Jewel & Jewel

Kevin Carrigan, the creative director of CK Calvin Klein and CK jeans, looked perfectly at home in a trim gray suit, standing against a monolithic plywood structure erected in the center of the Calvin Klein showroom’s stark, white interior, which he had specially constructed. The fresh, polished faces of models, in an assortment of indigo denim, tweed pants and jackets, navy coats and performance wear, were arranged on three stepped levels, as though plopped down onto an unfinished mock-pyramid for a movie about teenage tourists visiting ancient Mayan ruins.

This was the setting for the CK Calvin Klein Fall 2008 presentation, and given the longstanding association with Calvin Klein and minimalism, it made sense that the set was inspired by the sculptures of minimalist artist Donald Judd.

“It makes you look at clothes in a different way,” said Carrigan about this imposing architectural form in the center of the room. “And Calvin has always been interested in his work. We have Donald Judd furniture in our stores.”

By playing with the proportion and scale of the presentation itself, Carrigan brought the notion of form in fashion to the forefront: The way clothes and people make statements in space through shape. Carrigan characterized the Fall 2008 offerings as “sculptural,” “architectural,” and “structural,”and he opted for strong silhouettes and flat surfaces in matte and opaque fabrics such as felt, cashmere and alpaca.

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Have you ever thought about what’s in that pretty red stuff you’re putting on your lips? Could it be collagen, beeswax, strawberries, or lead perhaps?

Reports about lipstick containing lead are flooding the media, since the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics conducted a study of 33 lipsticks from store shelves among four U.S. cities and found that over 61% contained lead. Tests revealed levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits lead levels in candy to be less than 0.1 ppm, but does not regulate the level of lead in lipstick.

So why should you care? Well, one study estimates that the average woman consumes about 4 to 6 pounds of lipstick a year, from licking her lips and eating it with food. Ever wonder why you need to re-apply after a meal?

Alarming? Perhaps, considering that there is no safe amount of lead for human consumption. Lead is a neurotoxin. Our bodies do not dispose of lead, rather, lead stays in our systems and builds up over time. So daily consumption, compounded over decades, can lead to toxic levels of lead. This can lead to brain damage, retardation, emotional and behavioral problems, lower IQ levels and learning disorders like ADD. Children and fetuses are at an even higher risk, because lead can cross the placenta and enter the developing brain of the fetus. It is also linked to infertility and miscarriage.

So how does lead get into lipstick anyway? Well, it’s not put there intentionally. There is not a conspiracy among the cosmetics companies to poison lipstick wearers. Lead is found in some colorants. Lead can also become a byproduct from raw materials such as zinc oxide, paraffin and petroleum-based ingredients.

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I read something interesting about parada and wanted to share here. When Prada has heading towards a downward spiral, Mario Prada handed the business to his granddaughter Miuccia . She was going on a completely different road, receiving a PhD in Political Science and displaying active communist tendencies. Nonetheless she accepted the challenge to resurrect the Prada name. She succeeded in building a billion-dollar empire by introducing a line of nylon Prada handbags which faultlessly combines refined form and limitless function. She created a style icon for the fashion elite, which critics have come to dub work of art.

She creates her bags from a nylon fabric – Pocone – which give Prada handbags an appearance of sleek elegance and simplicity. Tote bags and backpacks were added the diverse collection that satisfy every taste and style.

The worldwide empire revices massive publicity from celebrities and personalities who pay a really high price tag to be seen carrying a Prada handbag. Quality and class define Miuccia’s products that made her one of the 30 most powerful women in Europe.

Prada nylon handbags are simple, classic and practical with a multitude od sizes, colors and shapes. Some of them have been so successful that are equaled to a Prada statement of commitment for excellence. They are so popular that they have become the most counterfeited fashion accessory, which has made Prada handbag adepts to rapidly increase in number.

Parada handbags 2008

Born	July 11, 1934 (1934-07-11) (age 73) Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Labels	Giorgio Armani S.p.A.
Awards	CFDA International Award for 1983

Giorgio Armani (born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He formed his company, Armani, in 1974, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.691 billion, and a personal fortune of $4.1 billion.

Giorgio Armani was born in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna. He originally trained in medicine, but found his passion in photography, before being called up for national service in 1957. He then worked in a department store, La Rinascente, as a window dresser. From 1961 to 1970, Armani worked as a designer in well-known fashion house Nino Cerruti, after which he left to pursue freelance work. In 1974, with his partner Sergio Galeotti, he established Armani with a menswear label, introducing a womenswear line in 1975. His sister Rosanna Armani joined him in the company; Galeotti died of AIDS in 1985.

Giorgio Armani has a keen interest in sport; he is an acknowledged fan of Inter Milan, a president of the Milan basketball team, and has twice designed the “off-field” outfits for the England national football team.

