If Ksubi wasn’t cool enough already, they’re profile are about to get a little big bigger and cooler thanks to news of their collaboration with Pastelle, Kanye West’s fashion label.

The denim boys will create a sunglasses collection with Pastelle with the collection aptly called, Ksubi for Pastelle, the range is set to launch globally in October. Designed by Ksubi co-founder, George Gorrow, the collections centre piece will be a limited edition pair of sunglasses which will retail for about $2,000 - and according to a news report it has already received orders from Japanese buyers, sight unseen.

“I love the sunnies Ksubi has produced over the years, and it’s an honour to collaborate with them on this first instalment of Pastelle frames,” West said. “George is an incredibly talented designer, and I’ve never met anyone who knew more about sunglasses and other cool stuff.”

“At our first design session at Kanye’s place in LA we spent two days talking and going over shapes,” Gorrow said. “He allowed me to push the design but playing on his aesthetic. He’s not afraid to try new things, and I guess that is why he is where he is.”

The pair first worked together when Ksubi created a collection of eyewear for West to wear in 2006 for a series of music videos for the Grammy award winning artist.

In the name of rasining money to raise the profile of the struggle in Darfur, Nadia Plesner, a painter, worked with Designers for Darfur to creat an image of a Darfur child in the style of Paris Hilton - complete with handbag that looks very similar to a Louis Vuitton monogram bag and a little dog.

Needless to say Louis Vuitton is not happy. They asked Plesner to “cease and desist” in February saying: “We cannot help noticing that the design of [your] product includes the reproduction of a bag infringing on LV’s intellectual property rights.”

But she hasn’t ceased and has since been slapped with a lawsuit.

“She used the accessories to show that this is what the world is paying attention to,” argued Malcolm Harris, creator of Designers for Darfur.

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Yup, you read it right, the actress that is currently guest staring in Gossip Girl has been dabbling in the world of jewelry design as well as blogging about her days on the set of the popular TV drama for Cosmopolitan.

It was way back in late 2006 when Michelle Trachtenberg launched her Bella Veritas jewelry collection; which is made up of hand-made pieces created with semi-precious stones and feature silver charms in the shape of handcuffs, skulls and guns, hearts, Buddha icons and four leaf clovers.

And it seems that she will plug it any way she can since she hasn’t held back on talking about Bella Veritas (Latin for beautiful truth) on her Cosmo blog, with Trachtenberg letting readers know all about her hobby:

But I have to admit, the item I’m most excited to wear is the black onyx gold skull necklace from my own jewelry line, “Bella Veritas.” I started making necklaces as a side hobby and really just for fun (anyone who knows me will tell you I can’t sit still!). Slowly but surely after passing my necklaces out as gifts to my friends I decided to take my necklace making show on the road! Every piece is one of a kind, hand made by me. I use semi precious stones l tourmalines, peridots, amethyst, topaz, garnets etc. And they have an awesome little charm to add some extra bling. I also make bracelets because I think you can never stop layering your jewels! And really, who doesn’t love to add some sparkle to their outfits?!

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Catherine McNeil, the Giorgio Armani advertising campaign favourite, has branched out to become the face of Christian Dior Jewelry. The Australian model was photographed with luscious brunette locks, complete with a fringe wearing Dior’s collection of fine jewellery for their print campaign.

While I love the shots, I don’t love the jewellery. Sure it’s very pretty and girlie, but it’s nor opulent or luxurious to  me and have a slightly kitsch feel don’t you think?

[Images from TFS]

Ever needed a cooler/light for your Veuve Clicquot? Because for just $4,500 you can get the Veuve Clicquot Globalight limited edition champagne cooler designed by Karim Rashid.

In his second collaboration with Verve Clicquot, Rashid reinterpreted the traditional French chandelier and how it is an icon of romantic dinners and meaningful moments.

“Globalight enhances the ritual of enjoying champagne in a sophisticated, stylish way. We are delighted to collaborate once again with the talented Karim who also crafted our beautiful Veuve Clicquot Loveseat,” explained Cecile Bonnefond, President of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.

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Claire Danes has never fronted a high end advertising campaign, but all that is about to change with the Romeo & Juliet actress taking over from Drew Barrymore as the face of Gucci Jewellery.

“Claire Danes is a modern icon and one of the most interesting young actresses on the international scene. Claire’s sensual, confident beauty and her passionate, independent and strong character embodies today’s Gucci woman,” said Gucci creative director Frida Giannini.

Danes is equally as excited, saying: “Frida is a very inspiring and creative woman. Her vision is extraordinary and I am excited to be a part of it.”

Photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin the campaign is due to break this fall.

Are you looking forward to seeing the results?

The Stella McCartney empire is set to expand on an even more lucrative scale thanks to her new licensing deal with the Luxottica Group to produce sunglasses.

Stella McCartney eyewear was previously licensed to Safilo since 2003, but this new 6-year agreement beginning from January 1, 2009, is said to be a much more lucrative with the opportunity to hit more retail outlet thanks to Luxottica’s reach.

“This new agreement is geared towards strengthening further the presence of Stella McCartney eyewear in the market and aimed to further increase the international development of the brand,” said Marco Bizzarri, CEO and President of Stella McCartney. “We are particularly pleased to partner with Luxottica, the leading company in the sector, and combine our experience and expertise to make it a particularly strong partnership.”

Emilio Pucci Sundail canvas beach bag for FTBC

Love it because: while the Sundail print may not be one of Pucci’s best designs this classic style beach bag does have one major plus going for it. The proceeds of this limited edition canvas beach bag will go towards Fashion Targets Breast Cancer - with the retail price set at over £300, the charity will get a decent chunk.

The launch of this Emilio Pucci yellow beach bag follows in the footsteps of Ralph Lauren’s FTBC polo’s which came in an assortment of colours and modeled on some of IMG’s top models last year.

Buy it now from: Net-A-Porter.com

The popular Mulberry partnership with illustrator Julie Verhoven has popped up again this spring with the addition of animal print t-shirts along with a new range of silk scarves for spring 2008.

Verhoven collaborated with the luxury brand last year on a small collection of clothes and accessories, which were beautiful but didn’t feature many casual pieces.

So she’s added it to the spring 2008 collection with kooky animal print t-shirts.

“The artwork for the T-shirts came about by wanting a little bit of loopyness for springtime and letting loose the Mulberry menagerie of daft animals,” Verhoeven tells Vogue UK.

Each t-shirt features either a pig, cat or bunny illustration with the t-shirts retailing at £50 – significantly less than the £295 for a silk print scarf - for men and women.

Vogue Uk goes on to say the t-shirts are available on the Mulberry website, but I can’t find them, can you?