Received an e-mail today about a new online store that gives me hope that the guesswork behind finding good indie designers (and not indie, indie designers) may be ending or at least reaching a point where it’s not so difficult to anymore. The new store that does exactly has an interesting name, Buy Definition. Which by definition means that I am going to use the whole by definition phrase over and over again. Buy definition melds a cool shopping interface with fashions from designers I know in passing (only because of the hole in the wall shows during fashion week).

There’s something gratifying about seeing a Samantha Pleet piece at the Buy Definition online store, knowing that 6 months ago I was at one of her early fashion shows. What really gets the juices flowing is finding out about designers that are a complete mystery to me. While these names may seem familiar to some, to me, they are happy little surprises that I am content to swoon over. Here are some examples I’ve found: Devotte, Fallon, Kensie, Sally Tseng, the aforementioned Samantha Pleet and a favorite from Singapore fashion week (kudos Ali) Khoon Hooi.

Take a look at the online store here.

With Earth week, the advent of everything green it’s good to know that Edun picked up the torch way earlier and the mission statement/mantra is environmentally aware fashion. The great thing with this mantra and execution is that environmentally aware need not mean boring. The above photo is from the designer’s Spring collection. The entire men’s collection is a bit weaker than what’s coming for women, but if you are adamant about having something green (read sustainable and environmentally friendly) in your closet, this is it.

online: Edun.ie website

It’s no surprise that Hello Kitty graces the cover of Japanese Vogue. Word is that in Japan, Hello Kitty is a DemiGod, soon to be getting her own TV channel. The inescapable news that’s been making the rounds is that John Galliano outfitted in the character in everything Dior for the Fall season. Word is the photoshoot editorial is supremely cute and supremely Kitty. The Vogue cover as you can see is splashed with fashion (take note ivory tower Conde Nast in New York) and Kitty. It really does all work out in some weird fashion. As an aside, don’t you just wish the Vogue covers in America were less Today showish, celebrity-of-the-moment, how to improve your life through yoga (no knock on Yoga) and more something, in the vein of… Carine Roitfeld?

You will pry my company from my cold dead 90 year old hands was Giorgio Armani’s retort to a suggestion that he might go the way of Roberto Cavalli and sell his company to someone else. His main reasoning: he doesn’t need a partner who constantly focuses on numbers and the bottom line. He’s concerned about beauty. While there’s no doubt Armani has a legion of accountants to make sure he’s solvent, it’s pretty much certain that he calls the shots and no one can tell him what to do… ever.

Here’s the direct quote from WWD:

I am fine alone now, but not when I’ll be 90, [Funds] just want to make money and then leave. How could I talk to someone who only cares about the figures? I would rather consider a real partner, perhaps a group that already has a connection with us, that we know and that could complete the relationship with us.

Net-A-Porter has a neat-o retrospective on Emilio Pucci. It has several photos of Pucci’s designs from seasons past and where the collection is now. There’s definitely this evolution from the “slinky jersey dresses” to the trademark bright swirling patterns. The great thing is seeing as how the collection remains timeless. Mathew Williamson has done a great job of keeping the collection current and making sure that the line endures. See the retrospective here.