Chic Happens

You know the drill. You’re looking to buy a fantastic designer handbag from a secondhand store, but you keep asking yourself…is it real? Well now Entrupy, a company that started by authenticating art, says it has the solution.  

They’re the makers of a new device that can tell retailers whether an item is legit or counterfeit.

So far 400 online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores are using it. The company created a small machine that uses algorithms to detect fakes. The device is an iPod or iPhone set up with the Entrupy app and held inside a Mophie-like device (that’s a juice pack to power your iPhone or iPod). The app will walk you through how to set up the authentication process.

This involves taking pictures of the inside and outside of the item in question. Results are given quickly so you don’t have too long to wait to get your answer. Entrupy says the device has a 99.1% accuracy rating. 

So where did they get the info to set up the algorithm? They bought over 100,000 fake and real handbags to load up the device with data that can detect counterfeits.

The company’s director of business told Fashionista.com, “We spent a substantial amount of money on the best counterfeits and then also buying from the brands”.

They released a State of the Fake report June 6 that analyzed data from all of their clients for the last year which totaled 50 million dollars in sales.

Fashionista.com says the company reported that the “majority of fakes (or “unidentified” items as the company calls them) were “very good” to “super fake” quality”.

They add that sellers are more vigilant about finding fakes because they’re afraid of getting caught and facing the circumstances that come with it.

(Photo of Fake Chanel Courtesy: lollipuff.com)

Entrupy keeps their list of customers quiet but did reveal they have a partnership with Goodwill here in the States and the UK department store chain Selfridges which has a problem with fraudulent returns. Customers are buying handbags then returning fake ones in their place.  

While I appreciate there’s a device that can help sellers make sure their goods are real, there still needs to be more done to end counterfeiting.

(Photo of Fake Prada Courtesy: lollipuff.com)

It’s a 600 billion dollar a year business and as long as there’s a demand, there will be a supply. Counterfeiting benefits terrorism, crime and child labor. The quality of the product is sub par and believe me, you can tell.

So now tell me, is it really worth the price?

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If you’re looking to hit up Sephora this morning for your favorite contouring kit or to find a new summer lip color,  you might be surprised to find the doors shut and locked. Their corporate offices and distribution centers will also be shuttered.

The one hour closure is in response to an incident on April 30th in its Calabasas store.

Sephora’s Calabasas Store

According to US Weekly, singer SZA says that one of the store’s employees was racially profiling her when they called security to make sure she wasn’t stealing.

The Grammy-nominated celeb was trying to buy some Fenty products. The singer tweeted about what happened and later Rihanna sent her a Fenty gift card and a handwritten note.

The store issued a formal apology saying they were “gathering more information about the incident in order to take the proper next steps”.

The mega beauty store said they will “begin to train its staff Wednesday morning, promoting an open dialogue with employees on what it means to be inclusive.” The statement goes on to say,

“This store closure is part of a long journey in our aspiration to create a more inclusive beauty community and workplace, which has included forming employee resource groups, building Social Impact and philanthropic programs, and hosting inclusive mindset training for all supervisors”.

The company-wide inclusive training will discuss how to treat everyone the same despite gender identity, race and ethnicity, age and abilities. They will also add some outside improvements as well by including more diverse videos and images in the stores.

The brand recently launched a new campaign called “We Belong to Something Beautiful”, but says that the campaign was planned well before the April incident.

Hopefully the training and of course just plain human decency will prevent something like this from ever happening again.

Because that would be beautiful.

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Karl Lagerfeld passed away in February, but I haven’t been able to write about it until now. I can’t imagine a Chanel show without the white-haired, larger than life Monsieur Lagerfeld. 

Can the new Artistic Director, Virginie Viard, fill his shoes?

This is a man who imported a glacier from Scandanavia and had it installed in the middle of the Grand Palais

had a rocket built that looked like it was going to take flight

and gave us a beach vacation in the middle of Paris

He moved Chanel forward while keeping a foot in its past. You could always tell a piece was from Chanel.

