Gucci and Unicef: five years on

It has been five years since Gucci first launched its campaign to raise funds for Unicef. These campaigns have run in Gucci boutiques in twenty countries around the world and contribute a percentage of the sales of specially designed items to support Unicef programs. This year, Gucci has chosen the children’s book “Snowman in Africa” by Michael Roberts as the theme.

Gucci for Unicef

On the cards are bags, key-rings and coin purses, of which 25% of the sale price will be donated to Unicef.

Gucci has so far donated more than $7 million to Unicef.

By Jonathan Fulwell (Source: Sarah Ahssen)

Tough to let go for 70-something fashion designers

By Astrid Wendlandt and Marie-Louise Gumuchian

PARIS/MILAN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Italian designer Giorgio Armani, who turned 75 in July, may be the pride of Italian fashion and a godfather of the industry but he is not immortal.


After suffering a bout of hepatitis, Armani says he is back in action but he looks thinner and frailer than before in spite of his permanent tan, raising the question ever more urgently of who will succeed him.
Armani will not divulge who could possibly take up the reins of his empire worth $2.4 billion in annual sales, only saying he is grooming a chosen few. Insiders predict he will keep everybody guessing until the last minute.

But if mystery around his succession is understandable for commercial reasons, it is also a powerful reminder of how taxing and emotional it is to replace the founder and creative soul of a fashion house, particularly while he is still alive.

"Succession is an emotionally charged thing, especially when you talk about people like Armani who own the business," Burberry's (BRBY.L) Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey told Reuters last month.

The history of fashion is littered with examples of traumatic experiences and designers ousted after a short-lived attempt at filling the founder's shoes.

Read more here.

diy :: rubber origami ornaments

Rubber Origami - More cool how to projects

Wow! DIY rubber origami ornaments - get the full tutorial at Instructables.

travel fantasy :: dunton hot springs

Yowza. My eyes popped when I stumbled across Dunton Hot Springs in Colorado. Get this: Dunton is a restored ghost town (!) tucked into an alpine valley, with cozy cabins, a holistic spa, hot springs, and an award-winning organic restaurant in the old saloon (naturally). And, if that's not enough, you can reserve the whole town for 42 friends! Can you imagine?

Where have you been daydreaming about traveling these days?

Via Plaisir Sir

instead of shopping

1. Go to a library. Pick up some new books. here are a few reading lists to give you some ideas, the worsted witch, canada reads, 1001 books you should read before you die.

2. Bake something using things you have in your cupboard. Or bake something you've never made before. check out Orangette for some great ideas, (i've enjoyed everything I've made of hers).

3. Make a list of raw materials you have in your house, (things you could recycle or alter to create something new). Find some projects to make using things on your list. Resources: Make, Craft, Instructables, Readymade, Supernaturale, get crafty, make your own gifts out of recycled sweaters, (see example here.)

4. Write a letter.
-to someone you care about
-to a politician (requesting change on a topic you care about)
-to a corporation

5. Plan an expedition. Take a walk in nature. collect a variety of items you find on your travels. Use the items to a) make a mobile, or b) decorate your home.

6. Create some guerilla art pieces & install them with friends. See some exampleshere.

7. Install your very own Portable Xmas Tree, (completely free!) And while your at it, create some Instant Snow.

8. Have a clothing (or stuff) swap party with friends. for directions see the Naked Lady Party.

9. Donate to something you believe in. (or sign up to volunteer somewhere).

10. Write about the best gifts you ever received. (my story)

for more ideas visit the official website for buy nothing day.

via east side bride & keri smith

Japan city girls hit rice paddies - in style

TOKYO, Dec 11, 2009 (AFP) - Tokyo's most fashionable city girls have ventured into unfamiliar territory, crouching in muddy rice paddies to help make Japan's dying farms cool again -- and now they can do it in style.


Shiho Fujita, a 24-year-old model, has led a group of kawaii (cute) 'gal farmers' to do their bit to revitalise rural Japan, where many farms have closed as their owners have aged and their children have run off to the cities.
Her biggest problem so far: she didn't like the clothes.

