CHANEL

Chanel S.A., commonly known as Chanel, is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods (haute couture, ready-to-wear, handbags, perfumery, and cosmetics among others). She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France. Chanel has catered to tastes in items such as simple suits, dresses, women's pants, and costume jewelry. Coco Chanel's vision was to replace such opulent, 'sexy' pieces with items which conveyed casual elegance. Today, Chanel is most famous for the "little black dress". According to Forbes, the privately owned House of Chanel is jointly owned by Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer who are the great-grandsons of the early (1924) Chanel partner Pierre Wertheimer.

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was born as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883. She established new designs and revolutionized the fashion industry through the application of Jersy to womenswear and incorporating elegance, class, and originality to practical designs. Under her tight reign from 1909–1971, Coco Chanel held the title of 'Chief Designer' until her death on 10 January 1971.

Karl Lagerfeld, photo below, took over as Creative Director of Chanel in 1983.

GIORGIO ARMANI

Giorgio Armani ( born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a personal fortune of $7 billion as of 2011.

In 1983 the designer modified his agreement with GFT. They began to produce both the Mani line for the United States and his high-end ready-to-wear line, rechristened Borgonuovo 21, after the address of the company's headquarters. During the late 1980s, despite Galeotti's death (1985), Armani continued to expand commercial horizons and licensing agreements. He opened Armani Japan and introduced a line of eyeglasses (1988), socks (1987), a gift collection (1989), and a new "basic" men's and women's line for America known as A/X Armani Exchange (1991).

GIANNI VERSACE

Gianni Versace (December 2, 1946 - July 15, 1997) was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Gianni  Versace  S.p.A, an international fashion house, which produces accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films, and was a friend of Madonna, Elton John, Cher, Sting, and Diana, Princess of Wales among many others. Openly gay, Versace and his partner Antonio D'Amico were regulars on the international party scene. Versace was murdered outside his Miami Beach home, the former Casa Casuarina now known as The Villa By Barton G, at the age of 50 by spree killer Andrew Cunanan.

In the mid-1970s, his knits drew the attention of headhunter at Genny and Callaghan. Complice hired him to design their leather and suede collections, and a few years later, encouraged by his success, Versace presented his first signature collection for women at the Palazzo della Permanente Art Museum of Milan. His first menswear collection followed in September of the same year. After presenting his menswear collection he joined Jorge Saud, who would later also become a partner with Giorgio Armani. The first boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978. He was influenced by Andy Warhol, Ancient Roman and Greek art as well as modern abstract art.

Since his death sister Donatella has been designing for the House of Versace.

When I heard of the death of Gianni I actually broke down and cried, something I do not generally do, I immediately went out and bought flowers and laid them at the Versace boutique in Beverly Hills.

Donatella Versace, creative director of Versace.

MY FELLOW AMERICAN

After watching this very thought provoking clip, I must say it raises questions I would rather not comment on, alas, here goes.  Having lived through 9/11 and seeing the destruction of the World Trade Centre, the question was raised will Muslim Americans be the center of hate crimes due to 9/11?  Surprisingly enough there was no spike in crimes against Arab/Muslims in New York City.  I have the opening Sura al Hamd tattooed on my arm, and remember having my sister tell me, you better cover your arm and don’t let people see that or they will beat you down.  Needless to say I did not cover my arm and was never beat down.  Prior to 9/11 Muslim would perform salat for Juma on Fridays in small groups all over Manhattan including right around the corner from the World Trade Center, after 9/11 they were still performing salat on Fridays not far from Ground Zero, when I saw that, I said to myself, I truly LOVE NYC.

I particularly loved the juxtaposition of the very racist comments and the images of Muslim Americans working in all facets here in America, all the way from Cab drivers to Doctor.  The rhetoric spewed from the narrator, reminded me of the hateful words thrown out at the rally for the Islamic Cultural Centre near Ground Zero last year.  New Yorkers I asserted, needed to realize not only was there a Mosque “near” Ground Zero but there was an actual Mosque “in” the World Trade Center, I cannot remember but believes it was on the 78 floor.  So to be up in arms against this seemed pointless, all of that has calmed down now and now I am readying myself for the tenth anniversary of the Attack on The World Trade Centre on September 11, 2011.

My dearest readers, I need your comments here on the Blog on this very Hot Topic, whether you are for it or against it, your thoughts please…

YOHJI YAMAMOTO

Yōji Yamamoto ( born 1943), is an internationally known Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris.

