La crème de la crème celebrates the reopening of Schiaparelli in Paris
Courtesy of Schiaparelli

A few months ago, coinciding with the opening of the "Prada & Schiaparelli: Impossible Conversations" exhibition, it was announced that the legendary house of Schiaparelli was to reopen thanks to the founding of philanthrope and owner of the Tod's Group Diego della Valle, who was accompanied by Farida Khelfa, the new ambassador for Schiaparelli.

The first collection after the closing of the house in 1954 will be shown during private appointments this week in Paris. What is still unclear (to me, anyway) is whether it will be a FW12 couture collection or if it will be part of the SS13 ready-to-wear collections. In any case, I am extremely excited and curious to see how they have reinvented the maison, which will reopen its doors at 21 Place Vendôme in Paris.

Some of the most important faces in fashion came out to celebrate such a unique occasion  – Alexia Niedzielski and Elizabeth von Guttman from Industrie magazine and Ever Manifesto, Suzy Menkes, Anna dello Russo, Roger Vivier's Bruno Frisoni, Carine Roitfeld, Haider Ackermann, LOVE's Katie Grand, and Jefferson Hack among others.

Click here to see all the images from last night's event.

Jefferson Hack & Diego della Valle present Tod's "No_Code"
Courtesy of Tod's

With everyone in Paris for the couture shows it's difficult for brands to resist throwing events, especially for Tod's. They hardly need to look too hard for an excuse because they're one of the world's most active fashion houses. If restoring the Colosseum, redoing a film and launching a new range of accessories weren't enough now Diego della Valle has teamed up with fashion wonder boy Jefferson Hack to launch a capsule collection of footwear that transcends dress codes –hence "No_Code" as a name– and even genders. The line is unisex, and very rightly so. I doubt there is anyone who wouldn't want a pair in their wardrobe. Whether it's the classic suede plimsole, the indispensable desert boot or the practical Chelsea boot we all have our favourite (I spend my life in desert boots).
So to celebrate such an innovative idea the fashion flock was called to Hôtel Amour. Everyone from Andrea della Valle and Franca Sozzani, to Delfrina Delettrez Fendi and Livia Firth to queen of street style Anna dello Russo stopped by the party for a much needed dose of style and, of course, prosecco.

Courtesy of Tod's

* Tod's No_Code is now available at Tod's stores worldwide.

Courtesy of Prada

Fashion houses really went all out for Fashion's Night Out last Saturday. I posted earlier today about Roger's Vivier pop up shop at the Japanese capital and now it's all about Prada.

Their big event for FNOT consisted of a big fashion display created by non other than Anna dello Russo, if you hadn't guessed. This incredible set up served as the backdrop for Prada's FW11 'illusion sunglasses' collection, which was presented then.

The sunglasses are available in a great variety of colours and look super futuristic, not to mention they're a brilliant fashionable alternative for skiing sunglasses. I can totally imagine Victoria Beckham wearing these with her Chanel outfit at St Moritz in December, can't you?

Prada has also released a promotional video to go with their new 'illusion sunglasses'. The lovely Prada people have been kind enough to share that as well. Click here to see it on our Know Wear Vimeo page.

Courtesy of Givenchy

Zimbio, Telegraph Fashion, Style.com

I must admit I have an obsession with fashion insiders wearing clothes from a season ahead. I think it's a bit of a shame sometimes because it loses charm by the time you get to the new season but it's exciting at the same time. These are some of my favourite editors wearing fresh-off-the-runway pieces from the SS12 collections.

If anyone could get a Givenchy skirt the dat after the show that is Carine Roitfeld. Her infamous affiliation to certain maisons was part of the reason that cost her the Vogue Paris job but, of course, she does not care. She looked incredible in a customised version of the layered circular-cut skirts that Tisci showed for the new season. It just looks like that's the way Givenchy is meant to be worn.
Anna Wintour had a similar moment. She wears dresses more than once with no shame (why should she?) but that doesn't mean she can't take advantage of her perks. Anna indulged her world-famous love for Prada by wearing one of Miuccia's SS12 pleated car-printed skirts. I loved this look because the fun print gave her a very cool air, non?

