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Celebrity Design

Estelle Designs Capsule Collection For Rachel Roy

Singer Estelle is the latest star to turn celebrity jewelry designer. She is working with Rachel Roy on a capsule collection for the Rachel Rachel Roy brand. The collection includes necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings available for sale beginning March 2010. Before the full release of the collection, fans of Rachel Roy's Facebook page will have an opportunity to be the first to shop an edited version of the collection, including a petal ring that is exclusive to Facebook and will not be available as part of the full collection. The Facebook pop-up store runs from now until 6pm EST on February 11th.

Both Rachel and Estelle are fans of costume jewelry and the pieces are priced from $34 to $195 and will be available at select Macy's and online at www.macys.com and www.rachelroy.com. Estelle is scheduled to be at Macy's Herald Square in New York City on April 1st for a special performance to support the collaboration. Check out a video of the two chronicling the design of the collection after the jump.

Scarlett Johansson Designs Handbag for Haiti Relief

Scarlett Johansson Designs Handbag for Haiti ReliefScarlett Johansson is the new face of Mango and has helped design an exclusive handbag to go on sale in more than 1,390 Mango stores worldwide in March. All profits from the Haiti Handbag will be donated to Oxfam's Haiti Earthquake Response Fund.

The tote is emblazoned with an ancient map of the Caribbean country, with the message "Supporting the People of Haiti" written and signed by Johansson.

"I'm thrilled to be collaborating with Mango to benefit Oxfam. By purchasing this bag, you're helping to provide life-saving assistance, like clean water, to the people of Haiti," Johansson said. Recently Johansson auctioned an evening of her company to four fans to help benefit the relief effort as well.

The Haiti Handbag will retail for £16.90 (about $26.50 USD).


Dita Von Teese Helps You Get Some Shut Eye

Need a flirty, feminine gift for your Valentine? Dita Von Teese has got you covered. The burlesque star has created a sleeping mask for Moschino. Dita's mask is done in pink silk-satin and embellished with rhinestones, feathers and lace with "trompe l'oeil" eyelash detailing. It comes in a matching case. The mask sells for $130 and profits will be donated to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research and HIV prevention.

[via Stylelist]

Emma Watson Designs Ethical Fashion Collection

Actress Emma Watson may model for Burberry but she also has been doing a bit of designing too. The Harry Potter star has created a line of fair trade clothing for People Tree, an ethical fashion company. The People Tree, Love Emma line includes jackets, t-shirts, accessories and more for both men and women. The items are fair trade and use organic cotton. People Tree works with 50 fair trade groups in 15 countries and all clothes are dyed using safe and natural dyes. Products are available online and in a variety of stockists around London.

[via Vogue UK]

The $10,000 Proposal Martini


One of the signs that Spring must be just around the corner is not just that the days start to get longer, but that wedding and proposal specials start to proliferate. Many men must feel a lot of pressure to not only pick the right diamond engagement ring but to propose in such a manner that their fiance will have a great story to tell all of her friends, not to mention her mother. Some people are just naturally creative and others need a little bit of help and inspiration.

The Algonquin Hotel in New York City is prepared to help the creatively impaired, offering what is possibly the most expensive martini ever. The Grey Goose $10,000 proposal cocktail comes with a one-of-a-kind diamond ring placed in the glass. This specialty cocktail is served by a white gloved waiter in a crystal glass on a silver platter in the hotel's famous Blue Bar. The hotel arranges for clients to work one on one with a private jeweler to customize the engagement ring picking carat size, number of stones and the setting. The hotel needs at least 72 hours notice to set up this arrangement.

The hotel opened in 1902 and has long been famous for being the center of the city's literary and theatrical circles. If your intended is a big reader she might get a kick out of being proposed to in the same room where literary geniuses such as William Faulkner, Sinclair Lewis, and Derek Walcott spent their time.

As an aside, should the love of your life be more into spending time at the mall than the local library, Ivanka Trump is serving up a different offer at her Bridal Bar. Any diamond engagement ring bought comes with the "New York Proposal" package featuring a free night at one of the Trump Hotel Collection properties in New York City. The package also comes with complimentary long stemmed roses, champagne, dinner at the famed Jean Georges restaurant as well as breakfast in bed the next morning.

Paris Hilton Sells Sunglasses


Sunglasses are as much a part of Paris Hilton's look as her blonde hair and tan so it's no surprise that the socialite has come out with the Paris Hilton Sunglasses Collection. The line is done through Gripping Eyewear Inc. and features designs in 12 styles with three to four color variations coordinated with fashionable lens wraps and magnetic visor clips. Paris Hilton was involved in the collection's development and worked with the designers. The sunglasses have magnets on the temples that allow the glasses to be secured to almost any metal surface and to Paris Hilton visor clips, eyewear stands and retail displays. The magnetic clips will attach to a car visor. Selected styles of the sunglasses are on sale at Kitson for $150 each.

