SASSYBELLA.com » Stores

Steve Madden opens a new Melbourne store with Ruby Rose at the deck

Lauren Kruger — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:48:41 +0000

Next to diamonds, shoes just may be a girls’ best friend and in our humble opinion, there can never be too many places for a girl to indulge in a little shoe shopping. The talent pool, so to speak, expanded last night with the launch of the latest Steve Madden store, this time in Melbourne’s Bourke Street. Melbourne’s style set descended on the store, which is set out to resemble one of Madden’s famous New York stores. Consisting of three levels, there is no shortage of fancy footwear for both men and women. Fashion conscious men can find leather loafers, casual dress lace-ups and boots in the lower level, where they sit alongside women’s sale items. New arrivals can be found on the ground floor, where sequins, glitter, diamantes and colour dominate Madden’s signature rock-inspired platform shoes, all of which ooze sex appeal and confidence. Never one to shy away from bold fashion statements, Madden exerts a twist on this seasons loafers with his suave sequinned designs. Leopard print is also huge in the footwear genius’ latest collection, with platforms, boots and flats all showcasing the trend.

Despite all the treasures to be discovered on the ground floor, the highlight of the store lies on the top floor, where Madden’s chunky, bold shoes are joined by the fancy footwear of Betsey Johnson, America’a answer to Vivienne Westwood. Like Madden, Johnson’s bold creations are dominated by colour, diamante embellishments and hip patterns, but these designs are not for the fainthearted. Johnson adheres to no-ones rules, and her outrageous shoes seem right at home in Madden’s latest store. Available only at Steve Madden stores in Bondi, Chadstone and now Bourke Street, we think the Betsey Johnson range is perfect fusion with Madden’s urban edge designs.

Kicking off the party mode was Ruby Rose, who performed as the guest DJ for the evening, wearing black Mary Jane-esque suede Betsey Johnson platforms, no less! (Available for your shopping pleasure in store at Bondi, Chadstone and Bourke Street.) Revealing her trademark tattoos and dressed in a chic black and white jean-sleeveless shirt combination, Ruby was the epitome of Steve Madden cool as she showed off her talents on the DJ decks.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Steve Madden shoes, it is easy to see how the man behind the label has earned himself the reputation as a trend setter. With the ability to seemingly see into the future of fashion and refusal to conform to obvious trends, Madden injects a certain, eccentric je ne se quoius into the wardrobes of shopaholics the world over. And for good reason.

Lauren Kruger is a Melbourne based journalism student who loves all things fashion and being inspired by the latest trends, whether it be high fashion or high street. Follow Lauren on Twitter at @LaurenKruger26.

-- This post originally appeared on: SASSYBELLA.com

Steve Madden opens a new Melbourne store with Ruby Rose at the deck

SASSYBELLA.com

Up close and personal with KARL by Karl Lagerfeld, available exclusively at Net-A-Porter

Helen Lee — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:42:31 +0000

High fashion has never been this personal – KARL (a lower priced line by Karl Lagerfeld) is launching exclusively at Net-A-Porter.com on January 25th 2012 (January 26th if you’re time zone is closer to Australia than Europe). We were given a chance to get up close and personal with the collection here in Sydney as the luxury online retail gears up for a global launch in five countries.

If Karl Lagerfeld was a hipster-chic girl, this is the collection for her. Modern and sleek, KARL is a modern sportswear collection which brings in this season’s hottest trends, from matte sequins to PVC, leather, denim and hardware. But as always there were clever twists and turns that makes a Lagerfeld collection just that much more desirable, and it was in the details. Jean tags were embossed with the KARL logo (which of course features a silhouette of Lagerfeld’s head), while the same silhouette featured heavily on the brass hardware, canvas bags (which retails from a cheap AUD$30), slouchy t-shirts and even as a houndstooth-esque print on denim and jacket lining. It’s these clever little touches that make you love a collection because you realise a lot of thought went into the creation.

We all want a piece of Lagerfeld, and with four detachable collars, cut-off gloves, bags and other accessories avaliable, it’s hard not to be tempted by the affordability of the KARL collection We were given a chance to style our own looks for personalised photos for SASSYBELLA.com, so we tasked Nadia from The Animal Orchestra to do the styling and here are the stunning results.

