Feed: Christian Louboutin et toutes les chaussures de marque - AggScore: 10.3

Milan show lifts off brimming with the widest of headgear

Oversized hats and low-down sexy style dominate fashion week launch, Carolyne Asome writes.

THE REST of the world may be heralding a minimal silhouette in gloom'n'doom shades of black, navy and grey, but at D&G, Dolce and Gabbana's diffusion line, they like to do things a little differently. In D&G land, everything is brash, glitzy and very loud.

Sometimes they show clothes that wouldn't look out of place in a Soho sex shop, although with kitsch leanings, lashings of neon or maybe a few pairs of ripped tights. But despite the ritzier layers, there's usually a lot hiding behind the trashy veneer; a deftly tailored dress that gives you curves a la Sophia Loren or exquisitely hand-sewn lace from an artisan workshop in the hills of Sicily.

So yesterday's collection was disappointing in that it lacked its usual punch and looked, well, rather cheap. Zebra-print ruched dresses worn over black-lace body stockings or pink latex tights were not a good starting point. The see-through chiffon trousers worn over bright, shiny leotards didn't improve matters either.

Nor, come to think of it, did the strapless, purple-taffeta mini-dress teamed over more Lycra leggings (are you getting a sense of repetition here?).

While the D&G boys are known for their irreverent approach to fashion, it was a collection that looked as if it had been hastily pastiched together, with little care given to who might actually wear heavily studded, thigh-high patent boots or harem trousers with big baggy crotches.

As any woman will tell you, baggy crotches (as shown in the past by Tom Ford at Gucci or by Giorgio Armani, to disastrous reviews) are not a good look, not even on a 6ft model wearing 10in platforms that should come with a health warning.

Once the brasher elements were extracted, there really wasn't much else left.

Which is a pity because if there's one thing for which Milanese designers can usually be depended upon, it's the ability to recognise their fantasy woman. By the look of things, the D&G boys had been hanging out at brothels.

Did things improve at Giorgio Armani straight afterwards? Only marginally which is a shame after the high of last Thursday's Earls Court extravaganza and the presentation of his Emporio line.

Last season he successfully eschewed his overstyled catwalk presentations in favour of something simpler, lighter and more romantic. Yesterday we were back on track with the oversized head gear, fussy shirts and scarves and frou-frou detailing that is so resolutely out of vogue.

While his navy trousers were cut rather beautifully -flattering and skimming the bottom, yet espousing a wide-legged loucheness -the proportions on some of his long jackets worn over long, beaded skirts were less promising. Some of his strapless evening gowns were made up of exquisitely intricate beading, but he managed to ruin the effect with wide-brimmed hats of gargantuan radius.

The 72-year-old designer, who has built up a billion-dollar empire creating staples for the working woman's wardrobe, once said that his clothes should walk off the catwalk and into the real world. Well, who knows how many women would be able to do that?

FEW world-famous designers would dare to combine the society and fashion photographer Sir Cecil Beaton and rubber fetishism in the same sentence, let alone the same collection.

But John Galliano is no ordinary designer and, in his hands, nothing is sacred. His willingness to push fashion to its outer limits and beyond has resulted in booming sales at Dior.

On the opening day of the Paris pret-a-porter season yesterday he did it again, mixing the two shockingly opposed influences in the autumn/winter 2003/2004 collection he called Hard Core Romance.

"I was fascinated by the idea of an electrical collision of two polar opposites," he said before the show. "I wanted to treat Beaton's style in a very hard way and turn rubber into something romantic by making it frilly, swagged and swathed."

Pastel silk jackets with silver bugle beads, and ruffled blouses topped bas latex leggings in purple, red and black. Pink organza jackets with huge ruff collars and cuffs came with black rubber slip dresses. Fitted lilac leather bombers were worn with flesh-toned rubber skirts that ended in a flurry of frills at the knee.

The skin-tight leggings were laced corset-style up the front of the leg, accentuating the fetish reference.

