Halloween's the excuse

It's Halloween: the only day in the year when you can wear tomato red tights, dark purple lipstick, a skull-print mini-dress and orange sequin devil horns, and no one will even flinch. (Except maybe those with some colour coordination skills.)

But even on that blessed 'who-cares-about-style, let's-go-crazy' day, people don't really dress-up. Not during the day anyways.

The only really amazing outfit I have seen today was worn by a Goth, and it was probably her every day style.

Granted, Halloween is a little bit childish. Once past the age to ask for sweets (and at 21, my trick-and-treat days are well over), there seems to be little point in dressing up.

Also, it's not a British tradition. And let's face it: it's more fun to go trick or treating in an American suburban Neighbourhood decorated with pumpkins, than in a London tower-block.

That said, it still remains a great day to try on the new Soft Goth trend.

If the heavy jewelery and the jet-black lipstick just don't do the trick (unfortunately some things look great on the YSL catwalk but not on us), it's good to make a note of it on the day when it's OK to look scary.

Even if it wasn't the intended effect originally...

Designer's Halloween: Have your Pick

It's Halloween tomorrow and if you still haven't picked your outfit, don't despair: the catwalks are full of inspiration, from scary to sexy romantic pieces.

Of course Gothic has taken as a trend this autumn, but Luella seems to have adopted Halloween as a fashion theme in its own right in her autumn/winter 2008/09 show.

Inspired by Pagan dress, puffy-sleeved blouses, pointy hats, orange tights and crepe hair are sure to make a magical impact this winter.

It's probably only a matter of time before the broomstick gets in style as well.

The collection makes you smile and does look like a trick and treat sassy hunt at times, but there were many wearable pieces to spot: the series of cocktail Gothic dresses with splashes of gold, worn with lace veils can really catch the eye in a snowy weather.

Whats more, the blue and coral red tartan shirts under mini black dresses make up a very sexy look.

It might be cautious to stay away from the elf hats as soon as the Halloween parties are over though. They are certain things that simply don't flatter, no matter how quirky they look on Alice Gibb.

For those who want a more 'classically spooky' outfit, Rodarte presented a whole range of cobweb tights, and a lot of designers showcased all things orange ranging from peach to tangerine to burnt orange.

Or you can go with Rosksanda Ilincic's satin floor-length gowns with geometrical cuts and wide-shoulder capes. Inspiring if you want to give the Dracula-lady look a modern twist.

Guide to surviving a Snowy London Birthday

October is quite a hard styling month for me: Halloween is on its way, just following my birthday. And this year, to top it all off, it snowed.

What to wear on a snowy London birthday day

Birthday are always hard to style, because unfortunately life doesn't stop to make the day special for you. And unfortunately Weekend birthdays only happen once every 6 years or so.

This means you still have to drag yourself out of bed, on a cold morning, and deal with the 9am rush-hour. You might think it's OK to be late for work on that special day, but your employer probably won't.

Consequently, the painful (but gorgeous) stiletto shoes you bought as a pre-birthday present to yourself, are not the best option.

Especially when fate decides that London will have its first October snow since 1934.

Birthdays make you the centre of attention no matter what

It's a little bit like bumping into the most gorgeous human being the only day that you are wearing the tramp-like, I-can't-be-bothered-today, outfit.

People spend the day asking you what presents you got and usually, the answer is "none yet". Which can make you even more frustrated.

You can't look like you have thought this through too much

It's Halloween in a couple of days and you don't want people to think you're a little early with the fancy dress.

But you still want to look good when everyone starts singing the dreadful, embarrassing, "Happy birthday" song in front of the whole class or office, therefore directing all usually-non-caring eyes on you.

Survival tips

Consequently, the best way out of birthdays and to take the day off sick, receive all the lovely phone calls and messages from unknown friends who had disappeared from the surface of the earth, and have some evening drinks (expecting presents as well as wine) with your funniest friends.

And the next day, when you have finally received that amazing birthday dress from a distant aunt with excellent taste, you can boast. Finally.

