Cheers! Meet your new fashion capital ambassadors

New York is easily the fashion capital of the US, and considering the size of the American consumer market, for many people that makes it one of the top fashion cities in the world. According to a list from Austin, TX based internet analysis company Global Language Monitor, that’s not quite enough to make it number one though. What is enough? How about a blue blood wedding, a newly minted princess with a mostly attainable wardrobe/style, and one design house with a genius founder and brilliant successor (who also played a role in said wedding). Come on down London, you’ve officially been crowned as the internet’s favorite fashion capital.

But is it?

When it comes to socialites, the US has Paris Hilton and the UK has Daphne Guiness. Not even close there. When it comes to hats, you may laugh, but Princess Beatrice won that one too. And sure, it’s true that London’s style ambassador, the former Kate Middleton, can move a dress per minute (or more) with just one outing; and even American companies want nothing to do with our style exports (*cough* Dirty Jersey), but we’re still not sure if the rankings apply in the true fashion world.

Paris is ranked third, behind London and New York respectively, but we’d posit that few people working in fashion would place the French fashion capital at anything lower than number 2 – if that. While London is undeniable when it comes to design talent and sartorial risk taking, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano (who, for all his social failings, is still a talented designer) and even current London top dog Burberry all built their brands in Paris. Burberry made a patriotic return to the UK a few years ago, but when it comes to anchor brands, no one does it better than the City of Lights. Plus, when it comes to making a move into European, Middle Eastern and even Asian stores and press, designers have a presence in Paris because they know that buyers and reporters will have a presence in Paris. Visit Paris during fashion week and you’ll see brands from around the world – including New York, London and Milan – represented at tradefairs, in showrooms and on catwalks.

And New York? Well, sportswear and safe bets may not push the envelope, but it turns out that sometimes staying inside the box can be the beginning of a billion dollar brand. As a fashion capital, New York may not have the history of Paris, but it does have the money.

Though London is putting in a strong effort to support homegrown talent and British brands, it’s still a city largely seen as an incubator for talent, as opposed to a commercial center. While that might not be as sexy as the raw creativity London is famous for, it’s the one thing that New York, Paris and Milan – the cities that make up the top 4 fashion capitals, have in common.

And we’d argue, the one thing that would keep London from truly being number one for fashion.

The Top 10 Fashion Capitals 2011

1. London
2. New York
3. Paris
4. Milan
5. Los Angeles
6. Hong Kong
7. Barcelona
8. Singapore
9. Tokyo
10. Berlin

{Global Language Monitor}

Ciclotte is an innovative exercise bike, designed and made in Italy combining idea, form and technology in rethinking the traditional aesthetic and functional values of an exercise bike. The Ciclotte is an adaptation of the Ciclò project, an innovative prototype of a single-wheel city bike, which is now part of the permanent collection exhibited at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan. Ciclotte has been manufactured using exceptional materials like carbon, steel and glass fibres representing complete innovation in the fitness sector thanks to the unique technology of the epicycloid’s transmission system.

Designed by Luca Schieppati, a young designer from Milan, and manufactured by the Lamiflex Group in Bergamo, Ciclotte puts the breaks on the design of traditional gym equipment with shapes and finishes that appeal to users looking for a more aesthetically pleasing workout. {Pulse Magazine} And, if we’re being honest, exercise machines sometimes ends up functioning more as furniture anyway. A sculptural stationary bike that can be passed off as art is far less embarrassing than the bulky treadmill that doubles as a towel rack.

Quite a step outside Cavalli’s box, but for fashion lovers and exercise enthusiasts alike, your day has finally come. The bikes will be available beginning this month alongside Roberto Cavalli Gym, a collection of fitness apparel that lets you hang on to a bit of over-the-top glamour while you sweat. The limited-edition equipment will be available in six color variations:

• Black carbon fibre with details in jaguar-print pony
• Fuchsia carbon fibre with details in Alcantara® (a faux suede-like textile)
• Black carbon fibre with details in zebra-print pony
• Gold steel with details in Alcantara®
• Gold steel with details in jaguar-print pony
• Silver steel with details in Alcantara®

Both the bikes and the outfits are exclusively available at Roberto Cavalli boutiques around the world. {Racked}

We love the idea, and think it’s about time we saw a plus size collection from the designer, although we wonder how Marc feels about his partner letting the news slip on twitter. While the explosion of plus-sized models in magazine spreads left more than a few people cynical about if it was tokenism or signs of a real change in fashion, it does seem to mark a shift. Saks Fifth Avenue’s New York flagship quietly announced plans to include sizes up to 20 with fall collections from Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana among others. While it would  nice to see larger sizes included on styles from the main range, something is better than nothing when it comes to more options for 12+ women who are interested in fashion, but don’t find the same variety of options at retail.  Some styles in the traditional 0-10 designer size range may not be flattering if they’re just sized up, so we’ll take the optimistic view that the split from the main line is for the purpose of creating clothes designed specifically to flatter larger sizes. As long as the end result is a sister line that has enough sartorial similarities to the Marc Jacobs aesthetic fans of all sizes have come to admire, we can’t wait to see the result.

In addition to the plus-size line, Robert also tweeted about a debut Marc Jacob’s Men’s show in Milan saying,  “Yea. I guess I broke the news on twitter that we were going to have our first Marc Jacobs Men’s Collection show to be held in Milan.”  The good news keeps on coming, but Duffy admits, “I’m over sharing, but  still unable to resist.”

The best part of Moscow’s fashion set, Boselli states, is that there are “many different designers going in different directions, which is a good thing — it creates a wealth of fashion.”

Because of the economy slump and the subsequent cynicism directed toward the fashion world, there is much more opportunity — and an even greater need — for new names, faces, and outlooks to make it into the bigger fashion picture.  Our eyes will be fixed to the east from now on (not just Russia, but South Korea and Syria, too), and we eagerly await what’s next on the fashion horizon.

Read the full story {The Moscow News}