The party's over for Fashion's Night Out

The annual shopping event has been part of New York Fashion Week each September since 2009, when it was created in response to the recession. It was masterminded by Vogue's Anna Wintour and championed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

The event expanded to 500 U.S. cities and 30 cities globally. Celebrities mingled with shoppers, champagne was served and designers sang karaoke and played pingpong to drum up business for the important fall retail season.
CFDA CEO Steven Kolb said Wednesday that he was proud of what had been accomplished. However, there was grumbling from some stores and designers that it cost money they weren't sure they saw back in sales.

Fashion's Night Out will still be held in select international cities.

Fashion Brands Flock to Licensing Expo

Advanstar Licensing, organizers of Licensing Expo, the world's largest and most influential licensing industry event, today announced that more than 40 fashion brands are confirmed to exhibit at the upcoming Expo. Licensing Expo is taking place June 18-20 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Chris DeMoulin, President of Licensing at Advanstar, and former President of MAGIC Market Week, has led a focused drive to develop fashion brands at the show. The show floor has been re-merchandised by brand category with The Fashion District serving as a home to fashion and accessories brands looking to grow their business through brand extensions and international distribution. Fashion licensing is the largest sector in the $185 billion licensing market and represents $37 billion at retail. The fashion brands exhibiting will use the show to build a network of licensees, expand international distribution, develop retail exclusives and find brand collaboration partners.

Chris DeMoulin, President of Advanstar Licensing, commented: "Like a microcosm of MAGIC Market Week, brands from every segment of the fashion industry will unite at the show to make licensing deals that could change their businesses forever.  We are providing a forum in which brands can meet with manufacturers and retailers from all product categories, from housewares, home decor and accessories through to digital apps and consumer electronics."

More than 5000 brands will be represented at the show, with The Fashion District premiering Authentic Brands Group properties, including Marilyn Monroe, Judith Leiber, Adrienne Vittadini, Taryn Rose, Hart Schaffner Marx and Hickey Freeman.

"We are excited to present our portfolio of fashion and luxury brands as a key exhibitor in the Fashion District of Licensing Expo," said Nick Woodhouse, President and Chief Marketing Officer at Authentic Brands Group.  "Licensing Expo does a phenomenal job connecting best-in-class licensor and licensee attendees dedicated to formulating strong and rewarding business partnership opportunities."

Other new and notable brands include Crocs, Da Vinci, Rock and Roll Religion, Nat Nast, ale by Alessandro Ambrosio, Liz Lange, Wize and Ope, AND1, Blue Pearl and ABS by Allen Schwartz.

Armand Marciano, Co-owner at ABS commented "As ABS by Allen Schwartz looks to continue to build our brand globally the Fashion District at Licensing Expo will provide us with the platform and the opportunity to connect with the best partners to drive these growth initiatives."

Celebrity trainer and innovative fitness pioneer Tracy Anderson will also utilize The Fashion District as the launch pad for the Tracy Anderson brand's global expansion.

Oscars 2013 fashion featured neutrals, H&M and wizard hair

The red carpets have been rolled up but the fashion of the night is just starting its stride. The Sunday night trifecta of the Oscars, Vanity Fair party and Governors Ball brought notice-me neutrals, volume and lots of sparkle to those outside of Hollywood.

How did Jessica Chastain choose her look? “...It’s very ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President.’” said the star on the red carpet. Robin Givhan, agreed that Chastain managed to channeled a bit of Marilyn glamour:

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2013 Vanity Fair Oscar party fashion: Fashion designers, actors, actresses and Hollywood elite arrive in style for the annual Oscar party.
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When Jessica Chastain walked down the red carpet just before the 85th annual Academy Awards wearing a pale copper strapless gown with a mesh overlay by Giorgio Armani, her promenade was a two-part statement about the complexity of branding and the perilousness of glamour....On the most photographed red carpet of them all, she steered clear of flashy designers, gossiped-about designers and controversial ones, too. Instead, she chose a classically glamorous gown by the godfather of red carpet style whose philosophy of celebrity dressing is: First do no harm.

However, it was the ladies in Dior who stole the show. Jennifer Lawrence took home the Oscar for Lead Actress for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook.” Her voluminousness Dior ball gown might have caused her to stumble on her way to accept the award, which she acknowledged on stage:

“You guys are just standing up because I fell and that’s really embarrassing, but thank you,” she joked while accepting the Oscar for best actress.

