Thursday, April 28, 2011

Louis Vuitton unleashes it's brand new items associated with wish.

Louis Vuitton, it's well-known, may be the treasure within the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) overhead and also the pure size associated with each manufacturing as well as arranged had been absolutely nothing otherwise the declaration associated with energy. The financial institution associated with crate elevators along with a spin out of control stairs had been center phase on the catwalk component shiny dark, component similarly inky, high-shine.

The actual clothing shown this completely: sparkling patent-leather neck of the guitar items, corsetry, collars as well as cuffs had been performed away towards uptight, uniform-inspired made of woll tailoring as well as similarly rigid, pure pen dresses.

The actual staples from the dominatrix dungeon had been just about all existing as well as proper as well: whips, handcuffs as well as face masks had been appliqued onto from military hats in order to night jackets.

Block-heeled courtroom footwear and much more which were laced towards the leg had been then rubberized rainfall footwear, completing the appear which was solid through visit foot, especially because put on through supermodels Naomi Campbell, Ruby Valletta as well as Kate Moss – the actual second option within hotpants as well as cigarette smoking the smoke. The actual go back to the actual catwalk of those, the best supermodels, is definitely the view with regard to aching eye.

At the conclusion of the 30 days HBO is actually testing the tv re-make from the Joan Crawford traditional, Mildred Pierce, by itself modified in the Wayne Michael Cain book occur Depression-era The united states.

The actual eponymous guide, this time around performed through the Uk celebrity Kate Winslet, is actually not likely to become very therefore nicely or even certainly because oddly enough outfitted since the versions in the Miu Miu display which happened later on within the day time however they reveal an identical nature.

Right here, the 1940s make collection had been overstated upon manly made of woll overcoats along with rigid, whitened collars which in no way fulfilled in the centre. These people appeared more powerful with regard to the truth that these were put on not really along with pants however more than uncovered thighs.

The boyish prosper nevertheless, they were juxtaposed along with crepe teas gowns which obviously experienced their own origins for the reason that exact same time period however arrived within the sludgy color colour scheme Miuccia Prada offers right now created her very own, as well as within monochrome, as well as stitched along with sprigs associated with gleaming metallic cherry bloom, red field blossoms as well as silver and gold parrots within trip. Lent through menswear once again, as well as much less nostalgic, had been sportswear-influenced made of woll blouson covers as well as pants along with elasticated waists as well as hems. These people appeared especially good put on along with aged college football hats.

Within immediate comparison towards the hard-edged glamour which has centered the growing season and also the France style funds particularly, right here had been the sweetly mournful as well as lightly stunning personality, the woman's idiosyncratic attractiveness just put into through smoky doe eye, crumpled bows, huge purple velvet gran handbags as well as glittery Jane Her footwear.

 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Naomi Campbell's Asia style display

Naomi Campbell would be to display the woman's assistance for that sufferers associated with final month's earthquake as well as tsunami within Asia through web hosting a meeting via the woman's Style with regard to Alleviation charitable organisation.

Naomi Campbell would be to display the woman's assistance with regard to Japan's earthquake sufferers through web hosting the Style with regard to Alleviation occasion.

The actual supermodel -- that has elevated $7 zillion with regard to altruistic leads to along with comparable occasions up to now -- may placed on the actual design display throughout following month's Cannes Movie Event, along with just about all profits heading in the direction of assisting individuals suffering from final month's damaging earthquake as well as tsunami repair their own life.

Aided through Italian language Style publisher Franca Sozzani, Naomi may web host each the style display as well as a skill public sale upon Might sixteen.

Previously this particular 30 days, Naomi talked associated with the woman's expectations in order to web host a meeting for that survivors from the Japoneses organic catastrophe along with the woman's Style with regard to Alleviation charitable organisation.

Your woman stated: "We are likely to carry on. It isn't 100 percent verified, however we're within speaks at this time. Ideally we ought to understand through the finish from the 7 days in the event that we are performing Style with regard to Alleviation: Asia.

"But not really within Asia, we are wishing to get it done within Cannes.

The actual 40-year-old celebrity organized an identical occasion within Feb 2010 to boost cash for that survivors associated with final year's damaging Haitian earthquake, along with other supermodel Kate Moss, previous Piquancy Woman Geri Halliwell as well as Ladies Out loud vocalist Nicola Roberts just about all getting towards the catwalk with regard to Style with regard to Alleviation.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Product sales associated with pants rise -- however perform all of us put them on nicely?

beers associated with mens pants convey more compared to bending because this time around this past year, because Great britain loved the actual warmest weekend break from the 12 months to date.

Steve Lewis documented which product sales experienced a lot more than bending in between The month of january as well as 04 because of the actual current spate associated with warm weather, however stated the actual achievement had been additionally due to it's selection of customized pants, that have been showing well-liked amongst males looking for the "preppy look".

The actual store stated males had been progressively coordinating customized pants along with lace-up footwear as well as t shirts, instead of shapeless sports activities pants.

Shiny McCormack, mind associated with menswear purchasing from Steve Lewis, stated: "It's the actual preppy appear that males are extremely a lot opting for. It is a much wiser appear compared to fight pants.

The internet style shop Asos additionally noticed the product sales leap, confirming the 110 percent increase within product sales associated with mens pants, whilst Represents & Spencer set declare to some forty percent increase. Tony a2z O'Connor, mind associated with menswear style from M&S, stated: "The catwalks had been awash along with pants with regard to males with regard to spring/summer 2011. The actual chino brief may be the ideal on-trend product whenever put on having a nautical striped blazer as well as polo for any razor-sharp summer time appear.

Great britain basked within the most popular day time from the 12 months upon Sunday, along with temps hiking greater than within La. Birmingham and also the South-east noticed temps associated with 22C, using the warmth influx likely to final till the center of this particular 7 days. Donald Cameron had been a week ago observed wearing a mix of dark pants, whitened socks as well as whitened coaches because he or she holidayed together with his spouse Samantha within Granada and also the the southern area of The spanish language mountain tops.

Uk males possess typically already been pilloried with regard to coordinating their own pants along with unacceptable shoes, as well as a week ago the united states designer Ben Kia, a guy that understands anything or even 2 regarding searching great, criticised males that put on pants as well as sandals within the town. He or she stated this kind of clothing had been "never appropriate", it doesn't matter how warm the elements had been, aside from about the tennis games courtroom or even the actual seaside.

Study discloses 9 within 10 individuals wouldn't put on actual hair.

9 within 10 individuals wouldn't put on actual hair in spite of this creating a return about the catwalk, based on investigation these days.

Within the poll for that RSPCA, ninety five percent of individuals stated they'd won't put on actual hair as well as 93 percent believed items ought to be obviously branded because actual or even phony hair. Over fifty percent informed the actual pollster TNS that could not really purchase a product without having this kind of labelling.

The actual RSPCA, Britain’s greatest pet charitable organisation, stated it had been “disappointed” a lot of creative designers utilized actual mink, sibel as well as raccoon canine furs only at that year’s style exhibits within Birmingham, Ny as well as Milan.

Burberry, Giles Deacon as well as Julien MacDonald just about all utilized actual hair from Birmingham Style 7 days within Feb, along with Mr MacDonald’s versions sashaying lower the actual catwalk within sibel as well as goat hair.

The actual RSPCA launched it's poll since it released this particular year’s Great Company Honours, that honor meals as well as style businesses to take a good honest position in the direction of creatures.

Shelly Vella, style overseer with regard to Multicultural along with a assess, stated: “One from the disadvantages in order to my personal work is actually viewing a lot hair ruling the actual worldwide catwalks each and every period. It had been some thing We thought to be securely from style however it’s crept back to recognition having a vengeance. ”

Finally year’s occasion, honours received in order to Brand new Appear, George from Asda, Represents & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and also the natural container plan Abel & Cole.

The actual Co-op received the actual People’s Option honor, backed through the Impartial, with regard to enhancing well being with regard to plantation creatures, such as only using free-range ova within own-brand meals.

With regard to the very first time this past year, Federal government data exposed within Feb, 50 percent associated with UNITED KINGDOM ova had been set through crate free of charge chickens, on forty five percent the entire year prior to.

Alice Clark, RSPCA plantation pet scientist, stated: “The RSPCA thinks that chickens ought to be held within correctly handled free-range or even barn techniques. We're motivating individuals within the meals list field in order to expose as well as enhance their own pet well being guidelines and also to key in the meals group of the great Company Honours. ”

Monday, April 25, 2011

Chicago as a fashion industry is under the radar manufacturing hub

One Midwest city that’s having much success is Chicago. For the past three years, Chicago’s fashion scene has been bustling with trunk and fashion shows displaying clothes by local designers and much of this buzz is because of the success of Chicago’s fashion incubator which began in 2008.

"Our programming has been so successful because of the support of the community to be totally honest," said Lara Miller, director of Chicago’s Fashion Incubator.

"Chicago as a fashion industry is under the radar manufacturing hub. People don’t realize how much manufacturing is actually here. But there’s quite a lot of that available to young designers," she said.

Donaldo Smith is one of those young designers who just finished his year as a designer in residence at Chicago’s incubator. In addition to helping him gain visibility, he said the incubator helped him learn the business side of the fashion industry to help build his contemporary men’s line, Killian Gui.

"I had done a couple garments in the past, but I didn’t have a full brand. I know the incubator really helped me to turn it from a hobby into a business," Smith said.

