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>> Celebrity Fashion News
 In celebration of the Olympics, Stella McCartney has returned to London Fashion Week which is going to be taking place between the 17th and 22 February this year.
The fashion week sees the most influential names in fashion come to the UK to show off their latest collections and enjoy the catwalk shows. It is expected that Stella McCartney is going to be one of the highlights of the event as she showcases a special collection.
The daughter of Sir Paul McCartney has designed the sports kits by Adidas that is going to be worn by the team from Great Britain during this year’s Olympics. This is not the only high-profile activity that she has been involved in this year either, as she is also set to launch a new perfume.
As well as these new products she is set to open a second store in the capital city which is going to be in Brompton Cross. She is not remaining in London for long though and returns to Paris to show off her winter collection in March.
The diffusion line by Alexander McQueen, McQ, is also going to get some exposure at the fashion event in London and it is expected this is going to generate a significant amount of interest before the new store in London is opened in the spring. This year’s fashion week is sponsored by Vodafone which has been involved with the event for three seasons.
With London hosting the Olympics and the importance of London fashion week, this is going to be a very important year for the capital city. Many people are looking to come to London to stay during both these events and if you are planning to do this there is plenty of information and guides on the internet about the best places to stay and things to do in the city.
 Paul Costelloe has decided not to participate in London Fashion Week, which is a surprise to many in the fashion community as he has taken part in the bi-annual event for the last two decades and recently created the stunning wedding dress that Zara Phillips wore at her wedding to rugby star Mike Tindall.
Costelloe was offered the 9am curtain raiser opening time slot which is one of the top slots for the event and one that he has held for the last decade. However, this week the Dublin born fashion designer confirmed that he will not be showcasing his autumn winter collections this year at London Fashion Week which is due to take place February 17th-22nd at the Somerset House.
He did add that he will be back at the show next autumn. London Fashion Week is considered one of the four largest catwalk shows in the world along with Milan, Paris, and New York.
According to the designer, he is taking a break because he is hard at work getting his mainline range ready for the shops this August and there was a delay with his womenswear mainline range licensing agreement, but he is in negotiations with two different companies at the minute.
Costelloe first hit problems last year when Signature Brands, his backer for the last decade, was forced to go into receivership. His 2011 collection was the first fashion range backed by Cesar Araujo of Calvelex but the agreement dissolved and he was not able to put the line into actual production. According to Costelloe this was a real shame because he felt it was one of his best collections yet.
His menswear licensing deal with Berwin & Berwin is still active and can be found at House of Fraser and Arnott and he also has a Dunnes Stores homewares range that he expects to expand by the close of 2012.
 Asda, the British arm of U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, is taking George to the Middle East. A franchise deal has been signed with the Lebanese company Azadea Group that will expand the budget clothing brand to an as yet undisclosed number and location of stores to be opened in 2012.
In another agreement, Asda has made a deal with Sandpiper, a Channel Island-based company, to take the George franchise to Guernsey and Jersey. Again, there are no details as to the number and location of pilot stores, but customer response is expected to be strongly positive.
The second largest UK retailer behind Tesco, Asda reported last year that the company was looking to expand overseas with a few pilot stores. George clothing brand accounts for about half of all Asda’s sales of general merchandise, and the brand is already global, with Wal-Mart stores in seven countries carrying a large variety of George clothing and accessories.
All of the parties concerned have expressed enthusiasm for the partnerships. The executive managing director of George, Andrew Moore, said that customers all over the world are in the market for more affordable, quality merchandise, and working with two large and respected franchise businesses will provide just what those customers are looking for.
The chief executive of Sandpiper, Tony O’Neill, said his company was pleased to be part of the global expansion of the George franchise, as the brand is well known for quality and value. He referred to the brand as “award-winning” and “customer-winning” due to its popular designs and reasonable prices.
Azadea Group’s CO Said Dahar made similar comments, saying that they’re excited about the launch and sure that George will be a welcome addition for their Middle Eastern customers.
Asda has already put together a team at their base in Lutterworth to develop the new partnerships and establish, build and maintain the franchise in the planned new locations.
 Rihanna has signed up to work on a television show that will feature her looking for the next best fashion designer. The show does not have a title yet, but Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud will be the host when it airs on Sky Living towards the end of the year.
Rihanna will be the executive producer of the new fashion show and is expected to appear on the show off and on throughout its run. She will also be highlighting the work of the winning designer in July, by wearing a design at her July Hyde Park performance in London.
