Miranda's Engagement Confirmed

Miranda Kerr has become engaged to Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel. The model made the announcement on her Instagram account this afternoon, while a spokesperson for Spiegel also confirmed the news.

"They are extremely happy," a representative told the Daily Mail of the couple, who started dating last June. Spiegel, 25, is said to have popped the question to the former Victoria's Secret Angel earlier this week, with Kerr spotted out and about with a gem on her engagement-ring finger.

It will be the second marriage for 33-year-old Kerr, who was married to British actor Orlando Bloom from 2010 to 2013 and with whom she has a five-year-old son, Flynn. Spiegel will now become step-father to Flynn which, Kerr revealed earlier this year, Bloom is more than comfortable with.

"My ex and I decided that we had to know the person for six months and feel good about them before introducing them to Flynn," she said. "Evan met Flynn, so yeah, things are going well. Orlando thinks he's great. We're just a modern family now!"

High-Street Retailers Ban Down Feathers

British high-street brands including Topshop, Whistles, Warehouse, Primark and Oasis have committed to banning all down feathers in their collections following an expose by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

PETA revealed a video in May showing birds being aggressively plucked of their feathers while still alive in farms in China (where 80 per cent of the world's down feathers originate from), despite having "connections to retail suppliers that are certified by the Responsible Down Standard, which prohibits live plucking of geese".

"Just as they did with cruelly obtained angora wool, forward-thinking fashion brands are jumping to meet the demands of today's compassionate consumers, who want nothing to do with an industry that rips out live birds' feathers," said Yvonne Taylor, PETA's senior manager of corporate projects. "PETA will continue to work with retailers across the UK to ditch feathers in favour of natural or high-tech synthetic fillers that are hypoallergenic, warm, eco-friendly and infinitely kinder to birds."

Other brands that have also offered a down-free pledge include ASOS, Boohoo, Miss Dr Martens, Hobbs, Miss Selfridge, Wallis, and White Stuff.

Angels Join Model Olympic Line-Up

Veteran Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio have been tapped by America's NBC network to be food and culture reporters at the Olympics in Rio this summer.

The pair, who are both 35 and hail from host country Brazil, will feature in segments for the channel's late-night coverage, reports People, which will be hosted by Ryan Seacrest and they are understandably excited about their new roles.

"Brazilians are very passionate about sports, sports run in our blood!" said Lima. "We're just so honoured to have this huge event in our country. This way, the whole world will have a chance to experience our culture up close."

The games, which run from August 5 to 21, will also see former Angel Gisele Bundchen take to the limelight. Last week it was reported that she will be hosting the opening ceremony in the Maracana Stadium.

Hailey Turns Her Hand To Design

The current crop of modelling talent isn't anything if not multi-tasking, and Hailey Baldwin is the latest case in point. The catwalk star, who counts Tommy Hilfiger, Sonia Rykiel and Moschino as former employers, has revealed her capsule collection for Australian label, The Daily Edited.

"I am excited as this is the first time I have ever designed my own capsule collection, something I have always wanted to do," said Baldwin of the collection, reports The Daily Mail, which includes rucksacks, totes, bucket bags, clutches, passport holders and cosmetic cases.

Baldwin follows in the footsteps of her friends and fellow models Gigi Hadid (who recently collaborated with Tommy Hilfiger) and Kendall Jenner (who released her own bag line with her sister, Kylie, last month). But, despite racking up an impressive portfolio - and a staggering 6.5 million Instagram followers while she is at it - the 19-year-old model revealed that life in the limelight won't be forever.

Naomi's Absolutely Fabulous Reprimand

Joanna Lumley´s character in Absolutely Fabulous, fashion editor Patsy Stone, is hardly famous for her good behaviour, but she apparently had a competitor on set in the form of Naomi Campbell in the early days of the show.

Speaking at a lunch in New York, where the promotional trail for the newly realeased big-screen adaptation of the popular Nineties series has moved onto having kicked off in London, Lumley revealed that Campbell had to be pulled in line by a floor manager during a guest appearance when she arrived late.