Stephanie Kuhr also recently finished her year at the incubator. She was a little unsure about costing structure for Dottie’s Delights, her line of vintage lingerie and foundation wear for women.

Kuhr said the incubator helped her create a budget and stay within it.

"It’s probably what makes or breaks a new designer because it’s a big question, it’s a huge deal to make sure that you’re paying yourself enough and covering all of your cost indirect and direct," she said.

Because fashion is a global industry, designers don’t necessarily have to be in places like New York, Paris or Milan to be successful. Because of this, Miller said people in different cities around the Midwest and elsewhere have reached out to her for advice and guidance about starting an incubator in their cities.

But Chicago isn’t the only place with these incubators. Around 2005, Detroit made an attempt at a fashion incubator, but by 2007 it was closed.

Sarah Lapinski who was a contributing designer to the Detroit incubator said the right infrastructure wasn’t in place for designers to continue to grow. Aside from location, there was one other major hurdle for Detroit’s incubator: "People don’t really shop in Detroit. It just doesn’t really happen," Lapinski said.

But there is hope in other Midwest cities, like Cleveland. Valerie Mayen who was a contestant on Season 10 of Project Runway is the founder of Buzz and Growl, an incubator like program in Cleveland slated to open this summer. The main goal of Buzz and Growl is to provide designers with space and professional equipment.

Mayen said people associate fashion with runways and overseas production, but for Cleveland that’s not a realistic venture. “We’re hoping that we can to help designers to grow to start their own small businesses that are legitimately providing their full time income.” said Mayen.

Who knows, maybe some day one of those designers will dress Chicago’s most famous contribution to fashion, First Lady Michelle Obama.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Vivienne Westwood nevertheless slashes a significant great entry dress.

The style Art gallery within Shower continues to be amongst this particular nation's best-kept secrets and techniques.

In addition to using a good long term assortment of style as well as pictures, dating back to so far as 1600, the actual gallery happens to be house in order to shows associated with wedding gowns, the job associated with Helmut Lang, as well as, for that much more in the past oriented, 17th-century mitts.

This particular year's gown breaks or cracks the actual mildew fairly since it had been selected with a custom with regard to the very first time – milliner Stephen Jones. Their option is really a spring/summer 2010 Vivienne Westwood Precious metal Content label gown.

Westwood, that switched seventy your day clothes proceeded to go open public, nevertheless slashes a significant great entry dress, as well as just about all whilst producing the woman's politics sights experienced. At the moment, the actual grande dame associated with Uk style is actually thinking about safeguarding our planet along with a DIY/make-do-and-mend visual that's because clean as well as revolutionary since it is actually beautiful. Meals with regard to believed, after that, along with a zillion kilometers from the actual certainly status-driven visual which is constantly on the master, although much more discretely compared to it's carried out.

"I had been astonished to determine how the style doyenne, Vivienne Westwood, wasn't symbolized within the selection, inch Jones states. "For me personally, this particular gown signifies the actual junction within the woman's style oeuvre; the newest sculpted hems which your woman had been the very first to produce thirty-five in years past within the woman's punk clothes... The research from the ladylike style rules from the Uk Regal Loved ones which were only available in 1985... The actual bicoloured taffeta covered inside a significantly distinctive method that suggestions from decorum however by having an fundamental sex that's in the centre associated with Westwood's styles.

The woman is actually, Jones argues, "possibly the best custom in our times". As well as he is not really incorrect.

Does a comfortable high heel exist!

Each and every early morning in most town you can observe all of them. Wisely outfitted ladies, putting on fits or even sets apart combined along with incongruous sporty coaches because they rush to operate.

Unseen however apparent towards the onlooker tend to be their own correct footwear, most probably pumps, secreted inside a purse or even carrier, prepared for any fast exchange before beginning each day associated with function. Therefore a lot of us appear to possess a "can't reside in all of them, cannot proceed without having them" regards to the official footwear nowadays.

At the same time, running a business information, presently there appears to be an immediate relationship using the elevation from the pumps and also the earnings flight from the organization, with regards to shoes manufacturers. Jimmy Choo submitted the two hundred percent improve within earnings this particular The month of january; Religious Louboutin is actually growing through starting stores because far because South america as well as Asia, as well as Kurt Geiger believed this offered 10 sets associated with footwear one minute this year – along with five-inch pumps showing typically the most popular option.

Because ladies purchase in to more and more towering designs, precluding the opportunity how the woman feet ought to develop Darwin-style, do you know the advancements within shoemaking technologies to ensure fans associated with style may nevertheless proceed from the in order to W without having using four door seat, or even a minimum of, a sizable purse that contains houses? Will an appropriate rearfoot can be found, or even may be the concept similar to "anti-wrinkle cream"– a good not possible proposal, however 1 as well attractive in order to write off completely?

"As much because various designs proceed, wedges market remarkably nicely, plus they are greatly popular right now, the ones such as all of them since they're comfy whilst nevertheless providing you with which elevation. An additional cozy design will be a protected system pump motor – once again, you've still got which elevation however, because of the system foot, the actual position your own feet is positioned from isn't because large, therefore the quantity of stress is actually much less. Right now we now have Alexander Wang's summer time footwear within. They're higher however possess a lot padding as well as cushioning within the internal that you simply really feel as if you're strolling upon confuses. Frequently you are able to inform regardless of whether the footwear is going to be cozy or even not only through searching inside.

This brought him or her to get the obvious on a single specific selection of their footwear, the actual R-Flex, that are wise high heel shoes having a versatile rubberized single. Youthful stated he or she very first experienced the concept 12 in years past, going to the footwear manufacturing plant "that had been production comfort and ease footwear, nearly orthopaedic footwear, in which the proprietor described he wanted an answer to create the actual footwear much more versatile, that could provide actual comfort and ease when the footwear might go with the actual organic motion from the walk". Youthful considered this particular query for a long time, so when their organization obtained a few additional expense these people apply it resolving the actual aged issue. "After tests as well as assessments within the manufacturing plant, I discovered the actual specialized means to fix help to make footwear because versatile as well as cozy like a ballerina. All of us trademarked this.

Kay Barron, Grazia's style information as well as functions publisher, is really a self-confessed rearfoot fanatic, and something who's therefore popular with regard to putting on "skyscraper" pumps all day long, offers actually created the first-person item describing the process associated with putting on houses for any 7 days rather. Barron is actually thinking about the actual R-Flex variety. "The Raphael Youthful footwear tend to be very versatile as well as cozy – remarkably thinking about exactly how higher they're. We used all of them for any entire day time throughout Birmingham Style 7 days as well as there is absolutely no burning up discomfort, or even numb feet! inch Being an professional upon high heel shoes, Barron is actually exact regarding the woman's shoe-buying ideas. "It's not really related to the actual elevation, the sand wedge or else, or even the actual manufacturer. It is just about all the query associated with stability as well as submission associated with pounds. The well-made footwear which allows unwanted weight to become distribute equally could be more comfy in order to remain set for lengthier, compared to 1 in which the stress is actually just about all on your ball from the feet. As well as think me personally, I'd in order to put on numerous toe-curlingly unpleasant footwear prior to I discovered an ideal set.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

loving hats is all about restoring a sense of glee to everyday dressing

With regard to a few of the participants, the actual event is going to be their own very first which needs a good loath. As well as caps, as soon as consigned towards the world associated with moms from the bride-to-be as well as chicken celebration covens, happen to be energised like a class with a clean team associated with enthusiasts and also the outpouring associated with exhilaration within the upcoming festivities.

'My caps appear to match a brand new era associated with hat-wearers that did not believe they might actually adore caps, a Victoria Give, the milliner that clothes Paloma Belief, as well as who's these days putting on the kiss-shaped beret within electrical red chiffon, stated. 'I experienced a customer associated with the actual Regal Wedding ceremony are available in today. Your woman strolled within the doorway as well as your woman stated, "I'll get one of these couple of points upon, however I'd in no way put on the loath. inch Inside 5 min's, I'd the woman's transformed.

The main brand new influx associated with theatrical mind equipment testing comes from powerful part versions, Piers Atkinson, the person at the rear of Ould - Dello Russo's huge cherry headpiece as well as Rihanna's spiked beret, flower prosper, cherries, and so on, advised. 'It's excellent to possess individuals such as ADR reducing the swathe like a figurehead [for hat-wearers] within the style business, a he or she stated. 'Hats tend to be ornamental. They are such as small scuptures, small caps; they are about revealing in an exceedingly celebratory method!

James Servant, the actual innovative at the rear of Woman Gaga’s Phone loath, offers magicked luxurious playthings, classic phones as well as t towels in to sculptural caps. The woman's styles frequently develop from tests along with origami methods. In order to Servant -- the near-daily hat-wearer -- caring caps is about rebuilding a feeling associated with joy in order to daily outfitting. ‘A excellent loath provides self-confidence like a declaration item since it convey a good guarantee associated with distinctive style’ your woman stated. ‘It’s a simple approach to add on which has immediate spectacular impact... which, or perhaps a amazing method to conceal a poor locks day time. ’

Not really you need to proceed the entire Coo in order to accept caps. It is a issue associated with getting a complementing form for the encounter, along with a small braveness as well, Give stated. Your woman provides loath employ with regard to neophytes and people unclear regarding splashing on a complete buy.

Atkinson indicates beginning little, along with among their studded headbands, for instance. 'Or choose the actual cherries! a he or she states. 'But in the event that you are going to make use of the loath, after that all of those other appear must be as much as the begining -- the perfect tote, extremely pumps and also the winning attitude.

