The Swelle Life

Why Models Get Paid the Big Bucks

Last month I won first prize of a contest that Dream Sequins hosted to mark her 100th post (a favourite blog of mine - it's great for discovering emerging designers). She asked if I'd do a photo with the prizes and I was only too happy to oblige - not just out of gratitude but because no one who has ever won a Swelle giveaway has granted that very request from me! So I know how much it sucks when people don't.

So I got an outfit together to show off what I won (see below). I thought I'd make one of those happy 'surprise' faces which I tried out in the mirror a few times and it seemed to work. A bit goofy but fun. So I thought. After Other Half snapped a bunch of photos they looked okay. On the tiny screen of our camera. But once I had a look at them full size I realised just how misleading those thumbnails were. As you can see above, the 'surprise' face lacks the smile/ooh! combo I had practised and thanks to what appears to be a hugely oversized tongue that despite efforts just can't be contained it looks like a rude gesture if only my left hand was closer to my mouth. And that pose was supposed to convey energy, like a forward momentum propelled by my unbridled enthusiasm. Which apparently was all in my head.

So, yet another situation where I find that modelling isn't as easy as it looks. I swear, it didn't really look like that in person! I guess I just have to accept that I don't have a photogenic tongue.

Just for the record, I was thrilled to win this contest. I NEVER win anything. In fact, the last time I won something was kindergarten. Which would also make it my first. It was Halloween and there was a draw for a huge pumpkin. I remember it being the size of a boulder. I'm sure it wasn't really that big but it was definitely substantial. My teacher offered to drive me home and I think my mother picked me up from school then but I took the ride anyway (duh). So of course my mother wasn't home when we got there and we had to wait in the car for a few minutes until she was. That was uncomfortable. So much so that I can still recall it now. Which reminds me of the time I missed the bus in grade 5 so my cool British principal, Mr. Wolfe, put me on the back of his motorcyle and took me home! Ha, can you imagine that happening now?

What was I talking about? Oh right. So here's what I won: a limited edition "Garfield" tote from Stand Up Comedy (my right arm); Envirosax shopper courtesy of Shopflick (my left arm); LucyJ flip mirror from Brittique (what I'm holding up, it's so cute); Mini-bag and lookbook from Chree (in the shopper bag); knit armwarmers from NIT: FELT: PHRAME (love them) and two bamboo jersey headbands from The Battalion (I'm wearing one which you can't see in the photo but they feel awesome, they are beyond soft. Do they make bras?).

Does anyone still wonder why I don't do styled posts?

Xuan-Thu Nguyen's Blooming, Foxy Haute Couture

I've taken a bit long to follow-up my interview with Xuan-Thu Nguyen with looks from her haute couture show in January, but the timing is just right as I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow to attend her Fall/Winter haute couture show on Tuesday (and yes, I'm stupid with excitement) and this makes for a nice teaser/prelude.

If you read the interview you know what makes Thu's garments so special is the detail, which goes beyond simple embellishment. Many of the looks she sent down the runway for her spring/summer show began as one thing and transformed into another - specifically, jackets and dresses that bloomed when unsnapped. And then there's the fox stole made entirely of flowers:

When I think of haute couture I think of exquisite detail upon exquisite detail, a piece of clothing that at first glance blurs the eyes and leaves you compelled to stare in the hopes of unravelling the glorious chaos. Xuan-Thu Nguyen delivers this with an undeniable joy.

These colours combined with the various smocking techniques
and those strippy bows is just delicious








A 'fox' capelet


I love how the shoes give a hint as to what's
hidden beneath the snaps of the dress (header photo)


Notice the subtle embroidery on the top.
The print on that skirt is a dream.


What a stunner. Both the front and back offer something
beautiful and unique with the elegant ruching and those
strips that are somehow chaotic and sublime at once:

Here's the video of the show where you can see some of the detail a bit better and watch the clothes transform:

When I visited Thu's boutique in the Marais in April I got to see her couture necklaces which look fun at first glance but they are much more than that. They take four days to make - each 'bead', like an exquisite ball of twine, is created by hand and the technique is the designer's secret. In fact, a major retail chain copied Thu's design but made them cheaply and no surprise, they fell apart and had to be recalled after a week. H. and. M.

The metallic fibres and the thick, wooly yarn each offer their own
wonderful texture, and they feel lovely on

Little fabric dolls that are fun as brooches


Those shoes - the ones I love so much I asked Thu
if I could use them for my banner!




A jacket with exquisite broderie anglaise

I'll report back fromt the show Tuesday night, hopefully with some good photos! Bisous!

Ript, Poked and Deflected

Boing Boing has come up aces today with a trio of goodies that I must share. First off is the 'Hypolux Chandelier' made of plexiglass plates and commercial syringes (I'm not quite sure what a 'commercial' syringe is but it might mean it doesn't have a needle), from Bughouse. It is really cool and kind of sickening all at once.

Next up is the Anti-Papparazi Clutch by [AH] Projects. That's right, it is meant to ruin unwanted celebrity photos and it works by detecting camera flashes and responding with another flash that obscures the photo and gives the subject a kind of Pulp Fiction open briefcase effect. Adam Harvey's website doesn't actually show the bag itself which exists as a prototype and is patent-pending. The designer says he is seeking investors. Well, that might be tough because the potential market is miniscule. First, no 'regular' person has a use for it; and second, we're all on to the fact that the most papped stars put themselves in front of the camera.

However, I do buy that Twilight's Robert Pattinson really isn't loving being stalked 24 hours a day by fans or paps so maybe he should start carrying the clutch. He can start the trend.

I saved the best 'til last. Get a load of this. Ript is "a classic men’s undershirt injected with steroids" created by a designer for Diddy's Sean John label. I don't know about you, but I'm attracted to a guy who is intrigued by a salespitch that uses "injected with steroids" to sell their product. It's like Spanx for guys and acts as a compression garment so the moobs and jelly belly are minimised. Right. A guy with a B-cup who looks to be carrying twins is going to be buying this. It's never the people who need it that buy it. It's the guy who goes to the gym five times a week and cuts out carbs who will drown in his own saliva at the prospect of looking even more cut in his tight t-shirts.  

I'd like to point out what Boing Boing also found amusing - instructions for how to put on the RIPT shirt:

This is especially funny considering that according to the Ript website the designer has "mastered her understanding of what appeals to the most sophisticated and discriminating men." Who need instructions on how to get dressed.

These come in XS. I'm so getting one.