Hours had been spent creating the closely braided hair and kabuki-style make-up. The models - looking like exotic, hothouse blooms - were then dusted with talc before easing on the clinging rubber garments, which were then sprayed with silicone for shine and polish.

Sporting multi-coloured platform sandals, the models paraded on a black mirrored catwalk lined with fluorescent strip lighting. The combination of shiny surface and 6in heels led to one fall and three near misses.

An animal rights protester was hauled off the stage seconds before the arrival of a full-length mink coat dyed four shades of lilac.

Earlier, the Japanese avant-gardist Junya Watanabe gave an Eastern viewpoint of Dior's 1947 New Look, with neat fitted jackets and full skirts.

La couverture parfaite pour les péchés de banlieue

Artistes à prospérer sur le risque, dit Rachel Campbell-Johnston
A la tête d'or de Méduse était la marque Gianni Versace. La gorgone reptilienne éclats d'après ses dessins - un moqueur me-mento mori pour socialites slick. Mais cet emblème de la mort dorée atteint un symbolisme grislier à la lumière de l'assassiner récente de Versace. Il s'agissait d'un homme qui non seulement piqué son coutures, mais a vécu sa vie, ainsi que le fil du rasoir extravagant de danger.
police de Miami sont à la recherche d'un suspect: Andrew Cunanan. Une prostituée aigrie hommes atteints du sida et une vendetta meurtrière contre ses riches clients, Cunanan n'est plus la pensée d'avoir été un ancien amant de Versace, bien que le couturier était un homosexuel promiscuité. Si cela ne s'avérait que Cunanan est son meurtrier, puis Versace se joindra à la longue lignée d'artistes gay et écrivains qui ont subi des violences ou la mort aux mains de "Rough Trade".
Les exemples sont légion. Johann Joachim Winckelmann, le pionnier de l'histoire de l'art et rediscoverer de l'idéal grec, a rencontré son destin entre les mains d'un catamite inflammatoires à Trieste. Plus récemment, le biographe James Pope-Hennessy a été retrouvé atrocement massacrés dans son appartement de Londres. Pier Paolo Pasolini, qui a apporté les adaptations de débauche comme Il Decam-Erone à l'écran, a été battu à mort par un morceau de passage de Rough Trade. Joe Orton, dont What the Butler Saw effectué traditions grotesque de l'avant l'adultère menacée dans le royaume obscur de l'inceste et le sexe violent, semblait écrire lui-même dans son propre script. Lui aussi a été sauvagement assassinée par son amant.
artistes homosexuels comme Michel-Ange Caravage, Christopher Marlowe, Arthur Rimbaud, Francis Bacon et peut-être - si le jury est encore sur leur talent - Robert Mapplethorpe et Derek Jarman avait une chose en commun: chaque brisé les frontières de la convention dans son travail. Versace était aussi un croyant dans intrépide Catsuit Rayée En Latex Noir Et Bleu latex. Mocking le monde du prêt à porter, il se sont inspirés de la prostitution. Il a regardé au-delà de la sensuelle et sexuelle trouvé ce lieu - en cuir et latex, harnais et cloutés jupes, talons aiguilles et bottes de longueur de la cuisse. Shorter, serré, plus haut, plus profond, est devenu un slogan. Par la simple force de la personnalité, il a forcé les plus belles femmes les plus riches et dans le monde de s'habiller comme des putes.
Rimbaud a suggéré que l'artiste pourrait devenir un voyant, un visionnaire, que par un désordre longue et prodigieuse de tous les sens, une rechigne à les limites de la norme. C'est seulement en allant trop loin qu'il y avait quelque chose à gagner, dit Bacon. Cet ethos étendue de leur art dans leur vie. Pas pour ces hommes de la mondanité soigné des structures stables, mais plutôt une fuite en avant dans les domaines de risque, dans le monde souterrain.
Bon nombre des œuvres les plus inspirants de l'art exposer la vulnérabilité de l'homme en mettant à nu la dualité de l'homme terrifiante. Comme Edgar Degas a écrit: «L'art est vice-Vous n'avez pas l'épouser légitimement, vous le viol.." Denys jette une ombre noire sur l'ordre apollinien.
L'envie de créer est intimement mêlés à la volonté de détruire. fêtes Révolution sur la violence et la ruine. Beaucoup de nos artistes les plus puissants, n'ont pas tant de développer et de perfectionner les styles et techniques de leurs prédécesseurs, comme les briser. La nouvelle a été construite sur les décombres du passé. L'art devient ainsi la somme de ses propres destructions.
Le sadomasochisme de violentes rencontres homosexuelles est une manifestation de cet instinct de destruction. Mais il est également préoccupé par le jeu railleries d'un pouvoir, avec les forces de la manipulation et le contrôle. Avec de bonnes raisons, Versace a été réticent à ses propres inclinations sexuelles et des pratiques, mais dans son œuvre, son image a été flagrante. Se réjouissant de la réussite de sa collection 1993, il a raillé les critiques et les clients: «Ils ont dit ces vêtements appartenaient seulement dans un bar en cuir», s'est-il vanté. "Et maintenant, la nuit dernière, il y avait 200 socialites dans la servitude."
jeu de puissance telle est périlleuse. L'ombre du côté de l'expérimentation homosexuelle semble loin d'être «gay» - il est entraîné et démoniaque. Le combat se termine par la tuer. amant de Francis Bacon, George Dyer, consommée par les jalousies et la dépression aigre-sions de la drogue et de boisson, a choisi le suicide comme ses moyens de vengeance. Sur la soirée d'ouverture de Bacon en 1971 à Paris rétrospectives, quand le public adulant bordaient les boulevards, il overdose dans sa chambre d'hôtel. fameux triptyque de Bacon représentant dernières heures de son amant voir avec une brutalité mixtes et images tendresse de vomissements Dyer dans un bassin, glissant dans l'ombre, et a chuté sur le plateau de lavabo comme il a finalement décédé.
Et si le triangle fatal de l'art, le sexe et la mort a fait une autre victime. Les ambitions de ces génies destructeurs sont symbolisés par Christopher Marlowe deux grandes créations dramatiques - Faust, qui vend son âme au diable, et Tamerlan, qui tente de conquérir le monde. Comme Versace, Marlowe a été mystérieusement assassiné: si un contrat à mort, ou une querelle résultant d'une aventure homosexuelle, ce fut une mort sordide. Oscar Wilde aimait à parler de «fête avec les Panthers". Panthers ne sont pas minettes.