Stylist Nura Khan understood she’d discovered an ideal framework on her brand new headpiece whenever your woman had been asked towards the classy country side wedding ceremony associated with 2 buddies previously this particular springtime. Your woman capped the woman's ensemble (peach man made fiber Charles Anastase clothing, pailette-covered Stella McCartney small, Marni system pumps) along with T. Cruz Esquire’s Beak Overhead, the dark made of woll describe of the tiara. ‘I believed it might include an additional prosper to complete my personal ensemble having a truly enjoyable, contemporary loath, ’ your woman stated, observing which putting on the modern loath to some conventional wedding ceremony do need a way of measuring boldness. ‘There’s absolutely no component of “I simply put this upon. ” In the event that you’re putting on the loath, you’re correctly decked out. It’s the actual cherry on the top. ’

Good skin comes with a good conscience this Earth Day

Kiehl's, Aveda, as well as Roots possess released items honoring Planet Day time, 04 twenty two.

Über-popular skin care manufacturer Kiehl's celebrates not just Planet Day time but additionally it's 160th wedding anniversary this season and it has teamed upward along with stars Erina D. Corridor as well as Chloë Sevigny about the event: each possess created limited-edition labeling because of its Uncommon Planet Heavy Pore Cleaning Masque ($23), in whose profits may navigate to the Waterkeeper Connections, the charitable organisation which functions towards drinking water air pollution.

http: //www. kiehls. com

Ever-green Aveda has additionally released the limited-edition variety, although not associated with skin care this time around: it's lavender-infused Gentle the way in which Planet 30 days candle lights ($12 every), obtainable with the finish from the 30 days, advantage initiatives with regard to thoroughly clean h2o within building nations.

http: //www. aveda. com

A few elegance merchants for example Sephora tend to be web hosting in-store occasions on the planet Day time by itself: from it's 5th Method area within Ny, for example, clients could possibly get the remodeling through elegance expert Josie Maran, store eco-friendly style through Edun, as well as obtain eco-friendly item giveaways.

http: //www. sephora. com

Additionally, Josie Maran can give $1 towards the Ladies Planet Connections for everybody that "like"s the actual Josie Maran Argan Essential oil web page upon Sephora. com via Might.

Lastly, Roots includes a actual deal with set aside because of its consumers: on the planet Day time, visit it's web site in order to print the coupon as well as go to some shop in your area to get a totally free container of 1 associated with it's skin cleansers. The limited-edition graffiti style may sophistication the actual product packaging which was based on 100 % recycled materials.

http://www.origins.com/

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Burberry's offers benefited through powerful need within The far east exactly where

Luxurious products organizations still dollar the actual list recession in spite of worries concerning the effect associated with final month's Japoneses earthquake about the field, along with Burberry as well as France's LVMH defeating marketplace anticipation.

Burberry, the actual 155-year-old company most widely known because of its purses as well as trendy examine styles, stated income within the 2nd 1 / 2 of the entire year experienced increased through 30% in order to £860m, also it needs complete 12 months earnings at the very top finish associated with Town predictions associated with £279m in order to £300m. The actual team offers benefited through development within The far east, exactly where this required complete manage associated with procedures previously operate through franchisees within Sept. This opened up 9 brand new shops within the 6 months in order to 03 – which range from Beijing in order to Ny – as well as programs additional growth within 2011 through growing promoting room through as much as 13%.

Leader Angela Ahrendts stated: "Burberry experienced a powerful complete towards the 12 months, powered through the style, electronic advertising as well as list endeavours, in addition to great earlier improvement within The far east. Consequently, all of us anticipate modified revenue prior to taxes for that 12 months to become round the first class associated with marketplace anticipation. As the luxurious business encounters worldwide problems within the 12 months forward, all of us stay assured within our team's capability to outshine.

The organization stated it's higher-end Prorsum manufacturer as well as wear-to-work Burberry Birmingham variety had been especially powerful entertainers.

the style business requires discover

Each and every springtime, once the warm leave sunlight models within Indio and also the seems from the Coachella songs event dancing with the atmosphere more than keen, humming enthusiasts I can not assist however question something: What exactly are all of them putting on?

Because the style critic Sales space Moore place it inside a current post, "never thoughts the actual songs. inch OKAY, obviously Coachella is all about the actual songs; it is a songs event in the end, however Moore could not become more correct. The actual sexy bikinis, cut-off pants, tanks as well as edge which have turn out to be event staples barely create a de rigueur gown signal, however every year the style business requires discover associated with songs business big-wigs and also the unique Coachella type of their own enthusiasts.

Kelly Osbourne had been one of the fashionable event participants in the Empire Polo Membership in which the occasion occured. The actual 26-year-old previous actuality tv celebrity offers a few severe style chops since the co-host associated with At the! channel's Style Law enforcement along with Joan Streams and also the brand new encounter associated with Madonna's Materials Woman clothes collection. Your woman used an enjoyable as well as flirty navy blue polka us dot gown, grey as well as dark loafers along with socks along with a floppy hay loath. Osbourne would wear the actual traditional printing having a feeling associated with contemporary glamour as well as the woman's subjected socks provide the woman's appear which personal Osbourne cool distort.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Lavender is really a timelessly fashionable color

Regardless of whether put on being an highlight or even all-over, lavender is really a timelessly fashionable color which will liven up any kind of outfit.

All of us really like the way the versions from Tracy Reese sauntered lower the actual runway within '70s-inspired frocks made up completely associated with lavender as well as Chanel's watercolor clothing gown that might be the best within have a picnic clothing.

As well as Knight in shining armor might have their crimson rule: the actual paler, much more demure color appeared beautiful upon Kelly Osbourne as well as Christina Hendricks -- 2 ladies that are not scared to exhibit of the figure.

However for all of us typical people, the actual springy tone is actually 100 % wearable: we would like to set the a few flirty underwear below the flimsy container, or even put on this particular headband like a headpiece, the band -- the choices tend to be limitless!

The actual females in our Doodlekit System are not scared to combine this upward -- Arielle associated with Some thing Navy blue offered the woman's mom's classic gown today's rewrite along with lots of gleaming gems. Tossing extreme caution towards the blowing wind, the actual doodlekit additional floral-printed footwear -- producing for any fashionable night outfit.

Kate Hudson's glam Elle UNITED KINGDOM include appear influenced all of us to add the actual color in to the elegance regimen -- all of us did not believe it had been suitable in order to rock and roll a good huge elaborate smoky attention towards the workplace, therefore all of us chosen a brand new tone associated with shine -- Essie's "Lilacism" toe nail shine.

The actual Trainer Classics re-issue selection

Using the '70s pattern ongoing upon to the drop, the actual timing from the re-issue appears wise. Holli Rogers, Net-a-Porter's purchasing overseer, informed WWD, "While these people enhance the present pattern popular of the wide-leg denim jean combined having a excellent stack-heeled sandal, these types of totes tend to be therefore flexible, they'll appear wise along with virtually any kind of day time appear.

The actual effort additionally arrives at any given time whenever merchants, writers as well as customers as well tend to be clambering with regard to traditional design as well as history manufacturers. Large merchants such as T. Team happen to be becoming a member of causes along with old-school United states as well as Western labeling for example Minnetonka, Belstaff as well as Timex to provide clients history item, occasionally along with contemporary adjustments. Likewise, the most popular weblog A continuing Slim functions a good "American checklist, inch helpful information in order to history manufacturers created in the united states.

Along with this particular pursuit of traditional, practical Americana, vintage Trainer bags--the unique items which are now re-made through the label--have be a warm item from flea marketplaces as well as classic stores inside recent years many years, grabbed upward through in-the-know design setters as well as add-ons creative designers trying to find motivation items.

Mother's Luggage

These people state at the rear of each and every prosperous guy appears a female. Regarding Erina Kors, it is their mom, Joan, the previous design as well as Kors's perennial muse. Right now he's created the tote worth transporting not only the woman's pocket book as well as shades but additionally the woman's title.

The actual Joan, that arrives in a number of colours and it is decently costing $398, fulfills Joan's rigid requirements: "I usually search for some other wallet with regard to my personal telephone as well as secrets, inch your woman states, "and I really like the squat drawing a line under. "But your woman provides, "I definitely would not thoughts becoming amazed having a crocodile edition! inch Joan states your woman programs in order to commemorate Mom's Day time about the Western Coastline having a fantastic agreement associated with peonies as well as supper along with Erina. The best present he is actually provided the woman's? "Not needing to shop for that previous thirty many years.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Middle Tennessee Fashion Week kicked off with a click of stilettos

Middle Tennessee Fashion Week kicked off with a click of stilettos and swipe of lipstick last week.

The inaugural event provided an opportunity for newbies to get their feet wet and learn the ins and outs of fashion week.

"It's hustle and bustle, " said Max, who launched Designs By Max about six months ago. "It's a constant on-the-go, but it's enjoyable. You have to have a passion for it. I love, more than anything, when a woman puts on one of my designs and smiles. "

At 5 feet 7 inches, Aubrey Vorderberg was told she was too short to model in Nashville Fashion Week. But she's the perfect height to model for Middle Tennessee Fashion Week.

"I'm learning all the little things, like how much time goes into fitting and rehearsals, but it's all going to be worth it, " the 14-year-old model said.

