Award winning director Wong Kar-Wai and Ralph Lauren present a tour de force short film: Notorious, starring French screen icon Laetitia Casta.

Burberry has ditched the gloomy, melancholy theme of their recent fall ad campaign and went with a sunny, bright greenhouse full of greenery and plants for the official Spring 2009 ads.

The campaign was shot by Mario Testino at Petersham Nurseries, a posh garden center outside London.

“I wanted the mood to be gentle, relaxed, romantic and about a quiet, beautiful sense of luxury,” explained Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey. “This campaign highlights the spirit of our wonderfully crumpled classics.” Via wwd

Wildly popular Korean pop singer Rain has launched his own fashion line, called Six to Five. He introduced the collection with a fashion show in Ilsan, which was attended by celebrities and fans alike.

“Six to Five means that we are aiming to reach the sixth sense from our original five senses. I also wanted to use numbers to make it easier to find and comfortable to approach”, he said.

“I think it’s a bit unreasonable to call myself a designer. I never learned the trade professionally, but I did try to analyze the clothes I enjoy wearing and feel comfortable in. I volunteered as a designer, thinking the public may understand my views,” he said.

Giorgio Armani has unveiled his vision for his latest store: « Massive » can’t even begin to describe the 43,000 square-foot space that will house all of the designer’s collections - from the mainline Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani ranges to Armani Casa and Armani Jeans.

Set along New York’s trend setting Fifth Avenue, the space, which formerly housed Hugo Boss, will give its customers a “total experience” that will include an in –house restaurant.

Armani himself was actively involved in the design, which was realised by architects Doriana and Massimilano Fukas – the creative minds behind the brand’s Chater House and Ginza Tower concept stores in Hong Kong and Tokyo respectively.

Chanel is to cut 200 jobs as fears grow that the supposedly recession proof luxury market is falling victim to the global credit crisis.

The staff cuts are a direct result of declining sales, part of the overall slide in luxury spending that was not alleviated by the recent holiday shopping season. Among the jobs are 16 posts at the brand’s boutique on rue Cambon in Paris in the heart of Paris’s fashion district.

The job losses, described by some commentators as the label’s worst crisis since founder Coco Chanel fired all her staff at the outbreak of war in 1939, represent almost 10% of the company’s production workforce.

If you’re still unhappy with the variety of Wayfarer colors available, next year Ray Ban is releasing the “Colorize” kit that includes paint markers and stencils to customize your sunglasses with your very own unique look.