A closer look at the details of the KARL collection

P.S. Don’t forget if you show up at one of the 5 pop up window shops in Paris, London, New York, Berlin and Sydney on the 25th (the 26th in Sydney), the first 50 people will walk away with a KARL collar or a pair of leather gloves (as pictured below).

Note: All pieces on the shoot are KARL, except for the boots which are Gucci (and available on Net-A-Porter).

-- This post originally appeared on: SASSYBELLA.com

Up close and personal with KARL by Karl Lagerfeld, available exclusively at Net-A-Porter

SASSYBELLA.com

Sunglass Hut pops up in Sydney Harbour with Miu Miu Nior’s on board

Helen Lee — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:27:42 +0000

Stormy clouds couldn’t keep us away when Sunglass Hut launched the first pop-up retail store on the waters of Sydney Harbour last night. In a world first, the Luxottica Group showed off their wares in a floating Sunglass Hut store, including the lust-worthy Miu Miu Noir sunglasses that don’t retail worldwide until February 2012.

Open to the public from today until Sunday November 20th, the first floating pop-up Sunglass Hut store in the world is located on Campbell’s Cove just outside of the Park Hyatt Sydney on Sydney Harbour, with the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge serving as a beautiful backdrop.

Styles exclusive to the Sunglass Hut floating store on Sydney Harbour:

Miu Miu Noir’s

Ray Ban Rare Prints

Bvlgari Le Gemme sunglasses (retailing at a whooping AUD$18,000)

“At Luxottica, we believe that people around the world are hungry for innovative retail concepts that intensify emotions and enhance their purchasing experience. With the first floating store located at Sydney Harbour, Sunglass Hut sets the tone, attracting shoppers that will be inspired by the natural scenery while shopping the best eyewear selection of world-known fashion brands,” says Fabio d’Angelantonio, Executive Vice President Sun & Luxury Retail and Chief Marketing Officer at Luxottica globally.

The Sunglass Hut floating store will be open to the public at the below locations and times:

Friday 18th November, Darling Harbour, 10am – 7pm
Saturday 19th November, Darling Harbour, 10am – 7pm
Sunday 20th November, Manly Wharf, 10am – 7pm

Ten percent of all sales from the floating store will be donated to Luxottica’s OneSight Foundation, a program dedicated to improving vision through outreach, research and education.

Meanwhile… we know you want to find out more about the BVLGARI Le Gemme Rare sunglasses right?

They are truly a piece of art in themselves, with Bulgari and Luxottica developing the Le Gemme Rare sunglasses that feature flowers of multicoloured sapphires, mother-of-pearl or aquamarine blossom against maxi black acetate frames, while peridots or pink and blue rose cut sapphires emphasize the soft hues of the main stones, further embellishing each model.

The manufacturing process of the Bvgari Le Gemme Rare’s demand seven months work, from the first prototype to the completion of the models. Master goldsmiths shaped and drilled all the metal components, while hinges, bridges and setting were all worked on with artistry and precision to ensure the greatest possible accuracy and lightest possible weight.

Truly worth the $18,000 price tag that it commands. They’re available to buy (or to look at) from the Sunglass Hut pop up shop – we tried them on but forgot to take a photo!

But we did take a picture of the Miu Miu Noirs, as seen on Madonna and a few other celebrities… we couldn’t help put pick up the sparkly red pair and the tortoiseshell pair – we think we like the tortoiseshell’s on us a little better. What do you think?

Don’t mind our posing, we were encouraged to get our pout on by Darren from Boy Moments.

-- This post originally appeared on: SASSYBELLA.com

Sunglass Hut pops up in Sydney Harbour with Miu Miu Nior’s on board

SASSYBELLA.com

Lanvin are hosting a Fashion’s Night Out dance off in New York!

Helen Lee — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:52:12 +0000

Remember that Lanvin Fall/Winter 2011-12 video that everyone has been gushing about for a week or so now? Well if you think you can dance better than Racquel Zimmermann and Karen Elson, Lanvin want YOU to join them at their Lanvin New York boutique tonight from 6pm to show off your dance moves.

You must be over 21 years old, compete in teams of two and the competition will be judged by the five judges, which include Joe Zee, Iman and Dwayne Wade. There will be prizes awarded for the 1st to 5th placed teams but they haven’t stated what the prizes are – we’re hoping it will be a gift voucher or a handbag.

