Rock & Republic for Kohl's fits like a pair of skinny jeans

 

 

Rock & Republic, once stocked in upscale department stores like Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, is back on store shelves this month -- exclusively at Kohl's -- and based on the selection sent down the runway at a press unveiling Friday, the once high-flying premium label and the value-priced retailer fit like that favorite pair of skinny jeans.

Among the women's offerings sent down the pocket-sized runway were sequined camis ($48), stud-embellished tank tops ($44 ) dresses ($70) and heels ($74.99) and denim bottoms that ranged from cuffed utility shorts ($72) to curve-hugging flare-legged jeans ($80). The men's collection didn't stray

Your morning fashion and beauty report: 'Daring Diva' Rihanna, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Middleton among names on best-dressed lists

-- People magazine is looking back over the year and has picked its 10 most stylishly dressed celebs. Making the best-dressed list: Jennifer Aniston (dubbed the American Classic), Rihanna (the Daring Diva), Jessica Alba (the Mix Master), Lea Michele (the It Girl), Zoe Saldana (Red Carpet Queen), Gwen Stefani (Rocker Mom), Kate Middleton (Princess in Waiting), Rachel Bilson (Denim Darling), Olivia Palermo (Uptown Girl) and Diane Kruger (Runway Renegade). Cute categories, though Kate Middleton's says more about her state-of-being than fashion. What do you think? Are these ladies the right choices?  [People]

-- Across the pond, fashion watchers are reviewing British trendsetter Alexa Chung's best looks of the year. [Telegraph]

-- But Fashionista has gone all out, picking its 30 best dressed of the year. Yep, 30! (The list includes many of the ladies listed above.) It's been a very fashionable year, the editors say. [Fashionista]

Now back to the nitty-gritty: As the year wanes, lots of deals are being struck in the fashion world. 

-- The bankrupt denim purveyor Rock & Republic has been acquired  by VF Corp. for a reported $57 million.  [WWD] (subscription required)

-- Meanwhile Nordstrom has acquired a stake in children's retailer Peek...Aren't You Curious [WWD] and Chinese menswear powerhouse Trinity Ltd. has agreed to take over fashion house Cerruti. [WWD] (subscription required)

-- Everybody's diversifying. Designer Roberto Cavalli announced plans to open 15 clubs and five cafes in cities around the world [InStyle] while jeweler Boucheron has signed a fragrance licensing deal with Inter Parfums SA. [WWD] (subscription required)  

-- Prada announced plans to stage a fashion show in Beijing [WWD] and American Eagle is set to open stores in Japan [WWD], showing that the lure of markets in the East is growing ever more powerful. 

-- Susan Denley

Photo: 'Daring Diva' Rihanna looked every inch the part at this year's American Music Awards.  Credit: Mike Nelson / EPA

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Prince William and Kate Middleton dressed up, then down in official engagement photos

Weddings and engagements were much in the news over the weekend, and of course we were most interested in what people were wearing! 

-- Britain's Prince William and fiance Kate Middleton dressed up, then down in official engagement photos, shot by fashion photographer Mario Testino in a two-hour session and released over the weekend. For the formal photo (right), Prince William wore a Turnbull & Asser suit, and Kate was in a white Reiss dress and Links earrings. For a more casual shot (left), William wore a Turnbull & Asser shirt and Brunello Cucinelli sweater, with Kate opting for a blouse by Whistles. Kate did her own make-up for the shoot, and looked glowing, of course! [People]

-- After four years and two children together, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden married Saturday at the Los Angeles home of her dad, Lionel Richie. Nicole wore a wedding gown by Marchesa and a 4-carat engagement ring by Neil Lane. The wedding was attended by about 130 guests -- and one elephant.[People]

-- Actress Joanna Garcia wed New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher in Palm Beach, also on Saturday. The bride wore an ivory, strapless, drop-waist ball gown and veil by Monique Lhuillier, and the groom wore a tux by Burberry London. [People]

-- And designer and former model Lauren Bush (granddaughter of President George H. W. Bush) got engaged to David Lauren (son of Ralph). [New York Post]

In other news:

-- Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal will be the new face and body of Giorgio Armani underwear and Armani Jeans' spring/summer 2011 collection. He follows in the footsteps of soccer greats David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. [Telegraph]

-- The Financial Times named the women it considers to have been the most influential over the last decade, and several fashionistas made the grade, including Anna Wintour, Kate Moss, Phoebe Philo and Michelle Obama. (OK, maybe the first lady made it for reasons other than fashion.) [Vogue UK]

