Giancarlo di Risio has been the Chief Executive of the famous Versace brand since 2004. He is now expected to resign at a board meeting tomorrow.Versace has been able to remain afloat in the recent economic crisis despite its price tag. The company hired an outside consultant this year to help it devise a new management plan for weathering the economic crisis. The company said last month that first-quarter revenue had fallen 13 percent from a year earlier, though it still had managed “a positive net result.” It hired Bain & Company, a consulting company, to draw up a three-year business plan for the changed economic environment, and the board adopted the plan last month.

Now we shall see who the new management shall be for Versace.

I did not know what to expect going into Matthew Williamson, I was barely familiar with his clothes and had never seen him show before. However as soon as the first look came out, a tan and pink dress with a beautiful multi-colored cocoon jacket I knew I was going to love the collection, and I did. It was easily my favorite collection of the week, perhaps my favorite I’ve ever seen. Despite being a fall/ winter collection there was barely any black, however the clothing still had some dark colors, created by Williamson’s deft combination of color over color. He played with different prints including stripes, animal and geometric shapes- and even when all those prints were combined on one look, it somehow still worked. He was not afraid to play around with many different styles, showing short dresses, long dresses, pants, capes, jackets and even more. However all the looks were held together by the amazing color palate of corals, blues, pinks, and tan.

The tents were buzzing with energy before the Narciso show; this was his grand return to Bryant Park after leaving in 2005 to show in Chelsea. While celebrities lined the catwalk once the lights went down and then back up an extremely bright intensity all eyes immediately focused on the clothes. Rodriguez played with the typical dress silhouette by using cut-outs, straps, and excess fabric. While the focus of the collection was definitely black he infused colors such as silver, blue, gold, and pink, which kept the black from being staid. He also showed a few full outfits of wither pink, yellow, or purple. The best part of the show however came at the end with the last three dresses. Each had a similar shiny- leather looking corset- like top and a fun light pink, mango, or sparkling black free flowing skirt. These were absolutely stunning and showed growth in Narciso’s style. They were so great in fact, that Rachel Weisz wore the last dress to Vanity Fairs Oscar party only a few weeks later.

The summer season is beginning to heat up with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim a few weeks away. Supermodels and celebrities will come together on the runways of Miami Beach to celebrate fashion and beauty with the sexiest swimwear designs in the world, July 15-19, 2009.

“We are proud to welcome so many new designers to our roster this year,” said SVP of IMG Fashion, Fern Mallis. “In its fifth season, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim has become a strong and effective platform to showcase the finest swimwear collections and their talented designers from around the world. This season’s line-up continues to bring to the market the quality and ingenuity that people now expect from this show.”

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim kicks off with an official kickoff party on the 15th, followed by four consecutive days of shows by featuring collections from Tibi, Caffé Swimwear, Marysia Swim, True Religion Swim, Red Carter, Aqua di Lara, L*Space by Monica Wise, Ed Hardy Swimwear, White Sands Australia, Poko Pano, Xtra Life Lycra®, Cia.Marítima, Luli Fama and V Del Sol.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim at Miami Beach’s historic hotel The Raleigh, will present three venues, the Cabaña Grande, the Beachway and the Oasis, accessed via an event lobby on Collins Avenue at 18th Street, adjacent to the hotel’s main entrance. Over the course of five days, 12,000 journalists, buyers and VIPs will be in South Florida to experience the most elite swimwear event in the country.

Mercedes-Benz, the event’s title sponsor, is joined by American Express, DHL, LYCRA®, MAKE UP FOR EVER, The Raleigh, Conair, Bain de Soleil, Continental Airlines Inc., Peroni, Chambord, Ocean Drive Magazine, Miami.com, California Apparel News Waterwear and Getty Images.

Further details and announcements on this event will follow.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim 2010 Collections will be held July 15 to 19, 2009.  For more information, and for press and industry registration, please visit us online at www.mbfashionweek.com/miami.

