WWD Blog tag:mtread.wwd.com,2008-06-26:/wwd//1 2009-11-19T22:50:29Z Movable Type 4.1-en WWD Postcard: Rafe Totengco tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2376509 2009-11-19T21:12:42Z 2009-11-19T22:50:29Z Accessories designer Rafe Totengco dishes to WWD about his recent visit to Hong Kong: Let me tell you about Hong Kong. It's fast and furious. It makes New York look like Boca. I've been coming here for so many... WWD GUEST
Let me tell you about Hong Kong. It's fast and furious. It makes New York look like Boca. I've been coming here for so many years it's like my second home. As soon as I land, I hit the ground running. There are places to go, people to see. I always run over to Causeway Bay to check out all the small boutiques that carry local designers. They're on trend and cost a fraction of the price compared with the major labels.

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Then Hong Kong "It" girl Audrey Chiu hosted an intimate dinner for me at the members-only China Club. The ambience is so Thirties Shanghai, complete with a lounge singer dressed in a fitted silk Qipao. The walls are filled with contemporary Chinese art that owner (and Shanghai Tang founder) David Tang amassed over the years. After dinner, we headed over to another members-only watering hole, Kee Club in Lan Kwai Fong, for a night cap.

This trip was extra frenetic because aside from my usual work, I'm also here to do a trunk show for Harvey Nichols. All of Hong Kong's best-dressed girls showed up and shopped! By the end of the evening even the display mannequins were bare! To celebrate, we went straight to Dragon-I, one of Hong Kong's coolest nightclubs. This place attracts a very attractive model crowd, which is always a plus in my book, and they also serve really good Chinese food. Tao miu (pea shoots) are in season and I can't eat enough of them. Next stop was the Roxie, a new members-only club. Joel Madden was in town from L.A. and spinning to a very enthusiastic crowd of clubbers. As I was making my exit, I heard a Black Eyed Peas song come on. "I got a feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night...". It was and I'm ready to do it all over again!

xoxo, Rafe]]> Miller Time tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2368312 2009-11-11T02:43:44Z 2009-11-11T03:02:38Z Sienna Miller is busy. In addition to clocking eight performances a week in "After Miss Julie" on Broadway, the actress is also co-designing her ready-to-wear collection Twenty8Twelve with her sister Savannah who lives in London. But the girls are not... Taylor Harris
"That's the wonders of modern technology. We Skype a lot," Sienna says. "There are such great vintage stores and fabric places here that I can source and send my ideas back to Savs and vice-versa."

On Monday--Sienna's only night off--the Miller sisters spoke with WWD about what's next for the British label.

WWD: Sienna, you just moved to New York temporarily and Savannah, you're visiting here for the week. How are you finding the city so far?
Sienna Miller: I love New York. I was born here so I feel like I have an affinity with the place. But I'm here just for four months doing the play.
Savannah Miller: I love the pace here. London's great but it's a sleepy town compared to New York. This is on a completely different level. The energy is so exciting and it's impossible not to get caught up in that. ]]>
WWD:Sienna, you have a pretty grueling schedule with the play. How are you balancing social life and working?
Sienna: Yeah, this is my one night off. It's grueling but it's the best kind of grueling. It's a marathon. [But] it's what I love doing so really it's exciting to go to work everyday doing a play on Broadway. I just look at 42nd Street and I can't kind of believe I'm there doing it.

WWD: What's it like working with each other on the collection? Do you always get along?
Savannah: It's so great. We never fight. We really make an effort to see everything from the other's point of view and as a result the product is much clearer.
Sienna: We've never had a fight about work. We totally respect each other's aesthetic. They're really different so the combination of the two really works for the label.

WWD:You worked a lot with denim for spring. What's your definition of the perfect jean?
Sienna: Personally, I like thin denim. I don't want something that's bulky. [And] I like a bit of stretch in there. It was really hard thing to get the denim right. I find with jeans, it's a question of like a millimeter. It's really got to fit you in that right place. Spring/summer was really the first time we nailed our denim.
Savannah: The jeans that we've developed have the four-way stretch. It's a really amazing technology by which the denim stretches completely around your leg so you feel like your leg's molded into the jean. They're like a dream.

WWD:So what's the timeline in terms of Fall 2010?
Savannah: All done. All designed, all fitted, all fabrics approved. We've started making our samples now. It's crazy that it's so far in advance.

