OLYMPIC SWIMMER "CRACKED" UNDER PRESSURE!

MICHAEL PHELPSAs of last week the only Olympic swimmer that made headlines was Michael Phelps.   Mr. Phelps dominated the media when he won a staggering 8 Gold medals at the Beijing summer Olympics in August of 2008.   All that changed when Ricky Berens had a wardrobe malfunction and bared his buttocks for all to see at the world swimming championship in Rome on Sunday.RICKY BERENSSPEED DEMON CLEAVAGE

Mr. Berens said he felt his suit rip as he bent over to stretch and then it was too late.   The suit was skin tight and put a new spin on the word cleavage!  

I was instantly reminded of a Thierry Mugler design from the 90's when he played with the concept of cleavage.  The bad boy of French fashion designed a look to accentuate the female anatomy and force us to look at the symmetry that is the miracle of the female form.   THIERRY MUGLER ROBOTThe show was Fall/Winter of 95.   I was working for Mugler then and I had the dubious task of wrangling up the go-go boys from New York for the finale of the show in Paris.   It was a tough job - but someone had to do it!  Watch the clip on youtube - click MUGLER CLEAVAGE.   You should watch the whole show - because there are more celebs than you will ever see on a fashion runway again!  From screen legend Tippi Hedren to infamous heiress Patti Hearst, it is celeb studded in addition to every super model of the day!   The ladies lined up to walk for Mugler because they knew Thierry was one of the most creative designers around.  The cleavage happens around 5:10.CRACKED UNDER PRESSURE

Thank you Thierry, and Thank YOU Ricky.   Mr. Berens did finish with a qualifying time!

If you need more inspiration to get your own buttocks to the gym - I can't help you.  Just print out this picture and tape it on your refrigerator.

KARL - KING OF RTW, COUTURE?- NOT SO ROYAL

KARL LAGERFELD You have heard the tale of the emperor's new clothes, but what can you say about the Kaiser with so many collections?  Karl Lagerfeld is the king of designer fashion.    Every designer wants to be him or have his job.   Magazines cover every project he is involved with - which is about 3 per day.   Every Japanese fashion fan worships him.   But when the Fall 2009 couture show came and went, I had to ask myself - is couture Karl's strong point?  Now you might say who cares?  Couture is out of touch with reality, right?   However, the unreal or at least untouchable world of couture is alive and well and is responsible (usually) for setting the image of any fashion house. CHANEL COUTURE -Fall 2009

With Chanel, it's the other way round.   Couture is more of a courtesy and provides bragging rights for the house.  Keep in mind that Coco never saw the RTW collection during her lifetime.   Every Chanel suit was Couture until her death at the age of 88 in 1971.  It's just that under the reign of KL the big WOW factor rarely happens at Couture like it does at RTW.CHANEL COUTURE- LESAGE EMBROIDERY-FALL 2009

Karl Lagerfeld is the most prolific designer alive.   He has had his hands in so many collections  over the last 50 years that I doubt he would be able to name them all.   The interesting thing is that Karl was never a couture designer and could not compete on that level.  His 50+ year  love/ hate friendship with Yves Saint Laurent was very much fueled by the fact that while both started their careers at the same time, it was Yves who was instantly embraced by the world of couture through the house of Christian Dior.  Karl on the other hand became affiliated with a string of high profile RTW collections from Fendi to Chloe and many more "ghost" designing assignments for companies with no public profile but tons of cash.  It was Chloe that put him on the map globally and Karl had two stints as the creative director of the house before Stella McCartney kick started the collection again in the mid 90's.   I was involved with Chloe during the end of Karl and the beginning of Stella and the sensation she brought to the house was amazing!

While Mr. L would never admit this bothered him, how could it not?  A man who revamps his family history more times than Coco herself did, each time coming off more gentry can hardly say he is not about image.

What Karl has done for Chanel is hands down the most amazing turn around in the fashion world- as interesting as Tom Ford for Gucci - even more-so maybe - because Karl has done it by revamping the classics over and over again while Tom started Gucci RTW from scratch which comes with it's own excitement.   Karl pushes the boundaries of playful and prudent and gives women another reason to buy a Chanel suit each season.    Lets not forget that handbags fueled the biz for the last 10 years - but the RTW is still the most prestigious collection in the world and hugely profitable for the house. 

