6 posts tagged “fashion”

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 07/07/2008 10:31 AM | Headlines

When stylish, metropolitan women stroll along with a Louis Vuitton Pleaty bag, they exude an air of high class, impeccable taste and considerable purchasing power.
And because this effect does not come cheap, some resort to buying knockoff designer goods that have found permanent homes in the malls and along the pavements of the country's main cities.

Unlike fake cosmetics or medicines, commodities that can be potentially lethal, replicated fashion goods seem harmless -- especially on the consumers' pockets.
The Justice and Human Rights Ministry admitted state losses due to counterfeit goods were impossible to calculate, although the ripple effects are being felt far and wide.

"It has caused Indonesia to gain a bad reputation internationally, caused lost revenue because counterfeiters do not pay taxes and has hampered foreign investment because investors have lost their faith in our protection of intellectual property rights," Ansori Sinungan, the ministry's director for copyrights, industrial design and trade secrets, told The Jakarta Post recently.

He said reports of brand violations were on the rise since 2004, with 83 cases recorded in 2007 -- up from 69 cases in 2006. The 2004 and 2005 figures stand at 61 and 63 respectively. Of the 83 cases reported last year, only 45 have been tried in court, Ansori said.

One counterfeiter, Ninna Aryanto (not her real name), said strong demand, cheap materials and a talented labor pool, as well as high returns, were some of the factors driving the growing trade in counterfeit fashion products.

Ninna, who started her Louis Vuitton (LV) replica business eight years ago, receives orders from buyers as far away as Sweden and Austria. In her small studio in Bali, she employs five workers, each working on a different process -- pattern drawing, leather cutting, stamping, stitching and sewing.

"I do a lot of research, mostly from LV-authorized boutiques, catalogs, the Internet and first-hand experience with authentic LV bags," she said.
"I study all sorts of details, such as the fabric lining -- whether it's canvas, microfiber suede, cowhide leather or micro-monogram denim."

Claiming her knockoff LVs are of the highest grade, Ninna said, "I sell a limited number of LV replicas to foreign high-class buyers. They know the quality of my products very well, that's why they're confident about using them."

"I use high quality monogram leather with real oxidizing leather handles and trim, just like authentic LV products. I carefully inspect each bag -- no missing stitches and no gaps in the stitching, no loose threads, no materials that don't lay right or zippers that don't work properly."

She said each fake LV bag cost between Rp 300,000 and Rp 400,000 to make. Her knockoff of the LV Monogram Multicolore Alma sells for US$250, with the authentic item retailing for $1,600.
Ninna said her husband, a foreign national, was responsible for delivering the bags on his monthly visits to Europe.

"The reason is simple: My husband can trick both Indonesian and EU customs officials by pretending to be a tourist who has bought souvenirs from Indonesia," she said.

Ansori said a major reason for the flourishing counterfeiting business was the lack of severe legal consequences for counterfeiters.

He said the 2001 law on trademarks was designed to provide copyright protection and support fair competition in trade, but allowed most offenses to be punishable by fines rather than imprisonment. The maximum fine under the law is set at Rp 800 million.

On the topic of protection for brand-name items, Ansori said, "Indonesia has moved a step forward in complying with a World Trade Organization agreement last year to protect brand-name products."

He said prior to this agreement, there was a "first to file" loophole in the law, which meant protection for the person or company that first registered a brand in the country, regardless of whether they actually owned the rights to it.

He cited the example, a few years ago, of a dispute between Italy-based Prada S.A., owners of the Prada brand since 1913, and an Indonesian citizen Fahmi Babra. By registering the brand name Prada in Indonesia in 1995, Fahmi was allowed to use the Prada brand on his products. Prada S.A. took the case to court and was eventually named the official trademark owner of Prada in the country.

Ansori said because of the WTO agreement, such cases were now a thing of the past.

PT Mitra Adi Perkasa (MAP), Indonesia's leading retail marketer of brand-name products, said counterfeiting well-known designs was inevitable and difficult to prevent.

"It is difficult to control such practices. But as long as it doesn't greatly affect our sales, we won't bother taking further action," Ratih D. Gianda, MAP head of investor relations, told the Post.

The difference between one suit and another is often as subtle as the placing of a button — a fact highlighted at the Paris menswear shows on Saturday, where the focus was on precision cut and luxurious fabrics.

Hermes, the storied house that started life as a saddlemaker, featured patinated calfskin, cashmere and silk twill in its colonial-feel collection of crisp seersucker suits and belted travel jackets.

