(Reuters) - British royals Kate Middleton and Prince Harry led Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list on Tuesday, following a year in which all eyes have been on Britain's young members of the monarchy.
The newlywed Duchess of Cambridge, 30, whose husband is Harry's brother Prince William, will grace the September cover of the magazine's newsstand editions after a year of setting style trends and wowing fashionistas with her mix of designer and high street wardrobe choices in her first year of official duties.
The magazine said Prince Charles spent an estimated $55,000 on designer clothes for his new daughter-in-law but that Middleton declined the services of a royal dresser. Instead, she selected her own wardrobe from designers such as Alice Temperley and Alexander McQueen, as well as stores like Topshop and T.K. Maxx.
With Prince William off the list, fashion watchers wondered if his father should offer to hire him a stylist.
Prince Harry, 27, led the best-dressed men followed by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is married to model Gisele Bundchen. Both the prince and the sports star made their first appearances on the style list.
The Vanity Fair best-dressed rundown is voted for by more than 2,000 fashion industry professionals, journalists and taste-makers as well as the best-dressed Hall of Fame members.
Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain, who will grace the September cover for subscribers' editions, became a red carpet staple during this year's awards season and made her debut on the best-dressed list for bold fashion choices, including her Alexander McQueen dress at this year's Oscars ceremony.
She was joined by fellow actresses Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Lea Seydoux, model Elettra Wiedemann and musician Alicia Keys.
Rapper Jay-Z joined Prince Harry and Brady for his first appearance in the style rundown, beating wife Beyonce, who failed to make the top 10. 'Today' show co-host Matt Lauer and '60 Minutes' correspondent Morley Safer also made it.
The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were not the only royal to be included. The women's list acknowledged best-dressed veterans Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser of Qatar and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, as well as first-timer Gucci model Charlotte Casiraghi, who is fourth in line to the Monaco throne.
British actor Colin Firth and wife Livia made the best-dressed couples list, and New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, 81, was named a 'fashion original.'
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and David Gregorio)
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
A day at the zoo: Roberto Cavalli launches fall/winter kids collection
After unveiling womenswear, menswear and Just Cavalli collections, luxury brand Roberto Cavalli launched its high-end kids' Fall/Winter 2012-2013 collection July 30, displaying a colorful potpourri of floral and animal prints.
Adapting adult designs for the youngest stylesetters, this new collection is a mix & match of animal prints, denim and floral patterns.
The pieces on offer include sweaters, coats and shirts as well as accessories.
Adapting adult designs for the youngest stylesetters, this new collection is a mix & match of animal prints, denim and floral patterns.
The pieces on offer include sweaters, coats and shirts as well as accessories.
Diane von Furstenberg joining Roxy for 'playful' swimwear collection
Diane von Furstenberg has announced she's joining forces with surf and snow lifestyle brand Roxy for a limited edition swimwear line called DVF loves ROXY.
Set to launch globally for Spring/Summer 2013, the range will blend Furstenberg's iconic bold prints with Roxy's signature surf culture-inspired silhouettes.
Comprising 35 pieces, the line will include swimwear, beach cover-ups, board shorts, rash guards, and beach bags.
'I am so excited to work with Roxy,' Furstenberg told WWD of the partnership. 'The collection is playful and fun...we wanted to empower women to go for it and ride the wave.'
With prices ranging from $38 to $88, DVF loves ROXY will be available at selected DVF and Roxy stores across the globe, as well as the roxy.com e-commerce site and surf specialty outlets across the US.
Furstenberg, who is best known for her signature printed wrap dress and cites Michelle Obama and Gwyneth Paltrow among her fans, has previously joined forces with high street brands such as Gap and Current Elliot.
She is also one of the 24 designers, along with the likes of Jason Wu and Marc Jacobs, that will be part of the capsule holiday collection for US retailers Neiman's and Target in December.
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
Set to launch globally for Spring/Summer 2013, the range will blend Furstenberg's iconic bold prints with Roxy's signature surf culture-inspired silhouettes.
Comprising 35 pieces, the line will include swimwear, beach cover-ups, board shorts, rash guards, and beach bags.
'I am so excited to work with Roxy,' Furstenberg told WWD of the partnership. 'The collection is playful and fun...we wanted to empower women to go for it and ride the wave.'
With prices ranging from $38 to $88, DVF loves ROXY will be available at selected DVF and Roxy stores across the globe, as well as the roxy.com e-commerce site and surf specialty outlets across the US.
Furstenberg, who is best known for her signature printed wrap dress and cites Michelle Obama and Gwyneth Paltrow among her fans, has previously joined forces with high street brands such as Gap and Current Elliot.
