Armani set for Diamonds
The latest celebrity partnership of Emporio Armani and Beyonće Knowles is sure to be a winner for L'Oreal. I wanted a fragrance that reflects the sparkle, strength, brilliance and sexiness of the Emporio Armani woman” said Armani in a statement. “It is for a 21st century woman who is independent, confident, strong and feminine.” Focusing on the outstanding success of Beyonće in the music, movie and fashion worlds Armani hopes to capture the essence of her spirit in the TV and print advertising campaign recently launched. The bottle emulates the precious gem encases a gourmand floral with top notes of lychee and raspberry, middle notes of rose, freesia and lily of the valley and base notes of vetiver, cedar wood, patchouli and vanilla

Valentino Stepping Down

After a whirlwind anniversary party and emphatic denials of retirement, Valentino and Giancarlo Gammetti finally announced farewell! Speculation has surrounded the House of Valentino since the company's new owner’s private equity firm Permira took control. Some people report Valentino as being upset, while others completely disagree but as he bid adieu he said, “My thanks to the thousands of people in fashion, who have followed me in these years and to all of those who have supported my work and to my collaborators that have helped turn my career into a success.”

Fashion funds charity at home

Naomi Campbell took charge to help the flood victims in the U.K. and organized a fashion show with the likes of Alexander McQueen, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Viviene Westwood and their fashions strutted down the runway on legendary models and celebrities all in aid of Fashion for Relief. "I think this is an important opportunity to really show what the fashion community can do to help others. Fashion is universal, touches everyone in some way, every community – and the catwalk, my hometown catwalk to be precise, always a very special place for me, can be used to raise money and funds for the fl ood relief," said Naomi Campbell. Burberry designed a one-off, limited edition T shirt to help raise awareness and will be sold exclusively on www.burberry.com and through the Burberry stores in the U.K. 100% of sales of this T shirt will go directly to ‘The Rotary Flood Relief Disaster Appeal’ a charity supporting UK fl ood victims. 'I am thrilled to work with Naomi on this project, which is very close to my heart. So many people where affected across the country including many of those from where I live in Yorkshire. Both myself and Burberry are delighted to be able to support this very worthwhile cause'. Christopher Bailey, Creative Director Burberry

Karl does Cake!

We see him design couture, we see him shoot high fashion, and now we witness a new era in Karl Lagerfeld’s growing r'epertoire. In a recent press conference Lagerfeld presented a Christmas fare as unique as he is, “This log is French German inspiration.” He then added his love for this typically French dessert with the flavours of German cake. Lenôtre celebrating fifty years of fine French dessert spared no expense on the design and the unique flavour of this new Christmas Log dressed perfectly with a jewel axe made of sugar, “ A log needs to be split; I added an axe there. But the axe of war is buried altogether and is buried definitely in the chocolate.” Said Lagerfeld.

The End of an Era as Sportswear Legend Liz Claiborne dies at 78.

Known as a pioneer in the seventies for designing stylish and colourful sportswear that was affordable––Liz Claiborne had been fighting abdominal cancer for 10 years. “It was a battle that, in the long run, was unwinnable.” Said Art Ortenberg, husband and former chairman of Liz Claiborne Inc.
Liz Claiborne Inc. was founded in 1976 with a clear understanding of the needs of a working woman, in fact with groundbreaking concepts the creative genius of the company Liz herself knew exactly what was missing in the market place of sportswear. In an interview last year with WWD Claiborne said, “The concept was to dress the American working woman because I, as a working woman with a child, didn’t want to spend hours shopping. Things should be easy. You don’t have to dress in that little navy blue suit with a tie. I wanted to dress her in sportier clothes and colours”.
During her design years Claiborne would take time out to visit with her immediate customer by visiting department stores and pretending to be a sales assistant advising women what to wear and how to wear it; it wasn’t until she was leaving that she would reveal her name to the customer thanking them for the business. This is what differentiated Claiborne from the fashion designers of her period, connecting with her customer in an open and friendly manner, avoiding the mainstream trends and fads instead concentrating on what women like her were in need of—a stylish easy garment to wear to work. Starting on only a shoestring budget , by the time Claiborne was ready to retire in 1989 the company she had co founded had turned into a multi-conglomerate business with acquisitions of Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand, Dana Buchman, Kate Spade and others totalling more than 40 brands in the portfolio generating a business worth of 4.99 billion dollars.
More than anything else, Liz Claiborne had an innate sense for women in the work place and voiced her concerns about equal rights, her style and colour sense in her designs opened a world to women that was comfortable and affordable while her friendship to thousands was immeasurable.

A new legislation preventing unnecessary cruelty to animals has recently been passed thanks to New York Assemblywoman, Linda B. Rosenthal. It states that animals are not to be used for testing cosmetic ingredients. This means that cosmetic manufacturers and ingredient suppliers will have to find alternative methods of testing for skin or eye irritations. One of the more common irritant tests known as the Draize test was still being conducted in the U.S. even though it was highly criticized as being an unreliable method of testing. State Senator Liz Krueger who supported the move said, “It must be emphasized that the use of animals to test for eye and skin irritancy of cosmetic products causes excruciating pain and suffering to animals”. The regulation authority for the cosmetic industry in the U.S. the FDA, no longer requires the use of animals in any cosmetic safety testing as there are many other more reliable options now available. “Alternatives to the use of animals for eye and skin irritancy tests of cosmetics and their ingredients are widely available and already in use by many corporations.” Rosenthal said. O