Jena Ardell's Dreamy Summers 'Past'

Diver by Jena Ardell

Hazy, washed out photographs that appear like a faded memory make me nostalgic for my childhood, even if the subject matter doesn't quite fit my own experience. Like this candy-coloured attraction-filled pier below that has me asking if it even ever existed; it looks right out of a child's fantasy. And I mean the good, pure kind of eras past that is devoid of corporate sponsorship and the scourge of animated characters that have their own breakfast cereals and clothing lines. Hard to believe then that these were all taken today, though I'm happy and willing to buy that fact.

These photos are polaroids from the Summer Love series from photographer Jena Ardell whose work I was introduced to thanks to a contest happening at Constant Cravings. The prize is a print of Homage and the contest closes July 5.

The pool scene above reminds me of David Hockney's A Bigger Splash which is one of my most favourite paintings in the whole world. A nicely framed poster of it sits on my wall and never fails to replicate that dreamy feeling for me. Diver does it for me as well and frankly so does Ardell's entire Summer Love series.

Ardell is from California and that neatly fits the 'perfect summer' depicted here - who wouldn't have guessed these are scenes from the 'Sunshine State'? After all, it's an idyllic and romantic notion that we who are not from California all seem to share. But it so happens that 90% of Ardell's beach shots were shot on the east coast which she reveals in an interview with Feaverish Photography.com. She offers an explanation of this and I love the last line - it sums up perfectly the innocence and simplicity of our own childhood summers:

The spirit of Summer isn’t in California because Californians do not know what it is to miss Summer. Most native Californians actually despise the Summer months because to them Summer represents heat waves, rolling blackouts and wild fires. Plus, there is a phenomenon known as “June Gloom” when the Marine Layer gives California gray, depressing skies for a month. Meanwhile, on the East Coast, temperatures are slowly climbing and children are dreaming of Dairy Queen and lightning bugs.

I spent most of my summer days playing outside in the sun in our small southern Ontario town with the neighbourhood kids (I remember one day when I was about seven years old and it was so hot I came in and changed four times trying to find something cooler so I wouldn't have to come inside) and if there was a promise of Dairy Queen in the evening that just made my day. The one we had at the time was hardly more than a shack and there was always a line working its way out both sides of that metal framed ice cream stand. I always got a raspberry Mr. Misty and sometimes an ice cream sandwich. Writing this I can actually smell the mix of ice cream and flavoured syrup in the air.

Thanks for the memories, Jena.    

Swelle Giveaway! Fashion A to Z: An Illustrated Dictionary

I'm all excited about this giveaway, I have this book myself and it's something that I think every fashion lover and student should have. It's especially helpful for us fashion bloggers who time and time again find ourselves plotting along just fine in a post until we want to describe a particular detail on a garment and we have no idea what it's called! It sounds so much better to say "epaulettes" instead of "those loopy things on the shoulders."

So thanks to Laurence King Publishing, I have a copy of Fashion A to Z: An Illustrated Dictionary to give to one lucky reader! It covers every detail, accessory, garment and costume you can imagine and gives a brief history of the item so it's a great way to expand your fashion brain. Writer and designer Alex Newman wrote the book and the fun illustrations that brighten each page are by renowned fashion illustrator and designer Zakee Shariff.

To enter the contest*, answer the following question in the comments section of this post:

What is your favourite fashion/style detail? (Like ruching, a boater hat, or cashmere for example. Anything that makes a garment or accessory special or is a standout piece.)

*If you re-post this giveaway on your blog and provide the link with your answer you will get an extra entry. I will also count RTs on Twitter as second entries as well. I will go in and put a '2' in your comment once I've seen it!

The contest will run until midnight (London time) Thursday, July 9 and the winner, chosen at random, will be announced on Friday. Anyone, anywhere, can enter!

Good luck!

Louise Black's Victorian Beauties for Shrimpton Couture

My favourite vintage shop, Shrimpton Couture, has embarked on an exciting venture and enlisted the talents of a handful of carefully chosen independent accessories designers to create one-of-a-kind capsule collections for the boutique. Each is known for using special vintage materials that befit their own unique style and their creations are the perfect complement to the outstanding collection of vintage and reworked clothing that Shrimpton Couture offers.

The latest set of adornments comes courtesy of Louise Black whose richly detailed Victorian pieces favour delicate vintage laces and fringe and exquisite beadwork. The story goes that Courtney Love - a client of both Louise and Shrimpton Couture - suggested the two collaborate!

How I missed posting on the recent collection from The Glamourai I have no idea because I was completely smitten at first glance. It was influenced by the Sofia Coppola film Marie Antoinette and certainly captured the decadent, feminine styling at its best. My favourite piece went before it was even in the shop due to a frenzied reaction to a preview, so it's now with a lucky owner but I'm going to show it anyway:

However, somehow this piece is still available and is equally as luscious:

And a little something for the wrist, perhaps?

Modelled by The Glamourai herself along with another stunning
neckpiece that got snapped up immediately

Watch the Shrimpton Couture boutique for two more mouthwatering jewelry collections arriving soon. And fashion fans won't want to miss the Shrimpton Couture interview for Herald de Paris in which Norma Kamali answers questions from twitterers (tweeters? I'm not sure) including one from Yours Truly about the future of vintage. You can read the article here

Turkish Delight: Eat it or Wear it?

I saw these gorgeous Erickson Beamon Turkish delight coin earrings and I couldn't help but think of Big Turk, that Turkish Delight chocolate bar from Nestlé that I think is only available in Canada. Why that is I have no idea because I have never, ever seen anyone eat it. But someone must be or they wouldn't be selling it. "A delicious combination of jelly and chocolate" is how the Nestlé website describes it. When I could have bitter chocolate, and chocolate with almonds and mint and those hard toffee Skor bars that can rip out your molars but are so worth it, why would one choose Big Turk?

Okay, I can't believe this. My husband just walked over, looked at my screen and exclaimed "The BIG TURK!!" and nodded with an ear-to-ear smile. I just about fell off my chair and he said "How can you not like the Big Turk??" He's the one! He's keeping the Big Turk in business! Just when you think you know someone. So I asked him if he misses it since we're in the UK. He said "No, I'm not so sure I would like it so much now, I think it would probably be too sweet. But then again maybe the Turk wasn't too sweet. I'll have to get one when we go home. It was like two treats in one. You could eat the chocolate off the outside and then you were left with the chewy jelly."