-- Two companies, VF Corp. and Kellwood Co., are eyeing the bankrupt Rock & Republic. [WWD] (subscription required) 

-- Nicholas Brooks has been charged with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree strangulation in the death of his girlfriend, swimsuit designer Sylvie Chachay, which we told you about on Friday in the morning report here at All the Rage. [NYT]

-- British brand Nicole Farhi will show in Milan in January and has a new head of menswear, Massimo Nicosia. [WWD]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Prince William and Kate Middleton in their official engagement photos. Credit: Mario Testino

 

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Courtney Love, Mary J. Blige and ... Lindsay Lohan

The New York Post is the latest to weigh in on Courtney Love and her new website, WhatCourtneyWoreToday.com. The site now has 20,000 daily viewers. [N.Y. Post]

Michael Ball, Rock & Republic founder, seems to have found himself in a bit of hot water. No, it has nothing to do with his label, which went bankrupt earlier this year. The controversy instead involves professional cycling and a few names you might have heard of, including Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton. [The Cut]

If you're wondering, "What's Zandra Rhodes up to?" Vogue UK comes to the rescue. She talks about Lady Di, Christian Lacroix and designing costumes for the opera. [Vogue UK]

What? The launch of another celebrity scent? Well, yes, it's My Life from Mary J. Blige, and apparently it's selling well. [People]

And, finally, our Lindsay Lohan obsession continues. She's showing off her bikini body on the cover of September's Maxim ... and has some advice for anyone coping with adversity. Trite? You decide! [Pop Sugar]

-- Alice Short

Photo: Courtney Love. Credit: Charles Sykes / Associated Press

Lakers' Sasha Vujacic also went off the bench to model for Rock & Republic’s SV18

Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, whose two free throws helped pad the Los Angeles team's lead over the Boston Celtics in the last minute of Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, was a fit model for Rock & Republic’s new SV18, named for Vujacic’s jersey number. The blues are available in either a Restraint dark wash ($175 at Saks Fifth Avenue) or a vintage-look Perpelexed wash ($198 at Nordstrom). 

If you are a baller, athlete or a tall guy, the SV18 has a 38-inch inseam and extra leg room because not every guy can, or necessarily wants to, wear skinny low-riders.

-- Max Padilla

Photo: Sasha Vujacic in Rock & Republic's SV18 in Restraint wash. Credit: Rock & Republic.

Earth Day shopping events

Starting today and through May 10, recycle old bluejeans at any Rock & Republic store, either in the Robertson Boulevard flagship or Camarillo and Cabazon outlets, and receive 20% off a new pair. The donated jeans will go to the "Cotton: From Blue to Green" campaign and recycled into home insulation used in rebuilding communities.

105 S. Robertson, Los Angeles. (310) 285-0486. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The Mini Social, an online sample sale for children and babies, is donating a portion of sales to Fair Trade USA through Friday. Check on the website for green mommy advice from celebrities including Liya Kebede, Leslie Mann, Keisha Whitaker, Rhea Durham Wahlberg, Karolina Kurkova and Marisol Nichols.

Rock & Republic files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

In case you missed my colleague Andrea Chang's post in our Business section's Money & Company blog, Culver City-based premium denim brand Rock & Republic has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

As part of a company currently going through the same financial reorganization, this Rager certainly isn't going to cast any stones. And, to the company's credit, after rocketing to become one of the top 10 premium denim brands in the country (in just five years after the label's founding), founders Michael Ball and co-founder Andrea Bernholtz were adamant about their ambitions to take the label beyond the blue bottoms and curved R back-pocket logo that put them on the map. They had grand plans for a full lifestyle brand that included not only tuxedos, floor-length dresses, shoes, cosmetics and accessories (all of which we've seen come to fruition), but also Rock & Republic boutique hotels, cars and even an airline (which haven't).

For a look inside the Rock & Republic world of the past, here's a link to the 2007 profile I did of Ball -- it opens with him in full rock-god mode, yelling for a helicopter to swoop down on the beach to get footage of the brand's fifth anniversary party attended by the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Ryan Seacrest, Brooke Shields and Paris Hilton -- and for which he'd hired Scott Weiland to entertain the crowd.