Rachel Bilson Designs For The Diamond Empowerment Fund

Last December Rachel Bilson traveled to Botswana and South Africa to see the work being done by Russell Simmons' Diamond Empowerment Fund. Now the actress has created a new bracelet to benefit the cause. The leather bracelet features a 1/6 carat diamond in an Everlon Diamond Knot setting (the latest design from De Beers). The round-cut diamond is set in 14k gold over sterling silver. The bracelet sells for $100 at Macy's and $20 from each sale goes to the Diamond Empowerment Fund to support the education and empowerment of African people.

The Diamond Empowerment Fund was founded in 2007 and first raised money with the selling of a malachite bracelet crowned with a rough diamond. The non-profit international organization raises money to support education initiatives that include the fund's first project, the CIDA City Campus, located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The four-year school educates students and sends them back to the townships as teachers. It offers liberal arts education and business classes and the students do all the work at the school except teaching. Profits from Bilson's bracelet will help purchase additional student housing for the campus.

[via In Style]

Ivanka Trump Is Getting Into The Shoe Biz

Her father has ties, suits and watches with his name on them but Ivanka Trump might be the first Trump with her own shoe deal. WWD reports that the new bride has a deal on a contemporary footwear line with Marc Fisher Footwear. Ivanka Trump already has her own jewelry line and is said to be looking for other licensing opportunities for other accessories and clothing. In the past she has namechecked Christian Louboutin as a favorite shoe designer so that might give some clue as to what her shoes may look like. Expect ladylike pumps suitable for work and heels for nights out on the town.

Heidi Klum Launching Two Maternity Lines

Heidi Klum Launching Two Maternity LinesHeidi Klum -- model, mother of four, and Project Runway host -- is adding "designer" to her list of titles. Next month Klum will launch two maternity collections exclusively for A Pea in the Pod and Motherhood Maternity. The lines, called Lavish and Loved respectively, will debut on February 12.

"I chose to call my collection for A Pea in the Pod 'Lavish' because there is no grander name to express everything you want to give yourself and the child growing within you," Klum said in a statement. "For Motherhood Maternity, 'Loved' is a celebration of new life and the love around you and your baby.

"I experienced fashion challenges during my four pregnancies and combined my knowledge of what works in terms of style, comfort and practicality to create these lines," she said. "They are all about making you feel beautiful. Being pregnant shouldn't stop you from being fashionable and feeling great about your changing body. It's an exciting journey."

Lavish will include 15 pieces that feature "iconic style and detailed construction," and Loved will feature 14 pieces that "present comfort, playfulness, and supermodel style" at a lower price point.

[Via US Weekly]

Lindsay Lohan Jumping Back Into Fashion Design

Lindsay Lohan Jumping Back Into Fashion DesignDespite (or maybe in spite of) being slammed in the fall for her Ungaro fashion collection, sometime actress and more often tabloid fodder Lindsay Lohan plans to get it together in 2010 and keep on designing. WWD reported that Lohan is set to expand her leggings label, 6126, to a full-fledged contemporary apparel line for fall 2010, with more lifestyle brand extensions planned for 2011. This will be in addition to her role as artistic adviser at Ungaro.

Kristi Kaylor, principal in 6126 LLC in Beverly Hills, and Henri Levy, chief executive officer of Los Angeles' DNAM Apparel, which will manufacture the line under license, spoke exclusively to WWD about the expansion: "We've had amazing success with the leggings line," said Kaylor. "We have a great business with Neiman Marcus and several hundred great specialty stores. [DNAM Apparel] was the perfect partner to work with 6126 and grow it as a lifestyle brand. We're launching the full clothing collection next year, and a cosmetics line, handbags, shoes, jewelry in spring 2011."

The fall 2010 apparel line will comprise 100 pieces (spring 2011 will be 150) wholesaling from $18 for basic leggings to $300 for a leather jacket. Average retail price points will fall between $100 and $150. The 6126 leggings currently retail from $68 to $120. Fabrics will include the same Modal and lace used in the leggings, plus cashmere and leather.

The line will retail where the leggings currently sell: Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Nordstrom and specialty stores nationwide, plus Harrods, Lane Crawford, Kitson Japan and Isetan internationally.

