This morning following a press conference held in New York City Italian Fashion Designer Valentino Garavani with partner Giancarlo  Giammetti announced the launch of The Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum.  Anne Hathaway opened the press conference joined by Franca Sozzani, editor in chief of Italian Vogue and Amit Sood, creator of the Google Art Project in New York City.

The online museum is similar to an app.  It was built by French technology company Novacom and can be downloaded from The Archives.  Once downloaded the experience is controlled by touchscreen or a mouse.

The idea is replicating a visit to a palazzo with white walls and a glass roof exposed to the a “blue-roma cloudstream” and the reflection of natural sunlight. Once launched a red cube with a beautiful Valentino gown starts the 3D tour.  A map opens on the right side of the screen to guide you through 10,000 square feet in a brick-and-mortar museum.  Showcasing over 5,000 dresses, original sketches, a look at some of the celebrities who have worn Valentino Couture over the years and an insider peek into the visionaries behind the brand.

From the map a selection can be made to customize the tour.  The opening choice is the Museum Entrance.  This is followed by Themes & Variations, Very Valentino, Creating Couture, The Other Half, Valentino seen by…, The Library, Muses & Friends, Exhibitions & Events and Maison Valentino.  The archives cover a span of fifty years and about 100 fashion shows so there is much to see.

“It is the first time there as been a virtual fashion museum — and people can interact,” says Mr. Giammetti, explaining the concept of digital “master classes” with Valentino.  ”We don’t want Valentino to be just from the past. We want something alive for the future.”

For students this concept speaks their language and allows them entrance through the use of social media sites such as Facebook and You Tube.  A dress can be dissected and craftsmanship seen up close such as the bridal dress of Jacqueline Kennedy for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis in 1968.

At the press conference Giametti went on to explain that the virtual museum will continue to evolve adding more rooms and new features as technology evolves.

The full 50 minute press conference can be viewed on You Tube.

Photo: Valentino

Mode à Paris (Paris Fashion Week) runs from September 27th to October 5th, 2011 and showcases the RTW collections for Spring 2012.  Paris Fashion Week is a favorite of many Editors and Stylists due to it’s showmanship.  Many of the collections are shown in grand venues with much attention paid to the smallest of details.  Shows by Parisian Designers are grand in scope and the production is much like a show you might see at a Broadway theater.

I have many favorite fashion designers whose collections I anxiously await during Mode à Paris but one of my favorites has to be Balmain which was founded by Pierre Balmain and now designed by 26 year old Olivier Rousteing.

Balmain showed their Spring 2012 RTW show at the Intercontinental Grand Hôtel on Thursday, September 29th. Rousteing credited Nudie Cohn, a Russian-born American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as “Nudie Suits”, and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era, for the collection taking his inspiration by researching the show costumes that Cohn deigned for westerns seen in the sixties.

Turning to Sin City the collection had a mix of faded denim skirts, jeans and button down shirts, bodycon tight fitted dresses with gold embroidery, hot shorts and Matador inspired leather jackets and leather pants.  In the spirit of Vegas he sent floral dresses down the runway which were inspired by quilted bedspreads.  There was lots of embellishment using sequins, rhinestones, heavy beading techniques, studs and metal buttons.  Belts with large buckles gave the looks a western flare.

The models wore leather gladiator sandals and Western inspired suede booties.

This season it was all about the sparkle and shine.  When Olivier Rousteing was asked if he saw himself as a budding Nicolas Ghesquière, who started out as a hidden talent at Balenciaga, Rousteing exclaimed: “I can only cross my fingers and hope for such a career!”

Images:  Style.com

She has done it once again, stopped traffic and co-hosts dead in their tracks as she exited the limo. LADY GAGA arrived at the Grammy Awards dressed in a custom Haute Couture Armani Privé spring/summer 2010 collection white translucent orb-like dress.

Armani was the master astronomer in Paris at his Couture runway show on January 26th, 2010. The aurora borealis crystal solar system was channeled into a real show stopper on the red carpet.

