W articles from March 2008

W archives from March 2008

Off target.(The Month in Fashion)(Liz Claiborne Inc. hires Isaac Mizrahi)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As anyone who has seen Unzipped can tell you, Isaac Mizrahi has a flair for theatrics. It makes sense, then, that the 46-year-old's career has had more acts than a Shakespearean drama: He's been an actor (in Fame,...

Sexy back.(The Month in Fashion)
March 1, 2008... In 2006 Justin Timberlake and his childhood buddy Trace Ayala attempted to expand their denim line, William Rast, into a full fashion collection. Retailers didn't fall as hard for Timberlake as music fans have, and the collection never made it...

Stock in trade.(The Month in Fashion)(Prada S.p.A.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To be public or not to be public? That has long been the question for Prada. Three times in the past seven years the company has flirted with an initial public offering, only to pull the plug, citing unfavorable...

Do windows.(News)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Diego Della Valle is taking window-shopping to a new level. The Tod's chairman has enlisted visual masters from three realms--French product designer Patrick Norguet, English architects BarberOsgerby and Dutch artist...

Gold diggers.(The Month in Fashion)(Gucci Guccio S.p.A introduces sneakers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Beijing Olympics are months away, but Gucci is already in training. In December the brand unveiled the 8-8-2008 Limited Edition, an accessories collection inspired by the Games, which kick off on that date. The...

Mad for Moscow.(The Month in Fashion)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Whether they show up to open splashy new boutiques or simply to hobnob with oligarch gazillionaires, fashion designers can't seem to get enough of Russia. In November Donatella Versace became the latest to visit...

Boy wonder.(The Month in Fashion)(Emanuel Ungaro Paris hires fashion designers)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Since Emanuel Ungaro's 2004 retirement, the house that bears his name has been in flux, with three creative directors--Giambattista Valli, Vincent Darre and Peter Dundas--coming and going in as many years. In November Esteban Cortazar became...

What a girl wants.(News)(Lancome Parfumes et Cie)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Model Daria Werbowy has spent countless hours in makeup chairs, having her face painted by the biggest names in the business. It was no surprise, then, that when it came time to create her own cosmetics collection...

Toujours couture.(Flashback)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Hubert de Givenchy's fashion fixation started early. As a child, he told W in October 1979, he would sketch wardrobe ideas for various heads of state, and "at nine, I made a little box which was a copy of what...

Boy meets world.(Fast Forward)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Wandering around a West Hollywood soundstage with a basketball under his arm, Adrian Alonso, the 13-year-old star of the Mexican film La Misma Luna, could easily be mistaken for one of the boys playing on the courts across the street. During...

Not my type.(Letter From the Editors)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Hillary Clinton, normally a pillar of stoicism, scored a surprise victory in the New Hampshire Democratic primary the day after misting up at a campaign event, political strategists learned an important lesson:...

Not so swanky.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Please tell me how Steven Klein could produce such a stunning photo of Hilary Swank for your January cover as well as the over-the-top yet banal 20-page spread on the same woman ("Wait Until Dark"). Poor Hilary. The...

Lady lovely.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... When I arrived from Kansas City, Missouri, as a lowly freshman at Pomona College in Claremont, California, an upperclassman, Lady de Rothschild (then Lynn Forester) became my role model and mentor. I haven't seen her in years, but writer...

Points for individuality.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... How refreshing to see a bride--Behnaz Sarafpour--willing to be something other than a "cookie-cutter princess" ("A Little Help From My Friends," January). Others may not have the same kind of friends to help assemble a wedding look, but...

Look alive.(Readers React)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I see dead people--every time I look at W! On February's cover, James McAvoy protects the corpse of Keira Knightley from falling backward. In January Hilary Swank looks as though she wants to tell me her last wish...

David's ark.(Uncensored)(Plastiki- waste management campaign)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... On the heels of his previous eco-voyages--such as traversing the Greenland ice cap in record time in 2005--DAVID De ROTHSCHILD is working on a new project he calls Plastiki. The banking heir, sponsored by the International Watch Co., a Swiss...

I spy.(Uncensored)(United Kingdom. Secret Intelligence Service)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Time was, recruiting for the British secret service was a cloak-and-dagger affair. But in a competitive employment environment, Britain's MI6--also known as the Secret Intelligence Service--has begun a slick...

