Fashion with me

From Cannes: Travel Retail Resolute in Face of Downturn

2008-10-31T21:42:00.000Z

CANNES — Cosmetics executives and duty free operators faced the threat of an impending worldwide recession here this week with a combination of uncertainty and gritty resolve.

The five-day Tax Free World Association World Exhibition opened Monday with a warning from Erik Juul-Mortensen, president of TFWA.

“We have risen to the challenge in the past, but this current challenge will likely be more drawn out and difficult than any that we have met before.” Referring to the $34 billion total duty free business worldwide, he added that, “Our industry could stagnate or go into reverse in the short term. Our largest and most immediate challenge...

Not One, but Three India Fashion Weeks

2008-10-31T21:41:00.000Z

NEW DELHI — Buyers, journalists and fashion-mad consumers crisscrossed India’s heavily congested capital, sometimes several times in a day, to attend two rival and clashing spring-summer fashion weeks.

India Fashion Week, organized by the Fashion Design Council of India, which has been held here since 2001, took place between Oct. 15 and 19. A day before it started, the newly formed Fashion Foundation of India kicked off the first Delhi Fashion Week. The fractured state of India’s fashion industry was underscored days later, when a third event began in Mumbai on Oct. 20. Lakme Fashion Week, named after the cosmetics company that is its biggest sponsor,...

BCBG Max Azria Fall/Winter 2008 Show at New York Fashion Week

2008-10-31T21:35:00.001Z

The BCBG Max Azria Fall/Winter 2008 collection isn’t exactly what you might expect for fall/winter clothing: short sleeves, short skirts, sleeveless coats, even shorter skirts.

Karla Martinez, women’s fashion market director, had this to say about the show, which took place at the tents in Bryant Park:

About the clothes: Muted colors — a lot of beige, pale gray and plums. All very wearable silhouettes in the first part of the show and the finale dresses are great for ladies with great legs! Standouts: Gray wool long pleated dress. Pretty, delicate layered collars.

The California-based designer’s collection was the first major women’s catwalk show of New York Fashion Week. The collection featured lots of subdued neutral hues, though there were a few brighter colors here and there - like cranberry, golden yellow and teal. Many of the looks featured pleated details. Lots of the designs were paired with belts. And, of course, there were very short hemlines.

As usual, the designs that stood out the most from the Fall/Winter 2008 Collection were the dresses.

The collection, as a whole, is being called a “fresh departure” for BCBG Max Azria.

As expected, many celebrities attended the show, notably Joss Stone, Ana Ortiz, Sophia Bush and Christina Milan.

Sources: NY Times: The Moment; NY Post: Fashion Week

Marc Jacobs and Porn Star?

2008-10-31T21:34:00.002Z

Marc Jacobs kicked off Fashion Week with a documentary on the behind-the-scenes life of a designer - although many viewers would have likely been more interested in the secret tryst he’s been having with a porn star.

Jacobs has been quietly seeing adult film actor Erik Rhodes and whisking him away to secret locations, sources told Page Six. The new fling is likely the reason things have cooled again between Jacobs and former male escort Jason Preston, whom he’s dated on and off since 2005.

Sources said Jacobs’ affair with Rhodes - who describes himself as “Addictive. Wild. Open” on his ManNet.com profile - began last year when the designer invited Rhodes to join him and Preston for a three-way. Jacobs allegedly continued the fling with Rhodes one on one after that.

“Jason thought he and Marc were exclusive again,” said our insider. “But Marc is sleeping with this porn star behind his back, and sneaking him to Paris for hot sex.”

Rhodes seems an unlikely partner for the flamboyant fashionista, who counts Winona Ryder and Ashley Olsen as close friends. The guy-on-guy actor proudly wrote on his profile that he is “full-blown gay” and starred in adult movies such as “Flesh,” “Flex,” and “Beefcake.”

When we saw Preston Thursday night at the Cinema Society bash sponsored by W magazine for the documentary “Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton,” he was keeping his distance from the designer.

The two were on opposite ends of the room, and a fellow party guest noted the duo seemed to be avoiding each other.

Jacobs has done a couple of stints in rehab for drug abuse, and Preston made waves when he had Jacobs’ full name tattooed on his forearm. The boytoy told HX magazine last year they were “engaged.”

Despite the hot designer’s extracurricular activities, we hear Preston still plans to attend tomorrow’s Jacobs show with Aly Hilfiger as his date.

Asked about Rhodes, Jacobs told Page Six through a spokesperson, “He’s a really nice guy and we are just friends.”

Source: NY Post: PageSix

Paris Fashion Week Schedule: Pret-A-Porter Autumn/Winter 2008

2008-10-31T21:34:00.001Z

Paris Fashion Week Schedule: Pret-A-Porter Autumn/Winter 2008

Saturday, February 2008, the 23rd
4:30 pm IMPASSE DE LA DÉFENSE Restaurant Le Train Bleu - Salle Dorée - Gare de Lyon
5:30 pm FATIMA LOPES Hôtel Westin - Salon Concorde - 3 rue de Castiglione - Paris 1er
6:30 pm DÉVASTÉE L’Académie - 14 rue Royale - Paris 8e
7:30 pm IVANAHELSINKI Hôtel Westin - Salon Concorde - 3 rue de Castiglione - Paris 1er

Sunday, February 2008, the 24th
10:00 am JEFEN Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Gabriel*
11:00 am LIE SANG BONG Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Soufflot*
12:00 pm CHER MICHEL KLEIN Intercontinental Paris Le Grand - 2 rue Scribe - Paris 9e
2:00 pm RAJESH PRATAP SINGH Espace Commines - 17 rue Commines - Paris 3e
3:00 pm BALMAIN Hôtel Westin - 3 rue de Castiglione - Paris 1er
4:00 pm BRUNO PIETERS Galerie Nikki Diana Marquardt - 9 place des Vosges - Paris 4e
5:00 pm MANISH ARORA BETC EURO RSCG - 85 rue du faubourg Saint-Martin - Paris 10e
6:00 pm RICK OWENS École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts - Salle Melpomène - 13 quai Malaquais - Paris 6e
7:00 pm BLESS 22 avenue Marx Dormoy - Paris 18e
8:00 pm AF VANDEVORST Maison des Métallos - 94 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud - Paris 11e

Monday, February 2008, the 25th
10:00 am ATSURO TAYAMA Salle Pleyel - 252 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré - Paris 8e
11:00 am VÉRONIQUE LEROY Espace Pierre Cardin - 1/3 avenue Gabriel - Paris 8e
12:00 pm GASPARD YURKIEVICH Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Soufflot*
1:00 pm ROBERT NORMAND Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Gabriel*
2:30 pm CHRISTIAN DIOR Espace Ephémère Tuileries - Jardin des Tuileries – Paris 1er
3:30 pm ISABEL MARANT Espace Eiffel - Quai Branly - Paris 7e
4:30 pm SHARON WAUCHOB Palais de Tokyo - 13 avenue du Président Wilson - Paris 16e
5:30 pm UNDERCOVER La Cigale - 120 boulevard Rochechouart - Paris 18e
6:30 pm MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy - Salle Marcel Cerdan - Porte 28 - 8 boulevard de Bercy - Paris 12e
7:30 pm VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Hôtel Westin - 3 rue de Castiglione - Paris 1er
8:30 pm YOHJI YAMAMOTO Palais de la Bourse - Place de la bourse - Paris 2e

Tuesday, February 2008, the 26th
09:30 am BALENCIAGA See invitation
10:30 am JUNYA WATANABE See invitation
11:30 am TSUMORI CHISATO Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Delorme*
12:30 pm MARITHÉ & FRANCOIS GIRBAUD Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Le Nôtre*
1:30 pm LUTZ Espace Pierre Cardin - 1/3 avenue Gabriel - Paris 8e
2:30 pm VIKTOR & ROLF See invitation
3:30 pm ISSEY MIYAKE Musée de l’homme - 17 place du Trocadéro - Paris 16e
4:30 pm ANN DEMEULEMEESTER Couvent des Cordeliers - 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine - Paris 6e
5:30 pm COMME DES GARCONS See invitation
7:00 pm JEAN PAUL GAULTIER 325 rue Saint-Martin - Paris 3e
8:00 pm VÉRONIQUE BRANQUINHO Maison des Métallos - 94 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud - Paris 11e
9:00 pm LOEWE Opéra Comique - place Boieldieu - Paris 2e

Wednesday, February 2008, the 27th
10:00 am KARL LAGERFELD Espace Eiffel - Quai Branly - Paris 7e
11:00 am ANDREW GN Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Gabriel*
12:00 pm AKRIS Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Delorme*
1:00 pm EMANUEL UNGARO Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Le Nôtre*
2:00 pm COSTUME NATIONAL Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Soufflot*
3:00 pm DRIES VAN NOTEN Manège du Grand Palais - entrée porte C - avenue Franklin Roosevelt - Paris 8e
4:00 pm CHRISTIAN LACROIX Espace Ephémère Tuileries - Jardin des Tuileries – Paris 1er
5:00 pm REQUIEM Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Gabriel*
6:00 pm GIVENCHY Carreau du Temple - 3 rue Dupetit Thouars - Paris 3e
7:30 pm HUSSEIN CHALAYAN See invitation
8:30 pm BERNHARD WILLHELM Maison des Métallos - 94 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud - Paris 11e

Thursday, February 2008, the 28th
09:30 am STELLA MCCARTNEY Carreau du Temple - 3 rue Dupetit Thouars - Paris 3e
10:30 am VALENTINO Palais de Chaillot - 1 place du Trocadéro - Paris 16e
11:30 am LÉONARD Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Delorme*
12:30 pm BARBARA BUI Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Le Nôtre*
1:30 pm ANNE VALÉRIE HASH Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Soufflot*
2:30 pm GIAMBATTISTA VALLI Espace Eiffel - Quai Branly - Paris 7e
3:30 pm ZUCCA École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts - Salle Melpomène - 13 quai Malaquais - Paris 6e
4:30 pm CELINE Espace Ephémère Tuileries - Jardin des Tuileries – Paris 1er
5:30 pm HAIDER ACKERMANN Couvent des Cordeliers - 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine - Paris 6e
6:30 pm SOPHIA KOKOSALAKI Palais de Tokyo - 13 avenue du Président Wilson - Paris 16e
8:00 pm YVES SAINT LAURENT Grand Palais - avenue Winston Churchill - Paris 8e

Friday, February 2008, the 29th
10:30 am CHANEL Grand Palais - avenue du Général Eisenhower - Paris 8e
11:30 am AGNÈS B. Palais de Tokyo - 13 avenue du Président Wilson - Paris 16e
12:30 pm JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Delorme*
1:30 pm ALENA AKHMADULLINA Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Soufflot*
2:30 pm SONIA RYKIEL Espace Ephémère Tuileries – Jardin des Tuileries – Paris 1er
3:30 pm JUNKO SHIMADA École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts - Salle Melpomène - 13 quai Malaquais - Paris 6e
4:30 pm RUE DU MAIL (by Martine Sitbon) Couvent des Cordeliers - 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine - Paris 6e
5:30 pm ES ORCHESTRES La Sorbonne - 47 rue des Ecoles - Paris 5e
7:00 pm JOSE CASTRO Parking du Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy - 8 boulevard de Bercy - Paris 12e
8:00 pm ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy - Salle Marcel Cerdan - Porte 28 - 8 boulevard de Bercy - Paris 12e

Saturday, March 2008, the 1st
10:30 am KENZO Carreau du Temple - 3 rue Dupetit Thouars - Paris 3e
11:30 am ELIE SAAB Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Delorme *
12:30 pm WUNDERKIND Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Soufflot*
1:30 pm PAUL & JOE Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Le Nôtre*
2:30 pm COMMUUN Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Gabriel*
3:30 pm CHLOÉ Espace Ephémère Tuileries - Jardin des Tuileries - Paris 1er
4:30 pm MARTIN GRANT École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts - Salle Melpomène - 13 quai Malaquais - Paris 6e
5:30 pm HERMÈS Espace Eiffel - Quai Branly - Paris 7e
6:30 pm LIMI FEU Couvent des Cordeliers - 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine - Paris 6e
8:00 pm JOHN GALLIANO Grande Halle de la Villette - 211 avenue Jean Jaurès - Paris 19e

Sunday, March 2008, the 2nd
10:00 am VANESSA BRUNO 8 rue de la Pierre Levée - Paris 11e
11:00 am NINA RICCI Espace Ephémère Tuileries - Jardin des Tuileries - Paris 1er
12:00 pm CHAPURINLe Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Delorme*
1:00 pm YUKI TORII Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Gabriel*
2:00 pm COLLETTE DINNIGAN Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Soufflot*
3:00 pm LOUIS VUITTON See invitation
4:30 pm SAKINA M’SA Le Carrousel du Louvre - Salle Gabriel*
5:30 pm LANVIN Espace Eiffel - Quai Branly - Paris 7e
6:30 pm MOON YOUNG HEE École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts - Salle Melpomène - 13 quai Malaquais - Paris 6e
7:30 pm MIU MIU See invitation
8:30 pm CHADO RALPH RUCCI Couvent des Cordeliers - 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine - Paris 6e

* Le Carrousel du Louvre, 99, rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris

Designers Express Outrage During Milan Fashion Week

2008-10-31T21:33:00.002Z

News, Milan Fashion Week

Trouble has been brewing at Milan’s 2008 Autumn/Winter Collection Fashion Week.

Milan Fashion Week has been branded a “circus without sense” by Dolce & Gabbana amid fears that it rapidly falling behind Paris and London as a vital destination on the haute couture circuit.

Long delays, chaotic organisation and unseemly catfights led to this year’s edition of Italy’s most prestigious fashion showcase, which finishes today, being roundly attacked.

Due to fears that important fashion editors would leave Milan before the end of Fashion Week, an exorbitant number of shows were crammed into the first few days of the fashion event. In all, there were 103 catwalk shows — supposed to run over the course of a week plus some — featuring 95 different designers and labels.

Anna Wintour, the editor of American Vogue, said she had requested Armani, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana to shift their shows so that she could return to America before Paris Fashion Week begins next Tuesday. As a result, a logjam of catwalk shows at the beginning of the week caused havoc.

The resulting scheduling created near-chaos and a very awkward calendar of events and shows. Furthermore, the rescheduling request evoked criticism from designers such as Dolce & Gabbana, claiming that the presige of Milan Fashion Week was being put into jeopardy and that the event may be “neglected in [the] future.”

Giorgio Armani vocalized his concerns, claiming that Wintour’s request showed her preference for French (and American) designers to the detriment of Italian talent.

Source: Daily Telegraph

New Appel & Frank Event: “Spring into Style” San Francisco, San Diego

2008-10-31T21:33:00.001Z

February 23, 2008
Filed Under Appel & Frank, Fashion Finds

Appel & Frank just announced their next shopping event — Spring into Style –, which will take place in both San Diego and San Francisco.

Appel & Frank brings together hip and trendy fashionistas with emerging designers for upscale shopping events filled with style and fashion.

Shop aisles filled with fabulous jewelry, clothing and accessories from 50 talented designers. Enjoy beauty treatments and coveted Appel & Frank goodie bags!

San Diego
Admission: $5 online or $10 at the door, and includes a goodie bag. 10% of the door proceeds will be donated to Dress for Success San Diego.
When: Sunday, March 9th. Noon - 4:00 p.m.
Where: The Abbey. 2825 Fifth Ave @ Olive (Near Balboa Park)

San Francisco
Admission: 2 for $15 online or $10 each at the door. A portion of the door proceed will be donated to Dress for Success.
When: Thursday, March 13th. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Where: The Regency Center, Sutter Room. 1270 Sutter Street @ Van Ness

Designers: let's stop quickie fashion

2008-01-14T20:23:00.000Z

MILAN, Italy - Fashion is on the move. While 2008 has just begun, the menswear preview collections currently showing on the Milan runway are all about how a guy should dress for the fall-winter 2008-2009.

To make matters worse, this round the Milan shows are crammed into four days to accommodate a busy Paris schedule which includes both menswear and couture the following week.

"Everybody is doing everything fast," Tomas Maier, creative director at Bottega Veneta, told The Associated Press after his much applauded show Sunday. "The consumer needs time to understand."

Maier's remarks did not refer specifically to the fashion calendar, but more broadly to a fashion philosophy that floods the market with notions and trends, at times sacrificing quality for quantity.

Maier's preview Bottega collection left much room for thought. Seemingly without effort he balances elegant with casual to create a contemporary country club look. Inspiration for the casual comes from the workman's wardrobe, from the chore coats to the driver's jackets and baggy painter pants. Fabrics range from canvas and denim to sturdy leather.

The more formal wear is as tailored as a made-to-order suit. Jackets are single or double-breasted and trousers are wide. Eveningwear is "elegantissimo," but free of the proverbial stiffness which can confine the wearer to an outgrown "Sunday best" look.

Accessories, a Bottega Veneta forte, include shoulder bags in signature basket-weave leather, woven belts and a rugged round-toed shoe.

Later Sunday, Giorgio Armani echoed Maier's laments, after his Emporio show dedicated to ski resort fashion.

"There is so much sloppiness out there," the designer said chatting with reporters backstage at his minimalist Milan headquarters.

The second-line collection opened with couples in ski outfits carrying skis, walking down a runway dotted with snowflakes.

For each male outfit, from the down coat to the velvet dinner jacket with incorporated silk shawl, Armani had a female counterpart in a look-a-like outfit. But while the men wore their trousers tucked into apres-ski lace-ups, the women except when on the slopes always wore a dress.

"It's time to put some order into fashion, starting with gender," Armani said.

Front row guest at his show was pop star Beyonce, Armani's ad gal for Diamonds, the designer's latest scent. Beyonce also showed up at Versace Saturday, causing quite a stir by keeping the fashion crowd waiting for almost an hour until she took her seat and the show could begin.

Dolce & Gabbana, one of the hottest labels in trendy menswear, also called for an end to fashion overdose at a pre-show chat with the media.

"What's happening in fashion is like inviting someone to dinner and stuffing them with double helpings. By the time desert comes around, they can't look at food anymore," Stefano Gabbana said.

As an antidote the duo's show on Saturday offered up rustic fashion for next winter. Going back to their roots, they outfitted a Sicilian shepherd from macho woolen cap to bulky knit sweater under a hefty sheepskin coat, to the all-purpose leather boots. When he goes to town on business, their shepherd wears a pinstriped suit complete with white shirt and tie and carries a crocodile briefcase.

Burberry designer Christopher Bailey, who also showed Saturday, was in the mood for romance. Silk shirts, vests, soft cardigan sweaters and legging-like trousers all combine to evoke a misty English countryside. A crocodile leather trench coat and pullovers fashioned with tufts of rooster feathers lent an extra dash of eccentricity to an already dandified collection.

Speaking of eccentrics, Russian designer Denis Simachev, stunned the Milan audience Saturday night with flamboyant styles that recalled Cossack fashion. To a rocked up version of "Kalinka," mustachioed models marched around the runway in embroidered shirts, and jackets with a businesslike pinstriped front and a colorful sweater back. Trousers were tucked into furry leather boots.

Earlier Saturday, Donatella Versace underlined the comeback of the top coat (seen in almost every show thus far) with an extra long double-breasted military version in deep purple. According to Donatella, the coat represents a male yearning for luxury.

"Luxury is a cure for the present market saturation, and a relatively unexplored route where men are concerned," the designer said after the show.

Prada: Schizophrenic Style

2008-01-14T20:22:00.000Z

Milan - Sunday evening witnessed a most curiously schizophrenic collection by Prada in Milan's season of fall 2008 men's collections.

The central new garment was a minimalist harness/strait jacket that wrapped around torsos in half the looks; collars and bowties came in pairs; and young men wore mini skirts, ruffled, five inch deep over pants. We even got a series of jock straps in patent leather that reached up way above pant waists.

One could argue that these were all accessories, and styling tricks. But the garments themselves had a mournful air: while Prada's slickly cut suits looked cut for horror movie henchmen.

There were lots of great items - steel threaded double colored stripe shirts; black silk plenipotentiary pants; faded mad scientist two tone shoes, dandified mohair Rude Boy suits, yet they caused little cheer.

Models ascended a brilliant De Chirico like ramp and circled around a twisting walkway, as oblique lighting turned the set into a mimimalist Gothic cathedral. One has to doff one's hat and say that one way in which Prada simply blows away its major Milan rivals is in staging: Where Dolce, Armani, Versace, Gucci and Ferre all largely follow classic catwalks in their own personal theatres, Miuccia summons up every season an evocative cinema set experience, where you feel in new territory each time.

The music was also troubling, the imitation soundtracks of Daniel Motion, mixed by Frederic Sanchez with Julian Dore's "Aux Trois Lolita."

Adding to the somber mood, the door scene was tense. Prada, the target of Peta attacks, has probably the strictest door policy of any fashion house, anywhere. It's an incredibly hot show. But while a concern to protect guests from attacks is legitimate, forcing everyone to scan their invites, marked with a tribal digital thumbnail, as they are jostled through a phalanx of surely heavies, was pretty authoritarian. And definitely not chic.

Spice Girls gaze at gowns in Cavalli men's show

2008-01-14T20:21:00.001Z

MILAN (Reuters) - Britain's Spice Girls turned out to watch Roberto Cavalli's winter 2009 menswear show on Monday and he didn't disappoint them, including in his show a gorgeous green evening shift and a black satin Cinderella gown for women.

