CHANEL BAGS ARE GAINING VALUE FASTER THAN THE STOCK MARKET

Need some justification for buying another Chanel bag? Turns out, it's not just a statement accessory to tote around—it's an investment. That's the result of a new study, which found that Chanel handbags have increased in value by more than 70 percent in the past five years. That's a bigger jump than the stock market and the housing market.

The research comes from Baghunter, a website that resells luxury handbags, so naturally it's probably going to be a bit biased. After all, earlier this year, Baghunter also found thata Birkin bag was a less risky investment than gold or the stock market. So don't necessarily take this as solid financial advice, but rather a fun look at how high-end goods gain value over time. (As long as you don't actually use them and wear out the material, of course.)

Baghunter focused the study on the Chanel Medium Classic Flap Bag, which has been around since 1955. When the bag first hit shelves, it went for just $220, and by 1990, it sold for $1,150. Now, in 2016, it costs a whopping $4,900. Overall, it increased in value by 71.92 percent between 2010 and 2015, which outperforms housing prices and the S&P 500. The researchers found similar, if slightly smaller, price increases for the Chanel Reissue 2.55 in sizes 226 and 227 and the Chanel Boy Bag in small and medium. 

Source: harpersbazaar.com

Behind the Seams: The Academy of Art University Fashion Show

We're always looking for a fashion fix in our lovely city of San Francisco. We just attended the Academy of Art University 2008 fashion show, which celebrated the blood, sweat, and tears the fashion students have endured at the Academy. The event brought out a mixed crowd of students, SF socialites, local press, and noted fashion designers, John Galanos and Ralph Ricci. I was quite impressed with the promising young talents and the collections were not too shabby.

To read more about the Academy of Art University fashion show and to see more runway pics, read more.

The show consisted of 17 collections from some of the top fashion students in the school with individual themes for each collection. My favorites were Ronnie Escalante Jr. and Alyssa Prentice (picture 1 and 2 above), who displayed utmost originality and beauty in their designs. Ronnie's collection was filled with decadent gowns fit for the red carpet and Alyssa's modern-lux creations left us wanting more. We weren't the only ones that felt that way because they were awarded a prestigious internship with Ralph Ricci — congrats!

The men's collections were another highlight. The designs were fun, modern, and I loved the amazing leather jackets!

All together, the show was a lot of fun and it was refreshing to see new talent on the rise. I also got a chance to see America's Next Top Model alums Chantal and Eugenia looking Fab and strutting their stuff on the runway.

Source: fabsugar.com

Hotel Bondi Swimwear collection launched at Australia Fashion Week

The Hotel Bondi Swimwear collection has launched at Australia Fashion Week, cementing the importance of beachside attire in a multi-billion dollar industry.

More than two dozen half naked Bondi babes strutted down the catwalk today during one of the week's most-hyped events.

But for the designers and buyers in attendance, it wasn’t just about the beautiful bikinis and the women wearing them — it was also about the dollars.

Australia Fashion Week founder Simon Lock said the event was more than an opportunity to see beautiful clothes and sip champagne.

"At the core of this event this is basically a trade event, the most glamorous, sophisticated and sexy trade event you'll ever come across," Mr Lock said.

"We're hoping that this year our export sales will be in the order of $250 million. It's quite a significant contribution."

More than 150 designers have flown in from overseas for the week to see more than 100 designers showcase their collections on the catwalk.

Some notable international buyers include teams from Barney’s New York, Harrods and Lane Crawford in Hong Kong.

The Hotel Bondi collection is the work of designer Damion Fuller, who says the brand has come to represent everything there is about the famous beach.

"We have a very simple message, we love bikinis and we love Bondi. All of our prints you saw today, every print has a different Bondi story," Mr Fuller said.

Fuller shrugged off the stereotypical image of a Bondi babe with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"A typical Bondi girl, she's Japanese, she's Brazilian, English, she's everything. Thanks to the eclectic nature of Bondi she's both completely international and totally unique," he said.

Source: ninemsn.com.au

Gold Coast lingerie wows Paris

FROM Lyon to Las Vegas, Gold Coast lingerie designer Sally Jones is fast conquering the intimates world despite being little known in Australia.The 48-year-old has been working on her self-titled label for almost four years and last month hit the jackpot – being asked to show her latest collection at the Ultra Fashion Lingerie Show in Paris.

Gallery: Sally Jones lingerie

The global benchmark for haute couture in lingerie, it was a coup for the designer who operates out of a small factory at Burleigh Heads.