With a degree in law in 1966. His further studies in fashion design at Bunka Fashion College led to a degree in 1969.Yamamoto became an influential fashion designer after making his Paris debut in 1981. His commercially successful main lines, Yohji Yamamoto (women/men) and Y's, are especially popular in Tokyo. These two lines are also available at his flagship stores in New York, Paris, and Antwerp, and at high-end department stores worldwide. Yohji Yamamoto Inc. reported in 2007 that the sales of Yamamoto's two main lines average above $100 million annually.

To this day I wear Yohji.  It takes a special person to pull off Yohji,  his designs are most unique.

ANNA SUI

Anna Sui (born August 4, 1964) is a Chinese-American fashion designer. Her brand retails globally in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her clothing, fragrance, cosmetic, and accessories lines sell through her stores in over 50 countries and are also widely distributed at leading department stores worldwide. She is known for her vivid, colorful and culturally inspired designs.

I have dubbed Anna the Queen of New York Bohemian chic, she took an interest in fashion at a very young age and began clipping fashion-magazine pages to fill her famous Genius Files. These have served as an inspiration for her line throughout her career. After moving to New York, she attended The New School's famous art and design college, Parsons The New School for Design.  Her empire is estimated at 400 million...

CALVIN KLEIN

Calvin Klein Inc. is a fashion brand founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein. The company is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and currently owned by Phillips-Van Heusen. Like other fashion brands, Calvin Klein established a world famous monogram: the "cK" emblem.  In 1969, Mr. Klein, who was later described as "the supreme master of minimalism," appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine. By 1971, sportswear, classic blazers as well as lingerie were added to his women's collection. In 1973, he was awarded the Coty Award for the first time, which he received for three consecutive years, for his 74-piece womenswear collection. By 1977, annual revenues had jumped up to $30 million, and he had licenses for scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sunglasses, and sheets. Klein and Schwartz were making $4 million each. After the company signed licenses for cosmetics, jeans, and menswear, Klein's annual retail volume was estimated at $100 million. In 1978, Klein claimed sales of 200,000 pairs of his famous jeans the first week they were on the market. By 1981, Fortune magazine figured Klein's annual income at $8.5 million a year. In the mid-1970s, he had created a designer-jeans craze by putting his name on the back pocket.

CK is known primarily for his fragrances and men’s underwear.  I attended my first Calvin Klein show in September 2010 and though Calvin was no longer designing the line, the foundation of his designs and minimalism was up held by the new Creative Director of Calvin Klein by Francisco Costa...pictured below.  

BETSEY JOHNSON

Betsey Johnson (born August 10, 1942, Wethersfield, Connecticut) is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished. She also is known for doing a cartwheel at the end of her fashion shows.

Johnson's fashion career started when she entered and won the Mademoiselle Guest Editor Contest. Within a year she was the in-house designer for the Manhattan boutique Paraphernalia. Johnson became part of both the youthquake fashion movement and Andy Warhol's underground scene, along with The Velvet Underground, Edie Sedgwick and Lou Reed. In 1969, she opened a boutique called Betsey Bunky Nini on New York's Upper East Side. Edie Sedgwick was her house model and Johnson designed the clothing Sedgwick wore on her last film, Ciao! Manhattan.  


SOURCE: Wikipedia

I personally enjoy Betsey Johnson's fashion shows, purely for the fact she wants her models to be themselves and show personality, and having fun, which is rare on today's catwalk.  Bravo Betsey!!!

LOVE AND GRATITUDE

I know I am forever whining about my frustrations in Blogging, but in reality it is not that bad, I mean it is and yet it is not.  I just want to take this time to say I LOVE YOU ALL, at first my goal was to reach a thousand hits and it took me a year to do so, then my goal became two thousand, and well, we are at exactly 2,000 hits!!!  My Stats graph has moved from 1,000 – 2,000 to 1,500 – 3,000.  Now my goal is three thousand hits…it is the small things in life, LOL.

I know to the established, famous Bloggers this is nothing, but for little ole me, it is a big thing, and I certainly could not do this on my own, therefore I AM GRATEFUL AND LOVE YOU ALL DEARLY…♥

If you go to the top of the page you will see “more on Hamilton Fashion Blog.com” click onto that and it will bring you to my Facebook page, there you can leave me ideas on what YOU would like me to Blog on, after all it is ALL ABOUT YOU…

FAMINE RELIEF IN SOMALIA

More than 11 million people in the Horn of Africa require food assistance due to the region's worst drought in half a century, the United Nations says.
The UN says that famine exists in two regions of southern Somalia, southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle. Across the country, nearly half of the Somali population — 3.7 million people — are now in crisis, of whom an estimated 2.8 million people are in the south.
But parts of Kenya and Ethiopia are also in crisis.

