February 2005

February 23rd 2005
New York City

To the right you will see photos from our fabulous Valentine’s Day Kegger, sponsored by New York’s hometown beer, Rheingold.  Thank you all for coming out and supporting our beer-drinking with such zest!

Another special thank you to all of the Nolita stores who participated in the 2^nd Annual Nolita Valentine’s Day Window Display Competition to benefit Free Arts!  All of you are stars, and we would like to give each store a special shout-out and mention the awards you won:

• Bio – Most Romantic Window
• Erika Tanov – Sweetest Window
• Mogu – Coziest Window
• Jirisuda – Most Creative Window
• Yellow Door – Most Decadent Window
• Only Hearts - Most Come Hither Window
• La Coppola Storta – Most Whimsical Window
• Cinema Nolita – Most “Oops We Forgot To Decorate” Window
• Lace – Most Heartfelt Window

Congratulations to our winners & participants, and thank you Free Arts for letting us be a part of your amazing cause!

February 10th 2005
New York City

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…  A completely unbiased review of the HOLLYWOULD fashion show, written by world renowned fashion critic Muzy Senkes.  We love you Muzy.  Here goes:

“As you can see from photos (right), HOLLYWOULD’s first ever fashion show can easily be described in one word: ‘Absolutely Fabulous’.  The show took place in the lovely NYC lobby of the Algonquin Hotel, infamous for terrific afternoon tea and literary round-table discussions, and hence the perfect place for tea-totaling fashion writers like me, Muzy.

For HOLLYWOULD’s first-ever Fall collection of clothing, designer Holly Dunlap was inspired by the 1964 James Bond Classic ‘From Russia with Love’, as well as the decked-out glitzy Russian tourists she sees shopping on Via Tournabuoni in Florence, Italy. 

The collection was comprised of three different elements: brightly colored jersey knits; woven metallic lace, denim & brocade; and solid and printed shearling.  In case you’re wondering, all HOLLYWOULD knit pieces are made by a factory near Bologna, Italy, which also manufactures for Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent.  All HOLLYWOULD wovens are all made by a factory near Montecatini, Italy (a town famous for thermal hot springs) which also manufactures for Prada and John Galliano.  And last, all HOLLYWOULD shearling pieces are made by a small factory near Pisa, Italy, which specializes in fur and leather and works with only one other designer, Roberto Cavalli. 

Those of you who love HOLLYWOULD’s current Resort & Spring collections will be happy to know that next Fall HOLLYWOULD has continued to emphasize fantastic prints, rich colors, and easily wearable, sexy silhouettes.  Some of the stand-out, wait-list items were the brightly colored cocktail dresses & tops with ruffle details, metallic denim jackets and trousers, silk velvet peasant skirts, jersey separates with lace insets, scarf print dresses and tops, jewel-embroidered gowns, and reversible shearling vests and shrugs.  More provacative pieces, and the favorites of the designer, included an amazing tiger jumpsuit which will look fabulous on Beyoncé, and a long metallic brocade jacket with fox fur trim which is not for the meek but has already been ordered by a hip Italian countess.

Holly has said her mission is to make sure the HOLLYWOULD customer is ‘the cutest girl in the room’, and judging by this collection, next Fall that mission will continue to be accomplished.”

The HOLLYWOULD Fall 2005 Collection will be available this September in fine stores across the USA, London, Paris, Milan, Moscow, Dubai, and Tokyo.

February 5th 2005
New York City

The HOLLYWOULD fashion show was yesterday and I will be posting all of the photos just as soon as we get them, but am giving you a taste of some of the looks which were shot by my genius photo pal Kate Schelter (see photos right).  The show theme was “From Russia with Love”, and if you know anything about Russian fashion you know it’s all about glitz, glitz, glitz.  I can’t wait for you to see it in the stores next Fall because the shoes, bags, and clothing are going to be perfect for your cocktail parties, weddings, and black tie events all winter long.  We will also be having trunk show events where you can come and see the collection in person long before it hits the stores, so please email us your address so we can invite you when we come to your city!

The fashion show couldn’t have happened without an amazing team, so I would love to thank everyone involved including my awesome business partner Leslie Ternes, the entire CFS production crew, the entire HOLLYWOULD staff,  the Algonquin Hotel and their fabulous staff, the Aveda team, the MAC team, Maurice Villency furniture, Kenneth Jay Lane, Red Bull, and all of our gorgeous models.  Another big thanks to all of our fabulous friends, editors & buyers who came out and showed their support.  You all rock! 

THANK YOU!!!  xoxo, Holly

February 3rd 2005
New York City

Hello Girls!  So sorry I did not write a “Fashion Show Diary Entry” yesterday as promised, but it’s getting hectic over here with the HOLLYWOULD Fashion Show just ONE day away!  I spent yesterday pulling together all of the outfits and they are going to be divine.  Of course, it’s impossible to put together gorgeous outfits without trying all of them on, so I ended up giving each look a test drive while practicing my newest vogueing techniques in our unheated warehouse.  Needless to say, the clothes will look better on the runway than they did on me in our plastic warehouse mirror, but even in those shabby conditions they looked like a million bucks, which means you’re gonna luv ‘em in real life!

Yesterday we also had our favorite A-list movie star, Chloe Sevigny, stop by the HOLLYWOULD store to do a bit of shopping for an upcoming trip to the Caribbean.  For her island vacation, Chloe chose our White Ruffle Mini Dress, which is perfect for après-swim drinks, and our Polka Dot Espadrille Wedges, which will be amazing with a string bikini and sun hat.  At HOLLYWOULD, we consider Chloe to be the most fashionable icon of the decade, so we think it’s an excellent pre-show omen that she popped in to shop this week, wearing what appeared to be head-to-toe vintage Azzedine Alaia and looking drop-dead beautiful as usual.  We love you Chloe, and please drink a rum punch in the sun for all of us freezing New Yorkers.

Just one more day ‘til show time…

February 1st 2005
New York City

Only 3 days left until the HOLLYWOULD fashion show and it we’ve got at least 8 days worth of work to accomplish.  Today I had the very fun task of picking out the jewelry for the show by digging through the Kenneth Jay Lane archives, which is every girl’s dream come true.  You are all going to “ooohhh” and “aaahhh” when you see our models decked out in their fabulous gobs of KJL.  While I was there I got to see Mr. Lane, who is probably the most dapper gent in all of fashion, and one of the quickest wits this side of the Mississippi.  I always love going there and never want to leave.  We love KJL.

The rest of my day was non-stop glamour*, and I am now finally headed home in an attempt to get what will probably be my last bit of sleep for the week.

*That’s a joke.  You all missed seeing me moving boxes in our warehouse wearing an outfit so horrendous that you wouldn’t even see it on Jerry Springer.  I will give you a hint: it involved tube socks.