The Cut

Mirdles Up Close and Personal

Sharon Clott — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:50:01 -0500

Mirdles.

Back in March, we first told you about "mirdles," or man girdles. But we only concocted a mere photo-illustration to demonstrate our point, a rendering of the possibilities that could come from Man Spanx. Today, that changed. Ahoy, LumbarWear! The Barcelona-based company created two versions for men: a boxer brief (left) and a regular brief (right), retailing for $48 each. Just take a look at the photos above. They are bulging with "personality." And though the description of LumbarWear pushes for this to be a "compression" product specialized for back pain, we can read through the marketing enough to see it's clearly for those men who care more about compressing their spare tires. For $60 on TaylorGifts.com, you can snag a pair of your own. And you thought holiday shopping was going to be difficult.

Earlier: Man Girdles Are All the Rage

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Filed Under: body issues, mirdles, spanx, underwear

Pantone Names Mimosa Its 2009 Color of the Year

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:32:14 -0500

From left, Mimosa spring 2009 offerings by Ossie Clarke, Paul Costelloe, and Nathan Jenden.

Pantone, the "global authority on color," has selected Mimosa as the color of the year for 2009. Mimosa, as in orange-hued yellow. Not black to symbolize the dismal housing market, ongoing war in Iraq, and perils of global warming. Not beige to represent the hesitation with which fashion designers are creating their collections, fearful that shoppers won't buy anything that's too out there. But yellow. Searingly sanguine yellow. Mimosa "represents hope and optimism — buzzwords for the new year after a 2008 full of instability and upheaval," reports British Vogue.

"The colour yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, tells MARKETWATCH.COM. "Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation."

As much as our cynical blogging selves want to rally against choosing a color the world does not feel on the inside right now, we have to hand it to Pantone — they are embracing a year of change. Still, we'll probably stick to drinking our mimosas rather than wearing them.

The Colour Yellow [British Vogue]

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Filed Under: nonsense, pantone

We Can’t Wait for Kelly Cutrone’s New Reality Show

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:10:23 -0500

News flash: The Hills isn't telling you the whole story about what goes down behind the scenes at fashion PR companies. Kind of like how shots of the president walking across the White House lawn don't tell you the whole story about what goes on in the Oval Office. Enter Kelly Cutrone. She might be on The Hills now, but she won't be forever. Nor will she be on Whitney Port's new spinoff, The City. As she told us during Fashion Week, she's working on her own show. Today, the New York Post reveals ex–Project Runway producers the Magical Elves are working on it, which is a highly promising beginning. Cutrone tells the Post:

"We're working on a show together that's going to showcase the nitty-gritty side of fashion publicity … Think of it as 'The Wizard of Oz' meets Stephen King meets 'Rhoda.' I'm really sure we're gonna be the first p.r. company to be on TV that showcases what really goes down."

So, if we understand Cutrone correctly, the Wicked Witch of Fashion turns out to be a scary clown that wants to tear one's face off, yet give you life advice about how to make it as a single girl living in the city? Genius!

ELVES MOVE ON [NYP]

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Filed Under: head for the hills, kelly cutrone, magical elves, project runway, reality tv, the hills

Kane, Erdem, and Schwab Win Fashion Forward Award

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:54:57 -0500

The British Fashion Council has awarded Christopher Kane, Marios Schwab, and Erdem with the Fashion Forward initiative. The designers will receive a good chunk of cash to put on runway shows at London Fashion Week and guidance in growing their businesses. This is the second consecutive year all three designers have won the award. Are there no new designers to help out? [British Vogue]

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Filed Under: awards, british fashion council, christopher kane, erdem, fashion forward, london fashion week, marios schwab

Diane Kruger Loves Buns; Glaucoma Drug Used to Enhance Eyelashes

Sharon Clott — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:20:09 -0500

Diane Kruger

HAIR
• The drug Lumigan is usually used to treat glaucoma; however, it also makes eyelashes longer and fuller. So now the drug company is trying to get the drug to pass for a cosmetic-enhancement option, even for people without glaucoma. [MSNBC]

• Diane Kruger is a big fan of the ballerina bun, be it messy or tight. [BellaSugar]

• Editors at Lucky suggest that your hair can be straight only when it's completely dry. Brilliant. [Beauty Department/Lucky]

FRAGRANCE
• Parfums Azzaro will launch Twin, a duo of scents shaped like a yin yang with the white bottle for women and the black bottle for men. Perfumer Annick Ménardo created the women's scent with top notes of rose and peach, while Michel Almairac created the men's scent with top notes of bergamot and green apple. [WWD]

