Carolina Herrera: 'I can get ready in 10 minutes'

Elegance is a state of mind, says Carolina Herrera. It certainly worked for her business, which is now a billion-dollar global empire.

Like Valentino, who recently shared his dismay over the sartorial disarray in which Brits arrive at the theatre nowadays, Caroline Herrera is not unreservedly won over by modern dress codes. Growing up in Caracas in the Fifties and Sixties had its challenges, but Kim Kardashian's fashion sense wasn't one of them.

"Everyone was very, very chic. You either went to Paris for your clothes or you had them made in Caracas. I would like women to feel they could be glamorous and elegant," muses Herrera, from the far side of her cream and black office, high above the disappointing exhibits disporting themselves down on the pavements of Manhattan's somewhat scruffy Garment District. "Unfortunately there's a lot of confusion today over what is sexy and what is vulgar. It's horrifying. They say, 'Oh, that girl is so sexy', and she turns around and the dress is four sizes too small. Or she's wearing so much stuff, you wonder how long it took her to get ready." Herrera's uniform - big skirts, tailored shirts, mannish trousers - is so honed that she claims she can get ready for the grandest do in 10 minutes. "But women don't want to be called elegant now," she reflects, "because they connect it with old-fashioned. But elegance is not old‑fashioned."

Mary Katrantzou, from catwalk to Christmas trees

London Fashion Week designer Mary Katrantzou has designed a two-dimensional Christmas tree for London's Design Museum.

The Mary Katrantzou tree outside the Design Museum

British Fashion Awards-nominated Mary Katrantzou has turned her hand to decking out the London Design Museum in her signature, colourful prints this Christmas.

The Greek-born designer, who is one of the headline talents at London Fashion Week, has reworked a print from her current autumn/winter 2012 collection, which she says was "inspired by formal gardens and artful box parterres" for the two-dimensional, vinyl design.

Measuring three metres in height, the mainly green, maze-like print featuring bows in lime green and blue, adorns the outer wall of the River Thames-side museum.

Karl Lagerfeld teams up with Melissa

Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld will design four collections for eco-friendly Brazilian footwear brand Melissa.

Karl Lagerfeld has embarked on yet another collaboration, this time with plastic footwear brand Melissa.

The eco-friendly Brazilian label has already enjoyed successful tie-ups with the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Jason Wu, Gareth Pugh, Liberty London, Pedro Laurenco and Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio, but believe Lagerfeld is their most exciting yet.

"In one of the most exciting collaborations the company has seen, Karl Lagerfeld the most iconic designers of the 21st Century, has extended his fashion reign into our world of MELISSA," said Paulo Pedó, the CEO fof Melissa. "Karl's design talent synonymous with couture has been translated into footwear, bridging the gap between high-end and commercial, extending our customer base and making his name accessible for all."

The brand has been championing recycled plastic through its bubblegum-scented footwear for 25 years, making shoes with a "zero waste ethos" by recycling 99.9 per cent of factory water and waste as well as overstocked shoes.

"We are very excited about the partnership with Melissa who have been great in translating Karl's inspirations and designs into truly ironic fun fashion products that many women in the world will happily wear," added the CEO of Lagerfeld, Pier Paolo Righi.

Gucci wins trademark case against Guccio Gucci

What's in a name? A lot of legal bother if it happens to be Gucci.

The Gucci logo. The double interlocking G's do not stand for Guccio Gucci... Photo: REX

We love it when a family finds a name they like and sticks to it, like George Foreman who named his five sons George (George Jr., George III, George IV, George V and George VI), and Jermaine Jackson who named three of his eight offspring Jermaine, Jaimy, and Jermajesty.

Sadly, however, such family pride doesn't always lead to happy endings.

Yesterday in Florence, a judge ruled against Guccio Gucci and his brother Alessandro Gucci, the great-grandsons of Gucci founder, Guccio Gucci in an intellectual property case brought by the Gucci Group.

WWD report that Guccio and Alessandro's handbag and accessories firm ToBeG Srl has been found guilty of infringement of Gucci's trademarks "illegitimately" using the names "Gucci" and "Guccio Gucci" for its marketing communications and website activities.