Both participated in a fashion photo and video shoot Thursday at Anastasia's Boutique in downtown Murfreesboro during the shop's trunk show, which was also part of fashion week. Several designers were featured, including Theme, Judith March and Elizabeth Bray Jewelry.

The gathering of creative minds pleased Shannon Perry-Rawls, owner of the Birds Nest Salon.

"Creativity needs to be promoted in Murfreesboro, " she said. "This is all just a part of a bigger window of fashion. "

She contributed several items to be raffled during the Saturday fashion show, along with donations from State Beauty Supply owner Keith Sanford.

"He's donating to my shop, so my shop can donate, " Perry-Rawls said. "I'm definitely excited for small businesses to get involved (in Fashion Week) and make a name for themselves. "

MTSU was slated to host its fashion show Friday evening, followed by Middle Tennessee Fashion Week's grand fashion show finale on Saturday at On the Rocks nightclub on Murfreesboro's square.

Lessons were also learned by event organizer Sharon Cumberbatch, who said she's better prepared for the upcoming years.

"Now people have a better feel about what fashion week should be, " she said, adding that she'd like more fashionistas to get involved next year. ".

Milan has long claimed its place among the top fashion capitals of the world

Milan has long claimed its place among the top fashion capitals of the world, but calendar woes have fashionistas asking whether it is losing influence.

While top names like Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Versace gave it their all at the autumn/winter 2010-2011 catwalk shows and won wide praise for their lines, the talk of fashion week has centered on the intensive schedule of its cramped calendar.

Organizers were left scrambling to fit the major names into four days out of the February 24 - March 1 run after powerful fashion editor, Vogue's Anna Wintour, reportedly said she planned to shorten her attendance to go to Paris fashion week and then the Oscars in Los angeles.

Both local and international press have written about the "Wintour effect" on the northern Italian city and how designers were bowing to demands of the international press.

Mario Boselli, the chairman of Italy's National Chamber of Fashion -- which organizes Milan fashion week -- said Italian designers often showed they were not conscious of their power "and instead give in to the pressure of the foreign press. "

"I think the big maisons should speak up. We are smaller but we had to schedule our show accordingly with the calendar, " Maurizio Modica, one of the designers at Frankie Morello, told Reuters. "The influence of Anna Wintour? It's a reality. "

Milan has long relied on its status of the same big name brands that have been around for decades and whose creations are lapped up around the world. But main rival fashion capitals New york and Paris have longer schedules for this season. Industry observers also note there have been few internationally recognized young designers to emerge here in the last few years.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

I attempted to create a style which was fairly distinctive

Two New york college students by having an attention with regard to style possess scooped upward awards inside a exclusive nationwide style competition.

Jessica Madlinger as well as Natahlia Hall-Bourdeau, each senior citizens from Manhattan's Senior high school with regard to Artwork as well as Style, received 2nd as well as 3rd location respectively within the 2011 Cornell Style Honours through making a good ensemble with regard to "a wedding reception about the celestial satellite. inch

These people defeat a minimum of two hundred and fifty additional college students in the united states. "It simply type of found me personally, inch stated Madlinger, seventeen, through Maspeth, A queen, in whose successful drawing exhibits an exciting precious metal, crimson as well as lemon bustier gown along with dark high heel shoes.

"I attempted to create a style which was fairly distinctive, inch your woman stated. "It simply type of found me personally. inch

Madlinger as well as Hall-Bourdeau, in the Bronx, may go Cornell College this particular weekend break to view the actual Ivy Category school's biggest student-run style display reside.

Hall-Bourdeau's development is really a futuristic-looking dark as well as surprising red gown having a mermaid butt.

The actual successful style, through Tiffany Zhang the jr . through Piedmont, Calif., may be converted to a good ensemble which is put on about the catwalk through among the versions.

"Those 2 are simply geniuses when it comes to their own artwork capability as well as style, inch stated their own style style instructor, Eileen Farrelly-Moyotl.

A royal element makes it more dreamlike

When Kate Middleton walks down the aisle later this month to marry Prince William, the would-be brides watching out there will almost certainly home in on her dress.

Bridal industry insiders expect her gown to be copied many times over as soon as the public gets its first glimpse.

Some wedding dresses leave a legacy beyond the next-day knockoffs: Princess Diana's grand gown, Grace Kelly's glamorous one, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's simple tank — and especially Queen Victoria's white ball gown — changed the way brides dressed for years to come.

Middleton's is likely to fall into that category.

"Kate's dress will be an important dress, one that will be talked about for the rest of time, " says Millie Martini Bratten, editor-in-chief of Brides magazine.

Diana's dress helped define the grandeur of fashion in the early 1980s, Martini Bratten says, but Middleton's might be even more influential because women relate to her as a 29-year-old with a developed sense of style, compared with the 19-year-old Diana, whose gown likely was chosen by committee.

Also, pictures of Middleton's gown will immediately be posted online for discussion and critique, notes Darcy Miller, editor in chief of Martha Stewart Weddings. "It's amazing how much brides are influenced by what other people wear, especially royals, celebrities, presidents' daughters. Before Chelsea Clinton's wedding was over, every bride saw that Vera Wang dress and wanted some version of it, " Miller says.

Celebrity red-carpet looks are adapted for the aisle, says Marchesa co-founder and designer Georgina Chapman, but many women have been thinking about their fantasy gowns for a long time and don't turn on a dime. "Wedding gowns are unlike any other dresses, " she says, because brides' decisions "are often less trend-driven, and more personally focused on how they want to look and feel on their wedding day. "

Still, a princess holds particular sway because of the fairy-tale aspect of weddings.

"A royal element makes it more dreamlike, and a wedding day is your time to look like a princess, " says Kimberly Lee Minor, chief fashion strategist of the bridal label Priscilla of Boston, which made gowns for the daughters of Presidents Johnson and Nixon.

The Fashion Bible

Tim Gunn, co-host of Lifetime's "Project Runway, " hosted "Tim Gunn Wants You to Make it Work, " a fashion show and meet-and-greet that attracted an estimated 1, 000 people Saturday afternoon in the Neiman Marcus-Bloomingdale's courtyard at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

Gunn, who is also the chief creative officer of Liz Claiborne Inc., provided commentary during the show with tips for spring 2011 style, and later answered questions from the audience.

Collections on the runway included the latest from Liz Claiborne, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade New york and Lucky Brand Jeans. Pieces from the presentation were available for purchase at Fashion Island stores after the event.

Ginny Hair of Huntington Beach said she found out about the event Saturday morning, and rushed to the shopping center.

"It's my favorite show, " Hair said as she waited in line to meet style expert Tim Gunn, "I think you can lean a lot. "

Gunn is currently working on his next book, "The Fashion Bible, " which will be an anthology of the history and lineage of different garments.

Audience members who spent at least $150 at any of the three brand stores on Saturday were invited to take a photograph with Tim Gunn and attend an after party which included champagne and desserts.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Los Angeles-based handbag line Hammitt

A handbag collaboration with a television show? Yeah, we were rolling our eyes too. That is until we heard the name of the designer... and the show.

Los Angeles-based handbag line Hammitt is a cult favorite with starlets like Angelina Jolie for its hand-crafted Italian leather construction. And HBO's "True Blood" is a cult favorite for its, well, sexiness. The combination of the two results in please-touch leather bags with studs and detailing inspired by characters on the show. For example, the Eric appears to be a straightforward black crossbody, but turned sideways reveals itself to be pierced with silver bullet-like studs. The Sookie has a sweet, vintage appeal, all ladylike closures and gathered gray suede, but its gussets hide edgy rivets.

The handbags hit stores this summer to coincide with the new season of True Blood. And you can bet we'll be sinking our teeth into one.

Danielle Nicole a designer for the modern fashionista

Danielle Nicole is a hot new handbag designer based in New York who has an eye for creating edgy and on-trend handbags that are high quality and affordable. Her designs are also animal friendly, making Danielle Nicole a designer for the modern fashionista.

As a 17-year-old freshman merchandising student, Danielle Nicole began purchasing handbags and tearing them apart to see how they were constructed. She was determined to see how the bags were made so that she could design her own handbag and know how to engineer it for construction.

Danielle Nicole’s design talents were quickly recognized while she was in school. Due to her recognition, she was accepted to be in a prestigious class which took her inside the handbag studios of Paris, Milan, Venice and Rome. It was while she studied in Europe that Danielle Nicole was able to witness expert craftsmen at work and learn about the texture and fabrications used in luxury handbags.

Upon returning to the united states, Danielle Nicole began to make her own handbags at home. She found the tile floor in her apartment to be the perfect hard surface for hammering, much to the chagrin of her downstairs neighbors. Despite a few noise complaints, she continued to work on creating and designing handbags. Her dedication to the craft of handbag making has led to the high-quality reputation her handbag line enjoys.

“I’m involved in every step of the process; every bag is personally inspected by me. ” Danielle Nicole works hard to ensure every single handbag adheres to her high quality standards. Very few, if any, handbag designers travel to their factories, as does Danielle Nicole, to inspect every single handbag that is made in order to ensure high quality standards are met.

Danielle Nicole’s design talents landed her a highly sought-after internship with Bergdorf Goodman where she worked on the buying side of the business as well as being a personal shopper. Bergdorf Goodman, which is known for carrying high-end designer fashions as well as hot, new, up-and-coming designers, instantly recognized Danielle Nicole’s artistic talents, and she was asked to design cosmetic bags for the department store.

