THIS WEEK'S FASHION LOWDOWN...LANVIN'S "REAL" WOMEN PLUS A BIT OF SHOPPING

Posted by Melanie Rickey and Bethan Holt, Team FEAL

Our usual news update takes on a slightly different guise for the moment - as you read this Bethan is on her way to Cornwall for the weekend to attend her first Port Eliot Festival. So, together, we've decided to bring you a round-up of the best fashion stories of the past week to keep you all in the loop. As always, the fashion machine cranks to a halt in July and August while its members take their summer holidays before the fun of September and October fashion shows. Look out for Bethan's Port Eliot updates on Instagram and Twitter.

For now then, here's all you need to know...

Meet the new faces of Lanvin. 
Woman #1
Her name is Jacquie Tajah Murdock, and she is an 82-year-old African-American woman who was born in Harlem and had a long career as a dancer before retiring to state funded housing in Greenwich Village, New York City. Imagine her surprise, then, when the street style photos taken of her by Ari Seth Cohen for his brilliant blog Advanced Style were spotted by none other than Steven Meisel and Alber Elbaz of Lanvin who cast her in the latest Lanvin advertising campaign for AW12.

Meisel and Elbaz looked outside of the usual pool of genetically-blessed models for this campaign, aiming for something more "real."  Though an 82 year old in Lanvin by Meisel is about as real as Carla Bruni's suspiciously smooth forehead. The designer explained his decision to use non-models to Women's Wear Daily :"I was interested to bring these clothes back to the street somehow, and seeing how they look on different ages, different sizes. It felt like a crazy family, and I like that."

And here she is.. I'm guessing the below is not Jacquie's apartment.. but still FEAL applauds anything outside standard fashion behaviour. The other "real" woman in the campaign has not yet been named, but we're guessing her life story is as extraordinary as the wonderful Ms Murdock's who told The Daily Beast her future plans: "Paris!"

Jacquie Tajah Murdock in the Lanvin AW12 Campaign

Midnight update on Woman #2

This is Stella Rose, a self described "female drag queen" which means that she is a woman who dresses like a man who dresses like a woman.  And a fine specimen she is too. Thanks to @JenikaClair on Twitter I now know this, so couldn't resist a late night update. Stella Rose has a blog called Confessions of a Female Drag Queen. Here are a few of her insights into her day on set...

Stella Rose in Lanvin Autumn/Winter 2012 Campaign by Steven Meisel

"Yes, I was street cast for this. If anyone is trying to make you feel bad for looking different I am telling you now that this is where being yourself will get you. 

Yes, Steven Meisel shot this. He was very nice and the shoot went completely smoothly. It was an absolute honor to shoot with him and his team.

Yes, Alber Elbaz was there. He dressed me- hand picked my outfit and everything while a team of french ladies put me into it. Both sample dresses were too big on me and I was pinned into this one. So take that everyone who has a problem with skinny models."

Adorable, right? 

An AW12 look from Wes Gordon, one of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominees. 

The short list has this week been announced for one of fashion design's most coveted prizes, the CFDA/ Vogue Fashion Fund which was won last year by the gorgeous Joseph Altuzarra, who took home $300,000 to grow his business.

The 10 shortlisted designers for 2012 won't be sitting on their laurels until the winner is announced on November 13th. Instead, they must complete a series of challenges including presenting their work to a judging panel and making a one-off piece for Tiffany & co. The nominees include one of Melanie's favourite sunglasses makers, Illesteva.

Andrea Lieberman, A.L.C.
Greg Armas, Assembly New York
Sofia Sizzi, Giulietta
Justin Salguero, Daniel Silberman, and Alina Silberman; Illesteva
Jennifer Fisher, Jennifer Fisher Jewelry
Jennifer Meyer Maguire, Jennifer Meyer
Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty, Suno
Tabitha Simmons, Tabitha Simmons
Greg Chait, The Elder Statesman
Wes Gordon, Wes Gordon

The divine Valentino Resort (image from style.com)

In another sign of the times, Italian makers of fairytale dresses Valentino, has been sold to an investment group believed to be owned by the Qatari royal family which also counts Harrods among their assets. It's a long way from the early days under founder Valentino Garavani, who retired from designing for the label in January 2008. £556 million was reportedly paid for the business by Mayhoola for Investments. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli will remain as creative directors, which we're very happy about after drooling over their gorgeous Resort collection. 

