Aline Weber: One Mgmt: in ID Sept 08 PH Richard Bush via tfs

Marc Jacobs gives Hot Trannie Mess in the new Interview

The name alone must sell

Is it me or has this been happening to you too? You absorb so much information daily, you start to forget where you read/saw/heard what. For instance, I know this week I read that sales at Gucci have been exploding,and that the company moved product past the 2 billion dollar mark. I remember reading that the new store on 5th Ave at Trump Tower was a sumptuous extravaganza of unmatched awe and spectacle with a stunning view of the avenue from all of it's floors. Most of all we were assured Frida Giannini knew what she was doing. She had feminized the brand. Made it warmer and more spontaneous and accessible. The message of the PR spin was, (and it was written this bluntly in the article)... “Tom who? “.
Now weigh all that information against the reviews the last Gucci show has garnered. The general temperature? Lukewarm, much of it on the order of “This Will Sell Well. Especially In Russia” In her diplomatic review of the show , Cathy Horyn in the NY Times made reference to Gildo Zegna, the chief executive of Zegna, as saying this week that 20 percent of his company’s sales now come from new markets such as Russia, India and Brazil with profit margins said to be higher than those of the “ established markets."
This then leads me to a thought that has been bugging me as a dedicated consumer of designer fashion. What is it that drives me to buy? The reviews of fashion critics? (In my case, no) . The packaging and PR done in the glossy fashion magazines (Somewhat, especially if the magazine is “renegade/independent” like Fantastic Man).

Hotel Raphael: Can you spot the Turner ?

Hotel Raphael on Avenue Klebler in Paris will be the official TI/Hiss Squad HQ for this season's shows precisely because it is located between the Grand Palais and Palais de Tokyo. But here are the 10 other reason's why we love it so.

1. There's a real Turner in the lobby.
2. They serve coffee in silver coffeepots. No matter how humble your room.
3. The Bar Anglais is always filled with businessmen in retreat from La Defense, battle weary diplomats and nests of haute-bourgeoise housewives from the neighbourhood hissing away. Fascinating anthropology!
4. Serge Gainsbourg spent a part of that mis-spent youth here. How chic would that seance be!
5. The gym is so quaint, you expect to hear Oliver Newton John's "Let's Get Pysical" boom over the speakers.
6. Wes Anderson shot the prequel to "The Djarling Limited" on the premises. The fictional "Hotel Chevaliar" is every inch Hotel Raphael, right down to the end shot that pans over the lowrise skyline of the neigbouring houses.
7. PS. You're one avenue away from Avenue Foch. Veeery 70's !
8.The rooms were designed to cater to the 19th century French middle class that would sweep in for the 'season" with their cases upon cases of ballgowns that required specially built closets . For the modern traveler this means a rare treat: big rooms in a Paris hotel!
9. Flatscreens and wireless in each room= instant Hiss Squad updates the moment the hiss transpires.

Balenciaga SS08: First Look

For TI the Paris booking sweepstakes came down to one crucial moment. The first exit at the Balenciaga SS08. The honor, as is visible, went to one Kasia Struss at Women, the nicest Polish nineteen year old you could ever hope to meet. Given all the girls who came out after her, I think that was a little bit genius of Monsieur. Give that girl another season of model currency! The clothes,as was the case at Prada, served as a kind of summary of the the last three collections. Coloration that reminded you of SS 07, shapes seen at the FW 06 and the global pattern recognition strategy from FW 07. Its all I kept thinking in my blissfully jet-lagged state..."pattern recognition system" at the mad chintzs and super-70's fabric treatments that poured out. Stylists will be mixing the Prada and Balenciaga pieces with maximum ease thise season. Look, after that rapid rush of ideas over the last two years, the guy is allowed to provide a summary collection. And god bless him for that 7am call time