People pay a boatload of money at auctions for art, Prada figures they’ll do the same for Prada. The thinking here is Prada = Art. Oh you didn’t know? They are auctioning 24 original custom pieces of Prada items. It started yesterday and is running through July 25th. Check in every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to see the status of your bids. Currently they are auctioning the Fiocca Dress you see above. I’m putting it in caps because guess what? It’s art. And this art will cost you my friend. Currently the bidding is at 900 Euros which equals to roughly $1800. Is it it worth it? When it comes to Prada it always somehow comes out that way.

Click this link if you’re brave enough to look at the prices.

The news broke earlier today that Liz Claiborne died at the age of 78 of complications from cancer. Already mourning over the earlier news this month of Gianfranco Ferre, there’s no other way to talk about this without feeling extremely sad by this loss.

Those who knew her personally are already coming out speaking of courage in starting her own company and seeing it through to be the most successful designer line/company started by a woman. Without knowing her personally, I can unequivocally say though that that courage is dwarfed by the amount of strength needed to fight cancer. She did it from 1997 till 2007. The great thing is that even with her death, she is still fighting cancer. Her company continues to be one of the largest breast cancer fundraiser in the world. We interviewed a vice president at her company while back and she restated the commitment to fighting this disease with all of the company’s great works and events around the world.

While Liz Claiborne will forever be known in larger circles as the woman who ushered in the era of the female professional via her designs, I will simply know her as the woman who fought fiercely against insurmountable circumstances and overcame them.

Those pesky investment bankers have enough. Millions and billions of dollars, towncars that wrap around broadway near water street, a magnificent bull statue that announces you are in an area dripping with money. Now they have a Hermes store. It opened last week (Thursday) to be exact, on Broad Street near Wall Street. What do Wall Street guys and gals know about fashion anyway? I’ll break this down to the sub-atomic level. They have money. They have too much money. They have so much that they don’t know what to do with. The only retail experience they have down there is Century 21 for designer items. Truth be known, they really don’t need a discount designer shopping center. They want to pay full price. They need to pay full price. I say let them.

While I covet everything in this 4,000 square foot store it also comforts me to know that Tiffany’s, Canali and Thomas Pink will be opening a store down there as well. Money begets Money.

Was going through my normal internet reading when I stumbled onto the news of italian designer Gianfranco Ferre’s death. The news has sunk in and everyone is reporting it, but I had to just make a quick comment as I was such a fan of his work from the Dior years and later on when he started his own line. There’s an old, cliched saying: you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. It’s never more correct in his case. How can you take a business suit and bring an edge with structured lines or provide sophistication and simplicity all by wearing a white blouse? In a simple fashion bloggers opinion, that was the genius and much welcomed conflict of Ferre’s work. He will be missed.

Colleen Barry of of the Associated Press wrote a very good obituary on his works in the fashion industry. Click here to read.

That’s right folks, Natalia Vodianova is on the July 2007 cover of Vogue magazine wearing Nina Ricci no less. The celebrities are nowhere to be found. Somewhere Nicole Richie is turning over in her grave… I’m kidding.

And while said model is dramatically overused, it’s almost startling that the fashion magazine is using, gasp.. a fashion model for the cover. Can it be that the headmistress is feeling the breath of one of her underlings on the hairs of her neck? Did she run out of burnt out female celebrities? Could it be that this is going to be a trend and deep in the hallowed halls of Conde Nast the August issue will feature another model? The suspense can truly kill.

Message from Satan-
(It’s getting cold down here)