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Rad Hourani collection: Toronto

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-16T20:13:27Z

©ourtesy of Luis-Enrique Arrazola

Rad Hourani says, “is someone who does not follow a trend."

Fashion Week Toronto: After leaving Montreal for Paris six years years ago to launch his eponymous couture collection label, designer Rad Hourani is heading back to Canada on Friday to make his Canadian fashion week runway debut with his fifth collection of ready-to-wear line RAD at Toronto’s World MasterCard Fashion Week. As part of the runway presentation, Hourani will also debut his new short film Five Years of Rad Hourani as the show’s opener, documenting designer Rad Hourani inspirations as he celebrates his fifth year in the cutthroat industry. “I’m inspired by the idea of creating something that can’t be defined by a limited category and things that have no reference from the past,” says the Jordan-born Rad Hourani, who moved to Montreal at 16 before leaving for Paris in 2005. “I believe the only way you can attend to this kind of inspiration is by observing everything around you.” With a strong focus modernity, Designer Rad Hourani garments blur the line between both genders, creating a unisex collection of garments that challenge and de-classify social conventions through his unique use of androgynous silhouettes. “Even the most advanced societies are very limited in the way they define themselves. The way I do things without gender or season, it applies to everything in life,” says Houran at fashion weeki, who also sees his collection as a-seasonal, preferring to numerically name his collections; there is no fall or spring here. “It’s about defying those limitations that are so often self-imposed and it’s important for me to question things rather just fitting in. My objective is to create garments that can be worn by anyone at any time.” Designer Rad Hourani collection goes as far as creating a signature leather boots with a bold square toe and a chunky heel measuring a soaring 11 centimeters, defying all gender barriers and stemming from the designer’s own personal inclination for towering footwear. “I used to wear cowboy boots and I would custom make myself every year one pair of boots with heels. They weren’t from a brand,” says the 30-year-old, who is based in Paris and New York but visits Montreal twice a year to check on the production of his clothes. “I just found a shop that custom made them and that’s where I used to go and I designed the heel boots as I needed it.” While Rad Hourani's heeled boots are a provocative play on gender that fit in well with the rest of his collection, it isn’t often you see a man strolling down the street in pair of heels higher than those of his gal pals. “My shoes are very well received by all genders and I’m always happy to see people wearing them on the street all around the world,” he says. Combining symmetrical lines and crisp cuts, Hourani’s collection maintains a sense of multi-functionality with a series of transformable coats that can be interpreted and worn in different ways, with removable sleeves and re-adjustable lapels that create a drastically different look with a just a zip. “Fashion for me is about clothes transcending simple functionality and gaining symbolic, evocative power by engaging in a dialogue with their environment and their time,” he says. “It’s a tool for self-expression and self-invention. Therefore I’m not into trends, I’m into style in which I focus on my signature look.” And what is that look rooted in, exactly? For the most part, it’s stark monochromatic materials, although every so often Hourani will jump out of his comfort zone and experiment with particular coulour palettes. For his fifth collection, he has focused on shades of deep and olive greens. “It’s a question of a feeling. I like to study timeless colors and to use my favorite shades in them in my collections,” Hourani says. “It’s always about what i feel like wearing and having in my wardrobe.” And while most designers design their clothes with a man and woman in mind, Hourani opts to design with himself and the “not designer Rad Hourani person” in mind. “A Rad Hourani person is someone who does not follow a trend, people who do not define themselves as men or women, who feel ageless all the time, and looks comfortable when they move, think, talk and dress,” he explains. “I guess, they are people that I see my reflection in. It’s all about the mirror when it comes to others.” - - Rad Hourani’s new collection debuts at Toronto Fashion Week on March 16 at 8 p.m. For more information, visit worldmastercardfashionweek.com.

Rad Hourani Fall/Winter 2012 (thisheartsonfire.com)
Toronto Fashion Week "delivers" ! (fashion.fernmitchell.com)

Designers in AFRICA @ Arise Mag "Lagos Fashion Week"

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-16T19:26:24Z

©ourtesy of By Tim Hume, for CNN

Designers (CNN) in New York, London, Paris and Milan have been the traditional compass points of world fashion, Lagos has typically not even figured on the fashion event map. But according to Penny McDonald, organizer of the Arise Magazine Fashion Week held in Nigeria's largest city last week, that is unlikely to be the case for much longer. She said the event, which drew 77 designers and big names including supermodel Alek Wek, British couturier Ozwald Boateng and up-and-coming model Dudley O'Shaughnessy, had gone a long way to establishing Lagos as Africa's fashion capital, a city with international style credentials. "It's raised the bar," said McDonald, international managing director for Arise, a title which describes itself as Africa's global style and culture magazine. "Everyone knows it's New York, London, Paris and Milan -- and we see this as the fifth destination now. We're hoping to make Lagos a fashion destination, part of the fashion season." - - Read: Dedicated followers of fashion: Congo's designer dandies Why Lagos? "It's the vibrancy, the colors. We feel it's Africa's capital," said McDonald. "Lagos women in particular, they dress like no other. They love haute couture. They look the part, they get fashion. Where else would you host such an event?" While last year's inaugural event had a heavy Nigerian focus, this year's fashion week drew designers from across the continent and further afield. The runways, housed in massive tents on the grounds of the Federal Palace Hotel, showcased designs from Kenya, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, South Africa, Ghana, Liberia and Somalia -- but also from Martinique, Jamaica, Thailand and India. Eleven African-American designers attended, along with international media and buyers, demonstrating the growing power of the African fashion brand, said McDonald. "You wouldn't have got them coming from as far away as America if there wasn't a buzz around this event."

Watch: Traditional dress of Senegal Nigerian-based Italian designer Caterina Bortolussi exhibited her label Kinabuti at the event for the first time, using non-professional models scouted from Nigeria's streets. She said she relished the chance for her "ethical fashion" label, which she describes as a Nigerian-Italian brand, to share a platform with accomplished designers such as South Africa's Kluk CGDT -- jointly named alongside Nigeria's Maki Oh as "designer of the year" at the event. "It's an amazing opportunity to learn, to challenge yourself, to network," she said. "It's not easy to do things down here." The most noticeable commonality among African designers was that they were "very proud of being African," she said. "Fashion is a way to bring a message of positivity. People usually look at Africa in a skeptical way, a place that needs to be helped. But fashion creates a vehicle to showcase Africa in a different way." McDonald said that while many designers derived inspiration from the heritage of African textile traditions, no prevailing theme united the collections. This was a sign that African fashion had "come of age," she said. "No one designer produced the same look as another, which really showcases the vastness of the continent. People were surprised the collections were so varied." The event had its share of setbacks, with the first two days canceled due to electricity shortages. But momentum was quickly recovered, with more than 1500 people trying to crowd into the tent on the last day. "The audiences were enthralled by it -- the silks, the golds, the sheer size of the event," said McDonald. Away from the fashion, the presence of young British model Dudley O'Shaughnessy -- hot property following his appearance in a Rihanna music video, and named "male model of the year" at the event's awards -- caused the biggest stir. "The audiences went berserk, there's no other way of describing it," said McDonald. "That was the biggest buzz behind the scenes -- he couldn't even leave the hotel."Related articles

Nigeria Fashion Week highlights African designers (thegrio.com)
Lagos Fashion Week to kick off in Nigeria (news.yahoo.com)
Zandile Blay: Dispatch From Africa: Day 3 at ARISE Magazine Fashion Week (stylelist.com)

Fashion Week in March / April 2012

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-16T18:34:26Z

International Fashion Week in March and April take their inspiration from the big splashes made in January in New York, Paris and Milan runways. - - ©ourtesy of ahRamonline.com

Miami Fashion Week poster, by Kleuddy Abreu, winner of graphic design contest

March/April Fashion Weeks around the world!