WWD:So what can we expect to see?
Sienna: Certainly with spring-summer, we brought it out a little bit more. I think we played it a bit safe before and we're trying to be much more adventurous now. I think we're going to have a lot more color and more crazy prints.
Savannah: It's gone on a bit of a wild woman feel.

]]> Pots O' Gold tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2366673 2009-11-09T15:12:21Z 2009-11-10T20:37:10Z An invitation to a potluck meal calls to mind Pyrex dishes filled with green bean casserole and Tupperware loaded down with hand-frosted cupcakes. But on the Upper East Side, things are done a little differently. The new cookbook "Park... Emily Holt- Eye Editor
The new cookbook "Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations," which benefits The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, features tried-and-true recipes from some of society's top hostesses, including Coco Kopelman and Eugenie Niven. In the spirit of sharing, here are a few dishes handed down from their kitchens to yours. Viking stove not required.

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Coco Kopelman

My mother-in-law serves these potato cakes as a side dish with roast beef or sliced steak. The preparation, involving baking the potatoes instead of frying them, is easy, and the basic potato mixture can be varied, by adding mushrooms for example. Sometimes I serve the cakes as a luncheon dish, topped with smoked salmon and whipped cream cheese or crème fraîche and a green salad alongside.

Makes 8 cakes
3 large baking potatoes, scrubbed
Salt
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup heavy cream or plain whole milk yogurt
1 large egg yolk, beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and add salted water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool, then peel and pass them through a ricer into a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the butter and the cream or yogurt. Mix in the egg yolk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate; the cakes will be easier to form if the mixture is cold. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly butter the foil.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter in a small skillet over medium heat, add the onion, and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes.

Form the potato mixture into 8 patties. Use the back of a spoon to make a depression in the center of each and place some of the onion in it. Lightly flatten the cakes with a spatula and transfer them to the baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes, until lightly browned. Brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and serve.


Festive Bouillabaisse
Eugenie Niven Goodman

My husband and I make this bouillabaisse together. It works for a formal dinner party or a casual buffet. We either serve it from a big ceramic bowl or from the pot in which it's cooked. At a buffet our guests help themselves to portions in deep bowls, with bread and salad on the side.

Makes 6 Servings
Generous pinch of saffron threads
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion chopped
½ cup chopped fennel
2 cloves, garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
4 springs fresh thyme
3 cups, canned crushed tomatoes
1 ½ cups clam juice
About 1 ½ cups dry white wine
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
18 mussels, scrubbed
12 large shrimp, shelved and deveined
1 ½ pounds Black Sea Bass, Red Snapper or Flounder Filets cut into 12 pieces
Crushed Red Chile flakes, optional

Place the saffron in a small bowl, add ½ cup of boiling water, and set aside. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the leak, celery, onion and garlic. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes to wilt the vegetables. Add the bay leaf, thyme, tomatoes, clam juice, wine and fennel seeds. Bring to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes. Add the saffron and its soaking liquid and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes more. Remove the bay leaf. Bring back to a steady simmer and add more wine if needed. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Add the mussels, cook for about 5 minutes, then add the fish. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer until the mussels have opened and the fish and shrimp have cooked through. Remove any mussels that haven't opened. Check the seasoning, adding some red chile flakes if desired and an extra drizzle of oil. Serve with croutons or crusty bread. ]]> Designing for Dancing Stars tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2366671 2009-11-09T14:57:29Z 2009-11-09T18:15:16Z Karole Armitage dancers perform "Itutu" in costumes by Peter Speliopoulos. photo by Julieta Cervantes Typically, costume designers get into the trade hoping it will take them one step closer towards their ready-to-wear design aspirations. But Peter Speliopoulos, Donna Karan's... Taylor Harris
Karole Armitage dancers perform "Itutu" in costumes by Peter Speliopoulos.
photo by Julieta Cervantes
Typically, costume designers get into the trade hoping it will take them one step closer towards their ready-to-wear design aspirations.

But Peter Speliopoulos, Donna Karan's creative director, is taking the opposite approach. Speliopoulos, who has also designed for Christian Dior, Carolyne Roehm and Cerruti, created the costumes for Itutu, choreographer Karole Armitage's latest production. Itutu premiered Friday at the dance company's Armitage Gone! annual gala held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

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"Karole has always had a history of working with many artists," Speliopoulos says. "For her, part of the process is engaging different artistic perspectives and different points of views to create a new kind of visual form."

