Fifth annual national underwear day at Freshpair from Aug 7

On Tuesday, August 7, 2007, underwear will come out of the drawer and into the streets, celebrating its status as the most important item worn throughout the day.
Commemorating its fifth anniversary, National Underwear Day will celebrate the importance of underwear with runway shows, give-a-ways and other surprises in the heart of Times Square.
National Underwear Day will also mark the beginning of an exciting new charitable program Freshpair, Freshstart to help provide basic necessities to people in need.
From 11AM - 2PM, male and female models clad in hottest brands including Wacoal, Le Mystere, Natori, DT Clothes and Chantelle will walk the catwalk in the latest styles.
Throughout the day, National Underwear Day will have changing stations set up for passersby to change into a free, fresh pair of underwear from C-IN2, Diesel, and Ginch Gonch.
Those enjoying the festivities of National Underwear Day will also learn about Freshpair, Freshstart, a program committed to providing basic, practical necessities.
National Underwear Day is the first of many Freshpair, Freshstart opportunities where the public can help people who are struggling to rebuild their lives. A day of friendly family fun, National Underwear Day is surely an event not to be missed!
Additional participants in National Underwear Day Festivities include: Barely There, Hanes, Go Softwear, Paul Frank, Male Power, Report Collection and Cotton Incorporated.
Freshpair is a leading online retailer of men's and women's intimate apparel selling over 100 brands. Freshpair is also the founder of National Underwear Day.
Freshpair's exceptional customer service and huge selection help make every shopping experience comfortable and convenient. At Freshpair, you can buy underwear in your underwear.

Winning Brands Corporation announces that Holland America Line will be adding the ms Amsterdam to the group of cruise ships it is converting to an environmentally friendly alternative to on-board dry cleaning.
The new system, SMART Wet Cleaning, does not use the solvent commonly associated with dry cleaning, Perchloroethylene (perc). The conversion is part of an ongoing commitment by Holland America Line toward excellence in all fields of operation, including environmental stewardship.
This will be the 8th cruise ship conversion by Holland America Line to the SMART Wet Cleaning System. The new system is targeted to go live on the ms Amsterdam in the next 90 days.
SMART Wet Cleaning Solutions are part of a system of hardware and environmentally advanced cleaning solutions that process "Dry Clean Only" garments by using water instead of hazardous solvents.
Winning Brands Corporation manufactures the SMART Wet Cleaning Solutions used on board. Winning Brands' mission is to replace hazardous chemicals in widespread use with safer alternatives. SMART Wet Cleaning products are distributed by Solvent Free Solutions Inc.

NEW YORK: Liz Claiborne, the designer of career clothes for professional women entering the work force en masse beginning in the 1970s, died Tuesday in New York. She was 78.

Her death, at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, was the result of complications of cancer, said Arthur Ortenberg, her husband. Claiborne learned in 1997 that she had a rare form of cancer that affects the lining of the abdomen. While undergoing treatments, she continued to pursue a second career promoting environmental conservation.

She had homes in Manhattan and the village of Saltaire on Fire Island, New York, and on a large farm in Swan Valley, Montana.

Before she became the most successful women's apparel designer in America of the time, Claiborne had worked for 20 years in the back rooms of Seventh Avenue sportswear houses like Youth Guild and Juniorite.

A strong-willed designer with an acute business sense, she defied the male-dominated ranks of the fashion industry by starting her own company in 1976 with her husband, Ortenberg, a textiles executive who had been her boss for more than two decades. In a reversal of roles, she gave him the corporate title of secretary.

Three last articles are published via www.iht.com

Shoals of fish and tumbling sea urchins are not familiar accessories on a fashion runway. But by the time a snaking sea creature was made up of wrist watches, Diesel had made a statement with its dive into the deep.

It was all done with holograms, projected on an ultrafine scrim. They created an oceanic setting for the sand-beige sportswear, the hooded tops, taut trench coats, crunchy knits and skinny pants, as Diesel staged its extravaganza at the Pitti Immagine Uomo fair.

"It's a first," said Renzo Rosso, Diesel's chief executive, describing the floating blue holograms as a "mood board" on the catwalk and a stimulation for its young consumers who surf the Internet for novelty. The show Thursday went live on Diesel.com.

At the rollicking after-party, Rosso had plenty to celebrate. The company, known for its ironic ads, has won the Cannes Lion for advertising for its spoof showing women taking a Diesel executive hostage as they steal intimate apparel.

The "Global Warming Ready" campaign this spring also created a stir with its surreal landscapes of transformed cities, from St. Mark's Square in Venice filled with tropical birds to Paris as a jungle and Manhattan half-submerged - all peopled by impeccably dressed Diesel-ites.

LONDON: Hearing that Victoria Beckham wanted to buy up her merry collection of frilled rompers and swirling dresses must have seemed to Kelly Shaw, a student designer, like the magic moment when Madonna picked out the fledgling Olivier Theyskens.

Shaw, from the University of East London, did not win the big award at the finale of Graduate Fashion Week. That went jointly to two menswear designers - even if Lanvin's Alber Elbaz, one of the judging team, along with Beckham, persuaded Jasper Chadprajong from Ravensbourne College to show his collection of enveloping parkas on female models.

The co-winner, Nicolas Thomas, from Bristol University, showed graphic dot and stripe knitwear worn with rubber boots that Elbaz gave him the cash to buy.

A mild survival theme (like the protective menswear from Kirsten Bridgewater, Westminster University) ran through the shows by the 10 finalists, drawn from the 20 colleges participating in the four-day event.

Zandra Rhodes, as colorful in her signature pink as many of the upbeat collections, picked out the romantic vistas from Jessica Clarke (Manchester Metropolitan University) as winner of the Catwalk Textiles Award. From the strong knitwear, the Pringle's designer Clare Waight Keller chose the ultra-light designs of Lilli Rose Wicks (Somerset).