"You're working with a lot of very professional actresses. They all pitched up on time, and they know their lines. Darling, you'll do that tomorrow, or you're out," Lumley recalled the manager saying, reports Page Six. According to Lumley, Campbell took heed of the telling off and the following day she showed up at nine o'clock on the dot.

Campbell was one of many model cameos in the original series, many of whom returned for the film. Fellow models Jourdan Dunn, Suki Waterhouse, Lily Cole, Lara Stone, and super Kate Moss all featured in Patsy and Eddy's latest outing.

Antonio Banderas To Play Gianni Versace

Antonio Banderas has finally found the opportunity to combine his twin passions of fashion and film, as it is announced he has been cast to play Gianni Versace in an upcoming film about the late designer's life.

Banderas surprised the fashion world by enrolling at Central Saint Martins to study menswear design last year, telling daytime television show Loose Women that "Central Saint Martins is probably one of the best schools in the world and so I am going to start studying with them. It makes me feel actually very young to put the elbows on the table again and try to understand another reality."

Details on the film are minimal at the moment, but what we do know is that the project will be directed by Bille August and that filming will begin in December in Milan. According to Italian media reports the set will then move to Reggio Calabria, the town in which Versace was born, and Miami, where he was murdered in 1997.

Versace told WWD that it "has neither authorised nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming movie about Versace. The movie should only be seen as a work of fiction."

Versace's sister and the brand's current vice president and designer, Donatella, posted an Instagram tribute to him on Friday to mark 19 years since his death.

Dominic Jones For River Island

River Island has announced that jeweller Dominic Jones is the latest designer to collaborate with the high-street brand's Design Forum initiative.

The accessories-only collection (a first for the Design Forum) will comprise nine styles, including earrings, necklaces, a key ring and a phone case, which are all inspired by Jones's personal preoccupation with the botanical world. The designer called the range a "celebration of the beauty in the oddity of life, subverting the grotesque, and presenting them as the beautiful. The collection has a real sense of humour, pieces are fun and witty but also desirable and detailed."

Jones, who studied at London's Sir John Cass School of Art and Design and counts Beyoncé, Karl Lagerfeld and the coolest members of the capital's style set as fans, follows in the footsteps of Rihanna, Zoe Jordan, Jean Pierre Braganza and, most recently, Sibling by collaborating with River Island.

The new collection will launch at London Fashion Week this September with a short film at the BFC's Fashion Film event and will be available to purchase in store and online from September 12, ranging in price from £20 to £70.

Terence Donovan: Speed Of Light Preview

A major Terence Donovan retrospective opens its doors today at The Photographers' Gallery in London, entitled Terence Donovan: Speed Of Light.

Charting his career from 1959 to 1996 and encompassing his fashion and portrait photography and moving-image work, it is a definitive profile of the man whose career spanned almost 40 years.

Its inception stretches back only 14 months to April 2015 when Donovan's wife - Diana, whom he met 1968 and raised two children with - approached Robin Muir to see if he wanted to curate a new comprehensive exhibition (Muir had previously curated an exhibition at the Museum of London in 2000 and most recently Vogue 100: A Century of Style).

"The first exhibition concentrated on Donovan's London photographs, the new one has a broader remit: to look at fashion, both men's and women's," Alex Anthony, the Terence Donovan Archive's archivist, told us from the North London loft space which is home to Donovan's art and artefacts. "He was there on the spot when the Sixties exploded into life and captured it all."

Diana herself has always been hands-on in respect of her husband's archive. "Going through the work was emotional and, at times, upsetting, but for the most of it it was so exciting because there are truly some pictures that take your breath away and so much of it has never been seen before," she explained.

The time it has taken to pull together is remarkable, given that there were 800,000 to one million negatives and over 3,000 prints for Muir to select from.