21 – 25 March Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Russia Collections Moscow 27 March – 1 April ID Fashion Show Dunedin, New Zealand 30 April – 4 May Rosemount Australian Fashion Week collection Sydney 14 – 17 March FUNKSHION: Fashion Week Miami Beach 2012 show Florida, USA March 13 – 15 InFashion 2012 Bombay, India March 16-24, 2012 Fashion Week El Paseo Show Palm Springs, California, USA March 16-18 LA Fashion Weekend Show California, USA 20 – 24 March Miami Fashion Week 20 – 25 March Vancouver Fashion Week Show Canada 21 – 24 March Miami Fashion Week Miami, Florida 21 – 24 March Riga Fashion Week Show Riga, Latvia 29 March – 5 April Western Canada Fashion Week Edmonton, Alberta 16 - 20 April Alternative Fashion Week London, UK 30 April – 2 May Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia

Set your schedule for Charleston Fashion Week 2012 (charlestoncitypaper.com)

Fashion Week "delivers"

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-16T04:54:31Z

Toronto Fashion Week: Joe Fresh delivers a slinky sixties sex kitten vibe: Before the big names light up David Pecaut Square at Toronto’s World MasterCard Fashion Week later this week, it’s time for the new names to shine. Day 2 in Toronto was filled with strong fashion showings from the country’s most promising young up-starts, where labels from Toronto’s sister act Chloe Comme Parris and Montreal duo Martin Lim, among others, commanded the runway with their Toronto fall 2012 fashion week collections ‘Ain’t nobody dope as me, I’m just so fresh and so clean’ - so sang Atlanta hip-hoppers Outkast on a record spun by a rather exuberant DJ before the packed Joe Fresh fashion show on Wednesday evening. Its buzz grows every season, so Joe Mimran’s line of grocery-store couture clothing line had a lot to live up to. Luckily, the fashion week show, spurred by a slinky sixties sex kitten vibe, delivered something, yes, fresh in Toronto this time. - - ©ourtesy of Tiyana grulovic @ theglobeandmail.com Despite the usual Toronto Fashion Week wall-to-wall crowds, the start of Toronto World MasterCard Fashion Week is generally a slow burn, with things not getting properly fired up until at least day 2. However, the parade of the Toronto fall/winter 2012 fashion collections - again held in the city’s David Pecaut Square - started out with a bang, or rather, a tap. A jovial tap dancer kicked off Holt Renfrew's biannual fashion week showcase of some of its favorite homegrown labels, coaxing smiles out of even the front row’s poker faces. Fashion shows in Paris, Milan and London supersedes with their fashion trends.

The palette in Toronto stuck closely to traditional fall fashion week hues like navy, burgundy and burnt orange, but some pieces got an injection of bright color from accessories, such as the blue neoprene belt on this grey topper. (Jenna Marie Wakani)

[TheGloss] Tiny Piglets Take Over The Runway At Toronto Fashion Week (thegloss.com)

Style at Fashion Week L.A. Glam

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-13T22:20:16Z

©ourtesy of April MacIntyre @ MonstersandCritics.com

Ina Soltani brings the Gleam and Glamour

L.A. Style Fashion Week has returned to the former St. Vibiana's Cathedral downtown March 12-16 with a schedule that to date includes runway shows by Stop Staring!, Ina Soltani, XCVI, Skingraft and L’une Collection by Anh Volcek. (Open to industry buyers, media and invitees only.) For the third season in a row, Style Fashion Week dazzles in the Vibiana cathedral at 214 S. Main Street in downtown Los Angeles. The six day elite production kicked off Sunday at a private party in Bel Air. Soltani couture Style Fashion week the L.A. based vintage dress line Stop Staring! rolled out a new collection inspired by The Golden Age of Mexican Cinema (Epoca de Oro). Sarajevo native Ina Soltani revealed her glamorous, passionate collections full of high drama and mystique, all enhanced by the makeup design by Emmy Award-winning L.A. makeup artist Melanie Mills, the creator of Gleam by Melanie Mills, a show sponsor. MONDAY, March 12 9am-5pm. Showrooms open for Market Week show through March 15 at the intersection of 9th & L.A. Streets in downtown LA. Open to the trade only. @L.A. fashiondist / www.fashiondistrict.org 9am-6pm. Coeur Trade Show opens with 60+ core accessories collections at the Cooper Design Space through March 14. Open to the trade only. @coeurshow / www.coeurtradeshow.com 9am-6pm. SELECT (contemporary women’s wear show) FOCUS (accessories), TRANSIT (shoes), and LA KIDS MARKET (children’s wear) at the California Market Center through March 14. Open to the trade only. @calmarketcenter/ www.californiamarketcenter.com 6pm-9pm. Style Fashion Week LA opening night at Vibiana. Runway presentations 7:30 STOP STARING! and 8:30 INA SOLTANI. Invite only. @StyleFW / www.stylefashionweek.com 7pm-9pm. British Fashion Council Show opening party at Smashbox Studios for London Show Rooms LA. Invitation Only. www.britishfashioncouncil.com Bosnian born designer Ina Soltani is a phenomenal woman. When the Bosnia Civil War erupted in the early 90s, Soltani was here as a teenager enrolled in a high school exchange program in Los Angeles, California. She could only watch what happened to her relatives and homeland from television reports. Her survival skills and perseverance channeled her creative energy into commanding designs, which are current, bold, yet sophisticated and chic at the same time. Soltani loves vibrant colors and quality fabrics and her collections evoke intense glamour and beautiful silhouettes. Emmy award winning makeup artist Melanie Mills is serving as the creative director for makeup during Style Fashion week, and her own line of cosmetics - Gleam by Melanie Mills - is one of the show sponsors.

