Christian Dior (January 21, 1905 – October 24, 1957), was an influential French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world’s top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior. He was born in Granville, Normandy, a seaside town on the coast of France.

Acceding to his parents’ wishes, Dior attended the Ecole des Sciences Politiques from 1920 to 1925. The family, whose fortune was derived from the manufacture of fertilizer, had hopes he would become a diplomat, but Dior only wished to be involved in the arts, mostly fashion, but sketching as well. To make money, he sold his fashion sketches on the streets for about 10 cents for each. After leaving school he received money from his father so that in 1928 he could open a small art gallery, where he sold art by the likes of Pablo Picasso.

After a family disaster that resulted in his father losing his business, Dior was forced to close the gallery. From 1937-1939 he worked with Robert Piguet until being called up for military service. In 1942, having left the Army, Dior joined the fashion house of Lucien Lelong where he and Pierre Balmain were the primary designers. For the duration of World War II, Christian Dior dressed the wives of the Nazi officers and French collaborators. On 8 October 1946 Dior founded his own fashion house, backed by Marcel Boussac, the cotton-fabric magnate.

The actual name of the line of his first collection, presented in early 1947, was Corolle (roughly Petal in French), but the phrase New look was coined for it by Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar. Dior’s designs were more voluptuous than the boxy, fabric-conserving shapes of the recent World War II styles, influenced by the rations of fabric. He was a master at creating shapes and silhouettes; Dior is quoted as saying ‘ I have designed flower women.’ His look employed fabrics lined predominantly with percale, boned bustier-style bodices, hip padding, wasp-waisted corsets and petticoats that made his dresses flare out from the waist, giving his models a very curvaceous form. The hem of the skirt was very flattering on the calves and ankles, creating a beautiful silhouette. Initially, women protested because his designs covered up their legs, which they had been unused to in a Paris market, the models were attacked by female vendors over the profligacy of their dresses-but opposition ceased as the wartime shortages ended. The New Look revolutionized women’s dress and reestablished Paris as the center of the fashion world after World War II.

Dior died while on holiday in Montecatini, Italy. Some reports day that he died of a heart attack after chocking on a fish bone.

Reference points for Dior’s pre-fall collection included Helmut Newton and Alfred Hitchcock, both men who idealized icy blondes.

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Agent Provocateur was founded by Joseph Corre and Serena Rees. Corre is the son of British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Sex Pistols’ ex-manager, Malcolm McLaren. Corre was awarded the MBE for his services to the fashion industry in the Queen’s Brithday Honours list. However, he controversially rejected the honour in protest of outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair’s actions regarding Iraq and Civil Liberties.

Lingerie by Agent Provocateur has become popular with celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Christina Aguilera and Carmen Electra.

Watch the Agent Provocateur Miami Show here!

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Although best known for its high-end denim wear, Rock & Republic’s features clothing lines for men, women and children, including maternity wear, women’s shoes and recent introductions of eye wear and handbags.

The company sponsors a professional cycling team named Rock Racing, which is noted for its constantly changing team kit as well as its Cadillac Escalade team car.

Rock & Republic means edgy, progressive design inspired by Rock & Roll.

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Badgley Mischka’s looks are described as ‘red-carpet-destined evening wear’ but generally produced with lighter fabrics and less construction. They are also known for fragrance, handbags, shoes and eyewear.

Badgley Mischka is also responsible for designing the second wedding dress worn by Kristin Davis as Charlotte York on Sex in the City.

About the Fall ’09 collection James Mischka said: “We just did pretty clothes that people want to wear”.

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In 1945, with the war over, designers were casting about for a way to revive the infatuation women had formerly had with haute couture, while raising money for war relief. Robert Ricci had an idea which Lucien Lelong, President of the Chambre, put into action.  Over 150 mannequins from 40 Paris couturiers, including Balenciaga and Madama Gres, were dressed in the labels’ best fashions and were placed in an exhibition held at the Louvre, in Paris. After a huge success in Paris it toured Europe and then the USA.

In 1946 Robert created his first fragrance, Coeur Joie. In 1948 Robert came up with another fragrance, L’ Air du Temps, the brand’s most popular fragrance, which continues to be a top seller today. Several Flight Attendant uniforms were designed by the Nina Ricci brand. Nina Ricci is also a pioneer of licensing their designs before the rise of Ready-to-wear. As early as 1960, they started licensing their patterns to upscale boutiques such as Chez Ninon in New York and Betty Charnuis in Hong Kong for ‘ line-to-line’ reproduction.

By the early 50s Nina Ricci was nearing 70 and she slowly she ceased to take an active rol in design, choosing to just keep an eye on the house. Her son chose the new head designer in 1954, the Belgian Jules-Francois Crahay.

Crahay left Ricci in 1963 to go to Lanvin, and was immediately replaced by Gerard Pipart, who had worked at Balmain, Fath and Jean Patou prior to his new job. He continued to carry on the name of Ricci with beautiful and elegant dresses. After Maria Ricci’s death in 1970, Crahay was appointed head of the house.

