Amelia Ursache gets a new showcase

Amelia Ursache in her new boutique

Fashion designer Amelia Ursache might be better known in London and Paris than in Sweden, where she resides. That might be changing now that Amelia has opened up a mini-boutique in Stockholm featuring her dramatic, glamourous and feminine creations. Last night, I attended the champagne opening of the shop, which is located at Regeringsgatan 89, a few blocks from Nalen, the famous Stockholm music nightspot.

Based in Stockholm since 1998, the Romania-born designer worked for several companies including couture king Lars Wallin. She was named designer of the year that year by the UK edition of Elle.

In 2003, Amelia took part in an international design competition produced by TV3 called “Fashion House.” This allowed her to show off her talent for legends like Donatella Versace, Antonio Berardi, D-Squared and Italian designer Valentino, who advised Amelia to start her own label.

Since 2004 Amelia has created two collections each year and presents her fashion shows and exhibitions during Stockholm Fashion Week and from 2009 in Paris at the “Pret-a-Porter” Fair.

Superman drops his shorts

Only red belt remains

For the first time in 73 years the Man of Steel has dropped the red briefs he has worn since 1938, when the first Superman comic was published. In the upcoming issues of Superman, he will not be wearing his classical fire-engine-red underwear.

The online edition of Aftonbladet polled its readers Monday to get their opinion of the superhero’s streamlined new style. The vast majority of the 5,000 who responded (53 percent) gave Superman’s new costume only one star, while 16 percent awarded the new depiction of Superman a full five stars.

“We want to introduce a kind of take on Superman that’s going to be so different that no one can expect what might happen next. One of the things we’re going to do in this book is also to show you how Superman is, who he is, why he ended up wearing the costume that he wears,” said DC Comics writer Grant Morrison.

Will we finally learn why Superman wears his underwear on top of his clothes?

This has been a subject of intense speculation over the years. Some say Superman needs the extra protection because of the wind chill generated from flying at high altitudes. Another theory is that the red undies are an ingenious disguise.
After all, when you see a guy pop up wearing red underwear on top of blue tights, the last thing you want to do is to make eye contact. Thus, you don’t recognize that it is actually Clark Kent.

ida Sjöstedt: Behind the scenes

Fashion designers come and go, but only a few can win approval from the critics year after year like Sweden’s Ida Sjöstedt. Rather than following prevailing trends, she goes her own way with designs ranging from the romantic and girlish to glamour and glitter bordering on kitsch. Together with film maker and director Gary Fabbri, I visited Ida in her studio recently as she prepared with her assistants for a runway show. We were given a grand tour of the entire production process. She showed us the fabrics which which are an important part of her inspiration, and the story board for her new “Twisted Palace” collection.” Gary and I did this fashion video, as well as several more in the pipeline, for the website http://www.sweden.se.

The news is that there is no news

Sustainable styles: Photo--Daniel Pedersen

Robert & Blads is opening a new chapter in the evolution of sustainable fashion. The Malmö fashion firm announces that its collections will in the future remain pretty much the same from season to season, with only a limited number of new items added occasionally. The idea is apparently to go in the opposite direction of the “use-and-throw-away” excesses of our consumer culture.

”Sustainability for me is not just a question of using an ”approved” fabric. The material, design and construction has to be of a good quality. So that the garment lasts a long time, so that it is durable. A t-shirt labeled as “ecological” that looks ugly after only a few washings isn’t sustainable, its junk,” says designer Helle Robertson Forslund.

Robert & Blads uses Swedish jersey which is 95 percent comprised of hemp, and 5 percent of elastan, a synthetic fiber of high elasticity. The fall 2011 collection will also use Global Textile Standard Cotton from Germany and recycled wool from Portugal.
The brand has also launched a webshop so that it can market its goods to the whole planet: http://shop.robertoblad.com/

H&M takes clogs out the closet

Way back in the 1970s, when the girls wore granny dresses and the gents favored flared pants, wooden clogs were also a quirky trend. One couldn’t sneak up on anyone wearing clunky clogs, but they were cheap and lasted a lifetime.

Starting on April 20, global retailer H&M will be selling three different models of retro clogs in approximately 150 of their stores worldwide.

The modernized wooden-soled shoes with leather uppers have been designed by Swedish Hasbeens, which was founded in 2007 by childhood friends Cilla Wingård Neuman and Emy Blixt. The brand got its start a year earlier when Emy found 300 pairs of clogs in a closet, and realized that the time was right for a comeback.

