Autumn arrives and so too does the season of new product launches. Among recent events attended by this Hemlines were press receptions on two successive days for items of haircare. Wash & Go's latest addition, Universal - a shampoo/conditioner combo for every hair type - was presented by the ubiquitous Lorraine Keane, sans fiance but plus assorted mime artists dressed in Starship Enterprise-style costumes, a magician, a vox-pop video and endorsements of the shampoo by two faintly embarrassed-looking young athletes. The one thing not on view was the product itself, so regretfully we cannot report on its efficacy.
Not so at the previous day's presentation of Te Tao, a new line of shampoos and conditioners based on ancient Chinese herbal remedies. Before examining the range, we were given a long lecture from Michael McIntyre, principal of England's School of Chinese Herbal Medicine. Just one teeny thing worried us about Mr McIntyre's association with haircare products: he's bald.
Timed to coincide with today's first anniversary of her death, Diana: Her Life in Fashion by Georgina Howell (Pavilion, £25 in the UK) is a glossy trawl through the late princess's wardrobe. Even the briefest skimming over its pages proves what terrible taste she had most of the time: loud, ugly prints, excessive dependence on shoulder pads, a predilection for "royal" hats and big hair all contributed to producing a look that trilled lack of judgment.
With the exception of Catherine Walker - and even she was not immune to error - Diana was ill-served by British designers, Bruce Oldfield being the most persistent offender. Only in the last year or so of her life did she find a style which, owing a lot to the influence of Versace, made her look terrific - simple sheaths and shifts which showed off her well-toned body to perfection.
How sad to hear last week that, even with the comfort of three royal warrants, English cosmetics company Yardley has gone into receivership. The scramble for lipstick loyalty gets steadily tougher and obviously Yardley - dating back to the 18th century and thereby belonging to an altogether gentler, more lady-like era - just couldn't compete. In an effort to look more hip and 1990s, last year the company hired Linda Evangelista for all advertising, but we think the rot set in earlier this decade when Helena Bonham Carter was appointed the face of Yardley. After all, anything associated with Merchant Ivory's favourite actress is bound to look irretrievably outdated.
Congratulations to the ever-industrious Tarlach de Blacam of Inis Meain who recently had a display of his knitwear in the windows of Saks on Fifth Avenue in New York; Inis Meain designs turn up too in the autumn catalogue from Bergdorf Goodman. It remains a mystery why his scrumptious sweaters sell so well overseas but not at home (answers on a postcard, etc.). However, word is that Louise Kennedy will be stocking the range when she opens her new premises on Merrion Square to the public late next month.
