Mojeh Issue 10 - September October 2012 by MOJEH

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R A L P H L AU R E N C O L L E C T I O N . C O M

Announcing our new store at The Avenues, Kuwait Opening Fall 2012

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EDITORIAL

PUBLISHING

Editor in Chief MOJEH IZADPANAH

Publishing Director RADHIKA NATU

Associate Editor SHERI IZADPANAH

Publishing Assistant DESIREE LABANDA-GAVERIA

Assistant Editor KELLY BALDWIN

Paris Representative GHISLAIN DE CASTELBAJAC

Guest Fashion Editors Bryan Marryshow Sara Francia Sonia Logerot Maja Naskretska

Advertisement Manager tala amhaz

LOUIS FOURTEEN FOR MOJEH

Junior Fashion and Beauty Journalist Caroline Kent

Digital Director AMIR AHMADI KHALILI

Editorial Assistants ALIA AL SADEK alexandra blacha Emma Bailey

Concierge Service Management ASSMA AHMED Personal Stylist MARY LOUISE READ

Editorial Contributors Gillian Brett JAREH DAS Sophie jones Cooper Tory Burch

Lifestyle Manager OLGA KOVALCHUK Corporate Manager JUBRAN HAMATI

ART

Customer Representative VANESSA PASAGUE

Producer LOUIS AGENCY

Advertising Inquiries Tel: +971 4 454 20 50 Tel: +971 4 425 79 79 Email: advertising@mojeh.com

Art Director AMIRREZA AMIRASLANI

Subscription Tel: +971 4 454 20 50 Email: subs@mojeh.com

Senior Designer MEHDI GHAREH MOHAMMADI Digital Strategy LOUIS AGENCY

Letters to the Editor Email: editor@mojeh.com

Contributing Photographers Riccardo Vimercati Marcin Kempski Maria Karas Federico De Angelis Raphael Delorme Thierno Sy

Published under HS Media Group FZ LLC Registered at Dubai Media City Building 10 Office 345 P.O.Box 502333, Dubai United Arab Emirates

WWW.MOJEH.COM Louis Fourteen for MOJEH Follow us on Twitter @MOJEH_Magazine, www.shopmojeh.com, info@shopmojeh.com MOJEH Executive Office: Burj Khalifa, Floor 129, P.O. Box 888777, Dubai, UAE MOJEH Swiss Representative Office: Rue de Rive 4, 1204 Geneva, Switzerland Average qualified circulation as issued by BPA Worldwide (September – December 2011): 14,262 copies. For the UAE printed by Emirates Printing Press LLC. Distribution- UAE: Jashanmal National Company LLC. Qatar: Dar Al Sharq. Bahrain: Jashanmal & Sons BSC (C). Oman: United Media Services LLC The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessary those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers particular circumstances. The ownership of trademark is acknowledged, therefore reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. All credits are subjects to change. Copyright HS MEDIA GROUP FZ LLC 2011

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Chairman SHAHAB IZADPANAH

Mojeh

Contents

SOCIETY

Uptown/Downtown

See what seasonal looks make it into the wardrobe of an Editor-in-Chief.

Moroccan Mysteries Designer Tory Burch takes us on an exotic escapade to reveal the source of her inspiration.

Woman in Society

We talk with regional artist Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum about the UAE art scene and her initiative to create a collaborative space for fledgling artists.

My Stylish Life Nadine Kanso and Hatem Alakeel are in the September spotlight.

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Less is Always More

British actress and beauty Kate Winslet on parenting and the advantages of growing older.

ABU DHABI DUBAI KUWAIT CITY MANAMA DOHA JEDDAH BEIRUT NEW YORK LONDON PARIS MADRID TOKYO Sﾃグ PAULO SHANGAI MEXICO D.F. BARCELONA SINGAPORE SAINT TROPEZ LOS ANGELES

Mojeh

Contents

FASHION

New Season Reports

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Ladylike cuts, bold pattern and ’60s chic are just a few looks you’ll be sporting this season.

114 Show Reports

We showcase some of our favourite collections from the autumn/winter runways.

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132

Spotted at Milan FW

The city built on romance and style offered us a veritable feast of backstage delights.

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137 Divine Invention

Our round-up of Couture Week takes us on a breathtaking journey through the world’s greatest ateliers.

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Menswear Round-up

From the feminine to the rugged, the childlike to the tailored, our other halves have a lot of style choices to make.

Mojeh

Contents

Accessories

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Accessory Trends

Finding that perfect accessory to compliment your look is never an easy task. We make it simple with our picks for the seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surefire winners.

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252 Pristine Poppy

Make like London socialite Poppy Delevingne and become the queen of matching accessories.

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The New Adornment

Our ears deserve a little extra attention this season as we pick out our favourite trimmings.

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Powering the Purse Strings From the Chanel 2.55 to the Hermes Kelly bag, we look at how the It bag came to be.

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Biennale des Antiquaires 2012 We sneak a peak at the world of Haute Joaillerie with an inside look at this prestigious fair.

B OTTEGAVE N ETAPAR F U M.C O M

THE FIRST FRAGRANCE FOR WOMEN

Mojeh

Contents

BEAUTY

310 Beauty Trends

The hottest hair and beauty trends to come from the catwalk this season. Think sexy seductress meets urban cat.

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320

Salon de Supermodel

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320

We catch up with hair stylist to the stars and â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s legend Oribe as he takes us through the most celebrated moments of his career.

324 Truth or Dare

Our makeup look comes in two forms this season: light or dark. Which one will you choose?

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The Dark Side of the Moon Explore a different side of Coco Chanel and simultaneously flirt with a new and darker perfume from the house.

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328 Out with the Old

A look at the newest must-have beauty products for any connoisseurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collection.

Mojeh

Contents

CULTURE

332

Shahzia Sikander’s Disruptive Transformation

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This issue’s Artist in Residence offers up a visual discussion of the world around her.

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Artist in Exhibition Pencil in these key exhibitions for autumn.

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Rolling Stone Sisterhood A cultural look at The Muzungu Sisters who are at the helm of a business idea designed to bring the eclectic mix of global fashion straight to your doorstep.

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London’s Burning Up London Fashion Week is having a moment. Let’s celebrate it.

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Coffee Table Culture Our bi-monthly dose of the books you should be devouring.

CHLOÉ BOUTIQUES

BOULEVARD AT JUMEIRAH EMIRATES TOWERS THE DUBAI MALL DUBAI AVEnUE AT ETIHAD TOWERS ABU DHABI www.CHLOE.COm

Letter

Editor’s

Fashion was absolutely, brazenly unapologetic this season. We’re talking pure, unadulterated capital-G glamour. We saw runways dripping with diamonds and gold from Dolce & Gabbana to Elie Saab and Monique Lhuillier. We followed our penchant for colour to the shows where we got a glimpse of everything from mesmerising metallics and phosphorescent pinks to the toned down, but just as enchanting, shades of chocolate and midnight blue. Paris, London, New York and Milan were proof that the fashion beat still goes on… and on. I was never personally a fan of musical chairs but when I witnessed the industry’s version – playing to their own tune while shifting Raf from Jil Sander to Dior then Stefano from YSL to who knows where yet – I was hooked. What really struck me about the collections was the endless opportunity to play the varying faces of the female façade. We saw the geek-chic, the glamazon, the ’60s fun free and frivolous woman, and even the curiously inspiring alien agent. Solidified by a mountain of accessory and beauty trends, from equestrian helmets to mysterious peacock eyes to medieval metal chokers, it’s time to reconfigure your style to properly portray your newly found character. This season is a journey of discovery and you’re leading the way to a clothing chest filled with envy-inducing treasures. Having just given birth to my beautiful son Daniel-Pasha, I’m looking for comfort and protection, so I’m taking advantage of the fur on offer alongside beautiful floral prints. Such a sentimental and special time also calls for celebration, and I’d like to thank you all for your moving words and well wishes. In order to properly rejoice during this wonderfully exciting time, I’m looking to our accessory section fuelled by allure and elegance to compliment my autumn outfits. Chanel offers fabulous inspiration direct from Place de Vendome in our exclusive shoot exposing the splendour behind the house’s fine jewels. Speaking of which, we also celebrate the house of Prada and its endless ability to showcase the fluctuating powers and personalities of women. Although we may be losing ourselves in admiration for autumn/winter’s supreme style, we haven’t forgotten any of the extras you’ve come to expect from us. Fabulous fashion shoots, an in-depth look at one of art’s emerging talents, compelling discussion topics and plenty more… we’ve got you locked and loaded for the season ahead. It took a diverse group of women, along with each of their own characters and styles to get these 350 pages to you. Only one question remains: which style persona are you ready to take on?

With New Collections Come New Characters

Mojeh Izadpanah, Photographed by Nick Hudson

Mojeh Izadpanah Editor in Chief

Follow me on Twitter @Mojeh_I

Bedazzled at the Place Vendôme, Photographed by Federico Di Angelis

Snapshots

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Uptown/ Downtown

Saunter into autumn in a sophisticated wardrobe. Structured, seductive shapes in pencil skirts and cinched waists sit alongside ladylike accessories with a dash of opulence: boxy bags and skinny stilettos, a flash of gold or a flourish of jewels.

Snapshots

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 8 9

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week style

Fashion

Five minutes with... What is your favourite city in terms of style? Paris is always number one for me. It’s where fashion was created, and is still the heart of the industry.

Vika Gazinskaya Russian designer and fashion week favourite. 1

Who is your favourite street photographer? Tommy Ton. I love him even more for his personality, which hasn’t faltered with fame. 2

Do you adapt your style in relation to the city you’re in? No, the only thing that makes me change is the weather. What is your travel essential? A big, bursting suitcase! How do you take show notes? I usually keep it all in my head, but I’ll take a lot of pictures that I use for my mood boards later on.

Which A/W collection has impressed you most? YSL. Stefano Pilati worked very closely with the archive, translating YSL’s aesthetics into contemporary designs, AW12 acknowledged Pilati’s true talent. What was your favourite trend of the season? Brocade.

Which design house do you look to for their showmanship? It depends on the season, sometimes Prada or Viktor & Rolf and of course it used to be Alexander McQueen. But I will never forget the spectacular show for Martin Margiela’s anniversary about three years ago. What accessory will you be sporting for the season? Sneakers.

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Image courtesy of: Underwood & Underwood / Corbis. Antoine Antoniol, Getty.

What is your favourite fashion moment? I love watching old movies with wonderful costumes like The Philadelphia Story or North by Northwest.

week style

Fashion

Adam Darcy The ultimate male model traveling with precision and style. Who is your favourite menswear designer? Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein.

From season to season what runway do you most enjoy walking and why? My favorite show to date was Ozwald Boateng’s SS11 Show at London Fashion Week. It was the closing show of the week and had 100 male models filtering out into Leicester Square and running through the streets of London back to Ozwald’s shop in Saville Row. It was chaotic but triumphant.

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Which show soundtrack sticks in your mind? Comme Des Garcons AW12 at Paris FW playing Wim Mertens’ “Iris”. Who is your style inspiration? Today I admire the adventurous Simone Marchetti. 6

What’s your own staple street style? All-American: a plain t-shirt and jeans. I’m also never without my backpack, which is generally full of things I rarely need. Which female model do you admire? Daria Werbowy. I admire her pursuit of balance.

What do you find most exciting, and frustrating, at fashion week? I like the organized chaos backstage during a show. What’s your favorite menswear trend for the season? Long-sleeved shirts with shorts. If you could only carry one thing with you during FW, what would it be? My Kobo eReader.

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From top to bottom left to right images courtesy of: Cindy Ord, Roger Kisby, All Getty.

What cosmetic product can’t you live without during fashion weeks? Got2Be Hair glue by Schwarzkopf.

week style

Fashion

What are your key transitional pieces for moving from summer to autumn? We are lucky in the Middle East to enjoy such good weather all year round. To ease the transition from summer to autumn a jacket that could be dressed down with shorts and jeans, or worn in a more ladylike manner with a dress or pencil skirt is perfect. What did you read on the plane travelling between fashion weeks? Desperate in Dubai.

Stephanie Khouy

What are your essential travel items? I try to fly light and fit everything in my Longchamp Pliage bag, this summer I will use my Mary Katrantzou version. I also need my music and I never travel without my blanket, which smells of home.

As one of the region’s coolest PR’s, Stephanie has travel and style perfected.

What’s your favourite track of the season? Madonna ‘MDNA’. Totally irrelevant but punchy. Which AW collection has caught your eye? Victoria Beckham. I love how she presents a flawless, graceful and lean silhouette, but this collection showcases a sportier look that feels very ‘now’, very modern. The combination of contemporary chic with everyday easy wear is a trademark of her elegant and sophisticated signature. In general, I love how all her looks are so consistently presenting a flawless, graceful and lean silhouette.

What one trend are you predicting to be big for AW12? Sportswear, because it can easily be reinterpreted from podiums to high fashion to high street. An indication is the spread of wedged heels that is becoming very popular.

Who’s your favourite model at the moment? Karlie Kloss. I just love the infectious energy she projects during shows and in editorial photo shoots. She is the ultimate chameleon, making the transition from tomboy to lady to sexy to masculine flawlessly. 5

Which catwalk caught your eye for its hair and make-up style? Prada, for its gothic-like black eye shadow and dip dyed hair extensions. A very dramatic statement for winter.

If you could go backstage at any show, which one would you choose? Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld’s shows are always one of the most anticipated, I would die for a chance to get backstage and have a few minutes with him. If you could choose just one, which colour are you coveting for the new season? Purple. It’s very versatile and utterly feminine. 7 1. Karlie Kloss | 2. victoria beckham | 3. Mary Katrantzou for Longchamp | 4. CH by Carolina Herrera | 5. Prada | 6. MDNA, Madonna | 7. Desperate in Dubai, Ameera al-Hakawati | 8. prada | 9. isabel marant

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DUBAI MALL, DUBAI CENTRIA MALL, RIYADH OSCARDELARENTA.COM

week style

Fashion

Belle krol

Fashion’s trendiest Illustrator.

What look summed up the season for you? Everything at Balmain. Which designers do you always draw inspiration from in your sketches? Chanel, Dolce&Gabbana and Marc Jacobs...but I could go on all day. Do you sketch during the shows? I prefer to illustrate it all afterwards. The lighting is bad and it moves so quickly that I end up missing the show itself.

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Whose front row style do you admire? Alexa Chung is amazing.

Who is your favourite model? Abbey Lee Kershaw. Which other bloggers do you follow? I try not to follow too many but I really love Garance Dore.

What are your tips for avoiding fashion flu? Take a lot of vitamin C, and dress with comfort and ease in mind. Which seasonal colours will feature in your illustrations and your own wardrobe? Minty green, peach, fuschia pink, black and white. 1. balmain @ net-a-porter.com | 2. valentino | 3. illustration, Belle krol | 4. alexa chung | 5. abbey lee kershaw | 6. illustration, Belle krol | 7. Chanel | 8. garance dore | 9. Stella Mccartney | 10. rag & bone @ mytheresa.com | 11. Stella Mccartney @ mytheresa. com | 12. kenzo @ mytheresa.com

From top to bottom left to right images courtesy of: Julien M. Hekimian, Brad Barket, All Getty

What aspects of the shows inspire your illustrations? The mix of dust and smoke encircling the Chanel runway last winter was very inspiring. I always look at make-up, accessories – all the small details drive me crazy- especially embroideries. I take so much from the actual cities we’re in. They represent my inspirations in it’s purest form. I then have to transform and interpret in my own way. Stella McCartney”s show location was incredible as inspiration.

Memoir

Mojeh

Moroccan Mysteries

Tory Burch tells us how her love for traditional values, cultured lands and glamorous destinations helped pave the way to design success.

estled within the radiant surroundings of Marrakech, with its bounty of exuberant shades, intense aesthetic and overwhelming sense of discovery, Tory Burch resembles an exotic bird plucked from the ether to feast upon this princess paradise. A world away from the hectic life of New York City, the enchanted soils of Morocco lend themselves perfectly to the Tory Burch brand. With a personal connection to the destination of her travels, Tory has long been taking inspiration from Arabic traditions, infiltrating their highly pigmented fashions into her own designs. Her shrewd eye for detail and the ability to create highly covetable accessories make her a keen player in the MOJEH world, and her travels to these faraway lands tell a captivating story. From the maze-like souks of the city to meetings with the artisans whose work adorn every crevice, Tory is not your ordinary tourist. Aware of the potential buried within the Middle Eastern fashion circuit, she is keen to tap into the psyche of the luxury woman. The woman that defines herself in style seeks the highest standard of craftsmanship and is inherently and consistently chic. A tale of discovery, glorious colour and a thirst for the unknown ensues as she ventures into Aladdin’s cave.

‘In Marrakech, inspiration is everywhere because Morocco has such a rich tradition of craftsmanship - detailed archways, hand-woven baskets, artisanal jewellery, spices in every colour imaginable… I take photos of things I find interesting and unique, and my design team and I often reference them when brainstorming our next collection.’

Memoir

Mojeh

‘Marrakech has special significance for me; my parents honeymooned there. I adore it – the colours, architecture, culture, textiles are always stunning. We were most recently in Marrakech for the Financial Times Luxury Summit on emerging markets. We always get lost in the twists and turns of the souk, mostly because we’re too busy taking in the amazing mix of visuals. Spending time with artisans in the Industrial Zone is so illuminating. Dar Marjana is a must-stop for traditional Moroccan tea service, and I will never tire of spending time in the Majorelle Gardens; knowing that Yves Saint Laurent made it his home gives it special meaning.’

Memoir

Mojeh

‘We see a great deal of potential in new markets. Our approach is very careful and measured because we like to enter each region with a long-term relationship with fashionable women in mind. We think about what the women in each city respond to, and certainly for the Middle East and Asia, we know they love prints, embellishments and colours, which is why they respond well to our lines.We also consider more practical preferences women have for getting dressed in different parts of the world and whether we should make custom items as a result. So in the Middle East we may design longer pieces. It’s important to us that our clients know that we’re actually thinking about them as individuals. But one very compelling realisation is that best-sellers are the same all over the world, an indication that women globally share the need and desire for well-made, special feeling pieces that are well-priced.’

Memoir

Mojeh All images courtesy of Tory Burch in Marrakech

‘It was a phenomenal experience and we gained a better understanding of the Middle East. It became apparent that the luxury customer there shares the same sensibility as the luxury customer anywhere else – they respond to craftsmanship, quality and the idea that their wardrobe should be inherently chic enough to work anywhere in the world.’

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Belles

Society

Installation view, United Arab Emirates pavillion, 2011, Venice, Italy

Celebrated Woman in Society:

Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum By Jareh Das

heikha Lateefa bint Maktoum is continually influenced by her surroundings and by the subtle and not so subtle changes that she sees happening around her. This reflective quality has seen her revolutionise the artistic landscape of Dubai, making her one of the arts most respected advocates through establishing Tashkeel, a space for ideas and experimentation. As an established artist, director and founder of Tashkeel, the UAE based non-profit arts organisation, Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum wears multiple hats in the region’s blossoming arts scene. Tashkeel provides specialist facilities for artists and designers living and working in the UAE. It also serves as a creative hub for emerging as well as established regional and international art practitioners in the region due to its locally focused but internationally influenced remit through its collaborative partnering. Having graduated from Zayed University’s Latifa College with a Bachelors Degree in Visual Arts, Sheikha Lateefa has been exhibiting as an artist since 2004. She began by creating public art and works specifically for charitable auctions which include Médecins Sans Frontières, Madrasati Palestine, Art for Sight, Noor Dubai. She is also honorary patron of Dubai based charity START. In 2007, Sheikha Lateefa started curating exhibitions and her first curated show Minus Reality showcased the works of 30 UAE-based artists. This show sparked the idea for the need of working studios for artists and designers living and working in the Gulf, which led to the establishment of Tashkeel. Her works have been exhibited extensively in the UAE and internationally at Arc Biennial, Australia, UAE Pavilion at Venice, Shanghai Better City Better Life Expo. Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum’s works are included in private collections nationally and internationally.

Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum looks at one of her works inside the United Arab Emirates pavillion on June 2, 2011 in Venice, Italy

Belles

Society Skate Biladi under construction at Tashkeel, 2012

What was the main drive and inspiration to start Tashkeel? The idea for Tashkeel came to mind whilst I was in my last year of university. I was discussing with Jill Hoyle, who was my advisor at the time and is now the manager of Tashkeel. As we were talking, I realised that after graduating many artists work in isolation. The environment for critical discussion becomes harder to find when an artist is in the process of creating their work, and it is hard for them to develop without it. It became vital for me to create a space where artists could work in isolation when need be, but at moments when a work is ready to be discussed, the environment is there to be utilised. Tashkeel operates in a quite fluid model in terms of how and whom it works with. Is this something you see as vital for its sustenance? To start with, Tashkeel was an experiment, a response to an identified need of the local art community. We always want to keep our ears to the ground and respond to the changing needs of the art and design community of the region through the projects that we take on. Could you expand on the necessity for collaborations between Tashkeel and cultural producers in the region and beyond and how they come about? At Tashkeel we always look out for new projects that are appropriate for us to take on – sometimes working alone and at other times collaborating with like-minded institutions regionally, such as the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, in which we support projects together. Other projects that are recurring are collaborations with the Khatt Foundation, a cultural foundation and centre for Arabic typography, and with Creative Dialogue Association, a not-for-profit association based in Barcelona with whom we have offered the Design Road workshop program. More collaborations with similar institutions are planned for the future. Tashkeel has worked with the charity START, which you are a patron of. What was the legacy of this project and how important is art to therapy/rehabilitation? Are charitable collaborations the core of Tashkeel? START chose me to be their honorary patron in January 2009. I feel strongly about children continuing to develop within the arts, especially children with disabilities. I know how much it can help as my own half brother, Hamdan, is autistic. Art is a way of expression that a child uses when they don’t have the verbal vocabulary to express their thoughts and feelings. It is important to support these initiatives when and where we can. As Picasso once said: ‘Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.’ What are your thoughts on art education in the UAE and are there future plans for Tashkeel to branch into art education in the form of an art school or partner with an academic institution? I agree that we do need the arts to be embedded and developed within schools and also to have an environment in which young artists can create without the pressure of academia. Tashkeel is now working on an afterschool program for children and teenagers where they can come to Tashkeel to continue and develop within the arts. This should encourage schools to better their arts program after witnessing the benefits that it brings to their students.

