fashion

At a gala held last night at New York's Skylight Studios, designer Sophie Théallet was named the winner of the sixth annual Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)/Vogue Fashion Fund Prize, besting nine other finalists to take home $200,000 and a steady stream of business mentoring from industry veterans. Runner-up honors (and $50,000 each) went to jewelry designer Monique Péan and menswear designer Patrik Ervell. Other finalists included Flora Gill and Alexa Adams (Ohne Titel), Natalie Chanin (Alabama Chanin), Waris Ahluwalia (House of Waris), and Wayne Lee (Wayne).

French-born, Brooklyn-based Théallet is known for her luxe bohemian aesthetic and has recently garnered more mainstream attention as a favorite of First Lady Michelle Obama (or at least of her fashion svengali, Ikram Goldman). Although Théallet's label is just three years old, her hefty resume defies the usual Fashion Fund wunderkind winner profile (think Alexander Wang and Proenza Schouler's Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough). After graduating from Studio Bercot, Théallet designed a successful line for Parisan department store Le Printemps before going to work for Jean-Paul Gaultier and then Azzedine Alaia, who she assisted for ten years. More recently, Théallet teamed with makeup mogul Francois Nars on Motu Tane, a resort collection inspired by Nars's private Tahitian island.

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British fashion designer Luella Bartley, who we've long admired for her knack at combining girly flourishes with surfer cool and preppy polish, has closed her ten-year-old fashion label, Luella. The London-based designer was forced out of business when Club 21, the label's key backer and distributor, pulled funding. The decision comes in the wake of last month's collapse of Carla Carini, the Italian manufacturer of the Luella ready-to-wear line. "I love the Luella character and hope that after we have survived this challenging time the Luella girl can have an exciting future ahead of her, whichever incarnation she takes on next," Bartley said in a statement. "We have a number of options open to us and are considering these over the coming months."

What do the brands London Fog and Mossimo have to do with fashion mogul Marc Ecko? After this week, they've become one in the same. Or rather, all under one big umbrella, as the designer, known for his love of spending lavishly, has been forced to sell off the majority stake in his company to the Iconix Brand Group. This comes after more than a year of Ecko struggling to pay creditors, laying off staff, and trying to sell off portions of his holding to stay afloat, which most are attributing to both the economic crash of the past couple of years and the designer's history of writing more checks than he probably should have been. Here's from the NY Post, which announced the news with the headline "Ecko Slam-Dunked":

"I've had a crazy, wild ride. I've done a lot of things that have been naive," Ecko told The Post. "I'll take my lumps for a lot of things that, in retrospect, were a little indulgent. Life happens. I don't regret any of it."

The designer will be staying on as the company's top creative officer, but will no longer have complete control in guiding the company. Yet despite what Ecko's new owner's CEO may be saying about revenue and earnings being way up, Iconix itself hasn't been having the best week either, following the company's release of its reportedly disappointing 2010 financial forecast.

Are you a handbag designer in search of your big break? Looking for a way to get your line of sparkle-infused soaps to an audience beyond that of Etsy.com? Is your great gift product ready for its close-up? Then Henri Bendel wants to meet you. Right in step with National Design Week, the Limited Brands-owned specialty store is gearing up for its "Open See" designer casting call (the likes of Anna Sui and Todd Oldham first got their designs into the store this way). This Friday, October 23, at the Fifth Avenue flagship store, Bendel's buyers will personally review merchandise for spring 2010 in categories including accessories, jewelry, fragrance, and skincare. Get there early, as designers will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis, advises a spokesperson for the store. A word to Project Runway fans: don't bother bringing apparel. As of this summer, the store stopped carrying clothing and shoes.

Without doubt, Giles Deacon is a big-shot in the world of fashion. Having worked at Gucci and Louis Vuitton before launching his own line six years ago, he's gone on to win countless awards (including British Designer of the Year), celebrity endorsements (when they wear his stuff) and was was called, by the Independent two years past, the "king of London." He even dated Beth Orton in the 1990s. So what's next for the man after he sweeps into Paris to "show the French capital what he's made of"? Well, it involves chocolate. And the head of a rabbit. To be more clear, the Cadbury chocolate company has decided to revive their Cadbury Caramel Bunny, who is sort of the Jessica Rabbit of chocolate, and to tie this all together, in the multi-million dollar ad campaign, Ms. Bunny will be wearing a dress designed by Giles Deacon. Why she's in a designer dress and not, say, just a dress an animator would come up with? We have no idea. We are sure, however, that this sort of thing probably needs to be authorized before it can be used, and because of that, it makes us like Deacon all the more. We can imagine him saying, "Sure, why not. Now please end the check to..." Or could he have even decided to take the job to design specifically for Ms. Bunny? Either way is good by us. And hey, here's to hoping it leads to lots more dress sales, to chocolate-y, human-like rabbits or otherwise.

Parisian knitwear queen Sonia Rykiel, who we call for a moratorium on describing as "flame-haired," is the latest designer to heed the call of Swedish fast fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M). Following in the footsteps of everyone from Karl Lagerfeld and Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons to Marimekko and last spring's Ibiza-meets-Bombay romp with Matthew Williamson, Rykiel has signed on as H&M guest designer for winter 2009 and spring 2010.

