Retail therapy

Comme here

The buzz at Paris Fashion Week was knitwear label Sacai by Japanese designer Abe Chitose. But if you couldn't make it to Paris for the shows, don't worry - fortunately, Ponsonby boutique Hepburn has just received its second season of the label.

The range, which starts at $289, includes mainly cardigans with a slightly deconstructed look and lacework, says Hepburn's Fenella Becroft. It also has silk tanks and skirts.

Chitose was a former knitwear designer for Comme des Garcons but left three years ago to set up her own label, which is now wowing fashion's elite. During Paris Fashion Week, hip fashion store Collette dedicated a section to Sacai "which is a big tick", says Hepburn. "It [the label] is getting in all of the right places."

Hepburn is at 186a Ponsonby Rd, ph (09) 361 5387.

Tongue's a groove

Also new in store ... New Zealand shoe designer Kathryn Wilson's new winter range at Tongue. There are two boot styles - one flat, the other with a high wooden heel and jewellery attachment - and a range of flats, including a blue floral fabric. Wilson is one of the country's few shoe designers and every season (this is her sixth) she gets better. Prices start from $179.

Tongue is at 95 Ponsonby Rd, ph (09) 360 2610.

Makes scents

All those years of looking glamorous on the red carpet have paid off for Hilary Swank. The two time Oscar-winning actress has signed a three-year, multimillion-dollar contract, which includes being the face of Guerlain's new perfume, the name of which is yet to be announced.

Going strong

Proving no one is too old for fashion, Valentino, one of the world's oldest fashion designers, has turned 74 and says he has no intention of quitting any time soon.

The designer, who has been in the business for more than 45 years, told Reuters he did his collections with "lots of joy. And I can never stop, because for me, doing collections, and drawings and new collections is a big, big pleasure.

"And also to have very many young girls, 19 or 20 years old, who dream about getting married in my wedding gowns - that keeps me very, very happy," he said.

A shoe in

You'd think Snoop Dogg, Carlos Santana and Gwen Stefani would earn quite enough money from their pursuits in popular music. But they, and a clutch of other music celebrities, are also working furiously to launch their own signature footwear labels.

Anyone who has walked into a sports shoe shop in the past 15 years knows there is nothing new about the association between makers of trainers and basketball stars such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. The musicians, though, appear to be trying something different - not just offering their name to an established shoemaker, but launching the shoes themselves.

Thus Snoop Dogg has a range of casual footwear - the Snoopa-doopa, the Snoopafly - launched by his Doggy Biscuitz brand. Gwen Stefani's apparel line is named after her hit album L.A.M.B., and includes a fancy pair of trainers retailing for about US$150 ($240) in the United States. Santana's line of women's shoes offers stylish numbers with nods to the latest trends in cork and rope soles, platforms and metallic finishes.

Jennifer Lopez has been pushing her J-Lo footwear for a few years. Singer Jessica Simpson, is so gung-ho about her new line of clunky shoes and boots that she showed up at the most recent convention of the World Shoe Association in Las Vegas to plug them.

Fashion watchers at the show, which attracted 34,000 industry professionals and took up so much space that it was spread over three giant casino resorts, noted this year's trends appeared to be away from stiletto heels. Platform soles are big, as are straps and incidental jewellery. High-mounted espadrilles are set to be huge this year.

If that's the case, then the Santana line - made by Brown Shoe - appears to be the biggest winner among the aspiring celebrity brands.

- INDEPENDENT