Sole Searching With Christian Louboutin

Every woman who has donned a sexy pair of Louboutin heels and every man who has admired her choice of footwear knows of the strong seductive power and passion a pair of red bottoms can induce. Christian Louboutin, the man who redefined shoes and transformed them into a symbol of glamour, status and eroticism has teamed up with publishing house Rizzoli to capture the world of Louboutin into a hardcover book, Christian Louboutin, which will be released this October.

The extravagant volume that is just as heavenly as one of Louboutin’s creations, features a five piece fold-out cover, binding made out of faux pink leather, a magical interior pop-up and gilded pages. Five chapters —A Life; The Shoes; Fetish; The Places; and Twenty Years—chronicle the designer’s background, inspirations and fantasies through direct narrative from the designer, candid images as well as vivid still life photos of Louboutin’s most iconic heels by famed photographers David Lynch and Philippe Garcia.

The reader gets a chance to learn the history and manifestation through anecdotes
on selected styles. From the classic Pigalle shoe from the Fall/Winter 2004
collection which was inspired by the arch of a dancers foot to the Maralena shoes
via the Fall/Winter 2010 collection, a transparent peep toe pump encrusted with
blue glitter and Swarovski crystals which was inspired by the transparent showgirl
costumes of Marlene Dietrich there is a story behind each coveted red lacquered
heel and it is a delight to uncover each tale.


The pages are filled with candid photos of the designer, his shoes, the factory just
outside of Milan and photos of iconic women including Dita Von Teese and Diane
Von Furstenberg, posing next to the shoes that were created in their honor and
likeness.

The last chapter concludes the volume with a catalogue of 20 years of Christian
Louboutin's collections. This book is a must have in your fashion library, a great gift
for a shoe lover and a great way to indulge in your in your shoe fetish.

Savage Beauty

On February 12, 2010, the fashion world stopped turning after news spread quietly that the legendary designer Alexander McQueen was found dead in his home in England. A little more than a year later, the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York City is resurrecting the heart and soul of McQueen through a dramatic and spectacular exhibit, ”Savage Beauty” which captures the unparalleled world of McQueen.

The exclusive exhibition which will run through August 7th is curated by Andrew Bolton of The Costume Institute who expresses that "the title 'Savage Beauty" very much epitomizes the contrasting opposites in McQueen's work. Polarized opposites, whether it's to do with life or death, lightness or darkness, predator/prey, man/machine."

The chilling exhibit is broken up into six galleries each with its own theme inspired by the different reoccurring themes McQueen explored throughout his career in fashion from his deep interest in fine arts to exotic inspiration from India and Japan.

The exhibition begins with the "Romantic Gothic" gallery that was designed to reflect the raw concrete decor of McQueen's first Atelier in Hoxton Square, where McQueen established his house and ends with the Plato's Atlantis gallery which features the last collection McQueen designed before his death in February 2010.

McQueen's sartorial expertise and dark poetic mind is captured not only through his one-of-a-kind fashions but through haunting suspended videos, two-way mirrors, low-lighting and rotating mannequins and quotes from the designer himself. One feels as though they have stepped into the world of McQueen where viewers are able to not only explore the thought processes and ideas behind McQueen's creations but also do introspective on their own sartorial inspirations.

For those of you who cannot make it to the groundbreaking exhibit can experience it through this exclusive video produced by The Met. (http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/about/)

ELIE SAAB Le Parfum

The visionary Lebanese couturier Elie Saab has decided to put the splendor
and femininity of his stunning gowns into a bottle. ELIE SAAB Le Parfum,
is the designer's first foray into fragrances, created in partnership with Beauté
Prestige International, the Paris-based subsidiary of Shiseido Co. Ltd.

Born in Beirut in 1964 to a family with absolutely no connections in the
fashion industry, Saab dreamt of escaping to fantastical faraway lands. He
was barely nine-years-old when he created his first dress for his younger
sister. At 18, the prodigious designer opened his own couture house which
employed more than a dozen seamstresses. Following his first Beirut fashion
show, the country's "golden boy" won over affluent Middle Eastern clientele
ranging from socialites to royalty who became his faithful followers. Today,
his eminence in fashion spreads from Beirut to Los Angeles via Paris’s
Golden Triangle where he is now based. He invites all women who dream of
wearing an Elie Saab creation to discover ELIE SAAB Le Parfum.Created by world-renowned perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, ELIE SAAB
Le Parfum is based on a floral, solar, woody theme. Known for his deep
interest in design and architecture, Saab conceptualized a glass bottle with a
simple yet elegant shape that played on light, brilliance, and transparency. “I
wanted something simple. Straight lines, the rigor of a cube, and the
sensation of an object made to be held in the hand, but with the density
of beautiful objects.” says Saab. “And as always, light as the overarching
theme. For me, light is eternal strength.”

The collection will be available this September at fine department stores
worldwide.