captured

via

simply stunning

another colection that took my breath away was elie saab couture.

the collection was ethereal, like something out of a dream.

the colours, sorbet shades of pink, green and yellow [not quite pastels], will be stunning to wear at the start of spring.

while many of the cuts, shapes and necklines were similar to one another, and many of the critics took notice of this, the overall effect of each piece was, for me, enough to make the collection a real masterpiece.

simply stunning

la lune

while most are busy drooling over the Gaultier couture collection, I still can't get Armani Prive's lunar-inspired show out of my mind.

there's something about the romance of the moon that brings a bit of magic to the collection. I particularly love how Armani has found a way to sneak lunar crescent shapes into the stitching, accessories and the overall shapes of each piece.

Says Armani, "I was thinking about something romantic and dreamy, far away from our every day lives. Something less harsh."

From the luminescent fabrics, to the dreamy cuts and shapes, the pieces he presented are absolute perfection, in my humble opinion.

Definitely carrying on the trend of romance we saw in the spring collections.

metropolis by vogue germany

the rise of the streetstyle blog

Surprise! In case you've been living under a rock, you haven't heard the big news - streetstyle blogs are changing the face of fashion media. all media, really, but today we're just going to focus on the great impact on the fashion world.

by now you've no doubt heard of the greats in the blogging world - The Sartorialist, Garance Dore, Jak & Jil, Trendy Crew, Face Hunter, easy fashion, stockholm streetstyle... god the list goes on and on.

these are people who have been catapulted to the heights of fashion royalty for the simple reason that they hung out outside fashion shows snapping shots of their favourite, best-dressed models, editors and wealthy couture-ettes (those rich people who can afford to order right off the runways).

so why, you may ask, have they become a beacon for fashion lovers around the world? because they provide access - in a way that vogue or vanity fair can never achieve. they give us humble fashion lovers access to a world which we would otherwise never see - the rush between fashion shows, the heights to which stylists will array themselves for a mere 15-minute showing of the latest pieces from their favourite designer.

but bloggers do more than just show us what we wouldn't otherwise see. they also share fashion in a way that is less condescending (whereas magazines will tell you what the latest trends will be), bloggers show you what is being worn by some of the world's most stylish women.

indeed their impact is so great, that traditional fashion media are scooping up these bloggers faster than they can post their next photo. Jak & Jil's Tommy Ton for Style.com, Garance Dore for Vogue Paris and The Sartorialist's Scott Schuman for GQ are just some of the new partnerships being formed in order for fashion media to keep up with the times.

morocco

i am obsessed with going to morocco, particularly Marrakech, and especially so after reading this lovingly written article by Olivia Stren in today's Globe and Mail.

the colours, the smells, the flavours, the sights - all of these make up my desire to visit this most exotic of locales, whose very name evokes an exotic romance that one can typically only find in the movies.

and that very well could explain a lot -- the movies. films like casablanca have long inspired predetermined feelings about countries like morocco; feelings of unfulfilled love, poetic aspirations and an escape from the ordinary.

people have been visiting this desert country for centuries and its history dates back to the roman times. it has long been a mosaic of cultures and ethnicities, having been a hub for the diverse groups of people who inhabited the maghreb. and this could also explain the western world's (or my own, at least) romantic feelings towards this region.

like paris, it has long been a meeting place of cultures and an escape for troubled souls.

sigh, one day...

photos via flickr

Giovanna [from vogue]

GIOVANNA BATTAGLIA

Italian, approaching her 30’s , an ex-model and currently a fashion editor, Giovanna Battaglia is a silhouette and a temper. And that’s without even mentioning her irresistible voice.

In a few seasons, she has imposed herself as a one of the most inspirational style figures of her generation. A girl. An extra-slender figure, brown almond eyes, long ebony tresses, the eye-catching physique of Giovanna Battaglia cannot easily hid her origins. Her father is Sicilian, her mother from Calabria, the fashion editor grew up for the most part in Milan.

“My first address was 1 via Montenapoleone (the equivalent of of L’avenue Montaigne) [note: it’s a famous shopping street with many luxury designer shops],” she says. “If that’s not called an omen, I don’t know what is!”

A freelancer working for, among others, l’Uomo Vogue, the American & Italian versions of Vanity fair, and the Chinese and German Vogues, she lives today between New York and the capital of Lombardia. [note: Lombardia is a region of Italy]

“As a teenager, while my friends all had Take That posters in their rooms, I had those of Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford. At the age of 14, I was already smitten.”

Her art studies quickly folded, a model since the age of 16, Giovanna melted the Dolce & Gabbana team, who made her their in-house model. “I spent 8 years stuck to Stefano and Domenico,” she says. “My adolescence, in a way was an endless rounds of fittings, voyages, parties, vacations…One could say that they’re kind of my family. They used to call me their “musina”.”

A little muse with a feisty nature, without a complete knowledge of the language, who dreamed of expressing herself in her turn. “I was a bad model. I would give my opinion on everything.”