Lisa Loeb's Classique Eyewear Collection

Singer Lisa Loeb made it kind of cool to wear chunky glasses, and they became her signature look. Now she's joined with Classique Eyewear to offer an eponymous eyewear collection, to be available in Spring 2010. The Lisa Loeb Collection features "frames for every face, and a look for any occasion: the office, school, your best friend's wedding, or the after party. Designs to accentuate a life fully lived." Styles will be offered in black and tortoise shell as well as bold colors, and there will be signature accents such as temple designs, etchings, and rhinestones. Each of the frames bears the title of one of Loeb's songs, and the colors in the line are inspired by her love of food and the culinary arts. The line is aimed toward women, but some smaller frames will fit young girls and some unisex styles will appeal to fashionable men.

Eva Longoria To Debut Signature Fragrance

Desperate Housewives has its own fragrance and now one of its key stars, Eva Longoria is getting her own signature scent. Eva by Eva Longoria is an eau de parfum being developed by Falic Fashion Group. It will launch in the U.S. in April and a 1.7 ounce version will sell for $45. Longoria tells WWD that she has been somewhat allergic to perfumes so she wanted to create something all women can wear.

Eva was involved with the creation of the scent which was composed by Takasago. It has top notes of citrus, neroli, bergamot tea, a heart of sheer jasmine, muguet, violet and freesia and a drydown of skin musk, amber and sandalwood. The curvaceous bottle was designed by Wilhelm Liden at Paul Meyers & Friends and manufactured by Bormioli Luigi. The scent will be sold in department stores like Macy's, Dillard's and Bon-Ton.

Charlize Theron Turns Shoe Designer For A Good Cause


The latest charity effort by a celebrity puts together Charlize Theron and Toms Shoes in a project to aid her home country of South Africa. Her version of the classic slip-on cloth Toms shoe features an African baobab tree and a custom lining with the Africa Outreach Project logo. The vegan-friendly shoes sell for $54 and will benefit the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which seeks to improve the lives of teenagers in South Africa. Also 10,000 pairs of the shoes will be given to impoverished children living in remote communities in South Africa. The shoes have proved popular, they are already backordered.

[via People Magazine]

Julianne Moore Fronts New Bvlgari Campaign


I've always envied pale redheads and their ability to look so showstopping in green. I think my envy just hit a new level with a look at the Colombian emerald pendant earrings that are being worn by Julianne Moore in Bvlgari's Spring/Summer 2010 advertising campaign. The earrings feature detachable Colombian pear-shaped emeralds, weighing 52.86 and 62.32 carats. The emeralds are exceptional for their size, uniform color and perfect match. They were part of Bvlgari's first retrospective exhibition at Il Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome from May through September 2009.

The campaign, scheduled to debut in February 2010, depicts a lifestyle that they are calling Eccentric Charisma. Each image features items from several of Bvlgari's jewelry, watches and accessories collections. Moore was chosen for her combination of beauty, intelligence and confidence. Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot photographed the campaign at Tony Duquette's Dawnridge house in Beverly Hills. Moore is shown lounging about in an exotic and opulent salon decorated in rich brocades, sumptuous jewel tone satins and plush peacock feathers. Check out a sneak peek video after the jump.

The New American Sushi

Delightful Tracy Griffith makes sushiChef Tracy Griffith (right -- and yes, she's the half sister of Melanie Grifftith) has created a whole new kind of sushi, Americana style. Think BLT and Cowboy rolls, and a vegetarian option served with fresh Green Goddess dressing.

Griffith, who has the distinction of being the first female graduate of the California Sushi Academy and one of the few female certified sushi chefs in the world, has compiled her creative new sushi recipes into a book called Sushi American Style. The delicious, raw fish-free fare is also available (as of Monday) in NYC Dean & Deluca stores, and is coming to the rest of the country in 2010.

So, what's it all about? We had a quick chat with Tracy at the New York Times building store and sampled all the sushi in the gallery below.

Luxist: So, Tracy, you developed all these rolls yourself, right?

Tracy Griffith: Yes, for my cookbook, Sushi American Style.

L: What was your inspiration?

TG: My inspiration was sushi customers in LA. I worked in a sushi bar and they always ordered California rolls, and I was like "Why?"

L: Why indeed!

TG: They said "I don't like raw fish." So many people are afraid of, or don't like, raw fish. So, being a chef, I had to start making something else besides California rolls. I started thinking, "What's good with white rice?" It's a very neutral base, like pasta or bread, so [I made the] BLT roll after my favorite sandwich, and Green Goddess, because it's so great with asparagus. Chicken Run has chili-garlic peanuts on it because I was in Bali, and in Bali they put chili-garlic peanuts on everything, and I thought, "Wouldn't that be good?" So, that's how it all started; it was for customers who don't eat raw fish.

L: What are people saying so far?

TG: Oh, they love it! Actually, it's kind of funny, because they walk in and look at me like "What?" and then they taste it and go "Oh, wow! That's great!"

Click through the gallery to see our tasting notes on all the new American sushi that you'll find at Dean & Deluca.






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