It’s the End of the Line for D & G
Dolce & Gabbana Bring an End to Their Diffusion Line after 17 Years
The rumour has been floating around the fashion world since March, but Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana finally announced on Thursday (September 22nd) that their diffusion line D&G is to close. The spring/summer 2012 collection shown at Milan fashion week will be its last.
Despite troubles in recent years - the designers were prosecuted in 2009 for tax evasion, but a judge decided in April of this year that there was not enough evidence for a trial to proceed – the decision does not appear to be a financial one. Indeed, it has come as a shock to some retailers as the D&G line, which launched in March 1994, has outperformed the main line in important Asian markets.
Instead it seems that while other designers are courting the lower end of the market Dolce and Gabbana are only interested in the high end. Dolce stated that they had always looked to the Chanel Maison as an example, while Gabbana added, “we think that in order to work well, to be in the market for a long time, and to leave something after us, there must be only one brand and not two”. Indeed it has been reported that the consequences of having two brands instead of one was at the forefront of the decision. Italian retailers and sources close to the designers said that the two lines were “cannibalising” each other because they were too close in price.
See the full final collection at Fashionologie.
IgStyle Editor
Michelle Williams Covers Vogue as Marilyn Monroe
Actress Channels Monroe on the October Cover Ahead of Her Upcoming Role in ‘My Week with Marilyn ‘
It seems every starlet has to have her turn at Marilyn Monroe, Lisa Marie Presley did it for Kevyn Aucoin’s Making Faces in 1997, Lindsay Lohan did it for New York Magazine last year and now Michelle Williams is doing it on the cover of Vogue. In fairness to Williams, though, unlike Lohan and Presley this is not just some photo shoot as Williams has taken on the role of Monroe in My Week with Marilyn. The film chronicles Monroe’s fraught relationship with Laurence Olivier during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957 and is based around production assistant, Colin Clark’s, memoir The Prince, The Showgirl and Me.
Williams, who had to be padded to attain the famous curves, said of the role, “I do remember one moment of being all suited up as Marilyn and walking from my dressing room onto the soundstage practicing my wiggle. There were three or four men gathered around a truck, and I remember seeing that they were watching me come and feeling that they were watching me go--and for the very first time I glimpsed some idea of the pleasure I could take in that kind of attention; not their pleasure but my pleasure. And I thought, Oh, maybe Marilyn felt that when she walked down the beach.”
The film opens in November. For further information on the film see the film’s official website or to see the full photo shoot and interview go to Vogue.com.
IgStyle Editor
Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich and Grace Kelly J’Adore Dior
Dior Brings Iconic Actresses Back to Life for it Latest Commercial
Charlize Theron has been the face of Christian Dior’s fragrance, J’Adore, since 2004, but she faces stiff competition for the limelight in the latest commercial as Dior brings three Hollywood icons back to life. In the one and a half minute film, directed by Seven Years In Tibet director Jean-Jacques Annaud, Monroe, Kelly and Dietrich appear backstage at a fashion show in which Theron is appearing. The show is in fact Dior’s SS 2011 runway and the film was shot in the beautiful Galerie des Glaces at the Château de Versailles.
Of course, the actresses in question have not been brought back to life in some sort of Death Becomes Her fashion, their faces have been CGI’ed in and expertly so at that. Although this is not a new trick, numerous advertisements in recent years have employed the same technology, it is perhaps the best example that I have seen and the results are spellbinding.
To what the film and the ‘making of’ footage go to The Dior Facebook page.
IgStyle Editor
Chelsea Settles, but will MTV?
New Brand of Fashionista Hitting the Network in October
MTV are no stranger to fashion based shows, in the past we have had The Hills and, more recently, The City, but they are a stranger to girls like their newest reality star, Chelsea Settles.
Ms Settles, star of the show the same name that premieres in October, is a 324 lbs 23 year old girl moving from her hometown outside of Pittsburgh to Los Angeles in order to pursue a career in fashion. She leaves behind a difficult life with an unsupportive military boyfriend and a mother who suffers from severe diabetes. The show will focus on Settles’ relocation and job hunt, but will also feature her attempts to lose weight and work with a trainer. Indeed, a search for Chelsea Settles on YouTube brings up a video profile of an LA trainer, Angela Parker, who will be appearing on the show.