Belles

Society

Installation view, United Arab Emirates pavillion, 2011, Venice, Italy

Skate Biladi was a truly engaging project taking elements of urban/street art and presenting it as shared culture extending beyond geographical locations. How did this project materialise and did you find its unprecedented success surprising? We have always been involved with urban art in some way. Our first project was with UK graffiti artist Mohammed Ali, ‘Aerosol Arabic’, in 2010, when we commissioned him to paint the wall of the Tashkeel garden. After that we worked with urban artist EL Seed (Faouzi Khlifi), who was part of a group show of contemporary calligraphers at Tashkeel in 2011. Skate Biladi (2010) is the brainchild of Bradley Kirr and Omar Al Abbar. Bradley has been a member of Tashkeel since 2009 when he got involved with us to create trophies for the Arab AM skate competition in Abu Dhabi using our laser cutter. He approached us at Tashkeel to develop this and we came up with the idea of building the skate ramp in the form of the Arabic calligraphy of our logo. We also held a series of art and sport workshops for children which we are planning to develop in the future. Being an artist yourself and director of Tashkeel you are inevitably a role model for female artists in the region. What challenges have you faced and what advice would you offer to emerging artist on how best to progress? My struggle as an artist here was not a result of my being female, it was more about art being seen as a hobby and not a serious career path. Thankfully, I have parents who understand me and have trust in the choices that I make. My advice for young artists is: if you believe in what you are doing, keep at it, study it all the time, and work out of love and drive to achieve the goals you set for yourself. Which artists inspire you, and have they influenced your career as an artist? There are artists that I look to for inspiration. For example, Gregory Crewdson’s use of fantasy and lighting to bring in the surreal within the real. Duane Michal’s piece ‘who am I’ helped me explore my own identity within my work, without using cliché visual vocabulary to do so. Although for the past few years I have been influenced by many internet artists who create imaginary realms and post them to online galleries, such as Mattijn Franssen, Rimbaudian (Gianluca) and many more who I have observed for many years. Did you have a moment or life changing experience that influenced or added to your understanding of art? Perhaps a period in your life when you were studying, met an inspirational colleague or tutor etc? Latifa School for Girls is what influenced me a lot. My teacher Ms Dean inspired me to do my GCSE’s and A-levels and to continue within the arts. Ms Dean used to draw during our classes and we used to see different examples of techniques first hand, which really helped us develop work with different mediums and be able to choose the best medium to use to say what we wanted to say.

Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum,Observers of Change 3, 2011, Photomontage on archival paper

Belles

Society Installation view, United Arab Emirates pavillion, 2011, Venice, Italy

The female artist can at times come across challenges in terms of exposure, success, etc. when compared to her male counterpart. How do you feel the issue of equality is being addressed especially in relation to this region? In the context of the UAE I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know if I agree that females face challenges in terms of exposure. I think both male and female artists have equal opportunities. If an artist is with a gallery, galleries usually market them, but there are many artists in the region who are not yet signed with galleries and still get as much media attention as signed artists. It is all about the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character and charisma and what their work says. If something is good, it will rightfully attract an audience and the media will follow. What are your hopes for the future generation of artists? I hope to see more artists create and respond to the region they are in. I am interested to see the art that will come out of the region, and I hope that the work that will emerge isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t more art that looks like art, but art that is true to the artist and what they would like to say. What are your aspirations for the UAE art scene? I hope to see art taught seriously in public and private schools and a lot more aspiring artists who take art as a major without fearing that in some circumstances it is not seen as a serious career path. Hopefully, these young artists are the ones who will feed the regional and possibly international galleries and maybe, in the long run, museums.

Style

Insider

My Stylish Life

Nadine Kanso, artist and jewellery designer

Nadine in her studio, photographed by Altamash Urooj.

Nadine’s diverse Middle Eastern upbringing – born and educated in Beirut and now living in Dubai – has influenced the unique way in which she views the world. Artistic by nature, she uses photography, painting and jewellery design to express her interpretations of life and human nature, with her studio and varying creative projects echoing an astute and intriguing image.

Insider

Style

Dries Van Noten AW12

Sophia Loren

From top to bottom image courtesy of: Julien Hekimian/Getty Images, Descordes/photocuisine/Corbis

Caspian, Jeans/Alexander Wang, T-Shirt

Chloe, Jacket/Dior, Shoes

Beauty essentials: Nimue Vitamin C Moisture Mist and Kiehl’s Musk Oil | Shampoo: Dove | Hair product: L’Oreal Professionnel Mythic Oil | Moisturiser: Nimue | Perfume: Jean Paul Gaultier Classic

Jean Paul Gaultier Classique

Nimue, Vitamin C Moisture Mist/ L’Oreal Professionnel, Mythic Oil

Tabbouleh

Louis Vuitton

Style

Insider

My Stylish Life

Hatem Alakeel, designer and gallery owner

Nadine in her studio, photographed by Altamash Urooj.

Intrigued by modern western style, Hatem took the traditional Kandura and explored its design possibilities, curating a sensitive yet prevailing fashion house. With delicate embellishments and regal add-ons, Hatem and his label, Toby, soon became a strong influencer in the Middle Eastern design world. Now he extends his success across to art, supporting the industry through his gallery situated in Al Qouz.

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Style Elsa Schiaparelli

Vivienne Westwood, Jeans/ Dior, Shoes

Personal motto: Don’t wait until your ship comes in, row out to meet it | Motto to live by: Keep your face towards the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you | Best advice someone has given you: You’ll never know unless you try | Secret weapon: Being a Scorpio | What can’t money buy: Happiness or good taste | Childhood dream: To become a fireman | Can’t live without: Family and friends | Most loved fairytale/children’s book: The Jungle Book

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Hermes, Voyage d’Hermes

From top to bottom image courtesy of: Bettmann/CORBIS, Mike Laye/CORBIS

Beauty essentials: SPF and plenty of water | Hair product: Label M Gel | Moisturiser: Clarins | Cologne: Hermes Voyage D’Hermes

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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Viktor and Rolf AW12

Kiehls, Super Fluid UV Defense 50/ Clarins, Skin Difference Cream

interview

Society

Less is Always More

ate Winslet is one of those women who looks just as beautiful with her hair scraped back and a child on each knee as she does on the red carpet. Mother or movie star, it seems she is equally at home filling either role. Playing intelligent characters and snubbing diva behaviour both on and off screen (always with a healthy dash of her selfeffacing British humour) has secured her spot as one of Hollywood’s most likeable women. Whether it’s treating younger actors with the same ‘firm-but-fair’ hand as her children or shunning industry insiders in place of her younger sister, Kate Winslet has found the secret to her success in keeping both feet firmly on the ground (and preferably in comfortable shoes).

What kind of parent are you? Are you one to let children battle it out themselves or do you think they need a strong hand? As the mother of two kids, sometimes I might have to pick up the phone to soand-so’s mum. For example, if Mia or Joe come home and someone has hurt their feelings, and they really didn’t think they had done anything wrong, I’m certainly not the kind of parent who says, ‘My kids are perfect and yours aren’t!’ One does try and be diplomatic but for the most part I do actually believe in the kids working these things out for themselves, especially when they’re 10 or 11 years old. It’s part of childhood isn’t it? It’s part of growing up. These things shape and mould us, even if in the moments that it’s happening, and it hurts. I was bullied for quite a significant part of my early education and it was terrible at the time, but it definitely has made me stronger Now that you are considered one of the most glamorous women of our time, do you ever think back to those days in the school grounds? One of the most glamorous women of our time? That’s hilarious. But you are talked about in those terms… That’s only on red carpets. But I look back on those earlier years when people were mean to me, and I allow myself a moment of feeling fairly smug.

You said in an interview that you put your famous hat on when obligations arrive like red carpets. Is that an exhausting thing for you? It isn’t exhausting; I can certainly never say that. It’s fun because I make it fun because there’s really no point being cynical, or attitude-y, or bored of any of those occasions. If I go to a premiere because I’m promoting a film that I worked hard on and I’m part of a team, part of my duty is to support that piece. And in that case I’m only too happy to be there. But I certainly do have to put on a different hat, and it’s always a shock to my system; it’s like, ‘Oh okay, so I have to take off the sweats and squeeze myself into a dress now?’. It still really takes me by surprise how odd it feels every time! Does being talked about as ‘the Meryl Streep of your generation’ come with a lot of pressure? It’s really amazing if that is something that people say. I don’t necessarily see myself in that way, but one thing I would say is that I feel right now being 36 that I’m part of a really, really fortunate generation of female actresses. I feel as though we have such great women to look up to that we’ve admired for years; people like Maggie Smith and Judy Dench and Susan Sarandon. We had all these glorious women who haven’t adjusted themselves, who are still giving incredible, admirable, powerful performances, and that’s a blessing because I do think that it’s

Image Courtesy of: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis

interview

Society

From left to right, top to bottom images courtesy of: Jason Merritt/Getty, Frazer Harrison/Getty, Stuart Wilson/Getty

interview

Society

interview

What do you think are the advantages to getting older? Are you less self-conscious now than you might have been when you were 21? I’m so much less self-conscious and I think that has something to do with getting older and accepting one’s self, feeling stronger, feeling more confident. When you are younger, somehow being in your late 30s seems really old. But I feel stronger, fitter, and more comfortable in my own skin now than I have ever felt. So I think that’s definitely something that comes with age. Of course it’s easy for me to say those things; I have this lovely career and I have these two beautiful children. But there is something about, as a woman, hanging onto your sense of self in spite of having children and in spite of going through a lot of fairly big things in my own personal life. I’m just like anyone else in that way – lots of us have been there. Having emerged from those times feeling genuinely good and well and strong, and together and with my children, you don’t necessarily imagine that you might feel more as you get older, but I definitely do. I’m a normal person. I look like the people that walk down the street. I don’t have a perfect chest, I don’t have zero cellulite – of course I don’t – and I’m curvy. If that is something that makes women feel empowered in any way, shape or form, that’s great. Are you one for buying the latest miracle cream? No, in fact, I’ll often ask my younger sister Beth, who’s raising her three beautiful children, because if there’s anything new on the market then Beth will know. She will hear about some incredible nutritional supplement that I should be taking so I often just turn to her. In terms of things like cellulite removing products, I don’t really invest too much energy in that. You’ve obviously retained a strong believability factor on screen. What would you attribute that to?

The attitude of the British media is that if you are a famous person, rather than saying, ‘Oh well done,’ they’ll say, ‘Oh really? If you think you are so special, why don’t you prove it?’ One can get some ridicule in a fairly public way by the British press. I really don’t read any of it now, but when I was younger I certainly exposed myself to it. It was unavoidable with Titanic being so huge. I also remember working with some brilliantly stoic people who just taught me so much, not only about how to be an actress, but how to behave. I had great examples set to me at a very young age, and I am still very grateful for that. Whenever I work with a younger actor who I think might be slightly out of line, I know that I have to really be a role model to them.

Society

changing a little bit. I would have a very hard time becoming famous at 21 now as opposed to the time when I did for Titanic. I think the pressures are much greater now.

So you’re vocal about that? Well not necessarily vocal, but exemplify it by persistently being a normal person, with no airs and graces. I might be playing the lead but no one’s trailer is going to be bigger than anyone else’s, no one is going to have a mammoth entourage. I guess the perks that a lot of famous people do tend to have, I will completely avoid. Sometimes I sit and watch the end credits of a movie counting people’s assistants, and I just think, how unnecessary. What goals do you have yet to achieve …I mean, you seem to have done it all! I haven’t done it all. There are lots of jobs to do and hopefully roles to play and powerful performances to give and characters to create. I think the goal is to just never stop learning and ‘bringing it’. It does definitely get more exciting, but it also gets harder. Did you have an acting mentor yourself? Oh Emma Thompson, hands down every time. And I don’t think I even really realised it at the time that it was happening. We are still very close now and I thank her for that. I very much doubt this would have happened because my family is so solid and they never would have allowed it, but I could have turned into a right little diva had I not been shown how to behave! I really was just so lucky to be exposed to all the right things at absolutely the right age.

Season

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Let Them Eat Cake

Dolce&Gabbana

of shape, fashion’s focus remained on the waist, but in place of spring/ summer’s angular peplums we saw a more clear-cut silhouette fitted to the form with a military rigidity. It was just what the doctor ordered: a dose of old-school glamour. Tailored curves and cinched middles created a classic hourglass shape enhanced by flared and A-line skirts. Accordingly, waist-cinching belts were a recurring theme through the majority of shows. Grinko’s Soviet pendant belt bought a restrained toughness to the collection, whilst Oscar De La Renta’s Egyptian inspired buckle inlayed with precious stones reflected the mustard gold and rich jewel palette of his show. Bags were similarly opulent in a range of statement-making textiles from snakeskin to yak hair. This season’s arm candy screamed to be seen. Leathers added a touch of gothic glamour; rich with rebellious and dominating suggestions, they were warmed up for winter with a juicy plum tone. Also leaving behind S/S’s fresh feminine vibes were A/W’s edgy, luxe florals. Overall colours were similarly heavy – a palette of deep crimson, inky indigo and gold all offset by a black undercurrent. Makeup had a corresponding colour theme, though it showed some curtailment so as not to overpower the clothes. YSL balanced their vampish wine-stained lip with a subtle champagne haze over the eyes. This sentiment was reflected in the nails with French manicure tips painted in metallic gold and black – a perfect choice

esigners made a strong statement this season: we’re status dressing. It’s about making heads turn with envy at your closet bulging with decadent collections so covetable that Marie Antoinette would have fallen head over her Manolos. Spring’s runways were brimming with rumours and break-ups across the board, but this season the fashion pack made a strong statement of intent by doing what we’ve always loved them for: showing off. In spite of global economic austerity (and a game of designer musical chairs) the theatre returned to RTW and Couture weeks with innovative and impressive installations. The kings and queens of fashion shuffled their pawns. With Stefano Pilati from Yves Saint Laurent, Raf Simons from Jil Sander, Hedi Slimane moving to YSL, Jil Sander back at her eponymous label and Raf Simons taking the reigns at Dior Couture, the powers that be certainly flexed their muscles. Indeed, we faithful lords and ladies of fashion will be showing off our riches with opulent fabrics fit for royalty. The aesthetics of Ottoman design and the Italian Renaissance bought a regal feel to the collections: a depth of richness attained through the use of fabrics such as brocade, velvet and lace all embellished with majestic embroidery. It seems that this season, more than any, was made for women who want their wardrobes to ooze unapologetic indulgence. Deconstructed tapestries cut with military precision, shimmers of metallic gold and chainmail, and dashes of statement fur. What better time than winter to experiment with layering these dense fabrics? In terms

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for a woman who wants to mix high-fashion and classic style. Couture was well and truly up to its old tricks: originality, sophistication and utter luxury. Designers indulged in a showmanship which married creativity and technology, pushing the boundaries with shows that bordered on the conceptual. Franck Sorbier, for example, replaced the standard show format when he used light projection to cast his designs on a single white dress. A model-filled flash mob with him at the centre bought the show to its climax. We reminisced about the couture known by the courts of Versailles as a million flowers adorned the walls of Dior’s salon for Raf Simon’s first couture collection at the house. Indeed the clothes dealt a respectful nod to the house’s past with balloon-skirted gowns and wasp-waisted dresses. These substantial shapes were borrowed by RTW: Jil Sander’s billowy skirts and oversized coats, and Issey Miyake’s puffa jackets and bunched necklines. If Dolce and Gabbana’s references to resplendent celebratory clergy vestments in their RTW collection wasn’t bold enough then their first Couture collection said it all. Like modern day courtesans, they had squads of seamstresses working for months on a 73-outfit couture collection. Every millimetre of lace made to order, every printed petal hand-painted, every fist-sized jewel the real deal. It doesn’t get much more gratuitously ornamental than bedazzled earrings so heavy they had to be hooked over the ear to avoid tearing pierced

“This autumn/winter breathed optimism into everything it touched through its celebration of the fabulous circus that surrounds the fashion world.”

holes. Indeed the mood of the season was extravagance – a stark contrast to the minimalism that abounded back in 2008. This autumn/winter breathed optimism into everything it touched through its celebration of the fabulous circus that surrounds the fashion world. It was a party that everyone wanted to be invited to and it seemed the hottest accessory was a hot other half. Hollywood heavyweights included Kanye and Kim, Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl, Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault, and Matt Damon with wife Luciana Bozan Barroso. Front-row power couples weren’t limited to love interests; hotel heiress/designer Nicky Hilton took the arm of her stylish socialite mother Kathy at Valentino. Fashion Police’s unlikely pals Kelly Osbourne and red carpet veteran Joan Rivers bought their cheeky double act to Badley Mischka’s front row. At the Marc Jacobs show, Zoe Kravitz cosied up to actress Rose Byrne, who was wearing a full look from the designer’s SS12 collection. Indeed, this was a week for ingénue actresses to make a statement: Clemence Poesy in a traffic-stopping red Valentino dress and studded clutch at the house’s show and Kristen Stewart in skintight leather trousers at Balenciaga. The paparazzi flashes really went wild when the inimitable Sophia Loren graced Giorgio Armani Prive with her presence. But this is just the first chapter in MOJEH’s notes on a fashion week that painted towns red across the globe. There’s much more to come that will satisfy your insatiable thirst for style right through to SS13.

Dolce&Gabbana

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From runway to backstage, street to the ateliers, across the next pages youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find everything you need for the autumn ahead. Own it, wear it, LOVE it!

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Dark Blooms 1

In a stunning orchard eclipse, watch your beloved florals turn from light to dark for the winter months. Dolce& Gabbana’s vintage peony print and Erdem’s neon-splattered abstracts will brighten up the darkest winter day. Jonathan Sander’s bed of poesies gives the trend a sophisticated turn.

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Fur Fix 1

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be swallowed whole by this animalistic trend. Instead, add just a hint to your outfit. For eveningwear try an elegant vintage-style stole seen at Oscar De La Renta. For daytime, layer up with a thick scarf and furry shoulders like Mulberryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cosy cover-ups.

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Military Chic 1

A sleek artillery of military influences included officer jackets, long and mannish at Aquascutum or doublebreasted and buttoned-down at Ferragamo. A deep, steely shade of khaki alongside navy anchored the looks in a winter-appropriate wardrobe. The silhouette was streamlined â&#x20AC;&#x201C; strict and minimalist â&#x20AC;&#x201C; displayed in the belted waists at Hilfiger and Victoria Beckham.

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Tooth and Nail 1

We saw a modern take on Houndstooth with a clashing acid palette at House of Holland. Basso & Brooke referenced early-nineties Versace mixing neon sweeps with monochrome print to 3D effect. Max Maraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traditional take on the tessellation with heavy tweeds and turned-up collars was given a sexy flash of leg.

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Swinging Sixties 1

Kaleidoscopic prints in fall-appropriate autumnal tones hit the catwalks this season. Miu Miuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s psychedelic trouser suit was not for the faint of fashion heart. With a nod to the Mod, it was polished-off with a mustard patent waist belt and sharp necktie. Tory Burch pared down the retro look with a mix of pastel and sky blue checked fabrics for an Upper East Side flavour.

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Future Femme 1

A nouveau take on the classic Lady look thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perfect for workwear, channel the sartorially synchronised Jackie Kennedy fused with the nimble elegance of Audrey Hepburn. Despite occasional lingerie references with rippling silk at Dior and Nina Ricci and basque at Roland Mouret, the look was neither sex-bomb nor girlie. Blushes of smoky lilac and pink were fresh and innocently seductive.

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Regal renaissance 1

The A/W runways offered the most opulent and ornate fabrics your closet can handle: velvet, jacquard, lace, damaskâ&#x20AC;Ś all with brocade and embellishment. Go head-to-toe with Stellaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s navy trouser suit or add a naval flavour to a jacket with gold piping and button embellishment seen at Ralph Lauren.

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Shape Shifter 1

Fashion got freaky as shapes morphed, materials mutated and models invaded. Mugler’s girls donned futuristic skirt suits that would’ve been sinister if not for the white palette. To replicate this reptilian look, go for rigid fabrics like Pugh’s moulded leather outerwear. Paco Rabanne exemplified the trend for eveningwear with a dazzling metallic maxi dress.

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Gothic Gypsy 1

No-boundaries bohemian met the deliberate overstatement of Goth in flowing fabrics, ruffles, lace – a modern-day version of late Victorian excess. Gucci and Pucci’s floor length maxi dresses made glamourous ghouls embrace the Mediterranean mystery of the gypsy. Ferragamo and Nina Ricci’s transparent black chiffon tea-dresses were reminiscent of vintage undergarments.

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Sheer Chest 1

Designers dared to bare in a trend that was equal parts romantic and edgy. Armani embraced the former, embellishing a diaphanous opaque torso with a corsage for gothic girlishness. Galliano juxtaposed heavy and light fabrics with layered ruffles surrounding peek-a-boo chests. J Mendel toyed with the illusion of nudity with a graphic slit across the torso making for a truly head-turning evening gown.

