Restoration Ralph

In October, Ralph Lauren will be holding a star studded cat walk to showcase his Autumn/Winter 13 collection, and dinner in the famous cobbled courtyard of the Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris. This will mark the beginning of a two year multi-million pound pledge to restore and modernise the 365 year old school of art.

The school once tutored fashion designers Valentino Garavani and  Hubert de Givenchy as well as impressionist painters Henri Matisse and Claude Monet.

The building is in the  Saint-Germain-des-Près district of the capital and is formed of a collection of building dating back to the 17th century. The  several millions donated by the label will go to restoring the lecture theatre in the heart of the school as well as modernising the website of the institution. Stadium-like seating will be added to the theatre along with state of the art audio and visual equipment.

It seems he has followed Italian brand Fendi, who have pledged to restore many of Rome's historical buildings and Diego Della Valle, founder of shoe company Tod's who is due to restore Rome's architectural icon, the colosseum!

Lauren is obviously a lover of Paris ( he previously used the city for his vintage racing car exhibition and it houses his largest European store.)so this may be a big reason why he is planning the restoration, obviously it will cause a huge amount of publicity for himself and the brand  and will create a good response from the public as he is restoring French history, I feel it may also be because Ralph Lauren wants to link his brand to the fashion capital and for it to be remembered forever as an iconic brand for what they have done for fashion.

The return of Schiaparelli

They say you only want what you can't have.. so is this what Christian Lacroix had in mind when he produced his one off collection for Schiaparelli? as nothing from the collection was for sale.. no matter how much money you could throw at it. I think it was for publicity to really put the collection in the spotlight and steal the show! I think it makes the 18 piece collection, that went on display in the Musee Arts Decoritifs more of a work of art than fashion.. as it's like its been made for you to look but not touch! I absolutely love the bright colours, texture and eccentricity of the garments..i mean look at the fluffy hats!!

Saint Laurent Paris

Since arriving at Saint Laurent last year, Slimane has tried to revamp the brand by dropping the 'Yves', upping the grunge, and continuing the brands ties with music. He has already featured Beck and Christopher Owens in campaigns and has recently brought out the new Saint laurent music campaign, which I'm Loving!

The series of portraits feature four musicians,mainly from the 90's, including Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love as part of the Saint Laurent music project.

The images,shot by creative director Hedi Slimane, are in black and white and styled by the musicians themselves. The Campaign is for Autumn/Winter 2013 and has Slimane's signature grungy style. 
This is not the first time the brand has collaborated with rock, the brand dressed Mick and Bianca Jagger for their wedding in the 70's, and Slimane has clothed musicians such as David Bowie, The Libertines and The Kills.

Does French fashion have to originate in France?

 French fashion is recognised as classic and chic. A reason people buy from french brands is to buy into this authentic timeless style. But does French fashion have to originate in France?

Phoebe Philo who agreed to take on the job of creative director at Celine in 2008, provided that London would be the base for herself and the design team instead of Paris, brought the studio to England to stay close to her family,and commutes to french headquarters in Paris regularly. Philo believes there's something rich about the combination of London and Paris and insists one wouldn't work without the other. 

Creative director of Yves Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane renamed the fashion house and relocated headquarters to Los Angelos, but will this change the French feel of the brand? I think it will, you only have to look at the A/W 2013 Saint Laurent collection  that it overtly california-grunge inspired. It has been said Hedi will be Hedi and Saint Laurent will be inspired by his love affair with California and it's rock n' roll subculture. So maybe French fashion does have to originate in France as I think your surroundings will influence your designs and the look of the brand.