The quintet -- better known by their nicknames Posh, Baby, Sporty, Ginger and Scary -- had front-row seats for the show, which Cavalli told Reuters was aimed at "a sophisticated man ... even a rock star type."

Geri "Ginger" Halliwell, wearing a beige ruched mini dress, was open-mouthed at a voluminous black satin long gown and pointed out to Victoria "Posh" Beckham -- wearing a black trouser suit and headband -- the green version.

Cavalli, smoking his trademark cigar, said his show was "for a man who doesn't need to find himself in eccentricities."

Models wore suits in shiny midnight blue and black jacquards. Cavalli brought back turn-ups to straight-leg trousers and threw roomy sheepskins or leopard print coats over the top of outfits.

He used shiny black for a hooded oilskin coat or plumped up duvet style gilets over thick rib jumpers.

Accessories featured alligator-look black briefcases and big scarves, while one model sported a sparkling black brooch on an evening suit lapel.

For the women, Cavalli offered feathered evening bags in pink or black to match dresses.

His glamorous womenswear was a big hit with retailer Hennes & Mauritz, where eager shoppers queued up when they went on sale on November 8.

Cavalli said he had no plans for any further collaborations and was keen to know who might be the next designer for H&M -- which has already used collections by Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney.

"I enjoyed myself, it was great," he said. "I'd like to see who does the next collection ... I don't think other designers want to put themselves up against my success."

(Additional reporting by Ilaria Polleschi, editing by Tim Pearce)

Spice Girls attend Cavalli show in Milan

2008-01-14T20:19:00.000Z

By DANIELA PETROFF, AP

MILAN, Italy - The Spice Girls pepped up the Milan fashion scene Monday when they turned up at Roberto Cavalli's menswear show to thank him for designing their tour wardrobe.

The tour, which began in December, brings all the Spice Girls together for the first time in nearly 10 years.

"His clothes make you feel sexy," said Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell, 35, speaking for the pop stars as they sat backstage chatting with reporters before the show began.

Their glam Cavalli-designed tour outfits are in bright Swarovski-beaded silk and remain true to the playful styles the Spice Girls favored the first time around: miniskirts, cropped tops and body-clinging jumpsuits.

Talking like a gaggle of schoolgirls, they sang the praises of Italian men as "very passionate" and "more stylish" than their British counterparts.

"Italians are stallions," said 32-year-old Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown, summing it up, and quickly adding, "or so I've heard."

The Spice Girls, who also include Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton and Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm, said they were enjoying the tour.

"We appreciate everything much more this time around," Halliwell said.

Another Milan favorite, Giorgio Armani, captured "Spice Girls" husband David Beckham for his underwear campaign. Asked what she thought of her husband's supertoned body being displayed in Armani briefs on billboards throughout Milan, 33-year-old Victoria Beckham said: "If I looked like that I'd walk down the street in my panties, too."

___

On the Net:

Spice Girls:

http://www.thespicegirls.com

http://www.thespicegirlsgreatesthits.com/

Roberto Cavalli:

http://www.robertocavalli.com/en/home.do

Giorgio Armani:

http://www.giorgioarmani.com/ga_menu/EN/home.html

Jessica Alba in Purple Clothes (including prices)

2008-01-09T19:42:00.000Z

Jessica Alba in Purple Clothes (including prices)

On with the Show: At the Critics' Choice Awards

2008-01-09T19:03:00.000Z

Santa Monica - What happens when America's movie critics throw an awards party? Everyone comes, of course!

That's what happened Monday night in Santa Monica at the 13th Annual Critics' Choice Awards, as the Broadcast Film Critics Association honored the best films and performances of 2007. Unlike the Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice Awards show has never been written by members of the currently striking Writers Guild, which meant that actors, directors, and other Hollywood types did not have to cross a picket line to attend the gala event held at the Santa Monica Civic Center.

Which meant that Brad Pitt and best actress nominee Angelina Jolie sat front and center in the packed ballroom, where champagne flowed freely and light bites were served as the glittering night unfolded.

Best actor nominee George Clooney waxed eloquently on the strike as he awarded Don Cheadle the organization's first annual Joel Siegel Humanitarian Award in memory of the late critic, saying "When the strike happens, it's not just writers [who suffer]. Our hope is that all the players will lock themselves in a room and not come out until they finish. We want this to be done. That's the most important thing."

And while best screenplay scribe Diablo Cody (who won for "Juno") didn't make the show, just about everyone who is anyone did. In addition to Pitt, Jolie, and Clooney, the place was just teeming with gorgeously dressed stars, from presenter Katie Holmes in a cream off-the-shoulder, asymmetrical Lanvin sheath to best ensemble Winner (for "Hairspray") Queen Latifah, resplendent in a chic winter white pantsuit.

Daniel Day-Lewis sported shoulder length locks and stammered as he accepted his best actor trophy that "I wish that George Clooney was my speechwriter he always knows how to say the right thing," while Nikki Blonsky shrieked with delight as she accepted her best young actress award.

A-listers were everywhere, from the "Into the Wild" group, that included Sean Penn, Eddie Vedder, Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, Hal Holbrook, and Catherine Keener, to presenters including Kyra Sedgwick, Snoop Dogg, Leslie Mann, and Marisa Tomei, as well as the stars of the best picture winner, "No Country for Old Men," including Javier Bardem, who also won for best supporting actor.

Later, at the rollicking after party held in a large tent next door to the ballroom, best actor nominee Emile Hirsch gave "Hairspray" best ensemble winner Brittany Snow all his attention, and presenter Eddie Izzard chatted with "There Will Be Blood" star Paul Dano. Izzard cracked up the house earlier with his goofily disjointed speech, a riff on the need for writers, and commented later that "we need them to make a deal and get back to work."

The Critics' Choice Awards also honored Julie Christie for best actress in "Away From Her" and Amy Ryan as best supporting actress in "Gone Baby Gone," but neither actress made the party, which could just be one of the only awards shows that actually happens this season. The Golden Globes have been canceled due to the WGA threat to picket the show, and the actors' unwillingness to cross those picket lines to attend.

Meryl Streep, Lee and Bob Woodruff Honored at Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Gala

2007-11-15T15:10:00.000Z

New York - For those living with spinal cord injuries in the U.S., the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation provides a form of magic in the form of funding for research and quality of life improvements. So the theme of their annual fundraising gala, "A Magical Evening," held on Nov. 12 in New York, was especially fitting.

Celebrity friends and supporters of the Reeve's cause, including Diane Sawyer, Robin and Marsha Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Anne Hathaway, came out in full force to the Marriot Marquis to honor the couple's advocacy work. Christopher passed away in 2004, and Dana passed away from lung cancer at the age of 44 in 2006.

Their children, Matthew, Alexandra and Will, were on hand at the gala to honor Meryl Streep, the recipient of the Dana Reeve Hope Award; Lee and Bob Woodruff, the recipients of the Christopher Reeve Spirit of Courage Award and Henry G. Stifel, one of the founding members of the foundation and recipient of the Visionary Leadership Award.

"Meryl's been a loyal and great friend to the foundation and were happy to pay tribute to her this evening," said Alexandra Reeve.

"I knew him for a long time, many, many years," said Meryl Streep of Reeve. "I'm very, very honored to be here, and I'm a little humbled, because I feel like I'm standing in light that [Christopher and Dana Reeve] cast. They just really were like a lighthouse for this issue, and so charismatic and so effective in their advocacy."

Lee and Bob Woodruff, whose own story has come to parallel in many ways the Reeve's, when television journalist Bob Woodruff became the first news anchor in Iraq to be wounded, nearly killed by a roadside bomb. He sustained a serious head injury and subsequently, he and his wife Lee established the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury.

"It just so happened after I woke up, after 36 days in my coma, I looked up at the TV and saw that Dana had passed away, and I will never forget that," said Bob Woodruff. That was one of the first things that I saw. That's how close this family is to so many people in this country."

Another friend of the Reeve's, Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who met the couple after college at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, said it was a "no-brainer" to come out that evening for the foundation.

"What they built is a pretty extraordinary thing, and I just want to keep supporting it as long as I can," said Hoffman. "Hopefully from year to year it will keep building upon what they left, so that's why I'm here."

Hoffman said that in choosing his own roles, he's always been surprised about the films that have had a lasting impact.

"I never know what films will have an impact either socially or politically," he said. "It's a tough one, because sometimes things can be too on the nose. You hope you're involved with things that will just make an impact, that will affect people somehow. Sometimes that's socially or politically, and sometimes that's just soulfully."

Christopher Reeve, a longtime activist even before his paralyzing accident in 1995 when he was thrown from a horse in an equestrian competition, used his own celebrity for good causes ranging from the Make-a-Wish Foundation, to Amnesty International, to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

After his accident and extensive, painful rehabilitation, he traveled constantly throughout the country to speak on behalf of other people with disabilities and also actively lobbied in Washington D.C. In September 2007, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act (H.R. 1727) to be considered by the full House, a bill intended to improve the quality of life for those with spinal cord injuries.

Last week during the NYC Marathon, Team Reeve, made up of 50 runners, raised $400,000 for the foundation.

Everyone Was There at the "I'm Not There" Premiere

2007-11-15T15:08:00.000Z

New York - The stars glittered brilliantly on a chilly Tuesday night in New York City to see director Todd Haynes' homage to Bob Dylan's life. Called "I'm Not There," it is a movie with an interesting conceit. In it, six actors including one female, Cate Blanchett portray the legendary singer-songwriter at various points in his iconic career. Blanchett was off in Sydney, and fellow Dylans Christian Bale and Ben Whishaw didn't make it either, but the other three who take on the role, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger and Marcus Carl Franklin, joined Haynes and the film's
Heath Ledger talked about the film to the press earlier in the week, and explained that a knowledge of Dylan's life and music isn't a necessity to enjoying the flick.

"I don't think you need to be a Dylan genius in order to appreciate it as a story, a film, or the experience of it," Ledger said. "It is a film, it is a movie, and it's not a quiz. There is no Q&A afterwards, as an audience member. Quite frankly I think the less you know, the better off you are going to be. You are not going to be straining yourself, trying to digest every single line of dialogue. You just kind of strap yourself in and enjoy the ride, that kind of thing."

That's just what Julianne Moore, Bruce Greenwood, and Yolanda Moss did; they co-star in the movie and joined a throng of Haynes fans at the premiere. There was Lauren Bacall, Adrian Grenier, Glenn Close, Justin Bateman, Eva Amurri, Bebe Neuwirth, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Belzer and Bart Freundlich.

Dylan's music has had a profound impact over the years, even on 28-year-old Heath Ledger, who wasn't born when Dylan rose to superstardom in the Sixties, but who insisted that age has nothing to do with appreciating the music or "I'm Not There" either.

"I was definitely a fan of Dylan. I think Dylan was someone who I had scheduled somewhat, in the future, down the line, to become obsessed by. I do get obsessed with people, musicians, and artists," Ledger admitted. "I think that Todd prematurely invited me into this obsession, on this film."

The film-festival favorite opens in limited release on November 21.

Just A Minute With: Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger

2007-11-15T15:06:00.000Z

STOCKHOLM (Reuters Life!) - Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger says that if he had not ended up making clothes he probably would have made movies.

Known for a style that evokes the American East coast with his New England-inspired designs, Hilfiger says he could imagine himself on the West coast, behind or in front of the camera.

Hilfiger was in Stockholm for a promotional visit and he spoke to Reuters about his life and ideas. Dressed in loafers (no socks, despite the Nordic city's autumnal chill), jeans and a pale blue Oxford shirt, Hilfiger said he likes the "classic" look for himself, not just his customers.

Q: What would you do if you hadn't become a designer?

A: I'd have been in Hollywood as a producer, actor, director, something like that.

Q: What kind of movies would you make?

A: Movies with thought, with deep meaning... It would be something deep about the world, how to help the world, how to help (alleviate) poverty.

Q: What will you do here in Stockholm?

A: We're going to go look at all the different talents, and give them advice. Probably more commercial, because they are creative already. I'll tell them how to take the creativity to make money.

Q: What advice would have been helpful to you 40 years ago?

A: I think I was smart enough to surround myself with good people.... But if someone would have told me that earlier, I don't know if I would have listened, because sometimes you don't know what good people represent. Thirty years ago good people were my friends who liked to hang around listen to music and look cool and pick up girls. But now I look at people's intelligence, how they can help me. Maybe they're international tax lawyers or accountants. Still good people but a whole different mindset.

Q: If you could do anything different, what would that be?

A: Maybe I wouldn't have gone so big in the States. I became so big in the States, and everything that becomes so big has to come down a little. I would have kept the supply less than the demand. Once you oversupply, the demand dries out.

Q: How do you think fashion has changed during your years in the industry?

A: A lot more competition. A lot more at the high end and a lot more at the low.... Fashion itself comes in many different ways. There is fantasy fashion that not many people can wear or could afford. Then there is wearable fashion that is just part of our everyday life. It depends on the definition of fashion - fashion is usually guided by trend, but style is forever.

Q: What should we be looking for come Spring 2008?

A: Still luxury, color, very, very light-weight fabrics and some shiny fabrics. For women, more lady-like clothes. For men. more tailored, more dressed up, more sophisticated, slimmer, closer to the body.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Just A Minute With: British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes

2007-11-15T14:49:00.000Z

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - British fashion legend Zandra Rhodes, now making her UK debut as an opera set and costume designer, is feeling sad -- too many of her fellow designers are deserting London for Paris.

It has been a path well worn by the likes of Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen and for Rhodes, it is a case of British fashion leading the world -- but from France!

Q: How do you see the state of British fashion today?

A: "It's terrible that our people seem to have to be in Paris a lot of the time. Maybe if I had gone to Paris, my career might have been a bit different from that point of view.

"I think it is rather sad that we can't make it pay in the same way but the way the world is going, you have got focuses all in different directions.

Q: What do you think was the attraction of your designs for a string of such different celebrities from Princess Diana to Queen frontman Freddie Mercury?

A: "They come to you because they want you to do something that is going to be really wonderful to wear. Everyone is a challenge. You have to hope they feel absolutely marvelous. They were all perfect in their own way.

"When they had the Princess Diana (New York charity) sale, they said my clothes stuck out in a different way -- they didn't look like the others.

"With Freddie, it was lovely for someone to come round and try things on. I do not go round in that world and I am not

really a pop follower but I had already done costumes for T-Rex and Marc Bolan before that time."

Q: What is the attraction of designing sets and costumes for opera -- as you have for the English National Opera (ENO) London production of Aida after also designing "The Magic Flute" and "The Pearl Fishers" for San Diego Opera.

A: "It is just a magical art. Designing for opera is so magical -- the combination of the voices and the music.

"They are the ones going out on stage projecting so you have got to make the hero feel like he is the hero.

"If he is bigger and has got a short neck, you shade his neck so he looks slimmer; you work out the hair, you get the right wig and work all these things out."

"It is so wonderful when you actually see it all happening and they are just so nice, down-to-earth people in between all of that."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Darling, you look good enough to eat..

2007-11-13T19:06:00.000Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - For hard-core chocoholics, it was the fashion show that quite literally took the biscuit.

Models in New York paraded outfits made of chocolate in the 2007 Haute Chocolate Couture Collection as the audience feasted their eyes on dresses and accessories made out of dark and white chocolate, chocolate squares, chocolate chips and little else.

Model Ashley Moss showed off a dress made from cookies.

"It's actually amazing. It's not everyday that you get to wear something like this so I'm really, really excited about it. It's a first time experience to be wearing cookies," she told Reuters Television.

The show was part of the 10th Annual International Chocolate Show held over the weekend.

All outfits were meticulously crafted by several designers, including Ortrud Muench Carstens who said the sun almost sabotaged her creation.

"You have to keep it at a very low temperature, not more than about 65 or 68 degrees (18-20 degrees Celsius)," said Carstens.

"The other day I opened the window while I was still working on the dress, and the sun was shining and it, if you come close to it, you see, it melted," she said, pointing out an area of partially melted chocolate.

Celebrity Women Halloween Parties

2007-11-13T19:05:00.001Z

Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Gwen Stefani show off their halloween outfits and Britney proves she can still look like trash on halloween.

Kate Winslet: Yay or Nay?

2007-11-13T19:02:00.000Z

Kate Winslet attended the 16th Annual Bafta/LA Cunard Britannia Awards (now, that was a mouthful) a couple of days ago in Hollywood wearing a controversial dress.

This obviously wasn't a 'safe' choice. When presented with photographs like this I sometimes wonder what the intention behind the outfit was. Do celebrities wear off-the-wall outfits purely to cause controversy and ultimately column inches or are they simply exploring their own style and pushing the boundaries?

I'm not sure the metallic finish and texture of the gown sits well with the classic (almost frumpy) shape. I love the super-wide black patent belt (a must-have for your wardrobe) but not with this dress. The belt is too 'now' to be teamed with a shape of dress that is 'not now'. It's a bit like eating ketchup with ice cream...they just don't go well together.

Hilary Duff Keeps Her Clothes ON For FHM

2007-11-13T19:01:00.001Z

he most recent issue of UK mens' magazine FHM has just hit the shelves, with Hilary Duff as this month's cover girl. Yes the shoot is sexy but it is definitely not what I'd expect from a magazine which usually displays topless shots. I wonder if FHM readers felt a little cheated to open the magazine and find Hilary very much fully clothed? The shots are tasteful, demure and wouldn't look out of place in ladies fashion mags such as Glamour or Instyle. The mini cropped leather biker jacket is right on trend and is a look that appears in the Kate Moss for Topshop collection. Good for you Hilary for not selling out and getting your kit off for money. What a great role model for young girls - this is one celebrity you won't see falling over drunk or photographed minus underwear.

Cameron Diaz in Juicy Couture

2007-11-13T19:00:00.001Z

Juicy Couture has seriously impressed me this year and their current knitwear collection really is to die for. Every piece is right on trend (babydoll cardigans, pocket tunics, cowl necks, stripes), beautifully cut and of high quality. Cameron Diaz looks absolutely stunning in this preppy stripe cardigan [$278] available in cream, black and beige. If you get the chance to see this in real life take a good look at the buttons - they are gorgeous!

We Celebrate the Sweater Coat

2007-11-13T18:55:00.000Z

Sweater coats! Longer, and more coat-like, than cardigans. Not to be used in lieu of actual coats. We've done that, and rued the choice, more than once. In fact, we did that just tonight, with our Havaianas, and looked like big, roly-poly, sweater coat morons.

Doesn't this model look totally impervious to the cold? It reminds us of that field where they planted that giant tree in the old Six Feet Under credits. Joie Roxy sweater, $295

We are not totally in agreement with the perspective that "this cardigan is perfect for any holiday occasion", unless by occasion we are talking about sitting in front of the television because it is too cold to go outside. Which is, if we think about, how we spend most of the holidays, anyway. A+E cardigan, $49.50

We hate Abercrombie, but we admit we like some of their knitwear. But. That. Stupid. Moose! Argh. Cassie sweater, $79.50

This is really quite lovely and professional looking, no? Idaho cardigan from French Connection, $128

And this: We are not necessarily endorsing this. It's a "cashmere peacoat sweater." So it is super sweater-coat-y. It's freaking us out a bit. We thought, at first, that it was just a cashmere peacoat, but it's a cashmere peacoat sweater. We include this mostly as a question of interest, like when we called our friend K. to tell her about this meerkat we saw at the zoo. Cashmere peacoat sweater, $325

And again: Doesn't this look rather bizarrely like an actual coat, rather than a sweater coat? Maybe it's just us. All Wrapped-Up cardigan, $168

A Cross Without the Burden of Religion

2007-11-12T13:48:00.001Z

Here is another beauty from Love and Pride Jewelry. This is a wooden cross pendant unlike any other that I have come across in all of my wide jewelry wanderings. I am not religious at all, I am more of a spiritualist one might say but even still the sign of the cross holds some meaning to me as it does to most in one way or another. This is a neat take in that it is nothing like the traditional crucifix, not in any way shape or form. It is not even made of the same types of materials you normally see crosses in. If it was still the early nineties I would say this cross is rad!

I like the wood they chose for this wooden cross pendant. I have absolutely no idea what kind of wood it actually is, I just know that it is a darker wood with a striped kind of natural grain to it. The wood itself is a triangular piece all sharp edges and hard lines and I think it is so strong the way it pierces the cold steel. And of course who cannot notice that small twinkle that is the diamond accent, talk about the jewel in the crown right?

This is a really great wooden cross pendant that I see as perfectly unisex. I can see it on a guy or a girl with ease. The black cotton cord ensures it suits everyone perfectly and it’s adjustable too which is always a plus.

Wicked Hot Pearls can be Modern or Classic

2007-11-12T13:41:00.000Z

Before you start looking for some fabulous pearl jewelry to purchase you need to take a look at all of the different styles out there on the internet. There are natural blister pearls, classic round pearls the popular buttons pearls and so much more. There are also some specific things that you need to keep in mind as you shop for your pearl jewelry.

How to shop for pearl jewelry

If it is a pearl necklace that you are looking for you first need to determine what style you want. There are long pearl necklaces as well as pearl chokers or pearl collars. These are both gorgeous but each will compliment different type of clothing. It is important that you choose the pearls that will look the best with the outfits that you want to wear them with.