"New" may be an understatement. Dubbed the "punk ballerina" by Vanity Fair in 1986, Armitage has gained notoriety through her inventive hybrid of classical ballet movement set to very nonclassical tunes, namely Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and the Sex Pistols. "For me, the process really starts with the music because it's what really inspires me," Speliopoulos said. "It often inspires the shape, the color, the feeling of the fashion." In that case, theatergoers are in for a treat.

"Itutu is a combination of West Africa and electronica music," Speliopoulos adds. Accordingly, Speliopoulos was inspired by the iconic 1970s images of Malian photographer Malick Sidibe. To create the 30 or so looks for the company's dancers, the designer screened painter Philip Taft's prints on fabric after fabric.

"Dance is really a true art form with very few constraints," Speliopoulos says. "When you're creating [costumes] for dance, it has to be timeless because the piece endures throughout time and history."]]> Hints of Better Days Ahead for NYC Retail tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2365110 2009-11-06T23:03:13Z 2009-11-06T23:07:21Z Charles Grom's upgrade for Macy's Inc. Friday held a glimmer of hope for the New York City retailing scene as well.The J.P. Morgan analyst switched his recommendation on the stock to "overweight" from "neutral" Friday and pinned part of the... Evan Clark- Associate Editor, Financial

The J.P. Morgan analyst switched his recommendation on the stock to "overweight" from "neutral" Friday and pinned part of the change on an improvement in Manhattan's shopping backdrop.


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"Looking ahead...with the U.S. dollar weakening, stock market stabilizing and white-collar employment poised to improve, it's likely the rebound on both fronts could continue," Grom said.


A shopping comeback of any sort would help not only Macy's, but Saks Inc., and the thousands of other stores vying for New York's consumer dollar. But some serious challenges remain, especially the continued weakness on the job front, underlined by the rise in national unemployment to 10.2 percent.]]> Mind Games With 'Idiot Savant' tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2364950 2009-11-06T21:48:28Z 2009-11-06T22:09:22Z Willem Dafoe with Alenka Kraighter in "Idiot Savant."photo by Joan Marcus I see my fair share of theater, ranging from way Off-Off Broadway experiments to big money productions on the Great White Way. And while I don't always come... Vanessa Lawrence- Associate Eye Editor
Willem Dafoe with Alenka Kraighter in "Idiot Savant."
photo by Joan Marcus
I see my fair share of theater, ranging from way Off-Off Broadway experiments to big money productions on the Great White Way. And while I don't always come away with universally positive reactions, I have never quite encountered the complete sense of bafflement that Richard Foreman's "Idiot Savant," currently at the Public Theater, inspired in me.

This is not to say that I did not enjoy the play. Watching Willem Dafoe on stage in an intimate space for 80 minutes is pretty much a win-win situation. Add in a talented supporting cast, fantastical set design and an enthusiastic audience, and the ante only rises.

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Not content to just let my fuzzy interpretation ride, I sought help from one of the production's actresses, Alenka Kraigher, who plays Marie.

WWD: In his Playbill statement, Oskar Eustis [The Public Theater's artistic director] says he defies anyone to give a synopsis of a Richard Foreman play. That being said, how would you describe "Idiot Savant" to a prospective theatergoer?

Alenka Kraigher: A collection of artistically, highly concentrated 'mind-flashes' from the subconscious of a nonconformist brain that can be funny, creepy and frustrating at the same time. Like seeing a surreal horror movie that can make you laugh, yet in an undertone conveys a certain terror in human existence.

WWD: Were you very familiar with Richard's work when you signed on?

A.K.: I did my research, but I had only seen his previous play, "Astronome: A Night at the Opera," which I found mind-blowing.

WWD: What made you decide to take on this play?

A.K.: I heard Richard works with actors in a completely unique and extremely demanding way. I was very curious. It was a great experience.

WWD: When you first read the script, what was your initial reaction?

A.K.: I thought: Wow! How do you stage this? There must be something hidden behind all these beautiful, melodic sentences, that remind me of so many things, yet seem to make no sense. What could it be? The script was one big intriguing mystery to me.

