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Australia: A Romantic Wardrobe, Part II

FabSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:22 -0800

Did you happen to go see Australia this weekend? If my first words with costume designer Catherine Martin didn't pique your interest maybe these will. Some specific items of clothing stood out to me in the film - notably the colors of Lady Ashley's clothes, her belts, and her red Chinosierie dress. Here's what Martin had to say about those standouts.

I noticed she wears a lot of blues and browns. The film is so visually arresting how did you factor in the color of the clothes with the beauty of the movie?

"I had another collaborator, Mandy Walker, who is the Director or Photography. Baz, Mandy and I looked at a lot of color photography from that period and we started talking about exploring a palette out of the photography. We had a broad palette that encompassed all the colors from the film. What’s interesting about the color photography from the period, it meant a lot of mixed tones that got really close together, you have a monochromatic base. From that we developed our own color theory.

For the arrival suit, it wasn’t the ideal color choice, we made her blue and white because it was the most unlikely, it clashed with the environment. She was a totally different alien person to this place. And as the movie progresses her colors are references to Australia and become much stronger, she becomes part of her environment."

To read the rest, read more

I noticed throughout her transition in the movie, she has a fondness for belts. Everyone wore belts. Was that more fashion or function?

"It’s a combination. The style was wearing two belts, a belt to hold your pants up, and a hobble belt, which helped you capture horses, tying their legs together so they can’t run away during the night, which some of the stockmen wore. Looking over the beautiful leather accessories and sportswear of the 1930s, there were some beautiful belts, notably made by Hermes and various other designers of the period. I think they’re a fantastic accessory; I love how it defines the waistline, pulls the outfit together. I really was a fan of the belt in this film."

I love how it also defined Nicole’s tiny, perfect waist. Even at the end of the film, she still looked put together.

"Yeah, it’s sort of a no nonsense thing. You feel definite in some way."

Tell me about the red Chinosierie dress. And the pink one. What a unique choice.

"Those two dresses. Basically, Lady Ashley loses all her clothes at one point. Baz said the challenge was: What is she going to wear when she gets to town, all her clothes have been trashed. We were looking in the contemporary newspapers of the day. And in the Northern a lot of Chinese tailors would advertise their manufacturing skills and that fact that they could make clothes in a very short space of time.

Darwin is closer to Indonesia than any other city. You had a very big Asian influence at the time, and a very important Chinatown. We made a back-story in our minds that Sing Song, who was the Chinese cook, would have had a coven who comes from Shanghai to Darwin and he would have a tailoring business. And Sarah would go to that business and get her clothes made. There was a big fashion amongst Asian people, which was a problem with the Nationalists of the time. In reality, she would have gone to a Chinese tailor."

The red dress was the standout dress of the movie, of the party. I love how it gets rained on, but she doesn’t care.

"Yes. The one good thing about silk organza is it responds to the wet."

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Australia: A Romantic Wardrobe, Part I

FabSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:00:22 -0800

Today, the highly anticipated romantic adventure Australia, directed by Baz Luhrmann, releases. I had the opportunity to preview the film, in all its romantic glory, as well as to speak with the costume designer, Catherine Martin. We also had a fun fete at the San Francisco Ferragamo store, in honor of Lady Ashley's shoes in the movie - all designed by the Italian fashion house. Two styles of limited-edition shoes were reproduced from the movie and are being sold at Ferragamo stores; 950 were made, and the San Francisco store is selling 120 of them.

There's so much to share, but I was really excited to see this film and speak with Martin. I am a huge Baz fan - I own both Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet - and as you may or may not know, Martin and Baz are married. Call it a cinematic match made in fashion heaven. No wonder the stories Luhrmann tells resonate so well: They are visually and emotionally epic. To hear what Martin had to say about Lady Ashley's wardrobe transformation, her kooky spyglasses (loved these), and the Ferragamo shoes, and to see lots of Australia eye candy, read more.

Can you talk about the transition of Lady Ashley’s wardrobe throughout the movie?

"Baz really focused on Lady Sarah Ashley’s wardrobe and the revealing to the audience of her change. Eighteen months before we starting rolling film we went to Nashville and met with Nicole. Under Baz’s instructions, I had designed and brought a whole bunch of costumes that polarized her before and after. We could explore what worked and what didn’t work. I brought a version of the riding suit, and the arrival costume, to try and find the dynamic of before and after."

So you had to really plan ahead?

"Yes, Baz is very detailed and demands a lot of research and back stories you need to discover and work on. And it takes months; we had a preproduction of about eight months and we were working with 2,000 costumes. That’s how long it takes."

Those kooky glasses Lady Ashley wore cracked me up. Where did you find those? And the mosquito net?

