Victoria’s Secret Show 2014: Destination London
It’s official: the Victoria’s Secret show will be held in London this year!
And the runway lingerie spectacular will be bigger and better than ever – with a Christmas date and a special new dress code for attendees.
The Victoria’s Secret show is the most-watched catwalk show on the planet, earning millions of viewers when it broadcasts on American TV and around the world.
And this year, while Miranda Kerr has hung up her wings, there will be other Australian Angels to fill her shoes, like blonde bombshell Jessica Hart.
So why are they going to the shores of England? Because they’ve wanted to since 1998, according to the company, and now is the right time.
“Candidly, we weren’t well known enough,” explained their marketing director, Ed Razek. “We have six stores in the UK now.”
There were hints of the move in last year’s show, when a British theme dominated – it was called The British Invasion, and featured Pearly Queens, Taylor Swift in the Union Jack and British policeman’s hats.
So how can they top that with a show in actual British soil – at Earls Court in London on December 2, to be precise?
With royal presence, for one.
Prince Harry has a “front-row seat reserved” if he wishes to join the fun, Angel Candice Swanepoel revealed – though we’re sure baby Prince George would probably like the flashing lights and pretty costumes too. Perhaps it’s time for an uncle-nephew play-date.
And another way of making it different: the dress code for the crowd is black tie, no less.
Who’s going to be there? Apparently Cara Delevingne (at right with Taylor Swift backstage at the 2013 show), the famous British model currently brawling with paparazzi about her holiday with girlfriend Michelle Rodriguez, has signed up – and managed to keep the secret of the new location as well.
“Hopefully she will walk,” said Razek, adding proudly, “And she kept the secret for a whole week!”
What do you think of the Victoria’s Secret show heading to London: fun or gimmicky?
Image: Victoria’s Secret show 2013.
Jenny Packham On Dressing The Duchess: “It’s A Collaboration”
She’s one of the Duchess’s favourite designers.
And now Jenny Packham has given us a backstage look at what designing for one of the world’s most famous women is actually like.
Duchess Katherine has worn Jenny Packham all over the world, from galas and visits in Asia to that polka-dot dress for the first revealing of Prince George outside the hospital in 2013, and now at a party in New Zealand.
And Packham has revealed that, rather than ordering off the rack, Kate actually gets down and dirty in the design process.
While it’s the company’s policy not to discuss celebrity clients, Packham told Women’s Wear Daily that “it’s always quite a collaboration” when the Duchess wants to wear a gown.
And she also revealed that she and her design partner are kept in the dark about when precisely outfits are going to be worn – only finding out, sometimes, via Twitter.
Packham, who’s currently in New York for the bridal shows (which Rescu. will be covering in our Wedding column this Sunday), discovered that the Duchess wore her custom black dress with silver fern detailing when she woke up the next morning.
“There are always loads of Twitters and things like that when I wake up, [and] I think ‘Oh right, she wore it'”, Packham said.
The dress garnered a lot of praise for its subtle New Zealand theme, but Packham gives a lot of credit to Kate – “She has a great sense of style, and a very British one,” she added.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in one of those collaborative meetings…
Image: Duchess Kate in New Zealand in a custom Jenny Packham design, courtesy Cosmopolitan UK.
Woolmark Prize Announces Nominees – And Is Bigger Than Ever
For its third year, the International Woolmark Prize has decided to go big or go home.
There are more nominees than ever before, and for the very first time, there’s a menswear category.
What’s the International Woolmark Prize? It was introduced to celebrate designer excellence in using Australian wool.
And a little known fact: it was at an earlier incarnation of the Woolmark Prize back in 1954 that two winners, Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld, met for the first time – and made history.
So who’s been nominated this year – and what are their chances?
The Aussie names are new and emerging, but familiar to those in the industry. Designers Phoenix Keating, Garth Cook and Karla Spetic are on the six-long list of womenswear nominees, while menswear nominees include cult labels Han and Song For The Mute.
And one label, Strateas.Carlucci, has landed a double, being nominated for both their mens and women’s lines.
All the local nominees are up for a regional award, and the winners in each category will then proceed to the finals – but there can only be one winner, and there are 65 nominees from many countries, across Asia, Europe, the US and India & the Middle East.
And who do they have to impress?
The panel of judges includes Alexa Chung, editor of Vogue Italia Franca Sozzani, style.com editor Tim Blanks and the founder of mytheresa.com, Susanne Botshen. Hardly an easy bunch.
Are you wishing the Australian nominees the best in the International Woolmark Prize? Because Rescu. certainly is – and we’re hoping Australian wool brings us the prize…
Image: The Woolmark nominees, courtesy the International Woolmark Prize.
