Italian Fashion Watch

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.

Paris once again became the epicentre of the fashion universe this week as the haute couture shows got underway. Oscar winner Helen Mirren, actress Eva Mendes and Janet Jackson were just some of the big names checking out the glorious creations destined for the wardrobes of an elite handful of extremely wealthy women. And they had chosen a good moment to go along, as this is shaping up to be the busiest haute couture week or several seasons.

An unusually high total of 23 designers are scheduled to take part, including the first Chinese courier to show in Paris.

Firmly in the spotlight on day one, however, was Giorgio Armani, who presented a collection which celebrates his 35 years in the industry.

A-list guests, including the youngest daughter of the Thai crown prince, Princess Siriwannawari Nariratana, watched as the Italian maestro presented a collection which revisited many of his signature silhouettes. The classic trouser suit, for instance, made a return, with elements incorporated into cocktail and eveningwear.

One standout piece reflected by the mirrored runway was of a pair of high-waisted black velvet tuxedo trousers teamed with a fitted cape affair made of strings of pearls. A daringly cut cocktail dress, slashed from bodice to hip, was another highlight.

Across town John Galliano unveiled a fresh collection for Dior. The range, which he describes as “couture in a contemporary way”, featured strong, elegant shapes which placed emphasis firmly on aesthetics.

An heiress without attitude or an energy drink to promote? How refreshing. In fact, Margherita Missoni — scion to the iconic knitwear empire — doesn’t even name check the family brand when gushing about her favorite designers. Missoni, 25, hit Cannes on its first weekend to co-host a yacht party to benefit OrphanAid Africa; she helped design a rose gold and diamond bracelet selling on Yoox.com that supports the cause. She also acted in a short film showing at the festival.

Barefoot aboard a big boat, wearing floor-length, flowing white silk with a floral motif, Missoni sat down and gave us the lowdown on her own look.

Describe your personal style.

Very irrational and distinctive. I start from a piece that I want to wear and then I build on that. I am never matchy — ugh. It’s hard to dissect my style but it is definitely bohemian.

Name your Cannes essentials.

It’s quite easy because you only have to pack gowns. I wish I had brought a trench coat because of the rain, but I didn’t think that far ahead. The most important thing is flats because you have to be ready for boats. I brought one pair of Vuitton patent-leather flats in white with all these gorgeous beads on them and a pair of Prada sandals.

Where do you stay here?

I am staying at the Majestic, and then next week, I come back and stay at the Martinez for amfAR [the annual fashion gala to support AIDS research]. I would rather stay at the Hotel du Cap in Antibes. It’s much more quiet there.

Where do you perch to watch the scenery?

Nowhere. I keep it tight, in the sense of timing, and go to events. I don’t hang out here that much. I love the South of France, but it is too intense and crazy for me.

Tell us about the movie you’re in.

It’s called “I Am an Island,” and I play the patient of a psychiatric unit. There is a screening and a party for it on Sunday. There are so many directors here I would love to work with, like Woody Allen.

As the face of Missoni, do you feel like you must always wear the brand?

No! I think it is more believable if I don’t wear Missoni all the time. If I wear other designers, people know that when I do wear Missoni, I actually like it. Right now, I am wearing my grandmother’s vintage nightgown. She gave it to me the other day, and I thought it was so beautiful.

OK. Pajamas and Missoni aside, which designers do you love?

I love Louis Vuitton and Givenchy. Giambattista Valli, Proenza Schouler and Lanvin too. Oh, so many. For jeans, I wear Seven and J Brand.

Do you have a life motto?

Judge for yourself. The only person whose judgment counts is your own. I try to live by that.

Read the interview in the LA Times.

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.

Italian brand Salvatore Ferragamo celebrated its 80th anniversary in the fashion industry with a star-studded party in Shanghai. Head designer for Ferragamo’s menswear, Massimiliano Giornetti, and creative director of women’s wear, Cristina Ortiz, treated guests to an 80 minute fashion show, showcasing 60 different looks.

The late Salvatore Ferragamo founded the Salvatore Ferragamo Italia S.p.A. company in 1927, having designed for many icons including Marilyn Monroe and Eva Peron, and current celebrities such as actress Jessica Biel and model Irina Lazareanu.

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.