The whole underwear-as-outerwear trend? That came from Madonna. Not to mention those ’80s blondes who proudly showed their roots while wearing lace gloves and lots of chains. And would Kabbalah and yoga as lifestyle trends be where they are today without her?

“She’s become an adjective. Friends will go shopping with each other and say, `It’s so Madonna.’ That’s what you want in fashion,” says stylist and TV commentator Robert Verdi.

Lately Madonna has mostly been spotted in workout gear, perhaps in preparation for her “Sticky & Sweet” world tour that will be partially outfitted by Givenchy. Designer Riccardo Tisci has worked up two outfits: a frock coat in black stretch satin and a long cape worn over a black dress embellished with colored ribbons — for a Gypsy-inspired outfit.

It’s hard to say if the Gypsy look will start another trend. The cone-front corset Jean Paul Gaultier created for her Blond Ambition tour in 1990 didn’t fully catch on with the masses.

But whether her looks are influential or merely memorable, Madonna always finds a way to connect with people and she never wears a look long enough for it to become stale, observes Verdi. If the disco revival look of her “Hung Up” era in 2005 clicked with him, her cowgirl-hat days in 2000 spoke to someone else.

“I don’t love all her looks but can appreciate them all,” he says. “She’s always operated from a position that’s a good hybrid of contemporary pop culture — the psyche of the nation — but also an artistic slant and art always pushes the envelope.”

Story & Photos by: Associated Press

The items at the July 2 auction include a 1958 cocktail dress for Dior and a 1970s Rive Gauche camel cable-knit sweater trimmed in fox fur similar to one Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis wore.

“What’s exciting about the collection is that you see the progression of his career. He was a real style-setter,” said Christie’s couture specialist Laura Leyfer.

Saint Laurent died on June 1 at age 71. Considered one of the most influential designers of the 20th century, his creations _ from pop-art print mini-dresses to peasant skirts and elegant pantsuits _ endure to this day.

The cable-knit sweater _ with a pre-sale estimate of $250 to $400 _ is a version of one Onassis was often photographed wearing, a style she owned in several colors, according to Christie’s auction catalog.

All of the items are in excellent condition and are relatively inexpensive because they aren’t new designs and have been worn, Leyfer said Friday. “That’s part of the appeal and it’s what makes it a collectible,” she said.

Another item for sale is a dusty pink layered tulle evening dress with metallic pink and silver embroidery, which Saint Laurent designed for Dior in 1958. It’s could fetch $1,000 to $1,500.

The costume jewelry includes a floral gold-tone metal and crystal stone necklace from 1990, estimated to sell for $1,000 to $1,500, and a hammered gilt-metal “ethnic” necklace from the 1970s that could bring $600 to $800.

The sale also includes pieces from other designers including Christian Lacroix, Thierry Mugler, Balenciaga and Gianni Versace. Source

U.S. fashion company Tommy Hilfiger and music group Sony BMG teamed up on Wednesday to launch a fashion and music online TV website, a latest sign of ever closer union of the world’s of style and song. I totally loved the site, and the first introduction video is an outstanding performance of one of my favorite bands Faithless doing a live version of their hit Insomina. I was instantly impressed by the site and the music featured on it.

Here is the story from Reuters….

TommyTV, at http://www.tommytv.com, will show live performance by established and new artists sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger alongside exclusive interviews and backstage footage.

Designer Tommy Hilfiger, dapper in a pin stripe suit and orange tie, said the site would also host the Hilfiger Auditions, an online competition where young artists can showcase their talent.

“These musicians otherwise would not have that opportunity in many cases,” Hilfiger said at the launch in London which kicked off with a live act by Parisian pop duo “One-Two.”

“This is a platform for new young musicians to show their talents on a global stage and have a connection with our partner Sony BMG.”

Tommy Hilfiger has built a worldwide fashion brand spanning women’s, men’s and children’s wear to accessories and watches on marketing campaigns presenting hip, image savvy U.S. teenagers.

It has already moved to develop the brand in the music arena by hosting live gigs with only a few hundreds guests known as the Hilfiger Sessions.

Tommy Hilfiger Chief Executive Fred Gehring said the launch of TommyTV in collaboration with Sony BMG, home of artists Justin Timberlake and Leona Lewis, was a unique and momentous new stage in the fusion of the fashion and music worlds.

Music-makers such as Madonna and David Bowie have long been seen as style icons, sartorial chameleons defining both themselves and their music through different looks.

“I literally became a fashion designer because of music,” Hilfiger told Reuters at the launch. “Music was my first love, in the 60s - I wanted to dress like Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page.”

MUSIC MARKETING

Gehring said the site was intended as a marketing initiative to build its brand and would not be selling anything directly, although the two sides were discussing the possibility of charging for downloads in the future.

There are also links from the site through to Tommy Hilfiger’s e-commerce store.

“People who go to TommyTV and spontaneously want to get a pair of Tommy jeans will be able to do it,” said Gehring.

For Sony BMG, the launch marks an experiment in the art of online music marketing. Global music sales fell around 10 percent in 2007 and the industry estimates that only one in 20 of the tracks downloaded was licensed, costing the industry potentially billions of dollars.

Online music purchasing marked a symbolic milestone when Apple Inc announced last week that its iTunes music store had surpassed Wal-Mart Stores Inc to become the largest U.S. music retailer.

“We are in a moment of transition moving away from the record model to music and entertainment,” Sony BMG Chief Executive Maarten Steinkam said, adding that he hoped to discover bright young things through TommyTV.