"Basically the press in Europe will use those photographs for the next season in magazines and all sorts of promotional material," Ms Jones said.

While assembling the collection was stressful, her designs were a hit with the 850 parade guests and she is now in negotiations with some of the biggest names in lingerie worldwide.

"We've got our foot in the door with China, which is probably one of the biggest boosts for our business at the moment," she said.

She is also in talks with prestigious Paris department store Galeries Lafayette.
But Ms Jones said her dream was for greater recognition at home.

"You go to Japan and people know the label, you go to France and people know the label, and America, but in Australia I still get asked, 'I haven't heard of you, where are you stocked?' " she said. "The only place that we haven't got our products where I'd really like to is David Jones or Myer."

Source: Queensland Newspapers

Half the Sky Designs Introduces 2008 Collection of Eco-Fashion Forward Handbags

Marty Stevens-Heebner, founder and president of Half the Sky Designs, today announced the unveiling of Rebagz™ 2008 collection as well as appearances of Rebagz on ABC's "Ugly Betty" and in the current Pasadena Museum of History's 'The Purse and the Person: A Century of Women's Purses' exhibition. Rebagz, stylish and colorful handbags made from recycled juice packs and nylon rice bags, have quickly found popularity among fashionistas and the eco-conscious crowd since their introduction last summer.

Actress America Ferrera received a Large Multi-Colored Rebagz Tie-Tote in a celebrity gift bag last fall. In the episode of "Ugly Betty" that aired January 17, her character Betty was carrying the bag. Other celebrities who own Rebagz include Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Heidi Klum, Halle Berry, Sheryl Crow and Serena Williams.

"We're so happy that our Rebagz bags are gaining recognition," says Stevens-Heebner. "We were both thrilled and surprised to see America Ferrera with her bag on 'Ugly Betty' and to be invited to participate in the Pasadena Museum of History's exhibit." The response to Rebagz's introductory line last summer, "...was amazing," she says, "and we've added even more exciting eco-friendly designs for 2008."

Half the Sky Designs introduced the Rebagz 2008 collection at the recent California Gift Show, WWD MAGIC in Las Vegas and in the juried sections of the New York International Gift Fair and Atlanta International Gift Market.

There are currently two Rebagz lines: one made from recycled juice packs that are cut into strips and woven together to make colorful, durable bags and the other crafted from colorful recycled rice bags from the Philippines. "I'm always struck by the gorgeous designs on some rice sacks," says Stevens-Heebner. "It's a competitive rice market, so it becomes all about eye-catching packaging. The sacks are just too beautiful to throw away, so we transform them into eco-fashion forward handbags."

This season marks the launch of the new Rebagz Limited Edition line. Stevens-Heebner discovered some rice sacks she loved were from brands that had been discontinued. "This means we have a very finite number of bags," she says. "I look at these recycled sacks as my fabric, and this was fabric I definitely wanted to work with." So she created the Rebagz Limited Edition line to celebrate the uniqueness of these particular rice sacks and to illustrate the fact that many beautiful things around us are finite in supply. The Limited Edition styles include "Panda," "Stallion" and "Lion Brand," while supplies last.

Other rice bag designs include "Magnolia," "White Rose," "Jasmine," "Blue Birds," "Trophy" and "Best Mill." The Rebagz 2008 collection adds backpacks, wallets, cell phone carriers and coin purses to the extensive rice sack and recycled juice pack lines which already include totes in various sizes: baby bags, messenger bags that accommodate computers, shoulder bags and clutches.

Former human rights worker Stevens-Heebner works closely with her workers, ensuring that they are treated well and paid fairly. Her aptly named company references the adage, "Women hold up half the sky," paying homage to the many women who work with Half the Sky Designs.

Source: Marketwire.com

Prada Vernice Sfumata Pump

Prada's accessories are always one of the first brands I look at in style.com's accessories preview. Afterall, Prada's accessories are always the sales force behind the brand and they're usually copied by all the other high street brands (thus Prada's accessories almost always form part of the new trends.)

The first time I saw this season's Prada's shoes, I thought err... I hated the gradient colour theme (more so for certain colours like green and black than others,) and I wasn't really into the whole leg-warmers-with-heels trend because realistically, I'm not going to even try that.

But when I was wondering around Barneys in LA, I couldn't resist trying on a pair of one of Prada's FW07 runway shoes, the Vernice Sfumata Pump, which to us normal people, are commonly known as the gradient-coloured pumps. So I tried them on and wow, I loved them! I instantly felt like I was sucked into the world of artistic, intellectually glam world of Prada.