Sponsorship of the exhibition comes from Ricoh Europe, who have gone the extra mile and given all members of its staff the opportunity to tap into their creative side and produce images using Donovan techniques. Visitors to the gallery will also have the chance to do this in the Ricoh Imagine Change Studio, where they can experiment with fashion portraiture and share with the gallery's artistic community, while the accompanying book that will be on sale makes for the ultimate keepsake of a master at work.

"Speed of light was a phrase that Terence would frequently use to get people to hurry along - he'd say it to me to get me out he door too," smiled Diana. "If you asked anyone who knew him, they would immediately recognise that phrase."

Terence Donovan: Speed Of Light in association with Ricoh runs from July 15 to September 25 at The Photographers' Gallery. Terence Donovan Portraits is published by Damiani at £35.

Designer Calls On Fashion Industry To Support BLM

Maxwell Osborne has penned an open letter - entitled Why I Stand with Black Lives Matter - to the fashion industry, calling for it to support the movement.

"I write this open letter to encourage the fashion industry to not just continue the dialogue of race in America, but to do something about it," the DKNY and Public School designer wrote for W magazine. "Fashion exists in a world of make believe. Our job is to offer an escape from everyday life and a fantasy of glamour and beautiful clothes. It's easy to forget the real world with its very real problems. But it doesn't have to be that way."

"Fashion is always at its best when it looks outside of itself for inspiration and holds up a mirror to society," he continued. "Sometimes we do that on the runway and sometimes when we come together as an industry and take up important causes, like so many of our peers have and continue to do with breast cancer and HIV/AIDS."

Revealing that he attended his first protest last week, following the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by police officers, Osborne outlined how individuals within the industry can aid the cause.

"Encourage diversity on your runways and campaigns. Empower your social media fans to raise their voices. Use your designs for the public good. Attend a protest and see change in action. Raise awareness - it's not as empty a gesture as it may seem - and others will follow your lead."

Gisele's Olympic Moment

Gisele Bundchen has reportedly been awarded a very important role in the upcoming Rio Olympic Games, which are being held in her home country.

The supermodel will host the opening ceremony at the city's famous Maracana Stadium on August 5, reports Brazilian newspaper Extra. Though details are scarce at the moment, it is rumoured that the former Victoria's Secret Angel - who last year confirmed her retirement from the catwalk - will swap the runway for walking through a "futuristic gateway" (representing the theme of the ceremony) to mark the start of the Games, the first to ever be hosted by South America. 

Bündchen, who lives with husband Tom Brady and their two children in the United States, is famously proud of her Brazilian heritage. Last month, it was revealed that she will make an appearance in Years of Living Dangerously, a docu-series by the National Geographic Channel on the destruction of the Amazon. "I'm excited to be joining season two of @YearsofLiving Dangerously as a correspondent, exploring deforestation and climate change in my beautiful home country of Brazil," she wrote at the time.

Tamara Appoints New CEO

Tamara Mellon is surging ahead with the rebuild of her brand (after emerging from a 60-day period of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January) by appointing a new CEO, Jill Layfield.

The designer and businesswoman announced the news today, reports WWD, which follows a round of $12 million Series A funding from investment firm New Enterprise Associates earlier this year. It comes as the brand prepares to launch its new luxury direct-to-consumer model in the autumn.

"I am elated to join Tamara in creating a brand for women, by women, direct-to-women," said Layfield, who joins from Backcountry.com, where her accomplishments include growing annual revenue from $30 million to over $500 million. "Tamara's expertise in luxury shoes and vision for the brand combined with NEA's long track record of partnering with entrepreneurs to build market-leading businesses is an exciting combination."

Layfield will be based in the brand's new headquarters, which were recently moved from New York to Los Angeles. On the Tamara Mellon Instagram page, the brand's new message is clear: "New Chapter. New City. New Rules. New order luxury, new shoes... and a new team. We're on the hunt for fellow rulebreakers - interested?"

BFC Appoints New Executives To Bo

The British Fashion Council has appointed three new executives to its board: Dylan Jones, GQ editor; José Neves, founder and CEO of Farfetch; and David Pemsel, CEO of the Guardian Media Group.