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Thigh High 1

Naeem Khan proved legs were hot property this season with a feathered and bejewelled gown that is bound to be a red carpet hit. Donna Karan gave us a deconstructed tuxedo, topped with a toy-sized top hat, whilst Lhuillierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prim and proper neckline balanced out her risquĂŠ skirt.

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Primary Colours

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heery pigments provided a zesty punctuation as we went back to basics with primary colours in their most distinct forms: postbox red, sunshine yellow and royal blue. For this seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s key piece, make a traffic-stopping statement in a bright red winter coat as seen at Calvin Klein and Jil Sander.

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Red Leather

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ighter and more forgiving than its black counterpart, claret coloured leather is perfect for transitioning into autumn. For an investment piece that will look perfect with paler skin, try Diane Von Furstenbergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shiny trench, juicy enough to eat in a shade that will brighten up your winter wardrobe and take you right through to spring.

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Ever green

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he colour of envy, money, and lust, its cool waters belying a luscious depth, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a green to suit every complexion: from emerald so dense that it rippled into turquoise with Francesco Scognamiglioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s metallic shirt dress to the pale mossy yellow-green at Jonathan Saunders.

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Hot Chocolate

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10 8

he delicious connotations of this tone provide an almost palpable luxury. On a canvas less harsh than black and less corporate than grey, we saw sleek trouser suits at Roksanda Ilincic and Haider Ackermann. DVFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smouldering burgundy brown dress melted into a second skin, with a sexy off-the-shoulder sleeve dripping from the arm.

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Autumn Blossom

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Colour

s summer turns to autumn, instead of retreating from the cold, florals merely discover darker depths. Casting a dreamy shadow over the brights of S/S, the outcome is a palette of deep mauves, rich burgundies and dusky pinks. Take some textural inspiration from this trend with layered ruffles like McQueenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blooming rose dress.

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Night Skies

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ndigo and navy tones were embellished with a shimmer of beading or metallic overtones for a trend that evoked a blanket of stars on a clear night sky. Gucci embraced this seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cape trend, perfect for a chic, Parisian evening in deep December. Lhuillier dazzled with a floor-length gown ready to turn heads over the event season.

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Midas Touch

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esigners decked the halls with golden hues. Michael Kors channelled the louche luxe of the jazz era with a mid-calf length flapper dress in shimmering sequins. Viktor & Rolf offered a creamy caramel-toned jumpsuit that hung loosely giving a glamourous â&#x20AC;&#x2122;70s vibe.

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Winter Whites

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hite has increasingly become a building block of the modern wardrobe, equally as investment-worthy and timeless as black. Channel Bianca Jagger in a statement white suit from Ferretti or Richmond. Alternatively, Derek Lam offers a quirky cable knit, chunky enough for winter layering and balanced out with a floaty maxi skirt.

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Chanel

Jenny Packham

Lanvin

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Trend

In the details

Angular

3D Embellishments

Some designers went large, some went small, but strict shapes on garments garner the eye’s attention. .

If it doesn’t protrude at least an inch, then it’s not good enough for us.

Poisonous Petals

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Hussein Chalayan

Antonio Marani

Marios Schwab

Flora’s take on a dark role as wild and overgrown corsages in threatening colours engulf entire dresses.

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Fashion

Custo Barcelona

Altuzarra

Texturised

Agnes B

Jil Sander

Cushnie et Ochs

High-shine sequins and coins are juxtaposed against unkempt wools.

Peek-a-Boo Small, delicate but still very sexy cut-outs add new twists to contemporary dresses.

High-Neck

Giambattista Valli

Balenciaga

Thomas Tait

Pussy Bows Nothing says lady more than a sumptuous, free-falling bow.

Antonio Berardi

Haider Ackermann

Protect your precious skin from the cold winter winds.

Folding Fabrics Masters in origami were called upon to help curate the collections.

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Week Special

Fashion

London Fashion Week Diary AW12/13 From its fashion week aficionados to its exciting up and comers, Europe’s quirkiest capital is capturing the attention of international taste-makers. There were practically scrums outside the big name and newbie showsalike, as an increasing number of editors, bloggers and devoted sartorial spectators descended upon London Fashion Week’s AW12 season. Join us as we share with you the highlights, the trends and the names to look out for.

By Gillian Brett

Antoni and Alison Next was Antoni and Alison, who earnestly admitted on the invitation that it was going to be a traditional display of ‘Models Walking Up and Down in Dresses.’ The duo didn’t disappoint, however, and celebrated 25 years in the business with a collection of wearable silk jersey dresses with their signature irreverent touch: a playful trompe l’oeuil patchwork of photographic prints and doodles on silk tunics. Using what they referred to as the ‘mundane and unnoticeable,’ feathers, sequins and cellophane came together as poster paint and jewel tones were layered over supersized tweeds and tartans creating a mood-board-made-real collection. The models sported uniform short dark crops, allowing the artistry of the dress to take centre stage without distraction. It was a simple execution of extraordinary garments that proved fashion could embody the everyday with the exceptional.

Orla Kiely London Fashion Week opened its winter 2012 season like any other. The air was thick with anticipation, everyone was styled to perfection and you couldn’t move without stumbling into a street style shoot. First on was Orla Kiely, with what later proved to be the best show of the day. A choreographed ‘afternoon tea dance,’ complete with cafe set and gold glitter ball, offered an imaginative break from conventional presentations. Set in a 1920s tearoom, decorated with wallpaper and the designer’s signature furnishings, the collection was inspired by James Clavell’s film To Sir With Love. Models glided around the dance floor wearing retro prints on tea dresses with gold dancing shoes and lurex socks, while a live swing band provided the soundtrack. The Irish designer can afford to be jaunty these days; business is booming and she’s just signed another deal with the Japanese retail giant Uniqlo.

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Week Special

Fashion

PPQ

Simone Rocha

Art reflected life on the catwalk as Percy and Amy paid homage to the stars. Catwalk theatre at its best, models cascaded down the runway in black velvet, ruched in all the right places, complete with Veronica Lake hair and bright red lips. What has become one of the season’s most well-documented silhouettes, the peplum dominated on dresses and playsuits. A selection of luxe outerwear was a definite highlight, with a sack-back cream coat and black mohair jackets as particular stand out pieces. More references were made to the ’20s with a drop waist, tux front dress paired with strikingly embellished tights. The collection paired enough old world glamour with a modern wearability to keep the cameras flashing this season.

The full house in attendance at Simone Rocha’s Saturday afternoon show was a testament to her rise from sartorial prodigy to well-established and revered designer. In fact, the chatter after the show spoke more about who couldn’t get in because they’d arrived too late rather than who was actually there. Those who arrived in time and were firmly planted in the front row included Rocha’s once St Martin’s course director Louise Wilson, fashion powerhouses Sarah Mower and Suzy Menkes (both of who generously praised the collection in their reports), and of course her father, John Rocha (who showed just a couple of hours later in the main showspace). The collection itself, which remained a hot topic for the duration of the day, was a regal juxtaposition of the austerity of religious references with the otherworldly effect of lace. Veils of corded white lace were moulded into a biker jacket and a skirt two-piece. It was the exact shake-up the schedule needs: something empathetic with the times and not derived from yesteryears.

Temperley Shown in the former headquarters of the Institution of Civil Engineers in Westminster (a venue far more enchanting than it sounds) Temperley’s show notes described the collection as a ‘celebration of opulence,’ and it certainly was. The collection itself was regal enough, and one particular showstopping backless fully embellished dress drew an audible gasp of awe from the crowd. Inspired by 18th century religious paintings with a hefty dose of Russian influence—from the Ballets Russes right through to YSL’s seminal Russian collection in 1976—the collection was elegant, refined and literally shone with help from Mawi and their characteristic oversized jewels. Each dress was crowned with an enormous shapka for what was termed a ‘polished folk’ look, and military elements were evident in midnight blue evening gowns and gold-buttoned overcoats. The arrival of a black velvet dress topped with a leopard pillbox hat added a touch of 1940s femme fatale to the proceedings. It was a perfectly executed display with just the right dose of ostentation.

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Week Special

Fashion

Paul Smith

Matthew Williamson In the bright and airy surroundings of the Royal Opera House, Matthew Williamson took us on a colourful escape from the usual autumn austerity. Feeling like we’d walked into a Mediterranean villa, we watched as the king of bohemian chic exhibited an accomplished collection that aptly demonstrated the expertise he’s built up over a 15-year career. To the approving eyes of a young and trendy set on the front row including Olivia Palermo, Poppy Delevingne, Holly Valance, Tallulah Harlech and Leigh Lezark, the collection was dominated by elegant trousers, semisheer blouses and Ibiza-ready eveningwear. Hair was artfully tousled, makeup was natural but sun-kissed, and models walked in Charlotte Olympia boots. The interest lay in the details where pixel studs ran down overlaid sheer dresses and shattered, sharded block-colours added new dimensions to floral prints. It was an overtly colourful collection as riffs of gold played against glinting paisley backdrops and grey boucle was mixed with aquamarine, orange and purple. Outside, word was spreading that it was Williamson at his best, and at his best he surely was.

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Old-skool reggae tunes eased the wait at the beginning of the Paul Smith show that ran about 25 minutes behind schedule. Hosted in the Royal Horticultural Halls, the expansive venue comfortably housed the fashion elite including Net-A-Porter founder Natalie Massenet and their newly appointed editor, Lucy Yeomans. It was worth the wait as the collection did exactly what Smith does best: translating traditional menswear into wearable, eclectic pieces for women. The show opened with a fitting homage to the pyjama trend—a motif that was repeated throughout the show—in the form of a dressing gownstyle coat in brown with full lapels. It was followed by staples such as cigarette pants in woodland green, a modified, cropped tail coat and grey woollen slouch pants. Smith updated his signature stripes with a definite reference to critic-favourite Mary Katrantzou by adding bursts of vibrant primary colours — greens, blues, yellows, reds and purples — to dresses and separates. A high-waisted tulip skirt treated to this new look added a girlie guise to all the androgyny, followed by a return to tongue-in-cheek references to men’s tailoring by way of crushed velvet suits. The final walk through was done to an upbeat blast of PJ Harvey’s ‘This is Love,’ and for this collection it really was.

Week Special

Burberry Prorsum

Fashion

It doesn’t get much more quintessentially British than watching Burberry Prorsum in London’s Queen’s Park. The quintessential quotient rose further as Samantha Cameron, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Alexa Chung, Laura Bailey, boxer Amir Khan and exBurberry model Lily Donaldson took their places front row. International spectators included Will.i.am, Kate Bosworth, fashion photographer Mario Testino and French actress Clémence Poésy. Notorious for starting bang on time, it was all a little manic as everyone sat in anticipation of what was destined to be the most talked about show of the week. A model army including Jourdan Dunn and Cara Delevingne (with big sis Poppy beaming in the front row) stormed the runway in blanket coats, bombers, waxed jackets and the label’s famous trench coat. Christopher Bailey has been credited with successfully reaffirming the megabrand’s grasp of heritage and tradition

and this collection was both current and classic. Bailey softened military-inspired coats with ultra-feminine peplums that flourished at the waist or slinked around skirts, added oversized pockets to give hips a little oomph and tied it all together with waist belts adorned with cute bows. Charming contemporary sketches of British wildlife printed on sweaters and tees were offset by fierce studded leather gloves. Men sported thin polka-dot ties and shirts while tailoring remained impeccable. For the final walk through, a faux thunderstorm complete with a trickling rain shower outside and a glittering confetti shower inside, gave the models a reason to put up their Burberry brollies, which are sure to become every fashionable woman’s means to protect her trench from seasonable downpours. An archaically inspired collection with youthful flare, Bailey proved that classic need not be passé.

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Holly Fulton

David Koma

With energies ebbing and a sense of things coming to an end, Holly Fulton provided the perfect pick-me-up for jaded sprits. Fulton’s heart-warming show was dedicated to her mother with her synonymous prints inspired by Edinburgh’s Botanical gardens, where she happens to work. The show began with a succession of well-cut silk dresses and separates in hot pink which then segued into a vibrant turquoise, made for strolling between the Botanical flower beds. Samantha Cameron — herself like a fairy godmother of British fashion — sat front row. The models, including the stunning Noemie Lenoir, looked suitably prim yet glamorous and perfectly personified Fulton’s favourite strong yet sexy muse. As always, the handbags and jewellery from the former Lanvin accessories designer were the prize bloom in this imaginary greenhouse. ‘I design the jewellery and bags alongside the clothes, not as an afterthought,’ revealed the Scottish designer backstage, dressed in a pink butterfly printed tunic offset by a stunning neckpiece. ‘I very much think of the look as a whole.’ It appears Fulton has made her own ethereal metamorphosis from NEWGEN caterpillar to one of London’s most beautiful fashion butterflies.

Koma’s signature sculptural shapes were executed in an array of LBDs, complete with elliptical cut-aways and barely-there sheer trim. The colour love story then shifted to a flirtation with monochrome, followed by a lasting affair with this season’s very popular shades of blue, olive and plum. However, not everyone was convinced by Koma’s confusing collection, which referenced ancestral portraits, the ’20s and minimal fashion from the ’60s. Clearly quite taken with the peplum, the collection was dominated by frilled add-ons to everything from jackets to dresses. Opinions were divided on Koma and it looks like we’ll have to wait and see how the season receives this unusual collection.

Measure your journey in style, not miles. Travel through the new collections with a Louis Fourteen personal shopper.

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Grown-Up Gatsby

Antonio Berardi AW12/13 Berardi’s latest offering was a fine example that there are two sides to every story. A grown-up designer for a sophisticated woman, he seamlessly blended angular cuts perfect for power dressing workwear with a vintage sentiment in evening gowns. Models floated down a grand marble staircase, illuminated with art deco-inspired pillars, to a retro soundtrack of lounge music, befitting a collection that would look to classic styles of the past in a modern and wearable way. In terms of workwear, the sense of permanence and strength that lay in the tailoring of this collection was something we’ve come to expect from his designs. Sophisticated kneelength coats and steely metallics offered a reserved authority to the wearer and illustrated a confident stride forward with his own signature style. The palette was a medley of monochrome, traffic light red, and Tiffany teal. The silhouette classic and architectural, cinched waist dresses that flared out and rippled at the hem were modernised with

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angular masculine blazers. The occasional edge of an asymmetrical origami fold peplum gave a taste of the designer’s technical abilities and represented a modern power-dressing woman who doesnt need to wear a corporate suit to command the attention of everyone in the room. In a turn from day to night, the severe bangs that had looked androgynous and graphic when paired with tailored pieces began to take on a distinctly Louise Brookes look when set against sheaths of silver sequin and paired with long satin gloves. A couple of quirky explosions of glitter were sprinkled in, with soft pastel blue and pale pink softening the look for eveningwear. With the imminent launch of the movie remake of The Great Gatsby, Berardi is on-trend to see you through the festive season. Indeed, there was more than a hint of the 1920s ‘It girl’ in the unashamedly decadent furs, although the high neckline and body conscious silhouette ensured that it stayed tasteful and mature as a collection.

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Film Noir Heroine Jenny Packham AW12/13

Packham toyed with her winning formula for red carpet crowd pleasers this season, exploring her dark side in a stark contrast to her SS collection of sorbet shades and frothy chiffon. ‘I moved to NYC because I can do glamour here, I don’t have to be “quirky”,’ explained Packham, clearly a woman who understands what a Manhattan girl wants. This season she took inspiration from perhaps the ultimate glamour icon: the film noir femme fatale. A gust of dry ice and the clank of an old camera being loaded ushered in the nostalgic mood befitting a sultry collection. Models emerged looking seductive, sultry, and dangerous to know with wine-stained lips and hair sculpted into a victory roll. The silhouette played a key role in shaping this distinctive 1940s look. Shoulders were heavily embellished to exaggerate angularity and emphasised with plunging necklines and slim sleeves. A midnightblack shimmering maxi dress with gold studded shoulders was a standout example. Dresses were designed with the hourglass figure in mind, high–

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waisted belts and fluid skirts that fit like a glove, hugging the hips and puddling around the ankles in a pool of chiffon. There was also some flesh flashed through body-conscious cut-aways and asymmetric sleeves – full and ruffled on one arm and shorn on the other. Illusive exposure was further explored with a pastel blue gown slit diagonally across the chest to expose a flicker of turquoise sequin. A silver gown had sleeves made of translucent chiffon, densely bejewelled, whilst another cut away at the waist with a crescent of beading, creating the illusion of a risqué shape without revealing much at all. Packham dabbled in daywear too; a blood-red shift and a grosgrain black dress were sexy, yet appropriate. Indeed, the contrast between day and night in the collection was reminiscent of a bygone era of dressing: subtle during the day and outright siren at night. The Packham paragon evolved from girl to woman with this collection. A bold but perfectly timed move for a designer who made her name making the bridal wear that every little girl dreams of.

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A Working Concept

Maison Martin Margiela AW12/13 The show opened on an all-black boxy silhouette. Slicked back hair, minimal makeup. Straightforward enough, but as usual for Maison Martin Margiela, nothing was as it seemed in a show that electrified and perplexed in equal measure. In monochromatic opposition, a striking all-white ensemble followed. A loose silk blouse and tuxedo jacket slung with a spontaneous insouciance across the shoulder echoed the elegant androgyny essential to the brand’s aesthetic. It was only when the models turned away that the deconstruction of the garment’s tailoring became apparent: sleeves were sewn into pockets and the models’ arms were clasped behind their backs, turning the coat itself into a straightjacket-comecape. High necklines reminiscent of a vicar’s collar gave ensembles a masculine and imposing silhouette atop exaggerated shoulders. There was a definite purpose to this collection as models accessorised with laptop cases, contributing a workwear dimension to Margiela’s visionary spirit. A steel-grey skirt suit could be teamed with a crisp white shirt for the ideal office outfit. Make no mistake – this is a collection for a woman on a mission, complete with column-shaped coats on which the collar rose up out of proportion

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and covered most of the face, forming protective armour that would be welcomed in the harsh Parisian winter. The rectangular shape had a robotic effect on the body and, in paper bag-brown and steel grey, was distinctly utilitarian. As the show continued, the clothes moved from two-dimensional to 3D and angles were softened with some knitwear and leather. Dresses were deconstructed from the thigh down, fluttering like unravelled bandages and affording the silhouette a dynamism evoking Boccioni’s futurist sculpture of a figure flowing through time and space. Just like the clothes, the music was disorientating, yet somehow hypnotic, beginning with a piano/ double bass duo, moving into a creepy melancholic violin strand before crescendo-ing on a tribal drum beat layered with synthetic bleeps reminiscent of the sound of a dial-up internet connection. Perhaps the maison wanted us to look to the way we see our constantly moving commoditised, factoryline modern world by subtly subverting classic designs, encouraging us to maintain a distinction in ourselves and open our eyes to the delightful surprises that lay in the tiny details that make a piece of clothing, and indeed a person, unique.

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Global Grunge

Proenza Schouler AW12/13 The design powerhouse behind Proenza Schouler, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are renowned for bringing their road trips to the runway. Transporting us to the last destination they felt deeply inspired by, this collection was no less global. Last AW Proenza Schouler’s Navajo print was inspired by a recent trip to the scorching southwest, whilst SS10 was a scubathemed collection featuring neoprene that served as a nod to surf culture. Indeed, fabric is an area in which Proenza Schouler consistently innovates. This season they were strictly constructed, their stiffness cleverly ambiguous, leaving it up to us to ponder whether it was the construction, cut or fabric itself that lent the collection an austere Far East feel. The duo explored the look of the woven baskets they had seen on a trip to the Himalayas by interweaving coloured plastics into a tartan-like grid pattern. They dazzled with skirts formed of leather interwoven through stacked sequins. Then came an Asian look with quilted silk pieces tied kimono-style and embroidered with oriental peacock brocade. Referring to his essential downtime abroad,

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McCollough explained that he sees escape ‘as a form of protection,’ two themes heavily referenced in this collection through oriental escapism and a silhouette fit for a samurai warrior. This was a tougher collection than we are used to seeing from these designers, who constantly want to cater to their customers’ trend-led taste. The stiffness was broken up by slouchy, oversized boyfriend biker jackets and drop-waist tuxedo trousers that added a rock-n-roll luxe feel, keeping the collection young and fresh – another reason why we love this duo. Accordingly, makeup was minimal; a dewy canvas with natural contours and discolouration exaggerated using an earthy brown shade. Hair was fresh and raw, as if the models had strolled through a meadow and straight onto the runway. Dane model Freja Beha Erichsen’s tomboy-chic look was the perfect way to close the show, stomping down the runway in biker boots to a thudding jungle beat. Less print-reliant and a tad grungier in mood, you get the impression that this collection was a new challenge for Proenza Schouler, and they rose to it with aplomb.

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A Nod to Nobility

Stella McCartney AW12/13 It seems that Stella was influenced by her homeland in a collection reminiscent of British monarchy. Wearability is always high on the agenda for autumn winter, and Stella took her collection beyond the usual offering with a triumphantly sophisticated take on the season. Tinseltown’s very own royalty studded her front row at Paris Fashion Week with Pinault FrancoisHeni, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys and Paul, the King of the McCartney empire, in his usual place. This season took a new direction by bringing heritage prints and historical visual references to the Stella woman’s usual sporty-sleek silhouette. This was demonstrated with jackets and dresses in a heavy crepe embossed with a heraldic motif. Richly embroidered jacquard and scalloped high-necks followed giving a very regal feel; the luxuriousness of the fabrics ensured it stayed noble and not too ornate. The complexity of cuts adhered to Stella’s popular and wearable brand of

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softness balanced perfectly with structure. This was none more evident than with a statement tweed skirtsuit that jutted out at the hips or a knitted dress so shapely it could be eveningwear. The colour palette was a mix of understated monochrome separates with an occasional splash of fuchsia pant peeping out from under a brown wool coat, but it was the decadent smattering of opulent lapis lazuli that really stole the show. Electric blue mascara bought a subtle zing to the faces of the models, balanced by simple chignons and clean skin. Just as the Queen of Great Britain celebrated her jubilee this year, so Stella – the queen of Brit fashion – enjoyed her coming of age in the industry with a collection that was restrained yet decadent. She is an oracle of insight and master of execution when it comes to how the modern woman wants to dress, and this collection will no doubt be a triumph among her international fan base.

