Archive for the ‘Alerts’ Category

No Doubt: Tavi Gevinson Visits Gwen Stefani at the L.A.M.B. Studio

I can’t say I’m enthusiastic about the recent celebrity-turned-designer trend. In fact, I’m a skeptic. Too often I feel people are expected to drop a couple hundred dollars just because X celebrity was good in Y sitcom, thus somehow making X’s design abilities top-notch. So, though a fan of Gwen Stefani’s music, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I entered the L.A.M.B. studio.

Gwen and I went straight to posing for the photos you see here, while discussing hair coloring, Heathers, and the time we’d previously met (it was supercool that Gwen remembered me a year later!). When the photographer suggested we look more active, Gwen would say things like, “Let me show you this purse!” in a sarcastic way that poked fun at how awkward it was to create the illusion of natural conversation through midsentence expressions. Even better was when she pointed to a botched sample bag and smiled for the camera, uttering through clenched teeth: “See these little dots? They make me want to punch someone.” Her dryly humorous but composed anger reminded me of her attitude in the video for No Doubt’s “Just a Girl.” This isn’t to say she wasn’t stoked about the collection, just smart enough to care about the conditions of her designs. Excited to show it to an outsider and receive feedback, she had stories behind each piece, many of which gave African-inspired fabrics a streetwear shape. A few of my favorite things (Gwen’s not the only one who can reference The Sound of Music!) included an optic bag, a butterfly-print dress, and deconstructed jeans.

In discussing how the brand came about, she said she didn’t want to name it after herself and that she hopes those who buy her clothes do so for the garments, not her celebrity. As Gwen showed me different ways she’d style a pair of what she nicknamed “jailbird pants,” an old video I’d seen on YouTube came to mind: Gwen is 22, pre-fame, and showing the camera a DIY “jailhouse dress.” That use of personal identity is what makes her designs not derive from tabloid appearances but act as a further reflection of her as an artist. Like her music, they embrace a side of her that is unabashedly unique, whether she executes it through kaleidoscope prints or by singing a friendly reminder: “It’s my life!”

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Alerts, Interviews, L.A.M.B.

L.A.M.B. Headed to the OC for a Surprise Show

In a surprise decision made this week, L’Oréal Professionnel announced that they will produce another in a series of regional cocktail events and fashion shows featuring Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. clothing collection, this time in the fashion capital of Orange County—Costa Mesa.

Coming off of their major successes at Fashion Week in New York City (NYC) this past September, L’Oréal Professionnel and L.A.M.B. decided to take their show on the road by hosting a series of exclusive regional cocktail events and fashion shows across the US. These intimate events have taken place in Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco showcasing both Stefani’s Spring/Summer 2011 L.A.M.B. collection and L’Oréal Professionnel’s high-end product lines, most notably their INOA hair color which made its runway debut at the L.A.M.B. show in NYC. The series is winding down in what would be an appropriate location for the last show, Stefani’s own Orange County.

L’Oréal Professionnel has tasked Orange County’s leading hair stylist, Donato Bianchini and his team at Vogue Salon, to serve as its ambassador utilizing INOA and the rest of the L’Oréal Professionnel line of products to provide the models with hair inspired by and that complements the stunning L.A.M.B. collection. INOA, which is an abbreviation for “Innovative No Ammonia” and is ammonia free as its name implies, has become a star in its own right appearing on “The Today Show” and in the pages of countless magazines. Vogue Salon’s ability to manipulate and expertly apply INOA in concert with the other L’Oréal Professionnel products is just one of many reasons that they were selected to support this special show.

When asked how he felt about L’Oréal Professionnel’s decision to work with Vogue Salon, Bianchini fervently stated, “The team at Vogue Salon work very hard to ensure they are staying at the forefront of their respective fields. The fact that we’ve been chosen to do the hair for the L’Oréal Professionnel/L.A.M.B. show is a reward for that hard work.” Bianchini wryly added, “We love L’Oréal Professionnel products and we’re doing great things with INOA which also helped [with L’Oréal Professionnel’s decision] I’m sure.”

Preparation for the models will take place prior to the show on October 24th from 10AM-6PM at Vogue Salon’s Newport Beach location but will also involve stylists and colorists from its other location at the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point. The invite-only cocktail event and fashion show will be held at restaurant and nightclub, Sutra in Costa Mesa, CA from 7-9PM that same evening.