Christmas in Moss

Top shop has been counting down the days till Kate Moss' Christmas collection will hit the stores, and the day is getting close. TOPSHOP.COM, the web-shop onto which thousands of girls who want to look like 'stylish Kate' are going to log on tomorrow, probably cannot wait.

I have looked at the sneak peaks from the collection, and I have to say I am, not surprisingly though, disappointed.

Some pieces are undeniably cute, including a sixties-style mini dress 'a la Brigitte Bardot', but maybe not for Christmas.

Firstly, it might be a little too cold outside to be sporting a style that short, and risk turning your thighs into stalactites.

Secondly, Christmas tends to be about family dinners. And no matter how open-minded my own family is, I would not risk meeting my grand-parents in a snake spot print mini cocktail-dress, that reveals the colour of my knickers.

Top Shop experts will disagree with me however, the Christmas holidays should be about following our feelings and emotions to create a unique look.

If you want to follow Kate Moss' style advice (on the Top Shop website) be ready to be brave: "When going out for the evening, think about your arrival - the accidental pairing of a battered leather jacket and floor sweeping gown looks amazing and effortless"

Effortless surely. And a little unclassy too, perhaps.

But let tomorrow prove me wrong, when London fashionistas will overtake the store and secure a little piece of supermodel cloth. Well, with supermodel approval anyways.

London should better get ready for a grunge Christmas.

Annie Leibovitz's Life picture series

Annie Leibovitz's exhibition A Photographer's Life, has now been showing for two week at the National Portrait Gallery in London, but it's still hard to get a ticket to see the photographs.

After two hours wait (I bought my tickets at 2pm, for the last showing of the day, at 4:30), I finally made it into the main hall of the exhibition.

Most pictures were in black and white, ranging from artistic shots of athletes to the famous pregnant and naked, Demi Moore (Vanity Fair cover, 1991).

Annie Leibovitz seems to like taking nudes. Her photos are extremely personal, sometimes intrusive but always striking. There is something almost voyeuristic about them.

Most of the exhibition is a simple and clear illustration of its title: it is a showcase of intimate moments, taken from the photographer's family and romantic life.

There is a side-gallery plastered with 6x4in shots: a retrospective of her life, ranging from holiday pictures in Paris, photographs of Leibovitz's daughter, her lover Susan Sontag in hospital after she had been diagnosed with leukaemia (she died in 2004), to pictures of her mother and father on a day out to the sea.

The exhibition is worth seeing but not for its fashion photography collection. The latest photographs showcased were taken in 2005, so there are none of her latest Vogue shoots or her Disney Dream Portrait Series.

Swarovski is a girl's best friend

La Semana de la Moda (Fashion Week Mexico for English speakers), celebrating its 10th anniversary, has finished today, after a week of showcasing colourful collections with the name of exotic birds and cocoa drinks.

Amongst clothes by new Mexican talents such as Marvin y Quetzal or Cocola, there is one designer that did not go unnoticed.

Gustavo Helguera is not afraid of colour or sound.

Models with tights ranging from bright green to tomato red and pumpkin-orange, Rock' n' Rolled up the catwalks Wednesday in a very smiley fashion.

The Mexican born jewelery designer, mixes anything he believes will create pieces with structure, form and sound.

For Spring/Summer 2009, he lightened up the mood on the runway, with Swarovski-encrusted statement pieces, ranging from oversize pearl chokers to a red-crystal, heart-shaped, dangling belt.

But one of the most eye-catching piece was probably the 12" vinyl LP hair-piece, with a bright-yellow smiley face as a centre hole. It is still a mystery to me, how it stayed in place on the model's head...

Helguera's designs are remarkable and bring out femininity in a joyful outlandish way. And although some of his large, coloured-stone pendants can be loud, there are no better pieces to pull an outfit to life.

Sarees are the new thing

Sarees seem to be popular with fashion celebrities lately. Liz Hurley was wearing a rich-pink Indian dress, in Mumbai, a couple of days ago.

Not quite as striking as Victoria Beckham, but the gown, lined with gold and subtly embroidered, still captured some attention.

The two fashion-hungry celebrities are not the only one to be taken by Indian dress-making skills. Sarees are traditionally made of light silk and richly died and decorated.

