Style Fix

I’ve heard of dumpster divers. I’ve even heard of freegans and people who dig in dumpsters behind food suppliers to find their meals. Then in the artistic world, I am familiar with making art from “found objects,” meaning that you use materials that might otherwise be considered trash.

But fashion from trash? That’s a new one to me, but it’s not new to Haute Trash, a nonprofit that has been turning trash into high fashion since the 1980s. (Hmm … maybe that’s what bebe was attempting to do with their 2007 dress that looked like a torn trash bag.)

When founder Susan “Polly Ethylena” Lamela was discouraged by low quality expensive clothing, she put together a fashion show where high quality designs were made out of trash bags, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and duct tape. Today, the Haute Trash fashion shows continue, using refurbished materials including paper, old raincoats, construction site fencing, bottle caps, wrappers, computer parts, and so much more.

Haute Trash has several talented fashion designers, both young and, um, less young, and puts on several fashion shows along the west coast of the U.S. throughout the year. Upcoming events include:

* Oregon Country Fair, July 10-12, in Vaneta, OR. This is Haute Trash’s 10th year of performing at OCF!

* Summer Nights street festivals in Nevada City, CA, Wednesday evenings in July. Look for the 2010 calendar, postcards, and clothing and accessories all made by Haute Trash designers.

* Nevada County Fair on August 14, at 5:30 p.m., in Grass Valley, CA. This will be Haute Trash’s sixth year showcasing at the NCF.

Photo taken by Doug Bulger at the Sixth Annual
ReStore Show.

It’s time to check in with the busy fashion designers who are struggling to stay afloat in this economy. Those that aren’t showing in the currently occurring Spring 2010 Menswear Fashion Week are busy elsewhere …

* Karl Lagerfeld shot the fall 2009 Chanel ad campaign at his Vermont home and land, giving the photos a barnyard meets Little House on the Prairie feel. See the leaked pictures at fashionologie.

* Marc Jacobs and his fiancé Lorenzo Martone have pushed their wedding date back to August to work around Jacobs’ busy working schedule.

* Nicole Richie, who is technically a designer because she has her own line of accessories, is expanding to include clothing. After the sell-out success of House of Harlow 1960, Richie will be adding shoes and clothing with “old English, equestrian and more sophisticated looks,” according to New York Magazine.

* Rachel Roy is finally getting her day in the spotlight thanks to Michelle Obama wearing a dress from Roy’s spring 2009 collection at a conference on volunteering and service in San Francisco, as shown here.

* Donatella Versace is flexing her good karma muscles by helping to inspire kids to use their creativity by donating art supplies to Art Unites, a special project of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Versace will also host the museum’s Gala and Studio Party. Find out all the details of Versace’s big heart at WWD.

* Vera Wang has signed on to be a contestant on the ninth season of Dancing With the Stars.

* And Betsey Johnson? Well, she is apparently contemplating retiring, according to an interview with New York Magazine.

This week, on Tuesday, June 16, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) held the 2009 CFDA Fashion Awards, hosted by comedian Tracey Ullman.

The winners and honorees of the 2009 CFDA Fashion Awards include:

Womenswear Designer of the Year, presented by Diane Kruger
Kate & Laura Mulleavy for Rodarte

Menswear Designer of the Year (tie), presented by Jimmy Fallon
Scott Sternberg for Band of Outsiders and Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein Collection

Accessory Designer of the Year, presented by Kerry Washington
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler

Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent Womenswear, presented by Blake Lively
Alexander Wang

Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent Menswear, presented by Blake Lively
Tim Hamilton

Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent Accessory Design, presented by Blake Lively
Justin Giunta for Subversive Jewelry

Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by musician Jack White of the White Stripes
Anna Sui

International Award, presented by Antoine Arnault and Robert Duffy
Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton

Eugenia Sheppard Award for Fashion Journalism, presented by Patrick McCarthy, Editorial Director of W and WWD
Edward Nardoza, Editor-in-Chief, Women’s Wear Daily

Eleanor Lambert Award, presented by Justin Timberlake
Jim Moore, Creative Director, GQ

Board of Directors’ Special Tribute, presented by CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg for her support and commitment to American designers
First Lady Michelle Obama

The CFDA is a not-for-profit trade association whose membership consists of more than 340 of America’s foremost fashion and accessory designers. There is also the CFDA Foundation, which is a separate not-for-profit organization that raises funds for charity and industry activities.

