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Posts tagged People
Dior Starts An ‘Online Magazine’ Which Is Actually A Blog
Feb 29th
Because they totally weren’t occupied trying to find a new creative director or anything, the good people at Dior have spent a lot of time and energy creating an “online magazine” that will provide its fans with news and information about the storied French fashion house.
Women’s Wear Daily reports that Dior Mag will revolutionize the way we think about fashion on the Internet be updated “almost daily” with content about how things at Dior are going — but don’t expect any hard-hitting stories about who they’re getting to replace John Galliano. Instead, the stories will fall along the lines of where the house sources the raw materials for its fragrances and live streams of its shows during Paris Fashion Week. The site has an anonymous editor-in-chief who is overseen by Dior’s marketing people (which means this site is run by the marketing department).
And that’s where Dior — and in fact most fashion companies that create “online magazines” — has gone wrong with this new venture. We’re not saying it’s not an admirable thing to do. It’s cool that a house like Dior, which so few people can afford to wear, is creating another way for the unfragranced masses to participate in its brand. It has almost 7 million Facebook fans and is even getting the super popular style blogger Susie Bubble to live tweet its runway show on Friday, and we think that’s cool! But branding what is essentially a very fancy public relations blog as an online magazine in an attempt to legitimize a new publication shows a pretty clear lack of understanding of what a site like this is supposed to do, which is to get people to click on interesting content, and maybe even buy a lipstick or two.
You know what’s a good online magazine? Lonny, the online publication that was created to fill the void left in our hearts when Conde Nast folded its shelter title Domino. Lonny looks and behaves like a magazine (with digital pages you can actually turn with a click of your mouse) because it’s an actual online magazine that gets released once a month, just like print publications.
But Dior Mag is actually a blog, even if its creators don’t want to admit that horrific truth. One of the first eight articles (eight was Christian Dior’s lucky number) is about the brand’s ultra expensive ceramic watch. Another tells the story of Catherine Dior, Christian’s little sister and one of his most important muses. Yet another is a post about Charlize Theron‘s body of work for the brand. All of these posts are maybe a little longer than 100 words and rely heavily on videos and images, and none of them tell us something we didn’t already know or couldn’t have found out about somewhere else. Which is, unfortunately, what bad blogs do.
By all means check the blog out, share it with your friends, leave comments on the posts (Wait, what’s that? You can’t even comment on the posts?!) and come back here to tell us what you think. But whatever you do, don’t call it an online magazine.
[WWD]
WATCH: Reporter Lauds Bulimic Princess Diana For Being A Size Four
Feb 24th
What’s the question that burns deeply in the heart of everyone who loved Princess Diana from afar? Why, what size dress she wore, of course!
At least that’s the way Today Show reporter Janet Shamlain framed it this morning in her package about the exhibit of the People’s Princess’s clothes currently being staged at the Mall of America. Not how much they cost or where she wore them or the good she did in them, but what size they were. She got a eye-roll-filled answer from curator Graeme Murton that Diana didn’t have sizes because most of her clothes were couture or made to measure. But that didn’t stop her from speculating that most of them were either a size six or eight. But one of them got special attention for being even smaller.
Standing next to this gorgeous, turn-all-heads-in-the-room kind of gown .. it looks like a size four. And this was one of the gowns she wore after she was divorced. She wore her clothes a lot more tailored and more sexy then. It is just gorgeous.
Right. Because the only way to be gorgeous is to fit a sample size, and she only got that thin because of her struggle with bulimia. So that is something we should celebrate on national television.
Watch:
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[via Jezebel]
Raf Simons ‘Unlikely’ To Head To Dior
Feb 24th
We thought we were finally seeing some light at the end of the John Galliano replacement tunnel, but it turns out we might have been mistaken. Reports that Raf Simons is still in the running to take over the top job at Dior were amplified by his decision to leave Jil Sander this week, but sources say that a move to Dior might not be in the cards anymore.
Women’s Wear Daily reports that neither Simons nor the people who work at Jil Sander will comment on the designer’s next steps, though it has been confirmed that designer Jil Sander, who founded the brand in 1968, will return to replace him. Meanwhile, Simons is either being clandestine about what his next move will be, or he hasn’t fully figured it out yet.
As reported, the designer had been in discussions late last year with Christian Dior about becoming its sixth couturier and the successor to John Galliano. However, it is understood the parties failed to reach an agreement and it appears unlikely Simons will join the French firm.
Dior had no comment on Thursday, and the house has yet to reveal any plans regarding its creative leadership. The company is enjoying strong business momentum with its design teams under the creative leadership of Bill Gaytten, a longtime Galliano collaborator. Sources said Dior is mulling continuing with a team approach, possibly adding some young, up-and-coming talents.
So where does that leave Simons? WWD speculates that he might have his eye on Stefano Pilati‘s job at Yves Saint Laurent. Pilati’s contract ends next month, and Simons could be next in line to take over the French fashion house if that contract isn’t renewed. Still, it seems like every four months there’s another rumor about Pilati getting canned, and it never turns out to be true.
A slightly more likely scenario is that he will focus on developing his own eponymous label, which currently just has men’s clothing. Simons only started designing women’s clothing when he took over at Jil Sander in 2005, and it’s said that he’s keen to add it to his personal repertoire. Stylist Anna Dello Russo told Fashionista just this week that “maybe adding womens next to men” would be a good direction for him to go in.
The complication, however, is that Simons’ line doesn’t have financing for his label. Simons left Futurenet, the company that owned his label, last January, and although he’s presented menswear collections since then, he hasn’t been formally linked to another financier. Maybe leaving Jil Sander will free up time for him to look for the support he’d need to build his men’s line into a full collection? We’ll have to wait and see.
[WWD]
Kathy Ireland Is The World’s Richest Model
Feb 24th
Eat that Gisele Bundchen!
In a new report released today Kathy Ireland was named as the world’s richest model. Kathy managed to turn her Sports Illustrated swimsuit domination of the 80′s into a $350 million empire. This includes business interests in designing and licensing products like furniture, rugs and flooring.
Kathy Ireland Worldwide has developed a $2 billion empire. BILLION people. Kathy Ireland. $2 Billion. Her net worth is much higher than Gisele Bundchen ($250 million), Heidi Klum ($200 million) and Cindy Crawford($100 million).
And the best part of this story is that Kathy’s business is worth more than the devil herself-Marth Stewart’s empire. And you know this news angers the Martha. She was a model back in the day too.
Here is a picture of Kathy getting her business on:
