Refreshing Green Tees (Fashion Wire Daily)

New York - What one imagines when thinking of an eco-political "green" t-shirt is generally neither visually appealing nor stylistically stimulating- the perennial clip-art squeezed globe with a recycle symbol around it comes to mind. Yet the means by which an eco-friendly message impacts the world is usually largely due to innovative design. Spreading the "green" message should not mean giving up on style.

Recently, new breeds of t-shirt designers are emerging who combine fashion forward sensibilities while being ecologically and socially considerate as well. "Weve taken extra effort to design our clothes without cheap shot political messages or cheesy catch phrases," says Joe Maluso, president of Brand of the Free, a family-run business that prides itself on its ethically-aware message. "We arent out to point fingers or make a political statement. We also dont plan on force-feeding our agenda. We would simply like to give people a fashionable option to support America while remaining socially responsible."

The company sells t-shirts with bold graphics, colors, and slogans that, while thought-provoking, are not obvious. "Our design aesthetic is generally pretty minimal. We utilize clean lines and simple graphics to create a lasting impact. Although the graphics are fairly bold and thought provoking, the concepts usually remain quite subtle. We enjoy taking simple objects or ideas and presenting them in a surprising new way," explains designer Mike Maluso.

Promoting green ideals in this way seems to do the job of educating the t-shirt-reading public in a more intelligent, subtle and subversive manner than emblazoning the usual political mottos on ones chest.

Some designers use their messages to elevate the spirit. "Laugh Often," "Embrace Change," and "Practice Kindness" are just some of the slogans with which Tees for Change owner Andreea Ayers has inspired her clientele. "At first, the slogans were a response to some of the challenges in my life at the time. Currently, I hope that they serve as gentle reminders to think positively." Using a simple font and harmonious color combinations on organic cotton and bamboo materials, Ayers designs not only offer an optimistic take on life but also practice doing good in the world by partnering with "Trees for Life" and planting a tree for every tee purchased.

Another eco-friendly business, Moral Fabric founded in 2004, presents designs with collage-like juxtapositions of color, line and shape. "In Moral Fabrics infancy, the aesthetic was very much influenced by nature. Lately I have been experimenting with a more psychedelic approach," describes founder and designer Bobby Wiggins. "Its like streetwear for hippies!"

Aside from using organic cotton, grown either in the U.S. or in Peru under fair trade certified conditions, Wiggins adds another benefit to his green approach to business. "I have found that my customers all seem to share the common desire to do good and live a healthy and spiritual life," he says.

This kind of "giving-back" attitude is shared by Altitude Inc., a product innovation firm that has designed many well-known consumer products including the PUR water cooler and the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker. Focusing its design acumen on a good cause, Altitude has recently put together a collection of its favorite environment conscious designs on t-shirts, bags, mugs and even doggie t-shirts incorporating the Altitude logo and the message "Green is the New Black."

"Altitude developed the green t-shirt designs and messages to help promote green thinking," says Altitudes Debra Fleury. We wanted to make the message visually interesting and something that people would enjoy wearing, while they spread the message to think green."

Even a simple t-shirt purchase can be philanthropic when buying green. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised by the sale of Altitudes items are donated to Sweat Equity Enterprises (SEE). Fleury explains, "SEE brings together young people and businesses for collaborations that serve as an innovation lab for companies and an unbelievable learning opportunity for teenagers."

"At the risk of sounding cliche, we should leave things better than we found them," adds Bernadette Maluso of Brand of the Free. These new designs all subscribe to this same sentiment, satisfying the consumers environmental and fashion conscience at once.

Wanting to Believe at the "X-Files" Premiere (Fashion Wire Daily)

Los Angeles - It has been ten years since FBI agents Mulder and Scully chased after the strange and unexplained in a big-screen flick, but fans of "The X-Files" are still ready to believe. Scores of them proved it at the Hollywood premiere of "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" held at Graumans Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday night, as they cheered on David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and creators Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz as the foursome strolled the sunny red carpet and then sat down for a quick Q both have been doing the media rounds leading up to the films opening on Friday, July 25. As Duchovny told reporters earlier, this movie was something he was sure would eventually make it to the big screen.

"It seems like a long time," he pondered, "and people are asking me about it being ten years since the last movie, but its only been six years since the show ended. When you think about a nine-year run for Gillian and Chris (Carter) and me, I think the burnout would take you at least three years to get over, honestly. Then youre talking about trying to develop a movie."

In other words, Duchovny insisted that this new adventure flick is actually right on time, in the grand scheme of things. "Its really not that slow when you think about it. Its actually kind of on the heels of what was possible, given the amount of work that we did on it over that decade," he said.

Co-star (and Scottish actor-comedian) Billy Connolly didnt make it across the pond for the glittery premiere, but the other stars of the kept-under-wraps film happily did. Amanda Peet joined Xzibit and Callum Keith Rennie - all three have key roles in the mystery that unfolds in the movie. And plenty of other famous faces headed into the venerable theater to be the first to see what happens to Scully and Mulder this time out. Diane Kruger, Martin Landau, and Tia Carrere stopped for photo ops, along with Bai Ling and Madeline Zima.

Duchovny and company are not worried about competition from other films, especially after seeing the fan turnout at the premiere.

"When you think about the kinds of movies that you might compare our movie to, you would say that its a thriller, that its kind of an R movie (the film is actually rated PG-13), that its an intellectual caper - whatever - but at the heart of it is the relationship between Mulder and Scully which is a real adult relationship," he said.

"Its two people trying to figure out their relationship while theyre doing their job, which just happens to be a very heightened reality of a job. So if you think about any other movie, all other movies in this genre theres never an actual relationship in them. Theres never actually that. So thats what I find interesting, and I think the fans do, too."

Kenneth Cole Holiday: Black and White, and Red All Over (Fashion Wire Daily)

New York - Kenneth Cole had the right idea with their Holiday 2008 collection, which they presented in New York on Wednesday, July 23. Heres the prescription: Keep the regular fall wardrobe of cozy shawl knits, simple smocked jersey tops and little black dresses and when holiday party season rolls around, just add a jolt of jewel toned color in the form of a smart round toe patent leather pump or flat, or a chic envelope clutch bag.

Starting with dark grays and inky blacks as their base - something that Kenneth Cole knows will never go out of style - for Holiday 2008, the collection added fuchsia, teal and cherry red sweaters, tops and dresses for a more festive look, if accessories alone wont get you in the spirit of things.

Mixing in sportier techno fabrics worked best when used to fabricate tailored staples like the trench coat, which Cole reworked as a quilted nylon number. Puffy jackets with shawl collars likewise turned sporty into something more chic.

For men, its all about toned down tailoring - wearing that button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and keeping it slightly wrinkled, but adding a crisp touch like a wool vest. And no need to don the full tuxedo - a tuxedo-detailed shirt can work just as well.

Streetwear Standouts at London Edge New York (Fashion Wire Daily)

New York - Streetwear trade show London Edge New York breezed into town this week, July 21-22, amidst New York mens fashion week.

Besides the expected streetwear fare such as studded leather, gothic graphics like skulls and spiders, and t-shirts printed with graphics to satisfy every taste and urban clique, a few independent designers stood out with their own take on hip, casual, everyday clothing.

Tarantula Clothing Co., a forties and fifties-inspired collection for men and women, is already a favorite label amongst L.A.s rockabilly scene for its emphasis on curve-hugging high-waisted dresses with Lucille Ball-style popped collars and clever hidden zippers behind the buttoned up fronts, to prevent the shirt from "flaring" open for those ladies with their fair share of curves. "People think poodle skirts," said Tarantulas art director Cherrie Vasquez, "but no, think of the bad girls!" For men, there are sharp, cool shirts and Tarantulas signature "weekender" jackets. Designer David Contreras said he started making clothes when he couldnt find any more good examples of fifties-era jackets in thrift stores – most had succumb to moths, stains or otherwise deteriorated fabric. So he made his own, and soon everyone he knew was asking for one. "Our aspiration is to end up in a thrift store one day. You got to replenish them for tomorrow!" said Contreras.