"These are three strategic appointments, Dylan as the voice of menswear, an area of significant growth; David for his expertise in building international audiences through digital platforms and José, a tech entrepreneur and retail disrupter," said Natalie Massenet, chairman of the BFC. "All three are leaders in their field, innovators and strategists, and will play significant roles in ensuring London leads in design, business, technology and communication in fashion."

The executive board was created in 2009, with the view to keeping industry patrons, partners and the media informed of developments in the British fashion industry. When Massenet came on board as chairman in 2013, she appointed presidents who are specialists in their fields, including Sarah Mower, Meribeth Parker and Sophia Neophitou.

"It is a huge honour to be joining such an esteemed group on the BFC Executive Board," said Neves on his appointment. "Since I started my first fashion business in London in 1996, I have witnessed the tremendous evolution of British fashion and, as a designer and then as a technology entrepreneur, I experienced both the transformational role of the BFC and its unparalleled leadership. The BFC will undoubtedly continue to ensure Britain stays at the forefront of global fashion and I am very humbled and honoured to offer my contribution to this group and its mission."

Burberry Appoints New CEO

Burberry has appointed Marco Gobbetti as CEO, the brand has announced this afternoon. Gobbetti joins the house from Céline where he is currently chairman and CEO, a position he has held since 2008.

Christopher Bailey, who has been CEO - in addition to being chief creative officer - since Angela Ahrendts left in 2014, has been appointed to the role of president. 

"I am very excited that Marco Gobbetti is joining us as chief executive officer and as a partner to me," said Bailey in a statement. "Marco brings incredible experience and skills in luxury and retail with him that will be invaluable to us… On a personal level, I know that we are going to enjoy a wonderfully collaborative partnership that makes me very excited for our future at Burberry."

The news answers critics who have been vocal about the need to split Bailey's responsibilities, with many shareholders feeling that he needed support with the business operations, to allow him to concentrate wholly on the creative direction of the brand.

"Since taking on the combined role of chief executive and chief creative officer, Christopher Bailey has done an excellent job set against a backdrop of challenging market conditions," said chairman John Peace, who both Bailey and Gobbetti will be reporting to. "The review that he has led into our ways of working is the blueprint for the next phase of Burberry's evolution. In order to maximise our ability to successfully implement these plans, Christopher identified the need for a new chief executive for the business who could partner with him as we execute on the new strategies and I am excited to see what they will do together."

Gobbetti is slated to take up the role on an as-yet undisclosed date in 2017.

Maria Grazia Chiuri Confirmed At Dior

Maria Grazia Chiuri has been confirmed as the new artistic director at Christian Dior, replacing Raf Simons whodeparted the label in October 2015. Chiuri, who is Dior's first female artistic director, previously headed up the womenswear collections at Valentino alongside her co-designer Pierpaolo Piccioli since 2008.

Chiuri is to start next week as artistic director of women's haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessory collections with her first show slated for September 30.

"It is a great honour to be joining the house of Dior," said Chiuri in a statement. "I measure the tremendous responsibility of being the first woman in charge of the creation in a house so deeply rooted in the pure expression of femininity. The endless wealth of its heritage continues to be a constant source of inspiration for fashion, and I cannot wait to express my own vision."

Piccioli - with whom Chiuri has enjoyed a creative partnership with for over two decades since meeting in the late Eighties and studying at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome together - will remain at Valentino, where he will take the sole reins as creative director.

"I am thrilled to welcome Maria Grazia Chiuri in the house of Christian Dior," said Sidney Toledano, president and CEO of Christian Dior Couture. "Her vision of women, both sensual and poetic, resonates with that of Monsieur Dior. Her expertise in the art of couture and her passion for craftsmanship will be in perfect harmony with the exceptional know-how of our ateliers."

Today's news brings to an end the rumour mill surrounding the post, which hasn't abated since Simons's unexpected deaprture after three years in the role. Among those previously associated with the role was Alexander McQueen creative director, Sarah Burton.