But the pale pink color, mermaid silhouette, and back-grazing necklace was not a misstep.

Charlize Theron looked statuesque in her white Dior gown, and her pixie haircut that has everyone talking.

Anne Hathaway also rocked the short hair, neutral gown combo (not well-loved by the people of the internet, but she took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, so we think she’ll recover.) Her Prada gown reminded Cara Kelly of Gwenyth Paltrow’s famous 1999 Oscar gown: The neckline differs from the spaghetti strap of the RL piece, but the square shape is reminiscent of popular silhouettes from the 90s.

The biggest fashion question mark of the night? Helen Hunt in H&M? Yes. Givhan explains:

The rote question called out from the media gauntlet on Oscar night remains “Who are you wearing?” But the more salient one is really, “What does the clothing say about your personal brand?” Is there any doubt that what Helen Hunt — best supporting actress nominee for “The Sessions” — was saying with her simple navy strapless gown, which she volunteered was made by H&M even before E! Entertainment host Ryan Seacrest thought to ask? She is serious. She stands apart from this out-of-touch Hollywood glitz. She is as willing to take a fashion risk and be judged brutally for it as she was willing to get stark naked on film without benefit of candlelight and traditional romance.

What about the men? Hair seemed to be the fashion trend of choice. Facial hair for Ben Affleck and George Clooney. Flowing locks for “Life of Pi”’s Claudio Mirando, Paul N.K. Ottosson of “Zero Dark Thirty,” and Per Hallberg of “Skyfall.” Caitlin Dewey explains what Twitter dubbed the “wizard hair tend”:

Is this the year metal hair makes a comeback? Maybe not. But it seems like a pretty good year for wizard jokes. Among the people Miranda, Ottosson and Hallberg were compared to on Twitter last night: Dumbledore, Gandalf, Meat Loaf (or another aging rock musician of your choice), Karl from Die Hard and the killer in The Da Vinci Code.

Fashion designers harness grannies' knitting power

Two Dutch entrepreneurs are merging the fashion sense of young designers with the knitting knowledge of local grannies to create a range of original knitwear, stitched together over coffee and cake at a retirement home.

A small room at the back of a retirement home in the suburbs of Rotterdam has been given over to the weekly "knitting club" for women aged 58 to 85, their cheerful chatter almost drowning out the rhythmic click-clacking of knitting needles.

"I think I'll make this one next," says an excited Willy Mollenaar, a grandmother in her seventies with dyed light brown hair, pointing to a thick grey woolly hat displayed on a table.

Once she will have copied the design, created by a young Dutch fashion graduate from the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague, the hat will be sold in a small shop in Rotterdam called "Granny's Finest", set up by businessmen Jip Pulles, 31, and Niek van Hengel, 27.

Her only payment will be a photograph of the happy customer wearing the fruits of her labour.

"I was visiting my grandfather in a retirement home and I always saw an old lady knitting," Van Hengel told AFP, as he served cups of tepid coffee and soft cake to the team of grannies.

"She didn't have any relatives or friends to knit for but she kept on because it kept her busy and she enjoyed it," he said.

That "oma", the Dutch word for grandmother, and the return of knitwear to the catwalk gave him the idea to team up modern designs and traditional techniques, fashion designers with knitting grannies, in a project that combines social inclusion with a commercial spirit.

"My grandchildren don't like to wear what I knit and I didn't have anyone to knit for anymore," said Mollenaar.

"I learned to knit at school and it's really fun to do, it's relaxing, but it's really sad when no one wears or uses what you knit."

Fellow knitter Loes Wijnbergen, at 58 the youngest of the group, said: "It's really worthwhile when someone buys and especially wears what we've made with our own hands."

Eager to be resupplied with fresh yarn and new designs to execute, Wijnbergen, Mollenaar and the other women get together every Thursday afternoon, finding new use for a skill passed down through generations.

They look at the designers' creations, anything from bow ties to bags, before choosing one and starting to knit. But the social side of the club is as important to the elderly women as the knitting patterns.

"I come here just as much for the new designs and for knitting material as for the social contact," said Niza Rauws, 80.

"It's not always obvious how to stay busy and meet new people when your old and retired," she said.

The shop sells a selection of hats, scarves, bracelets and bags ranging in price from 25 to 145 euros (33 to 190 dollars).