DO YA THINK SHE'S SEXY?

Do ya think she's sexy?

It's a dynamite way to get a guy's attention. Hannah waddingham (right), all 6ft 2in of her from her heels to her horns, struts on to the victoria palace stage in tonight's the night to sing rod stewart's hit dynamite wearing a black pvc fétichisme latex that looks like it's been sprayed on, stiletto boots and a hipster belt that spells wicked. Hannah is satan and the devil in ms waddingham is in the mood for mischief. She finds timid, sex-starved mechanic stu and offers him the heart (and a few other crucial bits) of rod stewart, in exchange for his soul. Soon stu, played by tim howar, is swaggering around like old hot rod himself.

Howar was in that car wreck peggy sue got married, but this show will turn him into the star he deserves to be.

Ms waddingham persuaded writer and director ben elton to let her wear her catsuit. 'I told ben that instead of wearing a t-shirt, i had this zip-up fétichisme latex from a fetish shop. 'He said "you can't wear that!" but that was the template for what i wear in the show,' the actress told me during a break from rehearsals. Indeed, all the leading ladies, who include dianne pilkington and catherine porter, look stunning. 'Well, they would in a rod stewart musical, wouldn't they?' Said phil mcintyre, who is producing the show with rod's manager, arnold stiefel.

The show features more than 30 of rod's songs including hot legs (performed by masseusses in red high heels), maggie may and you wear it well.

