Eau Dello Russo!

Celebrity fragrances. Everyone and their cat has launched one… Yawn. Anna Dello Russo launching one?! Now that’s news not to be sniffed at (sorry couldn’t help myself). Super cool Vogue Nippon editor and general style queen, Anna Della Russo, has it all: the exotic, cute Italian accent, the adorable pooch, the perfect pilates body, a roladex that most would kill for and a couture stuffed wardrobe to match. Mashallah! And now she is the first editor to launch a perfume. Check out her new fragrance ad campaign… we think it is worth buying for the adorable golden slipper bottle alone….

Word has it that the fragrance will be in stores at the end of the year and that the main ingredients are almond and vanilla…Yummy! Wish list worthy or what?!

xxx

Muma Duma!

Have you ever seen such a chic and heavily pregnant woman? Wow!

Russian fashion editor Miroslava Duma always makes us go weak at the knees with her playful approach to fashion and it seems a HUGE baby bump isn’t going to prevent this lovely lady from being on our best dressed list… (and why should it!). Miroslava is due to give birth to a baby boy in October 2010.

Mashallah :)

xxx

Fashion news!

PREEN TO LAUNCH CHILDREN’S LINE

Husband and wife design duo, Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen have confirmed plans to launch a mini-Preen line aimed at kids. The designs will be exact mini replicas of their main line (minus the thigh skimming cocktail dresses we hope!). This is not the first time Justin and Thea have ventured outside of their successful RTW line, in 2008 the pair launched a more affordable label; Preen Line. They have also embarked on collaborations with Saville Row veterans Gieves & Hawkes to provide Preen fans with work wear options; the designs will be in-stores this Autumn.

CHRISTOPHER BAILEY’S BURBERRY BEAUTY LINE LAUNCHES IN THE MIDDLE EAST THIS MONTH

Launched this month, Burberry Beauty takes inspiration from the timeless features of the iconic trench coat capturing its functionality, innovation and protection from the elements. The line will launch in the Middle East at the end of July.  Burberry Beauty features Burberry Skin, Burberry Glow, Burberry Lips and Burberry Eyes and is available at exclusive retailers across Europe, the US, Canada and Asia from July 2010 as well as on Burberry.com.

BOF TO LIVE STREAM INTERVIEW WITH NET-A-PORTER’S NATALIE MASSENET

The Business of Fashion will be live streaming an interview with entrepreneur and power house behind the successful Net-A-Porter online shopping website, Natalie Massenet at 7.30pm GMT (10.30pm Dubai time) as part of their Fashion Pioneers project. You can send questions for Natalie Massenet to the Business of Fashion Twitter account @_BoF_ using the hashtag #BoFLive. Net-A-Porter recently celebrated their 10th anniversary and plan to launch a menswear version of the site, Mr. Porter in early 2011.

KELLY CUTRONE IS ON THE HUNT FOR A NEW PA

PR powerhouse and lover of head-to-black, Kelly Cutrone tweeted today that she is on the lookout for a new PA. Those brave enough to assist the woman who once scolded one her staff members with “if you have to cry go outside!”can visit her twitter @peoplesrev and express their interest. Kelly, whose public star has risen since her appearance on The Hills and The City, has launched her own reality TV series “Kell On Earth” and recently penned a book. Good luck!

FREJA BEHA ERICHSEN SCORES YET ANOTHER AW10 CAMPAIGN WITH BALENCIAGA

Model of the moment, Freja Beha Erichsen, has booked Chanel, Tom Ford Eyewear and Valentino AW10 campaigns. She has also scored the covers of British Vogue, I-D and Vogue Paris in the last few months. To cap that all off, Balenciaga have just released their new campaign shots for AW10 featuring none other than the stunning Danish beauty. Go Freja!

Have a great weekend Symphony Stylers!

xxx

Ouch!

Someone somewhere is either crying or laughing into their cornflakes (or perhaps doing both simultaneously) as the Miu Miu PR has managed to get an appliquéd dress on not one but THREE August covers; W, British Elle and British Vogue. Obviously this is the ultimate fashion faux pas no-no for the magazines in question; however, something tells us that Miu Miu HQ will be pretty happy with the press nonetheless! This is a tricky one because the editors in question ain’t gonna be too happy with that PR person— the press offices are really supposed to provide exclusives for covers in return for the coverage…. hmmmmm!

Which one’s your fave?

xxx

Autumn Winter 2010 Campaigns…

A feast for the eyes!

Click a thumbnail to see what we said…

xxx

Kate Lanphear for Eddie Borgo AW10

Our Charlotte Olympia clad tootsie’s were dancing with joy when we discovered that our favourite fashion girl, Kate Lanphear, was starring in CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Nominee, Eddie Borgo’s Autumn/Winter 2010 campaign. Borgo’s pieces are just the right mix of punk, aggressiveness and prettiness all wrapped into one…

The American jewellery designer, (who is inspired by the street culture of New York and the ideologies of the punk movement, and has created work for the likes of Altuzarra, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Marchesa to name a few), thought that Kate, who is currently Senior Style Director at US Elle, was  “the epitome of modern-day punk”, the designer also commented “She encapsulates the current undertone of fashion in the most elegant, effortless way, while remaining one of the most real women in New York City.”

