Fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander avoids jail in New York sex assault case

A celebrity fashion designer — already serving a lengthy prison sentence in California for raping and sexually assaulting would-be models — was sentenced Tuesday to time served for forcing oral sex on a woman in Manhattan.

Most of the 49-count indictment against Anand Jon Alexander, who appeared on “America’s Next Top Model,” was dismissed when he copped to a single count of forcing oral sex on one victim in February. The original charges were based on allegations he raped or molested 12 women.

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The deal was hammered out “to spare the victims from having to testify 10 years later,” prosecutor Maxine Rosenthal said.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to turn over documents his attorney believes will help him win his appeal in California, where he’s serving a 59-year sentence.

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Rosenthal argued Alexander, 39, is “a predator” and “a threat to the community,” and should be branded a high-risk sex offender. Judge Cassandra Mullen agreed Tuesday, branding him a level 3 offender, the highest-risk designation under the law in New York.

One of Alexander’s attorneys, Kimberly Summers, said his defense team now has “what we think will effectively help us fight his California” conviction, referring to the documents Alexander scored in the deal.

ictoria Beckham Buys London Supermarket? Fashion Designer Expands "Working Space" as Business Grows

Looks like Victoria Beckham's business is getting a little bigger.

The talented fashion designer has reportedly purchased a London supermarket to expand her working space for her ever-growing fashion empire.

A rep for Victoria's XIX Entertainment tells E! News "there is no plan to open a VB shop in London," but confirmed the company is looking to expand their "working space" due to immense growth in the business.

Victoria Beckham: Officially a fashion authority as judge of international Woolmark Prize

The fierce fashionista—who has kids Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 10, Cruz, 8, and 20-month-old Harper with her soccer stud husband David—recently debuted a strong fall 2013 collection at New York Fashion Week in February, where she earned rave reviews for her evolution as a designer.

The Beckham beauty's flourishing fashion empire currently includes a ready-to-wear collection, as well as denim, handbags and other accessories and boasts a bevy of celebrity fans.

The former Spice Girl is also launching an online shopping site for her brand in the spring.

DHL Brings Business Insights to World MasterCard(R) Fashion Week With 2nd Fashion Industry Panel

DHL, the global market leader in logistics, is set to shine a spotlight on the competitive and global nature of the Canadian fashion industry by kicking off its 2nd DHL Fashion Industry Panel on Tuesday, March 19 at 1 p.m. in "The Studio" at World MasterCard Fashion Week. As the official logistics partner for the event, DHL hopes to spur an insightful conversation with the local fashion community on the knowledge and resources critically needed by emerging and established designers to improve business and drive long-term success in the Canadian fashion business.

"This is the second year in a row we are offering young designers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to tap into some of the industry''s brightest minds, and to share DHL''s decades of fashion industry experience with Canadian retailers and designers," said Greg Hewitt, President of DHL Express Canada and panel participant. "We think it''s very important to address these topics in order to help young designers and entrepreneurs to succeed in a very competitive market. We want to make sure they understand the nuances that go into building a successful brand, and we, as a global company, can help them thrive through our expertise and connections."

Fashion is internationally recognized as a difficult industry to break into and achieve long-term success. Canadian market designers and fashion retailers face the additional challenges of selling to a small domestic market already saturated by large international brands. Along with real-life design experiences from Christopher Bates and Adam Taubenfligel of Triarchy, this year''s panel will include business and retail advice from Mark Zimmermann of MaRs and Roxanne Joyal of Me to We. Jarrad Clark, Director of Global Production for IMG Fashion will also be talking about the lessons he thinks are key for young entrepreneurs for their own businesses, and how these insights apply not only to their brand at Fashion Week, but also other venues that offer exposure locally and globally.

"Becoming an internationally known brand doesn''t happen by accident, and it isn''t all about the artistic vision and designs," says Jarrad Clark, Director of Global Production at IMG Fashion. "Knowing how to seek out growth opportunities, how to find key business allies and handle the business aspect of a fashion label or retailer are integral considerations for any successful brand."

DHL has developed specific logistics solutions to meet the demanding needs of the fashion sector. As specialists in international shipping and logistics, DHL masters the fashion supply chain - from procurement of material to sample production, quality control, warehousing and processing of garments to direct delivery to shops. DHL''s customers include both large retail groups with complex distribution requirements as well as small, independent fashion boutiques requiring a one-off service.
As a global company operating in 220 countries worldwide, DHL can deliver optimized supply chains, reduced lead times and easy access to new markets for up-and-comers and established fashion icons. DHL''s fashion industry solutions include distribution centre management, international supply chain management, analysis and design, e-commerce management a Global Fashion Network.

