Plenty of “reality” competitions are filmed in New York City, but now the city is producing one of its own. To help draw more young fashion designers to the Big Apple, the city has taken a page from Project Runway and created the Project Pop-Up project.

The Big Apple is putting up $175,000 to sponsor an annual competition that will give the winner pop-up shops in Manhattan to sell his or her wares. The whole thing was dreamed up the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) in partnership with a trio of fashion-industry bigwigs: designer Diane von Furstenberg, who is also president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America; Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren; and Theory CEO Andrew Rosen.Continue reading...

This week in New York, Italian fashion icon Valentino Garavani unveiled a first-of-its-kind virtual museum at the Museum of Modern Art. An ode to the designer's iconic fashion design, it's the world's first virtual fashion museum.

The launch event was live-streamed on YouTube and featured a maniacally enthusiastic Anne Hathaway as host. Presenters included Valentino, his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti, Google Art Project’s creator Amit Sood, and Italian Vogue editor-in-chief, Franca Sozzani. A sleepy-looking Hugh Jackman jumped on stage for the virtual “ribbon cutting.”

Giancarlo explained that the 3D museum was originally conceived as “an idea space." Google Art Projects, which had been working on virtual museums for the National Gallery, MoMA, Uffizi, Tate Britain, and France's Palace of Versailles, became involved after Valentino reached out with his initial ideas.Continue reading...

The city of New York put a heap of effort a few years a back into trying to get a stadium built on its west side over rail yards, but the effort went totally in vain. Now, finally, someone is moving in.

Coach, Inc., the leather-goods manufacturer, will be lugging its handbags and accessories just a few blocks from its current global headquarters to the new place when it is finally constructed, according to Bloomberg. Building is scheduled to get underway in the middle of next year.

Coach will fill the bottom 600,000 square feet of the 1.7 million square feet in the 51-story building and sit at the north end of The High Line, NYC's uber-cool elevated greenway constructed over a former freight train line in 2009.Continue reading...

The creative director for Chanel and Fendi is taking his solo act to the Web.

With backing by Apax Partners, Karl Lagerfeld is launching "Karl," described as a "rock chic" diffusion line (priced at $85 to $400, reports AFP) as an online-only collection. The fashion e-tailer net-a-porter will sell the line exclusively starting January 25th before it goes on sale in February at KarlLagerfeld.com.

Lagerfeld, who dipped his well-shod foot into the masstige business with affordable streetwear collections for H&M (a collaboration that didn't end well) and Macy's, also has a second signature collection in the works.

According to Reuters, "Lagerfeld, 78, is also planning to launch in autumn 2012 a more upmarket label called "Karl Lagerfeld Paris", [to be] sold in multi-brand and department stores, with items priced between 300 and 2,000 euros."Continue reading...

There's a growing market for plus-size fashion among sophisticated fashionistas.

In response, The Limited is launching eloquii, a new line for fans of the Limited brand who want “a clothing line that celebrates your sense of style, respects your curves and offers uncompromising fit and quality.”

Launching Oct. 19 (according to its Twitter feed) and online-only (for now), eloquii is "fashion that loves you back," as seen in the promo above. Other retailers are stepping up, too — including Lane Bryant, the plus-size fashion retailer that puts the sexy in plus-size fashion.Continue reading...

Gap is turning to storytelling in its new global campaign, promoting its 1969 premium denim collection with "real people" (to start with, the team behind the collection, at its Los Angeles denim studio) and some other local touches, including tapping into the mobile truck craze and even featuring the studio's resident dog.

The first major campaign by the brand's new CMO, former Ogilvy exec Seth Farbman, the "1969: L.A. and Beyond" campaign aims to tell "the story of its 1969 fall collection from the inside out. Starting with the personalities behind the denim, 1969: L.A. and Beyond gives a transparent look at the designers and how they come together each day to create the latest in denim fits, fabrics and washes. Taking it from the studio to the real world, the campaign also shows how the denim comes to life in various cities by the people who wear it."Continue reading...

You may think the heat is from your workout, but it may be from the energy that brands are suddenly putting into creating attractive workout clothes for women.

The Los Angeles Times, in an article reviewing women's fitness apparel brands, points out that women who are active generally fall into a very desirable demographic: “female, relatively young, fashion-forward and willing to spend money.”

“We are hungry to win this girl over,” commented Adrienne Lofton Shaw, a marketing director at Under Armour, which has stepped up its focus on women, recently expanded into yoga-wear and, for next year, is redesigning its underwear and sports bras, according to Times. Other brands shaping up to woo the emerging woman warrior demographic?Continue reading...

Earlier this year Esquire announced the launch of their own e-commerce site, Clad, which will sell men’s clothing and accessories.  Clad, they propose, will bridge the gap between lifestyle recommendations and the customer shopping experience.  Come August, this newest luxury-shopping portal will be live for style-hungry men everywhere.

The site works with JCPenney and will function so that seasonal sales and editors’ picks align with the topics in new issues of the magazine. It also boasts one-click whole outfit purchasing, advanced feature to help you find the perfect fit, and free shipping! But don’t be fooled, Esquire is not revolutionizing the way we buy clothes online. It is just the latest in a slew of editorial e-commerce partnerships.Continue reading...