This cotton-twill shower-proof trench coat will be your best fashion ally and do not forget that Beige is the hit color of the season!
Burberry trench has gold double-breasted button fastenings at front and also long sleeves with gold-tone zip fastenings. You can find this must-have trench on Net-A-Porter for £795 (851€).

In rainy times like these, keep it classy and fashion by accessorizing your favorite trench with wellington boots. You can choose from Missoni with the brand’s distinctive print, Valentino with a sheer-lace effect or Burberry for a “total-look”.

Who is Rodarte?

Rodarte is the name of a brand created in 2005 by two sisters, Kate and Laura Mulleavy. The California-based sisters named their label after their mother’s maiden name as a tribute to the person who inspired them to draw, sew and create their own business.

Rodarte has quickly caught the eyes of professionals and experienced a fast growth thanks to the support of Anna Wintour from US Vogue and other fashion editors as well as retailers.

Why Rodarte?

Rodarte is different. First because the Mulleavy sisters show no sign of a technical background. In 2008, they won the Swiss Textiles Award and broke two records by being the first women to ever win the prize and also the first winners from outside Europe. Rodarte is also praised by young, serious and Indie actresses and count among its favorites Natalie Portman and Kirsten Dunst.

Unlike its competitors and other luxury conglomerates, PPR and Richemont Group (see past articles here and here) LVMH put an halt to its acquisitions. Hence it might be time to stay competitive in order to remain on top.

Moreover, the avant-garde American fashion brand has great potential that some exclusive retailers have already seen, including Maxfield (L.A.), Jeffrey New York, Bergdorf goodman (NYC), Colette (Paris), Harvey Nichols London Beams Tokyo, among others.

Romantic dresses and obsessive craftsmanship, the label’s hallmark, might be the perfect combination for a bright future…

For the special occasion, Wolford has created a special piece, an ensemble of a body panty with coordinated tights. These precious pieces are made of delicate black lace embroidered with flowers and Swarovski crystals.

Wolford became famous for its high-quality luxury leg-wear and lingerie.
The strength of the brand resides in its capacity of being innovative.
In the eighties, Wolford collaborates with renowned French designers to offer them original tights and stockings for the catwalks. In the 90’s it expands to swimwear and in the 2000’s it introduces its ready-to-wear collection with pieces like skirts, shirts or even pants.

The bodysuit will be available from October 2010 in selected points of sales for $1′344.

Visit WOLFORD for more information

Who’s in, who’s out?

May 2010 marks the end of an era; Indeed Jean-Paul Gaultier is leaving the creative direction of French Fashion House Hermès. Known as the outsider “l’Enfant terrible” of French Haute Couture, he was working at Hermès since 2003.

So this fruitful collaboration between two different personalities, Hermès the very well-established brand known for being classical and JPG the eccentric, is coming to an end after 7 years. Though they broke up, the Hermes family stills owns a 45% share of JPG brand. Now, Jean-Paul Gaultier wants to concentrate more on his own brand.

The traditional French house is mostly known for its Kelly Bag, the “it” bag of all times, for its squared silk scarfs “carré Hermès” and also for all leather accessories of high level craftsmanship.

Jean-Paul Gaultier’s breakthrough came in the early nineties with his scandalous bras worn by Madonna. He started with the best designers of the 70’s including Pierre Cardin and Jean Patou before starting his own eponymous brand in 1976. JPG has always been unconventional: he was the host on a UK tv show called “Eurotrash” on Channel 4 and is still to date, the only French designer to collaborate with Target, a US retail stores on a more affordable line when the other designers were trying to work with H&M.

From autumn-winter 2011, Gaultier will be replaced by French designer Christophe Lemaire from Sporty luxury brand Lacoste.
Christophe Lemaire has helped and succeeded in giving the brand a more edgy look.

We are looking forward to seeing the first Christophe Lemaire’s collection for Hermès…

Wilton is a luxury bridal boutique located near the picturesque place du Bourg de Four, at the heart of the Old Town of the Swiss city Geneva. The boutique itself is beautiful and rightly mixes a contemporary style with classic design. It is all about luxury, comfort and intimacy.

