Italian Fashion Watch

The Versace fashion house has always been close to the arts community. Gianni himself was an avid collector of both classic and contemporary works from artists such as Alexander Calder and Andy Warhol.

Donatella follows his passion and now she announced that she will sponsor the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2008 Gala on October 20.

The sponsorship will be consist of a substantial amount of money but she also collaborated with Marc Quinn, Julian Schnabel and Wangechi Mutu to create three new pieces of jewelry specifically for this event. Every penny earned from the auction will remain to the museum, which will in turn use it to aid young artists.

Donatela will personally host the auction. “I hope the three pieces will find good homes where they will bring pleasure and excitement,” she said.

In October, Versace will also launch its new collection of fine jewelry in collaboration with Vertime, a subsidiary of the Timex Group. Donatella is very optimistic about this experiment of collaborating with established artists in order to create something one of a kind.

We’ll see how that will work out.

Gucci Announced the names of the artists that will compete for this year’s Gucci award. The list is made of the actor Steve McQueen, American filmmaker Julian Schnabel, Beastie Boys founding member Adam Nathaniel Yauch and director Isaac Julien.

The Gucci Award is given each ear in at the Venice Film festival and the candidates are chosen from a list of internationally known artists that have made a contribution to the development of a movie in the last 18 months.

This year, the jury that will choose the winner is made of Marco Mueller, Vogue Italy chief editor Franca Sozzani and Stefano Pilati, the CEO of the international fashion house Yves Saint Laurent.

The Venice festival will run from August 27th to September 6^th , and the winner wil be announced on the first of September.

Regarding this year’s contestants, Marco Muller said: “We have chosen the most original international artists, who, through broad creative metamorphosis, continue to challenge our hearts and minds.”

Gucci’s CEO said that: “The Gucci Group recognizes that talent and creative vision expressed in one medium often lead to significant contributions in other artistic endeavors. This award crystallizes the groups’ long-term goal of fostering originality and inventiveness in the arts.”

Giorgio Armani announced that the new promoter for his line of jeans will be singer and songwriter Solange Knowles, who will launch her new album on August 26^th. She will tour Europe in the new outfit and her shows will take place, among others, in London and Cannes.

In regards with his choice, Armani says that “Armani Jeans expresses my vision of a young, independent, casual lifestyle with a strong and cool, fashion sensibility. Solange epitomizes this style perfectly and brings to it that swing so evident in her new single, ‘I Decided’.”

Roberto Cavalli has a youthful side. That, or he’s figured out another way to add more $$ to his consistent fortune.

The 68-year old designer of sexy-fashion will shake up the Dubai scene with the November opening of his Cavalli Club in the Fairmont Hotel on Sheikh Zaved Road. Two floors, its own private entrance and a surface of an estimated 25.000 square feet.

Roberto Cavalli chose the Pragma Group as his partner for this important undertaking. He says “Dubai is a city of the future and the Cavalli Club is a futuristic space created with the whole world in mind.”

There will be a room showcasing jewellery, watches and exclusive accessories from Cavalli Maison, the Italian and sushi restaurants are selected by Cavalli, as well as a Cavalli wine and Cavalli vodka. The Club offers to the public a complete Roberto Cavalli lifestyle experience and a new way of shopping at a non-conventional time of day.

The opening will be in November 2008, with an outstanding party that will shake the whole of Dubai.

The collection caters to both men and women and is targeted at the urbanites. The collection is blended in rich colours embraced by mother of pearls.

The men’s collection is inspired by futuristic design and technological themes. The watch designs are a blend of classic styling and a sporty, casual look. The watches have oversized stainless steel cases, coin-ridged bezel, embossed black leather straps resembling crocodile skin and black enamel top-ring with minute markers.

The collection also has rose coloured gold watch featuring the simple rose gold hour markers to create a strikingly rich and sophisticated contrast against a black dial. It is also available with silver dial, featuring two black chronograph counters and a red coloured seconds’ hand.

Entire men’s collection for watches is coated with black ion plating and is topped with a silver coloured world time zone bezel which is a representative of the world’s 24 different time zones.

The women’s collection explore the classical designs. The watch in the this collection has an elongated rectangular case made of yellow gold plated stainless steel on a three-link bracelet with a white mother-of-pearl dial, a sub-second counter and Roman numeral indexes.

The watches are made up of multiple chronograph counters, pearl coloured leather straps and removable crystal. The large stainless steel cases have four concentric rows of clear Swarovski crystals set against black rubber straps and embossed with the Emporio Armani logo.
Also available in this collection is the Meccanico range which is made up of detailed dials layered with black mother of pearls.

These watches are priced in a range beginning from Rs9495 to Rs35,495 and is available at select Lifestyle stores and premium watch retail stores.

Combining an innovative line with classic and modern styles, Fendi’s new shades recently hit Solaris stores across the UAE. The new collection blends classic and innovative designs with luxurious and ultra- stylish shapes.

Designed in vibrant colours varying from metallic beige, brick, gun-metal, anthracite, brown, carbon, horn and onyx, the Italian icon embodies sophistication and modernism in its new collection.

