fashion

(Junenoire Photography)

Sure, you think you know Stefano Pilati, who last month stepped down as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent. Born in Milan, groomed at Prada (where he sourced fabrics and later designed for Miu Miu), and plucked by Tom Ford to run ready-to-wear clothing design for YSL in 2000, Pilati went on to prove himself an accessory design savant—the house beat profitability targets thanks in large part to his eminently hoardable Tribute sandals and Muse bags—and filled the runway with a daringly diverse range of critical hits (sharp suiting, epic capes, measured flounces), misses (sufficed to say he does not have a flair for the nautical), and misses-turned-hits (two words: tulip skirt). Pilati’s present “vacation” gave him the opportunity to visit New York, where last week he sat down with Pamela Golbin, chief curator of the Musée de la Mode et du Textile in Paris, as part of a series of fashionable conversations hosted by the French Institute Alliance Française. We listened carefully and picked up these ten things you (probably) didn’t know about Stefano Pilati, including what’s next for the charming designer:

10. He’s not crushed or particularly sad about that fact that his YSL contract was not renewed. “Great. Absolutely great” is how he described his state of mind. “I’m very happy, which is unusual for me,” he said, gesturing to the capacity crowd at Florence Gould Hall. “People are interested to listen to me—what more do you want?”
9. He originally wanted to be a land surveyor but quit midway through his certification courses to intern at Nino Cerruti.
8. Complex? Yes. Cool? No. He singled out “cool” as being the most overrated thing in fashion and confessed to wishing the world would up its elegance quotient. “If fashion was elegant,” he said. “It would be nicer to walk around and see people.”
7. When he interviewed for a gig designing womenswear at YSL, he didn’t show Tom Ford him any sketches. “I said I didn’t have any,” explained Pilati with a shrug. Ford later exacted a bit of revenge on his dapper new hire. “One week later, Tom told me ‘I forgot, you have to do menswear as well.’”
6. Nobody has inspired him more than Miuccia Prada, who he praised for her “exceptional, original mind.”
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After the fun-at-times legal war between Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent ended last fall with something akin to a dull whimper, we were worried that we’d have to wait forever to have another good copyright fight between hot shot fashion companies. Sure there are your usual “small shop got ripped off by a big brand” or “big company looks like a bully for attacking a small one,” but those aren’t nearly as exciting as when two top dogs lock horns. Fortunately, we’ve been saved, thanks to an old case still simmering from the good, litigious people at Gucci. As Bloomberg reports, Gucci’s copyright infringement case against Guess finally kicked off in fine form in New York (it was originally filed three years ago but is only reaching trial now). The former is claiming that Guess had not only copied several of its products, but had also mimicked their logo on said items, all in the quest to provide their customers with Gucci-like items that they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford. Seeing as the case is now at trial and wasn’t settled in a hushed backroom deal years ago, we bet you can figure out what Guess’ position in response to those allegations. For the next two weeks, the two will be battling it out, with Gucci asking for $124 million, Guess not wanting to give it to them, and we can only figure, featuring some of the best dressed attorneys and witnesses that courtroom has seen in a while.

(Photo: Sasha Arutyunova)

“Brands are like people,” Reed Krakoff has said. “They are all different and you get to know them in different ways.” The versatile designer’s observation on the diversity of brands, quoted back to him by Pamela Golbin, curator of fashion at textiles at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris, was a fitting way to begin the first in a trio of “Fashion Talks” presented by the French Institute Alliance Francaise (the chic conversations continue tonight, when FIAF welcomes Stefano Pilati, who earlier this month stepped down from the creative helm of Yves Saint Laurent). In two short years (and five runway collections), Krakoff has created a luxury brand—an American luxury brand, no less—from scratch, which in an industry that trades on centuries-old saddlery skills and wildly embellished “heritage” narratives is no simple feat, especially considering that he’s developed his eponymous label while also maintaining posts as president of executive creative director of Coach.

