Everything you need to know about fashion this week is all compiled here in a handy little post. Swot up then get out in the snow...
John Galliano makes a comeback (image via thinkboutique.com)
TODAY'S BIG NEWS: John Galliano is making his tentative first steps back into fashion with a short residency at the studio of his long-time friend Oscar de la Renta in the run up to his AW13 show. Galliano opened up to WWD, confessing that 'I am an alcoholic', going on to speak about his recovery and regret at the events which led to him leaving Dior in March 2011. He added that "I am grateful to Oscar beyond words for inviting me to spend time with him in the familiar surroundings of a design studio." Galliano has been spending time studying the history of anti-semitism as well as meeting with the Anti-Defamation League.
There has been a big focus on menswear this week, with the AW13 shows taking place in Milan and Paris. Here are a few of the highlights...
RAF SIMONS... Notice the neck tie's similarity to Stephen Jones' scarf creations for Raf's Dior debut. In other Raf news, a collaboration with Adidas was also unveiled during the Paris show.
PRADA... Surprising simplicity, with messy collars and shirt tucking
LOUIS VUITTON... Kim Jones' luxe Himalayan adventure
All menswear images via Style.com
Alexander McQueen today confirmed that their AW13 show will be scaled back to an 'intimate presentation' to allow Creative Director Sarah Burton to begin her maternity leave in peace. The deisgner is expecting twins and looked rather heavily pregnant when she received her OBE in December. The decision is a further sign that the fashion industry is getting with the time when it comes to being kind to designers.
Sarah Burton gets her OBE from Prince Charles (image via telegraph.co.uk)
American Vogue has got itself into hot water this week with a shoot based on Hurricane Sandy. The images feature models in new season looks posing with emergency workers including doctors and even on a coastguard boat. The accompanying feature tells the story of those that helped during the crisis in October so was probably intended as a well-meaning tribute to their efforts but plenty say it's in poor taste. Perhaps this is Anna Wintour's way of combining her current fashion magazine duties with setting herself up for a diplomatic or political post during Obama's second term?
Doctors plus SS13 Marc Jacobs
Army plus SS13 Proenza Schouler
Staying with the US, President Obama's inauguration for his second term takes place on Monday. While the world waits to see what he has planned for what is usually a more bold programme as thoughts of re-election are not an issue, fashion watchers are also keen to see what Michelle Obama will wear. Shallow as that may sound, the impact she has made is considerable and this is a really great piece summing up those changes. In the same way that Duchess Kate got a fringe before a very important event (announcing her pregnancy), so FLOTUS debuted her 'bangs' yesterday via her brand new Twitter account. We love.
Michelle Obama got a fringe (image via twitter.com/flotus)
It's not a complete surprise but yesterday we found out that Rihanna x River Island will launch with a catwalk show during London Fashion Week. It will take place on the Saturday and of course RiRi herself will be in attendance. Anyone keen to buy won't get their hands on the collection until March 5th.
Rihanna was a big attraction at last February's Stella McCartney LFW party
One extremely good reason to get excited about the Oscars is Quvenzhané Wallis, the 9 year-old actress who is the youngest ever to be nominated in the Best Actress category. She has been setting up huge expectations for her red carpet look with her penchant for doggy handbags and age- appropriate part dresses. She recently sang to André Leon Talley that 'fashion is my kryptonite' while The Telegraph has dissected her love for a canine themed bag.
Quvenzhané Wallis wins best Young Actress at the Critics Choice awards (image via huffingtonpost.com)
Surely David Gandy makes men feel just as bad about themselves as Kate Moss does women? (image via ftape.com)
Radio 4's Woman's Hour is something of an institution; a fact I was reminded of when I listened in this morning and items on the agenda included underage sex and a guide to the pestle and mortar. Where else would that happen? I don't get to listen very often but I made a point of finding the Listen Again option this afternoon having been out and about this morning. Earlier I had seen a tweet from the programme asking whether it's possible to be a feminist as well as working in fashion. I find myself fighting the corner for being a fashion feminist all the time so I was really wanted to see how this panned out. The guests were Angela Clarke, who wrote the column and subsequent book Confessions of a Fashionista, and Ghost founder Tanya Sarne. You could easily make an hour-long documentary on this subject- I feel like the Woman's Hour discussion barely touched the surface. Angela spoke about women being sent off to be told how to apply make-up and how to dress in her time at Harrods- a sad practice, yes, but more a symptom of working in a corporate environment which demands conformity. I have friends who work in the city, boys and girls, who are put through those kinds of workshops. The big issue with this debate is that people mistake fashion industry flaws like young models and body image for feminist problems which they aren't because they happen to boys too. I think fashion is empowering, fun and a celebration of great design, no more harmful to women than football is to men. Do you agree?