The judge ruled that the use of the name 'Guccio Gucci' "determined an unfair association" between ToBeG's products and Gucci's trademarks, and said that its behaviour "constitutes an act of unfair competition to Gucci's detriment because the advertising materials of the defendant caused confusion with Gucci's products and business activities and took unfair advantage of the qualities and reputation of Gucci's products".

Sales of Katie Holmes' fashion label boosted by divorce

Sales of Holmes & Yang, the fashion label run by Katie Holmes, are reported to have risen stateside since the actress announced her divorce from Tom Cruise.

As they say, no publicity is bad publicity, and Katie Holmes is the latest proof of that.

Sales of her Holmes & Yang fashion line have reportedly soared since she announced her high-profile separation from Hollywood husband Tom Cruise at the end of last month.

According to a clerk from the Beverly Hills branch of US department store Barney's, the brand has been "selling particularly well", reports Fox News . The New York branch has similarly confirmed that sales are up, although no exact figures have been given.

News of the sales boost comes two weeks after it was announced that Holmes & Yang are preparing to show their spring/summer 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week for the first time this September.

The former Dawson's Creek actress has been spotted wearing pieces from the label - which is designed in collaboration with stylist Jeanne Yang - a number of times since the split, including for a much-hyped appearance on Project Runway.

Rihanna to design a collection for River Island

Pop star Rihanna has confirmed that she is designing a capsule collection for high street favourite River Island.

Rihanna in London wearing Stella McCartney in March this year. Photo: Rex

After much speculation, River Island has finally confirmed that Rihanna will be designing a collection for them, but we'll have to wait until spring 2013 to see the sartorial fruits of the pop star's labour.

"I've been wanting to design my own collection for some time. River Island is the perfect partner for me to collaborate with and working with a British, family run business also really appealed to me. I find London really inspiring and River Island loves to have fun with clothes. I'm looking forward to working with them and creating something really special," says Rihanna.

Rihanna wearing her River Island T-shirt. Photo: Rihanna/Instagram

The high street store is evidently delighted with its latest coup too: "We are thrilled to be collaborating with Rihanna and to be the first fashion brand to work with her in this way," said Ben Lewis, River Island's chief executive.

"Rihanna is a style icon; from street to chic she enjoys her fashion. As soon as we started to work together we knew this was a perfect fit. Rihanna will be designing the collection and we will be sharing our fashion experience with her to develop a range her fans will love."

Tom Ford to open first UK stand-alone Store

Former Gucci designer Tom Ford will open his first stand-alone British store in London's Knightsbridge.

Tom Ford at the 2012 Met Gala Photo: EPA

Tom Ford's first British boutique on London's affluent Sloane Street will take up 8,000 sq ft store and will stock his eponymous label, which is currently available at Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, report The Sunday Times.

Ford made his return to womenswear design in September 2010, following a six-year break in which he focused on his Oscar-nominated directorial debut, A Single Man . Prior to that he helmed Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, both of which he is credited with turning into the must-have brands they are today.

He has eschewed press coverage - particularly of the online variety - at the catwalk shows for his brand, telling WWD in 2010: "I don't get the need for this immediacy. In fact, I think it's bad. The way the system works now, you see the clothes, within an hour or so they're online, the world sees them. They don't get to a store for six months. The next week, young celebrity girls are wearing them on red carpets. They're in every magazine. The customer is bored with those clothes by the time they get to the store. They're overexposed, you're tired of them, they've lost their freshness."

Do you agree with Tom Ford our dear readers??

Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld show off 'Little Black Jacket'

If you pride yourself on being a fashionable sort, get ready to don your favorite, well, little black jacket as you check out the touring Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld photo exhibition "The Little Black Jacket." 

Click on the image to view "THE JACKET VIDEO - Making of..."

Unsurprisingly, the photographs on display are of models wearing little black jackets, shot beautifully in black and white. Each model gives an original take on the look, bringing so much personality that as Cécile Cassel puts it, "we almost forget the jacket when we see all the people, so it reveals who you are." 

The events have received a lot of hype as celebrities both in and out of the fashion world have attended the exhibitions and have discussed the project on film. 

All of these videos, featuring some very intense violins, are currently on the Chanel website. The installment has already run for a week in Tokyo, New York and Tapei, and is currently finishing its run in Hong Kong.