Fashion News: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen win CFDA Award

The leap from child actresses to fashion designers has paid off in many ways for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Monday night they were recognized with the coveted womenswear designer of the year award at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards. It was the first time the 25-year-old sisters have been nominated, and they had fierce competition: Marc Jacobs, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler were the other nominees. Other winners were Billy Reid for menswear and Reed Krakoff for accessories. Winners of Swarovski Awards for Emerging Talent were Joseph Altuzarra, Phillip Lim and Tabitha Simmons; lifetime achievement went to Tommy Hilfiger. [Styleite]

Mary-Kate Olsen surprised everyone by showing off newly dark locks at the event. [People]

Baby, she's a rock star. England's Queen Elizabeth II took to the stage at the end of her Diamond Jubilee concert Monday night at Buckingham Palace, wearing a shimmery gold dress, pearls and her characteristic handbag but surprisingly no tiara or hat. She joined her equally flashy knights, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John, both looking a little sparkly themselves. [Telegraph]

New York Knicks captain Amare Stoudemire proposed to his longtime girlfriend Alexis Welch in Paris on Saturday — reportedly with a $1-million engagement ring that features an 8.5-carat diamond. [People]

Glenn Beck went on a 10-minute radio rant against Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and her support for President Obama. She is the devil and there was a movie about it, he said, referring to "The Devil Wears Prada." [Styleite]

The Italian press has been speculating that Giorgio Armani intends to turn his company over to a foundation, but a spokesman says there is no such plan. [WWD]

French designer Sophie Theallet is partnering with the Limited to be its "exclusive guest designer," with a capsule collection planned to debut for the holiday season. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Valentino Garavani is designing costumes for three performances that will be part of the New York City Ballet's Fall Gala in September. [Styleite]

Joanna Sykes, design director of Aquascutum since May 2010, is leaving at the end of the month in a "mutual decision," the brand's new chief executive says. [WWD]

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— Susan Denley

Photos: From top, Mary-Kate Olsen, left, and Ashley Olsen receive womenswear designer of the year award on stage at the 2012 CFDA Fashion Awards at Alice Tully Hall on Monday in New York City. Credit: Theo Wargo / Getty Images

Royals take to the stage at the end of the Diamond Jubilee concert Monday at Buckingham Palace in London. Queen Elizabeth II, in gold, is shown with daughter-in-law the Duchess of Cornwall, Sir Paul McCartney in blue, son Prince Charles at the microphone and Sir Elton John in pink. Credit: David Parker / WPA Pool / Getty Images

New York Fashion Week Fall 2012: Billy Reid's Southern sophistication

Billy Reid takes things up a notch for fall 2012 with a dressy -- dare we say elegant -- men's and women's collection.

Reid's East Coast graduate-student-by-way-of-Alabama aesthetic is still very much at the heart of the collection, but this season seems to have taken a semester of finishing school across the pond and come back a bit more genteel.

Which is just about the way it happened, says the designer who was inspired by recent travels abroad. "I spent some great time in Paris and London this past year," Reid writes in the show notes. "And I've thoroughly enjoyed mixing that vibe into the collection.” 

The shift was most notable on the men's side, with three-piece suits in heathered gray cashmere tweed, double-breasted suits in navy blue cashmere flannel, and jackets and trousers in cotton velvet. The outerwear was equally upscale with parkas lined in sheared nutria and trench coats and leather vests sporting shearling collars.

The women's collection, which has always been a bit dressier than the men's, felt downright sophisticated; belted shearling ponchos paired with floppy wide-brimmed Albertus Swanepoel hats, navy twill sport coats and blue Oxford shirts paired with leather skirts, and a side-tie trench coat with fox fur collar layered over a silk jacquard cocktail dress.

The collection's color palette was based in muted beige, brown and gray shot through with blue hues. The most eye-catching was a head-to-toe women's look -- a belted blazer, flared flannel trousers and a blouse -- in a vivid shade of cobalt blue.

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Photos: Looks from the fall 2012 Billy Reid runway show Friday in New York. Credit: Joe Kohen / Getty Images

Runway Rundown: Billy Reid spring 2012

What: Presentation of the Billy Reid men's and women's spring 2012 collection.