Eric Wilson of Florida-based Agorables Clothing likewise had a personal reason for starting his company of hand-painted and hand-printed shirts, wallets, ties and bags. A teacher by day, Wilson said hes always comfortable in a button-down shirt, which is why he decided to take discarded thrift store button-downs but added a slightly macabre twist: red splatters resembling blood stains. Paired with one of Agorables hand-painted ties - Wilson designs all the artwork himself - its like a darkly humorous after school special.

Kevin Belfort of Camden, N.J., designs the graphics for his t-shirt company, Creative Justice. Inspired by music, the hand-screened t-shirts center around lyrical messages, like "We Let the Dead Lead the Dumb." Explained Belfort, "You have to be really dumb to follow someone whos dead. Learn from their mistakes, dont follow them." Another t-shirt, "Freedom in Death," seems dark and nihilistic, but Belfort said it was inspired by a conversation he had with a friend mourning the loss of both his parents due to cancer. Said Belfort, "He told me theres a sense of relief in death. For him, there was no more worry."

Timeless, a streetwear label celebrating rockabilly and hot rod culture, featured the kind of clothes youd want to wear while hanging out with your buddies on a Saturday afternoon: Tough black t-shirts emblazoned with Bettie Page-like pin-up girls or motorcycles. "We like girls. A lot!" laughed one of the founders and designers of the brand, Richard Burton. "Were just a bunch of guys who drink beer. My parents would be nervous if it were otherwise. And Id be nervous!"

Carey, Timberlake among Fashion Rocks performers (AP)

NEW YORK - Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Rihanna will perform at the fifth annual Fashion Rocks concert celebrating the relationship between music and fashion.

The event will be held Sept. 5 at Radio City Music Hall, and will air in a two-hour special on CBS the following night. Proceeds will benefit Stand Up to Cancer, a program established by the Entertainment Industry Foundation to raise money for cancer research.

Also performing: Keith Urban, Chris Brown, Kid Rock, Fergie, Lil Wayne and the Black Eyed Peas.

"Fashion Rocks uniquely celebrates the intersection of two of the most sexy cultural paradigms: fashion and music. This year, we have a spectacular lineup of talent and performances that will take the show to a whole new level," Richard Beckman, president of Conde Nast Media Group, which produces the event, said Tuesday.

Fashion Rocks magazine will also return for its annual issue. The magazine, helmed by Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, will accompany the September edition of 16 Conde Nast magazines.

___

On the Net:

http://www.fashionrocks.com/

Yves Saint Laurent's art collection up for auction (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) - The private art collection of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge has been put up for auction and will be sold in February 2009, auction house Christies said on Wednesday.

Saint Laurent, one of the leading figures in 20th century French fashion, died in Paris in June at the age of 71.

Contacted by Reuters, Christies, which will organize the auction in partnership with auction house Pierre Berge and Associates, said it would announce the items to be sold at the end of September.

The auction house declined to estimate how much the collection was likely to fetch until those items had been identified, but experts have put the figure between 300 and 500 million euros, (472 million-787 million).

Sources close to Christies said the figure was "not wrong."

French daily Le Figaro said the collection features several hundred pieces including Renaissance jewelry, paintings by masters such as Picasso and Matisse, and manuscripts of the works of French authors Gustave Flaubert and Andre Gide.

Berge, who had amassed the collection with Saint Laurent over a period of almost 40 years, told Le Figaro he "couldnt carry out the sale until after his (Saint Laurents) death," adding that "the page has turned."

Antique dealer Alexis Kugel, who told Le Figaro his relation with the collectors was the closest a dealer could have with his clients, said: "For Yves Saint Laurent art was a vital need, indispensable for his inspiration, like water to survive. It soothed his depressive character."

(Reporting by Joseph Tandy; Editing by Francois Murphy and Catherine Evans)

The Jonas Brothers Want to Dress You! (E! Online)

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Add the Jonas Brothers to the list of musicians who want their own fashion line.

Im not saying were the best designers in the world, but being able to make what we like, that would be so cool, oldest sibling Kevin, 20, told me the other day in Hollywood, where the trio was appearing on FNMTV Premieres. We love dressing up and putting on different kinds of clothes.

And the Jonas empire doesnt end there.

Nick, 15, says a Christmas album is a definite possibility. We wrote a holiday song, Girl of My Dreams, and sang it at the Disney parade last year, he said, adding, It was a lot of funMaybe there is a holiday album in our future.

The immediate future includes finishing up their Burning Up tour, releasing a new album on Aug. 12 and making their debut at MTVs Video Music Awards in September.

However, they did get some time off on Friday night. The brothers were spotted at the Rooney show at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, watching their former opening act from the balcony and also hanging in the music clubs Parish and Foundation rooms.

Kevin, Nick and Joe, 18, returned to the road the following day for their own concert in Denver at the Coors Amphitheatre.

Theyre hoping Shania Twain joins them on stage one of these days for their cover of her hit, Im Gonna Getcha Good.

Its fun to see the parents when that song comes on, especially the moms, Kevin said. Theyre like, Oh my God! Wow! Theyre really playing our favorite song.

Wal-Mart's fashion show previews back-to-school (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) presented a colorful, casual line of youthful looks for kids and teens on Saturday at a fashion show that previewed the mass-market chains new low-cost offerings for back to school.

The worlds largest retailer has been careful not to accentuate the fashion quotient in its clothing offerings this year ever since a disastrous push into more stylish gear in late 2005 alienated its core customers looking for basics.

Still, the companys presence at the Fashion on the Square runway show in this citys posh downtown Union Square was a nod to the importance of youth trends when it comes to selling apparel.

This year, Wal-Mart is focusing on key seasonal items for families, and showcasing young women and girls denim brand l.e.i. from Jones Apparel Group Inc (JNY.N) and surfer brand Op, which it has licensed from Iconix Brand Group (ICON.O).

Little girls in jeans and T-shirts with pink ribbons in their hair sauntered down the runway.

The image of Hannah Montana, the popular Disney television character who is a student by day but a pop star by night, emblazoned many T-shirts, whether sparkly pink, bright fuchsia, or adorned with images of silver and gold guitars.

Boys sported mismatched plaids in khakis and blues, or bright Op T-shirts in sunset colors.

Wal-Mart, one of the events sponsors, stayed relatively under the radar at the fashion show, which included looks by other designers, including Chris March, who appeared on last seasons TV reality show "Project Runway."

Only after the parade of some 30 kids and teens was over, an announcer shouted through a microphone: "Its one of their first real fashion shows so give it up for Wal-Mart!"

Two years ago, in a bid to take on competition from mass-market chains like Target Corp (TGT.N) or Kohls Corp (KSS.N), Wal-Mart began selling hipper, cheap-chic items like skinny jeans and velvet blazers.

But the push into trendier looks backfired, and left Wal-Mart with excess inventory it was forced to mark down, hurting profit margins. Moreover, the strategy seemed to fly in the face of Wal-Marts focus on the needs of its lower-income shoppers, a focus that the retailer has since recaptured.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman attending the show said the clothing on display showed "good value and good style for the kids for back to school."

YAnad Burrell, the founder and creative director of the show, now in its fifth year, said she first approached Wal-Mart looking for corporate sponsorship, but then decided to include their clothes.

"Its a fashion show," Burrell said. "Lets show some of their clothes on the runway."

Still, she acknowledged that Wal-Marts clothing may be affordable but doesnt necessarily push the envelope when it comes to cutting-edge design.

"Theyre not fashion trailblazers," she said.

(Editing by Eric Beech)

New videogame heroine moves like a model, kills with her hair (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - A curvy new heroine that walks like a runway model but has ankle pistols and deadly hair is getting ready to make her mark in a videogame world packed with macho action heroes.

Sega on Thursday introduced to industry insiders "Bayonetta," an animated witch that battles monsters disguised as halo-wearing angels in a world created by Platinum Games studio for the Japanese videogame pioneer.

"She is a dark hero," Yusuke Hashimoto of Platinum said as he demonstrated his teams creation in a private room at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

"There are so many strong male characters; we wanted to create a strong female character."

Bayonetta makes martial arts leaps and handstands, all the while firing pistols in her hands and on her feet. She uses magic to amplify and weave her hair into giant high-heel boots to kick enemies.

Her hair weaves into huge dragons or other beasts she can sic on more formidable foes, referred to as "bosses" in videogame jargon.

"We will set the bar for the stylish genre," said Wyman Jung of Sega North America.

