Celebrities Obsession Tees!

Celebrities are obsessed by Wildfox couture t-shirts! also the Fash Mad Avenue!!! ( I have witnessed that) Some of their loyal followers are Halle Berry, Ashley Tisdale, Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift, Vanessa Hudgens, Paris Hilton, the lovely Kim kardashian ( who's engaged now:) with a 20+ carat gem) I completely admire the smart girls behind it but the shirts!!! I mean apart from having an unsurpassed quality I feel that anyone can do these designs! nothing exceptional and nothing about the designers "Emily Faulstich and Kimberly Gordon " story of scouting around for vintage stores to be inspired, but again maybe the fans are attracted to the simplicity and wittiness or to the fact that celebrities are wearing them...

I've checked them out  at DASH, les Kardashians boutique in Springs Soho, I personally liked the sequenced ones, they are more expensive but at least you feel that some effort was put into the design.

Since I mentioned DASH, well i was so disappointed not to see more Kardashian designs, except the tees, bottled water, candles and fragrance, the boutique is multi-brand, the choice of the 3 sisters.And yes people are still lining up to enter the boutique, on the door a huge bouncer asking them to take the line, once inside you feel that it is just another boutique, nothing shouting "Kardashian Style" except for few pieces that i wouldn't even try on, also on the middle wall of the boutique 3 big frames of their pictures, people usually take souvenir photos there or in front of the shop :)

Am not being negative about the Kardashians, but I think they should put more effort in making DASH a real fashion destination and not a place where people go hoping to meet them or to find Z Kardashian fashion "style" and get disappointed...

Missoni ♥ Havaianas & Many More!

Missoni's signature bright zig-zag stripes & waves are splashed all over the Havaianas:)
I’m a flip flop fan, in the summer and winter! I live in Dubai ;) There’s hardly something as comfortable and as easy to wear and to match as flip flops. And when it comes to flip flops, Havaianas is the brand you’d want to look for, this time Bringing a bit of extra chic-ness!

Italian brand Missoni has long been known as Z luxury label, but increasingly, its signature zigzag designs and vibrant colours are making inroads into more affordable lifestyle brands and that's a great opportunity for Missoni's style lovers and so beneficial to Missoni's marketing strategy in capturing new and younger audience.
Earlier Missoni's collaborations were with sparkling water brand S. Pellegrino, Converse & ToyWatch. 

And the latest, coming soon in Sept. is their collaboration with Target and Bugaboo.Target will feature over 400 items, including clothing, bedding and dinnerware in the brand’s signature zig-zag prints. The line hits the US stores September 17th. So if you are living in the US Save the date, and if you are in another country just find a way to get few of those ZigZags( actually it is not revealed yet if the collection will be online but will let you know) The Italian company will also release a collaboration of sun canopies and bassinet aprons with Bugaboo at Neiman Marcus in July.
A dream Missoni stroller  that I hope will be enjoyed by children and will stimulate their fashion senses!

Homage to Alexander McQueen

It wasn't very easy to get in to the McQueen's exhibit today at the MET, but not for me ( tip: get a membership at the MET and you will not wait in the line, express access ;) ) Fans, artists, critics from around the world were lining up to discover the "Savage Beauty" hidden inside the museum.
After being there, It became very clear to me why McQueen exhibit is showcased at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. McQueen's designs address themes beyond the ambitions of fashion, there is sophistication behind the designer's dark sensibility, mythic images, brutality, romance & ideals of heroic women, beauty in the unconventional.

It did feel more about art. Anyway It was never, ‘Oh is that comfortable?’ It was all about the vision and the head-to-toe look of it. He was a designer who was making a world and telling a story.
So now having Mcqueen Chef d'oeuvres alongside with Rodin, Cezanne, Dali & ancient arts is the greatest homage to the man and the artist who crossed all barriers and created an unprecedented art.

I also apreciated his statement and it made me understand better his sharp & aggressive cuts " I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I Dress"
The extraordinarily large exhibition spans the history of the designer's 19-year career, including his fashion school graduation collection, "Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims," his time at Givenchy, and all of his own company's collections up to and including the unofficially titled "Angels and Demons," which Burton finished after his death.

The show is divided into six sections. The Romantic Mind examines McQueen's technical skills, focusing on dramatic jackets and dresses. Romantic Gothic highlights the designer's love of the Victorian era, which he often re-imagined with a bondage flair. Romantic Nationalism focuses on McQueen's Scottish heritage and fascination with British history—it includes many gorgeous tartans, some from his "Highland Rape" collection. Romantic Exoticism explores the influence of other cultures, especially Asian ones, on McQueen's design aesthetic. And finally Romantic Primitivism and Romantic Naturalism respectively look at the designer's interests in the "noble savage" and his using of raw materials from nature.


