italianfashion

Angela and Isabeli Vamp for Valentino

Mega model Isabeli Fontana is really on a roll this season. As we reported previously, the Brazilian bombshell stars in the new Versace campaign with Natalia Vodianova shot by Mario Testino, as well as the Roberto Cavalli campaign based on Luchino Visconti's 1963 film Il Gattopardo. Now she has also landed the fall Valentino campaign along with fellow stunner Angela Lindvall (at right, above, who also appears for Cavalli), shot by Peter Lindbergh in Paris. Gisele had better watch her back.

Gallery: Angela & Isabeli for Valentino

Tags: Ad campaigns, AdCampaigns, Angela Lindvall, AngelaLindvall, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Peter Lindbergh, PeterLindbergh, Supermodels, Valentino, Versace

Isabeli and Natalia Heat Up Versace for Fall

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Versace has tapped two of modeling's most beautiful faces for its new Fall ad campaign shot by famed photographer Mario Testino. Russian knockout Natalia Vodianova (foreground) and Brazilian stunner Isabeli Fontana star in the ads which feature Versace's eye-popping new line of handbags, clothing and accessories. Fontana is having an especially good season campaign-wise. As we reported last month, she also stars in Roberto Cavalli's theatrical new ads as well those of Valentino. See the gallery for more pix from the campaign.

Gallery: Versace's Fall Beauties

Tags: Ad campaigns, AdCampaigns, Isabeli Fontana, IsabeliFontana, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Mario Testino, MarioTestino, Natalia Vodianova, NataliaVodianova, Roberto Cavalli, RobertoCavalli, Supermodels, Valentino, Versace

Cavalli Brings Back Kate Moss for Fall

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Last month we reported that Italian designer Roberto Cavalli had picked not one but four beautiful models to replace Kate Moss in the ad campaign for his signature collection, which will be modeled on the classic movie Il Gattopardo. He's not quite over Kate, however. She is now starring in ads for one of his diffusion lines, Just Cavalli, which is targeted to a younger audience. The ads, shot by fashion photog duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, mirror real life somewhat, portraying Kate partying with a bunch of rock star dudes (no controlled substances are visible). After finally breaking with messed up Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty, the eternally gorgeous Brit beauty took up with another, more presentable rocker, James Hince of The Kills, though on her recent party jaunt to Sardinia he was conspicuously absent.

Gallery: Cavalli Campaigns

Another image from the new Just Cavalli campaign

Isabeli Fontana, star of Cavalli's new campaign

Tags: Ad campaigns, AdCampaigns, Babyshambles, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, InezVanLamsweerdeAndVinoodhMatadin, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, James Hince, JamesHince, Kate Moss, KateMoss, Pete Doherty, PeteDoherty, Roberto Cavalli, RobertoCavalli, The Kills, TheKills

Brit Beauty Lilly Donaldson Gets Hysterical for Gucci

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Handbags

Gucci has tapped British beauty Lilly Donaldson for its new Hysteria Collection ad campaign. In the ads for the Italian fashion house's latest line of oversized, exotically-skinned carryalls, Donaldson frolics with a knight in golden Gucci armor. Donaldson, who appears on the cover of the new British Vogue, has also starred in ads for the likes of Prada, Dior, Jil Sander, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana. See the gallery for the complete set of Hysteria images.

Gallery: Lilly Donaldson for Gucci

Tags: Ad campaigns, AdCampaigns, British Vogue, BritishVogue, Gucci, Gucci Hysteria, GucciHysteria, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Lilly Donaldson, LillyDonaldson, Models

Gianfranco Ferre to Debut "Couture Architecture" in Dubai

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Real Estate Developments

Italian design house Gianfranco Ferre has signed multi-billion dollar deal to develop real estate projects with a fashionable flair. Ferre is partnering with Mideast-based GIO Developments on the deal, and the first project, called "Gianfranco Ferre Stresa," will be a mixed-use highrise in Dubai. The $1.2 billion tower will combine residential, commercial and hospitality spaces, and the partnership has dubbed it the first example of "concrete couture." Other similar projects are planned around the globe. Mr. Ferre himself, who was fittingly known as the "architect of fashion," died last year. The company bearing his name already has a strong presence in the region with existing stores in Dubai, Beirut and Istanbul and new openings planned for Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait within the year. Other design houses currently collaborating on Dubai developments include Versace, Christian Lacroix and Elie Saab.

Gallery: House of Ferre

Naked models in the new Ferre Fall ad campaign.

Semi-naked models in the new Ferre Fall ad campaign.

Tags: Dubai, Fashion, Ferre, Gianfranco Ferre, GianfrancoFerre, Italian design, Italian fashion, ItalianDesign, ItalianFashion, Middle East, MiddleEast, Versace

Versace Ltd. Edition Lamborghini to be Available in Fall

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Cars & Autos

The limited-edition Lamborghini by Versace which we first wrote about plans for in 2006 is finally going into production for fall. The car, which will be a convertible in contrast to the coupe originally developed, will be a bright pastel white with a black-and-white leather interior. The price of the special-order Murciélago LP 640 Roadster Versace has yet to be named, but expect to pay a healthy premium above the model's already hefty base price of $358,000. The V12 roadster, designed by Donatella Versace and just unveiled in Milan during Men's Fashion Week, will feature a see-through engine bay cover and the fashion house's signature Greek key motif on the doors, front fascia and nappa leather seats. Versace has also designed an accompanying line of black calfskin accessories including luggage, wallet, gloves, driving shoes, hat and even a pair of leather jeans all bearing an engraved metal Lamborghini Versace tag.