That's why designers love them.

Manish Arora took the Indian embellishing techniques to an extreme during Paris fashion week last month, with fascinating theatrical results. (Although sometimes a little nightmarish if you don't like clowns...)

We know have to wait and see other ways in which the sari can be reinterpreted.

Victoria is back as Vogue Cover-girl

Victoria Beckham can now count two Vogue covers in her books, as she appears dressed in an Indian bridal gown for Vogue India's new November issue.

The 32-year-old designer is posing in a peach and red embroidered sari, with curly extension locks on her new pixie crop; and she looks breathtaking.

As a faithful front-row buyer and designer, Posh knows the ins-and-outs of fashion clothing, and she sure can recognise real talent. She reportedly commented on the beauty of the bridal outfits saying, "this is real craftsmanship".

Victoria has never been shy at experimenting with her image. And after being charmed by an affluence of traditional Indian-inspired designs, it is no wonder she jumped on the opportunity to taste true embroidered bridal-wear in an Eastern background.

Mrs Beckham knows, after all, what she is doing.


Victoria's First Vogue Cover was photographed by Nick Knight for British Vogue's April 2008 edition. She wore a Nina Ricci silk bustier dress and Swarovski-crystal bracelet.

The DIY Way

Some girls just always look impeccably stylish, even when they are on the budget of a student or a tramp.

It seems to defy all reason: you cannot look like a page ripped out of Vogue when you have less than £10 a week to spend on clothes. Or can you?

In truth, it's not all that unachievable.

Vivienne Westwood created the look in the 70s and it's not about to go out of fashion. Punk might be dead but DIY isn't.

Agyness Deyn does it amazingly well. She has a list of fashion designers who are dying to dress her for free and yet she still wears tee-shirts and old jeans (that are probably not that old, but they look suitable worn) and barely any makeup.

A bit like any student out there. But she does it well: the trick is that she know what to team with what, and most importantly, she knows her style.

So, where does that leave us?

Charity shops are a great start. It might be a bit of a chore to go through everything but most of the time it's worth it.

Another good alternative is to pick up on what Westwood was doing herself in the Punk era: take old clothes, rip them to pieces and patch them back up. You're sure no one will have the same.

And last advice: layer. It won't show that your top is cheaply cut if it's cleverly half-hidden by a thin quirky jumper; or kept into place by a large belt.

It's all down to interpretation and resourcefulness.

Plus-size: Less fashionable

If you are a size 20 and about to wear over the knee socks with shorts, a tartan cinched jacket or any of the season's trends for that matter, think again. The result will probably be laughable. Because these clothes have not been designed for you.

All current fashions are made for slim bodies.

A lot of designers agree to say that most clothes hang better on thinner people. It's all about flowy materials and suggestive draping. It's harder to work with curvy shapes than lean, straight ones.

The only way to have fat look fab would be to change the design process of clothes.

Figures are more important than we think: it might be more beneficial to have alternative fashion brands focusing on bigger body shapes.

But it also would mean the emergence of a "fat" fashion, opposed to mainstream fashion. No one is quite sure if such a thing would work, and how much outrage in the chubby ranks it would cause.

I believe everyone has the right to have great clothes, but the best way is probably to go to the gym and reach down to a size 14 or under.

Body shape ideals change constantly (think of chubby Marylin Monroe and Twiggy) and thin isn't necessarily size zero and outrageous. If thin is in, why not flow with it.

All depends if you would rather buy crisps or clothes.

Ethical fashion and shopping binges

I was at yoga today and it got me thinking about the whole Ethical fashion craze. (You do have a lot of time to think while you're meditating in down-dog.)

I've observed in the fashion ranks a whole new lifestyle kicking in: yoga, healthy food, and an awareness of global warming and ethical matters.

Everything is going organic nowadays, from food to clothes. What are the pros and cons?

• First of all it comes with a price and an expensive one: organic cotton is more expensive and let's be honest, the free range clothes which have been presented to us are often not the most flattering we can think of! Unless Jonathan Saunders is designing them, but in that case they are way over a normal trendy girl's budget.

