Topshop - Body Armour Collection

Slinky Jerseys, grey marl and power mesh are making a serious come-back with sportswear inspired pieces. Who would have thought that the humble track pant could look so sophisticated? Rolled up to mid-calf and teamed up with killer shoe boots, a simple vest and a leather motor cross jacket, they ooze city cool. Sportswear strapping, elastic trims and utilitarian zipps add an urban twist to body armour's clean, sleek silhouette.

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Fashion Trend - Sporty!!

Get the look with Proenza Schouler’s acid brights, Pucci’s day-glo prints and Thakoon’s scuba dresses. Introduce the trend into your wardrobe with rainbow-bright rubber bangles, neoprene sandals and ergonomic cut outs. Designers look to the surf for inspiration with plenty of body-con scuba dresses, swimsuits with criss-crossing body straps and revealing cut-aways. Look to Hermes, Lacoste and Rochas for a more genteel take on the trend. Activate: think Alexander Wang's grey marle and Topshop Unique's numbered racer backs for an all-American high school vibe.

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Tokyo Fashion Week

TOKYO (AFP) – Layered chiffon tops and silky hemlines met shiny leather boots on the catwalk of the Tokyo Fashion Show this week in a blend of old-world femininity and edgy city themes.

"They are the fairies strolling through the maze of concrete," said designer Yuma Koshino of the waif-like models showcasing her "Baroque and Block" collection.

"They switch back and forth between their time of being mature women and of being girls. They are kitsch, cute and romantic."

"The story is about women in town," explained the daughter of fashion maestro Hiroko Koshino about her 2010-2011 autumn/winter collection, a fusion of hard and soft, tight and loose, and black and pastel.

"They strut around the city blocks, acting independent in this world, but they also crave the feminine, elegant touch of medieval times."The Tokyo Collection, the highlight of the Japan Fashion Week which ended Friday, kicks off the season ahead of shows in Paris, New York and Milan.

Koshino said the "fairy girl" touches in her line-up evoke "Alice in Wonderland", but she also used elements of "optical art", the hard geometric patterns, usually black and white, that can confuse the eye."I wanted to try optical art. I think it's coming," she said. "It has always been around, but I wanted to use it because it looks both sharp and elegant."

At the Tokyo show, which brought together 44 Japanese fashion houses, Koshino was not the only designer to experiment with optical art.

Eri Matsui, who has long sought to fuse art and science, turned her latest stage show into a mathematical laboratory of geometric silhouettes, including a white evening dress with a pattern resembling sea anemones.

Sticking with a grittier urban noir theme was G.V.G.V. designer Mug, who said she tried to recreate the world of David Lynch's psychological thriller "Mulholland Dr" on her smoke-filled red carpet stage.

Seeking to merge chic and avant garde, defiance and elegance, her girls mixed red leather skirts with white chiffon tops.

"I wanted to create the air of an erotic womanly scent," Mug said. "I also wanted to give a touch of a Los Angeles grungy street feeling."

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DESPITE reporting flat net profits for the final quarter of 2009, Hermes has declared a slight increase in net income over the past year's trading, posting figures of €290.2 million - up on the previous year's €288.8 million.This was in line with the company's revised forecast last month for a rise of 3 to 4 per cent in operating profit, versus an earlier forecast of a 5 per cent drop, WWD reported. Despite a difficult luxury market, Hermes has refused to cut prices, maintaining that the secret to weathering the recession lies in preserving the brand's rich history. "We don't grow as fast as we could," Hermes ceo Patrick Thomas said last year, "because we do not want to waste the image and the heritage that this company has developed in six generations just to make short term money. It would be a capital sin when you have an asset, a jewel like Hermès." The French house, famous for its bags, may be benefitting from a general recovery in the sale of luxury bags, also reported by Selfridges earlier this month. See which bags are selling best for the department store here. Se more of the Jean Paul Gaultier's Avengers-inspired Hermes show here

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Overweight MODELS???

-Last week Ralph Lauren came under fire for (what looked to be) an extremely altered photo of a model in one of its ads. Bloggers at the website BoingBoing.net posted the image online, and lawyers for Ralph Lauren attempted to sue them for copyright infringement. Unfortunately for Ralph Lauren, this only furthered public interest and outrage over the dangerously thin looking model and, eventually, the clothing company released this apology: "For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately."-

Ralph Lauren

Monica Grenfell is horrified. Why? Well, see, this year's Miss England contest has a fairly unique finalist: Chloe Marshall, a size 16 (about a size 14 in U.S. sizes.) Seventeen-year-old Marshall has been quite outspoken about wanting to be "an ambassador for curves" and demonstrate to young girls that it isn't necessary to be a size zero. She says she eats healthy food and exercises regularly. Grenfell, however, is a dietician and she hopes Chloe doesn't win. "It would send an appalling--and very dangerous--message to other young women that it's OK to be fat. Grenfell makes the point that we don't have an anorexia epidemic, we have an obesity epidemic, and that the last thing girls need to hear is that it's okay to be overweight because it puts you at risk for health problems like Type 2 diabetes and heart attacks. Mmm hmm. Well, we could debate that one all day, but there is certainly no consensus among researchers that obesity itself is the cause of the problems. In other words, the real issue is poor eating habits and a lack of physical activity, not the weight itself. And we certainly have a plethora of extremely thin role models for girls right now, role models whose bodies are not a realistic goal for many of the most active, healthy-eating girls in the world.