DHL - The Logistics company for the world
DHL is the global market leader in the logistics industry and "The Logistics company for the world". DHL commits its expertise in international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers. A global network composed of more than 220 countries and territories and about 285,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service quality and local knowledge to satisfy their supply chain requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting environmental protection, disaster management and education.

Fashion 2.0 Awards Honor Social Media Stars of the Industry

The most sartorially extravagant social media event of the year — the Fashion 2.0 Awards — took place at the SVA Theatre in New York last night, organized by Style Coalition, a fashion influencer marketing platform.

Categories for the four-year-old event included Best Twitter, Best Facebook, Best Pinterest, Best Blog by a Fashion Brand, Best Website, Best Mobile App, Best Online Video, Best Fashion Startup (a new category this year), and Top Innovator. Voting was open to the public on the Fashion 2.0 site.

The tech industry is sometimes criticized for the lack of women in entrepreneurial and leadership roles, but the ladies cleaned up at this event. Most of the nominees in all categories — including three of the five Best Fashion Startups — were founded or co-founded by women. "DVF [through Glass]," starring designer Diane von Furstenberg and Google Glass and featuring a cameo appearance by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, won Best Online Video. Style Coalition itself was founded by a woman, Yuli Ziv, who developed interactive online strategies at ad agencies before starting her own business blending fashion and technology.

"It always amazes me how this online fashion community is so tight," Ziv said in her opening remarks.

The evening was hosted for the second year in a row by stylist, interior decorator, and TV personality Robert Verdi, who offered free startup ideas for the audience: RentTheLouboutin.com (no doubt inspired by his earlier frantic search of the lobby for a lost spike from his $2,000 Louboutin loafers), Assbook ("How come nobody's done Assbook? Like you could tell people where you're sitting."), I'mWearingThisToYourFuneral.com, and FatOrPregnant.com.

Sporting a blue-spangled Burberry trench, Barneys Creative Ambassador-at-Large Simon Doonan delivered a gleefully wicked keynote on the "social media miracle." He praised social media for increasing pedestrian distraction and, thus, the stepping in of dog poo, resulting in his own amusement and an uptick in shoe sales at Barneys. ("Hashtag retailgratitude.") He spoke of the benefits of giving trolls or, as he refers to them, "Satan's disciples," a platform that makes them happy. "When Satan's disciples are happy, they're more likely to stay at home and less inclined to come knocking on my door asking to use the bathroom and insisting that I prepare them a tuna melt."

W Hotels Worldwide Sends CFDADesigners on Fashion-Focused Inspiration Trips Around the World

W Hotels Worldwide and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) today announced the second phase of their multi-layered partnership as they unveiled the weeklong trips on which the CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers will embark in order to seek inspiration for their upcoming collections. The dynamic group, which includes designers from fashion and accessories brands Ari Dein, Burkman Bros., Daniel Vosovic, Emanuela Duca, Isaora, Jonathan Simkai, Reece Hudson, NUMBER:Lab, Timo Weiland and WHIT, will draw creativity for their Spring 2014 collections from the vibrant destinations and cutting-edge W Hotels they visit around the world.

“W Hotels is proud to be a partner of the CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} program, and together, we have created a unique global platform to elevate exposure and drive business for these rising fashion stars,” said Carlos Becil, Vice President of Brand Management, Starwood’s Luxury and Design Brands, North America. “In addition to the designer showcases at W Hotels around the country, these ten inspiration trips allow each designer to leave home and soak in the energy, creativity, and spirit of dynamic destinations around the world to inspire their next collection.”

Passports and Sketchbooks in Hand, Designers Jet Off in Search of Fashion Inspiration
American menswear design brand Burkman Bros. and womenswear designer Jonathan Simkhai will separately travel to the newly opened W Bangkok, set in the pulsating heart of the city near glittering temples and spicy street markets. Founded by brothers Ben and Doug Burkman, the contemporary menswear collection Burkman Bros. is heavily influenced by travel and incorporates prints and fabric treatments from countries around the world. Jonathan Simkhai offers sophisticated dressing for the modern, cosmopolitan woman, bringing forth classic predominantly menswear codes translated into sexy and feminine silhouettes.