Wow. I don't know if I should be there to witness this reunion or let them be alone together. But now I'm curious and I may have to crash their party and see for myself.

Uh, anyway, aren't the earrings gorgeous? I think the second style is my favourite, but the first matches the colours of the Big Turk packaging and that must count for some bonus points.

Erickson Beamon has put out a ridiculously gorgeous collection for spring/summer and I have to show my other two favourites: the gem embellished cuff and bangle:

Sorry, no chocolate bar analogies for these ones.

Jonathan Saunders' Happy Resort

You would think by the look on Alyona's face that she'd been asked to hold a cockroach in her mouth. But not even such a sour face can ruin the exhilarating effect of the vibrant palette that featured in Jonathan Saunders' Resort 2010 collection.

It's this combination of his usual happy hues and beautiful fabrics - particularly the floaty chiffons - that made me slobber all over my keyboard when I saw his Spring 09 collection and it's that softness that I missed in the fall offerings (though there were some great stand-out pieces). And there's variety in the looks. For example, I think British Airways should adopt this outfit as the new uniform for their female flight attendants:

And the delicate chiffon ruffles that finish these skirts are just the sort of thing I cringed at as a child when my mother surprised me with a new, ultra-feminine dress. So it's a bit ironic that I'd now gladly take a wardrobe full of them in equally girlie colours:

Everyone needs a few cardies, at least one that's rather nondescript to go with just about anything, and a happy one that brings a smile to your face and brighten your mood. This is my pick of the season:

Moving On: Burberry's Not So Traditional Trenches

I know that the trench is a staple piece of any woman or man's wardrobe (if you're into that sort of thing) but as a jacket/coat fanatic it's the one style I don't really own. I have something that is sort of a trench but a bit fancier, though certainly nothing that would render me akin to a British WWI army officer.

If I was to ever decide I had to have a proper trench coat, the ultimate would obviously be an Aquascutum or Burberry, though at £500 for the most basic of the offerings of the latter, for me it's a tough sell. Never mind not having the cash, if I did I'd want a bit more bang for my buck. (I've mixed British currency with North American currency slang there. That's what you get from a Canadian living in England.) It's details that sell me and epaulettes and wind flaps just won't cut it.

Burberry's past few collections have caught my eye but more for the complementary layering and styling of the looks rather than stand-out individual pieces. But Christopher Bailey's latest re-interpretation of the trench for Resort 2010 have me standing at attention and saluting (and this time it's not a one-fingered salute). It's that familiar palette of rainy day shades but the details are undeniably bright and cheery, and definitely feminine - unevenly ruched seams, puffy sleeves and lush pleats. And they bear no relation whatsoever to a WWI army officer.

The September Issue Trailer Has Arrived

Wow. That's not the most flattering screen capture. The film that has all of us fashion freaks giggling with anticipation - besides Coco Avant Chanel - can be now be seen in sound bytes and quickly spliced clips, otherwise knows as The Trailer.

The September Issue treats us to an all-access pass to the Vogue offices, including Anna Wintour's (love how it looks exactly like Miranda Priestly's office in The Devil Wears Prada, if there was any doubt as to the 'inspiration' behind the film) so we get to witness all of the madness that comes with putting THE fashion issue of the year together. And I assume in the end we'll be quite happy to have viewed it all from the outside.

The U.S. release date is August 28, 2009 and will coincide with the September 2009 issue of Vogue. Of course. I can't wait to eat this one up.

Au Revoir, Farrah

No need to say what you already know. Goodbye to the last pin-up in recent memory that didn't have implants. We'll always remember you for your hair, The Burning Bed, your marriage to the Six Millions Dollar Man, Letterman and a smile that reminds us why the 70s were so great. You were my first iron-on T-shirt. So long, Farrah.

What I Saw On a Stroll One Night in Paris

I wanted to call this post simply One Night in Paris but someone ruined that for me. These photos are what we saw along the way when we walked from our flat in the Latin Quarter down to Rue Mouffetard one evening in April. It was light when we headed out:

The Pantheon


Detail of the Pantheon


I, uh, don't know


The steeple of I don't know

The street off Rue Mouffetard where we ate

Down a bit we found some street art by Jef Aerosol, with random scribbles by the less inspired who likely just stopped to take a whiz and happened to find a black Sharpie in their pocket:

If you're familiar with automatic writing and/or a fan of André Breton and Surrealism you may be interested in the Hotel des Grands Hommes. Breton lived there and created surrealist automatic writing with Philipe Soupault. There they wrote Les Champs Magnetiques, Surrealism's first literary work. (I can't not mention this - when I first wrote 'automatic writing' I actually wrote 'automatic thinking' which is making me laugh because it seems to be a process that eludes me as of late!)

I'm not really sure why it says 1919-1989 since the hotel is obviously still there.
Or is my lack of capacity for automatic thinking causing me to miss something?

Heaven is Macaron Cocktails at Ladurée

I was going to post my photos of the bar at the Champs Elysées Ladurée - the epitome of the French/macaron/pastry/girlie experience - but they came out slightly blurry because I was trying to sneak them. It just seemed too gauche to take pictures in such a breathtaking wonderland of sugary delights. So instead I give your theirs; it's what the bar in heaven must look like. I was standing right at the door when the bar opened, queuing to get some macarons at the shop and lamenting the wait time for the cafe (I made up for it a few days later when a friend came to visit) and my eyes nearly fell out when I looked into the room. And guess what they serve there? Macaron cocktails!

I am going to be in Paris in a couple weeks, alone. I am not averse to going for a drink by myself if it means having a macaron cocktail. But what if I want a second? Does that border on rather sad? Maybe if I drink four or five I won't care about appearances. Actually, that's a given.

Let's not stop there. There's too much Ladurée dreaminess to share:

One of the rooms upstairs at the Champs Elysées location


I had the Saint Honoré fraise and pistache and nearly died.


Ladurée Bonapart


Ladurée Bonapart

The spring/summer collection for packaging

Ladurée at Harrods in London






Ladurée Lausanne

Oh, why did I do that to myself as I'm about to eat a cheeseburger...

Zaha Hadid Does Architectural Shoes

 
Lacoste has partnered with renowned architect Zaha Hadid to produce a line of shoes that push that boundaries of footwear. You may remember Hadid as the creator of the revolutionary art pavillion that housed the Chanel 2.55 handbag tribute exhibition. (Or you know her well and are giving me a big 'DUH!' right now.)