If most of your wardrobe consists of v necks and off the shoulder items then you should seriously getting a pearl jewelry collar. This pearl necklace will leave the bosom open and clean looking, it will not give a cluttered look to the neckline of your clothes. These pearl chokers can look just as hot with jeans as with a ball gown, this makes them a wonderfully versatile purchase when it comes to pearl jewelry.

A double or triple strand long pearl necklace looks best with a high neckline or an extremely low fitted neckline. These are very complementary and come in many varieties of colors.

Colorful pearl jewelry for any occasion

All pearl jewelry, from pearl necklaces, earrings and even bracelets come in a wide variety of colors. There are pink pearls, white pearls, cream colored and peacock colored pearls. And these are only a few of the myriad of shades of pearl jewelry. If you are interested in adding some versatility and elegance to your jewelry collection then pearls are a wonderful choice.

When you put on classic and elegant pearl jewelry, you will instantly look more beautiful and graceful. Pearls are lovely and perfect for all seasons. Start shopping for your own pearl jewelry today and watch the heads turn as you walk into the room.

All The Beautiful Celtic Jewelry Designs

2007-11-12T13:37:00.000Z

You don’t have to be straight or Irish to fall in love with Celtic jewelry designs. These jewelry pieces are a favorite among all walks of life because of their originality and their wonderful lines. I personally have a veritable trove of Irish inspired pieces and I love wearing them, they are just so mysterious and fun.

I am going to be doing a small group of posts addressing the different kinds of Irish jewelry designs including pieces like Celtic knotwork rings, Celtic promise rings and Celtic engagement rings among others.

Celtic knotwork rings and crosses are filled with history and each design has a special story that makes it more than just a piece of jewelry, these stories make Celtic jewelry works of art.

So what the heck do Celtic jewelry designs look like?

This Celtic pendant is a fine example of traditional Celtic jewelry design. It is intricate and you can see the detailing clearly in the silver work:

This Titanium Celtic mans ring is more simplistic but still a classic look in this style of jewelry today:

This is a fantastic example of Celtic weaving in jewelry. I personally love the way the three different colored metals are all woven together. I want it!

Celtic jewelry designs often incorporate fantastic swirling symbols and intricate patters like those you see in Celtic knotwork rings and many times there’s a cross worked into the design somehow. The crosses and the knots are probably the most popular of all.

The Celtic cross is one of the most famous of all symbols used in Celtic jewelry design. Rumor has it that it was St. Patrick that designed the very first of these crosses all those years ago. He drew a circle over the traditional Catholic cross to symbolize something unique and even more special.

There is more than one belief concerning what this added circle represents. Some say it represents the halo of Christ while others believe that it represents eternity and never-ending love. No matter which interpretation you follow, this kind of Celtic jewelry design is always a wonderful addition to your jewelry collection.

You don’t even have to be religious to enjoy the wonder of this kind of Celtic cross jewelry. For example, the arms of the cross can symbolize the mind, the body, the soul and the human heart, or even earth, air, fire and water. There are as many interpretations of the Celtic cross as there are versions of it.

This is one of the reasons why Celtic jewelry designs have been flourishing for generation upon generation all over the world.

Fashion show fights against slavery

2007-11-12T13:09:00.000Z

When Jennifer Kimball began to research human trafficking for a school project, the more she learned, the more she was horrified.

"People are bought, sold, moved around. There are forced rapes," said Kimball, a University of Missouri-Columbia student. "There are two forms: sexual exploitation … and forced labor. These can be children. They can’t leave, can’t say no, they don’t get paid. They are told their families will be killed or injured."

With the knowledge that modern-day slavery is taking place overseas and in America, Kimball decided to do more. Along with other MU Women’s and Gender Studies Undergraduate Group members, she helped organize "Stop Traffic Now," an organization to combat the practice of trafficking.

The group tonight will host a fashion show to raise awareness and money for their three-day human trafficking conference scheduled in March. Some proceeds also will benefit The Shelter, a home for victims of domestic violence.

According to the U.S. Department of State, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders, and millions more are enslaved in their own countries. About 80 percent of victims are women, and about 50 percent are minors.

Jill Hilbrenner, an MU journalism major, also helped organize the show. She said many trafficked people venture to a prosperous nation to help their families financially, but upon arrival they are held against their will and not paid for their work.

"A lot of people don’t even know it happens, and it’s not just something that happens elsewhere," Kimball said. "As citizens of Columbia, there is something we can do."

Kimball and other organizers have been working on the fashion show since the summer. They e-mailed students in the Textile and Apparel Management Department to recruit designers.

When Ashley Allen, 21, read the e-mail, she began to research human trafficking. "It really surprised me," she said, noting that she has seen pictures of workers chained to sewing machines. "Just being in college, I’m kind of in my own little bubble. The fact that I’m going to be in this industry and the textile industry is a main area" for trafficking "into sweatshops, that bothers me."

Allen has four pieces in the show, including two children’s outfits. One is a red-and-white outfit, using colors in the national flags of Singapore, Cambodia and Malaysia, which are hotbeds of human trafficking. On the jean Capri pants, she sewed the word "Kebebasan," Malayan for "freedom."

A T-shirt Allen designed features the phrase, "Mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins should be free to work, free to laugh, free to dream and free to be."

MU student Jaclyn Marcacci features her three-piece "Strictly Unrestricted" line, which shows a transition from rags to riches, symbolizing a survivor’s journey.

Designers and organizers said they hope the show will raise awareness of an underreported problem.

"It is a really big deal, not just internationally, but domestically," Marcacci said. "It needs to be stopped. It needs to be ended."

Kimball said interested people can also register for the March conference at www.stoptrafficnow.com.

"As human beings, we need to know and be aware that these atrocities are going on, especially in our own community," she said, adding that some trafficked women come to Missouri under the pretext of mail-order brides. "I can’t understand how you couldn’t care."

Claw Money Takes Graffiti Fashion to Nike

2007-11-12T13:07:00.000Z

Claw (Claudia) Money has teamed up with Nike to create a new brand of Nike vandals exclusively for women.

The graffiti legend has combined her signature three nailed claw symbol with contrasting trims and laces teamed with printed peacock feathers in bright inks in the bold new designs.

Claw Money is most famous for her graffiti art work in New York but she is now the fashion editor for U.S. magazine Swindle has her own clothing line, Claw Money.

She also released her first book earlier this year. Bombshell: The Life and Crimes of Claw Money, is a unique insight into her life including her famous shoe box designs, photographs of past work, personal letters and other inspirations.

These are the first Vandals to be created for women . The cult trainers were originally designed for basketballers in 1985 but in the late 80s the style became popular among break dancers and skaters.

The limited edition designs hit the UK streets yesterday and are available in Foot Locker stores and in Dover Street Market.

Claudia is currently looking for a UK stockist for her label so she's definitely a name to watch out for next year.

New model for fashion shows skips live models

2007-11-12T13:06:00.000Z

NEW YORK — The future of fashion - or at least fashion shows - debuted recently at Grand Central Station.

Target staged a model-less fashion show, featuring high-definition, faceless holograms wearing clothes and accessories that are part of the retailer's holiday offerings.

It was staged in little vignettes, beginning with one female hologram prancing around her bedroom trying to decide what to wear and ending with a rapid-fire series of silhouettes wearing favorite looks of Target's big-name designer collaborators including Isaac Mizrahi, Liz Lange, Mossimo Giannulli, Erin Fetherston and Keenan Duffy.

Without live models, the show began on time and with little hubbub, both unheard of with the typical runway show. The clothes all fit and there were no hair and makeup mishaps. The perfection of it all was the highlight - and the lowlight.

"A show like this spreads the mission statement that fashion should be democratic," Mizrahi said. "It allows someone to see the clothes and envision themselves in it. Models can be intimidating."

Fetherston said she liked that there was a narrative weaving the looks together instead of a parade of outfits. "I love when you've got a story," she said. "And it's nice that the customer can see this instead of only editors."

As a way to highlight the products, the holograms were a very effective tool, Lange added. "It's not 'Look there's Gisele (Bundchen) on the runway!' It's a 'Look there's that Liz Lange for Target outfit!' "

Still, Mizrahi doesn't think it spells the end of the traditional fashion show because people thrive on the drama that comes with the catwalk.

The virtual fashion show was on a loop, replaying for commuters throughout the day.

Prehistoric women had passion for fashion

2007-11-12T13:00:00.000Z

A Neolithic figurine showing the head of a goddess, found in the Plocnik archaeological site near the town of Prokuplje, in southern Serbia

By Ljilja Cvekic

PLOCNIK, Serbia (Reuters) - If the figurines found in an ancient European settlement are any guide, women have been dressing to impress for at least 7,500 years.

Recent excavations at the site -- part of the Vinca culture which was Europe's biggest prehistoric civilization -- point to a metropolis with a great degree of sophistication and a taste for art and fashion, archaeologists say.

In the Neolithic settlement in a valley nestled between rivers, mountains and forests in what is now southern Serbia, men rushed around a smoking furnace melting metal for tools. An ox pulled a load of ore, passing by an art workshop and a group of young women in short skirts.

"According to the figurines we found, young women were beautifully dressed, like today's girls in short tops and mini skirts, and wore bracelets around their arms," said archaeologist Julka Kuzmanovic-Cvetkovic.

The unnamed tribe who lived between 5400 and 4700 BC in the 120-hectare site at what is now Plocnik knew about trade, handcrafts, art and metallurgy. Near the settlement, a thermal well might be evidence of Europe's oldest spa.

"They pursued beauty and produced 60 different forms of wonderful pottery and figurines, not only to represent deities, but also out of pure enjoyment," said Kuzmanovic.

The findings suggest an advanced division of labor and organization. Houses had stoves, there were special holes for trash, and the dead were buried in a tidy necropolis. People slept on woolen mats and fur, made clothes of wool, flax and leather and kept animals.

The community was especially fond of children. Artifacts include toys such as animals and rattles of clay, and small, clumsily crafted pots apparently made by children at playtime.

COPPER AGE

One of the most exciting finds for archaeologists was the discovery of a sophisticated metal workshop with a furnace and tools including a copper chisel and a two-headed hammer and axe.

"This might prove that the Copper Age started in Europe at least 500 years earlier than we thought," Kuzmanovic said.

The Copper Age marks the first stage of humans' use of metal, with copper tools used alongside older stone implements. It is thought to have started around the 4th millennium BC in south-east Europe, and earlier in the Middle East.

The Vinca culture flourished from 5500 to 4000 BC on the territories of what is now Bosnia, Serbia, Romania and Macedonia.

It got its name from the present-day village of Vinca, 10 km east of Belgrade on the Danube river, where early 20th-century excavations uncovered the remains of eight Neolithic villages.

The discovery of a mine -- Europe's oldest -- at the nearby Mlava river suggested at the time that Vinca could be Europe's first metal culture, a theory now backed up by the Plocnik site.

"These latest findings show that the Vinca culture was from the very beginning a metallurgical culture," said archaeologist Dusan Sljivar of Serbia's National Museum. "They knew how to find minerals, to transport them and melt them into tools."

The metal workshop in Plocnik was a room of some 25 square meters, with walls built out of wood coated with clay.

The furnace, built on the outside of the room, featured earthen pipe-like air vents with hundreds of tiny holes in them and a prototype chimney to ensure air goes into the furnace to feed the fire and smoke comes out safely.

"In Bulgaria and Cyprus, where such workshops have also been found, they didn't have chimneys but blew air on the fire with straws, exposing man to heat and carbon dioxide," Sljivar said.

COLOURFUL MINERALS

He said the early metal workers very likely experimented with colorful minerals that caught their eye -- blue azurite, bright green malachite and red cuprite, all containing copper -- as evidenced by malachite traces found on the inside of a pot.

The settlement was destroyed at some point, probably in the first part of the fifth millennium, by a huge fire.

The Plocnik site was first discovered in 1927 when the then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was building a rail line from the southern city of Nis to the province of Kosovo.

Some findings were published at the time but war, lack of funds and objections from farmers meant it was investigated only sporadically until digging started in earnest in 1996.

"The saddest thing for us is always the moment when we finish our work and everything has to be covered up with earth again," Kuzmanovic said. "That's the easiest for the state, conservation is very expensive and the land owners want to work in their fields."

But there was some hope that the latest excavation would be preserved due to its importance, Kuzmanovic added.

"We dream of uncovering the entire town one day, and people will be able to see prehistoric life at its fullest," she said.

For a table on Europe's prehistory, click on

(Editing by Ellie Tzortzi and Sara Ledwith)

Islamabad expo displays Indian saris & jewelry

2007-11-12T12:33:00.000Z

Indian saris and jewelry are being displayed in an exhibition at Islamabad. A Mumbai based brand, Nazakat, is also showcasing Kurtis adorned with coin-work and Kashmiri embroidery.

The traditional salwar kameezes and ghaghras have come to take the center place attracting a good number of buyers. Besides, saris with Lucknawi chikan and kundan work will also be featured till November 17.

Other major accessories in limelight were bags which were available in metal handles as well as in mixed materials.

Jacobs Receives Designer of the Year Award

2007-11-11T14:18:00.000Z

New York - The man whose own latest accessory is dyed blue hair, Marc Jacobs, took home the "Designer of the Year" award at the 11th Annual ACE Awards in New York on Nov. 5, one of many people honored by the Accessories Council this year for their achievements in the world of accessories.

Jacobs, whose shoes and handbags for both his signature collection and his younger Marc by Marc Jacobs brand are highly sought after items, also designs accessories for one of the most recognizable luxury brands in the world, Louis Vuitton, which he reinvents season after season. His latest collection, shown on the runways in Paris in October, featured a collaboration with artist Richard Prince.

Actress Mandy Moore was honored as "Fashion Innovator," while supermodel and "Project Runway" producer Heidi Klum, who designed a jewelry line of her own that she will wear in upcoming episodes, received the "Fashion Influencer" award. Moore opted to wear a form-fitting black satin shirt dress, while Klum wore a black and gold brocade gown. Jessica Simpson, a presenter, wore a black and gold sheath.

Black dresses - perhaps better for highlighting one's accessories - turned out to be the prevailing statement of the evening, as fellow honoree Tory Burch, whose new line garnered the "Accessory Brand Launch" award, wore an elegant black halter gown. Presenter Helena Christensen and Lucy Liu, who accepted Valentino's lifetime achievement award on his behalf, also looked stunning in tiered dresses - Liu's, from the Valentino couture collection, featured dramatic, full ruffles and Christensen's was Grecian column-meets-flapper.

The other award winners included Macy's, Inc. (Retailer of the Year), Harper's Bazaar (Magazine of the Year), Scoop (Specialty Retailer of the Year), Bridget Foley (Marylou Luther Award for Fashion Journalism) and Nancy Gonzalez (Brand of the Year).

CORRECTED: Panda fashion parades China's social issues

2007-11-11T14:16:00.000Z

Corrects identity of celebrity in sixth paragraph to Yangerche Namu, not Sister Lotus

BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - Chinese artist Zhao Bandi has brought social conscience to the fashion conscious, kicking off this year's China Fashion Week by using his trademark panda to highlight unresolved social problems.

Models dressed as street sweepers, beggars, corrupt officials and even the World Trade Organisation, which has tussled with the rising economic power, hit the catwalk at the Bandi Panda collection, all in black and white outfits, representing the panda's colors.

"I believe that after seeing this everyone will realize what is happening. There's no need to watch films or read a book about it, just watch Zhao Bandi's fashion show and the whole world will realize what's happening in China," said Zhao.

Drawing on the panda -- China's national icon -- for inspiration, Zhao's designs incorporate humor which helps take the sting out of his critical message.

Celebrities like the glamorous Yangerche Namu and blogger Sister Lotus also took part in the production.

The audience gasped when Yangerche Namu locked lips with a foreign man on stage.

Zhao and his pandas are famous for providing social and political commentary on modern life in China.

"My haute couture show will unfold a colorful panorama of protagonists from every stratum of Chinese society," Zhao said.

Christian Lacroix swaps catwalk for museum

2007-11-11T14:05:00.000Z

PARIS (Reuters Life!) - French couture designer Christian Lacroix drew on his long interest in fashion history for a new exhibition at the main decorative arts museum in Paris showing how modern creations are influenced by the past.
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The exhibition at Les Arts decoratifs, which opens to the public on Thursday and runs to April 20, marks Lacroix's 20 years in fashion and makes clear the debt he owes to the past.

"What I wanted to show above all, is that nothing is newly invented and behind every one of my creations, there's something that went before it," he told Reuters on Wednesday.

Les Arts decoratifs, reopened in 2006 after years of neglect, groups art and design from fashion, decoration and advertising.

The exhibition displays creations of Lacroix's alongside hundreds of items he picked out from the museum's own collection of gowns and robes from the 18th century to the 1930s.

"I wanted to give the people who come here -- it could be an old lady who used to work in a couture house, or a young girl who wants to get into fashion or a student working on history -- an unusual choice, a subjective choice of my own," he said.

Chosen according to themes like color or technique, there are sections on the use of white or tartan, favored textures like patchwork or distressed materials or themes such as "Hispanism" or "Liturgy."

"In big exhibitions, they normally show the big works and there's never any room to show more humble creations or anonymous pieces of clothing, even though they might be very beautiful," he said.

"Here I wanted to give a place for things like that, which might otherwise never get out of the museums."

Lacroix's work is often associated with a bold and even extravagant use of colors like red and yellow.

But he has always had a deep interest in the history of art and design, since his childhood in the ancient southern town of Arles and he had originally hoped to be a museum curator after studying the history of art at university.

"I had the impression of having passed through all those centuries and when I got to Paris, my treasure, the only thing that set me apart was the knowledge I had gained of painting and art," he said.

But Lacroix, hardly the only designer to plunder the past for inspiration, said he wanted to avoid creating a forbidding impression of design history and hoped to show the living tradition behind fashion.

"Art is not always the big things, Napoleon, great monuments, the pyramids or whatever. What I like is the street, ordinary things, daily life," he said.

"If this exhibition gives you a bit of a feeling of what girls passing in the street were like, the charm and glamour of past centuries, then I'll be happy."

No Models, No Problem: Virtual Fashion Show Turns Grand Central Into Runway

2007-11-11T13:58:00.000Z

New York - Though Manhattan residents don't have a Target store in their borough, if they, or any other commuters passed through Grand Central Terminal in New York on Nov. 6 or 7, they would have gotten a sneak peak at the latest clothing collections for Target from Isaac Mizrahi, Erin Fetherston, Liz Lange, Mossimo, Keanan Duffty as well as jewelry by Dominique Cohen and shoes by Hollywould for Target.

But it wasn't a typical runway show, with live models. Instead, Target used a high-definition video projection for what they termed "the world's first model-less fashion show."

While the holographic projection was too fast-paced and far away to distinguish any of the individual looks from one designer to the next for commuters just casually passing through the terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, where the virtual show was staged, it was nonetheless an eye-catching spectacle.

This isn't the first time Grand Central Terminal has been used for a fashion show. Last year, Chanel and designer Karl Lagerfeld staged a special Chanel resort collection show in the main hall of the station - except theirs, unlike Target's, included actual clothes and live models.

Quadruple whammy for Kate Moss in best-dressed list

2007-11-11T13:44:00.000Z

LONDON(Reuters Life!) - Supermodel Kate Moss held on to a place in the top 10 of the latest British best-dressed list but lagged behind a 60-something actress, a 42-year-old novelist and the girlfriends of two former lovers.

Russian model Natalia Vodianova captured first place in the list of actresses, celebrities and models chosen by Harper's Bazaar for their 25 Best-Dressed on the red carpet 2007, while Moss came 10th.

Ahead of the 33-year-old Moss, actress and 62-year-old star of film "The Queen" Helen Mirren came in fourth place and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, 42, seventh. Moss was also beaten by girlfriends of former lovers.

Belgian model Anouck Lepere, who is dating magazine editor Jefferson Hack -- with whom Moss has a daughter -- and Romanian-born model Irina Lazareanu -- who has dated British singer Pete Doherty -- both came ahead of Moss in eighth and ninth place respectively.

It was not all age before beauty, however.

Younger celebrities like Peaches Geldof (daughter of singer and philanthropist Bob Geldof) and actress Keira Knightley also found their way into the list of 25 at 17th and 21st places.

Harper's Bazaar described Vodianova as "an adventurous dresser who rarely succumbs to black for evening dressing."

The full list of 25 best dressed of 2007 is available in the December issue of the magazine on sale from November 8.

The top ten are as follows:

1. Natalia Vodianova - Russian, model

2. Thandie Newton - British, actress

3. Agyness Deyn - British, model

4. Helen Mirren - British, actress

5. Lily Allen - British, singer

6. Emily Blunt - British, actress

7. J.K. Rowling - British, writer

8. Anouck Lepere - Belgian, model

9. Irina Lazareanu - Romanian, model

10. Kate Moss - British, model

Mayhem and Madness for Cavalli at H&M

2007-11-11T13:42:00.000Z

New York - The red carpet was out in front of the H and M flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York on Thursday morning, Nov. 8, for the launch of Roberto Cavalli's collaboration with the retailer, as hoards of fans snaked the block in anticipation of laying their hands on as many Cavalli pieces as they could possibly grab.