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Something Old, Something New Yves Saint Laurent AW 12/13

All eyes were on Stefano Pilati as his gallant tenure at YSL came to an end. The designer delivered perhaps his strongest collection yet in a finale that was tougher than ever, putting an unapologetic full stop on his time with the house. Though androgynous and aspirational, he managed to capture real life as well as the conceptual, creating a wearable collection for the most part. Dresses and skirts made from chainmail were armour-like yet lightweight, reflecting the battle the designer fought and won to pull the house back from the brink of commercial ruin. Just as Saint Laurent both catalyzed couture’s rise from the ashes in the ’60s, and succeeded in making RTW reputable, his successors, too, were expected to follow in his business footsteps. Waist cinching belts met plunging necklines, creating a painstakingly sleek silhouette (influenced by Tom Ford’s fondness for low necklines and nipped-in waistlines during his time at YSL), assuring us Stefano had not forgotten the feminine amidst his masculine tailoring. His alpha female silhouette of cropped boxy jackets and ankle grazing cigarette pants reminisced YSL in its 1980s heyday. The pantsuit and slicked back

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hair were no doubt a reference to Le smoking, Yves’s most distinctive design look. But today’s YSL women have influence in their own right. The collection strayed into Blade Runner territory with leather trenches, hints of metallic and a gothic colour palette. Indeed, the scraped chignons and bruised purple lips of the models had a violent quality. This dark progressiveness nodded to Yves’ chic staples of turtlenecks and black leather jackets: the uniform of the bohemian beatnik. There was a shying away from sensuality that left the collection somewhat devoid of the traditional YSL brand of sex appeal, but perhaps that was appropriate for a new age of woman, for whom looking powerful is truly more important than looking sexy. A gilded lily wound around models’ necks softened and feminised the look somewhat. A symbol for mourning, the flower represented Pilati’s final swan song. Just as he relinquished control of the house, Pilati sent out his most powerful female yet. The irony was not lost on a crowd that included YSL’s original muse and seasoned matriarch, Catherine Deneuve. A send off that was loyal and inherent to the brand.

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BanquET

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Hold Me Close For the lady that loves to relax by tucking into her favourite book and sipping cappuccino, midwinter has never looked so snug or chic. These cosy, casual separates are great winter staples, from Carolina Herreraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hooded swing coat to Missoniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blanket poncho. Why wait until spring to indulge in girlie tones and lightfooted loafers? Finish your weekend wardrobe with fingerless gloves from Maison Michel and blushed lilac earrings from Bottega Veneta.

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9. ch by carolina herrera | 10. raquel allegra @ matchesfashion.com | 11. maison michel | 12&13. ysl | 14. olympia le tan

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Pop Culture Dive headfirst into your dress-up box for a sensory overload that clashes youthful designers such as Acne and Giles with a heady dusting of playfulness in the form of Charlotte Olympiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kooky accessories. Perfect for the high velocity trend devotee who thinks the best buzz of fashion week happens after-hours. Blog it, pin it, tweet it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; everyone needs to see you rocking this look. 1

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Keep Calm and Carry On Feminine yet conservative, for the lady who strolls down Madison Avenue to lunch with colleagues, this wardrobe of straight-laced military-inspired looks focuses on creating depth with buckles, buttons, and belts. Make it modern with dashes of silk and leather, and don’t be afraid to reference the baroque in your accessories like Givenchy’s medal brooch and Loewe’s saddle bag.

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Spotted at Milan Fashion Week AW12

here Paris goes big on couture, New York magnifies the eccentric and London nurtures the new, Milan may well be the quiet platform for all. Well known for its loyalty to traditional mode and attire and simultaneous eagerness to embrace the new and exciting, the streets, runways and backstages of Milan are hot spots for a controlled yet cultivated style, and the same can be said for the city’s personalities. From playful antics behind the scenes to quirky apparel up front, the marriage of good old-fashioned fun with forward thinking notions allowed our cameras an eclectic and inspiring journey through the week. And let’s face it, the city also built on romance – led by its neighbour fair Verona – was bound to garner special attention in February.

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Milan Fires it Up Prada’s S/S It shoes were fuelling our way to the A/W shows.

Don’t Forget Me The dapper Milanese men were yet again giving us a run for our money in the style stakes.

Double Trouble Anna Dello Russo and Bryan Boy spent their week stylishly joined at the hip.

Moschino

Laura Biagiotti

Essie, Nail Polish in Armed and Ready

Giorgio Armani

Think Pink …to make the boys wink.

Simply Mystic Decorate your nails and let the magic commence.

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Emilio Pucci

Breakfast at Bulgari’s The only place to be seen in Milan…

Braided Beauties It’s official, braids are still big for A/W.

Prada

Dolce&Gabbana

Floral Feet From graphic to tapestry and embellished, our feet came fresh from the green house. Giorgio Armani

Tales of Endearment Model caster and blogger Natalie Joos was spotted everywhere hunting down new and exciting Milanese talent.

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Versus

Blugirl

Don’t Forget your Mittens …and stay stylishly warm this winter.

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Gianfranco Ferre

Salvatore Ferragamo

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Francesco Scognamiglio

Taking it Higher Milan shows us how to do sultry.

Raw Shots Who made the final cut?

ia mp ly te O lot ar

Meow Did you hear? Cats are a man’s (or a girl’s) new best friend!

Don’t be Shy! Our new fave Lindsey Wixson showed us her model moves backstage at Pucci.

Hey Champ! Olympic fever made its way backstage.

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Canon IXUS 240 HS

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Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Lead the Way Even models need some direction.

Say Cheese! Models make memories backstage.

Quite the Gentleman The designer of DSquared assists with the props backstage, but is it Dan or Dean?!

Paula Bianc o

Dolce&Gabbana

Crowned Princess of Milan Bejewelled headbands fit for any regal fashionista dazzled on the runways.

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Do the Alaia Whatever the city, your Azzedines (old or new) are major attractions.

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Couture

Divine Invention A week of pure extravagance, Haute Couture is a designer’s chance to show the world the true power of their craftsmanship. This season saw an assortment of highly desirable collections, from Dior’s achingly beautiful gowns to Valentino’s daytime darling aesthetic and Jean Paul Gaultier’s dark and seductive temptress. A rich mix of luxurious fabrics, hand embroidery and elegant cuts, AW12 was a marvel in creative exuberance. Here we take a look at the ‘crème of couture,’ if you will.

The powerful entrance to Raf Simons first show for Dior Couture.

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Couture

Dior Set against a backdrop of exotic flora, Dior was a statement in polished perfection. A dazzling array of gorgeous gowns intermingled with girly peplum tops and chic pantsuits. Dashes of colour came in aquamarine, cerise and lime whilst black played the most pivotal role.

Alexandre Vauthier A white and gold wash was the order of the day for Alexandre Vauthier. From ball gowns to jumpsuits and full-on embellished leotards, this collection is for the sexy seductress within us all. Wear with simple accessories and a mysterious smile.

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Armani Prive Sleek, strong and minimalist: that is the Armani Prive woman for autumn. Icy, metallic tints are offset against a silky black that runs throughout whilst angled shoulders and loose fitting trousers make for an effortless silhouette. At night, however, a bejewelled goddess comes forth in daringly cut gowns in midnight shades.

Chanel Staying true to their roots, Chanel opted for a simple colour palette of pure black and white interjected with shots of primrose pink. Entitled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;New Vintage,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; this is an elegant collection designed for the woman-about-town. With its flowing lines, re-imagined classics and ladylike cuts, the Chanel woman is nothing but refined.

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Elie Saab Eternally ladylike and glamorous, Elie Saabâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collection did not disappoint this year with its stunning, embroidered gowns in hues of teal, peach and the blackest of black. Detail was paramount, with beading, sheer panels and high necklines dominant â&#x20AC;&#x201C; perfect for satisfying that fairytale dream.

Giambattista Valli With natural hues of grass green and rose red running throughout, Giambattista Valli presented a delightfully feminine collection with an abundance of classic eveningwear. Neck and waistlines were paramount, highlighting the natural female form, whilst high impact floral prints took centre stage.

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Givenchy Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy made gypsy style inviting with a 10-piece collection of nomadic-inspired looks. Sophisticated travellers will revel in this caramel collection where the hand cut leather fringing is a standout and the luxurious mink lace jackets are a definite must-have.

Jantaminau Bold colours, graphic shapes and statement prints. An eclectic mix of power dresses, dazzling gowns and subtle separates make up this offering from Jantaminau. A daring collection with red carpet promise.

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Jean Paul Gaultier Inspired by British rocker Pete Doherty, Jean Paul Gaultierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest couture collection is an array of dark suited ensembles and eyecatching gowns. Perfect for the winter months, fur trims keep you forever stylish whilst hints of gold ensure a standout appearance.

Valentino Warm, girly and the epitome of autumn elegance, Valentinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s floral imbued collection hints at subtle sophistication. Sombre tones of navy, lilac and buttercup are interjected with a punch of red, offsetting this demure line up and highlighting its truly sensuous roots.

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Versace Ever the Versace way, a sexy, powerful woman steps forth from this Italian runway. Uber mini dresses mixed with flowing floor length frocks in an array of acidic pastel shades. Think Sunset Boulevard glamour.

Worth The original couture house, Worth presented a collection inspired by menswear from the early 19th century comprising of tailored short suits and ruched jumpsuits all in a classic monochromatic colour scheme. An understated return to the catwalk with hidden gems of pure luxury.

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Making Reservations This is a modern twist on the Mad Men femme, interpreted in candyfloss pink and sky blue for daywear or muted monochrome for evenings. Peplum waists are a must to accentuate your natural hourglass. A boxy handbag and netted cloche give a nod to the vintage vibe that inspires this outfit. Add some embellishment through girlie jewels with an art deco edge.

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Very Black is the New Black As the endless events, weddings and parties of the fall season roll around look to these elegant interpretations of the abaya for a stunning statement. Make your eveningwear an extension of your personality, from the twinkling night sky of Hessa Al Falasiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sequined panelling to Pearlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gothic lace layers. Adorn with golden accessories dripping from necks, wrists, and handbags like honey.

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Jeunesse Dorée

Get ready for the glitz of global fashion week with this black-tie winner. Go for allout glamour with a head-to-toe formula. Shimmer like the bright lights of the city that never sleeps with this asymmetric Donna Karan number. Embellished accessories finish the look – go for Anya Hindmarch’s beadencrusted clutch and Valentino’s dazzling heels.

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Miuccia Prada by Guido Harari

Perfecting the Mind

‘For I am the first and the last. I am the mother and the daughter. I am the bride and the bridegroom. I am senseless and wise. I am knowledge and ignorance. I am strength and I am fear. I am the knowledge of my inquiry. I am the voice whose sound is manifold.’ —Daria Werbowy, for Prada’s The Thunder, Perfect Mind. By Kelly Baldwin

In 2005, Miuccia Prada invited director Ridley Scott and his daughter Jordan to present the house’s first perfume to the world in the form of a short but prolific film. Based on the mysterious poem The Thunder Perfect Mind discovered among Gnostic manuscripts, the film follows supermodel Daria Werbowy as she adopts the conflicting guises of the female psyche. A white collared shirt underneath a heavy woollen black dress is worn by Daria the narrator, a surrealist patterned 1940s pleat dress by Daria the innocent and a lace slip and silk trench for Daria the seductress, and so forth. The poem perfectly embodies Miuccia’s desire to portray the endless complexities of a woman. Together, Daria’s narration of the poem and fluctuating film scenes explore, challenge, empower and showcase the limitless fortunes, misfortunes, sensibilities and supremacies of a woman – as has every single Prada collection since its launch. ‘I hate fashion, I also love it, of course. Everyone, no matter who they are or what they have, has to get dressed in the morning. Fashion is about the way we think of ourselves, the way we compose ourselves, every day. For me this is profound,’ says the designer. Since Miuccia Prada introduced her first womenswear collection in 1988, she has presented a landscape of designs perfectly in tune with the flexible and intricate nature of today’s woman. Here we explore the past and present of the house, all shaped by one female and her own multifarious roles; feminist, political scientist, wife, mother, curator, businesswoman, inventor, explorer and fashion designer.

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Daria Werbowy, The Thunder Perfect Mind

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The Modern Prada

The Prada Logo

In 1979 along with her husband Patrizio Bertelli, Miuccia Prada took over the family-run house, which was previously a leather goods boutique set up by her grandfather Mario Prada in 1913. The renowned logo – which incorporated the House of Savoy’s coat of arms after Mario became the official supplier of the Italian royal family in 1919 – lives on as an emblem of heritage, style and significance. At the time of the womenswear launch, the world was on the verge of eminent change. Globalisation was spreading and as such the role of the woman in both business and family was rapidly altering. Before we were able to establish ground rules for the new province, Miuccia, her collections and ultimately the thousands of women wearing them would showcase an enigmatic yet thoughtful vision of the new world order. ‘Careful observation of and curiosity about the world, society, and culture are at the core of Prada’s creativity and modernity. This pursuit has pushed Prada beyond the physical limitations of boutiques and showrooms and provoked an interaction with different and seemingly distant worlds,’ said the designer. We saw collections referencing the past as a vehicle to express nostalgic thoughts of today. Take for example SS94’s mash of utilitarian and androgynous looks. In 1996 the S/S looks crafted with ‘cheap’ textiles primarily used by housewives during the 1950s worked as an exercise in elevating the ordinary and unwound our familiar notions of glamour and high fashion. By 2004 Miuccia was playing with fantastical versions of women driven by imaginary icons fostered by the digital age. A fake beauty was promoted by computer-generated prints that simulated materials such as moirés, patterns such as camouflage, and techniques like pleating. From afar, women were beautiful Prada-wearing dolls. Up-close they made us question our notion of modern beauty.

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AW12 Menswear Campaign

Interaction Between Men and Women The house launched its first ready-to-wear collection for men in 1993. Since then Miuccia’s vision of the male has never stagnated, fluxing between Tim Roth’s contemporary 1996 twist mixing wool and tailoring to the playful and feminine looks of 2004 (inclusive of tutu’s), studded and decorative in 2009 and back to the conventional power male of this season (modelled by Adrien Brody and Willem Defoe). It has also acted as a weapon to express a woman’s schizophrenic relationship with the opposing sex. ‘I’m very feminine and I’m also very masculine. I’m constantly struggling with this dichotomy,’ it’s said the designer has asserted in the past. Fascinated by the ‘conserved and dignified nature of man,’ she brings this concept over to womenswear gently contriving and challenging it on the way. With the change of a season, however, we witness the antithesis. It’s widely acknowledged that Miuccia – a student of political science, ardent activist and former mime – only began designing clothes in submission to pressures from her husband and business partner Bertelli. One wouldn’t be wrong in suggesting that some of her most poignant womenswear aesthetics, like her exploitation of the apron described as a symbol of women’s sufferance, an emblem of women’s despair, poverty and passion, are a subliminal continuation of her passion for feminism. In 1999 for example, the business minds behind the house suggested Miuccia curate a glamorous eveningwear collection in favour of the new millennium. In another defiant move, the dresses, which mashed nature inspired insect prints with sportswear functions, techno fabrics and sheer chiffons and silks, was unexplainably brilliant and ultimately repelled any notion of ‘eveningwear’ or ‘glamorous.’

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Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada

Designer

Miuccia does not limit her interpretation of life to just clothes design. Like the woman who she caters for, her interests are diverse, which explains her persistent partnering with the unique as an opportunity for wider interaction with society. The distinctive shopping space, The Prada Green Method, initiated in Milan in 1983 by architect Roberto Baciocchi, encourages us to question what we worship more: the item or the packaging? Similarly, the Prada Epicentre project introduces a new platform in which fashion interacts and feeds off its architectural shelter. Depending on the critic whom you’re speaking with, the New York Epicentre, which runs along the entire street side of the Guggenheim Museum, arguably remains the most culturally provocative. A hidden stage (designed with the motions of a water wave in mind) reveals itself as and when required, acting either as a stage, theatre or showspace. With an interior wall stretching across an entire New York City block displaying interchanging wallpaper and a ‘hanging city’ of display pods reconfiguring themselves when needed, the Epicentre (like its equals in Tokyo and LA) explores the fantasy structure of a contemporary city. Similarly, Miuccia’s self-declared curiosity for the art world led to the Fondazione Prada, a non-profit organisation offering a platform for some of the world’s most significant artists to showcase their work. Although her clothing collections constantly find themselves at the heart of fashion-as-art- debates, prompted by the creation of films like The Thunder Perfect Mind and Roman Polanski’s A Therapy which present visual and motional fashion, Miuccia insists that her fashion is under no circumstances art. Instead she says ‘art’ is too confining a label for fashion, which has the ability to react with immediacy and democracy via its accessibility.

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Curiosity in the Art World

A Therapy, Directed by Roman Polanski, 2012

The Prada 24 Hour Museum

Prada Green Method, Paris

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Designer

The Message ‘Fashion is instant language,’ says Miuccia. At the heart of the Prada house is a design aesthetic that, from its inception in 1919 up until the present day, delves far deeper than just a look or an image. Whether in the movement of a skirt, the paradox of materials in just one blouse or the deconstructed, purposely childlike nature of sketches (more so present in the diffusion Miu Miu line), Miuccia has created a silent mode of cultural questioning, evaluation and communication. She’ll often borrow traditional attire or patterns from two opposing cultures and bleed them together into one. African patterns were printed in typically Japanese colours, and the joy lay in watching the presiding culture reign over the item. Both she and Bertelli explore the same theory in their London-based Double Club venture in which double identity and coexistence are experimented with through a Congolese and Western shared social space. Similarly, we’ll revisit a time or place, but through the eyes of an unexpected traveller (either from another era or culture). In autumn 2009, warm and soft leather dresses ideal for the countryside adopted stunning shapes and embellishments taken from the 19th century. At the heart of her designs, however, remains the woman and Miuccia’s eternal pursuit to explain and empower her. Whether she encourages us to turn away from the traditional perception of ‘glamour’ and to wear heavy and uncomfortable fabrics, which in turn represent our resilience and might, or concentrates on the movement and fabrics of the animal world in order to encourage our freedom and liberty, Miuccia’s revelation is profoundly commanding and in turn so is ours. This season the Prada woman is potent. Severe tailoring, no-nonsense colours and brilliantly bulky and intimidating embellishments are rallied together. Seriously heavy wool dresses, printed trouser suits and all-black three (sometimes four) piece sets are clowninspired with splashes of orange and violet, complete with over-sized Mary Janes and brogues to give your outfit a sense of humour. All parts fascinating, provocative and very wearable.

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Designer AW12

Miuccia’s background is not archetypal fashion, nor are her designs always archetypally stylish. Often off kilt, the challenge is in working out her inspiration, and the beauty is in believing that her message is one well worth carrying. Like the protagonist in The Thunder, Perfect Mind, hers is the voice ‘whose sound is manifold.’ If there’s a loose thread in the lining of your blazer, an unexpected flash of candy pink in your ice-white evening dress or a digital print in your ’60s-inspired trousers this winter, don’t be fooled into thinking of it as an oversight. Everything created behind the innocuous wooden doors at Via Bergamo 21 Milan (Prada’s HQ) is in existence for a reason. ‘I like the irony in my work. It’s about what I like, but also analysing what is and isn’t trendy and why people like something, trying to find a way to look at it from outside, researching new ideas on beauty and femininity and the way it is perceived in contemporary culture,’ says Miuccia.

