THE WEEK IN FASHION: 7th- 11th NOVEMBER

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

There have been plenty of goings on in the world of fashion this week- I've just been catching up on many of the stories myself having been out at press days for most of the past few days. This week we have more news from the Dior saga, fur bans and much more... Enjoy!

 Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz never fails to make fashion seem fun and accessible- see THAT video. So, his new project might not come as a huge surprise- Elbaz is to pen a book which charts the development of a Lanvin collection from start to finish. The book will be around 700 pages long so we are sure to get a super in-depth view of every possible nook and cranny of the collection. This will also be an insight into the designer's personal process; the first few pages of the book are blank to symbolise Elbaz's starting point!

Elbaz backstage (from lovelanvin.tumblr.com)

 Today, the plot of the Dior saga has thickened once more after fresh doubts were cast on the apparent certainty that Marc Jacobs would be announcing his move there from Vuitton any day. We reported last week that news had reached us that Jacobs would not be leaving his current post but pace has now gathered behind that assertion. It seems that it could just be to big a wrench for Jacobs to take the Dior job when he is so content at Vuitton. Furthermore, Phoebe Philo is understandably reticent about moving from Celine to Vuitton (as many had suspected). Could the only way out of the mess now be for Bernard Arnault to go back to Galliano, as Franca Sozzani and Manolo Blahnik have suggested?

A gratuitous picture of MJ's muscles from vipstills.blogspot.com)

The Versace for H & M collection was never going to be quietly put into stores without a big song and dance to hail its arrival, was it? Thus, this week fashion people and celebrities flocked to NYC for a launch conducted in typically flamboyant Versace fashion; there were performances from Prince and Nicky Minaj while guests included Linda Evangelista and Jessica Alba- all decked out in pieces from the collection of course. WWD reported that the show 'must have set a record pace for 43 looks. The models descended on the maze-like runway like speeding bullets coming at you from all directions'. Although the clothes were the pretext of the evening, the speed of the show is telling because once it was over the real business of demonstrating the glamour which identifies the Versace brand could really crank into action with high octane performances at the specially decked out venue. It wasn't til much later, apparently, that the guests could get their mitts on the clothes.

Donatella in one her designs for H & M

Nicky Minaj (images from telegraph.co.uk)

 Last Saturday came the sad news that Loulou de la Falaise, a woman instrumental in the success of Yves Saint Laurent had passed away aged 63. Somewhat unusually for a muse, de la Falaise also had a key creative role at the house, overseeing the costume jewellery which is now one of its strongest signatures. Bronwyn Cosgrave wrote this excellent obituary which is a must-read no matter how much you already know about Loulou de la Falaise.

Loulou de la Falaise (image from nickverreos.blogspot.com)

Oh dear, it seems that Celine's use of skateboards in their SS11  ads might have backfired on them because Kidult has made them the latest victim of his campaign against the commercialisation of the graffiti world. The shop front in Paris is not looking quite so slick as the Celine people might like! In July, Kidult said of his targets:

 'At some point, all these shops have used graffiti culture as a commercial image, riding the trend without being a part in the least and for which the only point is to make some cash. All I say to them is “hello”; if these brands really like graffiti, I only give them what they like, so what if it’s beautiful or ugly. We gotta stop these brands from dictating a culture that belongs to us'

If that wasn't sufficient warning for the Celine people then we don't know what is!

Juergen Teller's images for Celine SS11 with Daria Werbowy (image from highsnobiety.com)

The Celine store in Paris, plus SK8 courtesy of Kidult (image from www.highsnobiety.com)

The new Muppets film, in which Miss Piggy will be playing a French Vogue Editor, is out here in February. She has been getting into fashionista character by talking to OUT to give a 'snout out to the gays'. These snout outs includes 'Thanks, but no spanx' and 'You can call me a diva- just don't call me a ham'. See the fashion commandments according to Miss Piggy here, and bring on the film- Emmanuelle Alt had better watch out...

Not exactly the style we have come to expect from a French Fashion Editor... (image from www.out.com)

 There is plenty of information out there to deter consumers from buying fur but in most places it is still a personal decision, despite the vitriol which those wearing fur will undoubtedly face from some they encounter. However, in West Hollywood authorities are taking deterrence a step further by voting to ban the sale of items made from fur in the area. Ed Buck, from the group Fur Free WeHo which prompted the decision, said '"We made history. We're the first place in the world, I believe, certainly the country, to take that step and ban fur". However, retailers are worried about the potential losses they will incur if they cannot meet their customer's demands. After all, this is just a small area of Los Angeles which is full of shops so fur lovers won't have to go far to fulfil their needs. And those people do have have considerable spending power; the Fur Information Council claims that fur sales in the US rose by 3.1% last year to $1.3 billion in the US. Is West Hollywood patronising its residents by making this decision on their behalf, or are they an example of the future for fur as fashion?