Consumers loved Danielle Nicole’s designs so Bergdorf Goodman asked her to show them her handbag line, and the rest is luxury handbag history. Her handbags hit store shelves at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, just to name a few. Danielle Nicole’s high-end handbags were gaining popularity and her friends wished they could afford such a luxurious bag. This prompted Danielle Nicole to see a need for luxury handbags which were high in quality and style, yet low in price.

Emma Roberts would never ask a man for fashion advice

Actress Emma Roberts would never ask a man for fashion advice because she would never trust their opinions.

Emma Roberts would never ask a man for fashion advice.

The 20-year-old actress says she wouldn't trust a member of the opposite sex's opinions on style and would rather get tips and views from her female friends.

She told Seventeen magazine: "I never ask boys' opinions on clothes, ever. I really think, unless you think the guy has style, don't ask. So I only ask my girl friends. I don't trust guys' opinions on style!"

Emma also revealed how she has accepted she will never be curvy but knows she can still be sexy.

She said: "Sexy when I was younger always meant boobs, and I've never had boobs in my life - so I always felt that sexy was out of the question for me. I used to really want to be that kind of voluptuous girl, and I've just kind of embraced that I'm not."

Emma - who is the niece of Julia Roberts and daughter of Eric Roberts - recently revealed how her "crooked" teeth give her "character".

The 'Scream 4' star said: "I have really crooked teeth - they give me character! We Robertses have too many teeth for our mouths."

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

In one of the brand's biggest marketing initiatives of the year

While Arcade Fire and Kings of Leon are jamming onstage, fashion and lifestyle companies will be vying for the attention of festival-goers offstage, with branded cooling tents, beach balls, Coachella "survival kits" at the Empire Polo Club grounds, plus pool parties with bottomless cocktails and their own live music at hotels and estates offsite.

Brands send clothes to celebrities ahead of time in hopes they will be photographed wearing them, distribute promotional items, and sponsor social events with the goal of generating traditional and social media coverage, and, eventually, sales. At the same time, design teams are there, studying the way festival-goers dress so they can turn ideas around and sell them next year.

All this has developed around a festival initially conceived as an alternative to corporatized live music experiences with high ticket prices. And it is the idea of that indie spirit that makes Coachella so attractive to fashion brands such as H&M, Lacoste, Levi's, Havaianas and Ray-Ban.

"Coachella is underground, not rebel, but less mainstream than a traditional concert format, " says Darin Skinner, Guess' senior vice president of stores, including G by Guess, the Guess brand's younger sibling. "That's how we see G by Guess. The front side of the herd, not the herd. "

In one of the brand's biggest marketing initiatives of the year, G by Guess will be sponsoring a party for 750 to 1, 000 guests at an 8 1/2-acre estate in Indio, which boasts its own private lake and an airport. Skinner has also hired a "delta force" of models to ride around the festival on G by Guess-branded bikes, distributing 5, 000 Coachella survival kit fanny packs.

It's your height in the season involving art bashes in The big apple

Ended up being the Art work Production Fund's Very good & A great deal benefit the over-the-top bash, or a new knowing parody of a single? During cocktails with the Park Path Armory, servers presented Gouda lollipops via headpieces molded like mozerella wedges along with witty functionality artist Jones McNamara were standing frozen in numerous lounge lizard creates. Whimsical as the results was, arranging the nonprofit's subsequent fundraising extravaganza ended up being no tall tale. "It was much more intense than arranging a marriage ceremony, " APF co-founder Yvonne Drive Villareal explained. Tell that will to Pass up Middleton.

Besides honoring Estée Lauder's Bob Demsey along with curator along with critic Clarissa Dalrymple, this company managed to show some involving New York's nearly all sought-after musicians into bash planners. Will Organic cotton collaborated using chef Brian Burke for the menu, including sausage skewers plunged into brains of iceberg lettuce; Barry Koons made a denture; and your lipstick-smeared napkins for the tables ended up Dan Colen's creative thought of how to handle it with a variety of MAC solutions. Elise Øverland left which has a pile ones, having stated Burke she would make your ex an apron.

It's your height in the season involving art bashes in The big apple, with every single benefit looking to upstage a final. "I are thoroughly partied out and about. I have a very sore can range f, " Bob Currin griped. For the upside, they added, "Aimee Mullins seems to be hot while hell. I was form of checking your ex out and I managed to get caught. "

As organic cotton candy along with cupcakes ended up served, Amy Sacco saw a unclothed performance artist who had previously been seated upon a corporate and littering the bottom with paperwork she'd consumed about revelers throughout her fast vicinity. Sacco resisted the urge to pick out them way up and please take a peek, though the thought intersected her head. "Talk with regards to good chit chat, " the girl said.

Monday, April 11, 2011

interactive fashion events across U.S.

Runway shows rivaling fashion industry shows in production values will take place at signature Simon properties. Yet unlike the industry shows that preview styles unavailable for several months, Simon Fashion Now makes the hottest men and women's fashions of the season accessible; every look from the runway can be immediately found at retailers within the mall. Thousands of visitors are expected to attend the free Simon Fashion Now runway shows and style events across the nation this spring.

"Our consumers like to be able to immediately go to the store to try on and see the fashions featured in the show and we can provide the NOW factor to them through Simon Fashion Now," said Shari Simon, senior vice president of corporate marketing. "We interpret the season's trends and create hundreds of accessible looks on the runway that are available for purchase that same day."

Simon Fashion Now provides shoppers with a realistic runway experience featuring a wide-range of retailers, which makes it easy for every consumer group to create their own look immediately after seeing the fashion shows. In addition to the runway shows, shoppers can visit Style Stops where advice and insight into the season's trends will be offered in an interactive format.

Retailers look forward to the dynamic exposure Simon Fashion Now provides, which creates buzz for new styles and spurs sales. "We are so thrilled to be participating in Simon Fashion Now for the seventh consecutive season," says Paul Marciano Vice Chairman and CEO of GUESS? Inc. "The fashion show is a great way to showcase the newest collections and the amount of traffic it drives into our stores is phenomenal."

While participating retailers vary in each Simon Fashion Now market, shoppers can expect to see an abundance of styles for men and women ranging from casual weekend wear and stylish outfits for the office, to show-stopping looks for a night on the town.

"The Simon Fashion Now tour allows our malls to become the source for the season's most accessible trends," said Jacque Ellis, assistant vice president of corporate special events at Simon. "At each event, we extend the fashion beyond the runway and offer a stylish twist on a night out through our Trends & Friends Night. Guests can connect with our retailers through interactive stations while enjoying an evening of fashion, cocktails, bites and exclusive deals."

Sunday, April 10, 2011

s creative director and the driving force of Fashion Week El Paseo


“This is surreal” was the spontaneous reaction that popped from the lips of Susan Stein when she walked into this year's expanded big white Fashion Week tent a few weeks ago.

As creative director and the driving force of Fashion Week El Paseo, Stein's words were not only correct but were a prophecy.

The enlarged tent just off El Paseo on Larkspur was only the beginning. After five-years, this year's Fashion Week took off with dramatic increases in attendance, income, merchant participation and economic benefits for the entire valley.

Our team of stylish society reporters, armed only with bulging closets and overflowing shoe racks, worked tirelessly throughout the week to bring you these gems and glimpses from the more than 18 fashion week events held in at least five venues in seven days, as well as more than 40 in-store El Paseo events.

The two best events to attend if you were short on time or money were the opening and closing shows.

Opening: March 20. Saks Fifth Avenue drew a sold-out crowd of more than 650 to see the best of the best from famous designers around the world. Top trends: vibrant color, longer skirts, 1970's-style pants, trench coats, open-weave knits, flap bags and stacked bracelets. Cuistot provided an elegant after party.

Closing: March 28. Designer Oliver Tolentino's runway show was over the top impressive — flattering, wearable, vibrant colors and designs with inventive and eco-friendly fabrics on great models who strutted and twirled, nonstop, two at a time, for more than a half hour. What a portfolio! And what a great after party at Ace Hotel.

Most of this year's major events made generous donations to a charity. One of the more successful evenings was The Girlfriend Factor reception, “Wine, chocolate and Shoes,” that raised substantial funding for its women's scholarship fund.

That event preceded The Fashion Runway Bar, an event that has been part of Fashion Week for six years.

The runway was packed with fashions from 17 El Paseo merchants and designers including Tommy Bahama's, White House/Black Market, She She, V&G Hip Wear, Cactus Flower Shoes, El Paseo Jewelers, Chelsea Taylor, bebe, Tink, Josie's She She Kids, Don Vincent, BbOne and Eileen Fisher.

up-and-coming-brands

My son has a game called Snail Race in which you roll a multi-coloured dice and six different coloured snails move up a course towards the finish line. Weirdly, it seems that the green one always wins and I have no idea why.

It reminds me of the great "up-and-coming-brands" race that continues season after season on the High Street battlefield. But here, unlike with the snails, it's very difficult to predict who will win.

Let me explain. In menswear right now there are a number of hot brands jostling for position in the race for eternal demand. Some will achieve it, but many more will fade and wither away, eventually to be bought by a big, dull "brand house" or worse still, disappear altogether.

Obviously you can shorten your odds as a brand if you have more than your fair share of cash. But that normally means that you have sidled up to someone who makes their decisions on a calculator. Also, you have a better than average chance if you have a truly unique product. But, to be honest, there are very few Coco Chanels in the world. So what is it, apart from luck, which makes a brand succeed?