Check the Facebook page for all the terms & conditions. If you can’t make it to the New York store, you can follow the fun via the Lanvin Twitter page.

In the meantime… rewatch the fabulous Lanvin video several more times below. As well as a rather amusing parody of the video.

Video: LANVIN Fall Winter 2011-2012 Ad Campaign

Video: SARAHROX Lanvin Fall Winter 2011-2012 Promo Parody

-- This post originally appeared on: SASSYBELLA.com

Lanvin are hosting a Fashion’s Night Out dance off in New York!

SASSYBELLA.com

Video: Margherita Missoni talks about Target collection

Helen Lee — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:12:28 +0000

As you’ve probably seen all over the internet and in magazines, Missoni has designed a collection for Target that ranges from womenswear, menswear and childrenswear and even into homewares. And to continue the teaser campaign leading up to the launch on September 13th, Target have released a small video in which Margherita Missoni talks about the collection.

The Missoni for Target collections 1960′s aesthetic was inspired by 1960s Italian movies:

It’s is an aesthetic that is dear to our hearts. That’s when we got our big boom outside of Italy, in the UK and America. And we decided we wanted to do that with Target.

On the use of colours and prints in the Missoni for Target collection:

Here we were really trying to put the essence into the brand, to capture what Missoni is. So we put all our classic graphics and prints into this collection.

Watch the video to hear Margherita Missoni’s charming Italian accent and catch a glimpse of the some of the video footage that was shot for the campaign. Hopefully it’s uploaded online somewhere soon because it looks adorable.

-- This post originally appeared on: SASSYBELLA.com

Video: Margherita Missoni talks about Target collection

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Kmart says Money Can’t Buy Style, are they right?

Helen Lee — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:20:39 +0000

According to The Beatles, money can’t buy love. Now Kmart America are saying that money can’t buy you style in an interesting new advertising campaign.

In a ploy to encourage people to spend less to be stylish, Kmart’s new slogan “Money Can’t Buy Style” makes me wonder if their way of saying – stop trying so hard to be stylish, you ain’t got it so shop with us and save some $$?

The release says that it is aimed at empowering customers to embrace their individualism when approaching fashion, rather than focusing on brand names or even trends. Kmart want to emphasize self-expression in fashion and sent a team around America to hunt down real people with individual style to appear in the Fall 2011 advertising campaign.

We applaud the celebration of individual style but in a world where clothing is mass produced at alarming rates, is it really individual?

We’d love to know your thoughts on Kmart America’s new advertising campaign and if you think money can buy style?

-- This post originally appeared on: SASSYBELLA.com

Kmart says Money Can’t Buy Style, are they right?

SASSYBELLA.com

Topshop to open stores in Australia – finally!

Helen Lee — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 02:26:33 +0000

Two years ago Topshop hit Australian shores thanks to Incu to much fanfare, but since then we haven’t heard much about Topshop in Australia. Until now. Australian based website Fashionising has learned that Topshop are looking to open standalone boutiques in Australia before the end of 2011.

This is good news to Topshop fans in Melbourne and Sydney with potential locations touted includes Sydney and Melbourne CBD, the Jam Factory on Chapel Street in Melbourne and Chatswood Chase Shopping Centre in Sydney’s Northern suburbs.

It seems that Australia is the new hot spot for international chains with this news coming hot off the back of the recently opened Zara stores in Sydney and Melbourne which has attracted queues at the front door during the first few weeks of the store openings. Rumours are that H&M are considering opening stores in Australia in the next few years.

After much hype and fanfare surrounding the Topshop America store openings we hope we see more of the same locally – though we can strike Kate Moss of the official guest list since the supermodel will be busy being a newlywed and no longer designs a collection for the British high street brand.

Some have said that this will spell doom for local chains like Witchery, Country Road and Portmans with some getting patriotic and trying to put a negative spin on the news. But local shoppers have long been unhappy with the quality of the designs and the price tag associated. It’s time local chain’s step up the game beyond shiny ad campaigns with ‘famous’ faces fronting the campaign.

We can’t wait to see just how big Topshop will take things to rival the buzz that surrounded Zara’s store openings.

-- This post originally appeared on: SASSYBELLA.com

Topshop to open stores in Australia – finally!

SASSYBELLA.com