Virginie Viard has been by Lagerfeld’s side as his right hand woman for 30 years, but kept a very low profile. It’s a new era with a woman in charge of the House of Chanel for the first time since Coco herself.

Lagerfeld was as famous for his quotes as he was for his fashion.  This is one of my favorites:

And Chanel just underwent the biggest change.

But something tells me Viard is up for the challenge. Afterall, she learned from the best. 

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I’ve been watching Project Runway since the beginning. I even had the chance to interview Tim Gunn for this blog.

But I admit, after years on Lifetime, the show got boring, predictable and irrelevant to the fashion world.

So I was excited to see the return of the reality show on Bravo tonight and a revamp of the host and judges. (Nina Garcia is the only returning judge from the original show).

When I chatted with Tim years ago, he spoke about Christian Siriano and how he was a fashion prodigy. And now that prodigy, who has designed for EVERYONE is the new mentor. Big shoes to fill after Tim Gunn.

So did the show make the cut?

YES!

Karlie Kloss, Brandon Maxwell, Elaine Welteroth and Runway alum Nina Garcia were a seamless transition into a new season and the return of the show to its original network, Bravo.

Christian Soriano is fierce as the designers’ mentor who brings his experience as a very successful designer and the show’s season four winner.

The show has models of all sizes walking the runway and included the show’s first transgender model, Mimi Tao, who was stunning in a design by contestant Kovid Kapoor.

A new season, a return home to the network where it started and a fresh crop of designers makes for an exciting season.

Bravo Project Runway!

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When I decided to move to Florida the only thing I was concerned about was dealing with the heat.

But now that I’ve been here for a few months I’m realizing I have a few more concerns to deal with. Like having to wear summer clothes in the winter.

Like NOT HAVING a lot of summer clothes because I’m a native Bostonian.

*sigh*

My beautiful wool sweaters are now tucked into a storage bag under my bed and I have an entire closet full of winter coats.

As for my vast collection of scarves and gloves, I donated those.

I finally have a walk-in closet and now I don’t have much to fill it.

No worries.

I’m sure I’ll add to my wardrobe soon, but for now I’m in jeans and tee shirts. And yes, sandals and mules.

It’s not just a change of how I dress, my change of address also changed the way I care for my skin.

Usually my skin is a little dry this time of year. I’m constantly grabbing my La Mer hand treatment and moisturizing my cuticles with oil.

Extra conditioner for my hair was always a must.

Not anymore.

The heat and constant sunshine has me grabbing my 55 SPF instead of always reaching for my hand cream.

So now I’m shopping for more summer dresses, cute skirts and shorts.

I really shouldn’t complain.

It was 23 degrees and snowing in Boston.

It was 85 here today.

I think I’ll manage just fine.

And I can throw out my snow scraper.

The only ice I’m going to see are the cubes floating in my margarita…..

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The Royal Wedding Dress is a COPY according to a British designer. That’s right. THAT Royal dress.

A COPY.

British designer Emilia Wickstead told The Daily Mail, “Her dress is identical to one of our dresses.”

The dress in question is part of Wickstead’s new bridal collection.

She posted a picture of the Helene Wedding Dress on Instagram (which she says is the dress Givenchy designer Claire Wright Keller copied)  the day AFTER the Royal Wedding.

She tagged Markle in her post, using #meghanmarkle and #meghanmarkleweddingdress. 

The comments in response to the post were scathing, accusing Wickstead  of being mean spirited, classless and petty.

To make this story even stranger, Wickstead also commented on Markle’s hair saying, “I was like, ‘Hold the wisps [of her hair] back–it’s a royal wedding for God’s sake.”

But it didn’t stop there. She chimed in on the design too. “If you choose a simple design the fit should be perfect. Her wedding dress was quite loose.”

I’m no designer, but the dress Wickstead is referring to (the one she created) doesn’t fit the model perfectly. The top is loose and her breasts look weird. Markle’s wedding dress fit perfectly and was modern, timeless and oh so elegant.