For most of these brands it's getting to the time where they need to move out of the greenhouse and into the garden, but this stage is the most dangerous and it's where many of them ultimately flounder.

What really makes a difference in my view is the tireless drive of the people or person who runs the business. Energy and enthusiasm is a finite resource in most people's cases and it tends to run out when they realise that the race is a marathon not a sprint. It's the people with mental stamina who ultimately win because they keep producing ideas which keep their brand fresh many years after their competitors have run dry.

Fashion is a powerful force and nobody can manipulate it to serve their needs

In fashion, as in music, the thing that makes brand owners extremely nervous is the idea that when you do eventually hit the big time, your product is a one-hit wonder. They often wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the nightmare always the same: that someone in the fashion press has suggested that their product has had its day. Suddenly the queues outside your shop disappear and you begin to wonder whether it was a good idea to buy that enormous stock warehouse last month.

The dilemma starts when one of your products begins to take off and everyone seems intent on cramming you into a pigeonhole of their choice and locking you in it forever. I say dilemma because, as sales begin to take off exponentially, it creates opportunities that you had never dreamt of, and it is nearly impossible to turn them away. Can you imagine the owner of Ugg saying that he is worried about being pigeonholed and is therefore stopping production of all sheepskin products in order to concentrate on sexy stilettos? You can't do it. So instead you have to ride the wave and try to introduce more and more new and different products as quickly as you can.

Why did it happen? He is a great designer who had a lovely brand which was worn by all of the great celebrities and he hung out with Elton and David. It happened because he became so strongly associated with one single product that when it became unfashionable, the business crumbled.

Crocs is a classic example, swinging from a profit of $168m in 2007 to a loss of $183m a year later. It seems to have now stabilised by introducing new, and somewhat successful, products into the mix.

Staying on the shoe theme, our own Dr Martens rides the peaks and troughs of fashion like a rollercoaster. One minute its products are all the rage, next they are not, but the company still relies on the sole it invented at the start of its life and the brand is so strong that it can make it through the hard times, safe in the knowledge that in the not-too-distant future, a new generation of hipsters will "discover" this down-to-earth workwear brand.

What is the point of all of this? Fashion is a powerful force and nobody can manipulate it to serve their needs, unless you are Coco Chanel. What you can do, however, is create season after season of clever, well-designed product, that is relevant for your brand but shows the breadth of your capabilities, and then just keep plugging away.

Friday, April 8, 2011

McGinley to contribute new designs for her Artist T-shirt line

French designer Agnès Troublé, founder of the Agnès B. fashion label, has always been a big supporter of the arts. This week, there is new proof with the opening of her SoHo store and gallery.

Located in the same district as her first US store, inaugurated in 1980, the new store at 50 Howard Street, New York combines men's and women's clothing with rotating exhibitions by up-and-coming artists as well as those that have already been featured at her Paris gallery, Galerie du Jour.

It feels like the entrepreneur's vision has come full circle after she started 'importing' exciting New York artists and presenting them in Paris.

Here are some of the biggest fashion events

Here are some of the biggest fashion events and releases coming up over the next few weeks.

50th Saloni
April 12-17
Milan, Italy

Fashion brands including Hermès, Frankie Morello, and Banana Republic, will launch home collections at the world's biggest interior design fair. The event is open to the general public on April 17.
http://www.cosmit.it/
Facebook Map


Burberry goes Beijing
April 13
Beijing, China & International

The brand is readying a fashion-meets-technology extravaganza that will be broadcast live all around the world: following its Beijing store opening at the Sparkle Roll Plaza, Burberry will stage a show at the Beijing Television Center that will feature Brit rockers Keane, top models, and digital imagery including "life-like" holograms.

http://www.burberry.com/


Opening Ceremony launches at Lane Crawford
April 14
Hong Kong

The famous New York-based concept store sets up shop at the Hong Kong shopping destination with US-themed concepts that involve designs by Alexander Wang, Band of Outsiders, Pamela Love, Suno, Rodarte, and Chloé Sevigny. The pop-up will stay open for a month before continuing on to Beijing.

http://www.openingceremony.us/ / http://www.lanecrawford.com/


H&M Fashion Against Aids collection release
April 26
International

The Swedish retailer's yearly Fashion Against Age range is unisex this year and includes spring basics as well as trendy accessories. All designs will be available in H&M's Divided department and online, with 25 percent of sales donated to Designers Against Aids and various other international HIV/AIDS prevention projects.

http://www.hm.com/

Defendants' use of a red sole on their infringing footwear threatens

Christian Louboutin's vertiginous designs have been spotted on the feet of Oprah Winfrey, Carla Bruni, Renée Zellweger and Beyoncé Knowles. How do we know? Because whenever a starlet takes a step, she reveals a trademark flash of scarlet lacquer on the sole of her shoes.

Louboutin, 47, is now suing French label Yves Saint Laurent, claiming certain models of their Tribute, Palais and Woodstock styles, which are stocked at a number of stores also selling Louboutins, feature a red lacquered sole and are an infringement of his trademark. Louboutin is seeking an injunction against continued sales, as well as more than $1m (£611,000) in damages.

"Defendants' use of a red sole on their infringing footwear threatens to mislead the public, and has impaired plaintiffs' ability to control their reputation," the company complained. Court action follows a letter from executives at Yves Saint Laurent in January, which stated their intention to continue selling the footwear.

Louboutin, whose name has been referenced in songs by everyone from Jennifer Lopez to the Beastie Boys, is keen to protect his signature from those who would like a piece of his high-profile red carpet monopoly.

The label sells more than 500,000 pairs of shoes a year in over 46 countries, with prices ranging from £295 for an espadrille, to several thousand pounds for a bespoke design.

"The cost of enforcing a trademark is high, but if a competitor is infringing on a key area of custom, it's worth it," says Ian Karet, a partner at law firm Linklaters.

Louboutin invented the red sole in 1993 while scrutinising a prototype. "There was this big, black sole," he said, "and then, thank God, there was this girl painting her nails." He used her red nail varnish to cover the rubber sole, thereby inventing one of fashion's most recognisable status symbols. But it took him until 2007 to patent the red sole. "The shiny red colour has no function other than to identify to the public that they are mine," he told a court in his application.

As well as several high street retailers imitating the red soles, last year a 15-year-old entrepreneur in County Kildare set up "Rosso Solini", selling red plastic templates online to stick to soles. "What are we supposed to do?" a Louboutin employee protested. "Call her parents?"

Despite Louboutin creating a website dedicated to eradicating the forgery of his work, policing the use of a specific colour is difficult. "It is possible to copyright a colour," adds Mr Karet, "but it is difficult."

PS: Is from The Independent

Thursday, April 7, 2011

A great way to reconnect with old friends and meet some new ones

Every woman needs some time with their girls doing what girls do best, shopping, getting pampered, and sipping fun cocktails! In tonight's Style File, 7's Belkys Nerey takes us on a girl's getaway right here in Miami!

You don't have to jump on a plane to escape with your gal pals. The Loews Hotel in South Beach is inviting all the girls over for a 'girlfriends getaway.'

Sarah Murov, PR, Loews Miami Beach: "A weekend with your best friends of sunning, sipping, socializing."

Need we say more? Women from South Florida and all over the country will bunk at the hotel the last weekend of April for three days of girl time.

The weekend is kicked off with a happy hour on Friday night, and then the fun really starts. You can hang out with your girls by the pool or join in all the cool activities planned.

Sarah: "Spa services, beauty, you name it we have it."

Like complimentary hair, nails and makeup sessions poolside, and 'Marie Claire' magazine editors will be there to talk fashion trends.

There will also be pop-up boutiques where girls can shop hot brands like "Citrine By The Stones."

Michelle Stone, Citrine By The Stones: "We have a very Boho chic feeling for our collection. We have tassels, semi precious stones, we have chains, there's also a lot of flowers that's more for our evening fun wear."

Or get funky and make your own shoes.

Michelle Stone: "Havianas are launching a new create-your-own flip flop."

For those who like to spice up the kitchen, Miami's top chef Michelle Bernstein will offer cooking demos.

Michelle Bernstein, Chef: "I'm definitely going to be doing what I like to consider girly food, a little more femme food. Teaching these women about dishes and techniques that they haven't seen or experienced yet."

She'll be doing the cooking and the girls will be doing the eating.

Michelle Bernstein: "I just want them to be relaxed and have fun, and if they happen to learn something, awesome."

Best part, this weekend away won't break the bank.

Sarah: "It's $499 a person for the weekend and that does include all the services, breakfast, the happy hours, and all the perks for the weekend. So, it's a great deal."

A great way to reconnect with old friends and meet some new ones.

Girls are coming from all over the country, but the Loews have a room block, so there will be plenty of rooms available for all of us Miami girls!

Your morning fashion and beauty report

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at age 24 already have four fashion labels -- The Row, Elizabeth and James, Textile Elizabeth and James, and Olsenboye.

Miami Heat star LeBron James is in a deal with Audemars Piguet. James will be a celebrity representative for the watchmaker, while the company will support the basketball player's charities.

Designer Roland Mouret and model Claudia Schiffer will be among the judges for "Fashion Fringe," the British competition that nurtures young designers who compete for a cash prize and mentoring from established pros. The pair replace John Galliano, late of Dior, who was honorary chairman last year. "Fashion Fringe" is taking applications through May 4, and three finalists will produce collections to show at London Fashion Week in September. Past prize winners include Erdem and Eun Jeong.

