Interesting! via

And what an alternative this is. Sparkling, shimmering, funky textured leggings. Ranging from $48 to $99 a pair, these eye-catchers can be called a celebrity bargain. Currently, the young label is on the streets, shopping their styles around. Thumbs up and good luck. We can’t wait to see the next thing from Costume Dept.!

Done so, you can get in line with Kristen Steweart, who wore the Sofias at the Twilight Promotion in Tokyo (and as a Gucci fan also elsewhere). Same for German starlet Verona Pooth, who obviously is an early Gucci adopter, showing up in a German Talkshow with them as well.

The promotion for the Cruise collection 2009 - for example the fashion show has been broadcasted live via webcast on July 8th 2008 - seems to work its magic. And celebrities are picking it up. As it seems I have missed a few more occasions (tell me about them!), as a note on the Saks websites sais that “Due to popular demand, a customer may order no more than three units of this item every thirty days.” Enough said.

Pictorial proof

Kristen Stewart in Tokyo: here, here and here.
Verona Pooth on the NDR TalkShow 30th anniversary:  here (via).

Getting a pair

The Gucci Sofia mid-heel pump from the Cruise 2009 collection is available in Black leather (id 212903 AL200 1000) , Mystic White and in Red (without the tortoise heels). Sadly, you can’t grab these at Zappos, Endless or the like. Go to Gucci.com and Saks.com for more luck.

These gold leggings rock! (via, more)

2.  Christian Lacroix

We especially like the left one, the one Tilda Swinton chose for her appearance at the 2009 Cesar Film Awards.  (via)

3.  Behnaz Sarafpour

Look out for the clean lines of Behnaz Sarafpour, the upper left is just gorgeous! (via)

4. Preen by Thornton Bergazzi

Summer is nearing and these styles let your feel it. Preen by Thornton Bregazzi. (via)

5. Yigal Azrouël

Yigal Azrouël (via)

BONUS: Best hair-stlye: C-N-C Costume National

The list of designers include the bridal fashion super-heavyweight Vera Wang and for shoes Christian Louboutin, of course. Further Alexander Wang, Anna Sui, Baby Phat, Badgley Mischka
Betsey Johnson, Bob Mackie, Brian Reyes, Calvin Klein, Carmen Marc Valvo, Catherine Malandrino, Chris enz, Costello Tagliapietra, Derek Lam, Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Erin Fetherston, House of ield, Jeremy Scott, Juicy Couture, Kai Kuhne, Kenneth Cole, Koi Suwannagate, Lyn Devon, Marchesa, Michael Kors, Monique Lhuillier, Naeem Khan, Nanette Lepore, Nicole Miller, Norma Kamali, Peter Som, Rachel Roy, Rag & Bone, Rebecca Taylor, Reem Acra, Robert Best, Rosa Cha, The Blonds, Three As Four, Tibi, Tommy Hilfiger, Tory Burch, Tracy Reese, Trina Turk, Tuleh, Twinkle, Vena Cava, Vera Wang, Vivienne Tam, Yeohlee, Yigal Azrouel - an impressive list!

The event created quite an amount of online and TV buzz. During rampup: Sneak Peek: Barbie Fashion Show Sketches, 50 Designers in Barbie Runway Show Unveiled, NY Fashion Week: Meet Barbie Runway Show Designers!, Barbie gets heeled by Christian Louboutin!, Christian Louboutin to Design Shoes for Barbie, Barbie Enters The Fashion World At Age 50.

More of the offline buzz comes from Bloomingdale’s, one of the partners of the event: To celebrate Barbie’s 50th birthday, Bloomingdale’s 59th Street store in NY will exhibit 120 Barbies through the decades in 60 vitrines on the third floo, starting on Feb. 11th.

Stunning moving images from the actual runway show can be seen on barbiemedia in high quality and from nitrolicious’s video on vimeo. Another great video is the “50 years of barbie” time travel which was a few weeks ago live on the website, but even the official site now links to this YouTube version.