Born from a digital interpretation of the iconic logo of the brand, the shoes are crafted from Italian calf leather and printed in relief realized by heated metal plates. “Wrapped around the foot, these shoes adapt in an ergonomic way to the shapes of the body" explains Hadid. The run is limited to 850 pairs which will be sold exclusively at colette from July 20th. No price has been given. Most likely to avoid a collective gasp around the world.

That's all the info colette provided and I can't find anything on Hadid's site. I think we deserve more! How do they stay wrapped? Are they unisex? What colours will be available? Will I be able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound?

The Men's Cropped Suit Jacket: It's About Time

This post is dedicated to my husband. Whenever he has to put on a suit it's torture. They're hot and you can't shed the tie and loosen the collar unless it's late into the evening at an event where everyone is too drunk to care, like a wedding. Or a funeral. But for the guy who is attending meetings and speaking at conferences where a few beads of sweat is unsightly and well, really gross, this version created by Bruno is a godsend. It's cropped nice and high, has bracelet, or I guess 'watch-length' sleeves and the pants are more like culottes - allowing the arms, calves and stomach to breathe, and be seen!

I think the exposed thong might be pushing it a bit but then again, never say never!

Source: Towleroad

Unheard of in High Fashion: Dolce & Gabbana to Cut Prices

This is good news. It means that someone out there is finally getting a clue that dropping quality while raising prices is a formula that along with making us vomit with rage just isn't good long-term business practice. Dolce & Gabbana are going to reduce their prices by 10 - 20% while maintaining creativity and quality, according to WWD. The cuts will be applied to the upcoming spring collection for both the main line and D&G, and will continue indefinitely.

Stefano Gabbana tells WWD, (while wearing Crocs!), “In this moment of uncertainty, people spend more willingly on travel or spas rather than on a new dress. We want to work for the final consumer.”

WWD gives evidence of the lower prices in specifc items which is actually far greater than a 10 or even 20% reduction:: "A pair of five-pocket jeans for spring will sell for $450 (for spring 2009 they cost $695); a dress will cost $1,469, down from $2,295; a leather bomber jacket will be priced at $1,499, compared with $2,296, and an iconic stretch silk tulle corset dress will go to $3,589 from last year’s $5,200."

So, the news gets even better, although I still won't be able to afford anything. Even the 'cheap' jeans, I'd feel like a tool spending $450 on. My butt would have to look so spectacular that the angels in heaven would sing and fairies would fly out of the back pockets, waving their wands and showering me and everyone in the vicinity with magic fairy dust.

But let's not leave on a sour/goofy note; it looks like these two deserve some major credit. To achieve the cost-cutting while keeping the quality of the materials, construction and design high, they talked their suppliers and manufacturers into a collective, cost-efficient approach across the entire supply chain. And they stress that everyone, from button suppliers to mills to manufacturers, is doing their part. In addition, the designers’ usual selection of hundreds of fabrics was dropped to dozens that will be served up in a more far-ranging palette, while constructions will be simpler. For example, Dolce and Gabbana worked hard to develop alternative stitching techniques that are innovative, but reduce manufacturing costs.

“The idea is to peel off the superfluous because there are too many clothes, too many seasons, too much advertising — too much of everything that is tacked onto the final price. We want to go back to how things were 20 years ago. It’s about drawing the line,” said Domenico Dolce.

Sounds great! Who's next?

Urgent Appeal to Canadians to Save a Little Girl's Life

This gorgeous little girl is Julia D'Innocenzo, the niece of a childhood friend of mine. She is two years old and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. She has leukemia with an MLL rearrangement. The MLL rearrangement makes her odds of beating her disease much less. Her only hope is to get back into remission and then have a stem cell transplant.

Unfortunately, her last treatment of chemo didn't work and the leukemia has returned. Her aunt describes how dire her situation is on Julia's Facebook page:

"The doctors have said that they are running out of options. Everything left is very, very experimental. If she can find a match she will have more options, and possibly beat this. I cannot emphasize enough how important finding a match is to Julia's life. She is almost 3 and deserves a very happy, healthy life and she can't have that without a match.

Please please please tell everyone you know, especially friends and family to join One Match today. Julia needs you and so does her family and everyone who loves her!"

Need to know more? You can read The 6 Biggest Myths About Marrow Donation

There's no time to waste and if you even have a fleeting thought about registering for a match to help Julia, PLEASE follow it up and JOIN One Match now. Also, know that you are registering to see if you are a match and would only be donating if you are found to be - it is very hard to find a match.

And Stacie from San Francisco urges her fellow Americans to participate as matches may be found in other countries:

"If you are in the United States I do want to share that this weekend and Monday are the final 3 days of the "Be The Match" Marrowthon here in the United States. I know that the registries are cross matched for patients worldwide so if anyone knows people who live in the States please let them know that for the next three days EVERYONE (including Caucasians) in the U.S. can test FREE of charge if they order a home test kit online:

http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now_Special/Marrowthon09/join_now_mt09.html

The Marrowthon runs from June 8-22 or until 46,000 new registrants join Be The Match. Normally testing for ethnic minorities and mixed ethniciities is free due to a federal grant but Caucasians are charged a fee that typically ranges from $25 to $52.

The Be the Match website here in the U.S. says roughly 50% of matches are international so it's very possible for Julia to find her match here in the U.S."

You can check Julia's Facebook page for updates. With your help they may be happy ones.

Designer Series, Knitwear: Totes and T-shirts

Our prolific knitwear student from Central Saint Martins, Cynthia  F. has been neck deep in yarn since we last saw her. She was paired with a Final Year CSM knitwear student, Frida Hulten - who will working at Mulberry when she graduates and - to assist up to and throughout the graduate show. Cynthia knitted a dress and half a jacket for her and hopefully we'll get to see photos of those pieces. Cynthia says the collection features lots of bubble shapes so I am all into that.

Then came two competitions. The first was to design a fashion illustration for the tote bags for London Fashion Weekend and Cynthia came up with what you see to the left. If you've been to London you'll surely recognise the 'Gherkin' building that makes up the hat (if you've been following along you know how she loves to take inspiration from architecture). Very cool.

The project for the other contest was to create a T-shirt using an existing one, and the garments were sold at a one-day exhibition to raise money for Oliver, a boy who was about to enroll into first year for Fashion Print but was stabbed in East London. He was left paralyzed from the neck down and will need treatment and medication for the rest of his life.

