Threadtrend

Agyness Deyn is officially in the throws of “It Girl”-ness–her single with Five O’ Clock heroes received a decent reception, she’s supposedly working on a short indie film, and even Perez Hilton is doing his best to make her his very own. And now, she gets her very own mannequin.

How many people can say that?

It’s the work of Rootstein & Co , who started building high-fashion mannequins in the 60s in response to the unglamorous ones that filled the windows of London shops at the time. Of course, Deyn isn’t the first to become a Rootstein girl– the likes of Twiggy, Joan Collins, Yasmin Le Bon, and Jodie Kidd have all been mannequin-ized.

Here’s Twiggy:

Agyness’ mannequin will be unveiled May 20.

Source and Source and Source.

–Valentina

Totally creepy? Well, duh, but you can’t deny that Dov Charney knows how to manufacture a good shirt. And as I sit here wearing my 50/25/25 tee from American Apparel, word comes out that Charney has been named “Retailer of the Year” by the Michael Awards for the Fashion Industry.

Charney follows in the footsteps of Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Oscar de la Rente.

Steve Shor, the founder of the awards, had this to say about it:

In a surprisingly short period of time, American Apparel has distinguished itself as a truly unique and exciting retail brand in the global market. American Apparel’s high-quality, Made in the USA clothing, together with the company’s progressive business practices and provocative advertising campaigns, have se the company apart as a fascinating story in the fashion world.  For Dov Charney’s accomplishments as an entrepreneur and as the creative director of American Apparel, we are honoring him as Retailer of the Year.

–Valentina

I was checking out Refinery 29 this morning and saw this Lyell blouse, which looks so inviting on this gloomy California day. Its super-fem silhouette and detailing made me wish it was sunny and that I was near the beach (or in some wheatfield or something) lilting around. What’s it like to lilt, anyway?

So, then that got me wanting more ladylike grub. Like this Stella McCartney dress for instance:

Sure, it’s never going to happen being that it’s $1,695, but as my friend Joanna was saying, there’s always hope for an H&M knockoff. Amen to that.

On the lighter side of the wallet, there’s these skirts from Forever 21:

The tiered skirt is back in with a vengeance, and they’re pretty versatile. You can wear them with a blazer or just a tank. My friend and I are obsessed with Keds right now, so of course, we wonder: wouldn’t these look cute with some Champions?

And then there’s there’s the no-fuss frills option from Alexander Wang:

-Valentina

I think a lot of people who shop at Barneys also secretly love Target (who doesn’t?), and tomorrow those shoppers can hit both stores at once. Sort of.

Tomorrow until Sunday in NYC and then next weekend in LA , Barneys will be featuring Target’s latest Go International collaboration with Rogan. You can only buy 3 pieces, but the line will be available in Target stores later this year.

I’ll be in Vancouver when the line is in LA, and I’m sad that I’m going to miss my opportunity to buy something for $15 at Barneys.

–Valentina

Source.

Why have I been sitting on this Carin Wester lookbook when I should be sharing it with you? Laziness. Pure unadulterated laziness. But, here’s my mea culpa post, and I think it’s well worth the wait.

Carin Wester is a Stockholm-based designer who started her own brand in 2003 after working for Paul & friends. Elle named Wester “Newcomer of the Year” in 2004 and “Design of the Year” in 2005.

According to the press release, the brands latest collection, dubbed “Purple of Mogador,” is based on the African legend of Mogador, a sorcerer and alchemist who discovered purple–well, jesus, if you’re going to discover a color, purple is definitely the way to go. Another inspiration for the line is “the typical 1980s surban Amazon women.”

The line is all about contrast–silk mixed with hemp and linen, purple merged with subtle grey and beige. Also the men’s line has feminine features, while the women’s line has masculine touches (note the frilly men’s shirt above).

Oh, and there are shoes too!

–Valentina

If you’re not in love with Susie Bubble check your pulse. Everyday on Style Bubble, she dazzles with her amazing fashion instinct and uncanny ability to wear everything well. And then she’s so cute and humble, you can’t even hate her.

Yeah, she’s one of those girls.

Check out her spread in the “Fashion on the Internet” issue of Fashion156.com. See Susie model designs by Simone Shailes, Sachio Kawasaki, Mary Katrantzou, Scott Ramsay Kyle, and Sukriti, and eat your heart out.