It's hard to say what the standouts in this show are, because it is a show of standouts,
the extraordinary was that he would use anything, any material to create his art, corals, horse hair, metal, bamboo...you name it . 

But I will surely post my picks very soon... that will include the amazing masks!

Film clips from McQueen's legendary runway shows are sprinkled throughout the exhibition, including one of Dress No. 13, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reK0A1XIjKA from the Spring/Summer '99 collection, where robots shot spray paint at a model in a muslin dress as her body was spun around in circles on a runway. A hologram of Kate Moss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cou04-vOZx8&feature=related, from another runway show, is also on display in the exhibition.

Fashion like this could only come from a brilliant yet dark mind. It's tragic that Alexander McQueen ended his life and career so soon. But his work will still be on the cutting edge for many years to come. While Kate Middleton's wedding gown will undoubtedly become the most famous work associated with the designer's name, it will never be the most impressive. 

Customize your Prada! Must Have.

Prada goes on with the “High Thinking” eyewear…

As long as I can remember having something customized has always been the “Glamorous” thing to do. Customized jewelry, purses, clothing and now Sunglasses!

This month, the Italian fashion power house launches in Dubai (after launching in several fashion destinations) PradaPrivate, a line of customizable sunglasses available at Bloomingdales. You can actually Customize your own PRADA Private unique sunglasses with your initials or symbols. 

Go for it! apart from my belief that Prada sunglasses are classics, I think that by adding your initials you'll be owning a timeless pair...

This could also be a big deal for people who rock in Glam and want another way to show off their exclusivity;)

Spotted: Hollywood eyewear addicts like Reese Witherspoon and Kate Moss.

Gucci's New launch like or dislike?

Gucci unveiled new collections of fine jewelry and watches this week,the launch was in done in honor of their 90th anniversary.
Not impressive and they could have done better for their anniversary, especially on the women's watches ! (I Only picked one women's watch) However Men's collection are so good-looking, I honestly won’t be surprised to see ladies sporting the style on their own wrists this summer.My picks in the below picture.

Amongst them, updates on their classic handmade bamboo jewelry and two new watches. 
There’s the 1921, a sleek piece with a face encased in leather. And then there’s the Coupé, which has automatic movements and features a rounded-square case in sun-brushed stainless steel. It’s also got a flash of the classic Gucci green-red-green to provide a little color. My picks in the below picture.

Destination Soleil

The spring/summer 2011 catwalks were filed with retro references called the beach side glamour of starlets from the Sixties and Seventies.The one piece swimsuits are sooo back this summer, my picks are the one shoulder beach Glams from Mathew Williamson (love it! available in 2 shades at Bloomingdales), Lanvin, Pucci & DVF

Also for a Chic, Sexy & Retro Look check out these styles !

Tips:

• Shade yourself with a giant sun hat 
• Bikini tops for a grown-up but subtly sexy look. The good news is that while wearing more fabric, you can style it up with different accessories.
• Leave the heels at home. They don’t work in sand. Better to go for metallic sandals for a glamour hit or down-to-earth brown sandals. 
• Make like the Pucci girls and tie a scarf around your head for a Seventies styling flair.

Ready, Steady, GOOOOO...

Get ready fashionistas, the action is about to begin!
Dubai: Save the Date for Chalhoub's Sale...

The biggest sale event in the UAE and I Would say across the region is on June 3 (open for public at 3:30pm before that it is open for staff only; to 8:00pm) and June 4 (10:00am to 7:00pm) at the trade center Dubai.

Fans of top luxury brands should not miss it out!

Although the goods in the sale are not from the latest collections, but being a smart shopper you can choose some classics and timeless pieces.

If you are intending to go on the first day ( I recommend that) you have to be there earlier than 3:30 at around 12 noon or before as people start lining up early and they do not let everyone in at once, do not make any plans on that day coz you will be spending 4 to 5 hours inside, people also line up on the cashier and in sections like Dior,Tods, Dolce & Gabbana on the entrance. The biggest cashier line is on Ralph Lauren and cosmetic sections.

Last year Fendi did not participate in the sale, you'll be super lucky this year if they do.

Chanel NO! never participates, they had there own private sale last week and it's by invitation only, mostly for senior staff.