Emanuela Duca, an award-winning jewelry designer, will travel to W Doha Hotel & Residences where sand dunes soar next to towering skyscrapers. A rapidly evolving destination, Doha offers juxtaposition of old and new with its historic forts and camel racing, ancient souks and luxury shopping, and old Shisha cafes and modern cuisines. Originally from Rome, Duca, whose designs are inspired by the marriage of movement and sculpture, creates earth-bound, highly textured surfaces, evocative of volcanic ash and ancient ruins of her native city.

Womenswear designer Daniel Vosovic and Reece Solomon, of the designer handbag collection Reece Hudson, will each travel to W Istanbul, located in the center of the historic Akaretler Row Houses. Vosovic’s collections embody a modern signature style, which caters to those who appreciate an easy sophistication. The Reece Hudson collection, made in Italy, aims to bridge the gap between luxury products and street style through strong design sensibilities mixed with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship.

Timo Weiland and Alan Eckstein, the designers behind Timo Weiland, and Whitney Pozgay, the designer of contemporary women’s collection WHIT, will separately travel to W Retreat & Spa Bali – Seminyak, set on one of Bali’s most famous beaches. Timo Weiland reflects the designers’ personal aesthetic, sensibilities and broader desire to spur a return to the art of dressing. WHIT specializes in beautiful modern clothing with a fun whimsical twist. Her silhouettes celebrate color and are made to mix and match to incorporate your personal style.

Lingerie designer Arielle Shapiro, whose Ari Dein brand is largely inspired by boutique hotel living and art deco style, will travel to W St. Petersburg, where Russian tradition is fused with Antonio Citterio’s avant-garde décor. Architectural details and exceptional tailoring contribute to Ari Dein, a line that is unique, nostalgic and versatile.

Ricky Hendry and Marc Daniels of ISAORA will take to the road in search of adventure on America’s West Coast, visiting three of the W brand’s newly renovated hotels: W Seattle, W San Francisco and W San Diego. Covering almost 3,000 miles, they will take in everything the left coast has to offer— from the surf, to the cities, to the snow, to the desert— meeting with like-minded innovators and inspiring creatives along the way who share their passion for design driven excellence.

Finally, sportswear label NUMBER:Lab, founded by established architect Luis Fernandez and serial entrepreneur Greg Lawrance, will travel to W Barcelona, a skyline icon designed by renowned architect Ricardo Bofill. Anchored by a defined aesthetic and vision, NUMBER:Lab offers a collection of essentials for the athletic side of the discerning man.

“One of the interesting aspects of our partnership with W Hotels is how the brand can help to create global exposure for our {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers,” said Steven Kolb, Chief Executive Officer of the CFDA. “We thank W Hotels for sending our designers on these incredible inspiration trips and adding this unique layer to the {FASHION INCUBATOR} program.”

This past September, W Hotels and the CFDA announced a partnership that will bring {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers out of New York City and into markets that are important to growing their businesses, a first such opportunity for the {FASHION INCUBATOR} program. In addition to the Inspiration Trips, the partnership will travel {FASHION INCUBATOR} designers to W Hotels around the country for fashion showcases and special events, the first of which took place this past December at W Atlanta – Buckhead with designers Burkman Bros., Daniel Vosovic, Emanuela Duca and WHIT. W Dallas will host the second {FASHION INCUBATOR} showcase later this spring.
Since its inception in New York City in 1998, W Hotels has identified fashion, a direct extension of design, as one of its key passions to appeal to its jet set guests, who are always looking for what’s new and next. As the reach of W Hotels has expanded globally, it has become a more active participant in its passions of design, fashion and music, which has enabled the W brand to champion emerging talent around the world.

Infor Implementation Accelerator Now Available for the Fashion Industry

Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, today announced the general availability of the Infor Implementation Accelerator for Fashion. This application is ideal for organizations that want to implement an integrated solution quickly and without major modifications, yet reap long-term benefits from its flexibility and ability to execute continuous improvement in the future. Implementation Accelerators are a set of preconfigured industry solutions based on the latest version of the Infor application suites that will deliver core industry application processes, reduced implementation times, costs, and risks, and are available as a cloud or on-premise technology platform.

The Infor Implementation Accelerator for Fashion delivers the same scalability and ease of integration Infor applications are known for, while pre-built industry leading processes provide an immediate opportunity for business improvement -- to help provide a faster return on investment. Additionally, this solution delivers predefined but easily configurable menus, processes, templates and training, using examples specific to the needs of mid-sized fashion companies.