Vive la Revolution!(Uncensored)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... France has an unlikely new politician, Jean-Marc Restoux, a homeless man who lives on the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, will run for mayor of Paris in the March 9 election. For more then 20 years, Restoux, 54, has trolled for cash between...

Lash out.(Uncensored)
March 1, 2008... As far as hot beauty trends go, eyelash lengthening is becoming the new teeth whitening--but with its sudden popularity comes loads of controversy. Last fall the FDA pulled Jan Marini's Age Intervention Eyelash from warehouse shelves after...

Duck love.(Uncensored)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Given all the bad press about foie gras these days, it's almost impossible to enjoy the delicacy anymore without being haunted by thoughts of little duckies being force-fed until their livers swell to 10 times their natural size. But during the...

Trend: holding court: get your game on this spring with tennis-inspired looks.
March 1, 2008... Fashion has often flirted with sports, and this season designers served up a stylish tennis vibe of the vintage variety. Think Patou, not performance. "It's a timeless look," says Jose Ramon Reyes, whose collection delivered beautifully on this...

Synthetically speaking: once the stuff of punch lines, polyester has gained some famous fans and a hip new lease on life.(Fashion Flash)
March 1, 2008... When filmmaker John Waters created his seminal 1981 send-up of the ills of suburban America, he chose a suitably unseemly title: Polyester. "It was the dirtiest word you could say in fashion," Waters relates via phone from his beloved...

Dance to the Musique: Paris nightlife gets a bad rap, but for party-hungry fashion insiders there are plenty of places to boogie.(Fashion Flash)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Some towns are known for their nightlife: London famously swings, New York never sleeps, and Berlin has been a bastion of after-dark subversion since the Twenties. Paris, with its slow economy and rigid social...

Row and behold: as the sole female on Savile Row, Anda Rowland is reinvigorating her father's staid shop.(Fashion Flash)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Savile Row is no place for little girls, as Anda Rowland discovered at age six. That's when she paid her first visit there, accompanied by her father, the famously dapper multimillionaire Roland "Tiny" Rowland, who...

Home alone: when faced with exceptionally tricky ensembles, dressing sans handmaid is no easy feat.(Fashion Flash)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In Sofia Coppola's cinematic portrait of Marie Antoinette, a baby-faced Kirsten Dunst discovers--on her first morning in Versailles--the court's tedious process for the simple task of getting dressed. As she stands...

In with the old: as luxury prices soar, fashion lovers flock to consignment shops.(Fashion Flash)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] When Janet Clarke, a successful businesswoman with a formidable retail habit, purchased a $3,000 Escada jacket in Schiaparelli pink leather last year, she did so not with the flush of excitement that certain...

In the cut: once the massive Lesotho Promise was split, there were more than 20 flawless Graff diamonds in that rough.(Accessories Flash)
March 1, 2008... Laurence Graft, the British billionaire jeweler known as the king of diamonds, wanted to own the rock, all 603 carats of it, the moment he hung up the phone last August. The conversation was brief: The Lesotho Promise, the 15th-largest rough...

Bay watch: beachworthy, chic gems.(Accessories Flash)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Warm weather and seaside retreats evoke a breezy attitude, often with ensembles to match. But embracing an easy aesthetic is no reason to forgo the finery entirely. In fact, it's an opportunity to accessorize with...

Glam noir: take a stylized power trip.(Accessories Flash)(De Beers Group S.A.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Forget the boardroom. Power dressing has become an evening affair, thanks to strong accessories with a surplus of sass. Not to mention flash, as in De Beers's diamond-encrusted chunk of a cocktail ring, and Rene Boivin's weighty mirrored...

Eclectic elegance: indulge with imaginative baubles.(Accessories Flash)(Faraone S.p.A.)(de Grisogono)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What's more fun than a flight of fanciful gems? De Grisogono has budding beauties of the bejeweled variety covered. Its floral studs range from playful, with a yellow diamond and emerald buttercup motif, to refined,...

To have and to hold: with fine jewelry's rising profile on the auction scene, collectors are avidly hunting tomorrow's treasures.(Accessories Flash)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When 17 JAR pieces drew record prices at a Christie's auction in late 2006, industry insiders gasped at some of the numbers (one ring alone fetched $1.8 million), but the outcome of the sale wasn't a complete...