Where: Milk Studios

Theme: "Inspired by the revival of the American songwriter, the collection referenced the lost days of the bohemian artists living in Laurel Canyon."

What that meant: Double-breasted leather jackets, green linen plaid suit jackets and handmade quilt shorts for him; patchwork prairie skirts, hand-stitched goat suede bikini tops and knee-length shirt dresses for her; and an emphasis on hand-crafted footwear for both. 

PHOTOS: Billy Reid spring 2012 photo gallery

Tailor-made for: Today's troubadors, haute hippies and craftsmanship-craving canyon crowd -- literal and metaphorical.

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Photos: Looks from the Billy Reid men's and women's spring 2012 collection presented at Milk Studios on Sept. 9 during New York Fashion Week. Credit: Bradley Dean

New York Fashion Week: A yen for Ken, a beau for Barbie

When it comes to a focus on fashion, Ken often gets the short end of the style stick. While Barbie has been lavished with a Malibu dream house, a Corvette and designer outfits by the likes of Giorgio Armani and Bob Mackie, Kenny C (his last name is Carson, just so you know) has had to suffer through unfortunate wardrobe choices that have included mesh T-shirts, cargo shorts and a pink tuxedo.

Then, to add insult to injury, our boy Ken was unceremoniously cut out of the picture on St. Valentine's Day 2004, when the tiny couple decided to take time apart and Babs almost immediately took up with  an  Aussie surfer named Blaine. Shaving Fun Ken took it so hard that he could hardly lift plastic razor to plastic cheek to remove his faux five o'clock shadow.

But, in the lead-up to his 50th birthday (his official "birthdate" is March 11, 1961), his Q score has enjoyed a bit of a "Ken-naissance" -- he landed an acting gig in "Toy Story 3," he's appeared on billboards in Los Angeles and New York City (where he managed to wangle a Times Square Jumbotron appearance) professing his love for Barbie, and has been the golden ideal by which contestants are measured in a Web-only reality show hosted by Whitney Port and titled "Genuine Ken: The Search for the Great American Boyfriend."

And yes, the fashion community was even showing some love during New York Fashion Week -- even if it was with tongue firmly in plastic cheek.

On Feb. 13, Mattel, the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Christie's hosted "Menswear Meets Art," an exhibit that dressed half a dozen "Kens" in outfits by CFDA designers, and posed the models in front of art pieces from Christie's holdings.

The gallery was surprisingly packed, with members of the fashion flock noshing on teeny tiny tacos, bite-sized burgers and thimble-sized cones of French fries while posing for pictures with their favorite Ken -- which, judging by the line of giggling gals waiting for photo ops, was the bare-chested Beach Date Ken, who had been outfitted by Yigal Azrouël in denim utility shorts and a short sleeve cardigan and posed in front of an oil-on-canvas painting called "The Wave" by April Gornik.

Other Kens kitted out by menswear designers included Movie Date Ken (dressed by Robert Geller), Picnic Date Ken (dressed by Michael Bastian), Winter Date Ken (Billy Reid), Concert Date Ken (Nicholas K) and Formal Date Ken (Simon Spurr).

And it seems as if the new designer duds and recent interest in art might have helped Ken get his groove back -- or at least his gal, since the next day, exactly seven years after breaking up, it was announced that the couple had officially gotten back together.

Which means what Ken really needs to add to his wardrobe soon is a designer wedding tuxedo (we're thinking something cool but with roots in American sportswear -- like Thom Browne or Band of Outsiders).

And don't feel too sorry for Blaine -- we hear he's got a new gig modeling teeny tiny Ed Hardy T-shirts and trucker caps and is planning to take Midge back to the land down under for spring break.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photos: The "Menswear Meets Art" exhibit at Christie's in New York City on Feb. 13, including designer-dressed "Kens" in (top from left) Nicholas K, Yigal Azrouël and Billy Reid and (bottom center from left) Simon Spurr, Michael Bastian and Robert Geller, as well as Ken-related kitsch (second photo from top and bottom photo) . Credit: Adam Tschorn / Los Angeles Times.