The avant-garde French designer, Jean Paul Gaultier announces that with the upcoming show during the Paris Fashion Week, he will quit from designing ready to wear menswear and womenswear. He instead, will now lay his entire focus on creating couture wear and fragrances.

The decision comes following the designer’s personal fondness for creating couture wear, which enables him to express his creativity and preferences for research and development.

This step marks Gaultier’s new beginning, after 38 years of designing men’s and women’s ready to wear collections. Of the genre, he feels that it restricted one in terms of commercialisation, fresh styles, ideas and innovations.

However, Gaultier now delights with the fact that he will be able to display the best of his creativity and individuality without any such constraints.

Meanwhile, his last ready to wear collection will be showcased on 27^th September during the Paris Fashion Week.

The First Lady, Michelle Obama takes forward her ties with the fashion industry by hosting the White House’s first Fashion Education Workshop to be held on 8^th October. For years, she has been known to outwardly support American designers and with this workshop, she aims at successfully bringing together industry professionals and high school and college-age students who feel passionate about fashion.

Besides, designers Maria Cornejo, Reed Krakoff and Bibhu Mohapatra will also be assisting the students with career advice during the workshop.

However, along with some precious guidance and advices from these icons, the students also stand up with a chance to bag internships with the designers, which will effectively act as a career booster for them.

What does British Fashion Council say about Scottish referendum on independence?

At the recently concluded London Fashion Week, Vivienne Westwood models in her Red Label show were seen wearing “yes” badges. According to Time magazine, Westwood told reporters after her show that she “hate[s] England” and is “very unpatriotic about England because it is being completely ruined.” It would be absolutely great if there is a ‘yes’ vote … the future could be just amazing and Scotland would be very important and a influence on the world,” Westwood said backstage.

While Stella McCartney says I want to keep Scotland,” I was married in Scotland and I spent the majority of my childhood growing up on our farm there. I have an absolute love affair with Scotland. 

Seeing to the number of Scottish designers showcased in London, and the importance Scottish manufacturing holds for many designers, from cashmere to Linton tweeds, “For those of us born in Scotland but now living elsewhere and unable to vote, all I have spoken to would vote ‘no’,” said Caroline Rush, the Glasgow-born chief executive of the British Fashion Council.

However, Scottish designer Christopher Kane was one of the signatories to a letter to Scotland from the Let’s Stay Together Campaign, as reported by British Vogue, while fellow Scottish designers Jonathan Saunders and Holly Fulton have both also reportedly said they would vote “no.”

Well actually speaking, none of these three designers can vote as they reside in London.

Versace is opening a new boutique in Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, same day of his spring 2015 showcasing. The boutique’s opening is part of a renovation project of the entire Galleria that Versace is helping to underwrite. the latest example of luxury houses helping to refurbish historic sites throughout Italy.

The fashion house will spend 1.5 million euros, or $1.94 million, to refurbish the Galleria, a four-story double arcade that was constructed in the mid-19th century near the famous Duomo. Prada has contributed €1.5 million as well.

The project is to include restoring more than 14,000 square meters, or about 150,000 square feet, of the Galleria’s internal facade. In its own boutique, Versace has already refurbished the original ornamentation.

“We feel responsible culturally and socially,” said Gian Giacomo Ferraris, the chief executive of Versace. The renovation is expected to be finished by April 2015.

The Austrian Space Forum,national network for aerospace specialists and space enthusiasts, has proudly handed over three special Tiuterra Crystals to Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut. They will accompany the Italian astronaut on her journey to the International Space Station (ISS), where she will be a part of the ‘Futura’ mission for a period of six months starting in November 2014.

The three special crystals that Cristoforetti will take to the ISS are smaller versions of the 100 limited edition Tiuterras that are destined for leaders and opinion-formers affiliated with the top ten space agencies.Limited to only 1500 grams, this is large concession by the astronaut, who is giving up part of her valuable personal space to the Tiuterra project. “It is a great honor for us that Samantha Cristoforetti supports our project and will take three crystals to the ISS.

The crystals are a symbol of the scientific curiosity and enthusiasm that space triggers in people. There can be no better place for the Tiuterras than in space from where parts of them have originated,” stated the Chairman of the Austrian Space Forum, Gernot Grömer. After her mission to the ISS, Samantha Cristoforetti will return her crystals to the Austrian Space Forum, which will make them available for exhibition in museums around the world.