s booked through 2011. Meanwhile, one of September Vogue’s other big “get” is an at-home with Juicy’s Gela Nash Taylor, and husband (and Duran Duran star) John Taylor, on their very British country estate. The other is an interview with Jenny Sanford, wife of Governor Mark Sanford, who notoriously ran off and had an affair with an Argentine woman, not letting his office know where he was.
Mrs. Sanford basically says her husband was having a mid-life crisis, and that this is what middle-aged men do – they become addicted to having affairs. She’s extremely tough on him – in a way that Silda Spitzer, Governor Elliot Spitzer’s wife, was not.
It’s MUST READ, people!

Dior Beauty will celebrate the tenth anniversary of its major fragrance J’Adore in September, and the House just released some new images of it’s face of the fragrance, Charlize Theron, that will appear in about a month. They were shot by Alexi Lubormirski, who shoots many Harper’s Bazaar covers, and the makeup was done by Charlize’s constant makeup man, Shane Paish. Interesting that the emphasis here is not on clothes – and not even on hair – but just on Charlize’s face. She doesn’t even seem to have that much makeup on! Too bad they are not scratch n’ sniff, so we could smell some J’Adore! Clearly, John Galliano j’adores Charlize! And so does the camera. See the pics

You’ve probably read stories that tell you that guys like Tom Cruise and David Spade – not exactly the tallest guys in Hollywood – stand on apple carts or platforms when acting opposite tall ladies like Katie Holmes, Nicole Kidman or Charlize Theron. And let’s face it – how is a guy of normal height supposed to deal with ladies wearing 4 and 5 inch heels for the last few years? They say women are okay with towering over their men  - but we’re always wondered how the guys feel about it.

 

Now we know. Three (smart) Hollywood guys just invented a great product to level the playing field, called Liftkits (Myliftkits.com) For somewhere between $15.00 dollars and $35.00 depending on the style of the insert, men can now be a full 2 inches taller. Like every other beauty product, Liftkits become hot by being on the celebrity circuit – and actors were grabbing them at one of the Oscar gifting suites like free botox. There are hi-top and lo-top models, they fit right into any men’s shoe, and allow the average guy to now be the longer, leaner guy – which gives him the advantage in the job world, the dating world – and what other worlds matter? You can buy them on the site, and as women who love to wear Louboutins, we are all in favor of guys grabbing these!!! They’ve got to be more comfortable than 4 inch high heels. And they’ll even make you look better in your clothes. But you might need to wear longer jeans!!

 

 

If you thought the red carpet parade of stars was slowing down anytime soon – well, you thought wrong. Tonight (Feb 10) is the annual Unforgettable Evening Charity Ball at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel that benefits the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund – and it’s chaired by the combined star and fashion power of Rita Wilson, Kate Capshaw (and their superstar husbands), plus Jamie Tisch, Kelly Chapman Meyer and more – and actresses like Renee Zellwegger, Hilary Swank and Charlize Theron have all been recipients of honors from this prestigious group for their work and contributions to charities for women’s cancers. On top of most of these ladies attending with their men, Gwyneth Paltrow and Courteney Cox Arquette will be honored this year, and while it’s not black tie – the cocktail attire will be SERIOUS. No, Gwyneth will not be in a silver mini – it’s a more dignified event than that. And yes, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg actually give speeches. So you know all the major movie people will be in that room. Hell, it might even have MORE star power than the Oscars.

 

Last week in Beverly Hills on the second floor of Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks hosted a little soiree/lunch (with food from Crustacean) for Italian shoe designer Guiseppe Zanotti, who is best known for his jeweled stilettos. He met shoppers, journalists and Saks execs in his only SoCal personal appearance, and signed frames for photos that were snapped of him and rabid shoe shoppers.

 

And how do Italian designers dress? Well, much like American designers, but slightly chicer: GP wore dark jeans, a black t shirt, and a beautifully cut black sports jacket, and slightly tinted architect-style specs.

 

Meanwhile, Fashion Rules got a chance to interview the designer, who was in town from his native Toulouse, Italy, near Bologna – and who says his actual home is “the airport, and the 777 Airbus.”  Meanwhile, the background of the lunch was blown-up photos of the many celebs who walk in GP’s creations: Cameron Diaz, Catherine Zeta Jones, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, Giselle, Eva Mendes, Charlize Theron, and Amanda Peet. At Saks, GP is part of the BIG THREE: Christina Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, and Guiseppe Zanotti, in terms of sales.  – Merle Ginsberg

 

MG: Guiseppe, when did you arrive in Los Angeles?

 

GZ: Well, three days ago, I was in Bal Harbour in Miami. After I leave Beverly Hills, I am heading to Caesar’s Palace in Vegas, where I have my own shop. Then I go to Paris – then to Selfridge’s in London. Then there is an exhibition in Bologna of skins and leathers that I must see. Then, finally, I will go to my vacation home in the Seychelles – I’ve had it for twenty years.

 

MG: You clearly have some heavy duty fans in L.A.: this is a total shoe town, since no one has to actually walk. How often do you get here?