There's a bed that soars up when passions gets hot, plenty of naughty lines and choreographer stephen mears (who did anything goes), has clearly studied all of rod's moves.

The show has three weeks of previews, the opening night is november 7 and, judging from what i've seen, it will be a huge hit.

Queen, do you want the good news or the bad news first?

On a positive note,  your hair and makeup were flawless on last nights highly entertaining (performances by fergie and the black eyed peas, lionel richie, cyndi lauper, kiss, and more) and shocking (boy next door kris allen defeated glam rock favorite adam lambert)

Oeamerican idol finale. And i enjoyed your sassy performance with oeidol contestant lil rounds.

Queen latifah attends "american idol" grand finale 2009

The bad news is i cant for the life of me fathom why you were wearing an asymmetrical, lycra catsuit. My tummy is also a trouble zone that could use more support these days.  But latifah, not even spanx could control your tummy bulge.  Of course, this is just my not-so-humble-opinion.

Hail to the queen's fétichisme latex?

Do you think queen latifah looked hot or not?

If serena williams' black catsuit was meant to shock fans at the us open this week, yesterday was her "pierce de resistance."

Williams maintained her minimalist approach to tennis attire as she strutted in a tiny black mini-skirt and sleeveless, body-hugging pink top. She tagged the ensemble "strawberry ice".

And for added shock value, a strategic split in the top revealed williams's navel pierced with a large silver-tassled stud.

"i really liked this top and you can wear it with jeans or whatever. I just wanted to wear it," williams said. "i love pink. It's my new favourite colour."

Fans of the curve-hugging look need not fear. Although williams has not decided what outfit she might wear in the semi-finals and finals, the fétichisme latex will make a comeback before the fortnight is finished.

"in the catsuit, i feel like a cat. I can go fast. I feel really, really serious in that outfit. So i will be back in it," williams said. "especially when i play at night."

These daily fashion parades have generated more interest at this open than the results of williams's matches.

Yesterday was another example, as the world no1 brushed aside france's 26th seed nathalie dechy with a 6-1 6-1 demolition to move into the fourth round.

After a modest start to the tournament, the american has dropped just three games in her past two matches,

Catsuits Not For The Faint Hearted

To fashion veterans, it is a jumpsuit. Some designers, however, are also referring to it as a catsuit, others as a unitard, and still others as an all-in-one.

Call it what you will, it is invariably tight, figure-revealing to the max, and a problem when nature calls.

The one-piece look, pegged as one of the fall's biggest trends, has managed to find its way to the runways from europe to new york, creeping into collections of every hue and stripe. But will it similarly infiltrate the closets of north america? After all, it's one thing to admire the panache of emma peel, who? A television-engendered fantasy heroine - it is something else, altogether, to try to emulate it.

"leggings have been big since last fall and the fétichisme du latex is a natural next step, an evolution of the look,"

Explains derek price, one of the two designers behind the toronto-based price roman label, which has a stretch crushed velvet version for winter '90."the trick is to cut it so that it suits a variety of body shapes, not just the perfect figure."

"you don't have to be miss america to look good in it," says grace hoo, a spokesman for british designer jasper conran, whose fall collection, inspired by the ballerina-look, is centred around a black stirrup-panted all-in-one.

For those of us who resemble neither a beauty pageant contestant nor karen kain, hoo says conran has created a variety of loose-fitting layers - sheer drawstring-waisted tunics, chiffon trousers and overskirts, black leather jackets and brief boleros, long silk t-shirts - to cover up what the unitard reveals.

"donna karan has been experimenting with the catsuit for a while and her stuff just flew out our doors," says a spokesman for holt renfrew. "obviously, it's not a look for everyone. But if you're larger, you just add a big boyfriend jacket and you're set."

So, this is fashion in the '90s. Spend hundreds of dollars on a garment that you are too shy or embarrassed to wear. Faint of heart or flawed of figure, you must disguise it so that you can then go out in public, even though negotiating bathroom visits now becomes doubly complicated. Of course, if you just gave up eating and drinking, you could solve all the problems posed.