Cynthia wanted to stick to her knitwear background for this garment so she created a lush collar made of interwoven links of super-thick yarns of varying textures and shades:

Cynthia wasn't at the exhibition but was told her T-shirt was gone very early on and said it was "either sold already or they lost it, or it’s just somewhere lying around..." It think it was sold, Cynthia! (How modest.)

Next time we'll see the project she worked on with The Siblings designer Syd Bryan where she tried out some new techniques. And this one I cannot wait to see: a lingerie project for which she has to knit the lingerie. She's going against her usual style and going 'girly and sweet' to make a lingerie set that is Marie Antoinette inspired (she recently watched the film. If you have not seen it and love fashion it is a must-see for the costume alone). The set will consist of a babydoll, high waisted pants, suspenders (or garters) and stockings and will be photographed in a shoot.

Watch this space!

Want to catch up on the series? Click here.

SSP: Swelle Interview at Dream Sequins

 

SSP = shameless self promotion. How can there be any shame in being featured on one of the greatest fashion blogs out there and one of my most favourite daily reads, Dream Sequins? It's all about exciting, emerging designers and the lovely lover of fashion behind it supports her fellow fashion bloggers like no other. One of the ways she does that is with her feature Five Questions for My Favourite Bloggers and I'm honoured that she chose me for this installment.

You can read the interview here and be sure to take a look around if it's your first time at Dream Sequins. Or I'll crash your dance class!

Coco Avant Chanel: The Trailer

It looks like Coco Avant Chanel is going to be released in the UK on July 31 and word has it September 25 is the US date.

I noticed that the supporting quote at the end comes from Grazia. Not UK Vogue. Interesting...

Luckily it opened in France the day before I left Paris - I so wanted to see it in Paris - and I caught a matinee which I wrote about here, or more accurately I blubbered all over my blog (I was a bit emotional about having to leave).

I highly recommend it. Well, duh!

(Email subscribers: click the header to get to the site and view the video!)

And Jeté! Karl Lagerfeld Designs Ballet Costumes

My posts about Karl Lagerfeld are much sparser than they used to be. At one time I joked that I should call my blog 'Dresses and Kaiser Karl'. I think after the Diet Coke butler everything else has been a bit anti-climactic. But I always enjoy seeing him in action and the BBC has filmed his final fitting for the costumes he designed to mark the centenary of the legendary dance group Ballets Russes.

I have two questions: First, the male dancers must have special inserts for their pants, right? There's a shaped and padded consistency to that bulge that just can't be natural. Second, what do you call a male ballerina? A ballerino?

Check out the moves at the end of their performance. Even more impressive than what I saw in my hip hop class yesterday.

I Got Served: Total and Utter Dancing Fool

This evening I attended a 'street hip hop' class. Anyone who knows me well is all too familiar with my knee situation: I was useless for nearly two years before having surgery in February and now my muscles are screaming for some action after months and months of sloth and eating whatever the heck I wanted. But I have to be cautious. So a group of us thought we'd take advantage of the city's dance studio and the intro hip hop class sounded like fun. Easy fun.

We had planned to start next week but I decided to go tonight on my own; I just needed to dance, I guess. You know how it is. And maybe part of me wanted to dazzle the others next week with my 'natural' ability to pick up the funky fresh moves from the get-go. That sure would have been nice. But it didn't exactly turn out that way.

I opened the door to the studio and walked into a Jay-Z video. Thirty lithe dancers kitted out in street gear were busting it up fast and furious to bowel-rumbling bassey tracks and there I was in my yoga pants and high ponytail, frozen. I managed to put down my bag and tried to join in from the back of the room. I finally figured out who the instructor was and attempted to mimic her. She was doing this crazy move with her foot which had me convinced that in order to perform it she must have three ankles, yet everyone else seemed to also have three ankles. I sort of waved my foot around in front of me and then in a flurry of moves I found the class had spun around and was now facing me. For that second I was like a deer caught in the headlights of a Freightliner. So I spun around, too, but now everyone was already facing the front again. The fragmented limb routine repeated in variations for the next three humiliating minutes and then there were hands on the floor, butts in the air and legs whipping around. They were breakdancing. I realised that if I could actually do these moves (ha!) my knee would likely explode so I picked up my bottle of water and my bag and quietly walked out the door with my joints intact but not so much my dignity. If that was the basic class then the guys from the Beat It video must have been teaching the advanced.

I noticed through the window on the door of the next studio that the class in there was nice and slow so I went to the desk to see about switching. I looked in my open bag and noticed my bottle of water. So the one I was holding in my hand wasn't mine. Which means I came into a class, flailed around for a few minutes and then stole someone's water and left. I think I drank from it, too. So what to do? How about walk back in without making eye contact, putting the water back on the floor and running out? I couldn't bear the thought that someone would be all sweaty and thirsty and not have their water! Dehydration is dangerous and highly uncomfortable.

So I joined what I think was a jazz class and when I went to go into my bag to get my ticket I noticed that my water bottle was half full. I had only had a sip when I first got it. That meant it had leaked about a cup's worth into my bag. My leather Marc by Marc Jacobs bag. Of course. That would never happen in a canvas tote. Never mind, it was time to redeem myself. Things were a lot calmer here and I could actually follow along. It was all going well until things started to get more lively and some jumps were incorporated and I uh, um, I uh, uh......................I don't want to tell you! No, I didn't fart, but let's just say I think I would have preferred it. (I've had a baby so you can figure it out.) I used my knee as an excuse for having to sit out the rest, especially as we had to do our moves in twos now, jazzily skipping across the studio as the others looked on. There was NO. WAY. So the very kind instructor suggested I do some stretches until the cool-down at the end. Why not leave? How could I bail on TWO classes? So I did some stretches and hoped no more liquids would be spilled at that place.

I think I'll do pilates next week.....

Rossy de Palma and the All-American Girl

Last night I was reading a post by Wendy Brandes on her new blog collaboration with designer Christian Francis Roth (get to know it!). It started out as a show-and-tell of her cute-as-a-Wendy undone bow-tie dress from Francis and finished with a mention of Spanish actress Rossy de Palma - the connection being the title of the post Tie Me Up, Tie Me down is also the name of a Pedro Almodovar film, and the filmmaker happens to be responsible for launching the acting career of de Palma by casting her in his films in the 1980s.

This mention of the extraordinary looking de Palma unlocked a memory from 1992. I was sitting in my bedroom flipping through the latest US Vogue and found myself fascinated by an editorial called Gypsy Soul that featured Claudia Mason, the guys from Extreme (yes, as in More than Words - I apologise if you spend the next two days with that song playing in your head) and this strangely exotic creature, the likes of whom I had never seen before. She had the most unusual nose, and it was played up in profile shots like that above where she's kissing the donkey head. This was my introduction to Rossy de Palma.