She is also one of the 24 designers, along with the likes of Jason Wu and Marc Jacobs, that will be part of the capsule holiday collection for US retailers Neiman's and Target in December.
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Top milliners give London landmarks a makeover
Leading British milliners Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy have curated a selection of bespoke headwear for some of London's most iconic statues as part of the London 2012 Festival -- a series of cultural events running alongside the Olympics.
Dubbed Hatwalk, the initiative is a collaboration between the Mayor of London, fashion publication Grazia, BT, and the British Fashion Council, and brings together 21 emerging and established designers to showcase the best of British millinery.
Trafalgar Square's most famous resident Admiral Lord Nelson has got a new hat for the first time in 200 years, with the oldest hatters in London, Lock & Co -- famed for making Nelson's original bicorn hat -- creating an updated version which even comprises an Olympic torch.
Other highlights include a headpiece for British General Sir Henry Havelock by Treacy, who is best known for his catwalk collaborations with Alexander McQueen and design for Princess Beatrice at last year's royal wedding. Meanwhile Jones, who has worked with international fashion houses including Versace and Jean Paul Gaultier, has restyled King George IV with a golden-domed design.
Kicking off July 30, London will be host to Hatwalk for four days. A guide on finding all of the different hats throughout the city can be seen here: http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/hatwalk
Dubbed Hatwalk, the initiative is a collaboration between the Mayor of London, fashion publication Grazia, BT, and the British Fashion Council, and brings together 21 emerging and established designers to showcase the best of British millinery.
Trafalgar Square's most famous resident Admiral Lord Nelson has got a new hat for the first time in 200 years, with the oldest hatters in London, Lock & Co -- famed for making Nelson's original bicorn hat -- creating an updated version which even comprises an Olympic torch.
Other highlights include a headpiece for British General Sir Henry Havelock by Treacy, who is best known for his catwalk collaborations with Alexander McQueen and design for Princess Beatrice at last year's royal wedding. Meanwhile Jones, who has worked with international fashion houses including Versace and Jean Paul Gaultier, has restyled King George IV with a golden-domed design.
Kicking off July 30, London will be host to Hatwalk for four days. A guide on finding all of the different hats throughout the city can be seen here: http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/hatwalk
Russia's 'Pussy Riot' on trial for cathedral protest
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Three women who protested against Vladimir Putin in a "punk prayer" on the altar of Russia's main cathedral went on trial on Monday in a case seen as a test of the longtime leader's treatment of dissent during a new presidential term.
The women from the band 'Pussy Riot' face up to seven years in prison for an unsanctioned performance in February in which they entered Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, ascended the altar and called on the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out!"
Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, were brought to Moscow's Khamovniki court for Russia's highest-profile trial since former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted in 2010, for a second time, in the same courtroom where the Pussy Riot trial began.
Supporters chanted "Girls, we're with you!" and "Victory!" as the women, each handcuffed by the wrist to a female officer, were led from a white and blue police van into the courthouse through a side entrance. Streets around the court, on a high Moscow River embankment, were closed.
They were led into a metal and clear-plastic courtroom cage, where they milled and spoke with lawyers as preparations began. Tolokonnikova, in a blue chequered shirt, lowered her head to speak through a small opening in the enclosure. Two pairs of handcuffs hung at the ready just beside her face.
"We did not want to offend anybody," Tolokonnikova said, speaking to a defence lawyer who stood outside the enclosure. "We admit our political guilt, but not legal guilt."
The stunt was designed to highlight the close relationship between the dominant Russian Orthodox Church and former KGB officer Putin, then prime minister, whose campaign to return to the presidency in a March election was backed clearly, if informally, by the leader of the church, Patriarch Kirill.
The protest offended many believers and enraged Kirill. The church, which has enjoyed a big revival since the demise of the officially atheist Communist Soviet Union in 1991 and is seeking more influence on secular life, cast the performance as part of a sinister campaign by "anti-Russian forces".
ANGER OVER CLOSE CHURCH-STATE TIES
The women are charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility.
But in opening statements read by a defence lawyer, who sometimes struggled with the handwritten texts, they said they were protesting against Kirill's political support for Putin and had no animosity toward the church or the faithful.
"I have never had such feelings toward anyone in the world," Tolokonnikova said in her statement. "We are not enemies of Christians ... our motives are exclusively political."
"We only want Russia to change for the better," she said.
Alyokhina's statement said: "I thought the church loved all its children, but it seems the church loves only those children who love Putin."
