barneys new york

>> One of sure to be many fashion figures wearing Alexander McQueen to Monday's Costume Institute Gala? Daphne Guinness, who plans to dress herself for the event — in a feathery McQueen gown — in one of the windows of Barneys' Manhattan flagship, starting at 5 p.m. on May 2. The stunt — which was Guinness's idea — is not in any way a peep show, she says: “I am not doing a burlesque — no way. I’m going to be getting dressed behind something. I’m not Dita Von Teese, nor shall I be.” Instead, she likes the idea because “there’s been this discussion for longer than I’ve been alive that fashion is not art,” Guinness explains. “My feeling is that this is another piece of evidence that, yes, there is a commercial side to fashion that is needed, but there are these crossover moments that do become art. I hope it works, and I don’t faint.” [NY Times]

As the resident beauty expert for Barneys New York, Jason Ascher is the go-to guy for all things cosmetic. And now that the new season is here, he advises seeking out the makeup mode that's best suited to your complexion. To find out which fashionable new hues Ascher says are best for your skin tone, just keep reading.

After much speculation regarding who, what, or where Carine might be heading to after leaving Vogue Paris, Roitfeld has finally announced her next gig as a guest editor, muse, and stylist for Barneys New York's multifaceted Fall 2011 initiative. "For me, Barneys has always been the biggest name in luxury department stores, so to be able to participate in this project with them, and be visible during the next fashion week in New York, is my dream come true," said Roitfeld. "To a French girl, it's a big, big dream."

In addition to styling and editing Barneys's advertising campaign — which will be shot by her close colleague Mario Sorrenti — catalog, and Fall mailers, Roitfeld will play a part in styling Barneys's famous Madison Avenue windows, set to unveil in September. Barneys customers will also be treated with a short Sorrenti-shot film, showing them a more personal side of Roitfeld highlighting her views on fashion and style. "Barneys is about a sense of surprise and discovery, and Carine is a reminder that fashion needs a sense of the unexpected," said Mark Lee, Barneys CEO. We can't wait to see Carine's work at Barneys; are you excited as well?

Looking for a new lip color but don't know which shade is right for you? Jason Ascher is the beauty guru at Barneys New York, so he knows a thing or two about selecting the right products. He recommends letting your skin tone be your guide to spotting the most flattering colors. Here, he dispenses advice for choosing hues.

If you have pale skin:
Show some courage! Ascher recommends wearing "a bright pink, as long as you wear it with confidence and own the look." Go for the bold with Nars Semi-Matte Lipstick in Schiap ($24) or Hourglass Femme Rouge Crème Lipstick in Fever ($30).

If you have medium or olive skin:
"Look for a juicy orange lip color, and keep the remainder of your look quite neutral," Ascher says. A satiny shade like Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in Le Orange ($30), or Clé de Peau Beauté Lip Gloss in N7 ($48) would be a tangerine dream.

If you have darker skin:
Ascher suggests trying brown-based pinks. Get the perfect amount of pink with Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Tulle ($22), or Armani Beauty Rouge d'Armani Lipstick in Pink 512 ($30).

Photo courtesy of Greg Kessler

>> Carine Roitfeld was spotted a couple of days ago in New York, and it will likely be happening more often in the next few months. Barneys New York has asked Roitfeld to act as a guest editor, muse, and stylist for a multifaceted Fall 2011 initiative.

Roitfeld will style and edit Barneys' Fall 2011 catalogue, campaign (to be shot by Mario Sorrenti), and mailers, as well as put her touch on the retailer's Madison Avenue windows, to be unveiled in September. “It’s very exciting,” Roitfeld said. “It’s a new kind of project for me. It’s good to have a new life, because now I can do projects that I never dreamed of before. For me, Barneys has always been the biggest name in luxury department stores, so to be able to participate in this project with them, and be visible during the next fashion week in New York, is my dream come true. To a French girl, it’s a big, big dream.”

The collaboration came up after a conversation with Barneys CEO Mark Lee after Roitfeld announced she was leaving Vogue Paris. Barneys creative director Dennis Freedman explained that the campaign will reflect “the woman that [Roitfeld] is and her personal style, which we feel is the perfect reflection of our customer. She is the ideal muse as well as editor. She has a unique and extraordinary personal style. She appeals to all ages. She is independent and strong, and yet she is completely feminine. She is a woman of the world, which we like to think our customer is, as well.” It remains unclear whether Roitfeld herself will appear in the ad campaign.

Sorrenti is also expected to shoot a short film in New York and Paris for Barneys, with Roitfeld as the focus. “I am hoping to capture something very personal, a portrait of her in a way,” Sorrenti said. “When Carine and I are together, it’s fun, and she is really cool and really herself, and it’s that intimacy that I want to capture. She has a great sense of humor, and she is very provocative and very free in the way that she doesn’t plan about who she is and what she is going to say. She is very natural, which is great.”

