Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare Oh My!

Our technology-infused culture has become over-saturated and overwhelming, don’t you think? It’s not easy sifting through the messages, texts, check ins, emails and tweets that bombard us every minute of every day.

A panel of in-the-know celebrities and industry insiders gathered at the Hearst Art & Culture Hub for Social Media Week in New York City yesterday to discuss the techniques to utilizing today’s social technology in the most productive and beneficial ways possible.

The panel was moderated by Laura Brown, Hearst’s Features/Special Projects Director, who explores the role and growing popularity of social styling and social media in today’s digital world. The panel consisted of celebrity Denise Richards, Popeater.com Entertainment Columnist and Blogger Rob Shuter, indie fashion blogger BryanBoy, Lancome CEO Kerry Diamond and Leandra Medine of Man Repeller.

Almost as soon as it began, the discussion turned to the social media queen herself, Kim Kardashian. Celebrities like Kardashian use social media tools to connect with the public, gain exposure and drive their personal business initiatives. When launching her new fragrance Kardashian used her twitter followers as a focus group when she posted the pictures of two possible bottle choices, asking her thousands of followers, “What do you think?”  Whether or not the one voted best is the one chosen, twitter was a crucial tool for Kardashian in maximizing her influence and allowing her to hear what her fans want first-hand.

Denise Richards noted that it’s important to “have a goal and stay true to yourself” when connecting. Although she maintains everything she types is legitimate and sincere, misleading tweets seeming more contrived than genuine are streaming from the twitter feeds of many celebrities. We recently covered the topic of endorsement deals and contracts regularly stipulating stars to use social networking sites for brand and product-related advertisement. Kim Kardashian denies ever being compensated, but how likely is it that her deal for Reebok Easy Tone sneakers had nothing to do with her tweeting pics of her wearing the shoes at the gym saying “I love my Reebok Easy Tones” and including a link to buy them?

You may not know this, but the FCC does require tweets that are being monetarily compensated to include “AD” at the end of the message to clarify intent, as to not mislead the public. We rarely see this appearing on celeb messages even though law requires it.

Independent fashion blogger BryanBoy had a more grassroots approach to broaden exposure and engage an audience. He says that being himself, documenting his day-to-day life and sharing his love for fashion and style is what first made him famous. However sharing his personal dreams and encouraging others to do the same is what has skyrocketed him into the limelight. So much so that Marc Jacobs designed a handbag after him in his 2008/2009 Fall Collection. His success-achieving advice is to put  forth your true self and it will attract desired results. A big topic of the day was the emergence and acceptance of original bloggers like BryanBoy and Tavi, who are essentially “playing fashion editor” through social sites, offering styling tips, fashion advice and even trend forecasting. Social media sites have served as an unmatched platform for amateurs to build a trusted brand for themselves in the industry.

In essence many of the panel members shared personal experiences that hit on many of the same points. Lancome CEO Kerry Diamond shared her work with Pee-Wee Herman and his new “comeback.” What we already know and love about Pee-Wee is his unpredictability and crazy energy right? They launched a Twitter campaign in New York where the 80’s star would hop around popular locales in Manhattan and tweet his whereabouts to fans on twitter, encouraging all to come see him. It was a hit. People showed up all over the city to see Pee-Wee, even the New York Times stopped by to see what it was all about. Introducing Pee-Wee to Twitter was a cautious, well-orchestrated event that engaged his fans and made his return fun and spontaneous. Knowing Pee-Wee Herman as a brand and using the internet to broadcast is what made the launch so successful.

Whether it be from a business or personal perspective, a strong content strategy or product development strategy are key building a real-time measurement of branding success through social media. Joining such networks requires transparency, accessibility, and a strong self-identity.

Steve Madden has been working hard lately. We recently reported his collaboration on Zac Posen’s moderately-priced Z-Spoke line, and it seems he has his sights on a new venture with pop star Katy Perry. Although she may have been dubbed too sexy for Sesame Street, it seems Steve thinks she is just the right fit for Seventh Avenue.

Known for her outrageous and buzzworthy sense of style it comes as no surprise that Madden has reportedly approached the singer with a proposition to collaborate on a “creative fashion collection” {Second City Style}.

Madden has also come to Betsey Johnson’s rescue after the designer suffered financial hardships. He generously loaned her the funds to get out of debt, leaving the Betsey Johnson empire basically under Madden’s control. This begs the question, is is possible that Perry’s crazy fashion sense will translate into the Betsey brand as well?