What a duo!
Eddie Borgo Autumn/Winter 2010
Model: Kate Lanphear
Styling: Keegan Singh
Photography: Paul Maffi

One day in a vintage shop I found… a pair of skinny acid-wash jeans. It was like, Ahhh! – a halo was shining around them. I wore them every day. When I got my first big break, I thought, ‘Screw it, I’m wearing the jeans to the interview with the editor in chief.’ I wanted to see what would happen if I was real. I remember telling her, ‘I’m not your typical fashion editor. I work hard and I know my stuff, but you should know, I’ll be the one wearing acid-wash jeans.’ I got the job.” – Kate Lanphear

Love to all

Symphony Style Insider

xxx

Vintage Lust-Have

The Chanel Comb Shades
><3

à l’œuvre on reconnaît l’artisan

As the Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2010 season draws to a close in Paris today, we decided to delve back into history and share some factual nuggets with you… and of course, some ridiculously beautiful pictures from this season’s triumphant shows… s’amuser!

- Haute Couture means literally ‘High Sewing’.

- It dates back to the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette but was only formalised in Paris by British couturier Charles Worth who opened his fashion house in 1858.
- There are thought to be only 200 to 2000 couture customers in the world; with many hailing from the GCC region.

- A maximum of 10 examples of any design are ever made

- There are strict rules and regulations which each fashion house must obey; for example the amount of staff working, the governing of quality of fabrics etc. Most of the rules have remained unchanged since the season’s conception and formalisation in 1858.

- With the introduction of ready-to-wear and the high street, Queen Magazine declared the death of couture in 1964.

- Brigitte Bardot once lamented that Haute Couture was “for grannies”

- During the Second World War (when fabric rationing came into force) the couturiers showed their collections on dolls to limit the amount of fabric used.

- Haute Couture is currently enjoying a revival with many fashion houses claiming up to a 30% increase in sales and a long list of new clients. Despite the economic crisis and fashion-insiders predictions that couture would die when Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent stepped down from YSL in 2002.

- Haute Couture is often referred to as the ‘laboratory of ideas’; a means for designers to translate their seasonal creative designs without limits on budget and technical innovation (wearability included). The colours used in a Haute Couture collection, including any motifs go on to inform the next season’s biggest fragrance, lipstick, nail varnish etc.

- Haute Couture also plays a major role on the red carpet, with many Hollywood starlets cashing in top dollar to prance around in a couturiers Couture pieces (NB: I’ll do it for free Uncle Karl!)

Young couturier, Alexis Mabille, focussed on separates for his Autumn/Winter couture offering

Uncle Armani stuck to his bread and butter with a very ‘old Hollywood’ inspired Haute Couture AW10 collection from Armani Privé this season.

After debuting her couture brand in Jan 2010, Bouchra Jarrar showed a collection of precise cuts and quiet palettes with flashes of gold for her second Haute Couture presentation this AW10.

A refreshing change for Autumn Winter; Karl Lagerfeld presented a Haute Couture collection without even a whisper of black. He also had a giant gold lion built in the centre of his “theatre” – an ode to the little bronze statue in the rue Cambon apartment of “Coco” Chanel, who was born under the sign of Leo.

John Galliano dedicated hours of research for his latest Autumn/Winter 2010 Haute Couture collection. Even going as far as watching a parrot tulip change colour for an hour! Steven Jones created headwear that echoed a florists wrapping film and fashion editors were treated to a plastic wrapped, raffia-tied bunch of flowers when they returned to their hotel rooms after his blooming marvellous (*sorry couldn’t resist!) spectacle!

Inspired by La Fenice, Venice’s legendary Opera House, Elie Saab has undergone some criticism for his latest Haute Collection which some feel is too heavy and old-fashioned (we’re sure Ms. Bardot would agree!)

Easily our favourite collection of them all, Riccardo Tisci’s latest Haute Couture offering for AW10 sends shivers down our spines. With a palette of whites and nudes & intricate ornamentation; little bones forming zipper pulls alongside belts that were spinal columns re-created in porcelain. This particular beauty, a lace Swarovski crystal skeleton catsuit, took 1,600 hours to make. 1,600 hours well spent we say!

Jean Paul Gaultier’s “bride” was a young violinist who appeared in a white satin trench-coat, with a matching violin, playing her own “Wedding March”. For his AW10 Haute Couture collection, Gaultier also sent tempretures soaring with a performance from the legendary burlqesque dancer, Dita Von Teese

Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli’s Valentino Haute Couture AW10 collection entitled “The Dark Side of First Love”, featured light-hearted short hemlines and whimsical detailing against a contrasting backdrop of sinister undertones; such as the dress featuring a ‘cage’ to connote the notion of being trapped. No doubt, the collection will appeal to the likes of Blake Lively and her harem of young starlets and will be coming to a red carpet near you soon! Can’t wait.

Abra Cadabra! Autumn / Winter 2010

Come behind the scenes of Symphony’s Inaugural Advertising Campaign with America’s Next Top Model, Raina Hein…

Click a thumbnail to enlarge.

Chats and breakfast at The Armani Hotel <3 Day One

Sophie works her magic on board the Symphony Style RV! Day One

We Raina drew quite the crowd!

The cute Abra driver… he loved his Kandora so much we let him keep it! <3

Racing against the sun, end of Day One

The breakfast of champions at Armani <3

We opt for big dramatic hair on Day Two

Raina juggles make-up and nails with a quick interview

Bastakiah look book shots, Day Two

Racing against the sun again! Day Two

Oh we had such fun!

Wrap dinner at Hukama, The Address Downtown

Raina and Symphony’s Holly enjoy a day experiencing local culture

 

The dream team at the stables <3

<3 the perfect ending to the perfect week… horse rides at sunset

Abra Cadabra! Autumn Winter 2010

SYMPHONY
Photographer: Susanne Spiel
Hair & Make up: Sophie Chudzikowski
Model: Raina Hein
Creative Direction and Conception: Symphony Style

Symphony in Harpers Bazaar Arabia, July/August 2010

Behind the scenes of the Symphony Autumn/Winter 2010 advertising campaign with Raina Hein