Posts Tagged ‘Marc Jacobs’

OVERALL TREND: So goes MJ, so goes the fashion world. It’s been a week of skintight minis, leather jackets with knit insets – and Marc Jacobs had his own way of adding texture to his clothes; sleek wool princess coats with fur hems and cuffs. But he’s not one to gild the lilly – especially when everyone is gilding up the leather and adding extra pieces of fabric everywhere. The lesson of fall 2010 in NY is: more fabric is more. Why do leggings when you can do RUCHED leggings? Why have a leather jacket when it can have mongolian fur and knitwear insets? But Marc went in the other direction – LONGER. He dropped hems, which is a huge cry in the fashion world, where mini’s have rained for so many seasons now. Every so often, some designer puts a long skirt in a collection – and a few L.A. hippie girls wear them with motorcycle boots. Now, MJ has given us over the knee A line skirts, almost ankle length skirts, even swishy long skirts. But there’s nothing retro about this collection. Even though it has fur, tweed, even three piece suits – it looks very American, somewhat Californian – and NEW! Sure, it’s got plenty of black and grey – but it’s also got acid green and yellow. But none of it looks weird or forced. The word for this collection is GENTLE – and soft. The models had long mottled hair with deep side parts, peach lips, wore low heeled shoes with socks – and some even wore glasses. These girls look like smart French students who are in America for a year, and are deep in thought. They’re too smart to be too trendy. It’s a revelation, that someone departed from the tough looks of the last two years this much. It’s not gussied up or overthought – it’s simple – gentle – it’s calm. Wow! It’s like Marc’s saying to us: Stop all the noise! Calm down a little!

SHAPES: A line skirts, long blazers, 3 piece suits with trouser, fur jackets with A line skirts or long dresses – and the return of velvet twisted and cut on the bias. Long cardigans in sequins that look not blingy, but student-y. The way a smart girl would dress for a date after class. These are real girl clothes, and they can be worn by any size of woman – waif or curvy. Those soft white almost sailor dresses are just so lovely and innocent. Do they work in the winter? In L.A., hell yes! This is Marc’s quote about it all: “There’s so much striving for newness now that newness feels less new.” We hail his return to not trying so hard.

COLORS: Black, grey, heathered tweeds, cream, tan, ecru, brown, citrus green, yellow, white

BEAUTY: Matted hair, a bit messy, deep side parts – peach lips, no cheek color, and a touch of black eyeliner – a pretty student who’s too busy to think about makeup much. This undone look makes her look much younger. She’s not trying to be a grand sophisticate or a tough punk – she’s actually not even trying . . .

RELEVANCE TO HOLLYWOOD: Sort of none – and sort of everything. This Marc Jacobs collection is NOT sexy, it’s soft and dreamy. But outside of LA, THAT’S sexy. It’s not body hugging, and it’s not bombshell. It’s personal, serious, youthful and very innocent. It’s really the right collection for our times of starting over, of trying to have some hope . . . will Hollywood girls embrace it? Only the cool ones, we’re afraid. We have a feeling Vera Farmiga will be wearing some of this – or Maggie Gyllenhaal.

With people – like myself, for instance – having attempted to fly out to NY today for the NY fall 2010 fashion shows starting tomorrow, Thursday Feb 11 – and getting curtailed by a giant blizzard – it’s clear that the fate of NY fashion week is quickly changing in so many ways. First of all, having shows in NY in February is like booking a convention in India in the summer. The weather is a giant deterrant. Up to the late 1990’s, NY fashion week took place in late October and in April – it followed London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks. And NY designers had the advantage then of being able to look to new European trends to influence them. Along came Austrian designer Helmut Lang to move to NY and relocate his business there. He decided he wanted to show BEFORE the Europeans, and so all the NY designers followed – and NY fashion week moved to early September – when it’s often still ninety degrees – and February – when it’s often twenty degrees or colder. Brrrrrr. Here are some other developments:

Major designers Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs announced this week that they’ll be streaming their upcoming runway shows live on the Internet, making exclusive invites to the Bryant Park tents practically moot. In fact, Marc Jacobs was even quoted today as saying he’s “over the whole celebrity thing.” What happened, did his wranglers get lazy this year? Traditionally, his show was more stacked with celebs than any other show. More likely, what’s true is that celebs don’t want to be in NY in February. “Celebs won’t like it,” says an industry insider. “It’s completely transforming the aura around Fashion Week. The event serves as a sort of hierarchy of New York City fashion, and those who get invited to shows are considered worthy of seeing the collections before they hit the stores.” Then it was announced yesterday that both Rodarte and Alexander Wang will be streaming their shows online as well. (These images are from Alexander Wang’s stark) pre fall collection.) These are two very hip design houses – the fact that they are going “mass” speaks of a large trend. And what’s with the new trend? Most sources say that it’s all about the cash: More viewers means more followers, which will translate into more money. With retail suffering the way it is, designers have got to get the word – and the image – out there. Fashion Week online makes these designers universal, which is a huge benefit to their lines. Not only that, there are less fancy paper invites – most invites are done via email these days. And many editors miss collecting those lovely expensive invites – but it’s all nostalgia now. No one wants to spend that kind of money anymore.
What’s funny is that people like Anna Wintour and Marc Jacobs are the ones who have made fashion so famous – and now that it’s not so exclusive anymore, they’re the ones crying the blues! And of course, this is the last season at Bryant Park, which is becoming nostalgia too. The move to the Upper West Side and Lincoln Center makes fashion more – well, Upper West Side – which means, parents and babies. It’s not the favored neighborhood of fashionistas. Still, snow or no, New York Fashion week is expected to bring over $200 million in visitor spending to the city. And that’s a lot of flakes, no matter how you shovel them. – Merle Ginsberg

It’s not as common for male celebs to turn up at mens’ fashion shows as it is for female celebs. Giorgio Armani is good at getting male celebs to his Milan shows, but that’s because he dresses so many male celebs for awards shows (and we hear Oscar host Steve Martin already ordered his new tux). But who could keep the best dressed man in music, the Louis Vuitton don, away from a Marc Jacobs-designed Louis Vuitton menswear show in Paris? Kanye showed up with his fur-clad woman, Amber Rose, and they hung out with LV CEO Yves Carcelles, and LV menswear designer Marc Jacobs himself.
The LV fall winter 2010/11 collection features chic looking black leathers, and lots of black, grey and tan close the body well-made mens clothes. But man oh man, were we going to see a case of manorexia break out when these clothes hit the stores!

Marc Jacobs doesn’t really need another career. The designer of his eponymous line, plus shoes, bags, perfumes, sunglasses and jewelry – and then all of that for Marc by Marc Jacobs – and then designing the Louis Vuitton collection and collaborating with people like Morikami and the late Stephen Sprouse on sprucing up the LV bag label – the man has made his mark, so to speak. But today, Gawker.com reports that Marc Jacobs is seriously considering signing on to a new show on the Logo Network (MTV’s gay arm, home of “Rupaul’s Drag Race” and the new Robert Verdi show this winter), called “Kept” – about gay housewives in New York City. It would be about high-powered gay playboys (like Marc) who “keep” young men in the lifestyles they’d like to be accustomed to. Why would Marc consent? Well, it certainly wouldn’t be for the money – or the fame. Maybe for the fun. In any case, it shoots in November, and is a BRILLIANT idea for programming.

We love to show you the spreads from V Magazine, because you just don’t see the very fashion-insider mag on L.A. newsstands all that often. September features a Mario Testino spread on Lady Gaga, who is about to be MAC’s new Viva Glam spokeswoman. Gaga has been inside of V before, but not on the cover. We love all her different looks in here – she looks so right in the Marc Jacobs hot pink coat of the season and matching glasses. The glasses are actually peel off if you can find a copy of the real mag. Editor-in-chief STEPHEN GAN says of the new cover: “When the Marc Jacobs pink hooded coat and glasses came down the fall 09 runway, I knew there was only one person I wanted to see in it: Lady Gaga. Growing up as a kid obsessed with new wave, I would cut up paper sunglasses and put them on to celebs’ faces on magazine covers. These plastic peel on and peel off glasses come in pink and blue and are actually based on the Marc Jacobs ones that came down the runway! There’s no other celeb that has done more for the eyewear biz than Gaga. Giving people something tactile and collectible…I feel like a kid again peeling those glasses on and off the V cover.”

