Rachel Roy may not be a household name…but she is definitely working her way there.  I’m giving the designer a huge nod after seeing her new, more affordable line at Macy’s.  RACHEL Rachel Roy is fresh, fun, trendy and most importantly, wallet worthy! Not only is the line vibrant and full of colour, the collection plays with texture and patterns to create a youthful and edgy design aesthetic.

Here are some looks from RACHEL Rachel Roy:

Studded Printed 24 Hour Dress, $99.00

Blazer Dress, $129.00

Vest, $79.00

Transourmer Coat, $189.00

Sequin Bow Vest, $129.00

Long Sleeve Cabled Pullover, $89.00

One Shoulder Dress, $109.00

Rose Print Tee, $69.00

Graffiti Medium Clutch Cross Body - $69.00

To see the complete collection, click here.

The Macy’s at Herald Square store window displaying the RACHEL Rachel Roy collection:

If you’re looking for more, stay tuned as more fab pieces will be added on October 5 and November 5 this Fall!

I finally had a chance to see The September Issue and I have to say, whether you are a die hard Fashionista or if you are just intrigued by the fashion industry, the documentary is definitely a must see! While the camera spends much of its attention on Anna Wintour, the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue magazine.  It also features other decision makers in Vogue, designers, photographers and the many outfits of Andre Leon Talley.

R.J. Cutler does a wonderful job giving a closer look at the woman behind the shades and the things she oversees at Vogue, but it was more interesting to see just how much influence Anna Wintour and Vogue have on so many different aspects of the industry!!! Very very eye-opening.

One of my favourite things about The September Issue was the focus put on Grace Coddington.  I have always enjoyed her work and she is truly a masterful stylist.  Many argue that she is the true hero of The September Issue.  She is amazing and there is no doubt about that.  But for the most part, creativity can’t be appreciated unless it’s put in front of your face…in other words, it has to be marketed well.  Vogue does just that, it takes the ingenuity that designers put forth and offers to the public in just the right way, in just the right doses.

Get your metal fix this Fall with chains, studs and rivets.

Back – from left to right: Leather Studded Bowling Bag, Tory Burch; Studded Leather Waller, Miu Miu; Whitney Zip Hobo, Colehaan; Dice Wrap Stud Flat Boot, Topshop

Front – from left to right: Karina Studded Shoe-Boots, Jimmy Choo; Traxx Black Suede High Platform, Steve Madden; Day of the Dead Studded Clutch, Thomas Wylde; Resin Studded Cuff, Alexander McQueen

Image Source: Colehaan.com, Net-A-Porter.com, SteveMadden.com, TopShop.com

Hues of Blues

As I saw more and more stars in this colour, I was surprised I wasn’t bored with the different shades of blue.  From the teals to the midnight blues, each dress in this shade had a very different shape and silhouette which kept it interesting.

Christina Hendricks in L'Wren Scott; Vanessa Williams in Rafael Cennamo

Katrina Bowden in Christian Siriano; Christina Applegate in Basil Soda; Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Vera Wang

One Shoulder Wonders

I was a bit disappointed to see so many one-shouldered dresses since it’s a bit over and done with.

Debra Messing in Michael Kors; Chloe Sevigny in Isaac Mizrahi; Carrie Preston in Mako Takada

Royally Purple

Purple seemed to be the runner-up for choice of colour.

Dana Delany in Basil Soda; Padma Lakshmi in Badgley Mischka; Elizabeth Perkins in Reem Acra

Greek Goddess

These gowns were extremely flattering on the shape and very intricately draped.  This was one of my favourite trends.

Mindy Kaling in Temperley London; Kate Walsh in J. Mendel

Cat Deeley in Alberta Ferretti; Alicia Witt in Rafael Cennamo;Jennifer Love Hewitt in Max Azria

Classically Black

Black will always be a classic, go-to colour for any occasion.  Some stars were able to make themselves stand out with an edgier black dress, others just resorted to yet another black strapless gown.

Sally Field in Temperley London; Glenn Close in Zac Posen; Tina Fey in Gucci

Alyson Hannigan in Vera Wang; Heidi Klum in Marchesa; Jenna Fischer in Reem Acra

Heavy Metal

There were a lot of metallics on the red carpet this year.  I thought these three did it best – not overdone or blinding in anyway.