But of course, Anna dello Russo had to be in the list too. Designers know that having her wear one of their pieces is just tons of free press and they take advantage of it. ADR has been the first editor to wear some of the new Mary Katrantzou dresses of under-the-sea motifs, which she accessorised with even more colours. Also in Paris Anna wore the new Linda Farrow for Prabal Gurung sunglasses that had me obsessed. And I loved the rest of her look –the Stella McCartney dress, lacy boots, beanie hat and netting on top. Just ace!

TFS, Zimbio

The August cover of Vogue Japan is already out! I don't know if releasing magazine covers and stories earlier and earlier every month contributes to selling more magazines because it creates anticipation or if we're left a sort of apathy towards the printed copies when they arrive because someone has created an anxiety to see something else, newer.

Discussion aside, I haven't been this much into a Vogue Japan (haven't noticed until now it's not called Nippon anymore) cover since Sasha Pivovarova's in Balenciaga back in September 2007.

The choice of ultra-white background and the blue and pink pastel font feels really modern and also super clean and fresh. There is way too much writing everywhere, though, but I can forgive it because the colours work so well.

Daphne Groenveld's eyebrows remind me a lot of Balenciaga's f/w10, which I loved. And her hair style helps give even more emphasis to her famous lips.

The Miu Miu f/w11 dress worn by Daphne on the picture is such a stunning fit and I love the fact that they've already managed to add in a bit of fur in August to not give next season's biggest trend a rest.

The main feature in the mag, 'Simple Pleasure', seems like such an unlikely for Anna dello Russo to preach. But the fact is that during the menswear shows in Milan she is has been practising it herself in several uncomplicated numbers. The perfect example is the look that preceded the one on the cover at the Miu Miu show and that, funnily enough, was modelled by Daphne.

Style.com

Italian musketeers

One of the best things about having an on-going fashion week is the amount of street style pictures we get to enjoy in addition to the catwalk shows. During this past Milan Uomo Fashion Week I have enjoyed not only the looks of the most stylish men in the industry but also the incredible looks of my three favourite people in fashion: Anna dello Russo, Viviana Volpicella and Aurora Sansone. There is no one I wish to meet more than them. I can't think of anybody more fun to spend fashion week with than Anna dello Russo with Viviana's smile to make every minute special and Aurora's suave coolness to park conversation. If only they came to London Fashion Week... (we could have a moment like the one I photoshopped in the first image).

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, CarolinesMode.com, catchinginstants.blogspot.com]

Prada by Anna

This is one of the reasons why I love twitter so much! Anna dello Russo is currently working at a shoot for Vogue Nippon with model Carmen Pedaru wearing SS11 Prada and shot by the amazing Giampaolo Sgura. They have both been tweeting about it all morning and they've even included twitpics like this one below! Never thought you could make Miuccia's collection even more bananas...

I'm off.

[Pictures: Giampaolo Sgura's twitter]

Smell like Anna

After months of reading Anna dello Russo's tweets and blogposts we can finally see what the advert for her new perfume is like. I am glad it turned out to be the way it has because it doesn't take itself too seriously. It kind of laughs at the really intense and cheesy usual perfume adverts by having those faded bits bewteen scenes. I love the fact that it's filmed at her apartment in Milan (the closet, not the house) and how she dances around her famous shoe shelves and the Gareth Pugh headpiece she wore for the Vogue Paris masquerade. What do you think of it?

I'm off.

Too much for your credit card

We're merely days away from the world premiere (for mortals) of the Lanvin x H&M collection but having our harts pounding with the doubt of whether we'll be able to get our favourite pieces in our size is not enough. Alber Elbaz has customised the H&M looks and turned them into a mini couture collection. The line, which was shown in New York last night, is being auctioned online until November 26th to donate all its proceeds to UNICEF's "All for Children" project in partnership with H&M.

