The Soapbox | Where South Africans Speak Out

The Kate Moss-designed handbag collection from Longchamp is a hit according to Vogue. Like her prior Topshop collections, the bags are flying out the stores and around many celebrity arms. Well-known fans of the range include stylist Katy England who has the black Glastonbury bag, Peaches Geldof — who prefers the nude Glastonbury — and former Wonderbra model Eva Herzigova and Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine) who both have been spotted with the green Soho clutch. The hardest bag to get though? The Gloucester which has reportedly sold out.

Johnny Depp’s leading lady, Vanessa Paradis, has been announced as the face for Chanel’s Coco Cocoon range of handbags. The puffy-quilted handbags were introduced last year reports WWD. The model, singer and Johnny Depp’s baby mama is currently starring in the advertising campaign for Chanel’s Rouge Coco lipstick. These are not her first forays with the brand — she first appeared in 1994 television spot for Coco fragrance. The images which have been photographed by head designer Karl Lagerfeld are expected to start appearing in fashion magazines in June.

Last month, Alexa Chung photographed her outfit daily and posted it on a Vogue blog for everyone to see what the It Girl was wearing. The Today I’m Wearing… feature was such a hit that Vogue is reporting that sales of the cover girl’s preferred clothes and wardrobe choices have risen dramactically on eBay. After Alexa had sported a pair of dungarees, eBay saw the sales increase by 75%. Clogs, similar to the pair Alexa wore on the March cover saw a hike as well, with sales jumping just under 200%. eBay spokesperson Julia Hutton-Potts told Vogue, “It seems that whatever Alexa wears, we want to wear.”

Fashionistas have been tweeting all week. Why wasn’t Lindsay at the Ungaro show? Quite simply: she no longer works for them. After last season’s less-than-stellar showing, the occasional actress and singer failed to show up at the fashion house’s Paris Fashion Week show, instead opting to sit front row at shows like Viktor & Rolf, Dior and Kenzo. Ungaro owner Asim Abdullah had told the media that La Lohan was not involved in the latest collection which even without Lindsay’s input was still dated and nothing spectacular. Considering Lindsay was brought in to inject a youthful edge and give the brand some much-needed publicity perhaps firing her was a bold move for Ungaro. Although no designer, the troubled celebrity did put the label back in the headlines.

Our fashion columnist, the incognito Green Eyes, blogs about life, love and fabulous fashion at her must-read blog: Skinny Bitches – In The Making.