The project is partly financed by subsidies from Rotterdam municipality and organisations promoting social cohesion, but it's not making any money yet.
"It's a good project for young and old to meet each other," said the Oranje Fund, which promotes activities to get residents involved in the local community.

The entrepreneurs stress that they're far from exploiting idle and lonely senior citizens.

"The project's main aim is social, it's social cohesion and creative contact between the generations," said Ven Hengel.
"We make the most of the grannies' skills while at the same time providing them with a meeting place," he said.
The fashion designers, often fresh graduates at the start of their careers, see the project as "a way to make a name for yourself while learning the ropes by working with the grannies," said Annemarije van Harten, 28.

Another designer, Rosanne van der Meer, 33, wants to make a baby knitwear collection for next year's spring-summer collection.

"I really learn a lot of things from the grannies, about how to make the designs, about which are the right techniques to use," she said.

"Although, well, sometimes they don't have the same tastes and aren't convinced by the designs," Van der Meer laughs, holding up a pair of baby knitwear dungarees.

The "Granny's Finest" shop in Rotterdam pictured on January 10, 2013. The small shop in the Dutch city was set up by two entrepreneurs who wanted to merge the fashion sense of young designers with the knitting knowledge of local grannies to create a range of original knitwear.

Annemarije van Harten (R) explains on January 10, 2013 her designs to members of the "knitting club", founded by "Granny's Finest", a shop where customers can purchase items knitted by grannnies in Rotterdam.

Jip Pulles (L) and Niek van Hengel, who founded "Granny's Finest", pictured in their shop in Rotterdam on January 10, 2013. The Dutch entrepreneurs have melded the fashion sense of young designers with the knitting knowledge of local grannies to create a range of desirable knitwear.

Official Launch of Online Fashion News Cloud Site

The Hon. Jerry S. Grafstein, Q.C., Co-Founder and Chair, announced the launch of Fashion News Cloud (http://www.fashionnewscloud.com) - a premier provider of in-depth news from the fashion world.

"Fashion News Cloud," said Grafstein, "provides comprehensive coverage from the fashion world in every aspect. We curate microbloggers, live fashion radio news and mainstream media, breaking fashion news as it happens."

"In one glance, the visitor gets news and videos from the fashion world."
"This is instant news about fashion," said Grafstein. "Fashion News Cloud uses innovative technology to gather the diversity of the blogosphere, social networks and mainstream media, into coherent, news coverage about all aspects of global fashion trends."

"Our goal is to keep our viewers informed on the evolving scene about fashion, on a timely basis from the inside out," said Adam Miron, President and Co-Founder. "The world is interested in fashion and we have created a way to provide waves of news that is constantly updated. Fashionnewscloud.com is a resource to access all facets affecting fashion worldwide."

Special editions reflect all aspects of fashion including designers, runways, business, shoes, bags, accessories, kids, men, models, jobs, Hollywood, Bollywood, North America, Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, Russia, India. Future editions include Plus and Teens.

Fashionnewscloud.comis a timely, in-depth, news resource for fashion experts, fashionistas and the public.

Kate Middleton's Pregnant Fashion Frenzy

The fashion frenzy has continued, despite Kate Middleton's 4-and-a-half month baby belly. The stylish mom-to-be has still been making waves in the fashion world, the clothes she wears instantly selling out in stores.

For her first official appearance of the year in London, Middleton chose a MaxMara Studio wrap dress with a gold ring and necklace.

READ: The Royal Bump, Day by Day
The $525 wrap dress, from the 2011 collection, was reportedly bought by the duchess for half price. Her Asprey London diamond pendant necklace costs $3,800.

"There really is a Kate effect…whether she's wearing J-Brand jeans or her Zara cape that she wore just a few weeks ago within minutes everything that she wears sells out," said stylist Jamie Krell.

The dress has become a fashion obsession, appearing all over the Internet on blogs and Pinterest. If you like the dress, you won't be able to get it, as it's sold out in stores and online.

Kate vs. Diana: Compare Their Styles
Although you can't find the dress in stores, other retailers have similar wrap dress styles that can help you copy the look.

Another iconic duchess dress, the navy blue dress worn for her engagement announcement, is now being carried in stores. The Issa dress has just been re-issued in maternity form but can also be worn after pregnancy. The dress is being sold at U.K. store Blossom Mother and Child for $825.