Inside, a very tan Cavalli, wearing sunglasses bearing his initials, calmly answered took questions from reporters and posed for photos as campaign model Jessica Stam milled about, wearing a leopard print dress from the collection.

It was just minutes before 10 a.m., when the store would open to the public.

"I spoke with London and Milan," said Cavalli, "and they told me that after two hours, everything was gone!"

In New York, it took a lot less than two hours within minutes, the first shoppers, who sprinted into the store as they shoved others out of the way, had cleared the racks. There were screams from people scrambling to get their hands on something anything - as employees threw snakeskin scarf print evening gowns from the upper level down to the outstretched arms of the masses.

One woman swept up, and knocked over in the process, an entire rack of gold beaded flapper dresses, one of the signature pieces of the collection priced at $249.50.

Others clawed their way to tables with stacks of high-waisted dark denim with gold detailing on the back pockets and leopard print stilettos.

Leopard print found its way on to just about everything in the women's collection, from sexy chiffon dresses, to a trench coat, bras and panties, and even a bustier.

Cavalli said he took inspiration for this collection for H&M from the celebrities he dresses, like Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce, to give young people "their own red carpet style," he said.

As the frenzied crowds cleared the racks and shelves of all the Cavalli merchandise, Cavalli stood on an escalator with campaign model Jessica Stam, surveying the scene and snapping photos with his own digital camera.

And what did he think about all of the mayhem for his clothes?

Cavalli just held out his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and flashed a huge grin.

Jennifer Aniston - Style Icon

2007-11-10T22:02:00.001Z

Aniston, who ranks as “the world’s most popular celebrity”

according to Forbes, began her journey through the style halls of fame as the face accompanying an immensely famous haircut. “The Rachel” became one of the most copied styles of the time, and was pivotal in raising Aniston’s profile on the style scene.

But as the cut grew out and the star grew bigger, attention shifted from the actress’ amazing ‘do towards her emerging trademark dress style; throwing up phrases like “funky chic”, “classic elegance” and “tailored sophistication”.

From here, she has gone on to become one of the most stylish and inspirational women in Hollywood, with an easy, almost self-depreciating manner that compliments if not accentuates the star’s impeccable tastes.
Like many celebrity’s who find themselves becoming benchmarks of the fashion world, Aniston admits that her new trendsetter status has come as something of a surprise, “I just find it ironic and hilarious that if there’s any truth to that, that to be any kind of a role model for style or clothes…is hilarious”, quips the star, “I have no sense of style”.

But the rest of the world begs to differ. When the actress landed the ultimate accessory in 1998, marrying Brad Pitt, designers lined up to design the wedding dress. Jen ultimately decided on Milan based American designer Lawrence Steele, who hit perfection with a floor length white silk tulle halter dress encrusted with tiny pearls. Complemented with Manolo Blahnik ivory suede skinny strap sandals, and of course, a hotter than hot groom, the whole event reflected perfectly Jennifer’s classy, understated taste. The couple continued to do the impossible throughout their 7 year marriage – pull off his ‘n’ hers outfits, without looking crass.

Even when the marriage tragically ended earlier this year, Aniston maintained and continues to maintain her poise and style panache, further deepening the public’s respect and admiration for the chic 35 year old.

When Aniston broke away from her signature style slightly at last years Emmy’s, wearing a blue vintage Halston dress, there were mixed reports from the fashion world. But it appeared to be a one off event, and the actress appeared at the 2005 event (pre-breakup) with Pitt, coupling her natural California-girl glow with a semi-empire, beaded chiffon Chanel number that saw a return to her trademark form.

Jennifer Aniston knows what suits her, and she wears it well. From city shorts with teetering espadrilles, to tailored Galliano suits with oversized accessories; from jersey dresses with knee high boots, to streamlined, neutral coloured gowns with super-straight locks, Jennifer exudes a classic, conservative and yet individualistic style that is so superstar and yet so achievable for the average copycat like me.

“Someone will tell me when it’s not ok to wear midriff, right?” worried the actress in a recent interview with Vogue.

Don’t worry Jen, if you’re wearing it, you can rest assured that half the world will be right there wearing it with you!

Chloe Sevigny – Style Icon

2007-11-10T21:53:00.000Z

Since her screen debut in 1995’s gritty indie flick “Kids”, something about Sevigny has made the public sit up and pay attention. By the time she was recognised for her Oscar nominated performance in 1999’s “Boys Don’t Cry”, she was a fully fledged star, and the fashion industry could not get enough of her. But the one time wannabe-designer’s inimitable style had been picked up long before she was embraced by the who’s who of Hollywood. Before her acting career took off, Sevigny was featured in a 7 page feature in New Yorker magazine on Hip Manhattan Street culture, which led to a covetable modelling career including a Miu Miu campaign, and her being featured in a string of music videos including one for the Lemonheads. Her sense of style, it seems, has always come as second nature, and was by no means manufactured by a Hollywood career.

In fact, the actress is known to pay no mind to trends, stylists, or the fashion world in general. Her style is completely her own. As Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere put it: “Whether she wears designer clothes or vintage clothes, they always look like Chloe Sevigny clothes”.

Indeed, it is this blend of thrift shop bargains and designer brand pieces that seem to epitomise Sevigny’s distinctive look – the industry dubbed “vintage-chic”; a look that has whipped the fashion conscious into a frenzy of late, as they struggle to mimic the actresses innate style. But Sevigny is far from fond of her iconic status: “For some reason the public has embraced me as a fashion icon, and I feel like it has diminished me as an actress, or I don’t get as much recognition as an actress”, complained the star, “and that upsets me”.

But it is just this apparent indifference and effortlessness to her style of dress that has the fashion industry in awe, and that makes it so difficult to achieve for fashion followers. Sevigny, it appears, will always be at least two, or three, or even four steps ahead of the fashion pack: “Every time I see a photo of myself from the past month I think, ‘what was I thinking?’” confessed the actress in a recent interview. Her crazes are fleeting and her look changes as quickly as most of us change our underwear, making her maddeningly, yet endearingly inimitable.

Sevigny is a red carpet favourite, appearing at all the events to be seen at in beautiful designer dresses, but always with her own signature twist. At the recent Cartier Santos Night party, she coupled a flowy, white Balenciaga knee length dress with brown ankle boots. Her yellow Louis Vuitton (incidentally one of her favourite designers) dress she wore for the M A C Viva Glam benefit, for whom she is a spokeswoman, featured a bikini-esque revealing top, which dropped into a figure hugging pencil skirt style from the waist. But Sevigny insists that the glossy, designer look we see on the red carpet is not at all her own. Instead, the actress insists her wardrobe is stocked almost entirely from thrift and vintage stores, with the occasional conventional separate thrown in for good measure.

Unlike most Hollywood starlets, you won’t find Sevigny meandering down Rodeo Drive on her shopping sprees. You are more likely to spot the independent actress in quirky stores such as C Madeline’s Showroom; a vintage store in Miami that stocks almost 100 years worth of the finest vintage clothing from all the greats, such as Gucci, Bill Blass, Halston and even designers dating back to Victorian times!

Throughout her impressive young career, Sevigny has also lent her expertise to the hugely successful clothing label “Imitation of Christ” (which counts Scarlett Johansson as one of it’s biggest fans), which has received widespread acclaim from the industry, and has appropriately been referred to as “the fashion industry’s answer to independent film”. Another feather in the cap of the woman who has repeatedly been placed in the much coveted ‘best dressed’ lists of all the big industry bibles, Vogue and Bazaar to name but two; and we’re talking top three here, at least. Pretty impressive from the girl who admits she always wore short shorts to divert attention away from her face.

It’s this fascinating mix of modesty and incredibly self-assured strength and confidence in what she does, and more importantly, what she wears, that makes Chloe Sevigny one of today’s most impressive fashion icons. Although her look is one that may never translate directly to the high street (I don’t see myself wearing a wedding dress over a leopard print leotard any time soon), let it at least inspire us to inject that little bit of different into our Autumn ’05 wardrobes!

Elton John - Frock Off

2007-11-10T21:52:00.001Z

The couple who have been together for 11 years, are reportedly planning to hold their wedding at Windsor's MacDonald Castle Hotel. Sir Elton John has revealed that he would like ex-Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham, to be his best man and that his choice for Maid of Honour would be Lulu.

"I think I would like Lulu as my maid of honour and Victoria Beckham as my best man!" Femalefirst quoted the singer as saying.

For Sir Elton John, who has delivered hits such as "Candle in the Wind" and "Sorry"- a duet with the boy-band Blue, has been a long time advocate for legalising gay marriages in the UK, a Christmas wedding seems the perfect way to celebrate the new law.

Liz Hurley - Style Icon

2007-11-10T21:41:00.000Z

The star-studded bash - which includes guests like the Beckhams, Pamela Anderson and Elton John - will take place in the swanky grounds of Devigarh Fort in Rajasthan, one of India's most sought-after hotel venues.

A source told News Of The World: 'They've been looking for the perfect place for ages and now they've found it.

'Arun celebrated his 40th birthday there and they both loved it so much that they decided to get married there.'

Would you like to get married in Asia and arrive by elephant? If so check out www.theweddingplanner.ie. The Wedding Planner offers over 4,000 locations abroad for weddings and honeymoons

Lucy Liu - Style Icon

2007-11-10T21:24:00.000Z

There's a school of thought that would say that TV series Ally McBeal did for office wear what John Galliano once did for a fast-dating Dior - infused it with some spunk, some flair, and some seriously sexy models to kick a once-conceived 'boring' clothing sector into the cutting edge fashion world. And nobody wore corporate-chic better than Lucy Liu's ferociously foxy Ling Wu; who sported her trouser suits, sharp shirts and spiked stilettos with some serious edge, and a whole heap of attitude.

Lucy Liu had arrived, and when the series lent her an almost instantaneous style queen status, the actress didn't disappoint. With her quirky, freckled Asian looks, amazing hair and perfectly petite figure, it's hardly surprising that Liu can make almost anything look good. She is rarely if ever seen looking anything but sleek and glamorous, developing a trademark look of grooming and sophisticated elegance. She appears to have that rare, invaluable ability to combine old-school movie star glamour with cutting edge trends, and all the top designers can't get enough clothes on that back.

One of her more scene stealing numbers was the red and black one shoulder Versace gown she wore to the 72nd academy awards, which launched the actress on almost every best-dressed-at-the-Oscars list to be seen on. The beautiful fish tailed gown was beaded in a graphic swirl design, and was set off to perfection by red snakeskin sandals, and of course Liu's own sleek, jet-black locks.
But this style jackpot was by no means a one-off for the actress who first gained public attention (from the male public anyway) playing a dangerously sexy dominatrix in the movie "Payback". It's difficult to pinpoint the best-dressed moments of a woman who never seems to be anything but. Take for example her 2005 Milan Fashion Week outfit - simple yet stunning black, knee-length Versace; accessorised modestly with amazing Bulgari earrings and teetering peeptoe black heels. Just one more example of her simplicity-with-style fashion formula that never seems to let her down.

And of course, Liu takes her stylishness across the board, appearing in some of the 'coolest' movies being made. Who could forget her in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill", and she certainly hit the blockbuster mark in "Charlie's Angels" with friends Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore. When she made a cameo as herself in the style series of our time "Sex and the City", remember how she wore the then must-have "J'adore Dior" tank top - the storyline based around her reluctance to give up her Hermes birkin…..

Yes, Lucy Liu truly has made it as a Hollywood star - no mean feat among the masses of wannabe-starlets swarming LA. How did she do it? A combination of hard work, natural talent and stunning Asian looks - all beautifully packaged with focussed determination, natural flair and killer style that has and will always set Lucy Liu apart from the pack. We can but dream.

Swimwear brand Arena selects Lectra PLM solution

2007-11-10T21:19:00.001Z

Lectra, the world leader in integrated technological solutions dedicated to the soft goods industries, announces that Arena has chosen its PLM solution.

Lectra Fashion PLM will allow Arena to capitalize on its know-how and to optimize the product development process, as well as to improve the communication flow with its suppliers of finished products.

One of the leading swimwear brands, Arena is the reference for athletes and water-sports lovers all over the world.

Founded back in 1973, Arena combines an acute sense of design, product innovation and use of advanced technology to meet the needs of its customers, as well as of many of the greatest swimmers in the world, such as Laure Manaudou, Filippo Magnini, Massimiliano Rosolino, Roland Schoemann, Ryk Neethling, Lazlo Cseh and Otylia Jedrzejczak.

“We chose Lectra and its Lectra Fashion PLM solution because we were looking for a partner who was familiar with our industry and understood our challenges. We are sure to gain from Lectra’s experience and the quality of its support,” stated Cristiano Portas, CEO of the Arena Group.

Innovating and capitalizing on company know-how
New cuts, new materials, and new components: Arena is constantly looking for new sources of inspiration, while also relying on its past experience and know-how to nourish innovation. All these assets are available in real time using Lectra Fashion PLM to rapidly define new specifications and shorten time-to-market.

Shortening design and development time
Arena’s Design and Development department can be considered as the real “heart” of the company. Work done by the Design office has repercussions at all company levels, meaning that an efficient information and process flow is a must. A single work environment used by the Waterwear and Activewear product managers and designers, as well as by the sourcing and cost control department, will ensure consistency throughout the collection lines covering several product categories. It will also limit errors by allowing the whole team to work with a single, common and shared set of data.

As a result, Lectra Fashion PLM will enable the synchronization of products and collection development, via simultaneous, real-time monitoring of the key development stages. Arena will fully benefit from the complementary nature of Lectra's business and organizational applications, in particular for design and pattern-making.

With production mainly performed in the Far East, Arena needs to monitor its sourcing activities as closely as possible, as well as to control its purchase costs. Lectra Fashion PLM will enable effective management of iterative sourcing and prototype development processes by facilitating data access and information sharing between Arena and its suppliers. Lectra Fashion PLM will also provide accurate monitoring of fabric consumption and costs.

Also quality of products will improve, thanks to theimplementation of a quality assurance process throughout the whole manufacturing cycle.

The Arena group, one of the world’s leading companies in the “Waterwear” category, recorded revenues of €105 million in 2006. Based in Tolentino, Italy, the Group is structured with four main business units (Italy, France/Belgium, Germany/Austria/Netherland/Switzerland and International Business) and four Global Strategic Functions (Marketing, Design & Development, Sourcing and F&A/IT).

Carry Your Laptop With Function and Fashion

2007-11-09T15:04:00.000Z

(andPOP) - Product: Cargo Mambo Combo
Company: SFBags
Price: $209-$289 (Depending on size and configuration)
URL: www.sfbags.com

When you invest over $2000 in a piece of technology, one of the most important accessories is the one you'll use to carry it around. When I got my MacBook Pro, the first thing I did was throw it in a sleeve; the next thing was throw out my old bag and search for a new one. The choice was broad, ranging from full-size back packs to business carry-alls to small sleeves with few pockets. One of the brightest stars of the bunch came from Mambo Cargo by WaterField Designs.

The Cargo Mambo Combo came well equipped. The Combo featured the Cargo Sleeve Bag, a Laptop Sleeve, Shoulder Strap and accessory pouch.

The Bag

The Mambo bag was immediately impressive, taking quite some time to find every little pocket. One thing most bag makers seem to forget is the importance of pockets. The Mambo is a really great example of a bag that utilizes its real-estate to provide exceptionally useful storage space, without compromising the overall look. The Mambo uses its flap, front-side, body, backside and one of the sides for storage. Many of the pockets have extra organizers in them for such things as business cards, pens and pencils and media devices. It was really refreshing to see the attention to detail put into this product. Whether it's the unique clipping strap on the front of the flap, the way the shoulder strap is easily stored on the side of the bag, or the protective lips on the top of the main storage compartment, this bag shows-off quality and detail at every corner.

When you first look at this bag, you may be surprised to realize that unbuckling and lifting the front flap does not reveal the main storage compartment. Instead, the main storage pocket is always accessible from a zipper on the top of the bag. While this certainly represents an interesting paradigm shift in the design of carrier bags, this is certainly an improvement I was quite happy with. This makes accessing your most important stuff extremely easy, while maintaining a traditional look.

The actual design of the bag is interesting as well. The unit I had a Silver-Black design on the front, as well as on the computer sleeve. While I generally like the design, I did get mixed reviews from people. While some really liked modern and somewhat flashy look, others felt it was a bit too flashy. If you don't want to stand out much, this bag may not be for you.

The overall build of the bag is extremely impressive. The Cargo Mambo screams quality. Everything form the material used to the zippers and inside compartments. The only thing lacking inside the main compartment is more padding for laptop protection. While the sleeve is great, it is optional and I would not recommend using this bag for your laptop without some additional protection, whether it be the Mambo Sleeve or an alternate choice.

The Accessories

The Cargo Mambo Combo comes with some great additions. The padding for the shoulder strap makes using the bag much more comfortable and much more usable, while the well thought-out computer sleeve gives your notebook the added protection lacking in the bag itself.

The sleeve was really impressive, fitting my 15" MacBook Pro perfectly. The velcro strap on one end helps keeps your computer safely inside the sleeve, while the pull-tab strap on the opposite side greatly aids while removing your computer. Highlights of the sleeve include the paper-sized (and extremely useful sleeve) and the incredible build quality, succeeded only by the bag itself.

The Cargo Mambo Combo comes with the choice of a "Gear Pouch" or "Cable Guy". Both cases are similar and come in the choice of three different sizes and multiple colour patterns. While both cases are similar, the "Gear Pouch" is likely more appropriate for some smaller items and accessories, especially a student, carrying pens, pencils, a calculator and an iPod. I would recommend a "Cable Guy" to anyone carrying around some larger items, like a mouse, cables (duh!), and even small hard-drives.

Conclusions

The Cargo Mambo Combo is one of the best laptop/bag combinations I have ever used. Right out of that packaging I was immediately impressed with the design, while the build impressed me equally as much as soon as I started using it. Functionally, the bag provides almost everything a user might need, including tons of easy access to pockets, lots of real-estate for all types of items, many compartments for smaller items, along with some of the most thought-out and detailed design considerations you could ask for. The Mambo Combo might not be perfect for everyone; it wasn't always perfect for me. But if you're looking for a laptop bag for casual use, the Cargo Mambo Combo delivers the perfect combinations of style and functionality at a fairly reasonable price.

Witness: O.J., Cronies in "Military Invasion Fashion"

2007-11-09T14:57:00.001Z

O.J. Simpson, a packed courtroom, people hollering his name outside the courthouse, a media throng… What's familiar about this scenario?

The first day of what will likely be a two-day preliminary hearing to determine whether O.J. Simpson and two others should stand trial on robbery-related charges kicked off Thursday in Las Vegas, with one of his alleged victims testifying that the ex-footballer and his armed cronies burst into his hotel room in "military invasion fashion."

Sports memorabilia collector Bruce Fromong, the first of eight witnesses scheduled to appear, said in court that he didn't know who he was supposed to meet with on Sept. 13, the day Simpson allegedly stole $80,000 worth of items from him and fellow collector Alfred Beardsley, only that an "anonymous buyer" was interested in his stuff.

"When he came in, he kind of stopped, he looked at me and I looked at him," recalled Fromong, who said that he's known the Naked Gun actor for at least a decade.

"There was a lot of hollering and yelling and O.J. was yelling, particularly at Alfred Beardsley, saying, 'I thought you were a good guy, I thought you were my friend. You stole from me,'" Fromong testified.

Simpson and two others, Clarence Stewart Jr. and Charles Erlich, are facing 11 felony counts of armed robbery, burglary, kidnapping, assault, conspiracy and coercion stemming from their run-in with Fromong and Beardsley in Room 1203 at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino.

A run-in that, according to Simpson, who could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted, did not involve guns.

Three of Simpson's accused accomplices, however, have either agreed to plea, or have already pleaded to, lesser charges and plan to testify that the former star running back told them to bring weapons.

At least two of the dealmakers, Mike McClinton and Walter Alexander, were carrying guns, according to police. Charles Cashmore is the other man who has agreed to turn states evidence. A search of McClinton's home turned up two guns that fit the weapon descriptions given to police.

Fromong told the packed courtroom that one of those men pointed a gun at his face and said, "I'll shoot your ass."

After about five or six minutes, Simpson told his five-man crew to grab the memorabilia. Which they did, hauling the goods, including the Heisman Trophy winner's signed All-American ball, away in Palace Station pillowcases.

"O.J. was screaming, 'This is all my s--t. This all belongs to me,'" Fromong said. "You stole this from me. Let's pack up. Let's get out of here."

Prosecutors also played some of the tape made by memorabilia dealer Thomas Riccio, who testified Thursday that he contacted Simpson to set up the meeting with Fromong and Beardsley. Riccio, who reserved the hotel room in his name, was granted immunity after turning his recordings over to authorities.

Simpson has maintained that he only planned to confront Beardsley and Fromong, who suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized for a short time following the meeting, because he had been told that they had items that had been stolen from him by his former licensing agent, Richard "Mike" Gilbert.

"You have proof that these items were legitimately obtained by Mr. Gilbert," Simpson attorney Gabriel Grasso challenged Fromong during his cross-examination.

"I have no idea how Gilbert obtained these items," Fromong replied, referring to the cache that also included a number of non-football treasures, such as a bunch of baseballs autographed by Pete Rose and a framed photograph of Simpson with late FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

Like Simpson, he was contacted by Riccio, Fromong said.