-Valentina

The MET Costume Institute Gala happened Monday, and the theme was “Superheroes: Fashion and Superheroes. The results were mixed:

Anna Wintour took the theme very literally. Apparently, she went as Storm from X-Men, announcing “I control the weather.” I don’t know, I kind of like it for her…at least it reflects her icy disposition. And it’s fun.

Lou Doillon looks hot in her Marni gown and messy hair. Of course. I think that kind of cool is what the Olsen in gold was going for:

But the one in black looks really good!

I don’t know, I’m just partial to Kate Bosworth. Plus, I love to picture Karl Lagerfeld fingering this gown and saying, “this one, this is for my Kate.” Speaking of Karl…

Karl adds sparkle to his usual fare. Does he always wear the belly chain? It works for him.

I might be alone in this, but I don’t get this at all! It looks like Valentine’s Day threw up all over poor Christina Ricci. It know it’s super-flattering to her figure, but I feel like Elmer’s glue might have been involved.

EW! Who let them in ?!?!?

When I wrote about Urban Outfitters’ designer collaborations last week, it didn’t really occur to me what a good match UO and Geren Ford are, but check out this sneak peek of the collection.

Geren Ford’s designs are pretty subtle–the silhouettes always speak for themselves and so do the details. These easy dresses, jumpers and tops are no exception; this is one of the few designer collections that doesn’t look like an afterthought. They look like stepped-up Urban Outfitter’s fare.

Pretty cute and pretty perfect for summer. The best thing is that the clothes are moderately priced from around $48 to $128. Not too bad, especially if the quality doesn’t suck. But that’s hard to tell from pictures.

-Valentina

Source.

I always say “when all else fails, slap on a cool piece of jewelry and it will make everything better”. Luckily we are surrounded by an abundance of amazing jewelry designers these days. There are so many I can barely keep from overdrawing my bank account. Following is the “COOL JEWELRY REPORT”… Hey, I couldn’t think of any other name.

MARI FUNAKI

Numero uno on my list is Mari Funaki, Sydney-based jewelry designer by way of Japan. It’s actually an insult to include Ms. Funaki on this list since she’s been, like, an Australian Jewelry legend and mentor for over 30 years now! But I had to include her incase you’ve never heard of her.

Never have I seen someone so masterfully interpret architecture into jewelry. This is because Funaki is not only a designer, she’s an artist and gallery director of the Gallery Funaki in Melbourne. She used mild steel to create sculptural bracelets, rings, and even containers. She lets basic shapes distort themselves to create magical pieces and her industrial-inspired work simply speaks for itself.

www.galleryfunaki.com.au

BIJULES

Who needs acrylic nails when you can wear gold serpants instead?! Bijules, an NY-based jewelry designer, gives us these little gems as part of the Serpensive collection. It doesn’t stop here, though. The current collections also include “hairrings”, part of the Hairem collection and my personal favorite the Bar rings, part of the signature collection.

www.bijulesnyc.com

RENATA MANN

For your more bohemian side, check out jewelry designer, RENATA MANN. I appreciate this designers use of kind of otherwise boring materials like abalone shells that she turns into fun crafty yet very high-end necklaces. Not to mention the knit-covered abalone necklace comes with any color thread over them! Another favorite of mine is the knitted bauble necklace which comes in a multitude of colors. Stones are in-cased in colorful knitted material. It’s almost like the artist’s way of protecting each stone in its own little pouch!

www.renatamann.com

-Camille L.

Is it just me, or is Christian Siriano turning out to be the most visible Project Runway winner ever? Well, he’s easily the most talented, and he’s certainly a firecracker, so it makes sense that he’d be everywhere. He deserves it.

He also deserves high-paying gigs, and I’m just going to assume that his latest project–designing a mini collection of clothing for Puma with British singer Estelle–is just that.

Oh! I do need to call lame on one thing. Wasn’t it lil’ Christian who was complaining about celebrity designers just a couple of weeks ago? Hmmph…Well, he’s calling Estelle his muse, and he made that dress she’s wearing–it’s the first piece of the collection.

I like Estelle, and I urge you to watch her new video with Kanye. It’s fun.

–Valentina