Prince gave us a surprise serenade of "U Got the Look" at Matthew Williamson's show in London, and now Rihanna has popped up at DSquared in Milan.
The sexy songstress was chauffeured onto the runway in a black Ford Thunderbird. She hopped out of the car wearing what amounted to a black silk negligee, flirted with a few of the shirtless mechanics who were on hand as set decoration, and headed down the runway to take the first spin.
But alas, no live singing, which left everyone having to sing to themselves "Ella, ella, ella, ay, ay, ay, ay...."
Guess they would have had to pay her another $100,000 or so to open her mouth.
Rinascente, the grand old Milan department store where Giorgio Armani got his start as a window dresser, has gotten a makeover. It now has an entire floor of designer handbags by all the usual suspects (Dior, Chloe, Marc Jacobs, YSL). A new clothing floor features Theory, Diesel, Splendid tees, See By Chloe and more.
It looks really slick and seems finally to be the department store Milan deserves. But I have to say, I kinda miss the old place, where you could get tie-dye shawls and trendy patent leather hats for 10 euros, the store's house label nightshirts for 20 euros and sweatshirts by the strangely named brand Marlboro Classics.
I arrived in Milan to a beautiful Indian summer day. The shows began Monday afternoon, but first I headed to a showroom to see the collection by Graeme Black. The Scottish designer worked with Armani before taking the helm at Salvatore Ferragamo. Now, he's leaving that mega-brand to focus on his own label.
The spring collection is inspired by Japan but not too literally. (No obi belts.) Instead, Black picked up on Japanese arts and crafts from traditional basketry techniques to the work of Isamu Noguchi.
The look was right on trend with the safari styles and earthy, ethnic prints seen at Proenza Schouler and Donna Karan in New York.
There were several knockout cropped jackets in woven leather or skins that were actually light enough to wear in L.A. But my favorite piece was a sheer organza jacket with balloon sleeves, embroidered with thin scrolls of leather. Black showed it two ways -- tucked into a white pencil skirt and belted outside. There were several chic jersey evening dresses too, one in a deep shade of cinnamon with a woven bodice and low back, another with copper beads snaking around it.
Black plans to show at London Fashion Week next season and has a trunk show coming up at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills in October.
Today I had the exchange-rate blues, so I decided to check out Primark, the new cheaper-than-cheap chic mega-store that's taking the U.K. by storm. A subsidiary of Associated British Foods, Primark has opened 170 stores in the U.K., Ireland and Spain over the last few years, but the crown jewel is the Oxford Street store that opened in April.
At 70,000 square feet, the place is Wal-Mart big. And if you think Top Shop is the seventh circle of hell, you ain't seen nothin' until you've been here, where stray shoes and shirts are constantly being swept up by staff and shoppers are practically stripping naked in front of you trying things on.
I had to laugh when the first thing I saw when I walked in was a "Malibu" T-shirt for 4 pounds. I was skeptical at first -- you could practically smell the desperation of the Third World on the 6 pound Empire tops and 8 pound peasant dresses (though the company is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, whatever that is).
But once I found the jacket section I was right along with everyone else, fighting for an inch of space in front of the mirror. I snatched a 20 pound metallic silver linen princess coat and headed upstairs where I found jewelry, housewares and men's. Then I saw the shoes: 4 pound ballet flats in a rainbow of colors and boots for 12 pounds. (I spent nearly half an hour deciding on a pair, settling on a weathered gray, mid-calf style with lacing in back).
"I want EVERYTHING!" I overheard a pair of American teenagers cooing. But really, the place was packed with all ages. After about an hour, I'd had enough. I had to get out immediately. So I paid for my two purchases and headed back out onto Oxford Street, which after Primark seemed an oasis of calm.
Wow, does Matthew Williamson ever know how to stage a homecoming. The British designer, who has shown in New York the last few years, brought down the house here Wednesday when he started his show by sending twin dancers in purple dresses boogying down the runway.
Then, in the blink of an eye, out popped Prince from the front row with a microphone. He took the stage and got everyone clapping before the clothes even started to come out. The collection was, as always, awash in ethnic-looking prints that this season were vaguely African-inspired. It was a hit, which is great for us because word has it Williamson has an L.A. boutique in the works.
Christopher Kane is turning out to be the biggest star to come out of London Fashion Week in a long time. His collection, presented on Monday, sounded scary in the show notes. Any mention of "panniers" generally does not bode well. But what appeared was totally unique and couldn't have been more different than his dark, velvety, medieval fall.