Alexander McQueen is releasing a limited edition skull-print scarf to coincide with the opening of the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" exhibition at the Met in NYC. The scarves will sell for $495 and be in the brand's stores in May.

New L.A. label Sol Angeles celebrated its launch this week with a party Tuesday night attended by Kardashian queen mum Kris Jenner. The line's soft tees will be on sale at Fred Segal.

Cynthia Rowley is making over her menswear line, and renaming it too. Mr. Powers is named for her husband, gallerist Bill Powers.

Anne's outer beauty is matched by inner beaut

There's a new jet-setting socialite in town who's bringing her signature style and love of anything and everything fabulous with her.  An international fashion icon, Anne steals the spotlight as the glamorous relative of the Count of Paris, who traces his lineage back to the French Monarchy. Anne, perfectly coiffed and beautifully dressed, frequently graces the pages of top fashion magazines and society pages. Anne worked as a fashion buyer for an influential designer label.  She also has a background in investment banking where she mixed and mingled with the power elite.  These high-profile experiences have influenced Anne's already impeccable taste.

Anne has tackled London and is taking the New York fashion world by storm. Anne prides herself on her ability to look put-together at every occasion and is featured on international best-dressed lists.  Her love of beauty trends is reflected in her ever-changing lip color, and there is always a Dior or Chanel tube in her purse.  Anne is throwing a lavish party this spring, sure to make society headlines around the world. The dazzling array of stars combined with the New York power elite is sure to make this event the most highly anticipated ticket in town.

Anne's outer beauty is matched by inner beauty as she raises money for several charitable causes near and dear to her heart.  Anne's royal lineage and high-profile status lends international cachet to the world's leading fashion brands.  As a special consultant to fashion magazines and a muse to many top designers, Anne provides the creative direction that sets the trends for seasons to come.  Fashion insiders predict that Anne Yap is the royal one-to-watch on the international fashion scene.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

a parade featuring the festival designer award finalists

The L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival is all about glamour, but unlike most red- carpet fashion events, this one isn't just for the style police.

The festival, now in its 15th year, may be for the people, but it's still taken seriously. The celebrities are in attendance, wearing their sponsored frocks and smiling for the cameras, and the shows are extremely polished.

The only real difference between something like this festival and the preview shows of most major fashion weeks is that what you see at the festival is what has just been delivered to stores. If you see something you like, you can go out and buy it.

The only exceptions at last week's extravaganza were the opening event, Fashion Full Stop, and a parade featuring the festival designer award finalists.

This year, the prize went to new menswear label Song for the Mute, whose mostly black, mostly wool collection beat off competition from well-known Australian designers Arnsdorf, Bassike and Ellery.

Fashion Full Stop, which celebrated decades of Australian fashion and music, was slick, fast, colourful and noisy. Former Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian and Mark Seymour (of 80s rock band Hunters & Collectors) were among performers who shared the stage with models in the infamous mini dress worn by Jean Shrimpton to the 1965 Melbourne Cup, whimsical designs by Akira Isogawa, Michelle Jank and Willow, and evening gowns by red- carpet designers Alex Perry and Toni Maticevski.

Perry's own show, a glitzy affair showcasing his trademark glamour gowns, was an exclusive preview to his spring-summer collection, Cuban Princess.

Menswear label Jack London also held its first stand-alone show, presenting its winter collection, Urban Warriors and Dandy Lions, at the Prahran Town Hall. Jack London designer Karl Bartl was influenced by the "hard Mods and punk style of the Skins/Lemonheads" and stayed true to the label's signature classic tailoring with a rock 'n' roll edge.

Spontaneous applause erupted when a model walked out wearing a sequinned camo blazer and leading a bulldog named Chops.

Sequins aside, it was mostly an incredibly saleable collection, with camel trench coats, straight pants that sat above the ankle, skinny ties and khaki duffle coats.

Anna Wintour's fascination with the young starlet

The term fashion faux pas seems to be completely unknown to "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively. Whether she's sitting front row at a runway show, splashed across the cover of a magazine or making a red carpet appearance, Lively never ceases to impress the most discerning fashion palettes. This will be Lively's hat trick edition of Frugal Fashion, proving the 23-year-old has a serious knack for dolling up on the red carpet and that maybe there is a little something to Anna Wintour's fascination with the young starlet.

Lively stars in the latest DC Comic-turned-film venture "The Green Lantern," out June 17, as the feisty siren Carol Ferris opposite Ryan Reynolds. When she hit the red carpet for CinemaCon in Las Vegas -- the annual gathering of cinema owners and operators (formerly called ShoWest) -- was she attempting to hide her future as the film's star sapphire villain under her all-white, angelic disguise? Or did Lively's wardrobe choice have a little something to do with the weather? The comic fan in me votes for the first option, but feel free to decide for yourself.

Lively looked ready for summer in an all-white lace uber-mini and sheer top ensemble by Dolce & Gabbana, white blazer with black trim and cream colored suede booties with cleavage.

Equine portrait set to become one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold

In British master George Stubbs's 1765 painting of the legendary English thoroughbred Gimcrack, the artist shows the horse several lengths ahead of its competitors. Now the work is expected to gallop into the record books to become one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold.

"He became something of a favourite, winning 28 out of 36 races which he was entered for, which was a remarkable feat."

The sale will make the work one of the most expensive Old Masters ever sold at auction. The current record for an Old Master is held by Flemish artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens, whose The Massacre of the Innocents sold for £50m in July 2002. If the Stubbs raises more than £20m it will make it the sixth most expensive Old Master ever sold, above Rembrandt's Portrait of a Lady Aged 62, which sold at Christie's for £20m in 2000.

"It is of great importance on many levels," said Mr Stainton. "The use of space is daring and unprecedented in British art at the time. It was a wonderfully wide panorama of the scene, and was unusual in that the central focus is shifted to the extreme left of the composition. In both pictorial and compositional senses it is groundbreaking."

Stubbs spent his early career as a portrait painter in his native Liverpool and York, before finding fame as a painter of horses. In 1754 the artist spent 18 months in a Lincolnshire farmhouse, where he dissected and drew horses. In 1766, he published a scientific study The Anatomy of a Horse, which added to Stubbs's reputation as the greatest artist-scientist since Leonardo da Vinci.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Retail sales continue to generally come in ahead of our expectations

We continue to see signs that the U.S. economy is on the mend, but visibility beyond the summer months appears severely constrained.

Consumer cyclical firms are still planning for top-line gains but are bracing for margin pressure, particularly in the second half of the year.

Most luxury goods stocks are still expensive, even after the recent pullback, but some warrant a closer look.

We continue to see signs that the U.S. economy is slowly improving, and while our expectation for a modest recovery among consumer cyclical firms in 2011 remains intact, the group is by no means out of the woods.

On the positive side, retail sales continue to generally come in ahead of our expectations, and traffic growth has been impressive. Costs have remained in check, driving record corporate profits in some cases. The unemployment picture has also cleared up a bit, and many expect job prospects to become more favorable in the coming year.

However, we remain balanced in our view and note that the impact of holiday shifts, year-ago government stimulus, and mounting input cost pressures could lead to a couple of choppy quarters and, ultimately, margin compression as the year unfolds. As such, we still project mid-single-digit top-line growth for much of the sector, but we see early signs of incremental slowing in the second half of the year.

more expensive boutiques in the booming top end of the retail market

Burberry's new 820sq m flagship quietly opened for business on the weekend and already trade has been brisk. One Burberry sales assistant who asked not to be named said it was "like Christmas in here on the weekend".

The new store at 343 George Street is three times the size of the brand's previous store and stocks the complete Burberry range. Prices range from $195 for a men's tie to $6795 for a leather biker jacket. The classic women's trench, for which the brand is best known, costs $1875 and a child's quilted jacket is a snip at $250.

The Burberry boutique is part of a boom in luxury store openings in Sydney this year that has included the first Bottega Veneta store in Australia in the Westfield Sydney development, which also houses new stores by Diane von Furstenberg, Hugo Boss, TAG Heuer and Salvatore Ferragamo.

In July, Prada will open a flagship store at the entrance to the Westfield complex, which will be flanked by Prada's sister brand Miu Miu.

Gucci will move into a two-level store on Castlereagh Street later this year, as will Ermenegildo Zegna.

The luxury store openings are a sign of growing confidence in the top end of the retail market.

"Our new Sydney store is the most ambitious and expensive boutique we have ever opened," TAG Heuer chief executive Jean-Christophe Babin said.

"After just two months of operation, it was already our No 1 store in the world."

Not to be outdone, Louis Vuitton will relocate to George Street in a store that will have 1200sq m of selling space from November.

The Louis Vuitton store on Castlereagh Street will then be refurbished and re-emerge as a Christian Dior boutique.

Hermes is expanding its store on Elizabeth Street with an extra 85sq m and Chanel will overhaul its Castlereagh Street store later this year.

The luxury store openings are further evidence of significant market segmentation in the retail sector. While the middle and lower ends of the market have been hit by rising fuel prices and interest rates and a mood of uncertainty, the top end is booming.

In contrast to retailers such as the Colorado Group in Australia, which was placed in voluntary administration last week, American Apparel in the US, which is on the brink of bankruptcy, and Swedish retailer H&M, which reported a 30 per cent drop in profits for the first quarter, luxury is booming.