Her makeup designs for Ina Soltani featured a heavily smoked eye and matte nude mouth and perfect skin as the backdrop. Mills relies on Ardell false eyelashes, Beauty_Blender makeup sponges, MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack, DiorShow mascara and Kevyn Aucoin and Armani foundation. Her models are also highlighted in her Gleam Body Radiance in Light Gold, along with the full range of her transfer-resistant body makeup which includes Rose Gold, Bronze Gold and Deep Gold.

TORONTO F/W: "Holt Renfrew's" star-studded Show

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-13T21:43:47Z

Kicking off Toronto Fashion Week

©ourtesy of maggie wrobel @ Globe and Mail Update Toronto Fashion Week: Despite the wall-to-wall crowds, the start of Toronto World Master Card Fashion Week show is generally a slow burn, with things not getting properly fired up until at least day 2. However, the parade of the fall/winter 2012 fashion week collections show - again held in the city’s David Pecaut Square - started out with a bang, or rather, a tap. A jovial tap dancer kicked off Holt Renfrew’s biannual fashion week show with some of its favorite homegrown labels, coaxing smiles out of even the front row’s poker faces here in Toronto Canada. - - See more Fashion Week show

Toronto Fashion Week: Do you love or loathe Smythe’s cat-ear hat?

High-End Department Store Holt Renfrew Has Hosted Some Famous Faces!(fabsugar.com)

Project Runway Designers SEARCH Competition

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-13T16:44:04Z

Looking for Project Runway Designers

Project Runway is recruiting Designers and so you want to be a famous fashion designer? You want millions of Americans to see your imaginative creations? Fear not. There is hope. The people at "Project Runway," the TV show that has designers going measuring tape to measuring tape to come up with a way to show some of the best collections around, is looking for candidates to be on the show next season. You must be at least 21 to enter the competition. You must meet deadline to apply, which is March 15, 2012. Invite-only casting calls will begin in early April for the show. Bunim-Murray Production company in Van Nuys, Calif., is the company producing this season's show. Fashion Designers apply by email at Jdickinson@Bunim-murray.com. Who knows? You too could be standing shoulder to shoulder on the next Project Runway show with Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum.Good Luck designers, go get 'em. - - ©ourtesy of Deborah Belgum

Project Runway All Stars: Exclusive: Project Runway's Kenley Collins On Her Unexpected Nice Side (racked.com)

Fashion Gallery weekend show for LAFW Styles

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-13T15:52:43Z

©ourtesy of Natalie Alcala @ La.Racked.com

LA this past weekend, knocked out five of our 15 best LAFW events by attending Concept Fashion Week show at Ace Gallery. The two-day LA show was filled with experimental installations and runway shows that catered to the city's sartorial game-changers, which made both the featured looks and invited guests equally entertaining to watch.The LA Chambers show kicked it all off on Friday night with their signature streetwear-meets-grunge menswear offerings. Just like our takeaway from their Gen Art show last year, we're happy to report that the fashion brand is still doing an ace job in LA providing the average dude with foolproof options for everyday layering. Outerwear fashion was abundant and better than ever. Saturday's line-up started with the Gypsy Junkies show, which had this '90s boho thing going on. Think floral separates and ethereal gowns mixed with crushed velvet and corduroy pants. Next, we watched a flurry of inventive silhouettes march down the Laili Lau runway, complete with loosely draped dresses, lightweight fashion knits and harem pants that we wouldn't mind mixing and matching this fall. Fittingly, we ended our Concept LA trip with two highly conceptual installations: Belle N. Matisse and Curly-V. BNM's collection took the idea of strong shoulders to the next level by presenting a range of avant-garde looks that featured pointy shoulder pads. We likened the gray numbers to futuristic officewear. There was also a pair of pants with pointed knee caps and a sheer shirt with wings. Curly-V's fashion display was by far the quirkiest of the bunch and felt like we stepped into a trippy '60s film. Titled "Big Mouff," the collection took a literal approach to the "tooth" in "houndstooth" by using teeth to form the iconic print. Jeremy Scott would approve this LA beat. · Concept Fashion Week [Official Site] · Best Shows and Parties to Hit During LA Fashion Week [Racked] · Meet Real Housewife Adrienne Maloof at Ace Gallery Tomorrow [Racked]

Two Point Oh!'s Spring 2012 pre-LAFW party. (glamrawk.com)

Fashion Week Paris 10 "Fashion Moments" at Shows

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-12T19:31:13Z

©ourtesy of Morgan O'DonovanRick Owens' beautiful draped silhouettes and soft colours | Photos by: Morgan O'Donovan for Dazed Digital

PARIS, France — Ahh, Paris. The spiritual home of fashion where the wonderful diversity of creative ideas and fashion dreams comes together in a veritable cornucopia of collections that close off fashion month. We’ve selected ten fashion moments from the Paris Autumn/Winter 2012 collections in Paris, with photos by Morgan O’Donovan, whose camera was focused on all the goings on backstage — before, during and after the shows. Sarah Burton continued her astounding evolution of the Alexander McQueen brand with a show focused on exploding 3-dimensional shapes. | Photos: Morgan O'Donovan Marc Jacobs clever plan to bring more bags than ever on the Louis Vuitton runway, while evoking the brand's heritage of travel was a showstopper | Photos: Morgan O'Donovan. Olivier Rousteing delivered a characteristically over-the-top Balmain collection with Fabergé egg motifs | Photos: Morgan O'Donovan for Dazed Digital Effortless, minimal shapes in bold colours, made for a Hussein Chalayan show that was surprisingly commercial, but still striking to take in | Photos: Morgan O'Donovan Pretty clothes and new shapes at Dior, but where was the dream? To be continued. | Photos: Morgan O'Donovan Kenzo designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim showed their second collection of bright prints and colours at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie | Photos: Morgan O'Donovan. Alber Elbaz's blowout 10th anniversary fashion show and party at Lanvin was the Paris Fashion Week moment | Photos: Morgan O'Donovan. Gareth Pugh's female urban warriors were ready for a style battle | Photos: Morgan O'Donovan. Manish Arora toned things down and focused on the codes of the house in his second showing for Paco Rabanne | Photos by: Morgan O'Donovan for Dazed Digital.

Paris fashion show hosted by Kanye West 'ghastly'

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-08T00:34:05Z

By LIZ JONES @ Dailymail.co.uk

Paris fashion press on Tuesday got a shock from Kanye West. The fashion writers, who hailed this Fall 2012 fashion show collection as ‘much improved’ and a ‘concise statement’ probably don’t even know what astrakhan. Kanye West used furs liberally in his designs. Let me tell you about this most ghastly of ‘fabrics’. Astrakhan is the fur of an unborn lamb. Yes, a foetus. The sheep is slaughtered, and the unborn lamb is ripped from her womb, its coat still curly and unformed. (Did you also know that lambswool is most commonly taken from the backs of just slaughtered lambs? What did you think they did: used a little pink comb?)