Our beloved Queen of fashion, Anna dello Russo was, of course, amongst the personalities who walked the runway at the New York show, for which she donned Alber Elbaz's couture look number 9 (currenly at a $189 bid). Pixie Geldof (yuk!) and Dree Hemingway joined Anna and the rest of the models in showcasing the rest of the collection.
I absolutely loved AdR's pink number (including the clashing red heels) as well as the Miss Lanvin look, the two classic black dresses and the cocktail bride one. I'd gladly marry anyone wearing that. Just as easily as any woman who wears the incredible crystal-studded sunglasses or the leopard tights. I can't even begin to imagine what H&M is going to be like on the 23rd with every woman in the world willing to do anything to get the dress(es) she wants. Even the paper bags our purchases will come in are a must-have!

I'm off.

[Pictures: Lanvinforhm.com, Jak & Jill, redcarpet-fashionawards.com]

Halloween 2010: AdR steals the show (yet again)

It has taken me too long to post about this year's Halloween most notorious outfits. And this is been due to my not being able to find any Anna dello Russo pictures. I read her tweets over the weekend and literally couldn't wait to see what she, the queen of over-the-top, had worn. And, of course, becoming Lady Gaga for the night was the only possible option. She worn one of Gaga's famous see-through latex dresses with plenty of crystal embroidery, which must've been quite a show under the party's lights. She accessorised with a wacky pair of sunglasses, the same white wig she wore for the Vogue Paris masquerade and, of course, a bird on her head. To be quite fair, it was like a more minimalistic and futuristic version of her Gareth Pugh hat. But everything fits perfectly, no doubt about that.

After Anna, my favourite fashionista in Halloween has got to be Brad Goreski. He went to the heart of the matter and dressed up first as Tavi for the Lanvin party and then as AdR, duh. It is kind of scary how absolutely spot-on he got both costumes. I just wish more pictures of him as Anna see the light. How amazing would have it been if he'd had a third party and gone as Rachel? Ba-na-nas.
Bryanboy decided to share some blogger love by also going as Tavi. I'll give him a point for the thoughtfulness and effort but he looked more like a crazy cat-lady. My other two favourite costumes were Anouck Lepère's very literal waffle (so refreshing) and Karmen Pedaru's Altuzarra number, which looked stunning kind of evoking a fashionable faun.

What did you dress up as on Halloween?
I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, styleite.com, thenightqueen.files.wordpress.com, api.ning.com]

Anna Superstar

It's been said that no one loves fashion as much as Anna dello Russo. I can't think of a single argument against that statement. Working with clothes is one thing but integrating fashion as a whole into your life is more than that. She wears it, breaths it and dreams it. Well, I reckon no one loves Anna dello Russo as much as I do. I had never been so inspired, entertained and excited about anyone since I first found out about Anna Wintour (it must run in the name) I can't remember how long ago. I can feel criticism coming her way because of the way she is being exposed on the media but I find this AdR craze completely understandable. The woman has worked in fashion for over 20 years and it's only now that she gets not only the recognition but the attention she deserved, so I say let her enjoy her life —no matter if that means launching a fragrance or making an album. I'd listen to AdR on my iPod everywhere!

Her latest venture has been appearing on the new cover of 10 magazine. She opens the issue with a goofy pose, dressed in Balmain and shot by Giampaolo Sgura. I am not a big follower of the magazine so I can't talk about facts but the photographer choice seems to have come from the model herself, who often works with him for her Vogue Nippon editorials. The "Let's celebrate" title on the cover might not be referred to her story inside but the pictures seem to celebrate Anna, her style and her work by re-enacting (perfect verb for someone who doesn't wear things twice) some of her most famous looks. My favourite is the pale pink Francesco Scognamiglio, which she originally wore with a policeman hat and which she substituted with the cherries she was wearing when I met her.

And to finish today's post —we could call it Saturday dello Russo— take a look at her unpacking in Paris joined by Sarah Rutson (who's got the sexiest accent). You might have seen Anna getting ready before but you've never seen her unpack. Behold.

I'm off.