Here is the gown from the runway at the Armani Privé spring/summer 2010 collection:

And now presenting the outrageous out of this world LADY GAGA in a celestial organza globe dress with sequin platform sandals holding a silver star at the 2010 Grammy Awards…

Lady Gaga has been nominated for FIVE awards at the 2010 GRAMMY Awards:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: THE FAME

SONG OF THE YEAR: “POKER FACE”

RECORD OF THE YEAR: “POKER FACE”

BEST DANCE RECORDING: “POKER FACE”

BEST ELECTRONIC/DANCE ALBUM: THE FAME

PHOTO CREDIT: AP

For more information on the 2010 Grammy Awards visit Grammy.com

In Paris Karl Lagerfeld staged a barnyard with milkmaids at the Chanel Spring 2010 runway show.  The Spring/Summer 2010 ad campaign is quite different. Shot on location in Argentina by Karl Lagerfeld himself in October the campaign offers a latin flair.  Supermodel Claudia Schiffer joins with models Freja Beha Erichsen and Baptiste Giabiconi in Buenos Aires to tell the story of latin lovers and their passion.

This next photo shows Schiffer in a black lace dress, quilted Chanel purse and a gorgeous gaucho hat looking shy and seductive.

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PARIS FASHION WEEK: KARL TAKES A ROLL IN THE HAY

LET CHANEL TATTOO YOU THIS SPRING

We saw them on the Runway for Spring 2010 at shows like Rodarte and Jean Paul Gaultier. Models sporting body ink as ornamentation. Now Chanel is preparing to package and sell their runway inspired tattoos starting March 1st.

Tattoos are the new “must have” accessory for Spring. Best part?  They are temporary and painless so explore and be creative.

These Chanel limited edition designs are based on the temporary tattoos that creative director Peter Philips designed for the Paris runway show. They are called Les Trompe L’Oeil de CHANEL Temporary Skin Art and will be sold in packages of five sheets containing 55 designs. They will retail for £49 ( $75.00) and can be purchased at Chanel.com or at Selfridges counter.

Now you can own Chanel for under $100.

In a world of sea urchins and underwater creatures, Alexander McQueen brought us to Plato’s Atlantis for his Paris S/S 2010 fashion show.   An LED screen showing Nick Knight’s pre-made video footage of moving snakes created the backdrop while the runway was illuminated by video cameras.  There was a sea of molded dresses with prints based on reptiles and the great barrier reef, each digitally mastered moving from browns to aqua and blue.  He also showed some tailored grey coats adding some darkness to the feel of the collection.  The shoes were an exercise in balance with killer heels made of sequins, shells and animal skins.

McQueen wrote in his show notes:

“When Charles Darwin wrote ‘The Origin of Species”, no one could have known that the ice cap would melt, that the waters would rise and that life on Earth would have to evolve in order to live beneath the sea once more or perish”

Was McQueen trying to deliver a message of social consciousness and environmental awareness?  Were his Darwinian theatrics intended to shed light on the metamorphosis of planet earth?  Let us hope he continues to map out his futuristic take on fashion.

To watch Plato’s Atlantis click here…

Green Acres was the theme for S/S 2010 at the Chanel Show.  The venue was the Grand Palais and Karl Lagerfeld took everyone for a roll in the hay.  Using mainly earth tones for the collection the models popped out of haystacks to a rooster’s crow followed by an upbeat tempo.  There were frilly chiffons,  nubby tweeds, skinny jeans, chains, lace and some looks taking us back to victorian times with big collars.  The models walked in clogs and there were also some straw bags.

Rihanna and Prince sat front row and Lily Allen rose out of the floor to give an outstanding musical performance.

Karl showed us once again his true showmanship.

BONJOUR !! It is Fashion Week in Paris. All the fashion heavy hitters are out in full force taking their respective front row perches. Balmain has always been a favorite of mine.  Suzy Menkes of the NY Times used social media to rate the S/S 2010 show.  She told us the the verdict from cyberspace: Balmain, 75 Twitters in an hour after the show.  That’s a lot of buzz in the cyberworld of fashion.  Despite her late arrival Rihanna came out to show support for Christophe Decarnin, the  label’s designer for the past 4 years.   Rihanna is a style chameleon.  She is to this decade what Madonna was to 80′s fashion.  So sit back and enjoy this military inspired collection.  Au revior …