Dress for stress

latex body

A new fabric from Italy claims literally to make you feel good
Buying a new outfit is known to have a tonic effect. You look good, so you feel good. Now the designer Azzedine Alaia has come up with clothing that he claims not only raises your spirits but cures your ills.
 Fashion's first therapeutic fabric is made from a new jersey called Relax.  Claims that pulling on an Alaia Relax catsuit might cure tension and headaches, dispensing with the need for Valium or aspirin, sound far-fetched.  But, by protecting the body from the invisible electro-magnetic waves given off by household appliances, the fabric is said to reduce the ailments that these are believed to cause.
 Relax contains a fine filament of nylon mixed with carbon, which has already been tested and used by Nasa as a protective lining. The new fabric, developed by Ialian textile company Lineapiu in conjunction with the international chemical company BASF, combines this with cotton, viscose or wool.
 ''We wanted something that not only looked good in fashion terms, but literally makes you feel good, and we knew carbon provided shield from electromagnetic waves,'' says Giuliano Coppini, the president of Lineapiu.
 ests carried out in the Laboratory of Public Health in Ivrea, near Turin, showed that an ordinary fibre containing 6 per cent carbon helps protect those parts of the body covered. According to Professor Santi Tofani, the director of the laboratory, ''The carbonated fabric is particularly effective at reducing the electro-magnetic field in the low range of radio frequencies that abound in the atmosphere.''
 Signor Coppini offered M Alaia exclusive use of the yarn for a year. Only a few Alaia knits in this summer's range are made from Relax among them a long, ribbed-knit, hooded dress and a ruffle-edged catsuit with flared trousers but more will appear in the winter collection.
 ''It is not a miracle cloth, but I saw the demonstration in Turin and ca fait du bon,'' Mr Alaia says. He has not been able to experience the benefits of the new yarn himself: ''Can you imagine me in a little stretch dress?''
 Daniela Ballarini, a psychologist and a member of the Italian Society of Biofeedback, carried out tests measuring body tension. A model wore an Alaia anti-stress dress one day, and an ordinary sweater dress the next. On the second day, her stress level was 50 per cent higher. The psycho-knit has arrived.

Loewe & behold

latex clothes

... the edgy new look of the once "auntie' Spanish leather house. All thanks to Cuban-American designer of the moment, Narciso Rodriguez
 HOW can a bag which you hold in your hand be fashioned into something that you can wear on the body?
Speaking to Life! in Paris after his recent third show for Loewe, Narciso Rodriguez said he had done it by turning leather into a lightweight clothing material.
Tom Ford did it for Gucci by re-working the Hollywood tradition of the brand into glamorous shapes and silhouettes.
Michael Kors for Celine simply took a refresher course and cleaned everything up.
And Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton made his mark anew by putting the brand's famed monogrammed print on latex clothes and accessories.
But the 36-year-old Rodriguez told this reporter that he went back to Loewe's spartan, soft-as-silk leather basics.
Look at the dress that made him the new darling of the apparel world, for example.
It was for Carolyn Bessette's 1996 wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr.
It was simply a sliver of silver material which moulded to the main material, the woman.
"When I design, I think of what's immaterial and what's material," he emphasised in Paris.
He has told the American press that when he was asked to design the gown, he thought first of the ultra-clean chic of the bride, so he cut out all frills.
What was material for her was that she was getting married so he used sexy, shiny silk-crepe material.
And what was material to him, as a designer, were seams.
So he sliced up a sinew of a floor-sweeping slip with a hint of ruffles at the ankles, and the rest is history.
Now he would like to make history with Loewe leather.
Since he joined Spain's most famous bag company last year, its carry-alls have never been more foldable, floppy and fun.
To make leather wearable, he has sliced it all up to piece together into slim skirts and avant-garde coats.
But after visiting Loewe's leather tanneries at Cataluna recently, he came up with a brainwave for next year's spring/summer season.
"We could already make it feel like material and shine like material so why not weave it with material and turn leather into a new clothing material?" he said.
The results were linen-light, double-faced suede dresses and paper-light, perforated, iridescent leather woven into ketupat tops.
It was the finale of his recent show and you can see one example of such a top on the next page.
Though it looks modern and new, it is also classic and wearable, the hallmarks of Rodriguez's style.
His emphasis is on casual luxury, and when asked to describe the Loewe woman, he said: "She is built for speed."
She is also young and glamorous, like Kate Moss who reportedly bought up almost the entire launch collection of his eponymous line, which Loewe has allowed him to keep.
And he also likes to surprise with a sprinkling of sparkling sequins for the day and sportswear-inspired clothes, such as jumpsuits, for the night.
It explains why classy but quirky Hollywood stars such as Claire Danes and Sigourney Weaver took Rodriguez to the Oscars last year, in a knit top and slithery skirt and slinky gown respectively.
Unshaven and wearing a holey sweater and crumpled jeans, the young designer seemed disorientated by the horde of reporters hounding him after the show.
The reason for that became clear when he gave this answer to a question: "I'm in this business to create a buzz without making a spectacle.

