American photographer Irving Penn, who gained fame for his images ranging from fashion and celebrities to ordinary people and still life, has died.
His assistant Roger Krueger said he died at his home in Manhattan at the age of 92.
Mr Penn began his career in the 1940s at fashion magazine Vogue, later including travel, such as New Guinea mud men, and still life.read entire article here
In a statement issued Wednesday, the fashion house said it closed its last three stores in Japan, because they "no longer represented the brand image." The statement described the move as part of a broader overhaul of company strategy, adding that Versace wanted "a clean slate" while hunting for "new locations and more suitable distribution channels" in Japan. The statement didn't say when Versace planned to reopen stores in Japan.The WSJ story says a report by the Bain & Company consultancy predicts sales of luxury items to tumble by 10% in Japan this year. The Financial Times says Versace's stores had been in Japan for nearly thirty years.
The store closures show how Japan's dwindling appetite for luxury goods is forcing brands to reassess their operations in pricey cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. Smaller fashion companies like Versace are under the most pressure, because they lack the financial firepower and economies of scale that larger rivals are tapping to ride out Japan's economic woes.
With a high heel providing the heel is supported, even by standing on a wooden block the foot naturally 'spans' the gap naturally, with bones and tendons.
The foot has its own inbuilt strength and support so why duplicate this. You would not have a jumper with rigid arms between elbow and wrist.
So this raised the question, if the design of a shoe was an evolution of the early sandal and how can new materials and design techniques provide new solution?
So I set to exploring this question in a similar way to how I would design a bridge, examining the forces and looking at the most simple, elegant yet poetic expression of the forces at play within the materials used.
Any shoe that offers little or no support will eventually harm the wearer of the shoe. Fashion doesn't always consider pain and comfort. Models have worn crazier things on the runway before.
(via Dezeen, Gizmodo.com.au)
Belgian designer Dries Van Noten's Spring/Summer 2010 collection shown at Paris Fashion Week was all about the exotic print. Dries scoured the globe looking for the most beautiful textiles he could find. The fabrics were rich and luxurious and the prints were beautiful and exotic.
INSPIRATION: Sir Jacobs always derives inspiration from a variety of sources for his collections. This season was no exception. Today he riffed off of deconstructed ballerinas from Russia with a tinge of Martha Graham thrown in for good measure. (Given the powder white faces of the models and their flat wooden sandal footwear, we also think said dancers might have been on their way to Asia.)
ACCESSORIES: Messenger bags in brown leather; oversized handbags in a metallic bronze hue; kitten heel flip-flops; aforementioned flat wooden sandals
WHO WAS THERE: Madonna, Lady Gaga, every fashion editor known to mankind, internet sensations (aka bloggers)
WHAT WE THOUGHT: One never knows what's going to come around the corner at Jacobs' show - starting with the entrance. There was no ornate backdrop this season but instead everyone was ushered into an extremely bright white plaster cube with bench seating (read: everyone is in the front row except for those with standing tickets).
Once the techotronic boom of the speakers sounded off the collective was treated to models wearing sheer spangled stockings and body suits under their ruffled minis and ornately decorated dresses. And that's not wear the ruffles ended. High harlequin-esque collars adorned a multitude of ensembles as did chunky summer scarves.
Aside from the impressive dresses, the utilitarian-style jackets were standouts. Sharply cut and totally flattering they came in shades of blue (as seen here), tan, and army green. Those were the more wearable items, others, like the black lattice suit, not so much. But then again with two equally fashion-forward icons of pop in the audience one never knows.
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he made his debut as an entertainer in 1964 as a member of The Jackson Brothers (later renamed The Jackson 5). He then began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group, and that successful career led to him being dubbed the "King of Pop" in subsequent years. Jackson's 1982 album Thriller remains the world's best-selling album of all time, and four of his other solo studio albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).
In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in American popular music and culture. He was the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV, with videos such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller"—widely credited with transforming the music video from a promotional tool into an art form—bringing fame to the relatively new channel. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV well into the 1990s. Beyond his success on television, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, with his elaborate stage performances. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop music and contemporary R&B artists across several generations.
Jackson "was and will remain one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived," Motown founder Berry Gordy said today. "He was exceptional, artistic and original. He gave the world his heart and soul through his music."
"He was not called Jacko the Whacko for nothing, with all due respect,'' MSNBC entertainment reporter Courtney Hazlett said today.
And therein lies the contradiction in the indisputable popularity and.alleged prurience of an unrivalled pop star. He was the greatest dancer of all time, according to Fred Astaire, the "Thriller'' of two generations, really, who elevated the art of popular music and motion to a standard that others have only mimicked. He was the perfecter of the Moon Walk, the king of MTV, and the father of a two-year-old baby whom he called a prince while dangling him from a balcony for unquestioning fans.
In his last stand, the publicity stunt promoting a "final'' tour starting in London this year, he insisted that this was it, he would be finished as a performer. The tour was sold out. Once the Los Angeles coroner has explained how the show closed, we will likely spend years reclaiming the memory of the nine-year-old Michael Jackson from Gary, Ind., whom we first met on the public stage, a singer whose songs will not soon be forgotten.
(The young Michael Jackson, at 13, is pictured above, in 1972. The performer Michael Jackson is pictured at a Madison Square Garden "Jackson Five Victory Tour" in 1984, photo by Ebet Roberts/ Redferns. The accused Michael Jackson, later acquitted, arriving at a courthouse in Santa Anna, in 2005, photo by Kimberly