 

I stared. And I stared. I had never seen anyone like this in Vogue before or any other fashion magazine for that matter (not hard to believe as I was also still reading YM and Seventeen) and to be honest, I was confused. How was I supposed to feel about her inclusion alongside Claudia Mason and the other models with perfect profiles - was Vogue playing a trick on me? Before you yell at your monitor 'What the heck was the matter with you?' let me remind or describe what 'diversity' meant back then. 

'Diversity' was Cindy Crawford. No, I haven't forgotten Iman or Yasmeen Ghauri or any of the other richly-featured beauties who broke the mould. But they didn't have commercial success back then, and unless you were able - or allowed as it were - to transform your name and image into a brand you were essentially a non-entity at the end of the day.

 

Cindy Crawford has brown eyes and brown hair. And a mole. She arrived on the scene at the tail end of an era that still considered Christie Brinkley, Kim Alexis and Cheryl Tiegs to be the epitome of American beauty - all blonde, blue-eyed with the kind of Stepford Wife smile any star quarterback would be proud to bring home to mom. I have brown hair and brown eyes. While I never disliked what I was born with, I was aware it was not the popular 'ideal' and had wished I'd gotten my dad's hazel green eyes instead as my brown held no cache. Case in point - who was prettier in Charlie's Angels? Farah Fawcett or Jacklyn Smith? Jacklyn Smith of course. But who was the nation going mental over? Farah. Not that she didn't deserve it but she had more competition than was ever acknowledged. And this continued until America was ready to accept a Cindy as their girl (after a few years of airbrushing out the mole).

Poor Kate Jackson, she wasn't even allowed to have cleavage

As with all cultural transitions, there can be bumps. Some people take a while to get up to speed. One day I found myself having lunch with a guy and a girl at my new high school (I left my old high school in the last year to attend a more artsy school - without uniforms - to get the credits I needed for university, and I was tired of getting detention at 18 years old for having a tiny part of my shirt not tucked into my scratchy kilt). They were a couple and although it was a bit awkward to be invited to eat with a couple I didn't know I appreciated the welcoming gesture and put the idea that they might be pervs out of my head. Turns out they weren't pervs but one of them, the girl, was a real jerk. Somehow the topic of Cindy Crawford came up and the girl - a blue-eyed blonde - exclaimed loudly 'How comes she's so popular? She has BROWN EYES AND BROWN HAIR!" And her face was so contorted with disgust it was as if someone had just farted in her face (if only). The boyfriend quietly chastised her for being so insensitive which I appreciated, but I did wonder if he agreed with the sentiment.

Just a note, I'm not forgetting Janice Dickinson, the first model to call herself the first supermodel. (Hee.) Yes, she was a good model and a big model and she shared the spotlight with dark beauty Gia Carrangi. But did she have commercial success? Did the corporations want her face to represent them in big campaigns? No, their money was on the blue-eyed blondes. Like Jerry Hall.

 

So, coming back to Rossy de Palma - seeing her non-perfectness celebrated in Vogue all those years ago was a real awakening for me. It went against everything I'd been told about what was beautiful (except for my parents who thought I was the greatest. And of course they were right). It may still be an extreme exception to the 'perfection' rule society is now rigidly adhering to (and ironically so in light of the latest phenomenon - the 'pillow face' which is hardly perfection unless you think alcohol bloat is sublime), but just when we think the world is completely ass-backwards, we can look to the rare beauty of Rossy de Palma.

Thanks to Ready Set Fashion for archiving all of these old issues, I can't believe I found that editorial.

Have You Ever Seen a Girl So Happy in her Glads?

This is Karen, proud new owner of a pair of killer gladiator flats, as evidenced by that huge smile on her face. (If you've been reading for a while you may remember her from the DvF dress posts.) Recently, Karen asked my opinion on where to look for glad flats (if I were Grazia I would at this moment be claiming ownership of a ridiculous hybrid - in this case 'glats' but let's not go there). I really didn't have any great advice to offer, glads in all shapes and forms are everywhere so it's more of a matter of going out and trying some on. And I tend to suggest the more expensive options as that's what I see in my cyber travels (I like to daydream rather than bargain-hunt), so I mentioned a few reasonable online shops for browsing and wished her luck.

Little did I know she was going to come back with these savage beauties! You see, Karen isn't a fashion fiend, in that she spends her time thinking about other things unlike my fashion-obsessed self and most of you reading this post. But when she goes on a quest she goes all-out, yet she doesn't break the bank (I try to be frugal and without fail the thing falls apart. It just wasn't meant to be). These are from Le Chateau, a Canadian unisex fashion chain that's been around since the first store opened in Montreal in 1959. To make a short story long, I remember when we got our first Le Chateau at our local mall in the mid 80s, it was all punk stuff and the older teenage 'punkers' hung out in front of it (that was the first and last time I've seen a storefront in a mall become a hangout) and they scared the crap out of me. One guy wore a clerical collar with a black blazer, like a priest would wear, and that pretty much blew my Catholic school-educated mind (I wondered if he was allowed to do that, and I was pretty sure that was a great big sin).

Back to Karen - her glads are leather and have little buckles all the way up the back but I'm assuming you can slip them on to avoid the inevitable back spasm. Wearing them with an innocent, white summer dress is my favourite look. Awesome job, Karen! Now all you need is a sword and a chariot!

And the Award for Most Awesome Dollhouse Goes to...

Check this shit out! (I've always wanted to start a post that way. Now it's done.) More of a miniature home than a dollhouse, this painstakingly detailed model took Peter Riches 15 years to complete. The 64 year-old retired builder from Sussex, England etched 32,000 bricks in the plaster walls of the 23-room mansion by hand and cut its 5,000 roof tiles from cardboard. There's a music room with a grand piano, a snooker room with balls made from beads, servants' quarters in the attic, pet dogs, a cast iron sewing machine - inhale - and a hand-carved grandfather clock. Is it wrong to feel slighted by a dollhouse?

But the pièce de résistance is the library which keeps 1,000 individually bound books on its shelves. Wow. Riches will soon part with his labour of love which attracted a fan from Canada who was eager to hand over £50,00 for the 10-bedroom house (wait 'til he finds out he won't fit in it!). How could he? He tells Metro UK he's "sad to see it go but I'm really looking forward to building the next one." The  plans are already drawn up for a model Sussex yeoman's longhouse circa 1550 that will feature a thatched roof with coconut hairs.

