Prada Opens Nightclub “Double Club” in London

The visionary fashion designer Prada’s art foundation, the Fondazione Prada, opened its first nightclub called the Double Club in London last week. German artist Carsten Höller conceived the space which includes a bar, a restaurant and a dance club as each of these is divided into Western and Congolese areas which also showcases artwork. Höller wanted to design a space about the coexistence the Congo, which is one of his passions, and the West and he does exactly that by showcasting food, music and art from both cultures.

“In the dance club, the DJ plays alternately Congolese and Western music on a circular dance floor which slowly revolves at about one turn per hour. When the DJ is in the Western part of the room, ‘Western’ music is played, while as coming into the Congolese part it will switch into Congolese Rumba, Wenge or Ndombolo.”

British Vogue describes the club as “a stroke of nightclubbing genius.” Whether it is the rotating dance floor or the art including an Andy Warhol piece, the Double Club is a definite successful collaboration between Prada’s award winning foundation and artist Carsten Höller. Double Club is located at 7 Torrens Street, London EC1V 1NQ and you can also visit its official website at http://www.thedoubleclub.co.uk/.

Christian Dior Luxury Spa in Paris

Christian Dior opened its first spa, Dior Institut, at the Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris (you can see the spa in the photo on the left.) The spa’s grand opening was by none other than Monica Belucci and the spa offers five luxurious treatment rooms in its large 2,900 square foot space. It offers many massage and beauty treatments and techniques for the face and body using the brand’s skincare products. “We want to help more of our clients to associate Dior with skincare, as well as with clothes and fragrances,” said Dior’s skincare director, Louis de Saint Michel to WWD. For all of us not in Paris right now, not to worry as Dior has plans to open similar institutes in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Milan and Seoul.

The Hotel Plaza Athénée is situated in Paris’ fashion “golden triangle” and it is 300 m from the Pont de l’Alma. The entry of the Hotel is on a wide street shaded by chestnut trees, exactly like stepping into the world of your most romantic dreams of a Parisien love novel. The Plaza is the haute couture of luxurious hotels worlwide and its impressive decor with large crystal chandeliers designed in Regency and Louis XV and XVI style and elegant suites overlooking the Eiffel Tower are just some of its many beauties. You may also recognize this Hotel as the setting for the last two episodes of Sex and the City, when Carrie went to Paris, and also for films such as The Devil Wears Prada and Something’s Gotta Give.

Spring 2009: The Most Dangerous Shoes

The runways are a scary place especially when it comes to the dangerously high heels, which seem to be more torturous than fashionably beautiful. The shoes can be either way too high or way too uncomfortable and combined with the runway experiments like a sandy runway or the plain extremely slippery ones, we get a horrifying combination of the hazardous runway shows.

This year, many models tripped during the shows of Rodarte, Pucci and who can forget Prada. And many more models stumbled at Dolce & Gabbana and BCBG and many others were petrified during Basso & Brooke, Marni, Gucci, Aminaka Wilmont and Christian Dior but miraculously survived. In any case, I think designers should start paying attention to this much more. It is one thing to bring fantasy and temptatious footwear to the runway, it is another to have models visibly scared, trembling or falling on the runway, there by distracting the audience from the clothes since the audience is merely too worried about the poor girls on the runway.

Below are some of the most horrifying, including the toe-less/sole-less shoes by Aminaka Wilmont, as well as Prada, Rodarte, Marni and Basso & Brooke in that order from left to right!

Dangerous Footwear: Models Fall at Prada Show

Well, I guess I wasn’t the only one who could not concentrate on the Prada Spring 2009 show because of the intense fear that the models would permanently injure themselves. Many critics cited the extreme footwear as a “giant distraction from the clothes.” Two models actually fell on the runway and many more stumbled. According to Prada, the hazardous shoes would slippery because the models wore them with socks. Just because of the socks?

One of the models says to Telegraph newspaper, “I was having a panic attack, my hands were shaking. The heels were so high. Some of the girls were crying backstage they were so scared.” Poor models!

But a big applause goes to all of them, especially the ones that fell and then got back on their feet with their heads held high. Below is a short video of one of the girls falling.

