Italian Fashion Watch

Claudia Schiffer In Dolce&Gabbana Ad

Claudia Schiffer, one of the most popular supermodels of the 90s, along with Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista, marks he return to the fashion world by signing a contract with Ferragamo and Dolce&Gabbana for 2009. She will appear both on the runway and on many of the ads promoting the two fashion houses.

She also collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld for the the Chanel winter campaigns.

At 38 and with two children, she is an importance presence in the fashion world and her return may mark a shift for major fashion brands who would go back to working with professional models instead of celebrities, how it’s been happening for the last few years.

We’ll see.

Shoes are contemporary jewelry, designer Donatella Versace once said, and in recent years they have become an integral part of a designer’s fashion statement.

Dolce&Gabbana Sandals

Armani one season ennobled the running shoe by pairing it with chiffon evening wear. In the 1990s the stiletto became a symbol for racy chic. More recently, prewar platforms and wedges thought to have been relegated to the back of grandma’s closet became super hot again, especially with teenagers.

The heels have become taller with each season, and the inches are apparently taking their toll. Models at last month’s preview shows in Milan tripped, slipped and — in the case of one model wearing ankle-strapped high-heels at Prada — toppled over.

On the fourth day of Milan Fashion Week, there were shoe troubles for both Pucci and Dolce & Gabbana. The sensible footwear from Fendi, however, kept those models firm on the ground.

DOLCE & GABBANA

They might have chosen slippers to go with their pajama party, but the Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana duo accessorized their luxurious silk outfits with sparkling and soaring platform sandals. The super-high platforms were also used for their dreamy ball gowns in tulle and embroidered roses. Dolce defended the towering look, saying that every girl has the right to dream.

But if several of the trained models stumbled on the slippery runway during the show, how can one expect a debutante to negotiate the ballroom floor?

Fendi Shoes

FENDI

The Fendi show featured models wearing wild pinned-up hairstyles and futuristic lace dresses cinched at the waist by a cummerbund. The look may have been offbeat, but the overall effect was still the elegant and easygoing look preferred by Italian designers for the summer 2009.

The footwear at Fendi was strangely calm, though, especially for the house that made metal ankle straps a fashion fetish. The high heels were never towering, and favored was an open-toed saddle shoe fitted with a comfortable wedge.

Naomi Campbell is reportedly in talks to become the new face of fashion house Dolce and Gabbana.

The supermodel has worn a number of custom-made dresses from the label at last week’s London Fashion Week and inside sources say this is a sign that the talks are going well.

One source told the Daily Mail: “It’s all part of welcoming her to the clan. She and Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have been in secret talks for a while about making her D&G’s next face.

“They have had a relationship that spans decades and now the plan is for Naomi to be their official muse and ambassador.

“Naomi will be guest of honour at the D&G fashion show in Milan this week and will star in their worldwide advertising campaigns. An absolutely huge deal is on the table.”

The Finnish textile design company is fighting Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana to protect a trademark on its signature “Unikko” poppy print.

D&G has filed an application at the European Union’s agency for registered trademarks to declare Marimekko’s Unikko trademark invalid, the Finnish company said in a statement on Thursday, July 3.

“Marimekko currently estimates that there are no grounds for Dolce & Gabbana’s application for a declaration of invalidity and that the matter does not affect Marimekko’s operations or the company’s assessment of the outlook for the remainder of 2008,” Marimekko added in the statement.

German court granted injunction

Unikko is a protected trademark in the EU, Norway and the US. Marimekko claims Dolce & Gabbana has been using its floral pattern without permission, and said it had filed suit against the Italian firm in Hamburg earlier this year to block it from using the design.

The district court had granted an injunction on sales and marketing of certain D&G products in Germany.

“Marimekko is considering further measures in the matter,” the company said, adding that it planned to respond to the Dolce & Gabbana application before the deadline on Sept. 25.

The Unikko poppy pattern was designed by Maija Isola in 1964 for Marimekko, but experienced a resurgence recently when it was seen decorating a range of products from bags to shower curtains.

Marimekko designs also hit the high street this year when the Finnish company licensed several of its patterns to retailer H&M for a summer collection.

Italian designer team Dolce & Gabbana kicked off Milan’s fashion week in relaxed style on Saturday, taking inspiration from oriental kimonos to kit out men in silk evening pajamas for next summer.

Asian-style prints of dragons and butterflies decorated robes and shorts in black, white, grey, sepia and ivory for the duo’s signature line. Naomi Campbell modeled one of their designs as part of the spring/summer 2009 menswear collections.

Evening jackets teamed with black trousers also sported the prints, in a collection said to reflect “the relaxed lifestyle of the modern man”.

A variety of light and dark blues, and natural hues from beige to brown, were used for formal striped suits and casual wear, topped on the runway with dark-rimmed glasses.

Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce tucked tight-fitting shirts — often diagonally-striped, with small bow ties or chine jersey shirts with cotton collars and cuffs — into drawstring trousers with a loose leg, or paired suits with bow and skinny ties. Jackets had small shawl lapels, single- or double-breasted.