(Gilbert has told the Los Angeles Times that Simpson gave him a number of things, including the suit he was wearing when he was acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, when Gilbert was helping him clean out his Brentwood mansion.)

Simpson could be seen shaking his head during portions of Fromong's testimony. Grasso also read back a portion of the collector's statement to police, in which he quoted Simpson as saying, "Get my s--t. Leave the other stuff alone."

The hearing is scheduled to continue Friday. Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joseph M. Bonaventure will likely render his decision about a trial next week.

Protege to New York designer has the "eye," blogs about his ideas

2007-11-09T14:49:00.000Z

With an eye out for the next great find, New York designer and blogger Nick Olsen browses at Billy's Antiques & Props.

Nick Olsen moved recently into a new studio apartment in midtown Manhattan that looks, he says charitably, like a "crack den." It's got one window, cheap wooden cabinets and a fridge looming alone along the kitchen wall. With moving boxes still unpacked, he says he can already picture the whole place finished -- sleek and serene -- and has set about transforming it.

Those who reside in the realm of the young and style-obsessed know of Olsen as something of a wunderkind: a walking-talking-blogging personification of urbane cool. He's a protege of New York status designer Miles Redd, had his previous apartment featured on the cover of Domino magazine and writes a buzz-generating blog for the shelter mag.

In addition to his early accomplishments, Olsen, 25, possesses that elusive, enviable quality called "eye" or "knack" or perhaps "flair": an innate sense of style so many of us aspire to and so few seem blessed with. Olsen acknowledges that much of his approach to design comes down to instinct. But part is pure fearlessness: a passionate interest and willingness to take chances. Nothing is irrevocable, he says; anything is fair game. An ugly fridge in a rental apartment? Olsen wallpapered his.

"I wish people would think of decorating their home in the same way they think about fashion, because they're willing to take more chances with that," he says. "Because decorating is a lot of troubleshooting."

With a degree in architecture from Columbia University, Olsen saw a spread in W magazine about Redd, a high-profile designer for moneyed clients and chic hot spots who had recently been named creative director of Oscar de la Renta's home line.

"It made such an impression on me, like nothing before or since," Olsen says. Hired to be Redd's assistant, Olsen learned and grew creatively. Experimenting with a first apartment, he knew he couldn't afford the high-end pieces chosen by the clients he was working for, but he could seek out the look from thrift shops and fabric stores and do it himself.

Even before moving in he knew he wanted assertively vivid wall color, and he picked out a vibrant olive-green paint. He was determined to reclaim quirky flea-market finds, such as the faux-bamboo side table, enameled starfish and '70s-era ashtrays he'd been collecting for a decade.

"My whole inspiration for the apartment was a cartoony version of Miles' place," Olsen says. "I wanted it to have a sense of humor; to be whimsical, yet stylish."

There was plenty of trial and error, but when Redd saw the place at Olsen's housewarming party, he was impressed enough to mention it to Deborah Needleman, editor in chief of Domino. Magazine scouts showed up two days later, and the apartment landed on the November '06 cover.

Needleman and her staff were so taken with Olsen that they thought of him for a "Deal Hunter" blog they had in the works, which launched in January.

"We knew we wanted someone who could do this `Domino on a dime' thing, and it was important to me to find someone who knew how to translate design," Needleman says. "You can feel good about being on a budget, because it comes from a refined sensibility."

That sensibility is critical when working with Redd's million-dollar clients. It also comes in handy when designing on the cheap. "I want really high style, right?" Olsen says. "But I'm not kidding myself: That costs a lot of money, and I don't have it, so how do I get it, or at least fake it?"

Fake-it-till-you-make-it tactics are the backbone of Olsen's blog for Domino (www.dominomag.com). There he suggests framing old science magazine covers as art; transforming an Ikea credenza by sanding and painting it with high-gloss paint or covering it with contact paper that looks like faux marble or stainless steel; knocking off your favorite abstract painting by making one with a store-bought canvas and paint; and making your own ikat fabric by saturating ordinary broadcloth cotton with a paint-covered sponge.

Complete fashion wardrobe for Fall-Winter by Wills Lifestyle

2007-11-08T21:18:00.000Z

ITC’s Wills Lifestyle announces the launch of the Fall-Winter Collection 2007-08. The nationwide chain of specialty stores offers a complete fashion wardrobe comprising - Wills Classic formal wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear, Wills Clublife evening wear and fashion accessories for both men and women.

The Wills Lifestyle Fall-Winter Collection is a classy expression of cutting-edge styles in tune with the international fashion mood. Globally this Fall Winter season is marked by a lively demonstration of stylish interplay of various textured patterns and weaves on ensembles. The season lays emphasis on the English countryside look with an increased use of hounds tooth inspired weaves.

Reflecting the onset of celebratory and festive season, innovative vibrant color story in different shades of blue, fuchsia, soft green and lavender is in this season. The sporty influence has been encapsulated in the garments worldwide in a riot of colors. Denims as against the grunge look of the past are getting cleaner and refined with more emphasis on fit and comfort. Skirts have made a come back with the international fashion ramp.

Detailing with special finishes is the key element of emphasis in high fashion design labels across the global ramps. Right from the customized buttons to broad collars to contrast cuffs, apparel has been crafted to stylish perfection. Wills Lifestyle’s Fall Winter collection reflects these international trends.

Says Mr. Atul Chand, Vice President (Marketing & Retail), “The Wills Lifestyle Fall– Winter collection brings the right mix of graceful and coordinated ensembles, featuring contemporary designs reflecting the cutting edge international trends, styled and accessorized to give you the look of this season”.

The new age corporate Wills Classic collection is a distinctive range created with elegant play of luxurious blends and textures such as Dobbies, Jacquards, monochrome and Satins upon finest fabrics like the Luxurious Italian cotton and poly wool lycra. The collection is rich and well defined with surface ornamentation, pleating, smocking and hand done pick stitch exploration.

The fashionably relaxed Wills Sport fall - winter line shows an influence of the soft rebels, a rage all over the world. Mix and match are the key drivers of this collection. Eclectic contrasts, layering and decorative details makes the collection bold and vibrant. Soldiery Trim focus, surface expressions, embellishments and contoured engineering makes the range for Men and Women truly contemporary.

For Men, the ensembles spans across vibrant shirts and tees, bold sportswear knits, cargos and shorts, all coordinated to represent the inspiration. For Women, the collection comprises stylish knitwear with sporty detailing, alluring skirts and fashionable Capri’s.

Inspired by allure and intrigue of the dark Wills Clublife is a glamorous and sexy collection that dresses up everything it touches. Sequins, metal embroidery with embellishments, crystal buttons and lace create magic in combination with razor sharp tailoring.

A heady mix of vibrant hues in satin, velvets and suede’s in irresistible patterns complement the glittering evening and day parties. The slim fits for men and the stunning silhouettes for women make it a must wear at every party.

Music of Nancy Ajram captures Farfasha spirit

2007-11-08T21:15:00.000Z

Farfasha, the trendsetting collection from leading international jeweller Damas, continues to thrill its following in the region with the youthful zest and positive attitude of its latest spread of drop earrings, chains, pendants, bracelets and rings in 18 k gold.

The Farfasha brand, which has successfully introduced gold as a fashion statement among the young and stylish set, made headlines with its endorsement of Lebanese musical sensation Nancy Ajram, who is known to wear the jewellery brand herself.

As a fitting reward to its young clientele, Damas is giving away limited edition Farfasha CD featuring Nancy Ajram music and video for every purchase of Farfasha jewellery at select Damas shops across the country.

In addition to the music selection, the CD includes the exclusive video of the latest Farfasha campaign, the entire jewellery collection of Farfasha and downloadable never-before-seen images of Nancy Ajram. The special offer is only good while supply lasts.

Tawhid Abdullah, Managing Director of Damas, remarks, “With each Farfasha jewellery comes the young and carefree lifestyle embodied by the brand.

It is dedicated to youth’s aspirations, hopes and dreams and judging by the immense response of the market to the new designs, we have achieved our objectives. The music of Nancy Ajram captures the Farfasha spirit and we are pleased to share this with our clientele.”

In Farfasha, youngsters will find pieces that echo their emotions and feelings. The charming creations are highly versatile and lightweight and depart from the traditional mode of wearing jewellery.

For instance its necklace can be worn long, short or even as a waistband. Its wearer can now switch in an instant from formal to casual, yet maintaining elegance and glamour.

The trend setting Farfasha collection is available at Damas stores throughout the Middle East.

Shanghai Tang new boutique concept in New York in Spring 08

2007-11-08T21:07:00.000Z

Shanghai Tang, the first international luxury lifestyle brand emerging from China, continues its quest to conquer the world’s foremost fashion cities. In Spring 2008, Shanghai Tang will unveil its revamped retail concept in a new Manhattan boutique located at 600 Madison Ave between 57th St and 58th St.

For the first time in the U.S., Shanghai Tang will have a showcase for its new boutique concept. The new concept mirrors the brand’s evolution in recent years and expresses the brand’s dynamic transformation into a modern, international lifestyle brand.

“Since our debut in New York ten years ago, Shanghai Tang has grown into an internationally recognized, sophisticated brand but we have evolved without losing our Chinese soul. Our ready-to-wear collection offers modern silhouettes with innovative Chinese-inspired elements, making our pieces one-of-a-kind yet wearable for the most discerning luxury buyers.

We are experiencing phenomenal growth in Asia and are now ready to take on the world’s most sophisticated and demanding shoppers in Manhattan,” says Executive Chairman, Raphael le Masne.

The new concept is decidedly modern, while keeping true to its founding aesthetics rooted in the vibrant art deco era of 1930’s Shanghai. Bold silk panels in Shanghai Tang signature colors such as lime and fuchsia highlight the black lacquer fixtures with brass detailing.

“Our new retail interior reflects where our brand is today. We have experienced high double digit growth at every store we’ve remodeled, so obviously, customers are responding. Our designs and brand is relevant and innovative,” says le Masne.

“Shanghai Tang offers a truly unique shopping experience which entices all five senses, bringing pleasure and most importantly, a sense of spontaneity to luxury shopping – a cornerstone of the brand’s goodwill.”

Shanghai Tang is the leading arbiter of Chinese Chic. Since its inception in 1994, it has advanced the expression of modern Chinese luxury by fusing current design concepts with innovative Chinese-inspired elements.

Its 30 boutiques in the world’s most prestigious shopping districts offers ready-to-wear for women, men and children, as well as accessories and home ware using the most luxurious materials, whether it is Chinese silk, Mongolian cashmere or the most refined shearling.

To Thong or Not to Thong?

2007-11-07T15:11:00.000Z

I was painfully aware of the dreaded vpl but I honestly just did not find g-strings remotely comfortable. Believe me, I tried, but I'd spend more time thinking about how uncomfortable I was rather than whatever I was supposed to be doing that day. That was until I bought some nice DKNY g-strings. When I wear them I almost feel like I have nothing on, which I suppose is essentially true - it just never worked that way with any others. Since I found DKNY, I have tried many other types - and admittedly one or two have come up to scratch - but I will remain faithful to Donna for as long as I feel the need to wear thongs.

Kylie may be sort of right though. I think when you are younger a g-string epitomises sexiness but as you get older you realise that you need to tailor your knickers to suit the situation. Sometimes the vpl from a g-string is even more obvious than a vpl from bigger pants. I have never been a convert to the thong over the trousers look. I understand that sometimes your underwear is so cute you want everyone to see it but it just seems a little bit tacky to me, and having watched the film Thirteen recently enough, it confirms to me that it's more about trying to look sexy than actually looking sexy. Now that different styles are readily available everywhere it has made the knicker issue a whole lot easier to conquer. French cut knickers are great for making your bum look good if your intention is to let your underwear be seen by anyone but yourself and Dunnes and Penneys both do great French cut pants and extremely reasonable prices.

Also with the advent of lingerie websites such as Figleaves and Victoria's Secret it's easier than ever to get the underwear you desire. I personally think that the g-string definitely has its merits but it's certainly not the be all and end all of underwear. So if like me you have not yet found the thong that suits, keep looking!

Shoes For Small & Large Feet

2007-11-07T14:58:00.000Z

Most high street stores sell from size 3 (and only stock a few of those) to a size 8. If you fall outside this category the choice gets limited and in some areas is non-existent.

SMALL SIZES: A size 1 to 2 is the equivalent of a 6-8 year old. Most shops direct women of this size to the children’s section but at your age you are probably not looking for a sandle or wellie with a Barbie motif.

There are only three to four manufacturers of small size shoes in the world. They are based in Italy and Spain. If you are a size two you are more likely to get your size in a small boutique as these generally sell Italian and/or Spanish shoes.

LARGER SIZES: Roughly 3% of women in Ireland are over a size 8 in shoes. Many women with feet over a size 8 tend to wear runners or men’s shoes and will dress down in trousers with wide legs to hide their horrible choice of shoes.
Women with small or large feet often buy shoes first and then the outfit to go with them as its impossible to do it the other way around.
Join Weddingsireland.com today!

Large Sizes

CINDERELLA SHOES
Gina Hennessy set up Cinderella Shoes after she spent a number of years researching and sourcing large shoe stockist around the world. She is a size 9 herself and could never find shoes to fit.

Size Range: 8 ½ to 12 in narrow and wide fittings
Gina has showrooms in Tullamore. Customers register with Cinderella Shoes and if there are a number of people in one area she will take a road show there. www.cinderellashoes.ie

Small Sizes

DAINTY SHOES
Dainty Shoes was set up in 1999. All of the shoes are handmade Italian or Spanish. Mail order is available. Shoes will be delivered within the week and there is a straightforward return policy. www.womens-small-shoes.com

SMALL SHOES
Small Shoes stock from size 1 to size 3. Small Shoes are based in the UK and delivery takes a few days and they have an easy return policy. There is a currency converter on the site from sterling to euro. www.small-shoes.co.uk

Yoga Style Move

2007-11-07T14:56:00.000Z

The idea of not being sold in stores, not having anyone else's name, just the French phrase ‘propriete privee’ which translates into private property is the appeal, and the actual name of this company. The company is also in production of a much anticipated lifestyle line which will debut spring 2006 which will include cashmere sheets, coverlets and accessories.

Tissue thin cashmere and cotton blend marry in slim pants, halter top and matching v-neck for women in a luscious cream colour. The famous and coveted hand ink stamped logo and chain on the cuff, set this private line apart as the private property of the ‘insider group’ as well as anyone who caught the buzz this past year. This was the hit of Paris Fashion Week for all the fashion directors once out of their runway couture looks. Comfort clothing with an up to date edge is what fashion people say they want and de Tolner gives them. She ought to know as the entire small production sold out last year leaving editors begging for one more sample.

The line retails at a starting point of $150. This collection can't be bought in any store as the limited edition is available only through who you know in LA, NYC or St.Tropez or the website www.proprieteprivee.com .

Be a Model

2007-11-07T14:46:00.000Z

The site is the result of months of work and was officially launched in October 2005. The features of this website include a Modelling Article of the Day along with important resources. The site doesn't target one particular aspect of modelling as a career, but will focus on a variety of modelling opportunities. Visitors to the site can subscribe to the AtoZ Modelling Newsletter, or can use the site as the portal to other links pertinent to the modelling industry.

Extravagantly Ebay!

2007-11-07T14:43:00.000Z

It has been in the possession of Madam Tussaud's waxworks museum and is being donated for the celebrity clothing auction at the Proud Gallery starting next week on December 7h.

Earlier this year pieces of Diana's worn wedding dress were sold on eBay auction for $2 million.

The other items up for auction are a maternity dress made for Jackie Kennedy Onassis' maternity dress in the 1960's. A Fedora hat that was worn by Howard Hughes will also be in the auction. Bidders will also be able to win a tracksuit worn by John Lennon. The original artwork for the Rolling Stones' 1970 tour is also up for bid. The vest that James Dean wore in the 1956 movie "Giant" will also be on auction.

Be a Real Chick with Feathers!

2007-11-07T14:41:00.000Z

To achieve the precise custom fit that her couture clients like Tyra Banks, Paris Hilton, and Gina Davis demand, Colleen Quen creates a moulage, or "second skin" of the client's body from 36 measurements.

The two gowns, "Sapphire Elegance" and "Blue Opal Energy" played the stage in sapphire blue French lace and angora with brown tulle trimming.

Indeed lace, particularly in black, shed its Gothic guise this season and has re-emerged as an enchantingly romantic option for winter days or nights. Don't confine it to night time glamour. A touch of lace will update an old favourite pair of jeans or your office pencil skirt suit.

To go with your ultimate gown or to glam up your day to evening office suit, accessorise with feathers. Plumes exuding bird of paradise flamboyance are definitely this winters must have accessory after Calvin Klein and Dolce and Gabbana, to name but a few, sported flurries of feathers on the catwalk for winter 2005-06.
Feathers will give a classic sumptuous touch to your classic dress. Wear a single one in your hair or go all-out with marabou tiers to the floor.

4.38 carat diamond surfaces at CDSP

2007-11-07T14:25:00.000Z

Chad Johnson a regular visitor of the Crater of Diamonds State Park (CDSP) has found nearly 80 diamonds in the past so many years.

On November 5, Mr Chad came across yet another diamond and this time it was the biggest stone among his previous findings.

Although it initially looked like a cube-shaped rock, it was actually turned out to be a 4.38 carat, tea-colored diamond.

Crater of Diamonds State Park was made open to the public in 1972. It is by far the only diamond producing site allowing public not only to unearth diamonds but also to take home their findings.

A 16.37 carat Amarillo Starlight white diamond found in 1975 is so far the largest diamond found at the park and this year, discovery of more than 700 diamonds have been recorded.

Dhanteras may bring relief to anxious jewellers

2007-11-07T13:43:00.000Z

Even with all the excitement and festivities around Dhanteras, the rising prices of gold and other jewelry just don’t seem to get stationary. Investors are therefore playing safe by purchasing small quantities.

Buyers are now thinking twice before indulging in gold purchases for the auspicious occassion. Jewellers believe that the demand for gold jewelry is likely to fall by nearly 50 percent this Diwali.

The average price this year is up by about Rs2,000 per 10 gram compared to last Dhanteras. Moreover, Delhi market is witnessing a further rise of about Rs200 per ten gram.

However, some people also believe strongly that in spite of the rising gold prices, plunge in sales is an unlikely occurrence. Dhanteras will only augment the jewelry sales, though the purchase might be made in small quantities.

aussieBumz largest pair of mens underwear

2007-11-07T13:42:00.000Z

In an effort to secure a position in the Guinness World Records book, aussieBum will unveil what is believed to be the "World's Largest pair of men's underwear."

Measuring in at 15.5 metres wide and 11 metres high, with a waist circumference of 32 metres, the mammoth pair of undies is the size of the front of a three-story building.

It includes 300 metres of fabric, 500 metres of wide-width elastic, 5000 metres of cotton and a 1.5 x 6 metre
logo. The giant underpants weigh a whopping 180 kg.

The aussieBum World's Biggest Undies have been built with the help of aussieBum's long term business partner, Italian firm Eurojersey, a major name in the international textiles industry.

Eurojersey put its faith into the project by generously donating 300 metres of Sensitive fabric. The incredibly soft, light and easy-to-handle nature of the Sensitive fabric helped aussieBum achieve this challenge.

Complete fashion wardrobe for Fall-Winter by Wills Lifestyle

2007-11-07T13:40:00.000Z

They're All Do's: Glamour's Women of the Year

2007-11-07T13:09:00.000Z

New York - The 18th Annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards, a celebration of women who have changed the world, brought together an impressive array of living legends on Nov. 5, from author Toni Morrison, who won the award for lifetime achievement, to 11-year-old actress Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Glamour's first-ever "Girl of the Year."

Also for the first time, Glamour named the recipients for their newly established "Women of the Year Fund" initiative, Empowering Hands, a group of Ugandan women, former child soldiers, who joined forces to help rehabilitate those forced to fight in the rebel militia, who kidnapped tens of thousands of children in Uganda over the course of two decades.

Mariah Carey, with the African Children's Choir, opened the ceremony with a rousing, emotional number and was met with huge cheers from the audience, particularly from the sections where several school groups were seated, special guests of Glamour.

Later, one of the evening's honoree's, Dr. Victoria Hale, whose work developing drugs for a nonprofit she founded, Institute for One World Health has helped saved hundreds of thousands of lives each year, addressed these young attendees specifically, urging them to go far with their educations, and not just in the classrooms.

"Go and live somewhere far, far away," Dr. Hale said. "That, is an education. It will change your life and it will change the world."

Comedian Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report," after joking that he was at the ceremony ("My writer's are on strike, and I needed something to do tonight"), lightened the mood with his entertaining introduction of Sen. Nancy Pelosi, honored for being the first female Speaker of the House.

"While I disagree with everything she stands for, I will defend her right to: Make. It. Work," joked Colbert, after complimenting her ability to color-coordinate pantsuits on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Actress Jennifer Garner, who received the "Icon Next Door" award, brought husband Ben Affleck with her, who set off a flurry of flashbulbs and camera phones when he arrived at the pre-show reception.

