You Need To Know-Designer Francisco Costa.

It's hard to imagine a young Francisco Costa growing up in the small Brazilian town where he was born (even to a family already rooted in fashion) and having even an inkling of the career he has now - a career which, in some ways, is only just starting. In the early '90s, the diminutive and cherubic immigrant arrived in New York as bright-eyed in the big city as any who had come before. He set about learning English and enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he won the Idea Como/Young Designers of America award. After graduation, he was recruited to design dresses and knits for Bill Blass. But fate soon swept Costa towards his first big break when Oscar de la Renta asked him to oversee the signature and Pink Label collections of his own high-society house, plus Pierre Balmain haute couture and ready-to-wear.

In 1998, at Tom Ford's bidding, Costa decamped for the red-hot Gucci studio where he served as senior designer of eveningwear, a position in which he was charged with creating the custom designs for both high-rolling clients and high-profile celebrities. This is where Costa cut his teeth, acquiring the skills required to direct a major label, as he would soon do, returning to New York in 2002 to work for Calvin Klein. Here he assumed the role of creative director of the women's collections, where he remains today Costa's first marquee Calvin Klein collection was shown in the autumn of 2003, following the departure of the namesake designer (and, as the man who invented designer denim and who, in 1968, founded one of New York's mega-brands, Klein was hardly the easiest act to follow). Costa's debut drew rave reviews across the board for its seamless integration of the label's signature minimalism with a deft vision of how fashion looks now.

When Calvin Klein stepped down in 2003, Italo Zucchelli assumed the role of design director of the brand's menswear collections, following four seasons working directly with Klein. The spring/summer 2004 collection, shown in 2003, was Zucchelli's first. Zucchelli is a graduate of the Polimoda School of Fashion Design in Florence (1988), although he also previously attended courses for two years at the Architecture University, also in Florence. Prior to being recruited by Calvin Klein, he spent two years as menswear designer for Jil Sander; then a spell as designer at Romeo Gigli. Born 6 April 1965, he grew up near the Italian coastal town of La Spezia. Zuehelli recalls that his first glimpse into the world of Calvin Klein was provided in 1982, with a men's underwear advertisement that starred Olympic pole-vault athlete Tom Hintnaus. Zucchelli's designs encapsulate the spirit of Calvin Klein's sexy, American philosophy; an aesthetic inspired by the human form and the idea of designing clothes that relate directly to the body in a sophisticated and effortless manner. The simplicity and purity of the brand's design roots is a discipline in itself, one which Zucchelli deploys with a certain European panache, and inherent sense of sophisticated cool that has not only met with critical acclaim, but is an honest continuation of the Calvin Klein brand philosophy. Zucchelli lives and works in New York City.

You Need To Know-Designers An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx.

AF Vandevorst, the Belgian design duo of An Vandevorst (born 1968) and Filip Arickx (born 1971), view fashion as nothing less than a way to communicate the inner workings of the mind.

The husband-and-wife design team met in 1987 at the Royal Academy in Antwerp. On graduating, Vandevorst worked as assistant to Dries Van Noten. Meanwhile Arickx, who worked for Dirk Bikkembergs for three years as a teenager, completed military service after leaving the Academy, and then worked as a freelance designer and stylist.

Together they established their own label in 1997, and presented their first collection in Paris for autumn/winter 1998. The label quickly came to the attention of both the fashion press and establishment; after only their second collection they were awarded Paris Fashion Week's Venus de la Mode award for 'Le Futur Grand Createur', a prestigious prize for newcomers. For the spring/summer and autumn/winter 2000 seasons the pair were invited to design the Ruffo Research collection, an opportunity periodically offered to young designers by the Italian leather house Ruffo.

AF Vandevorst clothes convey a slouchy confidence, and a version of femininity that evokes a sexy yet intellectual cool. Traditional clothing (horse riding equipment, kimonos, frock coats) is often referenced, reworked and refined until it sits slightly left-of-centre; a medical-style red cross is their enduring symbol. For collection themes, they often favour the unexpected, as for autumn/winter 2003, when honey bees provided inspiration. Following no set colour palette, AF Vandevorst stray from muted tones into brights. Recently the label has expanded to encompass footwear, accessories and lingerie, and they continue to present catwalk shows during the Paris collections.

