Image: Rodin Banica for Callulla Lillibelle

SW: Where does the name Callula Lillibelle come from?

Melanie: Callula Lillibelle is the name of my 9 year old daughter.  Callula is an old Latin name which means "tiny beautiful one" and my ex-husband added Lillibelle, after his Irish grandmother.   Because our last name, Hart, is a simple one, we figured two crazy names were ok!

SW: The collection has been described as “desk to dinner” what does this mean to you as a designer?

Melanie: From "desk to dinner" means it is a variety of pieces which suit various hours of the day.  We have coatdresses in our collection which may be worn alone or over cute, items such as a short pencil skirt and a tie-neck blouse.   After the boardroom, our girl can change into her sexy heels for a night on the town 

SW: What lead the two of you to join forces and create the Callula Lillibelle line?

Melanie: Previous to working with William, I carved out a place for myself in the "designer" funereal industry, as crazy as that sounds.  I was partnered with legendary designer Gregory Poe and we designed urns and caskets for famed "Hollywood Forever" in Los Angeles.     My partner, Gregory, unfortunately passed away and his brother, Jeff Poe, owner of Blum and Poe in Los Angeles guided me towards William.    I approached him with the idea for a line and although I am creative and artistic, I have no technical skills when it comes to putting a piece of clothing together.   Jeff made the introduction and from there we flew!

SW: Melanie,  when working as a funeral designer, how did you come to realize that you want to transition into fashion? Is this something you had always intended on doing?  Do you find that your background in designing urns and caskets helps your current creative process?

Melanie: The funeral designer portion of my career was a relatively short one due to the passing of my partner, Gregory Poe.    The transition from urns and caskets was actually quite an obvious one, as  Gregory was quite a legendary fashion designer in his time.    Our urns were primarily design pieces, pieces which people would want in their living rooms.   They were quite avant-garde and beautiful.   We only moved to doing some designer caskets when requested by Hollywood Forever.   Those caskets, however, ranged in design from bamboo to beautiful stained-glass in appearance to pieces which were "green" and would be earth-friendly.   Clothing and fashion has always been a  passion of mine and really the overall plan is similar; find what is missing in the market  and fill that need with what people really want, whether an urn or a dress!Image: Rodin Banica for Calulla Lillibelle

SW: William, as you've had your own  couture line  for several years, do you find it challenging to divide your energy between the two?

William: Actually, I find it quite invigorating. There is a freedom that comes. An additional collection means more ideas can be realized. 

SW: In recent years many major labels have been criticized for using overly thin models and reinforcing an unhealthy body shape for the American woman, do you see your line as moving away from that unhealthy image?

William: We seek to dress many types. Beautiful, strong women come in many proportions and we intend on dressing as many of them as possible. Being comfortable in your own skin and looking amazing is far more important and frankly, sexy than striving to be someone else's image of fabulous.

SW: It’s been written, that a major inspiration for your design was actress and style icon Tippy Hedren , what is it about Ms. Hedren that you find so engaging?

William: She, like January Jones currently, embody a spirit we are trying to capture with this collection. It's ok, idyllic even, to be strong, intelligent, alluring and feminine. 

SW: What is it about Tippy that makes her stand out from others in her generation?   Also, with the popularity of Mad Men, and the early 1960's influences showing up in many Fall 2010 collections, do you feel the current social climate is one where people are craving a return to the innocence and nostalgia of the mid century era?

Melanie: We do feel that people crave retro glamour but with a modern twist.  It is a style issue, trends come and go, with budgets tight and the female "who am I?" question continually lingering in their minds, we want to give women the self-assurance that they deserve to be a real woman.  They should be wearing something which enhances everything, including self-image.

image: Rodin Banica for Calulla Lillibelle

SW: Typically where do you see the price point coming in at for your pieces?

Melanie: We have been very careful about the price points, as we know that EVERYONE, from the top of the ladder financially to the really budget-conscious person is looking at price.   Our least expensive top begins at about $50 and our most glamorous dress is about $415. 

SW: Where can we find Callula Lillibelle? 

Melanie: Although we have had a burgeoning of orders from all over the world, we will not know for certain until the end of March the totality of locations where the collection will be sold. 

For more photos of the Calulla Lillibelle line visit the Style Wylde Galleries.