London Fashion Week wraps up 5-day run

What's new for fashion in the coming winter? Consider glamorous animal prints, a touch of punk, polished tailoring, furry collars and lashings of shiny PVC.
London Fashion Week on Tuesday wrapped up a whirlwind of runway previews that offered a huge variety of looks from dozens of designers, but one thing seemed clear: This season, many of the styles were more wearable by women who aren't necessarily models.

That's not to say the looks were boring or conventional. Glossy rubberized material — think translucent raincoats — was everywhere, as were boxy, roomy jacket shapes. There were punk-inspired biker zips and a black and red theme at Preen, but clean and minimalist tailoring kept the outfits sophisticated.
Erdem offered dark dresses brightened up with neon florals, while Christopher Kane, recently acquired by luxury conglomerate PPR, showcased a whole range of creative looks from camouflage-printed kilts to dark velvet dresses to feather trims.

Roksanda Ilincic brought out a series of feminine dresses and separates in peachy pinks, but clashed them with fluorescent green and emerald accents, ghostly makeup and statement striped lace-up boots in bright metallic hues.
"It's about daring to bring the pink into winter because it's such a spring color, and it's such a girly color," the designer said after her show on Tuesday — the fifth day of the British capital's fashion week.
Earlier, the headline acts of the week lived up to high expectations.

Luxury brand Burberry updated its classic trenches with bold animal prints and more of the ubiquitous plastic, latex-like material, while Tom Ford unveiled bright, saturated tribal patterns. Vivienne Westwood delivered what she does best: draped dresses and jackets that magically create hourglass shapes for the wearer.

Color-wise, Ilincic and others brought pink and coral to the catwalk, but a deep palette of burgundy and wine, navy and bottle green was most popular.
Compared to New York, Milan or Paris, London fashion attracts many with its younger, edgier and more urban vibe, and catwalk shows were often full of theatrical or even madcap looks.

"I find it an exuberant, inspirational city, so that's why I chose to show here," said Ford, who staged a lavish runway showcase on Monday night, marking the first full-fledged womenswear catwalk show for his Tom Ford brand.
Officials have made a point of nurturing that creative energy, though increasingly designers based in the capital are encouraged to take a more business-savvy approach to fashion — the leading creative industry in Britain, worth 21 billion pounds (US$33 billion) to the U.K. economy.

"Before it was more like an art show, but now — now the creativity is still there, though with collections that are saleable, that generate a profitable business," said British Fashion Council chief executive Caroline Rush.
Designers including handbag specialist Anya Hindmarch, Ashish and newcomer Simone Rocha were the last to show at the fashion event on Tuesday.

As the runways get dismantled in London, models, editors and bloggers are jetting off to more womenswear shows in Milan, which begins its fashion week Wednesday, followed by Paris next week.

Fashion Becomes Activism for the Women of Kabul

Designers work for months on collections that leggy, Amazon women will showcase on catwalks during international fashion weeks. But while most models have only one mission when walking down a runway (to not fall), women presenting collections in places like Kabul have other concerns, like fearing for their lives.

However, despite the dangers of presenting the latest and greatest, and all without a burqa, one group of Afghan women have looked fear in the face and realized fashion can be part self-expression and part activism.

Young Women for Change, an independent nonprofit organization based in Kabul, Afghanistan, recently put on their own fashion show, not at Lincoln Center or under the lights of Milan, but in a small, candlelit house.

Anita Haidary, cofounder of the group, says even though some attendees could not accept women showcasing the fashions, open events like her runway show are creating new activist platforms and discussions within the community about how women are seen.

“The reason behind this fashion show was to promote women’s business, women’s clothing through women designers and tailors,” says Haidary. “Young Women for Change wanted to support women in business because we believe that grassroots efforts that support women in becoming financially independent can lead to the greater empowerment of Afghan women.”

The group, cofounded by Haidary and Noorjahan Akbar, consists of dozens of volunteer women and male advocates across Afghanistan who are committed to empowering Afghan women through social and economic participation, political empowerment, awareness and advocacy.

For the women involved in the YWC, having a unified voice is also a way for them to contribute to rebuilding a new Afghanistan. Haidary says part of rebuilding is connecting Afghan women to alternative ways they can get their traditional clothing, allowing them to bypass all the clothing imports from Pakistan, China and Iran—because even Afghans believe in shopping locally.

