Lady Gaga Is The New Face Of Versace
We could have guessed this one from her new song ‘Donatella’: Lady Gaga is the newest face of Versace.
And she’s not letting the grass grow under her feet – as soon as the campaign was announced she appeared at the VMAs in the same clothes as the ones in her ad.
Gaga’s been building a relationship with flashy, sexy Versace for several years. She was allowed to raid their archives to wear Liz Hurley’s famous Versace safety pin dress, and she’s been seen throwing roses off balconies with Donatella herself.
But this is a whole new ballgame. Gaga looks surprisingly tame in the ads (for Gaga, anyway) – long Versace-appropriate blonde hair, talon nails, elaborate purple sexy dress and over-the-top jewellery.
So far, so normal – but Gaga put her own spin on the campaign when she showed up at the American Music Awards this weekend on a full-size puppet horse, in a customised version of the ad’s tight purple mini-dress.
Fittingly, she’d added a train – because when Gaga makes an entrance, drama is always necessary.
Pop stars don’t often team up with just one designer exclusively, because of their need for costumes and continual big statements on red carpets – and Gaga has had her own design house, Haus of Gaga, to keep her clothed and styled in her signature wacky creations. So why the big move to exclusively Versace?
The Versace team said that she ‘completely captures the Versace essence: creative, experimental fearless’, while Gaga herself, with her strong Italian background, appears to completely idolise Donatella. ‘It’s about being a fearless female and not caring what people say about you,” she said about the head designer of Versace, “being proud of who you are and walking the walk no matter what.”
What do you think about Versace’s Gaga move – right for the brand or just too weird?
Image: Lady Gaga for Versace, courtesy Versace.
Elle US Causes Controversy With ‘North Korea’ Fashion Inspiration
Elle Magazine in America has provoked outrage with a feature on how ‘North Korean military chic’ is a fashion trend.
The online article, which discussed the military trend on the catwalks this season, chose to use the famously repressive dictatorship as an inspiration, and human rights groups were incensed.
“Some iteration of the military trend stomps the runways every few seasons,” the article said. “This time, it’s edgier, even dangerous, with sharp buckles and clasps and take-no-prisoners tailoring.”
And it was illustrated with pictures of North Korea’s infamous young female army corps.
The result was internet chaos. Commenters including The Washington Post pointed out that North Korea has been condemned for abuse of human rights by everyone from the United Nations to Amnesty International, and that its strongest ‘trend’ at the moment is execution without trial.
The Human Rights Watch condemned the column as making light of a serious issue, and Elle promptly pulled the column, putting in its place a brief and contrite apology.
“We regret the reference to North Korea in our post on the season’s military trend, and have removed the image. We apologise to those we offended,” it said.
Some commentators have asked whether Elle used the deliberately controversial image on purpose, to drive up traffic and spread gossip.
What do you think – a bad idea from the start, or a storm over nothing?
Image: Elle’s North Korea trend piece, via the Washington Post article
How To: Work The Insect Trend
Creepy crawlies are still going strong in fashion, even though Halloween is past.
Beetles, bugs, butterflies and other things with many legs are all over fashion this season. Here’s our guide to working the insect trend in your summer outfits, no bug spray required.
McQ by Alexander McQueen has been one of the biggest promoters of the trend – picking up a McQ scarf means being inundated with glorious, kaleidoscopic bugs in shining multicoloured patterns. It’s also on skirts, tops and even jackets, if you really want to make a pro-bug statement.
However, Lanvin is also in on the fun. Their casual sweatshirt-material jumper embellished with gold beetles is a fantastic piece to layer over a black skirt for chillier summer evenings – just the right combination of high and low.
Feeling more feminine? Tory Burch has a georgette blouse covered entirely with neat blue scarab beetles – and it’s spread to accessories, too. A Burch clutch or iPhone case with multicoloured beetles has to be the glamour pick of the season.
If you’re into cult handbag trends, Fendi‘s range of handbag ‘bugs’ is the rage among fashion editors all over the world. While they’re less insect-like in appearance – they’re more like tiny expressive animals – they’re massive favourites and will cheer up even the plainest of handbags.
However, the real place where the insect trend has hit the world is in jewellery. Forget sweet roses or over-the-top spikes – bug-inspired jewels are just the right balance of edgy and cute. Our faves? Betsey Johnson‘s line of adorable enamel bug earrings, from bees to beetles, are colourful, fun and perfect gift ideas, too.
For the more serious couture jewellery wearer, ASOS‘s amazing Nature’s Cross piece is a must-have. An amber cross encrusted with jewelled bugs, frogs, flowers and birds, it’s drop-dead (and, because it’s ASOS, actually affordable).
And those of a more masculine, minimal style bent will love Ileana Makri at Net-a-Porter’s bronze cuff, with a relief of a large gold-plated beetle in delicate detail. It’s definitely a statement piece for the edgier woman – or, of course, there’s the elegant Olivia Burton ‘bee’ watch, with an anatomical print of a bee on the watch face.
Want to cover your fingers and toes? Drop into Accessorise, who currently have a range of lovely and interchangeable bug-themed statement rings, while ASOS has one for every digit.
Will you be getting into insect fashion this summer?
Image: RESCU’s guide to the insect trend.