WWD: How would you describe your character? Who is she? And how would you characterize her relationship with the Idiot Savant?

A.K.: Marie is a delicate, frightened, fairy-like creature who experiences sudden bursts of primal and unconscious desires. She questions who she is in the play and keeps failing at trying to get in control. She senses the Idiot Savant might hold some answers, but then again, getting an answer might be even more troubling than not getting one.

WWD: What would you say has been the most difficult thing for you as an actress? And the most rewarding?

A.K.: The most difficult was standing on stage for hours and hours while Richard and Heather [Carson, the light designer] meticulously changed the light cues, almost a second at a time. The most rewarding was discovering a very unique approach to theater and acting. The way Richard directs actors goes beyond logic at times, mixing different acting techniques and turning everything around. It was a profound study of all the elements of theater.

WWD: What do you envision as the ideal audience take-away from Idiot Savant?

A.K.: To leave the auditorium questioning themselves about theater and life basics.]]> Rear Window with Illustrator Matteo Pericoli tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2363466 2009-11-05T22:02:04Z 2009-11-05T22:22:27Z City Out My Window: 63 Views on New York New Yorkers will never look out their windows the same way again. In his latest work, "City Out My Window: 63 Views on New York," illustrator Matteo Pericoli has recreated... Taylor Harris
City Out My Window: 63 Views on New York
New Yorkers will never look out their windows the same way again.

In his latest work, "City Out My Window: 63 Views on New York," illustrator Matteo Pericoli has recreated the city landscape as seen from the offices and homes of renowned urban dwellers including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mario Batali and Philip Glass.


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"The view is our companion for many years, and we don't understand how much it affects us and how much we make it into our own perception of the city," he says. "But I never thought about it this way until I realized that without the view I had seen for so many years, something would have really been lost. The only thing I could do to take it with me was draw it."

A sketch from Pericoli's book.
From Brooklyn to the Bronx, Pericoli began to seek out quintessential New York views — first through friends, then through friends of friends, and finally he wrote letters. " I was hoping to get some people because I was interested in what they were seeing," Pericoli says. "I was curious to see like what Stephen Colbert sees everyday."

That would be cancer. "Because my studio is directly across from a windowless telecommunications skyscraper whose peak bristles with microwave transmitters, when I think of my view mostly I think about cancer, so I try not to think about it at all," the comedian writes in an anecdote accompanying Pericoli's sketch.

Others' scenery is less macabre. Playwright Tony Kushner writes how his highly perched view elicits a mild case of acrophobia. New Yorker writer Alec Wilkinson divulges his clandestine fascination with watching one of his neighbors. Novelist E.L. Doctorow notes the historical breadth of the buildings he sees. "You realize that there isn't one city but there are millions of cities. Each of us has his perception and idea of what New York is," Pericoli says. "That's the view for me."]]> Testing the 'American Fashion Cookbook' tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2360161 2009-11-03T00:13:53Z 2009-11-03T01:26:16Z The cover of the "American Fashion Cookbook: 100 Designer's Best Recipes," published by Assouline in conjunction with the CFDA, shows illustrations of two chicly dressed and very slender women. One is holding a glass of wine; the other, a platter... Brenner Thomas, Market Editor, Men's http://www.wwd.com
That message doesn't bode well for a book that is ostensibly about the ingestion of food. So I was ready to be disappointed when I cooked a meal using its recipes.]]>
The menu was an eclectic one: I choose Tagine of Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Olives by Yigal Azrouël because it seemed full of flavor and, as a one-pot dish, would be easy to pull off on a weeknight. I followed with a dessert -- Mrs. Clotilde Zucchelli's Torta de Riso, a rice tort whose named seemed to promise a vetted but sophisticated Italian treat. Plus, it hails from Italo Zucchelli's family, so it was easy to envision a kind of tapioca you'd eat on the Italian coast.

I invited a fashion-minded friend to join in. She brought the wine and the skepticism.

I started with Norma Kamali's Olive Oil Popcorn, which I served as an hors d'oeuvre, partially because it espoused the whole high-low thing so popular in restaurants these days, but also because Kamali suggests the oil from the popcorn, once slicked all over your hands from eating, also doubles as a good moisturizer. That seemed like an appropriate insight for a cookbook authored by designers.

