FashionPeddler.com Fashion News

Today, I am in fashion mourning. Antwerp designer Veronica Branquinho announced the insolvency of her 11 year old eponymous company. She was part of the acclaimed Belgian 5. They focused on a minimalistic, draping aesthetic such as Anne Demeulemeester. My collegiate wardrobe consisted of Branquinho & Yamamoto in crisp whites & structured blacks. The company closed due to canceled payments & short orders. Branquinho has 50 wholesale clients & one store in Antwerp. At least, she still has a job as creative director of Delvaux. The news is just too much to endure as Christian Lacroix just filed for bankruptcy.

The extent of my eco-green friendly lifestyle is that I reuse the same bag from season to season. I’ve even been spotted on my skateboard to get around town, which has a custom airbrush photo of Blondie. I may adjust my ways after seeing Fendi’s Abici Amante Donna city bike. The bicycle - designed by none other than K. Lagerfeld - has leather accessories by Sellaria & GPS. There is an option to trick out the ride by upgrading to detachable fur saddle bags. The bike is exclusively sold at Fendi flagship stores & two have been sold to date. Seeing the grace of this bike, I am willing to kick off my Blahnik carbon footprint & place them in the saddle bags, and peddle away to Barneys!

Who knew that Abercrombie & Fitch was still around? My earliest memory of the excursion company was being outfitted for trap shooting. Then, years later we pined over the homoerotic Bruce Weber A&F Quarterly catalogues. The 117 year old company - owned by the Limited - disclosed a $26.8 million first quarter loss; compared to 2008 sales of $62.1 million. The company cited missing key fashion trends such as dresses & pattern fabrics rather than selling its cheeky slogan t-shirts. A&F resolves to hack prices at its stores & subsidiaries. The company will also proceed with European & Asian market expansion, but on a smaller scale. I propose bringing back the arousing catalogue, which always created a rumble. Or, a marketing campaign referencing former A&F wearers such as Amelia Earhart, Greta Garbo, and John F. Kennedy.

The keys to Halston have been granted to London designer Marios Schwab. Barely two weeks ago, we profiled the designer for Fashion Peddler. Halston boldly rebuffed rumors that they were considering Olivier Theyskens for the job, even with a nudge from grand dame Anna Wintour. Schwab was hired for his breathtaking interludes with jersey fabric & smooth silhouettes. Think Toni Braxton “Unbreak My Heart” music video - even though the gowns were by Gucci as inspired by Halston. His first collection will debut at New York Fashion Week for A/W 2010. Halston made another announcement that they will introduce a bridge collection called Halston Heritage channeling its archives at more moderate priced pieces.

On my escapade to New York City, I strolled into one of my cherished stores: Hermes. The legendary Birkin bags sit like museum pieces under the incandescent display lights. The bag retails for $7,500 & they are considered one of the only handbags to increase in value over time. I was privy to an abridged history of the Birkin such as its fabled origins, how it takes 48 hours to produce one bag, and I was repeatedly reminded of the two year wait list. I wager to guess this may due to Victoria Beckham who owns 100 Birkin bags. Not even the fancy footwork of David Beckham can get us to the front of that list!

I spent years working in finance & my ethnic background is Middle Eastern, so I was gallantly surprised when I located the designer Osman Yousefzada. He is the Afghan creator based in London who began his career in banking, then broke into fashion with no outside investments. Yousefzada is a minimalist designer with a signature focus on draping. In 2008, he created an explosive collection for European retailer Mango. His A/W 2009 collection titled “Cosmic Moghul” was futurist meets Central Asia. At the same show, he debuted a jewelry line influenced by reptiles & Art Deco. While his name may be a bit of a tongue twister, his clothes are simply effortless, and flawless.

The Erin Fetherston label has made marvelous strides for a four year old. Since her line debuted in 2005, she has been a regular at fashion week, created a capsule collection for Target, and now, Fetherston will launch a line for the QVC network. Fetherston, a Bay area native, graduated from Parsons in Paris, then emigrated her business to New York City. Her other triumphs include the winner of the Ecco Domani Emerging Designers Award and she was a finalist in the prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award.

At Fashion Peddler, our ears have been to the wall germane to Olivier Theysken’s imminent move to the United States. Nevertheless, not even the patronage of the most important fashion editor in the world (Anna W.), a billionaire (Harvey W.), or one of the richest women in Britain (Tamara M.) can make it happen for Olivier Theyskens. It was reputed that he was the ace candidate for the designer postion at Halston. The inner circle at Halston stated that Theysken’s is not a nominee for the job. The other names in the hat are Marios Schwab & Narciso Rodriguez. How could anyone say no to the doe-eyed Olivier? With that much money on his side, why don’t they just fund his eponymous line?

This spring, the sun is still trying to shine in some parts of the country, and summer is just around corner. We previewed the A/W 2009 collections at Fashion Peddler & we came up with our top ten picks.

1. These boots are made for struttin’! The higher, the better.
2. Smooth as velvet.
3. Red alert! Think Valentino & paint the town red.
4. She’s got legs… Leggings will be huge. Thank you Lindsay Lohan.
5. Rent 54 & prepare for the disco days of fall.
6. Waist not, want not. A defined waist will be fall’s favorite body part.
7. Plenty of leather to make a dominatrix jealous.
8. Fur ever young. My personal favorite fall piece is fur. And lots of it!
9. On those cool autumn nights, borrow a boyfriend jacket.
10. Pants don’t exist for fall. Skirts that are long enough to cover the important parts yet short enough to keep it interesting.

The capricious & flamboyant designs of Betsey Johnson will be offered at a sample sale starting this week. The ongoing sale will be at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City. You can channel Betsey J.’s former muse, Edie Sedgwick, with feminine & poetic dresses for $50 & ready-to-wear at $35. The prices are so unimaginable that it may trigger you to do a cartwheel a la Betsey just like she does at the end of her runway shows.