Nick Cannon Asks Corporate Sponsors to Pay for Birthday Bash

Nick Cannon recently sent out a mass email asking corporate sponsors to pay for his 30th birthday parties in New York and Los Angeles next month.

Boasting that confirmed guests include Beyonce Knowles and her husband Jay-Z, Demi Moore and her husband Ashton Kutcher, Will Smith and Jamie Foxx, the actor has promised any companies who assist with the celebrations -- which are to be hosted by his wife Mariah Carey -- will receive tweets and exclusive photographs in recognition of their donation.

The email, sent by the star’s representatives and obtained by the New York Post newspaper, said: “This is an extremely exciting opportunity to sponsor a fun and lavish event… opportunities range from gift bags and signage to tweets and photo ops.”

In return for a $2,500 donation, sponsors will feature in the gift bag, while a more generous $15,000 will guarantee “one tweet,” plus a “mention in all public relations materials.”

Additionally, those prepared to fork out the full $25,000 will earn the donator the official title of “host sponsor,” which includes “three tweets,” a “right to service out photos” and a “logo on all collateral.”

The couple are well-known for their love of lavish parties. To celebrate his wife’s 39th birthday, Nick whisked Mariah -- who is worth an estimated $400 million -- off to the Caribbean island of Barbados for an exclusive celebration.

Naomi Campbell Admits She's Made 'Many Mistakes'

Naomi Campbell has been involved in a string of scandals throughout her career, including various claims of assault, and she's the first to admit she could have done some things differently. The supermodel hates to be regarded as a role model because she knows she's flawed, but she's still trying to be a better person.

She said: “I make many mistakes. Many mistakes. I’m not a perfect human being. I have to learn from my mistakes. And a lot of the ones I’ve made have been public.

“So I always get nervous when people speak about something that sounds like a role model, because I don’t know if I’ve been a great role model myself. I don’t think I have in certain aspects of my life.

“But I’m trying to do better. I admit to my mistakes. I admit to the things that I’ve done wrong. I admit it. But I’m trying to do right by myself and my life now.”

Despite her troubled past, the 40-year-old beauty says she never wallows in her mistakes but will allow herself a brief period to get herself back on track again.

She added to Interview magazine: “I don’t get depressed. When I feel an attack, I withdraw. I disappear, I replenish, and then I come back. I’m not going to wallow in self-pity and not live my life. There are always going to be some falls in life for everybody, no matter what career you have. You have to roll with the punches and keep going.”

Khloe Kardashian Says Getting Pregnant Is Hard Work

Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom have been trying for a baby, but the couple has't had any success so far. However, the brunette beauty isn't too disheartened because she enjoys the "practice."

Khloe, who this week celebrated her first wedding anniversary, told Life and Style magazine: "I thought I'd be pregnant by now. We've been working at it all year.

"Getting pregnant is much harder than we thought -- but practicing making babies is amazing!"

The couple have reportedly started using a fertility monitor so they know when Khloe is ovulating and what the optimum time is to try.

A source said: "Khloe's been using the monitor for about a month now. They're trying more actively than ever before. Lamar is very serious about it."

Khloe, 26, and Lamar, 30, marked their anniversary by renewing their wedding vows on Monday.

The Los Angeles Lakers basketball player surprised his wife by organizing a service at music industry executive Irving Azoff's family home in Beverly Hills -- the location of their first nuptials.

Brad Goreski and Rachel Zoe Break Up

It's official: Brad Goreski and Rachel Zoe have broken up. It seemed like a match made in heaven, but sometimes if you love someone, the best thing to do is to let him go. Brad will no longer be a part of Rachel Zoe Inc. effective Oct. 1.

The supposedly amicable split was initiated by Brad who feels this is the time for him to venture out on his own. Rachel is understandably gutted, and says no one can compare to Brad. Brad says:
''I love Rachel and she’s taught me everything I know. But there’s a point where either I do it now or I’ll never know what it’s like to spread my wings and soar''.Good luck to Brad on his solo endeavors! Hopefully we'll still see his dapper self sitting front row at fashion week.

UPDATE: Rumor has it, the split isn't as amicable as first thought. Brad has quickly been gaining a following and popularity, and his front cover feature of the New York Times style section drove Rachel over the edge. Oh the drama!