SKIN
• Some men use shampoo to wash their body, says one dermatologist. And that's a no-no — it strips your skin of oils, since shampoo is designed for oily hair. So, men: Don't be lazy. Buy soap. [Dermatology Blog]

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Filed Under: beauty marks, diane kruger, fragrance, hair, skin

Anna Wintour Pontificates on the Economy, the Internet, and $50K Dresses

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:44:41 -0500

This morning in addition to clearing the air over her purported retirement, Anna Wintour spoke in one of those intellectual panel discussions alongside New Yorker editor David Remnick and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. The discussion centered on the lousy economy and Internet (oh, Condé Nast — still trying to "get it"). Jezebel attended and reports Wintour is — contrary to what her "large fur collar that did her lapel mic an injury" in the middle of the panel might indicate — coping with the economy herself. Herewith, some highlights from the talk.

Anna sees an upside to These Economic Times.

"Right now we're in difficult times, but I think it makes you a little edgier," she said. "Out of bad times can come great magazines."

She would also like everyone to stop freaking out.

In response to a question from Auletta about whether the economic downturn poses temporary or fundamental problems for magazine publishing, Wintour cautioned first against "over-reacting."

"I see a lot of people in my industry who are over-reacting. Stores that are over-discounting, designers who are creating collections for the price and what sells rather than to reflect who they are."

Even Anna bends to the economic climate, but subtly (in keeping with not freaking out, we suppose).

Recently, a sequined mini-dress "not much bigger than your shirt, Graydon" came through the Vogue offices, on request for a photo shoot. When she found out the garment retailed at $50,000, Wintour said she told everyone, "I'm sorry, but we're not putting that in the magazine, no matter how magical Steven Meisel thinks it is." (Of course, just this September, Vogue featured an entire article about a $64,300 gold-dipped mink coat. I guess it's lucky the issue closed before Lehman did.)

She's known for being an Ice Queen but felt bad about Alessandra Facchinetti's dismissal from Valentino, which the designer learned of from the Internet before she got the news herself.

She recalled how this past season when Alessandra Facchinetti was fired from Valentino after only six months as head designer, she learned the news backstage, before the show began, and got the scoop online. (The announcement was to have been made at the show's conclusion.) "It was a horrific, horrific situation," Wintour continued. "I mean, [Facchinetti] was weeping backstage, telling the whole awful story."

What Sucks About Being Anna Wintour? "Sometimes You Don't Love The Press" [Jezebel]

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Filed Under: anna wintour, david remnick, graydon carter, new yorker, vanity fair, vogue, wintour wonderland

Britney Spears to Appear on ‘Project Runway’?

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:05:32 -0500

Britney Spears celebrated her birthday at Tenjune on Tuesday. But what in the name of giant sequined bows was Heidi Klum doing there? Gossip rags are speculating Heidi might be trying to get Britney to appear on Project Runway. Remember, the season finale is taping in February, before Brit's tour starts. But also remember Britney's fashion sense and that she, well, needs some. [MSNBC]

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Filed Under: britney spears, heidi klum, project runway, reality tv, rumor mill

Versace Opens Store in Vietnam

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:01:48 -0500

Versace's Asian invasion continues. Yesterday it opened a store in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, as part of the company's 45 million euro plan to open eleven new stores in Asia. Asia is now Versace's second most important market after Europe, knocking the U.S. to No. 3. No sense in opening new stores here, after all.

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Filed Under: asia, recession proof, store openings, versace

Video: Preview of Karl Lagerfeld’s Silent Film

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:35:25 -0500

Continuing to transcend boundaries (and for that matter, himself) Karl Lagerfeld opened his pre-fall Chanel show in Paris yesterday with the ten-minute silent film he directed about Coco Chanel. Lagerfeld, who "always loved silent movies," told WWD, "Everybody this year has decided to make a movie about Chanel, and you know their historical worth is not always too exact.” Yeah, take that, movie industry. Karl cast his best friends, including his favorite male model Brad Kroenig, bodyguard-secretary Sébastien Jondeau, muse Amanda Harlech, and her daughter Tallulah Ormsby-Gore. He decided not to use extras because they "don’t know how to touch the clothes." Karl adds, “It’s a funny movie, unpretentious." See the two-minute trailer after the jump. The full movie launches on Chanel's Website tomorrow.

Teaser: Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel Silent Film [Fashionologie]

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Filed Under: amanda harlech, brad kroenig, chanel, coco puffs, karl lagerfeld, movies, tallulah ormsby-gore

Inside Vera Wang’s New Soho Store

Sharon Clott — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:04:54 -0500

Inside the store.

