Prada launches a capsule collection of eyewear. Called Prada Swing Sunglasses by Luxottica, the lineup "melds the retro femininity of the Fifties with a Nineties’ minimalism."
Giles Deacon will return to London Fashion Week this September, having shown his collection in Paris for the past two seasons.
Anne Christensen is headed to Conde Nast as Glamour's Fashion Director. She is replacing Xanthipi Joannides, who retired in June.
Jenna Lyons has been named President of J.Crew.
Having already launched one eyewear collection this spring (under the designer label The Row, with Linda Farrow), Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen announced today they will also produce sunglasses for their contemporary brand, Elizabeth and James.
In a collaboration with Hong Kong-based Absolute Black Design, the Olsens are offering two eyewear looks for Elizabeth and James this season. The Hudson and the Fairfax are both oversize black frames, the former inspired by a classic aviator and the latter a cat-eye-style sunnie.
According to Jill Collage, president of Dualstar Entertainment, stand-alone retail boutiques and a handbag collection are also in the works for Elizabeth and James in the very near future
Patricia Field presented a collection of swimwear for House of Field on a New York city rooftop Tuesday night, the day after her Radio City red carpet appearance for the Sex and the City 2 premiere. Field had guests sipping drinks poured from limited edition SATC bottles of Skyy vodka (although the cast was not present), while mannequins and models showed off House of Field swimwear and accessories. “It’s beachwear to look gorgeous in, to create a sensation around the pool in,” Field said. Adding that the suits (priced from $90 to $150) can actually get wet.
Source: Getty
Victoria Beckham's overhauled and renamed denim and eyewear collections will debut tomorrow on Net-a-Porter.com along with two short films highlighting the offerings. Both collections, having previously been part of licensing deals under dVb, are now completely controlled in house and under the Victoria Beckham label along with a very popular dress collection.
“I plan on still being here in 25 to 30 years’ time,” Beckham told WWD of her fashion business. “It’s about doing things gradually and building the brand in a strategic way. It’s about finding the right time, the right team. With everything that I do, I will only do it after I’ve done all my homework. I really am a perfectionist, and I don’t want to rush anything."
Her hard work is paying off, as estimates place the Victoria Beckham dress, denim and sunglass business at $7.5 million in sales next year. Industry heavyweights—retailers and fellow designers—are also on the pop-star turned designer's side. As Marc Jacobs said during the recent WWD-sponsored apparel/retail summit, “[Victoria Beckham] is someone who has always wanted to design clothes. She knows the body, she loves it and she’s working her ass off. It’s too easy to say nobody who’s celebrated for something else shouldn’t do fashion.”
After four successful seasons, Beckham herself can finally stand up to naysayers with the two things that matter most in the business of fashion: "There have been people that have wanted to knock me that haven’t been able to because they haven’t been able to argue with the quality [of the product] or the sell-throughs.”
[WWD]
Clothing, jewelry, footwear, bags . . . the only thing the Tory Burch brand is lacking is sunglasses. Well, no more. The designer has added glamorous eyewear to her already-successful repertoire. Tory Burch Eyewear, expected to hit stores in November, is priced $135 to $195; rather affordable compared to typical luxury sunglasses prices (from $230).
"I spent a lot of time developing the lenses and frames," Burch said. The result? Cat eye and shield frames in black, tortoise, navy and olive green. This debut collection was inspired by Burch's icons, James Dean, Peter Fonda, and Faye Dunaway, as well as her parents’ trips to Greece, Istanbul, and Morocco in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. Fresh.
Tom Ford has a mouth fetish. After his Spring ads were banned in Italy, why is Liliana Dominguez (love her) gnashing on a fat piece of chicken in the Fall '08 eyewear campaign? Maybe she was hungry. A model eating in an ad? Groundbreaking indeed. Also, does anyone else see a nod to Amy Winehouse? I'm sure photog Solve Sundsbo and Ford intended that. It's a bit hard to focus on the specs at hand, but it is a finger lickin' good ad, no?
How many pairs of sunglasses do you own? I'm in the midst of a sunglasses clean out, actually, so you don't want to know how many pairs I have accumulated over the years. Let's just say I'm trying to be more selective and smarter with my purchases. But yes, we have to protect our precious eyes from those harmful UV rays. When buying the new sunnies, considering certain factors can help narrow your search and results. Here are some suggestions on finding your perfect pair of sunnies.
To learn tips on finding the perfect pair of sunnies for round, oval, and square shaped faces, read more
We might be covering men's wear now but that doesn't mean we'll keep from saying that things look 'hot' and mean it in a 'we want to date them' way. Queue professor specs. These glasses just cropped up styled into the D&G men's wear show and we saw it yesterday from Romeo Gigli. Shall we call it an eyewear trend in the making? Let's hope so. Aside from liking them because they look so sharp, we're pretty sure we have some trend evidence to back this up. First Persol 714's replaced Wayfarers as the retro sunglasses of choice this Summer and we have to say the shape it curiously similar. Second, as we know, men and women alike are going high water these days (from Spring and now, well, Spring) and so a nod to nerd in the trouser arena might have made way for professor specs as a full on trend. It can't just be that gents look good in them, could it? No, we know better than that. We going to take it from Milan and make it our own. Let's just hope it looks half as good on us.
You might not know his name, but Benjamin Montoya is a stylist's best-kept secret.
He owns the LA mecca for sunglasses, City of Angels — just recently visited by David Beckham — and last year decided to launch his own line, Benjamin Eyewear.
The shades have already been snapped up by fellow LA designer Jenni Kayne, who styled them with her last two collections shown during New York Fashion Week. But the feeling is mutual: Benjamin considers her a muse and has even named one of his available styles “Kayne.”
Benjamin Eyewear is available at LeeLeeLunettes.com and runs $325-$500.
To see more from Benjamin Eyewear, read more
Get your shades while they're hot. Summer is quickly approaching (or so we hope) which means you deserve a fresh pair of shades. After all, you will invariably live in them come June. If we must say, Karen Walker's Spring 2008 eyewear collection is one of our favorites. The shapes are diverse this season with dense frames in strong matte colors. These shades are selling out everywhere which means those who spent hundreds on polarized Wayfarers have finally decided to get with times and kick it up a notch. If you're a New Yorker, you're in luck because Den (the Odin concept store) is nearly fully stocked with the collection. Better get a move on though as the Karen Walker collections will soon be replaced by menswear designer Robert Geller's duds. Baby, it's going to be a good summer.