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The Infinite Layers of Fall Photographed by Maria Karas Styled by Bryan Marryshow

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Woven wool coat, woven wool tattoo turtleneck cardigan, taffeta trench coat and wool trousers, Jean Paul Gaultier | Boots, Dior | Gloves, Carolina Amato

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Silk wool smoking jacket, Bottega Veneta | Leather turtleneck bodysuit, Monika Chiang | Short sleeve pullover, skirt and high boots, Chanel | Belt, Kara Ross | Gloves, Carolina Amato

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Wool crepe and leather dress and boots, Celine | Silk blouse, Giorgio Armani | Gloves, Carolina Amato

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Black mesh dress and reversible coat, Lie Sang Bong | Silk blouse and velvet trousers, Giorgio Armani | Belt, Kara Ross | Boots, Celine | Gloves, Carolina Amato

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Green striped wool jacket, leather coat, polyester top, striped leggings and cotton socks, Marni | Wool wide leg shorts and leather turtleneck bodysuit, Monika Chiang | Boots, Dior

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Black leather turtleneck bodysuit, oversized wool scarf and black leather riding skirt, Monika Chiang | Green coat, Stella McCartney | Belt, Alexander McQueen | Gloves, Carolina Amato

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Mongolian fur top and shoes, Fendi | Wool turtleneck cardigan, Jean Paul Gaultier | Black and white striped trousers, True Royal | Tights, Wolford | Gloves, Carolina Amato

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Coat, oSCar De la renta | Leather turtleneck bodysuit, moniKa ChianG | Belt, Kara roSS | Gloves, Carolina amato

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Cotton shirt and wool crepe trousers with attached skirt, belt and boots, Alexander McQueen | Black knit turtleneck sweater, Lie Sang Bong | Gloves, Carolina Amato

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Model: Vasilisa Pavlova, Supreme Management | Stylist assistant: Jacinto Onofre | Photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistants: Seth Personett and Nao Takagi | Production: Louis Agency

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Red and pink ruffled muslin and organza fauvist print dress, Giambattista Valli

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A Style Soliloquy Photographed by Riccardo Vimercati Styled by Sara Francia

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Sapho brocade dress, Valentino | Guirlande necklace in gold with diamonds, Buccellati

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Sleeveless trompe lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;oeil dress, skirt embroidered with pale pink and bronze sequins, and top in pleated pink tulle trimmed with embroidered beads. Worn with matching jewelled button jacket, Chanel

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Silk and lace basque jacket and skirt with crystal door-knob brooch, Maison Martin Margiela ARTISANAL

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Guipure gold suit, Alexandre Vauthier | Serpent Opalescent necklace in white gold with rose-cut square and round diamonds, opals and rock crystals, Boucheron

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Shantung silk overcoat in sunset colours, Armani Prive

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Metallic lace dress, Jantaminiau

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Embroidered knee length dress with high collar and lace hem, Elie Saab

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Strapless jumpsuit in duchesse satin embroidered with gold and metal pearls, and long kimono in metallic jacquard, Jean Paul Gaultier

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Platinum lamĂŠ and mousseline jumpsuit, Alexandre Vauthier

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Strapless dress made of gold cord lace on navy blue wool crepe with hooded tulle jacket, Jantaminiau

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Black wool crepe evening coat, Dior

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Male 1: One button tuxedo in black wool with peak lapel frank edge, Lanvin | Male 2: One button tuxedo in black wool with shawl collar, Lanvin | Male 3: Black powder grain smoking suit with satin front, Dior Homme

Models: Egle Jezepcikaite, Major Model Management, Clement Jeannin, Gabriel Mogiliansky, Stas Selezov, City Models | Hair: Franco Argento at Atomo Management | Makeup: Megumi Itano | Photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistants: Marco Gazza and Eleonora Bravi | Production: Louis Agency

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Cashmere, angora & fox sleeve coat, Sprung Freres at Galeries Lafayette | Gold necklace, Giuseppe Zanotti

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Black Beauty Photographed by Raphael Delorme & Thierno Sy Styled by Sonia Logerot

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Silk and velvet dress, Gucci | Rose gold necklace, Mawi

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Shirt, Miu Miu | Velvet skirt, Marc Jacobs | Vintage necklace, Karryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;O | Left hand: Ring, Givenchy | Right hand: Yellow gold and black diamond arabesque ring, Elise Dray

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Dress and belt, Lanvin | Necklace, Giuseppe Zanotti

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Swimsuit, Do | Black printed patent coat and embroidered leather clutch, Emilio Pucci | Yellow gold Juste un Clou bracelet, Cartier | Shoes, Walter Steiger

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Fox fur top, Loewe | Vintage belt, YSL at Karry’O | Left hand: Cuff, Helene Zubeldia at Franck & Fils | Snake ring in vermeil and onyx, Karry’O | Right hand: Rings, Jonas Bowman

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Jumpsuit, Elie Saab | Multi chain necklace, Giuseppe Zanotti | Belt, Maison Boinet at Printemps | Left hand: Cuff, Barbara Bui | Right hand: Gold and diamond cuff, Messika

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Dress and coat, Nina Ricci | Boots, Barbara Bui

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Vintage top, Alexander Wang

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Jumpsuit with gold belt and gold chainmail, Paco Rabanne

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Gold wool dress, Guy Laroche

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Model: Patricia Schmid, Nathalie Models | Hair: Tobias Sagner at Marie-France | Makeup: Angelik Iffennecker at Marie-France | Photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant: Quentin Bois | Production: Louis Agency

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A Weekend in Warsaw Photographed by Marcin Kempski Styled by Maja Naskretska Produced by MikoĹ&#x201A;aj JaĹşwiecki

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Shirt, MIU MIU | Skirt, PRADA | Sunglasses, DIOR | Necklace & bracelet, TOM BINNS

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Top, Jean Charles de Castelbajac | Trousers, Prada | Shoes, MIU MIU | Bracelets, ETRO | Glasses, VALENTINO

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Dress, FENDI | Belt, PRADA | Scarf, Dolce&Gabbana

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Coat, MIU MIU | Trousers and belt, PRADA | Sunglasses, VERSACE

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Leather coat, VERSACE | Top, MIU MIU | Sunglasses, CHANEL | Ring, PHILIPPE FERRANDIS

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Coat, SALVATORE FERRAGAMO | Earrings, TOM BINNS | Necklace, PHILIPPE FERRANDIS

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Top, coat, trousers, shoes and bag, PRADA

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Blouse, GUCCI | Skirt, Jean Charles de Castelbajac | Sunglasses, DIOR | Necklace, PHILIPPE FERRANDIS

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Dress, Jean Charles de Castelbajac | Boots, SALVATORE FERRAGAMO | Sunglasses, TOM FORD | Earrings, PHILIPPE FERRANDIS

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Dress, DIOR | Necklace, RODRIGO OTAZU | Bag, PRADA

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Model: Karolina Wąż, New Age Models | Hair: Rafał Żurek | Makeup: Aneta Kostrzewa | Photographer’s assistant: Grzegorz Skoneczny

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BanquET

Fashion

Snug as a Bug Dinosaurs, whales and sharks â&#x20AC;&#x201C; menswear saw them all this season and their tendency to accumulate on warm, knitted jumpers in an array of bumbling bracken colours was paramount. Jil Sander pioneers the look whilst CH by Carolina Herrera offers a striking ensemble of cardigan chic. Try pairing with bright accessories such as this sunset orange briefcase from Lanvin, and round everything off with a pair of DSquared glasses whether your man needs eyewear or not. Now who said fashion couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be fun?

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On your marks, get set, GO! In a year of sporting triumphs it is of no surprise that the trend for Olympian style has seeped into the fashion mainstream, and menswear is no exception. Have no fear if the defined torso is lacking in your man, as this track combo from Acne and Orlebar Brown will give him that classic off-duty appeal. For a hint of colour try a navy and burgundy trainer from Pierre Hardy and tie the whole thing together with an on-trend Marni satchel. An upmarket take on our beloved high school sports kit.

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6. ch by carolina herrera | 7. orlebar brown @ mrporter.com | 8. marni | 9. ysl | 10. hamilton

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Staying Abreast Having been a staple in any manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wardrobe for decades, the double-breasted suit is revamped for the modern, cosmopolitan gentleman. Burberry sets a precedent, drawing on its British equestrian heritage for inspiration, whilst Slowearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ochre trousers bring in the weekend vibe. For travelling ease, a simple inky case from Salvatore Ferragamo would do well, and your man will never be late again with this horsey Hermes pocket watch.

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Luxe Tux We love nothing more than a man dressed up to the nines, especially when weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re donning our most expensive apparel, and the Valentino man did not disappoint. To emulate this style-savvy chap try pairing a striking, pure white shirt from Gucci with a classic black Lanvin jacket for subtle elegance. Add a pair of patent YSL brogues that are sure to get heads turning and your man will be the centre of attention all night long.

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Fashion

9. lanvin @ mrporter.com | 10. ami @ matchesfashion.com | 11. gucci @ matchesfashion.com | 12. ysl

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Trend

Menswear

Born Survivor Like the untamed stubble carpeting the chiselled faces of models and spectators alike, this seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s man was just wild enough to suggest that he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play by the rules.

Vivienne Westwood

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Menswear

Michael Bastian

ALEXANDER McQueen

Roberto CavallI

is ruggedness couldn’t be further from the dapper Wall Street weekender we saw on last season’s runways (pastel neons, slender silhouettes, mankles). The Club Tropicana vibe was thoroughly curbed. A/W’s man is stoic and wholesome. Performance wear is the focal point for our man who adopts the same bohemian and sporty sense of styling of a modern day adventurer. Bulky silhouettes created by innovative layering give a nod to nomads of the north. It can be recreated and updated with a few carefully chosen pieces: a chunky knit, a slouchy coat, some roomy trousers. Bare in mind, however, it is most definitely a considered rethink of the shapes that have ruled the past few years of men’s fashion. At McQueen we saw models ready to take on a Siberian winter in military style: khakis tucked into combat boots, heavy coats that sat somewhere between parka and trench with fur trims that cemented the raw, natural feeling. Looks were layered with waxed or waterproof fabrics built to withstand the weather wherever you find yourself this season be it Paris or Peru. Swaddled in blankets and bundled in utility wear at Westwood, models’ beards and hair were frosted with faux ice for that ‘just climbed a mountain’ anti-grooming look. Similarly, at Agi & Sam, hair was matte and messy, cheeks burnished in sun-kissed terracotta and fizzing with untamed facial hair. The first rule of fall for below the waist? Ditch the drainpipes. Trousers were voluminous, flat fronted or deeply pleated. Giorgio Armani seemed to be returning to his roots with elegantly draped wide-legged trousers with pleated fronts. At Lanvin, pants were tucked in and hips exaggerated by a long crotch and high waist. The

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Trend

Menswear

Vivienne Westwood

Giorgio Armani

exaggerated silhouette is a welcomed change from the past decade of skinny jeans. When combined with waistcoats and hefty layers, the roomy cut gives a cosy wholesomeness perfect for dinner in an off-the-beaten-track bistro. Roberto Cavalli broke down structured tailoring with an emphasis on a more relaxed and casual look: heavy knits and unbuttoned shirts – a perfect look for kicking the autumn leaves on a casual city getaway. Michael Bastian was also all about being effortless and hands-on: thick polo necks and facial hair and weaved leather belts looped casually in knots. Similarly, at Dior Homme we saw a much looser silhouette than we are used to. Details such as anoraks with string toggles remind us of childhoods spent in muddy fields. The sentiment of the season was illustrated by the models as well as the clothes. At Prada, rather than a string of tanned pretty boys, we saw Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Tim Roth… a role call of understated Hollywood stalwarts who had come to be known for playing controlled, complex characters. We’re not saying ‘ditch the suit,’ but we encourage you to take inspiration from a life lived outside the boardroom. With money in the bank and adrenaline in his veins, this season’s muse is just as comfortable taking names in business as mountain biking in the Alps. Maybe the climax of a certain Mayan calendar was on the minds of menswear designers when they gave us this post-apocalyptic poster child ready to rumble with whatever life throws at him. The systematic deconstruction of the sleek corporate polish that has ruled the runways for the last few years has stepped aside for something altogether more gutsy and tenacious.

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Roberto CavallI

dubai mall mall of the emirates radisson blu brioni.com

TO BE ONE OF A KIND

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Menswear

What’s Mine is Yours…

‘The way he was walking was so masculine that even his women’s handbag couldn’t take the ‘guy’ out of him. I loved it.’

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Jac Jagaciak, Les Tuileries, New York

Pelayo Diaz, Hell’s Kitchen, New York

‘Inspiration. People flock to this city from all corners of the world to be inspired, to be challenged. We are the eyes of the city, taking to the streets, capturing the nuances of the world’s fashion-liberated.’ Adam Katz Sinding, Le 21eme Arrondissement photographer.

David Yi, Hell’s Kitchen, New York

As both an influencer and interpreter of trends, New York City is a gold mine for those who like to challenge and defy the norm. From tiny nuances like perfectly straightened hair or a cowboy style tip of the hat to the intrepid gestures of floral printed pants and handbags, the city is beaming with men and women who have audaciously adopted the traditions of the opposite gender. It’s stylish, fresh, gallant (and at times girly) and adds an entirely new layer to the way we dress and consider fashion. We worked our way through the New York City-based blog Le 21eme Arrondissement to find the most inspiring gender blending looks from Manhattan’s finest.

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Menswear

‘An interview not like most. The colour of his hair was captured perfectly in this light. I call it periwinkle, he calls it lavender - either way it’s unreal.’

‘This is Jac Jagaciak wearing her Maison Michel hat in Les Tuileries. She wore it almost everyday, yet it never failed to catch my eye.’

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Jessica Pitti, Paris

Mario Horne, Upper West Side, New York

Left: ‘This is Mario Horne and one of the only full body shots that I took this season. His face is kind; he’s always pleasant and very well dressed.’

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Bottom: ‘I met this model after the Vivienne Westwood show in Paris. She had a beanie hat on and I already thought she was so endearing. After I snapped a series of photos she said, ‘don’t you want to see my hair?’ and whipped it off. Amazing, what a face.’

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Menswear Anonymous, Meatpacking District, New York Anonymous, Upper East Side, New York

Top: ‘The fit and fabric of his soft, fluffy orange jumper is what I call ‘cute and feminine’.’ Right: ‘If I owned that many garments in such different ends of the spectrum I’d expect to have my photo taken too. I especially loved the shawl collar and didn’t think before I shot it, but it ended up seamless.’

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Simone Marchetti, Paris

Menswear

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Taken at the Grand Palais in Paris, the ever-cool Simone Marchetti is on the left, and his outfits always catch my eye. To see him striding next to another floral print was too good!â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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Anonymous, Paris Models, Upper West Side, New York

‘The Balenciaga show was in the worst location – hidden away in a construction zone, but she looked absolutely incredible against the backdrop.’

‘These two models would make anyone self-conscious. They have amazing hair; it’s so well done and maintained yet looks so effortless.’

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dsquared

Dior

Chanel

Trends

Accessory

just cavalli

Collar Candy

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zac posen

ysl

ralph lauren

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the jewellery that ultimately makes the outfit. Lanvin and Dior struck an utterly opulent chord with their emerald embellishments, where as Zac Posen went for a delicate garland of daisies. Keep the accompanying outfit simple and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll make a stylish statement.

Trends

Accessory

ports 1961

elie saab

oscar de la renta

bcbg elie tahari

Jungle Run

yudashkin

massimo rebecchi

ralph lauren

Add a dash of exoticism to any outfit with a sexy flash of skin. Oscar De La Rentaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oversized envelope clutch is the perfect companion for Sunday brunch, whilst Ralph Laurenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unusual square purse is a quirky evening accessory.

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jcdc ann demeulemeester

felipe oliveira baptista

alexander wang

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Accessory

costume national

Above the Glove

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guy laroche

arzu kaprol

givenchy

Peeping out from under a swing coat or cape during the day, full length gloves may hold a certain dominating authority in black leather, but when it comes to Alexander Wang, opera-length is a white affair.

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Accessory

cynthia rowley krizia

yigal azrouel

andrew gn sergei grinko

Cut Throat

ralph lauren

paco rabanne

lanvin

Chokers are the perfect statement piece for a simple outfit. For a classic take on the trend, look to Kriziaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regal multi-stranded pearl neckpiece. Paco Rabanne and Yigal Azrouel offer a modern interpretation with minimalistic metal collars.

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oscar de la renta

burberry

laura biagiotti

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Accessory

sergei grinko

Warrior Waist

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mila schon

What better way to draw attention to a womanly waist than Lanvinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s antique-inspired lion head belt? Prabal Gurungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chunky gold clasp is more ornamental than functional, giving an opulent, ethnic focal point to draw the eye in.

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Accessory

gemma kahng krizia

dolce&gabbana

Giles holly fulton

Crowning Glory

tory burch

rodarte

N21

Who says jewellery is only for your body? N21â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vintage clasp is a decorative piece to tuck into romantic waves. Kriziaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s modern ponytail wrap provides an ontrend addition to a simple hairstyle.

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dior holly fulton

dennis basso

elie saab

oscar de la renta

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Animal Instinct

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michael kors

marc jacobs

This bohemian look is ideal for getting a taste of AWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chunky fur trend in warmer climates. Louis Vuittonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yeti-inspired bag in extravagantly long yak hair is a daring piece if you fancy a walk on the wild side.

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elie saab

Accessory

dennis basso

oscar de la renta

BCBG dior

Purse Pelt

viktor & rolf

dries van noten

michael kors

Giving the classic clutch a facelift, these cushiony handheld purses offer a luxurious dimension to any AW outfit. Tuck Dries Van Noten’s comforting clutch under your elbow or use Michael Kors’ inventive hand strap – perfect for a girl on-the-go.

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marc by marc jacobs

dsquared

anna sui

gant

alice and olivia

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Accessory

Four-Eyed Chic

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paul smith

max mara

Geek-chic makes a comeback this season with models sporting chunky face-framing spectacles. Anna Sui’s round tortoiseshell pair give a funky ’60s vibe, whilst Alice and Olivia channel a ’50s cat-eye shape for a seductive yet serious style.

Trends

Accessory

trussardi

louis vuitton

prada

paul smith tory burch

Touch of Tortoiseshell

viktor & rolf

mila schon

dries van noten

A subtle alternative to fur or animal print, tortoiseshell is just as luxurious. Warm and organic, these accessories are perfect alongside wintry colours. Go for a statement shoe such as Viktor and Rolfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heeled gladiator or add an accent with a handbag trim from Tory Burch.

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tommy hilfiger Kenzo

dsquared

jen kao

roberto cavalli

Trends

Accessory

Riding High

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tracy reese

ermanno scervino

Loewe

Practical for fending off the winter weather, this trendy equestrianinspired headwear is perfect for the country club type who spends her winter weekends hunting or swinging a polo mallet. Hilfigerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traditional tweed hat offers a sporty look, whilst Cavalliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patent visor is for the more fashion-forward.

Trends

Accessory

louis vuitton

michael kors

roberto cavalli

alexander wang lanvin

Call The Doctor

ralph lauren

prada

marni

A timeless classic, the retro doctor bag is spacious and functional yet elegant. Doctor’s orders? Don’t leave the house without Marni’s pristine pop of red or Michael Kors’ squidgy tan leather number that will only get better with age.

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Accessory

From her inauguration into the world of high fashion back in 2002, It girl and social butterfly, Poppy Delevingne, has graced the catwalks of Louis Vuitton and Chloe, to name a few. A Chanel ambassador and a Young Ambassador for The British Fashion Council, she is a born and bred Londoner having grown up in the esteemed area of Belgravia with her model sister Cara. Having a background firmly rooted in high end enables her to pick accessories that compliment her eclectic outfits, from a gold Louis Vuitton clutch bag through to Chanel boots and Manolo Blahnik courts. With a penchant for matching her footwear to her handbag, Poppyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s divine accessory collection could rival that of Imelda Marcos.

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From top to bottom left to right images courtesy of: Gareth Cattermole, Pascal Le Segretain, Tim Whitby, Carlos Alvarez, Ferdaus Shamim , All Getty.

Pristine Poppy

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From top to bottom left to right images courtesy of: Dimitrios Kambouris, Pascal Le Segretain, Jason Merritt, Craig Barritt, Jacopo Raule, Gareth Cattermole, Nick Harvey, All Getty.

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Accessory

Flash

Accessory

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The New Adornment

Just when you thought every trend possible had been explored, coveted and either given over to the ‘fleeting’ file or offered the seal of approval as a ‘keeper,’ one more comes along, and as usual, far too fabulous to ignore. No longer content with dainty pearls and diamonds dangling from our ears, designers have defied gravity and turned tradition, quite literally, upside down. This season look for an adornment that decorates your lobe, rising above it instead of cascading down your neck, for the ultimate fashion statement. Adaptable as ever, either start small with pieces making their way only millimetres up, or go large with a cuff enveloping the entire shape of your ear. Mix and match, go little or large, but find the style that suits you and this trend may well become your staple aesthetic.

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Powering the purse strings

Sophia Loren

What’s fuelling your desire for the It bag this season? By Sophie Jones Cooper

salvatore ferragamo, Sophia Bag

the row

vintage

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From top to bottom left to right images courtesy of: Carlos Alvarez, Getty. The Row @ net-a-porter.com. Vintage @ ateliermayer.com.

here would we be without our handbag, or should I say handbags? They carry our lives, act as status symbols and are the ultimate fashion accessories transforming any outfit in an instant. Buying luxury and wearing it on our arm makes us feel and look good and the more unattainable the bag, the more we want it. Our handbags are a symbol of our independence, power, status and style. ‘The handbag not only punctuates the silhouette, giving it an allure and a posture, but it is a confidant and close friend. We entrust our lives to it. The handbag makes a statement about who we are,’ explains Couli Joubert, Artistic Director of Leather and Saddlery for Hermès, who have created some of the most iconic bags of our time. Our love affair with handbags is nothing new. From its humble beginnings as a symbol of womanhood to the 16th century beautifully decorated pouches – or reticules as they were known– to the late 19th century precursor of the modern handbag, women have always had an affinity for the accessory. The continued growth, success and desire can be traced to the fact that throughout history, the handbag has been beautifully adapted to meet the needs of the time. ‘Hermès was originally a

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Fashion balenciaga

jason wu

Dsquared

harness maker,’ explains Joubert. ‘We outfitted plow horses and then, with the development of travel by train and boat, Hermès started designing travel suitcases and then handbags.’ And it didn’t take long for them to become mainstream. By the 1950s the It bag phenomenon had begun. The classic Chanel 2.55 first gained popularity when it was launched back in 1955 (hence the name), and it was in 1956 that the Hermès Kelly rose to fame following an outing with Grace Kelly where she used the bag to cover her pregnancy bump from onlooking paparazzi. Both these bags remain icons today and their popularity continues to rise. ‘Bags that were created 50 or 60 years ago and that are still selling and which are in high demand are a sign of success,’ comments Dean Caten co-founder and designer of DSquared. So what puts these bags so high up on our lust-worthy list year after year? ‘At Hermès quality is essential,’ answers Couli. ‘It is very important to keep our heritage and to ally it to new techniques,’ she adds. So whom do we turn to for such quality and luxury? Our trusted ready-to-wear (RTW) designers of course. ‘Women like to buy a bag that has a contemporary design, however, they still want it to be made by one of the big designers,’ explains Micha Maatouk, owner of Dubai vintage boutique Garderobe. Ruth Chapman, founder of British fashion boutique Matches agrees, confirming her shoppers will often buy bags from designers whose RTW collections they favour. So today with RTW designers seeing a surge in handbag demand, handbags are certainly giving clothes a run for their money on the catwalk. This is great news for the designers thanks to the one-size-fits-all nature. ‘By introducing a bag line alongside their RTW collection, designers can also help amplify the brand’s appeal and increase their iconic status,’ adds Net-a-Porter’s Buying Director Holli Rogers. Over the past few seasons, designers including Victoria Beckham, Jason Wu and The Row have all launched incredibly successful bag collections. DSquared is one of the latest brands set to follow suit. ‘We felt the need hermes

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From top to bottom left to right images courtesy of: Pascal Le Segretain, Getty.

to render our collection even more complete and to have a special focus on bags,’ explains Dean Caten, the other half of the brand’s design duo who has just launched its first handbag collection. ‘And the only way we can compete with brands that have a strong handbag heritage is to be focused on our own style and identity,’ he adds. And it isn’t just the heritage heavyweights that are stealing the limelight. Niche labels are also becoming increasingly popular choices, offering discreet luxury, quality and functionality. There has been a dramatic rise in the popularity of clutches, which now make up almost a third of Net-a-Porter’s bag edit, and Matches Fashion charts a growing trend for large bags with an additional pouch, as well as surrealist bags which Ruth explains are, ‘great talking points at evening events.’ There is also another factor driving our desire to shop and fuelling the growth of our handbag market: celebrity culture. As soon as an A-lister is papped with a bag, its lustworthy-ness skyrockets and stores up their stocks to meet customer demand. ‘We are updated if a particular celebrity has been spotted wearing a bag that we have and in turn this can have a knock-on effect on sales,’ explains Matches’ Ruth Chapman. Of course, always taking it one step further, what better way of driving popularity (in more ways than one) is there than naming bags after your best friends? Venetia Scott, Daria Werbowy and Jessica Stam all made it onto the shelves after designer friend Marc Jacob’s produced It bags in their honour. In an effort to help us take charge of our look from head to toe, RTW designers are launching handbag lines, and handbag designers are launching RTW collections. What we choose to wear and carry sees no boundaries and when we look at a bag as an investment, there is no price too high for perfection. As fashion continues to change and our day-to-day lives become more demanding and our needs for a bag for every occasion and outfit increase, the handbag market will only continue to flourish. We say, keep ’em coming.