The women looked thinner and paler than they did when they were jailed following the performance in late February, shortly before Putin, in power as president from 2000-2008 and then as prime minister, won a six-year presidential term on March 4.
"She looks like she has been on a long hunger strike," Stanislav Samutsevich said of his daughter. "Her cheeks are hollow ? I've never seen her in such a state. I think this is like an inquisition, like mockery."
A reporter on state-run Rossiya-24 television presented a different picture, focusing on occasional smiles and chuckles and an overall air of self-assuredness among the women, who whispered to each other as a prosecutor read the charges.
"Look at their faces; they are laughing and joking," the reporter said on the news, adding that a viewer might think they were "continuing the action" they carried out at the cathedral.
Prosecutors asked for the trial, which was streamed live on the Internet, to be closed to the public and the media, saying a "rift in society" and emotions over the case put the defendants and other participants at risk.
A group of conservative Russian writers called on Monday for tough punishment. But Kremlin opponents, rights activists and supporters of the defendants say the charges are politically motivated.
"This has nothing to do with the law, it is a political reprisal," said opposition lawmaker Gennady Gudkov. "(The prosecution of) Pussy Riot is of course an unprecedented case of stupidity and brutality on the part of the authorities."
PROTEST MOVEMENT
The performance, a protest against the church's support for Putin, was part of a lively protest movement that at its peak saw 100,000 people turn out for rallies in Moscow, some of the largest in Russia since the Soviet Union's demise.
The plight of the three women, who have been held in a courtroom cage during pre-trial hearings, has also drawn attention in the West, where governments are closely watching how Putin will handle dissent.
Rights groups and musicians such as Sting and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have expressed concern about the trial, reflecting doubts that Putin - who could serve until 2024 if re-elected in six years - will become more tolerant.
In her opening statement, read out by defence lawyer Violetta Volkova, Samutsevich said she saw the prosecution as "the start of a campaign of authoritarian, repressive measures aimed to ... spread fear among politically active citizens."
The trial comes as Putin, 59, is trying to forestall potential challenges and rein in his opponents, who hope to reignite the street protest movement this autumn.
On Monday, Putin signed a law enacting stricter punishment for defamation. That follows recent laws tightening controls on foreign-funded civil rights groups and sharply raising fines for violations of public order at street rallies.
Opposition leaders including anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and socialite Ksenia Sobchak have had their homes searched and faced repeated rounds of questioning over violence at a protest on the eve of Putin's inauguration on May 7.
Navalny was due to appear before investigators in a separate case on Monday, and lawyers, who said they were told he would be charged with a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Amnesty International has called for the release of the Pussy Riot members, two of whom have young children, saying the charges are not a "justifiable response to the peaceful - if, to many, offensive - expression of their political beliefs."
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev dismissed criticism of the case in remarks published on Monday, saying the trial was a "serious ordeal" for the defendants and their families but that "one should be calm about it" and await the outcome.
"It seems to me that there will always be different perceptions about what is acceptable and not acceptable from a moral point of view and where moral misbehaviour becomes a criminal action," he told the Times of London in an interview.
"Whether that is the case here is up to the court to decide," he said, according to a Russian government transcript.
Few Russians believe the country's courts are independent, however, and Medvedev acknowledged during his 2008-2012 presidential term that they were subject to political influence and corruption.
"The court's decision will depend not on the law but on what the Kremlin wants," said Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a Soviet-era dissident and veteran human rights activist who heads the Moscow Helsinki Group.
(Additional reporting by astassia Astrasheuskaya, Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Anna Willard)
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The women from the band 'Pussy Riot' face up to seven years in prison for an unsanctioned performance in February in which they entered Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, ascended the altar and called on the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out!"
Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, were brought to Moscow's Khamovniki court for Russia's highest-profile trial since former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted in 2010, for a second time, in the same courtroom where the Pussy Riot trial began.
Supporters chanted "Girls, we're with you!" and "Victory!" as the women, each handcuffed by the wrist to a female officer, were led from a white and blue police van into the courthouse through a side entrance. Streets around the court, on a high Moscow River embankment, were closed.
They were led into a metal and clear-plastic courtroom cage, where they milled and spoke with lawyers as preparations began. Tolokonnikova, in a blue chequered shirt, lowered her head to speak through a small opening in the enclosure. Two pairs of handcuffs hung at the ready just beside her face.
"We did not want to offend anybody," Tolokonnikova said, speaking to a defence lawyer who stood outside the enclosure. "We admit our political guilt, but not legal guilt."
The stunt was designed to highlight the close relationship between the dominant Russian Orthodox Church and former KGB officer Putin, then prime minister, whose campaign to return to the presidency in a March election was backed clearly, if informally, by the leader of the church, Patriarch Kirill.
