Boston Fashion Industry.com - The Blog

It's that time of year again and everyone's favorite angels are back. The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for 2009 brought back favorites Marissa Miller, Ana Beatriz Barros, Alessandra Ambrosio and Miranda Kerr but featured new models Chanel Iman and Doutzen Kroes. Doutzen looked especially fabulous in all her ensembles. The evening was highlighted by two performances by The Black Eyed Peas with Fergie wearing a green corset dress in one number that showed off her great legs. Fergie looked so amazing, she could have walked the runway herself. What better way to end the evening than with Victoria's most famous angel, Heidi Klum who now as a "mom with two kids", can still can still steal the spotlight and be the star of the show.

Marc Jacobs & Daphne Guinness Host The Launch Of NARS 15X15-15 Yrs of NARS

Fashion A-Listers gathered at the Nars 15x15 party to help Francois Nars and Nars Cosmetics celebrate its 15th year anniversary. A celebrity portrait project was developed as part of the celebration. 15 celebrities, mostly from the field of Fashion, were made editors of their own iconic portraits. They chose the shades of Nars Cosmetics that inspired their portraits. Celebrities Amanda Lepore, Amber Valletta, Daphne Guinness, Isabella Rossellini, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Marc Jacobs, Naomi Campbell, Natasha Ploy, Olivier Theyskens and Shalom Harlow all took part in the Nars portrait project. The project will be made into a book that will be available online at www.15x15project.com for only 30 days, starting Nov 12th. All proceeds from sales will be divided into the various charities chosen by the 15 celebrities.

Aside from the project, the big fashion talk of the evening was the pair of shoes on the feet of host Daphne Guinness. They were the highly coveted "Armadillo" shoes seen on the runway of Alexander McQueen's latest Spring collection. They give new meaning to the term "Break a Leg" but the Fashion World is obsessed with them. Unfortunately, Alexander McQueen insists that they're not for sale so unless your Daphne, you're out of luck.

13th Annual 2009 ACE Awards Presented by the Accessories Council - Arrivals

Accessories designers and retailers got their due as the Accessories Council presented the 13th Annual ACE Awards. Some of the top names of the fashion industry came out to the show with top designer Diana Von Furstenberg winning the Accessory Visionary Award. Other winners included Christoper Bailey who won the Brand of the Year Award for Burberry and Tomas Maier for Designer of the Year. Retailer awards went to Zappos.com and Gilt Group. V Magazine scored the Magazine of the Year Award. Even Barbie (the doll) was honored with the Fashion Icon Award.

Notable attendees for the evening included Marc Jacobs, Betsy Johnson, Nina Garcia, Agyness Deyn, Christian Siriano (sporting a bag half his size), Alexander Wang, Erin Wasson, Molly Sims, Hillary Rhoda and Lady Gaga. The talk of the evening went to Lady Gaga and her flair for fashion that won her the Accessories Council's Stylemaker Award. At the end of Lady Gaga's speech, she reminds us all that the most important accessory to have is the condom. What are the odds the "condom" will be an award winner for next year?

Chado Ralph Rucci - Runway - Spring 2010 MBFW

It was the collection that had all of the top magazine editors buzzing (that means you Mr.Talley). Chado Ralph Rucci put on a wonderful show and in my opinion, one of the best collections of this past Mercedes Benz Spring 2010 New York Fashion Week, a fashion week that seemed to lack a certain something since the departure of a few designers to the new venue at Milk Studios. The quality of Mr. Rucci's works can rival the couture houses of Europe and he's always been a favorite of the very well to do. This latest collection had so many wonderful pieces. I especially loved the dresses with prints inspired by works of classical antiquities. There's no doubt in my mind that orders were made immediately after his show.  We will most surely see quite a few of Mr. Rucci's designs being worn to the best parties the New York social scene has to offer, for next spring

It's hard to believe that this is just Christian Siriano's third collection shown at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week. It seems like he's been around longer. With a new found sponsor in Payless to help pay the bills, he's sure to be around a while. For Spring of 2010, Chrisitan gives us more of the ruffled, pleated and manipulated fabric, glamorous evening gowns that have become his signature look (along with matching hats) that his fans and clients love. It's that same look that helped boost him to the top of Project Runway two seasons ago. But Christian is growing as a designer and this time around he's giving us a fuller collection with suits, separates and short dresses to go along with the red carpet gowns (there's even a body suit). He's also exploring the use of bold prints and bold colors with some stunning if not interesting results. Fans and celebrity friends alike loved the infusion of prints and colors so there's a strong possibility of seeing more of their use for the next collection.

