Galliano allowed to move case to labor court

Designer John Galliano was recently awarded the right to have the ongoing case against former employers Christian Dior Couture SA and Galliano SA, heard in labor court over a commercial court. The Paris Court of Appeals denied the appeal filed by Dior, which requested that the case would be moved to a commercial court, and ordered that the French luxury fashion house and John Galliano SA each pay the formerly disgraced designer 2,500 euros each in addition to any court costs, according to WWD. Dior and John Galliano SA have two months to appeal the courts decision.

The Galliano allowed to move case to labor courtbeginning of the ongoing case between John Galliano and Christian Dior Couture SA and his ex eponymous brand date back to 2011. In March 2011, Gaillano was formerly discharged from Dior and his own namesake brand after he made a series of anti-semitic remarks in in public in a Paris café, just before Paris Fashion week for Fall/Winter 2011-2012 was due to take place. Galliano had worked for over fifteen years as the couturier at Christian Dior and previously was head designer at Givenchy before Bernard Arnault, founder of LVMH moved him to Dior.

Addictions Galliano coping mechanisms for work stress
Galliano claimed that the outburst of public anti-semitic insults were caused by work stress, which led to him having a number of addictions, including an drug addiction. The designer is looking for compensation of roughly 6 million euros from his previous employers.

In February this year, Dior fought against the decision made by the Labor Relations Court that states it was licensed to hear Galliano's claims against Dior and his eponymous label. Christian Dior Couture SA argued that the case should be heard in a commercial court, due to the complicated and intricate details of John Galliano previous contracts with Dior and John Galliano SA.

The luxury French fashion house believes that Galliano should be seen as an “independent contractor of the companies,” instead of a employee of Dior and his namesake label and maintains that its choice to fire Galliano “as a result of these incidents is based on fundamental principles and the rule of law.” In a statement issued by Christian Dior Couture SA, the company stated that it “reaffirms its attachment to the rules of human respect and non-discrimination, which it expects all of its collaborators, without exception, to adhere to strictly.”

However Galliano's lawyer, Chantal Giraud-van Gaver of Colblence & Associés argues that Galliano was just another name on the pay roll, and Dior's justification to fire Galliano is not justified. She hoped that with the recent court ruling, the Labor Relations court will recognize the existence of a work contract, which is supported by “a lot of evidence and assessments of situations showing that he was a subordinate.” Giraud-van Gaver added that the recent ruling now allowed her to freedom to present the integrities of the case next year in front of the Labor

Plus Size Fashion News: Plus Size Retailer navabi Introduces 10 New Luxury Brands To Their Site

navabi is a plus size European retailer that offers one of the largest assortments of designer fashion in plus sizes in Europe. They offer sizes 12-28 in everything from evening wear to outerwear to even beautiful accessories. navabi prides themselves on being able to offer customers new items almost daily and they have recently expanded their selection by adding ten new luxury brands to their site.

For more information on this exciting addition to the navabi website, here’s official press release:

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, Germany, Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Since its launch in 2009, navabi has been a company with an unwavering mission to become the premier destination for plus size fashion worldwide by 2016. navabi ensures extending their assortment with new luxury brands on a regular basis.

As the leading global destination for premium plus size fashion navabi has made impressive milestones in the last five years of business by not ignoring the many plus-sized women with a good eye for fashion.

It believes catwalk style should be available to everyone, regardless of shape. In addition to providing women with plus size designs from top labels, it also supports them with inspirational, solution-oriented advice – not only from top fashion experts, but also real women who understand the challenges that curvy women sometimes encounter.

Bahman Nedaei, co-CEO at navabi, says “We are the only company worldwide that deals with plus size target groups in the premium segment for years and – thanks to our team of experts – benefit from valuable know-how that is indispensable in this sector.”

Currently, navabi has 132 designer brands; six occasion suggestions, 17 clothing and three outfit categories can be found on the website – along with new arrivals being introduced three times a week to ensure the customers have the pick of the best.

Recently, navabi has welcomed a raft of premium labels to the family, including Elisa Cavaletti, Ellbi, Igor Dobranic, Katrin Kiesler, Kekoo, Kiyonna, Lacoste, Nook, Privatsachen and Womanice by Anja Gockel.