Bill Cunningham's Fitting NYC Tribute

Bill Cunningham who sadly passed away last month, was a regular sight on the sidewalks of Manhattan, snapping street style as he cycled, and now the city has found an apt way to remember him. As of yesterday the corner of 57th and 5th streets will be known as "Bill Cunningham Corner".

New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio, shared the news on his Twitter account, saying: "His vivid photos helped define New York as the fashion capital of the world, so we're naming 57th & 5th after him."

The tribute, although not permanent, comes as the result of a petition that was started shortly after his death and serves as a fitting celebration of the legendary photographer who famously "let the street speak to him".

Anya Hindmarch On The Bags That Launched Themselves

Anya Hindmarch delighted her male fans when she announced her dedicated menswear category last week - a business development that was brought about by the power of the people, according to the designer.

"Men started wearing our product so the menswear line really launched itself," she told us. "They have been coming in and buying pieces that were part of our women's collection for some time, as well as ordering pieces from our bespoke shop and putting stickers on their bags and phones, so we thought we might as well do it in a more organised way."

The collection - which launches today - comprises 10 bag styles, iPad and iPhone cases, wallet holders, travel tags, pouches and shoes, and bears all the hallmarks of the brand's signature good humour. The Men At Work style, recently seen on the big screen in Absolutely Fabulous, is sure to be a favourite in briefcase form.

The menswear collection will also enjoy a London Fashion Week outing in September, revealed the designer, who is planning to launch the collection first in her London, New York, LA and Japan flagships, before branching out with "key partners in Asia where we have some fun pop ups planned".

Hindmarch follows in the footsteps of fellow London-based designer Stella McCartney, who announced last month that she will be launching her menswear category in November.

Woolmark Announces British Isles Winners

The 2016 British Isles International Woolmark Prize winners have been chosen: Faustine Steinmetz for womenswear and Cottweiler for menswear. The two brands had tough competition, but they were both chosen for their "innate understanding of the fibre, a keen commercial sensibility and a great design aesthetic", according to judge Dylan Jones.

Faustine Steinmetz's winning collection saw the designer dye raw Merino wool several shades of indigo before felting it onto a base fabric - a method that judgeRoksanda Ilincic said showed "incredible creativity and an almost couture-like technique with her approach to the look and the wool fibre. There was scalability from something that was more artistic and experimental to something that is commercial, which was one of the great points of her collection."

Menswear winners Cottweiler, comprising design duo Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty, created a high-performance sportswear collection, working with an Italian mill to turn Merino wool into something unexpected.

"Cottweiler are a young brand but they understand what's happening in menswear now," explained judge Gordon Richardson. "They have youthful content and were very clever with how they transformed wool in the sportswear arena. That's something you don't usually see and the collection was something you want to wear right now. That's the real skill of a designer - they are definitely in the moment."

Both fashion brands will receive an AU $50,000 lump sum and mentoring for the next six months. They will both automatically be entered into the global final for the International Woolmark Prize, in which they will compete with the other regional winners for a further AU$100,000 prize and will have their collections hosted in top retailers around the world - including Harvey Nichols in London.

The Crown In Vogue

The Crown will be the talk of the town when it launches on Netflix in November, but ahead of the much-anticipated period production - which spans 1947 to 1956 - Vogue caught up with the cast on an exclusive shoot for the August issue.

"Being royal is no privilege," Eileen Atkins, who plays the Queen Mother, told Juliet Nicolson, sharing the insight she has gained after extensive research into her role. "They are constantly on, they cannot ever slip off their shoes in public. Celebrities choose fame. Royals have it thrust upon them."

Styled by Vogue fashion editor Verity Parker for the issue, the cast gather in exquisite creations evoking the era. Elie Saab Haute Couture, Zuhair Murad Couture, Ralph & Russo, Altuzarra, and Chanel Haute Couture all feature in the beautiful 10-page shoot.

