By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 10/03/12 11:28am

Oh No He Didn't

Photo Via Twitter

Designer Hedi Slimane Punches Back at Times Fashion Critic Cathy Horyn

There’s a simmering fashion feud percolating between New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn and Hedi Slimane, the designer who has taken over Yves Saint Laurent and is widely credited with Dior Homme’s skinny silhouette. The beef led to Ms. Horyn not being invited to the YSL show, which didn’t stop her from reviewing it in The New York Times on the Runway blog using publicly available photos. Needless to say, her take wasn’t overwhelmingly positive.

“I was not invited. Despite positive reviews of his early YSL and Dior collections, as well as a profile, Mr. Slimane objected bitterly to a review I wrote in 2004—not about him but Raf Simons,” wrote Ms. Horyn.

As best we can tell, the deliberate non-invitation was a result of Ms. Horyn’s doubts about the origins of the skinny-silhouetted suit. Read More

By Benjamin-Emile Le Hay 9/13/12 5:46pm

Fashion Week

An exclusive backstage photo from The Observer's Wang-insider/tipster.

Does the Sensationalism of Alexander Wang and Other Designers Overshadow Their Fashion?

American fashion design has seen an exciting new crop of talented youngsters creep onto the scene. Creatives such as Joseph Altuzarra, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu and Prabal Gurung have received a great deal of attention—and rightfully so. The majority of this bunch thrive on fanfare—not always on the design of their clothes, but on their front-rows, frantic check-ins and backstage dramas.

The Proenza Schouler duo, after several seemingly shaky years, have quickly become darlings of the global fashion elite, continually present interesting and attractive collections. Now sitting more comfortably with financial investments from Theory Group’s Andrew Rosen and a glossy new David Adjaye-designed boutique (albeit too damn dark to see any of the merch), its safe to say they are no longer emerging.

Mr. Altuzarra’s nomadic, opulent materials and prints seem to satiate the critics. Since PR Consulting has never invited us to one of his magical shows, we’ll let him be.

Jason Wu’s nearly flawless technique and practical glamour—not to mention being a favorite of first lady Michelle Obama—means he’s fine and dandy.

Same for Thakoon Panichgul. Read More

2/14/12 7:07pm

Fashion Week Observed

7 Photos

Even heavy-weights, Anna Wintour and Oscar de la Renta, curtsy and bow for DvF.

Lorenzo Martone Didn’t Want to Be Our Date for Diane von Fürstenberg’s Dinner at Indochine

Sunday afternoon at the Tents is always a scene. The climax is when legendary designer/aristocrat, Diane von Fürstenberg takes the stage. CFDA President-regnant; she is fashion royalty and attracts a fitting crowd:

Olivier Zahm from Purple magazine carried on with Terry Richardson…

“Could we get a word with you, Mr. Richardson?” we asked.

“No!” was Read More

2/11/12 3:26pm

Fashion Week Observed

Julie Ragolia and Carlos Campos at his autumn 2011 presentation.

Stylist and Fashion Consultant Julie Ragolia Goes Giddy for Barney’s and Hates on Bloggers

 

 

Julie Ragolia has seen more stars in their skivvies than you could dream of! After sinking her teeth at MTV and a slew of glossies eons ago, she moved up the nasty and competitive ladder of fashion editorial… These days, she serves as the fashion editor of 7th Man Magazine and styles mega-stars, such as Rihanna and Sean Combs. Despite his Napoleon complex, street photo Scott Schuman even made her the cover girl of his treasured tome, The Satorialist. The Observer tried to find out if she gets to sleep with any celebs and what exactly stylists do aside from playing with clothes and acting bitchy in the Prada showroom… Read More

By David Foxley 1/24/08 8:08pm

John Currin: Marc Jacobs' Muse?

At the Marc Jacobs spring 2008 runway show last fall, painter John Currin spoke to Times fashionista Cathy Horyn about the designer’s collection: “So often when sex is done in fashion, it’s what is hard, interchangeable and jaded. This seemed very romantic,” Mr. Currin said at the time.

The Devil Wears Prada’s Read More

By David Foxley 12/28/07 7:09pm

Step Into Our Anna Wintour Time Capsule: It’s 1995!

In an effort to discover just how much fashion has changed over the last decade, we stumbled across this Charlie Rose interview with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. It was conducted in September of 1995, which gives it a kind of fascinating edge. Ms. Wintour also comes across as rather endearing, which is sort of Read More