“Steve Madden is not taking over the company, and Betsey Johnson is not leaving the company,” Jonathan Friedman, Betsey Johnson’s executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer, told Page Six. {New York Post}

Either way, it’s a match that makes sense. Katy’s kitschy, colorful style (think Candyland figure youthful and brazenly bright) would compliment for Betsey Johnson, or add a bit of teen style to Madden’s own line. We can’t wait to see what the duo come up with.

First, Beyonce and her stylist mother, Tina, have teamed up with airbrushing company, Temptu to create limited-edition body art kits for the House of Deréon Fall 2010 ad campaign. The temporary tattoos will be available this November 1st in Deréon’s signature fleur-de-lis icon, rock ‘n roll, jewelry, and spider designs. They are waterproof and created to last two to five days. The kits will range from basic to deluxe and will be sold for $16 to $34 at Sephora stores and online at sephora.com, temptu.com and dereon.com, while supplies last. {Stylelist}

Betsey Johnson is the second designer to dabble in temporary tattoos, offering a recent collection of jewelry-deigned faux ink. The pearl, jeweled and chain-linked designs are created to mimic and exaggerate women’s accessories with an edgy, punk-rock twist. {High Snobette}

We aren’t sure how many people will rock the faux body art, but so far there is already a waiting list for Beyonce’s collection. Temporary tattoos are, of course, nothing super new – in the 90s they were all over the place. Unlike the temporary tattoos of the past, which often tried to appeal to a general audience, the latest versions are decidedly counting on more feminine details and designs. What about you? Would you revive the fake tattoo trend for fashion’s sake, or are you in favor of a more committed permanent inking?

Shopping at Forever 21 has always been a budget-friendly endeavor, and the new collection will not deviate from the fashion-forward (often drawing the ire of designers who feel the store’s designs aren’t original enough) and reasonably priced apparel and accessories.

Lichtenberg has been styled big name celebrities like Lady Gaga, and explains how this venture is a positive one for the Forever 21 shopper and his own career saying, “It is going to be for the customer that is younger and has seen my work on celebrities and musicians, but doesnâ€t have the money to plunk down for my main line. This is definitely going to be a great opportunity to be on a more global scale.” {College Fashion}

This collaboration is just the beginning of a series of collaborations that the brand is planning to embark on to offer more upscale merchandise at their signature low prices.  It seems as though the brand is taking cues from competing stores like H&M and Target who have had numerous designers (think Madonna, Roberto Cavalli, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Proenza Schouler) launch capsule collections for their brands in the past.

With over 50 copyright infringement lawsuits under their belt for drawing a little too much ‘inspiration’ from names like Anthropologie, Anna Sui and Diane Von Furstenberg, it’s seems like a smart idea for Forever 21 to bring in their own designers to catch consumer attention instead of copying others. {the Cut}

The face of the brand has remained hush hush until now. All we knew was that a young Hollywood starlet, who lives and breathes the essence of edgy was in Madonna’s sights. The ads are finished and courtesy of Macy’s it’s confirmed that Gossip Girl star Taylor Momsen is the face of the ‘Material Girl’ ad campaign. {Stylelist} No word yet on if this means underwear and stripper heels will be involved in the line.

Even though she’s moved on to Dolce & Gabbana, we love that Madonna’s not afraid to look back on her younger style. Her daughter Lourdes, who collaborates on the collection has, over the years, may be heavily influenced by old pictures (we’re betting that’s a family photo album a lot more exciting than ours), but has honed her own unique rocker fashion sense as well. In this case, a little fashion nepotism may not be so bad.

Looks from Madonna's Material Girl Line

Above, the cover of Lauren Conrad's latest book, Style

The former The Hills cast member has also tried her hands on fashion designing. In 2007, Conrad designed her own clothing collection called the Lauren Conrad Collection, financed by MTV and Tangerine promotions. Subsequently, in the fall of 2009 she produced an exclusive line for departmental store Kohl’s, called LC Lauren Conrad.

Conrad’s growing list of achievements is indeed impressive. At only 24, the former reality television star, fashion designer and author has a good number of accomplishments under her belt – 2 fashion lines, 4 books and a burgeoning bank account. According to Forbes, Conrad is currently raking in a healthy income of $1.5 million annually.

Yet, looking past these statistics, we aren’t sure if she can be exactly considered a “success”. Sure, based solely on financial indicators, Conrad is certainly doing very well for herself. And though it’s easy to look at Conrad as another person who’s just famous for being famous, she does seem to be putting real effort into her endeavors.  But a look at the bigger picture suggests all is not as rosy as her bank account would suggest.

