Monday March 9th, 2009 - Palais De Tokyo

“Calme, Luxe and Volupte” these three words can describe the Yves Saint Laurent Fall Winter 2009 Show at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

As soon as I arrived I noticed that it won’t be the overcrowded usual runway, the show took place on the first floor of the main entrance of the Palais de Tokyo featuring a giant YSL sign. Giant mirrors were placed in each corner of the square space. I see Catherine Deneuve, Loulou De la Falaise along with Betty Catroux, all YSL’s muses are here.

See Our Video Below:

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Claudia Schiffer chatting with Mario Testino and Patrick Demarchelier. Carine Roitfeld was filming the last part of  her CNN Revealed documentary, Kanye West with Amber Rose posing while Rachel Zoe confessed it was her first YSL show.

The collection started with Alice Coltrane Turiya and Ramakrishna’s composition in the background.

The make up is diaphane, veloute, red lipstick. The hair is silky pulled up in chignon wrapped in leather, Yves Saint Laurent’s spirit is along us.

The first look was presented by Alla Kostromicheva wearing a leather trench with a perfecto stucture, after a couple of looks I saw that all the YSL’s code have been perfectly re-interpreted by Sefano Pilati. Black leather, gray flannel, white blouse and mutliple variations of  Le Smoking.

Long Smoking vest as a dress, Smoking Pantacourt suit, one piece Smoking suit … the skirts and the pants are high waist with a rounded top. Black leather gloves topped by black bangles.

Caroline Trentini was YSL’s exclusive for this Paris Fashion Week and she blow everyone away wearing a black leather one piece zippered body suit, if there was be a Parisian Wonder Woman it would be her.

The jackets have expanded unpaded shoulders.

The collection was a succession of YSL references all wearable all simple, all desirable.

See our pictures below:

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Marc Jacobs Leaving Louis Vuitton Soon

Trouble in the house of Louis Vuitton? It seems it may be so. Like a hot,sensual relationship where everything seems right at first & where lust can be found in every look, the marriage between Arnault’s empire and his sky-rocketing designer may be coming to a dénouement. Heresy you say? Well, let’s take a quick stroll through some facts, shall we, before one ties me to a stake and roasts me more than Whitney Houston in a candid interview.

First of all, there are some very, undeniable facts:

1. Marc Jacobs is a genius that has brought wealth and notoriety for over 10+ years to a then-burgeoning Louis Vuitton. His Bleeker Street to rue St. Faubourg-Honoré touch launched a once-limited, staunchy malleterie business into the eyes of fashion critics as a high-end Prêt-à-Porter power-fashion-house which has never looked back since.
2. From handbags, to clothing, to marroquineries (leather-goods for my not-so-French-savvy readers), Louis Vuitton has cornered every piece of the market, leaving nearly no Feng-shui-ed stone unturned.
3. Collaborations, collaborations, collaborations. Marc Jacobs + Louis Vuitton + Artist X = success. As if his own creative genius were not enough to compliment the fashion houses’ exceptionally long tradition in fine luxury goods, MJ has sought from time to time the artiste from without. The result has always equated into instant success and the near symphonic ringing of cash registers across all of LV’s many global-reaching boutiques. From Stephen Sprouse, to Takashi Murakami, to Richard Prince, Marc Jacobs has chosen his partners in crime and has walked away with the bank vault.

So after all the exhuberance from such wonderful success, why in God’s green earth would one ever conceive the title of this article? Well, as any fashion-snob in the industry will tell you, one leaves the cocktail party on a high note. And the height of fashion for Louis Vuitton is upon us.

But of course, that statement alone is not enough to say that this is the end for MJ. No, on the contrary, there’s much more that points to the final chapter of the Louis Vuitton-Marc Jacobs success story.

1. Even Marc Jacobs knows deep inside of himself that his own creative talents are being stifled by the constant requirements to meet deadlines that Bernard Arnault and the other folks above him expect him to accomplish. This just isn’t the best environment for creative liberty, rather, it’s a good place to at least refine one’s artistic talent.
2. MJ is old and tired for Vuitton’s contstantly growing image. This past year’s F/W 2008 Collection looked much like something a Parson’s School freshman fashion designer could’ve put together. (Now that I think about it, MJ could fill in a spot in Lifetime’s upcoming “Project Runway: Season 6 Celebrity Designer Edition”)
3. Marc Jacobs is starting a new life with a new man. After all the dramaz from his fat-years, to losing all that weight, and then falling prey to the go-go boy which we will no longer name except to say his name kinda sounds like “Jay” and last name sounds like “Stun”, MJ needs a break to make a life with his new Brazilian boy-toy lover Lorenzo. (Even a Queen like MJ needs a fairy tale moment to himself)
4. MJ has already begun to show signs of friction chez Louis Vuitton (and for that matter, Bernard Arnault and his Batman-cum-Robin sidekick Yves Carcelle), after fashion reporters questioned him on Louis Vuitton’s Tokyo pop-up shop collaborative project with Comme Des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo :

“I’ve kind of warned everybody up there that I think they’ve gotten a little too into this idea which, I mean, is great,” Jacobs said. “I’m glad that everybody gets behind it, but what they don’t realize is that I do it at a pace that maintains the brand’s integrity and seems really right, and I think that sometimes everybody loves a good idea so much that they kind of go too far and it kind of kills it.” - NYMAG

Rei Kawakubo - Comme Des Garçons for Louis Vuitton

Beyond the fact that MJ doesn’t appreciate Neuilly-resident, HEC-educated Louis Vuitton marketers telling him what should “sell”, more importantly, he didn’t like the fact that it was done without any of his creative fingerprints on the drawing board. To MJ, if he’s not involved at every step in building Louis Vuitton’s image as a respectable maison de mode then he’s simply wasting his time and talent. And that, my readers, is more valuable to MJ than all the perks Arnault could ever throw at him.