[Pictures: 10magazine.com, YouTube screen caps]

Storia d'amore

I love how, lately, every happy piece of news we get is always related to the Regina della Moda —aka: Anna dello Russo. First, she tweeted at us saying thank you for a post we did on her over the summer, which was beyond kind. During London Fashion Week I spotted her first row at Kinder Aguggini and ran down to get a picture taken and she was lovely! (And she had the amazing cherries on her head). And now, she as tweeted and blogged using my collage from Paris Fashion Week!!!!!! Giulia and I are so happy that, not only she has visited the blog, but she liked our work enough to share it with everyone.

We love you, AdR!

If you didn't see it last time, this is moi with Anna. I am only sorry that the picture is a bit too blurry and that her cherries aren't showing. Otherwise this would be hanging proudly on my wall!

I'm off.

Fashion Month Gems

Fashion month draws to and end today. It is safe to saw that SS11 has been one of the most exciting seasons I have witnessed. Minimalism and white strongly made their way onto the catwalks but it was interesting to see how some designers managed to take a baroque approach to it. Some like Jil Sander and Marni approached ready-to-wear as Couture, others such as Giambattista Valli and Givenchy tackled the trend by mixing the popular colour blocking with animal prints.
The biggest shift in the industry, though, haven't been the clothes themselves. New magazine titles such as Industry are physical evidence of the fashion editor and buyer's relevance to create or modify seasonal trends. And so we have seen every one of them taking advantage of their new celebrity status to show how they adapt trendy pieces to their personal style and how they can still wear what they want and have people talking about them.

Carine Roitfeld is possibly the best example of what I just mentioned. Regardless of what trends dictate, the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris has proved that one can be relevant without completely surrendering to these. We have seen her in a lot of Givenchy leopard some of which hadn't hit the catwalk yet. Lace up boots and khaki accompanied her black and camel based wardrobe. God, she even gave camouflage a try and succeeded! No one, of course, can summarise this better than her in this exclusive interview with Hilary Alexander for the Telegraph.

Giovanna Battaglia is Giulia's favourite industry icon. It is thanks to her that I've grown so incredibly keen on her style. As a former model, she knows very well what and how works and she likes to show this to the world in her elegant ways. She swaps Marni for Dolce & Gabbana in a heartbeat, something not many people can claim to. We haven't seen as much of her during fashion month but I am still hoping for those late posts from Jack & Jil and The Sartorialist to change that. My favourite thing about her is how she sticks to Fendi's monogram bags no matter what.

Now, there is a name that can never escape these kind of posts. Anna dello Russo has quickly become the queen, no, the goddess of fashion. She owns up to her extravagance and pomp just as easily as she admits to her profound "passion for fashion". No one is capable of carrying off anything from see-through lace dresses, to outrageous Phillip Tracy hats, feathers, bling and sparkle as well as off-the-runway looks. This month she has shined more than ever taking advantage of her designer collections and even participating in Ungaro's reinvention show as a model. As the old philosopher would say: "I DIE, she's beyond".

This video below, also one of Hilary Alexander's gems, makes me smile and flutter. And we hear all we already knew from her own mouth. Nothing fake about her.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, Jak & Jil, Mr. Newton, Vogue.co.uk, Vogue.fr,  Zimbio.com, fashion.Telegraph.co.uk, AdR Twitter, CarolinesMode.com]

quatre-vingt-dix

When I first heard that Vogue Paris was throwing a masquerade ball to celebrate their 90th anniversary I simply thought of a chic party with the best crowd in a decadently glamourous venue and the odd mask. What I didn't know was that it would take place during Paris Fashion Week and that most of its guests would take the theme seriously. Following the inspiration from the magazine's October issue, many models and editors showed up in lace masks paired up with sexy dresses with hints of baroque. Everybody was there and the Vogue Paris team tweeted themselves silly. Tweets like "Emmanuelle Alt et Peter Dundas dansent joue contre joue sur la piste de danse"* or "Emmanuelle Alt danse avec Anja Rubik sur la piste"** made it sound like the party of the century. Or, at least, my party of the century. But nothing, not Carine as a leopard or Julia as a vamp or Olivier Lalanne, were a match for Anna dello Russo. The queen and muse of all things fashion did what she does best: dress up. She wore a custom Pucci white dress (kudos to Peter Dundas) that she accompanied with a long white wig and mask in the same colour. The final touch was an incredible Trojan inspired feathered head piece by Gareth Pugh. Talk about decadent.