Ghastly: Astrakhan, the 'fabric' used to create the vest, left, is made from the fetuses of lambs torn from their mother's wombs. Kanye West's gratuitous use of fur in his fashion show was likely sponsored by the U.S. fur industry, says Liz about Kanye West use of crocodile skin, and fox fur for bags, back packs and huge arm warmers all presented in the fashion show. Even his view of women fashion seems dubious and strangely out of date, given so much skin tight leather, and bondage whips presented in the fashion collection. And, while much is being made at the moment about the fact fashion models work so hard for often so little money (viz, the story that Marc Jacobs doesn’t always pay his Paris runway models, given the prestige heaped upon them for wearing his polka dot proms), I wonder why Arizona Muse, Vogue cover girl and one of the world’s best paid mannequins, feels the need to wear so much white fur to earn a another crust, which she surely doesn’t eat anyway. Okay, so the reason the rapper used so much fur, so many fetishes, so much ‘exotic’ skin (crocodiles routinely pole-axed, take many hours to die)?

Surely she doesn't need the money? Arizona Muse was draped in white fur at the Paris fashion show; while Jourdan Dunn, right, wore a dress trimmed at the top with crocodile - whose skin is routinely removed from their bodies after they are pole-axed and left to die

Slowly Unnecessarily: A fur back pack, left, and right, crocodile skin used to trim a fashion garment at the neck Well, for one, he was undoubtedly sponsored, probably by Saga furs, the body that governs and promotes the fur trade in north America. Second, he has no ideas, or anything new to give us. He doesn’t know how to cut a pattern, or construct a seam, or even sew a buttonhole. But he wants us to think his paris fashion collection is luxurious, elitist and covetable, so he falls back on the thing that all designers with no imagination or morals fall back on: electrocuting small animals via their vagina or rectum, and often skinning them alive. They create a trickle-down effect, which means even more cats and dogs are skinned alive in China to satisfy demand for cheaper, copycat clothes. The problem was, Kim Kardashian was sat front row, draped in a fur stole. If anything is going to make fur seem cheap, nasty, trashy and unnecessary, it is the presence of the reality TV star. Bit of an own goal for the former rapper, dontcha think? Wonder what Anna Wintour thinks about ALL of this furlish-cious-ness expressed this Fall 2012 season..

Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Kim Kardashian joined a fur-draped front row - though Liz says reality TV star Kim's presence only served to make the collection seem yet more trashy Read more:

Related articles

Kanye West's fashion uses Astrakhan fur: Who wears slaughtered baby lamb pelts? (examiner.com)

Los Angeles Fashion Week set to kick off Thursday

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-07T05:10:27Z

Photos: Runway looks from Style Fashion Week's Gen Art Fresh Faces showcase in October 2011 included, from left, Odylyne, Funktional and Chambers. Credit: Luis Sinco / ©Los Angeles Times

Paris Fall 2012 ready-to-wear (RTW) shows now over, it's time to bring the fashion focus a bit closer to home. Following are some of the noteworthy scheduled events of Los Angeles' 10-day Fashion "Week Shows," which begins Thursday, March 8, 2012: "Attire to Inspire," a Thursday evening cocktail party, fashion shows and silent auction fundraiser for BREATHE LA (a nonprofit focusing on lung health and air quality) is set to include Moods of Norway, Yotam Solomon and eco-contemporary label VBN. It is open to the ticket-buying public at the Conga Room in downtown Los Angeles. Cocktails will kick off at 6:30 p.m. followed by an 8 p.m. fashion shows. Attire to Inspire, Conga Room at L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., $125 tickets available at attiretoinspire.eventbrite.com "Meet the Designer & The Muse," a cocktail party organized by Fashion Group International Los Angeles is scheduled for Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., making it the first style-centric event out of the gate. Taking place at Ace Gallery Los Angeles in association with Concept Los Angeles Fashion Week shows (which begins its run of installations and shows the next evening), its goal is to honor "the creative relationship" between designer and muse, while raising scholarship funds for fashion design students in Southern California. To date, the list of designers slated to attend (arm-in-arm with their respective muses) includes Louis Verdad, Skingraft's Jonny Cota, Sue Wong and Petro Zillia's Nony Tochterman. Open to the public, a $50 ticket gets you a 7:30 p.m.-to-9:30 p.m. cocktail party and a musical performance by Annie Trousseau. Double the dollars and get in an hour earlier for a red carpet VIP champagne reception. Meet the Designer & the Muse, Ace Gallery Los Angeles, 5514 Wilshire Blvd., tickets available at fgila.org. Concept Fashion Week is set to return to the Ace Gallery Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday with a roster of designer installations and runway shows from the likes of Henry Duarte, Mike Vensel, Bryan Hearns, Nuvula, S&G, Chambers, Thai Nuygen, Curly V, Belle N. Matisse, Laili Lau, NAMI and Jen Awad. (Open to industry buyers, media and invitees only.) Concept Fashion Week, Ace Gallery Los Angeles, 5514 Wilshire Blvd., additional information at conceptfw.com London Show Rooms Los Angeles, an initiative of the British Fashion Council that made its debut here in October 2011, scheduled shows to make its sophomore outing in the City of Angels March 13-15 when it showcases the fall 2012 collections of U.K. brands such as E. Tautz, Nicholas Kirkwood, Roksanda Ilincic, Mary Katrantzou and Peter Pilotto. (Open to industry buyers, media and invitees only.)

London Show Rooms Los Angeles, Ace Gallery Los Angeles, 5514 Wilshire Blvd.

Style Fashion Week shows in L.A. returns to the former St. Vibiana's Cathedral downtown March 12-16 with a schedule that to date includes runway shows by Stop Staring!, Ina Soltani, XCVI, Skingraft and L’une Collection by Anh Volcek. (Open to industry buyers, media and invitees only.) Style Fashion Week L.A. shows, Vibiana, 214 S. Main St., additional information at stylefashionweek.com Sue Wong previews her fall 2012 "Autumn Sonata" shows collection during a March 16 champagne lunch at her 6th Street atelier (Open to invitees only.) L.A. Fashion Weekend shows is set to take place March 16-18 at Sunset Gower Studios with one multi-brand runway shows, showcase each night, featuring labels such as Betsey Johnson, Vilorija by Jelena Vujanovic, Sarahi House of Fashion, Ashlee Brooks and a television-centric final night scheduled to include labels designed with, inspired by or featured on "Real Housewives of Orange County," "Gossip Girl," and NBC's new style-focused reality show, "Fashion Star" (Open to industry buyers, media and invitees only.) L.A. Fashion Weekend, shows at Sunset Gower Studios, 6040 W. Sunset Blvd., more information and a complete list of brands at losangelesfw.com - - by Adam Tschorn

©2011-Fern Rose Mitchell

Fashion Fall 2012 Paris fizzling

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-07T01:36:17Z

©By CATHY HORYN courtesy of NYtimes :: ( Paris Fall 2012 Fashion Week )