Rihanna’s album ‘Loud’ gets its first Preview…

Rihanna’s LOUD Album — Exclusive JustJared.com Preview…

Last night in the NYC office of chairman/CEO of Island Def Jam L.A. Reid, JustJared.com were given the privilege of listening to Rihanna’s new album, ‘Loud’. They report that “this will be the biggest album yet!” Check out the tracklisting of the nine songs that were heard.

‘S&M’: It’s definitely a club banger and the naughtiest song of all! Here are some of the sample lyrics as best I heard them: “I may be bad but I’m perfectly good… There’s sex in the air. I don’t care, I love the smell of it… Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me. I like it, come on, come on.”

‘Only Girl (In The World)’: The whole room was dancing along! During the lyrics “hold me like a pillow,” L.A. hugged himself like a pillow, too. Funny moment!

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Quincy Jones: “Jennifer Hudson tore ‘You Put A Move On My Heart’ up!”…

Jennifer Hudson has covered Tamia’s R&B classic ‘You Put a Move On My Heart’. The legendary Quincy Jones, who produced the track, gushes about the Grammy winner’s take on the song which will now appear on his ‘Q: Soul Bossa Nostra’ project. What did he say exactly?

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, he states: “Jennifer said, ‘I need to be on the album’. I said, ‘Jennifer, there’s no way in the world I would bug you about something like that’. She said, ‘Quincy, you don’t understand — I need to be on that album’. She just tore ‘You Put A Move On My Heart’ up” (Source).

We’ve known about this since March but his comments makes it all the more official. The very outstanding ‘You Put a Move On My Heart’ was first recorded by my favourite R&B singer Tamia back in 1995. It was actually her very first single from her classic self-titled debut album (a personal favourite of mine). It’s an extremely hard song to sing, so I’m most certainly curious to hear what J. Hud did with it. The album ‘Q: Soul Bossa Nostra’ is due out on November 9th.

Kanye West Calls Himself ‘the Lowest Form of Human Being’

Producer Kanye West continues his quest to return to relevancy status in the eyes of music consumers.

After joining Twitter in typical grandstanding fashion, Kanye announced that he would start giving away his wack music for free in a concept called “G.O.O.D. Fridays”. But we knew that was just a publicity stunt that wouldn’t last (who gives away free music?)

This morning – after leaking an unfinished copy of his own track “Lost in the World“, Kanye announced — in typical grandstanding fashion — that he would end his “G.O.O.D. Fridays” giveaways just 3 weeks after its inception. Kanye is so predictable.

Anyway, after leaking his own track, Kanye took to his Twitter page to blame a “hacker” for the leak:

Due to blogs leaking unfinished songs from my actual album I’ve decided to pass on Good Fridays this week.

It’s messed up that one hacker can mess everything up for everyone… I love to take a year to finish my songs and deliver them to you guys in their most completed form. It would have seemed like since I give free music every week even the lowest form of human being would respect that enough not to leak unfinished songs from my real album. [link]

Burgundy patent-leather ballerina flats with a pointed toe by Christian Louboutin.
Burgundy patent-leather ballerina flats with a pointed toe by Christian Louboutin,
Josh Goot Long Strapless Dress,
Juicy Couture Drama Beaded Necklace,
Plastic Squared Vintage Glamour,
Kena Kai DataSafe Gold Lizard Print Italian Leather Clutch.

Brown Juddy Sandals by Antik Batik.
Brown Juddy Sandals by Antik Batik,
Printed jersey strapless dress,
Angie Gooderham Multi Chain Necklace,
Jimmy Choo Sunglasses,
Yves Saint Laurent Evening Clutch.

Zara Fringed Flat Sandals.
Zara Fringed Flat Sandals,
Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Wrap front jersey dress,
Vintage Flat Top Snakeskin Incline Sunglasses,
Pearl Stud Earrings,
Alexander Mcqueen Clutch.

Tyler Ramsey Hand Painted Men's TOMS Shoes.
Tyler Ramsey Hand Painted Men's TOMS Shoes,
1957 Super Loved Destroyed Jeans,
White Cotton Mid Fit Shirt,
Unstructured blazer by Patrik Ervel,
Polka Paradise Blue BowTie,
Gorgeous Vintage Emmanuelle Khanh Paris Black Sunglasses,
Woolrich John Rich & Bros. Plaid Saddle Bag.

