Yves St Laurent

“"I just started with three thoughts: blazers, sweatshirts, and a vaguely preppy idea," said Stefano Pilati, "and then it went into thinking about goddesses, [and] stars." Pilati opened the collection with his contemporary take on “post-modernist minimalism”. The garments featured strong masculine tailoring as dress suits and single breasted jackets embodied strong lines and dark shades of sailor blues and polar whites. A key shape for spring includes oversized star formed jackets cinched at the waist, matched with shortened tapered trousers exposing a hint of flesh.

Dress suits remained conservative in neutral shades of arctic white, charcoal grey and sandy beige. Exaggerated tops and free flowing A-line skirts were cinched by feminine belts creating the desired star shaped silhouette, a recurrent theme amongst Pilati’s creative approach to tailoring. The star motif ran throughout the entire collection, conservative demure ensembles made way for a metallic “glam-rock” star cut top which took centre stage. The uppermost part of the garment was created by linking reflective plastic breast plates in a chain like manner, paired with a stiff turquoise below the knee skirt.

The tailored blazer was cropped sleeveless creating a masculine vest, single sleeved sweatshirts and oversized jackets made way for star printed conservative dresses. Another star cut garment in the form of a pencil line skirt was created from reflective plastic breast plates.

Russian model Natalia Vodianova appeared in the Yves St Laurent show after making headlines for participating in Paris Fashion week just three weeks after giving birth to her third child. The supermodel wore a classic jet black suit with blazer and waistcoat as part of Pilati’s evening wear. Other garments included satin-silk single sleeved gowns in opulent hues of berry mauve and shades of sandy beige and egg shell yellow.
Stella McCartney

“It’s a modern take on delicacy, but keeping the British sense of humour and a little bit of edge,” McCartney revealed before the show. The designer known for her vegetarianism and her environmental conscious lines embraced a contemporary collection of hippie chic. The models were wearing loose flowing frocks, floral printed playsuits and wooden healed clogs to a backdrop of organic vegetation. Keeping in line with the theme of conservation the green wall forming the backdrop is set to be donated to a low in-come housing district in Boulogne. Despite the clogs falling to pieces on the catwalk the models remained elegant in layered egg shell chiffon and silk-cotton lightweight fabrics.

McCartney’s use of floral was far from shy, but worked beautifully in natural tones of see breeze blues and dusty beige. The collection kicked off with free flowing frocks and thigh skimming safari inspired jackets. Blue floral patterns encompassed oversized shirt dresses and play suits. Floral prints made way for sheer blue cinched dresses and oversized tuxedo styled shirt tops and tiny shorts, perfect for sleep wear. White flowing gowns and retro bathing suits with sea life prints reflected McCartney’s natural motif. Golden beige dresses and suits followed themes of colour blocking, only contrasted by crochet textures and satin silk fabrics. White fairy dresses were strung together using organza and tulle, as the layered and translucent frocks closed the show.

Kate Moss’ Rimmel ad has been banned in the UK after British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found the advertisement to be “misleading”. Rimmel were unable to prove that Kate was not wearing false eye lashes and thus imposed the ban.

The misleading advert in question is the new Magnif’Eyes mascara by Rimmel (photograph right). Rimmel claim that their product “boosts the length of women’s eyelashes by up to 70 per cent more than rival brands.”

Sound familiar? That’s because L’Oreal had an ad banned three months ago featuring Penelope Cruz. L’Oreal was also accused of “misleading” the public with their ad campaign for mascara.

IT'S going to be a bright and sunny spring and summer , judging by the rainbow of colors previewed at New York Fashion Week.

Forget the war, forget the mortgage crisis - it's not fashion's role to tackle the weighty issues on people's minds, said Michael Kors, who presented one of the most upbeat shows of the week with models in sherbet-colored stripes bopping up and down the runway to "Xanadu."
In fact, fashion can provide a welcome distraction, one that - luckily enough - can also get shoppers in the mood to buy.
"You open the newspaper every day and it isn't necessarily filled with a lot of happy news. There's the war, worries about the economy, the election - the list goes on and on. My reaction is that, when times are dour, you go the opposite with fashion, particularly with warm-weather fashion," Kors said. "The only way to switch your mood is to put on something that's delicious. Color becomes to be the instant mood elevator."
It wasn't just Kors' collection that overflowed with bright colors - it was most of them. Only a handful of designers, most notably Donna Karan and Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa, went in the complete opposite direction using serene, tranquil palettes. Still, though, there was little or no black, usually a staple for both.
Costa said his inspiration began with vintage lingerie items from the 1920s and '30s and moved on to the work of an artist in the Netherlands and the Hutterites who live in an insular community in Montana.

"I don't do things because there's a trend," Costa said. "It's just a process that I work through."

This Fashion Week was about escapism, often quite literally. Trend analyst Tom Julian, of ad agency McCann-Erickson, noted that many designers cited exotic locales, from Biarritz in southwest France to St. Tropez to the Italian Riviera as the starting point for their look.

"For the past two spring seasons, many of the collections have been eco," he said, referring to the natural, muted colors that have dominated. "This week we saw many designers put together opposite color stories - light blues with dark raspberries, banana yellow against rich browns - but at the same time we have seen shades of lilacs to seashells."

