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Paris
Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz was granted the rare honor of being awarded the French Légion d’honneur by the Minister of Culture.
He has been called the true successor to Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent by Lanvin owner Shaw-Lan Wang. A delighted Elbaz wearing a black tux, shirt and tie said of the occasion, "I'm a citizen of the world of women".
Elbaz, is regarded as one of the world’s most influential designers when it comes to influencing global fashion trends. Nicole Kidman, Kate Moss, Chloé Sevigny, Sofia Coppola and many more celebtities are huge fans of the Israeli national. Lanvin is believed to be the oldest fashion house in the world.
<<Alber Elbaz in his glory after Lanvin Spring/Summer 2007 collection during Paris Fashion Week.
Photo: Stardustfashion.com
Tara Banks recently was confronted with an alarming truth. Unflattering photos of her on a beach wearing a one piece bathing suit during a recent trip to Sydney Australia appeared on the Internet.
The 33 year-old gained a wack of weight since she quit modeling and now by her own admission fluctuates between 148 and 161 pounds. But Banks does not seem too upset about her size. She even spoke out about it in an interview with People magazine. "I've made millions of dollars with the body I have, so where's the pain in that? If I was in pain, I would have dieted. The pain is not there – the pain is someone printing a picture of me and saying those (horrible) things.”
London
According to News of the World Kate Moss is about to be dropped as the face of British cosmetics powerhouse Rimmel.
At 33 she is considered too old. The youthful brand needs to appeal to younger women and has secretly been casting more nubile and fresh models. Moss helped to relaunch the Rimmel name when she first appeared in an ad in 2001 aimed a younger and trendier demographic.
The campaign was a huge success. Rimmel famously stuck by Moss during her cocaine scandal when other advertisers such as H&M, Chanel and Burberry dropped her to avoid controversy.
London
The British Fashion Council chose to all but sidestep the current skinny model debate. In an official release it stated, "We believe that regulation is neither desirable nor enforceable... What will make a difference is the commitment of the fashion industry to change attitudes through behavior and education."
It did however send notices to designers and modeling agencies requesting that they use only “healthy models” in fashion shows.
Rio de Jeneiro
According to PageSix when Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen was in Rio de Janeiro, for the annual Fashion Rio, a weeklong showcase of the country's top designers, self-absorbed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was also in town for an economic conference.
The American hating El Prisidente was so confident the 26-year old supermodel would be unable to resist his red shirt that he dispatched his people to set up a meeting. Gisele declined.
Washington
Naomi Campbell is fighting back against celebrities who think they have the stuff to be supermodels on the side.
She was quoted in British Vogue as saying, "[They] want to get in on our world .... That's what they want. They want our magazine covers, everything. The closest thing they can get is a front row seat."
Berlin
Berlin is the latest city to compete for space on an already crowded fashion calendar. IMG, the world's largest producer of fashion shows announced that it will launch Germany’s first ever official fashion week. The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin will premiere July 12 to 15, 2007.
The hope is that it will establish itself as a regular seasonal event among the growing number of fashion weeks worldwide.
It will take place in a permanent venue located in the historic center of Berlin with catwalks emanating from the prestigious Brandenburger Gate. (<Seen here.)