Ms Settles is far from your typical ‘fashionista’ so it will be interesting to see if she can make her way in the fashion world in spite of that and if she does it would be great to see at least one small part of the fashion industry realise that women come in something other than a size six. However, should the show focus too much on her attempts at weight loss it could easily become a story about her attempts to lose weight in order to get into the fashion industry. One only has to look at the case of Kelly Osbourne by way of example, the once chubby star of MTVs The Osbournes and now E!’s Fashion Police was only too quick to brand Christina Aguilera a “fat b***h” now that she herself has lost weight. In response to the controversy Miss Osbourne stated that “no one wants fashion advice from a fat person”. Let’s just hope in Chelsea’s case this proves not to be true.
IgStyle Editor
Abercrombie and Fitch Get Themselves Into a ‘Situation’
Jersey Shore Star Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino offered a ‘substantial’ sum to stop wearing the brand’s clothes.
Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino and Paul 'DJ Pauly D' Delvecchio filming in Florence, May 2011
All publicity is good publicity, right? Wrong. While it is no secret that brands often court celebrity endorsement of their products - gifting suites, free samples – sometimes a celebrity endorsement comes along that they are less than keen on. In the mid-1990s Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, was famously blamed for a decline in the sale of Levis and lent his name to the term ‘the Jeremy Clarkson effect’ whereby falling sales of jeans were blamed on the garment’s popularity among middle aged men. In more recent times a photograph of former soap star Daniella Westbrook and her daughter in head to toe Burberry check sparked a change in the brand’s direction, while former Girl Next Door, Kendra Wilkinson’s, outspoken love of family restaurant chain Olive Garden caused them to brand her a “rogue brand ambassador” in 2008.
Now, US teen retailer, Abercrombie and Fitch, has offered Jersey Shore star Mike, ‘The Situation’, Sorrentino a rumoured six figure sum to stop wearing their clothes after he was filmed wearing a pair of blue Abercrombie and Fitch sweatpants in a recent episode. Abercrombie and Fitch, who describe themselves as an “aspirational luxury lifestyle brand, rooted in East Coast traditions and Ivy League heritage”, stated that they are, “deeply concerned that Mr Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image” and have extended the offer to the other cast members from whom they are “urgently” awaiting a reply.
Sorrentino has yet to comment on the offer other than a tweet yesterday, “Looks like Abercrombie got themself into a Situation!” followed by a link to a CNN article noting that the company’s stock had dipped by nine percent following the announcement. His castmate, Paul ‘DJ Pauly D’ Delvecchio, however, was more outspoken tweeting, “Hmmm if They Don’t Want Us To Wear Those Clothes Why Make GTL Shirts #yourPRsux,” next to a photograph of a T-Shirt sold by the company last year with the Jersey Shore catchphrase “G.T.L.” emblazoned on it followed by the word “Fitch”.
Abercrombie’s immediate concern appears to be that the association is “contrary to the aspirational nature” of the brand and “may be distressing to many of our fans”, but they could be in danger of misunderstanding exactly who their fans are. The last brand to actively disassociate themselves with a popular subculture, Cristal Champagne, provides a cautionary tale. In a 2006 interview with The Economist the producers of Cristal Champagne bemoaned their association with the “bling-bling” hip-hop lifestyle after having been name checked in a Jay-Z song. Jay-Z responded by releasing a statement boycotting the brand stating that he would never again drink Cristal, promote it in his songs or serve it in his nightclubs. Other hip-hop artists followed his lead and in his 2010 book, Decoded, he expanded on his original comments, “I felt like this was the bulls**t I'd been dealing with forever, this kind of offhanded, patronizing disrespect for the culture of hip-hop. Why not just say thank you and keep it moving?”
So, should Abercrombie be saying ‘thank you’ to The Situation and the rest of the Jersey Shore cast instead of trying to pay them off? The answer remains to be seen, however, as Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the market research firm The NPD Group, pointed out in interview with ABC News, “the exposure that they're continually getting from him is worth a significant amount of ad dollars. You can't run an ad campaign that will equal that money.”
IgStyle Editor