Robert continued to excel in perfumery and business until his death in 1988. Massimo Guissain’s family purchased the house of Nina Ricci in 1998 from Crahay. Massimo Guissain worked as a designer, but Nathalie Gervais had been the chief designer for the house for several years. She presented her last collection in Fall 2001. In May 2002 American designer James Aguiar took over as chief designer and designed for the House of Ricci for two seasons.

For the Fall ’09 collection, designer Olivier Theyskens thought of ‘a nocturnal mood’. Backstage at the fashion week in Paris he said: ‘I was looking for something moonlit – a bit magical.’

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Born in Taiwan, Wu moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at age 9 and attended Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Massachusetts and Loomis Chaffee, in Connecticut. He learned how to sew by designing and sewing for dolls, and went on to study sculpture in Tokyo. He enrolled in Parsons The New School for Design for college. At age 16, Wu began to make freelance doll clothing designs for toy company integrity Toys under the lines ‘ Jason Wu dolls’ and later ‘ Fashion Royalty’. When he turned 17, he was named creative director of Integrity Toys. He decided to become a fashion designer while spending his senior year of high school in Paris, and later interned with Narciso Rodriguez.

Wu launched his ready to wear line of clothes with earnings form his years of doll designs. His first full collection debuted in 2006 and won the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star award in 2008. In 2008 he was nominated for the Vogue Fashion Fund award. Bruce Weber shot the designer for Wmagazine’s ‘ Summer Camp’ portfolio last July.

Wu’s early clients included Ivana Trump, January Jones, and Amber Valletta. He also worked extensively with drag queen RuPaul.

Jason Wu’s life changed overnight when Michelle Obama wore the 26-year-old designer’s one-shoulder organza-embroidered white chiffon gown to the inaugural balls.

For his Fall ’09 collection Wu said he was inspired by fairy tales, particularly a book of illustrations by Arthur Rackham that he had as a child. his focus, now more than ever, was dresses.

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Designer Karl Lagerfeld’s tagged the Fall ’09 collection ‘Belle Brummel’, a gender-reassigned quip referring to the British Regency dandy who dictated men’s fashion by tying his cravats in ever more elaborate configurations.

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Roberto Cavalli likes innovations and experimentations and likes to push technique to the limit. In the early 1970s, he invented and patented a revolutionary printing procedure on leather, and started creating patchworks of different materials. He debuted these techniques in Paris, immediately getting commissions from the likes of Hermes and Pierre Cardin. At the age of thirty, he presented his first namesake collection at the Salon for Prêt-à-Porter in Paris. He brought it to the catwalks of the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and later on those of Milano Collezioni jeans made of printed denim, intarsia leathers, brocade and wild prints. He then opened his first boutigque in 1972 in Saint-Tropez.

In 1980 Roberto Cavalli married Eva Duringer, who has been his lifelong companion and business partner. In Milan in 1994 Cavalli presented the first sand-blasted jeans. By December of the same year, he had opened boutiques in Saint Barth, in the French Carribean; and then in Venice and Saint-Tropez. Besides the main line, which is sold in over fifty countries worldwide, Roberto Cavalli designs RC Menswear as well as the youth aimed line Just Cavalli, launched in 1998 and comprising today men’s wear, women’s wear and accessoires, eyewear, watches, perfumes, underwear and beachwear. There is also the angels & Devils Children Collection, The Class line, two underwear collections, shoes, eyewear, watches and perfumes. In 2002 Cavalli opened his first cafe-sort in Florence, revamping it with his signature animal prints. This was shortly followed by the opening in Milan of the Just Cavalli cafe at Torre Branca and another boutique on Via Spiga.

Roberto Cavalli creates his vibrant patterns by using the most advanced technologies, but he gets his inspiration from nature as his predilection for animal prints and jungle and flower motifs testifies.

Cavalli lives with his wife Eva and their children in a villa on the hills surrounding Florence. He spends summers on their 41-metre yacht, which was specially made by Cantieri Baglietto and awarded with the Yacht Capital award in 2004.

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For the Fall 2009 collection, black seems to be the primary color, in textures like shearling, industrial weave, flannel and Duckie’s ‘Black Rubber Carpenter Trouser’, and oversized ‘ Blanket Scarves’ can double as a cozy comforter.

Duckie Brown regularly shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in NYC’s Bryant Park.

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Gwen Renee Stefani (born October 3, 1969) is an American recording artist and fashion designer. Stefani served as lead vocalist for the rock band No Doubt but scored recent solo hits.

Before fame & fortune became a reality for Stefani, she was crafting her own costumes to wear on stage. Touring with her debut band, No Doubt, in the 90′s, Stefani didn’t have a lot of money, so she improvised her style. In the early days of DIY, Gwen Stefani altered t-shirts and enlisted the help of a glue gun to add bling and give her stage outfits a completely original look. In the end, she sparked a hot trend of wristbands and mid-drift tank tops that she put together and modeled herself.

These days, Gwen Stefani is not only a successful performer, but also a respected fashion designer. Her L.A.M.B. collection is sold in department stores all over the world. ‘L.A.M.B.’ is named after Love, Angel, Music and Baby; four women who are Stefani’s backup dancers and represent the Harajuku fashion subculture of Tokyo Japan.

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