Slashed with strands of olive oil and sea salt, the popcorn met unimpressed mouths at first, but it proved addictive, and the big blue bowl was licked clean by the time dinner was ready. If you plan to wear Kamali's swim suits any time soon, stay away from her popcorn.

At table, the chicken, spiced with cumin, coriander, paprika, saffron, ginger, cinnamon and cloves and served over couscous, was savory, surprising and satisfying. It called for a preserved lemon sliced thin, which I didn't have, but a regular lemon peel worked fine and managed to brighten the sauce's earthy spice.

"He's good-looking and he can cook," my friend said.

A glass of sauvignon blanc later, I looked in on Zucchelli's torta. After an hour in the oven, the custard, made of eggs, rice, milk, sugar, lemon rind and butter, had barely begun to set.

"I'm not eating that," my friend declared.

"Let's give it more time and crank up the heat," I offered.

Another 40 minutes and 100 degrees later, results appeared vastly improved. The top had browned beautifully, and the batter had risen in what seemed to foretell a creamy and delicate rice tort inside.

As we cut into it, we sung praises of Italian dessert culture. Mild, fruity, subtle. So unlike the gloppy chocolate sauced conventions of American sweets. Italian style in desserts, as in their clothes, far outpaces our own, we concluded.

Perhaps we spoke too soon.

I knew the dessert would be restrained, but the torta was uncompromisingly bland. It was watery in flavor and the texture, which I had expected to be like a lemony Mediterranean cloud, was soggy yet tough.

My friend took a bite and then pushed her plate away.

I fully accept some operator error here. I didn't have regular rice, so I used Arborio -- the rice used to make risotto -- which holds more water than conventional versions, and that water likely leached back into the pan during baking. Also, in turning up the heat, I may have caused the eggs to rise to the top and scramble a bit as opposed to surrounding the rice evenly.

But either way, we agreed the torta needed more sugar and perhaps some vanilla to amp up the flavor.

"That's a little too sophisticated for me," my friend observed.

Mercifully, there was a bit of wine left. So we drank our dessert and ranked the meal. Two out of three dishes were winners. I'll certainly have nights on the couch with Kamali's popcorn in my future. And I'd make the chicken again in a heartbeat.]]> Night Rider on Broadway tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2357333 2009-10-30T22:21:21Z 2009-10-30T22:27:09Z David Hasselhoff has always existed as an abstract to me; a pop culture construct that lives more in reruns and forwarded YouTube links than real life. It was a bit of a shock to the system, then, to meet... Matthew Lynch- Financial Reporter
It was a bit of a shock to the system, then, to meet The Hoff, as he is known, Thursday night at the Bryant Park Grill.

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Hasselhoff wore a three-piece, pinstriped suit and two-tone patent leather shoes. When asked who designed it, he smiled. "David Hasselhoff," he said. "I designed this suit." Apparently, the look was a carryover from his judging gig on "America's Got Talent."

We got back to talking about the play, in which leprechauns are central to the plot. If Hasselhoff were granted three wishes, he said, here's what they would be: "To get to my table because there's a beautiful girl waiting there, to be in another musical in New York, and to finish this interview."

What, no talking car?]]> Women and Changing the World tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2356130 2009-10-29T21:11:22Z 2009-10-29T21:35:39Z "Women don't have to hate men to get ahead," former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said. And she should know. "I used to want to be a journalist," said Albright, who was among a score of successful women who... Marcy Medina - West Coast Bureau Chief Madeleine Albright said.

And she should know.

"I used to want to be a journalist," said Albright, who was among a score of successful women who headlined the sixth annual Woman's Conference on Tuesday that drew about 15,000 people to the convention center in Long Beach, Calif. "But when I told my husband's boss what I planned to do, he said, 'Honey, you better find something else to do. So I did." ]]>
Shriver's speech is always one of the highlights of the event, and this year it was especially poignant as she spoke about grief and the deaths last summer of her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy.

"I thought I should cancel, but I knew I needed this not just as a moderator but as a participant," she said. "I hope this lets you know you are not alone, and I hope I can move forward."