Who Vetoed Leo´s Baywatch Role

Leonardo Di Caprio was nearly cast in a major role in Baywatch when he was 15-years-old, but the show's lead star, David Hasselhoff who played Mitch Buchannon, vetoed the decision.

"We actually had DiCaprio ready to be cast," Michael Berk, an original producer, told The Hollywood Reporter. "But David thought he was too old to play his son." Berk's fellow producer, Douglas Schwartz, went one step further, revealing that Hasselhoff, who went on to star in the hit TV show for 11 years between 1989 and 2000, was worried about how it would make him look. "David thought it would make him look older," revealed Schwartz. "He had a lot of concerns of that type."

Instead of DiCaprio, a nine-year-old Jeremy Jackson got the part, leaving the future Oscar winner to pursue a string of teenage hits, including TV shows Parenthood, Growing Pains, and his breakout film role, What's Eating Gilbert Grape in 1993.

Vestiaire Collective Launches Scandinavian Pop-Up

Scandanavian fashion is known as much for its effortlessly cool clothes as it is for its home-grown fashion stars who wear them, making Vestiaire Collective's latest initiative something of a masterstroke. The online purveyor of pre-loved sartorial treasures has enlisted six of the region's most followed trend setters to open up their wardrobes and sell pieces from their personal archives.

But it's not just their favourite purchases that fashion director of Style by magazine, Columbine Smille; stylist and consultant, Linn Hagglund; director of fashion site The You Way, Permille Teisbaek; Trine's Wardrobe founder, Trine Kjaer; founder of Octobernine.dk, Marie Hindkaer Wothers; and founder and creative director of Envelope.no, Celine Aagaard are sharing. They have advice on what to look out for too.

"Scandinavian style is all about identity, our roots and about quality fabrics. Monochrome, minimalistic and sharp lines are central to the look," Aagaard advised us. "Women dress down rather than dress up, with an androgenetic touch - oversized and layering- with a sporty twist."

The group all agree on the labels that they love the most. Céline, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Jonathan Anderson are the names on all of their lips, while Baum und Pferdgarten, Deitas, Totême and AltewaiSaome are just a few of the internationally emerging brands they say we should all keep an eye on.

But as much as Vestiaire Collective is about finding a treasure you never knew existed, it's also about finding the one that got away - and despite the enviable contents of their wardrobes, the six women all have their own lost treasures and wish lists.

"A white steel Santos watch from Cartier and the beige cloth sandals from Hermès," are on Aagard's wish list; "a Twist bag by Louis Vuitton," is what Hindkaer Wothers is looking out for; a Hermés Birkin is high on Hagglund's lust list; while Teisbaek and Smille both cite Céline items (a jumpsuit from Céline's spring/summer 2015 collection and a patchwork bag from Céline resort 2012 respectively) as the ones that got away; and Kjaer still longs for the velvet Chanel 2.55 bag that she didn't buy when she had the chance.

The Made In Scandinavia pop-up is now live at VestiaireCollective.com today.

Slimane Awarded €13 Million

Saint Laurent owner Kering has been ordered to pay former creative director Hedi Slimane €13 million following Slimane's legal application to have the non-compete clause in his former contract with the fashion house honoured.

When Slimane departed Saint Laurent after four years at the helm in April, Kering decided to lift the clause, meaning that while Slimane would be free to work for a competing label, he would not receieve the financial lump sum that usually comes as standard with such contracts.

Last month, Kering issued a statement clarifying its position, saying: "Kering lifted this clause at the end of Hedi Slimane's contract, thus freeing Hedi Slimane from this potential constraint. Hedi Slimane is requesting that this clause be applied still, along with the effective payment of the financial compensation that goes with it."

This morning it announced that it would be appealing the latest ruling: "The decision that was just made public is an interim decision. Kering intends to appeal the decision. The procedure is still going on."

Slimane was replaced at the fashion house by Anthony Vaccarrello, who previously worked under Donatella Versace at Versus.