Coutorture

Yoox Hosts Online Vintage Sale Inspired by FIT Exhibition

coutorture — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:58:51 -0800

A number of pieces from the Fashion Institute of Technology archives will be on sale at Yoox.com beginning today, as the online retailer celebrates its partnership with FIT's current exhibition.

In addition to the sale, Yoox is hosting a virtual exhibition of "American Beauty: Aesthetics & Innovation in Fashion" which focuses on the convergence of technical dressmaking and the philosophy of beauty. Throughout a series of short videos, curator Patricia Mears takes viewers through specific pieces from the exhibit with interviews from Ralph Rucci, Nicolas Caito, Hamish Bowles, Yeohlee Teng, and Francisco Costa offering additional insights.

The curators spend three minutes breaking down the construction of a Halston dress-wearing white gloves-and muse on the difference of tailoring versus dressmaking. For fashion lovers and budding designers, the videos offer insights deeper than the typical designer interivew and into the real behind the scenes work that goes into constructing a garment.

Seen Around Town: Fashion's Night Out

coutorture — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:28:16 -0700

Fashion's Night Out brought crowds of shoppers to all five boroughs in Manhattan last evening, as retailers opened doors late night and celebrated fall fashion with designer appearances, live musical performances, trunk shows, street parties, book signings and do-it-yourself sewing circles.

Our first stop was Barney's were we visited Isabel and Ruben Toledo (the former signing copies of her new book and the later illustrating shoppers on the inside cover), chatted with Alabama Chanin's Natalie Chanin as she watched over her 5th floor sewing circle, said hello to Behnaz Sarafpour (busy sketching her fall 2009 collection for a line of shoppers) and breezed by Rogan Gregory (hand-painting Loomstate tee shirts) and Organic's John Patrick (spreading the good word on sustainable wool farming) on the Co-Op floor.

Walking out of a packed Barney's and on to Madison Avenue proved to be even more interesting, as we spotted Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos riding bikes decorated especially for Fashion's Night Out (and stocked with cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon beers) on their way to visit Vena Cava's Brooklyn block party and take a turn in the dunk tank.

Only two feet in front of Shipley and Halmos on the corner of 60th street we ran into Francisco Costa standing outside of his Calvin Klein store, signing tee shirts while Jamie Burke performed inside. All this before even heading downtown...

Also of note, Rachel Roy and Estelle celebrating the opening of the Rachel Rachel Roy pop-up shop in Soho; Opening Ceremony's trunk show where Voguette were seen scooping up Alexander Wang's fall collection by the armfuls; Rag and Bone's David Neville and Marcus Wainwright toasting friends with Guinness; and the mayhem that was caused by Victoria Beckham, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen all under the same roof at Bergdorf Goodman.

The rain sprits clearly bow to Anna Wintour as the weather held off until just before 11pm when most revelers stashed away their wallets and focused on the parties at hand. Judging by the number of people out on the streets and walking into the stores, Fashion's Night Out was a great success. The city that never sleeps has rarely looked more alive (or more beautiful).

Fashion In 50 Seconds 04/22/09 Nina Ricci Creative Director Named & More

coutorture — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 06:41:46 -0700

Peter Copping has been named creative director at Nina Ricci and will show his first ready-to-wear collection during the Fall 2010 season.

Prada's Fall 2009 ad campaign, shot by Steven Miesel, may include a horse cameo.

Maison Martin Margiela has launched a home line, which will include one-off collaborations with other brands.

Francisco Costa, creative director of Calvin Klein, will appear on The Martha Stewart Show on May 1st.

Fashion Group International 25th Annual Night Of The Stars

coutorture — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:54:00 -0700

FGI Night Of Stars. Photos wireimage.

Stand Alone Francisco Costa!

coutorture — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:41:26 -0700

We rarely cover red carpets as frankly we are almost never interested in anyone that traverses them. But last night at the CFDA 2008 Fashion Awards we had plenty to be interested in as it was the real celebrities of our world, the designers, that were doing most of the preening. But there is an unfortunate trend for red carpets at fashion events. More and more designers appear to be scared to walk the red carpet alone. They cling to their "celebrity" guests, afraid it seems, that without their groomed counterpart that the photographers might forget to snap their image. Clearly this isn't the case as menswear winner Tom Ford, accessories winner Tory Burch, and lifetime achievement winner Carolina Herrera got their pictures taken without a problem. Plenty of other designers didn't seem scared to walk by themselves either including Diane Von Fursternberg, Doo Ri, Vera Wang , Donna Karen, Erin Featherston , Zac Posen, and John Bartlett.

So why is it that the man of the hour, the winner of Womenswear Designer of The Year, Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein seems unable to stand alone? Every photo we have of him has been while swanning about with a certain beauty in white.

The CFDA presents the Womenswear Designer of the Year award annually to an American designer who has made the most outstanding contribution to and has influenced the direction of women's ready-to-wear fashion with his or her most recent spring and fall collections. The award nominees and winner were selected by the CFDA membership, comprised of a peer group of designers, editors, retailers and stylists. Other nominees for this prestigious category included Marc Jacobs, and Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough. Winning this award is no small matter. It very much makes you worthy of standing on your own two feet to be adored by the masses of photographers. To make matters worse (or better) Mr. Costa received the very same award in 2006 when he was nominated alongside the same designers.

We think its time for you to leave the embrace of your beauty Mr. Costa and stand alone. Surely after all of this time you deserve to have the limelight by yourself.

A Video Interview With Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa

coutorture — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:51:02 -0800

Respecting the past while remaining current is a difficult task. To his credit Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa has that balancing act all worked out. While the brand continues to channel the minimalism of the mid nineties that made the line a household name one still feels as if Calvin Klein is a modern house. Perhaps it is simply the wave of nineties nostalgia that is overwhelmingly present in popular culture today but we feel like Calvin Klein has never been fresher. Please enjoy our video interview with Francisco Costa below.

Calvin Klein Fall Winter 2008 Fashion Show

coutorture — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:47:33 -0800

An Interview With Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein s/s 08

coutorture — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:55:08 -0800

If you've barely thought about what you're going to wear this s/s, or are just a fan of the basics, the Calvin Klein s/s 08 collection is a smart choice. The palette has the sort of rich, deep colors derived from the landscape of a cold beach, like cool blues, stone greys, and golden beiges. With Francisco Costa's interpretation of the famous Calvin Klein slim and sleek silhouette, we're set for a pretty cool summer.