Zahir Dehnadi, co-founder of navabi, also states: “Regular focus groups, online panels and surveys are part of our everyday work to understand our audience and their needs; this is why we are able to meet our goals. We thus have an advantage of around three years, especially in areas of buying and marketing.”

navabi sets a strong focus on the possibility to expand internationally and is constantly securing new brands on the site providing the latest fashion.

Kanye West signs deal with Adidas

Kanye West has ended his long-running partnership with Nike to take up an offer from one of the brand's biggest rivals - Adidas.
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The rapper announced the "official, non-official, official" deal on the Angie Martinez radio show yesterday, explaining that he's taken on the collaboration as he was thinking about his daughter North's financial future.

"The old me, without a daughter, would have taken the Nike deal because I just love Nikes so much," he said. "But the new me, with a daughter, takes the Adidas deal because I have royalties and I have to provide for my family."

WATCH: Nick Knight directs Kanye West's Bound 2 music video

West has designed two sell-out trainers for Nike, the Air Yeezy and Air Yeezy II, since 2009. His third and final design, the Air Yeezy II in red (dubbed 'Red October'), is set for release soon - and demand is expected to be even higher as it will be his swan song sneaker for the brand.

Nike denied West any royalties from the sales, citing the fact that he is not an athlete as the reason - unlike Michael Jordan for example, who receives royalties from the sales of any Jordan-branded products.

The news comes after a number of fashion-focused rants from the rapper - creative director of Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane, and Louis Vuitton have both been targeted. The former for not treating him like 'a God', and the latter for refusing to meet with him in Paris.

READ: Maison Martin Margiela outfit Kanye West for Yeezus tour

Though Adidas is yet to formally announce the collaboration, it is rumoured that they have additionally agreed to give West his own design facility. The aspiring fashion designer will be in good company at the brand - Stella McCartney, Yohji Yamamoto, Jeremy Scott and Dior's Raf Simons all have creative partnerships with Adidas.

"I am going to be the Tupac of product," he added on the radio show."I'm going to be the first hip-hop designer and because of that I'm going to be bigger than Walmart."

‘Hunger Games’ designer finds high-fashion muse in Katniss Everdeen

LOS ANGELES - Katniss Everdeen not only wields the bow and arrow of hope in "Catching Fire," the second installment of "The Hunger Games" film franchise, she is also the muse of a new high-fashion line that carries the film's fictional world of the Capitol beyond the screen.

"Catching Fire" costume designer Trish Summerville's 16-piece collection was launched on Monday for luxury online retailer Net-A-Porter, aptly labeled Capitol Couture.

The collection of clothes and accessories are drawn from Summerville's designs for Katniss, the stoic heroine played by Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence. The designer also hopes Capitol Couture will attract the website's high-fashion clientele to the series of young adult films.

"For a Net-A-Porter client that is interested in our line, it piques their interest if they don't know the film, they'll go then see the film," the designer said.

"Catching Fire," out in theaters last week, sees Katniss become a symbol of revolution against the oppressive Capitol government ruling the fictional world of Panem, and has already stormed the box office with more than $307 million worldwide.

Hollywood films have often partnered with big brands to promote new releases. "Catching Fire" distributor Lions Gate spent roughly $55 million on marketing for the film, including deals with Subway fast-food restaurants and Procter & Gamble Co's CoverGirl cosmetics.

But films such as "Hunger Games" that are aimed at a teen and young adult audience are not the likeliest showcases for high fashion, which generally draws an older female clientele with the additional income to spend.

Summerville hopes her collection, priced between $75 for T-shirts to $995 for a laser-cut patent leather dress inspired by Katniss' chariot outfit, will accommodate all budgets.

"It was important for me to have things that the fans could relate to and also that appealed to the Net-A-Porter clientele," Summerville said.

"This isn't particularly for the 'Catching Fire' fan base, it's just a venture we went out upon to try and exhibit some of the fashion in the film," she added.

Fans attune to high fashion

High fashion and film have enjoyed a long relationship, taken to a new level in the 1990s by HBO television series "Sex and the City," which showcased latest collections by designers on the characters. Patricia Field, the stylist of the show and its subsequent films, also designed a "Sex and the City" inspired collection for UK retailer Marks & Spencer.

Earlier this year, Baz Luhrmann's big screen adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" saw its leading actress, Carey Mulligan, channeling Daisy Buchanan in striking Prada designs created for the film by costume designer Catherine Martin, who drew straight from the Prada archives.

