DROP-IN, DRESS UP AND DANCE WITH GAP

Gap and Ballet Tech Partner to Bring NYC’s Aspiring Tiny Dancers Free Ballet Lessons at 5th Avenue Pop-Up Ballet Studio
SAN FRANCISCO – March 25, 2009 – Tutus and teachers and twirling, oh my! Gap has transformed its rotating concept venue adjacent to its flagship store at 54th and 5th Ave. in New York City into a Tiny Dancers ballet studio open to all aspiring twinkle toes. In partnership with Ballet Tech, a local tuition-free ballet school started by world-renowned choreographer, Eliot Feld, Gap will be offering free drop-in ballet lessons for ballerinas-in-training every Saturday and Sunday from Saturday, March 28, through Sunday, April 26.

Opening today, the Tiny Dancers studio will spotlight Gap’s latest trends for fluttering fashionistas – ballet-inspired clothes and accessories from the brand new babyGap and GapKids summer collections, now available online and in select stores nationwide. Playing dress up in Gap’s cutest summer looks is all part of the experience during the free weekend ballet lessons. Read more

TORONTO DESIGNERS INVITED TO PRESTIGIOUS NEW YORK FASHION SHOW – DRESSED TO KILT

TORONTO, Ontario – March 25, 2009 – On March 30th, the fashion collaboration of two Canadian companies, Puffin Gear and Ostba of Salzburg, will grace the runway at this year’s “Dressed to Kilt” show in New York.

Ostba of Salzburg and Puffin Gear have been invited to attend and show their new Harris Tweed Collection at the prestigious fashion event on the evening of March 30th. Hosted by Sir Sean and Lady Connery, models at the show will include Scottish actors Brian Cox and Tony Curran, “Ugly Betty” star Ashley Jensen, Ivanka Trump, and the award-winning actress Andie MacDowell. Dressed to Kilt is the highest profile showcase for Scottish fashion in the world and attracts only the most talented designers. It is Hollywood’s Highland fling, to celebrate the very finest in Caledonian couture. Read more

The Premsela Design Forum on Repairing

Recycling is a contemporary code word people often use when talking about responsible, conscious production. At its Milan design forum on Wednesday 22 April, Premsela, Dutch Platform for Design and Fashion, will focus attention on an all-but-forgotten alternative path to reuse: repairingbroken and damaged items.Renowned speakers including Piet Hein Eek (designer), Corinne Poux-Bernard (Director of Innovations, Hermes), Satyendra Pakhale (culturalnomad) and Joanna van der Zanden (Artistic Director, Platform21), led bymoderator Marco Bevolo (independent author), will share their views on the value of repair in the context of the global economic crisis. The Premsela Design Forum will be introduced by the Dutch Minister of Culture, Ronald Plasterk.Repairing is environmentally friendly, but it also changes the relationship between object and user from superficial to enduring and unique. To repairis to restore and renew. When a missing or broken part is replaced, aproduct’s character can change radically. Countless repair manuals andlinks to repair sites can be found on Planet Green and YouTube. At the Premsela Design Forum, our point of departure will be the cultural andsocial aspects of repair.Stop Recycling. Start Repairing.“Make your products live longer! Repairing means taking the opportunity togive your product a second life. Don’t ditch it, stitch it! Don’t end it, mend it! Repairing is not anti-consumption. It is anti-needlessly throwing thingsaway.”This is the first line of the Repair Manifesto written by the Amsterdam designcentre Platform21 for its project Platform21 = Repairing. The manifesto has P.O. Box 75905NL–1070 AX Amsterdam Prinses Irenestraat 19NL–1077 WT AmsterdamThe Netherlands Telephone +31 20 3449 449Fax +31 20 3449 443info@premsela.orgpremsela.org been disseminated and picked up by weblogs, designers and consumer programmes. In addition, 20,000 copies will be distributed during 2009 Milan Design Week. Through an exhibition, workshops, lectures, repair clinicsand a competition, Platform21 = Repairing investigates how repairing can become a contemporary activity again. The project runs through 30 August2009. Platform21 is an initiative of Premsela and ING Real Estate. For more information, see www.platform21.com .  Premsela Design Forum on RepairingMilan Design Week, Wednesday 22 April 2009Romeo Gigli CafeVia Angelo Fumagalli 6, Milan (metro: M2, stop: Porta Genova / tram 2 /bus 74)Doors: 6.30pmDiscussion: 7.00pm (preceded by an introduction by Dutch Minister ofCulture Ronald Plasterk)Cocktails: 8.30–10.00pmFree admissionDesign.nl Launches Special Mobile ToolIn 2009, exhibiting designers and brands from the Netherlands will once again be amply represented in Milan. Through Design.nl, Premsela ismaking their exhibitions accessible to journalists and other visitors. Essentialinformation will be available at Design.nl/salone from April 2009. This yearfor the first time, the site will be viewable by mobile telephone throughMobile.design.nl. With the help of Google Maps, Design.nl/salone willimmediately let you see where the exhibitions are and assemble your ownselection. And of course, Design.nl will provide daily updates from Milanduring Design Week and afterward.About PremselaPremsela, Dutch Platform for Design and Fashion, has worked to improve the cultural climate for design in the Netherlands since 2002. We do this through lectures, discussions, exhibitions, research and publications in the Netherlands and abroad. In the coming years, Premsela will operate longterm programmes in the areas of heritage and history, globalisation,and amateurism. Premsela is the publisher of Morf (www.morf.nl), the Netherlands’ largest design magazine, and the international web portal Design.nl. www.premsela.org

Spring 2009 UNIQLO Parka Campaign, ‘TOKYO FASHION MAP-1000 Parka Styles of Real Tokyo’ on Special Website & in Magazines

TOKYO, March 18 / — In conjunction with our Spring 2009 Parka Campaign, UNIQLO is offering an amazing 1000 styles of colorful parkas for customers to choose from. The new campaign called “TOKYO FASHION MAP” features 1000 styles of real Tokyo fashion wearing our parkas.