• Secondly, we are a generation of shopaholics. We have been brought up on the high street: our fashion life is all about clothes, more clothes and new clothes! Every year, every season, every month...

And let's admit it, we love it! A shopping spree is the ultimate heartbreak cure and stress or boredom remedy!

But it is true that the global economic situation is worrying.
And if we have enough to splash out on an expensive pair of shoes once in a while, we can afford to make small changes in our habits.

The key is: small change. Everyone is willing as long as the designers and shops give us a hand. For now, the organic future of fashion seems very far away.

There are small changes: H&M has a range of organic tee-shirts, Jonathan Saunders launched an ethical line with Oxfam and vintage clothing is now the most en vogue style.

The latter might be the best medium by which we can contribute to a healthier fashion. Recycling clothes has become cool, so why not keep on the trend? So long as it's not the majority of our wardrobe which is recycled.

At least not yet...

Vampires in Oxford Street: Goths are about to enter Mainstream Fashion

Vivienne Westwood did it to Punk in 1981 and now it's about to happen to Goth. So, if you are a true member of the underground subculture be warned: your style is about to be revisited by the mainstream.

Everything is going black: from soft lace to lips and sequin. What is amazing with the Romantic Gothic style is the play with textures. Givenchy teams up chiffon and PVC to amazing results.

But why this craze for niche subculture looks?

Bringing dark worlds into fashion is a trademark of British designing. Vivienne Westwood was a pioneer of infusing controversy into the mainstream, but many like Jean Paul Gaultier and Jonathan Saunders followed the lead.

Provocative styles are sexy and young.

The soft-Goth look of this season has certainly been glamorised: it's all about a sleek and soft contrast of materials, feminine details and figure flattering cuts.

But, if Punk caused outrage back in the 80s, subcultures aren't as controversial anymore. The Goth black lips and heavy makeup didn't shock the catwalks. It amazed.

In a sense, it shows a wider fashion acceptance and the death of traditional day wear: anything goes nowadays, especially in London. But it might also mean the death of the subculture.

Kate Moss designer

"If you can't look like a supermodel you can at least dress like one" is the moto behind Top Shop's collaboration with Kate Moss.

Her designs are worn by everyone and everywhere now. Her new Autumn/Winter collection is already causing a stir in the model-obsessed girl ranks!

It's true that the Kate Moss clothes can be worn as well on a night out as just to hang out and have a coffee. But one think still leaves me sceptical: supermodels don't dress themselves, they just represent designers!

So how is a woman, who has been dressed all her life by others is supposed to give us all a lesson in style?

It's business: her clothes sell because she is the name of the brand.

It's all about the British culture of style.

Kate Moss isn't the first supermodel to cater for the high street. Twiggy has done it before in the 1960s: she launched her own collection that lasted three years.

The only thing is that, yes, these women have been in the fashion industry for years, they obviously something about putting clothes together to create a look. But it's a little bit too much about the culture of the name to me.

It's all very nice to be able to wear a (cheaper!) replica of what Kate Moss has in her wardrobe, but at the end of the day it isn't her who creates the designs. She only decides if she likes it or not!

Anyone sees a hint of ego and marketing in all that?

Who ever said the older generation doesn't have a sense of style?

We must admit that it's rare to hear someone this new cool trend "inspired by Nan." Unless curtains are your style trademark. And to be honest, unless you are Vivienne Westwood it's hard to make table cloths look good...

Let's face it, grand-parents (and sometimes parents) are not often cited as the most trendy people.

Could we be wrong?

On Wednesday I was at City Hall listening to Boris Johnson answer questions from the London Assembly, and I saw the most amazing swanky outfit: a delicately tailored bright red tartan double piece suit, with slightly padded shoulders.

And it was worn by a woman well past eighty!

A well tailored traditional design with a modish twist always does the trick, no matter how old you are. This little aged lady can easily rival with a Burberry clad Kate Moss any day in terms of style!

Maybe it's worth looking a little more towards the past to get inspiration going.

Trend congestion

Celebrity fashion gets more publicity than designer fashion. That is probably the main reason why they are more trends now than ever before.