"can you imagine a working woman sitting around a board table with 10 guys while wearing a fétichisme du latex?" says sandra angelozzi, designer for femme de carriere, a montreal-based label. "and what's the point of wearing it if you're going to cover up? It's a joke."

In addition, webb attended, as a teen-ager, a cake-decorating class. "i don't know where that came from," his mother said, "but all of sudden he asked me if he could go. He was the only male kid in his class, and the youngest person, and the women of all ages-they were teens, married women, middle aged-they had a ball with him."

Webb graduated from high school in three years. He was not a gifted student, he says; he merely wanted to get out of wynantskill. "i think the other kids teased him a lot," his mother told me. "dancing was for girls, even though fred astaire was a star, but not around here, around troy." at sixteen, webb enrolled in a community college in connecticut. He hadn't been there long before he decided to hitchhike with friends to florida, where he met two men from new york who were on vacation, and when they went back to the city they bought a plane ticket for him to go with them. They got him a job "delivering cocktails in a gay bar, and i could see where that would lead, and i wanted more," webb says. "i wanted to dance and live, so i took off into the streets by myself with all the other runaway boys. No fear."

In the bar, webb had met a spanish hairdresser named jamie who persuaded him to dye his brown hair blond. "we started with a streak when i was sixteen," webb says, "and by seventeen i was totally blond. In no time at all we were using ultra white minx, silent snow-colors from the fifties. Then platinum everywhere. Every two weeks, so no roots. My scalp burned to the max."

Dancing at night clubs was webb's favorite pastime. He liked studio 54, with its androgyny and its excess, best of all. He would spend hours dressing to go there. In the years after the club closed, in 1986, there were times when webb worked and had a place to live and times when he was homeless and drug-addicted. For a while, he slept in a box in tompkins square park. "i got street in me bad," he says. Once, famished, he was thrown out of a grocery store for eating bread off the shelves. As he described this period to me, one day in the store, he was rueful and subdued. "if you had met me in those days, you would have met two dollar jimmy," he said. "not even five dollar jimmy, let alone million dollar jimmy."

Wer Sport Treibt, Trägt Diesen Sommer Catsuit

If your man turns up with a gift of sexy lingerie on st. Valentine's day, he may be trying to tell you something.

"when a man buys a woman lingerie he's not buying it for her," says mariella ciarlo, buyer for dream shoppe lingerie. "he's buying it for him.

"and if a woman wants to please her man, she should wear it. We have men who come into our stores and say, 'i'm so sick of my wife wearing boring underwear.' so he will buy her something really sexy and then she will come and return it saying, 'i could never wear that.' but that's sad because he's trying to give her a message."

A survey of the latest lingerie trends reveals those messages will range from subtle to direct.

The newest item to hit innerwear stores is the fétichisme du latex. While this full-length bodysuit can also be found in daywear boutiques in heavier cottons and wools, lingerie departments are offering sheer and lace versions with built-in underwire bras.

The slinky catsuit can be worn either on its own for lounging around the boudoir or under day and evening clothing.

"the fétichisme du latex is great with a long, silk chiffon shirt overtop, or under a miniskirt with the leggings showing," says edith murphy, merchandise manager for la vie en rose. But doesn't it make going to the bathroom a pain?

"the people who want to wear it don't care," murphy says. "they like the look."

A cousin of the catsuit is the legless one-piece teddie, which is now most often found in the lingerie world's newest favorite fabric: stretch lace. Although it's comfortable, people buy it because it's sexy, says murphy.

Another new item on lingerie shelves is the brazilian bikini - a panty style which dips in a deep v below the navel. "this is a very flattering style because it draws the eye away from the hips to the centre of the v," murphy explains.

A style experiencing a great revival is the push-up bra, which coincides with the advent of more feminine fashions. The gravity-defying device is shaped with underwire and cushioning to lift the breasts and is "very sexy," murphy says.