Listen to the discussion again here, it's 25 minutes in.
Christopher Kane yesterday announced that PPR have acquired a 51% stake in his business. Though it's not the end of Kane's story by any stretch of the imagination, its a huge milestone. To put it into context, I've compiled everything you need to know about Christopher from his Scottish beginnings to international fashion stardom in a kind of This Is Your Life style. It's quite a tale...
26th JULY 1982: Christopher Kane is born in the village of Newarthill, near Glasgow. Speaking about the area where he grew up, Chris says "Deprived areas are always the best dressed". He's the youngest of five children- brothers Jimmy and Robert, Sandra, who now heads up his Human Resources, and Tammy, his muse, constant collaborator, model and business partner. His Father Thomas, who died ten years ago, was a Draughtsman. His Mum, Christine, always gets a front row seat at his shows, of course.
EARLY 90s: Kane's Dad bought the first Satellite dish in their town. TV was a huge part of their life with their Auntie Sandra letting the Kane kids stay up late to watch horror films. Chris would religiously watch Versace Couture shows on Fashion TV, as well as Jeanne Barker's reports from the shows.
1994: Twelve year-old Christopher saves up his pocket money to buy Tammy a bright pink Versace Jeans Couture rubber dress for her school prom. Tammy remembers, "the teachers almost had a heart attack".
Chris and Tammy celebrate Louise Wilson's OBE (via style.com)
MID 90s: Chris goes to Taylor High, a Catholic school in Newarthil. Chris's art teacher, Jane Broughan, spots a talent and encourages him to take up life-drawing classes at Glasgow School of Art. At 14, he brought her an illustrated essay on Versace, including miniature outfits on hangers he had fashioned himself.
2000: Christopher moved to London and began studying at Central Saint Martin's, first completing a Foundation Degree in Fine Art. He goes on to do the BA in Fashion. While studying, he interned at Giles Deacon's studio: "I worked there for a couple of months as an intern. I didn’t really have any contact with Giles, but I absorbed how it all worked. It was a really useful experience."
2004- 2006: Kane does the legendary Fashion MA at Central Saint Martins under the watchful eye of Professor Louise Wilson. One night, he shows her "a nude lace dress made of stockings and cheap lace he’d bought at a Dalston market", according to Kane "Louise was smoking at the time. She looked at it, took a long draw, and said, ‘That. Is. Fucking amazing.’". Tammy was working in an Aston Martin showroom at the time but Chris would do his fittings on her after work.
Kane's MA graduate collection- March 2006 (image via thefoxyman.blogspot.co.uk)
MARCH 2006: His MA show- a collection inspired by Melanie Griffith in Working Girl- is a huge hit, winning him the Harrods Design Award. Donatella Versace and Anna Wintour get in touch. He's signed on as a consultant for Versace after turning down a full-time design role .
Melanie Griffith as Tess McGill in Working Girl
20th SEPTEMBER 2006: Kane gets NEWGEN for Spring/ Summer 2007 and does his first LFW show. It is widely declared to be a fashion moment.
"All this had been accomplished in Kane's rented living room in the East End with his sister, model, and business manager, Tammy—and a little help from Donatella" wrote Sarah Mower.
JANUARY 2007: Christopher designs his first capsule collection for Topshop. He says "Fashion is becoming more and more demographic and this will make my clothes more accessible."
2007: Christopher Kane for Topshop (image via nitrolicious.com)
FEBRUARY 13th 2007: The second collection in Kane's repertoire takes a dark turn, with a man-eating woman summing up the mood. Shoes were by Manolo Blahnik. That "fashion moment" seemed to have turned into something with real commercial possibilities; 22 dresses from the SS07 collection had sold in two days at Browns.
SEPTEMBER 2007: Kane wins Scottish Designer of the Year, but then disaster strikes as 23 pieces and a lap-top are stolen from the studio days before his SS08 show.
OCTOBER 2007: He dresses Beth Ditto for Swarovski Fashion Rocks. He later tells Opening Ceremony's Humberto Leon, "I love Beth – she is beautiful inside and out. If you have a connection with someone, it shouldn't matter what clothes size they are."
Beth Ditto in Christopher Kane (image via Glamour.com)
NOVEMBER 2007: Wins Best New Designer at the British Fashion Awards
JUNE 2008: Kane gets Fashion Forward sponsorship from the BFC, the next step in establishing brand Christopher Kane.
FEBRUARY 2009: Spring/ Summer sells out on Net-a-Porter in an astonishing 24 hours.
MAY 2009: Ever eager to make his designs democratic, Christopher launches a t-shirt line featuring key motifs from each season's collection. The BBC follows the Kane crew for a documentary Raising Kane: Fashion's New Star.