“When I came to Coach [in 1996], I had never done accessories. I was a menswear designer, and what I loved more than anything was starting something that was an amazing challenge, something where I knew I could learn and be on path to discovering what I could do—or not do,” he told Golbin at last week’s sold-out event at Florence Gould Hall. “I really love the idea of learning and challenges, and after fifteen years, I felt that I wanted to do more that was in keeping with my own true aesthetic.” Influenced by everything from ultimate fighting champs and vintage football jerseys to the artful aviary of John James Audubon and design masterpieces from his own astounding collection, that aesthetic is refined but flexible, as likely to embrace a sleek clutch (in matte python) as a bold trench stamped with a painterly monochrome print that only the most eagle-eyed shopper would recognize as an abstracted version of the brand’s geometric logo. “It’s a direct reflection of the things that I love,” said Krakoff. “The aesthetic is a combination of disparate ideas—things that are quite sexy and sensual and romantic, things that are quite minimal and architectural.”
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Ed Ruscha has a way with words and a sharp eye for typefaces (the sleek and squared-off sans-serif that appears frequently in his paintings is “Boy Scout Utility Modern,” his own creation). He delivers thoughtful insights in a distinguished voice that shimmers with the broken short vowels and gentle cadence of his Oklahoma upbringing. Turns out he also makes a great fashion model. That’s Ruscha in the spring-summer 2012 lookbook for Band of Outsiders, Scott Sternberg‘s beloved Los Angeles-based label. The photos, shot on vintage Polaroid film, show the artist hanging around his L.A. studio: he juggles paintbrushes in a chambray shirt, studies a copy of Acrylic Painting for Dummies, dons a cherry-red anorak to attack a Sudoku puzzle, samples the contents of a ramshackle refrigerator, and points westward, to the future, where there will be a dog and a motorcycle for everyone. It’s enough to make us want to string together Ruscha’s exotic textual feats into a song that tells the world how much we want to hang out with him. Oh, wait, someone already did that. Hit it, Richard Bell and David G.A. Stephenson:

Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) president and GapKids collaborator Diane von Furstenberg last night opened up her Meatpacking District wonderland to host a party at which the nominees and honorees for this year’s CFDA Fashion Awards were announced. Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Updater Seth Meyers will host this year’s awards ceremony, set for June 4 at Lincoln Center. Among the other surprises: Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row has made the leap from Swarovski Award contender (the five-year-old label was nominated last year but bested by Prabal Gurung) to the big show: womenswear designer of the year, where the diminutive duo will duke it out against veteran winners Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler (the boys are going for a three-peat) and Marc Jacobs, who already has a trio of womenswear trophies at home. The main menswear field consists of Billy Reid, Patrik Ervell, and Simon Spurr, and Reid may pull off an upset of his two oft-nominated peers. Over in accessory design, Wang and the Proenza boys will, for the second year in a row, compete against Reed Krakoff, who deserves the win just as much as he did last year. As for this year’s special honorees, Tommy Hilfiger will receive the lifetime achievement award, Johnny Depp will be feted as a fashion icon (the first male recipient to receive that honor), and street styling couple Scott “The Sartorialist” Schuman and Garance Doré will be honored with the media award. Taking home the international award: the one and only Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons (note to the CFDA: get John Waters to present this one). Keep reading for the Swarovski Award nominees.
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As if we needed another reason to guzzle Diet Coke (pay no attention to that 4-MEI in the caramel color!), fashion designer and oldest living enfant terrible Jean-Paul Gaultier has been appointed creative director of the brand. Unfortunately, his position is limited to Europe, land of “Coca Light,” where he’ll design a selection of cans and bottles (limited-edition, bien sur) as well as add his signature flair to online content, retail concepts, and ad campaigns. “The bottles have the shape of a woman’s body, so it was great fun to ‘dress’ them,” said Gaultier in a statement issued by the Coca-Cola company announcing the collaboration. “The Diet Coke motif is so beautiful I had to design around this. The finishing touch was to apply my logo to the bottle, like applying a fragile stamp—making it something special you want to touch.” The “Night and Day”-themed bottles debut in stores across the pond next month, but Diet Coke has already debuted a trio of videos chronicling Gaultier’s adventures as “The Serial Designer” (we suspect something was lost in translation with that title). Modish marionettes and tiny cans of Diet Coke are involved. Voila:

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“There’s something about the fashion world that I like, which is, I see a lot of the designers really have affection for other designers. It’s less bitchy than I thought it would be.…Here’s the myth about the fashion industry that I never knew: I have never seen people work as hard as these designers. Seven collections a year? It’s crazy. Who made that rule? In the movie industry, we are spoiled compared to fashion designers. The amount of pressure on Marc Jacobs, the amount of pressure on Stella [McCartney], who’s my pal, and Diane [von Furstenberg] and Tommy [Hilfiger] and Michael Kors, and I don’t care how big their staffs are, you know, because they are the ultimate arbiter of taste and they are all hands on. It’s too much.”

-Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Co., in an interview with Katya Foreman published in today’s issue of Women’s Wear Daily

Follow the conversations @juneambrose has with her “style socials” (or Twitter followers to you and me), and one thing becomes clear: people either want to dress like her or be her. So, in the final installment of our Media Beat interview, we got the celebrity stylist and star of VH1′s Styled by June to tell us the biggest mistake aspiring stylists make on the job.

“[A lack of] Osmosis. You know, sometimes, just sitting back and just sucking it all in, you learn so much,” Ambrose said. “When you’re new on the scene, I’ll definitely ask you trick questions just to kinda see where you are. Humility is your best aspect when you’re entering a new area, and I learned that. I would just sit around and just listen.”

But what about fashion courses — are they worth it? And how does a newbie afford the clothes necessary for editorial shoots? Watch the full video to find out.

Part 1: June Ambrose on Styling Diddy, Jay-Z and Hip-Hop’s Most Iconic Videos
Part 2: June Ambrose Collection to Bring ‘Disco to Daytime’
Bonus! Stylist June Ambrose on Her Trademark Turban

June Ambrose is a business. When she’s not making over celebrities, leading fashion editorials, or filming for her new VH1 show, Styled By June, the fashionista has been busy extending her brand into eyewear and clothing.

“It’s a collaboration. We started out with three styles, and it’s a capsule collection that I’m doing with Selima [Optiques],” Ambrose said of the eyewear in our Media Beat interview. “And I’m also in development now with my contemporary women’s collection. So, fingers crossed, it’ll be in the marketplace by fall of 2012,”

As for the apparel, Ambrose said fans can expect retro glamour. ”It’s a lifestyle collection. It’s confident… The first collection is about bringing disco to the daytime. I’m a 70s baby, so I was inspired by that era.”

Watch the full video to find out why Ambrose says Styled by June, premiering March 19 on VH1, won’t be just another reality show.

Part 1: June Ambrose on Styling Diddy, Jay-Z and Hip-Hop’s Most Iconic Videos
Part 3: June Ambrose on How to Become a Fashion Stylist
Bonus! June Ambrose on Her Trademark Turban

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The countdown to the London Olympics is on, and even if you can’t get on board with the Jem and the Holograms-flavored logo or those aerodynamic cyclops mascots, you’re bound to find something of interest in the city’s ever-growing slate of cultural happenings. More than 1,000 performances and events are planned for the London 2012 Festival, which runs from June 21 through September 9, including a floating opera co-created by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame, pop-up Shakespeare performances, and new public artworks as part of Frieze Projects East. But we think the big news is “Britain Creates 2012,” which is matching up British fashion designers with top contemporary artists to create one-off works that will be exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum in July (planning is underway for additional “physical and virtual events” that will showcase the commissions).

Backed by the British Fashion Council/Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation in partnership with the Mayor of London, the project has just announced the dynamic duos: Hussein Chalayan is working with Gavin Turk, Jonathan Saunders with Jess Flood-Paddock, Mary Katrantzou with Mark Titchner, and Paul Smith with Charming Baker. Meanwhile, Giles Deacon has been matched with Jeremy Deller, who is also at work on “Sacrilege,” a major new public artwork that will be situated in a variety of outdoor spaces in London this summer. “I am going to make a festive sacrilegious sculpture for the public’s delectation!” promises the Turner Prize winner.