The megastar stated that she has always loved the fashion world given the fact that it’s so inspiring and it has helped her become the artist that the public knows today. She added that she cannot wait to watch the contestants grow and to observe how their own individuality shapes their designs.
The series will feature ten episodes and will follow the designers through a set of challenges that will involve them creating outfits for different celebrity and musical talents. Nicola is also excited about the venture stating that she is excited to work with the pop star and that she was flattered by the invite.
 If British women were asked to choose their fashion icon for 2011, the chances are that most would choose the latest member of the Royal family and Queen-in-waiting Kate Middleton. As the world waited to see that dress emerge on her wedding day back in April, it seemed that Kate had already emerged as a trend-setter with celebrity and fashion magazines poring over her every outfit.
While Kate is undoubtedly growing into her role as a fashion icon, her style could hardly be described as either innovative or unique, however. As a student her look was little different from her peers, with only those infamous shots of her modelling lingerie at a charity fashion show to set her aside from the other graduates.
Even today Kate seems to play it safe with her fashion choices, preferring sober and sensible to the more daring outfits that her late mother-in-law used to wear, to the delight of both the fashion press and women everywhere.
British women who are looking for an inspirational fashion icon would do better to look to stars such as singer Florence Welch, from Florence and the Machine, or TV presenter and former model Alexa Chung. Neither of these fashionistas could be accused of playing it safe with their bold style choices.
Kate did make one excellent fashion choice in 2011 when she picked Sarah Burton to design her 1950s-inspired wedding dress. Not only the sedate gown fit in with the more sober times we find ourselves living in – as opposed to the outlandish Royal wedding dresses during the 80s – but choosing Alexander McQueen’s mentor not long after his tragic death ensured that the fashion press will be fighting her corner for a long time to come.
The Duchess of Cambridge still has some way to go before she can even be mentioned in the same breath as true fashion icons such as Coco Chanel or Audrey Hepburn, but she is definitely doing her bit to drag the Royals into the 21st century.
Take a sleek and stylish Mercedes Benz SL Roadster, the Dutch supermodel Lara Stone and the stunning backdrop of a bleak desert landscape and what do you have? The latest short film to promote Mercedes Benz Autumn/Winter 2012 brought to us from the brilliant imagination of the US photographer and film maker Alex Prager. Combining the elements of her own personal style icons, we have a visual feast to savour.
Iconic style icons such as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Alfred Hitchcock, Frederico Fellini and David Lynch all play a part in this surreal short film that Prager has produced, entitled ‘Icons of Style’. To tell such an evocative and imaginative tale in such a short time takes skill, something Prager has in bucketloads. Lara is driving through the desert and pulls up in the Roadster to survey the vista, and the approaching tornado.
As it gets closer, she takes two cases from the boot, and stand waiting for it to hit her. Slowly, she starts lifting up in the air, and the look of euphoria on her face tells us that this is no accident and her dream to become a 21st century Dorothy is about to come true. As the wind hurls her around amongst the debris, the look of joy and satisfaction tells us that she has been waiting for this for a long, long time, and she is totally unafraid.
There is a great aerial shot from the ground as she rises higher and higher until she completely disappears. This is clearly a trip she has been planning, and is either escaping from somewhere or to somewhere, but only Prager knows the truth. This short film is thought provoking, innovative and ingenious, and will be one of those we will be talking about for months. You don’t get many promo films better than this one.
 While much of the world is suffering from a recession, Ozwalk Boateng, a top fashion designer in menswear, is expanding his business. Having been in talks with both banks and investors, he could garner £150 million of investment in order to open up to 100 shops all over the world.
The cost of each store will run to somewhere in the region of £1.5 million, and will operate in a franchise model. One of the first to open will be in London, with Sloane Street being considered, and it could arrive as soon as 12 months. Paris, one of the homes of fashion, is also being considered.
Mr Boateng has been suiting the stars since the 90s, with a number of celebrity clients such as Mick Jagger and Jude Law. His business operates primarily from his store on Savile Row, and he is leader in the male fashion industry. While based in the UK, his business reaches across the world.
He had seven shops in Japan, and when their economy hit a crisis in the 90s, his business suffered. Since then, he has always been a lot more cautious about the development of his company, and plans to be more hands on as this expansion takes place to avoid being hurt by a similar crisis.
