Uncommon Thread Fabulous...

A dress made from Smarties candy and Tide detergent boxes. Wow. See a few more dresses made from uncommon threads HERE.

Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Relief 2011...

Models and other brave souls walked at Naomi Campbell's latest Fashion for Relief show in Cannes aided the charity's current beneficiary: post-earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan. And hey, they got to wear some big-name designer fashions too, like Prada, Bottega Veneta, Lanvin, and Valentino. Click through our slideshow to see Ai Tominaga, Karolina Kurkova, Noemie Lenoir, and many more catwalking for a good cause. Click HERE to see a slideshow.

Ooh! The Next Designer Up at Target? MISSONI.

via Vogue.com: One is a multigenerational family-owned Milanese label hip enough to get the likes of Juergen Teller and Peter Blake to collaborate on its spring 2011 advertising campaign. The other is a Minneapolis-based behemoth brand which dresses multiple generations of American families. One would be Missoni, the other Target, and come fall—September 13 through October 22, to be precise—the 400-plus fruits of their collaboration (the biggest to date, apparently) will hit Target stores nationwide, the latest in a long line of couplings for the retailer (Proenza Schouler and Rodarte among them). Everything from clothes (women’s, men’s, kids'), to bed sheets, to enough dinnerware to set the table for colazione, pranzo, and cena—all in plenty of Missoni’s swirls, zigzags, and near-hallucinogenic florals. “It’s been a fantastic experiencce, " says Angela Missoni, seen here working on Missoni's fall 2011 collection, shown in February, “one we are eager to share with families across the United States.”

WATCH: Alexander McQueen's Exhibit at the Met...

The Cut got a special private tour this week of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's new exhibit "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty"— and it's as good as you could imagine. Curator Andrew Bolton says it was nearly impossible to whittle the exhibit down to about 100 looks, which include the designer's hits ranging from his famous bumster pants to armadillo shoes. Most of the pieces aren't even behind glass, so you can finally get an up-close view of McQueen's iconic work made from truly unique materials such as medical slides, barbed wire, and razor-clam shells. The exhibit runs through July 31. Watch their video to see more of the clothes and the Met's stunning installation.

The Costume Institute's Gala & Exhibit Honors Alexander McQueen

A general view at the press preview for the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2011 in New York City.

The spring 2011 Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, is on view May 4 through July 31. The exhibition celebrates the late Mr. McQueen's extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his Central Saint Martins postgraduate collection in 1992 to his final runway presentation, which took place after his death in February 2010, Mr. McQueen challenged and expanded our understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity.

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the Museum's Costume Institute Benefit takes place on Monday, May 2, 2011. The evening's Honorary Chairs are François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek, and the Co-Chairs are Colin Firth, Stella McCartney, and Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue. This fundraising event is The Costume Institute's main source of annual funding for exhibitions, acquisitions, and capital improvements.

"Alexander McQueen was best known for his astonishing and extravagant runway presentations, which were given dramatic scenarios and narrative structures that suggested avant-garde installation and performance art," said Andrew Bolton, Curator, The Costume Institute. "His fashions were an outlet for his emotions, an expression of the deepest, often darkest, aspects of his imagination. He was a true romantic in the Byronic sense of the word – he channeled the sublime."

Victoria's Secret Policy of Shredding Returned Merchandise...

Victoria's Secret cut up a pair of sweatpants right in front of a customer after she returned them to a Florida store.

The Tampa Tribune reports that shopper Marie Wolf brought back a pair of Pink sweatpants, the clerk refunded her and promptly took a pair of scissors to the item:

"I was shocked, because, mind you, these were $70 sweatpants, and there's nothing wrong with them," Wolf said. "The clerk just said, 'I know, but it's our policy.' "
Outraged, Wolf confronted a store manager, then called the parent company and found, indeed, Victoria's Secret does cut up some returned items so they can't be resold -- even if they're in fine condition.

Apparently, the clerk's only mistake, Wolf said, was to cut up the clothes in front of customers, and not in a back room out of sight.

We've heard of stores destroying unsold merchandise -- H&M and Walmart to name a fine few -- but we're unclear on why VS would shred a pair of pants. It's not like there's serious health issues involved, as there would be with bras or underwear.