Making Magic at Saint Laurent | Balenciaga: Geeks and Spies | Rochas: Stonewear | French Laundry | Town and Country From Pedro Lourenço | Paris & London fashion seems to be talking about three-dimensional fashion, and the future. Tonight, at Salle Wagram, the same place where Alexander McQueen staged his dance-marathon collection, his successor, Sarah Burton, gave a magical rendering of both. The show started calmly with snowy white bell-shape coat dresses and laser-cut calf skin, resembling lace. All the models wore helmet like white-blond wigs, their eyes shielded by visors. Then Ms. Burton turned up the volume, first with feathery and fur coats (like dandelion fashion heads before the wind catches them), and gradually the shapes became monumental in scale. Ms. Burton’s presentation was beautiful, but the monumental aspect was riveting — how it affects your eye. Tomorrow, in the McQueen showroom, I’ll take a closer look. [ Cathy Horyn, the fashion critic of The Times, leads the way. Contributors include Eric Wilson, Ruth La Ferla, Guy Trebay, Stephanie Rosenbloom, Simone Oliver and others. ]

Glimpse at Fall 2012 Paris Shows: Chanel, McQueen, Valentino, and More

The end is in sight! Today in Paris, Chanel showed a crystal cave filled with sparkly eyebrowed models in black and layered jewel tones. Alexander McQueen was very floral, showing both dresses covered in flowers and dresses that look like flowers for fall 2012. And Valentino Paris showed lots of lady-like leather, scalloped necklines, and intricately beaded dresses. See these shows and more details in our fashion galleries. - - By Sally Holmes

• agnes b. • Alexander McQueen • Chanel • Hakaan • Jean-Charles de Castelbajac • Junko Shimada • Paco Rabanne • Paul & Joe • Valentino [subscribe2]

Fatima Lopes kicks off Paris Fall 2012 Fashion Week

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-05T00:30:48Z

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press ©Mercury News

PARIS fashion designer, Fatima Lopes kicked off Paris 2012 fall-winter ready-to-wear season Tuesday with blood reds, provocative leathers and fox fur at the Hotel des Invalides war museum. The Portuguese designer channeled human morphology with blood-red dress inserts, shredded leather sleeves and prints of the venous system in the iconic monument that was built for generals wounded in French imperial wars. Bucking the current trend for padding, the Lopes woman in geometric sheaths had narrow shoulders a look that would have accentuated the frailty of the tiny-boned models had it not been for the provocative leathers in patent black and nude. "Yes, I make tiny shoulders and waists. But this is not weak. It's feminine and sexy, therefore strong," said the designer backstage, wearing one of her figure-hugging creations. And sexy was the overriding mood, with bias-cut sheaths split revealingly up the leg and exposing the shoulders. In another sensual look with a plunging decollete, voluminous brown fox fur sleeves contrasted with tight patent leather lapels and a second-skin micro skirt. When the show ended, the crowd departed sheepishly through the courtyard, with 40 huge canons pointing straight at them. - - see Gallery

Fashion Week. Fashion Journalism experts from All over the Globe await more of Paris fashion industry’s fashion strongest shows. Every Season the Fashion TV a media followers gear up for the many choices shown for the Fall season events. Fall 2012 is no different and the “Looks” are very strong and marketable. The press release promises ‘corrupted elegance’ which we were expecting. With well-cut separates in autumn tones of rust orange, chocolate brown, reds and teal – Fatima Lopes seemed to tick all the right boxes. This designer usual sculptural, futuristic aesthetic was there, as she attempted to branch out and make her mark once again in Paris, The collection was quintessentially her own. Padded shoulders added an interesting twist but otherwise the styling was streamlined. Looks like Paris. International Icons will continue to reign supreme at this Paris Fashion Week. Fashion Journalism pros from All over the Globe awaits more from Paris fashion industry’s fashion shows designer best. Every Season the Fashion TV a media followers gear up for the many choices displayed for the NEW Fall season events. Paris Fall 2012 is no different and the “Designs” are very strong and interesting.

Fatima Lopes kicks off Paris fashion shows (sacbee.com)

Paris Fashion Week Fall 2012 shows continues ..!

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-05T00:30:48Z

Take a Peek at these ©Reuters.com (1) Slideshow for some highlights & ©news observer.com (2) Slideshow also

Paris Models featured above in Paris, present creations by fashion designer Corrado de Biase as part of his Fall/Winter 2012-2013 women's ready-to-wear fashion shows during Paris fashion week shows for February 28, 2012.
NOTE: International Icons reign supreme at this Paris Fashion Week. Fashion Journalism experts from All over the Globe await more of Paris fashion industry’s fashion strongest shows. Every Season the Fashion TV a media followers gear up for the many choices shown for the Fall season events. Fall 2012 is no different and the “Looks” are very strong and marketable. The press release promises ‘corrupted elegance’ which we were expecting. With well-cut separates in autumn tones of rust orange, chocolate brown, reds and teal – Fatima Lopes seemed to tick all the right boxes. This designer usual sculptural, futuristic aesthetic was there, as she attempted to branch out and make her mark once again in Paris, The collection was quintessentially her own. Padded shoulders added an interesting twist but otherwise the styling was streamlined. Looks like Paris. International Icons will continue to reign supreme at this Paris Fashion Week. Fashion Journalism pros from All over the Globe awaits more from Paris fashion industry’s fashion shows designer best. Every Season the Fashion TV a media followers gear up for the many choices displayed for the NEW Fall season events. Paris Fall 2012 is no different and the “Designs” are very strong and interesting.

Paris Fashion Week autumn/winter 2012 (fashion.telegraph.co.uk)
Paris Fashion Week Recap | Backstage at Fatima Lopes F/W12 (brandieraaschphotography.wordpress.com)

Milan Fashion Week for Fall 2012 ends

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-05T00:30:47Z

©ourtesy Beatrix Zwart | Yahoo! Fashion

Milan Fashion Week has drawn to a close and we’ve taken a look at the key trends to emerge for next season from the Italian catwalks. Fur, as already seen on the Autumn/Winter 2012 runway in both New York and London, also returned to Milan as the winter outerwear favorite.

AW12 trend: Fur. Missoni, Gucci and Etro.

Soft fur jackets contrasted Etro’s boho styles and Missoni’s signature colorful knitted stripes while two-tone fur complimented Marni’s block color collection. Full fur coats were seen at Gucci and Fendi, the former adopting a classic look while the latter opted for bright dyed fur.

AW12 trend: Slate. Anteprima and Sportmax.