Model in a monkey tee (image from 10magazine.com)
SEPTEMBER 2009: Christopher designs his first Versus collection which is shown at a presentation in Milan. Chris's Mum and sister Sandra give a super sweet interview to the Daily Record about how they always knew he'd make it in fashion.
Versus SS10 (via style.com)
SEPTEMBER 2010: Back to neon for a "Princess Margaret on acid" collection. Fluoro lace clutch bags emerged around this time as Kane's first experiment with accessories, not that it was completely intentional, “Tammy was unwell for a couple of weeks and I made them as a little ‘get well’ gift. I thought it would cheer her up.” Chris told The Times.
"Neon gets me going" (image via ColinMcDowell.com)
FEBRUARY 2011: J Brand collaboration announced. Chris and Tammy had already worked with the L.A denim label on the 5x5 project the previous year.
Christopher Kane for J Brand Resort '12
EARLY 2012: Tammy gives birth to baby Bonnie who then stars in her own LOVE magazine shoot a few months later, obvs.
JULY 2012: Duchess of Cambridge wears Christopher Kane at the Olympics Opening ceremony
Kate in Kane (image via GraziaDaily.co.uk)
Chris on Hampstead Heath with loads of hot, young girls dressed in his AW12 collection, Dominque Young, Tali Lennox, Mickey Sumner and Cara Delvingne (image from Vogue.com)
NOVEMBER 2012: Kane denies that he is about to take over at Balenciaga, following Nicolas Ghesquiere's departure. It is also announced that he will no longer design for Versus.
JANUARY 2013: PPR buys a 51% stake in the Christopher Kane business.
It's been tough keeping this one quiet, but at the stroke of midnight today, January 15th 2013, at last the news became public (my lip has been buttoned for ages). Christopher Kane the 30-year-old Glasgow born designer has sold a 51% stake of his business to the PPR Group in order to develop his business into a global luxury fashion brand.
This is brilliant news for a designer who graduated eight years ago with his Fashion MA from Central Saint Martins, and became an instant critical and commercial success. It makes today a very good day for British fashion and the education and grant system that supports and nurtures young talent, including not least the NEWGEN scheme which launched Chris into London Fashion Week for his first colour-popping show in September 2006, for S/S S2007. (Although sadly, if Christopher Kane was looking for a university place in England today, his 18 year old self would not be able to afford the fees.)
Even better, Kane will not be moving his catwalk shows to Paris; he stays in London.
In aligning with PPR Group (Printemps-Pinault-Redoute) Kane joins an impressive portfolio of luxury brands jockeying for 21st Century domination including Balenciaga (with newbie Alexander Wang as creative director), Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent with Hedi Slimane at the helm. His achievement is particularly sweet given the biggest fashion rumour connected to his name over 2012 was that he may be heading up design at Balenciaga following his departure from Versus, and the departure of Nicolas Ghesquiere from Balenciaga. "The Balenciaga thing wasn't a bad thing" Kane told Style.com, "but I had to make sure I denied that straightaway so that the PPR investment in my business didn't look like a consolation prize."
If this still leaves you slightly baffled as to its significance for Kane and the wider fashion picture, here are a few reasons why this is important news. Fans of Christopher Kane can rejoice in the knowledge that the Dalston, East London based designer will now be able to A) open stores globally over time, B) launch leather goods (woop!) C) spend more time creating his signature collection and less time on paperwork and the running of what was very much a family business with a small team of close confidantes.
"He is still the one and only graduate who was ever awarded New Gen funding right out of college," says Sarah Mower MBE the BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent who discovered Kane while he was still at university. "We took a risk, which was stunningly well rewarded with his first neon-bandage show in Holland Park in September 2006 - one of the best London fashion shows ever and one which not only launched him, but marked the beginning of the wave of creativity and self-confidence which has transformed London in the eyes of the world." As head of the New Gen who has nurtured Kane from day one, Mower is also understandably pleased that he is staying loyal to his homeland. "I'm thrilled that Christopher has no thought of showing anywhere but London. That fact is the absolute proof and endorsement of how this city has been transformed as the international platform for new ideas."
For Kane and his business partner and sister Tammy Kane this means they needn't worry financially for a long time to come. Selling 51% of your company to one of the world's most powerful luxury groups is a mahoosive payday. Alexander McQueen is rumoured to have got £30 million in 2000 when he sold a 51% stake to the Gucci Group (as the fashion arm of PPR was still called then when it was co-run by Tom Ford).
It is worth noting that what Christopher has pulled off is even more impressive than it looks, as PPR group has not backed a young designer for a decade. Indeed, this is the very first fashion acquisition actively made by PPR chairman Francois-Henri Pinault; all the previous acquisitions were made under the leadership of Tom Ford and Domenico de Sole.