Wilton focuses on providing the highest level of service, with a personal and discreet approach, provided by an experienced team deriving from the luxury goods industry whom will become your guide through this great journey.

It’s really worth visiting the boutique if you are looking for the dress of your dreams. On offer is a selection of the best styles from renowned bridal- and fashion designers.

Inevitably, Wilton carries Vera Wang, the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of wedding dresses. Visible from the cobblestone street, is the beautiful fairy tale dress Kate Hudson wore in the movie “Bridal Wars” on display in the shop window.

Besides Vera Wang the boutique also carries wedding dresses from brands as Reem Acra, one of celebrities’ favorites on the red-carpet; Rosa Clara and Manuel Mota, two great Spanish designers who have invaded Europe with their elegant evening gowns; Valentino whose dresses are an ode to femininity and last but not least, the ever-romantic Elie Saab.

If you want the perfect dress for your big day, make an appointment today and receive a complementary Ladurée Macarons box (the delicious ones from Paris)!

Please visit WILTON for more information

“A staff composed by friendly Chanel PR ladies guided us on a tour through the Milanese Chanel headquarters, ending in the Chanel Showroom. A selection of the new Coco Cocoon collection was presented with the explanation that the Chanel stylists created the collection in line with the style and design of the previous Chanel prêt-a-porter collection.”

French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis, personally selected by Karl Lagerfeld as one of the Chanel faces, attended as guest of honor for the day.  A true testimonial of the new line, her style and personality perfectly fit the idea of urban chic; the inspiration behind the new collection. (According to Chanel, urban chic stands for clothes that fit every occasion, elegant and casual at the same time, a real cult for every woman.)

Throughout the collection, materials utilized are nylon, leather and fur, declined in colors from gold to silver, with a relevant part given to blue.

Since the guide line of the collection is urban chic, all items are priced affordable, with starting prices from 900 euro, enabling young women to take their first steps into the world of Chanel.

Each item of the collection Coco Cocoon takes inspiration from the soft bomber jackets that transmit the idea of lightness yet elegant and casual.

Highlights of the collection:

Travel Trolley

An extremely glamorous nylon trolley suitable for weekend trips; its shape recalls a doctor bag and is equipped with a frontal zip compartment.

Various Purses

Representative for Chanel, each purse on display in the showroom was crafted beautifully, however some of them caught our attention in particular:

Declined in nylon, the first purse has two handles and is meant to be carried by hand. It has a zip closure with the Chanel logo on the seam of the handle and is available in two sizes: large and small.

The second purse, declined in silver leather, struck us with the perfection of its blue leather interior which contrasts beautifully with the silver leather exterior.

Moreover a very beautiful “doctor bag”, made of leather available in the colors of blue or gold, caught our eye, as well as a range of comfortable small backpacks made of nylon and equipped with stuff suspenders and a frontal zip compartment.

Last but not the least a maxi-bag purse became immediately our favorite. Its two golden handles, a zip closure on top and the prominent Chanel logo make this purse a real must.

Small Backpack
Practical and elegant for every occasion.

Beauty Cases
Included in the collection are several beauty cases; perfect and practical for every woman’s needs while traveling.

As we were, women are expected to be enthusiastic about the new urban chic “Coco Cocoon” Chanel collection. The Chanel stylists managed to unite the unique style and brand dna of the eponymous French maison with the practicality every woman nowadays needs. And you ladies, what do you think? Would you be able to resist to this new outstanding collection?

Please visit the Chanel Coco Cocoon website for more information about the new “Coco Cocoon” collection.

Source: Strabello Italy
Editing by European Luxury Blog.

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Not only he creates the most exquisite and comfortable high-heels but he also made one of our dream come true: to put his magical shoes on Barbie.

Because deep down inside, every girl has wished even for 1 second to dress her Barbie with designer clothes. The iconic blond hair doll has inspired so many fashionistas, young girls, designers… well pretty much everyone.