It is possible to name at least one celebrity per trend. Or one trend per celebrity:

• Agyness Deyn is the DIY Rock' n' Roll wave
• Mischa Barton is the trademark of Boho
• Kate Moss did the follow up with Boho chic and folk
• Alexa Chung publicised the sexy androgynous look ...

I could go on and on.

The puzzling thing in all that is the number of trends each season has to play around with.

A trend used to be a sensation one season and quickly out the next. It's true it meant a lot of wardrobe change. Now it means a lot of wardrobe overcrowding.

The new rule: nothing must be discarded in case it comes back into fashion in a couple of years time. I'm thinking the return of Boho chic or Nautical fashion.

Do we have too many celebrities that want to be different? The risk is overdoing it. It's best to stick to the style that suits you the most.

The good news is that we can pick and chose. No one fears to be stuck with some obscure unflattering shape for a whole season anymore!

Fashion's winter shapely silhouette

Ok, I might be a little obsessed about size but I really can't get my head around all these opposite messages we are getting:

* Models are getting thinner by the minute and celebrities like to compare their bones.
* Designers are changing the size labels to make customers feel good (that's why an 8 can easily be a 10 in another shop)
* They tell us chocolate is good for the health
* And shape is "in"...

The Brigitte Bardot look is likely to inspire quite a few ways in which we can wear this winter's trends. I think it's an amazing thing: hips and leggings have always been a spicy match.

Also, there is nothing better than a tight stripped wool mini dress to valorise a womanly figure. And, as not many people have the physique of Twiggy, the fifties shapely look is a perfect fashion!

The feminine form has been celebrated on the catwalk this season, from Luella's mini soft black glamour dresses to over the knee high socks.

Basically it's all about shape: cropped trousers with a tucked in shirt, flowy and soft, cashmere cardigans and wool dresses.

If we can do it, why can't the models?

Film designs for Fashion: is this the wrong way round?!

Sofia Coppola has created a range of bags and shoes for Louis Vuitton.

No, you haven't read this wrong: it it the film producer who designed for the designer. Confusing?

To be fair, she has interned with Karl Lagerfeld in the past and even launched a line of clothing in Japan. So she is up to the challenge.

And if we think about it, film directing is a bit like piecing together ideas and concrete matters. The difficulty might come in the production techniques. But one might argue that she has Louis Vuitton to help her.

To be honest, as much as her ideas and sense of aestetic are not in doubt, original visions are often not enough. But why not?

Fashion and film are closely interlinked and it will be interesting to see how a producer designs a film (literaly), instead of having a designer showing fashioning a film.

Now we have to wait and see how the collaboration goes.

Beauty versus prettiness: what makes a new fashion face

Beauty is a very elusive thing.

Earlier today I was looking at some photos from the Australian fashion week. I was rather surprised to see how the models have very different features from the ones I am used to see on the catwalks.

I know beauty is constantly changing, especially in fashion: agents spot a new girl or a new look every three months.

It was the case with Twiggy, Naomi Campbell, Gemma Ward or Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (one of the new faces of the late noughties year).

Faces change because newness sells.

But I also think there is something more to it. The girls that start the trends have a characteristic: they have presence. That's what makes fashion photography so vibrant.

Beauty is the opposite of prettiness. It has nothing to do with fashion. On the contrary, someone like Angelina Jolie or Christy Turlington still turns heads when she is wearing a dirty old tee-shirt and no makeup.

It's a fascinating (and unfair!) gift. That's why, it's worth looking back twice at someone who caught your attention. Beauty is like a collectible you can store in your memory. A bit like an uncanny landscape.

How many Fashion Weeks do you know about?

LA Fashion Week is kicking off this week end only a week after a month of shows at the four pivotal fashion spots of the world.

After so many shows it's no wonder it often disappears into the pitfall of fashion indifference.

Los Angeles Fashion Week was created in 2004 and never really got the publicity it probably deserves. To be honest the city rivals New York in terms of fashion forward thinking and especially, wearable clothes.

The main problem is the timing: it comes too late after New York, London, Milan and Paris. The buzz has passed. And it comes too early in terms of marketing: the high-fashion buyers have already spent all the cash they could put their hands on on big labels.