Hashimoto declined to reveal the games storyline, saying that is being kept secret until closer to its release next year.

Silly Boys at the "Step Brothers" Premiere (Fashion Wire Daily)

Los Angeles - If something works, why not do it again?

Thats the attitude of the group of silly boys (okay, men) who brought their latest movie collaboration to the Mann Village Theater in Westwood on Tuesday night. This time out, actors Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, along with writer-director Adam McKay and producer Judd Apatow bring the world "Step Brothers." The boys first venture was the smash hit "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky and Bobby" (and, sans Reilly, "Anchorman" as well), so it made sense to join forces yet again to try for another comedy winner.

"Basically we just had so much fun working on Talladega Nights, we really kind of made a pact, a blood pact to try to work on something else together," Will Ferrell explained at an earlier press conference in support of the comedy. "I think it was John who was really the catalyst who said, Lets really make a concerted effort. I think that you work on films with people and you have fun experiences and then you say, Lets do it again - and it just slips through your fingers. So we really made a point to sit down and meet.

"I think we had a couple of dinners where we threw out a bunch of different ideas. We had some really good ones and then it was Adam (McKay) who called both of us the next day and said, You know what, I just thought of this other thing. What if you guys are two forty-year-old guys who live with their single parent? They meet each other, get married, and youre forced to be step brothers. We were both like, Well, thats the idea!"

The boys recruited Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins to be their parents, and "Step Brothers" was off and running. They both walked the red carpet at the premiere, too, along with Steenburgens husband Ted Danson, as well as Kathryn Hahn and Adam Scott, the films other co-stars.

It was a hot ticket - a good sign for the films coming release on July 25 - as male fans of the Farrell-Reilly-McKay-Apatow crew turned out in force. Tyrese Gibson was there, along with Jason Bateman, Jon Heder, David Hasselhoff, Barry Williams, Garry Shandling, David Faustino, Tom Arnold, and Corey Feldman.

Honoring Heath Ledger at "The Dark Knight" Premiere (Fashion Wire Daily)

New York - It was a night when Heath Ledger should have been celebrating, for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" (the second installment in the Christopher Nolan-Christian Bale "Batman" series) is already generating Oscar buzz. But of course the talented young Australian actor is gone, passing away in January from an accidental overdose of prescription medications. So at the gala premiere of "The Dark Night" Monday evening in New York, all thoughts were focused on his loss.

Ledgers family attended, in from the actors hometown of Perth, Australia. His parents Kim Ledger and Sally Bell, and his sister Kate avoided reporters and photographers, but his father reportedly gave the "thumbs up" sign as they left the theater.

Everyone involved with the film made the glittery scene, from star Christian Bale with his wife Sibi Blazic, to the rest of the cast, including Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Also attending were writer-director Christopher Nolan and composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard.

And Heath was on everyones mind, both at the premiere and earlier, when the actors spoke to the press about the exciting film and Ledgers impressively demented performance.

"There are actors that they just break through the sound barrier," Gary Oldman commented. "I would arguably say that Heath was possibly psychologically one of the most frightening screen villains ever. I think hes up there with Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in ‘Blue Velvet and thats pretty scary. You have the original ‘Cape Fear, thats a villain, or Hannibal Lector. Heaths Joker is like those."

As Batman to Ledgers Joker, Christian Bale feels the loss of his co-star keenly. "I cant help but be just impressed beyond belief in what he did because its such an iconic villain. I had no idea how Chris (Nolan), if he chooses to make a third movie, is going to improve and make a better villain than what Heath came up with in this," Bale said. "I wish to God he was sitting here with us talking about it. I view this movie as an incredible celebration of his talent. Its absolutely tragic that this is the last complete work that he did."

Also on hand at the hot-ticket premiere to witness Ledgers performance were Nestor Carbonell, Ethan Hawke, Lauren Conrad, Blake Lively, Edie Falco, Mariska Hargitay, Emile Hirsch and Karina Smirnoff.

All very likely agree with Gary Oldmans take on where Ledger is now, as his consummate performance in "The Dark Knight" arrives in theaters on Friday, July 18.

"Hes probably looking down now and thinking ‘Are you kidding me? Im going to get nominated for an Oscar now? Hell be saying that for sure," said Oldman.

Dogs claim catwalk in "Paws for Style" fashion event (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Move over kitties! Dog fashionistas will be parading on the catwalk in New York Tuesday evening for this years "Paws for Style" fashion charity event.

Coiffed canines will be escorted by their celebrity owners during Animal Fair Medias 9th annual event to benefit the Humane Society of New York.

Actor Richard Belzar of the television program "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" will escort his pet pooch BeBe, dressed in DDC Lab, while Nikki Blonsky of the film "Hairspray" is set to come down the catwalk with her dog Rocky sporting fabulous Tory Burc.

Wendy Diamond, Animal Fairs chief pet officer and creator of "Paws for Style," said the event was created as a way to raise money and awareness for animal rescue.

"We dont promote dogs dress up every day and be toted around as accessories, but we do, on occasion, dress up dogs for charity!" said Diamond. All dog and celebrity outfits from the evenings fashion show are to be auctioned on EBay with the proceeds going to the Humane Society.

(Reporting by Nancy Leinfuss, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

Lack of black models keeps Naomi Campbell going (Reuters)

ABUJA (Reuters) - British supermodel Naomi Campbell refuses to retire after more than two decades on the worlds catwalks because there are still too few black beauties in the fashion industry.

While many of her colleagues of the late 1980s -- like Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington -- have moved on from the runways, the 38-year-old icon continues to turn heads at the worlds top fashion shows.

"Im very grateful for my career, but I worry for the girls after me for the opportunities they get -- the way they get treated. And this is one of the reasons I still do what I do," she told Reuters in a weekend interview in Nigeria.

Campbell, who as a teenager was the first black model to grace the covers of the French and British editions of Vogue magazine, said many fashion designers still favored fair-skinned models over their dark-skinned counterparts.

"I dont do so many shows anymore, but I do count how many girls of color they use in the shows. It happens to be last year New York was the worst," the British bombshell said, wearing a simple white short-sleeved top and blue jeans.

"Now at Paris Haute Couture there was only one black girl out of all the shows. It cannot be a trend."

Italian Vogue decided to use mainly black models in its July edition to highlight the problem.

"For me, it is something that is history-making. Something that Im going to keep forever," she said about the magazine, which has a photo of her on one of four different covers.

The magazine also includes Tyra Banks, Iman, and other black actors, models and singers.

CUT FROM THE PROGRAMME

Campbell traveled to Abuja and Nigerias commercial capital Lagos over the weekend to help kick-off a series of summer concert and fashion shows. It was her first trip to Nigeria, a developing country of 140 million people.

The festival, sponsored by Nigerian newspaper This Day, will make stops in Washington next month and London in October and aims to showcase Africas best music and fashion.

But the opening in Nigerias capital Abuja started five hours later and Campbell, along with the fashion show and all of the local African music acts, was left out of the show.

North American acts Jay-Z, Rihanna and Usher were the only ones to perform for the thousands of fans, some of whom paid as much as 60,000 naira (508) to attend, a fortune in a country where nine out of 10 people live on less than 2 a day.

Campbells career has been overshadowed recently by her troubles with the law. Last month, she pleaded guilty to assault in an expletive-filled "air rage" incident in London and was sentenced to serve 200 hours of community service.

She spent five days mopping and cleaning toilets as part of a community service sentence in New York last year after throwing a mobile phone at her housekeeper during an argument over a pair of jeans.

Campbell did not specifically address her tirade against two British police officers and a British Airways captain, an incident she has said was partly prompted by someone calling her a black "Golliwog" doll.

When asked about her own personal experience with racism, the beauty simply said: "Im a fighter."

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )

(Editing by Nick Tattersall and Paul Casciato)

Sydney, Dubai make biggest strides in fashion: study (Reuters)

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - The world of fashion remains dominated by five cities -- New York, Rome, Paris, Milan and London -- but B-list players like Sydney and Dubai are coming on strong, according to an annual survey of top fashion cities.

The list was compiled by the Global Language Monitor, a non-profit group that tracks the frequency of words and phrases in the media, on the Internet and throughout the blogosphere.