Veganism is still growing in prevalence in the mainstream news, even in the fashion world!

* New York Magazine’s blog, The Cut, featured Olsen Haus shoes because the brand “Makes Being Vegan Stylish.” The fashionable blogger wrote about the fast-growing, young, vegan-owned design house saying: “when we think of vegan clothes or shoes, we tend to picture shapeless sacks, earthy colors, and Birkenstock-esque footwear. … But Olsen Haus is breaking that fussy image with its chic, leather-free shoes.”

* The New York Post reported that France’s own first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, reached out to PETA to talk about her semi animal-friendly fashion choices. In a letter to PETA, Carla wrote: “I do not wear, buy, or own fur or animal skin other than leather or skin of animals raised for feeding purposes. I am not a vegetarian and I don’t find it illogical to wear skins of animals whose meat is also eaten. … I would gladly consider giving away sable, fox, and other fur coats - if I owned any.” PETA responded rather maturely and anti-abolitionist, saying that they respected Carla’s forward thinking. They did not bash her for approving of leather, instead they simply sent her a pair off vegan shoes from Stella McCartney.

* Speaking of Stella McCartney … the vegetarian designer has teamed up with Gap to design affordable, sustainable clothing for Gap Kids and Baby Gap. Read all about this new venture over at Vegetarian Star.

* Vaute Couture has been working diligently on a limited-edition collection of four vegan, high-fashion, winter coats and they are finally here! The coats, one of which is shown here, are available for pre-order right now for fall 2009, and Vaute Couture is offering to match your down payment now through June 30. So if you pre-pay $100 today toward your new Vaute Couture winter coat, they will take $100 off your remaining balance.

* Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt teamed up with vegan shoe company Macbeth to create his own vegan rocker sneaker. If you want to see the shoe and read more about it, check out my post about it at VEGdaily.

Over on the fashion blog My Fashion Life blogger Anna Winston created her dream guest list if she could have dinner with any five fashion icons, living or dead. She chose Coco Chanel as her top choice, followed by Katherine Hepburn, photographer Cecil Beaton, Marie Antoinette, Vivienne Westwood, and Debbie Harry. I won’t heckle Anna for her counting skills, but I will jump on her bandwagon and create my guest list for a dream fashion icon dinner party. Assuming Coco Chanel is a given and a freebie, here are my five “other than Coco” guests:

1. Kate Moss. I don’t understand my obsession with Kate; I think it started because she was one of the top models in magazines when I first started getting interested in fashion back in the ’90s.

2. Diane von Furstenberg. Browse this blog for a few seconds and you’ll know that I love her. I love her designs, but I also love her story and would love to hear it first hand from her. I see her as a strong business woman that didn’t sacrifice her self in order to get ahead. She deserves every success she has in life.

3. Gwen Stefani. Her style is not only over the top unique, it is also stylish - a hard combination to pull off. I would steal her away from the dinner table for a few minutes to help me put together an funky outfit.

4. Heidi Klum. More for her personality then her style, but Heidi would definitely top my list for a party.

5. Bill Blass. I love his designs, but again, as with Diane, I am a sucker for stories of overcoming hard times. A young Bill first found his artistic outlet when his father committed suicide. Plus, we’ll need some testosterone to even out all the females!

Runners up include Jackie O, Cindy Crawford, Stella McCartney, Niki Taylor, Marie Antoinette, Betsey Johnson, Twiggy, and Audrey Hepburn. Who would you invite to your party?

Tap into your inner hippie without sacrificing your inner fashionista with Sir Alistair Rai’s collection of tees, scarves, dresses, and more inspired by “Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Hindu deities, and timeless messages of peace and passive resistance.” In the line, designer Kiran Rai’s Indian heritage is merged with his love for fashion, rock and roll, and classic messages of wisdom and peace.

