fashionblog

Victoria Beckham, a former Spice Girl, unveiled her latest dress collection at the New York Fashion Week and she revealed that she was inspired by comic book detective Dick Tracy when she came up with the collection.

She said that her own personal style has evolved, gearing toward more relaxed designs but stressed that they are still structured just the same.

Aside from Beckham, prominent New York designers Alexander Wang and Jason Wu also revealed their autumn / winter 2010 and 2011 collection. Wu is known for being the favorite designer of US first lady Michelle Obama. He featured an attractive collection of shirts, dresses and jackets that have colors ranging from orange, brown, grey and black.

Alexander’s collection, on the other hand, mostly geared on grey and black trousers.
The New York Fashion Week is currently ongoing.

Some of Hollywood’s brightest stars walked down the red carpet in last Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards in vibrant fashion clothes in a bid to fight gloom over the recent events such as the Haiti earthquake and the rainy day at the actual awards event.

Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman, among others, have pinned yellow, blue and red ribbons to show their support for the massive earthquake that took place at the Caribbean country last week.

Fashion experts said that starts chose to avoid putting much attention to themselves but rather on the other realities that must be prioritized such as the relief efforts for the quake victims.

Golden Globe winner Sandra Bullock wore a strapless, deep purple gown that accentuated her beauty. The actress won the best actress trophy for the film drama “The Blind Side.” She was nominated for the film “The Proposal” but lost to Meryl Streep.

Dame Vivienne Westwood grabbed the attention of the several hundred fashion experts present during the Milan Fashion week as she presented her latest line of dresses with models looking like homeless people. However, this only helped promote her great clothes as described by the experts.

Westwood revealed that the theme was suggested by her husband, Andreas Kronthaler who told her that a lawyer-friend of his works for a charity organization that helps the homeless.

The models walked down the catwalk that was designed with old cardboard boxes. The models’ hairs were disheveled and colored with something silvery to make them look like they’re staying at snow-covered streets.

Westwood’s menswear collection gained praises from her colleagues. The fashion designer said that she has no experience whatsoever with being homeless. At the end of her show, she was wheeled out via a paramedic stretcher to create a dramatic exit. This gained more applause from the audience.

Westwood has another brand name in the family Agent Prvocateur was founded by her youngest son and is famous for its expensive lingerie.

Instead of just hosting the highly anticipated annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, supermodel Heidi Klum surprised everyone when she also took the runway with a sexy pair of lingerie. This is a surprising feat for Klum, who just gave birth to her fourth child named Lou Samuel last month.

Despite her conservative-looking lingerie compared to the other models, Klum still stood out with her purple corset covered with tulle and other fabric. The 36-year old model has been working hard with a personal trainer for the past month in order to lose her baby weight. Reports stated that she gained nearly 50 pounds during her pregnancy.

Klum was joined in the runway with supermodels like Alessandra Ambrosio, Doutzen Kroes, Marisa Miller, and the rest of the Victoria’s Secret standouts. Miller gained attention when she wore a $3 million diamond-encrusted Fantasy Bra.

French fashion designer Sophie Theallet was revealed to be the winner of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards in New York early this week.

CFDA or Council of Fashion Designers of America and American Vogue gave away $200,000 worth of prizes to deserving designers and the winners will get to use the funds in developing their own collection that will be featured in an upcoming fashion show.

Theallet, currently based in New York, was endorsed by US First Lady Michelle Obama recently after the latter wore the former’s dresses on three instances during her trip to Europe earlier this year.

Runners-up Monique Pean and Patrick Ervell received $50,000 each for their efforts.

Last year’s winner Alexander Wang has had a successful year so far, gaining a wider audience. He also won the 2009 Swiss Textiles Award for using textiles in the most creative way in designing garments and underwear including lingerie.

In a bid to expand its business operations, Italian online fashion retailer Yoox has launched an initial public offering (IPO) option this week. This is in a bid to expand its business despite the ongoing global financial crisis.

According to reports, the company is offering up to a total of 55.5 percent stake and is setting the price of the shares between 3.60 to 4.50 euros per share. This values the company at around 226.8 million euros. The IPO is expected to be completed by November 30 this year.

There are currently four investment funds that currently own the 55 percent stake in the company. Yoox sells high-end brands such as Emporio Armani, Valentino, Diesel and Dolce&Gabbana.

The Italian company reported an increase in sales for the first nine months of this year with net profits going as high as 2.8 million euros. A positive trend compared to last year’s decline of 400,000 euros.

Fashion designer Emanuel Ungaro was reportedly displeased upon seeing the latest line of clothing from Ungaro, the fashion house featuring his name which was produced out of “artistic” advice of actress Lindsay Lohan. It’s been reported in the past that Lohan was hired as an “artistic adviser” for the giant fashion house.

Ungaro sold the fashion house in 2005 and has no contact with anyone from his former company since. However, during a festival in Lisbon, Portugal, he was asked about what he thought about the line by Lohan and he was blunt with his reply.

Ungaro said that the line which resulted from collaborating with Lohan was a “complete disaster.” He added that even though he’s furious about this, he couldn’t do anything at this point since he no longer owns the company.

Rumors have been circulating that Lohan’s stint with Ungaro was pro bono or for free.

Britain-based fashion label Luella has reportedly stopped trading after the company’s sudden closure last month due to the financial crisis.

According to reports, the company owned by British fashion designer Luella Bartley stopped trading after the producer of its ready to wear line which included clothing as well as undergarments such as lingerie stopped its operations and the company’s main investor stopped sending in the money. This development was reported by Reuters.

The fashion line has garnered popularity through the years since popular model Kate Moss and singer Lily Allen have been seen wearing the line in numerous occasions, thus boosting sales.

Bartley won the Designer of the Year award in the prestigious British Fashion Awards last year.

In a statement, Bartley said that she was extremely disappointed with the outcome of her 10-year old company but added that she has a lot of options open for the future and will announce her decision in the coming months.

Retailer J.C. Penney is reportedly launching an edgier junior’s fashion brand this week. This line came from celebrity designers Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, currently based in Manhattan, New York.

Penney recently opened a store in Manhattan and is attempting to attract the teenage market by coming up with trendy lines for the past couple of years. Officials from the retail store are optimistic that the teenagers who grew up following the career of the 23-year old twins will patronize the product. The Olsen twins have made a mark on television as former child movie and television stars.

The twins currently have apparel lines that are doing well in the market, Elizabeth and James and The Row. These products are mostly sold in high-end stores. The apparel deal the twins signed with retail giant WalMart ended in 2006.

The soft launch of the products will take place on November 6 but will make a full launch blast by February next year.

Fashion designers these days are capitalizing on the popularity of plus size dresses since there’s a growing demand for these products. For plus size women, this is simply great news!

Here are some fashion tips provided by experts to plus size women when it comes to wearing the appropriate clothes:

- Start with the right undergarments. Make sure that the undergarments are not tight enough to leave marks on the body. Having comfortable lingerie underneath the clothes do wonders.

- Wear the right plus size clothes. More women are attempting to wear dresses that are several sizes smaller than their actual size. Experts said that this is not recommended. Stick to your current size and be proud with what you have.

- Try out different colors. Go beyond the traditional black. There are simply a lot of great clothes with different colors out there. Shop with friends to get their insights on what colors fit you.