Vera Wang's Madison Avenue flagship store just got a baby sister — the designer opened a second shop in Soho last week. We've waited a long time to see how this new outpost would turn out, since plans of the store were first announced two years ago. But the 2,500-square-foot space is bright, clean, and happy. The store houses the ready-to-wear and Lavender labels, fragrances, and accessories on two levels of floor space mapped out to resemble a white light box. And though there are headless mannequins dangling from the ceiling wearing Vera's creations, they don't unnerve you. Designed by Gabellini Sheppard Associates, LLC, the store serves as a bright beam in the Soho shopping district, literally, as you can see the bountiful bulbs from outside. Plus, the pure feeling serves as a nice deterrent from the darker economic times. Perhaps it might even serve as an indicator for a bright retail future.

Vera Wang, 158 Mercer St., nr. Prince St. (212-382-2184); Mon.–Sat. (11–7), Sun. (12–6).

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Filed Under: first looks, shopping, vera wang

The CFDA Tries to Make Fashion Week Easier for Everybody

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:22:30 -0500

These faces demand change.

Let's face it — Fashion Week is hard. Sitting in chairs for show after show, waiting hours upon hours, watching dress after dress pass by. Worrying about making it to the next show on time, when you are in the tents wearing stilettos and it is all the way over on Tenth Avenue, (you, of course, are a black-car-less blogger). The CFDA heads probably have black cars, but they must feel our pain, because they're trying to streamline the show schedule a bit. They're encouraging designers in the same market to show together, so instead of waiting for an hour and seeing one show, we can see two or three shows in an hour time slot and perhaps not have to worry about so many wretched crosstown treks. Such a format would also save the designers showing together a considerable chunk of cash. Another cost-effective method of showing is presentations, which the CFDA is also pushing. Retailers can see several presentations in an hour. Better still, IMG is looking at taking out a venue for such presentations within walking distance (praise the heavens) of Bryant Park.

The CFDA is also feeling London's pain. That city's Fashion Week faced being crunched to just a handful of days or overlapping with New York's shows. But starting in September, New York shows will begin on the second Thursday of the month instead of Friday, allowing London an extra day for shows. So everybody wins!

N.Y. Fashion Week Dates Shift [WWD]

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Filed Under: cfda, london fashion week, new york fashion week

Fug Girls: ‘The City’ Forecast

The Fug Girls — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:40:21 -0500

When MTV handed sweet but bland Whitney Port her own spinoff of The Hills — presumably because the network has no identity anymore except as the channel that brought us Justin Bobby — we had serious reservations about her ability to carry an entire series. As if to try to appease our concerns, earlier this week the network released a new trailer for said spinoff, The City. The preview is classic MTV: edited frantically for the usual maximum salaciousness, while also attempting to prove that its collection of smug bitches and troublesome boys will fill whatever charisma void surrounds the lead. Based on the two-minute preview — in which we learned that Whitney’s legs will get equal billing with her face — we've attempted to read between the cuts and draw some hasty conclusions about what's really in store for us here. Let's watch and give it some thought, shall we?

Exhale. Now, time to discuss.

Tragic "Social" Olivia Palermo Is Spencer Pratt. Or at the very least, Heidi Montag, given their uncanny resemblance. Either way, Olivia comes off as scheming and pompous — for instance, when she straight-facedly refers to her socialite ilk as "socials" and appears, through pointed editing, to greet Whitney with a smile and then frown when her back is turned. Given Tragic P's own checkered history with her real-life socialite peers, it's amusing that MTV paints her as a quasi–Queen Bee and potential villain, bookending her appearance in the trailer with various scruffy boys warning poor innocent Whitney that New York’s rich girls are just out to destroy her. We could totally see it happening — after all, one should NEVER trust a girl whose hair is that shiny. We’re hoping for at least one incident in which, say, Whitney's forehead gets "accidentally" glued to a clothing rack.

It's Bro-Tastic: It's entirely possible that New York guys are all either sensitive male models or scruffy musicians who like to talk about their feelings. But we doubt it. Still — unlike the boys of The Hills, who seem to exist solely as instigators of drama between Lauren and her girlfriends — at least these dudes may contribute SOMETHING other than copious high fives. Particularly noteworthy is the male model Whitney courted during The Hills, who appears to execute some high-level cockblocking when it comes to the scruffy Australian Jonas Brothers knockoff she’s hooking up with now. If that drama keeps up, we might never secretly miss Brody Jenner again.