"but it works best if you have something to work with." otherwise, a padded bra is in order.

Another current favorite is the long-line or bustier bra, a style found both with and without straps. The bustier (pronounced boost-ee-ay) can be worn as inner or outerwear - a style made popular by madonna.

Finally, merry widows, garter belts and stockings remain st. Valentine's day bestsellers.

"there's something about stockings and garters that men just love," ciarlo says, noting that feb. 14 "is an occasion for fun."

The Black Pack FASHION

Black with black with black - noir, noir, noir. That's waht I like (Jane Roarty, marie claire)

PATSY, the self-dubbed "fash mag slag", is the fashion editor from hell in Absolutely Fabulous, glorying in a kind of Ivana Trump style that transvestites love to emulate - blonde beehive, short, tight skirts, stilettos, dark sunnies and the ubiquitous bottle of Bolly. Real-life fashion editors tend to be a much more sober breed with their main distinguishing feature being their propensity to wear black.

We asked fashion editors from four of Australia's leading fashion magazines about style - both their personal style and the style of their magazines. We put them in front of the camera, instead of behind it, and asked them to wear their pick of the best winter looks and talk about what is coming for the autumn/winter season.

Victoria Collison, fashion director, Vogue Australia. Personal style: "I wear a lot of black because it is easier for going to work. It's almost like a uniform, a look I feel comfortable with. Also, not being tall, I find a simple, uncluttered silhouette works best. Shoes are my passion. For me, shoes or a bag are a very important way to change a look for a new season."

The new season's look: "There are two distinctive looks coming through: return to elegance, a look which is quite tailored, clean and spare - beautiful fabrics and cut, colours like black, chocolate and camel. Or there's the more vintage eclectic look which enables more freedom and individuality - fantastic fabrics like velvets, beading and lace."

The Vogue style: "The essence of what Vogue is about at the moment is feeling good about wearing great clothes again - a return to designer labels. It's a very exciting season, much more sophisticated after five years of confusion."

Thelma McQuillan, Louboutin prixeditor, Mode. Personal style:

"I love black, brown and navy. I love pants. I prefer pants for work every day. You can't go past a great suit, but nothing too tricky so it (won't) go out of date in a second. You can really get a lot of wear out of it, as a suit or as separates ... put it with a little evening knit or a man-style shirt and great belt for the day."

The new season: "This season has an extra long boot-cut pant - it's essential with great stacked boots or, for evening, an open-toed sandal. Brown is going to be really big for winter - it will take over from black. People are a bit sick of black."

The Mode style: "We show fashion, but not in a way that is too over the top. It's important to show fashion, but in a really wearable way."

Jane Roarty, fashion director, marie claire.

Personal style: "Black with black with black - noir, noir, noir. That's what I like. Fashion is a bit like working in a lolly shop. You can get sick of lollies. I need really functional clothes that I know I'll get my money's worth from, something I can put a polo over for the cold or wear a white shirt under for the puritanical look."

The new season: "Brown is the new black. But then black will be the new brown next year. The look is long and lean."

The marie claire style: "I'm a plump girl and five foot two (1.5 metres). I like clothes that work for me. What we show our readers is how to show what's good and hide what's bad, how you can get the most out of it all and to invest in accessories."

Personal style: "I like mixing things. They don't look like they are supposed to go together but they look good - slightly clashing. I like mixing imported and local designers and also adding second-hand finds."

The new season: "For us (Elle), the most exciting thing is the mix of things. The bohemian mishmash - you can really dress up with tights, shoes, fake furs, mixing fabrics, colour and texture. We are definitely not afraid of colour any more. Everything is longer and leaner. It's about layering the mix, the odd vintage piece with a great designer piece. Chocolate suede boots - that's probably the most important thing for winter."

The Elle style: "Our readers are intelligent women who are looking for something a little more interesting, a little more adventurous .. they are game to give it a try."