Slate emerged as the pantone of choice for office wear with Anteprima showcasing sleek pencil skirts and matching layered gilets in tones of grey, and similarly Sportmax presented shift dresses with black satin touches – clearly charcoal chic is next seasons working wardrobe. Tweed, dogtooth and pinstripes, all honed next season’s trends. Favouring tweed was Giorgio Armani who sent models down the catwalk in masculine suits complete with sweeping side trilbies, while Prada’s trouser printed tweed suits in orange and brown had a significant retro feel.AW12 trend: Tweed. Prada, Moschino and Giorgio Armani

Moschino’s classic black and white dogtooth pattern appeared on tailored outwear while pinstripes appeared on waterfall wrap jackets at Emporio Armani. Glamouros evening wear and ball gowns decorated in luxurious lace, embroidery and embellishment were seen at Alberta Ferretti, Bottega Veneta and Dolce & Gabbana. A dark colour palette with touches of gold and sparkling white marked the red carpet evening wear trend.AW12 trend: Lace. Alberta Ferretti and Bottega Veneta.

La piece de resistance however, was seen at the finale of Roberto Cavalli’s show, in the form of a textured aubergine gown donned by supermodel Naomi Campbell, who appeared radiant as ever in Cavalli’s luxurious halterneck dress complete with black long leather gloves and shiny long locks. Military also re-surfaced as a key trend for the coming season as both Maxmara and Salvatore Ferragamo’s models paraded the shows in army dress. Maxmara favoured the traditional khaki trench and military cap, while Salvatore’s brass button up jacket complete with leather satchel and high boots paid reference to historical army uniforms.AW12 trend: Military. Maxmara and Salvatore Ferragamo.

Luxe metallics also shone through as a key trend for next season with Just Cavalli and Versace respectively showcasing bronze and silver skin-tight jumpsuits and dresses for Autumn/Winter 2012. The highlight however, was Jil Sander’s show. Taking to the stage for the last time, Raf Simons received a standing ovation for his feminine collection dotted with metallic statement pieces for Jil Sander as he bid the brand farewell.

Best of Beauty: Milan Fashion Week Fall 2012 (thefashionspot.com)
Milan Fashion Week autumn/winter 2012 trends round-up (fashion.telegraph.co.uk)

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Paris Fashion Week hotties show edgyness on the Runway

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-05T00:30:46Z

Balenciaga, Rick Owns, Dries Van Noten, Rochas, Ann Demeulemeester focus

Paris Fall fashion collections began awkwardly. Milan had been so stoutly clear: Bottega Veneta, Jil Sander, weird but wonderful Prada. Now we were 27 floors above the Left Bank, in an office, and the funny thing was — what were the chances? — all of Paris on Thursday morning was soaked in a thick fog. The gray matched the mood of designer, Nicolas Ghesquiere Balenciaga. It wasn’t intentional. Briefly, Mr. Ghesquiere’s idea was to capture the different styles of office attire among women. “Balenciaga Inc.,” he said backstage. Balenciaga Chic is probably what his fans would prefer to see instead of belted double-faced coats, turtleneck sweaters with cream A-line skirts (though lovely) and chunky sweat shirts in a kind of, um, animal motif. Another blousy top featured cartoon graphics with sayings like “Join a weird trip.” On one level, a spoofy take on corporate dressing is welcomed. All those strange proportions and codes might work as an odd little mirror held up to reality. At one point fashion designer Ghesquiere sent out what looked like jumpsuits; the upper half was a conventional blazer, and the bottom might have been track pants in parachute silk prints, finished off with a belt so that your rear end was guaranteed to look enormous. In New York, we’ve all seen that mishmash of styles on the subway: the thick leather jacket, the ’80s trousers and two-tone elf boots, the touch of metallic animal prints. And the attitude is admirable because it really isn’t about

Fashion. But on another level, you don’t need this point of view from Balenciaga. It’s a bit pedestrian. Although the collection had a number of strong pieces, like the skirts and many of the tops, there is just not enough merit to the idea to keep you interested. Fashion Designer Rick Owens opened his Paris collection with floor-scraping coats and pebbly wool dresses, the models’ heads covered in knitted caps that formed cages over their faces. Their lips were bright red. In his fashion, designer Owens was elegant. And he raised the bar with beautiful leather jackets, among his most beautiful, with dolman sleeves; cropped at the waist, they were worn with slim, draped wool skirts in a slightly contrasting tone. After his January Paris men’s show, with its Oscar Wilde allusions that landed like a heavy volume, designer Dries Van Noten use of 17th-century Asian silk prints in his women’s show on Wednesday felt comfortably at home in his world. Maybe Mr. Van Noten can’t be funny on a runway. moreWell, that’s O.K. As the Balenciaga show demonstrated, humor is a

strangely elusive quality. Visually, Mr. Van Noten’s show offered a lot. Oblong fragments of silk prints appeared on silk skirts and blouses, or as panels on sharply tailored suits and rugged outerwear. Backstage, he explained that the prints came from Chinese, Japanese and Korean costumes at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The garments were spread open, photographed and digitally printed onto silks and wool crepes. A nice abstraction was the result. Mr. Van Noten often uses prints and bold patterns, but this time the thought process seemed more freewheeling. Also, the rich kimono silks worked great with the masculine khaki and blues and with the vaguely uniform-style tailoring. His outerwear is reliably sophisticated, but this time it stands out. Marco Zanini might be losing the plot at Rochas. He doesn’t build on seasons past so much as veer from them. He has good taste and a curiosity for offbeat references (for fall, Wilhelm Kage’s Modernist ceramics), but you have to be almost a mind reader to follow along. He wanted the fabrics to shine through — and they do, splendidly — but the shapes feel dragged along. Ann Demeulemeester is so predictable that occasionally she catches you off guard. Sharp, small tailoring was the jolting factor in her show, nicely finessed in matte wool or leather. She stuck to black or royal blue, with punk feathers in the hair. Her trim silhouette also included tight leather pants and over-the-knee boots, and terrific but easily overlooked. Related articles

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Paris Fashion Week: 'Alber Elbaz' at LANVIN a decade

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-05T00:30:45Z

Fashion Week show a Perfect Ten – Marking ten years at Lanvin, creative fashion director Alber Elbaz celebrated with some of his “greatest hits” for the label’s fall 2012 collection show. From sculpted silhouettes to jewel encrusted garments at this fall 2012 fashion

week offered a new season which certainly had a festive feeling with a haute couture show of all skirts and dresses. Opening with vibrant jewel tones of electric blue, scarlet and canary yellow; body conscious silhouettes and luxe detailing such as dramatic ruffles, fur and lace accents dominated the runway. As the show progressed, the color palette became darker with inky blacks and metallic fabrics. Alber Elbaz topped off with gloves and chunky jewelry, the Lanvin woman looks ready to party for the autumn. Designer Alber Elbaz at Lanvin like the House of Christian Dior has a long history of Haute Couture in Paris. No different is this years shows at Paris Fashion Week. Even the newest French fashion designers showing for Fall 2012 have raised the bar. Paris fashion week Haute Couture has for a long time made the french famous for Haute Couture and showing other industry pros, how to get it right. Not only did Alber Elbaz offer a competitive edge but rivals like the House of CHANEL Haute Couture, heralded by Karl Lagerfeld who always promises to be a spectacle at every season's runway show at Paris Fashion Week.