It is now shown on a special website and in a magazine which is available at UNIQLO’s international stores. Read more

Los Angeles-Based Beauty Collection Makes Global WWD Best-Seller List

LOS ANGELES, March 18/ — Women’s Wear Daily, the leading professional journal for the fashion, beauty, and retail industries, selected Los Angeles-based Beauty Collection as one of 14 global best-sellers in the just released issue of its quarterly WWD Beauty Biz magazine. Beauty Collection was one of six U.S. retailers to make the list, and the only retailer in the state of California to be featured.

Women’s Wear Daily’s WWD Beauty Biz Spring issue focuses on the major products and trends of the season. This year, WWD challenged its writers around the world to seek out the best and the brightest businesses operating in the beauty industry. They found that retailers and marketers like Beauty Collection have done more than just give lip service to the concept of unique and compelling propositions. Across all categories, groundbreaking innovation and inspired design have resulted in products that trigger both need and want. Read more

Transitions Optical Spotlights Sunwear Plans

PALM HARBOR, Fla., March 18 / — Transitions Optical, Inc. today unveiled plans to bring its photochromic technology to more consumers through increased focus on its sunwear business, unveiling a new product concept and the Transitions(R) SOLFX(TM) sunlens brand during the Transitions Championship.

Unlike Transitions(R) lenses, which are everyday lenses that are clear indoors and at night and darken outdoors in reaction to the sun, Transitions SOLFX products are sunwear. The lenses have an initial tint and then self-adjust outdoors with the sun, automatically changing level of darkness – and even color – to provide optimal vision in sun and shade, and eliminating the need to put on and take off sunglasses as light conditions change. Available in prescription and non-prescription forms, Transitions SOLFX sunlenses are specifically designed to help wearers look great, see better and perform at their best. Read more

Fashion Students bring Springtime to Bentalls Kingston

Bentalls customers looking for a designer treasure of the future should look no further than the scarf department. As part of a joint initiative with Kingston College, BA (Hons) students in Fashion and Textiles have designed ’The Bridge’ –  a debut collection of scarves to be sold exclusively in Bentalls.

The fashion students, all first year students on a brand new course at Kingston College, have been given an exclusive brief to design, hand-print and produce a bespoke range of Spring/Summer accessories, based on the concept of ‘The English Country Garden’ which will be launched and sold in the Bentalls store this Spring. Working in teams and individually, the students will present their market research, inspiration, designs and fabric samples to Bentalls fashion experts later this month. Read more

Spring is All About the Coveted Canvas Classic for Kids Foot Locker

NEW YORK, March 11 / — Who cares if the groundhog saw his shadow… you know spring is on the way when your kids trade in the video games for a one-on-one with the jungle gym and the swing-set. Another sure-fire sign is the resurgence of the springtime staple — the canvas sneaker.

Converse has set up shop at Kids Foot Locker this spring with bright colors and new treatments for the classic Chuck Taylor. Read more

Oscar Fashion Express – LightInTheBox Has Delivered the First Oscar Dress Reproduction Within 72 Hours

BEIJING, Feb. 26 / — LightInTheBox ( http://www.LightInTheBox.com ) delivered the first Oscar dress reproduction ( http://www.LightInTheBox.com/go/oscar ) of the Best Actress Award winner, Kate Winslet, to its customer in Australia this morning. The customer, a Winslet fan, is one of LightInTheBox’s VIP customers and placed a pre-sale order before the Oscars.

The vendor who made the timely delivery possible has been making Oscar and other red carpet dress replicas for American labels for years. The manufactures have agreed to make Evan Rachel, Sarah Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Amanda Seyfried, and many other movie stars’ Oscar dresses exclusively for LightInTheBox. Zhang Liang, co-founder of LightInTheBox, visited the manufacturer in Suzhou, China to examine the quality of the dresses they make, as well as the capacity of the factory. Zhang said, “The replicate dresses they make are just as stunning as the ones the stars wore, and it’s in all sizes. You don’t have to be size two to wear Sarah Jessica Parker’s strapless.” Read more

Non-Diamond Engagement Rings Gain Popularity in Fragile Economy

PORTLAND, Maine, Feb. 27 e/ — Even in this tight economy, people are still getting engaged. But these days, couples are looking for value and timelessness, and it has become tacky to flaunt “bling.” As a result, non-diamond engagement rings are gaining popularity.

Turtle Love Committee is an online jeweler that has embraced that back-to-basics approach. The company focuses exclusively on non-diamond engagement rings and wedding bands at prices between $100 and $200. “Orders are coming in from all over the country,” says Adrianne Zahner, the company’s founder. The Turtle Love Committee collection includes a wide range of styles, all in sterling silver: there are vintage replicas, classic solitaires, organic designs and modern pieces. Read more

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