Naturally refined: there's nothing even remotely crunchy about these eco-inspired accessories.(Accessories Flash)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Earthy fashion needn't be confined to hemp skirts and Birkenstocks. Consider Dries Van Noten's mustard-yellow ribbon necklace, strung with chunks of glossy malachite, the milky-green mineral found in Israel's King...

Rocking out: Christina Aguilera plays muse to ultraedgy jewelry designer Stephen Webster.(Accessories Flash)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There's an undeniable, often symbiotic connection between music and wildly expensive jewelry. Hip-hop stars and their undying love for scads of diamonds provide one obvious example; British jeweler Stephen Webster's...

Breezy does it: go gently this spring with fresh patterns, delicate ombres or other light-as-air fare.(Shopping)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stella McCartney Nylon bikini, $335, at select Stella McCartney stores, stellamccartney.com St. John Wool, rayon and acrylic sweater, 5465, at select Neiman Marcus stores, neimanmarcus.com ...

Pregnant pause: women with unexplained infertility face a tough choice: start treatment or keep searching for the cause.(Beauty Flash)
March 1, 2008... After trying to conceive for nearly two years, Jennifer, a then 36-year-old New York journalist, made an appointment at one of the city's top fertility clinics. When tests of both her and her husband came back normal, doctors gave them a...

Warm up: an energizing skincare duo, extragentle hair care and a cheery new fragrance usher in the change of season.(Beauty Flash)
March 1, 2008... Sea of Color Chantecaille Protected Paradise Eyes' playful trio of rose, aqua and green shadows may seem a bit daunting to those who stick with neutrals. But the rose makes a pretty highlighter; the green has a wearable gray undertone; and...

Fit for a king: Prince Charles launches a new line of luxury home products.(Home Flash)
March 1, 2008... If there's anyone who already owns plenty of nice things, it's Prince Charles, but that hasn't stopped him from producing a few more. The heir to the British throne has unveiled a line of luxury goods and aims to take on the Tiffanys, Wedgwoods...

Anything goes: as luxury hotel rates rise, so does the shamelessness of guest requests.(Travel Flash)
March 1, 2008... When Noah Lemaich took his post behind the concierge desk at 60 Thompson hotel in New York's SoHo one morning, he anticipated just another average day fulfilling guests' pleas for theater tickets or dinner reservations at the Waverly Inn. But...

Soldiering on: a high-profile divorce made last year the worst of Ryan Phillippe's life. Now, with some perspective and an intense new role, he's ready to move forward.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... You'd think it would be easy to spot Ryan Phillippe. He's told me to meet him at the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica. Outside, one of the heaviest rains in years is beginning to fall, and the lobby is practically empty. I station myself on a...

Night music.(EYE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A slew of stars--of both the social and the Hollywood variety--lit up the lavish dinner that Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana hosted on the rooftop of New York's Gramercy Park Hotel to celebrate the reopening of...

Don't cross Moss: with her sharp eye and hard-driving style, Charlotte Moss is becoming the Martha Stewart of the Upper East Side set.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Last spring Charlotte Moss, the interior designer, author and New York society figure, opened a namesake home furnishings shop on a prime Upper East Side block, just off Madison Avenue. Occupying an entire town house...

Perfect vision: designer Bill Katz's quietly powerful interiors have won over the art world.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... One afternoon a few years ago, while Diane von Furstenberg was talking to designer Bill Katz about how to renovate the 19th-century Connecticut barn that had served as her beloved retreat for more than 25 years, Katz told her she should...

So sheikh.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] He'll always have Paris, so why not London too? Karl Lagerfeld unleashed a blast of Gallic chic for the Chanel extravaganza he staged in the British capital. Things kicked off with a dinner at Nobu, to which...

Young master: Robert Noortman was the world's top Old Master dealer. Can his son William reclaim his title?(EYE)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] For nearly 20 years, art dealer Robert Noortman held the most coveted position at the European Fine Art Fair, the world's premier annual sale of Old Master paintings: the front corner booth. As you entered the...

Lights, camera, action: they're not the first socials to aim for a Hollywood career, but they may be the most ambitious.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When 19-year-old aspiring actress Tallulah Harlech was told by a director friend last year that he had a great part for her in his theatrical production of Anthony Minghella's Whale Music at the Edinburgh Fringe...

Dinner dates.(EYE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The end-of-the-year party schedule is always so jam-packed that, half the time, people can't recall the cause for celebration. At the Chloe-sponsored Guggenheim Young Collectors Council Artist's Bali honoring Ryan...

