Five new fashiony things I learnt this week


1) Balenciaga opens its first London store at 12 Mount Street, W1 in Feb 2008.

2) The new online-zine-slash-blog www.fanatiquefashion.com is now live. The result of a collaboration between bloggers Madelene Lindqvist (www.portillon.blogspot.com) and Asta Hiippala (www.blogforclothes.blogspot.com), it promises to update with new articles several times a week. I enjoyed reading Out of Season, a commentary on how almost every week is a ‘fashion week’ of some kind or other.

3) Who’s keeping up with news on the Mulberry-go-round? Stuart Vevers has departed Mulberry for Loewe. Katie Grand (super-scruffy stylist who consults for Prada and edits Pop magazine) was due to take over as creative director but resigned before she’d even started. (Anyone know the goss?) Newly appointed as creative director is Emma Hill, the wonderkid who zhuzhed up Gap the first time it ‘got good’ a few years ago (I’m still rocking my washed-cotton barrel bag from the summer of 03) and has spent the last couple of seasons heading up accessories at Chloe. I have high hopes for Ms Hill so let’s see what she comes up with.

4) New hot book alert! Modern Menswear is written by journalist Hywel Davies and profiles 36 menswear designers including such modern visionaries as Raf Simons, Hedi Slimane and Kim Jones. Menswear is interesting me more than womenswear at the mo, so I’m looking forward to this one. Published Feb 2008 by Laurence King.

5) Gossip Girl is coming to ITV2 this month! Nuff said.