It'll be interesting to see how Rock & Republic fares in the attempts to reorganize, and while there are certainly more than a few folks who've crossed paths with Ball who are no doubt experiencing a bit of schadenfreude, the fashion world loves nothing more than a good comeback story.

And if anybody's meteoric rise, rapid descent and rocky road ahead seems tailor-made for reality TV redemption (and let's make it clear -- we haven't heard of such -- we're just spit-balling here), it's Ball's. I can only hope that copter footage is somewhere safe -- it would be perfect for the opening scene of episode one of a reality show.

"Michael Ball: Tangled Up in Blue," maybe?

-- Adam Tschorn

More All The Rage coverage of Rock & Republic

Photo: Rock & Republic's chief executive and creative director Michael Ball fits a model in a September 2007 archive photo. The line he co-founded in 2002 recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and All the Rage thinks Ball's out-size ego and brash ambitions make him a tailor-made candidate for reality TV redemption. Credit: Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times.

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Liv Tyler for G-Star Raw. Cynthia Vincent for Target. Rock & Republic files Chapter 11.

Liv Tyler is G-Star Raw’s new model and muse. [People StyleWatch]

Eugenia Kim's and Cynthia Vincent's Target collections. [Nitrolicious and Nitrolicious]

Jennifer Hudson is the new face of Weight Watchers. [People StyleWatch]

L’Occitane does a beauty line. [WWD, subscription required]

Rock & Republic files for Chapter 11. [Fashionista]

The polls for CFDA's People's Choice Awards -- er, 2010 Popular Vote Award -- are now open. [Style.com]

Jesus Luz loses his shirt for Ellus Leather Denim. [Just Jared]

Start your baby registries: What's possibly next up for the Net-A-Porter creator? Petit-A-Porter. [Fashionista]

Georgia May Jagger says she's not replacing Peaches Geldof as Miss Ultimo. [Vogue UK]

New website Fashion Stake lets customers buy stakes in fashion designers' collections. [Reuters]

-- Whitney Friedlander

Photo: Rock & Republic spiked heel. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

More Fashion's Night Out in Los Angeles

Rock n' Republic is joining the festivities for Fashion's Night Out, the global initiative being spearheaded by Vogue magazine that is supposed to get us all out shopping again. (I'll believe it when I see it.)

For the event, Sept. 10 from 6 to 11 p.m., the *Robertson Boulevard boutique will be offering makeovers, giveaways and limited-edition leggings for sale with gunmetal studding ($178). CEO/creative director Michael Ball, never far from the center of attention, will be guest-DJing. The official Fashion's Night T-shirt will also be available at the store, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York.

For details, go to www.rockandrepublic.com. Don't bother going to the official Fashion's Night Out website because for some strange reason, Los Angeles didn't make the cut in the list of local events. I mean, really, doesn't Conde Nast have an intern who could fix that?

-- Booth Moore

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Photo: Rock n' Republic Fashion's Night Out limited-edition leggings. Credit: Rock n' Republic.

*An earlier version of this post gave the incorrect location for the event

Google hits the tents at Bryant Park (sort of)

It's a follow-up to the handful of designer templates we told you about in May, which iGoogle’s product marketing manager Michaela Prescott said had been installed on "hundreds of thousands" of iGoogle home pages since.

Just in time for the first show of the day at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Google took the wraps off its latest collection of homepage themes including a dozen and a half by fashion brands including Burberry, Gucci, Michael Kors, Stella McCartney, Jimmy Choo and Rock & Republic.

"The most popular ones to date have been Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Ecko," she told us earlier today, "And Coldplay." (In addition to fashion, the collection also includes musician-themed pages by Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley and Faith Hill.)

It’s a win-win for both sides; the Silicon Valley company gets to gussy up its goods with the desktop equivalent of designer duds, and the fashion brands get to try their hand at designing a few of the road signs on the busiest lane of the information superhighway.

Among our favorites in the new crop of page toppers are Paul Frank Industries’ brightly colored Julius the monkey and his cartoon pals, and the polka dots, jellyfish of Kate Spade.

And if Google’s taking suggestions for next season, how about partnering with venerable clothier Brooks Brothers? With the continuing surge in preppie revival in men’s wear, what could be possibly be more popular than a navy blue homepage –- with clickable brass buttons?

— Adam Tschorn

Photos: IGoogle artists themes by designer Michael Kors, top, and Vivienne Tam. Bottom, iGoogle's display in the Bryant Park tents during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Credits: Google.com for top two images; Adam Tschorn, bottom.