Christian Siriano fans know from his "Project Runway" days that he has a flair for the dramatic, but what's winning him praise with the sometimes tough-to-please crowd at New York Fashion Week is his sense of his customer. He successfully juggled the two on Thursday. First out on the runway was a buttery caramel-colored safari jacket with slim-fit white trousers -- an appropriately luxe, chic outfit for women of many ages and many climates -- while the finale gown was a bright-red, one-shoulder tulle gown that looked like a walking bed of roses. Every look was paired with crazy platform shoes with cone-shaped heels that will be offered by the mass-market Payless. Leather looks, especially a cognac wing-sleeve jacket and thick belt worn over a strapless organza pleated gown, were a highlight, and so were his modern treatments of metallic tweed, giraffe-print taffeta and snakelike embossing. A red-print cocktail dress with draped sleeves was a pretty, refreshing alternative to the usual little black dress. Asymmetrical flounces -- reminiscent of a pageant sash -- were less contemporary, though. Jessica Simpson took her seat as guest judge at Thursday's "Project Runway" show at New York Fashion Week in a super-short, sparkly silver minidress, but she had nothing on the models, who wore an extraordinary number of hot pants. Ten aspiring designers showed their collections to Simpson, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, although several knew they already didn't make the cut and won't be the Season 8 winner.
But few Chinese customers - if they are not sophisticated fashion industry insiders - are able to tell the difference between the two labels. When they shop in the lavishly decorated, 18th-century French aristocrat style-inspired store, they will likely go the made-in-China pieces that cost less - although still quite expensive. "If we only brought the first line into the market, I'm not sure if it's necessary to open more than one shop or two," Hivelin says. A Balmain flagship store carrying both labels will be launched in Beijing in October. A store for the less-expensive Pierre Balmain line is under construction in the Grand Gateway department store in Xujiahui. The joint venture plans 10 more shops in China next year, in first- and second-tier cities. Besides the deal with Badgley Mischka, Shanghai-based Eve NY also designs, manufacturers and markets high-end clothing and accessories for women under its own Eve NY brand in China. Established in 2001, the company operates more than 200 retail stores in 21 provinces. "Our strong positioning in China will allow us to bring the prestigious brand to more Chinese consumers," says Shen Hong, CEO of Eve NY, adding the company plans to open as many as 170 free-standing stores and shop-in-shop stores for Badgley Mischka in five years. NEW York Fashion Week brought its cutting-edge style uptown on Thursday, opening its spring-collection previews in a new location at Lincoln Center. Gone are the tents at Bryant Park where hundreds of designers had launched runways since 1993.
His six-story studio on Xietu Road in Xuhui District is packed with glamorous outfits that would exhilarate any woman. Customers are asked to choose their favorite, then Zhai and his team follow up with adaptations according to the customers' ideas and needs. A tailored evening gown costs as much as 6,000 yuan (US$820), while a ready-to-wear cocktail dress is about 3,000 yuan. The attractive, stylish designer is also a much-sought-after city hair stylist, whose clients include a long list of celebrities and stars, such as actresses Maggie Cheung and Zhao Wei and Taiwanese girls' band S.H.E. "When I was 19, my dream was to set up my own label and company," Zhai says. "This dream has already come true. My next goal is to build a franchised salon around the country that boasts fashion design, hair dressing, beauty and spa services under one roof." The red carpet blossomed with spring colours as stars donned ladylike gowns for Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, with one glittery exception: Nicole Kidman in a backless, cut-down-to-there gold sequin dress. The "Cold Mountain" star stood out among the pretty pastel dresses and safe black gowns at the 61st annual awards show. Kidman's gold sequin bodice, with a neckline that plunged to her waist, was held together with nude fabric and paired with a flowing, pale chiffon skirt. Her loose curls were held back with a gold headband. "I need a coat, though," Kidman told Joan Rivers on E! Entertainment Television.
Her attentiveness to the fit, construction and marketing of her line has just won her a British Fashion Council nomination as Designer Brand of the Year. But "I'm not claiming to be a master draper," she says. "The bottom line is: Would I wear this?" Her sauciness has endeared her to no less a cultural arbiter than Marc Jacobs, who befriended Beckham and featured her in an advertisement campaign, in which she allowed herself to be photographed upended, her legs projecting from a shopping bag and waving in the air. Jacobs' public embrace went some way toward redeeming her in the eyes of the fashion elite. Yet she is still being held to the coals by some insiders who tagged her from the beginning as an upstart, just another in a long line of pop confections to brand her initials on someone else's frocks. In February New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn dismissed Beckham's fall collection as a succession of "ladylike vamp dresses straight from the movies." The barbs sting, Beckham acknowledged, but not enough to deflect her from her purpose. "I want to build something that's respected," she said Her career, she added, "is about getting things right. I want to make sure I'm in this position in 20 years' time." Zhai Yanxin started out tailoring unique clothes for well-heeled women. Now he's a star with four major brands of men's and women's wear and the beautiful people want him to "do" hair too, writes Michelle Zhang A good tailor may not be a good designer, and vice versa.
"She takes conventional dresses and makes them stand out," said Alexandra Shulman, the editor of British Vogue. But a dedication to perfection has played a significant part in the advancement of her fashion career. Yet Beckham, by her own account, is a wobbly work in progress. "I'm aware that I'm working my way up the ladder," she said. "I have a long, long way to go." With her business partner, Simon Fuller, the creator of American Idol, she presides over a luxury brand encompassing dresses, denim, sunglasses and now a line of handbags that debuted on the runway last week. Her dresses are magnets for well-heeled clients. Their growing allegiance has contributed to sales in excess of $7 million last year, said Zach Duane, the company's senior vice-president for business development, a figure that will likely hold steady through this year as well. Not so impressive, perhaps, by the standards of high profile fashion companies that tally their sales in the billions of dollars. But Beckham envisions a measured growth for her brand. "We are moving in baby steps," she said of the line, mostly financed at the outset with the proceeds - less than $1 million - from the sales of the Beckhams' successful fragrance line. The collection is tightly distributed - the dresses are made in England and carried in 20 stores around the world. New denim and eyewear collections are being sold in 100 stores, Duane said, and freestanding Victoria Beckham boutiques are in the offing.
Written off not so long ago, Beckham has been a fixture in the front row at presentations such as those of Chanel and Marc Jacobs. Her sinuously curvy cocktail dresses have been worn by Jennifer Lopez, Drew Barrymore and Diaz and are showcased in stores alongside luxury labels such as Narciso Rodriguez and Vera Wang. "Don't underestimate her," said Anna Wintour, among the many editors and retailers who have embraced her, adding that Beckham has managed, in a scant four seasons, to shed her dubious standing as the girl least likely to succeed. "She's growing up," said Ken Downing, the fashion director of Neiman Marcus, and an early advocate of Beckham's designs. "Her knowledge of dressmaking is impressive. She understands how to bring out the best in the female form and that's one reason our clients are drawn to what she does." Good clothes are a necessary part of a life spent basking in the public eye. Beckham has cavorted for the camera in the Mediterranean-style villa in Beverly Hills, Calif., that she shares with her husband, a home filled with art by Damien Hirst, Sam Taylor-Wood and Tracey Emin. She has sashayed from fashion runways to high-profile advertising campaigns and appeared on TV shows, including Ugly Betty and American Idol. Her life - the feverishly documented spending sprees, the star turns on the red carpet, the clamor for her designs - may be enviable, but she wants you to know it has left her unspoiled. "Doing diva," she said in London in June, "that's completely pointless."