"Since there are no farm clothes I like, I have come up with the idea of designing cute ones myself," Fujita said.

Her new overalls, targeting girls in their 20s, are made from stretch denim to be comfortable in the field and, crucially, have pockets for their target group's key accessories, a mobile phone and an iPod.

Fujita, who has grown rice in northern Akita prefecture, also said she wants to design plastic gloves for girls with long fingernails, and new farm tools to make farming more accessible and fun for young city dwellers.

Japan, the world's second-largest economy, now imports 60 percent of its food, and many worry about future food security if climate change rocks global food supplies or energy costs swing international grain prices.

The new overalls, made by leading Japanese jeans maker Edwin, will be available both for men and women from February for 13,000 yen (147 dollars).

lost generation

Read along with the narration.

This video was created for the AARP U@50 video contest and placed second.

It is based on the Argentinian Political Advertisement "The Truth" by RECREAR.
If you would like more info about the video you can find it here.

super trends spring '10

From Feminine Frills to Tough Chic

Los Angeles is known for its casually chic offerings and bold red-carpet statements. And for Spring, the looks on the runway ranged from soft feminine fashions to tough-chic styles tinged with leather and studs. After nearly a month of shows at the many organized events and independent presentations around town, the look for the season included a variety of new trends and statement-making pieces. Garments suitable for the stage but wearable enough for daytime included sequined dresses and underwear as outerwear looks with a dramatic effect. There were touches of the '80s with shoulder treatments, asymmetric necklines and blazers. And key silhouettes ranged from soft feminine dresses, rompers and harem pants to skinny jeans, leather moto jackets and bondage-inspired gowns.

Here is a look at Spring trends from the L.A. runways.

Photography by Volker Corell, John Eckmier, Felix Salzman, Earl Gibson/Associated Press

—N. Jayne Seward

A Shining Moment

Harem Pants

Asymmetric

Hollywood Glamour

Coming Up Roses

Visible Panty Lines

Tough Chic

New Romantics

Bold Shoulders

Play Time

I sometimes wonder where these trends come from. All I know is that you're not going to see me in most of these outfits!

To see larger photos click here.

newspaper gift wrap

...newspaper! I'm just about ready to set aside all of my usual shiny holiday gift wrap in favor of simple newspaper gift wrap and decorations:

{mistybliss via mint}

{twoandsix via the sweetest occasion}

{country living}

Whether stitched, cut and folded into the shape of a blossom, or fashioned into bunting (each with some sort of red or striped accents), newspaper is great.

back to the land

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

This is an excerpt of an opinion column that originally appeared in the NY Times on November 26th. I didn't see it until recently. But it is thought provoking for any time of the year, not just Thanksgiving. Read the entire column here.

a couple gift ideas

It’s simply impossible to get chemical-free water from a plastic bottle. Even small amounts of bacteria at bottling can multiply to a much larger problem by the time the product gets to you. It’s unrealistic to think that water bottled in plastic containers, produced at a bottling factory, transported and stored at high temperatures for months at a time, can be purer than what a basic home water filtration system can deliver. And at least two out of every five bottles of water sold around the world are simply filtered tap water.

A water filtration system and the refillable tap water^TM bottle is a simple, clean solution. Small size $10, large $12. Find it here.

The print is about the very moment you realize what will happen next. It’s inspired by a walk through a wildlife park. It is a linocut on 185gsm acid-free, deckle edged watercolor paper, printed with water-based inks. Untitled by Antje Drescher. Cost $55 with 15% going to Doctors Without Borders. Find it here.

hepburn auction results

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A collection of dresses worn by film star Audrey Hepburn fetched 268,000 pounds ($437,800) at auction, more than double the pre-sale estimate, organizers said on Wednesday 9 December.

More than 40 items from her wardrobe, including dresses worn in her films, were auctioned in London in a sale described by organizers as "the like of which will never be seen again."

The highest price, 60,000 pounds, was paid for a Chantilly lace cocktail gown by Givenchy which Hepburn wore in "How to Steal a Million" in 1966 -- against an estimate of 15,000 to 20,000 pounds.