Yves Saint Laurent blows a kiss at his Autumn/ Winter 2000-1 couture show (image from bbc.co.uk)

Since he was appointed to Yves Saint Laurent in March Hedi Slimane has caused a stir, first by deciding to rename the ready-to-wear label of the brand "Saint Laurent Paris" and secondly by showing his first collection, Resort '13, to select buyers only. However, his latest pronouncement may appease those whose feathers have been ruffled up to now because he has hinted that he may bring Yves Saint Laurent back to the couture calendar. He has reportedly told Vogue Paris that "Haute couture is a legitimate subject for Yves Saint Laurent and could resume one day" Watch this space. 

Joanna Sykes' final collection for Aquascutum (image from catwalking.com)

Joanna Sykes, formerly at troubled Brit brand Aquascutum, has got a new job as Creative Director at Nicole Farhi. She starts in September and will show her first collection for AW13. Sasha Wilkins, a.k.a LLG, summed up Sykes' appointment rather brilliantly, writing on her blog "Finally we can expect something new and fresh from a Nicole Farhi show, rather than just the prospect of dozing fitfully through one. It’s just the jolt that the label needed to make it relevant again." We couldn't agree more.

THINGS TO DO & BUY THIS WEEKEND:

A cap created for the Opening Ceremony pop-up by needlepoint experts Tucker-Blair and Harding Lane (image from WWD)

If you're in London, get down to King's Street, Covent Garden on Friday 20th July and onwards where Opening Ceremony's olympic pop-up launches on Friday. It is a long forgotten fact by most people in the industry that Opening Ceremony was originally founded by Humberto Leon as a way to celebrate the diversity of the Olympiad through fashion.  Opening Ceremony adopt the Olympics mission statement for the brand ethos; to creatively merge sports, business, and global participation. There will be exclusive collaborations and great pieces from Adidas, J.W Anderson, Rodarte and more. Surely the most stylish way to get in the mood for the coming sporting extravaganza. 

Jonathan Saunders' charity tee for Matches(image from hypebeat.com)

If you the weather does turn and we get some sun then you'll be needing a t-shirt. Happily, Matches have teamed up with J.W Anderson, Mary Katrantzou and Jonathan Saunders to create some very cool t-shirts to raise money for the Evening Standard's London Dispossessed Fund. Mary has even recreated her legendary AW12 typewriter print for the project. Get one for £60 from tomorrow (Friday 20th). 

Mary Katranzou's typewriter for charity print (image from hypebeast.com)

Set your Sky Plus/ phone reminder for the last instalment in the Ab Fab comeback, due to air next Monday evening. This is the one centred around the Olympics and starring Stella McCartney alongside Patsy, Eddy and Saffy. We can't wait!

Olympic style, the Ab Fab way (image from vogue.co.uk)

YOU SHOULD KNOW...

Kate Middleton has not done her first magazine cover, as this dodgy photoshopped issue of South African Marie Claire might suggest...

Kate Middleton does African fashion, not (image from huffingtonpost.com)

Harper Beckham can WALK.

Mario Ballotelli has sounded the rallying cry for this Summer's best beach look war. Mohican, neon accessories and underwear as swimwear, Mario?? We're hooked already and look forward to bringing you more of our top ranking twisted beach looks in the coming weeks...

I'm Sexy and I Know It Balotelli 

IT'S MUSIC/FASHION LOVE-IN WEEK: LANA FOR H&M, MADONNA SHOES...

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Lady Gaga shot by Steven Klein for the launch of her Fame perfume (image from celebuzz.com)

We may as well call these few days "The Week when Fashion and Music Got Married". Obviously, it's not like the two haven't been shacked up for quite some time but as well as RiRi's River Island project (see Melanie's post yesterday), there's Lady Gaga's perfume campaign shot by Steven Klein, Lana Del Rey modelling and singing (NOT designing, well not yet anyway) for H&M, Kate Moss in George Michael's new video and Madonna's shoe collection, Truth or Dare, landing at Selfridges. Phew. Now we're just waiting for Jessie J to announce a major wig collaboration and the union will be complete.

It's all rather genius. Music stars draw us in not just with their songs but with the image they portray when they're singing to us, whether that's live or via YouTube or Vimeo. Lana Del Rey's atmospheric, Nancy Sinatra-esque vocals become even more emotive and beautiful when you see those devastating lips and beehive hair staring out at you through Vaseline smudged camera lenses. By getting in on the fashion game, fans can feel like they're buying a piece of Gaga/ Rihanna/ Lana magic, even if we can't be a global megastar. 