"Just like large, global companies, mid-sized fashion organizations face the same challenges of high order volumes, increasingly complex supply chains and managing multiple product lines efficiently, but have to normally do so with fewer resources readily available to them," said Bob McKee, industry strategy director, Fashion, Infor. "Recognizing this problem, Infor developed a tailored, streamlined implementation process designed to deliver benefits in weeks, not months or years, and provide them with a foundation for the expanded features they'll need down the road as their business evolves. With more than 1,100 fashion customers worldwide, we're able to listen to our customers' key industry needs and translate them directly into our applications."

An Implementation Accelerator can be the final step -- or just the first step -- in an ongoing process of added functionality and continuous improvement. As an organization changes and grows, it is easy to expand the scale and scope of an Infor application and integrate it more fully with other solutions. Through the Infor Implementation Accelerator for Fashion, implementations can be less costly, less risky, provide reduced stress for employees, and deliver a faster time to benefit.

Fashion Statement: Designer Creates Line of Drone-Proof Garments to Protect Privacy

As the U.S. government draws up plans to use surveillance drones in domestic airspace, opposition to what many consider an unwarranted and significant invasion of privacy is mounting across the country, from rural Virginia to techopolis Seattle. Although officials debate anti-drone legislation at federal, state and local levels, one man is fighting back with high-tech apparel.

A New York City privacy advocate-turned-urban-guerilla fashion designer is selling garments designed to make their wearers invisible to infrared surveillance cameras, particularly those on drones. And although Adam Harvey admits that his three-item Stealth Wear line of scarves and capes is more of a political statement than a money-making venture, the science behind the fashion is quite sound.

“Fighting drones is not my full-time job, but it could be,” says Harvey, an instructor of physical computing at Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts and the creator of the CV Dazzle project, which seeks to develop makeup and hairstyles that camouflage people from face-recognition cameras and software.

Harvey’s newest medium, metalized fabric, has been around for more than 20 years. It holds in body heat that would burn bright for infrared cameras—a characteristic that could prove attractive to those who do not want unmanned aerial vehicles spying on them.

Metalized fabric
Metal is very good at absorbing and scattering infrared light, says Cheng Sun, a Northwestern University assistant professor of mechanical engineering. In that sense there is nothing exotic in how metalized fabric works—it “would strongly attenuate the [infrared] light,” he says. The metal would dissipate heat to surroundings as well, making the wearer harder to pinpoint.

To date, the fabric has primarily been used in tape and gaskets to protect electronics and communications equipment from static electricity and electromagnetic interference, according to Larry Creasy, director of technology for metalized fabric-maker Laird Technologies, based in Saint Louis.

Here’s how metalizing works, at least at Laird: Woven fabric, commonly nylon or polyester, is coated with a special catalyst—a precious metal Creasy declined to specify—that helps copper bind to the fiber. Once dry, the fabric is submerged in a copper sulfate–plating bath and dried. A nickel sulfamate bath follows to help the finished fabric withstand the elements and abrasions. The result is a flexible, breathable fabric that can be cut with ordinary tools but that protects against electromagnetic interference and masks infrared radiation, Creasy says. The process adds weight to the original fabric. An untreated square yard of nylon weighs about 42.5 grams. Treated, the same patch weighs more than 70 grams.

The fashion
Harvey’s fabric is coated with copper, nickel and silver, a combination that gives his scarves, head-and-shoulders cloak and thigh-length “burqa” a silvery and “luxurious” feel. The material blocks cell signals, as well, adding an element of risk to tweeting, texting and other mobile activities, as the wearer must break cover to communicate.

Stealth Wear is sold only via a U.K. Web site. The burqa goes for about $2,300, the “hoodie” is $481 and the scarf is $565—luxury items, but so, too, is privacy today, Harvey says.

The impetus
The high cost and limited availability are significant drawbacks—Harvey says he’s only sold one Stealth Wear item online, a scarf. But the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) predicts 10,000 commercial drones will ply domestic airspace by 2017—almost twice the that of the U.S. Air Force’s current fleet of unmanned aircraft. The number of drones flying in the U.S. today is hard to pin down because not every company and agency that gets FAA approval to fly a drone actually puts one in the air. In fact, 1,428 private-sector and government requests have been approved since 2007, according to the FAA. A Los Angeles Times report states that 327 of those permits are still active. Meanwhile, President Obama signed a law in February 2012 that gives the FAA until September 2015 to draw up rules that dictate how law enforcement, the military and other entities may use drones in U.S. airspace.