If everything goes according to plan, then his profits, before tax and interest, will go from just over £1 million pounds a year to over £70 million, in just 5 years. Mr Boateng has said that he would like to have a global brand, similar to Louis Vuitton, and is aware that Bernard Arnault, who is the chairman and CEO of LVMH, made a fortune from fashion, and is one of the richest men in Europe.
 Of all the celebrities working to promote environmentally friendly style, Livia Firth is definitely the most glamorous. It has recently been announced that she is going to be moving into design work and has started creating a line of environmentally friendly items for the clothing retailer Yoox.
She is going to be working through a partnership with Reclaim To Wear, which is an organisation that take surplus textiles and waste and turns them into new items. Ms Firth first became involved with the dresses when she wore a cocktail dress designed by the company to the Venice film Festival. Another time she was noted for wearing recycled clothing was when she wore an outfit constructed from the old suits of her husband, Colin Firth.
Her marriage to Colin Firth made the initial part of her career in the fashion world more difficult than might be thought. Critics were generally harder on her due to her husbands standing in the film world, with one person describing her as a ‘bored housewife.’ The relationships she subsequently forged with the various supporters of environmental causes have meant that people and critics have started to take her seriously.
The director of Annie Greenabelle, the clothing label, is Jane Olley and she has recently commented about Firth, “For green style she is a great ambassador and she is fully engaged and informed about the cause she is looking to promote.
She understands that ethical garments are sometimes thought to be less desirable because they are made from textures and fabrics from unconventional sources. She also understands the need to make women socially responsible and adopt socially responsible clothing.
I have a huge amount of respect for Ms Firth and I admire the fact that she is helping lesser-known designers in the industry become known. To me, she is someone who stands out for what she believes in and is not just dabbling in an industry temporarily.”
It was two years ago when she first made one of her biggest promises to the fashion world. She said that for every red carpet event that she attended she would only be wearing clothes from an environmentally responsible companies. Some of the most notable events she has attended wearing this type of clothing have been the premieres of A Single Man and The Kings Speech.
It seems that her efforts alone are not enough to satisfy her and she is recruiting other people into her challenge. She is currently attempting to pair celebrities with luxury designers who will be creating green clothing for their chosen celebrity. This is something that is typically very hard to do as designers are not people who particularly enjoy keeping to restrictions, especially when they are designing for such high-profile people.
She first met her husband nearly 20 years ago on a film set in Colombia, she was a production assistant on a film starring Colin Firth and they got married in 1997. They have two sons together aged eight and 10 and she says her husband is responsible for stimulating her interest in environmentally friendly clothing.
 Mila Kunis is the newest celebrity to join the model collection for Dior as the 28 yea old actress is the new model for the Miss Dior handbag. Dressed in black, the petite actress that was born in the Ukraine is seen gently holding the handbag in the campaign photos.
For Kunis, this is a major achievement as she describes herself as more of a jeans and shirt kind of girl, so for someone that is not known for her fashion sense at home the chance to appear in a Dior high fashion advert is quite astonishing. She remarked in an interview that she is still learning about fashion, but that she enjoys wearing feminine pieces while walking down the red carpet.
She also stated that she likes the Dior house because it feels very grounded to her and that their work is always feminine, sophisticated, and beautiful which likely means we can expect to see her dressed at least once, if not more, in the label over the course of the next awards season.
It seems only natural that she would be drawn to the label as her previous partners in film, and producers, seem to feel the same way about the small and stunning star who is starting to see her career in film take off after a long hiatus following her role on That Seventies Show.
 DW was the fashion label debuted by Kanye West in September and it was not welcomed with open arms by the fashion community. In fact, it was largely criticised and apart from a few celebrities welcoming his move into the fashion world it was largely shunned.
Many people were speculating that it was unlikely that Kanye West would be returning to the fashion industry and would instead focus on his music. However, a recent article in The Sun newspaper has said that the rapper is still keen on becoming a designer and is not going to let a little resistance get in his way.
It is also expected that West is going to be moving to London in order to focus on his designing. He has previously stated that he enjoys being in London and wants to make it his home for the time being.
However, he is known to travel and spent several of the past few years exploring places as diverse as Japan, Rome and New York. It has also been said that he is currently preparing a new show for Paris Fashion Week which takes place in March. In regard to his music he has recently been seeking out a new studio.
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In celebration of the Olympics, Stella McCartney has returned to London Fashion Week which is going to be taking place between the 17th and 22 February this year.