Marlene Dietrich in an image which undoubtedly glamorises fur, WeHo is saying that is a notion they can no longer sanction

A tip off now about an upcoming sample sale. Here are the deets...

Dates: Thursday 24th November, Friday 25th November, Saturday 26th November and Sunday 27th November 2011. Location: The Old Truman Brewery, Shop 14, 15 Hanbury Street, London E1 6QR.
Opening Times: Thursday 13.00 – 20.00, Friday 12.00 – 20.00, Saturday 12.00 – 19.00, Sunday 12.00– 18.30. Some brands you'll find there: See by Chloe, Joseph, Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Belstaff, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, DKNY Jeans,Missoni, Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo, D&G, Lanvin, Moncler, French Connection, Marc Jacobs, Jimmy Choo and many more. Happy Shopping!

The new Harper's Bazaar (image from harpersbazaar.co.uk)

 Finally, our video of the week is the long-awaited collaboration between Duran Duran, a smattering of 90s supermodels, Dolce and Gabbana and Harper's Bazaar magazine. Girl Panic! shows Naomi Campbell, Eva Hervigoza, Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen and Yasmin Le Bon become Duran Duran for the day. The cover of December's Harper's Bazaar features 'The Supers' in classic high glamour style. It's all happened at the The Savoy and is a prime example of the hedonistic effect of combining music and fashion. Look out for cameos from Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.  A perfect ten minute escape, shot by Jonas Akerlund...

IF YOU ARE VISITING AFTER READING TODAY'S TELEGRAPH....

Click here for my fur story.
And to read more about Sarah Mower, click here!

CAN VEGETARIAN'S WEAR FUR WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE?

Posted by the Fashion Junior at Large

Just before Christmas, when the first blanket of snow fell across London, I fell in love with a vintage coat. It was knee length, duck egg blue, with four big antique buttons down the front. Beautiful. But the element that made it really special was paradoxically also the thing that stopped me from buying said coat. It had a real fur collar. As the Fashion Editor at Large pointed out in her rather controversial previous post I am a vegetarian, so it goes without saying that I am against wearing fur. No matter how lovely the coat is I simply can’t help but see that fur collar for what it once was.

Other trendy gals about London town hold no such reservations. I’ve seen women of all ages wearing real fur again as if it were the most natural thing in the world (which, if we hark back to the practices of primitive humans, one might argue it is). And with paparazzi shots of Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham draped in fox appearing regularly in the media (see below), it seems the last taboo has broken down and fur is making a brazen return to mainstream fashion.

What happened to the days when fur was a dirty word, and women harboured their grandmother’s antique fur coats at the back of their closets as if they were guilty of some unspeakable crime? How are these women reconciling their morals with their thirst for fur? Well, my theory is, the women wearing it believe they’ve found a fashion loophole – vintage.

A shop assistant from Beyond Retro (home of the fabulous fur collar coat) told me that they had seen a huge resurgence of people buying vintage stoles, coats, bomber jackets and hats this winter. ‘Younger, more fashion conscious women are accessorising with vintage fur. It’s a real trend item at the moment’, she said.

A friend of mine, who purchased a rabbit fur coat uncomfortably close to her purchase of a pet rabbit, is one such woman. ‘I just love the way it feels’ she explained to me, ‘Fur is very tactile and I think people are inexplicably drawn to it’. Fur is undeniably luxuriant, sexy and ultra-soft, and although my friend admits she’s not 100% comfortable wearing it out in public, she generally falls into the Georgina Langford camp of thought.

Well, animal rights protestors are quick to insinuate that the wearing of vintage fur promotes the consumption of new fur, forming a loop rather than a loophole. PETA spokeswomen Sam Glover is keen to disperse the rationale that old fur is fair game; ‘Whether they were killed yesterday or 50 years ago, animals are not ours to wear. It doesn’t make their suffering any more forgivable or the cruelty any less hardhearted’.

On the catwalk I see more designers using fur – Fendi, Gaultier, Macdonald – than not – step forward lone star Stella McCartney.

Back to my dilemma. The fabulous fur collar coat had no labels inside. I have no idea how it was produced, but I assume it wasn’t a pleasant process for the animal. How could it be? And whilst many of us may be making a conscious effort to consume food, coffee and clothing that is ethically produced, how can we be sure that the fur industry is being monitored appropriately?