The designers used crocodile and suede for jackets and for limited edition sneakers that also came in mixed leathers.

Models, some of whom were sent out with double-handled bags, wore python, crocodile, eel or patent leather sandals, as well as slippers in various leathers and colors.

Fashion duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have thrown their annual Cannes bash and it was the hottest ticket in town.

This year’s theme was ‘La Dolce Vita’ and was inspired by birthday girl Naomi Campbell.

D G sunglasses were laid out on a tray to be given to a thousand excited guests as they walked the red carpet.

‘I’m enjoying so much Cannes, yes it’s beautiful, I went to see a film and I love the atmosphere and all the people that are hear and I love to be on my boat, to enjoy my boat and that’s it, altogether it’s fantastic,’ said designer Valentino.

The glamorous guests sported the top styles in fashion, from body-conscious dresses that hugged the body to tiers of layers inspired by the gypsy look, both styles representing some of Dolce Gabbana’s former collections.

White skinny trousers or jeans were popular among the men, a big trend on both the Italian and Paris catwalks this season.

Yesterday an interesting piece of news came up. It looks like the Italian government is onto the big fashion companies, Dolce & Gabbana and Ferragamo who, uhm, forgot to pay their taxes.

How stupid is that? With a company cashing in tens or hundreds of millions of euros, you would expect that eventually, some people from up there will come to check you out and see how well you’re doing and claim their share.

Sounds really stupid, but there might actually be a good and logical explanation to this. You see, any company is always looking to pay less taxes. For large companies that operate on the international market, such as Dolce & Gabbana and Ferragamo, one option was to move their headquarters countries with lower taxes, such as Luxembourg and Holland.

They proceeded and set up companies in those two countries. The plan was good, except they didn’t really operate from there. Although their main office was far abroad, everything the two firms had to purchase in order to design and manufacture their products was done from Italy, and thus, the taxes were supposed to go to the Italian government and not Holland or Luxemburg.

In other words, they screwed up.

Dolce & Gabbana owe about 90 million euros and Ferragamo close to 20.

If they fail to pay that sum, Dolce and Gabbana may spend some time in prison. But I trust they’re gonna find a solution.

Dolce & Gabbana’s ready to wear fashion line, D&G, is planning to open six stores in the Middle East, beginning with outlets in Kuwait and Jeddah, this spring.

Stores in Doha and Bahrain will follow in the second half of this. Dubai and Riyadh outlets will be opened early next year.

The Milan-based fashion designer has been enjoying booming sales for its creations in the Middle East. The region now accounts for 5% of global sales for D&G.

The designer’s annual turnover is $2.12 billion, for all of its lines including Dolce & Gabbana fashion, eyewear and fragrances. At 5%, the Middle East market could have been worth as much as $110 million for the company over the past 12 months.

A catfight has broken out between the designers Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino as the doyen of Italian fashion prepared today to present his final collection in Paris before retirement.

Valentino wave’s goodbye to his staggering career but not before stirring up design rivals Dolce & Gabbana

Valentino Garavani was reflecting on his 50-year career and on his rivals when he dismissed Dolce & Gabbana as “shy to begin with, but now rather arrogant”. The 76-year-old added: “The problem with young stylists is that they all want to be famous straight away and then they all do the same things.” Valentino’s comments appear to have touched a raw nerve, especially as he only had superlative praise for other Italian designers.

He went on to describe Giorgio Armani as “revolutionary”, Miuccia Prada as “stupefying” and Donatella Versace as “gritty and determined”. In return, Mr Armani sent a vibrant red dress down his recent catwalk show in tribute to “the genius of Valentino”, who made red dresses his trademark.

Stefano Gabbana, 46, one half of the label that now has an annual turnover of over £700 million, said: “Valentino has been having goodbye parties since last July. I’ve been working.” He added: “To be quite honest, I don’t care what Valentino says about us.”

Valentino has held a lavish series of events to mark his retirement, including a party in Rome’s Imperial Forum which rebuilt an ancient temple out of plastic resin and an exhibition at the Ara Pacis museum.

Mr Gabbana also dismissed rumours that Naomi Campbell, the supermodel, is having an affair with Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela. Ms Campbell recently interviewed Mr Chavez, and the Venezuelan press was quick to announce that the pair had got engaged. “I do not think he is her type, or vice versa,” said Mr Gabbana. “They have different tastes.”

While we are all buying our jumpers and winter coats, top designers are at least six months ahead of us, showcasing the must-haves for spring and summer.

One collection that certainly stood out was Diamond Seduction range which used underwear as outerwear

The London-born model strutted down the catwalk in the Luxe collection, which combines minimal bikinis covered in gold mosaic or coloured sequins with chiffon scarves, shawls and dresses.

Campbell is now using her charm to promote her Fashion for Relief campaign, which raises money for victims of the UK floods.

She was sporting a sparkling sequinned swimsuit and chiffon cover-up from the collection.

One collection that certainly stood out was Diamond Seduction range which used underwear as outerwear.

Around 80 designers showcased their collections on the catwalk this week. They include big names such as Giorgio Armani, Versace and Dolce and Gabbana.