You're Fashion Royalty. You Need a Designer Crown, No?

Valentino, Roberto Cavalli, Paul Smith and Lanvin (the flamboyant creation at left) recently collaborated with Harrods on one-of-a-kind crowns especially for the luxury store's spectacular Diamond Jubilee window displays.

The Paul Smith crown is festooned with trinkets, buttons & patriotic memorabilia (how fabulously British), while Cavalli opted for flowers & butterflies. And Valentino went classically elegant with just a touch of sparkle a la the house's signature red carpet glam.

Although each piece is priceless, the price paid by the winning bidder will go to a worthy cause: Macmillan Cancer Support.

Bidding starts at 50 GBP at Harrods.com.

- Lesley Scott

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Burt's Bees Helps the Real Thing

So, how was that crisp, delicious apple you enjoyed yesterday? Those crunchy cukes & carrots in your salad & avocado slices layered onto your lunch sammie? The snappy zest of broccoli & onions in your stir-fry? Your usual handful (or 5) of yummy almonds? Traditional pumpkin dishes that no holiday table is complete without?  Well, the fact they make it to your plate is thanks to the lil' black & yellow striped workers. Collectively, bees pollinate most of our fave fruit & veggie crops (to the tune of about $15 billion in the US alone)...and many crops just won't grow without them.

All of which are now in real danger.

Starting in about 2006, seemingly healthy bees simply began abandoning their hives en masse, never to return. Beekeepers started sounding the alarm about this mass disappearance, labelled Colony Collapse Disorder. To date, almost 30% of all honey bee colonies have now vanished. The question, of course, is why? "Scientists studying the disorder believe a combination of factors could be making bees sick, including pesticide exposure, invasive parasitic mites, an inadequate food supply and a new virus that targets bees' immune systems," explain the experts at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "More research is essential to determine the exact cause of the bees' distress."

Although stateside, the US Department of Agriculture has allotted $20 million over the next 5 years for research, every year the disorder is allowed to continue unchecked places more and more of the healthier portion of the food supply at risk. "If we don’t act now to save the honey bee, it might be too late," continues the NRDC. "And no honey bees will mean no more of your favorite fruits and vegetables."

To help kick in resources & help make more people aware of the dire honey bee situation, Burt's Bees recently teamed up with professor Richard Weston on the *Wild for Bees* collection of silk scarves, iPhone & iPad covers, silk-covered journals & a 24-hour Milk & Honey Body Lotion (replete with natural botanical moisturizers that work around the clock).

Proceeds from the collection will be donated to the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) Adopt a Beehive project. For his designs on fabric, Weston used honey bees and wild meadows as the underlying inspiration for his digital print rendered in yellow, green & purple. "My scarf design features bees and bee-friendly plants in a modern and striking print, "adds Weston, dubbing the bees "precious pollinators." "I was delighted to collaborate with Burt's Bees to raise awareness of the plight of the bee. This project can really help in making people aware of the BBKA and the support they give beekeepers who manage the colonies of honey bees."

*Wild for Bees* will be live through September 2012; purchasing info at BurtsBees.co.uk.

- Lesley Scott

(image of bee pollinating: source; bees vanishing)

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Jason Wu Does a Fashionably Good Turn

The non-profit YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) has long helped the fashion community, promoting education of the fashion arts & business by granting scholarships to talented students and facilitating internships, mentorships and career guidance. They recently struck up a relationship with the designer of *that gorgeous one-shoulder white gown* worn by Michelle Obama to the presidential inauguration balls, awarding Wu the Future of Fashion Award at the 2012 YMA FSF Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Awards Dinner this past January.

And he returned the favor by hosting one of their "Breakfast with the Boss" events where the organizations current crop of interns get the chance to meet and learn from industry leaders & insiders.  16 lucky YMA FSF scholars got the chance to find out more about the designer's eight years in the business, including advice and fun stories.

Like the fact that prior to catering to big dolls, he designed frocks & fabulousness for lil' ones. "I don’t know if you guys know this, but I was in a different industry before — I worked in the toy industry for a long time, since I was 16, so I was able to garner a little money to start off my company," he told the "kids", adding that the Mrs. O fashion moment that catapulted him onto a global stage was just the beginning. "It was one of the best moments of my life and I'll never forget it, but it also made me go beyond... I always say it's like being an actor: You get one big role and then you can't stop, you need to look for your next big role."

- Lesley Scott

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Fab Frippery with Serious Side Benefits

Growing up in South Africa in a family of white Afrikaners who opposed apartheid, Paul van Zyl knew early on he would pursue a life of activism. The former human rights lawyer who served alongside Archbishop Desmond Tutu on South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission - and logged mega miles jetting around the world to post-conflict hotspots in order to combat human rights abuses - recently made the next logical career move: fashion.

Huh?