Here are some key organizations that are providing aid in the region.
• CARE
The organization says it is providing food, water and primary education in the Dadaab refugee camps. Call 1-800-521-2273 or donate online.
• Mercy Corps
The global humanitarian agency is responding to the drought in the Horn of Africa with emergency operations in northeastern Kenya, and plans to build on existing work in hard-hit Ethiopia and Somalia. We will focus our efforts on the most vulnerable people in villages and towns.

Mercy Corps is currently helping 150,000 people through programs like emergency food distributions, clean water delivery and cash-for-work activities in this area.

Want to help? Click here to donate.
• UNICEF
UNICEF, the UN's children's organization, and its partners need more money to aid children in the Horn of Africa in the coming months. Immediate measures include child immunization campaigns and water and sanitation services to ward off disease.

Text FOOD to UNICEF (864233) to donate $10, enough to feed a child for 10 days or provide 321 sachets of nutrient powder to boost infant survival and development, the aid group says.
• International Committee of the Red Cross
Red Cross has launched the East Africa Drought Appeal 2011 to provide emergency relief, including food, water and health assistance.

Make donations online at www.redcross.org.au or by calling 1-800-HELPNOW.
• Edesia Global Nutrition Solutions
Executive Director Navyn Salem says, “You can very simply save a child’s life or change the course of a family’s life. It makes everything seem worthwhile and absolutely possible.” The organization has a special focus on the crisis in Somalia and is using Plumpy'nut® to "make a lasting impact and save lives." Make donations online.
• Doctors Without Borders
In Dadaab, Kenya, Doctors Without Borders says it is treating more than 2,400 children in its ambulatory therapeutic feeding program and 130 children in its inpatient therapeutic feeding center. An additional 5,047 children with moderate acute malnutrition are enrolled in a supplementary feeding program. There are now around 10,000 people in the organization's feeding program in the Dadaab camp.

Donate here or by calling 1-888-392-0392.

OLIVIA PALERMO

Olivia Palermo (born February 28, 1986) is an American socialite, model and actress. She was a cast member of the reality television show The City.  Palermo initially denied rumors in 2008 that she would be a part of The City, a spin-off of MTV's television show "The Hills" but was later confirmed as a cast member. She agreed to star in the series to familiarize herself with acting. She was signed to Wilhelmina Models in 2009 and also launched a jewelry line with Roberta Freymann in 2010. In February 2010 Olivia became a spokesmodel for Matches Fashion's Freda label ahead of London Fashion Week. On November 19, she told ELLE.com that she is working on her own reality show. She said, "I'm currently working on a TV project, my own show". The show will follow her launching her own fashion line. She is one of the Mango models.

NATALIE PORTMAN

It's a busy time for Natalie Portman.

Not only did she recently announce her pregnancy and engagement between promoting new film No Strings Attached, she is now the face of Christian Dior.

A stunning Miss Portman is pictured advertising perfume Miss Dior Cherie wearing nothing but a black headband - but still remains the picture of innocence.

The French fashion house snapped her up earlier this year and the secret was out when she was photographed on set filming the ads in July.

The actress, expecting her first child with choreographer Benjamin Millepied, shot the campaign, due to appear in March, with photographer Tim Walker and also stars in commercials directed by Sophia Coppola.

And the 29-year-old philanthropist has even gotten the iconic label to support some of her charitable causes.

Source:   Maysa Rawi

SADNESS

I have been trying to process this since last night when I got the news…I have to be out of town September 7th to the 18^th and there is NO WAY AROUND IT…I am absolutely devastated.

This means I will miss Fashion’s Night Out and most importantly New York Fashion Week!!!  I have waited all year for this day, I have worked blood, sweat, and tears for Fashion Week and now I have to miss it, there are hardly words!!!  I am inconsolable, sad does not even come into the equation, and I really could just kill myself, just kidding L  Oh well I will just have to wait till February for the next Fashion Week…alas!