New York led the list in 2008 for the fifth consecutive year with Rome retaining the second slot, Paris third again but Milan overtaking London for the fourth position. London came fifth.

But more surprising was the rise of some smaller fashion centers, with Sydney jumping from 12th position to seventh in the list and Dubai moving up 12 spots to No. 12.

Among the newcomers, New Delhi broke into the top 25 at No. 24 and Madrid came in 15th. Stockholm in Sweden was also new and the only Nordic city on the list, while Cape Town in South Africa also made an appearance.

Tokyo remained the capital of the Asian fashion industry at No. 10 in the list but slipped from sixth position a year ago and was now being challenged by Hong Kong just one slot behind.

Sao Paolo and Bangkok dropped off the list.

"Our yearly rankings clearly reinforce recent trends: the Big Five (New York, Rome, Paris, Milan, and London), far and away dominate the world of fashion, especially in the eyes of the print and electronic media, as well as on the Internet," said Millie Lorenzo Payack, a director at the Global Language Monitor.

"At the same time, the second tier of the cities in the world fashion rankings are coming on strong. And, by the way, money spent on media outreach can, indeed, make a difference; witness Dubai."

Following is the list of the top 25 fashion cities with the previous years ranking in brackets:

1. New York (1)

2. Rome (2)

3. Paris (3)

4. Milan (5)

5. London (4)

6. Los Angeles (6)

7. Sydney (12)

8. Las Vegas (9)

9. Berlin (11)

10. Tokyo (6)

11. Hong Kong (8)

12. Dubai (24)

13. Shanghai (14)

14. Singapore (10)

15. Madrid (New)

16. Moscow (16)

17. Santiago (19)

18. Melbourne (15)

19. Stockholm (New)

20. Buenos Aires (22)

21. Johannesburg (23)

22. Mumbai (18)

23. Cape Town (New)

24. New Delhi (New)

25. Barcelona (13)

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy)

(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare)

Cocoa catwalk: sacks are sweet for Ivorian designer (Reuters)

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Cocoa runs in the family of Ivorian fashion designer Felicite Mai. It was her father, a tailor-turned-cocoa planter, who gave her her first sewing machine, a model dating back to 1952.

And for the last five years, this sewing-school graduate has been turning out eye-catching outfits made from the jute sacks used to ship Ivory Coasts top export - cocoa.

From her humble shop in the popular Treichville suburb of the economic capital Abidjan, Mai designs, cuts and fits clothes for men and women that use the natural beige colors and coarse fiber of cocoa and coffee sacks.

Normally stuffed to bursting with the cocoa beans that make Ivory Coast the worlds No. 1 grower of the source of chocolate, Mais creations are worn by a growing clientele of celebrities, artists and musicians, some even from abroad.

"Ivory Coasts economy is based on agriculture, especially cocoa and coffee. So I decided to promote these crops by creating these fashion designs," said Mai, whose real name is Maimouna Camara Gomet.

"For me, its a way of drawing the whole worlds attention to cocoa and coffee," she said.

Proud to wear her own designs, she sports a beige cut-off top with a frayed fringe, made from a jute sack, over blue jeans, a tape measure draped around her neck.

Her creations -- for both men and women -- include skirts, tops, trousers, shirts, waistcoats as well as caps, bags and accessories, mostly in the natural beige of the washed jute sackcloth, but sometimes also dyed darker brown or blue.

"PRODUCT OF IVORY COAST"

Her models say the "sack clothes" look good with traditional jewelry and ornaments, such as the cowrie shells that were the common currency of the West African coast during past centuries of the Atlantic slave trade.

Mai buys the sacks -- some stamped with the words "Product of Ivory Coast, Cocoa" -- from warehouses at Abidjans bustling port. The jute material is washed and cut at her Treichville workshop, where a wax mannequin is used to help with fittings.

"I had this idea from when I was still at sewing school in 1987. Then I opened my own workshop in 1996 and I first launched these kind of designs in 2003 during a fashion contest at Divo (in the south of Ivory Coast)" said Mai, who has several assistants at her shop.

"My father was a tailor and he made jackets for the colonial settlers," she said, referring to Ivory Coasts former French colonial masters.

"Then he became a coffee and cocoa planter," she added.

Mai hopes that her sack fashion designs can serve as an attractive, enduring advertisement for her countrys best known products -- cocoa and coffee.

"That was the livelihood of our parents," she said.

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)

(Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile)

Gucci gala livens up Rome fashion scene (AP)

ROME - Just when fashion in Rome needed a dash of inspiration, Gucci's Frida Giannini comes along and throws a big party in a villa overlooking the Eternal City.

Tuesday night's event marked the 70th anniversary of the famed Gucci boutique near the Spanish Steps, and began with the presentation of the designer's 2009 cruise collection, usually shown in New York.

The five goddess gowns that closed the snappy jet-set show are in honor of Rome and will only be available in the Via Condotti boutique.

"Isn't Rome fantastic?" said the 36-year-old designer as she greeted some of her 300 guests, many who had come from afar, at a sit-down dinner after the show.

The 17th-century villa and its sumptuous gardens are part of the American Academy complex atop the Janiculum hill. Later 700 hip Roman young people joined the party and danced into the night to the live music of Goldfrapp.

Giannini wanted to pay tribute not only to her birthplace, but to the Roman school where she got her fashion education, The Academy of Costume and Fashion, and to her first job at Fendi, founded by five Roman sisters.

"I owe a lot to this city," she told The Associated Press.

The event was the buzz of the Rome couture "AltaRoma" week that ended Thursday.

Gala events are few and far between since the heydays of the 1960's, when such stars as Liz Taylor, Rita Hayworth and Audrey Hepburn, in town for filming, made Rome the high point of Italian fashion.

During the 1990s Rome had a second fashion moment, with the "Women under the Stars" gala summer event on the Spanish Steps, a fashion show that included the top names in Italian couture and ready-to-wear as well as foreign designer guests. That was televised live to many countries.

But despite attempts to revive the mood, in the past decade Rome couture has become a very local event.

This time more than 20 houses, including Gattinoni and Sarli, showed their latest collections in the halls of a former Medieval convent in the shadow of St. Peter's Basilica, the same venue used last year by Valentino for his farewell to fashion.

The clothes were beautiful with sumptuous fabrics and grande soiree styles, and at times a little more affordable with the invention of `demi-couture' -- something between `haute couture' and 'ready to wear.' Mainly, however, the shows were about dresses for mother's garden party and her daughter's wedding.

The crowds reflected the runway, including plenty of ladies from wealthy families as well as TV starlets.

"We have to rekindle Rome's fashion fire," said Rome's new mayor Gianni Alemanno, a guest at the Gucci party.

The city and the province of Rome sponsored fashion week, and are looking for new ways to promote the "made in Rome" label. Among the ideas are a permanent venue for the shows, a fashion department at Rome's city university to train future designers and interaction between fashion and films.

But as Alemanno was meeting Wednesday with designers and reporters at the Campidoglio, Rome's historic city hall, across the Tiber at the convent site, designer Rafaella Curiel was steaming. The mayor's meeting had delayed her show for over an hour.

"This is the last time I'm showing here," said the Milanese designer, who for the past 25 years has brought her couture collections to Rome.

Alta Roma: Still Living The Dolce Vita (Fashion Wire Daily)

Rome - It sweltered in Rome this week, yet the clothes on the runway of Alta Roma, the citys fashion season, were sturdy enough to withstand a gale force wind and classical enough to fit into a repeat of La Dolce Vita, set in the same date as the original.

Python pants, curvaceous double-face cashmere jackets and gigantic taffeta gowns swept down the catwalks in Rome, clothes for gals who dont so much need a limousine as a carriage in which to get around.

A curious amalgam of alta moda - thats the Italian version of haute couture - and avant-garde experimentation by young hopefuls, AltaRoma is a state-backed project to create a dynamic season in the Eternal City, and one that shows signs of working.

Most critics rated Sunday evenings show by Fausto Sarli as the seasons strongest. Inspired by one of natures mystery, the crop circle, the show had a curvy, retro futurist quality whether with cashmere apple-shaped jackets or mega frilled Art Deco columns for evening. Plus the workmanship was first rate, and the cutting, like a revealing off the shoulder coatdress, admirable.