 

GZ: So far, it has only been once a year, near the Oscars. But now that we have such a strong showing in Saks 10022 Shoe Department here in Beverly Hills, I would like to come twice. It’s great to see the shoes that L.A. women are wearing. They have great legs, and they like to show them off – and the weather really allows that. They can wear sandals and stilettos all year around. There are very few places like this.

 

MG: Why are women so obsessed with shoes these days, do you think?

 

GP: Well, life is very busy these days. Women have to go to do weddings, parties, work, cocktail parties, traveling – all of these activities require different styles of shoes! I started out creating evening and cocktail shoes, but now we do boots, flats, casual shoes, everything – and I love designing shoes so much that I dream about shoes every night, and everything I see inspires me all day long about new styles.

 

MG: I assume you’ve finished designing the spring collection?

 

GP: Oh, yes, I am already in the middle of doing fall 09. But I can tell you all about spring: there is a theme of African exploration, with a little touch of rock n’ roll, and a little Goth. There are flat sandals with silver jewels, and lots of black and brown looks. I was inspired by the music of Africa, but also by the contemporary art of Basquiat and Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. I painted some of the shoes in multi-color brights. But then I always do the classic evening sandal with jewels, which is very couture and now, classic. Women buy new ones every season. They are timeless.

 

MG: Your shoes are always about sex, it seems – would you agree?

 

GP: Well, femininity is forever. I started 14 years ago in Italy, making black loafers for Jil Sander. These were not so sexy. They were very minimal. But I prefer to see décolleté on the foot. It is better to see a partially covered foot than a naked foot – same with a woman. It is so much more exciting to discover. When I see jewels on the partially covered foot of a woman, I go crazy!

 

MG: Well, women go crazy for shoes, too. What is that about, do you think?

 

GP: Animals changes their skins all the time. Women are wild, too. They have wild instincts. They change their outfits all the time. They need to have a big assortment of shoes. Like a supermarket of shoes! That’s why I am also a manufacturer – I produce Balmain shoes, and Proenza Schouler. Shoes are my life!”

 

 

WHO: Donna Karan

 

COLOR TRENDS: Gold, gunmetal, yellow, tan, silver and pale blue.

 

MAJOR TRENDS: It’s no secret Donna loves dresses. Her fall collection is all wrapped robe-y silks that drape like the togas of ancient Greece, but still have interesting shapes, and deep plunging v necks. The spring dresses are short version of same, in light sparkly colors. Now, since we expect Donna Karan likes to dress grown ups, the dresses are a little too short – but they might skim the knee when they hit the stores. The key word here is SOFT – all the pieces skim but don’t cling. There are long jackets shown with short skirts, and they have SOME structure – but more softness. Some of the short cocktail dresses have blousey jackets over them, many have deep v necks that are wrapped and draped, and there is some nice beading at the necklines, which dress up the looks considerably. There is a lot of prettiness here – but nothing earth shattering – but that’s okay. The clothes are less gussied and busy than they are in other collections for spring, and we’re glad Donna didn’t go hog wild with the blues and reds. She did what Donna does – New York neutrals.

 

WHAT’S RELEVANT TO HOLLYWOOD: All the cocktail dresses are sexy enough for the red carpet, and would look particularly good on L.A. girls with good gams – which is just about everybody, right? Some of the charmeuse gowns with high slits up the leg are very thirties Hollywood, and would great on Rita Hayworth types like Charlize Theron or Eva Mendes. The pale blue deep v gown is pretty, too.

       

When designer Valentino – who’s real name is Valentino Garavani – retired from designing both his ready to wear and couture collections almost a year ago – he went out with a bang, a giant party in Rome, and enough accolades to last a lifetime. But this week at the 65th annual Venice Film Festival, “The Chic,” as the man is known – returned. Valentino and his business partner of 25 years, Giancarlo Giammetti, to attend the premier of a documentary on the last two years of his life, called “Valentino: The Last Emperor.” It was directed by Vanity Fair journalist Matt Tyrnauer, and attending with Valentino was model Eva Herzigova, Charlize Theron, Elizabeth Hurley, Claire Dane, and a ton of media. The 75 year old Valentino has dressed everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jennifer Lopez to Elizabeth Hurley, made wedding dresses for Lopez and for Elizabeth Taylor – but said that when Julia Roberts wore her 1992 archival black and white Valentino gown when she won the Oscar for “Erin Brockovich,” it was the fashion high point of his life.  “I have dressed so many people but I have to be sincere. The person that made me feel so very, very happy was Julia Roberts,” he replied when asked to name the famous woman he had most enjoyed dressing.

“When she got the Academy Award for ‘Erin Brockovich,’ I watched it on television” Valentino told some reporters in Venice, “and really I was so excited that she appeared in my dress. It makes me so very happy and proves once more that movie stars love my clothes.” And you can be sure they will keep wearing them, as the company has a strong cache of couture archives, even though designer Allessandra Facchinetti has taken over the design reigns of modern Valentino.