Suede Desert Boots.
Suede Desert Boots,
Bullhead Solana Extreme Skinny Rinsed Indigo,
Browns Mainline Baby Blue Shirt,
Prada Jacket,
Previn brown silk jacquard paisley bow tie,
Retrospecs Glasses,
Classic Mulberry' Bag,
Tag Heuer Monaco Mens Watch.

La Martina Brown Leather Bag.
La Martina Brown Leather Bag,
Red Bowtie,
Red Loop Detail Cardigan,
Slim Fitted Summer Floral Shirt By Paul Smith,
Gucci White Trouser,
Moka Flat Sandal By BALLY.

You Need To Know-Designer Matt Damhave.

The genesis of the New York-based label Imitation of Christ in 2000 was anything but holy. Reacting to what they believed was the over-commodification of fashion, the label's co-founders and art-school drop-outs Òàrà Subkoff and Matt Damhave defiantly resurrected thrift-store finds by slashing them into pieces, removing the label, incorporating subversive text and slapping on a cross insignia. As a result, their rise to darling status was swift. At one point, thanks in part to the modelling/consulting efforts of long-time friend and disciple Chloe Sevigny, herself a thrift-store devotee, the duo showed a collection in a funeral parlour, watched on by Vogue's Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley. But good things don't last forever - not even for a divinely-christened label - and now only Subkoff (born 1974) remains.

She works tirelessly to keep the faith alive with a team of equally politically-motivated colleagues who regard themselves more as social engineers than designers. Examples are many. In 2001, Subkoff- also a part-time indie film actress - and the Imitation of Christ team produced a short film starring Reese Witherspoon which was intended to illustrate the prevalence of sweatshops and child labour.

In a following collection, a mock auction was staged at Sotheby's where models were presented as items for sale by an auctioneer. In 2002, Imitation of Christ trekked to Paris to hold a renegade show outside the Christian Dior venue, to which the models arrived in ambulances and made their appearances on stretchers in a presumed statement about the death of fashion. In a role-reversing show later that year, models were seated, with pen and paper in hand, waiting to critique guests who were escorted down the catwalk, in a poignant critique of the critical process itself. Is nothing sacred?

You Need To Know-Designer Philip Treacy.

Philip Treacy's feathered, fur-trimmed or velvety creations have little in common with conventional headwear. In fact, Treacy's glamorous and fantastical hat designs have completely re-defined modern millinery. Fashion leaders such as Franca Sozzani, Amanda Harlech and Isabella Blow (the latter has worn Treacy hats from the beginning of his career) covet his work. Oversized orchids, fans of pheasant feathers, model ships and Andy Warhol-style motifs have all decorated his deftly-sculpted hats.

Treacy was born in Ahascragh, western Ireland, in 1967. By the age of five, he was making clothes for his sister's dolls. His fashion education began in 1985 at Dublin's National College of Art and Design where he started to make hats as a hobby. Following a work experience placement at Stephen Jones, Treacy began an MA womenswear course at London's Royal College of Art in 1988. However, he decided to ditch clothing design and take a place on the college's first-ever millinery course.

In 1991, at the age of 23, he started making hats for Chanel and, in the same year, won the Accessory Designer prize at the British Fashion Awards for the first time; to date he has won three such accolades. In 1993 he staged his debut fashion show during London Fashion Week, where Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington walked his catwalk in return for free hats. In 1994 he opened his first boutique, in London's Belgravia, and in 2000 Treacy became the first accessories designer to be invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to show his work during Paris couture week.

Treacy collaborates with some of the world's finest artists and designers, including Alexander McQueen and Vanessa Beecroft, and his work is displayed in museums such as the V&A and the Design Museum in London and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. In 2004 he won the Chinese International Designer of the Year Award; 3005 sees the completion of his first interior design project, at The G, a five-star hotel in Galway, Ireland.

Kanye West ‘Going Backwards’ with New Album.

US rapper Kanye West is “going backwards” with his new album. West’s upcoming record, which is due out before Christmas, will revisit the feel of his first album, The College Dropout.
Q-Tip, who worked with the 33 year-old on his new album, said the star knows what he is doing.

He told XXL Magazine: “This album is, in a good way, going backwards. He knows exactly what he’s doing – when he did 808s and Heartbreak, that was such a departure from College Dropout.”