An orange coat dress highlights Miu Miu/Image: Fashion Now

As citizens of the real world, the collection at Paris Fashion Week have challenged our style sensibilities. Whether it was yeti-get-ups, faux-folksy dresses or coats of absurdist proportions many of the looks were a little hard to picture working in the stores and on the street; and isn't the point of "Ready To Wear" store-to-street viability? 

Additionally, many of these 'out-there' collections retraced commonly used themes, and inspirations making them feel flat, and down right out-dated; which left us wondering  if Paris has become fashion's past.

Thankfully, as the collections in Paris came to a close today, Miuccia Prada turned the crazy-car around and showed an exquisite array of to die for little black dresses,  coats with pops of color block, and lust-worthy accessories for her Miu Miu Fall 2010 show. Utterly wearable, and "wantable" the Miu Miu show received an instantaneous show of praise as the final looks walked the runway via twitter:

christianrian Miu Miu FW 10 amazing! The colors and shapes!

Thanhhuysing Miu Miu's FW 2010-11 wrapped up PFW in cute collars and bow plus plunging necklines. So cute!

IsabelVG Loved Miu Miu! The shoes are amazing!

visionAri_style logged on just N time to view the MIU MIUshow. Wish I had better view of the shoes! The collection was glorious, enjoyed the color combo.

acolorbyjuan Miu Miu was simply Amazing

Red_Magazine Culture club soundtrack at miu miu totally relived my youth. Black purple and orange pretty

coat dresses image:Fashion Now

 And from the pros:

VogueParisLive: Au défilé Miu Miu: des violettes cristallisées à croquer à la sortie du show!

To see the show in it's entirety online go to  the Miu Miu official site.

Image: Giovanni Gianonni for WWD

Just moments after the Chanel Fall 2010 collection got underway, reports started coming in that all was not business as usual  at the Grand Palais in Paris.  "A Giant ice berg imported from Sweden!"  a few tweets and emails declared, "The models are marching through a giant puddle of ice water!" a few more sounded, and then the words one never expects to see appeared on the twitter feed... "BEARS... at Chanel.... they are dressed like BEARS!"

image: Imax Tree Matteo Volta 

It is unlikely that bears were the actual inspiration for Karl Lagerfeld's frozen spectacle, more likely Lagerfeld was the latest in a long line of designers whom draw inspiration from the 1922 silent Film Nanook of the North. Over the years many designers have set their sites on Nanook for their Fall collection, including,  most famously Isaac Mizrahi as portrayed in his 1995 documentary film Unzipped, which followed the production of the fall collection and his fixation with the film.  

The industry's love of Nanook can be explained by the history of the film itself. Nanook is widely  considered one of the first documentaries ever made, and is heralded for it's impressive cinematography and historical significance in film making, despite it's sometimes inaccurate portrayal  of the Inuit people. 

Thankfully, not every look an outright copy of the 1922 film, in addition to the full-length furs, Lagerfeld put a northern spin on classic Chanel suits as trim tweeds received their own fur touches and details, and party dresses were paired with polar-appropriate boots.

imaxtree: Mateo Volta

Image: Giovanni Gianonni for WWD

Looking at the sheer beauty of images that are flooding, and the reading the words of those who were present which include mentions of tears, sorrow and the overwhelming sense of loss mixed with awe over the designer's breath taking skill,  additional commentary on the collection feels superfluous. So we leave you with a link to additional  detailed images here, and a full slideshow here. 

oversized fur at Viktor and Rolf/Image: Giovanni Gianonni for WWD

In New York and Milan the world watched as major names like Marc Jacobs and Prada turned  focused on feminine, wearable looks with a soft, sexy mid-century motif. But in Paris over the weekend, the avant garde bucked the ladylike trend with a myriad of highly produced presentations that seemed to prize drama over wear ability, including:

Infamous for outlandish looks that vacillate between costume insanity, and works of fashion art, style icons Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren,  have built a dynasty on pushing boundaries.  For Fall 2010, they staged an over the top presentation, for sporty styles  that left some of the most influential critics in the industry feeling flat, while the twitterverse exploded with praise.  The one thing no one could argue with, the show itself which included Model Kristen McMenamy walking the runway with the ENTIRE collection on her back, and being systematically stripped, was something to remember. Completely video of the performance art/runway show is now available online here.

Maison Martin Margiela goes Wild Thing/Giovanni Giannoni for WWDMaison Martin Margiela added Gaga-esque shoulders, stand-out waistbands, and Wild Things reminiscent hats(pictured right)  to a collection that was otherwise sleek and restrained, the result: a wacky mash up of extremes that was only somewhat realistically envisioned for stores.