Kaley Cuoco in David Meister; Mariska Hargitay in Carolina Herrera; Sandra Oh in Marchesa

Very Berry

In an attempt to stay away from the more common purples and reds, stars wore those colours with a clever twist.

Ginnifer Goodwin in Yves Saint Laurent; Mila Kunis in Monique Lhuillier; Lindsay Price in J. Mendel

Fairytale Fantasy

You can never escape the big, prom-style dresses at award shows but I thought all three actresses here looked incredibly elegant.

Toni Collette in Monique Lhuillier; Rose Byrne in Valentino; Drew Barrymore in Monique Lhuillier

Ra Ra Red

Red was definitely the biggest colour on the carpet this year.  Some pulled it off with unique dresses.  Others just looked like they belonged on a fire engine..

Blake Lively in Versace; Hayden Panettiere in J. Mendel

Angela Kinsey in Nicole Miller; Sigourney Weaver in David Meister

Beautiful Bows

Definitely staying in tune with what’s hot this fall, it was nice to see some architectural bows on some gowns.

Jessica Lowndes in Dolce & Gabbana; Jennifer Morrison in Calvin Klein; Mary Louise Parker in Zac Posen

Pretty in White

Stars who wore white looked fresh and classic.

Perrey Reeves in Naeem Khan; Kara DioGuardi in Badgley Mischka Couture; Leighton Meester in Bottega Veneta

Of course, I’m always able to find my stand outs, even in the busiest of all crowds.  I love the work on Jennifer’s dress and just adore the sculpture-like bodice on January’s dress.  They are definitely winning looks in my book!

Jennifer Carpenter in a black and white Zuhair Murad design

January Jones in mint green Versace couture

Image Source: EW.com, Film.com, StarPulse.com, Style.com, TheInsider.com, TVGuide.com, UsMagazine.com

I’m loving what Derek Lam sent down the runway for his Spring 2010 collection.  Drawing inspirations from East Coast summer destinations, the looks were fun, young and free-spirited yet feminine and seductive.  Here are some of his edgier looks.

I love the denim jacket with the belt in the center.

He had some bathing suits meant for lounging on decks…not meant for swimming.  So feminine!

For more of Derek Lam’s Spring 2010 collection, click here.

Image Source: Style.com

What happens when a girl from a gang collides with an American Indian? You get a fierce look from Rodarte’s Spring 2010 collection.

Case in point:

From the intricate weaving to the complicated draping to the clever use of scraps of material, the Mulleavy sisters’ ability to create couture-like pieces have once again left me in awe.  The collection, inspired by big, black vultures that faced extinction in the late 80s, was filled with elaborate pieces made with materials such as burnt plaid, cheesecloth, feathers and sandpapered silk.  The looks were dark with lots of blood red and burnt black.  The gross colour of the smoke-filled runway accompanied by the goth-inspired makeup and body art just added to the beauty of this collection.

For more of Rodarte’s Spring 2010 collection, click here.

Image Source: Style.com

It boggles me as to how Marc Jacobs just manages to nail it season after season – especially with the things he tries to pull off.

For the Spring 2010 season, he imagined ballerinas on the way home from a performance or showgirls going to Raido City for their rehearsal.  The resulting look had his models in pulled up stockings, tightly pulled back hair, geisha inspired makeup paired with everyday things – like fanny packs!

Marc Jacobs is truly an amazing stylist.  He is able to combine the romance of frills with the rigidity of sharp edges.  He is the master of playing with clothes and proportions to create a desired shape.  Linda Fargo, Senior Vice-President of the fashion office at Bergdorf Goodman said it extremely well, “He (Marc) has that way of always turning our world inside out – the corsetry on top of a little touch of men’s suiting but the men’s suiting was very feminine with the ruffles.”

Only you Marc, only you.

For more of Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2010 RTW, click here.

Image Source: Style.com

On Saturday evening, I went to the open discussion at the School of Visual Arts where Cathy Horyn tried to pick the brains of photographer, Juergen Teller.  Many of you may know him as the man who convinced Posh Spice to get into a shopping bag for a Marc Jacobs ad campaign; others know him as the daring photographer who is witty and to the point with his portraits.