Action and inspiration were the catch words of the day and the message was loud and clear: Women can be forceful agents of change.]]> A Fashion Backdrop to Dye For tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2356011 2009-10-29T15:29:13Z 2009-11-13T23:23:33Z Behind the scenes at the shoot.COURTESY PHOTO Stylists at WWD are no strangers to creative photo shoot locations. Abandoned subway cars, bowling alleys, surf lodges -- you name it, they've probably shot there. But what to do when an... Jenna Groesch Behind the scenes at the shoot
Behind the scenes at the shoot.
COURTESY PHOTO

Stylists at WWD are no strangers to creative photo shoot locations. Abandoned subway cars, bowling alleys, surf lodges -- you name it, they've probably shot there. But what to do when an editor's inspiration is a painting of a lush garden, but autumn is in full blaze? Do it yourself!

Enter the WWD art department.


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Resty, who studied graphic design with an emphasis on fine arts at New York Institute of Technology, hand-painted the backdrop used in the shoot, which was inspired by Jean-Honoré Fragonard's "The Swing." The whimsical painting inspired Queen to center her story on tie-dyed and ombré pieces, a theme as colorful as one could get. But this was not your average Grateful Dead fan's tie-dye. Instead, Queen chose fluid pieces with the feel of floral watercolors.

While painting, Resty amped up the color, making it more playful but still restrained enough not to overpower the clothes. Meanwhile, LoMacchio constructed paper flowers. The creative contributions of the WWD staff didn't stop there. Photographer Thomas Iannaccone even jumped in, constructing a swing as the final element of the set.

Although there were concerns about the sturdiness of the makeshift swing (a Boy Scout's knot-tying skills were sought, but to no avail), the set came together seamlessly. Queen, who usually prefers shooting on-location to in the studio, was more than happy with the result. "Amy and Tyler can turn any shoot from good to magical," she said. "I'm addicted now!" ]]> On Target: NYC Art Battles tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2355423 2009-10-28T17:24:20Z 2009-10-28T17:28:35Z Two months ago, while all of Manhattan was in a frenzy over Fashion's Night Out, two artists at Intermix engaged in an art battle. While shoppers watched, the painters smothered mannequins in neon yellow, sky blue and gold lacquer.... Taylor Harris
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Each episode introduces a new Manhattan-based project that approaches art in an innovative and refreshing way. Selecting their subjects was no small feat for the producers-slash-curators, who've seen it all. "It's impossible to spend an evening in New York without hearing about an incredible project from a friend or a stranger or noting something from a billboard and looking into it later, or seeing a piece of street art," Johnson says. "We're inundated with choices and constant feeds of information so I feel like the role of curator is becoming more apparent in culture."

Other season highlights include stints with Manhattan street artist Aakash Nihalani and the four inhabitants of the Waterpod, a self-sustaining eco-habitat that has been floating in NYC waterways autonomously for six months.

Season Two of RADAR premieres October 28th and can be seen on Babelgum.com/RADAR or on the Babelgum mobile application (iPhones). ]]> Pink Collar: A Woman Wades Into the Manly World of Men's Shirts tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2351238 2009-10-22T15:22:11Z 2009-10-23T15:04:18Z Emma WillisPhoto by Colin Thomas Emma Willis is London's first lady of men's shirts. Make that the only lady of men's shirts.... Brenner Thomas, Market Editor, Men's http://www.wwd.com Emma Willis
Emma Willis
Photo by Colin Thomas
Emma Willis is London's first lady of men's shirts. Make that the only lady of men's shirts.]]>
"It's still an all-male club," she said of London's haberdashery market, whose marquis brands, including Turnbull & Asser, Hilditch & Key, John Lobb and Dunhill, were all founded and named for men. "But I think the notion that men only want to be dressed by other men is old fashioned. Men have very willingly accepted the product."

Sold online at EmmaWillis.com, in her boutique and at Selfridges, Willis' shirts, offered off-the-rack and bespoke, have become favored by luxury-seeking Londoners in the past nine years.

Now Americans will have their first taste of her ready-to-wear collection this holiday when it launches at Saks Fifth Avenue, where it will go up against men's names like Hugo Boss, Robert Graham and Paul Smith.

Willis acknowledged the discrepancy between women's wear--in which men lead the industry's design and business affairs--and menswear--which has few female brand names and executives in its ranks. But she said that belies a natural advantage women have in dressing men.

"When it comes to appearance, men often trust women more," she explained. "As well they should. It's us, after all, that they're trying to impress."