This is Roitfeld's first publicly announced project since leaving Vogue Paris, and it sounds like she plans to stay a free agent for the time being. She says of recent rumors: “Each day it’s changing. One day I am going to Dior with Riccardo Tisci, the next day I am going to Saint Laurent with Hedi Slimane. I don’t think it’s very nice for the designer at Saint Laurent, and it’s just rumors. What I know is that I now have my freedom and I will keep my freedom forever. I am very excited to have this freedom and to have projects like the one at Barneys.”

As for what her future might actually hold, she says: “I am sure that one day I will, even if it’s not my own magazine, do special stories for magazines and maybe something on the Internet. I have projects and opportunities coming on. The only sure thing I know is that I will keep my freedom. I can be a muse for a designer, I can do work for some magazines, and do advertising, and maybe something like Barneys, but still keep my freedom.”

>> After Haider Ackermann's name was thrown into the ring of potential Dior designers on March 1, his phone started ringing non-stop, according to Katou Brandsma, who represents the designer. "When everything went mad, he locked himself in his showroom and turned off his BlackBerry. I believe it's still off now," Brandsma said, almost two weeks after. "It was a very bizarre fashion week, but a very good one for us. Everyone was congratulating us. We had buyers from shops, like Barneys in New York, we've been waiting for 10 years to turn up to our shows. Our designs stood out because everyone else — apart from McQueen — was so boring." [Guardian UK]

• Joseph Altuzarra has paired with denim duo Current/Elliott for six denim styles, set to debut on his Fall 2011 runway — and Vogue has a preview (left) [Vogue.com]
• New Barneys fashion director Amanda Brooks was mum last night on the subject of her new position, saying that it was only her second day, but she has started Twittering for Barneys and says she plans to attend as many New York fashion shows as she can [Harper's Bazaar]
• Zac Posen is keeping his Z Spoke collection appointments very low key this season: "Last season was for the media. This one is for the customers and retailers" [@meenalmistry]
• Jason Wu is livestreaming his Feb. 11 show on Bergdorf Goodman's website, where some Fall items will be for sale as pre-orders on Feb. 16 [Christina Binkley]
• Marc Jacobs is forgoing a Fashion Week party, instead feting the 10th anniversary of Marc by Marc Jacobs with a Valentine's Day "semiformal" [@jimshi809]
• Peep Lauren Santo Domingo on the March 2011 cover of Town & Country, attended by the headline: "Meet the next Mrs. Astor" [@jimshi809]
• Bryanboy has done videos of his fashion escapades before, but this fashion week, he's doing a 24-hour livestream of himself for Kanon Organic Vodka, which promises to "give viewers a first hand look into what it’s like to rub elbows with fashion’s elite." He's got a video preview up on his site, and it goes live beginning at 9 am on Feb. 16 at kanonvodka.com [Bryanboy]
• There are also reports that Bryanboy is shooting a pilot during New York Fashion Week with the producers of America's Next Top Model that "Bravo is supposedly very interested in" [The Cut]
• Tumblr is putting 24 bloggers up in a hotel for New York Fashion Week, has secured invites for them to more than a dozen shows — including big shows like Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta — and set up events for them like breakfast with Nina Garcia, a private brunch at Lucky editor Brandon Holley's apartment, and a meeting with Oscar de la Renta prior to his show to talk his new collection [WSJ, The Cut]
• Abbey Lee Kershaw is reportedly skipping New York Fashion Week, for a "personal music project" in London with "my band" — Our Mountain, the band of Kershaw's boyfriend, Matthew Hutchinson, which she's performed with before. She is, however, set to head to Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks [Frockwriter]
• Alexander Wang cut his front row seats in half this season, thanks to a new seating configuration; he's also hosting an intimate party on Feb. 15 to mark his store's opening [@meenalmistry, @jimshi809]

>> Vogue contributor Amanda Brooks was named Barneys' new fashion director, vice president succeeding Julie Gilhart last Friday and she starts in the role on Monday without much retail experience in her pocket (she was most recently director of fashion at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, and in the past, a creative director at Hogan and Tuleh). But, when Barneys CEO Mark Lee was asked about his decision to hire Brooks and Dennis Freedman, former longtime W creative director, who also doesn't have a strong retail background, Cathy Horyn reports: "Mr. Lee said that Ms. Brooks brought a diverse background, as an editor, stylist and brand developer, to her post. 'We didn’t need more retail help,' he said. As for Mr. Freedman, Mr. Lee said, 'Great creativity is hard to find,' and that Barneys can benefit from Mr. Freedman’s ideas and knowledge of the worlds of art, design and architecture." [On the Runway]