If Wickstead was looking for a little press, she has it. But at what price? Both Markle and Kate Middleton have worn her designs before.

But now? I wouldn’t count on it.

I think Wickstead might need to add another hashtag to her Instagram: #notallpressisgoodpress.

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The Royal Wedding Dress by the Numbers:

3900: How many hours it took to create and design

165: How many days it took to make

50: That’s how many people worked on the dress (and signed non-disclosure agreements)

6: Total number of meticulously placed seams in the sleek design 

Dress Design:

Givenchy 

Custom made couture by Claire Wright Keller, the first female designer to ever hold the role of Artistic Director of the storied French fashion house.

Keller is a British designer who previously held the same position at Chloe, another French fashion design house.

The custom creation had three-quarter length sleeves, a bateau neckline and a train cushioned by triple silk organza.

Pure perfection.

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Burberry is less than pleased with Target for a collection that looks suspiciously like the famed check print it’s famous for.

So they’ve taken legal action and last Wednesday they filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York accusing Target of trademark counterfeiting, infringement and trademark dilution.

According to the lawsuit, Burberry sent a cease and desist letter back in 2017 regarding the products that look a lot like Burberry’s.

But Target continued to produce the print and even expanded the collection, adding more products.

In the complaint, Burberry states, “Target’s conduct is willful, intentional and represents a conscious disregard for Burberry’s rights.” 

The complaint also says the products may cause confusion to its customers as Target’s products “are superficially indistinguishable from genuine Burberry scarves” despite “inferior quality.” (Ouch)

Burberry states the confusion could be caused because Target is well known for collaborations with designers such as Victoria Beckham and Rodarte which “further heightens the risk of such customer confusion.”

Target responded with a statement to InStyle magazine saying, “At Target, we have great respect for design rights. We are aware of the filing by Burberry and hope to address the matter in a reasonable manner.”

Burberry is seeking an injunction to stop Target from making the check pattern products and they’re seeking damages of $2 million for each trademark Target counterfeited. They also want attorney’s fees.

I think Target needs to realize they’re probably going to lose this game.

Check mate, Burberry. 

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This year the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Spring exhibit is the largest to date and may just be the most controversial.

They’re taking on religion and its relation to fashion. “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” opens this month following the Met Gala.

The exhibit can be seen in three galleries, the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the medieval rooms at the Met on Fifth Avenue and the Cloisters. (Is that symbolism? Having THREE spaces? As in Father, Son and Holy Spirit?)

On display will be about 50 ecclesiastical garments and accessories on loan from the Vatican, works from the Met’s collection of religious art and 150 designer garments inspired  by Catholic style or iconography.

Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, a Chanel wedding gown inspired by a communion dress, along with Valentino couture gowns inspired by paintings of Monk’s gowns.

All beautiful for sure. But is this a good time to focus on the Catholic Church? Considering all that’s happened in the church in the last 16 years? The sex abuse scandals and now with a pope who does not relish in the riches and luxuries of the Vatican.

Knowing this could cause an issue, Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge, told the New York Times, “Every show we do at the Costume Institute has that potential.” 

He went on to say, “This one perhaps more than any other. But the focus is on a shared hypothesis about what we call the Catholic imagination and the way it has engaged artists and designers and shaped their approach to creativity, as opposed to any kind of theology or sociology.”

To avoid any obvious controversy and to steer clear of incendiary objects, Bolton did consult with representatives from Catholic groups, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York.

Bolton told the Times, “There will always be viewers who want to reduce it to a political polemic.” But added that he did not have to remove a single garment or piece of art.

While there will be garments on loan from the Vatican, they will be kept separate from the main exhibition out of respect because they are still working garments. Greg Burke, the director of the Holy See press office, told the Times, “The Roman Catholic Church has been producing and promoting beautiful works of art for centuries. Most people have experienced that through religious paintings and architecture. This is another way of sharing some of that beauty that rarely gets seen.”  It will be a conversation starter for sure.

The exhibition opens to the public May 10. and runs until October 8.

Here are some of the pieces from the exhibit.

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