When we think of 70′s fashion, one of the names that comes to mind is legendary fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez. The Puerto Rico-born artist was an ubiquitous presence on the NYC and Paris scenes and is said to have discovered model Jerry Hall as well as style icon Grace Jones. His illustrations were elegant and lively and often had a moody vibe that was perfect for fashion.
Antonio Lopez in Paris, 1971
Remember when designer-high street retailer collabs were still new and exciting? When Karl and Stella signed up for one-off collections for H&M? Ahh, the memories… Well, news of Jason Wu’s collection for Target and whispers of Celine (gasp!) doing a possible mass retail capsule line had us thinking wistfully about the Luella for Target collection released in 2006. Luella Bartley’s version of girly, cheeky punk penetrated her entire collection for Target, and although the clothes skewed a bit young (as do almost all of their designer collabs), it was still interesting to digest and the accessories were just plain fun. To be perfectly honest, we have luxe/mass retailer collab fatigue at this point and often find that while the pieces produced in these collections may look good on our laptops, upon closer inspection in the store, the cut-rate fabrics and construction leave much to be desired. These cute-as-a-button accessories from Luella X Target remind us of the halcyon days before these mashups became just another spoke in the brand-building wheel of a designer’s career.
Luella for Target iPod Case, 2006
Luella for Target Tote, 2006
When we learned of the limited-edition Karl Lagerfeld cosmetics collection for Sephora, we were thrilled. We love the idea of owning every item from every Chanel collection the designer has ever made and now we can add several whimsical beauty products to our wish list. The special collection includes the sophsticated yet quirky eyeshadow palette (seen above) featuring five shadows molded into the iconic Lagerfeld silhouette and a shadow brush. All of the items in this collection have the Lagerfeld touch and would make incredible gifts for the fashion obsessed beauty junkies in your life. There is a bit of sad news about the new cosmetics line – it’s only going to be available at Sephora stores in Europe and Singapore beginning November 6th. View the rest of the quirky collection after the jump!
Charles Frderick Worth Bodice, early 1880s, Collection of the Shelburne Museum
If you are a fashion geek and happen to be in Vermont before the end of October, you’re in luck. The Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont has mounted an exhibit called “In Fashion: 1690-2011″. Highlighting costumes and fashion pieces from the Shelburne permanent collection for the first time, the exhibit also features borrowed pieces from designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Balenciaga, Oscar de le Renta and Carolina Herrera. The exhibit also showcases pieces by FIT students who competed to create garments that would complement bodices that were already part of the Shelburne collection, like the Worth piece above. The exhibit runs now through October 30. As if you need any more reasons to hit up Vermont during the fall… Get more information at www.shelburnemuseum.org.
Pret-a-porTEA Tea Bags, Set of 5, $16, fredflare.com
From the “What the??” files comes this, the Pret-a-porTEA tea bag set. Yes, if you are like us, and just can’t get enough fashion, you can have 5 fashion icons nestled into your tea cup. Jean-Paul Gaultier, Naomi Campbell, Donatella Versace, Claudia Schiffer and Karl Lagerfeld are all in tea bag form, Assam black tea, to be specific. Fred Flare is always good for whimsical accessories and a good laugh, but even we were taken a bit off guard by this. But before you think it’s all fun and games, partial proceeds from the sales of the Pret-a-porTEA set go to Betharien Kinderdoerfer, a German charity that aids disabled children. The set is yet to be released, but you can add your name to the wait list at www.fredflare.com.
The resort collections are starting to wind down, which means that it is that special time of year that we wallow in deep despair and acute envy at not being able to attend the Haute Couture in Paris later this month (and see Giambattista Valli’s first Couture collection). To soothe our pain just a little, a friend of ours sent us this little gem of a clip about Christian Dior and the advent of the New Look. As if that wasn’t enough, Karl Lagerfeld comments on Dior!! It’s in German, but no worries, the images are satisfying enough on their own and the wasp-waisted models remind us to put down the Magnum ice cream bars…