Summerville, who also created actress Rooney Mara's edgy transformation in 2011's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," said she turned to "Hunger Games" fan sites when designing the aesthetic of the second film, and found high-fashion looks suggested for both Katniss and Effie Trinket, the film's outrageously dressed Capitol spokeswoman.

Lions Gate also created a Capitol Couture website, an online magazine set in the fictional world of Panem, that showcased the styles explored in the film, from the Districts to the Capitol.

Actress Elizabeth Banks, who plays Effie, said her character's high-fashion looks represented a bigger picture of the film's theme of revolution.

"We don't wear the clothes because they're cool-looking, we wear the clothes because they represent the excess and the power of the Capitol. It's always meant to be a juxtaposition of what's going on in the districts," Banks said.

One look that Summerville said she was proud of curating for Effie was a fitted dress adorned with hundreds of feathers painted to look like Monarch butterflies, taken straight from the Alexander McQueen spring/summer runway. Banks wore the dress with high heels and a butterfly hair piece.

"Everything is uncomfortable, everything is constricted, and that's also a really strong reminder of the society they live in. Their only freedoms come in the form of personal adornment, they don't have true freedom yet," Banks said.

The London Thanksgiving

FOR any American, this Thursday is the blackout date we've known about since birth, Thanksgiving. A dinner traditionally celebrated with close family it commemorates the time Pilgrims came to America and celebrated their first harvest with the Native Americans.

Not only is this holiday confusingly close to Christmas, the main course is traditionally turkey. My advice: with nearly 200,000 Americans living in the UK, make sure to get your turkey early so you don't miss out. Christopher Suarez, CEO of Nicholas Kirkwood, will be picking his up from Allens of Mayfair. "It's just across the way from the shop on Mount Street and they give you a masterclass in butchery while you wait," he says. Like the icing on the cake, no turkey is complete without its stuffing. Vogue  contributing editor Calgary Avansino  suggests a delicious healthy alternative to the usual stock-soaked breadcrumbs - chestnut gluten-free stuffing: "That's the core and then we add green beans." Happily, unlike 25 December when the feast is wrapped up with a brandy-sodden fruit pudding (that no one seems to like), Thanksgiving dessert is pumpkin pie. And it's delicious.

Cultural specialities often feature on Thanksgiving menus as Americans so often have a diverse geographical heritage. My mother is Swedish-American and you will always find red cabbage on her Thanksgiving table. Avansino serves "marinated antipasto that is a tradition from my father's Italian family which we carry on". Fashion designer Alexander Lewis  - who is half-American half-Brazilian - prepares "a glorified farofa [toasted manioc flour] - a popular Brazilian accompaniment forfeijoada [Brazilian bean stew]."

Since most Americans living in the UK are without immediate family during this time, their friends become family. "We started out hosting a dinner to bring all the other American waifs and strays together," explains Bodas founder Helena Boas." It has now grown to include our closest friends here. It's a time to celebrate friendships and reflect on the good things that happened in the past year." Jewellery designer Diane Kordas  has lived in London for more than 20 years and enjoys hosting friends of all different nationalities and religions around her table - you don't have to be American to celebrate Thanksgiving. She explains, "It's an important time to come together and reflect upon what we do have, not what we don't."

Thanksgiving is also an excuse to dress up. At Lewis's house guests get to choose if they are going to be a pilgrim or a Native American, and wear either hat and shoe buckles or a feathered headdress - all handmade, of course. Suarez is looking forward to his daughter's first Thanksgiving: "It's the perfect opportunity for her to wear the Minnetonka moccasins that were originally mine when I was a baby." A holiday rich in traditions, giving thanks and eating until you feel you might burst (and then eating some more). A word of advice - make enough food so there will be leftovers. Everyone would agree that is almost what's it's all about.

Christopher Kane’s Big Fear

YOU might think that Christopher Kane doesn't have much to worry about as one of London's best- oved and most acclaimed fashion names, but the designer suffers from the same fears as the rest of us.

"I'm terrified of moths and spiders," he said. "I'm quite a nervous person. I'm always conscious of who is around me in the street or on public transport."

He had good reason to be scared earlier this summer, when he awoke in the middle of the night while on holiday in Ibiza to find a burglar climbing out of his bedroom window.

"The horrible thing was that I knew he had been there, moving around, even before I woke up," he told Sunday Times Style. "Just thinking about it freaks me out."