Marc Jacobs, Stam Bag

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Baroque and Roll These Edwardian-inspired accessories evoke a romantic golden age of grandeur and prosperity. Oscar de la Renta’s jewel-encrusted clutch gives any outfit a vintage luxe look. Gucci’s laced-up booties repress an understated seductiveness, and when teamed with YSL’s ruched elbow gloves, they finish your autumn outfit with regal refinement.

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7. CH by Carolina Herrera | 8. Marni @ net-a-porter.com | 9. YSL @ net-a-porter.com | 10. Etro | 11. Salvatore Ferragamo

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The City Slicker The New York power woman is a strong-minded individual with an undefeatable attitude, dressing both to impress and to intimidate. Accessories are key and the palette should never stray far from the night. For all those important documents, a piece of aubergine arm candy from YSL will see you through in style whilst the ever-imposing iPad can be housed in this Bottega Veneta beauty. For a hint of sophistication why not try a pair of Selima Optique glasses to give off that knowing look and personalise the ensemble with a dash of gold by wearing this set of snake-like Boucheron earrings. Strut down that sidewalk with pride.

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Countryside Glamour For that wild woman inside us all, take an autumn leaf out of Nina Ricciâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book and exude a country bumpkin aesthetic by emulating the natural world from which we came. With hues of burnt orange and deep umber, muddy brown and overcast grey, trample the leaves in a pair of Gucciâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crocodile skin boots whilst keeping the chills at bay with a pair of thick leather Gaspar gloves. For that added sparkle, add a golden YSL ring with inset feather and team with a Carolina Herrera scarf sporting an adorable Bambie looka-like. Al fresco fashion never looked so good.

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Shourouk Harlequin Heritage

The terms ‘polyvinyl’ and ‘evening bag’ are rarely, if ever, spoken in the same sentence, but that’s set to change with Shourouk’s technicolour showpieces. After cutting her teeth as a designer at Chloé and Cavalli, Parisian Shourouk Rhaiem’s decadent style caught the eye of Jean Paul Gaultier, who commissioned her to create the jewels for his AW09 couture show. Clashing, contrasting, and playing with high fashion’s taste for the opulent, she has explored an ironic and humorous take on excess with her nouveau classic collection of bags for AW12. Heritage

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sentiments inspired by Tsar Nicholas II’s court are subverted by the ‘Vladamir’ bag: tortoise-shell PVC heavily embellished with kitsch neon pastel jewels. Her decadent taste has made this Parisian magpie a hit with fashion aristocracy, from JPG’s runway to Carrie Bradshaw’s arm. Her style could be described as modern-day Marie Antoinette: ornate and luxurious with a dollop of fun. Brighten a minimal outfit with a juicy injection of clustered orange stones on transparent plastic – a riot of colour that will put a smile on your face whenever you catch a glance of it.

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Aurelie Bidermann Fields of Gold

A gypsy spirit who designs according to the way her soul is moved by a place, Bidermannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enchanting combination of the past, present and her own imagination make her designs perfect for a cosmopolitan woman. Previously exploring Brazil and India in her collections, she is known for using organic materials such as insects, ginko leaves, and wheat dipped in gold. With an aesthetic inspired by antique shops, she aims to create pieces with an imprint of the past. As a result, the jewellery feels reincarnated, carrying a personality and a story.This obsession with the context of her pieces probably came from her academic

qualifications in art history and Gemmology. She launched her eponymous label in 2003 and now lives and breathes her designs in the inspired interior of her home/studio where preserved tarantulas adorn the walls and sideboards are improvised bookshelves. This collection revisits the rich heritige of preColumbian Latin America, refrencing mayan and inca cultures; an arcadia where gold flowed freely, it was the perfect setting. Befittingly, this collection is a celebration of the sun, the bibstyle mendoza necklack radiating with a warrior feel and gold nuggets strung together on the Cities Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;or necklace like ancient prayer beads.

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Ek Thongprasert Silicone Statements

From My Little Ponies to car parts, silicone is the second most abundant element on Earth after Oxygen. That being said, it’s not the conventional starting point for an exclusive fashion collection. But the Bangkok design duo behind Ek Thongprasert have deconstructed the ideas behind what we consider precious with a collection of necklaces shaped like heirlooms but made from gummy plastic. The production technique blurs together the

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intricate details that you would normally expect to see on a necklace, giving the piece a chunky bib-shape with an ambiguous ethnic feel. One gets the impression that the designers – now based in Antwerp and dabbling in architecture – like to keep their aesthetic obscure. In playful tones and occasionally bejewelled with a smattering of crystals, these necklaces are witty and playful statement items ideally worn over an LBD or plan white tee.

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Graff

Ocean Colour Scene Graff Diamonds, founded in the 1960s by the eponymous jeweller Laurence Graff, has just introduced its Diamonds on Diamonds wave collection to the UAE. Handset by master craftsmen in its London workshops, Graff uses only the most exquisite stones in the world selected for their unsurpassed quality. The crown of the luxury jewellery industry, Graff prides itself on a restrained, clean aesthetic engineered to enhance the

shine of a stone rather than overpower the wearer. This collection is a distinctly modern design statement: whirls of white diamonds set against a backdrop of sapphires and rubies. The juicy colours accentuate the radiant white brilliance of the central diamonds, evoking an image of waves crashing under a starry night sky. Young and vibrant, the collection is ideal for the woman who fills her jewellery box with contemporary classics.

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Sophie Hulme No Place Like Hulme

Accessory designer Sophie Hulme studied at Kingston University in London, from where she went on to launch her own eponymous label. Hulme adopted an aesthetic that worked with classics, adapting them to feel modern yet wearable enough to evolve through the seasons for a woman with classic yet versatile style. The bags are objects of elegance in themselves, with a longevity that can also be attributed to the materials used â&#x20AC;&#x201C; eel leather and pony-skin give the bags a

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sturdy, visceral edge. A favourite with fashion editors and models alike, her trademark brass plates and boxy silhouette give the classic tote a new toughness, reinventing it with a menswear-inspired utility feel for a unique take on modern luxe. Her originality comes as no surprise since sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a habitual collector devoted to finding the perfect piece to add to the hoard of military knick knacks and 1940s costume at her London home. Though her search may go on, ours has found a conclusion in her designs.

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Jason Wu Shanghai Express

Orientalism underpinned a collection in which Jason Wu embraced the Eastern side of his identity. His interpretation of the legacies of Chinese history created perhaps Wu’s strongest collection to date. The cultural influences of his Taiwanese upbringing were none more evident than on the feet of his models. Wu referenced Mao’s military with army-green ankle boots, strict lacing and ornamental tassels mirroring the tight, precise silhouette of the clothing: neat, belted jackets and buttoned coats.

The rich brocades of the Qing Dynasty were interpreted alongside the kitsch glamour of the ‘Shanghai Express’ era through an embroidered stiletto open-toe court with an ornamental front platform in dense ebony. Stripped to crux of Wu’s luxe grownup aesthetic, a strappy high-heeled sandal in richly hued velvet with an impossibly thin heel illustrated this perfectly. Exotic and evocative, the shoes will no doubt bring Wu’s Far East inspiration to the Upper-East side of Manhattan’s most stylish women.

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Skirt and embroidered camisole, Salvatore Ferragamo | Purple Speedy bag, bracelets in resin and lacquer and necklace in metal, lacquer and resin, Louis Vuitton

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Broken Promises Photographed by Riccardo Vimercati Styled by Sara Francia

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Black embroidered top, Prada | White framed sunglasses, Vivienne Westwood | Eden collection earrings in white gold and diamonds, Damiani

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Pink leather skirt, Dior | Mary jane shoe, Bottega Veneta | Parentesi white gold and diamond bracelet, white gold and diamond pendant earrings, black and white snake bracelet and Serpenti mauve satin bag, Bulgari

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Silk satin dress, Chloe | Pink patent leather bag and earrings in metal, crystal and resin, Marni | Tubogas pink gold, steel and diamond bracelet, pink gold, steel and coral bracelet with coral and pink gold, steel and onyx bracelet, Bulgari

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Wool lame dress, Louis Vuitton | Printed top resin bag, Tory Burch | Geometric sunglasses, Prada | Anima pendant, earrings and ring in pink gold with quartz and brown diamonds, Damiani

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Transparent shirt with bustier, pleated skirt and patent corset belt with wings, Fendi | Satin embroidered bag, Prada | Agata drusa rock crystal antique silver earrings, Bottega Veneta | Pale pink Balley necklace with velvet and crystals, Dior

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Black sculptural dress, Lanvin | Pearl bracelet, Louis Vuitton | Black suede and gold python pumps, Sigerson Morrison | Mink and velour pink bag, Christian Louboutin

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Black and crimson check bodice dress, Michael Kors | Red leather bag, Marni | Resin rose necklace and black earrings with crystals, Prada

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Black embroidered top, Prada | White framed sunglasses, Vivienne Westwood | Eden collection earrings and bracelet in white gold and diamonds, Damiani | Studded leather clutch, Emilio Pucci

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Printed mohair trousers, silk gazar shirt, lizard skin belt and boots with yellow suede platform and satin bow, Miu Miu | Parentesi white gold and diamond earrings, Bulgari | Chrome-tanned calfskin bag, Todâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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A Frosting of Finery A simple black gown should spotlight the most exclusive and elegant sparkle to ignite its classic charm. With a stack of slender Chaumet rings and the swirl of Adlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stunning chocker, the tone is set for timeless chic. Mademoiselle is ready for the ball.

1. Dior | 2. Tiara JosĂŠphine in white gold set with diamonds, Chaumet | 3. White gold and diamond watch, Harry Winston | 4. Carolina Bucci @ net-aporter.com | 5. Platinum diamond earrings with cultured pearls, Tiffany & Co | 6. Brooch in white gold set with diamonds, Chaumet |

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7. White gold and pearl necklace with diamonds and rubies, Paspaley | 8. Marquise and pear shape diamond butterfly earrings with diamonds, Graff | 9. Whirlwind necklace in white gold and diamonds, Adler | 10. Diamond daisy heritage drop earrings, Asprey

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Pin Me Down Floral tones form the colour palette of the season as far as fine jewellery is concerned. Warm ruby, radiant pink and sunny yellow coordinate perfectly with autumn/ winter’s lush tones. A glorious statement of femininity, these brooches are investment add-ons that you’ll enjoy for years to come.

1. Elie Saab | 2. Camélia Dentelle brooch in white gold with a cultured pearl and diamonds, Chanel | 3. Diamond flower brooch with white and yellow diamonds, Graff | 4. Bouquet d’Ailes brooch from the L’Artisan Du Reve collection, Boucheron | 5. Feuille de Chene clip with white gold, diamonds and white cultured pearls, Van Cleef & Arpels |

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6. Petal brooch in gold and silver with white, yellow, pink and violet diamonds and opals, Faberge | 7. Rosette white gold, ruby and diamond brooch, Mouawad | 8. Margherite Rosa flower brooch with white gold, pink sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, Adler | 9. Brooch in platinum and diamonds,Bulgari

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Fine Jewellery

Biennale Des Antiquaires 2012 The oldest and most glamorous art fair in France returns this autumn. See MOJEH’s exclusive preshow of stunning pieces to whet your appetite for this haute joaillerie feast.

stablished by the Syndicat National des Antiquaires in 1962, the biannual event is considered the most prestigious European salon, attracting the world’s finest dealers of antiques, fine art and jewellery. Held in Paris every two years, it is a Mecca for jewellery lovers and collectors. Over the years, the Biennale has become an important showcase of haute joaillerie with jewellers using the occasion to introduce extraordinary collections of unique pieces to the world’s most discerning buyers. This year’s creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, has promised to give the Grand Palais a Belle Époque period setting. A time of prosperity which allowed the arts to flourish, the Belle Époque was the era that haute couture as we know it today was invented, Champagne was perfected, and the Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergere were bursting at the seams with beautiful, affluent Parisians. ‘I wanted to emphasise the immensity and the splendour of the glass roof, which will be like a protective sky… it is a place I adore,’ explained Lagerfeld. Miniature Aladdin’s caves will be set up in the Art Nouveau grandeur of the Grand Palais to house the finest rare collections of houses such as Chanel (always equipped with sumptuous sofa and soothing artwork), Van Cleef & Arpels (who last year created an opulent temple to luxury) and Harry Winston (who whisk you straight into a New York state of mind with their mini-maison). Along with the ambition to create its most extravagant event ever this year, the Biennale has announced plans to launch mini-fairs in Hong Kong, Istanbul and Moscow in the alternating years when the French fair doesn’t take place. As if you needed another excuse to spend a weekend with a girl’s best friend…

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Chanel Etoile Filante necklace

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Harry Winston Exceptional sapphire and diamond necklace

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Dior Dentelle Chantilly multicolour earrings

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Bulgari Yellow gold, diamonds and emeralds earrings

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Boucheron Bouquet dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ailes necklace in yellow and white gold with diamonds, emeralds, purple, pink, yellow and orange sapphires, morganites and tourmalines

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Van Cleef & Arpels Beaute Eternelle necklace in white gold, ruby beads and diamonds

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Bedazzled at the Place Vendôme Photographed by Federico De Angelis

White gold “Soleil” earrings (18 carats) set with 779 brilliant-cut diamonds (4 carats) and 14 brilliant-cut yellow diamonds | Left hand: white gold “Frages 3 rows” bracelet (18 carats) set with 6 round-cut diamonds (1.3 carats), 57 baguette-cut diamonds (7.7 carats) and 117 brilliant-cut diamonds (5.4 carats) | Right hand: White gold “Soleil” ring (18 carats) set with an oval-cut yellow diamond (2.3 carats) and 387 brilliant-cut white diamonds (2.5 carats), CHANEL HAUTE JOAILLERIE

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White gold “Comète” necklace (18 carat) set with a round-cut diamond (14.8 carat), 823 round-cut diamonds (61 carats) and 34 princess-cut diamonds (1.9 carats), CHANEL HAUTE JOAILLERIE

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White gold “Etoile Filante” watch (18 carats) with diamonds, CHANEL HAUTE JOAILLERIE

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White gold â&#x20AC;&#x153;Constellation du Lionâ&#x20AC;? brooch (18 carats) set with 1254 brilliant-cut diamonds (12 carats), 29 baguette-cut diamonds (2.4 carats), 103 fancy-cut yellow diamonds (33.6 carats) and 43 fancy-cut orange diamonds (17.5 carats), CHANEL HAUTE JOAILLERIE

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Left hand: White gold “Ruban Mademoiselle” watch (18 carats) set with 336 round-cut diamonds (20.5 carats) and 16 baguette-cut diamonds. Quartz movement | Right hand: White gold “Soleil” secret watch (18 carats) set with 918 brilliant-cut diamonds (7 carats) and 9 round-cut yellow diamonds. Quartz movement and White gold “Soleil” ring (18 carats) set with an oval-cut yellow diamond (2.3 carats) and 387 brilliant-cut white diamonds (2.5 carats), CHANEL HAUTE JOAILLERIE

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White gold “Cosmos” necklace (18 carats) set with 86 fancy-cut diamonds (17.4 carats) and 374 brilliant-cut diamonds (2.8 carats), CHANEL HAUTE JOAILLERIE

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White gold “Rivière Astrale” necklace (18 carats) set with one 8.2 round-cut diamond, 446 brilliant-cut diamonds (16 carats), and 1 to 2.5 mm white cultured pearls (876 carats), CHANEL HAUTE JOAILLERIE

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Red Red Wine This season, lips looked like they had just taken a bite of a juicy berry. Make the outer edge more intense with MAC’s ‘Burgundy’ liner and fill in with a soft brush, keeping other makeup minimal. 6

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Go Nude Skin is fast, fresh and natural. Keep it dewy, not too matte â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you want to look like you, only better! The key is finding the perfect tone for your complexion from a multi-action BB cream with inbuilt SPF. 5

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Take a Tip Coloured tips add a touch of high fashion to your nails without straying too far from the classic French mani. DIY with shaping stickers and this on-trend OPI indigo. 5

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Peacock Eyes Smokey eyes are a modern classic in every womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cosmetic repertoire. Update them for AW with a flattering and festive iridescent cerulean palette. If you really want to shake your tailfeathers, take it up to the brow line for maximum impact. 6

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Electric Eyeliner Achieve Pop art-inspired bursts of colour with an angled brush and gel liner for the straightest line. Start at the outer corner with short strokes inwards for a clean, graphic finish in primary colours.

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Framed Figurines Be it jewelled, jet black or barely visible, headbands are big business this season and the perfect way to frame your features. Try backcombing your hair for that added volume, as seen at Carolina Herrera, or create a sleek ponytail like Dolce&Gabbana. Finally, slide that pretty band into place for a carefree, easy-to-manage look. 5

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Bun in the oven Buns come in one form this winter: low and knotted. A simple and elegant hairstyle that is perfect for both work and a night on the town. Use Professional Sebastianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Texturiser to add a bit of oomph and ensure its enduring sleekness with a finishing polish. 5

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A cut above the rest Blunt, straight and short. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how all the It girls are wearing their fringes this season. An easily achievable look if you have the right tools and a daring spirit. For day-to-day upkeep ensure a quality straightener is on hand and use a scented dry shampoo, like this one from Oscar Blandi, to keep that desired panache. 7

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Beach Babe The tousled look is a fall back hairstyle for any busy fashionista. For AW, however, try a more polished approach with smooth roots and gently tumbling tresses. Like the girls at Chloe and Balmain, this is a modern, fairytale-inspired look perfect for daytime glamour. 7

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Side stepping A precision comb and plenty of hair spray is needed to create this sleek, side-parted look. Try pulling your hair back as seen at Victoria Beckham or guide your length into an elegant wave like the girls at PPQ. Hair that oozes glossy sex appeal is the desired outcome. 5

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Interview

Salon De Supermodel

Meet Oribe, the man credited with helping cultivate the epoch of hyper glamour that defined the late ’80s and early ’90s and still defines the styles that we strive for today.

hen Cindy or Naomi lounged in a Miami hot tub smoking cigarettes for Helmut Lang, Oribe was close at hand with a can of hairspray and a keen eye. The fearless energy of his era-defining collaboration with photographer Steven Meisel illustrated his uncanny ability to always be in the right place with the right people at the right time. With generations of fashion image makers recognising him as the perfect accomplice, it’s said that one can’t know fashion without knowing Oribe. He claimed that his secret to supermodel success was to ‘Make the girls feel wonderful – and they did.’ Of course his dashing looks and movie-star charm help: Cuban- American born, with cappuccino-coloured skin, thick rimmed glasses, heavily tattooed arms (inspired by mentor Gianni Versace) and slicked back salt and pepper hair. Once considered a convenient way to draw attention to the clothes, runway hair is now – thanks to Oribe – a huge deal itself. With big, sexy hair a huge trend for AW12, what better time to take a look at his career? Christy Turlington, photographed by Steven Meisel, hair by Oribe. Image courtesy of Oribe’s own portfolio

How did you enter the hairstyling industry? I actually broke into the industry by accident. I’m an artist and doing hair lets me express myself in a creative way. In the late ’70s, I met Garren, who was a hairdresser in New York City and he offered me a job as an assistant. I took the job, and my life as a hairdresser began. You have been heralded with helping to cultivate the ’80s and ’90s supermodel era, travelling with Linda, Christy and Naomi. What was that time in your career like? The first time I worked with Naomi Campbell I just remember us having so much fun while she was waiting to be photographed! She was very innocent; we laughed and had a great day and subsequently it became an even greater memory. Christy Turlington and I worked together a lot. There was a time we spent a month and a half together on one series of commercials for Calvin Klein. We were shooting with Richard Avedon every day and that made us very close. She’s an amazing woman; she’s incredibly funny, and just thinking about that takes me back to a special time. Who influenced your view on beauty and style? I learn every day. I am always growing through observation and looking at things, people and places to get inspired. I am influenced by the work of Alexandre and Garren and I was also very lucky to work with amazing photographers like Steven Meisel, Richard Avedon and Irving Penn, who all taught me many things and a unique way of looking at hair. I’m very inspired by old Hollywood movies, there is a nostalgia and glamour there that I love very much. I grew up in the ’60s watching TV and that was an amazing and extravagant time for women and hair. It was truly glamorous.