“This is also directly connected to our first campaign against harassment. Women are not only harassed on the street but also in shops, markets, and tailor shops run by men,” says Haidary. “There are countless stories detailing the harassment in tailoring shops while noting measurement. Furthermore, they have to go through this harassment because they have no other options because there are very few women tailors due to lack of skills, education and funds.”

Shannon Galpin, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and founder of Mountain2Mountain, a nonprofit for women in conflict regions, says Kabul is a unique city for women. Galpin says the women of the YWC are courageous to take up the fight for their rights as publicly as they do, marching in the streets to protest sexual harassment, and creating the first women’s Internet cafe in Kabul.

“You now have women attending Kabul University, working in all levels of government, and seeing women in the streets walking to school or work among men is normal,” Galpin says. “It becomes a great incubator for activists and feminists to take on the fight in the country’s capital and set an example to the rest of their country.”

Galpin adds, “It starts with voice and the willingness to take a stand, to risk your safety, because the alternative is to sit by and watch as your rights are systematically taken away unchallenged.”

Post-fashion show, Haidary and the YWC meet safely behind closed doors at their Internet café which serves as a haven for area women to interact and discuss challenges, projects, and of course, where to get the latest designs. There they plan their next move as young women challenging the norm and a sexism that makes them work even harder.

“It is good to do something rather not doing anything,” Haidary says. “Women cannot achieve what they want if they don’t work for it.”

Westwood mixes politics and fashion

Few designers so consistently mix fashion with politics, or manage to secure her fans' adoration with the same looks almost every season. But Vivienne Westwood is not any designer.

The flame-haired grand dame of British fashion on Sunday sent her models walking down the catwalk in her signature tight-fitting dresses and nipped-in jackets, then in the finale joined them wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a giant image of her own face and a slogan that read "I am Julian Assange."

As always, Westwood was less interested in talking about her designs than about climate change, a subject she has long campaigned about.

"There's no latest thing, it's all rubbish," she said, brushing off questions about fashion. Instead, she patiently explained to reporters why she feels so passionately about her climate change campaign.

"Every small thing you do can really change your life," she said. "And the first thing they must do is inform themselves, believe the scientists . then they'll stop being consumers and start being more interested in the world."

It's anyone's guess how many people attending the Vivienne Westwood Red Label autumn collection shared her enthusiasm, but the crowds were clearly taken by the designs shown on the catwalk, which was held at the Saatchi Gallery.

Although the makeup was startling — chalky white faces paired with eyes and lips outlined in stark, cartoonish lines — the clothes lived up to her legendary fame.

Jackets and blazers were beautifully tailored to accentuate the waist and hips, and dresses were draped in all the right places to draw the eye to the curves. The palette highlighted a delicious plum, teals, and metallics.

There were dramatic pieces, for sure: a metallic zebra-stripe was printed on coats and a striking prom style dress with stiff underskirts, and an iridescent foil-like tight biker jacket that shimmered purple and green was paired with harem pants dripping in sequins.

Westwood has been selling the Assange T-shirts to raise support for the WikiLeaks founder, who is living in the Ecuador's Embassy in London. He is seeking asylum from the country to avoid extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault questions.

London's glittery fashion week keeps on rolling

London Fashion Week swings into star time with a debut fashion show from pop star Rihanna and other big design names, including Issa and Jasper Conran.

Rihanna for River Island is set for Saturday night, followed by an elaborate party in central London.
The five-day fashion spectacle will also include upcoming shows from Vivienne Westwood, Burberry, Temperley and — for the first time offering a full catwalk show in London — Tom Ford.

There also are dozens of smaller shows and presentation by a wide variety of up and coming fashion names as well as established draws such as Christopher Kane, Roksanda Ilincic and Erdem.

The London shows mark phase two of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, with Milan and Paris to follow.

When It Comes To Fashion, Shouldn't There Be An App For That?

Thursday is the last day of New York Fashion Week, and some cutting-edge design will be presented in the tents at Lincoln Center — literally. Standing on the runway will be computer programmer types rather than models. This follows an event that kicked off Fashion Week — something called a "hackathon."

Enlarge image
More than 550 people churned out 78 apps in one day as part of Fashion Week's "hackathon."

Steven Lau/Decoded Fashion
A hackathon, explains Liz Bacelar, is a "fast-paced competition in which graphic designers, software developers and people with ideas, they come together to build an app in 24 hours. "

Bacelar is the founder of Decoded Fashion, a company that brings together people working in the tech industry with people working in the fashion industry.