Good bones: with his Bone Chair and other creations, Dutch design hotshot Joris Laarman finds new ways to merge high tech with high style.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... New faces come and go in the design world, and many of those faces, like Joris Laarman's, are young and Dutch. Laarman made an international splash at age 23 with his senior project at design school--a modular concrete radiator whose curlicue...

Escape plan.(EYE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Whatever happened to staying home for the holidays? Madonna toured temples in Rajasthan, India. Elisha Cuthbert and Eve partied in Miami's South Beach (the actress hosted a bash at nightclub Cameo, while the rapper...

Bayswater Bohemian: technically they may be called Lord and Lady Ogilvy, but they're making their own names in music and art.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... If you're going to launch a career as a country-folk musician, one who sings ballads about lonesome nights and rain on the train tracks, it helps if your backstory includes a hard-luck childhood in Oklahoma or Tennessee and a string of adult...

The elephant man: well-connected adventurer Mark Shand is out to save the pachyderms.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... Mark Shand will always remember the moment he spotted his first love, Tara, during a trip to eastern India in 1988. As he described it in a best-selling book, the encounter changed his life forever: "With one hind leg crossed over the other,...

Untamed art.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The scene at Art Basel Miami Beach shows no sign of slowing. "Miami becomes like no other place in the world this week," said Calvin Klein (who recently purchased a L920s Spanish-style home in the city) at a dinner,...

Ben there: he's shown his full monty and gone toe-to-toe with George Clooney. Now Tom Wilkinson takes on founding father Benjamin Franklin.(EYE)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For his upcoming performance as Benjamin Franklin in the HBO miniseries John Adams, based on David McCullough's best-selling biography, British actor Tom Wilkinson had to look like a hundred bucks. "Everybody knows...

Feel the heat.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... There's more than one way to start a fire, and there are literal and figurative examples aplenty in this issue. PINUP, for instance, goes for all-out sensuality with bare evening looks and lingerie on girls at rather startlingly athletic play....

Pinup: talk about girls gone wild. Channeling Vargas gas, young sirens show off theri flexibility--along with provocatice lingeries and sleek or prothy party procks--in some rather compromising positions.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Alexander McQueen's patent-leather and net dress, to order, at Alexander McQueen, New York. Model's own necklace. Chanel's silk crepe dress, at select Chanel stores, 800.550.0005. Cornelia James gloves; Wolford...

Salvation: paging George Bernard Shaw, vests, breastplates and capes worn with graphically patterned minidresses and leggings add up to a look that's part Joan of Arc, part Motley crew.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NINA RICCI'S BLACK LEATHER JACKET WITH METAL BEADING, NINARICCI.COM; HOLT RENFREW, TORONTO. DRIES VAN NOTEN CUFFS. [THIS PAGE] BALENCIAGA'S PURPLE AND WHITE SILK SHANTUNG JACKET, BY NICOLAS GHESQUIERE, AT...

Sister act.(Cover story)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SCARLETT JOHANSSON AND NATALIE PORTMAN--CAST AS RIVALROUS SIBLINGS IN THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL--HAVE SEEMINGLY NOTHING IN COMMON. BUT AS IT TURNS OUT, THE UTTERLY UNINHIBITED BOMBSHELL AND THE SELF-POSSESSED PIXIE ARE...

Fire: when a heavenly creature falls from her perch, who knows where she'll land? Goddesses in short, Grecian-inflected evening dresses are positively incendiary.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DOLCE & GABBANA'S LIMITED-EDITION HANDPAINTED SILK ORGANZA GOWN, TO ORDER, 877.70.DGUSA. BURBERRY PRORSUM'S BLACK SILK GAUZE DRESS, AT BURBERRY. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] ALEXANDER McQUEEN'S SILK TULLE...

Harlem days: sexy looks that are a good girl-bad girl mix--soft sweaters, short skirts--reflect the early-sixties style of Room at the Top and a Taste of Honey, transplanted to present-day Harlem in an unexpected twist.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DRIES VAN NOTEN'S GREEN FLORAL SILK COAT, AT SAKS FIFTH AVENUE; BARNEYS NEW YORK; COUTURE CADOLLES'S NUDE TULLE AND LYCRA BRA, TO ORDER LOFTCADOLLE@AOL .COM; STEVEN ALAN'S RED SILK BRIEFS, STEVENALAN.COM LOUIS...