Compete with guru slams Thorpe bodysuit

THE mentor of just one of Ian Thorpe's major rivals has questioned the legality in the Thorpedo's signature adidas bodysuit about the eve from the Athens Olympics.
 Jacco Verhaeren, who coaches Pieter van den Hoogenband, told the Dutch newspaper Die Telegraf he did not believe Thorpe's suit followed the sport's international regulations.
 "I have serious doubts if the suit of Ian Thorpe is actually obtainable in the businesses, such as the rules say," Verhaeren said. "No one obliges him to test it following your race." Verhaeren said he was suspicious because Thorpe were a much superior swimmer when wearing the suit. "Thorpe inside the small suit is completely distinctive from the swimmer who swims inside the neck-to-ankle suit," he explained. "I can't underline my words with evidence, however it is a truth." The relevant International Swimming Federation rule, GR 6.4 states: "The manufacturers must ensure that the approved new swimsuit will probably be available for all competitors." But FINA leader Cornel Marculescu said that they no concerns in regards to the legality of Thorpe's bodysuit.
 He said the FINA interpretation of the rule could be that the suit must be provided if any swimmer went along to producer and requested it.
 "If someone went to adidas and said, 'I wish to have this', adidas must provide it," he explained.
 He was quoted saying the newest generation adidas JetConcept suit had been approved for international competition and said FINA officials monitored all latex clothing inside the call room before races to make certain they met the regulations.
 "We possess a copy with us of Ian Thorpe's swimsuit, because it has been approved by us," Marculescu said.
 "I do not see any risk with this particular. Inside call room were considering this and when we see something wrong, unfortunately we cannot allow them to swim inside." Marculescu said he'd seen no convincing scientific evidence that any model of bodysuit gave the swimmers a bonus.
 "It's a marketing exercise, though the swimmers accept is as true." Thorpe and van den Hoogenband result from meet within the 200m freestyle heats on Monday morning on the way to your final re-match of these epic duel on the 2000 Olympics.
Murray Rothblatt, president of Fawn Creations, agrees that it must be important to create newness in shapewear. However, basic styles with function as focus remain vital to the marketplace. "It's best to stick to fabrics you are aware aren't going to disappear and silhouettes that there will always be any excuses for," he admits that.
Firm control may be the priority at Fawn, that is the innovator behind WilliWear Intimates. "There is obviously destined to be a requirement for firm control garments and every one of our new styles moving forward will probably be developed to resolve that demand," says Rothblatt. A few of the latest looks within the WilliWear line will include a delustered satin and tech sheen underwire bodybriefer, a fanny enhancing paneled brief, a jacquard lace longleg brief, along with a lace waist-cincher having a built-in panty.
Another introduction is WilliWear Woman, a line that has all the best selling regular-sized styles in the 2X to 6X range. "We realize that a lot more retailers are trying to find the more expensive sizes and are locating a wide range of thought into merchandising those products," Rothblatt says
 They greeted the other happily with a handshake and also a hug once they met poolside last Sunday. Nevertheless it seems the psychological warfare surrounding the "Race with the Century" has begun.