"I had worked in 30 countries and had the strong sense that what they needed most was to have these small businesses that thrive," he explains in the July/August issue of WSJ. Magazine. "That was my rough intuition, which translated into a small step into fashion." Partnering up with Daniel Lubetzky, the Mexican-Jewish founder of Kind Healthy Snacks, the do-gooding duo created Maiyet, a luxury brand of clothing & accessories made in locations where lack of economic opportunity has bred conflict. luxurious brand that covers a range of products, from clothes to accessories, much of it manufactured in places where a lack of economic opportunity has bred conflict. "Apart from making sure his artisans are skilled enough to produce an Art Nouveau–esque 18-karat-gold cuff that might sell at Barneys for $2,400, van Zyl wants to build a sustainable infrastructure by supplying them with updated machinery and improving their working conditions," notes Daniella Vitale, chief women's merchant at Barneys. "We were skeptical, but they put product first. The aesthetic is very much what's going on today—very clean, beautiful materials, minimal hardware."

Which is evidenced by the fact that the socially-responsible label sells out & speedily. "No matter what they tell you in a survey, people don't buy products because of their social mission," adds Lubetzky. "Certainly, they won't buy them again and again."

- Lesley Scott

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Rock a Cute Crash & Burn Tee so Childrens' Music Education Doesn't Crash & Burn

Thanks to massive cuts in spending, millions of children across the US no longer have access to any kind of a decent education that includes music. To help bring it back, Crash & Burn Apparel has partnered with VH1 Save The Music Foundation on a limited edition tee which benefits music programs in public schools via the Songwriters Music Series.

The Series is a fun event that raised $350,000 in 2011 showcasing a diverse array of styles and colors - of the musical and people persuasion, both.

This year, it kicks off in Chicago, followed by NY & then Cali - and provides the opportunity for informed & socially-conscious types to get their groove on together, while of course showing off their excellent taste in tees.

Available at ShopCrashAndBurn.com/Songwriters.

- Lesley Scott

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L’ Uomo Vogue's EIC Franca Sozzani Flies Around in Style While *Rebranding Africa*

In her role as a Goodwill Ambassador for Fashion 4 Development, a global campaign that uses fashion-based initiatives to support the United Nations' wider issues in helping Africa, Sozzani teamed up with VistaJet while visiting the continent. There she met with locals in design industry, from creative fashion to product development & fil, with the goal of showcasing a growing nation ready for its global closeup. "All the pictures are made in a glamorous way — there is nothing sad, trashy or poor," Sozzani said in an interview about the special all-Africa issue (May/June 2012). "People may say that Vogue does not want to talk about sickness and poverty, but if we can give an uplifting image, it is helping people who would not have considered Africa at all." 

Unlike VistaJet - one of the world’s fastest growing private aviation companies - and its creative director, Nina Flohr, who founded the Watoto Foundation devoted to door-to-door donations which help educate and care for children and orphans in Kenya and Mozambique. "VistaJet supported Ms. Sozzani’s recent visit to Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda," she notes. "We hope that the Vogue Africa issue will help to bring a shift in attitude towards the positive."

- Lesley Scott

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Donna Karan Finds Inspiration in Haiti for Urban Zen Spring 2012

Contrasting light with dark, floaty against flinty, the sculpted and the abstract, the "Elements III" collection incorporates touches of "geometric raku from Haiti" in the form of leather and metal cuffs to climb up your arm, hand-woven bags in which to schlep your life, and timeless essentials to live in forever. Available at UrbanZen.com - 10% of sales go to the Urban Zen foundation, a public charity dedicated to empowering children & preserving cultures.

- Lesley Scott

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Look Pretty in Pink in a Scarf for a Great Cause (Reese Witherspoon Thanks You!)

The Avon Foundation was founded in 1955 with the goal of improving women's lives and has grown to become one of the largest corporate philanthropists dedicated to women's causes globally. Currently, they support both breast cancer research and raising awareness of domestic & gender violence (Reese is wearing an "Empowerment Circle of Support" necklace which dedicates 100% of the net profits to Avon's "Speak Out Against Domestic Violence" Initiative).

All the profits from this chic scarf similarly go to a great cause: the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade; to date, the company has donated in excess of $700 million to help stamp out this disease.

Together, we can save lives...and do so stylishly!

- Lesley Scott

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Why Not "Recycle" Your Jewelry To Make Way for a Sartorial Summer Splurge?

The new season is simply brimming with hot new trends, irresistable looks & colors too tempting and juicy to pass up. But with a closet stuffed to capacity or wardrobe starved for space (and no, the oven is not an appropriate place to store your sweaters or out-of-season shoes), why not make room for the new by passing along the old? Options include selling stuff on an online auction site, hosting a yard sale, or even opting to sell jewellery (or jewelry, depending on where you live on the Pond) that is pretty but you no longer wear. Not only will it make for a guilt-free summer shopping spree, but you get to freshen up your look without having to let any pesky economic realities hinder your fashionable life.

- Lesley Scott

[Note: This was written in partnership with 62Days.]

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Bright it On! A Juicy Jolt of Tangerine to Add Some Zest to Your Look

"Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive," is how Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute describes the 2012 Color of the Year. "Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy."

Translation: it's an eyecatching way to rock the bright-color trend!

Better yet, 20% of the net proceeds of this skull-adorned rubber bracelet - with 14k gold fill & some Swarovski bling - by Devora Libin Jewels will go to the Ilya Peckerman Fund which benefits The Vasculitis Foundation to help patients afflicted with a life-threatening inflammatory destruction of their blood vessels.

- Lesley Scott

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