PRADA GIVE AND TAKE: Prada is organizing a megabash for 1,000 people on the evening of Feb. 5 at the company's Broadway flagship in New York during New York Fashion Week. While details are still secret, Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli are expected to unveil the evolution of the florid wallpaper, which served as the backdrop for the brand's spring women's show and, in print form, adorned the clothes.
On a different note, Miu Miu has discontinued its men's wear line to focus on strengthening its women's business, whose sales have more than doubled in two years, hitting $297 million in 2007. The spring 2008 men's collection will be the last to be manufactured and sold by the Prada-owned brand.
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN: Rihanna will hit New York this fashion week for a luncheon celebrating the launch of her second umbrella (ella, ella) collection with Totes. On Feb. 5, the singer will dine at the accessories firm's showroom along with the three masterminds behind the Senz label — Gerwin Hoogendoorn, Gerard Kool and Philip Hess — who will be launching their windproof umbrella collection in the U.S. Totes will also be debuting its new Eco collection, where umbrellas, gloves and slippers are all made of recyclable products.
Rihanna Umbrellas will retail exclusively at Macy's this spring. Prices range from $20 for a slender piece in a single color to $50 for a two-toned canopy style. The word is still out as to whether the star will be gracing fashion week's front rows.
MATTHEW TO THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT?: Wanna-be Siennas and Mischas will have a new stop for their hippie-luxe staples this summer. Matthew Williamson is slated to open his first boutique in New York by June, Jean-Manuel Pourquet, senior vice president and managing director for Matthew Williamson America, revealed Wednesday during the designer's pre-fall presentation. As for the location, that's still up in the air. "We haven't excluded any neighborhoods," said Pourquet, "but our top priority is the Meatpacking District." He said the house is also looking at real estate in SoHo and along Madison Avenue.
BOWERY OR BUST: Bethann Hardison, the proponent behind last year's "Blacks in Fashion" public discussions, is gearing up to host another open forum Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. at New York's Bowery Hotel, to be called "Out of Fashion: The Absence of Color." Over dinner Tuesday night at Brasserie 44, she hashed out plans with The Washington Post's Robin Givhan, the Wall Street Journal's Teri Agins, Essence magazine fashion director Agnes Cammock, The Studio Museum's Thelma Golden and Barneys New York's Dawn Brown.
On a different note, Miu Miu has discontinued its men's wear line to focus on strengthening its women's business, whose sales have more than doubled in two years, hitting $297 million in 2007. The spring 2008 men's collection will be the last to be manufactured and sold by the Prada-owned brand.
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN: Rihanna will hit New York this fashion week for a luncheon celebrating the launch of her second umbrella (ella, ella) collection with Totes. On Feb. 5, the singer will dine at the accessories firm's showroom along with the three masterminds behind the Senz label — Gerwin Hoogendoorn, Gerard Kool and Philip Hess — who will be launching their windproof umbrella collection in the U.S. Totes will also be debuting its new Eco collection, where umbrellas, gloves and slippers are all made of recyclable products.
Rihanna Umbrellas will retail exclusively at Macy's this spring. Prices range from $20 for a slender piece in a single color to $50 for a two-toned canopy style. The word is still out as to whether the star will be gracing fashion week's front rows.
MATTHEW TO THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT?: Wanna-be Siennas and Mischas will have a new stop for their hippie-luxe staples this summer. Matthew Williamson is slated to open his first boutique in New York by June, Jean-Manuel Pourquet, senior vice president and managing director for Matthew Williamson America, revealed Wednesday during the designer's pre-fall presentation. As for the location, that's still up in the air. "We haven't excluded any neighborhoods," said Pourquet, "but our top priority is the Meatpacking District." He said the house is also looking at real estate in SoHo and along Madison Avenue.
BOWERY OR BUST: Bethann Hardison, the proponent behind last year's "Blacks in Fashion" public discussions, is gearing up to host another open forum Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. at New York's Bowery Hotel, to be called "Out of Fashion: The Absence of Color." Over dinner Tuesday night at Brasserie 44, she hashed out plans with The Washington Post's Robin Givhan, the Wall Street Journal's Teri Agins, Essence magazine fashion director Agnes Cammock, The Studio Museum's Thelma Golden and Barneys New York's Dawn Brown.