Since then, becoming a stylist emerged as an obvious path.

STYLE: “The first word that comes to mind is glamour,” she says. “And, I hope, sexy. I dread the ‘total look’. Nothing is worse than resembling a photo on style.com.” Each of Giovanna’s appearances at the fashion shows is a lesson in class, and is witness to her passion without restraint for fashion. Among her favourite designers, mixed naturally according to her mood, are Dolce & Gabbana, Lanvin, Balenciaga, Ferré, Chanel (for the mini-dresses), Marni, Miu Miu, Ferretti, McQueen, Saint Laurent and Derek Lam. “One can’t forget Azzedine Alaïa. Each time you go out wearing Alaïa, you can be sure that you won’t return alone…”

FOR EVENINGS: “Either very long, in vintage Azzaro, Saint Laurent (Stefano Pilati is the chiffon God), or very short, in Gucci, Balenciaga, or more Balmain.” And in both cases, perched upon very high heels.

JEANS: “I plunder Topshop. It’s inevitably my first shopping stop when I’m in London. Right now, I have a weakness for the boot cut, the 70’s cuts.”

CRUSH OF THE SEASON: “My checked trousers from Balenciaga from the autumn/winter pre-collection.”

TABOOS: “Comfort shoes. They kill!”

ACCESSORIES. “My absolute priority: shoes. I’ve got about 250 pairs, mainly high heels. Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Roger Vivier, Alaïa, Giuseppe Zanotti. I also have several pairs of ballerina flats from Chanel, Alaïa, Lanvin and Marc Jacobs. Handbags, thankfully I own in smaller quantities. This winter I alternated Corto Moltedo, Dolce & Gabbana, and Prada. Without forgetting my Hermès Birkin. In the Italian bourgeoisie, the adage is that you shouldn’t own a Birkin until you reach the age of 30. I didn’t wait.”

IN HER BAG: An iPod (clip of the moment, Peter Bjorn and John’s Young Folks ),her Bose headphones, a gold Dupont, a tube of YSL’s Touche Eclat (ideal for perfecting her appearance), her credit cards, her Blackberry, passport and her Smithson notebooks, branded with her name ….”Gio”. “When I’m on a flight, I make use of the time by maintaining my journal. It’s therapeutic.”

JEWELS: I don’t lack for watches. Notably, a Cartier ‘Ballon Bleu’ in yellow gold, and a steel Rolex. I like family jewellery, presents from my mother like a pair of pendants made of links of platinum and diamonds by Sabbadini, a Milanese jeweller. Her wishlist: everything from Cartier’s ‘Panther’ collection. An address: the jewellery boutique Karry’O in Paris, “an inexhaustible mine.”

AT NIGHT: :I wear silk pyjamas from Olatz that I buy in New York. When you slip them on, you could be deep in the far end of Texas in a seedy hotel, but you feel like you’re in a suite at the Crillon. I also like to scent my sheets with rose water from Santa Maria Novella.”

BEAUTY: “I usually start the day with a hot shower. But if I wake up in a numb mood, I take a bath with Bigelow salts, Mustard Bath. It’s one of the oldest pharmacies in New York. They have these amazing citron shower gels. I use a moisturising cream for my body, Bliss Body Cream. My fragrance is Escentric Molecules. When I apply it, people come up and start talking to me…It’s unstoppable. For the face, it’s pretty minimalist. I moisturise with Chanel’s Hydramax, a dab of Dior Eyes Ultra Capture Totale, YSL’s Touche Eclat, Nars cheek blush, and a swipe of lipstick, Calvin Klein’s natural rose. And always, mascara on the eyelashes.”

EXERCISE: “Nothing regular. I run, and I especially love to swim. I can swim 2 miles in the sea without stopping. I think I have the largest collection of diving goggles that you can imagine. I wear them systematically because I’m terrified of jellyfish.”

TRAVEL: A white Goyard bag with her name “Gio” tattoed on the side, her computer, a Loro Piana cashmere travel rug, a tonne of fashion and gossip magazines, Marc Jacobs cashmere socks, a trio of scented Jo Malone candles, and scarves. “I was once at a photoshoot in the desert. My motel room was depressing. All I needed to do was drape scarves over the lamps, put my travel rug on the bed, buy some pillows from the corner supermarket, and light the candles for me to feel magically at home.”

HER HOME: “It’s in New York, in my apartment in the Village, that I feel at home. I try to spend as much time as possible there.” On the 11th floor, with a view over the rooftops of downtown, the space is pure, with white walls, bohemian furniture and a contagious sense of comfort. Piles of books and framed photos are placed on the ground, disparate carpets and reflective lamps warm up all the rooms, a white fox blanket gives the room a cosy seventies accent that doesn’t displease Tom Ford. What about her Milanese mansion? “I’m moving so it doesn’t resemble much of anything anymore. Let’s just say that it’s a wardrobe with a bathtub.”

[source]