Also impressing was Gattinoni, a 74-year-old house whose creative director Guglielmo Mariotto favored mellifluous mink jackets with sleeves ending at the elbow and delightful patchwork cashmere tweed boleros or redingotes with courtly trim. Frayed fabric sling backs also looked great, as did multi-ruffled evening gowns where gaining attention was the key point of wearing the clothes. His is a tricky fashion – the little black dress came with a built on cape – but it had a certain Mediterranean panache one could only applaud.

Understated is not an Alta Moda tradition as was evident at the 40-minute long show by Raffaella Curiel, who herself took a five minute bow. Mega padded riding jackets, knitted fur boleros and flounced Paisley pleated skirts all look warm enough for a Finnish winter, and were in stark contrast to the stifling heat in the Borgo Santo Spirito in Sassia, a charming complex that boasts the longest Renaissance room in Rome.

And in weirdly provincial moments, both Mariotto and Curiel appeared on their own runways pre-show to excuse late starts, something no designer in Paris or Milan would ever dream of doing.

On Wednesday, couturier Renato Ballestra sent out a jaunty collection of beautifully embroidered boucle wool mini jackets, golden silk columns and a very fine "swan" feather and chiffon wedding dress.

"The idea is to celebrate the beauty of women," Ballestra told FWD at a post-show party on a superb riverboat named IV built on the Tiber and floated down the never very deep river to below Ponte Sisto, Romes beautiful stone walking bridge to Trastevere.

One could not fault the workmanship seen in Rome, but far too often the collections seemed caught in a time warp, as elderly designers recreated a moment that we all already knew too well. This is fashion with a capital F, where the clothes are designed to make it clear youve spent a lot of money on them.

Indeed shows in Rome can seem more like a social guide to has just gotten plastic surgery than a prediction of what women will be wearing in the future. Yet, AltaRoma would appear to have plenty of potential, especially as no city has more beautiful buildings and locations for shows.

Gap Inc.'s Holidays, Three Ways (Fashion Wire Daily)

New York - Just the gap between high and low is increasingly closed - mixing a designer jacket with a pair of jeans from a chain store like Gap is perfectly acceptable these days - it also makes sense that customers of Gap Inc.s various brands, Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic, would look to these stores to satisfy different wardrobe needs, whether its clothing for kicking around the campfire or attending a company holiday party.

Gap Inc.s Holiday 2008 presentations for these three brands on Thursday, July 10 in New York, showed the distinct holiday occasions that customers might look to those stores for.

Banana Republic, at the high end of the Gap Inc. spectrum with its self-described mantra of "Accessible Luxury," highlighted evening looks, like their version of Pradas Fall lace dress designs, silk cocktail dresses (one-shouldered, flutter sleeved or plunging neckline were among the various designs) in rich tones like raspberry, deep violet or royal blue. Coats had strong volumes, with funnel neck or bow details. For day, op art print blouses had a seventies YSL flair, as did their version of Le Smoking, a white tuxedo jacket paired with tapered black pants. Accessories were also strongly emphasized, particularly large costume baubles made from clear or colored crystals.

Gaps Holiday collection went for the collegiate-prepster-on-winter-break look, with slouchy, comfy designs for both men and women. Wide leg or straight leg "boyfriend" pants sat low on the hip for the women, while mens denim and pants were likewise relaxed. Lumberjack plaids were given a chic twist when used with ruffled front blouses and belted wool coats for the women, while stripes and argyle, a perennial preppy favorite, were mixed and matched in muted neutral tones. Time to get the sleds ready and the hot chocolate warmed up on the cabin stovetop.

Old Navys strongest Holiday offerings included their wide variety of sleepwear, with cotton and flannel pajama bottoms in bright, fun patterns. Paired with bright sweaters in happy shades of pink and aqua tempered by grey and black, it will be a hit with college kids writing papers late at night during the coldest winter months or families gathered for winter holidays looking for cute matching pajamas for their roost.

New mayor seeks to restore fashion glory for Rome (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) - Romes new right-wing mayor says he wants to turn the ancient city into a modern hub for budding fashion designers, dismissing criticism that the citys rich art and culture credentials will take a beating under his command.

Gianni Alemanno, a former youth leader of a neo-fascist party, was elected on a law and order ticket and had frequently attacked his centre-left predecessor for focusing on glitz and rolling out the red carpet to stars and musicians.

But Alemanno, known more for his tough stance on crime and illegal immigrants, told Reuters he too has an eye for the artistic, but with a focus on substance rather than image.

That means encouraging local talent, developing fashion schools and possibly setting up a university faculty focused on fashion in Rome, he said.

"I want Rome to become a city of fashion, focusing mainly on young and new designers; seeking a strong and precise character that sets it up as a base for excellence in fashion," he said on the sidelines of a Gucci fashion show in the city.

"Im trying to be more concrete, to avoid that this is done -- as they say in Rome -- just transiently, for just image; for me this must be a fact rooted in Roman creation and production."

Former mayor Walter Veltroni was credited with reviving Romes cultural scene, partly by starting an international film festival that brought back some of the "Dolce Vita" glamour of the 1950s and 1960s.

He also lured fashion designer Valentino back to the capital for a celebratory show last year before retiring.

Still, Rome has for years struggled to find its place on the fashion map, languishing in the shadow of Milan in the north.

Organizers of the citys twice a year AltaRoma fashion weeks have also been taking aim at young talent in a bid to raise the citys fashion profile, but with mixed results so far.

The fashion weeks boast a rotating list of emerging designers from around the globe that attract B-list Italian stars and wealthy Romans to their shows, but politicians and fashion buyers are often conspicuously absent.

The big Roman fashion houses like Fausto Sarli have long complained that Italys political class -- including those dressed by the designers -- snub their parades.

AltaRoma CEO Adriano Franchi says that while that is a legitimate complaint, Rome attracts more fashion buzz than the designers give it credit for.

"Designers, in as much as theyre creative, are used to complaining," he told Reuters. "Dissatisfaction is the force that pushes you produce something beautiful."

Alemanno, who met Roman designers at his office on Wednesday, said they could count on him at least.

"Ive been in office for just two months and Im already here," he said after the Gucci catwalk show, "which means were present and we will invest a lot in high fashion."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Gucci's Cool Cruise On Rome's Highest Hill (Fashion Wire Daily)

Rome - Gucci took its cruise 2009 collection to the top of Romes highest hill, the Gianicolo, on Tuesday night, where under umbrella pines and before an audience of Hollywood, politico honchos and coolly haughty Italian aristos, designer Frida Giannini staged probably her best show to date for the house.

The elite event staged in the charming Villa Aurelia also celebrated the 70th anniversary, and major overhaul, of Guccis iconic Rome boutique on tony via Condotti. Iconic because the stores opening connected Gucci with the Hollywood heavy hitters in town to shoot movies in Cinecitta, Italys great film studio and to enjoy the Dolce Vita.

Before an audience that included Claire Danes, her boyfriend Hugh Dancy, Rome Major Gianni Alemanno, Maria Grazia Cucinotto and enough local princes and countesses to form an aristocratic regiment, Giannini sent out a collection that cleverly mixed flirtation and elegance, the kind of clothes your cool big sister would wear if she were a princess with a rock groupie history.

Gucci gals for this coming resort season will hit the beach side terraces in mega wide, boyish flared pants, held up by thick rope belts, lots of Romanesque fantasy print tops, and flirty open necked shirts, all topped by snug cricket blazers with Gucci logos.

For evening, the ghost of Ozzie Clark whispered into the collection with billowing sleeve silk dresses in animal prints, and when the sea air gets chilly some brilliantly cut skinny leather biker jackets, boasting a new Gucci Rose tattoo insignia.

A cast of top catwalkers, including Natasha Poly, Maricarla Boscono and Lily Donaldson, clutched patent tortoise bags and totes with hefty metallic hearts, all of them saying loud and clear "best seller."

Powered on by the best soundtrack of the Giannini Gucci era, featuring the runway cut of the moment, Santo Golds "Les Artistes," it was a crisply coolly fashion moment and marked a new step in this designers career. In a word, the famously workaholic Frida is finally lightening up.

"Dont you love this place? I do. In fact, I liked it so much I even had my wedding here three years ago," laughed Giannini.

