YStyle Picks

First look

MANILA, Philippines - Miuccia Prada has finally released four out of her 40 sketches for the dresses to be worn in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby. This is the third collaboration between the two. “Baz and Miuccia have always connected on their shared fascination with finding modern ways of releasing classic and historical references from the shackles of the past,” Catherine Martin, the film’s costume designer, and Luhrmann’s wife, said in an interview on The Daily Telegraph website. “This connection is central to our relationship with Miuccia Prada on The Great Gatsby, and has connected our vision with hers.” She and Prada worked together to create “the European flair that was emerging amongst the aristocratic East Coast crowds in the 1920s” that “illustrate the dichotomy between those who aspired to the privileged, Ivy League look of wealthy Long Island and those who were aspiring to European glamour, sophistication and decadence.” Nope, we’re not jealous of Carey Mulligan at all.

The ball to end all balls

Is everybody over Les Misérables now? Good, because it’s already time to freak out over other literary adaptations: BBC Two just announced that it would be recreating the oft-imagined Netherfield Ball in Pride And Prejudice: Having A Ball. The program will be aired in time for the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice. Every aspect will be absolutely true to the Regency era, from the food to the costumes. Mark Bell, commissioning editor for arts, said, “With the enduring popularity of the novel and its many television and film adaptations, this special program for BBC Two offers a fresh perspective, exploring with depth and detail one of Regency Britain’s most crucial functions.” Perhaps when the Brits school us on what a real ball looks like, our balls will climb so far up, we won’t have the gall to call every major social event here a “ball.”

In the bag

Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet has finally debuted the NYC brand’s first line of handbags. “I just felt ready to accessorize,” Bendet told Refinery29.com. “Really it was about the bags I want at different points of my week — to work, to lunch, to a party and, of course, to the airport with the kids!” The line features cute boxy clutches, metallic totes and pouches and snakeskin print top handles. Whether or not she used genuine snakeskin or not remains to be seen, but with prices ranging from $295 to $645, we’re guessing maybe not? But then again, maybe we’ve just gotten so used to the Olsen twins overpricing their reptile-skinned bags and still kind of wanting them.

Sweet redemption

Two years after he made drunken anti-Semitic remarks at a bar in Paris, it seems there are some who are willing to put disgraced designer John Galliano’s past behind them in order to allow him to come back to fashion. Last Friday, Oscar de la Renta announced that he had granted Galliano a three-week residency at his studio. “I think John is doing all the right things,” de la Renta said in an interview with WWD. “Everyone in life deserves a second chance, especially someone as talented as John. I think that life is about forgiving and helping people.” US Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour is said to be behind this arrangement, having been devastated at Galliano’s dismissal from Dior after 15 years. “I said and did things which hurt others, especially members of the Jewish community,” Galliano told WWD. “I remain committed to making amends to those I have hurt.”

In the open

Last November, when J.Crew creative director Jenna Lyons accepted the Fashion Original award at Glamour’s Women of the Year awards ceremony, plenty of news agencies speculated whether she had come out of the closet or not during her speech wherein she thanked her son, Beckett, J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler, and “Courtney, who has shown me new love.” Since then, however, Jenna has chosen to keep mum about her relationship with Courtney Crangi, who is the sister of jewelry designer Philip Crangi, until her recent interview with The New York Times. In it, she states, “When I was young and people judged me for things I had no control over, that was really hard, so I’m incredibly open to people doing whatever works for them.” She continues, “It’s just as surprising to me as it probably is to everyone else. It certainly is strange to wake up, at 44, and look at the person next to you and think: ‘Oh! This wasn’t what I expected.’ But I don’t think love works that way, and I am okay with that.”