Paris Fashion Week Plays it Safe

Sure, Lindsay Lohan's collection was dissed—but really, this is how fashion should be

(NEWSER) - Lindsay Lohan’s fashion debut was “widely panned,” which came as “no surprise, of course.” But though “the looks were inelegant, off-trend, and styled with about as much je ne sais quois as a drunk teen let loose inside a Forever 21,” Erika Kawalek writes on DoubleX, “I loved this fashion show.” It brought fashion out of “the province of professional designers” and put it back into women’s hands. More»

Designer wonders why the rest of the industry is still using fur and leather

(NEWSER) - One of fashion’s most famous vegetarians, Stella McCartney talks—a little bit about her rise from “nervous” young designer to successful businesswoman, but mostly about the fashion industry’s lack of eco-consciousness—to the Guardian on the heels of her Paris show. “I think people in fashion are pretty heartless,” she tells Jess Cartner-Morley. “I find it astounding, because fashion is supposed to be about change—I mean, we're supposed to be at the cutting edge!” More»

Some collections reflect current industry inertia, but a few rise above

(NEWSER) - With economic stresses making it more difficult for designers to be creative—and the growing trend of manufacturing being outsourced to other countries—the Italian spring collections in Milan were somewhat “joyless,” but still offered a few standouts, writes Cathy Horyn for the New York Times. The good:

• Angela Missoni: Her “clothes merit attention” because “virtually every garment was a knit”—proving her willingness to ask how historical techniques “could be aired out.”

Except Madonna, and even she looks 'ridiculous' in runway fashions

(NEWSER) - For everyone who’s ever looked at runway fashions and wondered, “Would anybody really wear that?” Claire Suddath has the answer: No. New York Fashion Week's over-the-top designs, from clothes befitting a 19th-century French prostitute to “outfits that literally have no armholes” are “a form of wearable artwork,” she writes in Time, and they’re more about making a statement—and generating buzz—than anything else. More»

Cheerful, charming looks and fun, nostalgic designs are back for men and women

(NEWSER) - “Optimism is the new black,” with designers “laying on the charm” for the spring 2010 season, writes Booth Moore for the Los Angeles Times. The “colors are cheerful,” fun “prints are making a comeback,” and “florals are being re-imagined in a funkier way.” The light, sometimes “cutesy” women’s collections, ripe with nostalgia, seem to say, “Happy days are here again.” More»