As a staff photographer at the legendary Picture

Ingrid Bergman's pose suggests elegant decorum and shows little evidence of the furore which had recently enveloped her failed marriage to the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. This photograph of the actress sitting in period costume was taken in 1956 on the set of Jean Renoir's Elena Et Les Hommes.

This exemplary snapshot in time is one of many taken by 97-year-old renowned British photojournalist Thurston Hopkins, a selection of which will be exhibited at the Getty Images Gallery in London from 15 April. The show draws on pictures developed from Mr Hopkins's personal negatives, including rare images of Joan Crawford and Alfred Hitchcock.

"As a staff photographer at the legendary Picture Post magazine, Mr Hopkins had the rare opportunity to witness first hand different countries and communities," said the gallery's director Louise Garczewska. The photographer worked at Picture Post until its demise in 1957. He joined the magazine after working in the RAF's photographic unit.

Austrian actress Julia Arnall is also shown leaning against a shop window smoking a cigarette and Diana Dors is pictured scantily dressed on location.

The music still resonates today

Neasden, north London. 1971. The man who would become the first musical superstar to emerge from the developing world is cooped up in a freezing house in one of the capital's greyest and least fashionable suburbs. He has no money, no passport and no work permit. This was Bob Marley at 26, standing on the verge of greatness. His drab, monochrome surroundings belied the fact that he would soon be painting the planet red, gold and green, electrifying audiences on all continents with an original sound that carried a lyrical message of rare power. But less than a decade after Marley left that house in Neasden to make the journey to the Island Records office in Basing Street where he would secure a career-defining deal for the Wailers – the band he formed with childhood friends Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh – he would be dead.

It is 30 years since we lost Bob Marley. You can't believe it? Just a moment's consideration of music culture now should be enough to tell you how long he has been gone. The flame that, for most of his international audience, began with the albums Catch A Fire and Burnin', shining a new light on injustices and inequalities that had previously been widely ignored, blazed intensely but only briefly. Now it feels like the candle lit in his memory is all but extinguished.

It's not just that the current charts are almost bereft of serious thought or spiritual feeling. Pop music flourished when Marley was alive – when he was in that house in Neasden the British No 1 was "Ernie", a ditty about a milkman by Benny Hill (and still an all-time favourite track of the current Prime Minister). The sad thing is that, in an era when the tourist stalls have replaced the once ubiquitous T-shirts of Bob or John Lennon with football tops branded with Rooney or Ronaldo, there's almost no one singing about anything of importance. When aspiring artists are encouraged by reality television shows merely to replicate the hits of the past, it's tough being a singer-songwriter, let alone one that wants to change the world.

Marley encouraged musicians to think differently. He was an inspiration to British punk bands in the late 1970s and acknowledged their spirit in his own song "Honkey Reggae Party". His success encouraged the explosion of World Music in the 1980s with South Africa's Lucky Dube and Ivory Coast's Alpha Blondy among the artists who sought to emulate his songs of protest.

His influence extended well beyond the parameters of music. The message in songs such as "Get Up, Stand Up", "So Much Trouble in the World" and "War" would surely resonate with demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square and Libyan rebels in Benghazi. "Bob Marley lives on as an icon – not just in the world of music, but in the social sphere, at the political grassroots, and in the field of human rights," noted the British photographer Dennis Morris, a friend of the musician. Since Morris wrote those words, in 1998, Marley's influence seems to have waned, especially in career-conscious 21st-century Britain.

"The music still resonates today, the people in Libya and Tunisia could be singing the Marley tunes," says Tony Sewell, a former lecturer at Leeds University who is director of Generating Genius, a British and Jamaican charity for boys' education. "You would have to look at the Beatles to see that kind of international currency. It's remarkable that the music has stayed so fresh."

Friday, April 1, 2011

The erratic behaviour of Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce today

Listeners were left baffled by the erratic behaviour of Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce today - until it emerged the show was being hosted by comedian Rob Brydon.

Brydon managed to get through almost the entire programme before eventually dropping hints that it was an April 1 wind-up.

Listeners took to message boards wondering whether Bruce was drunk.

Brydon had still not owned up by the end of the show when he handed over to the next presenter Jeremy Vine, who he called Tim - the name of Vine's comedian brother.

Some listeners were fooled by the switch. One tweeted: "Ken Bruce has been really annoying this morning totally unlike him but I for one am not impressed. There, I've said it now, rant over."

Others saw through the gag and praised Brydon's appearance.

And the funnyman himself dropped a hint during the show, when he posted a message on Twitter which said: "Loving Ken Bruce on Radio 2 this morning..."

Brydon repeatedly burst into incomprehensible rambles and cracked ribald jokes, far removed from Bruce's usual patter.

And at one stage he chatted to afternoon presenter Vine and grumbled he was "boring".

The programme also included a spoof interview in which Brydon interviewed Sir Terry Wogan - another impostor who turned out to be Peter Serafinowicz.

The real Bruce said after the show: "It's been wonderful to be able to listen to the radio - tuning into someone entertaining in the morning for a change. I'm offering him a contract to share the honours on a regular basis."

And Brydon said: "They were big shoes to fill but I loved the challenge of being Ken for the whole show. I'd seen Being John Malkovich and wanted to take it to the next level. Happy April 1, everyone."

Joel is by no means the first popular musician to cancel an eagerly awaited book

He sang about the delights of being able to "forget about life for a while", and that's exactly what Billy Joel has decided to do after suddenly pulling the plug on a revelatory autobiography which was already written, was in the final stages of being edited, and had been scheduled to hit the world's bookstores in the middle of June.

In a statement released by HarperCollins, his cuckolded publisher, the 61-year-old singer said he'd suddenly had second thoughts about raking over the gory details of his career. All manuscripts of The Book of Joel, a handful of which are already rumoured to be in the hands of reviewers, will now have to be retrieved and pulped.

"It took working on writing a book to make me realise that I'm not all that interested in talking about the past, and that the best expression of my life and its ups and downs has been and remains my music," Joel said. The seven-figure advance he was given after signing his original $3m book deal three years ago is now expected to be repaid.

Joel's decision represents a huge blow for HarperCollins, which had already revealed the cover art for the book and had been busy promising journalists that it would provide an "emotional ride" which would "contain details he has never revealed before". The firm had been counting on it making a splash on a par with that of Keith Richards, whose autobiography has spent recent months at the top of the hardback best-seller lists.

The singer's romantic life has included three failed marriages. His first was to Elizabeth Weber Small, who was married to Joel's (then) bandmate Jon when their relationship began. A second, in the 1980s, was to supermodel Christie Brinkley, the subject of "Uptown Girl". His third ex-wife, Katie Lee, is a television presenter 30 years his junior. Other notches on his bedpost include Elle Macpherson, whom he dated in the 1980s and who inspired "And So It Goes". Joel has also experienced lifelong struggles with depression, substance abuse and alcoholism, which led him to attempt suicide in the early 1970s.

Joel's publicist, Claire Mercuri, would not elaborate on the reasons for his withdrawal from the project, saying only that, "he feels that his music really speaks about his life better than anything else".

Joel is by no means the first popular musician to cancel an eagerly awaited book. Mick Jagger backed out of a deal in the early 1980s, saying he couldn't remember anything interesting. More recently, Sean "Diddy" Combs didn't bother to complete a memoir that he was supposed to write for Random House and ended up being sued.

From Diana's royal puffball to Meg Matthews' Walkers

In 1981, as Britain was in the midst of a biting recession, Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles, while the world watched.

Elizabeth Emanuel, designer

"Until Diana's dress, wedding gowns had been uniformly the same: white, ankle-length, A-line, long-sleeved. We brought the wedding dress into high fashion. Diana was introduced to us by Vogue; she didn't yet have her own sense of style, but she loved the very theatrical, fairy-tale dresses we made. When she asked us to make her wedding dress, it was life-changing. She told us to be secretive, but there were no instructions from Buckingham Palace, no protocol.

There was so much speculation in the press after she wore a gown of ours to an official dinner, the Palace was forced to make an announcement through Reuters. The whole world went mad. There were photographers at the studio constantly and we had to take on security. We left false trails for the tabloids in the rubbish bins and we locked the dress in a trunk every night. We even made a spare dress in case our real design was leaked.

On the day itself we realised this wasn't just a wedding dress, it was a moment in history. We dressed her at Clarence House, with the bridesmaids and the Queen Mother. Diana was excited but very calm. There was a moment, waiting for the coach, when we all stood in total silence for what seemed like an age. Then she stepped into the carriage and the crowds went mad."

Nicky Haslam, interior designer and writer

"Princess Diana's wedding was extraordinary because it was a royal wedding. One thinks of watching the coronation on newsreels, there's this incredible formality to it, which doesn't exist now. It was certainly very traditional. There was a ball afterwards, given by the Queen, but Prince Charles and Princess Diana weren't there. In those days, the bride and groom left after their reception and went on honeymoon. To give a dance the night of your wedding was seen as incredibly bad form. The last thing you wanted was the bride getting reeling drunk so she couldn't consummate her marriage."

Bruce Oldfield, designer

"The Eighties was a showy decade. I made a dress for an Australian bride in 1984. We had three appointments and each time she said the sketches weren't quite right, until she finally said, 'You've missed the point. We want our guests to know we've spent an absolute bloody fortune and that this is Australia's royal wedding!'.

Even three or four years after Diana's fairy-princess dress, wedding gowns were changing to suit the times. This Australian bride wanted the full skirt, but also to be able to detach parts of the dress to reveal her very good figure; there were moves afoot to sex up wedding dresses."