So to honor his muse, Christian Louboutin has conceived 3 dolls with each a different personality, looks and shoes of course! The best part is that each doll comes with a collection of 4 red-soled Louboutins with their own Louboutin shoe box and bag.

“Anemone” is dressed with a green and purple gown, bow bracelet and Anemone shoes.

“Dolly Forever” is wearing a khaki mini dress, sunglasses, gold extras and Forever Tina fringed boots.

“Cat Burglar” wears a sexy black catsuit and Differa sandals.

You can buy Dolly Forever Barbie, Cat Burglar Barbie and Anemone Barbie EXCLUSIVELY at Net-A-Porter for only $150.Ca

In 2012 LVMH is opening two “5 plus stars” hotels in the Middle-East through his new branch “LVMH Hotel Management”.

The conglomerate is no stranger to the business because in 2006 it launched “Cheval Blanc” (FYI White Horse), a five stars hotel located in one of the most luxurious ski resort in the French Alps. To add even more cachet to the hotel, the restaurant was awarded two stars from influential gastronomy critique le Guide Michelin.

For the record “Cheval Blanc” is a prestigious red wine from Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru which was owned by one of Bernard Arnault’s holding, the Arnault Group, who also happens to be CEO of LVMH. Last year, LVMH bought 50% of Chateau Cheval Blanc from the Arnault Group (so basically M. Arnault bought the winery from himself).

For now the two “Cheval Blanc” hotels are under construction in Egypt and Oman. The Egyptian hotel will consist of 40 suites and the Oman project located on a desert island in the Indian Ocean, will have 32 villas.

Each hotel will carry brands from LVMH, from Louis Vuitton to Dior and even a Givenchy Spa. Because as the French Group stated, to enter the Hotel business is a way to maximize the value of its brands.

LVMH brands include Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Loewe, Céline, Kenzo, Givenchy, Guerlain, Moet& Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Hennessy, Hublot, Chaumet, de Beers, Tag Heuer…

Please visite LVMH for more information

It couldn’t come at a worst time because Ungaro has just lost its chief designer (see ELB past article here).

Boclet was recruited in 2007 at the same time as Esteban Cortazar after working at Smalto for more than 15 years! He is considered as Francesco Smalto’s spiritual son.

Franck Boclet begun his career at renowned fashion houses: Kenzo, Arrow and Courrège. In 1991 he joins Smalto and works alongside Francesco Smalto himself, then 5 years later he flies solo and becomes Smalto only Artistic Director.

Franck Boclet has his own approach of fashion, inspired by his love for contemporary art and glam rock music.

He impersonates the new Dandyism.

Now rumor has it that Giles Deacon will soon join Ungaro; but it is still unclear if he is going to take over the menswear as well.

The British designer has previously worked alongside Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Tom Ford during his Gucci years and as Bottega Veneta head designer.

Deacon launched his eponymous brand, GILES, in 2003 which brought him great success. Indeed he has received since many awards from the industry among them, he won “Best New Designer” at the 2004 British Fashion Awards and “Best British Designer” at the 2006 edition.

Giles Deacon is also known for his collaboration with Mulberry Handbags in 2007 and the same year he created a capsule collection for New Look with the campaign modeled by American actress Drew Barrymore. His latest Resort 2010 campaign is modeled by British model/ socialite Pixie Geldof.

Deacon’s hallmark is unlikely proportions, wild prints and pop-culture references.
His latest creation for his Fall 2010 collection include a big furry bag with eyes as a Muppet…that he named the “it bag”!!

French designers are high on our wish list for the on-going 2010 spring-summer collection, so add a French twist to your spring days!

It’s easy, you just need to combine the right pieces together.

First, take the season most wanted, a floral print dress from Cacharel.
This multicolored short sleeves dress made of cotton and linen is perfect for the sunny days as well as your wild spring nights. You can shop it at Matches for only £320.

Combine it with Vanessa Bruno best-seller bag for a glamorous look with the silver sequins (£248)

And for the final touch that will make you look like the perfect Parisian chic woman, go for Iro asymmetrical suede biker jacket for only £368!!