Italian designer Stefano Pilati conjured images of mid-century artists like Jackson Pollock and Jasper Johns in his display for Yves Saint Laurent, with colored paint splashed on canvas jackets and pants.

The outfits at Thierry Mugler ran the gamut from sporty white trousers with multipocket details to hooded Lycra tops studded with Swarovski crystals for a chameleon effect.

Everywhere, there were variations on the suit, which is making a comeback thanks to a younger generation captivated by stylish rock stars like Scottish band Franz Ferdinand and British singer Pete Doherty, the boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss.

At Mugler, American designer Thomas Engelhart cut suits close to the body in fabrics ranging from metallic gray linen to cerulean wool.

"Because it's cut in this really modern way, what would have been this kind of disgusting polyester box 10 years ago actually makes you look thin, it shows off your muscles a little bit and you don't feel like a total loser," Engelhart told The Associated Press.

"I think in a way, you always want to look like your dad, or look like Harrison Ford if you're from my generation. There's all these male archetypes that are quite important," he added.

Unlike their fathers, however, men now prefer to mismatch jackets and pants to avoid looking too formal.

Pilati dressed down his crisp linen blazers with flowing silk trousers that looked like pajama bottoms. The designer is a big proponent of the oversized volumes that have dominated women's wear this year, and he saw them also filtering into the male wardrobe.

Artist's smocks inspired wide jackets in crinkled cotton with extra-large pockets. Roomy sweaters in dusty shades of blue were cropped to float around the waist.

The same sense of understated elegance permeated Veronique Nichanian's outfits for Hermes. With a palette of black and clay, spiced up with pepper and aniseed, they blended perfectly into the serene show backdrop of a former convent.

A deep V-neck cashmere sweater, worn with nothing but swimming shorts and slim leather sandals, was both nonchalant and supremely stylish, providing you have the buffed body to carry it off.

Nothing strayed too far from the brand's reputation for bourgeois dressiness. Rather, the innovation was in the texture of the featherlight knits and suede hoodies lined with silk.

Some labels have opted to forgo the catwalk entirely in favor of static displays that put the onus on such details.

Didier Grumbach, head of French fashion's governing body, said the showroom-style presentations were welcome in a season that has been cut back to four days from the usual five to allow editors to travel to Rome for Italian designer Valentino's 45th anniversary celebrations.

"It is creating some tensions," he acknowledged.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070701/ap_en_ot/france_fashion

By Kerstin Gehmlich
Thu Mar 1, 8:21 AM ET

PARIS (Reuters) - Either love it or hate it -- fur is dividing the Paris fashion scene this season.

Big labels such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Valentino or Christian Lacroix celebrated the return of fur with a selection of trimmed coats this week, winning praise from luxury brands.

"There has always been fur," Gaultier said, after rapturous applause for a long coat combing fur segments with tartan.

"It's not a return but a continuation of fur. I'm always proposing it. Fur is a material that has not been replaced for the moment," Gaultier said at his Paris fashion week show.

But other designers say women who wear mink, fox or sable coats have animals' suffering on their conscience, supporting the arguments of naked animal rights activists who tried to disrupt some fur-heavy shows this week.

"I totally disagree with any electrocuted animals on people's backs," Britain's Stella McCartney told reporters after her fur-free ready-to-wear show on Thursday, in which she presented floating woolen cardigans and cashmere tops.

Her collection of knitted overalls and big-hooded anoraks worn with mini skirts struck a contrast to the range of fur-collared coats Lacroix and Valentino presented on Wednesday.

A naked protester jumped onto Lacroix's catwalk, showing her back with the crossed out word "fur" on it to photographers before being dragged away by security guards. Protesters had also tried to interrupt Valentino's show earlier.

ALTERNATIVES

McCartney, the daughter of former Beatle Paul, said there were enough alternatives to fur.

"We have everything. We're using a lots of taffetas and satins and we have a lot of knitwear ... a lot of cashmere," said the designer, who has just launched an organic skincare line.

McCartney paraded out models in pink catsuits and short silk dresses, as fur-clad fashion editors in the front-row looked on.

McCartney's pelt-loving colleagues make no secret of their admiration for animal skin, and retailers say it sells well.

"(Fur) is a luxury material and I know our customers will love it," Linda Fargo, senior vice president for the fashion office at luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman, told Reuters at Valentino's show.