“The Hasbeens for H&M collection fits perfectly with the 1970s’ inspired bohemian look which will be an important part of the coming season,” says H&M senior designer Ann-Sofie Johansson.

Tall Dane models for Dior Homme

Victor Nylander is the fresh new face of both Dior Homme and Versace in their SS11 campaigns. Willy Vanderperre shot a video and eight photos of the 18-year-old from Roskilde, Denmark for Dior Homme, while the maestro-himself—-fashion photographer Mario Testino –used the tall Dane for the Versace campaign.

In the Dior Homme video, it appears that Victor is having a pleasant snooze in the sunlight.

Nylander, who got discovered by sending his photos to Scoop Models, told the Fashion Spot blog that his idea of fun is hanging out with his friends and watching soccer. His favorite piece of clothing is some light blue Converse.

He is signed with Scoop and Ford Models.

IvanaHelsinki and Ivana Trump feud over

Pirjo Suhonen

IvanaHelsinki, one of Finland’s most popular and successful fashion brands, is no longer in legal conflict with Ivana Trump, the former wife of real estate mogul Donald Trump.

Ivana Trump had filed a lawsuit against Paola Ivana Suhonen, creative director of the fashion label, charging that Suhonen had improperly used her Ivana trademark.

According to Finnish evening paper Ilta Sanomat, the American celebrity had sought tens of thousands of dollars in damages and a certain percentage of the revenues from clothing sales.

IvanaHelsinki founder and CEO Pirjo Suhonen– the sister of the label’s designer– says that the legal fireworks are over.

“We have agreed to no longer use IvanaHelsinki as a single word, and will instead put a space between Ivana and Helsinki,” she told the newspaper. The only people who benefited from the lawsuit were the lawyers, she added.

Ivana Helsinki will be showing its Velvet Lake collection for Fall/Winter 2012 on February 17 at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NY. It is not known if Ivana Trump is on the guest list.

Has Mick Jagger gone crazy?

That was the reaction of a journalist friend, upon learning that The Rolling Stones will be on center stage in a new campaign to promote Dressmann, the largest menswear chain in the Nordic region.

Dressman has 400 shops in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Iceland and Germany.
In February, Dressman will re-launch with a new logo, a new store concept and a new message, reports media watchdog Dagens Media.

“We contacted Universal with our idea about fusing music and fashion and they went for it right away. The Rolling Stones wants to develop their brand in fashion,” Dressman marketing director Thomas Behring told the trade paper.

The clothing chain, which is part of the Norway-based Varner Group, has created a Rolling Stones-inspired collection, with a special series of T-shirts called “As Worn By” based upon garment worn by band members back in the day.

Battle of Gettysburg inspires Soulland

The Soulland A/W 2011 collection, called “Civilized,” is inspired by the one of the greatest conflicts in American history: the battle between the North and the South over states’ rights and slavery. Danish designer Silas Adler has taken a close look at the life of soldiers during the bloody and tragic war, which culminated in 1865 following the famous battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.

Adler and his colleagues at the Copenhagen-based company studied the uniforms of the soldiers who fought the war and the flags under which they served.

“We were particularly inspired by the portraits of the time and the sense of honor in the soldiers that comes across in their portraits,” the designer says in a written comment. Special attention was paid the soldiers’ pockets and collars.

“There were many different levels of status in the troops and their clothing showed where in society they belonged. Within these layers we especially looked at the hobo soldiers. Their layering was a great inspiration throughout the development of the collection.”

Lady Gaga to wear mask made in Helsinki

Is this headgear or footwear? Is it a mask or a just a rather unusual hat? Those are a few of the questions which popped into my mind when a press release and photo from Minna Parikka popped into my inbox this morning.

The red mask made from shoes was created specially for Lady Gaga by Helsinki-based Minna Parikka, and will be worn on stage when the popular entertainer performs later this month, Jan. 22-25.

Ms. Parikka is a busy girl. She will be showing her collections at the Copenhagen Fashion Week in February, and in Milan and Paris in March. Lady Gaga isn’t the only celebrity fan of the Finnish shoe wizard.

Paloma Faith, Beth Ditto from the Gossip, Maja Ivarsson from the Sounds and Dita von Teese are also clients.