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Paris Fashion Week: Lanvin fall 2012 (fashion.telegraph.co.uk)

Animal Rights [PETA] No matter at Fendi Milan F/W show.

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-05T00:30:16Z

-------------------------------------------------

Animal rights activists will be up in arms after seeing the Fendi show today at Milan Fashion Week. While fur has been a big trend this season, the Italian label unveiled a collection of pelts that featured in almost every look. From antelope to goat, mink to crocodile – it seems no hide was spared.

Animal Fur. Are you fur real? Fendi unveil a collection of animal pelts at their Autumn/Winter show at Milan Fashion Week. Models wore braided hair - lending a tribal feel but it failed to camouflage the amount of animal skin on display. Even handbags and iPad cases were fashioned using fur. No stranger to controversy, designer Karl Lagerfeld will no doubt have little regard for Peta's opinion. A spokesperson for The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal said: 'Fashion should be fun, and there's nothing fun about draping models in skins torn from the backs of an animal who may have been alive and able to experience every agonizing second of it. So much for Fun fashion!

Love the ANIMAL skin you're in? It seemed no animal was spared as antelope, goat and mink were used

Even accessories were animal themed with crocodile print tights and fur handbags. 'Today there are countless luxurious and humane fashion alternatives to real fur, which is why truly creative and talented designers, including Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, Marc Bouwer, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein, all refuse to use fur in their fashion show collections. 'Even Karl Lagerfeld used faux fur in his autumn 2010 collection – proving that you can have a look that kills without killing an animal.' Despite Italy's current economic crisis, luxury fashion houses are keen to prove money is no object at Milan this week. After yesterday's opulent Gucci fashion show and today's luxeuy collection , it seems they have succeeded. Other labels also showing this at Milan Fashion Week include Prada, Versace and Giorgio Armani.

Home of fur: Milan has never shied away from using animal skin

Intelligence: Stella McCartney's Gory Anti-Leather Video for PETA (racked.com)
Penélope Cruz joins Peta's anti-fur campaign (style.uk.msn.com)

Christian Louboutin Designed Shoes for 6 London F/W Shows

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-05T00:30:15Z

When Christian Louboutin has a birthday, he generally over-consume cake, champagne, and well just about everything. Especially cake though. Luckily for us, the man behind the red-soled wonders, Christian Louboutin, has created a glorious capsule collection to celebrate the shoe fashion label’s 20th Anniversary. We eat, and he designs. What a team we make. Made up of twenty pairs of shoes and six bags, the collection will be available exclusively at a pop up store in Selfridges from 27th February, and then at the Christian Louboutin boutiques from March. Who's betting Loub-lover Blake Lively will have first dibs? Have a scroll through the Gallery to see what treats lay in wait. 1. Bow Bow Bow: Pretty bows, ankle straps and navy. Oh Christian you've done it again. 2. Pensee: Hooray for Grazia Yellow! THE colour of the season, not that we're biased. And the lady-like Pensee style is right on trend too. 3. Artemis: Hot pink is one of our colours to watch for the season. This Artemis bag will transition any wintery wardrobe pieces right into Spring. 4. Alta Dentelle: This is a naughty knee-high number with more pretty hot pink. 5. LOVE: The lady-like Love shoes...nothing says I Love You quite like a pair of these! 6. Le Modele Neuron: Leaving the best 'til last, Le Modele Neuron is our ideal "Everyday" shoe. There is nothing in our wardrobe that this wouldn't look PERFECT for Christian Louboutin's Gorgeous Capsule Collection For His 20th Anniversary. ©graziadaily.co.uk

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Elie Saab in Paris: all winners

blog@FernMitchell.com (Blog Network) — 2012-03-05T00:30:15Z

The Oscars are about to provide yet another dazzling showcase for the Lebanese designer Elie Saab, Julia Robson meets the couturier with Hollywood at his door.

Story BY Julia Robson | telegraph.co.uk

Dressed by Saab: Halle Berry (Oscars, 2002); Kate Winslet (Emmys, 2011); Gwyneth Paltrow (Bambi awards, 2011); Bérénice Bejo, star of The Artist (Baftas, 2012). PHOTOS: REX/CORBIS

Two words are synonymous with red-carpet fashion these days: Elie Saab. Rarely a week goes by without a beautiful celebrity wearing an exquisite, twinkling creation by the 47-year-old Lebanese designer at an awards ceremony or starry premiere. Remember the curvaceous, crimson-hued, cap-sleeved gown Kate Winslet wore to collect her Emmy last September? It was an Elie Saab (a copy now graces the waxwork Winslet at Madame Tussauds). And the emerald-sequined 'mermaid' gowns Gwyneth Paltrow and Zoe Saldana wore on the same night in November to functions on either side of the Atlantic? Elie Saab.In the past year the roll-call of leading ladies who have chosen Saab's fluttering chiffon or billowing satin to wear on the red carpet has trebled.

Lebanese designer Elie Saab waves after the presentation of his Women's spring/summer 2012 Haute Couture fashion collection in Paris. PHOTO: AP

Standout pieces included those adorning Mila Kunis (who wore Elie Saab last Oscar night, as did Abbie Cornish and Céline Dion), Scarlett Johansson (Golden Globes), Sarah Jessica Parker (Cannes) and Keira Knightley (Toronto film festival). Last month The Artist actress Bérénice Bejo wore a stone wool dress with cap sleeves for the Bafta tea party at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles. And Angelina Jolie wore a pleated halter-neck jumpsuit to the Palm Springs International Film Festival awards gala. For tomorrow night's Oscars, Elie Saab finds himself comfortably in pole position. Read: Green goddesses: Zoe Saldana and Gwyneth Paltrow dazzle in Elie Saab I met Mr Saab - no one calls him 'Elie' - after the ready-to-wear shows in Paris last October at a party in his apartment in the 16th arrondissement. It is a typically Parisian flat of wood-panelled interiors, chandeliers and vast gilt-edged mirrors that could have come from the Palace of Versailles. I found Saab looking far more relaxed than the man I had watched take a hesitant bow post-show, chatting to (mostly female) guests. I spied Catherine Kallon, the founder of the blog Red Carpet Fashion Awards, which is considered the oracle on all matters of celebrity dressing, and asked her about our host. 'I regard Elie Saab as one of the most important red-carpet designers of our time because he knows what a celebrity wants: to feel glamorous and sexy wearing a modern gown that will guarantee her column inches.' Pictures: What should they wear on the Oscars red carpet? The next day I met Saab at his magnificent marbled Paris flagship at 1 Rond Point des Champs-Elysées, where the simplest day dress starts at €1,375. He is wearing black jeans, a grey cashmere crew-neck jumper and a soft leather biker jacket. Pictures: Elie Saab couture spring/summer 2012 It is 10 years since the name Elie Saab began to be whispered in celebrity fashion circles. Halle Berry wore a burgundy haute couture dress when she won an Oscar for Best Actress in 2002. The dress had been in her wardrobe for a year. 'She wore it out of love, not because a stylist told her to wear it,' Saab tells me. 'That is the force behind wearing my designs. Everything comes from the heart,' he says, pounding his own with his fist. 'Celebrities are important not because they are famous. It's because they are normal women. When women see Kate Winslet in a dress they can imagine how it might look on them. She's not an 18-year-old model who is two metres tall.' Not that Saab isn't popular with models. Anja Rubik, the 'face' of the Elie Saab perfume, had told me backstage pre-show, 'As a model you really want to put on an Elie Saab dress because you know it will make you look good.' After the show, models clung to him like a pop star, as did his many Lebanese clients. 'How long have I been a fan?' one exclaimed. 'Since the beginning.' The 'beginning' happened long before Saab dressed Queen Rania of Jordan for her coronation in 1999, or when Halle Berry wore that frock to the Oscars. Saab was born in 1964, the eldest son of five children of a prosperous wood merchant, a Maronite Christian, in Damour, south of Beirut. 'When I was five I had a vision of what I wanted to do in life. I was a child but not a child,' he says. 'My two sisters were the first victims of my vision.

A gown from the spring/summer 2012 Elie Saab couture collection. PHOTO: REX

I made them clothes and they encouraged me.' For fabric, Saab used his mother's old tablecloths and curtains, and newspapers came in handy for pattern cutting. 'Up to age eight or nine I can remember being very happy. Even as a child I was a critic regarding a woman. I was aware of her sense of style, and would think up ways she could look more beautiful and glamorous. My sisters played along with it.' In 1976, when Saab was 11, a year into the civil war in Lebanon, his hometown was ravaged in what became known as the Damour massacre. More than 500 men, women and children were killed. 'Damour was completely destroyed,' Saab said. 'It was the first town to be hit by the war, and it came as a surprise. I felt much despair and regret seeing the town I grew up in destroyed.' The family fled to the outskirts of Beirut. Many others from his village left Lebanon never to return. 'I don't want to tell you about the suffering. The fighting. I have friends from my school days and still we don't talk about it. I want only to present good. The war brought much grief to my family and me, and it was naturally a huge obstacle to my dream of becoming a designer, but I used it to feed my resolve and accomplish what I had set out to achieve. The Lebanese appreciate good things. They may not be rich but they have expectations. This same mentality has always been a driving force within me.' A trip to Paris with his family when he was 14 cemented his ambition. 'Everything fascinated me, not just the shops. It wasn't a case of maybe; I knew I would return [to Paris] as a designer. When you believe in something you grow strong.' His choice of career was not that of his parents. 'We were a normal family. Lebanese people care about education and the progress of their children. My father wanted me to be a lawyer. It wasn't that fashion in my country was not for a young man - fashion was non-existent.' But four years after his trip to Paris, in 1982, Saab declared he was going to have a fashion show, with models, in Beirut's Casino du Liban. Friends and family thought he was joking. 'I was 18. It was a war zone. There had never been such a presentation in Lebanon. Models didn't exist. I found girls who worked in advertising, and students. I suspect most, like me, had never even been to a fashion show. 'Building a business and turning it into a success is difficult no matter what the situation politically. That said, doing it in the middle of a war zone, where there is no stability, and when you don't know what is going to happen from one day to the next, definitely is a harder situation than most. But I believed - and still believe - in Beirut's attitude of "for better and for worse". Buildings were destroyed, but the beauty and rich culture of the city remains undamaged. Today Beirut is in its final stages of reconstruction. I always dreamt of this time when Beirut would be fully rebuilt.' Saab began by making couture wedding dresses, which became the heart of his business. Arab wedding celebrations can last up to a week and require several outfit changes for the women. It is considered normal for the designer of the gown to make outfits for sisters and other members of the family, including the mother, aunts, grandmother. 'You can imagine with bridal gowns there has to be trust. Sometimes in one Lebanese Arab family you do 18 outfits.' As the brand developed so did the clientele, who began to include actresses. They found in his contemporary gowns everything they needed to make an entrance. His reputation spread to Jeddah, Riyadh and Dubai. In 1997 Saab was invited to show his couture collection in Rome as an official guest of the Italian fashion body. A year later he launched a ready-to-wear line during Milan Fashion Week. In 2000 the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture invited him to show his couture line in Paris, the ultimate accolade, which he has done every season since. In 2006 he was appointed as a Membre Correspondant, a feat achieved by only two other non-French citizens: Valentino and Giorgio Armani. He puts much of his success down to his house style, a fusion of lavish Middle Eastern handiwork and classic and European trends. 'I like feminine elegance, not extravagance. I try to give good taste. I still have some of my first dresses somewhere and they aren't so different from what I do now.' Lisa Armstrong, the fashion editor of The Daily Telegraph, says, 'His strengths are that he makes clothes in which Middle Eastern clients can feel very glamorous and not too exposed. As for the red carpet, I would say he makes flattering dresses that have lots of impact. They're never extreme and they won't make an actress look foolish. I think the overwhelming impression you get of a woman in Elie Saab is that she looks comfortable and feels beautiful.' Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, the fashion stylist who collaborates with Saab on his haute couture and ready-to-wear shows, adds, 'He knows exactly what he wants. That's what I love about him. He understands "his" woman. She is never vulgar or showy.' Saab met his wife, Claudine, the daughter of one of his first clients, when he was 20. 'When she walked into my office I knew this woman was going to be in my life.' They married in 1990 when he was 25 and have three sons. The eldest, Elie Jr, is 21 and works with his father on social media and his website. Saab has homes in Paris, Beirut (where his atelier is) and Geneva, where the family lives for most of the year. Last month Saab opened his fifth global flagship, in Hong Kong's Landmark Mall, to reinforce the brand's presence in Asia. The others are in Dubai, Beirut, Paris and in Harrods. More are planned for 2013. 'I've built my house slowly,' Saab says. 'I'm only now starting to develop daywear. A wedding dress is easier to do than a simple dress. To come up with a simple dress that women will love like a wedding dress, that is a challenge. I'm so proud now that young people in my country can dream of working in fashion. All my generation knew was war.'

©2011-Fern Rose Mitchell

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Elie Saab in Paris: all winners

The Oscars are about to provide yet another dazzling showcase for the Lebanese designer Elie Saab, Julia Robson meets the couturier with Hollywood at his door.

Lebanese designer Elie Saab waves after the presentation of his Women's spring/summer 2012 Haute Couture fashion collection in Paris. PHOTO: AP