]]> Open Mike tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2350905 2009-10-21T23:11:44Z 2009-10-22T00:12:25Z Vanessa Lawrence- Associate Eye Editor
Held Tuesday night at the Met in the American Wing's Charles Engelhard Court, the event gathered Doo-Ri Chung, Derek Lam, Juan Carlos Obando and Brian Reyes for a panel moderated by Robin Givhan to discuss everything from celebrity designers to the Michelle Obama effect.

"What niche did you want to fill when you started off?" Givhan began.

"I don't think I started with a niche in mindSI wanted to start a conversation and I hope it's still an exploration of the niche," said Lam.

"I have no niche," chimed in Chung. "My first collection was 15 jersey pieces. [It was about] how do I evolve that language?"

Indeed, evolution was a key theme throughout the talk.

"Do you feel we are elevating hot young designers too quickly?" Givhan queried.

"It's the designers who are responsible," said Obando. "What do you want to do with your career? And trying to assemble a group of people around you who you trust. It's like Giorgio Armani has said, 'The only thing left after
an explosion is ashes.'"

"Do you want a five year career, a ten year career or a career for the rest of your life?" explained Reyes, adding, "There is nothing better than your first piece of press." Of course the nature of celebrities was a hot button topic.

"Do you feel like you have to be a persona to compete with the Lindsay Lohans of the world?" asked Givhan, joking, "There, I said it! You know you were all thinking that."

"I choose to be in this field because I want to be true to myself and I try not let that other stuff distract me," offered a diplomatic Lam.

Another woman who got her share of attention was Michelle Obama, whose every sartorial step is tracked.

"The First Lady has been hailed as a savior for the fashion industry. Has the way she has embraced fashion changed the way you think about what you do and how people look at what you do?" Givhan threw out.

"I think most Americans think of fashion as something frivolous," said Chung. "She's so amazing: I would hate for her to be defined as a fashion plate."

"I think she's been a good example [for] women's figures," said Obando, referring to Mrs. Obama's fit, but not skeletal frame.

"And she wears separates," exclaimed Reyes to much knowing laughter.

During the audience Q & A at the end, one woman mused about the impact of online exposure on the element of surprise and romance in the designers' creations. Chung offered a rather wry commentary on the rampant copying of
her pieces.

"I'm knocked off by Club Monaco and I think they do it really well," she laughed. "I'm sometimes like, 'Why didn't I think of that?'"

— Vanessa Lawrence ]]> Waiting for LiLo tag:mtread.wwd.com,2009:/wwd//1.2349556 2009-10-20T21:59:33Z 2009-10-29T16:10:57Z Photo by Steve Eichner As a reporter covering events, I often spend a lot of time simply waiting for celebrities to arrive. Last night's Versace-sponsored Whitney Studio Party was no exception. After the likes of Alexa Chung, Chanel Iman... Vanessa Lawrence- Associate Eye Editor
Photo by Steve Eichner
As a reporter covering events, I often spend a lot of time simply waiting for celebrities to arrive.

Last night's Versace-sponsored Whitney Studio Party was no exception. After the likes of Alexa Chung, Chanel Iman and Nicole Trunfio had done their step and repeat due diligence, a packed cluster of photographers and press waited and waited and waited some more for Lindsay Lohan. As the time ticked by, I watched the press pit on the red carpet slowly empty out as reporters either gave up hope or moved around to stretch their legs. When Lohan finally showed up, around 10:40 p.m. for a 9 p.m. start time, the currently blonde-tressed actress cum fashion creative director was unusually loquacious.

WWD: Who are some of your favorite artists?

]]> Lindsay Lohan: I love Damien Hirst.

WWD: Aside from acting, do you do any other kind of art?
L.L.: I paint.

WWD: What kinds of things do you paint?
L.L.: It depends on what I'm thinking at any given moment.

WWD: Well, what was the last thing you painted?
L.L.: The last thing I painted was completely red, it was a canvas and it was red and then I painted over it in black to make it purple and then I added a blue box in the middle. It was about life and death and living and dying.

WWD: Wow. Umm, so what else are you up to this week?
L.L.: I was supposed to go to Russia tomorrow to open Russian Fashion Week, but it fell through. But it's okay, because my little brother was yelling at me that I wouldn't be making it to his soccer game tomorrow. I love New York. I spent three hours at Fendi today after spending two hours at Versace.



Read review of Lindsay Lohan and Estrella Archs's first collection for Ungaro>> ]]>