Lana del Rey shot by Inez and Vinoodh for H&M (image from H&M's Twitter @handmunitedkingdom) 

Gaga's perfume IS magic actually because it's the world's first ever black fragrance, turning transparent when it's on the skin. It smells of "tears of Belladonna, crushed heart of tiger orchidea, with a black veil of incense, pulverized apricot, and the combinative essences of saffron and honey drops" if you can imagine that. It's quite hard to walk down the street in Gaga-ish get-ups, but if you're a "Little Monster" you can at least smell like your beloved Lady. Tongue-in-cheek music website @popjustice tweeted the following yesterday in response to news that Gaga is not just doing perfume, but also a range of stationery emblazoned with inspirational phrases like "Be Yourself":

Popjustice ‏@Popjustice

Personally I'm holding out for a range of inspirational, life-affirming Lady Gaga cheese graters.

Clearly there's a fine line between becoming a expanding the brand and inviting these kinds of digs.

Madonna's Truth or Dare shoes at Selfridges cost between £80 and £200

Madonna's shoe collection is mostly comprised of black, pointy heels. They verge on the dominatrix but the (subliminal) message is that if you'd like a little dose of kick ass, Madge style without slipping into extreme corsetry and leather then you can slip into a pair of these. Even the name Truth or Dare evokes Madonna's rep for shocking, explicit behaviour. And if, like me, you quite fancy getting a bit of Lana retro loveliness in your life then we can scramble to H&M and get the clothes that the lady herself has been shot in by Inez and Vinoodh (though perhaps not the barely there leggings in the above shot). Perfect, and much more accessible than a Mulberry Lana handbag, though I'm sure many will stretch to that. Will they also be selling hair extensions to achieve that mega bouffant? Finally, George Michael added hype to his new single by inviting Kate Moss to prance through it in a fur coat, undoubtedly adding much-needed glamour to his grim recent history of car crashes and illnesses which he addresses in the lyrics and video. He also adds a zebra for good measure. 

Back to Jessie J and she really is the missing link here. Now that The Voice is over, it's an ideal time to commercialise her goth meets gangsta via vintage store look. I'd love to see a hair or beauty link up for her too, that blunt fringe and bold eyes and lips are just as much part of her look as what she wears. Come on Rimmel/ ASOS etc. and get Jessie on board!

RIVER ISLAND BECOMES RI-RI ISLAND AS RIHANNA JUMPS ONBOARD

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

When it comes to shopping the British high street, TopShop has been pretty much my only destination for as long as I can remember; from girl to woman. Sure there was a brief flirtation with Gap back when their European design team was based in London. Then at the advent of each new fashion season I hit up Zara as well as making a few judicious designer purchases from Celine, Givenchy and Acne.

I'm not about to say I shop at River Island, I don't, but my 23 year old sister does. She says their jeans are for girls with "booty" whereas TopShop's are for "skinny girls". Anyway River Island's recent activity has given me pause to take them more seriously as a fashion player on the British high street at this recession hit moment. First there was the cleverness of the brilliantly eclectic "Blogger Trend" at their AW12 press day back in early May. When we covered it on this blog, the story went viral with what felt like everyone in the fashion blogosphere wanting to share their thoughts on the matter.

But yesterday River Island scored the biggest and best PR coup in its 64 year history, simultaneously knocking their local and global competition into a cocked hat and no doubt jolting their rivals TopShop into speechless surprise: they revealed they had signed up Rihanna to design a Spring/Summer 2013 collection for them, in collaboration of course. Actually, unbelievably, they revealed that Rihanna had asked River Island - or as it has been renamed RiRi Island - if she could design a collection for them. Presumably she set the no doubt gargantuan fee structure too while the executive were foaming at the mouth ££ signs in their eyes...

The breathless coverage meted out in the British national and digital press today has been nothing short of cringeworthy in its overblown excitement. It supposes that all we have been waiting for in our lives is the chance to buy a jewelled cap, some high tops and an animal print onesie with laddered thigh sections - as if we couldn't already!

Anyway, the fashion chameleon that is the awesome Rihanna also happens to be the world's biggest popstar with the most followed style amongst young women and bloody hell if a British high street chain didn't go and land the big fish! Girls under 25 with a Rihanna single or five on their playlist will be lapping this one up if only for the fairy dust of their icon to rub off on them.

Someone at River Island is doing something very right. Maybe it is Ben Lewis the Cambridge University educated CEO of River Island (and nephew of the chain's founder Bernard Lewis) who recently took over the reins of the 300-store strong fashion chain after working in every department of the business over the last 20 years? But when I asked, typically as with most high street fashion press offices, the girl on the desk knew very little and is not authorised to say anything other than "it is a group effort" and other obfuscating inanities. Well, it is a privately owned company so they don't have to say anything. So well done, Ri-Ri Island. Now onto guessing what River Island and Rihanna will do together..

All that remains is for me to wonder:

1. How Rihanna's friendship with Chloe Green (daughter of Sir Phillip Green, TopShop's owner) is faring after the news hit yesterday?