Monica Grenfell

Well, these are opinions of two diferent sources about the matter; are overweigh models meant to be models? Ralph Lauren obviously thinks that no, they are not. They were not satisifed with the way one of their model looked, so they touched and edited her pics -a little too much, if I may say- to make her look skinnier. The Truth? They overdid it quite a bit. Im not saying they shouldn't edit the pictures, but that has unearthly proportions. On the other side, Monica Grenfell -internationally renowed nutricionist- doesnt like it one bit. I mean, just read what she has to say. It explains itself. Now, i came to write about this because sombody brought it up in school. In my opinion, i do not think that people with a BMI over 23.5 (overweight limit) should be modeling. But then again, don't get me wrong, i am absolutely NOT saying that overweight people should not exist, Im just saying that clothes, brand advertising and the visual media world should be selective with who they chose as their image. And, of course, clothes don't look good on an absolute skeleton, but they look nice in somebody merely underweight. An besides the image they give away, there is the health problem. Lately people may think that theres is an anorexic epidemic as Monica Grenfell said. But why do they say that? Because people are actually pressured to try and look good. And they look good in first place, because they are healthy. But, honestly, being overweight is everything but healthy. What we really have is an obesity plague though. Nowadays, kids care less and less for what they eat, and they will end up fat. I am sorry, but that is the ugly truth. But then again, this is one of a thousand opinions.

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Alberta Ferreti launches it's new online shop

FOR those that love Albert Ferretti, they'll love that the fashion label has launched its own online shop even more - www.albertaferretti.com. "The online store offers new and stimulating opportunities in terms of immediacy, fun, freedom and interactivity. I am very excited about this new project that we are launching," says designer Alberta Ferretti. Powered by Yoox Group, the online store will be accessible from 52 different countries in Europe, North America, Japan and the Far East. "I find Yoox Group to be the ideal partner thanks to its proven track record and high quality of customer service," adds Ferretti.Visitors will be able to shop the Ferretti ready-to-wear, accessories and fragrances collections, as well as those from the Philosophy collection.

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Spring/Summer 2010 Trend Report

BUY luxury, buy quality, buy something that will become an iconic piece in your wardrobe - from Miuccia's Prada's chandelier dresses, to Jil Sander's raw and ripped chiffon, to Dolce's knickers or McQueen's metallic snakeskin marvels, to Lanvin's most beautiful dresses ever, to Peter Pilotto's prints, to Burberry's trench dresses, if you buy one thing for spring/summer, make it a big story. If the recession isn't letting up yet, buy one thing and the thrill will last.

Lanvin

If hemlines are to be believed as the rule of all things financial, though, things are certainly looking up - skirts are creeping up the thigh and bottom-revealing bloomers, henceforth known as hotpantaloons, first appeared in New York and bred across the fashion cities fast.

While there was a touch of sparkle in the front row of every single show, it's a trend that is built to last and whether you wear it on your tights, on lamé socks with high heels, around your neck, woven into your chiffon evening gowns or tied to your handbag, a little bit of glitter always does a girl good. Shoes are still big statements but heels are coming down too; kitten heels have even been mentioned and so have clogs (Chanel, Celine, Louis Vuitton).

Chanel

The big story for summer though, is nudity - the vast majority of shows opened with nude, ice-cream colours, making cut and drapery the big style statements as opposed to eye-popping colours. Where last summer we obsessed about colour blocking, next will be about subtleties of tone: nude with peach with washed out nutmeg, or grey with icy blue. A general lack of clothing will be approved of too - your underwear must look its best next summer because if it's not on show it's not worth wearing - only to be covered by swathes of knotted and ruffled sheer chiffon - and a touch of lace will keep things interesting (Stella McCartney, Fendi).

Stella McCartney

White is always a trend for summer, but 2010 is expecting a full washout - bleached cotton came tailored and masculine or bulging and ruffled. And if you want colour, make it a check (Christopher Kane, Louis Vuitton). Louis Vuitton

So what to buy, if you will be shopping? Party dresses - lots of them, to be worn day and night: with interesting (and forgiving) folds around the hip for added shape. A jumpsuit - single shouldered or strapless if you dare. Loose trousers that taper to the ankle, preferably in silk. Bring shoes down a level or two, and if you venture from the washed out palette, make it a bold, tribal or ethnic print (Dries Van Noten). A trench coat, long or short (or turned into a party dress at Burberry). A belt - skinny ribbons or wide leather versions; the waist intends to allow you to show off your curves next summer. And if your curves are that good, swimwear is teeny weeny as can be.

Dries Van Noten

And everybody's new favourite model? Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw appeared in all the key shows, surely with plenty of ad campaigns to follow. Certainly no recession hangover for her.

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Vogue UK

82nd Annual Academy Awards

Elizabeth Banks Wearing a long versace draped dress Sandra Bullock Sandra Bullock, nominated for Best Actress for The Blind Side, in a velvet Marchesa gown Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon Mariah Carey, star of Precious, wearing a navy Valentino gown, with husband Nick Cannon George Clooney & Elisabetta Banks George Clooney, nominated for Best Actor for Up in the Air, with Elisabetta Canalis wearing a long red Roberto Cavalli gown Miley & Trish Cyrus

Miley Cyrus wearing a Jenny Packham gown, with her mother Trish Cyrus

Matt Damon Matt Damon, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Invictus, with wife Luciana Barroso wearing a Salvatore Ferragamo gown

Kate Moss in Haute Couture

WHO: Kate Moss WHERE: Natalia Vodianova's LOVE Ball WORE: Valentino Haute couture The iconic Ms. Moss is always known for wearing some of fashion's finest designers, but it seemed appropriate that she chose a romantic Valentino couture piece to wear to the LOVE Ball in London during fashion week. She accessorized with chandelier earrings, a neutral leather portfolio, and classic pumps, looking polished and elegant for the evening. Got to original story

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