Fashion 2012 (autumn-winter)

Olympic-Size Fashion: Fashion Designers Create Stylish Olympic Uniforms

Armani, Prada, Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren and many other top designers have put forth their best efforts to create the perfect uniforms for all the athletes a the Summer Olympics.

Sports and style combine with these one-of-a-kind pieces.  Here’s what the fashion icons have come up with.

Is London 2012 the most fashionable Olympic Games ever? The answer is yes, thanks to the designers who have created uniforms, swimwear, and much much more for the athletes competing this year.

The Olympics’ host team, Team Great Britain, has beendressed by Stella McCartney. The British designer used the Union flag as her inspiration, but added lots of delicate and feminine touches when appropriate. McCartney worked with Adidas to design sporting gear, lounge wear and more for the team.  Ironically, one uniform she did not design--the white and gold tracksuits worn by Team GB at the opening ceremony.

Stella McCartney wasn’t the only one getting involved with her native country.  In Italy, Giorgio Armani designed uniforms in white and navy colors and Miuccia Prada designed the sailing team’s waterproof uniforms.

Ralph Lauren was in charge of creating the uniforms for the US team. Still, those fashion items got bad press when the public found out the uniforms were actually manufactured in China, and not the USA.  Still, the American athletes wore them proudly at the opening ceremony.  Lauren designed clean-cut blazers, white trousers, skirts and shoes. Paired with navy berets and scarves in red, white, and blue, the uniforms looked top notch and it was as if the American team had already won a gold medal.

Versace Launches Chic Collection For H&M 

Versace's explosive new collection was revealed last night in a runway show on a catwalk paved in gold, taking place at Pier 57 along the Hudson River in a specially-designed building in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.

Many celeb guests were in the front row including actresses Blake Lively, Jessica Alba, Uma Thurman, Emma Roberts, and Selma Blair, singer Prince,Jennifer Hudson, Nicki Minaj, and Ke$ha, actors Chace Crawford and Zachary Quinto, models Linda Evangelista and Coco Rocha, journalists Joe Zee and Hilary Alexander, and designer Alexander Wang, to celebrate Donatella Versace's new affordable collection.

Top model Natasha Poly opened and closed the event which also featured models like Lindsey Wixson, Daphne Groeneveld, and Abbey Lee Kershaw. Splashy palm tree prints, black and white zebra patterns, neon, sequined dresses, grommets, and tropical florals were all highlighted in the bold line which made Jennifer Hudson exclaim, "Versace took H&M to a whole new level!”

Spring 2012: Top 5 Fashion Campaigns

Every season we are introduced to yet another fashion campaign. But although there is often a quick turnaround from one campaign to the next, some fashion ads leave a long lasting impression even after the billboards get pulled down.

Top models, fashion designers and name brands are always putting in much effort to create the next successful global campaign. FashionTV gives you some of Spring 2012’s sexiest and most inspirational ones. Which is your fave?

Versace Jeans

There are very few things that can beat a blown up sexy black and white photograph featuring Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen. The 31-year-old model, who is also the face of Versace's Spring 2012 collection, stuns in a sultry photoshoot for Versace Jeans. Celebrity photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott posed Giselle wearing...well...just jeans! Picture a white sandy beach and a topless Gisele under a coconut tree. You don't need more than that in order to get onto FashionTV’s Top Five Spring 2012 Ad Campaigns, don't you think?

Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana's Spring 2012 collection was inspired by the traditional Italian family. The leading models showcased in this ad include the beautiful Italian actress Monica Bellucci and gorgeous Italian model Bianca Balti. Photographer Giampaolo Sgura created a magnet campaign for the elite Italian fashion house when choosing to emphasize Bellucci's famous hourglass figure and full lips as well as Balti's addictive sex appeal. The traditional Italian family never looked so damn sexy.