"We wanted to do something for Rome, as its been such a key store for us. Paparazzi used to stand in ranks outside our via Condotti boutique to capture American movie stars shopping for Gucci. That really put us on a new international level," recalled Gucci CEO Mark Lee, as a montage of folks like Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn and Kim Novak purchasing in the Roman boutique was projected on a huge screen.

The party also celebrated Guccis remarkable recent financial performance - sales have grown cumulatively by 46 per cent in the past three years to 2.175 billion euros, or $3.415 billion.

The occasion marked the first time that Gucci showed its cruise collection in Europe, though fittingly seeing the Hollywood connection it took place in a superb 17th century villa located on the grounds of the Academia Americana.

Giannini included five new evening gowns designed as a tribute to Rome to be sold exclusively in the local boutique. The Cruise 2009 collection will be available in stores worldwide from November 2008.

Colangelo Wins Who Is On Next Award (Fashion Wire Daily)

Rome - Next time somebody tells you there is a dearth of young design ideas in Italian fashion, tell them to head to Rome for the Franca Sozzani driven talent showcase Who Is On Next, which this weekend unearthed some quirky and cool new designers whose names wont be unknown for much more.

Gabriele Colangelo, the son of Milanese fur makers, won first prize this season at Who Is On Next, the premier window of opportunity in Italy for young talent, and a key launch pad for emerging players.

The competitions debut winners 6267 duo Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi went on to become the creative directors and key behind the revival of Malo, before moving on this April to take over the design duties of the house of Ferre. Another recent winner, the Italian based, though UK born, structuralist shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood was nabbed in May to be the director of Pollinis accessories division.

Competition is now so intense to be chosen for the finale of Who Is On Next, Sozzanis team of scouts shifted through some 300 candidates to narrow down to the five ready-to-wear designers and four accessories lines that were judged this weekend.

Though cherubically youthful looking, the 33-year-old Colangelo is already an experienced designer having done stints of four years at Versace and time in the design team of Just Cavalli, the junior collection of Roberto Cavalli.

"Hes a very promising talent, who has something to say, and we look forward to hearing it in the future," Sozzani told FWD at a lunch to announce the winners on a hotel terrace overlooking the 1st Century marble Temple of the Vestal Virgins.

Colangelos collection of finely draped silk dresses, artfully embellished with crocodile crystal tails and dripped plastic abstractions was the standout in Sundays joint show in Chiostra dei Frati (Brothers Cloisters) of the Borgo Santo Spirito complex near the Vatican.

"Im honored and, quite frankly, could not be happier," beamed Colangelo.

Partly inspired by the abstract expressionism of Italian painter Alberto Burri, Colangelos collection marked him out as very much a name to watch in 21st century Italian fashion.

Garnering a nomination for ready-to-wear was Silvio Betterelli, a Sardinian who showed Yohji Yamamoto style choppy cut jackets and flared pants with plenty of chic drama in the Borgos Sala Lancisi, the longest room in Renaissance Rome.

Two design labels - Chrissie Morris and BiondaCastagna (the latter composed of two semi-Italian ladies who met in the UK, Jennifer Portman and Natalia Barbieri) - shared first prize in the accessories division. Morris showed haute gamme, and very pricey, statement heels and court shoes with lots of stingray inserts; BiondaCastagna presented lots of sexy gladiator looks, easy to understand and fun to wear. Making up the four in the accessories division were smart, Africa bags from Veronica Bettini, a big-eyed Milanese with an eye for strong details, and VDL, a bag line from Valentina De Laurentiis, daughter of the famed film producer Dino De Laurentiis.

The impressive joint show featured three other designers: Ilaria Nistri, a Florentine lawyer by profession with a great take on aquatic prints and a layered approach to dressing whose collections already retail in Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and Moscows key big boutique Podium.

Morfosis, the duo of Alessandra Cappiello and Rita Mazzeo, whose almost all black collection was Joan of Arc gets sexy on Star Trek.

Rosamosario, an eccentrically edgy lingerie line whose theme was wearing underwear on the outside, because as its designer Carlotta Danti explained, "Italians do not like to hide things. They dont buy a Lamborghini to put it in the garage, but to drive to St. Tropez and meet a beautiful girl."

Ethical designer Hamnett enjoys fashionable return (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters Life!) - British designer Katharine Hamnett is relishing a comeback now that the fashion world has finally caught up with her campaigning notions about clothes.

Hamnett stormed off the fashion stage four years ago after her pleas to use organic cotton fell on deaf ears.

But the designer whose oversized T-shirts with slogans like "Choose Life" and "Use a Condom" were all the rage in the 1980s is enjoying a return now that "ethical fashion" is in vogue.

"Years ago when I was talking about this I was a voice in the wilderness and now I have people come up to me and say Oh, you were right all along," Hamnett said in an interview at Rome fashion week, where she was promoting ethical fashion.

Once a fixture on the London catwalk scene, Hamnett severed her contracts with licensees in 2004 to commit what she calls "commercial suicide" and went back to selling T-shirts when her social and environmental initiatives drew little support.

Today, she is not only enjoying a revival of the slogan t-shirt look -- actress Sarah Jessica Parker wore one in the "Sex & the City" movie -- but also plans to launch an "ethical denim" jeans line that proves ethical doesnt mean frumpy.

"Its got to be fashion first, and then environment," said Hamnett, who created a stir by meeting British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984 in a T-shirt emblazoned with "58 percent dont want Pershing," in a reference to U.S. nuclear missiles.

"Nobodys going to buy clothes out of pity, youre going to buy clothes because you want them, its something that makes you feel great, its not anything thats kinda brown and lumpy."

Hamnetts return comes as Western shoppers increasingly demand clothing made without sweatshop or child labor and develop a fondness for environmentally-sound fabrics that are made with recycled materials or cotton grown without pesticides.

Once the domain of a few niche labels, today mainstream brands and large retailers have all hopped on the "organically made" and socially responsible clothing bandwagon.

Hamnett says she is convinced the demand for such clothing is a lasting trend and not just a passing fad because it is driven by consumers -- a voice the fashion industry cant afford to ignore during an economic downturn.

"Consumer power is finally raising its ugly head. Its like the sleeping giant that is waking up," she said.

"My experience is you try to change the fashion industry from the inside and they say "f... off" but talk to my dentist, doctor, and others and theyre like Oh my God. You know people are very kind-hearted."

Shes also trying to convince designers that going ethical makes business sense.

She lists studies showing companies that followed ethical practices were more profitable and favored by consumers and says organic cotton adds only 5 percent to the cost of a t-shirt but raises profits for poor cotton farmers by 50 percent.

"Industry is in such a bad way, this is the only new thing they havent tried," she says, referring to the global economic slowdown that is biting into profits at apparel houses.

"Its the new big thing."

As for critics who question designers who fly to fancy parties, stay at luxury hotels and talk about saving cotton farmers dying of hunger in Africa and India?

Hamnett says she has reinvested everything into her projects for ethical fashion and continually searches for a simpler life.

"I always thought that you could be famous by being a bad person," she said. "The challenge is to do it being a decent person."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Gucci flaunts hippy chic (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) - Billowy summer dresses pinned with gold shells and flared trousers from a bygone era of languid glamour dominated Guccis pre-spring show at a 17th century hilltop villa in designer Frida Gianninis native Rome.

Gucci is one of a growing line of fashion houses showing off a "cruise wear" or pre-spring collection in addition to summer and winter wear, eyeing the line as an important niche to keep customer interest in a global economic downturn.

"Everyone is doing cruise (collections) because customers and the market are now very demanding and people need to always have fresher pieces and new things in the store," Giannini said before the show, which was watched by actress Claire Danes.

Her show follows similar cruise wear parades by Christian Dior at a sleek New York restaurant, Chanel in Miami Beach, and Diane von Furstenberg in a lush Florentine garden last month.

Giannini normally unveils her cruise collections in New York, but opted for Rome, where she was born and raised, to celebrate the 70th year of the brands flagship store there. Five of the dresses shown will only be sold at that store.

Models decked out in flowery prints and peppermint stripes took to the runway with oversized python-print bags in hand, chunky wedges on feet and cord belts tied at the waist.