"In the script it said she wears spyglasses. And I said, “What are spy glasses?” There were travel logs written in the period about a woman wearing spyglasses. They were these glasses people wore to protect themselves from flies, which is also why she’s wearing the net. This is a classic design from the period. We made one slight alteration. Originally we thought they would be dark glasses but it was such a shame to not be able to see Nicole’s eyes. We swapped the glass for clear so you could see her reactions, which are so colorful and charming. The first pair were original period glasses we bought off the Internet, they were actually vintage and we had thickened them in our model workshop."

We had an event at the San Francisco Ferragamo store and I know Ferragamo designed the shoes for Nicole's character. How did all that come about?

"Footwear is always very difficult. To me a shoe really makes an outfit. But you have to think about practicality, too. They need to be comfortable. It’s preferable for them to be made to measure. Ferragamo seemed like an obvious partner; they have made shoes for aristocracy, royalty, and movie stars. And they had an enormous archive of shoes. They were groundbreakers and I thought what a great collaboration. It was fantastic - I was able to work with the designers, look back at the archives. And we could make changes and were eventually able to come up with a fantastic wardrobe of shoes for Lady Sarah Ashley."

What about Hugh's rugged shoes?

"Hugh’s were made by R.M. Williams, a traditional Australian bush outfitter. They made all the footwear for the stockmen and Hugh."

We couldn’t actually see the shoes she was wearing with the Chinoiserie red dress. I must know: What shoes was she wearing underneath there?

"Panne velvet sandals, they were a beautiful green gray. We used chagrine, which is stingray leather, which was very fashionable in the 1930s. Ferragamo has done a version of the shoe, in both black and red, as a limited edition. They are absolutely beautiful. From their inception, Ferragamo has always used exotic and textured shoes. There’s also a beautiful pair of Mary Jane’s, we used a wonderful raffia macramé, which was another one of Ferragamo’s signature looks.

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Celebrity Style: Kristen Stewart

FabSugar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:00:22 -0800

We're in for a fun week with the release of the highly anticipated vampire movie Twilight. Have you read the book yet?! I have, so I'm ready. The movie's heroine Kristen Stewart looks every bit Bella Swan: fragile, girl-next-door pretty, pale. Here she is promoting the film with Robert Pattinson in a party-perfect French Connection plaid dress, red patent pumps, and chain jewelry. These are the things vampire dreams are made of.

French Connection Women's "Jack" Check Tube Dress - $168.00	Type Z - I Said so (Red Patent) - $75.00
M+O Chain Torsade - $49.50	Lee Angel Jewelry Lyla Box Chain Bracelet - $150.00
Catherine Rapetti Rapetti - Love Knot Double Bracelet - $138.00	Interwoven Faux Leather Bracelet - $3.80
Catherine Michiels Carnelian & 14K Yellow Gold Bead Bracelet - $165.00	Sterling Silver Birthstone Claddagh Ring - March - $29.99
Kooba black metallic leather 'Kellie' clutch - $207.00

Check out CelebStyle for lots more celebrity street style!

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Best of 2008: Designers Branch Out

FabSugar — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:00:22 -0800

If you think you were busy this year, wait until you see how many designers expanded their businesses in 2008. Hint: It took me a crazy long time to round them all up. Majors like Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang, and Stella McCartney added more to their plates, as did smaller brands such as Members Only and Paige Denim. From jewelry and shoes to entire contemporary lines, these companies did what they could to boom their business.

Agent Provocateur dives into swimwear.
Alexander Wang adds shoes to his diffusion line.
Proenza Schouler expands its world to include handbags and footwear.
Handbag designer Devi Kroell designs clothes.
Banana Republic introduces its own line of sunglasses.

To see who else branched out this year, read more.

Members Only launches denim collection.
Seven For All Mankind delves into shoes.
Vince goes from t-shirt line to contemporary wear.
Adidas launches new sportswear.
Prada introduces a limited-edition line of costume jewelry.
Yigal Azrouel accessorizes his brand.
Brian Reyes adds lingerie to his brand.
St. John created a contemporary line.
See By Chloe launches footwear.
Rebecca Taylor adds shoes, bags, and jewels to her line.
Matthew Williamson decks Pucci out with accessories.
Vena Cava partners with Via Spiga to design shoes.
Ella Moss dips into swimwear.
John Galliano eyewear.
Nicole Miller legwear.
Juicy Couture slips into bed with innerwear collection.
Thomas Pink makes room for the ladies.
Maison Martin Margiela debuts a line of modern adornments.
Alpinestars enters women's sportswear business.
Hussein Chalayan steps it up with a collection of shoes.
Sophia Kokosalaki ventures into the world of denim.
Paige Denim starts a contemporary line.
Karl Lagerfeld creates a handbag and luggage collection.
Alber Elbaz creates Lanvin jeans and bridal collection.
Marchesa creates a capsule collection of wedding gowns.
John Galliano rounds out diffusion line with accessories.
BCBG introduces BCBGeneration.
Catherine Malandrino designs jewels.
Botkier launches footwear line.
Rachel Pally does swimwear.
A.B.S. By Allen Schwartz steps into the jewelry world.
Stella McCartney expands her business to include lingerie.
Mulberry goes from bags to shoes.
Diane von Furstenberg designs shoes.
Betsey Johnson produces a full collection of outerwear.

