Thursday, June 30, 2011

Salvatore Ferragamo Resort 2012

Ferragamo's Resort 2012 collection took my breath away! I would wear every single one of the pieces. You can check out the complete collection on WWD.com. Here are my three favorites......



Thursday, June 23, 2011

Versace for H&M

I am so excited for Versace at H&M




Here is the scoop from WWD.com


Donatella Versace at work on looks for the H&M collection
Donatella Versace at work on looks for the H&M collection.
Photo By Courtesy Photo
A look from the Versace for H&M collection
A look from the Versace for H&M collection.
Photo By: Courtesy Photo
Donatella Versace at work on looks for the H&M collection
Donatella Versace and Margaretha Van den Bosch at work on looks for the H&M collection.
Photo By: Courtesy Photo
MILAN — Donatella Versace is going fast-fashion.

The designer is the latest to link with H&M for a limited edition collection that launches Nov. 17 in 300 stores worldwide, as well as online. The line will include women’s and men’s wear as well as, for the first time in a designer collaboration, some homeware.

The collection will be based on heritage Versace designs, particularly the Miami print made famous by her late brother Gianni. 

“The moment is right to be rehashing iconic Versace pieces, I can feel it in the air,” mused Donatella Versace in an exclusive interview. “H&M represents an amazing connection to a broader customer base and to a younger audience that loves Versace but can’t afford to buy it. This is especially exciting and stimulating for me.”

The sexy, colorful, printed and down-to-the-last-stud Versace collection that she is preparing for H&M is likely to generate the same mayhem as the retailer’s past designer collaborations by the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Alber Elbaz, Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli and Jimmy Choo. Versace also developed a pre-spring collection for H&M available exclusively in countries with H&M online sales from Jan. 19.

“Versace is one of the most important brands of recent times and their collection for H&M will be glamorous and extraordinary — everything Versace stands for,” said Margareta van den Bosch, creative adviser at H&M. “This is such a celebratory collaboration and is perfect for the festive season.”

Versace, who said she took on the collection before Lady Gaga recently requested to wear archival Versace, is reworking the house’s exuberant heritage and high-wattage va-va-voom in full force, or as she puts it, “not for the shy.”

Besides leather, studs and glistening chain mail, the designer reinvented a number of foulard prints, most notably the best-selling, brand-defining Miami one, ablaze with a wild palm and sea motif. 

Dresses are the key silhouettes, generally skimming the body and accessorized with high heels and bold costume jewelry. The men’s portion will feature sharp tailoring and tuxedos.  

While H&M designers were impressed with the house’s archives, Versace said they were adept at sourcing silks and leathers at bargain prices that look anything but cheap. “There won’t be a polyester piece in sight,” she warned.

Hennes & Mauritz, which is scheduled to publish its six-month report today, has opted to maintain prices despite a sharp increase in the cost of labor and raw materials including cotton, thereby putting pressure on its margins. 

Analysts expect it to reveal a drop in earnings after the company reported last week that sales excluding value-added tax (VAT) rose 2 percent to 27.6 billion Swedish kronor, or $4.4 billion, during its fiscal second quarter, which runs from March 1 to May 31, partly due to the sharp appreciation of the Swedish currency.

The H&M venture further fuels Versace’s momentum, which has seen recently strong ready-to-wear collections and a focused business plan developed by chief executive officer Gian Giacomo Ferraris. 

The company underwent an extensive restructuring program in 2009. While the Italian luxury house expects to return to the black in 2011, it posted a gain in revenues and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2010 and more than halved its debt.

The firm is launching a new children’s line under the Young Versace brand that will bow for spring 2012 and recently introduced the women’s diffusion line Versace Collection Donna. It opened 55 stores for the line, with 25 franchised stores planned for this year. The company also plans to reenter the Japanese market in 2011 and Donatella Versace unveiled a new concept store in Beijing last winter. The brand plans to open five stores in China this year.

Nail Polish

I found this amazing article on aol.com.... A MUST READ....

Here is a clip..

The woman who wears hot-pink nail polish is chic, sexy and bold, says Catherine Baek, education manager at Orly. "To wear this feminine color, you have to be confident because it's eye-catching and people will notice," she says.

How to wear it:Rock the sizzling hue on your nails with a neutral or natural shade on your toes to balance the brightness, Baek says.

I am wearing "short stories" from OPI, a great hot-pink


Thursday, April 28, 2011

Stunning!!!


Christian Dior’s Russian Epic by WWD (wwd.com)



A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum.
Photo By Igor Rodin
Natalia Vodianova
Natalia Vodianova at the Pushkin Museum's “Inspiration Dior” exhibit.
Photo By: Max Avdeev
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum.
Photo By: Max Avdeev
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum.
Photo By: Max Avdeev
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum.
Photo By: Max Avdeev
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum.
Photo By: Max Avdeev
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum.
Photo By: Max Avdeev
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum
A view of “Inspiration Dior” at the Pushkin Museum.
Photo By: Max Avdeev
MOSCOW — Natalia Vodianova swished up the stairs at Moscow’s Pushkin Museum Tuesday night, dressed in a dark red lace Dior gown circa 2010. Her eyes were wide as she looked upon the gowns and paintings that comprise the museum’s “Inspiration Dior” exhibit, which opens to the public today. “It’s such a gift to Russia,” she gushed to curator Florence Muller. 

