FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - New York-based designer Diane von Furstenberg sent models traipsing down a lush garden runway in breezy chiffon dresses and ruffled headbands to mark her first fashion show in her native Europe.
Returning to the region that produced the first "wrap" dress that made her famous and courting European customers while the dollar struggles against the euro, Furstenberg showed off her pre-spring collection of travel wear in an open-air gala in a manicured garden tucked away in the Renaissance city.
"I do sell in Europe and have shops everywhere and but it just so happened that they invited me and I accepted and after I accepted I thought, this makes sense, this is where it started," von Furstenberg told Reuters.
"Going back to Florence was a very nostalgic thing for me. My first factory was 25 km from here, and the wrap dress was invented here," she said.
The Belgian-born designer had models bounce down the catwalk in flirty black and white sundresses paired with chunky brown or gold heels, while oversized bows and satiny headbands added to the girlish look.
Flowy dresses in bold geometric patterns splashed with sunflower yellow and engine red draped over the body like a sarong, while color ran amok on one number that featured bold stripes of pink, ocean blue, red and white.
"It's not winter, it's not spring, it's transitional and it's nice, easy pieces, and season-less," said von Furstenberg, who became a princess after her marriage to Prince Egon von Furstenberg, which has since ended.
She is now married to media mogul Barry Diller.
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Pete Wentz - Wentz Wants To Know Babys Sex
Expectant father PETE WENTZ has no plans to follow celebrity trends and keep the sex of his first-born a surprise - he wants to know whether his new bride ASHLEE SIMPSON will be delivering a son or daughter.
The couple confirmed baby reports at the end of May (08) after refusing to talk about the rumours for weeks, and now Wentz wants to know whether he'll be the father of a boy or a girl.
He tells In Touch magazine, "I'd like to know the sex of the baby. It would be a bummer if you bought a boy a bunch of pink stuff!"
And the rock star insists he and Simpson will be having a big family: "I want either a band or a football team or a good geometry club."
He and the pop star married in California last month (May08).
See Also
Monday, 9 June 2008
Grammy Museum celebrates music's legacy
Festivities to take place for one week in December
The Grammy Museum will open its doors in Los Angeles in December with a weeklong celebration of the history of music.
The Recording Academy and AEG Live said Thursday that the party will kick off Dec. 3 with a VIP reception and will culminate with festivities recognizing the Grammy Awards' 50-year legacy. Other functions will include a gala fundraising concert the following night, educational tours and a special launch ceremony Dec. 6, when the museum officially opens to the public.
The four-floor, 32,000-square-foot site will feature interactive, permanent and traveling exhibits and will be housed within L.A. Live, the downtown sports entertainment and residential district.
"Music always has played a vital role in our culture and society," Recording Academy chief Neil Portnow said, "and the Grammy Museum will provide visitors a unique and hands-on opportunity to experience music's rich legacy, as well as the special process that goes into creating it."
Also on Thursday, Robert Santelli was named executive director of the Grammy Museum. A longtime member of the Recording Academy, Santelli most recently served as vp of the Pacific Northwest Chapter from 2001-06.
The Grammy Museum will open its doors in Los Angeles in December with a weeklong celebration of the history of music.
The Recording Academy and AEG Live said Thursday that the party will kick off Dec. 3 with a VIP reception and will culminate with festivities recognizing the Grammy Awards' 50-year legacy. Other functions will include a gala fundraising concert the following night, educational tours and a special launch ceremony Dec. 6, when the museum officially opens to the public.
The four-floor, 32,000-square-foot site will feature interactive, permanent and traveling exhibits and will be housed within L.A. Live, the downtown sports entertainment and residential district.
"Music always has played a vital role in our culture and society," Recording Academy chief Neil Portnow said, "and the Grammy Museum will provide visitors a unique and hands-on opportunity to experience music's rich legacy, as well as the special process that goes into creating it."
Also on Thursday, Robert Santelli was named executive director of the Grammy Museum. A longtime member of the Recording Academy, Santelli most recently served as vp of the Pacific Northwest Chapter from 2001-06.
Saturday, 24 May 2008
In your ears
Mp3s are the Hot Pockets of the digital age; consumers are devouring them by the gigabyte.
But thanks to a deal struck between rock star Peter Gabriel and digital pioneer Bowers & Wilkins, Britain’s leading manufacturer of high-end loudspeakers, digital-music downloaders are about to experience a gourmet alternative.
Launching this week, the online Bowers & Wilkins Music Club will offer an exclusive, full-length, digital-only new release each month featuring artists cherry-picked by Gabriel and recorded at his Real World Studios complex in Bath, England.
What’s more, they will be so-called DRM-free (digital rights management) files that carry no copy protection and can be moved freely between devices and easily burned to CD. They’ll come complete with artwork and, best of all, in an audiophile-quality lossless format for a sound experience beyond that of even top-shelf mp3s.
Music Club subscriptions (available at bowers-wilkins.com) cost $59.95 annually and trial offers are available.
“People don’t realize that when you encode sound files, you’ve got choices,” Bowers & Wilkins’ Danny Haikin said by phone from the United Kingdom. “Up until this point there’s been an emphasis on width rather than depth. In other words, mp3s take up very little (hard drive) room, but in the process of compressing a file down to such a tiny size, the music’s finer nuances are lost. The beauty of a lossless file format is that the compression system doesn’t depreciate the music in any way.”
But a promise of much-improved sound quality may not be enough to bend the public ear away from the standard mp3 format. To do that, the Club plans to offer not merely exclusive recordings, but accessible ones.
Mike Large, director of operations at Real World Studios, dreamed up the venture with Haikin over drinks one night. He says Music Club will offer a wider scope of styles than the world music for which Gabriel’s studio and its Real World label are known.
“Our only criteria is that the music be good,” said Large.“Sure, you can see Peter’s taste coming through. But we’ve also had to go about this in a way that makes commercial sense.”
The club’s introductory offering is “Bought for a Dollar, Sold for a Dime,” an urban-blues affair by Little Axe, also known as Skip McDonald, an original member of the Sugar Hill house band who played on “The Message,” “White Lines” and other classics. Plans call for future releases by indie-rockers Grindhouse (featuring Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood’s son Jesse), big-voiced Brit singer/songwriter Gwyneth Herbert and guitar virtuoso Tom Kerstens. Large and Haikin also would like to release live sessions and remastered classic recordings.
Large says the Music Club has had a positive side effect on Gabriel, whose fans have been waiting since 2002 for him to release a recording of non-film-related new material.
“The fire has been lit,” said Large. “Peter is working on a new record. The working title is ‘Input/Output’ and the CD will likely see a 2009 release date.”
But thanks to a deal struck between rock star Peter Gabriel and digital pioneer Bowers & Wilkins, Britain’s leading manufacturer of high-end loudspeakers, digital-music downloaders are about to experience a gourmet alternative.
Launching this week, the online Bowers & Wilkins Music Club will offer an exclusive, full-length, digital-only new release each month featuring artists cherry-picked by Gabriel and recorded at his Real World Studios complex in Bath, England.
What’s more, they will be so-called DRM-free (digital rights management) files that carry no copy protection and can be moved freely between devices and easily burned to CD. They’ll come complete with artwork and, best of all, in an audiophile-quality lossless format for a sound experience beyond that of even top-shelf mp3s.
Music Club subscriptions (available at bowers-wilkins.com) cost $59.95 annually and trial offers are available.
“People don’t realize that when you encode sound files, you’ve got choices,” Bowers & Wilkins’ Danny Haikin said by phone from the United Kingdom. “Up until this point there’s been an emphasis on width rather than depth. In other words, mp3s take up very little (hard drive) room, but in the process of compressing a file down to such a tiny size, the music’s finer nuances are lost. The beauty of a lossless file format is that the compression system doesn’t depreciate the music in any way.”
But a promise of much-improved sound quality may not be enough to bend the public ear away from the standard mp3 format. To do that, the Club plans to offer not merely exclusive recordings, but accessible ones.
Mike Large, director of operations at Real World Studios, dreamed up the venture with Haikin over drinks one night. He says Music Club will offer a wider scope of styles than the world music for which Gabriel’s studio and its Real World label are known.
“Our only criteria is that the music be good,” said Large.“Sure, you can see Peter’s taste coming through. But we’ve also had to go about this in a way that makes commercial sense.”
The club’s introductory offering is “Bought for a Dollar, Sold for a Dime,” an urban-blues affair by Little Axe, also known as Skip McDonald, an original member of the Sugar Hill house band who played on “The Message,” “White Lines” and other classics. Plans call for future releases by indie-rockers Grindhouse (featuring Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood’s son Jesse), big-voiced Brit singer/songwriter Gwyneth Herbert and guitar virtuoso Tom Kerstens. Large and Haikin also would like to release live sessions and remastered classic recordings.
Large says the Music Club has had a positive side effect on Gabriel, whose fans have been waiting since 2002 for him to release a recording of non-film-related new material.
“The fire has been lit,” said Large. “Peter is working on a new record. The working title is ‘Input/Output’ and the CD will likely see a 2009 release date.”
Saturday, 10 May 2008
Friday, 2 May 2008
Amy Winehouse axed from US charity event
Amy Winehouse axed from US charity event
Amy Winehouse has suffered another blow in her bid to crack America — afterward being axed from a prestigious US charity case.
The 24-year-old ‘Rehab’ star had been granted a job visa for the US � unlike earlier this class when she had to miss the Grammy Awards because she was denied one.
Simply she has now been suddenly dumped from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s yearly Costume Bring Gala affair on May 5.
Jaime Urrutia
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Spice babies join 'Mamas' on stage
Spice babies join 'Mamas' on stage
The Spicery Girls made it a family involvement last night when they brought their children on stage in the middle of their register.
The assorted loom joined the chemical group during hit call Mama at London's O2 Arena.Victoria Falls Beckham decked out her boys, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz in matching T-shirts emblazoned with the words 'POSH'.
Baby Spice Emma Bunton cuddled four-month-old son Fop, while Mel B brought along daughters Phoenix Khi and Saint Iris diaphragm.
The children wore bright green auricle muffs to protect them against the noise.
Geri Halliwell's daughter Bluebell was the only Spice progeny missing.
At the end of the song, the children returned to their seating room in the nominal head dustup.
The chemical group ar playing 17 dates at the London locus as percentage of their comeback circuit.
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