Tips:

•  Go on the first day
•  Be there early
•  Wear comfortable shoes
•  Preferably no children
•  Don't carry big bags ( not allowed to carry inside the stands)
•  There is a storage area, so don't worry about carrying the big shopping bags
•  If you get there early on the first day, be careful while entering, as they open the doors a big tsunami wave of shoppers will form:)
•  If you find something that you like, even if you are not sure about it, just keep it with you until you get to the cashier or you might loose it to another shopper in a split of a sec
•  If you are going with a friend, make sure you stick together
•  Cosmetics are the best buys ever!
•  Shoes and belts, especially Tods shoes are worth it
•  Head straight to your favorite brands first when you enter
•  Gifts: make a (people) list before you go, and if you don't have one stock few items and you never know when an occasion pops out!
•  Do not over spend, in such events people tend to buy more and regret it later

Enjoy it  :)

Fashion for Charity not only in Cannes. Check out Dubai!

"Fashion My Community" Charity Fashion Show at Media One Hotel on May 21, 2011.Fashion My Community promises to be a spectacular evening with a grand lineup. The initiative will feature the creations of up and coming Dubai based fashion designers.All the proceeds will be donated to Senses School for Children with Special Needs.The collected funds will serve to purchase a hydrotherapy machine greatly needed by the school to treat 80 per cent of the children who have moderate to severe physical disabilities.

http://www.timeoutdubai.com/aroundtown/events/10856This is for a good cause, so purchase yours now!

It’s not safe out there on the catwalk!

You try wearing eight-inch stilettos, a body bag-size fur stole, and an outfit too geometric for the human body and not falling down. At Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief fundraiser in Cannes this week, three models took a spill, one even slipping two more times before she could escape off-camera.

Any woman who has fallen in a pair of heels can sympathize with the looks on the models’ faces as they tumble.

The 17-year-old model of the moment wiped out three times at Campbell’s charity fashion show, this installment to benefit Japan. And like a true top model, she took it in stride and kept a smile plastered across her face. But Wixson wasn’t the only one to take a fall–two other catwalkers stumbled, too.

Take a look at Wixson’s wipe out, video of her epic fall, courtesy of some show called “Showbiz 411,” via the Daily Mail and Getty images.

HIGH THINKING...Prada ‘From Drawings to Pictures’ Exhibit

Prada‘s approach to marketing–whether that’s through the internet, billboards, or within its own boutiques–is usually a mix of high fashion, high art, and high thinking. That’s why am psyched for the brand’s latest exhibit and thrilled to be in one of the cities where the exhibit is taking place, “From Drawings to Pictures,” which highlights two new, limited edition styles from its Minimal Baroque eyewear collection.

Instead of, you know, just putting out an advertisement, Prada asked three illustrators to interpret the glasses through drawings. Then Vogue Italia and Prada chose eight photographers to create pop/comic-inspired images of the sunnies. There’s something quite surrealist about the whole thing.

The result is a mini-exhibit on display at Prada stores in Milan, New York, Madrid, Paris, London, Istanbul and Hong Kong starting today. 

It’s fitting that Prada enlisted artists to sell sunglasses that are like mini works of art. According to the release: “Curves, friezes and bas-relief effects are the main design features of the Minimal-Baroque. The colour combinations: white/blue, white/black and white/honey with the choice of acetate, seamlessly coordinate the lines of the frame front and arms sculpted into rococo curls, whose decoration is the distinctive feature.”

Artists: Ivo Bisignano, Marcela Gutierrez and Andrea Tarella

Dubai before Paris!

Well yes my friends we live in one of the major shopping destinations around the world,  the launch of the J12 Chromatic in Dubai first & am honored to be among the first people to try it out and share with you the first review!

My friend, the fashionista, was so excited about the new J12 after seeing it on my blog, and insisted we head to Chanel's Boutique in Dubai Mall to check the launching date and I ended up trying the very New Diamond J12 Chromatic! (my picture below)

It is both color and non-color watch the material transforms the prevailing light , in my case the spot lights of the boutique, into a special shimmer (the color shimmers with a varying intensity and density according to the ambient light). For this reason, its creators can affirm that they have found a way to "give color to time".

Seven models have been designed for the launch, a 33mm version with a quartz movement, a 38mm automatic, a 41mm automatic, 2 versions with diamonds round and baguette ( loved the baguette), the sparkle of the diamonds mixed with the special brilliance of the chromatic ceramic is unlike anything I've ever seen up to now.

(Dhs. 64,000 for the diamond watch, Dhs.24,000 for the 38mm and 22 for the 33mm)

Chanel J12 Chromatic...Get in Line!

Gray Matters. 
In high-tech mirror finished titanium, Chanel's New J12 Chromatic is the next big thing in time.