I especially liked the thick, black, elastic strap in the front. I was wearing a flowery skirt that day so it didn't really match my outfit but I imagine it would look absolutely amazing with black pants -modern, sleek and creative. Sigh, now I'll probably spend the next few months admiring these shoes online everyweek.

Source: iamfashion
Image credits: www.saksfifthavenue.com, www.prada.com

Hong Kong : Fair to feature watch & clock design competition winners

The world's largest fair of its kind, the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair, takes place September 5-9, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Along with a dazzling range of timepieces from all over the world, the fair will feature the winning entries of this year's Hong Kong Watch and Clock Design Competition.

Chan Wing Tak's Skin Dial Watch took the open category Championship, with its Lifestyle Culture theme. His design incorporates a hollow case encircled by 12 LED lights; time is displayed by the light projected on the skin of the wearer. "I joined the competition because I love designing new products, especially something not thought about before," said Mr Chan. Mak Tsz Wah and Chan Fung Yin were the runners-up.

The student competition, under a Dream of the Future theme, was won by Chau Pei Shan, a design student at the University of Central England in Birmingham (UCE). Runners-up were Tang Ho Pan of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Shatin), and Chan Kar Him of UCE.

Yellow Ribbon Action, the name of Chau Pei Shan's winning design, was inspired by the yellow ribbons protestors put around their arms, symbolising "peace, hope and love". The timepiece is both an elegant necklace and a watch. Ms Chau also won the student Championship three years ago.

"The Hong Kong Watch and Clock Design Competition works to enhance the design and quality of Hong Kong-made watches and clocks," said Jerry Tsang, Co-Chairman of theFair Organising Committee. "We received more than 300 entries for the competition, which shows that design plays an increasingly important role in the industry."

The world's largest fair of its kind, the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair, takes place September 5-9, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Along with a dazzling range of timepieces from all over the world, the fair will feature the winning entries of this year's Hong Kong Watch and Clock Design Competition.

Chan Wing Tak's Skin Dial Watch took the open category Championship, with its Lifestyle Culture theme. His design incorporates a hollow case encircled by 12 LED lights; time is displayed by the light projected on the skin of the wearer. "I joined the competition because I love designing new products, especially something not thought about before," said Mr Chan. Mak Tsz Wah and Chan Fung Yin were the runners-up.

The student competition, under a Dream of the Future theme, was won by Chau Pei Shan, a design student at the University of Central England in Birmingham (UCE). Runners-up were Tang Ho Pan of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Shatin), and Chan Kar Him of UCE.

Yellow Ribbon Action, the name of Chau Pei Shan's winning design, was inspired by the yellow ribbons protestors put around their arms, symbolising "peace, hope and love". The timepiece is both an elegant necklace and a watch. Ms Chau also won the student Championship three years ago.

"The Hong Kong Watch and Clock Design Competition works to enhance the design and quality of Hong Kong-made watches and clocks," said Jerry Tsang, Co-Chairman of theFair Organising Committee. "We received more than 300 entries for the competition, which shows that design plays an increasingly important role in the industry."

Source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council

West Indies: Caribbean Fashion Week ends with fabulous fashion colours

KINGSTON: The Caribbean Fashion Week being scheduled here in the city at the National Indoor Sports Centre from June 06-10 2007 ended on a note of colour, funk and fabulous fashion.

Although the event started a bit late, it ran smoothly as the models strutted their stuff in a wide selection of creative pieces.

The designer Peter Elias from Trinidad and Tobago with his female collection opened the show. Elias’ collection had the island feel, with long often flowing dresses that were tied around the models and utilised lots of beige, green, white and blue mixed on sheer material that floated around the models.

On the other spectrum of fashion was Keneea Linton who has obviously grown into her own, using more diverse colours and designs since last year’s fashion week, while the Linton’s look appeals to a more funk driven younger audience with a lot of zebra prints combined with hot pinks in short shorts, skirts and dresses.

Further, some dresses were ’80s styled such as pleated blue baby doll dresses, a Madonna style cupped breast top with a yellow skirt and some outfits were set for the high seas with blue deck shorts. Her last pieces shown were more mature with long dresses with sexy cuts at the top in orange, purple and green with yellow.

Luna Designs was all about nature and with mainly wrap skirts accompanied by brown bikini style tops, while Luna Designs accessorised with a lot of shell and bead jewelery. Most of the designs were very light, cool and often lightly trimmed with bright colours such as purple and yellow which really set off the dresses and skirts.