"There was a bit of a trend which started in New York. We definitely saw it in Milan and we're seeing it here in Paris as well," she said about fur's comeback to runways.

Designer Riccardo Tisci rolled out slim coats with protruding fur collars in his collection for Givenchy late on Wednesday, in which he also showed a range of asymmetric black dresses for the house that dressed Audrey Hepburn.

Lacroix seemed unfazed by the protests at his show.

"I'm no hypocrite. I love fur," he said.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070301/en_nm/france_fashion_fur_dc;_ylt=AuSpVuwXInqNOjQDnFOPhd5PWrsF

By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL, AP Fashion Writer
Sat Feb 10, 12:20 PM ET

NEW YORK - Sunny-yet-crisp autumn days help with the transition of the seasons. Come this fall, so will a slim pencil skirt worn with a cocooning fur-trimmed sweater.

That's an outfit that bridges the gap between the voluminous looks designers have been pushing for the past few years and the sleek and slim ones we seem to be headed toward.

Style watchers also saw a renewed interest in polished and chic clothes on the runways of New York Fashion Week, which finished up Friday after more than 100 previews.

This fall, look out for architectural shapes, tailored suiting, fur trim, cropped jackets and long coats with swing. Mix textures and fabrics, and traditional daytime pieces (a tweed skirt suit, for example) with a nighttime separate (beaded or metallic top), and vice versa.

As for colors, you'll see black and brown, with pops of purple, cobalt blue, dark yellow and blue, and lots and lots of gray.

"Gray — I don't know when that became a color, but it did and it's a very important one," said Candy Pratts Price, executive fashion editor at Style.com.

"I noticed, especially after leaving Ralph Lauren, that the American fashion you're seeing is quite defined. There's a sense of grooming and polish, almost patrician," Pratts Price said. "It's not about rock 'n' roll or grunge and it's not about a sequined gown, either. ... It's a fall that looks like fall. You don't wonder, `Where am I supposed to wear this?'"

Pratts Price already has picked out a few things for her personal shopping list, which will be posted for the world to see as a lookbook on the Style.com Web site:

_A long and lean pantsuit from Marc Jacobs, and possibly a long and lean tunic, too.

_An embroidered cropped jacket from Proenza Schouler.

_A velvet and mohair dress with a sweetheart neckline from Calvin Klein, though she might see if it comes in a color other than green.

There's also a case to be made for a sweater-style knit dress.

And Michael Fink, women's fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue, thinks there are a few other must-have items, especially a dramatic jacket or coat — "one with a lantern sleeve, or a full volume back, or a rounded shoulder," he suggested. "What looks new is when you layer this over a slimming pant, pencil skirt, or body conscious dress."

A touch of glamour, either something metallic or covered in sequins or paillettes, will liven up a wardrobe that is otherwise dominated by the serious suits in dark colors, Fink added, and a patent leather pump is the shoe to buy. "It's the perfect shoe for any outfit and any occasion. No more clunky shoes."

Other accessories to complete your look will be riding-style boots and a hat. It could be cloche, knit, beret or even a wide-brim hat — both Marc Jacobs and Nicole Miller sent those down the runway.

Probably the most noteworthy thing about this round of fashion shows is that the clothes looked mostly like classic American sportswear instead of an effort to mimic the more abstract and artsy designs of Europeans.

These are clothes American women feel confident and comfortable wearing — something to make both the women and retailers happy.

For the designers, they're able to carve out an identity for themselves. It was probably easier than ever before to see a layered tulle look and declare it a Vera Wang, a dress with cutouts as a Narciso Rodriguez, a knockout gown as a Bill Blass and an architectural suit as a Calvin Klein.

"There was no fashion trickery," Pratts Price said.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070210/ap_en_ot/new_york_fashion_week_wrap

ISSUE: February 2007
EDITOR: Alexandra Shulman
COVER BY: Liz Collins
MODEL: Jessica Stam

"With so many designers now producing a massive amount of clothing each year, they are all trying to make their mark by offering their own stand-out trend," says Alexandra Shulman in her editor's letter. "Gucci, for instance, has revived colour and jet-set folky chic (as seen on our cover model); while Prada has used gem colours in its spring collection, and Stella McCartney has focused on vibrant sportswear. After the minimal, monochrome styles of the winter, I can't pretend I'm not pleased to see a bit of variety coming into our fashion lives for spring."