Wide-leg white trousers paired with fitted jackets bearing metal buttons alternated with a mustard pantsuit and dark-blue or beige slacks. Breezy dresses in colors like saffron and turquoise flared out from the chest, often cinched at the waist or the neck with golden shells.

"I had in mind for this collection a very precise image of Talitha Getty in the 1970s on her terrace of her villa in Marrakesh," Giannini said, referring to the iconic photograph of John Paul Gettys actress wife who represented Bohemian chic.

"So I had very long kaftans, very printed and colorful embroidery ... all this mixed together represents this idea of colorful, of play and hippy chic."

Off the shoulder and one-sleeved blouses made an appearance, as did a bright orange short dress with puffed sleeves gathered at the elbow and a shimmery, gold-flecked ankle-length number.

Jackets were trimmed with leather on side pockets, while one featured a hoodie and another was paired with slouchy shorts.

Guccis show coincided with Romes high fashion week this week, and concluded with an open-air dinner and music bash in the villa gardens. The brand is owned by French retailer PPR.

(Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Valentino's New Alien Couture (Fashion Wire Daily)

Paris - Valentinos creative director Alessandra Facchinetti faced trial by jury Wednesday at 6.30 PM in Paris.

Her jurors were 120 of fashions elite editors who gathered in the houses French headquarters in tony Place Vendome to cast their votes on whether Facchinetti could cut it with her debut haute couture collection.

Their verdict? The young lady passed with flying colors, with a courtly, semi-alien, oddly organic collection that earned her a rip roar of cheers as she took her bow on her elliptical runway and a warm embrace from Giorgio Armani, who showed up to support his fellow Italian.

The clothes at times looked like they had grown themselves, as charmingly baroque cocktails spouted miniature fabric roses, and gowns were frosted with organza flowers. There was an alien mood throughout - suggested by the opening look, a silk crepe ovoid skirt, accessorized with gold Star Trek origami brooch, though mixed with a baroque opulence.

"Van Dyke, obviously, but Van Dyke on another planet," smiled Facchinetti, explaining her inspiration, as the models - their backs dusted in silver, their lips the palest brown - gathered for a second show for clients. The models were practically smoldering and knew they had just walked in something important.

The Antwerp-born painters influence shown through in the rich color scheme and swirling volumes. Alessandra sure loves her trains, attaching them to open backed red chiffon dresses with artful obi "paperoles," or extending them from absinthe fitted chiffon columns, a prairie of origami flowers.

Two models in capes looked like princesses at some future distant court, an idyllic organic era where weve long solved global warming and live for elegance.

Adding to the Sci-Fi mood was a soundtrack of serial music from the likes of Philip Glass and Brian Eno, mixed in with scraps from German Techno artist Ellen Allien. Rolling electronic kettledrums at the finale evoked a spaceship taking off.

A former creative director of Gucci, and an alumnus of Prada and Moncler, Facchinetti is the first female in charge of a major haute couture house in four decades - and all at just 35.

But what well most recall is the sheer beauty of the collection, and the audacity of this young couturier to take, and bring off, such a tricky and refined idea. A star couturier is born.

Givenchy Couture: Arty And Andean (Fashion Wire Daily)

Paris - Givenchy couture took a tour of the Andes this week in Paris, as the houses creative director Riccardo Tisci sent out a phalanx of models in alpaca en route on a motorbike tour of Peru.

These were Chez Guevaras wealthy grand nieces in perfecto biker jackets lined in alpaca and hefty tobacco hued pants, ideal for riding sidesaddle on the revolutionarys Norton 500 motorcycle La Poderosa, or The Mighty One. Incan princesses in sleeveless mink blousons, waxed leather redingotes and lambskin shirts; tough romantic chic at its best.

Tiscis Latin America, like the couturier, is religiously obsessed so asymmetrical robes are sexy yet that tad demure.

Models took jaunts in Zig Zag Peruvian pattern pants suits, and native peoples bulbous hats in this show, staged in a medieval convent, whose floor was covered in scraps of wood bark.

One stunning semi-sheer white organza column with a broken geometric pattern made of twisted organza and beads showed a master couturier at work, and rightly drew a burst of applause.

For evening, Tisci injected his quotient of sex, climaxing with a finale of more biker jackets, though this time worn over see-through tulle dresses, the better to admire the slimmest of bottoms.

Riccardos clothes are not an easy wear; his is such a singular vision it may always been a minority report. But his view of fashion is so dramatic and beautifully pure that hes guaranteed to win his place among the Pantheon of couturiers.

Jean Paul Gaultier's Caged Belles (Fashion Wire Daily)

Paris - Half the passages in this weeks haute couture show by Jean Paul Gaultier had birds names; several were simply entitled cage, befitting a collection where many of fashions most beautiful models hit the runway bound in wire traps or metal frames.

This menagerie like show in Paris felt like a march of latter day Joan of Arcs, but bound for a demimondaine nightclub not a battle at Orleans. Flared coats in pale mink or redingotes in velvet came wrapped in the steel normally hidden underneath pinafores; sleek bomber jackets were enclosed by bondage gear.

There was a Fifties silhouette to this fall 2009 collection, exemplified by the prim to the knee skirts and raglan shouldered jackets. Russian uber beauty Natasha Poly in a mauve suits with curly cut outs looked liked she walked out from a scene in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

And it would not be a Gaultier show without his fetish Barnstormers jodhpurs and tough chic down jackets - these too encased in metal.

However, though one could not fault the quality or the rich imagination, one could bemoan the sense that the clothes did not look terribly new; the feeling that this great designer was ploughing an already ploughed furrow.

Curiously, there were many empty seats at this show by Jean Paul, once the biggest draw in Paris, or for that matter anywhere on the international fashion circuit.

Thats why, when leaving Gaultiers headquarters, the overriding impression was of a designer in need of a fresh creative impulse - of a bird that needed to be set free.

Young designer joins couture pantheon (AP)

PARIS - Designer Alessandra Facchinetti on Wednesday dispelled any doubts about her ability to fill legendary designer Valentino's shoes, drawing warm applause for her first-ever haute couture collection for the Italian label.

Models paraded under crystal chandeliers in the gilded salons of Valentino's headquarters on the tony Place Vendome, wrapped in powdery pastel chiffon gowns and blinding white cocoon coats.

A gray chiffon day dress with a pleated bib front and ruffled jabot was dusted with silver sequins, while a duck blue pod-shaped coat was embroidered with organza flowers.

Facchinetti, who had previously designed only ready-to-wear collections, said that working with the seamstresses who produce the made-to-measure couture outfits was an entirely new experience.

"Working with the 'atelier' is much more like working with a family. They really create things with me. I'm not alone and they are not alone doing their job," the slender 35-year-old told reporters after the show.

Though many of those "little hands" had been with Valentino for decades, they appeared to have adapted to their new boss seamlessly.

Haute luxe details remained faithful to Valentino's heritage, but the flawless perfection that characterized the maestro's work had given way to a charmingly light touch.

Earlier, French designer Jean Paul Gaultier conjured neon birds of paradise heading to a high-class rave in his feathered-and-caged collection.

Models paraded in flamboyant fur coats and sumptuous evening gowns topped with crinolines and corset cages in fluorescent yellow, orange and pink.

"Women feel so free nowadays that they are wearing cages again," the irreverent designer said. "It's the ultimate stage in women's liberation."

Gaultier said he was inspired by the "fluo kids" of the electro music scene and by the 1980s film "Tron," about a hacker who is trapped inside a computer game. The Day-Glo colors only served to highlight the luxurious fabrics which are the hallmark of couture.

A cocoon cage lined in silver fox fur split open to reveal a skintight sheath dress with pearl-embroidered flowers -- perfect for dancing the night away.

The vibrant displays confirmed that couture is thriving, despite a gloomy economic environment, as discerning customers seek out one-off creations.

Gaultier said he was surprised by the success of his couture division, launched 11 years ago.

"I think it does have a future, because I am living that future, in a way," he said.

"I don't know how long it will last, but in this period where you have a choice between either very cheap clothes or high luxury, couture is clearly undergoing a revival."

Only 11 fashion houses qualify for the haute couture designation, which is delivered by the French Industry Ministry and carries a strict set of requirements.

Many houses have discontinued the loss-making activity in recent years, among them Emanuel Ungaro, Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Louis Scherrer and Hanae Mori.