But with Globalization, it is incomprehensible that fashion is still limited to the four "pillar" countries. Designers from India, Belgium and Norway are up and coming, and showing in Paris and London. Many more are showing in their countrie's Fashion weeks.

So why is there so little publicity for "international" fashion weeks?

It's true that Cape Town is starting to build a name for itself, but who has ever heard of Tokyo fashion week or Australian fashion week?

The latter is starting tomorrow by the way.

I think International fashion needs a little more attention, there might be a lot of new talents to spot. And even if in the south part of the hemisphere they wear summer clothes throughout our winter, it's not a good enough reason to dismiss them! The last shows were the Spring Summer collections anyways.

Vogue's 1950 unpublished nude shot

It's crazy how many fashion shots get thrown aside. It's a bit like getting rid of your embarrassing holiday pictures.

Except that those unpublished photographs are incredible.

Today I discovered Norman Parkinson.

While skimming though my new Unseen Vogue book, I was blown away by one of his nudes: a model, lying nonchalantly on a sofa, surrounded by 1950's girdles, corselettes and suspender belts.

It's astoundingly glamorous and really doesn't look like it was taken in 1950. It might be the way the model looks at the camera. (Or the fact that it's hard to imagine this girl is now the same age as my Nan...)

I don't know why it was never published in Vogue. It might have been the frontal nudity. Even now, models don't often appear fully naked in magazines. Although Diva magazine did make an Anti-fashion - naked issue (October 2008).

It might be time to bring back the concept in fashion glossies.

Don't Feed the Models

I finally got around to watch the documentary Super Slim Me yesterday. Dawn Porter takes it on to reach a size zero (UK4) in 6 weeks. She fails, but honestly we can't blame her!

The documentary was released almost two years ago now, just before the LFW (London Fashion week. It was one of the cries to the BFC (British Fashion Council) to ban underweight models from the shows.

It failed.

The 'Big Four' fashion weeks are just over, and the models were no bigger this year that before the outrage. If you have a BMI of 16 and are five times taller than the designer employing you, you're good to go!

The fashion conclusion? Statement bows and bones are in next season.

To be honest I don't blame the BFC either, I am not arguing in favour of having a size 14 on the catwalk. Or even a size 12. Not that either size aren't fine (and healthy), it's just that I see size 12 girls every day.

Fashion is about inspiration.

But who wants to be inspired by a malnourished celery-stick looking teenager, who probably eats less than a 3 year old!

When you read Dawn Porter's journal, the whole idea of trying to reach size zero is a bit of a joke:

"I feel utterly miserable. So starving and I can't sleep. [...] today I had to get up to go see the doctor. She thought I had terrible concentration and seemed edgy. I showed her the inside of my mouth. It is full of ulcers. I caught myself chewing it - my body is trying to eat itself!"

Not very nice sounding! She is making herself almost become anorexic. I say almost, because anorexia is a mental illness first and foremost, but the report does show how much food can affect your mood and your life.

The woman out there trying their hardest - and you can't really go harder than a crash diet! - are just killing themselves slowly, but they are also "learning" an illness that 50000 people in Britain are fighting each day.

All that to look like a bony carrot that has probably been photoshoped in order to hide the damages a little.

I think that having people on the bridge of starvation in fashion shows is insulting: to people who are really starving out there, and to people with an eating disorder, who are really struggling every day to regain a couple of pounds. And not for vanity. Just so they don't drop dead.

I think Dawn Porter's documentary ending is spot on!

Is fashion body or clothes?

In LA, most of the girls on the streets are a size 0 (UK 4) to 4 (UK 8). Not quite what you see when you're walking down Oxford street!

In Britain, a UK 6 is pretty hard to spot. Girls prefer to show off their clothes than their bones. Not a bad thing in my opinion.

Indeed, London streets are full of fashion forward ideas and experimental trends. No one really seems to care whether she's too "fat" to wear pink tights, or if her cincher belt is more than 22 inches.

The result? In my opinion: crazy styles and happier faces. It's a fact that a girl gets cranky when she's hungry.