[via Kempt & Autoblog]

Gallery: Lamborghini MurciÃ©lago by Versace

Tags: Donatella Versace, DonatellaVersace, Italian design, Italian fashion, ItalianDesign, ItalianFashion, Lamborghini, Milan, Supercars, Versace

Depp's Girlfriend Replaces Kirsten Dunst in Miu Miu Ads

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Johnny Depp's gorgeous longtime girlfriend, French model/singer/actress Vanessa Paradis, has been chosen to replace Kirsten Dunst as the face of Miuccia Prada's sporty Miu Miu diffusion line. Paradis will appear in the label's futuristic Fall/Winter ads (right) shot by sought-after fashion photog duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot in Los Angeles, Vogue UK reports.

"At once a deconstruction and a pure visual composition, the campaign addresses the exploration of beauty in conjunction with intellect, imagination, and divergence," a Miu Miu rep says. Paradis has previously appeared in several ads for Chanel. She and Depp have been together for 10 years and have two children. Last year my colleague Deirdre Woolard reported that Depp had bought her a vineyard near St. Tropez.

Gallery: La Belle Vanessa Paradis

Tags: Ad campaign, Ad campaigns, AdCampaign, AdCampaigns, Chanel, Fashion, Fashion photography, FashionPhotography, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Johnny Depp, JohnnyDepp, Kirsten Dunst, KirstenDunst, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, MertAlasAndMarcusPiggot, Miu Miu, Miuccia Prada, MiucciaPrada, MiuMiu, Models, Prada, Vanessa Paradis, VanessaParadis

Cavalli Picks Four Beauties to Replace Kate Moss

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Italian designer Roberto Cavalli has chosen four top models to replace Kate Moss (right) in his new Fall/Winter 2008-09 ad campaign. The campaign, to be shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, is inspired by one of our favorite movies, Luchino Visconti's 1963 Il Gattopardo ("The Leopard), based on the book by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa.

The movie, set in Sicily in the 1860s, stars Burt Lancaster as an Italian prince struggling to maintain a dying aristocracy, Alain Delon as his dashing nephew, and the beautiful Claudia Cardinale as Angelica, daughter of a rich former peasant who represents the new social order. Cavalli has chosen models Isabeli Fontana, Angela Lindvall, Raquel Zimmerman and Frankie Rayder to play the parts of Cardinale and the movie's other beauties in the ads.

"I've always been aesthetically fascinated by this film," Cavalli tells Women's Wear Daily. "I also find Il Gattopardo, a story that's based on the idea that 'the more it changes, the more it stays the same,' a good metaphor for fashion. In the campaign, the heroine - a sort of new Angelica - dances in the wilderness while a fire rages in the background; she represents the force of everything that is new, yet in the end she dresses like a romantic debutante." We think Fontana for one is perfectly cast as she bears an uncanny resemblance to Cardinale.

Gallery: Cavalli's Gattopardo Girls

Tags: Ad campaigns, AdCampaigns, Advertising, alain delon, AlainDelon, Angela Lindvall, AngelaLindvall, Burt Lancaster, BurtLancaster, Claudia Cardinale, ClaudiaCardinale, Fashion designers, FashionDesigners, Frankie Rayder, FrankieRayder, Il Gattopardo, IlGattopardo, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, InezVanLamsweerdeAndVinoodhMatadin, Isabelli Fontana, IsabelliFontana, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Kate Moss, KateMoss, Roberto Cavalli, RobertoCavalli, Supermodels

New Cool Hotels: Italy, Spain and Spas

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Holiday Guides, Books

Regular Luxist readers will already be familiar with the luxurious, oversized books put out by German publisher teNeues. Not all of their top-drawer coffee table titles are the size of actual coffee tables, however. The travel sized "Cool Hotels" series has all the appeal of the deluxe editions with the added bonus that you can actually take them with you on your journey. They've just released three new additions to the stable in time for summer: Cool Hotels Italy, Cool Hotels Spain, and Cool Hotels Spa & Wellness. At $24.95 apiece, they're considerably less expensive as well. Pictured on the cover of the Italy edition above is the incredibly chic Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amista in Verona, run by the Byblos fashion empire. See the gallery for more stylish vacation spots.

Gallery: Cool Hotels Italy, Spain & Spas

Spas cover showing Amanyara, British West Indies.

Tags: Byblos, Byblos Art Hotel, ByblosArtHotel, Cool Hotels, CoolHotels, Hotels, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Italy, Spain, Spas, teNeues, Verona

Missoni Moves Into the Hotel Business

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Real Estate Developments

On the heels of Versace's newest palazzo project, fellow Italian fashion house Missoni is getting into the hotel act as well. The company, famed for its signature zigzag-striped knitwear (as modeled here by Kate Moss), is partnering with the Rezidor Hotel Group, owners of the Park Inn, Regent and Radisson SAS brands, on the project.

According to Rezidor, the 5-star Hotel Missoni will embody "a strong interest in design, an appreciation of detail, an understanding of food and wine, a belief in authenticity, a cognizance of culture from a contemporary point of view, and a strong and equitable set of social values." The first two branches are planned for Edinburgh in Scotland and Kuwait City, slated for opening in 2009.

Missoni creative director Rosita Missoni will spearhead the project in conjunction with fashionable Milan-based designers Matteo Thun & Partners. Thun has spec'd out a black, white and silver color scheme for the 129-room Edinburgh hotel, which is more business oriented, and "saturated" colors for the Kuwait City branch, which will be more leisure oriented. See the renderings below.

Gallery: Hotel Missoni