What he debuted was totally romantic, a kind of Edwardian country-heavy metal mix, or Roberto Cavalli meets Laura Ingalls Wilder. There were lots of feminine ruffles, light chiffons in snakeskin prints and zippers, all with a sexy spin. How genius it was to do a bike jacket in chiffon thrown over an airy snake print shirtdress with crystal buttons, and a buttery leather skirt in a new longer length with rows of ruffles falling around the hips. He even brought back the stonewashed jean ripped at the knees and cut slim over high-heeled booties reminiscent of Manolo Blahnik's famed haute workboot of a few years back, the Okla Mod. Jonathan Saunders had similar bootie styles, only color-blocked. Yee-haw!
I stopped into Saks Fifth Avenue last night for a party to celebrate the new shoe floor on eight that's so big, it has its own Zip Code: 10022-SHOE (technically a plus four but oh well). The place was swarmed, which is what happens when you mix shoes and Champagne, and there were quite a few sales. The selection is larger than your average Saks store for sure, but not the largest I have ever seen -- that honor goes to Selfridges in London. But they had shoe-shaped chocolates made for the occasion, and special postage stamps with shoe drawings by Giuseppe Zanotti and other designers -- perfect for mailing that Saks bill.
Max Azria scored a front-row coup on Friday when a barely-pregnant-looking Nicole Richie showed up at the very last minute with not one, not two, but six handlers.
The New York shows are well underway, but what everyone here is buzzing about is Valentino's announcement that he will retire after his January couture show. It wasn't two months ago that the designer feted himself in Rome with three days worth of parties to celebrate his 45th anniversary in the biz, including one at the Coliseum. What will his red carpet ladies do? Who will be the master of the red dress after he's gone?
There was the summer of Keds, the summer of Supergas, the summer of velcro Reebok high-tops, and in Paris this is the summer of the Bensimon. Ked-like, these simple canvas shoes have rubber toe caps and come in lots of pastels and at least two styles — one is a slip-on, the other a lace-up. Though the chic way to wear the lace-ups is sans laces.
They look great with skirts or cropped pants — just think of them as the French take on the now-ubiquitous flip-flop.
Alber Elbaz for Lanvin really doesn't need that runway
I'm in Paris for the couture shows, the biggest of which is the Dior extravaganza on Monday night at Versailles to celebrate 60 years of the house. The longest runway in the world, a who's who of models from past and present, an all-night party afterward in the garden — I can hardly wait.
But I started my day in the much quieter realm of Alber Elbaz's Lanvin. The designer had invited small groups of journalists to a suite at the Hotel Crillon to walk us through his pre-collection.
Elbaz is such a wonderful communicator when it comes to his clothes, you have to wonder whether he should even bother having runway shows. I would rather pop in a DVD and see him explain and demonstrate how each piece works, as he did Monday morning.
The standout was a three-in-one dress he said he had designed in response to women's complaints that they buy a nice dress for a special occasion and can wear it only once. Alber tugged at the top of the black silk column with a lace hem and then it became longer, and longer again. Brilliant!
"As designers, so often we start with a dream of Mexico or something like that, and then we bring that dream into the show," he said. "I want to start with a need and bring the dream into that need."
Another standout was a creamy white shirtdress, as easy as a nightgown, cut on a spiral with delicate pearl buttons. Wear it alone or over jeans or under one of Elbaz's soft black jackets with mismatched jeweled buttons.
Speaking of nightgowns, Lanvin is expanding into more categories including sleepwear, with silky pajamas with grosgrain ribbon trim and pearl buttons that look far too pretty to keep in the house. Elbaz offered a few tracksuits, too, not particularly for exercise but "for the plane," he said. Hence a blanket-like cardigan and pull-on pants.
But by far the most impressive new category is bridal. Far from Cinderella, these are white dresses, Elbaz-style, with jeweled necklines, tiers of pleated organza, sheer overlays, and restrained silhouettes. One short dress even had sleeves — God forbid. He has also designed an engagement ring with Van Cleef and Arpels that's a diamond on one side and a pearl on the other, for the girl secure enough not to wear her carats on her sleeve.
Finally, he showed us some exquisite T-shirts, each based on one of his whimsical sketches. In one design, a girl is winking with skirts flying; in another two models are fighting. Like works of art, they are sure to become collector's items.