Drew Barrymore started the Rai craze when she grabbed a few of his scarves - which each come with its own personal message of love, peace, hope, karma, and kismet - and raved about them. Now Rihanna, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, and Halle Berry are all fans of Sir Alistair Rai (a.k.a. “Sir A”), as are Kristen Bell who is shown here wearing Rai’s Gandhi v-neck tee shirt in New York City recently, and Jessica Alba who is shown here wearing the hand-painted white Karma scarf. The Karma scarf/wrap seems to be a popular one; Nicole Ritchie and Lindsay Lohan also own it. The scarf retails for $150 - a steal considering that it is hand painted, embroidered, and features beaded fringe. The Gandhi tee is on sale right now for $63.

The scarves are easily Rai’s best designs, an easy way to a add a small pop of color and positive attitude. If you’re feeling a bit more dramatic and daring, try on one of his head-to-toe looks, such as the dress shown here: the Goa Asymmetrical Caftan, $370.

You can find the peace-and-love collection at Nordstroms, Intermix, Henri Bendels, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, and over 500 specialty stores world wide, or online at www.siralistairrai.com.

Coco Chanel’s well-known statement about taking off one accessory before leaving the house is one of my favorite famous quotes. What are fashion folk saying today? Nothing quite as memorable as Chanel’s thoughts, but interesting and entertaining nonetheless …

“I’d rather young girls were looking at a normal body like mine rather than an anorexic model.” - Peaches Geldof on her new gig as a lingerie model for Michelle Mone, as shown here. (Read more about Peaches six-figure deal.)

“Kate gave me loads of advice, there were lots of things I didn’t know about, all the industry stuff like order times and things like that. But she told me just get involved with everything and really push my ideas.” - Beth Ditto, singer for the Gossip, about Kate Moss giving her advice about starting up a clothing line. (Read more Beth and her mentor.)

“The key to this administration’s appeal is, I think, that it’s so energetic and positive, and (yes, one of my favourite words) glamorous! The first lady looked beautiful. It was so great to see a President’s wife in a hot pink dress, a jewelled necklace with a pink flower and purple eye shadow. Great hair, great make-up — this is what we want to see: confidence.” - Donatella Versace in her debut blog post after this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. (Read more about her blog.)

“I will be able to spend more time painting and sculpting as I am planning a one man show at a prestigious gallery in the west end in the autumn.” - Fashion designer and Project Catwalk mentor Ben de Lisi on the closing of his Elizabeth Street store and womenswear line. (Read more about De Lisi’s future plans.)

There was an article in the Metro, a free daily newspaper, today about actors in Hollywood during this recession. A small-time actor was whining about having to take another job when formerly he could get by on acting gigs alone. It talked about top-level actors taking more commercials, too. So, who is catching extra work in the fashion biz?

Justin Timberlake’s woman Jessica Biel is out fetching him some extra moolah (not that he needs it - he just reportedly dropped nearly $100,000 on a diamond-encrusted Chanel watch and a pair of diamond Montblanc earrings for Jess) by joining Jennifer Connelly, Jessica Alba and Halle Berry as a spokesmodel for Revlon cosmetics. Her face will debut in the makeup company’s spring 2010 campaign.

It’s nothing new, but one of the Becks is posing in underwear for an Emporio Armani ad yet again. The newest display was of wifey Victoria Beckham donning sleek lingerie and an I Dream of Jeannie inspired hairdo for the Autumn/Winter 2009/10 season, shown here. The photo was revealed today, May 6, when a 20-foot picture was uncovered in front of Macy*s Herald Square. Now that we have our Posh fix, we move on to awaiting the unveiling of hubby David’s newest near naked Armani ad.

Fasion designer Anna Sui is following in the footsteps of Alexander McQueen and designing an affordable clothing line for Target as a part of the store’s Designer Collaboration series. Sui is taking her inspiration directly from the wardrobe of Gossip Girl for her collection that will appear in a select 250 stores nationwide on September 13.