In the case of new fur items the Origin Assured label supposedly indicates the garment’s country of origin. Only furs produced in countries with strict regulations in favour of animal welfare are allowed to carry the label, thus ensuring atrocities like those made explicit by PETA (whose undercover video footage of fur farms in China shows foxes being skinned alive. F-ing HORENDOUS!) are minimised. Of course none of this can be said for vintage, much of which is produced long before these regulations were introduced, so don't go thinking it's ok!

Andy Lenhart, the chairman of International Fur Trade Federation, who introduced the labelling programme believes it will help the fur debate to mature; ‘For years there has been a misperception of our industry, but the fur industry is a responsible industry. IFTF and its members deplore cruelty to animals and promote strict codes of practice that meet or exceed established and accepted standards for animal welfare’. Hmmm.

Fifty quid is all I would have had to fork out for a duck egg blue coat with antique buttons and a fine mink fur collar. But at what cost to my moral conscience I ask!? Despite loving the coat, I could not put fashion before my morals. I eventually left Beyond Retro empty handed, and walked out onto Cheshire Street, bracing myself against the chill. Across the road running towards me was an urban fox. He had a healthy coat of auburn fur and a handsome fluffy tail (Shhh. Don’t tell Victoria Beckham).
I’m taking it as a sign...

FASHION 1.........................ANIMAL RIGHTS PROTESTERS - NIL

Posted by the Fashion Editor at Large

Kate Moss

I hate to say it, but the battle betwee the anti-fur camp and the fur-wearing brigade has been won by the fur-wearers. That means Anna Wintour has won. The foxes cowering in a cage somewhere in Norway have lost. The International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) have triumphed and People for the Ethical treatment of Animals (PETA) have failed.

I came to this conclusion yesterday while reading the Evening Standard letters page when a certain Georgina Langford, the VEGETARIAN events manager for a magazine named Glass, wrote in to say:

"I am both a vegetarian and a vintage fur wearer. Although I do not condone the continued killing of animals for food and fashion, and would never buy a new fur, the pelts for most vintage coats were produced more than 30 years ago. It is surely better to wear these beautiful garments than leave them to moulder in attics, which is akin to throwing away half-eaten steak. Vintage fur coats epitomise winter glamour; fake fur leaves the wearer wanting the real deal. Last year I treated myself to an Arctic fox jacket and during this cold snap it has been worth every penny. To save on heating bills and reduce my carbon footprint, I often wear it indoors."

I have never read such a load of ill-informed, wrong-headedness in my life. How can someone wear fur and be a vegetarian at the same time? I just do not understand it. Stella McCartney needs to have a word with this girl. And because the animal died before she was born, that makes it OK does it? I fear this girl has been bitten by the "fashion dunce" bug, in which a normally bright girl becomes an airhead in the name of being fashionable. Even the caption written by an Evening Standard sub-editor suggesting Ms Langford "epitomise[s] winter glamour" caused my hackles to rise.

Obviously, the reason I am on the subject of fur wearing is due to how this cold snap (another three inches of snow in West London over-night) has revealed the true face of the fur-wearing public in London. It is so much bigger than I EVER imagined. Walking the dog I see old ladies in fur coats. Not rich ladies; locals. In and around town I see young cute fashiony girls in rabbit fur bomber jackets, fox stoles; Arctic fox belted coats, you name it. I can't help thinking the battle is lost.

The British Fur Trade Association estimate that worldwide sales of fur totalled more than $15 billion towards the end of the naughties – marking a decade of continued growth.

It seems the public perception of wearing fur is that it is not just OK to wear fur, it is fashionable to wear fur. Meaning that more and more animals will have to be farmed just for their pelts, with no usable by-products for human consumption.

I know a lot about the fur industry. I have been to a fur farm, and heavily researched the area. This was done in my own attempt to ethically decide for myself whether wearing fur was right or wrong. I then wrote about my quest in the Saturday Telegraph Magazine.

After a great deal of work and thought I came to the conclusion that, as a meat-eater, I would wear the by-products of the animals I do eat. So leather for shoes and bags, feathers for pillows and padded winter coats, wool for sweaters, and sheepskin for boots, hats, gloves.  

That works for me, and I can stand up for my reasons for wearing animals. Georgina Langford's "reasons" for wearing fur are pathetic. The Fashion Junior at Large is also a vegetarian, and would NEVER wear fur. We've just had a long chat about why she DIDN'T/COULDN'T buy a coat with a fur collar at the weekend, and I have asked to to write all about it for us. So look out for that in the next few hours. In the meantime let's ponder those shots of Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss wearing fox.

Victoria Beckham

Photo credits: REX FEATURES