Fashion news
Bold-gari
MANILA, Philippines - Strange bedfellows, but it does work. Matthew Williamson and Bulgari teamed up to release a refreshing collection of sorbet-colored bags. It will include three styles of calfskin bags in geometric shapes (and in his signature bright colors, like rubellite pink, emerald green and sapphire blue) and a collection of canvas tote bags in kaleidoscopic prints inspired by some of Bulgari’s iconic jewelry. The capsule collection will be available at Bulgari stores in January 2011.
Reconstructive plastic surgery
Gisele Bündchen isn’t the only eco-minded beauty export out of Brazil.
The supermodel, who is the Pantene endorser in her home country of Brazil, announced in a press conference that beauty behemoth Procter & Gamble has launched plans to repackage their haircare brand, along with household beauty names CoverGirl and Max Factor, using sustainable, renewable materials made from Brazilian sugarcane. The sugarcane-derived plastic is being called a major step in efforts to find environmentally-friendly packaging, since traditional plastic that has been used to case products for decades is made from non-renewable petroleum.
The newly-packaged beauty products will roll out globally over the next two years, but you can expect to find them on shelves beginning in 2011.
Posen time
Making his Paris Fashion Week debut next month, it seems it was meant to be for designer Zac Posen — who won’t leave the NY schedule completely, returning to the tents to showcase his Z Spoke by Zac Posen collection.
“Paris is the capital that has branded itself as a city of luxury fashion. What first brought me to fashion and turned me on to design were the great Parisian creators. I always thought this was the city I was meant to work in after graduating from Central Saint Martins,” explains Posen, noting that the choice to show in both New York and Paris was “organic to each brand.”
“Z Spoke is about creating a new American look which is effortlessly fun and playful. The collection is emotional — all about textures, construction and techniques which are true to the legacy of French fashion.”
Is the distinction made easier by showing in two different places? “It certainly is a challenge for my studio, yet we all believe in it and that makes all the work worthwhile.”
Eat, pray, shop
That eight-foot-high Buddha made famous in the book Eat, Pray, Love is now available in Two Buttons, a New Jersey shop with treasures from Southeast Asia. Ms. Gilbert, the author of the 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love, owns the shop in Frenchtown, N.J., with her husband, José Nunes.
Two Buttons opened in November in an 8,000-square-foot space in a former electronics factory. Ms. Gilbert bought and renovated the building with money derived from selling the movie rights to Eat, Pray, Love.
The movie is likely to bring more fans into the store. “They tell me, ‘Your book was really important to me,’ and then they want to know where the bracelets and the scarves are,” Ms. Gilbert said.
