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Apr
12
“The collection is meant to be like a jewel box,” said Acra, who staged her first Pre-Fall ’08 presentation on Wednesday, Dec. 12. “The house is becoming more and more couture-like, so we wanted to make the exhibit like a museum.”For this jewel-box of a collection, then, jewel tones – rich amethyst, deep plum, jewel green and blue black – naturally played a starring role. A Grecian-style draped gown in a vibrant amethyst played to a gold embroidered neckline with great effect, while a jewel green halter dress in chiffon evoked ’30s-era movie stars like Jean Harlow.
“I dye all my own colors,” said Acra, and the result is a flawless palette with rich, unique tones – perfect for standing out on the red carpet today. Acra’s contemporary version of classic Hollywood glamour has earned her a celebrity following, having outfitted Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce, Ashanti, Star Jones and Eva Mendes, to name a few.
Apr
12
The products, in lip, face and eye categories, come in sleek transparent lucite packaging designed by Fabien Baron (“Little mini pieces of sculpture for your dresser,” said Carrigan), will feature a base of colors but will add trend colors once a season, as well as a new product exclusive to the season.
Highlights of the new collection include a mini brow kit with two tones of shadow for blending, a magnifying mirror and mini tweezers and brow brush (a steal at $22) and a brush-on concealer pen that goes on wet with a dry finish that won’t cake, even when applied later in the day as a touch-up over foundation.
Designed to be accessible, with price points that encourage experimentation (the average product is around $20), Carrigan sees the collection having broad appeal.
“It’s about an attitude rather than an age,” he said. “She’s into fashion.”
Apr
12
Composed of the rarest ingredients in the world with no regard to their cost, No. 1, which has been produced by Clive Christian for the past six years, retails for $2,350 for 30ml of the pure perfume. Only 1000 bottles each of the men’s and women’s perfumes are released each year.The single most expensive bottle of the Clive Christian perfume, the No. 1 Imperial Majesty bottle made of Baccarat Crystal and inset with a white diamond on the neck, was on display Saturday as well at Saks. Valued at over $200,000, only 10 bottles were ever produced.
Fans of No. 1 include Sir Elton John, who used the scent to perfume the gardens at his White Tie and Tiara Ball and Katie Holmes, who wore it on her wedding day for her marriage to Tom Cruise.Bikin fashion, Beauty girl, Girl Beauty, Bikini girl, gai xinh, Fashion Designers
Apr
12
But while the guts of the collection were very fine and highly flattering clothes – the jodhpurs made the models look, if anything, too thin, meaning they will be very flattering for “normal women” – the beginning and finale were both more problematic.
Odd, and not terribly alluring floral prints whose petals seemed more like IED explosions failed to flatter. Plus whatever gave Giannini the idea of pairing some huge grand ball gowns with suede faux Lonsdale belts – a seriously dumb stylistic move – mystified us.
That said, one revealing fact about a designer’s skill and commercial appeal is whether they wear their own season’s clothes when they take their finale bow. Surprisingly few do it better than Frida Giannini, who looked, hang it all, better than most of the models when she took her bow like the poshest of punkettes, wearing the best items in her own collection.
Apr
12
The setting alone was well worth trudging through the sticky rain of Milan – a Theatre of the Absurd backdrop of plastic walls and neon double F logos, and a transparent catwalk through which wound a twisting tube of several hundred yards, gradually changing colors during the show thanks to coursing liquid. It seemed an apt metaphor for a resolutely experimental house, famed as much in recent years for the innovation of its ideas as for the eccentricity of the results. And the twisting tube mimicked the swirling circles that were the distinctive image of this spring summer 2008 collection.
One had to admire the uniqueness of many of the outfits on display, from transparent plastic capes to sequined jungle king bride frocks to fabulous Montezuma Art Deco belts. Yet the admiration was mixed with the thought, where on earth could a gal actually wear the phantasmagorical clothes, like the mesh tops with tiny tufts of black mink, more suited for a space station cocktail than a tony urban society event.
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