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Alerts, L.A.M.B., News

Gwen To Appear on “The Rachel Zoe Project”

The Rachel Zoe Project‘s third season will premiere Tuesday, Aug. 3 on Bravo, the cable network has exclusively revealed to EW. The new season will cover Zoe’s efforts to expand her celebrity styling business while managing her own increasing fame. Adding to the drama will be the departure of longtime employee Taylor Jacobson. Stars including Gwen Stefani, Demi Moore, Molly Sims, and Johnny Weir will make guest appearances.

From EW

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Alerts, News

Gwen on the cover of InStyle UK Edition

Gwen is featured on the cover and inside the July 2010 issue of “InStyle” magazine (UK Edition)! You can read an excerpt of her article below and don’t forget to check out Instyle.co.uk for more!

Gwen Stefani on Fashion

Have you always been obsessed with fashion?

“It’s been the same my whole life. I made so many clothes growing up and I used to do my own costumes. Like, in college – we’d have a concert coming up and all I would do was daydream about what I was going to make. It’s the same now. Fashion gets me so excited.”

Where did you draw inspiration for your spring line?

“I wanted to make a collection I was really going to wear. I was into grey, black and white, with just touches of colour, like yellow here and there. And a lot of drapery and slouchy stuff and some tailoring – and looks that were a bit Eighties, but also modern.
It’s about what I would wear, to be honest. It’s very selfish!”

Gwen Stefani on being a Musician

Do you enjoy performing in front of thousands of people?

“I love it. It is so awesome. I love getting ready and getting in costume, then performing and being physical. If you don’t play live concerts, nothing feels real. It’s just a song on the radio that you hear when you’re driving and it doesn’t affect you. But when you walk out on stage and there are people who actually spent their money to buy a ticket and they’re singing the songs, it’s suddenly mind-blowing.”

What initially made you decide to jump from musician to designer?

“I wanted so badly to have a backup plan for when I’m not performing any more. Let’s be realistic: it’s not going to be like this forever. So
I wanted to continue having something creative to do. I have to be creative to be happy.
I don’t have a strong sense of self-worth unless I’m doing something. I was a different person before I started to write. When I realised I could be a songwriter and that people would listen – that was when I started feeling good in my life.”

You’ve said you had writer’s block when trying to work on the next No Doubt record. Have you overcome it?

“I just wrote a song, which is really exciting! It’s not even done and I’ve listened to it two billion times already. It’s like I can’t stop. If my husband comes in and I’m listening to it, I’m like, ‘I’m sorry’.”

Gwen Stefani on Gavin and Kids

When I interviewed Gavin years ago, he said he prides himself on being an excellent gift giver. Do you ever drop any hints about what you want?

“Oh, no, we’re not allowed to do that. It’s just old-fashioned gift giving. He goes all out, you know? He’s a romantic, so it’s good. He is a creative guy and he’s amazingly inspiring with that creativity. We had a really good Christmas last year; it was fun getting gifts for the kids.”

How do you and Gavin coordinate your outfits for a red-carpet event – is his outfit based on your dress?

“We just do our own thing and it always seems to work. He has such great style. I get ideas from a lot of his clothes for the women’s clothing line, because I like that kind of mixture. I use a lot of stuff in his closet. I’ll be, like, ‘Ooh, we should do a girl version of this!’”

Are you and Gavin going to try for a little girl? Someone should get to inherit your wardrobe…

“I don’t know. Having children is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. No one could have prepared me for how awesome it is and how hard. And having two boys – there’s a lot of energy. I mean, it does seem weird that I don’t have a girl, but I feel like I’m running out of time. I also don’t want to spread myself so thin that I can’t even be good for them. “Poor Zuma, he’d be the middle guy. I’m not focusing on it right now, but it’s not up to me anyway, you know? These things are miracles, so we’ll see. Otherwise, the clothes are probably going to go to some girlfriend of Kingston’s!”

What’s your favourite meal to cook, your signature dish?

“I don’t cook. I can toast in the toaster. I can pour and set the table. No, Gavin is the one. It’s not even an option, he is so passionate about it. He cooks every day. He loves to go grocery shopping and find different things. I’m really lucky. It’s actually lucky and hard at the same time, because sometimes you
want to be fit and not eat it, but you have to eat it.”

Gwen Stefani on her signature red lipstick

You’ve even worn red lipstick while jogging. Is there any time you don’t wear it?

“No, I wear it all the time! I wear pink, I wear gloss, I wear everything, but my husband prefers when I wear red, so I want him to like me still! I remember the first time I ever wore dark lipstick. I was maybe 18 and I can remember the moment I put it on – in my Honda Prelude that I bought for like, $3,000 [about £1,950] – and looking in the mirror going, ‘Good, I like that’. Never again did I stop wearing it.”