JESSICA ALBA

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Max (1994). Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002). Alba later appeared in various films including Honey (2003), Sin City (2005), Fantastic Four (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck both in 2007.
Alba is considered a sex symbol and often generates media attention for her looks. She appears on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim and was voted number one on AskMen.com's list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007.  The use of her image on the cover of the March 2006 Playboy sparked a lawsuit by her, which was later dropped. She has also won various awards for her acting, including the Choice Actress Teen Choice Awards and Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television, and a Golden Globe nomination for her lead role in the television series Dark Angel.
 Jessica can also be seen front row at major fashion shows in New York, Paris and Milan.

COLOR BLOCK

 Something that has really caught my attention this season is color blocking trend. It is not a new trend as such, but is definitely back with a big bang. Here I try to decode the trend and give my two cents on it.  I hope it makes a fun read.  It combines the use of two or more blocks of color in an ensemble. This could be for a top, bottom, tunic, a dress and even a handbag or shoes. Simply it means – creating an outfit by putting areas or blocks of solid color next to each other. It can include monotone, bright colors, muted colors, contrasting and complimentary colors. Clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories can all feature color block designs or can make up different blocks of color to be put together for a color block outfit.


Source: Naina


Women are not the only ones who can color block this season, men as well can color block.

BLAKE LIVELY

Blake Christina Lively (born August 25, 1987) is an American actress and model who stars as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series, Gossip Girl. She has also starred in movies, including Accepted, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The Town and Green Lantern.


Blake’s every turn on the Red or Blue Carpet as with the American Teen Awards is major discussion by Fashion Insiders , Blake Lively is the Face of Chanel Mademoiselle Handbag. Lively is often front row at many fashion shows in all four fashion capitals.

JUNE AMBROSE

It is nearly impossible to have a discussion about the relationship between music and style without mentioning one of the mavericks of celebrity styling, June Ambrose. Ambrose, as we're sure many of you already know, is an iconic stylist who has been instrumental in creating the looks of some of the music world's biggest stars like Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, P. Diddy and Jay-Z. It was the ingenious Ambrose that came up with the idea of putting then-new artist Missy Elliot in a blown up garbage bag in the video for "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)." That's just one of the many looks she created for her clients that will forever be etched into music video history.

WILLOW SMITH

Willow Camille Reign Smith (born October 31, 2000), better known by Willow Smith or simply the mononym Willow, is an American child actor and singer who is the daughter of Will Smith and Jada  Pinkett Smith, and the younger sister of Jaden Smith. She made her acting debut in 2007 in the film I Am Legend .

Does Willow deserve the distinction of being a fashion Icon, at 11, I hardly think so, but The New York Times dubbed her one for her quirky style, Willow made her mark on the Fashion World by being front row at many shows during Milan Fashion Week.

JANUARY JONES

January Kristen Jones (born January 5, 1978) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Betty Draper on Mad Men. Jones was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the daughter of Karen and Marvin Jones, a coach and gym teacher. She is named after January Wayne, a character in Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough. She has two sisters – Jacey and Jina.

January Jones is the new face for Versace... The former model met Versace's creative director Donatella Versace on a shoot for US Elle magazine last year, and the pair struck up a friendship, which led to Jones wearing Atelier Versace to the 2010 Emmy awards, sitting front row at the Versace catwalk show at Milan Fashion Week and, most recently, hosting a charitable dinner with the designer at the Connaught Hotel in London to celebrate the launch of Central Saint Martins 20-20 Fashion Fund.

ALEXA CHUNG

Alexa Chung (born 5 November 1983) is an English television presenter, model and contributing editor at British Vogue.
She currently hosts Gonzo with Alexa Chung for MTV UK, and is scheduled to host Thrift America for PBS in 2011. Previously, Chung was the host of MTV's It's On with Alexa Chung.
At present, she is the face of Lacoste's "Joy of Pink" fragrance and Superga's Italian sneakers
Chung is a muse to many fashion designers because of her distinctive personal style. She frequently appears on best dressed lists, is a regular cover girl for Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar and is often seen in the front row at fashion shows.
In 2009, the designer handbag company Mulberry created a much sought-after bag named after and inspired by Chung, called the "Alexa".
In February 2010, Chung collaborated with J.Crew's Madewell on a womenswear line which was unveiled during New York Fashion Week.
Vogue's Anna Wintour has described Chung as "a phenomenon" while the New York Times has declared her "the Kate Moss of the new generation".Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld has described her as "beautiful and clever..a modern girl".
In December 2010, Bryan Ferry, on behalf of the British Fashion Council, presented Chung with the British Style Award which "recognises an individual who embodies the spirit of British fashion and is an international ambassador for the UK as a leading creative hub for fashion" at a ceremony at the Savoy Theatre in London.