He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He achieved his international breakthrough by tailoring for numerous Hollywood names and especially for Richard Gere in the title role of American Gigolo in 1980. Armani was also noted for building a mansion on the Caribbean island of Antigua, and being among the first designers to ban models with a body mass index (BMI) under 18 (the minimum healthy BMI), after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa. In January 2007 Armani has become the first designer to broadcast a haute couture fashion show live on the Internet. The haute couture Armani Prive spring/summer 2007 fashion show was broadcast via Microsoft Corporation’s MSN and Cingular cellular phones.

In 2001, Forbes named Giorgio Armani the most successful Italian designer, estimating his net worth at $1.7 billion. The following year he was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Seoul Fashion Week may not yet be on the level of Paris, Milan, New York or London, but international fashion experts believe it is headed in the right direction.Jean-Pierre Mocho, president of the French Ready-to-Wear Federation, and Anna Orsini, head of the British Fashion Council International, had high praise for the collections presented by Korean designers during Seoul Fashion Week, which ended Monday.

“With this kind of collection you are building, you are coming close to the right direction. Not today, but I think in two year’s time,” Mocho said.

Orsini was also impressed with Korea’s fashion and retail market. “Korea is a very important market for fashion… We have seen Korean multi-brand stores with 11 or 12 floors of international brands. We would like the buyers to be interested in Korean fashion and help Korean fashion reach international level,” she said.

Mocho and Orsini met with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who attended designer Moon Young-hee’s fashion show Sunday.

Seoul is hoping to establish its Fashion Week as the 5th major international fashion collection, after Paris, Milan, New York and London. Seoul Fashion Week, which started in 2000, still faces stiff competition from other Asian fashion capitals like Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

 

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When Vogue announced its April cover starring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen, the magazine noted with some fanfare that James was the first black man to grace its cover.

But the image is stirring up controversy, with some commentators decrying the photo as perpetuating racial stereotypes. James strikes what some see as a gorilla-like pose, baring his teeth, with one hand dribbling a ball and the other around Bundchen’s tiny waist.

It’s an image some have likened to “King Kong” and Fay Wray.

“It conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man,” said Tamara Walker, 29, of Philadelphia.

But the image is stirring up controversy, with some commentators decrying the photo as perpetuating racial stereotypes. James strikes what some see as a gorilla-like pose, baring his teeth, with one hand dribbling a ball and the other around Bundchen’s tiny waist.

It’s an image some have likened to “King Kong” and Fay Wray.

“It conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man,” said Tamara Walker, 29, of Philadelphia.

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Just when you thought sunglasses couldn’t get any bigger or any more over-the-top, leave it to Jimmy Choo to come out with a glam version with almost goggle-like proportions.

t’s no wonder that these face obscuring glasses are being worn by Jennifer Lopez - they’re perfect for remaining incognito (if that’s even possible anymore for someone like J. Lo).

The new sunglasses - the “Boo” - are a part of the latest addition to the Jimmy Choo accessories empire, a full sunglass and eyewear collection created with Safilo Group (who also just produced frames for Balenciaga) that launched this March.

Inspired by oversize frames from the ’70s and ’80s like Linda Farrow, they’re perfectly in keeping with the Jimmy Choo vibe of fame and fabulousness, being one of Hollywood’s favorite labels for completing a red carpet look. Other fans include Jessica Alba and Kerry Washington.

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Name : Cindy Crawford

Real Name : Cindy Ann Crawford

Date Of Birth : February 20, 1966

Place Of Birth : De Kalb, Illinois, USA

Sign : Sun in Pisces, Moon in Pisces

Height : 5′9-1/2”

Hair : Light Brown

Eye : Dark Brown

Education : Northwestern University dropout due to fulltime modeling career

Occupation : Model, Actress

Fan Mail : 132 S. Rodeo Drive -300

Beverly Hills, CA 90212-2403

USA

 

Born in DeKalb, Illinois, to John “Dan” Crawford and Jennifer Sue Walker Crawford in 1966, Cindy Crawford’s trademark is a visible mole (or “beauty mark”) on her upper lip.

She was discovered by chance by a newspaper photographer, who noticed then-16-year-old Cindy at work during her summer job of pollinating corn and took a picture of her. The photo and the positive feedback she received were enough to convince her to take up modeling. She entered the John Casablancas Look of the Year contest and was the runner up.

Crawford graduated from DeKalb High School in 1984, as valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA. She won an academic scholarship to study chemical engineering at Northwestern University, which she attended for only one quarter. She dropped out in order to pursue a full-time modeling career. After working for photographer Victor Skrebneski in Chicago, Cindy moved to Manhattan in 1986.

Her brother died at a young age from leukemia, and Crawford has made childhood leukemia a focal point of her charity work, donating proceeds of her calendars to medical research.