Glamour also honored Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards; Drew Faust, president of Harvard University; Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania; Ruth Simmons, president of Brown University; Shirley Tilghman, president of Princeton University; fashion designer Donna Karan; CBS war correspondent Lara Logan; world champion golfer Lorena Ochoa; "Grey's Anatomy" television producer Shonda Rhimes; chef Alice Waters and journalist Mariane Pearl.

Panda fashion parades China's social issues

2007-11-07T13:06:00.000Z

BEIJING (Reuters Life!) - Chinese artist Zhao Bandi has brought social conscience to the fashion conscious, kicking off this year's China Fashion Week by using his trademark panda to highlight unresolved social problems.

Models dressed as street sweepers, beggars, corrupt officials and even the World Trade Organisation, which has tussled with the rising economic power, hit the catwalk at the Bandi Panda collection, all in black and white outfits, representing the panda's colors.

"I believe that after seeing this everyone will realize what is happening. There's no need to watch films or read a book about it, just watch Zhao Bandi's fashion show and the whole world will realize what's happening in China," said Zhao.

Drawing on the panda -- China's national icon -- for inspiration, Zhao's designs incorporate humor which helps take the sting out of his critical message.

Celebrities like the glamorous Yangerche Namu and blogger Sister Lotus also took part in the production.

The audience gasped when Yangerche Namu locked lips with a foreign man on stage.

Zhao and his pandas are famous for providing social and political commentary on modern life in China.

"My haute couture show will unfold a colorful panorama of protagonists from every stratum of Chinese society," Zhao said.

Jacobs Receives Designer of the Year Award

2007-11-07T13:02:00.000Z

SHOES

2007-11-07T12:32:00.001Z

It's all about heels. Myriad options - wedges, stilettos, and sculpted forms - step into view
*** Lace-ups go two ways: cool and chunky or smart and sophisticated
*** Textured and coloured finishes are the directional option
*** Towering heels and ribbed socks make an unexpected pairing

by CHANNEL

by CHLOE

by CHRISTIAN DIOR

by MIU MIU

by PETER SOM

THE SILHOUETTE

2007-11-07T11:43:00.000Z

A cinched waist, strong shoulders and a ladylike skirt: the shape of the season pays homage to Forties glamour, with a studied elegance that echoes Hollywood's golden age

*** Create a feminine line by cinching your waist with a slim belt
*** For an elegant finish, choose accessories fashioned from exotic feathers and skins
*** Beauty note: classic colours and pale skin set off this sophisticated look

by AQUASCUTUM

by HERMES

by LANVIN

by LOUIS VUITTON

by GIAMBATTISTA VALLI

THIRD TIME LUCKY

2007-11-07T11:36:00.000Z

NATALIA VODIANOVA wowed the fashion world - and beyond - when she hit the fashion week catwalks a matter of days after giving birth to her third baby and she admits that motherhood just keeps on agreeing with her. "It's been easy with Viktor because this is my third time," says the Russian model, who also has a five-year-old son, Lucas, and 18-month-old daughter, Neva, with husband Justin Portman. According to Portman, even naming the new baby was a cinch. "Viktor was named before he was born," he tells the Daily Mail. "As soon as we knew the baby was a boy we knew we would call him after Natalia's grandfather. He was lucky - with our eldest, Lucas, it took us a month-and-a-half to decide on a name."

STELLA GIVES HER NOTIFY

2007-11-07T11:18:00.000Z

STELLA MCCARTNEY has teamed up with denim label Notify to create an exclusive charity capsule collection for spring/summer 2008. Available in two cuts - a seamless skinny and a high-waisted boyfriend style - and four colourways, the jeans will raise money for Marine Connection, a UK-based organisation that seeks to protect whales, dolphins and the world's oceans. Stella's a busy lady just now - expecting her second baby in two months, she continues to expand upon her collaboration with Adidas and she'll be launching a gorgeous lingerie line early next year. The Notify jeans will launch this month at Stella McCartney stores and selected department stores nationwide, priced from approximately £200, with all profits going to Marine Connection. (November 7 2007, AM)

AGENT OOH LA LA

2007-11-07T11:16:00.000Z

Catherine Bailey in the latest Agent Provocateur campaign. Photograph by Alice Hawkins at Patricia McMahon

THOSE Lily Allen-for-Agent Provocateur rumours are just that - rumour - for now, at least. The latest instalment of The Adventures of Miss AP campaign only launched on Monday but the press are already speculating that Allen will be the star of the third "episode", which is due out in three months' time. Lily may be winning column inches as the face of Braun's new haircare range, but we're told by the lingerie label's official spokeswoman that her involvement with it is nothing more than a rumour - and the star of the third part of the story will in fact be French actress Vahina Giocante. Following Kate Moss' staggered foray as Miss X for the label last year, Agent Provocateur's narrative ad campaign for 2007 is proving equally addictive; the latest instalment, Lady of the Manor, stars a stunning Catherine Bailey - as we exclusively revealed here - keeping tabs on Tiah Eckhardt and Daisy Lowe as a pair of naughty French maids. Giocante will step into Miss AP's wickedly high stilettos in January so get up to speed with the story now at www.agentprovocateur.com.

Primark wears cheap fashion crown

2007-11-06T13:40:00.001Z

Discount retailer Primark is predicted to be overtaking affordable fashion from George at Asda, according to retail analysts at Verdict The Irish-based company is thought to take an 18.4 per cent share of the disposable fashion market, ahead of George on 16.3 per cent and Tesco on 10.9 per cent. Primark's popularity was evident when it caused a mini stampede and outrageous queues at the opening of its London flagship store on Oxford Street April.

The cheap fashion market, which covers 25 per cent of all clothing bought in the UK, is worth £8.5 billion annually. Verdict analyst Maureen Hinton said: "Primark owes its success first and foremost to its investment in property. The clothes are still cheap, but the stores don't look so and are in prime locations."

Since the start of 2006, Primark has increased its retail square footage by over 70 per cent. George at Asda, which launched in 1990, is seen as the pioneer of cheap chic, but Hinton said: "Most value retailers, such as George, attract a family shopper, whereas Primark's market is much younger."

Dubbed "Primarni" by the style press, Primark's range includes £3 tops inspired by labels such as Prada.

Pure 2008

2007-11-06T13:39:00.002Z

For February 2008, tradeshow Pure is looking to present an innovative product mix of fashion , accessory and footwear brands at Olympia London.

At Pure buyers will ‘experience’ diverse collections from directional and high-end designer womenswear through to commercial, fast fashion and streetwear. Every day, forecast magazine Drapers will host catwalks shows and Drapers’ Trend Presentations.

New will be the Pure Footwear section. Almost 45% of buyers at Pure already sell footwear, 68% of buyers expect to sell more over the next 12 months and 66% have already increased their sales over the last 12 months. Pure Footwear will showcase over 100 collections, including Birkenstock, Unisa, Manas Design, El Natura Lista, Thierry Rabotin, Yves Desfrage and Manas Lea Foscati.

Young creative brands will be represented by Pure Spirit and this February look out Duck and Cover Womenswear, Nümph, Ben Sherman Womenswear, Looking Glass Boutique, Lipsy and Yumi.

Sales Assistant - Luxury Fashion

2007-11-06T13:39:00.001Z

Sales Assistant - Luxury Fashion CUSTOMER CARE ASSISTANT - Charlton NET-A-PORTER is an established global Internet retailer of cutting edge luxury fashion labels, relied upon for its exceptional quality of service and eye for the next big thing. With an expanding domestic and global market, and revenues increasing month on month, critical strategic change is on the agenda, in order for us to achieve the objective of dominating our sector as a truly successful force in online retail. As such, we are seeking a Customer Care Assistant to join our Customer Team in solving service problems as well as making customers aware of new products, services and features on the site. Your role will be to ensure a positive experience for our global, demanding customers, which exceeds expectations and continues to keep Net-a-Porter as the standard bearer in the luxury online world. “The first retailer to hammer out pacts with Chloe, Pucci and Marni to sell their goods in cyberspace” WWD Summary of Responsibilities: Act as the primary point of contact for all our customers. Assist and communicate promptly customers any information or any enquiries with regards to customer returns or their orders via emails or by phone Assist customers to register online and/or to process their orders Assist customers with products enquiries or refer them to specialist help within the Product Advisors team Maximise cross sales opportunities in all email and phone correspondence by suggesting related products to original enquiries, as well as alternatives to sold out requests where waiting list not applicable Actively promote extended services of NET-A-PORTER.COM as a customer benefit through excellence and consistency of customer service Handle complaints and escalation process to resolve customer problems as quickly as possible.Work with difficult customers in a professional manner, turning a bad customer experience into a positive one. Ensure that the in-house processes and procedures are adhered to at all times Liaise closely with marketing and distribution teams Liaise with Distribution for any issues with customers orders or returns. Liaise with Shipping Department over issues raised by customers with regard to either orders or returns To liaise and assist Finance Department with customers on security checks (calls or emails) to enable seamless shopping experiencee. Maintain a high level of service awareness at all time Active use and knowledge of X-Tracker, Website, Microsoft Office and Order Database To observe at all times client confidentiality and company policy surrounding data protection and security. Essential Skills & Requirements Must demonstrate an appreciation and understanding of the importance of customer care as a function within the business and contribute ideas within the team to improve the customer experience Excellent work ethic / driven to deliver the best and lead by example. Proven experience as a Sales Assistant or similar in a luxury goods environment such as Retail, Hospitality or travel. Experience as a sales assistant within luxury women’s wear or Telesales marketing would be ideal but not essential. Demonstrated ability to trouble shooter and a pro-active approach to sales and showing initiative/ideas to constantly improve the customer experience Proven track record of building professional relationships specifically in regard to building a rapport with customers including dealing confidently with highly demanding clientele Articulate with exceptional writing skills (including good spelling and grammar) Excellent eye for detail and organizational skills Proven ability to work to stringent deadlines Experience with Microsoft office applications (Excel and Outlook essentially) Previous experience of a CRM system or similar desirable but not essential Knowledge of Data Protection issues desirable but not essential Ability to work hard and play hard, as part of a growing team Written and spoken fluency in at least one other foreign language would be a distinct advantage (European / Arabic / Mandarin) Location You will be based at Charlton, SE7 - however you will need to visit the Dome in London, W2 from time to time. Hours Your hours will be 35½ hours per week To Apply Please email us an updated CV and a cover letter explaining why you feel you are suited to the role to jobs@net-a-porter.com .You will be expected to provide at least two recent work references, at job offer stage.The interview process will consist of a face to face interviews and a written English test. Job id: 33188253

Date Posted	23-10-2007


Company Information	NET-A-PORTER

How to Apply	jobs@net-a-porter.com

Email Resume To	jobs@net-a-porter.com

Menswear business book

2007-11-06T13:38:00.000Z

‘The A to Z Book of Menswear’ by Richard Woolsnough is available from today.

The new book aims to increase product knowledge for people in the menswear business. The publication is initially designed for those who are associated with the industry, but it’s also of interest to any man with a certain fashion sense.

‘The A to Z Book of Menswear’ is a collection of over 400 pages with more than 2,700 words used in the menswear business. It has a companion website at AtoZbook.info with images and more information that could not be fitted into paperback book.

Richard Woolnough who has worked in the menswear trade over 40 years, wrote The A to Z Book to help people in the menswear business to understand some of the huge number of words that are used in the trade. As he says “Knowledge means nothing if it is not passed on”.

‘The A to Z Book of Menswear’ is available for purchase through Lulu.com and delivery can be made worldwide.

Moschino motor helmets

2007-11-06T13:36:00.002Z

The Moschino Fashion Helmet will see its world premiere next month at the 65th Motorcycle Show in Milan.

The motor helmet collection is the result of a 5-year licence agreement between Moschino and the helmet manufacturer Max Safety Fashion.

The unisex collection features three styles and combines the reliability of Max Safety Fashion products with Moschino’s creativity. Graphic prints are mixed with the Moschino logo in a spiral style following the shape of the helmet. To match with your bike, the helmets come in black and white, silver and gold, with red and green accents.

The Moschino Fashion Helmets are available at specialised motor motorcycle accessories retailers and Moschino stores from February/March 2008.

Baugur to bid for Saks

2007-11-06T13:36:00.001Z

Icelandic retail investor Baugur has said it may make a joint bid for luxury US department store chain Saks.

Baugur, which owns the UK's House of Fraser, said it could join with Dubai-owned retailer Landmark Group to make a formal takeover approach.

The Icelandic firm said it now intended to hold discussions with Saks' board and senior managers.

Shares in Saks rose almost 9% in after-hours Monday trading in New York. The company has yet to comment.

Takeover speculation surrounding Saks first emerged in the media two weeks ago, and shares in the firm have risen almost 14% since the start of October.

Saks has 54 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, 49 Saks Off 5th outlets, 62 Club Libby Lu shops, and an online operation.

Landmark, which is already a Saks shareholder, has a chain of supermarkets in India.

MySpace to sell merchandise

2007-11-06T13:35:00.004Z

It was only a matter of time before MySpace, the popular social networking site, was to expand its services by offering to sell goods, including fashion.

On Tuesday, the California-based company appointed Zazzle, a provider of an on-demand retail and technology platform for content owners, to provide a music-related merchandising service on MySpace.

Using Zazzle, the over 6 million musicians on MySpace will be able to create and sell merchandise through a Zazzle Merch Booth widget; MySpace users can also use the widget to create their own custom items for their favorite musicians.

Other features of Zazzle's service include Name-Your-Royalty, where sellers can name their royalty rate on every product they sell, from 10% to 99%, and change it at any time.

Model Realviews lets users design clothing online by uploading images and designs, and see what they will look like in real life before merchandizing them through Zazzle.

"Since we started Zazzle, one of our greatest challenges has been bridging the gap between user-generated product designs and the real, high-quality products that we manufacture," said Bobby Beaver, co-founder and chief architect of Zazzle.

Eley Kishimoto & Cacharel

2007-11-06T13:35:00.003Z

Eley Kishimoto and Cacharel are teaming up and Fall/Winter 08/09 will be their first collection.

Eley Kishimoto takes the Artistic Direction of Cacharel women ready-to-wear. The partnership between Cacharel, renowned for its prints like the label Eley Kishimoto seems obvious.

Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto met in the early 90's; the design team quickly gained a reputation for incisive and intelligent print design. They have worked for big names such as Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen, to name but a few.

In the mid 90's they launched their own label, which is one of the high lights on the London Fashion Week schedule. The creative team is also involved in other fields such as interiors and architecture.

Harper's Bazaar annual gold party

2007-11-06T13:35:00.001Z

Harper's Bazaar editor Lucy Yeomans on Thursday celebrated the magazine's annual gold party. In association with Moet & Chandon, the chic fashion publication took over No 17 Berkeley Street in Mayfair and hosted the week's most fashionable extravaganza. With no expense spared, guests - who were asked to dress with gilt-edged decadence - were treated to a live performance by Leona Lewis, who sang her sublime number 1 hit "Bleeding Love."

Harper's Bazaar in August revealed a new logo and look for its September issue in a move to follow the look of international editions. 50,000 copies of the magazine were studded with Swarovski crystals and quickly became a collector's item.

Harper's Bazaar is NatMags high end fashion publication and has won the PPA Award for Consumer Magazine of the Year. The publishing giant also houses titles such as Esquire, Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan. The National Magazine Company is one of the foremost luxury consumer magazine publishers in the UK, reaching 13.5 million adults every year.

Crocs go up

2007-11-06T13:33:00.004Z

Crocs reported a record of its third quarter financial results of fiscal year 2007. Revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 increased 130% to $256.3 million compared to $111.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 was $56.5 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, compared to $21.5 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Net income per diluted share amounts for the third quarters of 2007 and 2006 are adjusted to reflect the two-for-one stock split that took effect in June 2007. Gross profit for the third quarter of 2007 was $155.4 million, or 60.6% of revenues, compared to $64.8 million, or 58.2% of revenues for the third quarter of 2006. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 was $77.2 million, or 30.1% of revenues, compared to $33.3 million, or 29.9% of revenues in the quarter ended September 30, 2006.

Crocs continued to experience strong global demand throughout the Summer, which translated into third quarter sales growth of 130% over the year ago period. At the same time, they expand gross margins 240 basis points to 60.6% and increased earnings per diluted share 144% to a record $0.66. With the opening of a new 320,000 square foot European distribution facility Crocs will be able to support their future growth in the region.

For the year ending December 31, 2007, Crocs raised its guidance. The Company now projects revenues to range from $820 to $830 million and net income per diluted common share of between $1.94 and $1.98.

The Company also introduced fiscal year 2008 guidance. Crocs currently anticipates revenues and net income per diluted share to increase between 35% to 40% over the projected 2007 levels.

Choose to cruise

2007-11-06T13:33:00.003Z

Cruise fashion was once an American phenomenon, an obscure fashion season known as cruise and resort. Initially, these clothes were meant for northern well to do women who spent a considerable amount of time holidaying in warm-weather spots, to escape the wraths of winter.

That was before airlines made quick trips to the Caribbean and long weekends in southern climes accessible to less-wealthy women. And it was before the demand from countries in the Middle East where winters are non-existent and fashionable warm-weather clothes are needed year-round.

What hasn't changed is the need for fresh clothes in the stores starting in October and November. After all, autumn styles are shipped as early as June and tend to look tired and familiar when they are still hanging on the racks a few months later.

It was this commercial consideration that impelled the Europeans to offer cruise collections before they actually understood the thinking behind the season that falls between fall and spring. Two seasons a year are the rule for European fashion houses; four or more are handled by American ones.

These days a cruise fashion week is held in New York in June. As Claudia Croft, fashion editor at Style recently wrote, the shows aren't accompanied by the fanfare of the ready-to-wear shows, but in terms of business, the clothes and accessories shown are the ones that will sell and sell.

Alongside major brands which show cruise, such as Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and Dior, smaller brands such as Tibi and Giles Deacon also produce capsule ranges. The great thing about Cruise collections is that they are more affordable than the mainlines and much more wearable. Whilst the Christmas and holiday season may warrant for jaw-dropping glamour, Cruise collections are about about simpler pieces, such as a great jacket or little black dress. Come February, the mainline versions will hit stores, when the wraths of winter are inescapable and that new Lanvin coat will cheer you up no end.

Liz Claiborne announce quarterly loss

2007-11-06T13:33:00.001Z

American fashion conglomerate Liz Claiborne announced today earnings fell for the third quarter and nine months of 2007. The results reflect financial performance substantially below that of the year ago period, but in line with management's forecasts. The initiatives identified in the turnaround plan announced on July 11th remain on track, as the Company is ahead of its cost reduction targets for fiscal 2008 with $130 million implemented or well under way and is also ahead of schedule on the process for the 16 brands under strategic review.

For the third quarter of 2007, diluted earnings per share ("EPS") were $0.33 compared to $0.93 for the third quarter 2006. Net sales for the third quarter 2007 were $1.263 billion, a decrease of 3.9% from the comparable 2006 period.

For the nine months of 2007, diluted earnings per share were $0.62 compared to $1.75 for the comparable 2006 period. Net sales for the nine months of 2007 were $3.455 billion, a decrease of 1.3% from the comparable 2006 period.

Liz CEO William L. McComb said: "The initiatives identified in the turnaround of Liz Claiborne Inc. are fundamentally on track. While third quarter 2007 results are tough to look at, particularly compared to last year, they are consistent with what we forecasted back in May when we announced the significant changes in our earnings outlook for 2007."

Mr. McComb continued, "Importantly, we are satisfied with the progress on all five initiatives laid out on July 11th as our Designed-to-Win strategy, some of which are proceeding ahead of schedule. In fact, we have accelerated the strategic review process on the 16 brands and aggressively increased our cost reduction initiatives. We are particularly pleased with our Direct Brands portfolio, which included an out-sized performance at Juicy Couture, solid profitability at Lucky Brand and strong fundamentals at Kate Spade. Our Mexx Europe business saw weak sales and profits, but made substantial progress in launching dramatic initiatives to improve their operation over the next 6 quarters-spanning product, cost structure, and talent deployment. In this sense, Mexx Europe is engaged in the same kind of turnaround that the overall corporation has initiated. While our Partnered Brands segment continues to challenge the overall performance picture, we are near completion on detailed merchandising, product design, and partnering initiatives to address the core Liz Claiborne brand specifically."

Mr. McComb added, "There's no question the macroeconomic headwinds will pose ongoing pressure during our turnaround, and to the retail industry at large. However, we remain confident in our strategy of focusing on powerful brands with strong direct-to-consumer paths, while improving our legacy wholesale businesses and aggressively managing our cost structure. We will maintain our financial flexibility while prudently executing our plan."

Mr. McComb concluded, "Regarding our 2007 outlook, we are revising the fiscal 2007 guidance we provided in July, primarily reflecting the impact of the brands under strategic review. Fiscal 2007 guidance excluding brands under strategic review is essentially unchanged."

Roberto Cavalli party collection

2007-11-06T13:32:00.000Z

Over the weekend H&M's latest collaboration collection by Roberto Cavalli was presented to the international press at a gala event in Rome's Salone delle Fontane. Stars from the music- and movie business, as well as fashionista's came to celebrate new collection with Roberto Cavalli in Italian rock’n roll style. 'Roberto Cavalli is one of my personal favourites. His clothes are sexy, and he is always on the edge and changes before other designers. I think the collaboration with H&M is great because now all women can wear his designs', says Halle Berry.