Playing make believe for a moment and pretending that there is an extra few thousand dollars just hanging out in my bank account waiting to be spent on new spring clothes, I would be all over the spring collection of 3.1 Phillip Lim. Aside from there being a bit too much silk for my vegan taste, the designs are perfect! They incorporate the blousy nature of the season’s trends but add sophisticated tailoring and asymmetric shapes that make them more flattering.

So on my dream shopping spree, these four items from Lim are my first four purchases:

This blue and white checkered print, boat neck, silk, asymmetric draped top rings in as one of the less expensive items from the collection at $275, and was easily the first piece to catch my eye.

Climbing the price range a few hundred bucks to $475, I found this simple yet sexy silk chiffon, orange and white striped dress.

For just a little more money, this classically chic, taupe, silk, asymmetric column dress costs $575. The drawstring over the right shoulder allows you a little additional personal tailoring to make the dress your own.

Ah this gorgeous multi-colored (there’s a hit of golden mustard yellow outlining all of the lavender if you look closely) striped, silk chiffon, keyhole halterneck dress is the most expensive item in my imaginary spring shopping spree. With an intricately beaded applique around the neck, I suppose this lightweight gown is worth its $795 price tag.

So if only I had a mere $2,120 I could make this dream spring wardrobe a reality, topping it off with some basic khaki capris, jeans, jewelry, and sandals.

Back in 1995, before it was trendy to make a green fashion line, Inder Bedi (shown here) founded the vegan and eco-friendly design label Matt & Nat. While completing a challenge to eat only vegetarian for 30 days, Bedi was inspired to make fashion that was vegan, but was first and foremost beautiful and luxurious. The idea was first put together as a project for college, but soon after became a legitimate fashion house.

Now, after 14 years of success in creating animal-free bags, wallets, and purses, the company has just launched a new line: samsāra by Matt & Nat. This new range is not only produced with the environment and animal welfare in mind, but $1 from each bag sold is donated to charity, helping to affect change globally. Customers get to decide which cause is most important to them - between international aid, animal welfare, women’s issues, or the environment - and the chosen cause will receive the $1 donation from the sale.

The Samsara bags are also slightly more affordable. While most Matt & Nat bags retail for $200 to $300, Samsara by Matt & Nat bags are more in the $100 range and one cute wallet even retails for $25.

According to Wikipedia, samsara “is the cycle of reincarnation or rebirth” in several religions such as Buddhism, and has to do with karma from your past life determining what you come back as in your future destiny. Thus, be good to the animals and the Earth by buying vegan, eco-friendly fashions and you won’t come back as someone’s mink coat.

My reasons for loving fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg just keep growing. She keeps making amazing clothes. She keeps saying and doing awesome, female-empowering things. And she keeps making me idolize her.

DVF’s newest iconic move, that I learned about thanks to Susan Scafidi of Counterfeit Chic fame, was admitting a mistake and taking responsibility in a heroic fashion.

For her spring 2009 collection, Furstenberg’s design team put together the “Zaria” jacket (right). Later, Diane was alerted to the extreme similarities between this jacket and one from the spring 2008 collection from the indie Canadian label Mercy (left).

Technically, there is no copyright infringement case; both fabrics are copyrighted by their respective designer, but the two are different enough. And even though the designs are near identical, this part of fashion is still not protected. Diane, being a huge supporter of legislation to protect creative work, was obviously mortified and reacted in a dignified, humble manner: she is voluntarily compensating the Canadian designers for the copying done by her and her team (who will surely be getting a heavy talking to about the difference between inspiration and carbon copy).

“It was a unique, custom pattern,” Mercy co-designer Jennifer Halchuk told the National Post. “It wasn’t based on any vintage piece, I developed the pattern from scratch myself.”

“I am devastated,” Diane told Counterfeit Chic, “but this can be a lesson for everyone.”

For a full rundown on the tale of the two silky antique rose jackets, read the entertaining recap by Nathalie Atkinson for the National Post. To check out more of the chic styles created by Mercy, visit their online studio.

