Sky-High Heels: Fashion or Hazard?

Can you believe these 12 inch heels? Moreover, would you believe me if I said actual models strutted the runway sporting these and no one was injured?

Alexander McQueen presented his newest creations during his Spring/Summer 2010 fashion show in Paris last month and gained a lot of attention from them. He dressed his models in short, reptiled-patterned dresses in greens, blues, and browns and had their hair teased into devil-like horns. According to a Famespy article McQueen envisioned an apocalyptic forecast of the future ecological meltdown of the world, and the platform shoes were inspired by Charles Darwin's The Origin Of The Species.

Although I believe Mr. McQueen's newest shoe design is artistic and unique, I strongly believe they belong only on the runway and should not be sold to the masses. These seem dangerous, I feel like I would have to take a class or watch a video on how to properly walk in them without taking a trip to the hospital.

However, in this crazy fashion world, people are actually waiting to buy them! According to a McQueen spokesperson, they have had a lot of interest in the show shoes, and McQueen has been receiving phone calls from women desperate to buy them.

Regardless of whether or not these sky-high shoes are high fashion or high precaution, they are bringing attention to Alexander McQueen's line. In fact, he has the process of designing these shoes copyrighted! These alien shoes are perfect examples of how controversial fashion still manages to bring attention to a brand. Some people, like myself, may not appreciate these shoes too much, yet they still know about the brand and the designer.

Lady Gaga: Taking over the fashion world?

It seems like everywhere I turn Lady Gaga is in the news for her outrageous outfits! Who could forget her six bizarre ensembles at the MTV Video Music Awards back in September, and her thrilling performance. Not to mention she is now a M.A.C Spokelady.

Just recently, she has become an official stylemaker for her funky designs! On Monday, November 2, 2009 Marc Jacobs presented Gaga with the Stylemaker Award at the 13th annual Accessories Council Excellence Awards. Of course, to accept her award, she showed off her creative and unique style wearing a Marc Jacobs outfit with underwear over it, an Eric Beamon lace headpiece, an afro wig, and white powder thrown all over it!

With all this fame and appraisal for her fashion style, it's no surprise Lady Gaga has already been talking about a clothing line in the future. I have to give props to her though, she knows how to market herself and expose her creative sense of fashion. After the MTV awards, she, along with the Kanye West and Taylor Swift incident, were one of the most buzzworthy news generated across various social media outlets.

This publicity has exposed Gaga to the fashion world and many designers are noticing her unconventional trends. In an MTV article, celebrity stylist Robert Verdi said, "I think there have been these moments in the canon of fashion history and music history that have been very important and are marked by Cher, Madonna, and now Lady Gaga." To be in the same category as Cher and Madonna is pretty intense and almost intimidating! But Gaga has no worries, she maintains her pokerface despite the paparazzi.

Although I wouldn't be caught dead wearing any of her clothing, I feel she has generated good PR for herself and her future fashion line. Gaga has great potential for a future in the fashion industry, and will have plenty of designers lining up to help her when the time comes.

Olsenboye coming soon to J.C. Penney

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are back in the fashion world again! Their newest line "Olsenboye" is said to be arriving this February at all of J.C. Penney's 500 stores. According to an MTV article, the new Junior's line will mostly consist of casual sportswear, accessories, tops, dresses, handbags, and shoes, ranging from $20-$50 and includes sizes 0-15 .

After visiting the Olsenboye Web site, I wasn't too impressed with the clothes featured in the opening video. In my opinion, some of the shirts almost swallowed the girls modeling them, and seemed a bit too bohemian for my taste. Then again, the Olsen twins recently became members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America for their other high-fashion lines "The Row" and "Elizabeth and James" so they probably know a thing or two about fashion.

To promote their newest brand, the Olsen sisters drove around New York City in a hot pink truck showing off their clothes, handing out cupcakes, and signing autographs. I believe this was a good public relations move for the sisters because they showed interest in their prospective customers. Considering the line's target audience, young teenage girls, I think their "Olsenboye Treat Truck" strategy was unique and promoted their brand in a positive way.

Here are a few pictures of the line:
















Do you like what you see? If so, be sure to check out the line this spring! Also, does anyone want believe the Olsen twins could have promoted their newest line differently? If so, how?

Tweeting Fashionably

I came across an article from PR Couture's Web site that I found quite interesting. The article entitled "Marie Claire's Twitter Strategy and Fashion PR Tips" discusses how this fashion magazine looks for writers in their Twitter community, and their goals they hope to achieve by utilizing this network.

Marie Claire began tweeting on Jan. 16, 2009 and have constantly been tweeting everyday about updates beauty, fashion, and celebrities. With over 2,500 tweets and 23, 314 followers, Marie Claire hasn't wasted any time in spreading the latest fashion news and trends. Since I am now following Marie Claire's Twitter account, I have read a few tweets and I like how they not only keep us up to date on the latest style, but they also engage with their followers by asking open ended questions. This style of tweeting implies the magazine's interest in the public's feedback, which I believe is a good PR tactic.

When asked about "twit-pitches", Marie Claire does in fact welcome them, and will actually tweet an email address when they are looking for tips and info from their followers. So if any of you want to try and pitch a fashion story in the future follow Marie Claire! It may just appear on MarieClaire.com

Overall, I believe Marie Claire's twitter strategy is definitely a success. They don't talk AT their followers, but instead encourage feedback to learn about who’s reading and responding to the articles they tweet so they can know what to tweet about in the future. In today's society, people are so used to being told the do's and dont's of fashion through a one-way medium. However, Marie Claire has broken that barrier by engaging in actual conversations with their followers through tweeting.

LA Fashion Month is here!

Throughout the month of October, the city of Los Angeles, California will be invaded by designers, agents, editors, models, etc. to introduce the LA Fashion Week Spring '10 collections. This year's LA Fashion Week officially began on October 12 with a soiree hosted by Fashion Group International on the rooftop of the Standard Hotel. With over 70 events taking place in Hollywood, Downtown, and Beverly Hills, it's definitely going to be tough to decide which events and collections to cover.


The Emerging Designers & Fashion Angels Awards took place on October 13. The winners were Phong Hong, Fernanda Carniero, Jacquetta O'Dell, and Leslie Hen.


Starting October 16, Downtown Los Angeles Market Week begins. Trade shows in the Fashion District with designers and agents will be held at several venues such as California Market Center, Cooper Design Space, New Mart, Lady Liberty Building and Gerry Building.

Rock Fashion Week will begin on October 28 at Paramount Studios, Hollywood. Most of the fashion shows are by invitation only, however some may open to the public and tickets may be purchased online.

I find it very interesting how LA designers and agents are coming together to organize these events. It is great PR for each and every designer who is a part of this, they will definitely benefit from their efforts.

For more information about LA Fashion Week go to http://fashionweekla.com/