The Roberto Cavalli party was star studded where, among others, Sharon Stone and Halle Berry were spotted in the crowd. The Italian fashion designer and his wive Eva arrived per helicopter, together with a trail of models wearing the 'Roberto Cavalli at H&M' collection. Roberto Cavalli said: 'This party for the launch of the Roberto Cavalli at H&M collection is truly amazing! The atmosphere is electrifying, glamorous and full of positive and young energy. It's a magical night that I will never forget'.

Models Erin Wasson and Jessica Stam showed Roberto Cavalli's famous animal print dresses made of silk chiffon, a red carpet dress made of pleated gold lame, a mini sheath with sequins and pearls and shapely tuxedo style jackets and trousers. Nicolas Malleville showed the men's range with sharply cut suits and tuxedo separates, worn as a suit or with jeans, T-shirts and shirts de luxe.

Roberto Cavalli by H&M will be available from 8th November.

Macy and Tommy Hilfiger's alliance

2007-11-06T13:31:00.000Z

Macy’s and Tommy Hilfiger have signed a strategic alliance agreement with Macy's being the exclusive department store retailer of Tommy Hilfiger men's and women's sportswear in the United States, beginning in Fall 2008.Under this agreement, Macy's will expand Hilfiger merchandise assortments in every Macy's division and on macys.com, increase and enhance location of Hilfiger shops in high-volume Macy's stores, renovate and upgrade existing Tommy Hilfiger shops and feature Hilfiger collections in Macy's marketing campaigns. The two companies will work closely together on new ventures and brand extensions.

Classic American styled apparel, Tommy Hilfiger will continue to operate its own freestanding stores and sell online at tommy.com. All products distributed through Tommy Hilfiger's various licensees will continue to be sold on a nonexclusive basis through Macy's, as well as other accounts.

“Through this exclusivity agreement, we will bring our customers an increasing level of compelling and distinctive fashions that are consistent with their aspirations and lifestyles. Offering this brand on a much more exclusive basis is another powerful reason for customers to choose to shop at Macy’s”, says Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s.

"The recent consolidation of department stores in our market place has made a strategic alliance between our two companies all the more compelling and logical. I am extremely pleased we have partnered to build something great together and share Terry’s vision." said Principal Designer Tommy Hilfiger.

Filippa K's eco range

2007-11-06T13:30:00.000Z

Filippa K is not staying behind and is offering eco friendly T-shirts branded with the Nordic Ecolabel. The range features T’s for men and women and is product with the lowest possible environmental impact. The new environmentally sustainable products are part of Filippa K’s Fall collection. The Nordic Eco-labelled garments are produced with organic cotton in purple, white, light gray and blue.

“With the Nordic Eco-labelled clothes Filippa K wants to show the company’s long term environmental way of thinking. As one of the first Nordic clothing brands we make garment with minimum environmental impact throughout all stages of the production process. This is a big step in the right direction concerning eco-clothes and it is just the beginning of our long term focus on environmentally friendly design”, says Maj-La Pizzelli, Product Director at Filippa K.

Conventional manufacturing methods mean that clothing and textiles are a serious environmental and health problem throughout the world. Large amounts of chemicals are used in all phases of production. Cotton is on of the world’s most sprayed crops often treated with very harmful biocides and defoliants. Furthermore, the textile industry uses large quantitative of water and energy, and produces large amounts of waste.

“It’s an important step for our work that Filippa K now produces according to the Nordic Ecolabel’s environmental requirements. We are an eco label that considers the overall environmental impact of the garment and controls everything from the cotton plantation to production and the finished garment”, says Ragner Unge, CEO at the Nordic Ecolabel.

The new range is available from Urban Outfitters, House of Fraser and other Filippa K sale points nationwide.

We C&Are

2007-11-06T11:51:00.000Z

C&A has implemented advanced environmental measures, to decrease the emission of CO2 and minimise the negative effects on global climate. All of C&A´s environmental engagements are based on the new C&A-Environmental Strategy under the title: We C&Are. C&A is taking on responsibility or the future in a sustainable and innovative manner. Andreas G. Seitz, member and spokesperson of the European Executive Board, outlines: ¨The objective of C&A is to be among the five leading companies in mainland Europe´s fashion retail trade with regards to the following areas of activity: Bio Cotton, Recycling/Carrier bags, usage of ´green´ (renewable) energy, Eco store and transport/ logistics.¨

The leading aspect of C&A´s environmental efforts focuses on the introduction of a certified Bio Cotton collection. After approximately 1,200 tons of processed Bio Cotton in the autumn of 2007, around 7,500 tons are due to follow in the year 2008. The latter amount corresponds to approx. 12.5 million items of clothing products, including jeans, t-shirts, underwear and baby clothes. With the increased demand for ecological cotton, which is cultivated without the use of artificial fertilisers or chemicals, C&A is encouraging sustainable agricultural production to shift to environmentally friendly cotton cultivation. In cooperation with the organisation Organic Exchange, C&A plans to further boost the use of Bio Cotton in the years ahead.

In this context it is vital to point out that C&A does not charge higher prices for Bio Cotton- merchandise despite the fact that the relevant raw materials for Bio Cotton are more expensive than the normal cotton fabrics/ products. Therefore, C&A not only offers the customers a significant financial benefit, but also acts in favour of the environment – for C&A, the cultivation of Bio Cotton is an investment in the future of the environment and the people. As of 2008, C&A will be offering its certified and 100%- Bio Cotton collection as a broad range for the whole family in all European C&A markets at ´Best value´prices.

From spring 2008, C&A will be converting its current corporate shopping bags completely into recycled material. Hence, approximately 170 million carrier bags made of recycled material will be used in the trading year 2008. C&A will be offering a 100%- Bio Cotton bag as from March 2008 in all C&A- retail countries to its customers in order to stimulate a reduced use of plastic bags and to promote reusable alternatives. The profit generated by the sale of the Bio Cotton carrier bags will be donated to dedicated farming projects which in turn support the cultivation of Bio Cotton in developing countries.

Since October 2007, C&A is using environmentally friendly energy generated by hydropower. Approximately 380 stores accounting for around 50% of C&A-Europe´s total selling space (m²) are already powered by renewable energy; by 2010, the use of renewable energy is scheduled to have risen to an impressive 80% of C&A´s operating- and selling space in its stores across Europe. Also, since of October this year, the C&A headquarter in Duesseldorf as well as the majority of the C&A distribution centres throughout Europe have been using ´green´energy.

In cooperation with Redevco Europe, C&A will establish an Eco store concept which focuses on state-of-the-art building- and shopping infrastructure in terms of future energy efficiency. C&A plans to open the first Eco store in Germany in the second half of the coming trading year 2008. The C&A- Eco Store Concept will result in significant energy savings of around 50% and will trigger carbon- neutrality for the total store. An environmentally friendly lighting system is currently being developed in cooperation with Philips. This system is due to be installed in approx. 200 European C&A stores in the year 2008, in turn replacing approximately 150,000 lights. As a result 18% of the energy consumed by the current systems will be saved.

C&A´s target is to reduce all packaging materials to a minimum, which is why clear and consistent guidelines for suppliers have been developed. In the year 2006, as many as 570 tons of plastic packaging and 6,600 tons of paperboard/ cardboard were recycled. In the field of transport and logistics and together with forwarding partners, C&A pursues the concept of an ecologically compatible truck fleet with minimum emissions based on state-of-the-art technologies. By 2010, almost all truck deliveries to C&A branches in Europe will comply with the environmentally friendly Euro 5 standard.

How to get dressed

2007-11-05T10:59:00.001Z

Casper shoe by Kurt Geiger

As of this second, shoes are officially at the pinnacle of their creative arc. It was touch and go for a while, what with bags stealing so much of the spotlight and the budget. But they are increasingly the most exciting part of a collection. Back in real life, we’ve got the good old high street. Except that when it comes to shoes, the high street is, curiously, not good. Just old. At the cheap end, it’s often quite nasty: “patents” that peel after two outings, anorexic soles, comfort not even a remote factor. Your mother was right – bargain accessories are fool’s gold.

Into this abyss treads what you could call top-end high street. At L.K. Bennett or Russell & Bromley you can easily part with £200, although both have shoes for considerably less. You will also find a point of view often lacking from the cheaper chains. Both do the safer reaches of high fashion, and L.K. Bennett also does classic elegance, Russell & Bromley a muted kind of bling.

Meanwhile, Kurt Geiger, its baby sister KG and, to an extent, the same group’s less exalted Carvela go hell for Italian leather with high, higher, give-it-to-me-baby highest fashion. And well they might, since it also runs the shoe departments of Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty and House of Fraser. This means Kurt Geiger buys all the designer ranges stocked therein, thus getting to see what the designers have come up with ahead of time. You follow my drift: two years ago, Geiger launched Fashionistas, a range of “statements” which were promptly snapped up by Madonna.

In a bid to be seen not just as a brilliant place for cheaper interpretations of luxury brands, Geiger has hired Michael Lewis, a shoe designer latterly at Gucci, Clements Ribeiro, Louis Vuitton and Burberry. Heady stuff for any label, but especially one that is much more widely available than the average designer one – since 2005, it has opened branches in Le Printemps in Paris and La Rinascente in Milan as well as in Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Luton and Bristol airports (perfect for those last-minute purchases before take-off on easyJet – or the private jet).

It’s this span (KG prices average about £85, while last year’s Kurt Geiger crocodile stilettos weighed in at £450) that makes the brand interesting, along with its unashamedly high-fashion stance. This is not the place to come for ultra-sensible shoes, although Elise, its leather baseball boots (an “homage” to Emma Hope’s), £110, look enticingly comfortable. You won’t find kitten heels, but you will discover shoe boots, heeled and flat brogues and block-coloured tango shoes à la Prada. Other favourites include KG’s stretch jewelled pump; Harlem, a zippered sandal with a cylindrical heel; and Casper (right), a satisfyingly chunky-heeled sandal by KG. Unless we’re in for the mother of all recessions, top-end high street is a growth area (Banana Republic is set to swell its numbers here soon). It just needs a better name.

Wolf at the door

2007-11-05T10:58:00.001Z

He’s spent years on the edge of the mainstream, doing his weird, amazing thing. Now Patrick Wolf, 24, is set to have his moment

Jessica Brinton

Patrick Wolf – singer, composer, fashion muse, heart-throb, perhaps pop’s next wunderkind – is so so gaudily beautiful, so sweetly puppyish, all 6ft 4in of him, in his camel-coloured sweater, denim lederhosen with silver braces, over-the-knee socks and locks the colour of a Wham bar, that it seems a shame (not to mention impossible) to ask him to calm down. Or to point out that the tearoom upstairs at Maison Bertaux, a cake shop in Soho, had only three other people in it when he arrived, and that one of them has just left in a huff. Already today, a taxi driver, whose cab Wolf used as the venue for an impromptu one-man performance, has told him, “Don’t give up the day job,” and that he has “terrible hair”. “I said, ‘Well, at least I’m not beige,’ ” says Wolf, choosing to take that remark as the backhanded compliment it wasn’t.

He may come across like a psychedelic south-London Sebastian Flyte, but if you really wanted to put Wolf in a box (for which he wouldn’t thank you), you would stick him in there with Amy Winehouse and Beth Ditto – artists who plough their own furrows, rather than work the pop-plastic stereotype.

He has talent and charisma to burn. He writes and engineers his own albums, knows how to arrange a symphony orchestra and has been gigging since he was 14 and recording and touring since he was 17. Until now, his source material has been school, where he was bullied for being everything different. His indignant responses – he once recorded a teacher telling him off and remixed the result as a pop tune – have made him godlike in the eyes of his followers.

And look: now the mainstream has found him. In February, he released The Magic Position, his third album but first for a major label. Then Burberry photographed him for its latest ad campaign. He sang Prince’s When Doves Cry with Charlotte Church on her show. He’s a hit in the States and Canada, after a whistle-stop tour to promote the album, and a regular mischief-maker on the East End scene, and in July he wore a silver sequined cardigan and baseball trousers to Elton John’s White Tie & Tiara ball.

It’s been a journey for the boy who, at 13, was shown how to disguise his acne with pan stick by drag queens, and who spent years in the gigging wilderness. “I went from being a boy with a Bontempi organ, travelling the seaside towns of northern Italy,” he has said – he does a nice line in self-mythology – “to a piano player with a fierce celtic drummer in Amsterdam, to playing to thousands as a pop star across the world.” When he was 14, he lied to his parents that he was doing “creative projects” with schoolmates, when he was playing a homemade theremin in the performance artist Leigh Bowery’s band, Minty. “My parents sent me to boarding school when I brought [the drag queen] Lady Bunny home to do a demo.”

If Wolf does get famous, everyone will speculate whether it’s boys he fancies, or girls. He is a romantic, and was in love with a woman when he recorded his last album, but his earlier songs were all about homophobic bullying at school. Who knows? At the Underage Festival in August, teenagers of both genders were jumping around adoring him.

As for fame itself, Wolf sees only potential for further naughtiness. Doing Burberry was “like a private joke with myself”, he says, and on a blog he has been writing for one of his sponsors, Fujifilm, he claims to covet a Las Vegas casino residency and “perhaps a Penge Triangle residency”. He has been known to come out of big London hotels with a blanket over his head just to tease the paparazzi.

“I woke up in my friend’s bed the other day and turned on Radio 4, and I was there talking about Joss Stone at Fashion Rocks. So bad, so awful, and so important to laugh at that and see how ridiculous it was,” he says. “Sometimes, I go to Paddington, pay £50 for the train, and go and sit on a beach in Cornwall on my own, because that’s where real magic is. When I’m 50, I’ll just be in a hut with my piano.”

I wonder if that isn’t the only way to do fame nowadays – like you can take it or leave it. “We’ll see. It isn’t ‘Look at me – look at how crazy I am.’ I just want to inspire people to break out and be themselves. I want to relate to 12-year-olds, 40-year-old fish-shop ladies, factory workers, taxi drivers. But if your ambition is to be subversive, you can’t do it from the underground – you have to do it from within.

ON THE VERGE

Interesting boys to keep your eye on

Noel Fielding

The psychedelic funny man with a flamboyant flair for fashion. When he’s not filming the mind-bending Mighty Boosh, you’re most likely to find him at a secret East End party, complete with eyeliner, spray-on jeans and cowboy heels. A total charmer.

Sam Riley

You will know Riley as the brilliant young upstart playing the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division in Control – his turn as the tortured artist is mesmerising and affecting. Riley’s wide-eyed innocence, coupled with gritty northern posturing, seals his status as actor du jour and captain of our hearts.

Devendra Banhart

A kind of modern messiah, he enthrals girls and boys alike with his tender, idiosyncratic music. Reminiscent of Jim Morrison, Banhart is breathtakingly beautiful, and says he simply wants to spread peace and love. We certainly won’t be stopping him.

Alex Zane

After a stint doing stand-up, he now graces our screens weekly, presenting Popworld. Those dishevelled curls and big, brown eyes make for a happy addition to Sunday-morning TV. Add to that his cheeky-chappy bravado and pseudo-shyness, and you’ve got yourself a crush.

The Magic Position is out now on Loog/ Polydor. Patrick Wolf tours the UK, Nov 21-30; www.myspace.com/officialpatrickwolf

Comfort is the sole aim

2007-11-05T10:54:00.002Z

The perfect affordable velvet jacket has arrived, berets are cool and high street shoes get a boost. Our fashion editor celebrates

Patently good

It has been a dramatic week for Gap. First, the reports that some of its suppliers have been subcontracting to manufacturers who employ children in India, then the swift promise to sever links with those factories. Pierre Hardy, who designs the shoes at Balenciaga and Hermès that account for some of the most creatively challenging ideas on the catwalks and also heads up his own line of accessories, has huge faith in the brand. “It’s iconic, isn’t it? Everyone can picture Gap’s aesthetics - that clean, American, slightly Seventies thing.”

You would expect Hardy to be an enthusiast. His first collaboration with Gap - a pair of patent platform sandals and two flat pumps, manufactured in various colours in Brazil - goes on sale tomorrow. Together with the arresting Gap ads in which he is starring this autumn, these are likely to put paid to his status as a designer revered by the cognoscenti. At £55 and up, they exude a desirability too often missing from high-street shoes - and they’re comfortable.

“Comfort - that’s the first thing women comment on, always. Even when they’re in my studio trying on 10-cm heels. It’s as if they have to justify the purchase every time,” Hardy observes. “But yes, these are comfortable. It’s because of the padded soles, something I wanted to do with my own line for years, but never quite managed.”

At 51, he never trained as a shoe designer, but as an arts graduate he found their sculptural qualities irresistible. “Unlike clothing, shoes aren’t really altered by the body wearing them. It comes down to being able to control the finished effect better, which sounds a bit freakish, I suppose.”

The neatest of men, which implies considerable control, Hardy suggests that one reason women have developed a seemingly excessive taste for shoes in the past decade is that “while men are happy to wear vintage shoes, old and well looked-after, for a woman a shoe is like make-up, it has to be pristine and fresh. It’s a way for her to feel powerful and renewed, although in reality it makes her fragile when they’re so high.”

Hardy is happy designing flats, as is testified by this taster collection (and the ten styles he has produced for Gap for next spring, including a gladiator sandal that nails the season).

“Flat can be as much a statement as high. What’s difficult is medium – and what seemed high three years ago looks medium now. We keep pushing to extremes.” Not that he’s worried. “Women are prepared to put up with a certain amount of pain to look good,” he says, “and no shoe is as painful as plastic surgery.”

Head cases

The message that this is a hat-heavy season has already embedded itself in the national consciousness. The Times fashion desk has noticed legions of berets on the streets, never mind the number on the red carpet as Juliette Lewisites grope for ever more novel ways of letting the world know how bohemian they are – or telling their stylists and agents to let the world know.

Obviously compared with the KGB-style caps at Costume National or the Little Miss Muffety doylies with ribbons at Betty Jackson, a humble beret might seem tame. You say compromise, we say versatile. Key, of course, is not to look as though you're trying to be Cate Blanchett trying to be a member of the resistance. Worn correctly, a beret looks as cute as, well a beret. Correctly means wearing it with an ample swish of hair, pulling it low on the head in a nononsense statement.

Verily berets haven’t had it this good since those mischievous courtiers told an innocent Lady Di that she would go straight to hell if she didn’t support British millinery at all times. Comptoir de Cotonniers has excellent ones (£39).

Buy this

We haven’t found much to get excited about at Hobbs lately, but the velvet jacket (in picture gallery above) has it all. Well cut, soft velvet with a polished gleam and nicely placed pockets, it’s a refreshing and sophisticated alternative to cardigans.

The perfect accompaniment to masculine trousers, jodhpurs and white shirts, T-shirts, the perennial tunic dress and yes, jeans.

It’s a fraction of the price of one by Dolce e Gabbana or YSL but we think you’ll get a satisfying amount of wear out it. In camel or black, priced £99.

The secret life of Catherine B

2007-11-05T10:54:00.001Z

At 46, Catherine Bailey has lost none of her charms. She talks about her husband, her body and why she loves being naked

Camilla Long

A few months ago, I was sitting in a cafe with my mother when we noticed a couple making their way towards us. The man was older, and slightly out of breath. “He’s trying to see if we’re checking him out,” said my mother. “But who’s that?” I said, pointing to the woman, an almond-eyed siren who looked not a day over 35, with an ostentatious maxi-dress and loose, waist-length hair billowing behind her. She was arrestingly good-looking, very much in control, very much the spring chicken. “Well, I think he’s David Bailey,” said my mother.

Catherine Bailey has always been silently striking. Now, at 46, she is in the limelight yet again, this time stripping to her underwear (and less � peephole bras, breast-revealing corsets and thigh-high boots) in a saucy new campaign for Agent Provocateur.

“I don’t really think about my age,” she says spryly, ordering a still water from the bar at the Savoy. “I only think, hang on, how come I’ve got to this age and still feel the same? People’s attitudes to [older models] are changing. Why can’t you be sexual? Why can’t you wear great underwear and be fabulous? Older women shouldn’t disappear. I want to see them wearing that stuff.”

The pictures were shot in a country house outside Oxford; Catherine plays an archly sexy chatelaine in charge of two naughty French maids (one of whom is Pearl Lowe’s daughter, Daisy). Here, she is whipping their bare bottoms; there, she is half nude, being massaged in a bubble bath � “My favourite shot,” she says. “I liked being in control.”

The splendid sight of a 46-year-old woman dressed as a sex object serves only to remind us how infrequently we encounter such images. But older women sell. In 2003, French Elle featured a 40-year-old Emmanuelle Béart frolicking nude in the Mauritian surf on the cover, and it was their biggest-selling issue ever. “Look, I’m 40: this is my body,” the actress said when the issue came out. “These are my curves; I like them and I’m proud of them. I feel better in my body now than when I was 20. Why not?”

Catherine agrees: “I’m much more comfortable in my skin now that I’m older. I feel better physically. I’ve had children; I’ve gone past that phase. It’s nice to be sexy, but it’s not the only thing about you. Not that sex becomes less important. You just get it into the right perspective. You realise it’s just part of life; that all you used to read about sex was bullshit. It’s painful for kids out there � what they think they should or shouldn’t be doing.”

