Barack with his rising-sun logo.Photo: Getty Images

Glambama strikes again! Barack Obama’s campaign has arranged for twenty fashion designers to create clothing and tote bags to sell on the campaign’s Website next month. The funny thing is the whole project came about in sort of a real-life Project Runway challenge scenario. Robin Givhan reports for the Washington Post that once grassroots supporters convinced the Obama camp to go along with the idea, designers had one week to sign on, come up with a sketch for the campaign to approve, and present a sample. With no strict rules on pricing, designers were allowed to use Barack’s image and his rising-sun logo in their designs. (Runway producers: Are you taking notes?) Diane Von Furstenberg and Isaac Mizrahi designed tote bags. Derek Lam designed a cotton muslin bag with a carnation print from his spring 2004 collection. Tracy Reese made a shirt, and Charles Nolan made a wrap T-shirt. Rumor has it Vera Wang, Russell Simmons, and Beyoncé are also contributing designs.

And remember that “Runway to Change” Obama fund-raiser being held here during Fashion Week, the invites for which misspelled Anna Wintour’s name? The designers who contributed to the clothing project have been asked to attend wearing their designs.

Givhan notes of the new clothes and bags, “The benefit to the candidate is a direct line to the ‘Project Runway’ crowd. The risk, of course, is being perceived as highbrow or shallow.” We say go ahead and sling that mud, Obama haters. It will be hard to make it stick to his supporters when they’re looking so Glambamarous in their new duds.

Fashion Designers Hope to Stitch Up an Obama Win [WP]
Related: Obama’s People Misspell Anna Wintour’s Name in a Bad, Bad Way

What can’t he do?Photo: Getty Images

Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a paradise island where fashionistas could gather and exude fabulousness together? Where famous designers could throw amazing parties and put on fashion shows exclusively for the island’s residents, who live in couture villas with private beaches just steps from the best boutiques in the world? It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not: Isla Moda is that fashion paradise. It’s under construction in Dubai, natch, and Karl Lagerfeld is the first fashion designer to sign on to design a few “limited edition” homes there. He says in a press release:

“Dubai is a fashion bud on the verge of blossoming into the next fashion hub of the world … Isla Moda has tremendous potential to be the style icon of the future and I intend on driving the island to high style stardom,” he added.

That “tremendous potential” includes a “style concierge” available to residents of Isla Moda for clothes, fragrances, and makeovers (there’s also a design one to help you with your home-furnishing and decorating needs). If you can’t afford one of Lagerfeld’s houses, Isla Moda will also include a hotel with 250 rooms and serviced apartments. And here we thought retiring in California sounded like a nice idea.

Dubai Infinity Holdings is developing the project in line with its “mandate to fulfill unmet market needs.” We don’t know about you, but we sure can’t think of an unmet market need that needed more fulfilling.

Dubai Infinity Holdings bring “Haute Homes” to Dubai through signing legendary fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld to Isla Moda [Zawya via Fashionista]

From her first millinery shop, opened in 1912, to the 1920s, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel rose to become one of the premier fashion designers in Paris, France. Replacing the corset with comfort and casual elegance, her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, women’s trousers, costume jewelry, perfume and textiles.

She adopted the name Coco during a brief career as a cafe and concert singers 1905-1908. First a mistress of a wealthy military officer then of an English industrialist, she drew on the resources of these patrons in setting up a millinery shop in Paris in 1910, expanding to Deauville and Biarritz. The two men also helped her find customers among women of society, and her simple hats became popular.

Soon she was expanding to couture, working in jersey, a first in the French fashion world. By the 1920s, her fashion house had expanded considerably, and her chemise set a fashion trend with its “little boy” look. Her relaxed fashions, short skirts, and casual look were in sharp contrast to the corset fashions popular in the previous decades. Chanel herself dressed in mannish clothes, and adapted these more comfortable fashions which other women also found liberating.

Coco Chanel introduced her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and signature “little black dress” in 1926. Most of her fashions had a staying power, and didn’t change much from year to year — or even generation to generation.

In 1954 her comeback restored her to the first ranks of haute couture. Her natural, casual clothing including the Chanel suit once again caught the eye — and purses — of women. She introduced pea jackets and bell bottom pants for women. She was still working in 1971 when she died. Karl Lagerfeld has been chief designer of Chanel’s fashion house since 1983.