Teller talked a little about his past and how he started in photography, his initial work with doing record covers and press shoots for bands before moving into fashion photography, his work with i-D and The Face, and collaborating with people like Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood.  He gave some insight as to how he works and his preference to work as a small operation.  He prefers to work alone with his subjects.  When Cathy moved on to talk about the technology involved in his photography, it was interesting to hear that Teller is quite “anti-digital”.  Blaming his lack of computer knowledge and being stuck in his old ways, he explains that the digital, technological, fast ways that we are so used to now takes away from the time and magic involved in photography.

The discussion went on with Teller touching on working with different characters, designers and campaigns.  There is a lot of trust involved in working with people.  Coming up with successful campaigns takes a lot of brainstorming and planning.  When he knows what he wants, he executes it.  And then of course, there are times when the pieces just fall into place.  “When I’m shooting, sometimes things just happen”, he confidently said.  He gave the example of the Marc Jacobs’ Fall 2009 ad below.  Yes, you saw it right, pardon the model while she jumps out of the window…for a bag.

It was nice to see that Teller has a sense of humour about work and life.  When asked why he liked to take pictures, he explained that taking pictures gives him an excuse for adventures and to really look at things.  His opinions on fashion is that it has a strong influence on culture and is used to make a comment on it.  It shouldn’t be taken too seriously…fashion should be enjoyable.  His pictures say exactly that.

Image Source: Elle.com, MarcJacobs.com

I spent one of my last days in Paris just roaming the streets, enjoying the city.  As I walked down the ancient sidewalks of Rue Saint Honore, I noticed how creative some of the store windows were.  Here are some pics of the innovative Parisian visual merchandising.

I finally had some time to catch up on the first few episodes of Season 6 of Project Runway, the long awaited season that made its debut on Lifetime.  I dozed up on all four episodes at once! I was a bit apprehensive about the switch in stations at first (Lifetime is a bit blah compared to Bravo)…but alas the changes are definitely well worth it! Yes, the Bluefly accessories wall is now the Macy’s accessories wall, but hey, Macy’s is finally getting some real help.  If prominent designers banning together for an ad campaign and sponsoring guest performances on Dancing with the Stars hasn’t helped, Lord knows Project Runway will give the department store a little boost!

The spread in Elle magazine is now the spread in Marie Claire (with Nina Garcia’s departure from Elle, are you really that surprised?) And of course, the car that the winner gets is now a trip to Paris.  Hmm, car or Paris, car or Paris…I think it’s pretty safe to say, P-A-R-I-S!!!

I’m not sure how I feel about the show moving to LA (we’ll see how that helps the season progress) and of course, the show not being at Parsons and filmed at the Atlas just means my chances of running into Tim Gunn again are well…slim to none.  I was also pretty surprised by the young age of most of the desingers.  The last thing I wanted was for one of the few shows I consider to be “good reality tv” turn into a fashion nightmare (remember that sad excuse of a show about working in the fashion industry that Tyra’s network produced???) Watching the first four episodes however definitely proved that there is an immense amount of talent on the show this season and most of it came from the younger designers.  I am already a fan of a few of them and secretly hoping for a woman to win the season!

My favourite part of the show so far has definitely been some of the prestigious names on the judging panel (okay, I’ll excuse Lindsay Lohan and I’m still wondering why Michael Kors has gone AWOL) – Rachel Bilson, Max Azria, Monique Lhuillier and Marc Bouwer, are only a few of the wonderful people who have given their opinions on the designers’ looks.  Eva Longoria is set to be a guest judge this season as well! So far, I’ve agreed with the people the show has let go but only time will tell if that continues to be the case because as we all know that in fashion, “one day you’re in, the next day you’re out”.

Here are the winning looks from the first four episodes…Auf Wiedersehen!

Episode 1 - Challenge: Create a look for a red carpet event that represents your point of view as a designer; Winning Designer: Christopher, Model: Katie Sticksel

Episode 2 – Challenge: Design a pregnancy chic look for Rebecca Romijn; Winning Designer: Shirin, Model: Matar Cohen

Episode 3 – Challenge: Create a fun and fashionable surf wear look (Additional Challenge: Create a second avante garde design that corresponds to the surf wear look); Designer: Ra’mon, Model: Vanessa Fitzgerald

Episode 4 – Challenge: Create an eye-catching look for models to wear at an industry event; Winning Designer: Althea, Model: Tanisha

Image Source: MyLifetime.com