DVF's New Mantra

DVF’S NEW MANTRA: A little slush wasn’t enough to keep Diane von Furstenberg and H.Stern chief executive officer Ronaldo Stern away from lunch at The Modern on Wednesday to celebrate their latest collaboration. While this is the sixth year the designer has worked with Stern, the partnership was a long time coming: “I approached his father, Hans, 25 years ago, and he refused me, so I had to wait for his son to grow up,” said von Furstenberg, who went on to profess her lifelong love affair with baubles. Her newest H.Stern collection, named Sutras, is inspired by 18th-century Indian mogul jewelry she collected until recently when auction prices rose. Donning an antique mogul ring on one hand and a new design — a rock-crystal and 18-karat yellow gold teardrop ring — on the other, von Furstenberg explained how she borrowed the ancient technique to create the lineup, which will retail from $3,200 to $19,400 and hit stores in April. Von Furstenberg made sure to have her favorite “sutras” engraved on the back of the pieces, such as Love, Laughter, Freedom and Truth.

ANOTHER DIMENSION: Ermenegildo Zegna has tapped film director James Lima to create what is said to be the first 3-D fashion show. Dubbed “Live-D,” the fall 2011 Zegna show will take place Saturday during Milan Men’s Fashion Week. Mixing a live performance with a cinematic experience, models will be filmed backstage, and the images then will be projected on a giant screen against a 360-degree filmed background, coinciding with the models’ arrival on the runway. These will appear to walk off the screen, according to a source. Lima, who was a visual consultant on James Cameron’s 2009 film “Avatar,” previously worked in fashion with Prada for the “Trembled Blossom” and “Fallen Shadow” short films, and with Love Magazine for the Versace “Modelgeddon” fashion short.

ALL THAT GLITTERS: Swarovski Elements has tapped 16 men’s wear designers to create special items that will be unveiled at an event for 600 guests at the Palazzo Clerici in Milan Saturday. The designs range from tuxedos created by Emporio Armani, Brioni and Zegna to brogues from Salvatore Ferragamo and a fedora from Borsalino, all of which incorporate Swarovski Elements crystals in unique ways. Other participating designers include Gianfranco Ferré, Dior Homme, Piombo, Hugo Boss, Marni and Roberto Cavalli. The items will be available commercially across a variety of retail channels. “The crystals can genuinely give a new dimension to something quite classic,” noted Pringle of Scotland designer Clare Waight Keller.

CROSS-DRESS NO LONGER: After finding its female customers were crossing the gender divide to purchase the brand’s men’s Timex watches, J.Crew has decided to introduce a Timex model for women. The result is the stainless steel Timex traveler watch, designed in collaboration with Timex and inspired by a 1960s style. “We love the history and tradition of Timex and wanted to do something that felt classic and unique to J.Crew — so we designed something that felt more like a piece of jewelry," said Marissa Webb, J.Crew head of women’s design. The timepiece will be available in stores beginning Saturday and will retail for $98. Each watch comes with an interchangeable nylon strap, and additional bands will be available in colors including pulp driftwood, electric orange and shocking pink.


Courtesy of WWD