When will the madness end? How many stars will create their own clothing line before enough is enough? Here are some of the newest celebs to jump on the bandwagon:

* Kristin Davis is the second Sex and the City alum to jump into the designing business. The Kristin Davis Collection for Belk department stores is meant to attract all women; Davis promises that it is not just for the super skinny or the super rich. Check out the pieces at InStyle.

* Taylor Momsen, who portrays the fictitious aspiring fashion designer Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl, is creating the wardrobe for her rock band Pretty Reckless with designer Jen Kao. Momsen’s creation are just for personal fun, though, and she sees no clothing line in her future.

* Kate Moss’s spring collection for Topshop launched this past week, and sold out in hours! Read more.

It’s the year of the eco-friendly fashion designer. Consumers want sustainable, organic, and animal product-free fabrics, and designers are providing.

When talking about green fashion, it’s impossible to avoid mentioning the queen of green, Stella McCartney. Last night, Monday March 31, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) honored McCartney at the Forces for Nature gala. The gala featured entertainment by Saturday Night Live comedians, dinner vegetarian style, and daffodil centerpieces that were replanted after the event.

Stella’s dad, Sir Paul McCartney, was also in attendance and spoke highly of his daughter’s accomplishments: “A love of nature has been instilled in [Stella] as she grew up, but I don’t want to take any credit. She’s a smart girl. When she came in to the fashion industry, she came in to Gucci, which is leather city. I was really wondering how long it would be before she’d have to cave in to the economic pressures, but she just hung in there.”

Newcomer to the fashion world but not the animal-free life, Pamela Anderson has teamed up with Heatherette designer Richie Rich to create their own eco-friendly line. The collaboration, which will be called Muse, will include leather-free shoes and casual clothes such as skirts, bathing suits, and hooded tops. Between sex kitten Pam and glitter-loving glamorous Richie Rich, Muse will surely be the first collection to successfully mix organic with sparkles. During fashion week, after Pam walked the runway for Richie Rich, she said, “I prefer to be naked, but if I’m not, I want to be wearing Richie Rich.”

Imagine you’re a budding fashion designer, making your own clothing and selling it on Etsy. You are getting some big name clients and attention, and then Courtney Love calls you. She wants a bunch of custom designed and created clothes from you.

If you are anything like Etsy fashon seller Boudoir Queen you jump at the chance, make her everything she asks for, and ship it off. And then wait. And then wait some more, because apparently Courtney Love doesn’t think she should have to pay for clothes.

Boudoir Queen owner Dawn Simorangkir filed a lawsuit against rocker Courtney Love Thursday for libel, invasion of privacy, intentional interference with her business, infliction of emotional distress, and breach of contract. After refusing to pay, Love went on to call Simorangkir nasty, lying, hoebag, thief, and a drug addict, according to the Associated Press.

Way to stay classy, Courtney.

Louis Vuitton is mad - suing mad - at Google. The legendary designer with ubiquitous logo is pissed off that searching “Louis Vuitton” (or any designer’s name for that matter) in Google returns links for counterfeit boutiques that have paid Google for these search result placements. This trademark protection battle has been ongoing for years, but now the case is finally being heard in the European Court of Justice.

Googling “Louis Vuitton” to see the reality of the situation, I was met with these results: 1. The official LV site; 2. Wikipedia’s LV entry; 3. A replica store. Of the top ten results, three were selling fakes. Google also suggested “replica Louis Vuitton” as a similar search. All of the three sponsored links appeared to be advertising genuine LV products.

“Google’s advertisement activities have given companies which sell fake products unprecedented visibility beyond their wildest dreams,” said the Vuitton legal side. Google responded by saying, “Google makes money not by reason of the nature of the keyword, but by someone clicking on the keyword. … The decision to click or not to click belongs to whom? Clearly to the Internet user.”

Essentially, Vuitton is arguing that the copyrights of his brand name extend to Google search words and thus Google does not have the right to sell them to the highest bidder.

Vuitton has previously filed, and won, lawsuits against eBay, Britney Spears, and P. Diddy. All were also regarding his trademark rights for the “LV” logo.

Watch out online counterfeit shoppers: Louis Vuitton may just sue you next.