Francois-Henri Pinault described Kane as “ A truly great talent who in just a few years he has built a very distinctive and exciting brand with a unique DNA." For his part Kane told US Vogue"Tammy and I have been dreaming of what we would do since I was about nine years old...we instinctively feel that PPR understand what we’re about and how we can grow- not headlong, but step by step. It’s fantastic to have that sense of security.”
I'm so proud of Christopher and Tammy and utterly delighted for them. They have been building their brand cleverly and diligently from day one, and it really couldn't happen to nicer people. Onwards!
Another year, another awards season has begun with last night's Golden Globes, hurrah! Aside from the serious business of doling out awards for the year's film efforts, the pre-event red carpet is a phenomenon in itself. For forensic, look-by-look analysis of what everyone was wearing, you don't get much more comprehensive than Red Carpet Fashion Awards. However, the what-to-wear conumdrum is notoriously fraught with risks for celebrities, no matter how many stylists and designer loans they have at their disposal. Looking through last night's choices, it seems that there are some serious strategies to pulling together the look which go way beyond the seemingly simple task of "Do I like this look?". So, I've dissected the motives at play in last night's star line-up...
BEST FOR TWITTER TRENDING
If Twitter had existed in 2001 when Bjork wore her Swan dress to the Oscars then she would own this category, in fact purely on principle she does anyway. The key is to make a statement and create a debate. It's an especially useful tool to pull from your arsenal if you're looking for a bit of a publicity boost. It was Lucy Liu who worked this category best last night, the evidence being that her name has been trending on Twitter all morning with plenty of debate about her choice of thick fishtail plait and rose garden print Carolina Herrera dress.
BEST SAFE CHOICE
An overwhelming number of actresses are now so terrified of trying something new or very slightly daring for fear of getting it wrong and having dreaded "MISS" (rather than "HIT") stamped on their photograph that they wear something so utterly safe that it is basically boring. Anne Hathaway wore this very beautiful, completely simple Chanel dress very much in the safe category, crucially though it's still feels fresh and stylish rather than whiffing of terror.
BEST FUSION OF GLAMOUR AND MINIMAL
This category is a hybrid of the minimal, sculpted look which has been best portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow in recent times with the old-school, bling glamour of Elizabeth Taylor. Emily Blunt went for a golden (glamour tick), ab flashing (modern minimal tick) Michael Kors column with flashes of pink the her jewellery, which is the way to do glamour in a very now kind of way.
BEST FOR WORKING REAL WORLD TRENDS
I'm sure you're aware that graphic monochrome is a big thing for SS13 for the likes of you and I. The divine Julianne Moore gave us a sign that she's down with the kids by picking a Tom Ford black and white block gown. There were enough super expensive rocks and bafflingly sleek hair and make-up to render the look red carpet appropriate.
BEST COLOUR STATEMENT
Amongst a sea of nude and black bla bla bla, Marion Cotillard's tangerine Dior by Raf Simons gown is refreshing. The most important thing about this dress is the power it holds to make us think about a new colour, to signify a 2013 palette and take Simons' agenda beyond the catwalk for the world to see. Never mind the clash with the carpet.
BEST BRIT
It's a hard task heading up the British style contingent at US awards ceremonies. Michelle Dockery did a rather fabulous job of flying the flag perhaps not for a British designer but for a kind of serenely regal English rose look in her Alexandre Vauthier gown with golden guipure bodice, rounded shoulders, high neck and swooping white skirt.
BEST "WE LOOK LIKE GATECRASHERS BUT ARE LEGITIMATE GUESTS"
Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton would quite possibly win this award every time but last night's appearence was further enhanced by Burton's arm sling and Bonham-Carter's sunglasses. If anyone has seen Les Mis then perhaps you'll agree that this reminds of Bonham-Carter's final scene in the film when she, as Madame Thénardier, gatecrashes Cosette and Marius's wedding with her on-screen husband played by Sacha Baron-Cohen?
BEST SHORT DRESS
It takes guts and great legs to dare wear short to big Hollywood shindig like this but Thandie Newton in Giles did a grand job. Rachel Weisz in Louis Vuitton is also highly commended in this category but sadly couldn't actually win because she had gauzy tulle giving her legs some coverage.
BEST FOR VIRTUOSITY
It may look like your standard tux, but this is actually an "OEKO-TEX certified, low environmental impact, European spun and woven wool suiting" fabric. That basically means Bradley Cooper joined Livia Firth's legendary Green Carpet Challenge. Bravo.
The Fashion Editor at Large blog is the independent work of Melanie Rickey, the views are my own. The Fashion Junior at Large is Bethan Holt. PORTRAIT: Neil Haynes
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