Vogue presents the key trends for the new season with its biannual trend supplement: Romance, Monochrome Set, The Big Easy, Short Cuts, Yellow, Sporty, Craft Work, Shiny Shiny, Florals, Body Con, New Native, Future Vision and Ultramarine.

The enduring question for the season will surely be, as on the cover, "Will you wear a turban?" And why? "From wide headscarves to full-on turbans, this season's headwear was worn pushed back off the crown away from the face to highlight the cheekbones," says Emma Elwick. "The turban exudes grown-up glamour. Wear it in a no-fuss way."

This month's Vogue cover girl reveals the style secrets that make up the life of a supermodel: The shop she can't live without? "Selfridges". The beauty products she swears by? "Bioderma Créaline H20 make-up remover and Chanel's Noir Ceramic nail polish". Her biggest fashion mistake? "It was my last birthday, and I wore a vintage Pucci dress."

"Welcome in the new for spring," we're told. "Note that short is the length to show off long and pretty legs in the season's fresh crop of sweet little dresses and high-waisted skirts. Revel in fashion's passion for luxury, utility and sportswear and introduce a pocketed Parka and a racer-back dress to your wardrobe."

"Ahead of the V&A's major design exhibition, Surreal Things, fashion once again finds itself colliding with art. Explore altered perceptions, the mystery of Magritte and the stranger side of style," says Vogue. "Nothing is as it seems…" – and the notion comes to life perfectly in Tim Walker's Curiouser and Curiouser shoot.

"The idea of setting Coco Rocha's hair alight was vetoed early on, thought you get the impression it was for aesthetic reasons rather than because of any question mark over her fire-retardancy," says Robin Muir in his account of the dramatic Curiouser and Curiouser shoot.

It's All About The Bag clears up any doubt that the handbag issue is set to get even bigger in 2007. "In the last couple of years, It-Bag Syndrome has swept the world, infecting women of all ages and incomes, and leaving lengthy waiting lists and general hysteria in its wake," says Vicki Woods.

Designer Veronica Etro, meanwhile, lets Vogue into her fashion life. "I am fanatical about shoes," she says. "My wardrobe has sliding glass doors so that I don't have to search for things. When I work, I wear jeans and a T-shirt – but always with a crazy accessory."

Jessica Stam wears cotton minidress with puff sleeves, &675. Suede belt, £355. Both Gucci. All make-up by Chanel. Fashion editor: Kate Phelan.

source: http://www.vogue.co.uk/CoverArchive/Inside.aspx?Year=&Model=&Photographer=&Issue=2007%20February

Tent dresses
Fashionably pregnant women everywhere must be elated over the return of designer Pierre Cardin's signature dress, which he created in 1966. Tent dresses were plentiful during New York's recent fashion week at Alice Roi, DKNY, Sass & Bide, Diane von Furstenberg and other designer shows. The pyramid-style dress drapes from the shoulders or bust with no waist and has enough fabric to hide the largest bump. But should any nonpregnant woman wear one? We think not.

Too-high platforms
Some fashion trends should never be resurrected, but then what would fashion designers do for inspiration? High platform shoes--4 inches or higher--have been around since the 16th century. We watched them rise in the 1940s (with Carmen Miranda wearing glittery wedge soles), then again in the 1970s disco era with singer Elton John. Now a new generation of women can break their ankles for the sake of fashion. Stylish women have always been willing to put up with a little pain, but these iconic shoes are best saved for Halloween.

Being too thin
Even before organizers of Madrid Fashion Week and the Madrid regional government banned models who were considered too thin from the runway, the industry was buzzing about alarmingly thin models. And ultra-waiflike Hollywood celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan seem to have succumbed, too. Protruding collarbones, bony arms and hips aren't a fashion trend. When the average woman in the United States is a size 12, fashion types in Madrid shouldn't be the only ones taking a stand.

Goth makeup
Raccoon eyes, dark lips and black nails. Not a look for winning friends, but who needs friends when you're the ridiculously wealthy Olsen twins? Their dark, brooding look has infiltrated fashion runways and magazines for the moment, but it'll be gone in a flash. Who wants to spend that much time applying and removing makeup?

Monster handbags
A gigantic handbag is like a security blanket, complete with all the comforts of home. It can double as an overnight bag, storing a lunch, a few wardrobe changes and a pair of shoes with room for more. In times of distress, it can serve as a weapon. The downside: It can weigh a ton and cause your shoulders to ache. You can forsake good posture for fashion, but be sure to find a great masseuse.

SOURCE: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/lifestyle/2006-11/23/content_741379.htm