Betsey Johnson Files for Bankruptcy

Betsey Johnson during her  New York Spring 2012 Runway Show.

Fashion designer Betsey Johnson's company filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday night in New York, following poor performance in its chain of retail stores.

The Chapter 11 filing by Betsey Johnson LLC will see most of the chain's 63 stores close, a person familiar with the matter said. Steven Madden Ltd., which owns the Betsey Johnson license, likely will keep four or five flagships in New York City and a few other cities, the person said.

The company employs about 400 people. Its largest creditors include Haskell Jewels, American Express and FedEx Corp., according to the filing.

Sneak Peek: Tracy Reese For Anthropologie Made in Kind Collection

 

Hot off the heels of last month's highly successful Made in Kind debut, Anthropologie has announced that Tracy Reese will be among the latest batch of designers to be featured in the May installment of the online collaboration platform.

Available April 27, Reese's seven-piece capsule will be made up of bright lace and photo-printed dresses, all with the same girlie, vintage vibe the designer is known for. Inspired by the gardens of the Frida Kahlo museum, the collection will be priced around $248 to $348 — much like Reese's already-existing Frock and Plenty diffusion lines. Alongside Reese's collection, Made in Kind's May offering will also feature pieces from UK designer Charlotte Taylor, whose collection of op-art printed shifts and jumpsuits will be priced from $118 to $268, and Byron Lars, whose eight-piece capsule of folk-tinged dresses and tops — titled Beguile by Byron Lars — will be priced from $90 to $280.

Source: Fashionologie

Burberry takes inspiration from Nigerian Fashion brand Jewel by Lisa .

Burberry Spring 2012 Accessories

Lisa Folawiyo of Jewel by Lisa in a JBL Print Shirt  for Genevieve Magazine in 2009

Now we Know where the Inspiration came from.

African Fashion Rocks!!!

Oscar de la Renta Bridal Spring 2013

 
 
 

Vera Wang Bridal Spring 2013

First Look: Jean Paul Gaultier for Diet Coke

Jean Paul Gaultier is the new creative director of Diet Coke in Europe. His first order of business? Decorating the iconic bottles with corsets to make them look more like his signature torso-shaped perfume bottles.

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Source: The Cut

The Art of Fashion by Neiman Marcus.

DVF presents "Writer's Block" by Gia Coppola

The Future Of Fashion, Part Two: Cathy Horyn

On a recent midweek morning, I sat down with Cathy Horyn, theNew York Times fashion critic, at the Dean & DeLuca coffee bar on the ground floor of the newspaper’s Renzo Piano-designed midtown office building. She said she was feeling the effects of a simmering cold, but it didn’t visibly affect her sharpness. Unlike many of her peers, Horyn has embraced the digital world, first through her blog, On the Runway, and more recently with her Twitter page. Her readers will know that she has been giving a great deal of thought to live streaming, shifts in manufacturing practices, and other contemporary developments. During our conversation, somewhat condensed here, she talked about the critic’s evolving role, her sense that leggings are the enemy of innovation, and her belief that, in design, technique matters now more than ever. (Note: This interview took place several days before we heard the awful news of Alexander McQueen’s death. Horyn clearly regarded the designer as a true innovator, and she said his Paris show was one of the only ones that you simply had to see each season. I have retained her references to him where I thought it made sense to do so.)

Just In: Meet Dior's New Creative Director - Raf Simons

 

Raf Simons has been hired to replace John Galliano as artistic director at Dior.

After over a year of searching for a creative director to replace John Galliano, Dior has finally selected Raf Simons to lead the storied French fashion house.

Simons, who was recently ousted from the director's chair at Jil Sander, will pick up the reins at Dior this week. The house will make the official announcement on Wednesday, and Simons will present his first collection for the brand in July during Paris's Fall 2012 haute couture shows.

The Future Of Fashion Part One: Robert Duffy.

As we enter a new decade, the fashion business, like the rest of the world, is encountering significant economic and technological changes. In this new series, Style.com’s editor in chief, Dirk Standen, talks to a number of leading industry figures about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

When I spoke to Robert Duffy, the president of Marc Jacobs, by phone last week, it was 12 days till showtime. “I don’t have one finished sample, one piece of clothing that’s finished, not one,” he said from the label’s Spring Street offices. “I don’t have one shoe or one handbag that’s going to be in the show that’s finished.” He did not, however, sound particularly concerned by this state of affairs. In fact, he sounded cheerful and energized. That unflappability has presumably served Duffy well over the last two and a half decades, as he and Jacobs have gone from being the self-described “rebels” of American fashion to becoming the leaders of a global mega-brand. During our conversation, somewhat condensed here, he talked about his experiences with tweeting and live streaming, the reason a $15 flip-flop could be the future of retail, and why having celebrities at your fashion show is boring.

Francisco Costa For Calvin Klein Designs Macy's Next Capsule Collection.

A Sketch from the Upcoming Collection.

Francisco Costa brings his clean-lined Calvin Klein minimalism to Macy's this May with a limited-edition capsule collection of dresses in architectural shapes and sunset hues — all inspired by his home country of Brazil.

The collection of jersey and crepe pieces — titled Francisco Costa For Calvin Klein — will be priced from $135 to $180 and is part of the retailer's "A Magical Journey to Brasil" Spring initiative. "This fresh, youthful line of dresses reflects both my roots and the modern, yet timeless spirit of Calvin Klein," Costa — who was born in Guarani, Brazil —explained.

Francisco Costa For Calvin Klein hits Macy's and macys.com May 15.

Sneak Peek into Karl Lagerfeld's Apartment in French Architectural Digest May 2012.

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Prabal Gurung Spring 2012 Campaign.

Just In: H&M reveals the name of its Upcoming New Line!

H&M has settled on a name for the new higher-priced retail chain it's planning to open in 2013.

Hacan Andersson, a press officer for the Swedish-based retailer, told AFP's Relaxnews "it is correct that H&M will launch a new chain in 2013 called "& Other Stories", but this is all the available information we have as of today."

That's what many speculated the new chain would be called — the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported last week that a Swedish firm registered trademarks on & other stories in 2012, citing Camilla Emilsson-Falk, head of media relations for H&M, as the source of the information. Until today, however, the company had kept mum about what the chain would be called.

H&M announced that it would be adding a higher-priced retail chain to its stable of brands — which includes Cos and Cheap Monday — last week. A spokeswoman said the chain "will not be a luxury brand, but it will be a retail chain that will follow the same ambition as H&M, to offer our customers the best price for a comparable item."