Yardman offered up a pure casual look with mainly male fashion featuring hoodies, T-shirts and jeans with ‘Yardman’ and ‘Kingston’ written all over it and young designer, Gavin Douglas really impressed the crowd with European style couture and used a lot of unique and interesting colours such as mustard yellow, deep purples and peacock feathers on very metallic looking material.

The veteran designer, Barry Moncrieffe featured a variety of cultures, such as African, Indian, Chinese and Caribbean themed outfits and with a few pieces in his classic black and white, Moncrieffe combined black and white stripes with polka dots in classy, long dresses.

Other standouts were the use of a lot of African prints, Indian long beaded skirts and Chinese style button front tops. Bajan designer Wayne Smith also had an evening dress appeal with his ‘Island Spice’ collection.

Island Spice featured long dresses in green, leopard print and many more. Their blending of colours was very well done, making the garments interesting. The material was sheer and oftentimes sexy. One long purple dress had a very unique accessory, with a necklace made of purple orchids.

Francis Hendy brought 1950s and ’60s back to men’s wear. He utilised a lot pinstripes in pants and tops, as well as patterns. After a brief break, Pulse took a minute out to honour a pioneerof costume designs in Trinidad – Peter Minshall.

Fashion designer, Claudia Pegus fascinated by frills, Pegus’ shirts and skirts were often frilled, and very vibrant, a bit carnivalesque colour scheme. She used a lot of deep gold to give a Egyptian feel to some dresses, which had an overall fun feel. Bill Edwards was mainly back to the men, with very comfortable looking slacks and shirts with leafy patterns.

Ending with a flair that had audience standing and applauding were designs from Romanian Catalin Ebotezatu. Ebotezatu had very sexy glittery and featured filled evening gowns which were sheer in the right places exposing the models sexily and overall had a very exotic feel.

Source: bharattextile

Models, designers arrive in Antigua to heat up runway

From their chic shoes to stylish dos, the models and designers who are going to join forces with the Insomnia models to sizzle the runway tomorrow night are already turning heads. Stepping out from the arrival lounge with style and presence, already people waiting on other arriving passengers could be heard asking, “A who dem dey?”

Arriving yesterday were the Thorough Bred models from St. Kitts/Nevis, regional super model the 2005 Miss Hawaii Tropics Suilika Buchanan, also from St. Kitts, the models from Model Image by CBO from Curacao, and fashion designer Kiasha Peters from St. Martin.

Except for the models from Curacao, the other delegates are all returning participants, including Thorough Bred model Beko Lapsey, who's been a model for the last five years.

Smiling broadly, he expressed his eagerness to work with the Insomnia models again and the Caliente producers. Particularly loving to please the women in the audience, he's promising a platinum performance this year.

One of the managers to accompany the Thorough Breds, Vaughn Anslyn spoke of the level of professionalism in the production of last year's show, and with the expansion of the production to include more designers and models, he was more than willing to have his guys participate once again.

Also commenting on the level of professionalism that the show exhibited on and off the runway, regional super model Suilika Buchanan smiled broadly as she told of her great experience last year.

"Rickerson and I share the same passion and vision to see Caribbean models taken seriously by the rest of the world ... there's no reason that our models can't be Victoria Secrets models and the like ... so anything to promote the fashion industry and especially the Caribbean modelling industry I'm more than willing to support," she shared.

Opening up some more, and believe me she's very down to earth and willing to share the spotlight with other up-and-coming models.

More than happy to share a few tips with present and future models, she advises that you never stop modelling. On the runway, she laughs as she admits that she's knock-kneed, but says, "It's important not to make your knees touch.

"You also need to know exactly what the designer expects from you. You need to respect the designer and their clothes, so never ever tell a designer that you don't like his work."

At 22 years, being active in the industry for six years, Suilika has a charismatic personality that will make you feel like you're chatting with a girlfriend, but when the camera focuses, she steps into full professional mode as she sashays for the camera.

For the Model Image by CBO models, this is their first major fashion show in the region, and they're all looking forward to showing Antigua exactly what they've got. Already poised to alight the runway, these young people are following their dreams and the fight for Caribbean models to be taken seriously.

Although she could easily be taken for a model, this "Knitty Kitty" will be showcasing new sexy knittable wears. From swimsuits to dresses this fashion diva from St. Martin already knows how to make a runway sizzle.

Designer Kaisha Peters attended last year's Caliente, and, expressing her pleasure of working with professionals such as Rickerson, could not miss this year's show. Reuniting with some of last year's participants at the show, they gave their own show at the airport as people watched the colourful group with curiosity.