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Absolutely Fabulous

FabSugar — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:13:22 -0800

We kicked off our Best of 2008 polls this week. Vote it up!
We're mad for plaid, but are you? Take our tough quiz and find out.
Dramarama on Gossip Girl this week - take our fashion quiz. Serena's warm-weather outfit was Fab-u-lous.
We met Kate Bosworth this week! Read all about the cutie's awesome green Phillip Lim LBD.
Help us help you: Take the FabSugar reader survey (thank you).
Take our always-fun The Hills fashion quiz.
One of the coolest bits of the week was seeing designer sketches for Michelle Obama's inaugural outfit.
It's in the bag. Play our guess the celebrity by her hot handbag quiz.
We won't let this shrinking economy talk get you down; read our fashion recession tips.
Check out my December most wanted!
We love Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's book so much we're giving away eight autographed copies - enter to win here.
Read all about what Australia costume designer Catherine Martin had to say about Nicole Kidman's wardrobe in the epic film.
I can't wait for Thakoon for Target's ethnic-happy collection.

Absolutely Fabulous

FabSugar — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:44:22 -0800

The American Music Awards brought us some red carpet eye candy. Vote on all the looks and don't forget to vote on the best dressed.
You may not have even worn your Commes de Garcons H&M goodies yet, and the news hit that Matthew Williamson is next up to design for the fast fashion chain.
We're obsessing about Twilight a bit. Get the moody wardrobes of The Cullens and Bella Swan.
Take our always-fun The Hills fashion quiz.
Juliette Lewis is back on our radar - she was this week's Fabcon.
Need a shoe fix? Play our guess the lady by her lavish shoe quiz.
We won't let this shrinking economy talk get you down; read our fashion recession tips.
We love Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's book so much we're giving away eight autographed copies - Enter to win here!
It's that time. Holiday shop early to stay stress-free. Check out our Fab Gift Guides.
Think you can tell high from low fashion? Take our what's more pricey quiz and find out.
Read all about what Australia costume designer, Catherine Martin, had to say about Nicole Kidman's wardrobe in the epic film.

Which Nicole Kidman Australia Look Is Most Fab?

FabSugar — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:12:22 -0800

First of all, I highly recommend you watch Australia this weekend. And read all about what costume designer Catherine Martin had to say about the film's Fab wardrobe. Now that I got that off my chest, back to fashion. Nicole Kidman was all about sophisticated glamour during her Australia movie promotions. From delicate feathers to sequins, the seasoned actress reigned in her exquisite choices. My pick is Nicole in Dries Van Noten's shimmery frock - but that's just me. Which look do you prefer?

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On Our Radar: Ferragamo to Create Footwear For Upcoming Nicole Kidman Flick

FabSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:00:22 -0700

Imagine having the task of creating footwear for a high-profile flick starring Nicole Kidman? That's precisely the boat Salvatore Ferragamo is in. The footwear designer, along with Oscar-winning costume designer Catherine Martin, is set to create a collection of shoes for Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

"My grandfather, Salvatore Ferragamo, began his career working in costume design for the American Film Company, a precursor to Twentieth Century Fox, so it is only fitting that we carry on his name and our company's heritage by collaborating once again on a film from Fox," said James Ferragamo.

When watching the movie, which comes out in November, look for evening sandals, riding boots, and classic wedge styles. Some shoes will later be sold at Ferragamo stores worldwide. But first, they will be displayed in Milan at the Evolving Legend Exhibition starting Sept. 24.

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Link Time!!!

FabSugar — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:00:22 -0700

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld falls into the Gap - Fashionista
Lauren Conrad reveals her style secrets! - Off The Rack
Kraut rock: Berlin Fashion Week makes good - Refinery29
Chanel Sueded Alligator 2.55 - Bag Snob
"Hijab chic": How to wear the headscarf for Fall - Jezebel
Carine Roitfeld's home sweet home - fashionologie
Maison Martin Margiela airbrushed wolf bag - Purse Blog
Some fabulous Fall must-haves to buy now - FashionTribes
Love it or hate it: Catherine Zeta Jones' big hat collection - UK FabSugar
Rebecca Minkoff kicks off. Literally. - Style File
People are talking about: Sporty chic - Teen Vogue Blog
A dose of old-school glamour - W magazine Editors' Blog