The protest offended many believers and enraged Kirill. The church, which has enjoyed a big revival since the demise of the officially atheist Communist Soviet Union in 1991 and is seeking more influence on secular life, cast the performance as part of a sinister campaign by "anti-Russian forces".
ANGER OVER CLOSE CHURCH-STATE TIES
The women are charged with hooliganism motivated by religious hatred or hostility.
But in opening statements read by a defence lawyer, who sometimes struggled with the handwritten texts, they said they were protesting against Kirill's political support for Putin and had no animosity toward the church or the faithful.
"I have never had such feelings toward anyone in the world," Tolokonnikova said in her statement. "We are not enemies of Christians ... our motives are exclusively political."
"We only want Russia to change for the better," she said.
Alyokhina's statement said: "I thought the church loved all its children, but it seems the church loves only those children who love Putin."
The women looked thinner and paler than they did when they were jailed following the performance in late February, shortly before Putin, in power as president from 2000-2008 and then as prime minister, won a six-year presidential term on March 4.
"She looks like she has been on a long hunger strike," Stanislav Samutsevich said of his daughter. "Her cheeks are hollow ? I've never seen her in such a state. I think this is like an inquisition, like mockery."
A reporter on state-run Rossiya-24 television presented a different picture, focusing on occasional smiles and chuckles and an overall air of self-assuredness among the women, who whispered to each other as a prosecutor read the charges.
"Look at their faces; they are laughing and joking," the reporter said on the news, adding that a viewer might think they were "continuing the action" they carried out at the cathedral.
Prosecutors asked for the trial, which was streamed live on the Internet, to be closed to the public and the media, saying a "rift in society" and emotions over the case put the defendants and other participants at risk.
A group of conservative Russian writers called on Monday for tough punishment. But Kremlin opponents, rights activists and supporters of the defendants say the charges are politically motivated.
"This has nothing to do with the law, it is a political reprisal," said opposition lawmaker Gennady Gudkov. "(The prosecution of) Pussy Riot is of course an unprecedented case of stupidity and brutality on the part of the authorities."
PROTEST MOVEMENT
The performance, a protest against the church's support for Putin, was part of a lively protest movement that at its peak saw 100,000 people turn out for rallies in Moscow, some of the largest in Russia since the Soviet Union's demise.
The plight of the three women, who have been held in a courtroom cage during pre-trial hearings, has also drawn attention in the West, where governments are closely watching how Putin will handle dissent.
Rights groups and musicians such as Sting and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have expressed concern about the trial, reflecting doubts that Putin - who could serve until 2024 if re-elected in six years - will become more tolerant.
In her opening statement, read out by defence lawyer Violetta Volkova, Samutsevich said she saw the prosecution as "the start of a campaign of authoritarian, repressive measures aimed to ... spread fear among politically active citizens."
The trial comes as Putin, 59, is trying to forestall potential challenges and rein in his opponents, who hope to reignite the street protest movement this autumn.
On Monday, Putin signed a law enacting stricter punishment for defamation. That follows recent laws tightening controls on foreign-funded civil rights groups and sharply raising fines for violations of public order at street rallies.
Opposition leaders including anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and socialite Ksenia Sobchak have had their homes searched and faced repeated rounds of questioning over violence at a protest on the eve of Putin's inauguration on May 7.
Navalny was due to appear before investigators in a separate case on Monday, and lawyers, who said they were told he would be charged with a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Amnesty International has called for the release of the Pussy Riot members, two of whom have young children, saying the charges are not a "justifiable response to the peaceful - if, to many, offensive - expression of their political beliefs."
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev dismissed criticism of the case in remarks published on Monday, saying the trial was a "serious ordeal" for the defendants and their families but that "one should be calm about it" and await the outcome.
"It seems to me that there will always be different perceptions about what is acceptable and not acceptable from a moral point of view and where moral misbehaviour becomes a criminal action," he told the Times of London in an interview.
"Whether that is the case here is up to the court to decide," he said, according to a Russian government transcript.
Few Russians believe the country's courts are independent, however, and Medvedev acknowledged during his 2008-2012 presidential term that they were subject to political influence and corruption.
"The court's decision will depend not on the law but on what the Kremlin wants," said Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a Soviet-era dissident and veteran human rights activist who heads the Moscow Helsinki Group.
(Additional reporting by astassia Astrasheuskaya, Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Anna Willard)
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
London Fashion Week: Jonathan Saunders creates bespoke visuals
This year's BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund winner Jonathan Saunders has collaborated with London Fashion Week to create his own bespoke visuals to promote the event, marking the launch of a new annual designer team-up.
