Friday, November 26, 2010

Armani taps Chinese market with online store

MILAN (AFP) – Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani plans to tap the Chinese market with a new online store that opened Friday for Emporio Armani in one of the first such initiatives in China by a major fashion brand.


"In view of the increasing enthusiasm for online shopping and the growing importance of the Chinese market, I have decided to open an Emporio Armani online store in China," Armani was quoted as saying in a statement.
"We have identified a significant group of fashion consumers who will certainly appreciate this new approach to shopping, one that becomes more popular every day," Armani said, referring to the Chinese market.
Online retail sales in China, which has the world's largest web population of at least 420 million, soared 117 percent last year to 39 billion dollars (29 billion euros), according to iResearch, a Beijing-based research firm.
US fashion giant Gap launched an online store in China earlier this month and Wal-Mart -- the world's biggest retailer -- has said it too plans an Internet presence in China soon. Apple opened an online store in October.
Armani said it was "the first fashion brand to offer a 'flagship store' online experience in China." The website is backed by Yoox, an Italian online fashion retailer that has grown rapidly during the global economic crisis.
The Armani Group has more than 5,000 employees and 13 factories, producing clothes, as well as accessories, eyewear, watches, jewellery and perfume.
The group has 609 stores in 46 countries around the world.

Source: Yahoo!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Christina Aguilera gets Hollywood Star

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Grammy-winning US pop singer ChristinaAguilera was honored with a star on Hollywood's celebrity Walk of Fame, barely a week before her feature film debut.


The star, the 2,423rd on the famous sidewalk roll call of celebrities past and present, was unveiled on Monday, nine days before her acting skills go on display when "Burlesque" hits the silver screen, co-starring Cher.

"As a young girl in Pittsburgh, I often imagined what it would be like to come to Hollywood and make it as a performer," the 29-year-old told screaming fans on Hollywood Boulevard.





"We would go from audition to audition and I would sing anthem after anthem ... hoping one day it would all pay off. Standing here at this moment I know that it has paid off in spades," she added.

Aguilera won the first of her four Grammys in 1999 as best new artist, followed by best pop collaboration in 2001, and best female pop vocal performance in 2003 and 2006.

In "Burlesque," she plays a small-town girl who makes her way to a Los Angeles burlesque club to pursue her dreams. Aguilera also wrote and recorded four new songs for the musical's soundtrack.

At a weekend presentation of the film Aguilera told AFP: "I've always been a hard worker.

"I like to learn from others and having new challenges, and I think that's what happening to me now in my life. Many changes, a movie, a new album, and a star in Hollywood -- many changes.

Aguilera and her husband Jordan Bratman separated, five years after their 2005 wedding, although there were no divorce plans, People magazine reported.


Source: Yahoo!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

No Bombs, Only Bombshells, Plus a $2 Million Bra, at the Victoria's Secret Show

New York – It's the highly coveted invitation that few people receive, but everyone wants: the taping of the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show. Held in the Lexington Armory in New York on Wednesday night, Nov. 10, it was bombs and bombshells in the building, and a whole lot of voyeurs in between.

Well, maybe not literally bombs - there were dogs sniffing purses for explosives to prevent that - but military memorabilia in glass cases lined the hallway as guests entered the custom built space that rivaled a Paris couture show in scale.

Plush, red padded stadium-style seating looked down on a very glittery gold runway, with seats towering some 30 feet up. Though the main attraction was 30 of the most beautiful women in the world clad in Victoria's Secret underwear and the show's signature angel wings, if you forgot your opera glasses that night or weren't sitting in the VIP sections, you were more likely to get an up-close-and-personal look at the back of the heads of business men in suits, who, not surprisingly, made up a good majority of the audience.

Adriana Lima

But if the custom bra and panty sets were hard to see, there were other more visible accoutrement on display, such as the aforementioned wings, as well as sporty-themed costumes and cowgirl-inspired get-ups. It was Halloween and "sexy" costumes-in-a-bag all over again on the runway. And glitter, lots and lots of it. A hundred pounds, to be exact, along with 30 bottles of Victoria's Secret "Shimmer Mist" and 40 cans of hairspray. No one said being beautiful was easy, or natural.

Despite the pounds of glitter, makeup artist Tom Pechaux said the look was inspired by the California girl, one of the most natural female archetypes around.

"This season we are playing with bronzer," he said as he applied makeup to Alessandra Ambrosio some eight hours before showtime. "It's more healthy, it's more dewy, more glow-y."

Adding to the spectacle, and cementing the "California Girls" theme, were live performances by Katy Perry and Akon. They played to a far more subdued audience than the usual screaming arena crowds they're likely used to, which might explain the canned applause that followed their respective performances. However, Vin Diesel put in a good show of support as he cheered them on, fist-pumping and clapping wildly from his front row seat.

The big ticket star of the night, however, was the $2 million "Bombshell Fantasy Bra" worn by Adriana Lima, covered with 60 carats of diamonds and 82 carats of sapphires and topaz stones with a pattern meant to evoke a swirling constellation, said Sylvia Damiani, vice president of Damiani, the jeweler who created the bra. And who might be lining up to buy this VIP bra?

"You know, it's a very special piece, and the kind of person that would eventually buy it is not that easy to find," said Damiani before the show. "I was thinking that the right person for it would be like a singer, a stage person. I see it more as a kind of piece that is something that you wear when you are a performer. Like Lady Gaga, or Katy Perry!"

For the Victoria's Secret models walking in the show, it was as much about performance as it was about modeling designer clothes - or lack thereof - on the runway. For some, that meant even more added pressure.

Chanel Iman, who closed the show in an elaborate, 30 pound bubble-wing ensemble, said that this show was definitely a different experience from her usual jobs during fashion week.

"It's a little bit stressful, just because you want to be amazing, and you want to just feel good in lingerie," she said. "It takes a lot to walk in front of a lot of people."

And even these top models had to follow strict diet and exercise routines in the days leading up to the show, like Behati Prinsloo.

"I saw my trainer every day for the last week just to do different things. I did Pilates, I did some boxing, and just drank loads of water, kept healthy, and slept."

But once the show was done, she had some big plans: "I'm going to have a huge steak, and a chocolate mousse cake. Devour everything that I want, and not work out for about two weeks!"

The televised version of the show airs on Tuesday, Nov. 30, on CBS.

Source: Yahoo

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Fashion Designing 'my drug': Pierre Cardin

French designer clothes fashion legend Pierre Cardin described his job as a "drug" that brings him the joys of life Tuesday, saying he would keep working in a career that has already spanned six decades.

"It's a job I love. It's my passion, it's my drug," Cardin, 88, told a press conference in Tokyo ahead of events to mark the 60th anniversary of his firm, which says it owns licences for around 1,000 products sold under his name.

Pierre cardin tokyo conference

Pierre Cardin at Tokyo Conference

Despite what many might think, "I still pursue it," said the last active survivor of the great postwar Paris fashion houses.

From his cluttered office Cardin runs one of the world's most successful fashion empires, which has remained under his sole ownership for 60 years, even as other couture houses have fallen to corporate buyers.

Cardin said being a designer had become harder as fashion now changes so fast.

"There are so many designers around the world. In every country it is impossible to change fashion every year because it's stupid," he said. "Designer Clothes are very expensive, you know.

"There are lot of designs that are beautiful, crazy, fantastic to the eyes. But they they are not fashion for tomorrow," he said, arguing they would not endure.

Source : Yahoo.com