YSL MASQUERADE BALL: FRENCH KISS

Yves Saint Laurent got an early start on Halloween revelry when it threw a blow out masquerade ball Thursday night to celebrate the launch of its new women's fragrance Parisienne.

The brand made over the Angel Orensanz Foundation with blush pink backlighting, vase upon vase of lush roses and antique-looking chandeliers with flickering votive candles. And if that didn't set the mood, the perfume's ad campaign featuring a very suggestive Kate Moss played on a loop on flat screens throughout the venue.

An eccentric mix of editors, models and Lower East Side night owls crammed the space to such capacity that security on Norfolk Street had to keep aspiring attendees at bay. "I haven't been out for a while," said one publicist as she scanned the dancefloor for a familiar face. "I was wondering if I'd suddenly gotten behind and didn't know who anyone was."

Surely the "mask required" dress code didn't help matters. "I made mine at 4 am," said Leigh Lezark, who along with the Misshapes shared deejay duties with Alexandra Richards. Dancing nearby, Becka Diamond was giving her vision-impairing mask a breather. "No one wants to see a pretty girl on the floor," she joked.

(Source: WWD)

NAOMI CAMPBELL FASHION ICON

Naomi Campbell decried the dearth of minority models in the fashion world while receiving a Fashion Icon award at the annual Thurgood Marshall College Fund “Front Row” fund-raiser and fashion show at Roseland Ballroom in New York on Saturday evening. Introduced by modeling agent and Black Girls Coalition co-founder Bethann Hardison, Campbell called the situation an “injustice,” and said, “There is a small group of people whose minds we have to change because we are living in a multicultural society.”

Campbell, sheathed in Dolce & Gabbana and Dennis Basso, added she loves fashion and is fortunate to have worked in the business for 25 years, but she isn’t afraid to stir the pot on this issue. “Nelson Mandela always told me to speak my mind and the consequences will take care of themselves,” she noted, before leaving to board a plane for Moscow for a Russian Vogue project, with boyfriend Vladimir Doronin in tow.

Also honored at the event were Fashion Institute of Technology president Dr. Joyce Brown, makeup artist Sam Fine and Oprah Winfrey’s hairstylist, Andre Walker. Marlon Jackson was on hand to accept the Avant Guarde award on behalf of his late brother, Michael Jackson.

Walker was accompanied by other members of Winfrey’s glam squad, including makeup artist Reggie Wells and stylist Luke Destin. “If it were left up to Oprah, she’d be in sweatpants and sneakers on a daily basis,” Destin told WWD. “But she trusts us. We have a look for her — conservative chic — and a group of go-to designers. These days, she loves Narciso Rodriguez, Valentino, Oscar de la Renta and Tory Burch.”

(Source: WWD)

IF I WAS A RICHIE GIRL, . . .

LOS ANGELES — Nicole Richie has a new baby and a new contemporary women’s clothing line.

The label, Winter Kate, which will debut in spring, expands a fashion business that already includes the accessories line House of Harlow 1960 and a maternity collection, Nicole for A Pea in the Pod.

The 37-piece Winter Kate line, which takes her daughter Harlow’s two middle names, will hit stores such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ron Herman, Intermix and Kitson, beginning in February.

“It feels as though I’ve always been working on this collection, but officially I started putting it together in early 2009,” said Richie, who is lying low at home after the birth last month of her son, Sparrow. “I’ve wanted to design a clothing collection for a very long time.”

Richie, who has become known for her eclectic bohemian style with a Sixties and Seventies flair, said she has torn fashion pages out of magazines for years and also draws inspiration from her favorite animals, including peacocks and other birds.

The line includes mostly tops, vests and bed jackets in colorful vintage-inspired silk, crepe and chiffon because these tops are a mainstay of Richie’s own wardrobe.

“I probably wear the same two pairs of jeans every day as the background to a fabulous top,” she said. “Jackets are a staple of my wardrobe because they are a gorgeous way to give jeans and a white T-shirt a completely different look.”

Also key for spring dressing are “definitely a beautiful, fun slip dress in a great print and also a leather jacket to turn the romantic day dress into an edgy night-out outfit,” Richie said.

Her collection includes long slip dresses, asymmetrical short dresses, tunics and a kimono-sleeved, maxidress, which are meant to be layered with vests in cotton macramé, suede or silk, or a shrunken leather jacket.

“I purposely made the slip dresses in both solids and prints,” Richie said. “Wear the prints by themselves or with a great vest or jacket and wear the solids as basics to an outfit with many layers.”

Priced from $35 wholesale for a camisole to $110 for a long kimono dress, and as much as $598 for the leather pieces, the line is positioned similarly to her accessory collection, which now includes shoes for spring.

“Fashion should be accessible,” Richie said. “That was my philosophy when designing House of Harlow 1960 and it remains my philosophy for Winter Kate.”

Both lines, she noted, are aimed at the same customer. “She is a woman like me: She does not look at labels; she knows how to mix and match. The pieces can be dressed up, made casual, but most importantly, they provide the wearer a means of self-expression and fun.”

Source: WWD