Colours provide harmony with shapes that range from rectangles to wraps. With the Fendi logo incorporated at the temples, the frames are extended to set off the face’s dimensions for a bold new look. Focusing on safety and comfort, the new eyewear provides exceptional comfort with 100 per cent UV protection.

‘Fendi is an icon in the world of fashion and it is known for delivering high quality sunglasses that are super-chic and beautiful. It’s a mix of class and exuberance. These shades are a must-have for this season,’ said Katia Andrejev, Brand Manager, Solaris Middle East.

Donatella Versace will be doing the interior design of a Manhattan landmark known as The Clock Tower.

The agreement was announced Tuesday by the Italian design company and Africa Israel Investments Ltd., the property’s owner.

The building was constructed in 1909 as the headquarters for MetLife insurance.

The design will include 55 condominium apartments, common areas and a spa. Donatella Versace will personally design a luxury club on the first two floors of the tower.

The latest Armani Ambassador, big screen star Josh Hartnett, will be the face of the new Emporio Armani Diamonds for Men advertising campaign. Giorgio Armani set out to find someone who would reflect the bold allure of sexiness that would embody this new fragrance. The designer considers Hartnett to be one of the most talented actors of his generation. Josh Hartnett was the first male celebrity selected because of his on screen charisma, elegance and sensuality.

Passionate about film from a very early age, Hartnett has starred in a number of major Hollywood productions, such as “Pearl Harbor,” “Black Hawk Down,” “The Black Dahlia,” “30 Days of Night,” and “August” releasing next month. In the dramatic film, Josh Hartnett stars as internet start-up entrepreneur who attempts to keep his fledgling company afloat in August 2001 as the dot.com bubble bursts.

In front of the camera, Josh is the center of every angle in the advertising campaign. In both the print and TV ads, Josh is confident and playfully seductive as it looks like he is being photographed by paparazzi.

Monday, July 21st is Josh Hartnett’s 30th birthday and Giorgio Armani personally sent his well wishes with a one-of-a-kind Emporio Armani bike and letter at a recent luncheon hosted by Giorgio Armani Beauty at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City.

London’s Dover Street Market has firmly established itself as the epicentre of cool in the capitals’ West End. So no wonder Salvatore Ferragamo, hot on the couture heels of Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, have decided to launch an exclusive collection at the fashion market, arriving on 19 July.

The collection, Ferragamo Creations, is inspired by the Italian fashion house’s 80-year old archive – Salvatore himself was originally a shoe designer to Hollywood glitterati such as Ava Gardner in the 1920s before returning to Italy to launch his company. It’s no wonder then that the collection includes their “F” wedges (Ferragamo is credited with inventing the wedge) and designs re-worked from those originally created for his Hollywood clients.

This is a real opportunity to get collectables from a style visionary into your wardrobe, but practically ‘objets d’art’ you’ll more than likely want to hang them up as much as wear them.

Just when fashion in Rome needed a dash of inspiration, Gucci’s Frida Giannini comes along and throws a big party in a villa overlooking the Eternal City.

Tuesday night’s event marked the 70th anniversary of the famed Gucci boutique near the Spanish Steps, and began with the presentation of the designer’s 2009 cruise collection, usually shown in New York.

The five goddess gowns that closed the snappy jet-set show are in honor of Rome and will only be available in the Via Condotti boutique.

“Isn’t Rome fantastic?” said the 36-year-old designer as she greeted some of her 300 guests, many who had come from afar, at a sit-down dinner after the show.

The 17th-century villa and its sumptuous gardens are part of the American Academy complex atop the Janiculum hill. Later 700 hip Roman young people joined the party and danced into the night to the live music of Goldfrapp.

Giannini wanted to pay tribute not only to her birthplace, but to the Roman school where she got her fashion education, The Academy of Costume and Fashion, and to her first job at Fendi, founded by five Roman sisters.

“I owe a lot to this city,” she told The Associated Press.

The event was the buzz of the Rome couture “AltaRoma” week that ended Thursday.

Gala events are few and far between since the heydays of the 1960’s, when such stars as Liz Taylor, Rita Hayworth and Audrey Hepburn, in town for filming, made Rome the high point of Italian fashion.

During the 1990s Rome had a second fashion moment, with the “Women under the Stars” gala summer event on the Spanish Steps, a fashion show that included the top names in Italian couture and ready-to-wear as well as foreign designer guests. That was televised live to many countries.

But despite attempts to revive the mood, in the past decade Rome couture has become a very local event.

This time more than 20 houses, including Gattinoni and Sarli, showed their latest collections in the halls of a former Medieval convent in the shadow of St. Peter’s Basilica, the same venue used last year by Valentino for his farewell to fashion.

The clothes were beautiful with sumptuous fabrics and grande soiree styles, and at times a little more affordable with the invention of `demi-couture’ — something between `haute couture’ and ‘ready to wear.’ Mainly, however, the shows were about dresses for mother’s garden party and her daughter’s wedding.

The crowds reflected the runway, including plenty of ladies from wealthy families as well as TV starlets.

“We have to rekindle Rome’s fashion fire,” said Rome’s new mayor Gianni Alemanno, a guest at the Gucci party.