Jennifer Lopez at the 74th Annual Academy Awards

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You worked closely with François Nars and the photographer Steven Meisel on advertising campaigns and editorials in the ’80s and ’90s. What was it about your partnerships that worked so well? It was a strong team and Steven Meisel was a great leader. We not only

Interview

Mojeh Oribe with a model at the Armani Prive AW11 show

Gisele Bundchen for Versace SS09

Kate Moss for Versace SS09

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Cindy Crawford

worked together, but we’re friends. We would hang out at night and watch movies together. You could almost feel this amazing force because we were so close, and right there with us as part of the team were all the girls – the supermodels. That era was incredible and we spent a lot of time laughing! It was at the beginning of our careers, and we had this fearless energy about us, helping to create fashion moments. We’re all still very close. You were famed for using extensions before anyone else. What are your favourite styles for your clients today and how do they compare to your work in the ’80s and ’90s? When extensions first came out they were made with beautiful and natural hair. Recently, extensions tend to match less and are more noticeable, especially with the drastic length changes from day to day. Overall, I recommend clip-in extensions and using them as accessories rather than part of your core look.

Who in the industry do you always enjoy working with? In photography I love working with Mario Testino and Steven Meisel who are always amazing. For makeup, Linda Cantello and Charlotte Tilbury. When it comes to models, I love Karlie Kloss at the moment and some of my favourite celebrities are Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson. How did the development of your product line Oribe come about? After so many years of working as a salon stylist and fashion stylist, in many ways I became a chemist myself by mixing products together to achieve a variety of desired results. It was the right timing with the right partners

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Oribe with a model at the Armani Prive AW11 show

By Rafael Roa/CORBIS.

Which stars today do you think are legitimate hair icons? It has to be Cher because not only is her own hair beautiful, but she seems to have complete control of her look. She changes whenever she wants and doesn’t care what we think about it… and we love her anyway!

Interview

Mojeh ‘Big Hair’ trend for Blumarine AW12

and we developed high-quality, luxury treatments for hair that are a true reflection of my vision from the packaging to the ingredients. What common mistakes do you see women make? Going for a style that is unattainable for your hair type. Staying realistic with what you have to work with is critical. For example, women sometimes try to force their hair to be completely dead straight when it is super curly. Hair should always have a natural kind of look – it shouldn’t look forced. Great hair is about capturing what nature had in mind and refining it. The haircut should always work in the natural texture. If you could ban one hair look for good what would it be? I like all kinds of hair, so that’s a tough question! What are your plans for the future? For the future I’ll continue doing amazing work, develop and grow my product line, teach and inspire other hairdressers to become great at their craft. Big, sexy, healthy ’90s hair is a huge trend for AW12. What is your fail-safe routine to achieve it? The same technique I used in the ’90s works today with big red Velcro rollers. Begin with a volumiser and a round brush. Blow hair out and replace the round brush with Velcro rollers to give hair a great set (before the heat from your brush leaves your hair). For a smoother, straighter look use Velcro rollers, but hot rollers are also great for more of a wave. Twisting your hair before rolling them in hot rollers will deliver bigger hair. Take the rollers out and brush hair out upside down, tease where needed, especially at the crown and spray with Superfine Hairspray. My Volumista contains Edelweiss Flower Extract, Kaempferia Galanga Root Extract, Watermelon, Lychee and Amber Extracts to protect against dryness, oxidative stress, photoaging and delivers UV protection.

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Trend

Truth or Dare?

Marchesa

Celebrity and backstage makeup artist Lauren Gollan runs us through two of winter’s most attainable yet opposing trends. Here are her tips to make the natural look, well, so natural, and the extended smoky eye sophisticated and balanced against plump lips.

Laura Mercier, Lip Plumper in Rose Flush

Antonio Berardi

To create a whimsical and romantic feel, tint the skin with natural washes of colour inspired by soft beauty. Prada, Infusion d’Iris

Valentino

Butter London, Nail Varnish in Teddy Girl

Pucci

Chantecaille, Les Petales Lumiere de Rose Highlight

The key texture to this trend is cream. Use cream colour bases on the eyes, cheeks and lips for a monochromatic look. Using your fingers, apply neutral toned colours such as taupe, terracotta and peaches. These shades will add depth to the eyes, contour cheekbones and produce rose-like lips.

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Groom your perfect lashes and brows with clear or natural coloured gels for a ‘just got out of bed’ look.

Dior, Skinflash in Golden Glow

MAC, Cream Colour Base in Frost

Illamasqua, Brow and Lash Gel

Blotting or translucent powders can be used in the T-zone area to minimise shine.

Creme de la Mer, Fluid Foundation in Porcelain

Clinique, Moisture Surge Intense

Skin is stripped bare to a natural, well-hydrated dewy canvas. Minimal coverage is needed using a tint or light foundation applied with a brush. Use a moisturising concealer to offer plump, moist skin and conceal any imperfections.

Trend

Gianfranco Ferré

Blumarine

Hourglass, Trace Lip Liner in Bare

Dr Brandt, Lines No More @spacenk.co.uk

l Pin Lip s in Cor a , Mi lky is F aas Ell

Tom Ford, Black Orchid fragrance

Prep the lip with conditioner. Line with a neutral shade to create the illusion of a plumper lip and then apply your chosen colour with a brush. This will create a depth to the lip, balancing perfectly with the deep eye.

Beauty

This trend is stripped back, dynamic and ultimately urban! Dominate the look with a smoky eye against a plump lip and fresh skin.

Nanette Lepore

Nars, Nail Varnish in Endless Night

Anthony Vaccarello

In t

i ll

i, E rman yes To K

A io rg

Illamasqua, Face and Body Concealer in 320

Jemma Kidd, Iris Enhancer in Green

Ex p

Highlight with creams or lotions for hydrated, sporty looking skin. Using your fingers or blending brush, pat the product from the temple around to the top of the cheekbone situated directly under the eye. This will create the definitive chiselled look.

To u Te rr y,

Don’t be fooled into thinking the emphasis is on the eyes; skin is the ultimate feature for this look. Prep with a moisturiser for a plump base, and then use a light coverage foundation for flawless skin. Build the contour with crèmes and a duo fibre brush. Blend from ear down in circular motion through to the bottom of the cheekbone.

For a precious yet sophisticated eye, blend colour and textures by choosing tan, creamy copper and purples with a metallic edge.

Sonia Kashuk, Duo Fibre Multipurpose Brush Dior, Capture XP Crème Nuit Haute Reparation Rides

dow in Purp ura

Dolce&Gabbana, Perfect Luminous Liquid Foundation in Classic

ha yes eE ns

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The Dark Side of the Moon Chanel’s new fragrance Coco Noir breathes new life into the esoteric personality of its eponymous founder, Mademoiselle Gabrielle.

All images courtesy of Chanel, Julien Claessens et Thomas Deschamps.

fragrance, as individual as it may be, ‘can only exist because of those that came before it,’ according to current director of Parfums Chanel, Jacques Polge. There was one woman who came before any other, paving a path in Parisian society with her innovative design and irrepressible lust for luxury: Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel. Jacques studied the facets of Coco’s identity, both those evident in previously released Chanel scents, and also those relatively unchartered, to portray a fragrance that, although compound and complex, many women could relate to. By its complexity and elegance, Coco Noir celebrates a changing notion of femininity, an intense side to our personalities that we are increasingly at ease with exploring. Until now, a Chanel perfume has epitomised romance and love, but Coco Noir has been inspired by something more

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sombre and mysterious. The ebony bevelled bottle was modelled on the masculine whisky decanters and expensive toiletries that Chanel carried on her jaunts to Biarritz for her lover Boy Capel. After Capel died in a car crash in 1919 Chanel retreated to Venice, and her subsequent creative rebirth in the city is a period that Jacques took particular inspiration from. A city with depth and darkness that saw eras of turmoil and carnival, all the while maintaining a hauntingly beautiful façade which held the secrets of its past, Venice provided an enveloping comfort for Coco throughout her life. Just as the stunning simplicity of the classic Chanel product made everything else seem suddenly outdated, the ebony glass of Coco Noir is conspicuous in its distinctive dark tone compared to the light or transparent bottles primarily used in Chanel’s fragrance aesthetic. As a convent school pupil, she nurtured her taste for luxury underneath her black smock. It was no surprise then to see that the brand reflected her preferred aesthetic for a revolutionary vein disguised by apparent simplicity – a lesson in modernity that we could all stand to relearn. Jacques concentrated on making the content of the little black bottle hold this kaleidoscope of the dimensions of her identity, looking to the obscure and complex elements and encounters that formulate a woman. Women are a patchwork of contradictions, each with a dichotic romance its own: ugly and beautiful, poetic and obscure, obvious and sublime. Coco Noir is the evocation of that woman in that city and all those women today who choose intensity over the bland norm, the detours of seduction over perfunctory exhibitionism and true luxury over vulgarity. It is another journey in the wake of Gabrielle, who fully embraced the dazzle of darkness, incorporating it into her creations and into her life. Her obsession with this tension between shadow and light summed up Coco’s own personality. Known for her black attire and raven hair, Coco concluded: ‘Black embraces everything, its beauty is absolute. Each of the facets of the scent could invoke a darkness in the face of Chanel, of the lives and loves she touched and lost. This is something that we haven’t previously seen explored through aroma by the brand. Boy Capel can be smelt in the dusty, aromatic, austerity of Frankincense. Vetiver – a deep, sweet scent removed from a perennial grass native to India – reminisces her free-spirited artistic lovers: the poet Pierre Reverdy and the illustrator and designer Paul Iribe. Sandalwood’s cinnamon woody base and innate masculinity bring to mind the Duke of Westminster. Moving into the more feminine notes, Patchouli’s fertile soil fragrance, with its dark, cold, enveloping moistness, represents Gabrielle the Intransigent. Tonka bean’s earthy, almond whisper of pipe tobacco conjures up an image of Coco the Sassy. Vanilla’s milky warmth and sugary sweetness embody Mademoiselle the Elegant. It is said that grace is the art of being oneself, an art that Coco perfected to eternal effect. This fragrance was designed with a timelessly sophisticated woman in mind who, like Coco, is inclined to indulge the seductive, dangerous side of her personality. The fragrance calls to mind a more assertive, powerful femininity than we have seen before from Chanel. Dense, lingering, it melts into pores of warm skin and suffuses into the rich fabric dressed over it. Like Coco herself, the woman who would wear it is self-possessed, refined, urbane, and ultimately at ease with exuding a commanding and intoxicating presence.

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Out With the Old

Prepped and ready to hold pride of place in your beauty cupboards, we’ve delved deep to bring you everything new from the world of beauty. Whether an addition to an existing line, a revolutionary product from a timeless brand or an entirely new enterprise, get ready to spruce up your routine. We promise, it’ll be well worth it!

NATURA BISSE The skin experts at Natura Bisse have been working on repair and prevention for sun damaged skin in the form of The Cure Sheer Touch. Developed as an ultra hydrating gel for both men and women, it provides maximum hydration to diminish wrinkles and replenish skin’s surface. On first pump, the self-tanning agent appears dark and overwhelming, but it quickly adapts to skin tone (even if naturally light) and gently develops a natural and luminous colour.

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Clinique

L’Occitane

Estee Lauder

Hands are the best indicator of your real age, but constant cleansing and sun exposure damage the delicate skin on the back of the hands, and excess folds of skin that aid in its finger-flexing give the appearance of sagging skin. Even Better Hand Cream by Clinique aims to delay and repair this ageing process. The cream absorbs quickly with a clean and fresh smell (with a slight scent of sunblock). The tube is the perfect size to stash in your desk or handbag. Even Better seemed to even out dark spots, and the SPF prevented further discoloration. Hands looked generally dewy and the terminally dry skin around the cuticles was soft and supple.

L’Occitane is synonymous with Mediterranean art de vivre, specialising in low-maintenance, high-quality products using aromatic, sensorial ingredients designed to soothe the hair and the senses. The volumising mist is a leave-in formula that adds volume when applied to wet or dry hair, leaving it delicately perfumed and tamed with the lightest touch. It has a non-sticky texture that preserves the shine of hair. It works well for providing texture to a beachy, messy style. Whilst we wouldn’t recommend it for naturally flyaway hair, it’s perfect for a ‘freshen up’ between shampoos or for a wash-and-go girl who wants an instant hit of texture.

Estee Lauder claims Invisible Foundation’s innovation lies in its delivery of a veil which works with each person’s natural undertones for the ultimate shade match. It allows the skin’s undertones to come through, giving the appearance of natural skin. Invisible sunk into the skin with the texture of a light moisturiser. It left no telltale tide marks on the neck and generally blended really well; this is especially useful in hot climates because you don’t want a formula caking your skin and then flaking or slipping off in the heat as you go between sweltering and air-conditioned environments. Though not great for covering blemishes, this foundation gives great even tone and a uniform glow.

It’s not often that new brands land on our desk and almost instantly make their way into our beauty regime. Green Bar, however, conceived by Bahraini Reem al Khalifa, needed very little introduction. Building on traditional Middle Eastern beauty regimes, Reem works tirelessly to source an array of incomparable ingredients from historical areas across the world, melding them into oil blends that redefine moisturising and, quite simply, respond exceptionally to a woman’s skin. Quality, sentiment and a genuine care for the body, mind and soul go into each of these products, leaving little to be said for the skin’s harmonious response to them.

Beauty

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GREEN BAR

CHANEL Tag team your eye routine with the latest addition to Chanel’s Sublimage range, La Crème Yeux, followed by a palette of autumnal opulence in Expressions Mauve. Applied twice daily, the eye lotion sinks into skin, emphasising and illuminating the natural beauty of the eye. The lilac toned shadows wash flawlessly on top, creating a charmingly feminine version of the traditional smoky look. ‘The beauty of a woman is in her eyes,’ says Chanel. We say Chanel creates that beauty.

Ageless 15

Nuxe

Human+Kind

Skin cells ‘communicate’ with each other in order to divide and renew. Years of cellular damage impair the communication network, resulting in the familiar signs of aging. Skin Signaling Serum by Ageless 15 uses an innovative gel structure to penetrate skin and help cells behave as if they were much younger. The gel freezes skin under a film, momentarily cementing skin in place until moisturiser is applied on top. The process is rather scifi-ish but leaves skin feeling surprisingly light and not overloaded with product. The most noticeable improvement was evenness on crow’s feet wrinkles and uniformity of tone on the upper cheeks.

Not ideal for someone who prefers something lathery or abrasive, Nuxe’s Melting Cleansing Gel and Gentle Toning Lotion from its new Rose Petal range are strictly for the sensitive types. Specially developed for delicate skin – a comforting change from the scrubs containing plastic balls and salicylic acid – Nuxe has removed anything toxic leaving a floral, girlie routine that feels soothing and ever so softly purifying. The moisture stays locked into skin, limiting dehydration whilst removing any trace of makeup. Working together, the cleansing gel and toner soothed leaving a baby-bottom purity and a faint whiff of rose petals.

With a polluted urban environment and pesticides in the food we eat, we are constantly exposed to toxins, but it’s not only important to consider what we put IN our bodies, but what we put ON it as well. Human+Kind aim to simplify beauty routines with multifunctional products that capitalise on the restorative properties of nature. The oil is all-natural so there’s no worrying about sensitive skin, parabens, or use on pregnant tummies. It’s not greasy as you may expect from an oil and absorbs quickly leaving a barely noticeable sheen and skin that looks nourished and soft with no sticky, damp feeling.

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Shahzia Sikander’s Disruptive Transformation For me, one of the most compelling aspects of art–making is the conception of an idea and the chase to its fruition. Ideas are assimilated over time and are often an outcome of interrogation and reflection - Shahzia Sikander. By Jareh Das

The Garden for an Interpretation Centre, 2009

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he paintings of Pakistani American artist Shahzia Sikander have gained prominence over the last two decades as her intricately detailed works reinterpret traditional Mughal paintings for a contemporary audience. Mughal paintings are a fusion of Indo-Persian miniature tradition often consisting of lavishly decorated albums with decorative borders that are bound, stamped and gilded with painted leather covers. Sikander’s paintings embody a disruption between text and visual imagery offering a fragmentary juxtaposition of old and new or past and present events. This multi-layering of meaning allows the viewer to engage with the works through multiple sites of entry, as the viewer does not experience the work as a linear visual narrative but one that consists of multiple parts. The multiplicity of parts is also a useful way to understand Sikander’s practice as a whole as she often works with similar themes across a variety of media, which range from painting and drawing to film and animation. Explosion of the Company Man(2011) is exemplary of Sikander’s disruption of the norm as at first glance it seems an image in unison, but upon closer inspection presents the opposite. The surface created with paint, gouache and gold leafing, although executed in traditional style, presents a narrative that is far from traditional. Its detailed subject matter consists of a non-descriptive military figure, colourful but fragmented landscape and figures in a state of flux. It is as if the original image, classical in appearance, has morphed into one that presents a less idyllic reality. Explosion of the Company Man is a drawing related to her animated film The Last Post. Even across two different media, drawing remains a fundamental tool of exploration for the artist. Sikander explains further that ideas depicted on paper are often put into motion in the video animations, creating yet another form of disruption as a means to engage. While The Last Post can be seen as a metaphor for societies in flux,

in Residence

Artist Installation view at Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New, 2009

Intimate Ambivalence, 2011

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in Residence

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Explosion of the Company Man, 2011

Images courtesy of the artist and Pilar Corrias London.

Installation view at The Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, 2010

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Artist The Last Post, HD Video animation still, 2010

it is also an outcome of her ongoing interest in the colonial history of the sub-continent. In 2009, Sikander was invited to curate an exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York that saw her reverse the roles between artist and curator. This experience involved selecting key objects from the museum’s fine and decorative art collections, and using these to influence a new work which she titled Exact Imitation of The Original (2009). Exact Imitation of The Original is informed by a textile from the collection as well as from a shikasta calligraphy work from the Sackler collection. Here, the artist focuses on the signatures from the US Declaration of Independence which she replicates raising questions about authenticity through time. Through this exploration of authorship, Sikander highlights the fact that museum collections often present a chronological representation of objects and meanings that are based on authorship and collecting patterns often imposed by an institutional voice. Sikander’s more recent works have seen her produce large-scale wall murals which highlight the negotiations that exist between working intrinsically in the studio versus working collaboratively in the gallery where a more laborious and less private process ensues. For her solo exhibition at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery, she produced Intimate Ambivalence (2011) on site, which turned out to be an exhibition that would involve collaborative efforts as well as a more laborious and time-bound creation process. This work also questions ideas surrounding ownership, as the life of the work is limited to the exhibition’s duration after which it ceases to exist. Sikander’s continual use of cultural and political

boundaries as a space for opening up new dialogues for visual narratives is evident across her oeuvre. In an attempt to unravel the complexity of her interdisciplinary practice, one has to understand her individual works as part of a wider narrative that shifts, shapes and disrupts canonical interpretations of visual art. Born in Lahore in 1969, Shahzia Sikander currently lives and works in New York City. She received her BFA from the National College of Arts, Lahore, Pakistan and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. Major solo exhibitions of Sikander’s work include Para/Site, Hong Kong (2009); Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (2008); Daadgalerie, Berlin (2008); Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2007); Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2007); Miami Art Museum, Miami (2005); Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield (2004); The San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego (2004); Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C (2000), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1999) and the Renaissance Society, Chicago (1998). Sikander has collaborated with a number of artists, most notably with Shanghai-born Chinese American musician and composer Du Yun on The Last Post, which premiered in 2010 at the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai. Forthcoming exhibitions this year include the Guangzhou Triennial 2012 and solo presentations at Pilar Corrias Gallery, London, The Pace Foundation and Museum of Art and Design, New York as well as participation in the Auckland triennial and Sharjah Biennial in the spring of 2013.

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in exhibition

Artist

Kunsthalle Winterthur, Installation

The road less travelled AB Gallery

To Go Astray, Installation

Iraqi Artist Wamidh Al‐Ameri reflects, through a simple artistic strategy, the stereotype of Islam from the western and Arab‐ Islamic view. The exhibition focuses particularly on the work series ‘To go Astray.’ People unfamiliar with Arabic only experience the work as a labyrinth through which a path is drawn in red. However, the work shown in a golden frame, in a red book and in simple framed single‐sheets, is actually an excerpt of the Koran written with the computer scripture Al-Kufi. On one hand the artist wants the viewer to find – in a playful way – his own path through the Koran, while at the same time helping the western viewer to get in touch with this meaningful text. 1 September to 6 October 2012. Evidence, Wamidh Al Ameri, AB Gallery, Lucerne.

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Magnetism by Ahmed Mater

Arab Express Mori Art Museum Japan’s first ever exhibition of contemporary art from the Arab world presents works of painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation by 34 artists and artist groups. The exhibition aims to convey the realities and subtleties of the Arab world’s current state as well as its diverse cultures and lifestyles. The very definition of ‘Arabian’ is something that differs from person to person across this region, as are conceptions surrounding what constitutes ‘art.’ This collection represents a range of richly expressive forms to portray the diversity of current circumstances in this rapidly changing region. 16 June to 28 October 2012. Mori Art Museum, 53f, Roppongi Hills, Mori Tower, Tokyo.

