Paris Haute Couture S/S '08: Christian Dior

Our US sister blog Shiny Style have been busy reporting on the Christian Dior couture show in Paris, which once again, successfully captured the imagination in colour, structure and detail.

This really is why John Galliano is one of my all-time favourite designers - his penchant for drama, it seems, is limitless.

"The colours! The lightness! The embroidery! It was magical," Diane Kruger told IHT's Suzy Menkes backstage.

The architecture of lightness and volume in this whirlwind of extreme colour took Galliano's vision of John Singer Sargent's portrait of Madame X to a whole other level. Origami-style structures refused to be weighed down by heavy decoration such as embroidery, plastic flowers and clumps of sparkly bits.

Topping off each masterpiece was a frizzed high hairdos and saucer-style hats in a '60s vibe. Models were perched on typically crazy Dior platforms to perform for flash-bulbing photographers. It's a shame that we may not get to see any of it on the Oscars red carpet.


Amid a crisis on the stock markets yesterday, it seems that fantasy at the highest end on the catwalks will not be sacrificed. "Haute couture is the place for dreams," said Galliano. Amen to that!

[Images: Rex / Catwalking.com via Getty]

French Vogue Feb '08 issue: stars Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Amy Winehouse...?

The latest issue of French Vogue sees two of our favourite supermodels, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, reunited for the cover. But that isn't what has really sparked our interest... It's the mag's editorial shoot featuring model Isabeli Fontana as Amy Winehouse (complete with former bee-hive) that has tickled our fancy. With Karl Lagerfeld recently declaring the troubled singer inspiration for his pre-fall show ("she is the dark Brigitte Bardot), I'm wondering - how much influence does Wino actually have on the fashion biz these days. Or has she done her dash now that she's sans beehive?

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John Lewis to "sex up" brand image

John Lewis is "sexing up" its brand image thanks to a stylish new range and model Florence Brudenell-Bruce (pictured), who also happens to be the girlfriend of Formula 1 driver Jenson Button.

Brudenell-Bruce, along with St Trinian's star Antonia Bernath, have been cast in the campaign to reinvigorate the department store's image and attract a new, younger group of shoppers. The new S/S '08 collection will hit stores the end of this month.

"We are sexing up our brand," confirmed a John Lewis spokesperson. I'd say mission accomplished!

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Paris Haute Couture S/S '08: Day one begins with Anne Valérie Hash

Last Friday, we were assured that the business of haute couture would not be harmed despite talk of a pressured financial climate. "Couture is in quite good health for the moment," Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel's president of fashion, told WWD. With that being said, the bi-annual haute couture season kicks off today in Paris, beginning with Anne Valérie Hash. As one of the few women designers actually designing for women, Hash's S/S '08 couture collection featured romantic silhouettes via delicate sculpting, particularly on the shoulders, in sheer fabrics.

Stay tuned for more from the couture catwalks at Paris!

[Image: Catwalking.com via Getty]

Paris Menswear A/W '08-'09: Round up report

Always the entertainer, John Galliano's menswear show in Paris had all the marks of a theatrical feast for the eyes.

His show titled Ice, featured models with painted white frozen faces in a Tudor-inspired collection (pictured left). Colourful characters in Jester-style hats, masks and breaches.

Elsewhere, the Dries Van Noten show failed to impress Brandish blogger Jason Dike: "too many of the pieces simply do not work". Read his report here.

While Tim Hunter gives us his thoughts on designers forgoing catwalk shows in favour of other means of display. For example the Givenchy show which used mannequins instead of models, read the review here.

[Image: Getty]

The Pob, Paris Hilton style at Sundance

After looking through a lot of celebrities photos taken so far from the Sundance Film Festival, I was tempted not to post about Paris Hilton, because she gets up to far too much and do you really want to know what boy she tried to pick up and what eye sore she wore? But I couldn't resist the urge to post a picture of her hair do. Now keep in mind that this is a girl who probably has weekly trips to her hairdresser (or he has weekly trips to her), so why is she sporting this bob with longer strands down the left side off her face?

Is she trying to do a "pob" Victoria Beckham style where the front is longer than the back? or is she hiding something behind that hair? Either way, I'm not a fan, at least Victoria's 'Pob' was more well kept.

[Image from Getty]

Spice Girls in L'Oreal deal, are they "worth it it?"

Are the shiny glossy manes of the Spice Girls about to land them a deal with L'Oreal? Rumours are buzzing that the girl group will soon be purring "because we're worth it" after agreeing to appear in a multi-million pound promotional campaign for the company's range of hair care products. The Spicies are no stranger to commercial ad deals, they recently fronted a string of holiday-themed television ads for Tesco.

"The girls like the idea of following in the footsteps of all the big names who've worked for L'Oreal. So it looks like the talks are going to go smoothly," a source revealed to People.co.uk.

Together with the dosh that they're currently making from their global comeback tour, the real question here is - how much money do the Spice Girls really need?

For more beauty news make sure to visit Kiss and Makeup.

[Image: Getty]