Your Morning Fashion and Beauty Report: Hats win at Ascot. Jimmy Choo offers Natalie Portman’s Oscar shoe. Jessica Simpson signs on for ‘Fashion Star.’
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I said on Monday that the recent attention on all things British (thanks to the royal wedding) has me dreaming of hats. And Tuesday brought a veritable hat-lover’s festival with the opening day of the Royal Ascot races in southern England. Hats, such as the fetching confection above, and the ones on the ladies striking a pose below, are part of the 300-year-old tradition here -- but never in a stuffy way! See more of the looks in our photo gallery.
Not to leave out the French, who were partying along with an a crowd of international millionaires at a fund-raiser Tuesday night for the Louvre that featured Champagne, a silent auction of diamond-encrusted watches and other covetables, and a power-packed performance by Janet Jackson under I.M Pei’s pyramid. Houston socialite Becca Carson Thrash, dressed in Alexander McQueen, helped with the auctioneering and guests included Juicy Couture co-founder Gela Nash-Taylor with husband, rocker John Taylor; Diane Kruger; Prince Albert of Monaco; L.A. man-about-town Cameron Silver; and Joshua Jackson. [WWD]
Jessica Simpson, who served as a guest judge in the final installment of last season’s ‘Project Runway,’ has been tapped to mentor fashion hopefuls on NBC’s new ‘Fashion Star’ series, starring Elle MacPherson. The show will feature singing, dancing, a runway show and a live audience. Whew! [Fashionista]
Designer Jean Paul Gaultier appears on the cover of the French daily Libération, timed to run just before his major career retrospective at The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts opens Friday (it runs through Oct. 2). For the magazine shoot, he made over the paper’s staff -- and himself -- with outfits made from recycled newspapers. Journalists, accountants, photo editors and Web developers posed in paper versions of iconic Gaultier outfits. [WWD]
Swedish retailer H&M will launch a line of children’s clothes to benefit its All for Children initiative with UNICEF. The clothes for girls and boys will be available in 160 stores worldwide, with 25% of the sales prices going to UNICEF. [WWD]
Jimmy Choo is celebrating its 15th birthday with a capsule collection of 15 archived shoe styles, including a feathered pair worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in an early episode of ‘Sex and the City,’ and the ‘Macy’ worn by Natalie Portman to the Academy Awards this year. Prices run from $850 to $3,785, with 10% of proceeds slated for charity. [StyleList]
-- Susan Denley
Photos, From top: A race-goer on opening day of the Royal Ascot races on Tuesday shows off her sweet confection of a hat (credit: Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters); a group of behatted women at Royal Ascot’s opening day. (Alastair Grant/ Associated Press)
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