Manolo Blahnik for Band of Outsiders

Band of Outsider did a collaboration with Manolo Blahnik, for their Fall 2009 collection. Blahnik added a familiar old friend, we all remember the stiletto tim (awful) well here's it's cousin for a whooping $995.00.

I'm not really sure what I feel about this one. I guess they could be fly. What's your take?

Nelson Mandela Concert

Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Josh Groban and TLC will headline “The Mandela Day Celebration,” a tribute concert honoring human rights leader Nelson Mandela, on July 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event is organized by 46664, Mandela’s campaign for global HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and marks the first time the U.S. will host a Mandela Day concert following successful installments in the UK,South Africa, Spain, and Norway.

Additional artists on the Mandela Day lineup include Cyndi Lauper, Jesse McCartney, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Chris Chameleon, Freshlyground and Vusi Mahlasela, among others.

Spearheading the tribute is the Eurythmics’ founder and producer Dave Stewart, who launched 46664 in 2002 and named the campaign after Mandela’s Robbens Island prison number. Stewart most recently teamed up with U2’s Bono and Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor to organize a 2008 Mandela Day concert at London’s Hyde Park in celebration of the former South African President’s 90th birthday.

This year’s Mandela Day concert will cap off a week-long series of events in Mandela’s honor, including a fundraiser dinner hosted by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. “In return for everything Mandela has taught us, we each owe it to him to support his work and legacy by doing and living our own as best we can, not just on this day, but throughout our entire lives,” Clinton said in a statement.

Tickets for the "46664 - Mandela Day Celebration" concert range from $50 to $350 and are available now at Ticketmaster.

New Sade On The Way

Sade Adu, the reclusive "quiet storm" soul signer who takes notoriously long breaks between releases, has regrouped with the band that bears her name and is recording her first album of new material since 2000's "Lovers Rock," Billboard.com sources confirm. The group is in the studio through June and Sony hopes to put the record out by the end of 2009 though, despite rumors, there is no set release date on the calendar. "She is in the studio and the album will come when it is ready," a source at Sony tells Billboard. "You don't wait for years for one and then rush it." Sade's longtime bandmate Stuart Matthewman, a.k.a. Cottonbelly, also confirms that new material is in progress, though he says the project is still in its "early days" and won't be close to finished until "later in the year."

Last week, it was rumored that the album will be released on November 24, 2009.

Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga Open in Shanghai

Gucci Group is busy in Shanghai these days.The luxury goods group has within a matter of weeks opened stores for its brands Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Gucci — the latter two opening last week. Bottega Veneta opened its seventh store in China at Shanghai’s Golden Eagle Shopping Plaza last month, the same mall where the Gucci brand last week opened a 17,000-square-foot flagship. Covering 4,406 square feet, the Bottega Veneta store, designed by creative director Tomas Maier, carries all the brand’s collections including women’s and men’s wear, leather goods, footwear and accessories. Maier said he was “very pleased” with the company’s “continuous developments in this important market. This is a significant step towards our objective of offering the entire range of Bottega Veneta products and exquisite shopping experience to more customers in Mainland China.”



To mark the opening, Maier created a limited edition bag named the Shanghai Duette in copper ostrich (pic below)

Balenciaga’s 1,600-square-foot women’s and men’s boutique at Plaza 66, plus a 970-square-foot accessories-only unit in the Hangzhou Tower in Hangzhou, mark the brand’s first stores in Mainland China.

Balenciaga now operates 26 directly owned stores and 17 franchises, in addition to its wholesale distribution.

Gap And Stella McCartney To Launch New Kids Line

Gap Inc. today revealed that it has signed a deal with the British designer to create collections for GapKids and babyGap. The lines will launch late this year and will be carried in select GapKids and babyGap stores in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Ireland and Japan, as well as online in the U.S.“

For years I’ve wanted to create a collection for kids,” McCartney stated. “It’s something I’ve often been asked about. I believe that this collaboration will be a great way for customers to be able to participate in the Stella McCartney brand. I believe that kids’ clothing should be more accessibly priced, which is particularly important at the moment, given the current climate.”

This marks the first time McCartney will create boys’ and girls’ apparel.

Will Smith and Taraji P. Henson Team Up

You may have heard rumblings of Will Smith doing a remake of the ’80’s classic The Karate Kid. Well, now it’s official – Taraji P. Henson told MTV that she is starring in the remake, along with Jaden Smith — Henson will play his mother. The original 1984 Karate Kid was a media sensation, making Ralph Macchio a star and grossing over 90 million at the box office. Published reports claim the movie will be renamed The Kung Fu Kid. Jackie Chan is also in talks to be part of the project.




Here is what Henson told MTV:
“I’m off to Beijing [soon] to work on a film,” actress Taraji P. Henson revealed to us Sunday afternoon on the red carpet of the MTV Movie Awards. “They’re remaking ‘The Karate Kid.’”

Gotta love Taraji, she is steadily working. According to IMDB.com, she has several films in the works: Hurricane Season (Forest Whitaker, Lil’ Wayne), I Can Do Bad All by Myself (Tyler Perry, Mary J. Blige), Peep World (Sarah Silverman) and now The Karate Kid.

OMG.... Karl Could be Leaving Chanel......

Karl, Olivier, Alber

Rumor has it Largerfeld could be leaving the house of Chanel (go ahead and scream). Karl has been the head designer since the great CoCo Chanel stepped down, the fashion house has been in his very capable hands every since. Below is the expert from the New York Magazine.

"A Shaded View on Fashion reports that a major designer shuffle at the world's top houses is about to occur. Rumor has it Karl Lagerfeld did not renew his contract with Chanel. Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz will reportedly take the reigns from Karl at Chanel, and ex–Nina Ricci designer Olivier Theyskens will replace Alber at Lanvin. Go ahead and freak the hell out. Now, these are just rumors, but in a way, it makes sense. Olivier could do marvelous things at Lanvin, and Alber would be a great fit for Chanel. And Karl? He is 75 years old — he could be on the verge of retirement. But Karl loves to work, so that's hard to imagine. Maybe, just maybe, he'll pursue his life's second calling: show business. First he'll do the voice-over for that French animated movie, then he'll get a bit part in a movie, then a supporting role, then an Oscar nomination, then maybe even Broadway. His name in lights! We see it. As long as he stays away from Ugly Betty cameos. Stay tuned for more developments on these insane rumors."