It's no secret that Marchesa is tops on the list of many celebrity stylists; they just make drop dead gorgeous dresses, the kind that makes bold statements at say, the Oscar's red carpet. I love Marchesa. I can't get enough of their beautiful work and their gowns shown at the Chelsea Art Museum during Mercedes Benz New York Fashon Week were no exceptions. Nearly every piece was ready for a red carpet moment. It's not a question of if but when we'll see those beauties on display and on whom. I'm thinking Rachel Zoe already has an A-Lister of two lined up. I can't wait to find out who'll be wearing Marchesa next.

Taking center stage at the new fashion venue at Milk Studios, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez thrilled all those in attendance with a fun, flirty, and joyously colorful Spring 2010 collection. Bright psychedelic colors were on display in cool hues of blues and greens with touches of yellow and violet mixed in. I liken the color palette to a psychedelic ocean. The materials on most pieces were a mix of feathers and sequines creating interesting effects. Prints were reminiscent of 60's tye-dye but without all the rainbow colors. Buyers loved what they saw, so it's a good bet that you'll see a lot of Proenza Schouler in the shops next Spring if not on actresses and models first.

At the opening ceremony of the 66th Venice Film Festival, Eva Mendes delighted all the fans on the Baaria Red Carpet by wear a stunning red leopard print gown by Dolce & Gabbana. Eva is wearing a string of red carpet hits this season and this gown no exception. She kept her look simple by wearing a small diamond bracelet and an intriguing black jeweled headpiece. The dress was the center of attention and rightly so.

Eva was at the festival to help promote her latest film "Bad Lieutenant" with her co-star Nicholas Cage. The next festival will be in Toronto on Sept 15th and you can be sure that Eva will once again delight the crowds with her red carpet fashions.

Ultra hip retailer Opening Ceremony has just opened a new flagship store in Tokyo. The store will no doubt be a major hit in Japan with its unique blend of worldly and avant garde designs. It also doesn't hurt that the store will draw its fair share of celebrities looking for unique togs.

Celebrating the store's grand opening were designers Alexander Wang and model turned designer Erin Wasson, actress Kirsten Dunst and actresses turned designers Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen. Ashley and Mary Kate were also there for business as their fashion line, The Row, has a space on the second floor.

Opening Ceremony hopes to be another fashion hot spot for the upcoming Fashion's Night Out event on September 10th. The Soho store in NYC will feature designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, Alexander Wang and Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders. Each designer will sell specially made products for Fashion's Night Out in front of the Soho store, out of the trunks of uniquely designed vehicles. You won't want to miss it.

New York Special Screening of "The September Issue"

The August special screening of the eagerly awaited "The September Issue", held at the Museum of Modern Art, brought out some of the biggest names in fashion and film. No less is to be expected when the subject of the RJ Cutler film documentary is Anna Wintour, the feared and revered chief editor of Vogue. Viewers were given a brief glimpse of the everyday inner workings of Anna and her Vogue team as they publish the largest issue in the magazine's history at the height of the credit and housing bubble of 2007.

Seen along with Anna at the premiere was film star Sienna Miller, the Vogue 2007 cover girl, stars Renee Zellweger and Bee Shaffer, and top designers Donna Karan, Vera Wang, Zac Posen, Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, Cynthia Rowley, Carolina Herrera, and Oscar De La Renta plus many others.

Models were also seen at the screening wearing Fashion's Night Out t-shirts over their cocktail dresses to help promote the upcoming uber shopping event on Sept 10th, created in part by Anna Wintour herself to help combat the negative effects of the post credit and housing bubble recession on the retail economy, not just in New York but around the world.