FabSugar

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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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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Come Fab Finding With Me: Pajama-Rama

FabSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:00:22 -0700

I've always loved pajama parties. There's something about cozy company, popcorn, and a scary movie that will always bring a wave of nostalgia. Now that I'm (cough) older, the soda might be replaced with champagne, but don't expect us to behave. Help me find a outfit that will take me back in time. Pillow fight, anyone?

I'll start you off with these UGG Australia Sheepskin Flip-Flops ($70) because they're decadently soft. Just looking at them makes me want to curl up.

Let's go Fab Finding. Be sure to come back and tell me your Fab Finds are up, or just tag your Fab Finds with pajama party.

Now, you can build outfits by creating a list of clothing items. We have everything you need to build outfits, and you can use your Fab-Find bookmarks, too. This is an even better way to put together an entire outfit when you are completing your Fab-Finding missions.

To learn what a Fab Find is and how to make one, click here. For a more detailed explanation of bookmarks from geeksugar click here.

To see some of my favorite online stores, read more.

Active Endeavors
Banana Republic
Bluefly
eLuxury
J.Crew
Jildor Shoes
Live Natty
Neiman Marcus
Net-a-Porter
Pink Mascara

A Few Fab Words With Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Winner Emma Fletcher of Lyell

FabSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:00:22 -0800

One glimpse at Emma Fletcher's designs for Lyell and you get the sense that she takes her job very seriously. Her Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation win proves that she does outstanding work. The Australia native also owns a small boutique in NYC's Nolita neighborhood called Lyell, which stocks rare vintage finds from European designers, as well as her own vintage-inspired merchandise. We recently caught up with Emma to pick her brain. A few Fab words, if you will . . .

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in the last year?

Up until recently, which I don't know if it's out of fear or a innate wanting to be out on my own, I always aimed at only wanting to make clothes for myself and for the store. Keeping everything nice and simple. But as more interest and demand is coming my way, I understand the value of having a show, and expanding Lyell's reach. The award has really forced me into a whole new realm of exposure that is as equally scary as it is exciting. The big lesson is it pays to be involved and talk to people and get help.

To read more of Emma's interview and to see more of her creations, read more

Where do you get your inspiration for every season from?

I usually tend to react against the season before, but in the end it always comes back to being in the tight Lyell framework. In general I draw inspiration from movies, photos, vintage clothing; usually something catches my eye and I build from there. This season, the starting point was the Julie Christie movie Don't Look Now. On top of that, I get these fantasy notions of different lifestyles that I'd be living if I wasn't in New York, whether that is a shaker lifestyle, living in the 20's/30's, Parisian life, etc.

What are your favorite fabrics to work with? The toughest fabrics to work with?

I always use lots of silk, silk chiffons, silk velvets, laces, which are not easy. All the factories tell me the pieces are hard to execute but I know because I don't have these kinds of skills. I think the toughest part is the finishings that I want done - pleatings, embroideries, stitchings, etc.

Do you have any plans for product expansion?

I am always looking to do the next thing. I've designed a bra and undies set for the first time which I would really like to expand. Also, the first Lyell men's shirt will be ready soon. And then there are accessories; I did shoes once, and would love to do those again. But I feel like I really need to have the women's sorted out before I spread myself too thin.

What’s in store for Fall ‘08?

This collection is art deco, complete with lots of cream and black, angular lines, and graphic elements.

What’s the best part of being an Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation winner?

Being forced to do my first show. I would've never have done it without it.

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Celebrity Style: Gisele Bündchen

FabSugar — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:38:43 -0800

Check out Gisele Bündchen braving the below freezing weather in New York City last weekend. Her natural winter flush gives her just the right amount of color on her cheeks and lips, making her as stunning as ever for a quick stroll with her three dogs. This supermodel sure knows her high fashion, sporting the same Miu Miu Shearling coat that Cameron Diaz rocked in the fab movie The Holiday.

To get this cozy look, read more

To get all the info on Gisele's coat, check out Cameron's/Amanda's looks from the hit movie The Holiday.

For a more reasonable alternative to this coat, try this Jones New York Faux Suede/Mock Mink Elegant Coat, on sale for $128.99 (originally $370).

UGG Australia Ultra Tall, $185.

Joie Feather Weight Cashmere Hoodie, $295.

Paige Denim Skyline Drive Peg Jeans, $179.

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