H&M

H&M is known for their collaborations with a number of fashion designers. But for this particular campaign, they chose designer David Beckham, who happens to also be the face of the collection. That’s right -- we’re talking about British soccer player David Beckham. He’s 36 years old and never looked so sexy revealing his sculptured tattooed body, while modeling his new underwear collection. Though Beckham took part in many ad campaigns before, we firmly believe this one deserves a place on our top ad campaigns!

Jil Sander

Top model Natasha Poly and Russian model Daria Strokous lead the Jil Sander Spring 2012 campaign. Photographer Willy Vanderperre was inspired by horror movies and created a campaign with a collection of creepy shadows and silhouette effects. Whether this advertisement impressed you or not, at FashionTV we think that Jil Sander presents an unusual and very creative ad campaign, presenting fashion in a unique limelight...or should we say shadow?

Prada

Prada's fashion vision for Spring 2012 consists of retro and vintage. Top model Natasha Poly and newcomer Elise Crobez were chosen to be the faces of this campaign. The one and only Steven Meisel was behind the camera in creating this hard-to-ignore advertisement which photographed the models at a 1950s-style gas station.

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Which campaign is YOUR favorite? And which other campaigns do you think should be on FashionTV's Top Five Fashion Campaigns list? We want to hear from YOU. Share your thoughts with us!

Hedi Slimane, Yves Saint Laurent’s new Creative Director

After weeks of rumors, YSL has finally made their announcement: Hedi Slimane will replace Stefano Pilati as the Creative Director at Yves Saint Laurent.

It was recently announced that talented designer Hedi Slimane will be taking over the Creative Director position at Yves Saint Laurent. The French Fashion House, which has been headed by Stefano Pilati since 2004, made an official statement of Slimane’s return to the brand after two long weeks of speculations. During Paris Fashion Week, Pilati presented his last collection for YSL; whish was received with a long and respectful applause from the front row crowd.

This is actually Slimane’s second go in the YSL family. In 1996, he was the director of the men’s ready-to-wear line. After the debut of his successful "Black Tie” collection, he chose to leave the brand in favor of another top French label. After his YSL stint, Slimane went on to Christian Dior Homme.

Slimane swept the fashion industry off their feet, with the introduction of new definitions for traditional men’s suits. However, in 2007, Slimane chose not to renew his Dior contract, and went back to his first love – photography.

Now that Hedi Slimane is back to designing, we can’t wait for his first collection as YSL’s creative director in June. It will be very interesting to see how time has altered his point-of-view and to witness what new twists Slimane will add to the legendary fashion house. His revolutionary agenda and uniqueness is sure to provide for a very innovative collection at YSL.

FashionTV Brings You The Most Influential designers of 2011

Jean Paul Gaultier

Jean-Paul Gaultier always wows us with his fashion shows. Whether it's the breathtaking gowns or the style of his runway, we're always stunned into submission when watching his new showcased collections. The Spring/Summer 2012 collection at Paris Fashion Week did just that for us through the retro-style of the show, which began without music in a style of a couture runway from the fifties. Jean-Paul Gaultier stood in the background, letting his models take their walks one by one. It was like you had an exclusive look at all the behind-the-scenes and backstage action. This and his innovative fashion vision earned him a place on FashionTV’s Top Major Designers list.

Dolce & Gabbana

Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and George Clooney are just a few of Dolce & Gabbana’s biggest fans. The duo Italian designers started in 1982, and since then have created one of the biggest fashion houses. Though the sub-brand, D&G, recently shut down, 2011 was a very innovative and inspiring year for the designers. This led us to the conclusion that Dolce & Gabbana would have a place on our major designers list.

Viktor & Rolf

Last season's Viktor & Rolf show made quite a statement with the faces painted red. And this Spring/Summer 2012 season's collection wasn’t any different in that bold statements were once again made. This season models were delicate and doll-like with frosty pink lashes wearing girly girl fabrics. Viktor & Rolf always manage to capture our hearts.

