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An Inferno Concepts Picture
Starring: Christine Abbate
Film & Edit: Thomas DeJosia
Music: Caza

Like Miuccia Prada, Akris’ Albert Kriemler got turned on by cars this season. Kriemler specifically referenced John Frankenheimer’s 1966 film Grand Prix, set in Monaco and other pit stops from motor racing’s golden age. Still, the two collections were as night and day as you’d expect; where Prada was cheeky, Akris was sleek. Kriemler devoted a large part of the collection to the photoprints that have become a house signature. A shot of the Hotel de l’Hermitage on racing day and another of spectators gathered on top of a large rectangular viewing structure were bold. More clever, if not necessarily more subtle, were the tiny speedometer print and a graphic horizontal stripe made from manipulating the image of a car. Speed was the organizing metaphor here: Shifts were aerodynamic and A-line, while jackets and pants with racing stripes looked inspired by uniforms. Sport has been a persistent trend this season, and this collection puts Kriemler and co. in the center of it. (by Nicole Phelps style.com)

Michael Kors brought some glamour — and a big initial public offering — to the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning.

A Michael Kors billboard was draped across the Corinthian columns on the exchange building’s facade.

Outside, Mr. Kors and his mother, Joan Kors, posed for pictures, both sporting December tans, trendy sunglasses and huge smiles. And inside, at 9:30 a.m., high above the trading floor, Mr. Kors rang the opening bell, high-fiving and hugging his chief executive, John Idol, and two backers and fashion tycoons, Lawrence S. Stroll and Silas K. F. Chou.

Mr. Kors, the American fashion designer, had good reason to celebrate. In the face of a tepid stock market, his company had a successful initial public offering. Its shares opened at $25, up 25 percent from their $20 offering price, and closed at $24.20. The I.P.O. raised $944 million.

All of the I.P.O. proceeds went to Mr. Kors and other selling shareholders. The company itself did not raise any money in the offering.

Mr. Kors, 52, perhaps best known for his role as a judge on the fashion reality show “Project Runway,” sold about $117 million worth of stock on the deal, and maintains an 8.6 percent stake that is worth some $400 million.

The biggest winners are Mr. Stroll and Mr. Chou, who cashed in about $520 million worth of their holding company’s shares and still own about 35 percent of the business, a position worth about $1.7 billion.

At its current stock price, Kors, the business, is worth about $4.6 billion.

The company, which was founded in 1981 and is based in Hong Kong, is one of the world’s fastest-growing retailers. Its profits nearly doubled in its most recent fiscal year, which ended April 2, over the previous one, and its sales increased by about 60 percent.

Though Mr. Kors continues to design his signature couture collection, most of the company’s growth has come from an “affordable luxury” line that sells less expensive purses and clothes at department stores like Dillard’s and Macy’s.

Industry analysts have questioned whether Kors can continue to expand without weakening its brand. In that regard, Kors hopes to replicate how the designer Ralph Lauren has brought his designs down market without tarnishing his label’s prestige.

Though Internet businesses like Groupon and Zynga have been the primary focus of the I.P.O. market in the last year, several high-profile apparel companies have also sold shares to the public. The Kors offering follows stock sales over the summer by the European fashion houses Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo.

(view original source)

Women’s Designer of the Year: Rodarte.

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CFDA Finale

Oh, hello. Back for the Swarovski young designer awards.

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CFDA: ‘One Outfit at a Time’ (zzzzz)

For accessories: Proenza Schouler. The first Popular Vote Award: Ralph Lauren (in tuxedo jacket and jeans). Men’s wear designer: Scott Sternberg and Italo Zucchelli, a tie

Originally posted here:
And the Winners Are…

Marc Jacobs and his business partner Robert Duffy are sitting in the row in front of me, with folks from Vogue in front of them. Tracey Ullman has just come on the stage, saluting Diane Von Furstenberg and Michelle Obama.

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At the CFDA Awards

Invest when we’re awash in debt? My husband says yes!

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Modern Love: When Bliss Is a Mutual Fund

A man who calls himself the Human Carpet has become an occasional sight around New York’s bar and club scene and a fixture at sexual fetish parties.

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Bartender, Make It a Stiletto

This week, answers to readers’ questions about telling a friend to stop her sob story, when a money promise falls short and other issues.

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Social Q’s: There’s Woeful, but Whoa!

A father who once felt a religious vocation joins his churchgoing son.

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Generation B: A Child Turns to the Fold

Courtesy of Celine Looks from the new Céline collection. Yesterday, Phoebe Philo showed reporters and retailers a selection of clothes and accessories that will begin arriving in Celine stores in late November…

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The New Celine

Suddenly round sunglasses are the look of the summer…

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Why Round Sunglasses? A Style Investigation