2. Why DID Rihanna choose River Island over TopShop? Or did TopShop say no to Rihanna because they only work with fashion designers? Hmmm.

3. Is Rihanna prepping for a career change? Not only is she creating this collection with River Island, she has executive produced a TV fashion talent show with Sky Living HD called "Styled to Rock" which airs later this summer...

4. What do you want to see in this collection? Will you be buying? I'm looking forward to it in a twisted kinda way. 

Hmm.. maybe I'll do this one in leopard print with gold studs.. Rihanna with her serious fashionista head on,
shopping River Island back in March (from mirror.co.uk)

THE MANY FASHION PERSONALITIES OF RIHANNA...

A nice red carpet dress... 

Bootylicious bikinis and summer wear

Basics with a Ri-Ri twist

Sportswear, denim, hoodies, micro shorts

Caps..River Island is already doing Ri-Ri style for Autumn 2012

High tops: River Island collection Autumn/Winter 2012

Fuck-off sexy boots: River Island collection Autumn/Winter 2012

Blingin dresses: River Island collection Autumn/Winter 2012

WHAT HAS LIZ JONES DONE FOR AMERICAN APPAREL DISCO PANTS?

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

You can always trust Liz Jones, the Daily Mail's resident image-obsessed columnist and token cat lady, to come up with a blinder every week or two, but it's usually along the lines of sperm stealing or facelift shockers. Today, she has surpassed herself by donning disco pants. Unless you've been living on Plantet Zog for the past year, you'll know that these are the high-shine, uber tight, £70 American Apparel leggings which every other girl under the age of 25 seems to own. I hasten to add I'm not one of them- I wouldn't put my thighs through the public humiliation. Now Liz is in on the trend, testing them out for her Fashion Therapy column. I'm pretty sure a number of readers will be needing therapy after seeing the picture. Not that Liz looks REALLY bad in them- she's pretty much the shape you really need to be to carry these off (skinny with a good bum and long-legged) but she certainly doesn't fit the demographic which has been owning the trend so far. Jessie J, Solange Knowles and Cher Lloyd are all fans and everyone we see wearing them fits that young girl with a bit of attitude vibe. If they'd been my wardrobe staple for months and I saw the article, I'd be mortified. I'm no ageist but I'm expressing the dilemma we all know when we see someone of a wildly different age to ourselves wearing something we love.

Liz Jones in disco pants in today's Daily Mail 

So what does Liz's decison to wear disco pants in Britain's most read daily paper mean for the trend? Are you going to stop wearing yours? Or perhaps you're a woman of a certain age who hadn't realised that spanxy, shiny leggings were majorly hot right now and now that Liz Jones has worn them, you feel like you can too? Has liberated you and opened your mind to wearing something you didn't think you could?

American Apparel's fresh faced, verging on a bit porny disco pant ads (image from http://martytoes.tumblr.com/) They're £70, from here

The disco pant's usual mode of styling (image from http://summertimesadnessxo.tumblr.com/)

We've gone on a bit of a mental journey, imagining further milestones in middle-aged women grabbing a trend. We're picturing Nancy Dell'Olio rocking up to various soirees in one of the many colour ways which disco pants come in. Then, the Loose Women will all be sporting them one lunchtime. Next Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will wear them for the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Not long after that, Donatella Versace might wear them in peacock to take her bow at Versace SS13. Will Helen Mirren and Imelda Staunton perhaps adopt them as alternatives to the usual dress on the red carpet? Finally, Hilary Clinton could wear disco pants while she's on the political campaign trail this Autumn- she already loves a scrunchie which is another American Apparel signature. Is this getting ridiculous?

The original disco pants which Liz age ladies will remember, Grease's Sandy (image from dailymail.co.uk)

I'm just interested to see how introducing the disco pant to a whole new audience will play out. Liz's perspective, which uses Olivia Newton-John's Sandy from Grease as visual reference,  gives the disco pant a fresh slant. Although she admits "if you can remember Newton-John’s tacky trousers from the first time around, step away from the disco pant. It’s a look for the very young and long of limb, not the positively geriatric", she actually plants a seed which tells those who do remember that maybe they could relive the disco moment of their youth if they still have the figure. Instead of being worn with brothel creepers or high tops, it'll be heels and pretty tops. From today, the disco pant is no longer just about being part of a certain 2012 rebel girl tribe. And I'm betting that Liz Jones is a million miles from the kind of brand ambassador American Apparel would ever have expected, or wanted, to attract.

Do you own disco pants? Will you carry on wearing them? Are you going to let your Mum/ Auntie/ Grandma borrow them? Are you Liz's age and now thinking perhaps you could pull off disco pants?