>> Soon after Maybelline announced it would be be taking over from five-year Bryant Park cosmetics sponsor MAC, MAC — presumedly, as New York Times' Eric Wilson put it, tired of having to share "a rather circuslike stage with other sponsors who were competing for attention, sometimes including makers of doughnuts, cameras, toilets and Big Macs" — announced that it would be producing the tentatively-titled MAC and Milk Fashion Week with Milk Studios at the same time as the traditional New York Fashion Week.
The event can be seen as either a complement or a competitor to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, but on the record, anyway, there seem to be no hard feelings. Milk Studios founder Mazdack Rassi says of the initiative: "This week is not an alternative show space, it's a way of cultivating designers and helping them come up with new ways of selling their clothes." And Zach Eichman, a VP of IMG Fashion, which produces the shows at Bryant Park, told the New York Times last week the company welcomed the MAC and Milk event and that bus service between shows would be available when possible. “We can’t do every show in the tents. We hope they will be successful.”
>> INSIDER WIRE —All things aside, Peter Som seems to be enjoying his break from the Fashion Week grind — since he doesn't have to be stressing out and working on his finishing touches like usual, he's been hitting the shows — John Bartlett, Costello Tagliapietra, where he was laughing and chatting front row, and Prabal Gurung, to support his former design director at Bill Blass. Vera Wang, on the other hand? Not so lucky: Today, she was "a little bit crazed . . . because my favorite fabrics haven't even arrived yet. So far we're absolutely nowhere on this collection, I would say we're about 8 days away and nothing is working." [WWD, Style File]
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Costello Tagliapietra Spring 2009: Anchored in Lady, With a Touch of Butch
>> The third time was the charm for Costello Tagliapietra yesterday — after starting and stopping the runway music two times, the second of which included dimming the lights, the show finally got under way for the third and final time an hour after its scheduled start. Lucky for Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra, their designs made it worth the wait.
Their tailored lady got some edge, courtesy of Philip Crangi's black leather accessories and an airbrushed-on tattoo . Each girl sported a blue anchor with her initials under it, Miu Miu Fall 2008-style, to match the designers' own anchor and initial tattoos, and Christina Kruse got to show off the big cobra tattooed on her arm. An unconventional fabric choice — ultrasuede — gave a matte contrast to all the shiny charmeuse, and unexpected color combinations gave a real zing to the lineup. The only major problem came from the shoes, made by Giuseppe Zanotti for the show — a lot of girls had trouble navigating them, and Georgina Stojilkovic came close to falling.
*image: source
>> THE MODELIZER —Agyness Deyn made Costello Tagliapietra a family affair this afternoon — her older brother Greg joined her backstage and milled around the presentation space before she opened the show. You can definitely see the family resemblance — both Hollinses have blonde, spiky hair, and a penchant for super skinny jeans.
*image: source
You Stare at the Designers, and They Stare Back
»During W's Bruce Weber shoot in Miami, an off-beat "silent" movie was taken of all the designers involved [W Magazine]
»Nicole Kidman's July 2008 Vogue cover and editorial are up [Style.com]
»Charlize Theron has been meeting with Bruno Frisoni — is a Roger Vivier campaign in the works? [Chic Report]
»Daisy Lowe is rumored to be starring in The Hills: London [Fashionista]
»Naomi Campbell has a(nother) new man [The Sun]
»Stefano Pilati, Jeremy Scott, and Nicole Richie had their Polaroids taken for the Fall/Winter 2008 Self Service [Starworks]
»The designers behind Costello Tagliapietra want to be remembered as "jolly and portly" [The Fashion Informer]
»Kylie Bax is back [Models.com]
»Agyness Deyn: "The catwalk is second nature to me now: I’m walking down thinking 'I’ve got to pay that bill' and 'What am I gonna have for my tea?'" [thelondonpaper]
»Devon Aoki is doing a clothing line with Levi's [Chic Report]
»Previews of the Lanvin, Vena Cava, Louis Vuitton, and Emanuel Ungaro Resort 2009 collections [Style.com, Style.com, WWD, WWD]
Costello Tagliapietra A/W 2008
Costello Tagliapietra Fashion Show