Look for the post on Riches' next masterpiece in 2024!

Lucky LA: Bat for Lashes and Giant Artists

If you're in Los Angeles you may want to head down to the Lucky Brand store in Santa Monica this Sunday for an acoustic performance from Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan. The Lucky Brand Neighborhood Social will also feature other up and coming musicians and works by LA-based Giant Artists, including William Lemon III who will be handpainting designs on your Lucky denim (I believe he did the artwork on Khan's body in the pic above and he also painted a nude Marc Jacobs for the Louis Vuitton's Sprouse bag ad). Blake E. Marquis will also be silkscreening reusable totes.

This sounds pretty cool for a jeans store. The last time I went shopping for jeans the sales assistant left me waiting with no pants on while she was supposed to be getting me a new size. Turns out she got distracted and forgot. And the only music playing was crappy Top 40 (do we still use that term?) and no one painted my jeans when I finally got the right size.

You can drop by from 3-5 pm but for the Bat for Lashes performance you do need to RSVP to book your spot which you can do here.

Wanna Buy Johnny Depp's Jacket?

Yep, that's the jacket Johnny Depp wore in The Man Who Cried. I bet it smells of rugged manliness and unfiltered cigarettes. You can buy it at the Entertainment Memorabilia auction at Bonhams in London's Knightsbridge where 250 film costume pieces will be up for grabs.

Angels The Costumier is supplying the outfits, many of which are historically significant such as Christopher Lee's iconic black cape from Dracula, a collection of costumes from the James Bond series, and the cloak worn by Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia. There are even some outrageous offerings like the infamous monkey masks from series one of The Mighty Boosh.

The Entertainment Memorabilia auction begins at 11 a.m. on June 16. I can't wait to see how much the monkey masks go for.

L: Belinda Mayne as Delta in Dr. Who, 1987
R: Full outfit of sequined cloak, evening dress, floral hair
ornament and gold brocade court shoes.
Worn by Kate Bosworth in Beyond the Sea

Jarvis Cocker in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire



Rik Mayall and Gabrielle Glaister from Blackadder II, 1986
Doublet of cream brocade, trimmed with gold braid,
embellished with pearl beads

Five Lucky Readers Needed to Try TRESemmé!

Update: I tried all of these as well and they work. The mousse and the root spray actually make my hair like Cindy Crawford's in 1993 (without all the extra crazy teasing). Tresemme haven't given me anything to say this nor do they know I'm saying this, it's simply a beauty public service announcement from Yours Truly. And a chance to openly declare that in my two decades of using styling products, these are the first that actually work. Rejoice!

The range achieves "longer lasting" volume and the "natural feel and movement".

Fix fabulous fullness with the 24 Hour Body styling collection, and achieve amazing body and bounce that looks and feels natural.  The collection comprises products to suit different hair types and styles, all featuring the unique TRESemmé Volume Control Complex which helps create a barrier to humidity, delivering ultra long lasting hold and lift but still allowing hair to move freely. 

I'm happy to offer samples for 5 lucky readers in the UK. These will be full size products and each reader will receive the following 3 products:

·          Amplifying Mouse

Lightweight, maximum hold mousse that will pump up your hair’s volume to incredibly new heights.

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A weightless styling spray that builds awe-inspiring body and bounce to give your hair (and your day!) a little lift.

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The perfect amount of touchable hold to protect your hair against even the fiercest humidity.

To qualify for the trial, you need to reside in the UK and agree to try the products, then post your feedback under this post or on the new TRESemme blog where you can also find tips, weekly updates and a whole lot more.

The first 5 readers to email me their names and addresses will receive the three full-size TRESemmé products. Please send to denise@swellebydenise.com. Be quick! ♥

Shrimpton Couture Weighs in on the Future of Vintage

I've been so taken with the idea of vintage lately and it's due in part to my reaction to over-consumption which I'm as guilty of as anyone (except I'm not anywhere near as bad as that lady on Oprah whose shopping and hoarding addiction left her house unliveable and a warehouse was needed to store it all when it was finally removed). But who wants vintage if your options don't provide a desirable and sustainable alternative to the shiny new clothes fresh off the runways that we're used to oggling, lusting after, buying and wearing? And one may be without the time or resolve to rummage through the vintage shops, if there are nearby options available.

I've always loved the idea of vintage but in practical terms (ie. what was I really buying) I found myself in this category until I discovered Shrimpton Couture, owned and run by the passionate and knowledgeable Cherie. I was at once won over by the carefully chosen and well-presented selection of truly good vintage, and further by the reworked pieces from a design duo called RSVP, two very talented individuals who Cherie works closely with and who prefer to remain anonymous as they are accomplished in another field (how mysterious!). And to top it all off a host of handpicked, talented accessories designers contribute collections of handmade adornments made of vintage findings created specially for Shrimpton Couture in the designer's own unique style.

 The purpose of this post is two-fold: First, I wanted to show some of my favourite pieces from the shop because they are too wonderful and exciting not to share (and I know many Swelle readers will appreciate lacy dresses both flapper and Edwardian, and there are lots of those). And second, I got to thinking about the future of vintage and whether the older vintage we enjoy now can sustain passing down to future generations, and also if what's been created from the 90s to present and beyond will be worthy of collecting in the future. So I asked Cherie to weigh in and she provided thoughtful answers to my barrage of questions and thankfully, offered hope for our vintage loving future as well as a positive interpretation of an era in fashion that to me seemed somewhat lost and undefined until now:

With corners being cut more and more in production in the making of 'designer' clothes today will the majority of the garments last? And as for design, will it still translate decades from now or be worthy of appreciation? Can the 90s and the noughties be defined through fashion in a significant way that will really mean something to future generations? Lastly, do you see any one fashion house or designer in particular producing collections that will live on?

I often worry about the future of vintage; even the mass produced items of days past were very well constructed and the concept and manner in which clothing were produced was very different. Mass production in the 1950s could mean thousands of items. Now it can mean millions. That being said there are still many designers that produce beautiful, well made, ready to wear pieces and I suspect that many independent designers that manage to get some notoriety now will become the future highly collectible of tomorrow. Dealers will just be forced to sift through far more crap to find the gems!