Enjoying the reunion with fellow members of the fashion fraternity, the common interest of making Caliente 4 "Sashay" a success was without question.

If you'd like to see these models and designers "sashay" the runway, don't miss the fashion event of the year at the Multi-purpose Cultural and Exhibition Centre at 8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at The Source or It Clothing Store.

Source: antiguasun

Fashion star Jason shines

LUSCIOUS layering, looped belts and light-weight lapels hung temptingly to beautiful models when a Dagenham designer's work went before the global fashion elite.Former Robert Clack schoolboy Jason McCarthy proudly displayed his cutting edge designs for women's clothing, as his MA graduation fashion show got underway last week.

The 24-year-old, a student of the prestigious Royal College of Art, is now likely to be snapped up by any of the top designer fashion-houses, who circle the trendy student event in search of tomorrow's stars.Jason's designs impressed the baying fashionistas and drew noticeable excitement from the sharp-sighted catwalk crowds.

His collection, which included trench-coats, blouses and flat panelled trousers, portrayed an imaginative union where romantic fabrics met military styles.

A flow of models commandeered the stage bearing sleek cuts and clean lines followed by more distressed styles, while tones of grey, black and white were consistent throughout Jason's uniquely wearable debut collection.Jason, who grew up in Dagenham's Pasture Road, where he lives with his grandmother, has already achieved stardom in his hometown.Proud John Hamill is Jason's former art teacher at Robert Clack and has known the talented designer for 11 years.

Mr Hamill attended the fashion show and said: "Jason is possibly one of the highest achievers ever to come from our school and we are extremely proud of him." Jason's collection was displayed over three days at the Royal College of Art site, in Kensington Gore, London.

He told the POST: "The show went great and I received some fantastic reviews. However, when I do reflect on where I have come from and what school was like for me, it was and still is, the best time I ever had.

Source: bdpost.co.uk

White shirt takes on new appeal

IN YOUR CLOSET: They could be the next big names in the fashion industry -- Thakoon, Doo.Ri and Rodarte are all considered important up-and-comers ---- and here's your chance to add their look to your wardrobe without breaking the bank: They've each designed three unique interpretations of the classic white shirt for Gap.

Doo.Ri's Gap items include a shirt with a scarf draped at the neck, a tailored camp shirt and a loose shirtdress; Rodarte's are a sleeveless blouse decorated with bows, a trapeze-shape sleeveless top and a voluminous minidress with pockets and bows; and Thakoon's are a bow-tie blouse with short, puffy sleeves, a short shirtdress with puffy sleeves and a tiered hem, and a belted shirtdress.

"My take on the project was to build a boy meets girl attitude into the pieces," said designer Thakoon Panichgul. "The shirt has feminine elements like pintucks, ruffles and hemstitches built into it, and the dresses have a boyfriend's shirt element in the top portion, while the bottom has a feminine play with a built in skirt and the other looks as if you tied another white shirt around your waist to make a skirt."

Top models Stella Tennant, Liya Kebede and Carmen Kass star in the ad campaign for Gap Design Editions that was shot by top photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoosh Matadin.

Another player in this project is Vogue magazine, which features all the white shirts ---- paired with ballskirts ---- on a fold-out cover of the May issue. Gap has only been featured on the cover of Vogue twice before, once in 1992 when Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer, among others, wore white shirts and white jeans to celebrate the magazine's 100th issue and in 1988 for Anna Wintour's first cover as editor in chief.

The new white shirts serve as an awareness initiative for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which supports new American design talent. Panichgul, Doo-Ri Chung, and sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte all participated in last year's Fashion Fund competition, and Chung was the winner.

Julie Alonso, senior director of public relations at Gap, says the retailer gave each designer the material, the buttons and then said, "Go!"

"I was blown away with what they did with a white shirt," she told the AP.

She added: "The white shirt is something we're famous for in our 38-year history. It's the perfect item for every closet. We thought consumers would be interested in the twists the designers gave it.

"The collection, which retails for $68-$88, is in select stores and on Gap.com. Click on Women, Shirts, Design.

-- Another high-fashion name reaching a broader audience this spring is Patrick Robinson, formerly the designer at Perry Ellis and Paco Rabanne. He is the latest designer to participate in Target's Go International program, which brings limited-edition collections to the mass retailer.

"The collection I designed for Go at Target captures bohemian chic with just the right dose of wit, color and lightness," Robinson said in a statement.

Items include a white off-the-shoulder gauze dress with floral details, a poet blouse, a mesh blouse with satin details ---- and a lot of tiny bikinis.

Source: nctimes