“I hope we can find a new artist out of it. If we don’t find a new artist in the next five to six months, then it’s not a failure,” he said.

Enjoy the pics

For his first ever ad campaign, the 64-year-old Richards — who has a rocky history of drug use — is seen cradling his guitar on a hotel-room bed, the lights part obscured by skull-print black drapes.

“Some journeys cannot be put into words. New York. 3 am. Blues in C,” runs the slogal of the ad, shot by US photographer Annie Leibovitz and due to appear in the magazine press next month.

Richards plans to donate the fee for the ad to the Climate Project, launched by Nobel-winning former US vice-president Al Gore and backed by Louis Vuitton.

Famous faces stars to have represented Vuitton in the past include former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev, French screen icon Catherine Deneuve, and US actresses Scarlett Johansson and Uma Thurman.–Story from yahoo news

How weird…Why??? Anyway, good for Keith..this guys just gets one break after the next, he must have been a saint in a former life. I guess it’s good to be Keith Richards.

Aretha Franklin looks so big, and unhealthy it actually hurts to look at her photos. With all this weight she gains each year, I’m shocked to see the poor, and very tacky fashion choices she continues to make. These low cut dresses that exposes her massive cleavage, and leave nothing to the imagination makes any fashionista cringe at the sight of such a mess.

The Queen of Soul proves year after year that she may be a diva on  stage but is clearly a major fashion disaster. I am so so afraid for little Brandy in this pic, Miss Franklin’s cleavage looks like it’s ready to explode out of that tacky dress and give Brandy 2 black eyes!

Here’s a pic of Aretha when she was young and healthy. What a beauty!

For fall, Johnson presented the high school 60s and 70s-inspired beatnik wardrobe every girl dreamed she had — in technicolor. Suede jackets replete with fringes, embossed catsuits, elaborately trimmed faux-fur chubbies, flouncy ruffled blouses, and girly floral rompers may occasionally, in Johnson’s signature oddball color combinations, invoke patent-leather-biker-bumble-bee imagery or flashbacks to piano recital dresses from your childhood, but, for the most part, the looks came off as utterly adorable.

Front row, Tyra Banks, Russell Simmons, Reverend Run’s daughters, and MisShape Leigh Lezark sat around cafe-inspired table set-ups complete with bubble-gum “cigarettes” and ashtrays. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of her label, Johnson presented a retrospective catwalk featuring 18 of her favorite iconic pieces from past collections.

Let’s hope she reprises these pieces from her archives and puts them into production for collectors and a generation who may have missed the first go-around.

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Marie-Chantal of Greece, who was with her husband Pavlos and her in-laws, Queen Ann-Marie and King Constantine. I saw [...]

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NEW YORK - Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan apartment, and police said drugs may have been a factor. The Australian-born actor was 28. Police said Ledger was naked in his bed with an unknown number of sleeping pills near the body. Read the story

I absoultely loved this actor. Just the other day I watched his movie Casanova with my sister the other night and loved it. He didn’t buy into the Hollywood bad boy act and each role he took on seemed more challenging and unique than the other. I love you Heath, and we will all miss you .

Pucci became well known for his signature use of bright colours, bold patterns, and striking designs. Popular early creations were a line of wrinkle-free printed silk dresses. By the mid 50’s, Pucci was honored internationally, receiving the Neiman-Marcus Award in Dallas and the Burdine’s Sunshine Award in Miami. In 1959, Pucci decided to create a lingerie line. He was advised by his Roman atelier to develop the line abroad, avoiding the pitfalls associated with his first swimwear collection of 1949 which had difficulties in matching his colored patterns to the available fabrics. As a result, Pucci came to Chicago giving the lingerie contract to Formfit-Rogers mills. The venture proved to be successful, and Pucci was made vice president in charge of design and merchandising for the company a year later. 1959 was also a seminal year for Pucci since it was the year that he met Baronessa Cristina Nannini, a Roman baroness introduced to Pucci at his boutique in Capri. Pucci would later marry her, claiming: “I married a Botticelli”.

From 1954 to 1968 Pucci also designed stewardess uniforms for Braniff Airlines. These avant-garde creations were designed as individual components to be added or removed as weather dictated. The uniforms included turtlenecks, t-shirts, crop jackets and culottes.[2] Among the more unusual innovations was a “bubble helmet” — a clear plastic hood worn by flight attendants between terminal building and aircraft to protect their hairdos from rain and the blast of jet engines.[3][4] He suggested the three bird motif for the design of the Apollo 15 mission patch.

In addition to his life of fashion, Pucci was elected to the Italian Parliament.While a Member of Parliament, Pucci was hired by New York ad agency Jack Tinker and Associates to re-design the hostess wardrobes for Braniff International Airways. Pucci would end up designing seven complete outfits for Braniff hostesses, pilots and ground crew between 1965 and 1977. Pucci incorporated Alexander Girard’s “BI” logo into some of his prints. After his death in 1992 his daughter, Laudomia Pucci, continued to design under the Pucci name.The Pucci brand was revived by the French firm Louis Vuitton-Moet-Hennessy Group, who acquired the rights in 2000. Designers who have worked under the Pucci brand include Stephan Janson, Julio Espada and Christian Lacroix. In 2006, British designer, Matthew Williamson replaced Lacroix as creative director. Laudomia Pucci continues to serve as the Image Director.

His designs were always so virbant and rich with colors and shapes that would tend to make my mouth water. This was a man of genius, no one can compare. Take some time to check out his amazing web site emiliopucci.comI go wild everytime I see these killer boots! Stunning!