Actually, funny we should mention that, since just last year Victoria's Secret was caught reselling returned, and stained undies (ewww). Perhaps the chain's new, drastic take-backs technique stemmed from that scandal. Regardless, remind us to break out the hazmat suits the next time we ever step foot in one of their stores.

Mom Makes Teen's Prom Dress From Starburst Wrappers...

Kanye Rocks Womenswear at Coachella...

Kanye West performed at Coachella on Sunday April 17 this year wearing womenswear from Celine's 2011 Spring line. And you know what? I can't even hate on this. Not even a little bit. Because I stroll around in the men's department looking for cool finds for myself on occasion. I have a pair of 34" waist menswear khaki pants that I purchased to wear and I LOVE them. They don't fit my waist, but I belt them around my hips for an easy, hipster/tomboy fit. Trust me, it works. And honestly ya'll. Are we really that shocked at Kanye wearing designer womenswear or anything else that's completely out of the ordinary? I mean come on. We are talking about Kanye.

Celine Spring 2011

Official Celine

Dressing Rooms to Charge a Fee in Australia. Will It Work?

Blame it on the global financial crisis, the rise of the mega-mall, the online shopping revolution or our sky-high dollar but the boutique retail sector is suffering. Clothing and footwear sales declined 4.8 per cent in the year to December and a stroll down any of Sydney's once-burgeoning shopping precincts will reveal a stream of sale signs and, worse, empty stores.

In the latest twist, retailers have resorted to charging try-on fees in store, which are refunded upon purchase, to stop consumers heading online to search for the same item at a lower price.

Besieged by the new world of e-commerce, it is no longer enough for traditional bricks-and-mortar stores to fill their racks and then wait for the customers to roll in.

Continue reading this article HERE.

Savage Beauty: An Alexander McQueen Retrospective...

I would love to see this exhibit at the Met before it closes. On May 2 the annual Met Ball kicks of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute's new exhibit, Savage Beauty, a retrospective of Alexander McQueen's work. The hefty catalogue of the exhibit was recently distributed, and it features new glorious photos of some of the late designer's most glorious pieces. The book also includes Tim Blanks's interview with McQueen's successor, Sarah Burton — one of the most extensive that's been conducted to date.

Continue reading this article and see more beautiful images from the Alexander McQueen exhibit HERE.

WATCH: Alice + Olivia Launches Sweet Shoes...

Short Shorts For Men. Happening This Summer.

Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2011 Collection

via NYMag:
When the Times' Grant Stoddard saw short-shorts on the spring menswear runways last June, he was overjoyed. A self-proclaimed "shorts traditionalist," he supports "a common-sense inseam" that allows for upper-leg airflow rather than flapping awkwardly around one's shin. But personal comfort aside, how well do a man's bare thighs go over in public? Men may be open to grooming their eyebrows and borrowing their girlfriend's jeans these days, but are they really ready to let their quadriceps breathe in front of total strangers?

Well according to the overwhelming response I got from THIS POST from a few years ago, the answer to that last question is YES.

Continue reading the above article HERE.

WATCH: Handbags Designed & Made from Old VHS Tapes.

Your old VHS collection isn't out of style! Berlin designer Lucrecia Lovera has turned the outdated tapes into evening bags, laptop cases and purses -- and she even plans to start making dresses. Ironically, she admitted to Reuters, "I'm not really a big movie fan."

Tim Gunn on Golden Globes Red Carpet Fashion [VIDEO]

Tim Gunn: "I only ask that people accept responsibility for what they're wearing and own the look," and, "I'm always troubled when celebrities say to me that they don't know what designer they're wearing." 

Are You Ready for "Forever Lazy"?

Iman and Isaac Mizrahi Team Up for "The Fashion Show"

Honestly speaking, I don't think I'll be watching this as I didn't watch the first installment (with Kelly Rowland, right?) and this is by no means a reflection on how I feel about Isaac and Iman because I heart both of them to near infinity. But hey, don't let that stop you from watching.

Victoria's Secret Wants Healthy Models For Their Show.

