“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Matthew McConaughey What? Anyone who is anyone knows that I Mean What has been a voice against celebrity designers. These Johnny Come Lately non Academy Award winning, or Emmy, or Tony, or any any award winners try their hand, rather, they sell their name to a schmatta peddler and take some dosh. Lindsay Lohan, the slew of Kardashians, heck even Sarah Jessica Parker threw her hat in the ring at Halston, and today the news is that Matthew McConaughey has entered the ring for a bout of utter nonsense. This is more than anyone should bare. And when I say… 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 »

Let me be the first, well, perhaps the second person to congratulate Macy’s for doing a fashion-focused series of collaborations to generate heat and foot traffic. The newest collab is with Giambattista Valli for Impulse. All I can say is that creating fashion designer collaborations sure beats the celebrity-turned-designer nonsense from seasons past. Sure, Jessica Simpson is a billion dollar brand, but there will always be exceptions to every rule. With the demise of the Sarah Jessica Parker for Halston hullabaloo, maybe the fashion industry can rejoice and enjoy fashion designers again. And while I am at it, perhaps with… Read More »

Gee, tell me something that I couldn’t have told you over a year ago when the Halston land grab was originally getting under way. Women’s Wear Daily reports that Sarah Jessica Parker and Harvey Weinstein are out at Halston. Why isn’t anyone saying, “Why were they in, in the first place?” The celebrity fashion designer phenomenon was in full boom right after the economy tanked and by 2010, there were more celebrities hawking schmattas then members of the CFDA. My guess is that all it takes are two lame seasons and the proof is in the pudding. Sure, there will… Read More »

I would hate to be retailer right about now. Forget the fact that the economy is still in the doldrums. Only the luxury brands are cleaning up now because Wall Streeters and their wives are shopping like they have just been told that the end of the world is really nigh. Meanwhile the rest of the world who misses shopping and spending, has been reduced to “just looking” and trying on…the poor man’s retail therapy. Brace yourself, the retail environment is about to go through yet another shift…if not slump. Google announced their foray into the schamtta business joining the… 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 »

Jil Sander was always the epitome of cool, chic, sophisticated, clean lines, muted palette. Perhaps that was when Jil Sander was actually Jil Sander. That story has turned upside down. The German-born designer, Sander, is now designing for Japan-based Uniqlo and Belgian-born Raf Simmons is at the helm of the Milan-based headquarters of Jil Sander, who sold out to Muccia Prada, which ultimately pissed off Jil Sander, causing her to split, hence her current deal with Uniqlo. The saving grace for Jil Sander in this scenario, as opposed to what happened to Halston when he sold the rights to his… Read More »

Merle Ginsberg (Editor-in-Cheif, fashionrules.com) and I continue our cross continental SKYPE dialogue and compare notes on the CFDA Awards. MERLE: Shall we start with worst dressed? ABE: Is there a better place to start? How about the Olsen Twins? MERLE: Dumpster chic. ABE: I saw this fantastic video look book that The Row did on style.com, it featured nothing like those schmattas. They are such fashion icons….why I don’t know…but they are and they never get the red carpet down. MERLE: They are too young and too thin, to hide under all this fabric at a black tie. I also… Read More »

Last year at this time, I MEAN…WHAT?!? launched the Not Best Dressed Awards. It was fitting that the kick-off center around the CFDA Awards, where everyone in the room should just know better. After my initial shock at some the choices, I decided that the ones who were worst dressed had the least friends. OR, they were so feared, that no one dare contradict their choices. This year again, we see shocking taste in a room filled with taste-makers. These people are oxy-morons. Sure, I have been guilty of “Do as I say, not as I do”, but on a… Read More »

Box Office Mojo reports, “It was Princesses over Persia among new releases, but the Middle Eastern desert romps generated such little heat that a relatively low-grossing Shrek movie topped them in its second weekend.” Ouch. Look, both Princess of Persia (as I like to call it) and Sex and the City Par Deux seemed so uninteresting, that no kidding they didn’t live up to the expectations of the Hollywood suites.  My friend Annie likes to say, ”Who wants to see a bunch of middle aged woman acting like they are still in their thirties, drinking and talking about sex.” Though… Read More »