“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

It has been a while since commenting on the bastardization of the term Fashion Week. Couple years ago, they seemed to be popping up in every God knows where and forsaken location on Earth. Reading back from older IMW posts, I found an entry which included a plan to put an end to all of them besides New York, London, Milan and Paris. Guess my plan never was activated because I just discovered another one… El Paseo Fashion Week. Where is that you ask? It just does not matter because it needs to stop now. Look, I understand that a… Read More »

You all know what I think about celebrity turned fashion designers by now. If not, you have been living under a rock. To refresh, my basic belief is that actors/actresses and reality stars should not think just because they like fashion, that they should throw themselves into the already  saturated market and leave the industry alone. It is the rare celebrity that successfully makes the transition, such as the Olsen Twins with their dynasty. Granted Sofia Vergara might be making a boat load of cash with her Attention: K-Mart Shoppers leopard numbers, but making money is not the only gauge… Read More »

Just when you thought it was safe to come out from under the falling dead celebrity fashion collections—I mean where is Zooey Deschanel‘s crap, Katie Homes’ nonsense and Sarah Jessica Parker for Halston—comes the worst bit of fashion news yet. Gossip Girl, that Shakespearean television show is getting its own fashion collection. Yes, this is true. Now we will have to live through the painful process of extensive cross-marketing between retailers and a list of television shows-turned-fashion designers. I cannot wait to see what Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC and Bravo have in store for us. As you may know, the… Read More »

Not a day goes by that someone who simply has no business in the fashion business gets into the business of fashion. Today’s nonsensical entry into the schmatta business is the New York Knicks‘ 6 foot 10 inch forward, Amar’e Stoudemire. Surely you remember him from last season’s fashion week when Anna Wintour had him sit next to her and Hamish Bowles at the Tommy Hilfiger show. Now there was a trinella if I ever saw one. Word is that Amar’e and Rachel Roy are teaming up to design a women’s collection for Macy’s. Would somebody please stick a fork… Read More »

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the closet, comes the Avril Lavigne’s signature collection of nonsense. Has she not been reading I Mean…What?!? to know what a silly idea most celebrity fashion lines are? I don’t care how much money they make from them, hello, Jessica Simpson. But Avril style? Oy.… Read More »

Three million to be exact. Is it me or has there been a massive influx of discount fashion online boutiques flooding your in-box, too. Bloggers are becoming e-commerce mavens, retailers are marking down their leftovers, Google has become the latest schmatta peddler, and every designer has launched their own e-commerce outlets…when will it end? What’s Next? A merger between Facebook and Ebay where everyone will have their own Shop page so we will never leave Facebook again? Shall we spend the rest of our time on Earth chatting with people we left behind in grade school while browsing through their… Read More »

What do Selma Blair, Christina Ricci, Kelly Rowland, Sean Lennon, Robin Thicke, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Helena Christensen, Miike Snow, DJ Cassidy, Ali Hewson, Harley Viera Newton, Mia Morretti have in common? Fashion’s Night Out in the Meatpacking District, which we have sub-named…Fashion Lives Downtown. Say what you want about Fashion’s Night Out, that Anna is only doing this for Vogue, or that Jews in Borough Park are mortified because it falls on Rosh Hashanah, or that this is about drinking and not shopping, but Fashion’s Night Out is like The (Fabulous) Blob and literally engulfing all of Manhattan. Yes, I… Read More »

Oh, admit it. You were just sitting there, waiting for Adam Levine from Maroon 5 to announce that he is doing a new clothing line. Right? Chances are you were not a tween and have nothing that you can purchase from Madonna’s Material Girl collection currently at Macy’s. And there was not much by way of smart tailoring at  Jay’s Z‘s or P. Diddy‘s collections that have you rushing to the stores either. And you are not a size 2, so squeezing into Posh Spice’s Victoria Beckham collection is not happening either. And like me, you are still holding on for… Read More »

You know you have hit the big top when a fragrance bears your name, or your pet’s name, or your favorite childhood memory’s name of some such nonsense. You all know my aversion to celebrity fashion designers. Now I am officially adding celebrity schtoonk-meisters to the list of things that make me say fotz or “ewww”. Let me start by mentioning my favorite exception to this parade, none other than Dame Elizabeth Taylor. When Elizabeth created White Diamonds, she was pretty much out of the movie business, still  gorgeous and well…friggen Liz Taylor. Don’t even try to put Sarah Jessica… Read More »

Is it possible? I actually have fashion related news that does not include a celebrity? Yes, indeedy-doo. Today, Kate Spade has hired my freind Sylvie Bohrer to head up the women’s ready-to-wear division and it could not have happened to a groovier chick. Sylvie cut her teeth at Nanette Lapore and went on to be the head designer at Free People, a division of Urban Outfitters. Her easy, relaxed style will be a welcome addition to the Kate Spade look. Anyhoo, just wanted to give Sylvee a shout out on her first day on the job and wish her years… Read More »