The British Fashion Council (BFC) announced last week that Saunders has created the visual event branding and marketing materials for the Spring/Summer 2013 edition of London Fashion Week.
Based on an adapted version of his ombre print from Fall/Winter 2012, the pattern is inspired from Hungarian French artist Victor Vasarely, whose art and sculpture focused around the areas of optical illusion and geometric abstract art.
Saunders was approached by the BFC after he scooped this year's BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, which is inspired by the US Vogue Fashion Fund and offers an up-and-coming British-based creator a cash prize and mentoring with aims to help them become a global brand.
For the future it is hoped that the annual visuals for London Fashion Week will be created by that year's Fund recipient.
'It's a fantastic opportunity and a real first for us to work with one of our designers in this capacity. Jonathan Saunders' work is very visually striking and the use of bold prints and colors are his trademark. It is extremely exciting to be able to breathe new life into the creative of London Fashion Week,' said BFC chief executive Caroline Rush.
The Spring/Summer 2013 edition of London Fashion Week will take place September 14-18. It is preceded by New York Fashion Week, which launches fashion week season in the four major fashion capitals September 6-13.
This news article is brought to you by GLOBAL WEATHER NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The British Fashion Council (BFC) announced last week that Saunders has created the visual event branding and marketing materials for the Spring/Summer 2013 edition of London Fashion Week.
Based on an adapted version of his ombre print from Fall/Winter 2012, the pattern is inspired from Hungarian French artist Victor Vasarely, whose art and sculpture focused around the areas of optical illusion and geometric abstract art.
Saunders was approached by the BFC after he scooped this year's BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, which is inspired by the US Vogue Fashion Fund and offers an up-and-coming British-based creator a cash prize and mentoring with aims to help them become a global brand.
For the future it is hoped that the annual visuals for London Fashion Week will be created by that year's Fund recipient.
'It's a fantastic opportunity and a real first for us to work with one of our designers in this capacity. Jonathan Saunders' work is very visually striking and the use of bold prints and colors are his trademark. It is extremely exciting to be able to breathe new life into the creative of London Fashion Week,' said BFC chief executive Caroline Rush.
The Spring/Summer 2013 edition of London Fashion Week will take place September 14-18. It is preceded by New York Fashion Week, which launches fashion week season in the four major fashion capitals September 6-13.
This news article is brought to you by GLOBAL WEATHER NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Azealia Banks stars in Alexander Wang T video
Her track '212' was the unofficial soundtrack to last season's fashion week shows, and hip-hop star Azealia Banks' domination of the fashion world is showing no sign of slowing down as she's now the face of Alexander Wang's T line.
The rapper is the latest in a string of musicians to front a campaign for the designer's diffusion line, following in the footsteps of Santigold, Spank Rock and Die Antwoord.
This isn't the first time Wang and Banks have teamed up either -- the star was Wang's date for the 2012 Met Gala, and she provided music for his Spring 2012 ready-to-wear campaign with Liya Kibede.
Daniel Jackson directed Banks in the T Fall 2012 video, where she raps 'Van Vogue' from her recent EP '1991'.
'She exudes a certain rawness that makes her a very unique talent,' Wang told style.com.
'I loved working with her on this video for T Fall 2012, and think the collaboration captures a collision of energies.'
Other designers to have fallen for the charms of Banks include Karl Lagerfeld, who asked the musician to perform in his home during a dinner celebrating the launch of his Net-a-Porter clothing line earlier this year.
Watch the Azealia Banks for Alexander Wang T video here; http://youtu.be/1NnbZjpU_Qg
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The rapper is the latest in a string of musicians to front a campaign for the designer's diffusion line, following in the footsteps of Santigold, Spank Rock and Die Antwoord.
This isn't the first time Wang and Banks have teamed up either -- the star was Wang's date for the 2012 Met Gala, and she provided music for his Spring 2012 ready-to-wear campaign with Liya Kibede.
Daniel Jackson directed Banks in the T Fall 2012 video, where she raps 'Van Vogue' from her recent EP '1991'.
'She exudes a certain rawness that makes her a very unique talent,' Wang told style.com.
'I loved working with her on this video for T Fall 2012, and think the collaboration captures a collision of energies.'
Other designers to have fallen for the charms of Banks include Karl Lagerfeld, who asked the musician to perform in his home during a dinner celebrating the launch of his Net-a-Porter clothing line earlier this year.
Watch the Azealia Banks for Alexander Wang T video here; http://youtu.be/1NnbZjpU_Qg
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
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