St. Tropez, the London originated company known for fabulous spray tans (even Lady Gaga indulges) are having a champagne toast at Kinara Spa on Robertson Blvd on Tuesday night while CEO Michelle Feeney is in town from her native London, promoting the brand’s various new products. Feeney, a former MAC exec for many years, has relaunched St. Tropez with graphic designer Michael Nash (who’s designed for McQueen and Marc Jacobs), re-shot all the visuals, and has a new theory – that products are now more about “finishing’ the skin than applying something on top of it. Their new Radiance Mousse (a jar of bronzey brown creme, $35) makes facial, leg, arm and neck skin look shiney, defined, and bronzey. Their new Bronzing Rocks ($40) are more of a gold tone, are in the shape of rocks, and can be used as eye shadow, as a skin highlighter, and work on the collar bone, near the cheeks, etc.

Then there’s a Bronzing Powder (in a compact, $30), Everyday Mousse, which is a gradual self tanner; Everyday Perfect Legs, which both tans and adds bronze color and coverage. The whole Everyday line is for gradual self-tanning, but adds shine and color. All these products are about shining yourself – and while they’re great for right now, they will look good with the new metallic clothes for fall, too. You can buy them all at www.sttropeztan.com, and at Kinara Spa in L.A.

One of the weakest things about the Melrose and Melrose Place area is that the food selection isn’t great. At night, there’s Ago, Lucques and Commes Ca as great dining spots – but for breakfast and lunch speedy eats, the pickins’ are slim.

But they just got a little fatter. XOORO opened at 8630 Melrose Avenue, next to Sweet Lady Jane’s bake shop, near Mel r’ Rose liquor – just a Churros’ throw from Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs (are their skinny employees going to start eating them? Oh, NO!) They sell premier Spanish fritters, long skinny fried dough pastries, but they don’t just have powdered sugar – they have chocolate coconut, hazelnut, tiramisu flavor, peanut butter, peanuts, and it goes on and on, www. XOORO.com. The website is SO cute, it shows the churros dancing around like they’re on a merry-go-round!
And they taste divine. So what if it’s summer? Looking good in fall clothes is all that matters – and that’s two or three months away.

Le Bon Marche is one of the top stores in Paris – with an incredible food court, designer clothes, jewelry, objets d’art, etc etc – it’s the Harrods or Harvey Nichs of Paris. It’s also owned by LVMH, the company that owns Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Moet and Hennessy. Think Barneys in Paris, but much, much bigger.

The store has incredible exhibitions every few months, with guest curators from around the world – which include the store windows and an interior exhibition. When New York City was the subject, Marc Jacobs was the guest curator.  

This August 27th to October 12th (which will include Paris fashion week for spring 2010), the Bon Marche exhibition will be on Los Angeles. And L.A.’s own Liz Goldwyn will be creating the installation. She’ll have the windows and interior to show her vision of L.A. – and being a fashionista, jewelry designer, author of books and curator of sorts, we can be sure it will be interesting

 

Liz will be having a small dinner on Tuesday night at the Sunset Tower with the pr director of Le Bon Marche, Isabelle Picard, who is flying in. We look forward to seeing the exhibition and learning more about it, and then Fashionrules.com will impart it to you.  – MG

Marc Jacobs set the color trend for fall when he showed neons at the New York shows in February – purple, bright yellow, fuschia. Dubbed “eighties revival colors,” the hip girls are already whipping these new/next hues out now. Check Megan Fox at the Tokyo movie premier of “Transformers.” She’s been wearing purple to loads of events, and this is her purple piece de resistance.