Burberry

The iconic brand of British fashion, Burberry Prosum, showcased its Spring/Summer 2012 collection full of signature Christopher Bailey Burberry-style and amazingly colorful looks. It was an upbeat show celebrating what Burberry does best but Bailey and team pulled it off beautifully. We loved the way that Burberry fashion house adds a modern twist to an ancient British heritage and creates amazing items. This is why Christopher Bailey and his iconic Burberry are on our major designers list.

Donatella Versace

Donatella Versace is one of the most powerful women in fashion. She is the artistic director of a fashion empire founded by her late brother, Gianni. Nowadays Versace has few leading lines, among them Versace Couture, Versace Sports, Versace Collection and Versus. All of these make Versace a fashion house that can’t be ignored, and Donatella Versace one of the world’s major innovative designers.

Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection totally thrilled us. We thought the designer would go back to his signature python print, leopard pattern, leathery rock meets animal vibe, the Italian designer does something completely different and out of the box that had tongues wagging. Yet, it still reigned true to the trends of the season and threw in a few of its own. Roberto Cavalli is definitely one of 2011's major fashion designers.

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Marc Jacobs

In 2010, Time Magazine included Marc Jacobs in the 100 Most Influential People in the World. This is no surprise for fashion fans all over the world that can’t wait to see Jacobs’ next iconic runway shows. Apart from his Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs labels, he is the creative director of Louis Vuitton. His accessories line is rapidly sold out, mainly because the prizes are affordable for almost everyone. The fact that Jacobs creates elite fashion but also pays attention to his young fans, paved his way to FashionTV major designers list.

Ralph Lauren

When you read Ralph Lauren’s biography it is not very obvious he became a leading fashion designer. Lauren served the army and then studied business and worked as a salesman. In 1967 he opened a necktie store in which he also sold ties that showcased his own designs, under the name "Polo.” Almost 40 years later "Polo Ralph Lauren” has become synonoymous for high-end casual. Ralph Lauren collections and Polo Sports are also two of his successful lines that has place this powerful designer on FTV’s major designers list.

Tom Ford.

Tom Ford’s outfits and tuxedos are probably the most popular on the red carpet. He managed to turn the Gucci fashion house from ancient and not very relevant to one of the world’s most loved fashion creations. Once Gucci acquired the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house, Ford was appointed for the creative director position. Aside from that, he also has his own fashion label, named Tom Ford. As if he doesn’t do enough, Tom Ford is a film director whose film "A Single Man” was nominated for an Academy Award prize in 2010. Tom Ford is another American fashion designer who made it on the list of FashionTV’s 2011 major designers list.

Betsey Johnson

Her fashion shows are unique. She sports a cool and young style and she loves to surprise her fans in every new collection. Betsey Johnson gets inspired from the dance classes she took part in as a child. The models on her catwalks usually don’t keep poker face, but smile, dance and actually enjoy the show. This fun American fashion designer is one of 2011’s major designers

Alert!!! Fashion Do…or  Don’t?

10 Easy Summer Hairstyles, Illustrated by Colette Malouf

  Classic Blowout

    ‘Just-out-of-bed’ look

We all need some Chic Inspiration that will rescue us from the occasional wardrobe-misery.

Or when you want fresh outfit ideas on how to wear your clothes and the latest fashion trends! 

 
* Note: If you want the solid 101's I recommend you to check out my other guidelines (navigation bar to your right) on how to build the foundation of your personal style. In this way, you'll have that covered before moving on to these outfit ideas.
This section provides you with fashion advice & styling strategies to looking your best and making great use of your existing clothes - as well as the garments and accessories you are planning on including in your closet.

Yes, I'll guide you through those tricky son-of-a-beasts (like colored jeans and fun but hard-to-match prints and colors) to super-plain closet pieces that make you roll over in boredom - giving you outfit ideas and style tips on how to implement them to your personal taste, lifestyle, plus various occasions.

Keep in mind that my fashion persona is Classic so you'll discover plenty of toned-down translations of fashion!