I'm off.

* "Emmanuelle Alt and Peter Dundas dance cheek to cheek on the dancefloor"
** "Emmanuelle Alt dances with Anja Rubik on the dancefloor"

[Pictures: Vogue.fr, JustJared.buzznet.com, Vogue.com, TFS]

mal d'Afrique

Last night I was lucky enough to attend the SS11 Kinder Aggugini show. I first found out about him very randomly when his last summer collection came out and I was instantly attracted to his strong tailoring skills, his use of prints and his intelligent quirkiness. As I sat in the BFC show space of Somerset House going through the press release I became even more excited. The SS11 collection was announced to be inspired by 'Travels in the Interior Disctricts of Africa', the travel diary of a Scottish explorer, Mungo Park, in his journey through Africa. And Aggugini delivered. The first looks, three piece Saville Row linen looks gradually gave way to flashes of animal prints and eventually culminated in one-piece printed silk crepes. A representation of Mungo Park's journey from being a mere British colonialist to becoming part of Africa.

I particularly loved the black linen dresses with the degradé leopard details, the tiny blue cheetah prints, and the Stephen Jones hats made of cardboard and plastic but that suited the vibe of the collection completely and which looked surprisingly chic.
The music, a kind of rocky version of traditional African songs and the African inspired 'I want candy' version for the finale kept people moving to the beat and rounded up the best show I have seen at LFW so far.

To make the whole experience even more perfect, I got a third row seat by some very elegant Italian ladies (thank you to the Kinder Aguggini people!). As the show was about to start the ever magnificent Anna dello Russo walked in (cherry hair-do included) and so I made it my goal to run up to her at the end of the show and take a picture. This is the (blurry) result. What a perfect experience!

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, my own]

Enough is not enough

I have no words to describe this shoot. Alessandra Ambrosio styled by Anna dello Russo for the latest issue of Vogue Nippon. If there was still anyone who doubted dello Russo's skills this should do it. She has done the same kind of over-the-top glamour she drenches herself in every day of her life on a supermodel. The result is one of the most flamboyant yet simple editorials I have ever seen.

"Never Enough"

Photographer: Giampaolo Sgura

Stylist: Anna dello Russo

I'm off.

[Credit: Vogue.co.jp]

AdReam world

I still get surprised everyday at the quantity of tweets (Goddess) Anna dello Russo produces per day. It is so refreshing and inspiring that someone so relevant and distinct in the industry takes time to share her life and thoughts with all of us trying to make it. There is nothing pretentious about her, only a deep love for fashion and the desire of sharing that love with similar people. All of this seems incredibly touching and inspiring to me because I think of fashion during the whole day and dream of it all through the night. It's a passion that goes beyond material things and popular names on tags. It's a lifestyle.
Today, Anna tweeted a couple of pictures of herself with Cucciolina wearing a SS08 Cavalli dress (my favourite collection from the last 10 years) while working on a shoot with Tommy Ton in the little Italian town of Cisternino where she has a house and, wait for it, an AdR branded pool that Tommy Ton has had the privilege to literally drench himself in dello-Russo-ness.

Another of the aspects that I love about Anna the most is the fact that she blogs about looks that she'd love to wear. This might seem silly but, coming from someone who has worn and daily wear the best designers in the world, it is a sincere sign of how down to earth she is. And so, given that she is wearing some of my favourite looks from the past few seasons, I've taken the liberty of choosing a few of the pieces I would personally love to see on her.

Clockwise from top left: Roberto Cavalli SS08, Balenciaga SS08, Roberto Cavalli SS09, Marc Jacobs SS09, Prada Resort 2011, Dolce & Gabbana SS09, Fendi SS09, Christian Dior SS09.

I'm off.

[Pictures: AnnadelloRusso.com, Twitter.com/annadellorusso, Style.com]