Stella McCartney and now Donna Karan – looks like San Francisco is emerging as a fashion center.

When I think of Donna Karan, here’s what comes to mind: draping, bodysuits, DKNY, womanly, classic, zen. When I met Donna Karan at a recent event at Neiman Marcus in SF, all those thoughts flooded me. But it wasn’t overwhelming because Donna calmed me down with a (zen) fashion mantra: “Fashion is not all about what’s on the outside. It’s what you wear on the inside that also counts.” I pondered that all day . . .

Prepondering, I witnessed an intimate runway show of her Fall collection. The charming senior vice president and fashion director of Neiman’s, Ken Downing, served as co-maestro. Donna disclosed that she finds microphones “annoying. They’re not genuine.” And according to Downing, DK’s collection was his high point at Fashion Week. “I love this collection,” he said. On with the Donna!

• Donna on her Fall collection: Her collection was a reflection of the past, present, and future. It’s also empowerment for women. It’s not just about designing. It’s necessary to be intentionally thoughtful.
• Donna on the resurgence of shoulder pads: “We’ve got a lot on our shoulders right now,” DK said, referring to the economy. Ken said, “You can carry a lot more with those shoulder pads.” Shoulder pads make hips appear narrower. Nobody gains weight on the shoulders, she said, referencing the cold shoulder dress.

To hear more Donna dish and to see more runway photos, read more

• Donna on color: She favors a color palette that’s effortless. Grays, black, navy are endless palettes of classicism. It’s an inner feeling she can’t explain. She is affected by color and light. It’s an artistic expression. “Red is like lipstick. An accent that always works.” She’s also inspired by her trips to Africa, the wilderness, nature, pavements in the city.

Photos courtesy of Drew Altizer

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Leigh Lezark is Matthew Williamson‘s new muse, according to rumors coming out of London. Leigh is, like Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, a hyphenate in denial. She still does D.J. gigs all over the world, but is increasingly focusing her energies on modeling. Signed with IMG, Lezark recently appeared in ads for Mango. Yet she doesn’t commonly refer to herself as D.J. slash model. Lezark would be replacing Sienna Miller as Williamson’s muse. Sienna’s clothing line Twenty8Twelve really started taking off this year, so maybe she’s too busy with that to hang out with Williamson in his studio. Or maybe Williamson wants to use an edgier face to diversify his boho customer base, now that the entire world is paying attention to him because of his H&M line. We don’t mean to vex you with nagging, unanswered questions like this as you head into your weekend, but sometimes extremely important and significant news such as this happens on Friday evening.

Is the New New: Leigh & Sienna [Fashionista]

Read more posts by Amy Odell

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Italian fashion group Aeffe SpA owns Alberta Ferretti, Moschino, and Pollini brands and produces collections for Jean Paul Gaultier among others. They’re pretty broke these days, since they just lost $389,781 in the three months ended March 31. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but in the same period in 2008 they enjoyed net profits of $9 million. So they’re reacting “in a prompt and determined way” — with price cuts. They’re also reducing the size of the collections and laying some people off. All this should save them about $13.6 million in 2010. But! Have they considered riding the Michelle Obama wave? The woman wears Moschino. If the stuff is getting cheaper on top of that, marketing that brand should be cake.

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HG and I did not get into a fight and decided to stop working together on I am Fashion and started our own blogs instead. (Even our mutual friends wondered about it!) We still email each other daily about the intricate details of our lives and random thoughts we have, and feel extremely empty when the other is away and has no access to the internet. When I freak out, she is the first person I call and she is still my maid of honor when I fantasize about my wedding. Our reasons for closing down I am Fashion still stands, though I do think that my later rationalization of it in this blog is a better articulation of how we feel.

As for us continuing to blog even more regularly than before, I attribute it to the “newness” of our blogs. Starting a new blog is like starting a relationship. At the beginning everything is new and exciting as you get to know the other person and watch your relationship grow and mature. Every up and every down is a significant moment. Then the honeymoon phase eventually wears off and you reach a happy medium, where your relationship becomes a part of your daily life. With any luck, you will live happily ever after in this state with a few surprises here and there to spice up the norm. If not, your relationship will wane and you grow apart, eventually deciding that you are both better off parting ways.

Clearly I’m in the honeymoon phase. We are starting to explore new things together, trying to figure out what works best for the both of us. Every new post is an adventure. Every comment and email is exciting. I want to spend every moment of everyday with it, checking on its progress i.e. stalking the traffic, the incoming and outgoing links etc. It’s an exhilarating feeling that I’d almost forgotten about!

Analogy aside, it is heartwarming to read everyone’s encouraging comments and to know that we were able to leave a small footprint on some people’s lives. We appreciate your support and remember that we’ve not left the blogging world for good. Come visit us some time at our new blogs -(Find the links to our new blogs in the post below). We miss you guys!

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In New York, my focus was fashion design where I worked with many designers, most notably Donna Karen and Josie Natori. Following my work with these talented women, I was inspired to launch a clothing line called “epe”. It was during this period, when I was collaborating with a number of different designers on various projects, that I started looking to the future for my inspiration and this led me on the path to launching the Erika Peña line.

The inspiration of my jewelry line comes from my move from Manhattan to Puerto Rico. I wanted to convey this experience through my jewelry, which is part rough and edgy like New York, and light and airy like the Caribbean. In 2006, I joined forces with my sister Bielka Peña-Bevillard, with her financial background and my creativity we are building our clientele and expanding the Erika Peña Brand.
In spring 2008, I launched my first men’s line, Simon & Simone. This collection centered on cultural, religious and magical icons combined with the force of energy from the love between men and women; the ying and the yang to create a powerful form of wearable art for both.
Currently, on my ninth collection I have plans of launching Erika Peña Handbags and eventually a clothing collection.

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With Spring in the air here in Boston, brighter colors are fighting their way through the muted remnants of winter! I chose our street style tour destination today based on this same aesthetic. Nature can be so inspiring! So I bid you ‘Hallo’ from Amsterdam! Neon is one of the many hot trends happening right now, and I love how some of these guys have injected just a small dose of this bright color family into an otherwise pretty tame outfit!

Do you guys prefer the neon incorporated as an accessorie (like the sneakers and boots on the 1st and 2nd row) or would you prefer to make it the stand out clothing item (like the two guys in the middle)?

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Then check out her own website for more photos and info – History of Women’s Golf Attire ~ A Photo Essay - which traces the history of women’s golf clothing, and shows how chic and stylish the pieces were.

You’ll even see a photo of a golf themed blouse of mine that I was very happy Lizzie decided to include in her essay -

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Just In: Jerry Hall’s Chanel Shots [Grazia]

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