Light from the Middle East The V&A London and the British Museum The first major museum exhibition of contemporary photography from and about the Middle East was built in response to a surge of interest in the visual arts in the region. The photographs on display will show creative responses to the social challenges and political upheavals that have shaped the Middle East over the past 20 years and include up-to-date work made following the recent revolution in Egypt. Marta Weiss, curator of the exhibition said: ‘In the past few years contemporary photographic practice from and about the Middle East has been some of the most exciting, innovative and varied art anywhere in the world.’ The photographs will present multiple viewpoints of a region where collisions between personal, social, religious and political life can be emotive and complex. 13 November 2012 to 7 April 2013. Art Fund Collection of Middle Eastern Photography, The V&A and The British Museum, London.

From the series Mothers of Martyrs by Newsha Tavakolian

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Rolling Stone Sisterhood Introducing the Gypset, a band of beatniks roaming the globe for the coolest boutiques, hippest parties, and remotest beaches, bringing back a trove of unique finds to fit into their carefully curated lifestyle. But if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fancy the hassle of treasure hunting, you can indulge in some virtual globetrotting thanks to the savvy business brains and stylish eyes of fashion trailblazers, the Muzungu Sisters. By Caroline Kent

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he global economic downturn gave fashion a sense of perspective on the value of exclusivity and the effects of rampant consumerism. The luxury market remained buoyant with the desire to experience the extravagant not disappearing, but instead redefining itself for a new era. Epitomising the passé custom of cash splashing is the It-Girl, whose contribution to the cultural landscape was seen as little more than gossip column inches and style-section fodder. But there’s a group of girls reclaiming their title as Queens of the social scene. Riding the wave of re-expounded luxury, they are the new incarnation of the It-Girl, pulling back the illusion of glamour and delighting in the embrace of being more down-to-earth. Nicknamed the ‘Gypset,’ they will more likely be found sipping tea in a temple in Thailand than dancing on tables in LA. Their lifestyle fuses the resourcefulness and restlessness of a gypsy with the sophistication and speed of jetsetting. If you’re part of the Gypset, the rules for the road are different: don’t hang out in establishments that are hard to get a table at, instead head for those that are hard to reach (preferably down a dirt road more than four hours from a major airport). Think Montauk, not East Hampton; Croatia, not Capri. Fall asleep with sea salt in your hair and never be seen sipping Cristal. They’re a high-flying, low-key bunch. The tribal leaders of these early-adopting global bohemians are the founders of online boutique ‘Muzungu Sisters,’ Dana Alikhani and Tatiana Santo Domingo. Although not actually sisters, the design duo behind the brand could easily be related. Olive complexions and thick manes of chestnut hair falling in loose waves, they are a cosmopolitan melting pot: a touch of Mediterranean chic, a dash of South American mischief, a dollop of savvy New York.

Just like the clothes themselves, these women have seen the world. They couldn’t compare less to the It Girl of the noughties – this one’s less hotel heiress, more educated entrepreneur. They cite their idols as Livia Firth and Lauren Bush for their respective philanthropy. As if that weren’t down-to-earth enough, when we asked about their ideal outfit for a night out (presuming the answer would be 8-inch heels and a Herve Leger so tight it’ll give them kidney failure) Dana concluded ‘comfortable enough to move around and dance.’ Iranian Dana studied Social Anthropology and Human Rights (a perfect alchemy of academic study in what people want and what society needs, which perhaps influenced her retail philosophy) before becoming a Middle East political analyst. BrazilianColombian Tatiana studied Visual Communication before working for creative director Giovanni Bianchi and later Vanity Fair. Dana explains, ‘I wanted to start an online portal that would promote workers rights and fair labour practices. Tatiana had long had the idea of travelling, collecting pieces, and curating them into a website. So we decided to merge the two ideas together.’ It’s certainly refreshing to see someone who embodies the idea that the ultimate luxury is waking up each morning feeling good about what you do. Their innovative retail model was a hit with real and aspiring globetrotters alike. ‘We support artisans whose crafts are dying out,’ Dana explains. ‘We make their timeless pieces accessible to the global market in an unexpected way through the internet and pop-up shops in different cities.’ Last year they worked with fellow Gypset pal, Margherita Missoni, creating a line of loafers with a percentage of the proceeds going to the Small Steps Project, a charity that provides shoes for destitute children.

All images courtesy of Dana and Tatiana Muzungu

‘Their lifestyle fuses the resourcefulness and restlessness of a gypsy with the sophistication and speed of jet-setting.’

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In culture

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Missoni weaved their signature fabric atop C.B. Made in Italy leather shoes. Luxury has always been subjective, and shopping for it is fuelled by sentiment. Whether it makes you feel powerful or romantic, luxury is in the eye of the beholder. Most of us have our ‘needs’ down pat, so what we’re buying is the story behind the product. Designer items can be simple objects but can contain an intense narrative overlay. We invest in the story that they tell us because their symbolic value goes far beyond their physical or functional qualities. The story of the Muzungu Sister pieces are integral to their appeal and instantly evoked through the aesthetics of the collection. Vivid colours, quirky nuances, they speak of boutique hotels in Peru, candlelit riads in Morocco and beach-sleeping in Ibiza. The Muzungu Sisters look to artisans whose crafts are steadily dying out due to industrialisation. They bring these intimately made items to a worldwide audience. We will always thrive on the buzz of trends, but we’re becoming aware that they have left the market ironically saturated. The Muzungus are making intelligent, thoughtful fashion choices more available by selling products that are not only sustainable in production, but ‘transseasonal,’ intended to be worn long-term. Muzungu Sisters is leading the way towards our style sophistry finally peaking our lust for fast fashion. For them, it’s not about working within the strict parameters of fashion week timings, but rather the expression of culture through craftsmanship. Their items evoke the past in every stage of their production and hold an aura of the present place carried in the object. They offer something that, they explain, has ‘an air of being here before us.’ What further solidifies the brand is that the girls live and breathe it. On their own the pieces could be intimidating (whilst it’s easy to imagine a beaded clutch integrating perfectly into your wardrobe, a full length fuchsia kaftan seems decidedly less wearable). But put the items in the context of the globetrotting pair’s suitcase closet – flitting from flea market to beach to highend cocktail bar, blending the pieces with designer items and vintage classics – and you begin to admire and aspire to their aesthetic of laid-back luxe. Similar

‘Vivid colours, quirky nuances, they speak of boutique hotels in Peru, candlelit riads in Morocco and beachsleeping in Ibiza.’ websites have popped up that allow us to indulge our mutual love for fashion and travel. Former Morgan Stanley trader Alisa Ng founded L-atitude, an ecommerce platform offering the opportunity to partake in virtual shopping trips around the world with its exotic, exclusive and edgy finds. Being the only woman in the room with a truly unique look incites no better cocktail-chatter. My clutch purse? Oh it’s just from a little stall on a beach in Zanzibar; the clasp is made from hand-dived pearls and it took three months to hand-stitch. Arguably a story to rival the six-month waiting list you had to endure before you got your hands on the new It bag. ‘Muzungu’ is Swahili for wanderer, particularly one who wanders the globe. This is reflected in their retail model, which replicates the joy of stumbling upon things that you love. It was surely only a matter of time before someone captured this treasure-hunting process of discovery through the online mediums that technology has made available to us. This more organic way of shopping chimes a new era for retail management, buying and store curation. It could be argued that globalisation led us to misinterpret our connectivity, and as a result, we are more disconnected than ever to the objects in our everyday lives. Brands like Muzungu Sisters are teaching us to express ourselves and reconnect with integrity. Fashion’s mirror is now reflecting back the demise of the ‘bling’ culture – an outward demonstration of a shift in consciousness. Whilst we still adore glamour, we have lost our appetite for fakery. ItGirls are ever more likely to be seen wearing their grandmother’s furs or their mother’s vintage Chanel. It’s a way of life rather than a fad. They appreciate refinement, be it the heritage of an exquisitely crafted Hermes bag or a bracelet from a Brazilian market stall. The liberating message from the zeitgeist is that simplicity and authenticity never go out of fashion.

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London’s Burning Up

When you consider the four main fashion capitals, you think Paris, Milan, New York and London — in that order. Where Paris holds the fort as the sartorial apex, London has always been somewhat of an underdog. In accordance with its recognition as an incubator for innovative young talent, London Fashion Week has been labelled the kid sister, and is the smallest both in length and in power compared to its brawny bookends. Every dog has his day, however, and the front row residents are wondering whether London is having a ‘moment.’

Burberry AW12

By Gillian Brett

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Image courtesy of: Tang Shi/Corbis

his time last year, Marc Jacobs infamously rescheduled his New York spring/ summer 2012 catwalk from Monday to late Thursday night, thereby preventing many big-name models from making the London shows they were booked for on Friday. Then, to make matters worse, Gucci front woman Frida Giannini decided she wanted to hold a pre-casting for her Wednesday show, meaning the most popular models were swiftly jetted to Milan on Saturday. The London designers were left in disarray, with PPQ and Todd Lynn having to almost entirely recast. A similar debacle played out this season with a controversial scheduling feud in which the Milan Fashion Week schedule threatened to conflict with London’s for spring/summer 2013. The calamity was prompted by New York’s dates starting a week later than it’s traditional slot due to the way next year’s dates fall. The shift would cause the Italian capital’s shows to overlap with that of London’s. Though New York didn’t take long to reschedule their dates to prevent an overlap, Milan resisted. If the Italians hadn’t eventually relented, Holly Fulton would have been left to compete with Gucci –essentially forcing press and buyers to choose between David and Goliath. ‘It is internationally recognised that London is the birthplace of creative talent and that’s a reputation we’re very proud of. But London Fashion Week has always been seen as a poorer cousin to Paris, New York and Milan,’ explained Munira Mirza, London’s Deputy Mayor for Education and Culture, at a recent event celebrating the burgeoning British fashion industry. ‘London Fashion Week is finally being recognized as more polished, more glamorous and an event to be taken seriously. The recognition that the British fashion industry is now receiving proves the volume and success of its growth.’ Indeed, though it is a day shorter this year, the reason behind its reduction proves another coup for the British capital. The inaugural menswear day has now spawned its very own week held in June called London Collections: Men. Indeed, the autumn/winter 2012 season sparked an initial glimmer of hope for little London and that light is becoming brighter if the post-show reports are anything to go by. ‘Energetic, vibrant, professional, ironic, innovative, desirable and commercial yet clever’, were just some of the appraisals that shone from the glowing catwalk reports. Whispers of London’s uprising reached every corner of the globe and for the first time international press and buyers flocked to the quirky fashion capital. London’s most talked about season therefore played out in front of an audience of influential tastemakers – some of who were on the front row actually wearing the designers they had come to see. Plus, the fashion elite descended on the sometimes-overlooked capital, not just to make brief pit stops at the big name brands like Burberry and Matthew Williamson, but to observe the upand-comers too. Anna Wintour’s polished brown bob was seen nodding in approval on digi-print designer Mary Katrantzou’s front row, and she reportedly adored the irony of Topshop Unique’s 101 Dalmatian-themed collection. ‘It’s been extremely well organised; the shows have been starting on time and it’s a pleasure to be here,’

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Image courtesy of: Paul Cunningham/Corbis

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Talking

‘A new sense of bravery emerged, illustrated by a kaleidoscope of eye-popping colours and retinadetaching digital prints.’ Erdem AW12

Wintour enthused to London Fashion Week TV. ‘The emphasis in London is so much on creativity, and as a result you get really sterling collections,’ she concluded with a rare smile. With originality in mind, Michael van der Ham and Louise Gray were also part of the must-see list, and there was a virtual scrum outside the combined catwalk of Simone Rocha and J. JS Lee, with many a prolific fashion editor turned away for tardiness. One editor who was lucky (and punctual) enough to gain entry was Suzy Menkes, long-term Editor of the International Herald Tribune, who praised Rocha Junior for her ‘fusion of craftsmanship and cool, of dainty lace with hairy fur and curly wool, [which] made her show a standout for originality and attitude’ in her show report. That was precisely it: London had attitude. A new sense of bravery emerged, illustrated by a kaleidoscope of eye-popping colours and retina-detaching digital prints. With this bold spectrum came a tangible energy, as though the liveliness of the clothes had conducted an electrifying atmosphere that was felt by everyone. It was the London Fashion Revolution. Of course, London has a history of revolt in fashion, but this time around it’s far from revolting. ‘I think in the past London was the centre of a lot of social unrest with young people and this was the grit that made the pearls; those pearls being John Galliano, Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood,’ explains fashion journalist Colin McDowell. Yet, where past generations thrived on controversy – McQueen rebelled against convention with collections entitled ‘Highland Rape’ (1996) and ‘McQueen’s Theatre of Cruelty’ (second collection), and Vivienne Westwood wore a sheer gown with no underwear to accept her OBE from the Queen in 1992 – the new generation have turned things around and are dressing heads of state (Michelle Obama is an Erdem enthusiast and Samantha Cameron sat front row at Christopher Kane) and are choosing an altogether more light-hearted take on reformation. ‘Those days of disorder have gone and London is a much more buoyant place for the young. There is great enthusiasm and self-belief in young people today, and London as the crucible of youthful excitement is benefitting from this at this moment,’ concludes McDowell. This sense of elation has trickled down to the streets, where Londoners are picking up on the sartorial high spirits. ‘There is a healthy disrespect for normality in London’s street style,’ says Elinor Renfrew, Academic Director of Fashion at London’s Kingston University, referring to the eccentric attire of the new tribe of fashion bloggers who swarm to the shows each season. ‘With women looking to their contemporaries in the form of street style and the like for fashion and trend inspiration, it’s no wonder the fashion worlds’ focus is shifting back to London,’ agrees Kirsty Hathaway, Founder and Editor of Beach Tomato. ‘In a city where one can dress as one pleases with no conformation pressures and, in fact, the more original the better, London has quickly regained its reputation as Europe’s fashion hub.’ Of course, the inherent rebel spirit, irreverence, audacity and out and out madness of the London fashion industry never left, but it is the talent, drive and professionalism of today’s troupe of designers that has pulled the focus back to Europe’s most off-beat capital. It is important to note that the designers headlining this uprising come from a melting pot of backgrounds and cultures with Australian, Greek, Brazilian, Spanish, Turkish and Scottish influences making this ensemble all the more exciting to observe. Thus, while the attitude is intrinsic, the ideas and inspirations are far-flung, lending an air of experience to what is often dubbed a raw and unfettered residence. ‘Britain is shining with young talent because we’ve all been nurtured by so many support systems,’ explained Fyodor Podgorny of design duo, Fyodor Golan, himself an expat of Belgium descent who has established a solid reputation for his London-based label. ‘Plus, you’ve got to have fun in fashion and London is definitely the place to do that. The energy is just fantastic here.’ Thus, as this much-touted ‘energy’ mounts once more, our anticipation increases for the spring/summer 2013 season. Will London steal the show once again, or was its moment in the sun simply that – just a moment?

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Bookshelf

Coffee Table Culture Flick through these captivating new titles on art, fashion and architecture for a daily dose of visual stimulation.

Gustav Klimt

The Complete Paintings Marking his 150th birthday, this collection contextualizes Klimt’s work among the voices of his contemporaries. Lavishly layering gold leaf throughout his works, Klimt was inspired by the beautiful mosaics and byzantine imagery surrounding him in Vienna. He caused controversy by fusing this traditional design with art nouveau and further polarized the art world with the content of his work: intimate portrayals of ecstasy and embrace in Austrian high society.

Taschen, Out now.

Tobias G. Natter

Luxury Fashion, Lifestyle and Excess

Berg Publishers, Out in December.

Patrizia Calefato From holidays to cars to lip gloss, whatever you call it, luxury is something we all seek pleasure in. But what is it about that bracelet or beach villa that is so undeniably, irrepressibly desirable? How did the concept of luxury become part of our everyday vernacular? This book exposes that element of enchantment we just can’t seem to resist and explains how our desire is fuelled by the very world we live in, from its advertisements to its urban spaces.

Muses Women Who Inspire Fashion designers have long sought unique females to enkindle and embody their vision: Hubert De Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn, and Karl Lagerfeld and Alice Dellal to name but a few. Characters were conceived for these women to play them. Paintings were inspired by the pain of their heartbreaking tales. Behind every great artist is a great muse. So often we know the works of creative individuals but nothing of the fuel that lit the artist’s flame. Muses captures the joie de vivre that was immortalised on canvas and page, revealing the special relationship between these remarkable men and women, and a fascinating insight into their creative process.

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Flammarion, Out in October.

Farid Abdelouahab

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Gaudi Pop-Ups

Thames & Hudson, Out now.

Courtney Watson McCarthy There is no city like Barcelona, and there is perhaps no other architect whose work has become so entwined with the aesthetic of a city that his name became synonymous with it. Gaudi’s organic nature-inspired buildings are World Heritage sites cherished by the public and praised by academics. Whether you have seen them in the flesh or not, one can appreciate their intricate details and utter uniqueness in this pop-up book as it brings to life some of the artist’s most famous works in 3D.

Discovering Michelangelo

The Art Lover’s Guide to Understanding Michelangelo’s Masterpieces

When you think of Michelangelo, you probably think of his David and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This book offers a deeper understanding of the work of one of the greatest artists of all time: an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. The book’s innovative design includes die-cut windows on the artworks that allow the reader to analyse hidden symbols and meanings. Whilst art lovers will undoubtedly get lost in the pages, it’s an intriguing read for novices as well.

Universal Publishing /Rizzoli, Out now.

William E. Wallace

Pleats Please Issey Miyake

Taschen, Out now.

Midori Kitamura ‘Pleats’ was introduced into Issey Miyake in 1989, and by 1993 was launched as a stand-alone brand. A highly functional product, this revolutionary concept was a fusion of creativity, technology and a strong head for the business of fashion. The clothes’ simplicity, comfort, and ease of care are credited with changing the way many women all over the world dress. The book follows the story of the line of clothing through text and images, tracing its journey from inception, through pioneering industrial-scale material development, to its public reception. Pleats Please explores how the line embodies the fundamental concepts of the Tokyo designer Issey Miyake who consistently proves the true value of design lies in its integration into the everyday life and comfort of the wearer.

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Bookshelf

The

MovieBox

Photographing the Magic of Cinema Take a nostalgic walk down Hollywood Boulevard with this collection of rare behind-the-scenes views, portraits and candid stills spanning the history of cinema. An evocative journey tracing Tinseltowns’ brightest stars, from Humphrey Bogart to Christian Bale, takes you everywhere from shooting locations to pre-production, to casting, to the set, to the awards and finally to the cinema theatres. A must-have for film buffs, it’s packed with iconic and inspirational characters.

Thames & Hudson, Out in October.

Paolo Mereghetti

What Are You Looking At?

150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye Will Gompertz

Viking, Penguin , Out now.

Modern art can turn you into a believer or a sceptic, but for anyone who has ever searched for the true meaning behind the spectacle, look no further. What Are You Looking At? is as straightforward as Warhol’s soup cans – it does what it says on the tin. You’ll hear the stories behind the masterpieces, meet the artists, and discover the inspired concepts that turned abstract objects into cultural touchstones.

Fashioning Models

Image, Text and Industry

The influence that models hold over popular consciousness and the global fashion economy is undeniable. No longer simply clotheshorses, they are personalities, spokespeople, icons. This book brings together a range of articles on fashion models, examining modelling through race, class and gender. From the cultural juggernaut of the 90’s supermodels to Kate Moss today, models have become brands in their own right. The rise and demise of the popular size-zero figure is a hotter topic than ever, and this book is a must-read for anyone wanting to take an in-depth look at the cultural influences that define what is considered a pretty face.

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Berg, Out in October.

Joanne Entwistle and Elizabeth Wissinger

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You’re All Invited

Margot’s Recipes for Entertaining Margot Henderson

Fig Tree, Out now.

‘Mostly, guests are happy with simple food, wonderfully cooked,’ explains Margot Henderson, much to the relief of the multi-tasking modern woman in search of a straightforward guide to hosting elegant occasions with minimal fuss. Henderson uses her experience as a caterer (and busy mother) to provide a practical blueprint for successful entertaining. Whether you need the lowdown on setting up a picnic, having 30 people for a canapé reception, or feeding your family a filling lunch, this go-to guide will have you covered.

Poiret, Dior and Schiaparelli Fashion, Femininity and Modernity

Ilya Parkins

Berg, Out now.

A detailed analysis of the memoirs, interviews and life writings of the three figureheads of iconic Parisian Haute Couture in the early decades of the 20th century, this book reveals how Poiret, Dior and Schiaparelli gave birth to the democratisation of fashion and changed notions of femininity during the era that marked the flowering of couture as the arbiter of styles and silhouettes for women of all classes. Fashion, Femininity and Modernity explores the designers’ ambivalent approach to women, which simultaneously celebrated and vilified them.

The Style Mentors

Women Who Define the Art of Dressing Today

HarperCollins, Out in October.

Elyssa Dimant The Style Mentors profiles contemporary women famed for their fabulous style, dissecting the looks of individualists such as Mary-Kate Olsen and Sarah Jessica Parker over to the understated elegance of Sofia Coppola and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Chapters are divided according to modern-classic closets: icon, maverick, bohemian, gamine, siren, minimalist, rocker, and classic, demonstrating how to achieve each by analysing the style of those who wear it best. Whether you’re honing your style, having a makeover, or simply want to lust after some consummate style-goddess’s gorgeous wardrobe, this guide offers today’s fashionconscious woman a role model for every occasion.

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