Model suicide
model,suicide
Ruslana Korshunova
Ruslana Korshunova, a 20-year-old model from Kazakhstan, leaped to her death from the ninth floor of her New York apartment last Saturday. As well as stalking the catwalks for many of the world\'s top designers, the blue-eyed beauty had also graced the covers of French Elle and Russian Vogue, as well as appearing in ads for DKNY and Christian Dior, among others. Circumstances surrounding the suicide remain uncertain. While those who know her say she was happy and apparently loved her Manhattan life, according to police there was no sign of a struggle inside her flat to indicate anyone else was involved. Although her death was ruled as suicide, the gossip mills are going into overdrive, with some online sources claiming darkly that she was depressed and desperate to get out of the fashion industry, while others even suggesting she was part of a Russian Mafia teenage model-trafficking ring.
Picture: Ruslana Korshunova
Suits Pugh
suits,pugh
Gareth Pugh
He may be known for his outlandishly unwearable creations, but Gareth Pugh has officially been accepted as part of the fashion establishment. The 26-year-old London designer, hailed as the new Alexander McQueen for shock tactics like a coat made of real mice or a dress made entirely of zippers, was this week awards the prestigious ANDAM Fashion Award. The Parisian award is supported by the LVMH and Gucci groups among others, and is aimed to help young designers develop their fashion label. Pugh wins a prize of 150,000 euros, as well as having the chance to show in Paris for the first time. "Showing at London Fashion Week has been amazing," the designer said in a statement. "To now be able to enjoy the international platform of Paris will propel my business even further." Pugh follows in the footsteps of Stella McCartney and McQueen, both of whom abandoned the UK in favour of showing in Paris.
See pictures from Gareth Pugh\'s autumn/winter 2008/9 fashion show on handbag.com
Picture: Gareth Pugh, taking a bow after his autumn/winter 2008/9 fashion show
Vuitton triumphs
vuitton,triumphs
Louis Vuitton, A/W 08/9
In a victory for luxury fashion brands a French court has ordered the auctioning giant eBay to pay a whopping £32m in damages to the LVMH Group for allowing the sale of counterfeit goods on its site.
LVMH, the fashion group that owns Louis Vuitton among other labels, sued the online shopping website for allowing fake goods to be sold as genuine designer items. The fashion brands understood to have been forged in the case include Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Givenchy.
The Paris court ruled that eBay had not done enough to prevent the sale of fake handbags, clothes, perfumes and other items on its French website. In a breakdown of the ruling, eBay must pay Christian Dior Couture £15m in damages, £14m to Louis Vuitton Malletier and a further £3m compensation to several perfume brands.
However, after the judgement eBay vowed to fight the decision. A company spokesperson said in a statement: "If counterfeits appear on our sites we take them down swiftly. We believe that this ruling represents a loss not only for us but for consumers and small businesses selling online, therefore we will appeal."
The ruling follows a similar victory for fashion brands in the French courts last month, when a judge ordered eBay to pay £16,000 in compensation to Hermes for the sale of fake items. Fiona Raisbeck
Picture: Louis Vuitton, autumn/winter 2008/9
Live fashion
live,fashion
Edun Live
It\'s now three years since Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, launched Edun, the socially conscious clothing company with a mission to create fashion to foster sustainable employment in the developing world. Following its success, its sister brand Edun Live, which focuses on bringing jobs to sub-Saharan Africa through high-volume sales of blank t-shirts, has announced the launch of a consumer-based site, where browsers can shop, listen to exciting world music beats and check out updated information on Africa-related news and culture. "Growing Edun Live over the past year has been an exciting project," said CEO Christian Kemp-Griffin in a statement. "Africa is a magical and exciting place with so much positive energy. By having this new site, we now look forward to interacting with consumers in addition to businesses and having them share our passion."
edun-live.com
Picture: Edun Live
For the Peoples
peoples
Kris van Assche for Oliver Peoples sunglasses
Oliver Peoples, the Los Angelean sunglasses brand known for the large, round frames favoured by Kate Moss to hide from the paparazzi, is this year celebrating its 20th anniversary. As well as a varied range of stylish feminine frames, such as the very-this-season cat-eyed Paladino style, the house has also approached Kris Van Assche, the man considered talented enough to take over from Hedi Slimane at Dior Homme, to design a unique interchangeable lens frame for men. And if further proof were needed of their It status, no less than Angelina Jolie wears a pair of Oliver Peoples in her latest film, Wanted - wire-framed, to keep up with all the action, of course.
Picture: Oliver Peoples sunglasses by Kris Van Assche
It\'s a cinch
Prada,belt,belts
Belts by Prada
In these times of environmental awareness and uncertain economies, shoppers, it seems, are treating themselves more rarely, but to a higher quality of product. Reflecting this attitude, Prada has just launched its bespoke belt service, where customers can choose in-store from a range of different materials and colours including patent leather, crocodile, saffiano and snakeskin, as well as buckles in antiqued silver or gold embellished with stones. With prices starting at £150, a sample of the kind of thing that\'s available can be viewed in Prada stores in Bond Street, Sloane Street and Harrods, with a delivery time of approximately 60 days from date of order. We may all be tightening our belts, but at least Prada are giving us the opportunity to do it in style.
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Picture: Belts by Prada