The strange thing is - Karl is so strong with RTW that he upstages his own couture shows and you actually come away thinking - oh this or that look would have been cool from last season"s RTW.   Amazing, as no other designer could ever make you feel that way.    In terms of value though, any women would be better suited to buy 3 or 4 Chanel RTW suits for the same amount one couture creation would cost.   The quality of Chanel RTW is head and shoulders above any other brand - and I have to say that spending time in the couture salon of the house of Chanel in Paris is one of the highlights of my career.  The mystique of Coco's legacy still lives in every inch of the salon and in Coco's apartment above the salon.   However, at a certain point - do the extra small details warrant spending 10's of thousands of dollars if you are not a red carpet walker?  Especially in 2009?CHRISTIAN DIOR COUTURE- FALL 2009

John Galliano is the polar opposite.   His shows are always a fantasy - but his couture shows are more like an acid trip in creativity.   He gives till it hurts!   JG never seems to be bored  which is actually how Karl looked at the couture show.   Granted, Karl has 25+ years on Galliano - maybe we would all be bored by then!  Jean Paul Gaultier also showed a very strong couture collection.   There were many references to what the press are crediting to "Lady GaGa", but that really means Thierry Mugler - as he designs many of GaGa's looks!JEAN PAUL GAULTIER COUTURE FALL 2009

One of the most interesting details from the Chanel Couture show was the music.   Spin master Michel Gaubert kept your toes tapping with his mix of  La Roux "In For The Kill".   If you don't know the U.K. sensation - check out their website that has a very cool interactive home page!   Also, you must check out the video for this track - think blade runner meets V magazine!

Karl has been increasingly outspoken lately.   Most recently making derogatory statements about Heidi Klum and later her husband Seal.   It's almost like Karl is becoming Coco the older he gets!  Long live Kaiser Karl!!

BEYONCE'S HALO -IS ANGEL OF A SONG

BEYONCE IN VINTAGE THIERRY MUGLERThe unstoppable Beyonce is everywhere!  The R&B diva has already had as much success this year that most would hope to have in a decade - and it is only May!  

Next up is her summer tour- "I AM" - creatively directed by fashion designer Thierry Mugler - which is guaranteed to make the show as stunning for the eyes as Beyonce's voice is to the ears.   The tour is in support of her latest album - "I AM SASHA FIERCE"   While I think the title is cheesy (think gay ghetto circa 1998) - I LOVE the latest single -HALO.  

Coincidentally,  Mugler is best know for his "Angel" perfume and Beyonce has the major hit single "HALO".. hmmm.. that's synergy!

JENNIFER LOPEZI can't help but think that Jennifer Lopez must be so dissappointed she didn't get her hands on this single..

Imagine, all summer hearing "I can see you J.Lo J.Lo J.Lo..You know I am your  J.Lo J.Lo J.Lo".. Jennifer you really missed that one!

To learn about Beyonce concert dates or buy tickets - click here -  I AM

Alexander McQueen and his Royal Flush?

Alexander McQueen presented his Fall 2009 collection in Paris last week.   The designer showed a collection that raised eyebrows but probably not department store orders.   While McQueen fashions himself the "rebel" of the fashion world, there is nothing like a global economic meltdown to put everyone in a reactionary mood that  compels even the most avant-garde fashion fan to think  "design a saleable collection!".Leigh Bowery

Models where costumed with oversized plastic lips that resembled the late performance artist Leigh Bowery.   Bowery was a major scene stealer during his heyday of the 80's.   He had a major influence on Boy George and many others in the design and music world.    Leigh was also a muse to painter Lucien Freud whose nude paintings of the obese Bowery are haunting.

The trouble with a collection like the one McQueen showed is that it was full of shock value and void of collection value.   In other words - what is the point?   It is almost as if McQueen was saying "No one buys my collection anyway - so let me do something to at least get press".    I wouldn't be the first to say that McQueen is a misogynist.   One may argue that some of the great designers have tortured their women for years.   Thierry Mugler for example was known to cut a torturous corset to achieve the hourglass curves his suits were known for.   The major difference is, Mugler's designs tortured women in order to make them beautiful.   McQueen dresses his women in costumes that mock them, for what purpose exactly?  The show looked like a b version of a cross between Victor & Rolf and John Galliano.   No offense meant to either of those collections.

Alexander McQueenI'm not buying McQueen's rebellious image - and unfortunately for him neither do the women who should be buying his collection.    Th powers that be at PPR/Gucci group who owns the label must just roll their eyes as they wait for this Peter Pan to wake up and realize he is not a kid anymore.   Let's hope for  his sake his collections for Target and Puma are bringing in the bucks.   I think the only flush associated with this collection would involve plumbing and not poker!