Alexander Wang Named Balenciaga Creative Director

After rumours started circulating a few days ago (and, on many occasions, denied soon after), WWD reported that Alexander Wang has been confirmed as Balenciaga’s new creative director, with an official appointment to be released next week. However, at the time of publication, neither Balenciaga nor Alexander Wang officials could be reached to comment, despite reports that a deal was agreed and a contract signed. The New York-based designer, famous for his androgynous aesthetic and for producing luxury accessories, will replace Nicolas Ghesquière, who led the fashion house for 15 years.

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Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring/Summer 2013 Menswear and Womenswear Campaign

The first campaign photographs of Dolce & Gabbana‘s Spring/Summer 2013 menswear and womenswear collections have been unveiled online by a number of faithful followers of the brand. Photographed by Domenico Dolce and styled by Stefano Gabbana, the campaign depicts groups of family and friends in animated tableaux vivants by the Mediterranean Sea and under the Sicilian sun to evoke carefree Summer days. It features Monica Bellucci, Bianca Balti and Bianca Brandolini d’Adda, and models Kate King and Zuzanna Bijoch surrounded by boys from Taormina.

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Brioni Designs Exclusive Tuxedo for mrporter.com

Italian brand Brioni has designed an exclusive tuxedo for online menswear retailer mrporter.com. The collaboration confirms not only the importance of designs conceived for the forthcoming holiday season, but also the reputation that mrporter.com has garnered in less than two years of existence.

In dark midnight blue, the one-button wool tuxedo features contrasting twill peak lapels and provides a stylish alternative to traditional black tuxedos. For more information, visit mrporter.com.

Versace Launches New Underwear and Beachwear Collections

Versace is launching new underwear and beachwear lines for men and women in January 2013 alongside the brand’s main collections for Spring/Summer 2013. The pieces’ designs will include the iconic Medusa logo, the Greek key motif and colourful prints. Models Candice Swanepoel and Ryan Barrett were selected to feature in the promotional campaign for these new lines with art direction by Giovanni Bianco and photography by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

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2012 British Fashion Awards Winners Announced

The British Fashion Council announced the winners of the 2012 British Fashion Awards at a ceremony held at the Savoy hotel in London on 27 November 2012. The top award, as Designer of the Year, went to Stella McCartney who also received the Designer Brand Award for her eponymous label.

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Saint Laurent Menswear Spring/Summer 2013 Campaign Uses Female Model

Hedi Slimane has enlisted Dutch female model Saskia de Brauw to pose for his Saint Laurent men’s Spring/Summer 2013 campaign. Slimane, who has resorted to the androgynous look in many of his past fashion collections for Dior Homme and for his own photographs, was also the stylist and photographer of the campaign.

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Christian Louboutin Opens First London Men’s Store

French footwear designer Christian Louboutin has opened his first men’s store in the UK. This is the luxury brand’s fourth of its kind in the world, following Paris, New York and Los Angeles. Located within close distance to Louboutin’s flagship London boutique on Mount Street, the new men’s store occupies an existing Georgian building on Mayfair’s Dover Street. Louboutin worked once more in close partnership with New York based architectural design company 212Box to design the interior of the store’s 170 square meters.

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Marcelo Burlon T-shirts Ready to Conquer London

A line of graphic men’s t-shirts by Marcelo Burlon (titled ‘Marcelo Burlon: County of Milan’) is launching in London from early December, with the department store Selfridges in Oxford Street having secured exclusive retail rights for the UK.

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Kris Van Assche Designs Exclusive Tuxedo for thecorner.com

Kris Van Assche has designed an exclusive tuxedo for online retailer thecorner.com to be available from the end of November 2012 and ready for the holiday season. Reinterpreted with a sportswear touch, the tuxedo consists of a navy blue two-button jacket with a contrasting black satin collar and waistline darts at the back, as well as navy pleated trousers with a black waistband and black satin stripes.

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‘Hartnell to Amies: Couture by Royal Appointment’: Learning from British Couture Lessons in South London

Maybe because of its relative seclusion away from London’s traditional cultural centres of Trafalgar Square or South Kensington, and despite the fact that its location in trendy Bermondsey Street is benefitting from a considerable spike in esteem owing to new and popular restaurants, boutiques and art galleries that have recently settled in this corner of South London, the Fashion and Textile Museum hasn’t always been considered a destination in itself. However, when I paid a visit on a cold and rainy autumn afternoon, the museum galleries, shop and cafe seemed busier than ever. The reason for this was the exhibition ‘Hartnell to Amies: Couture by Royal Appointment’, a display of stunning dresses, jewellery, accessories, shoes, photographs and drawings by British designers and photographers who raised the public role of private couture commissions for a large part of twentieth-century Britain and whose talent, decades later, have attracted crowds to learn about their influence in British fashion history.

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