She is not without anxieties, of course. “I’m still self-critical. Aren’t all women? Anxieties change as you get older. At 15, it’s spots; at 20, it’s fat thighs � I was much plumper when I was younger. Now, it’s wrinkles. I love retouching . . .”

Not that she needs it. Spikily thin in a jumper, jeans and boots, with her hair scraped back unforgivingly off her face and no trace of make-up, she isn’t much different in the flesh from how she looks in the pictures. The only signs of ageing are “these � ugh!” she says, touching the smoker’s wrinkles around her eyes.

For Agent Provocateur’s founder, Serena Rees, it was Catherine’s “sexual magnetism” that intrigued her. For her, an older model was never a risk. “We have customers aged from 16 to 81,” she says. “Last time, we used the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, who had just had a baby. This time, I wanted to use a woman who was over 40. Don’t they say we have our best sex when we hit 40?”

Even though Catherine is confident in her body � “I don’t have any issues. I’ve accepted my body and walk around nude all the time” � returning to modelling five years ago, at the age of 41, must still have been a shock. “Actually, it was great, because I know what it’s all about now,” she says. “I was full of angst when I was younger. They didn’t book me because my bottom was fat, or this was wrong, that was wrong. But in the end, it’s only a job. If you’re right for the shoot, they will book you; if you aren’t, they won’t. It’s not about how you are as a human being.”

And what did her husband make of the pictures? “He thought they were great.” Bailey is, after all, the one who has always encouraged her to experiment and the man who filmed her giving birth to their third child for broadcast on national television.

“Oh, that was ages ago,” she says, with a laugh. “It was the journey of a woman, what most women go through. It was a huge compliment to me, like a wonderful love story. Other people didn’t see it that way, but I was thrilled with it.”

But wasn’t she mildly irritated, having a video camera shoved . . . ? “Oh, you don’t care if the world walks into the room at the time,” she says. “I was preoccupied with getting our son out, rather than telling Bailey to stop it.”

Twenty-five years with a notoriously cantankerous womaniser have certainly eliminated any self-consciousness. “Do I get embarrassed?” Catherine says. “No. I’ve lived with him for a long time.” She moved to London in her late teens, after growing up in South Africa. By 21, she had met her future husband, who had already been through three marriages (Rosemary Bramble, Catherine Deneuve and Marie Helvin), as well as an affair with the supermodel Jean Shrimpton. At 69, he is 23 years her senior.

“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” she says. The couple met when she was hired to model for an Avon catalogue. “Lust at first sight maybe. You can have a mutual attraction, but love takes longer. At first, I was scared of him. He’s intimidating, because he’s naughty. A tease. He looks to see where he can push someone to make them squirm. Of course he did it to me! But I can look like things aren’t bothering me even when they are.”

Catherine was happy to settle down. “I worked for about six years, then had Paloma and Fenton,” she says. The family moved to Devon. Life has not been without trauma, however. In 1995, two days after giving birth to their third child, Sascha, she endured a nerve-shredding ordeal. “It was probably one of the worst things that has ever happened to me,” she remembers. “I was arrested for having stolen a baby. About the time Sascha was born, a baby girl was snatched from a nearby hospital. I was in the maternity department in John Lewis, buying a pushchair. I felt fabulous: back in my normal clothes and with a lovely newborn baby son. While I was paying, the staff asked me to wait. Then I saw a load of policemen coming up the fire escape. There were lots of women around, so it’s embarrassing for a start, and I thought, I’ve been a right prat � I’ve been pleased with myself [for looking so trim]. That’ll teach me for being smug.

“I said, ‘My name is Catherine Bailey, this is Sascha Bailey and I’m not the person you want. Leave me alone!’ But a policeman grabbed the pushchair with Sascha in it and flung it across the room. They bundled me into a white van. Sascha was making noises, but I wasn’t allowed anywhere near him.”

When she got to the police station, she was “sat on the bench with a lot of undesirables. Every time I asked for my phone call, I was sworn at. When I said I had to feed Sascha, they just said, ‘You’ll do what we tell you.’ I started to bleed heavily � it just gushed out. I said to them, ‘I’m bleeding.’ They said, ‘Shut up and sit down.’ It was horrible � it still gives me the wobbles.” It was two hours before they “checked his nappy and saw he was a boy. Then the police all disappeared, because they had screwed up”, she says.

Catherine put the episode down to experience and soldiered on. Nowadays, she is “constantly busy” with the kids and modelling, a career that both Fenton and Paloma have toyed with. “I didn’t particularly want her to do it,” she says of her daughter. “If you’re insecure, young and not as tall as you should be � though she is pretty enough, I knew it would be difficult for her at that age. Why do you want to be crushed all the time? It becomes too personal, even though it’s not.”

And what did the children think of the Agent Provocateur pictures? “The older two think they are great,” Catherine says. “But when Bailey says, ‘Isn’t she beautiful?’, Sascha just goes, ‘She’s my mother’, which is, well, I suppose so.”

The style of New York City

2007-11-05T10:52:00.000Z

New York has always been well known for its sassy style and extraordinary cultural mix. Now a new book captures the Big Apple’s real-life fashion tribes in all their diverse glory

Adam Moss

You see them everywhere, strutting up and down the New York streets, flaunting their style like plumage. As you try hard not to stare, you can’t help but admire their taste, or courage, or both.

Perhaps you’ve wanted to stop them, grab them by their purple neon lapels and ask them what they were thinking when they got dressed that morning. That was the genesis of the New York Look Book.

Jody Quon, New York magazine’s photography director, chose Jake Chessum to take the pictures. His photographic style is so animated you can feel his subjects in mid-stride. He paired up with Amy Larocca, the magazine’s fashion writer, and set out armed with release forms, a portable white backdrop and the hope that this exercise might actually yield some interesting results.

As it turned out, Amy and Jake were a perfect match.

They discovered they shared a talent for choosing – and seducing – just the right subjects for this social experiment. And what they brought back turned out to be richer and more wonderful than anyone could have imagined. It was no surprise that the city was full of stylish people – this is a world fashion capital, after all – but the depth of personality that each style revealed amazed everyone. There were plenty of women and men wearing the latest fashions, but the streets also randomly generated legions of incredible-looking people who’d given serious thought to making their look their own.

The book was titled the Look Book to echo the name designers give to their compilations of a season’s collection. After all, it is a frequently expressed contention that the streets of New York are a giant runway, with each passer-by playing the role of model and designer of his or her own style.

American pop culture By Tommy Hilfiger with George Lois

2007-11-05T10:49:00.002Z

Inspired by Tommy Hilfiger's passion for Americana and George Lois' provocative visual power, Iconic America presents a mosaic of over 400 iconic and iconoclastic images from the melting pot of the American experience.

The influence that these iconic images have had on the world is immeasurable; however, it is the way in which they are uniquely juxtaposed on the pages of Iconic America that compels Americans to question who we are, what we stand for, and perhaps, where we should be heading.

Not only does Iconic America celebrate the snap, crackle, and pop of American popular culture, it offers a poignant and compelling commentary on America, dramatizing the national ethos in a startlingly and refreshing new way.

As Tommy Hilfiger writes in the preface, "In a sad time of self-inflicted anti-Americanism, George Lois and I have endeavored to craft an enlightening book that reminds the world, as well as our fellow citizens, of the variety and magnificence of American pop culture."

To coincide with the launch of the book Iconic America, Tommy Hilfiger has designed a unique capsule collection of T-shirts and sweatshirts, which feature striking and unexpected overlays of pop culture and Americana images, similar to the juxtapositions made in the book. The collection will launch in select Tommy Hilfiger stores worldwide.

In addition to a grant from The Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, Tommy Hilfiger will donate $5 to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for every copy of the book Iconic America and each item of the capsule collection sold at Tommy Hilfiger stores. Fifty percent of that will go towards helping the children of the world and fifty percent towards educating American children about the world.

"UNICEF is delighted to partner with Tommy Hilfiger and this unique publication, Iconic America - a book that vividly captures the colorful mosaic that is the American spirit," said Caryl M. Stern, president and CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF. "Saving children's lives is what we do and I have seen the American spirit rally to intervene in humanitarian crises around the world - whether through volunteerism or charitable giving, its strength cannot be denied."

In addition to the edition that will be available wherever books are sold, a special exclusive cover of the book can be found at select Tommy Hilfiger stores worldwide.

GEORGE LOIS: After returning as a Korean War veteran, a brash young son of Greek immigrants burst upon the scene in the late 1950s and became a pioneer of the Creative Revolution in advertising and design in the late 1960s. George Lois is the most creative, prolific design communicator of our time, renowned for dozens of marketing miracles that triggered innovative and populist changes in American culture.

New York magazine famously named Lois "Superman of Madison Avenue, America's master communicator,"

Márcia & Ricardo present summer collection in London

2007-11-05T10:49:00.001Z

The exhibit and book with the new works by stylist Márcia Ganem and photographer Ricardo Fernandes are on display at Gallery 32, in London.

In her 2008 summer collection, Marcia used alternative materials in making her pieces, elaborated from polyamide fiber (originally used in car manufacturing).

The stylist has a partnership with Brazilian arts and crafts groups, which adds cultural traces to her creations.

Ricardo Fernandes, in turn, presents the book, Marcia Ganem Textiles, with photos of her new collection, putting them in an esthetic context. Gallery 32 is at Green Street, 32, in London (England).

Vaibhav Gems Chairman pleased to have Nalanda Capital

2007-11-05T10:48:00.001Z

Vaibhav Gems Ltd, a multi-national company in the jewelry industry announced an investment by Nalanda Capital’s India Fund equaling 14.9 percent share of the company in the form of Global Depository receipts and an additional 5% stake through warrants. The total transaction size, if warrants are exercised, will be about US $35 million.

Nalanda Capital Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based private equity investment firm. The firm’s India fund closed at $400 million in late May 2007. Nalanda Capital Founder and Manager Pulak Prasad will represent the firm on the VGL Board. Prasad was previously managing director in India for the global private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

“We at Vaibhav are very pleased to have Nalanda Capital on our board,” said Sunil Agrawal, Chairman of Vaibhav Gems Ltd (VGL). “We look forward to their insights and expertise to take Vaibhav to the next level.”

VGL has expanded over the past several years to include jewelry shopping channels in the U.K., Germany and the U.S., 19 retail stores in Caribbean and Mexico, its own manufacturing units in India, Thailand and China and a wholesale operation. In 2005, VGL acquired New York-based STS Jewels and its subsidiaries, which have continued to expand products and territories.

“The Team at Nalanda Capital feels that VGL’s business model and recent expansions show promise for long-term growth and a wise investment for its fund as the company is well diversified and vertically integrated,” continued Agrawal.

The team at Nalanda Capital has had a long and successful track record of private equity investing in India. Given the peculiar nature of the Indian private equity industry, the Nalanda team believes that the right long-term investing model for India is to apply the private equity discipline in the public markets. The team has successfully applied this discipline in their professional careers before Nalanda.

Coletivo launches 2008 high summer collection

2007-11-05T10:47:00.000Z

A fashion show on Sunday, October 28, changed the look of the pompous garden designed by Burle Marx at the Theatro José de Alencar in Fortaleza, Ceará. And the reason was more than special: it was the official launch of the Coletivo – Acervo Aberto brand.

Altogether, nine stylists, members of the Project, participated in the free event, which was open to the public and inspired on the art of serving tea, from Zabumba tea to Waiting tea. Actually, several types of tea were served to the guests during the presentation of the collections proposed for the high summer of 2008.

Ayres Jr. opened the line up with his Zabumba tea and he bet on tight-fitting jeans with high and defined waistlines. He also created comfortable pieces like the balloon dress over skinny slacks for next season.

Manuel Bessa served Imperial tea. He dressed princesses with short balloons and leg-of-mutton sleeves. For the princes, low cut jeans with an interesting play with pockets. China tea was served by Cândida Lopes.

And from the other side of the world she brought dresses in light fabrics with differentiated collars or V necks and high waists. Stylist Francisco Matias offered Literary tea. And he found harmony in light and ample pieces in the deconstructed modeling.

He was followed by Lúcio Áureo who proposed the Dolls tea, presenting pieces with delicate touches, innocent colors, like the mini plaids. The woman’s attitude is seen in the short length anddefined waist.

João Sobbar chose the Mandrágora tea to elaborate his collection, which brings the ample halter top to the tight-fitting jeans with high waists and nervures and draped blouses. Lindebergue Fernandes entered the universe of the Crazy tea to create pieces appropriate for the hottest season of the year.

For both men and women, the tops are light. Pants and shorts in jeans emerge with ultra-light washes. The Shaman tea came from Anastácio JR, who revealed a collection that revisits the 80s. On the catwalk, extravagant pieces with lots of shine, wildcat skins and super high waists.

Mar del Castro, by the brother and sister André and Raphaela Castro, closed the event with the Waiting tea. For beach fashion the duo went beyond the well-worked bikinis and swimsuits, introducing alternatives: dresses, pants and tops. The photos are by Roberta Braga.

The event was officially sponsored by Santana Têxtil do Brasil and Loco Serious Denim and received sponsorship from Aviamentos.

The Coletivo tea received the support of the state government of Ceará, Theatro José de Alencar and DL Empório da Moda, as well as Doutex Tecidos, Malhas Menegotti and SN Lav – Creative Laundry.

New shoes for Southern Nevada Project Homeless Connect guests

2007-11-05T10:46:00.002Z

Nashville-based charity Soles4Souls Inc, the global organization dedicated to providing free footwear to people in need all over the world, announced that they are providing 3,000 pairs of new shoes to all the guests who attend the Southern Nevada Project Homeless Connect at the Cashman Field Center. Each guest will receive a new pair of sandals from the charity.

On Tuesday, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., Soles4Souls staff and volunteers will be on hand to fit each guest of the event with their new pair of shoes. The Cashman Field Center is located at 850 North Las Vegas Blvd in Las Vegas.

"Our mission is the same as Help Hope Home, and that is to have a positive impact on people's lives," said Wayne Elsey, Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls.

"We hope that this small donation will help those who are battling life's problems. I would like to thank the Southern Nevada Project Homeless Connect for allowing us the opportunity to give away 3,000 pairs of shoes to people in need," he said.

Expansion of Joseph Schubach diamond & diamond alternative inventory

2007-11-05T10:46:00.001Z

Long one of the most respected Web-based retailers of high-end Moissanite jewelry, Joseph Schubach Jewelers announced a major expansion of its diamond and diamond alternative inventory, adding a number of new products to its already extensive online offerings.

New items include several alternatives to today's trendy fancy-colored diamonds, including natural pink and yellow sapphires, pink Moissanite and blue color-enhanced natural diamonds.

"Our customers told us they wanted more fancy-colored diamond options, and we listened," said Joseph Schubach, CEO of Joseph Schubach Jewelers. "From natural diamonds that have been color-enhanced to lab-created Gemesis diamonds, Moissanite and natural sapphires in vibrant yellows and pinks, we have fancy-colored gemstones for every budget."

In addition to meeting customer demand, the addition of product lines and fine jewelry offerings also represents a new direction for the company, Schubach noted.

"As we expand our inventory, we're also expanding our role as the premier retailer of all forms of fine jewelry, from natural diamonds to simulated diamond jewelry and beyond," he said. "Our customers can shop in confidence knowing that each and every product we offer -- regardless of its price range -- is of the highest quality and craftsmanship available.

"With the holidays fast approaching, we felt there was no better time to tell customers about our expanded selection," Schubach continued. "With more diamond and diamond alternative products than ever before, Joseph Schubach Jewelers makes it easy to find the perfect gift. Plus, we offer personalized service to all our customers, so if you don't see exactly what you're looking for, just ask."

Many new items are available on the company's Web site.

Walter Rodrigues takes Fashion Rio in a stride

2007-11-05T10:45:00.000Z

The components sector participated in the Commercial Mission to Asia - promoted by Abicalçados with support of APEX-Brazil - and it became the highlight in the first stage of the route: the Fashion Access fair, in Hong Kong in China.

The sandal created by the fashion designer Walter Rodrigues for the Fashion Rio, and developed through the project led by Assintecal, was among the finalists of the Best of APLF Awards, contest that selects the best products displayed in the fair.

“There are more than 600 exhibitors, and our material was very well placed in the juries' evaluation, one more time praising us for the work's recognition”, evaluates Assintecal's superintendent, Ilse Biason Guimarães.

The Brazilian design not only attracted attention to the finished products (footwear, bags and accessories). The components appealed to the audience, especially the ornaments and leather works.

“The materials with an ecological appeal had also an excellent repercussion, confirming a trend verified in stands of different countries”, says Ilse.

Brazilian Association of Shoe and Leather Components Industries (Assintecal)

The Steve Madden Chap

2007-11-05T10:41:00.000Z

Steve Madden is now accepting pre-orders for what they claim is their latest "most wanted" shoe, the Chap. According to Steve Madden, "These haute booties capture the silhouette of the season. Pair them with tights or trousers for the perfect pulled together look".

The Chap is constructed of genuine leather and is available in black, white, fuschia, cream, brown, grey and tan. The Chap also boasts a leather sole, 4.75" heel, a hidden 1" platform and a price tag of $149.95

So what do you think? Love it or hate it?

Like Shoes…… Love Shola

2007-11-04T17:01:00.001Z

Whether you're looking for the perfect pair for your Christmas party a New Year ball or just simply something a little bit different, you're going to love the selection on offer. And guy's if you're reading this, the Gift Vouchers will make an ideal Christmas present for the woman in your life!

Shoes by - Strutt Couture, Bourne, Guilty, Mac Collection and French Sole
Jewellery by - Shira Designer Jewellery

Fashionrome.com - essential fashion from the heart of Italy

2007-11-04T17:00:00.001Z

Fashionrome.com is the new online destination to help you find an infinite array of exciting, unique "Made in Italy" styles and trends updated each with season's collection of exclusive products from impossible to find online Italian designers.

Fashionrome.com's mission is to provide the consumer and retail vendors with totally unique women's clothing, handbags, shoes and accessories not available outside of Italy in high street or chain retail shops at reasonable prices. Store owners can acquire items in bulk and introduce to their clients, authentic high level Italian wear.

Designed and manufactured 100% by Italian designers in Italy Fashionrome.com offers the opportunity to own that "one of a kind" fashion item of exceptional design, quality and flair previously only available to those who can travel and shop the hard to find boutiques of Rome, Milan, Florence, Bologna, Naples and Modena. Often seen on catwalks and in magazines, but impossible to find online, the site will provide the latest seasonal collections of clothes, handbags, shoes and accessories and comments on upcoming trends from the designers themselves like Francesca Ferrante, Gianna Meliani and all that concerns Italy and the fashion Made in Italy.

Fashionrome.com offers items personally selected among the new comers, soon to be stars, of the Italian fashion industry, the best value for money always. Fashionrome.com's exclusive private label, P&R PIACERE offers personally selected items each season creating our own special collection which offers terrific class, style and quality all at very affordable prices. With the P&R PIACERE collection you'll never be caught wearing the same item as someone else, always a unique YOU!

Karma searches for Miss Galway

2007-11-04T16:56:00.000Z

Karma Club Galway will launch its quest to find a contender for the Miss Ireland competition when it takes place in Cork on the 30th June.
Models Inc, now in its 3rd year, has launched numerous modelling careers and has upped the profile of the West of Ireland in terms of talent & resources for Modelling Agencies.

Previous winners Zhanna Brennan, Linda Breathnach & Aleesha Byrd have gone on to appear on local, national and international fashion publications, catwalk shows & even some TV appearances.
Such is the high-calibre of the contest, a number of runners up from the previous years have also gained modelling contracts with various agencies.
The winner of Models Inc will be crowned as Miss Karma and will represent the club & Galway at the Miss Ireland Competition.

"This is the 3rd year of the Models Inc competition, which has proven more and more popular every year. We're hopeful that this year the club can pick a representative for both Karma & Galway City and follow on from Rosanna Davidson's Miss World success. It would be nice to see the Miss World title in the City of the Tribes!" Eric Hennelly Flanagan, PR/Events Manager, Karma Club Galway & Athlone.
Carfinder.ie

This year the format of Models Inc has changed in-line with the Miss Ireland guidelines. Participates should be between the ages of 18 and 22 and must be available to attend Miss Ireland finals in Cork and the Miss World finals later this year.

"We are glad to announce the return of Models Inc in the new format. We're hoping for a similar high standard - or higher- as last year's competition"John O'Dwyer, Area Manager, Karma Club Galway & Athlone

The competition will be run on an application form basis (which is available from the Skeffington Arms Hotel reception). Those short-listed will be called back and to attend interviews and one of the semi-finals.
First prize includes a 1 year contract with Catwalk Model Agency, €500 clothing voucher and of course the chance to become the next Miss Ireland.
More information including a copy of the rules and prize specification can be got via the Karma Club website, www.karma.ie , the Karma Bebo page karmanightclubs.bebo.com or by emailing info@karma.ie

Avon declares regular quarterly dividend

2007-11-04T16:36:00.001Z

Avon Products Inc declared a regular quarterly dividend on its common stock of $.185 per share, payable December 3, 2007, to shareholders of record November 15, 2007.

Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with almost $9 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in well over 100 countries through over five million independent Avon Sales Representatives.

Avon's product line includes beauty products, fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Avon Solutions, Advance Techniques, Avon Naturals, Mark, and Avon Wellness.