To have champagne that you can feel good about , Pommery Launches ‘POP Earth ‘ champagne featuring 100% recycled glass bottles,  recycled paper labels printed with water based inks. Now you have no excuse to not pop champagne  the green way.Interesting fact although the song was about champagne there seems to have been no visible brand endorsed… Via vogue France.

When Amber Rose created a stir in the fashion world a few months ago I was curious to see If her appearances  , for various fashion events were going to be it.  Apparently not , as I  just stumbled upon the campaign for the Kanye x Louis Vuitton Sneakers launching in June ‘09 , shot by Steve Shaw.

The girl power female in me wants to dissect this choice  to pieces and illustrate all the deeper implications of choosing to feature this woman who has an ability to really rock a look , naked and so on. Keep in mind that we’re not offended  by nudity in itself. But, it’s Friday I’m not going to get intense. I’m really just questioning this choice when the artistic potential  of Amber & Kanye could have been phenomenal. More images on the next page via Nahright & Blackbook.

Top Row Forever21 shirts/Bottom Row Trovata shirts

We’ve always had  a special outlook  on retailers like Forever 21 , who often  do  not merely  get inspiration from high end labels but flat out copy them. One might argue the fact that  such retailer  make the design “accessible” to all but, on the other hand what happens to the team or designers that actually came up with the design ? Trovata is the latest label to have had design” inspiration” issues with the retailer :

“…companies including Diane Von Furstenberg, Anna Sui, and Anthropologie have filed over 50 lawsuits against Forever 21 over the last three years relating to copyright infringement. (Forever 21 settled the cases out of court.) Unlike previous lawsuits against Forever 21, Trovata’s doesn’t accuse the store of copyright infringement, but alleges that Forever 21 copied unique button placements, decorative stitching, and fabric patterns, among other details…” via Nymag
 In our book there’s no substitute for quality ,craftmanship and the respect of  creativity…

Is “girlyfying” Dora really necessary? Can a  little girl just be without frills and the social pressures of being what society sees a proper representation?  Will she stop exploring the world, ditch her compass, map and backpack ? We already have  Barbie and The Bratz as fashionistas. Some parents and associations are pissed at the deeper implications of the newly trendy Dora, and make some very interesting observations. Read the petition here.

via Msn.

To celebrate their 20th anniversary DKNY teams up with Levis on collection of limited edition  denim styles. A wide leg,  Skinny silhouettes and the ever so popular boyfriend cut.  The rationale behind this collaboration puzzles me when DKNY has a   DKNY Jeans  label. Is this  a way to make their denim line more “credible” in the  world of Levis aficionados and denim purists ? Or did a consumer study show that DKNY denim wearers also wear Levis?  At  $225 a pop I’m not sold on this concept. Are you?

via Denimology

Art collecting  is something I am really passionate about especially among my contemporaries. Why  should  we leave art buying to “estates” of so and so when we have so many artists among our peers ? I know times are hard but ,  while  we can still accumulate 3 to 4 digit bags and shoes , there’s room for some good contemporary artists pieces. Learn more and start investing in Art !

If you have not yet fallen in serious admiration of famed artist Banksy , this should do the trick.  In a partnership with Artichoked and Brahma  you can have a chance to purchase an original   Banksy print “ Trolleys” (above) for one british penny! More info  on how to register here.

via Vogue France.

In honor of women’s history month I have to go there:

As if women have not had enough pressure from modern society to conform  to various ideals. Now our little girls  get to wear fake bangs?? I’m not  a mom so this might make sense to some as cute ? Seriously at first I chuckled at the absurdity, but on a deeper level, what are we saying to our girls , if the purity of beauty of babyhood is taken away from them what’s left???

Geez…

via racked & jezebel

Kate Cusack, one of our favorites here at HighSnobette, presents the new pieces of her collection with a challenge to our perception of  beauty as it seems to mostly  relate to youth. Using images of a beautiful mature woman, Kate reminds us  that style , fashion  and most of all , beauty  are ageless…

Photo by Julia Pogodina.

More on the next page.

I know, how girlie and typically un-feminist  it is to be jolly about Barbie dolls,  but why not? If we can gloat over designer/design toys, Barbie deserves as much shine, as she has always been a   fierce woman with various careers and hobbies, and the year 2009 marks her 50th birthday.

Barbie has been  criticized as  being the source for an unrealistic and  unhealthy view of womens lives and their bodies. These notions  probably went over my head, growing up partly  in the Caribbean. I never remember playing with my Malibu Miko  doll and feeling like I had to look like her. I did always feel like there was a ceratin sense of greatness to her though. She ran for president in 1992!

Check Designboom for more on  the making of Barbie

I was just reading Decida and she mentioned the fashion crime committed on this new artist Teiarra Mari . New music is not  my  forte at the moment  so I cannot say that I know who she is, but fashion-wise, anyway I looked at it–even in a very avant garde way it just does not work. Maybe if she had a futuristic headgear on or something? 

And of course the fashion image encyclopedia that I  can be saw the resemblance of the look with Cameo’s Larry Blackmon codpiece. Understand this critique is  not meant to be mean spirited at all. In music marketing should you not know  more about  what has been done?

Close up on the next page.