The J12 Chromatic is forged from an incredibly light but sturdy material called titanium ceramic. The highly polished, reflective surface allows plays of light throughout the day, varying within the entire gray scale. It was published that It's finish inspiration is meant to capture the spectrum from romantic to rainy Paris to the mysterious sparkle of the aurora borealis and for extra heavenly luster.

I would like to believe that the inspiration is much more romantic...

J12 Chromatic is inspired by Aurora the Goddess of dawn, Place Vendome home of Chanel flagship boutique and Gabrielle Chanel L'avant-guardiste of all time.

J12CH will be out very soon!

Hermès clandestine...

Click here for : Hermes Paris Fashion Week. LVMH Involvement

"A beautiful story. The garden is high up, hanging like its mythical ancestors, over in Babylon. From its lawn and between its branches all of Paris is on view."

There is a secret behind Hermes fragrances, am totally convinced... whenever am trying a new or old scent I feel that a story is being told throught the scent and the name... it's so different than any other fragrance, very inspiring.
The fourth in a series of Hermès' Jardins Collection of fragrances derives its inspiration not from the Mediterranean (Un Jardin en Méditerranée, 2003), the Nile (Un Jardin sur le Nil, 2005), or Indian monsoons (Un Jardin après la Mousson, 2008), but from an urban oasis—the Hermès roof garden at 24, Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris.

For in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, the new fragrance, Un Jardin Sur Le Toit, has roots in his personal history with the legendary French fashion and fragrance house—his first-ever meeting with Hermès took place in the rooftop garden, which was then, and is still today, cultivated and cared for by Hermès craftsman Yasmina the gardener.

The scent spread the aromatic herbs, flowers and fruits whose flavors vary as they pass through the metamorphosis persuaded by the season. The fresh atmosphere is captured by pear, rose, apple, basil, green grass, rosemary and magnolia.

I personally had mixed feelings about the new Jardin, very sharp yet smells divine!


Check out the True LVMH Statement & Hermes at Paris Fashion Week Inspiration
http://glamsbychantal.blogspot.com/2011/07/hermes-inspiration.html

Bvlgari Continues Saving the Children...Someone Heard the Call

Following the successes of the Rewrite the Future Campaign in 2009 which already raised more than $9 million. Today they’ve committed to  $7.4 million to support Save the Children quality education programs around the globe and they’ve created again a gorgeous ring,  in my opinion better than their  silver/accessory collection by far! The new ring emulates the unique design of the B.zero1 jewelry line, Sterling  silver with black ceramic, the piece is a classic shape that plays well with other baubles, or packs a punch when worn alone.

Bloggers around the world Band Together for Bulgari and Save the Children! (this is an invitation to our Region’s bloggers to participate in spreading the word, hoping that in Bvlgari’s next initiative we will be considered as major players in their campaign)

Celebrities Check Them out Click Here have pledged their support to Save the Children. To spread the word, 33  bloggers to show us their best philanthropic fashions, the results were heart-warming and undoubtedly stylish. With their hands on their hearts, most kept their ensembles minimal opting for classic duds so the ring could take center stage. 

I've got creative! am planning to tie mine to a string to create a simple charm necklace!

It's also perfect for a thoughtful gift (Dhs.1900) for the second edition, the first edition (Dhs.1800)

Head over to Bulgari In case it slipped your mind (the collection has been instore for over 2 months now)to contribute: $75 of each purchase goes directly to Save the Children.

Someone Heard The Call: UPDATE October 13 2011:"Reina" Brand UAE Heard the call in our Region  and took action just before end of the year & for a very dear cause, especially to Women Bloggers, isn't that great! they've  come up with a bracelet called “Flutter Love” made up of two hearts forming a butterfly, representing the art of giving love and allowing it to flutter and reach women suffering from “Breast Cancer”. In creating this campaign they have 3 bloggers as the face of the campaign, It's a  good step from marketeers around the region, in acknowledging the influence of bloggers & blogs that are reshaping the public relations, public opinion,  and yes Fashion too...   I really hope that there will be many to follow in bigger campaigns... (Bulgari ( Our Region) people are you on social media or following any Blog? Can't see you anywhere! just follow Bulgari International strategy, and I can guaranty the positive outcome!)

Hit The Road...London

Must See this major Yohji Yamamoto exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

The V&A presents the first UK solo exhibition celebrating the work of Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto.Taking place 30 years after the designer's Paris debut, the show features 80 garments spanning Yamamoto's career.Until July 10th.

Hit the Road...LA

The doyenne of edgy glamour for four decades and counting Takes Hollywood!
A one stop shop for all things Vivienne Westwood, the flame-haired queen of punk's new Melrose Avenue Boutique stocks her Anglomania, Red labels, Red carpet and Man collection in addition to a section of books and accessories.