"We brought together 550 registered people, and 78 apps were created in the matter of a day," Bacelar tells NPR's Renee Montagne.

Winners and runners-up win prize money. But what does this have to do with big companies strutting their stuff at Fashion Week? According to Bacelar, the industry is less tech-savvy than it could be.

"The interesting thing about fashion is they [the companies] are trendsetters, right?" says Bacelar. "But right now the industry could really use some innovation. They have kind of lagged behind in technology and how to run a business in a lean way using the power of tech. So we came up with the idea of leveraging technology in a very quick way, to pitch them ideas for them to consider trying."

Enlarge image
Fashion from designers like Oscar de la Renta were on display at Fashion Week in New York.

Kathy Willens/AP
And, Bacelar says, the biggest and oldest companies have a lot to learn from new fashion startups.

"What happens with the fashion industry is you have the designers showing their collections, you have the buyers placing their orders, and you'd be surprised that a lot of top, top brands, they use very little to no technology. And you have startups, like small companies, they are launching brands online and reaching revenue much faster."

Bacelar says that she sees two trends emerging from the tech industry that could prove very useful in the world of fashion: 3-D printing and visual search.

"We know that in the past 10 years, [3-D printing] has been used for machine parts, for airplanes, and now in the past couple years ... jewelry and metal. We see keys, we see rings being printed."

And something else is being printed, now, too: fabric. Bacelar has seen designers begin to incorporate 3-D printing into their designs — something that she says bodes well for U.S. manufacturing.

"I think [designers] are going to go to hardware — the buttons, the zippers, and consequently, more and more of this manufacturing comes back to the U.S., because it's very complex manufacturing."

Enlarge image
Participants in The Fashion Hackathon sketch out plans for an app. Fashion industry giants are beginning to look to tech-savvy new startups for inspiration.

Steven Lau/Decoded Fashion
With 3-D printing, printers will essentially become tiny factories. "You can have a dress with no seams," says Bacelar. "You design the dress in your computer, you hook it up to the printer, you put [material] that you want the dress to be made of, if it's silk or whatever it is. It's so crazy to talk about it this way, but when you see it, the visuals are just incredible."

Another trend that Bacelar is excited about is visual search.

"Right now, the search is word-based, and more and more, search is becoming image-based," she says. "So, we're going to see browsers, we're going to see websites that we can go to and add an image, and be presented all the images that look just like it."

Bacelar says this year's Fashion Week, and the hackathon, finally bring fashion and technology together. "There's a lot of misunderstanding on both sides," she says. "On the tech side, we keep building solutions that we think the industry needs, but we don't quite know exactly how the fashion industry works. So from the fashion side, they have these problems, and they just don't know how to solve them, and the conversation never happens. So it's happening for the first time, and it's quite exciting."

Fashion Force Richard Lowe III Appointed International Creative Director of Spiegel

Fashion Force Richard Lowe III Appointed International Creative Director of Spiegel

Lynn Tilton, Founder and CEO of Patriarch Partners LLC, a New York based investment firm and holding company, announced today that Richard Lowe III has been named International Creative Director for the Spiegel® family of women's apparel brands.  In this capacity, Mr. Lowe will be responsible for the design and creative direction of all in-house brands (Spiegel Collection, Newport News and Shape FX) in the U.S. and abroad.  He will also oversee all online development, merchandising and R&D.

Lynn Tilton said, "I truly believe Richard to be both a prolific artist and design prodigy. Rarely do I rebuild a company centered on the talents of one individual and never have I hired someone within minutes of meeting them. With Richard, I have done both.  I believe that Richard will truly bring the Spiegel family of apparel back to the forefront in the hearts and minds of American women."

Lowe, 28 years old, comes to Spiegel with an impressive ten-year track record in the fashion industry.  Just one year after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2007, he became the Creative Director of Bagir in the U.S. where, in addition to designing for brands Balmain and Nicole Miller, he created private label designs for Brooks Brothers and Macy's. Moreover, Lowe was instrumental in developing a revolutionary eco-fabric made entirely from recycled plastic bottles. This global initiative led to the creation of Eco-Gir, a high-tech brand that specialized in producing apparel made from recycled waste materials. Lowe also established partnerships with Dockers and Cintas. Under his creative direction, Bagir's profits increased significantly.