Victoria's Secret casting director Monica Miro on what type of model they look for to walk in the VS Fashion Show: "The first thing we look for really are healthy bodies, and energy. A lot of the fashion shows you see girls who can just walk and they're just hangers with outfits hanging on them, but for Victoria's Secret? It's a show."

So who will be modeling the latest lingerie trends? According to Fashionologie, Alessandra Ambrosio, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Behati Prinsloo, Chanel Iman, Lily Aldridge, Isabel Goulart, Flavia de Oliveira, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Liu Wen, Anja Rubik, Adriana Lima, Candice Swanepoel, Erin Heatherton, Isabeli Fontana, Lindsay Ellingson, Jessica Stam, Emanuela de Paula, Maryna Linchuk, Magdalena Frackowiak and Edita Vilkeviciute are all names being thrown around. No word yet on the final line-up, but we'll find out soon enough, when the show is held November 10.

The Gap Spring 2011...

Gap's global caravan touched down in London to showcase its Spring collection, and creative director Patrick Robinson was all about the sophisticated and the sexy. When he was growing up, he wasn't alone in thinking of the chain as casual weekendwear. "It was just one part of people's lives," the designer said. Robinson sees this latest collection as putting in place the final components of his four-year revisioning of Gap, which is seeking to re-establish its hold on consumers' hearts and purse strings. He's bumped up the blouses, introduced a soft tailoring element, and brought a new body-consciousness to knitwear.

What Robinson has brought to the brand is tightly edited precision. "No longer a table with one sweater in 30 colors," he said. Yep, instead of multiples, what stood out were specific pieces, like the white silk crepe cocktail dress with the keyhole back (Gap? Get used to it!) or the long white cotton skirt with big patch pockets (LOVE IT), paired with a cap-sleeved top for an elegant evening option (Gap? Get used to it two times!), or the slouchy hooded jacket, with the volume of a radically cropped djellaba. There was something of the classic Perry Ellis spirit in such easy but chic outfits (Robinson did, after all, design for Ellis at one point). The designer also subtly tipped his cap to Gap's heritage by lining a soft lapel-less jacket with gray sweatshirting.

Click HERE to see pics of The GAP's Spring 2011 collection.

Heidi Klum is the New Face of Ann Taylor...

I don't think it's a secret that I'm a HUGE stan of Heidi Klum. Huge. I heart her. So this news of her taking over duties at Ann Taylor (from actress Naomi Watts) was quite welcome:

via the NYPost:
Heidi Klum may have retired her Victoria's Secret angel wings, but she's already landed her next big contract. Klum, who as we first reported last month quit VS after 13 years, is the new face of Ann Taylor, replacing Naomi Watts. A source tells us Klum will be the face of the retailer's 2010 holiday campaign and the ads, shot by famed British photographer Rankin, "show the German supermodel layered in festive bling."

Sexy High Heels + Comfort = GENIUS.

Wow. Shoe designers are finally starting to "get it". Women want to wear sexy heels, but many of them (including yours truly) don't want to wear them at the risk of having them surgically removed with a side effect of excruciating pain. European shoe label Aperlaï is one such shoe label who had the foresight to address these concerns:

via Style.com:
It’s heartening to see shoe designers addressing the not-so-sexy issue of comfort. In Paris, I went to see shoe label Aperlaï (top shoe), whose designer, the very stylish Alessandra Lanvin, doesn’t want you to have to stow a pair of Repetto BB’s in your bag in case you can’t find a taxi. “In Paris, we walk everywhere,” said Lanvin. “You should be able to do that in your heels.” Her techniques include padding the sole where the ball of the foot rests and creating a heel that’s essentially an elongated pyramid with the top lopped off. It reads spindly but is secretly sturdy. And seeing as Lanvin produces in the same Italian factory as Alaïa and Prada, these ideas are all but guaranteed to have excellent execution.

Then there’s Korean-born designer Raphael Young, whose in-your-face fierce aesthetic (bottom shoe) would lead you to believe that the idea of a comfortable heel would be completely anathema. But Young revealed that he’ll soon unveil a patented technology that makes 110-mm shoes feel like your Nikes (this dude deserves a serious high-five). Here’s to the end of the High-Heel Hobble.