Last year, the New York Times reported that Conrad’s first fashion line – Lauren Conrad Collection, will be taking a hiatus until 2010 with hopes that the line will go overseas. According to LC (as she is sometimes affectionately referred to by fans) herself, she would like “to give it (Lauren Conrad Collection) a whole new feel,” before continuing, “but that requires us to take a few seasons off.” {New York Times}

Above, Lauren Conrad runway show

Conrad may like to refer to this break as an effort to take the collection away from public eye and improve it so that it comes back stronger. But this doesn’t remove the fact that the Lauren Conrad Collection was far from a spectacular success. Back then, fashion critics and fans alike complained that the line was overpriced. Casual dresses which were likely targeted towards her teen fan-base sold for upwards of $100. In a telephone interview, she admitted that the collection “wasnâ€t as accessible and affordable as I wanted it to be.” {New York Times}

So when news of her new book Lauren Conrad Style first broke out, we couldn’t help but wonder if Conrad is really the right person to turn to for style advice. She may have designed two clothing lines, but with celebrity fronted fashion labels, it’s often difficult to determine if the celebrities themselves do the designing, or merely just put their names up on a label while other people do the “dirty” work. Lauren Sherman over at Fashionista.com seems to think so too.

It may be premature for us to judge the book before it has even hit stores, so we’ll withhold a final verdict, but we can only applaud  Conrad’s determination to become more than just a reality television star.

At shows by Alexander Wang, Jonathan Saunders and Acne models with severely slicked, messy locks were the trend. {Refinery 29} You know who we blame? Vampires. Well, actually one in particular. Seems like Pringle of Scotland (who also sent dirty haired models down the runway) and Chloe Sevigny (who rocked the greaser look out and about) have drawn a little too much inspiration from Robert Pattinson’s magical mop.

If you have a problem with people running their fingers through your hair, we guess this could be a fix. But tell us, will you be going with the dirty ‘do trend?

Dirty hair as a trend? We blame this guy.

Hays began blogging about design a few years ago, and decided to take the plunge and launch her own company this year. And we’re very glad she did - both her clean-cut, vibrant pillows and her fun graphic tees are an absolute breath of fresh air.

While we think her pillows would look great in any room – from a stark college dorm to a dark and atmospheric study – Hays has one room she’d love to design over any other:

“I would love to design a room for the First Lady. Thereâ€d be some amazing statement pieces like a classic tufted sofa outfitted in AphroChicâ€s Haze Mimosa pillows, a graphic Madeline Weinrib rug, and a Murano chandelier to add some ambience. The space would be grounded with personal pieces from her travels – textiles from Kenya, a wood carving from South Africa, a painting picked up in Italy. And some Moroccan poufs would provide the perfect seating for her daughters. It would be a perfect reflection of her modern and classic style – the kind of room that would seamlessly blend world cultures and high-end design to create a warm and comfortable space for the family to relax in.”

While Obama’s living room may just be a fantasy for now, we think that all of Hays’ pieces “seamlessly blend world cultures and high-end design.” If you want the look for yourself, check out the online shop.

Read More {AphroChic Blog}

Read More {Decor8}

Read More {The Inside Stoop}

Animal prints have always come in and out of vogue, but this season we pass on the typical leopard and cheetah and slip into something a little sexier: snakeskin.

But don’t worry, this modern take on snake is not as tacky as we’re used to, as long as you shop smart.  We recommend sticking to tonal shades in neutrals (like the black and grey booties, left), which are far classier and will enjoy much longer lives in your wardrobe than their more brilliantly-hued (and usually more artificial-looking) siblings.  Neutral tones are also easier to find good synthetic copies of, which we think is a much better investment for both our wallets and our planet.

Snakeskin by itself is a lot of look, so take it in small doses.  Pair a sexy snake bootie with tights and a wool pencil skirt for the office, or wear a subtly-patterned silk halter with great dark-wash denim for an after-work night on the town; just a touch of skin will add a lot of bite to your wardrobe.

Read the full story {ABC News}

Continuing in the same vein of the past seasons’ aggressive heavy-metal/warrior trends, designers like Vena Cava and style-savvy people like blogger Pelayo Diaz, shown left, have turned to the humble safety pin for more than pure utilitarianism.

Designer versions of safety-pin-studded duds are of course costly, but the beauty of this trend is that pretty much anyone can have fun and DIY — with the cost being merely a missed latte plus a few hours of labor.

Read the full story {Refinery 29}