And at a time when grim news about the economy is everywhere, color sells well at retail, noted Linda Wells, editor in chief of Allure. Walking into a store full of bright clothes may make some shoppers feel more upbeat and encourage others to spend on items that aren't already in their closets.

The grays of this fall were perhaps bound to give way to something sunnier for spring. While the fashion industry itself tends to wear black, Wells says she always packs colorful clothes for vacations.
"I feel like the grim reaper if I wear black in the summer anywhere but New York."
Suze Yalof Schwartz, fashion editor at large for Glamour, has even eliminated black from her wardrobe - except for accessories: "Navy is my new black."

There's plenty of financial incentive to introduce a bold new look when wallets are tightening. Designer Kors said the business side of his brain knows that right now consumers have enough black in their closet, so if he wants to drive sales, he has to give them something new.
"Clothes are expensive. People aren't discarding what they own. So, what don't you have? Not a lot of colorful clothes," he explained.

All the color is good news for magazines, too, Schwartz said. Just like stores' racks, magazines need color to attract someone's eye, and it doesn't matter if the shades are citrus or blush. While Kors and Cynthia Steffe had the candy colors, BCBG had the softer hues of pink and peach. Diane von Furstenberg highlighted tropical tones, and Carolina Hererra and Oscar de la Renta did beautiful reds.

"You saw color in different ways," said Candy Pratts Price, executive fashion director of Style.com. "Marc Jacobs' color was beyond gorgeous salmon, turquoise, red, and at Oscar (de la Renta), you saw a red column strapless dress. It was gorgeous, the way it fell when she walked. ... it was just the right red."
She added: "And Ralph (Lauren) did so much bold color. That yellow dress was that long drink of water."
It's true that all the uncertainty in the world might have driven the move toward a cheerful antidote, but mostly the designers are following their gut feeling of what the public wants next, she said. "Remember," she added, "designers are making requests from fabric mills long in advance."
Pratts Price thinks the love affair with brighter colors was just in the air.

"It might have to do a bit with all the gray this fall, but I think this is more about what happens in fashion: an eruption," she said. "This time it was an eruption of color."

Almost a decade ago, back when I was but a fashion kitten (not a full-blown fashion feline), I made the gross miscalculation of wearing a vintage Roots T-shirt whilst strolling through Sydney’s Paddington Market on a trip to Australia. There was nothing wrong with the shirt in and of itself—I even thought I looked pretty cute having paired it with denim capris (which were just gaining popularity then). But it turned out that Down Under the word “roots” conveyed something entirely different than it was meant on my shirt—not just rude, but lewd. Suffice to say that more than a couple of stylish Sheilas chuckled at my expense that day.
Lately, I’ve been taking my cues from the New York hipster scene—you know, rocking skinny jeans with a vintage black rocker T, ballet flats and an oversized handbag. It’s an easy look. If I lived in the Big Apple my bag would have to be Balenciaga, but as I’m a fashion editor, not a Rockefeller, and I live here in beautiful Vancouver, my lifestyle (not to mention my budget) lends itself more toward Roots.

You see, Roots has gone and grown up on us. These days, the brand is so globally recognizable, wearing it is practically akin to stitching a Canadian flag to one’s pack. By 2009, the company will have over 300 stores in Asia—its newest, in Korea, opens this fall. Vancouver’s Robson Street boutique has the distinction of being Canada’s busiest Roots store, and it’s only going to get busier when the style cognoscenti descends upon its fall bag collection.

Patent-leather styles in black, red and white, including the new Uptown (from $138) and, my favourite, the double-pocketed Village bag ($128) look perfect slung over this season’s knit sweaters and dresses.
Peeking out seductively from under your thick wool knit Giles cardigan this fall will also be your new Agent Provocateur ensemble, of course. The sexy British lingerie company is opening its first Canadian store on Alberni Street, proving that Vancouver is growing up as fast as Roots is. And all this excitement just in time to get you dolled up for the party circuit surrounding Fashion High’s 18 Days of Fashion in Vancouver, which runs September 13 to 30 (fashionhigh.ca). Let the sappy gals have Christmas: as a fashion follower, September is indisputably my favourite time of the year.

Needles: you don’t go near them if you can help it.
But if you knew what could be achieved with a mere few, you might welcome John Tsagaris into your life. The therapist-cum-doctor is reassuringly instinctive; like the needles he uses in his skin-plumping Acu-Lift facial, he’s spot on.
A qualified doctor of Chinese medicine, Tsagaris practices ‘diagnostic beauty’. The main purpose of his facial is to plump and tone the skin using a combination of massage and acupuncture needles. You’ll resemble a cat with whiskers for some minutes, but the effects are amazing.
Tsagaris will also administer needles to other areas of the body to help clear poor digestion, constipation or insomnia, which in turn will clear your complexion (he’ll know what’s wrong with you simply by looking at you; it’s creepy).
The effects are Botoxesque, but the treatment is wholly noninvasive.
And, thankfully, straight to the point.
Available at Vaishaly, 51 Paddington Street, W1U 4HR (020 7224 6088 or vaishaly.com). For more information, go to energybodies.co.uk.