Vodianova was one of 330 guests who toasted the opening of the exhibit, which already has wowed Russia’s most traditional art lovers and silenced cynical critics. Filling one of Moscow’s grandest museums with 120 couture looks from the house’s long history, alongside paintings and photographs that have inspired its designers, Christian Dior, in one of its most ambitious exhibits in its 64 years, has breathed new life into Russia’s often conventional arts scene.

“I’m sure many of the designs you see here will enter history,” said Irina Antonova, the Pushkin’s 89-year-old director. “The time is close when the dresses of the 20th century will also appear in museums. Our exhibit is one of the steps towards having that happen.”

The opening drew several members of Russia’s elite, who have taken to collecting art in recent years with a relish they once saved for more banal acquisitions like oil firms and coal mines. 

Steel tycoon Alisher Usmanov — Russia’s fifth richest man and the 35th richest man in the world according to Forbes — toured the halls with his wife Irina Viner. “This exhibit is a great way to say that France and Russia are two friends,” he said.

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chief Bernard Arnault addressed the crowd: “What we wanted to show above all with this exhibit is that Christian Dior is an artist,” he said. “He wasn’t only a fashion designer, but also one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.”

Arnault swept through the exhibit flanked by security, leaving other guests to examine the rare artwork — including portraits of Marie-Antoinette, the Duke of Orleans and the wife of Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

In the exhibit’s central hall, guests swarmed around eight glass tubes suspended from the Pushkin’s ornate ceiling. Each tube holds a unique Dior creation. Vodianova, like many guests, was particularly taken with a short white tulle evening dress, embroidered with silver sequins. Designed by Yves Saint Laurent for the autumn/winter 1959-60 collection and titled Armide, it glowed like a centerpiece. “It’s extraordinary,” Vodianova said.

Another highlight is John Galliano’s Mitzah evening gown from the spring 1997 line, its pink ruffled skirts spilling onto the museum floor, accented by a swathe of lilac roses.

The exhibit, which runs through July 24, was three years in the making. Borne of a meeting between Antonova and Arnault, it took months of appealing to private collectors and museums like the Pushkin to display some of their rarest works. Dior called upon more than 100 people to fly to Moscow to work on the exhibit. “It’s like a movie production,” said Muller.

Guests poured into the exhibit’s most theatrical room, devoted to Dior’s global inspiration and collected around four regions: the Far East, the Hispanic World, the East and Russia. Decorated with eclectic art — from a Matisse triptych and a manipulated photograph by Iranian artist Shirin Neshat to Russian avant-garde classics by Malevich — the gowns and paintings swirl around a central angel-like figure. She wears a white tulle dress by Galliano and golden crown, lace wings adorning her back — a textile take on Pierre et Gilles’ Madonna, which hangs high on the exhibit’s wall.

Jacques Ranc, the exhibit’s artistic director, liked to point visitors to Cezanne’s “Femme nue debout,” a rarely seen work by one of Dior’s favorite artists, usually hidden away in a private collection in New York. Other artwork includes works by Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, Man Ray, Gustav Klimt, among others.

A particular hit among Russian guests was a room devoted to Dior’s love of perfume. An installation by contemporary artist Olga Kisseleva forms its center, with hanging glass bulbs reminiscent of perfume bottle designs. The edgiest posters from Dior’s long history with perfume line the walls, and the golden gown worn by Charlize Theron for her work with Dior’s J’Adore stands in a glass case.

After Champagne, guests moved over to the Pashkov House, an 18th century palace overlooking the Kremlin. The 40 top international clients that Dior flew in for the event mingled with Russia’s beau monde over caviar and chocolate. Jocelyn Wildenstein said hello to oligarch and media tycoon Alexander Lebedev, decked out in beaded bracelets after a recent holiday and still unwilling to take off his sunglasses. Korean actor Kim Tae-hee sat quietly and played with her bejeweled smartphone.

Clients from Qatar and the Emirates took cigarette breaks in Moscow’s newly warm spring air. For many, it was a first visit to Moscow and they said they hoped to return. As Arnault said: “Christian Dior is the best way to transmit the values and culture of France. He’s an ambassador.”

Monday, April 18, 2011

Mellina & Company

Mellina & Company was created by my best friend Melanie Guardino! Melanie is a true inspiration to me! Please check out her website and Blog! You will not be disappointed! xo


mellinacompany.com
mellinacompanysrl.blogspot.com

Sasha Now!

My Girl on the Cover of Lexevan Magazine!!!!!!



LEXEVAN MAGAZINE
 THE BLACK HEART ISSUE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW WERNER
DRESS BY THE BLONDS
STYLING BY MICHAEL PSOMAS
MAKEUP BY CHRISTOPHER MILONE
HAIR BY RYAN DARIUS SALON
NAILS BY THOMAS J KELLY
JEWELRY BY CRYSTAL KNUCKLES
LASHES BY ROUGE MAKEUP STUDIO

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Sasha Now!

Check Out Sasha! Amazing Artist and Designer! She designs all her own clothes and costumes! She is my new favorite STAR!!!



Photos from 2011 Grammy's! www.sashanow.com