A Lady Gaga Holiday and a Twilight Thanksgiving

Just when you thought Lady Gaga has done it all, think again. We all know she is out to be the next lifetime legend, so it is no surprise that she has even released 220 Gaga-themed holiday gifts at Barneys New York. These aren't any small stocking stuffers either, think chocolate shoes for $95.  The shoe of course is the armadillo Alexander McQueen design Gaga wore in "Bad Romance."

The holiday gift collection was released last Monday before the Thanksgiving holiday and Lady Gaga herself appeared at Barneys in the afternoon, wearing a Chanel jacket over a large teacup skirt.

The former men's department is now "Gaga's workshop" with cookies, books, leather jackets and more housed in cartoonlike sculptures like below:

See the top ten gifts Fashionista.com featured here: http://fashionista.com/2011/11/gaga-fetes-the-opening-of-gagas-workshop-at-barneys-in-custom-chanel-here-are-the-10-best-and-weirdest-things-on-sale/ 


A quarter of sales through January 2nd (which is when the workshop closes) will go to Gaga's anti-bullying campaign, the Born This Way Foundation. When asked about the collection Gaga remarked "“Oh, it’s fun, it’s the dream of what music and culture are all about, and those are things that can get lost when you focus too much on commercialism. This is, for me, a much more whimsical approach, a Pop Art approach.” (Source: NYT.com)

While you may not be able to make it to NYC, check out Lady Gaga herself give a tour of the workshop here: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/lady-gagas-barneys-workshop-exclusive-tour-15006133


While we're on the subject of holidays, hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend and if you saw Twilight with your sister like I did, or heck maybe even your fellow co-worker, you probably saw the gorgeous dress Bella wore to the vampire wedding. My favorite part of the movie for sure.

See for yourself :) The custom made Carolina Herrera gown took 6 months to make and came out a true beauty.

On the topic of holiday's don't forget today is Cyber Monday! Happy holidays and happy shopping to all. I already snagged this cutie today from the Kate Spade sample sale :

Enjoy!

Besos,

Totes Fashion!

Benetton and the campaign against hate

Benetton has always been one to push the limits of traditional fashion advertising but the latest campaign has world leaders in a frenzy.

With its latest campaign "Unhate" launched this past Wednesday, Nov. 16th, Benetton is featuring global leaders who have very different views, kissing each other. Ads include President Barack Obama with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Pope Benedict XVI and Sheik Ahmed al-Tayeb.

The Vatican was the first to be outraged and caused Benetton to pull that specific ad. While publications like the New York Times turned down the campaign, the online presence will continue and ads are due to appear in publications such as Newsweek and Monocle. But controversy is no foreign word around the Benetton office. Twenty five years ago, Benetton released its multiracial "United Colors of Benetton" campaign which quickly become an identity for the company.

Now, with Benetton struggling to keep up with competitors such as Zara, the "Unhate" campaign is part of a plan to relaunch the brand and the label which is returning to its historical staples, focusing on knitwear and colors.

"Unhate" Video:



"The film UNHATE by French director Laurent Chanez, tells of the precarious balance and complex interweaving between the drive to hate and the reasons to love."
-Unhate foundation: http://unhate.benetton.com/foundation/


"While global love is still a utopia, albeit a worthy one, the invitation 'not to hate', to combat the 'culture of hatred', is an ambitious but realistic objective." "At this moment in history, so full of major upheavals and equally large hopes, we have decided, through this campaign, to give widespread visibility to an ideal notion of tolerance and invite the citizens of every country to reflect on how hatred arises particularly from fear of 'the other’ and of what is unfamiliar to us. Ours is a universal campaign, using instruments such as the internet, the world of social media, and artistic imagination, and it is unique, in that it calls the citizens of the world to action. At the same time, it fits perfectly with the values and history of Benetton, which chooses social issues and actively promotes humanitarian causes that could not otherwise have been communicated on a global scale, and in doing so has given a sense and a value to its brand, building a lasting dialogue with the people of the world. -Alessandro Benetton, Executive Deputy Chairman of Benetton Group



Also this week, remember the Versace collaboration with H&M? Well it's officially out as of yesterday and it seems a lot of stores are already sold out of a number of items. Dedicated shoppers waited in line for up to 22 hours for the release and were escorted into the store by color coded bracelets and assigned time slots.

While I did have my eye on that lovely black dress, I think I'll sit out on this one and wait for the fury to pass because we all now in fashion there's the next hottest thing popping up just as you were getting your hands on the racks.


Besos,

TotesFashion!

Digital meet Print

Just when we thought print was dying, the digital folk are joining the game. This past Monday, style.com made its debut in the print magazine world.

The issue titled "Style.com/print" displays the latest Spring 12 runway collections in a very online fashion. Tweets from top designers run alongside full-page ads and collections are ranked by page view numbers. The top 10 page will have you fooled into thinking you can tap it to see more. But alas, it is print.

One of the stories you'll find in the issue is an interview with Donatella and the resurgence of Versace and the collaboration with H&M. See the Behind the Scenes video from the style.com print shoot here:



The issue is available for $14.99 on select newsstands or for online purchase at style.com/magazine for $6.99.


Speaking of Versace for H&M: the collection will launch in select H&M stores on November 19th. Check out the sneak peek on the landing page here: http://www.hm.com/us/versace#home

Interesting choice of circus music in the background, as well as videos and to outfits to explore on the site. Like these videos, which are really creepy:

But as creepy as it may seem, I'll be there. This one is all mine:

Enjoy!

Besos,
TotesFashion!

Love at first scent

Ever think taking a whiff of a beautiful scent could create an experience before your eyes? Sounds like something that would happen in a magical world...or in The Sensorium in New York's Meatpacking district.

Sephora has partnered with fragrance manufacturer Firmenich and The Department for the Fourth Dimension, an experience design production company, to create a pop up scent store called The Sensorium.

A really cool intergration of technology, film and design creates a multi-sensory experience where digital flowers bloom when you sniff and images come to life on the screens around you.

Perhaps it's best to watch it for yourself:




The Sensorium is open until November 27th at 414 West 14th street. Admission is $15. For more information and for shopping Sephora fragrances: http://www.sephora.com/go/sensorium/


Soundtrack to the video is Swedish electronic band, Little Dragon "Ritual Union" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTDG6qbL4M&feature=related


Enjoy!

Besos,
Totes Fashion!