Whitney Will Do What She Does Best: And no, we're not talking about whatever her ostensible job is at Diane Von Furstenberg (we'll set odds on The Great One actually making a personal appearance at 100:1). On The Hills, Whitney offered serene head-nodding and vague advice about boys, both of which dominate her moments here. Just once we want to see her punch a wall.

Whitney's New York Friends Need to Step It Up. Other than a weeping, tiny-faced brunette, who seems to be dating the only dude on the show who doesn't want to discuss his inner self (we're calling her Audrina II), there’s nothing to latch onto within Whitney's posse other than their abject horror at Olivia "Social" Palermo. If Whitney insists on being so damn calm all the time, we're going to need some more hissy fits from the peanut gallery, stat.

NYC Is a (Fake) Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy: The preview all but depicts Whitney as a quaint farm girl braving the Big Bad City. At one point, dead serious, Whitney tells Audrina II that the lives these boys lead — which appear to involve playing pool (!) and singing in clubs (gasp!) — make her question their sincerity, as if she has never met a guy who didn't ask permission before putting his hand on her knee. Since she hardly hails from Podunk Heights, we assume this naïf routine is all for show, and that Whitney will not somehow accidentally get roped into a prostitution ring while looking for a sample sale downtown. Although that would be great for sweeps. Take note, MTV.

Related: Diane Von Furstenberg Probably Won't Appear on 'The City' Very Much
Whitney Port Reaches New, Awesome Levels of Boringness
For more of the Fug Girls, check out their complete archive.

Anna Wintour Finally Tries to Put Vogue Rumors to Rest Herself

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:06:26 -0500

On the matter of Anna Wintour's purported retirement and exit from Vogue, we've heard from Si Newhouse, French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, and a gaggle of insiders. Finally, we hear from Anna herself. "I have no plans to leave American Vogue now or in the foreseeable future," she told the New York Observer this morning as she was leaving the Plaza Hotel, where she spoke on a panel including Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and New Yorker editor David Remnick. She reinforced this message on the panel. When the moderator asked what would be next for the bigwigs, Remnick responded, "Death." To this Anna replied, "I can't really match that … I think — my father always said to me that when you get too angry that's the time to stop. The day I get too angry is the day I take up gardening." Funny this theoretical soil remains untilled. When we asked Anna about her retirement and she told us we were "extremely rude" and to "go away," we thought she was pretty angry. We shudder to think at what point "too" becomes the choice adverb to describe such a mood.

Anna Wintour Says She Has 'No Plans' to Leave Vogue; What Would It Take? 'The Day I Get Too Angry' [NYO]

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Filed Under: anna wintour, carine roitfeld, david remnick, new yorker, rumor mill, si newhouse, vogue

The Rachel Zoe Project Renewed for Second Season

Amy Odell — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:55:43 -0500

Bravo has ordered a second season of The Rachel Zoe Project. Production hasn't begun, but new episodes will begin airing mid-2009. It's still unclear if assistants Brad and Taylor will return for the second season, but as of October they were "still happily employed." Indeed, we saw Zoe running around with Brad during Fashion Week in September sans cameras, but acting just as they do when the cameras are there. Gosh, we hope they bring the crew round in February. [Show Tracker/LAT]

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Filed Under: bravo, rachel zoe, reality tv, the rachel zoe project, the twilight zoe

The Week of Multitasking Models

Sharon Clott — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:12:49 -0500

Gemma's on the Oscar track, and Iekeliene's a photog.

We enjoy weeks like this, where it seems the world spins on its axis, setting things off balance ever so slightly and stereotypes about pretty people crack wide open. We say this in light of two models who are breaking out of their silent poses, with Gemma Ward's latest foray into film, The Black Balloon, which opens Friday, and Iekeliene Stange's opening a photography exhibition in Berlin at projektGALERIE. For Gemma, the 21-year-old Australian's movie was already nominated for several awards in her home country that are equivalent to the Oscars Down Under. And though her performance wasn't particularly cited, she's gotten good reviews because, well, she can actually act! (She was also in that creepfest The Strangers.) As for Iekeliene, the 24-year-old launches a solo photography exhibit during Berlin Fashion Week this January titled "I Like Ponies." Well, that's just the sweetest fact, isn't it? The show will feature only Polaroids of her life and work, because clearly there can never be enough pictures of models being models in this world. See, there's more to these young mannequins that meets the eye. So move over, Heidi and Tyra. You can't work the multitasking-model gig forever.

Gemma Ward's The Black Balloon Makes US Debut [Fashionologie]
First Look! Iekeliene Stange's "I Like Ponies" Exhibit [Refinery 29]

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Filed Under: gemma ward, iekeliene stange, model tracker, ponies, the black balloon