DIOR IN SHANGHAI

HOUSE OF DIOR - AVENUE MONTAIGNE, PARISThe legendary fashion house of MARION COTILLARD FOR DIOR - SHANGHAIChristian Dior traveled to Shanghai, China to debut its Cruise / Holiday Collection this year!  This bustling city on Mainland China is on the tip of the tongue of every fashion executive from New York to Milan.    Dior has a long established relationship in Shanghai and celebrated the renovation (which doubled the square footage) of their boutique with a full scale Cruise runway show highlighted with actual Couture pieces from Spring 2011.   To read more about the Dior Cruise collection - Click- SHANGHAI.

CASHMERE CHRISTMAS 2010!

JESSICA ALBA IN CHANEL CASHMERE - $2,550.00Resort and Holiday collections used to be full of colorful, exotic, yet playful items to give a woman's wardrobe that extra twist during her holiday travels.   Today, true Cruise collections are harder to find as designer fashion houses feel obliged to have a constant stream of new merchandise on the shelves - keeping in pace with fast fashion companies like Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo.   Many times, it is just another delivery to keep the flow going.

CHANEL is one of the few that still celebrates the core inspiration of a Cruise collection.   Karl Lagerfeld is out of this world - in more ways than one - so of course he is not held to the constraints of a marketing report.   Karl does what Karl wants.   Happily for the resort 2010/11 collection, Karl wanted St. Tropez as the inspiration and and setting.   Colorful, chic, and wearable items were the result.   Karl loves St. Tropez (who doesn't?) - and you will love the Cruise collection - now in stores.  ON THE RUNWAY IN ST. TROPEZ  Pick of the collection is this Cashmere knit dress.  Jessica Alba is glowing on the cover of Elle Magazine for December 2010.  This knit dress is the perfect gift for the Chanel lover in your life.   It is timeless, travels well, and can be dressed up or played down.    Your love will love to find this dress under the tree Christmas morning.  See the whole collection - CHANEL CRUISE  Priced at $2,550.00 it will also bring some holiday cheer to your gift budget (in a Chanel world anyway).

CHANEL Ready-To-Wear is one of the most protected collections in the industry.  Never sold on-line, CHANEL RTW is available nationwide at CHANEL boutiques, Neiman Marcus, Saks 5th Avenue, & at select Nordstrom & Bloomingdale's locations.   To find the nearest boutique click CHANEL LOCATER  or call the COCO Hotline - (800) 550-0005.

FERRAGAMO FOR CHILDREN

FERRAGAMO RESORT 2010 / 11Luxury fashion house  Salvatore Ferragamo launched the first Cruise collection of designer Massimiliano Giornetti at the company's New York Flagship this week.   Giornetti is not knew to this house of all things Italian luxury, however his focus was Menswear-only before being named Creative Director of the entire collection this year.

To celebrate the collection Ferragamo partnered with an incredible charity -New Yorker's For Children.  Ferragamo will donate a percentage of sales from the New York boutique from October 15th - 22nd to this great cause.   NYFC is a wonderful organization dedicated to the thousands of children in New York Foster Care.   Founded in 1996, the charity fills the financial gaps that emerge in funding for precious programs for these kids in need.

FERRAGAMO FALL 2010Coincidentally, children were featured in the Fall 2010 Ferragamo collection shot by world renowned photographer Bruce Weber.  The ads were beautifully shot in a Southern lush countryside with a magical spirit of woodland nymphs.   Supermodel Stella Tenant frolicked with little girls dressed in miniature versions of the Ferragamo runway collection. 

Visit the Ferragamo boutique in NYC this month - or visit the collection on-line now www.SalvatoreFerragamo.com

CHANEL "CRUISES" ST. TROPEZ

CHANEL CRUISE 2010/11 FROM ST. TROPEZWhile Karl Lagerfeld is no stranger to cruising or St. Tropez, the fashion powerhouse that is CHANEL does not have a boutique in the famed port village on the French Riviera.   That is until this year!  Back in May while St. Tropez was still in off-season hibernation, Lagerfeld kicked off the season by staging Chanel's Resort show on the harbour - literally!  VILLA CHANEL - ST. TROPEZVILLA CHANEL ENTRANCE - ST. TROPEZ (From October to May the hottest spot for summer fun in France is a sleepy little town with charm and style by the nautical mile). SPORT LUXURIES A LA CHANEL   With a nod to the 70's, Chanel celebrated an era that saw St. Tropez as the home away from home of the jet set and rich and famous.  (In fact, Brigitte Bardot put the village on the hot-spot map in 1956 when she starred in "And God Created Woman"). 

Of course luxury fashion is nothing new to St. Tropez.   The village boasts boutiques from French giants such as Hermes and Louis Vuitton that rival the flagship stores in ParisFASHION SPY HANGS 10 - CHANEL STYLE when it comes to charm and sophistication.   So how would Karl and the Coco-nuts make a splash?   POP UP VILLA of course!   That's right, the powers that be at Chanel took over an entire Villa to house a temporary Chanel boutique for the 2010 season!  How chic to say you bought that new tweed jacket in St. Tropez!  Really, this could be the ultimate in a luxury shopping experience.  Think about the process.  You wake up on your luxury yacht that is anchored in the bay.   You're motored to the harbour in your annex boat (of course your yacht is too big to pull into the port!).   You have a grande creme on the harbour as you do some people watching.  CHANEL ST. TROPEZ COLLECTIONYou window shop on your way to the CHANEL Villa, where you fall in love with the latest twist on a fashion classic... and then retrace your steps back to the sea, just in time for some afternoon sun!

Bravo CHANEL for taking the Pop up store to another place and time - as only the house that Coco built could do! 

The CHANEL resort collection is cruising into a boutique near you now!   click RIVIERA to see larger images.

SEPARATED AT BRICKS - CHANEL & FENDI

FENDI - FALL 2010CHANEL - FALL 2010One is Italian, one is French.   Both are known for the strong women who shaped the collections.   Both have the same German in charge of design.   The designer houses of CHANEL and FENDI have shared the creative vision of Karl Lagerfeld for over 25 years.   For many the connection might not jump off the runway, but for those with a discriminating eye, the connection is apparent.   For instance, if Chanel is all about a wide belt this season - you can almost guarantee a wide belted midsection is going to be important at Fendi as well.   Fur trim at Fendi?  Then look for a furry runway at Chanel.  To say the relationship is symbiotic would be too much - but the connection is clear. 

CHANEL - FALL 2010FENDI - FALL 2010 Of course Chanel is the global giant of the two and has been able to create a demand for RTW that few houses will ever see.   While bags and shoes are much more commercial products, designer Ready-To-Wear remains the most challenging category that exists in the entire retail world.   For a woman to walk into a designer boutique and find an item on the rack that fits her well, flatters her figure, flatters her ego, and is in her budget - is no small feat to say the least.   My hats off to the collections that can please women season after season.

For  the Fall 2010 print campaigns, is karl giving Fendi the upper hand?    Karl shot both campaigns, and there seems to be a subliminal message here.  It looks like our Fendi girl is in her beautiful apartment, contemplating when her driver is picking her up to take her on a fabulous journey- while her Chanel friends are locked outside on the fire escape.   What's the message here?  What did the Chanel girls do to be locked out?   Or are the girls part of some high end cat burglar gang?