However, I doubt it will be too different then. I buy mainly from a small, trusted group of collectors who know my tastes and level of quality of demand, but I do still occasionally make a 'thrift trip' - I don't think I will ever get over the thrill of finding that diamond in the rough - and am astounded at how much awful, cheap clothing ends up at local thrifts. My gut tells me this will be the case in 20 years, too!

As far as design translating - well good design is good design. Don't you agree? I think that as soon as women where "unshackled" so to speak form the confines of corsets and undergarments that strived to change the shape of the body, that design really started to become what we tend to think of as modern design. There really are only a dozen or so basic shapes that the entire world of fashion revolves around since the turn of the century so I think in the far future you will see more of an impact in the advancement of fabric technologies rather then some "new" cut or shape. Personally I would just like to see advancements in preserving fabrics; I could cry when I see some early 20s pieces and what they get reduced too.

In the future when we look back I think what will define the nineties and noughts is not that it had a defining look but that the defining look was undefined. I know that might sound odd at first but I think that for the first time historically woman have really come into their own for the most part (broad generalization I know but bear with me) globalization has changed the way we think, feel and ultimately, how we dress. The seasons are no longer dictated as they where - season are no global and designs put out more collection a year then ever to cope with woman who work and travel globally. Everything we do is influenced by a mish mash of cultures and that rubs off onto how we dress. We can go on the internet and see girls on the street in the US, China, Australia, England, Paris....all the corners of the world and it instantly changes the way we look at our clothes as individuals. I think that we will look back and see this time period as the one that freed us from a"look" and became an ever evolving, fluctuating flow of trends.

swelle.

To indulge your vintage lust you can follow Cherie's regular column at Herald de Paris. Her debut article lovingly recounts her introduction to vintage as a teenager and if you don't 'get' vintage, this may turn you:

"I have heard stories of the first time a girl fell in love in the 1950s wearing a cupcake of a dress with a cinched in waist and full, full skirt. Occasionally, there are still bits of confetti lodged in the lace of the bust of these party frocks from high school dances from a more innocent time. I have heard the story of the dress, worn by its owner who is now bent and stooped, a dress made with her own hands to go to her first dance with a boy, in the days when that was as risqué an event as a girl would have in her young life."

Beautiful, well-constructed clothing with a soul - what can top that?

 

 

Will the Design Piracy Prohibition Act Kill Fashion?

What a thing to wake up to. Apparently the Design Piracy Prohibition Act is getting closer to being passed by United States Congress. The Act would extend protection to "the appearance as a whole of an article of apparel, including its ornamentation." It was introduced in 2006, kind of disappeared and now it's back and it looks as if it will become law. In effect, this will result in dire consequences for all independent fashion designers.

Miss Jess, an American independent designer tells Boing Boing that "Under this legislation designers will need to consult with a lawyer throughout the design process to ensure that every new design created could not subjectively be found at a later date to be 'closely and substantially similar' to one protected in the Copyright registry. Further, young, up-and-coming designers would be susceptible to legal intimidation from designing anything new at all, as they would likely not have the resources to fight a legal challenge in court."

And so it would become a part of the cost of doing business - in essence a killer of anyone trying to make it on their own.

Kathleen Fasanella of Fashion Incubator offers this plausible scenario:

Your name is getting out there, picking up more orders everyday and your accounts love you. Now that your fabric samples have arrived, you’re inspired and happily sketching your new styles. This is sure to be your best collection ever! So then you reach for the phone to schedule a slot to have your patterns and samples made. But on the other end, the pattern maker or sewing contractor refuses to work with you. Your heart sinks through the floor, why? You’ve got an established relationship, you’re a great customer with regular work and steady pay but still, no one will take your contracts. In fact, they’re shutting down themselves.

You can read the rest of Fasanella's article if you still need convincing that this is a bad thing.

I don't know exactly who is behind this, but common sense and a healthy dose of cynicism tells me that some of the most powerful American designers have clandestinely banded together and used their influence (ie. loud talking wallets) to convince Congress to pass a bill that in effect benefits them and prevents independent designers from being able to create freely. I can't imagine every big American designer is backing this but I don't hear any of them opposing it, either. Do you? I may have missed something. I hope I did.

What twists the knife deeper is how it's these very people who are ripping off the independents in the first place - if anyone needs protection from having their work stolen outright it's the little guys. Diane von Furstenberg, anyone? And shockingly she happens to be one of the most vocal supporters of the bill. Sorry, Diane, you were a favourite of mine but you have no place on this blog anymore

Update #1:I  was fired up when I wrote this and am now reconsidering. Not because she compensated the designer and admitted fault - this didn't matter to me at the time I wrote this; it is what should be done when you steal another's design. But I'll reserve judgement regarding the inclusion of certain designers on this blog pending how the outcome - should the bill pass - actually plays out.

You can petition U.S. congress here to stop H.R. 2196 from passing into law, created by Fashion-Incubator.com and written by Kathleen Fasanella.

As an end note, what passes as law in the U.S. tends to have global repercussions, so it's up to us supporters of independent fashion to watch what's happening in our respective countries and act accordingly should we notice the introduction of talk around similar, one-sided legislation threatening our vulnerable design talent. See the interview with Xuan-Thu Nguyen below - would we want to lose someone like her?

Update #1 continued (I know, this is getting confusing): A reader by the name of Ms. Shoo - an independent fashion designer - submitted a comment that presents the other side of the argument, which I'm glad for as I'm not a fashion designer and this surely isn't a one-sided issue. Please see her thoughtfully expressed argument and links below.

When composing this post earlier today I couldn't see anything in the writing of the act that appears to blatantly discriminate against independent fashion designers. However, I was heavily influenced by the interpretation of some who strongly feel that it does present serious  implications for independent designers, as referenced above. They are angry, frustrated and frightened and surely they're not simply winding themselves up for kicks. But maybe their concerns are a hypothetical scenario rather than an absolute doomsday?

So now the question seems to be, is it possible that the original work of a designer can be protected by a law such as this without compromising the creative freedom of others?

Update #2: Kathleen Fasanella of Fashion Incubator responded to the comment that subdued me after my rant, and I feel a bit like a ping pong ball batted back and forth with great ferocity. I'm again thinking this is very, very bad, her arguments are too compelling to ignore. And I'd rather it not be true but I am soured on DvF. (Nevermind that she lost all credibility when she signed up for The City! Yeah, okay, I'll watch it I admit, but I can't believe she needs to do a show for cheap publicity or pick on the independents. Like The Fonz when he could no longer start a jukebox with a swift side-punch to the glass, she's lost her 'cool.')