Fashion Industry discussion, review, analysis, news, and information

The billionaire heiress strikes again.  Paris Hilton launched her new footwear collection at the Macy's in the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas.  Naturally, she drew a crowd anxious to get a glimpse of what threatens to be a big flop.  Others think the shoes are definitely overpriced.  The collection will also be available at Kitson, Zappos.com, Endless.com, Bakers, Lord & Taylor and select specialty boutiques across the country. 

You can't be mad at Paris for putting her name on everything, but does she really have to?  She's set for life.  Frankly, I think she should just stick to perfumes.  I happen to like her Can Can fragrance...

Neon is officially back - well, according to Simon Doonan it is.  The Creative Director of Barney's New York and author of several books including Confessions of a Window Dresser,says that you need neon accessories so you don't get hit by a car when you're drunk and staggering down the dark streets at night.  Alrighty then!  Simon has spoken.

I thought to myself, Could it be that neon really is back?  Some of you are probably wondering, Where have you been? Neon is sooooo in right now! I must have missed that memo and truly in denial.  For some reason I thought neon was completely banned from making a comeback, like acid-washed denim is.  I did a blogsearch for "neon fashion" and yes, Dear Readers, neon is back. 

Their time has come.  Early Wednesday morning Diane von Furstenberg and the late Liz Claiborne were inducted into the Fashion Walk of Fame.  These two illustrious fashion icons is joining the likes of Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Halston, Calvin Klein, Anne Klein and Oscar de la Renta as honorees of this prestigious award.  The recipients are awarded a plaque that gets embedded into sidewalk of Seventh Avenue. 

Art Ortenberg, the former husband of Liz Claiborne, accepted her award...


The Fashion Walk of Fame was started in 1999 by the Fashion Center BID.  The criteria for nominations include:

• A significant New York presence
  
• Owned their own businesses for at least 10 years
• Have been moving forces in the fashion industry and have made a powerful impact on fashion through either innovative design or the use of materials, or significantly influenced the way America dresses.
  

You can't blame Diane von Furstenberg for going on vacation to celebrate.  She certainly deserves it.  I would too knowing that Fashion Week is just around the corner!

Ok, so fashion photography has been on my mind quite a bit lately.  Last Friday  I talked about Fashionation.  Then yesterday I talked about Bryan Adams' work - which I'm still in awe of.  I'm not sure why I'm so surprised that he would be a photographer.  It's not like singers can't be multi-talented.  Oh, but I digress...

And today I came across Sarah Conley's announcement about Coutorture's latest photo editorial, The Sun Doesn't Care. I was immediately drawn to this photo because of the purple...

I love the contrast of colors and the emotion that emanates from this photo.  It's as if the model is thinking, "Damn, it's sweltering hot, but I still look good, no?"

Did you know that Bryan Adams is a fashion photographer?  I had no idea... Glam Boulevard says that the musician/photographer is the mastermind behind the Guess F/W 2008 Ad campaign.

I remember Bryan Adams from "back in the days" when he sang “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”.  For those of you who aren't familiar with his work, here's a video of my favorite Adams song, "Summer of 69"...

Those of you regular readers know how much I love black and white photography. Here's a piece that Adams did featuring Victoria Beckham...

Buy Bryan Adams' compilation CD, So Far So Good

I've gone over some photos from Miami's Fashion Week, but to be quite honest, I'm just not that interested in swimwear.  However, I did come across a few pieces from the Cia.Maritima collection that I did like.  Cia.Maritima is considered to be the most sought-after swimwear line in Brazil.  The brand was launched by Benny Rosset back in 1990.  For the 2009 collection, the design team found inspiration from the psychedelic looks of the 60's and 70's.

For those of you who want to check out some of the highlights from Miami, here's a photo montage I came across over at YouTube...

Today I noticed a huge spike in traffic coming from the a website called Racked, a blog that covers New York City shopping, stores, and the overall retail scene - and another good read to add to the list!

So, welcome to all who have come here to check out my Richard Chai for Target review !

Also, welcome Coutorture Annex readers who have come here through the post about Know More Media...As I stated, I will keep blogging here, so I encourage you to subscribe to The Runway Scoop via feeds or if you prefer to receive blog posts via email, enter your address in the form under the "Subscribe" heading in the middle column.

Although I will remain here at The Runway Scoop, posting will be light for the next month as I work on a few projects.  Expect to see about two posts a week until, of course, fashion week in New York! 

Today has been more a reading day than a writing day.  Here's some fashion scoop to check out:

• Cathy Horyn comments on the Halston situation.  I really hope the brand does revive itself because I really liked the spring collection.  Is the marketing team sleeping?

• Looks like Nina Garcia is wasting no time making friends...

• Coutorture is talking about sustainability of the fashion industry chain.  I certainly like the idea of more sustainable materials used in fashion. 

• Portfolio.com reports that Balenciaga is going beachy.  I'm curious how the brand is going to fit in with the O.C. crowd...

• The Business of Fashion gives us the lowdown on what Made in Italy really means - great comments there too!

This past weekend a brand new Target opened up in my area, so I thought I'd go on an adventure to see what it had to offer in terms of clothing.  To my surprise, this Target had already stocked Richard Chai's collection which is supposedly scheduled to launch on August 3rd.  

Pickings were a little slim and I couldn't really find anything in my size.  However, I did try on a couple dresses.  This first one was a tad bit tight (I've come to the realization that I no longer wear a size 5). It probably would've looked better with a cardigan or vest... 

This second dress has my name written all over it...

All in all, I would say that the collection delivered, although others may think otherwise.  You can't really expect too much from a $45 dress. 

About the Designer:  Richard Chai helped launch the Marc by Marc Jacobs line and has also worked under the Donna Karan, Geoffrey Beene, and TSE brands.  In 2004 Chai launched his very own collection and has received rave reviews ever since.

Update: If you've come here via Racked, click here!

For years now we’ve talked about the “lack of color” on the runways and in fashion magazines.  White models take center stage because supposedly that’s what people want to see.  They (modeling agencies) say that women want the blue-eyed, blonde hair life.  

But now, hopefully, that’s all changed.  

Perhaps all this talk has gotten into the heads of the editors over at Vogue Italia because the magazine just came out with a “black” issue that has everyone around the world clamoring to get their hands on it.  

Now let’s see if other magazines take a cue from this.  And as for Vogue Italia, well, as the saying goes…”Once you go black, you never go back!”

For those of us who missed out on this historic edition, check out Jezebel's guided tour...