Oh, and look for Brazilian Amazonian and Carmen Miranda inspired prints this upcoming Paris Fashion Week as a sign of MJ’s soon-to-be announced departure.

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According to inside sources close to the sensationalist designer, Marc Jacobs and his boytoy Brazilian boyfriend Lorenzo Martone really did “tie the knot” in Paris a few weeks back. How shocking!

Now, just to be clear, the two are not officially married per se, given that the French government, like the U.S. of A., does not recognize gay marriages (just not yet at least).

Instead, Marc and Lorenzo got “PAX-ed”, e.g. engaged in a civil union. But here’s the real twist in the story and which is exclusive to Fashioniseme.com:

Because France does not allow non-French citizens to get PAX-ed, MJ had to call in a few favours, namely Bernard Arnault, president and owner of LVMH. But of course, Bernard can’t change the law either….well actually, he sorta can. You see, rumor has it that Bernard Arnault called in a favour from his Carla Bruni-loving buddy and French president, Nicholas Sarkozy, to override French laws and allow the PAX-ing of Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo to proceed. Suffice it to say, MJ leapt through enough red tape to make a long jump Olympian proud. With the French President backing the PAX, Marc Jacobs not only broke the status quo, but sealed his love for his LoLo.

Now this begs the question: what went so wrong with Jason Preston that led Marc Jacobs to commit to a guy he seems to have barely known longer than a NY minute? Seems Jason is all mum these days (unless of course you talk smack about him on the ‘Nets: then he’s all about calling you in the middle of the night, yelling your ear off about how he Googled his name and saw all the nastiness said about him, yadda yadda yadda…)

Listen Jason: if you’re reading this, contact me. I’d love to hear your side of the story. I’ll even have the interview room ready with a tissue box for you and have “Everytime” by Britney Spears playing in the background.

And Marc and Lorenzo: if you’re reading this from Ibiza, I am sending you many many Hollywood air kisses and wish you as much success in your new relationship as you’ve seen in your delicious wonderful designs.

While we all know that Kayne West is a multi talented star, few realize his penchant for fashion. For those not in the know, take a look at any number of runway shows from the Paris, Milan, and London Fashion weeks, and you’ll most likely see Mr. West at more than several of them.

Kayne not only brings a sense of the hip hop world to the catwalk, with his pinosh style and over the top exhiberant personality as a formidable performer, he also brings with it his ego. Yes, his ego. In fact, his is so large, he should have a runway seat reserved for it: right in between him and Anna Wintour.

Granted, he has good reason to be ego-centric. He sells more albums than Wendy Williams dishes gossip. Nevertheless, there comes a point when one asks: is it for real or is it for show?

Fashion icon or not, I am starting to believe that the world that Kayne seeks to join is not of fashion. No it’s of “Kayne” and just Kayne. And Kayne now wants you to be like “Kayne”.

Because of course, as if his launching his own line of shoes chez Louis Vuitton wasn’t enough now he wants you to become him. Don’t believe me? See his latest NYC subway ad and decide for yourself.

So stick this in your Fashion Fedora full of rumors: it is said from high up sources that Louis Vuitton is on a global jet-set campaign to produce exclusive handbags for some of its highest-class locales.

So far, Louis Vuitton has produced and sold out of it’s limited run “St. Tropez Neverfull” which was only available at the rue Francois Sibelli boutique in lovely St. Tropez France. I know what you’re thinking: you wouldve gone and gotten one but you just didn’t have the time, I mean with your very busy summer schmoozing schedule in the Hamptons and of course, Diddy’s White Party.

Fret not fashionistas, for eBay is your friend. You too can own a piece of St. Trop’ and get your Neverfull St. Tropez on eBay for a mere $3000+. Think that’s too much? Well, just take into consideration the price of hotel, airfare, and the cost of the bag before you roll your eyes
You can also snag the St. Tropez Neverfull below directly from Karen’s website for $3995.

KarenKooper.com

Next up on the jet-set boutique trail, Louis Vuitton may soon be launching the limited edition Neverfull signature bag in Portofino, Italy and St. Bart’s.

Unfortunately, you most likely will need to go to the boutique to buy these bags, so no transfers will be possible. Time to cash in those frequent flyer miles before the summer is over

Given our audience, it’s almost silly to even ask the question. That’s said, I am overly excited to report that NYMag.com is giving away a free, all expenses paid trip for two to NYC Fashion Week Spring Summer 2009 this upcoming September. You and a guest will be hobnobbing it with other celebs on the runway, while us poor folks watch idly outside in the cold, crowded streets in front of Bryant Park.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and visit NYMag.com The Cut and click on the giveaway.

Oh, and you do NOT have to subscribe to NYMag’s subscription. Look for the skip the subscription button on the right hand panel following the jump.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE !

She’s just having a bad day folks….

Citation:PerezHilton.com

As far as I can tell, this is very first image of the upcoming and hotly anticipated Louis Vuitton “Monogramouflage” handbag. The bag appears to be crafted in a very sporty form with what appears to be relaxed handles, golden brass hardware press buttons on the exterior side pockets, and a fabric constructed shape sans a rigid structure. What I don’t know is : “What are those red tags on the bag?” Maybe it’s a placeholder for where the “Louis Vuitton” logo will go? Who knows.

I am definitely looking forward to this bag when it comes out in June. Just in case any of my readers are anxious for one, the supposed launch dates are for sometime in early June exclusively at the Brooklyn Museum (June 5ish). Following a 2 week exclusivity at the BKLYN Museum, the Monogramouflage line should be available in select LV Boutiques worldwide.

Thanks again to Karen Kooper.com for the wonderful inside peek to the upcoming Monogramouflage line!