What you just threw out you could wear, is the philosophy that Nancy Judd seems to have. She makes dresses and outfits of junk mail, phone books, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, cassettes, etc. but one of her most recent creations is a real eye catcher and a great statement. Her “Obama” cocktail dress started the day after the election when she started grabbing all the Obama campaign posters she could carry and fabricating them into a dress one poster at a time.

It’s a slinky, body-hugging number crafted from the president’s campaign posters. As the “fabric” winds around the body, from above the knee to below the armpits, white letters form a crisp graphic pattern on a black background and the name “Obama” pops up over and over.

In these dark and gloomy times, no industry is finding themselves “recession proof”, everyone is getting hit, and some are getting hit hard. The Fashion Industry has taken another hit with news that French designer Christian Lacroix brand SNC has launched insolvency proceedings. They said they can not pay their creditors due to the global financial crisis that has hit the luxury goods market. The 125 manned company is seeking protection from its creditors in hope to stay operational.

In 2005 the Christian Lacroix SNC label was bought by the US based, The Falic Group.

The Promenade was drenched with bright white lights as the light and airy Ports 1961 fall 2009 collection pranced down the runway. I say the collection, and not the models, because the models blended into the background with plain hair and simplistic makeup. No crazy Prada hairstyles or Pat McGrath- Dior makeup extravaganzas. This certainly set the tone for the show- naturally beautiful easy to wear pieces for the everyday woman.

While absolutely stunning this collection seemed a bit out of place, the colors, fabrics, and styles shown were much more summery than fall, with only a few coats and even less dark hues. The India inspiration clearly shown through beautifully, however this collection may not have been shown at the optimum time.

The construction for the 3.1 Phillip Lim started way before it’s 3 o’clock call time. With a 3-hour break at the tent between his and Micheal Kors’s show everyone waited with abated breath for what the stellar Mr. Lim would pull out of his box of tricks. Yet when I entered my jaw still dropped to the floor I was so impressed. A huge stage was set up with bright lights overhead and the Lissy Trullie band playing. Models were pale faced with very close cropped bobs, perhaps Lim was looking to please Anna Wintour even more? The collection was dark and mysterious and all together fabulous. The palate was mostly black with a little beige and some colored pieces thrown in.

Without a doubt the strongest part of the collection was his amazing array of coats- nearly every look had one, each with their own look and style; some cropped blazers, some furs, some snake-skin rain coats and more. The collection was a feast for the eyes, however I couldn’t stop myself from drooling over the amazing Christian Louboutins parade down the runway.

Michael Kors knows how to put on a show like no other designer. All of his shows have the best music, the most current models and fun celebrity spotting. However for his fall 2009 collection all that fell to the waist-side as beautifully constructed clothes came out one after another. It was mostly heavy knit knee-length dresses in black or grey for women at the beginning of the show. Then gradually amazing neon color’s were incorporated, starting with hilariously bright orange, green, and pink fur hats and then there came dresses and coats of the same colors. This is truly where the show hit it’s stride, the ostentatious color was offset by the purity and beauty in the design of the clothes.

Simple shift dresses with amazing draping; an oversized flash-dance style shirt and luxurious coats were transformed from plain to unique. I can only imagine showing up at a party in the dead of the winter in a bright pink dress while everyone else is wearing a LBD, attempting to hide the extra’s pounds from the holiday season.

When most people hear the word “Lacoste” they think of the polo’s with little alligators over the left breast. However, for me I immediately think of the first show I ever worked at- Lacoste Fall 2008. I thought it was the most amazing and beautiful thing and immediately fell in love with fashion shows. This may be for that reason that I always Christophe Lemaire’s collection for Lacoste.

This time he did not let me down, delivering a great, easy to wear collection with lots of solids great for layering. Most of the outfits were monochrome or had a matching color theme. Perhaps the best part about the collection was the slouchy, worn-in look the clothing had that will make it perfect for those winter days when you want to put minimal effort in your clothes but still look amazing.