More from the Herald Tribune,  and here and here on flickr.

Chalayan was a strong and very early adopter of the wet look leggings trend (if not creating it altogether) in his 2007 Automn/Winter “Airborne” Collection. In early 2008, his Spring/Summer “Readings”, refined the idea of LEDs (which we also saw in “Airborne”) when he incorporated laser LEDs into dresses he created in collaboration with Swarovsky. (The LEDs were done by Moritz Waldemeyer, more details in an interview with Chalayan.) For the Autumn/Winter 2008 “Grains and Steele” collection, which explored the indoor/outdoor theme, he invented a unique sock boot with German legware label Falke.

After Chalayan in February 2008 had been appointed as the creative director for German sportswear manufacturer Puma, the global sports label grew to such a big fan that they later announced they had purchased a majority stake in his label.

His biggest coup to date is the current Spring/Summer 2009 collection “Inertia” which centers around the idea of graphic components and fractal landscapes (see the picture above). Frozen into ridiculous forms the dresses resemble screens for patterns which are projected onto the fabric. Outstanding! We can’t wait to see what’s next.

More on Laserbeams in dresses,  about HC on designboom, an ELLE feature, beQueen, interview in a German newspaper, an architecture experiment in Dover, speculation about inspiration on Inertia, or inspiration for the knit boots, about the Puma partnership, laser-beam similarities with Star Trek, etc.

Official site of Hussein Chalayan.

Go and check out the SS09 catwalk collection or visit their homepage lfmarkey.com for the complete picture.

If you can’t attend personally, the website offers a number of options to get the latest news from the industry fair. For example, on igedo.tv, there’s a selection of runway shows and featurettes in moving image: the CPD Show, Anja Gockel London, Beate Heymann, Fashion For Respect, Maryan Mehlhorn, Fascination Beach & Swimwear etc.

A nice tradition accompanying the fair is that the brand showrooms, mainly concentrated on Kaiserwerther Str., open their doors for sales and parties. So be sure to leave the trade halls sooner or later and take a taxi downtown.

And if you just missed the spring cpd, no need to worry, as the GDS is nearing, starting 13.03.2009.

For the early adopters, as a service, we’ve already spotted some nice-to-have items from around the net.

Shoes

Steve Madden “Trinitie” (see left), $89.95, buy on stevemadden.com

Jessica Simpson “Teluride” , $88, from endless.com

Cobalt blue wedges from Old Navy

Be & D Women’s “Suzy”, $424 on endless.com

Tops, etc.

Generra Short Sleeve Hooded Sweater, $169.99.

Jay Godfrey Ivy Draped Jersey Halter Dress (pictured)

“Sabeen” dress on cutesygirl.com

Accessoires

Aldo Gatelate Scarf in blue, $18.00

Gara Danielle Single Enamel Bangle, $46.

More to read here and here, here and here.

Currently, its hip to wear fringed tops, boots or bags. One thing is important to note: fringes aren’t so closely related with a Hippie or Native American style anymore. This time, wear them as style statement in a glamorous way. But stick to one rule: always just one (1!) fringed piece - so you don’t overdo it.

A few good picks might be Chinese Laundry’s Kipp, N.Y.L.A.’s fringed boot (pictured left, available in 4 colours), Christian Louboutin’s version and GUESS’ Rami boot or for the lower heel type, Rebels Poca (note the Pocahontas wink). Regarding bags, there’s no way around Eva Longoria’s Prada Fringe Bag, for all bargain-shoppers: this Melie Bianco hobo is more modestly prized.Some good advice and insight into the trend can be found in Gill’s post here. A twist comes from the label Fringe, see it here. And be sure to check out the related trend of circular scales, i.e. see SR Square/Sondra Robert’s “Mermaid”.

Some more articles to read: Fringe details on clothes, Fringe Factor, DIY Fringes, Shoe Smitten …