* Model falls at Prada Show Spring 2009

Milan Spring 2009: Prada

“It was primitivism,” said Miuccia Prada after her Spring 2009 collection show. According to her, the pieces from this collection actually exist in the female subconscious. Bras, skirts and aprons were creatively made to fit and even though it may have seen like a mess, looking closer one would realize that the collection is surprising wearable. Pencil skirts paired with loose scoop-neck tanks were very chic and it was the perfect way to prove that simple and easy is just as sexy; primitive and raw sexy. “These are the basic staples in a woman’s life,” Prada says. Well, the clothes may have been basic, although there was nothing basic about the elegant Italian fabrics, but the shoes were centuries away from anything “basic.” “Those were fantasy,” Miuccia continues. Well, fantasy or not, I could not concentrate much on the collection as my heart was beating so fast being afraid that one of the models would fall and injure herself. Touch, enjoy and even dream about them but beware as this shoe fantasy is not for wear. However, you cannot deny that Prada’s look into the female subconscious is a success story; practicality and dangerous footwear are a definite female combo desire, regardless of their opposing nature.

* Prada Milan Spring 2009

Prada’s “Fallen Shadows” Film for Fall/Winter 2008-2009

Following the short animation film “Trembled Blossoms,” Prada produces another film to introduce its Fall/Winter 2008-2009 collection called “Fallen Shadows.” Created and directed by the visual effects master James Lima, “Fallen Shadows” follows a woman and her shadow on a journey through Italy referencing the artworks of Buñuel, Dali, Duchamp, and Escher.

“The Shadow is more alive and expressive than the woman,” says director James Lima. “She is the sub-conscience, the dream, the soul, and it is the journey of self-discovery with the sensations of the city that confronts her…and us.”

The animation features the charming and heartfelt music and lyrics by Antony and the Johnsons’ song The Great White Ocean. Both the woman and her shadow are dressed in the all-black lace Prada dress which is gorgeously stunning and perfectly suits the shadowy atmosphere of the film. Fallen Shadows is abstract, sad, inspiring, may be even confusing at times but it is absolutely beautiful.

Click on the link below to enjoy the short film.

Prada \”Fallen Shadows\”

Anne Hathaway Opens Up About Arrested Ex-Boyfriend

The Italian business man who dated actress Anne Hathaway, Raffaello Follieri, was arrested and plead guilty to fraud as he is sentenced to four years in jail. As we open up the pages of W Magazine to look at the graceful photo shots of Anne Hathaway, the “Devil Wears Prada” star opens up about her arrested ex-boyfriend.

Maintaining professionalism after her break-up with Raffaello and his shocking arrest was no choice for Anne. “Right now I don’t have the wherewithal to be anything except professional. As soon as I found out about the arrest, I had to get on a plane to Mexico to do a press tour for Get Smart. And then I spent a week in shock at a friend’s house. And then I had to go back and do more press, and I haven’t stopped since. At different stages of my life, I’ve felt I’ve been two ages simultaneously. I’d be a professional working adult and also a typical 13-year-old. Right now I have the distinct feeling that I’m two ages again, and the older part of me that I relied on many times in the past in difficult moments, that’s the part that got me here today. That’s the part that says, ‘You do your job, you keep your head up.’”

When Anne had to move out of her shared apartment with Rafaello, it was not easy by any means as any relationship ending is sad and hard especially if you are looking for a new place to live. “I have to find a place to live…It’s a situation where the rug was pulled out from under me all of a sudden.” With the help of her friends, Anne was able to stay positive and get through this tough period. “One [friend] said, ‘Go stay at my house.’ And Steve Carell [her Get Smart costar] stepped up for me during an interview when someone asked a question [about it]. He said, ‘At some point you’re going to have to talk about this time in your life. You don’t have to do it this week. I’ll take care of anything that comes your way.’ I’ve been shown such kindness. Not everyone gets that. A lot of people go through tough times alone.”

The sweetheart actress needs time to recover, so taking a break from her career is a decision she has to take. “I was up in Nyack [New York] the other night visiting Jonathan [Demme] and his family. They all had so much going on. And I just started to cry because I thought, I don’t have a life right now. And I haven’t for some time, and I just haven’t noticed. In the fall I’ll start focusing again. But right now I need to be me for a little bit.”