Taking the term sleeping bag coat, and running with it John Galliano unleashed an act of of mind-bending design on the public with a show that  Women's Wear Daily called "An  exotic curry of a collection."  You can say that again.

Giovanni Gianonni for WWD

When not creating a low-cost line for Target, Jean Paul Gautier has made a career out of  marching to his own drum. Whether it's 1990's era cone-bras, or his Fall 2010 travel-log inspired collection Paris' original wild man of style seems impervious to current trends, for better or for worse.

Jean Paul Gautier Fall 2010/Giovanni Gianonni for WWD

Karl Lagerfeld RTW Fall 2010/ Giovanni Giannoni for WWD

You might expect Stella McCartney, Dianne Von Furstenberg, or even Donna Karen to create a women's wear collection they themselves would want to wear, but when discussing the work of Karl Lagerfeld that decision is a bit more unusual.  Then again  his personal motto of 'Love thy Self'  has served Lagerfeld well for decades.

AP: Photo Thibault Camus

John Galliano returns to the stables for RTW 2010/Ap Photo: Jacques BrinonFor many designers repeating themes, especially themes used as recently as your own Couture collection shown just 3 months prior, is a risky move which could prompt editors and critics to scream "One trick pony!" But for Galliano, who sent  a second set of jodhpurs, and riding hats cantering down the runway earlier today, the redux worked, functioning more as solidifying signature than a dashed off sequel.

Filmy dresses with exquisite vintage details, retro make-up and fresh from the bedroom hair rounded out the hyper sensual collection that could not have been mistaken for anyone other than the maestro.

AP Photo: Thibault Camus

Rick Owens beyond Thunderdome/Image: Giovanni Giannoni for WWD

In stark contrast to the mid-century party at Prada, Dries Van Noten, and Rochas, Thursday's collections focused on the futuristic with strong cinematic overtones such as.

Rick Owens' love of the dark an avant garde was clearly felt in his ode to Mad Max Collection, complete with structured leather, fur accents and Tina-Turner worthy make-up.

Super-label Balenciaga gave a nod to another film making great with a Stanely Kubric inspired collection, that channeled Hal, if Hal had been designed by one of the greatest fashion forces in history.

Space Odyssey inspired at Balneciaga/Image: Giovanni Giannoni for WWD

1950's styling at Dries Van Noten/AP Photo: Thibault Camus

The retro themes, which we first saw cropping up at Timo Weiland in New York,  that then took a strong stance in Milan at Prada, made their Parisian debut today as Dries Van Noten and Rochas.

Ap Photo: Thibault Camus

At Dries it was all about mixing mid-century and modern bohemian with full skirts, nipped in waists, trench coats with a twist all with animal print touches and hints of military.

At Rochas, the styles flipped forward a decade as psychedelic 60’s sheaths, booties and sky-high bouffants mashed up with modern lines.

As the rest of the collections are unveiled in Paris this week, an impressive line-up of names that includes Gareth Pugh, Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Vivienne Westwood and Viktor and Rolf, trend-spotters are predicting  a full fledged return to retro for Fall 2010.

For more on all of the European collections, check back with Style Wylde all week. 

Image: David Maestri for WWD

AP Photo: Giuesseppe AresuWhether it was a wild and wooly mash-up of animal prints, a circus-friendly color pallet, or the series of rock and roll layers in rich tapestries which followed, Cavalli proved that creating style out of chaos is still his strong suit. 

For those favoring sleekier, simpler styles the collection may have been a bit over the big-top, but the designer clearly isn't concerned, as his may client  base has never been made up of the meek, or the mild mannered.

AP Photo: Guiesseppe Aresu

For a full slide show of the Roberto Cavalli FGall 2010 collection go here.

Perfectly tailor blazers paired with miles of leg during the Dolce Gabbana finale/ Ap Photo: Alberto Pellaschiar

Gorgeous cocktail looks at DolceGabbana, AP Photo: Alberto Pellaschiar

Seemingly drawing on Italy's long history of master tailors Dolce and Gabbana described their collection to the press in attendance as  “sartorialità,” or tailoring, Italian-style. “Like my father used to make.”

For a full slideshow of the Dolce and Gabbana Fall 2010 collection go here.