What's new? Lingerie, for one thing. "We loved the joyful chic of Sonia Rykiel's 40th anniversary runway show [held last fall at the Parc de Saint-Cloud in Paris] and in that spirit this collection is all about revelling in great lingerie for its own sake," said H&M creative advisor Margareta van den Bosch in a statement issued today announcing the collaboration. "This is a totally modern, new kind of lingerie look, and when we started to work together with Rykiel on it, we just couldn't stop." Other than addictive underthings, which will debut in 1,500 H&M stores on December 5, the company promises "an iconic knitwear collection for women and girls accompanied by playful accessories." The second collection is slated for a more limited launch (at approximately 250 stores) in late February. Look for a surfeit of black with pops of jewel tones, stripes, lacy flourishes, and cut-rate intarsia.

If you've not been within about a 200 mile radius surrounding Chicago, you've likely been spared all the pro and con arguments about the city's bid to land the Olympics. It's been a lot of talk about taxes and relocation and all sorts of unpleasant things. But it will all be over soon, one way or another, as the city who gets the games in 2016 will be decided in just over a week. And when the official announcement is made in Denmark, the Chicago delegation headed there is set to look fairly sharp, as it's been released that two of the Obama's favorite Chicago-based designers, Maria Pinto and Hart Schaffner Marx, are behind the outfits the traveling group will be wearing. Pinto, you'll recall, designed Michelle Obama's nomination night gown and the Des Plaines-based Hart Schaffner Marx has long been on President Obama's must-call list. Will be interesting to see what they come up with.

(Photos: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)

Last night, Narciso Rodriguez showed his spring 2010 collection (pictured above) at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City. The well-edited line-up, influenced by the work of sculptor Barbara Hepworth, turned up the volume on the designer's signature graphic minimalism with relaxed, layered silhouettes in a mostly neutral palette. Come spring, Rodriguez's latest designs will appear in stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and...eBay. The Bryant Park tents were abuzz with the news of "Narciso Rodriguez for eBay," a lower-priced capsule collection that will be sold exclusively through an eBay store beginning early next year.

In a nod to First Lady Michelle Obama's Rodriguez-designed election night ensemble, the red, black, and white collection will include a black dress with a slash of red across one shoulder. As for the pricing, think "buy it now" as opposed to bidding. The eight pieces will be available at fixed prices ranging from $75 to $350, a fraction of the cost of items from Rodriguez's signature line. "We've catered to a high-end, designer customer," said the designer in a video interview with eBay's Constance White. "This is a unique way to take what I do and reach more people with it, in a different way." Here are some preview sketches...

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(Photos: UnBeige)

It's Fashion Week, and not even a full day of rain can dampen our sartorially minded spirits. Shows and presentations of spring 2010 collections are taking place throughout the city, but the big top is still Bryant Park, where the Mercedes-Benz-sponsored fun kicked off yesterday with a travel theme. In a nod to the event's imminent move across town, the tents are adorned with images of colorful vintage suitcases, old-school lugggage labels, and flight tickets. "Our tent graphics are a reminder that we will start packing soon, as this is our next to last season in this location," explains Fern Mallis, senior vice-president of IMG Fashion. "It will take some time to pack up, but the move to Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center in September 2010 is exciting for everyone in our industry and beyond."

The week is young, but an early standout is ERRO by Anna Larson, a moody and modern line that debuted on Wednesday night at the Ohio Theatre in Soho. Inspired by "light in motion, as it is framed, fractionalized, [and] faded by shadows," Swedish-born Larson presented a cool line-up of worldly, wearable pieces in a graphic palette of white, gray, indigo, and faded black. Most impressive was the craftsmanship, evident in a tunic of washed, pleated, and intricately woven black silk (pictured above, at left) and knitwear (like the tunic at right) made from yarn that had been hand-printed to simulate a sun-baked fade. Distressed and perforated lambskin and corset-like details sealed the deal. "For me, the effect of putting these pieces together is like seeing light slant through half-open blinds," said Larson in the show notes. "You're only getting a fraction of the story, and so you gather your own story out of the shadows."

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As we prepare to count down our picks for the top fall collections before the spring 2010 looks take to the New York runways beginning later this week, we stop to tip our Philip Treacy-designed hats to some fashionable chums across the pond. London Fashion Week, which kicks off next Friday, turns 25 this year and ELLE UK is celebrating with a series of chic posters that will be displayed throughout the city's Underground network. The magazine commissioned 25 designers and other fashion figures to contribute artwork for the project. From the always colorful Paul Smith comes a Brice Marden-y whirl of clothes hangers (squint and it becomes a subway map), while Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey offers a shot of classic British wellies during London showers. Gareth Pugh invites Tube riders to ponder his Rorschach blot-like image of a torso (at least that's what we see), makeup legend Pat McGrath contributes a golden kiss, and from Naomi Campbell comes a signed photo of, well, Naomi Campbell. Meanwhile, Henry Holland never tires of text-based cheekiness, filling his poster with a Union Jack and stacked sans-serif capitals that read "25 years of LFW and all you get is this lousy poster."