For those of you who haven’t lost interest in the Sex and the City franchise, or still hang around for a glimpse of the girls and their fashion, the countdown to the May 25 premiere of the second movie installment is on.

Carrie definitely seems to have something of a focus on casual denim for the summer, and wears two styles from the German denim brand CLOSED, of which SJP is a fan. Above, she wears the Pedal Sky Zip, 169 Euros, and below a special customized version of the Pedal Pusher, 149 Euros.

[Images: NY Daily News]

Jeans are almost as punk as Vivienne Westwood, so it’s fitting that the grande dame would design a line of denim for her Anglomania label. The designer has paired up with Lee Jeans for the project. Expect superskinnies for both men and women along with bondage elements, indigo and metallic washes, and trompe l’oeil lace designs.

superskinny jeans and microshorts for women, along with bondage jeans and skinny jeans for men. Washes will run from indigo denim to metallic gold- and copper-colored denim to denim printed with a trompe l’oeil lace design.

“It is very important for us to work with a denim brand like Lee with such a strong heritage,” Carlo D’Amario, managing director of Vivienne Westwood, told WWD.

The collection will be available at Vivienne Westwood Boutiques and other retailers where Anglomania is currently sold, and will range from about 80 pounds to 200 pounds.

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Habillées pour l’été 2010 – Bande Annonce

It’s like the premiere of the Vogue documentary this year kicked fashion for documentary film into high gear. There’s the series “The Day Before” which followed designers and fashion houses ranging from Proenza Schouler to Fendi by Karl Lagerfeld to Jean Paul Gaultier as they created their collections. And now, also from The Sundance Channel, Habillees Pour L’ete 2010 (Dressed Up For Summer 2010). The French TV commercial for the series can be seen above and all six parts of the film can be seen here. It follows French television presenter Mademoiselle Agnes as she attends fashion shows in New York and Paris. As far as young design talent goes – she gives the prize to New York.

The fashion industry hasn’t seen much of Gemma Ward since the passing of Heath Ledger in February 2008 (to whom she was linked romantically), but I was still holding out hope for one of my favorite wide-eyed mannequins. And I’d be even more excited to see her do a campaign or two now that she’s being seen a bit curvier! But, after pictures of her celebrating her 22nd birthday at what can only be described as a healthier weight and the street shots above came out, Ward’s agent has announced her retirement.

The announcement seems to have come on the heels of nasty comments which started on the BryanBoy blog about Ward’s weight gain as if to say “She’s not trying to model anymore, could you just leave her alone?”

I really hope maybe in a few years when she’s ready to be in the public eye again she’ll do something fashion or entertainment related, or just a campaign here and there – at her old weight (seen bottom left, above) or her current one, she looks beautiful either way.

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Sienna Miller jazzed up a pretty ordinary outfit with the Katherine Kwei Joyce Carry-All in black over the weekend. This bag is a great take on the fringe trend, with leather strips revealing a peek of metallic underneath and tying up neatly in knots at the bottom of the bag. The calf and lambskin bag, $625, is available at Luna Boston.

This is such a realistically doable look – just pair the bag with jeans and a pea coat and you’re channeling Sienna with considerably more ease than some of her red-carpet looks would require.

The Jimmy Choo for H&M Accessories Collection hits 200 select H&M stores worldwide on November 14. Given the frenzy Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney for H&M caused, the current economic climate pushing high-end designer accessories further out of reach for some and into the unwise expenditure column for others, and the first chance to get one of the biggest names in footwear at an affordable price – I anticipate a feeding frenzy. If I make it out to one of the lucky stores, I’ll know which pair I’m grabbing before I get there.

While the cage heel at right in the picture above is probably my favorite from the collection – so sexy – I’m beginning to question the wearability of the collection and if the styles will be flattering on average women. That stiletto actually seems to have the most delicate ankle detail of any of the shoes – others seen below have even chunkier ankle straps which aren’t attractive on shorter, less slim legs.

To put a thigh high boot (seen in top image) in such a limited collection seems to be playing manipulatively on the current fervor for the trend, rather than serving women the way Jimmy Choo usually does – with classic styles that will stand the test of time. Where is the chic black pump we all need in our wardrobe? Perhaps this is a ploy to get high-end shoppers down into the dregs of H&M since they might not pay $2,000 for Christian Louboutin’s over-the-knee boots, but would probably drop the $200 likely to cap off the price points at H&M.

Handbags don’t fare much better. While leopard print can look luxe at a luxe price point, at a cheap price point it usually looks … cheap. I’m ready to be surprised and impressed, but I also think you can get a similar, cuter style for not much more than the bag at left at Coach (the Madison ocelot pouch, to be exact). I know, the idea is to own a Jimmy Choo instead of a Coach, but what’s the point if it’s the lesser of the two bags?

I sound pretty down on the collection, and maybe that’s because the collection has me down. I was really excited for this, but have been pretty disappointed by the images coming out. Maybe the quality will impress me and I’ll be in line to buy three pairs by 10 a.m. on Nov. 14. But, I just as well may be in bed reading about it on Twitter and all the Web sites likely to live-blog the launch.

[Images: WWD]

Up and coming American fashion designers recognized as nominees by the CFDA/Vogue fashion fund often get their first big media exposure in what is becoming Vogue’s annual editorial featuring the nominees. It’s a great opportunity to get to know the new talent coming out of the U.S. like Sophie Theallet, left with Chanel Iman and Gary Graham, at right with Sasha Pivovarova. All the designers generally get a boost from the nomination, even if they don’t get the Council of Fashion Designer’s of America’s cash prize and mentoring by industry big wigs. At least a handful of names go on to be ones to watch in forthcoming seasons. Who will be this years?

Alabama Chanin designer Natalie Chanin is taking her second stab at the prize after being nominated in 2005 for Project Alabama. Her pieces are crafted by local artisans in Alabama out of organic materials with very green, very sustainable practices – green has only gotten cooler since 2005 so maybe Chanin’s stock will rise as well.

Gary Graham is another of my favorites, as is anyone who takes inspiration from Nancy Spungen (style inspiration – not life inspiration!). With roots on Broadway, Grahams designs do have a theatrical bent I enjoy, as does the man himself it seems.

Not just womenswear designers, the contest also includes two menswear designers, Patrik Ervell and Spurr, jewelry designers like Monique Péan and House of Waris and footwear like Esquivel Shoes.

Check out all the designers in the November issue of Vogue shown at left, and pick who you’ll be rooting for!

InStyle.com has some of the first photos of Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of the Sex and the City sequel! We all remember what a controversy it was last time around, when we started seeing all the fashion and getting major spoilers (Carrie in a wedding dress! Charlotte with a little girl!) long before the movie debuted. Now, a few short years later it seems par for the course. We get Gossip Girl set photos almost weekly and sometimes own the fashions before we see them on the small/big screen.

Personally, I really like the sneak peek and it doesn’t take away from my enjoyment of the final product at all. Movies where the clothes are “a character” in the film always go by so fast, you’re always left wanting more and wondering who made this dress or that shoe. And those who don’t follow the fashion press can still have that experience. But those of us in the know can just enjoy seeing all the pieces we saw in still pictures walking around on the big screen. If anything, it enhances my experience.

In the photos above Carrie is wearing Christian Louboutin gold glitter heels and carrying a Chanel clutch. I’m sure more fashion credits will start rolling in any day now!

[Source: InStyle]