Givenchy was the designer most closely linked with Hepburn, but also up for auction was the ivory satin bridal gown designed by the Fontana Sisters for her planned marriage to James (later Lord) Hanson, which sold for 13,800 pounds. Hepburn later called off the wedding.

Hepburn, who won an Oscar for her first starring role as a runaway princess in "Roman Holiday," is also known for roles as divergent as cockney Eliza in "My Fair Lady" and a terrorized blind woman in "Wait Until Dark."

The actress, who personified the svelte, chick, minimal European post-war look, became renowned for her perceived purity, innocence and vulnerability, the fashion auctioneer Kerry Taylor said before the sale.

The collection was sold by Tanja Star-Busmann, a life-long friend of Hepburn's, and 50 percent of the net sale proceeds will be donated to The Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.

Organizers at La Galleria had expected the auction to fetch a total of 100,000 pounds, but in the event it made 268,320.

"Tanja is pleased that all these lovely clothes and accessories that she has treasured for so many years will go to collectors and museums throughout the world," Taylor said in a statement.

Hepburn's clothes do not often come up at auction, despite the actress hating waste.

She died in 1993 at the age of 63.

(Reporting by Avril Ormsby; Editing by Paul Casciato)

elegantly simplistic beauty for sale

The wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn, actress and fashion icon, has been put up for auction

The wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn- actress, fashion icon and muse to countless designers- has been put up for auction, with all profits going towards the actress' organisation.

Watch a video here.

david vs. goliath

EBay and Craigslist square off in Delaware court

GEORGETOWN, Delaware/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc's former chief executive, Meg Whitman, took the witness stand on Monday 7 December to make the case online classifieds site Craigslist unfairly cut eBay's stake in the company.

EBay sued Craigslist in 2008 for lowering its ownership stake to 24.85 percent from 28.4 percent, causing the e-commerce giant to lose its seat on Craigslist's board.

Craigslist sued eBay a month later in San Francisco, saying the larger rival used its board seat to glean information to launch its own classified site, Kijiji, and employed deceptive tactics to direct traffic away from Craigslist's site.

Whitman, who is running for governor of California and took the stand on Monday 7 December, deniedeBay was out to steal Craigslist's secrets. She said eBay had bought shares of Craigslist from disgruntled shareholder Philip Knowlton in 2004 in the hope of ultimately owning the company outright and keeping competitors at bay.

Read more here and you decide who's right or wrong.

The trial, which could last about a week, is being broadcast over Courtroom View Network.

The case is eBay Domestic Holdings Inc v Newmark, et al, Delaware Chancery Court, No. 3705-CC.

that's an office I'd like to work in

Who wants to join me to 'work' in this cool office? I mean with an office this beautiful with all of these gorgeous break-out areas how much work would you really get done? Well actually I would bounce out of bed each day to go to work, it is a place that I would want to sit at a desk for at least eight hours a day, easily.

The building shell is a real find, The Philadelphia Navy Yard is the perfect backdrop for the Urban Outfitters brand with stores located in unique buildings that were once car dealerships, factories, churches, or mansions. The products are displayed amid antiques and vintage relics, an approach that individualizes the objects and steeps them in a past.

From Metropolis Mag pdf CE Stich

via sisalla

unconventional trees

I love the unconventional. I've been collecting these photos to get ideas of how I could have a Christmas tree without breaking the bank. A decent size tree here costs at least $60. So for you who are like-minded, here's some ideas.









I didn't do a good job keeping track of where I got these photos. So I don't know who took them. The only disclaimer I can make is that I didn't take any of them.

cop15 kicks off today

ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTS OF PLANET EARTH

The United Nations COP15 climate change conferences kicks off today in Copenhagen, and the fate of the planet hangs in the balance! The policies and agreements that are hammered out over the next two weeks by 20,000 delegates from 192 countries have the potential to create a binding global climate treaty, stem the onset of catastrophic climate change, and ensure the future growth of the green building and clean tech industries, so needless to say there’s a ton on the line. If you’re not familiar with all the things at stake be sure to check out Inhabitat's guide to the conference, and stay tuned to Inhabitat as they bring you the latest news from this critical world event!