But smaller, lesser known designers have been greeted into the couture pantheon, most recently Maurizio Galante and Anne Valerie Hash.

"The cohabitation between famous brands with artistic directors from the new generation, and new brands which have their own repertory, is what makes the strength of couture week," Didier Grumbach, head of French fashion's governing body, told The Associated Press.

Romeo Gigli hires African students for new project (Reuters)

MILAN (Reuters Life!) - Italian fashion house Romeo Gigli is taking on aspiring African designers to create a menswear collection as part of a project aimed at adding an international influence to its clothes.

Six young designers from Ghana, Senegal and Kenya will join the Romeo Gigli creative team later this year to work on a 2009/2010 autumn/winter collection of 25-30 pieces, which will be called "Romeo Gigli Lab."

The task, part of a project with Milan city council to attract young talent to the fashion capital, will be to evoke the traditional style of their countries for the brand, which has a trademark fleur de lys.

"The collection will have the structural elements of the main line but also the colors, materials ... experience (and) culture that they bring with them," said Pierlugi Mancinelli, head of clothing manufacturer and distributor Mood, which controls the brand.

"The aim is to give the brand some international elements. On one side we are helping young unknown (designers) to emerge ... on the other, we are also trying to widen stylistic input."

The collection will be presented in January along with Romeo Giglis main line. After that, the house will open its doors to aspiring designers from other countries, such as Jordan and China.

"Every season, we will change the geographical zone," Mancinelli said. "It will remain a permanent label in the brands history."

It is not the only Italian brand to take on foreign young talent. Brioni, known for handmade suits, has brought in students from Britains Royal College of Art for a menswear course, and the National Chamber of Fashion runs an project for young designers to show creations during Milan fashion week.

(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by Keith Weir)

Chanel's Haute Expressionist Couture (Fashion Wire Daily)

Paris - The giant, faux aluminum grain silos practically touched the glass roof of the Grand Palais Tuesday, as the haute collection created by Karl Lagerfeld similarly soared to new heights of chic and levels of aesthetic fancy.

Most designers make futurist clothes look retro, recreations of Sixties YV series, not Karl who injected lots of his own signature silhouette into a great Chanel show that came in two distinct parts - a gutsy, sexy opening for day crammed with great First Date clothes, the sort of cool French gear guys dream of meeting a beautiful new girlfriend in, and a splendid series of dresses where the Chanel atelier showed it has no rival when it comes to sewing and embroidering the unique.

There is a great deal of arrant, half-witted stories written about how Karl Lagerfelds own signature collection, which is usually described as German expressionist, never quite measures up to his ideas for Chanel. Here his very Teutonic shapes, curvilinear lines recalling Zeppelins or Bauhaus stairways, made for a thoroughly fresh take on couture.

This was a great fashion moment which reminded us of the relevance of couture, as a locomotive of ideas, for the lines and finish of this collection will be picked over and copied and mimicked worldwide, even if nothing will compare to the original.

Karl curved shoulders, grew mini buttresses around the hips and bubbled up hemlines, mimicking the giant set, which wowed the crowd as they sat down in the sun drenched space. "Dont you like my organ pipes," cracked Lagerfeld post show.

He developed a great new grid-like fabric for coats and jackets, layering it over the houses signature wool boucle. And wed hate to be a heterosexual reductionist, but one look, a lilac Space Age wool dress on Russian supe Natasha Poly, was the sort to set any guys pulse racing.

Quite a few of the dresses were, literally, hard to walk in as Karl cut them curvy at the hips but tight just above the knee, but the effect visually was great.

For evening, the bizarre additions of picture frames as headgear was way too much. But once again the image was remarkable. And, if the spaghetti extensions of some dresses recalled Sci-Fi monsters grabbing a woman around the throat, the remarkable cascades of glass beading on the final looks could only have been by Karls "petit mains" in the sewing backroom of Chanel.

Welcome to the New Expressionism.

Giorgio Armani Red Carpet (Fashion Wire Daily)

Paris - Giorgio Armani calls his haute couture collection Armani Prive, but maybe he might consider renaming it Armani Red Carpet.

No designer has a bigger reputation in Hollywood than Giorgio, and one could fully understand why after enjoying his fall 2008 Prive collection, his latest, and largely successful, attempt to remake couture in his own image.

Armani striped back the collection this season, eschewing the arty hats he normally favors, and opening with a great series of fall suits and separates, designed for the Ladies Who Rule, rather than the Ladies Who Lunch. His devilishly well draped jackets in everything from mango leather or puckered silk and pleated pants with high waists in birds silk or grisaille all looked snazzy and posh, yet never stiff.

Though hes the richest designer on the planet, Armani historically never used super models in his shows, on the grounds that they "distract" attention from the clothes. This season, he sent out a phalanx of uber babes, from the runways best walker Vlada Roslyakova to the best show finisher of all, Natasha Poly, mesmerizing in a dazzling glass beaded dress that cried out for one missing accessory - an Oscar statuette.

Dolled up with Veronica Lake, peek-a-boo, hairstyles, the models drew oohs and aahs from the audience, composed of real, genuine couture costumers, quite frankly a rare species at many couture shows.

Their excitement grew towards the finale, applause rippling through the space at a divine black and white bustier dress held miraculously together with a horizontal velvet bow.

"Its a pure distillation of my style," Armani told FWD after taking his bow before an audience that included Helen Mirren, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Elsa Zylberstein and the ever beautiful Princess of Savoy Clotilde Courau.

Russian label Irfe rises from its ashes in Paris (AP)

PARIS - The history of Russian fashion label Irfe reads like a rollicking bestseller, but for designer Olga Sorokina, it's a fairytale come true.

Almost eight decades after the original house of Irfe shuttered its doors, Sorokina presented her first collection for the label during couture week in Paris, with the hope of restoring it to its former glory.

Models paraded on the steps of the Palais de Tokyo contemporary art museum in bias-cut silk gowns and rich astrakhan fur jackets inspired by the sleek fashions of the 1920s and 1930s.

"The story of this house is a part of Russia's history and heritage," Sorokina, speaking through an interpreter, told reporters at the presentation late on Monday.

Founded in Paris in 1924 by Prince Felix Yusupov and his wife Irina, the niece of the last Russian Czar Nicholas II, Irfe rapidly conquered a following amid chic European and American customers who were dazzled by its aristocratic founders.

The fact that Yusupov had played a part in the murder of the self-declared holy man Rasputin at his family palace in St. Petersburg added a frisson of excitement.

But the prince had little business sense, and two years after the 1929 Wall Street crash ruined his most prosperous clients, Yusupov was forced to shutter Irfe.

Only two of the house's original creations survive, as many American clients used to clip the labels out of the dresses they bought in Paris in the hope of evading customs duties.

Sorokina said she was drawn to the label after reading "Beauty in Exile," fashion historian's Alexandre Vassiliev's account of the artists, models and nobility who fled the Russian revolution and influenced the world of fashion.

She contacted Xenia Sphiris, the granddaughter of the founders, who agreed to relaunch the brand.

"We thought about it and we talked about it and the idea was fantastic, and I know that my grandparents loved that house," Sphiris, who was born Sheremeteva, told The Associated Press.

She said the label was financially backed by Russian businessman Andrei Strukov, but Strukov declined to comment on his involvement or to detail the shareholder structure of the new firm.

The relaunch of Irfe is testament to the growing purchasing power of Russia's new rich, who have joined the exclusive coterie of haute couture clients in recent years.

Sorokina, a 23-year-old former model from Belarus, is riding on the coattails of this meteoric rise.

She confessed she was nervous presenting her creations in Paris, where prestigious houses like Chanel and Christian Dior are unveiling their latest made-to-measure creations to wealthy clients this week. Nonetheless, she was confident of making her mark.

"Paris is definitely still the capital of fashion, but in a few years Russian designers will break out in the international market," predicted Sorokina, who was dressed in a close-fitting cream silk trouser suit of her own design.

Irfe has bold plans for a fledgling firm. It expects to open its first store on Moscow's exclusive Stoleshnikov Lane this winter, with further shops planned in Paris, Milan and New York.

Irfe also plans to introduce a perfume range and a line of jewelry based on the legendary jewels of the Yusupov, Sheremetev and Romanov families.