Lowe has also designed fashion collections for Rebecca Minkoff and Juicy Couture; managed fashion shows for Oscar de la Renta, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Rosa Cha, and provided personal wardrobe services for Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Michael Jackson. He has also appeared as a fashion expert on The View, Good Morning America, The Early Show, The Doctors and The Learning Channel's (TLC) sensation, Breaking Amish.

For his first collection, Richard has taken many cues from Spiegel's rich and illustrious fashion heritage.  He has designed the Spring 2013 collection with an even more vibrant color palette, high-fashion fit, and youthful appeal. Says Lowe, "For spring 2013, I am infusing shades of teal, fuchsia and reds paired with whites, silvers and navies creating an exotic, adventurous and endlessly chic collection." And he adds with a provocative grin, "a tantalizing undercurrent of flirty fun."

Former Cover Model Now Does His Work Behind The Lens

The former cover model spent time in front of the camera striking a pose, but now, he's behind the lens as one of the world's most sought after fine art photographers.

“I love movement. I love colors as well," Gomez says. "It depends. You never know where you will get inspired. New York has a different vibe, a different energy."

The New York-based photographer has published two books featuring his best works. One is called "Visual Vibrations". The other is called "Dimensions".

He's a darling of the fashion industry. Fashion insiders keep an eye on his work when they look for inspiration.

"I've been approached by designers that want to use my patterns on their fabrics, which is interesting," Gomez says.

He's most proud of a piece of work that President Bill Clinton now owns.

You can see Javier's work just about anywhere, even in high-end interior design offices.

"We love having Javier’s art in our space because it really punctuates our furnishings, and it just seems like a natural fit," says Robert Passal, an interior designer.

With an eye for design, color and style, Javier Gomez is trendsetting both on and off the runway.

A Style Blog for Tots: Has Fashion Gone Too Far?

Fashion blogging has gone from the streets to the cribs, thanks to fashion designer Jenni Kayne and celeb-stylist Estee Stanley.

Best friends and mothers, Kayne and Stanley created the Ladys & Gents kids' fashion blog in December as a way to display fun looks their children and other children wore.

"Estee and I love shopping for our little ones and dressing them in cute outfits. We found ourselves sending one another pictures of the kids and what they were wearing," Kayne said in a statement.
The purpose of the blog is to bring joy to moms everywhere.

"We decided it would be really fun to create a blog - something for us moms to appreciate now and hopefully inspire other moms when it comes to kids' fashion," said Kayne.

Ladys and Gents isn't the first kid's fashion blog, other blogs like The Tiny Times and Petit Vogue are increasing in popularity.

The clothing on Ladys & Gents isn't particularly over-the-top expensive, unlike those seen on mini-celebs like Suri Cruise, who's been spotted wearing $300 shoes and carrying an $800 Salvatore Ferragamo bag.

Anyone can submit photos of her child along with a list of brands they're wearing. The clothing showcased includes mass brands like Target all the way up to high-end looks from Stella McCartney.

Who Will Be the Next Suri Cruise?
Dr. Alan Kazdin, professor of psychology at Yale University, brings up the point that women are featured predominantly in fashion blogs over men, and the same is true for Ladys & Gents.

"Yes, there's a deep concern here. Any woman should be concerned about this because it's not another job passed for woman, it's not a way to get to the top, this is all about you and your body," said Kazdin. "I would rather see the same thing, those same pictures with those girls standing by calculators."

Not surprisingly, those in the fashion world are less critical, contending that fashion and fashion blogging are a form of creativity and self-expression. Designers look to street style, now captured by bloggers like the Sartorlialist's Scott Schuman, for inspiration for a new line.

Kayne's other blog, Rip + Tan, also includes kid fashion. Rip + Tan chronicles the designer's musings, including her love of Stella McCartney rain gear, Hunter boots and cute winter weather looks for a family ski trip.

This isn't the first time stylish tots have taken the internet by storm. Celeb stylist June Ambrose also brought her daughter, Summer Chamblin, to the fashion week tents. Chamblin has an Instagram account and chronicles her favorite outfits and inspiration.

Designer Alexander Wang's niece, Aila Wang, stole the show at New York Fashion Week in September, when she showed up at his show in a custom-made dress, Nike shoes and a Chanel bag.

Do you think kids fashion blogs are fun - or have they gone too far? Weigh your thoughts in the comments section.