What is really puzzling me though is, why do LA girls hide their "media perfect" bodies under tracksuits? I would think that if you go to the gym three times every day you would want to show it off.

One of my friends says it's laziness. It is true that after two miles on the treadmill, a body combat class, a swimming session and half an apple in your stomach you just want to collapse on the spot and in comfy clothes.

The relationship with fashion and the body is still so different I cannot get my head around it. This is a matter that need further looking into...

Valentino without Valentino?

Maybe it's the excess of Champagne but fashion week has a reputation for public backstabbing. It is after all one of the most watched fashion events of the year.

This year however it seems they outdid themselves! We have all heard of the rather sour way in which Alessandra Facchinetti was fired after the Valentino show on Friday.

It was sly, yes, but it's fashion. What is interesting is to dig a little deeper under the catwalk and look at what this means for young designers. There is a bit of a cold war going on at that level: veterans fashion labels against "unruly" new ideas.

So what did Facchinetti try to do to the label?

Last season (autumn/winter 2008-9) she impressed with a new concept: focusing on the image of "a modern, elegant and dynamic woman who gets around".

Apparently this is the kind of thinking that seems to have irritated Valentino: "There is an existing archive with thousands of dresses where [a designer] can draw and take inspiration from to create a Valentino product that is relevant today. It is a shame that [Facchinetti] didn't feel this need."

OUCH!

It's true it is hard to take over a fashion house with such a strong identity. The dilemma appears every time a major label founder steps down.

But labels need to evolve. If there was no new uptake on classic designs we would still be wearing corsets and top hats. And Chanel would still be doing sportswear...

John Galliano did it beautifully but Dior was on the verge of crumbling down.

Valentino seems to want a Valentino design, exactly how he wants it but without doing it himself... Granted, it must be hard to watch from a distance 'young ones' toying with your life's success!

But come on, we need to give all those new designers a chance!

Photoshop me please: I'm a model, I need to look like one!

If Photoshop was some drinkable potion I'm pretty sure most of us out there would give it a try at least once. I know I would. Looking good without any effort with just a click of the fingers? Hell yea!

So why is everyone against Liz Hurley shedding a few pounds post photo shoot, or Keira Knightley adding a little bit of volume to her cleavage? Because it's fake?

Well that isn't breaking news any more, is it? We all know that nobody looks like magazine models, not even the models!

So why the outrage?

It's true that even though we all know it's fake, it's hard to see it. When I look at a magazine cover I don't think: "pfff, she's plastic, no one looks like that". I think: "gosh, I wish I had toned arms like her!" All these flawless complexions and cellulite-less bodies have an impact on us, whether we want it or not.

Sometimes magazines do push it too far. Just think of the Kate Winslet debate with GQ five years ago. But the key thing with that story is that she hadn't agreed to electronically shed that many stones!

But let's turn the tables around for a minute: you have a very hot date, how long do you spend in the bathroom getting ready? There is the makeup, the hair, the clothes...

In my opinion you can only judge if someone really is beautiful the morning after. However it also means that a beautiful person can look EVEN MORE stunning with all the fuss.

Well, yes, it's not a feminist notion... But come on, even in fairy tales the princess is a stunner.

There is always going to be someone prettier than us (and someone less fortunate). Let's get over it!

Instead of being angry at those models for promoting a fake image why not feel for them? Imagine having to get ready, not for one hot date, but a billion people!

At the end of the day we all worry that our thighs are fat. Models probbaly more than us. Because their thighs are really going to be scrutined! And, let's be sincere we are harsh judges!

What size do you want to see?

I have been told I am a 'size-ist': that sounds awful doesn't it?

Well, apparently I am not the only one. Dare also told me I am one of the growing number of women in the UK with a distorted perception of body weight. (However the article also mentioned it isn't our fault, pfeww!)

How did the verdict come along? The magazine has a picture of a size 14 model (the size of an average British woman) with the caption: "Is she fab or fat?"

You guess the rest, I shamefully thought she could do with losing a few pounds...

That doesn't mean I believe it is a good thing that most of what we see in the media are emaciated celebrities, that look like 12 year old pre-pubescent boys with a pair of fake boobs.

However a very good point was raised in the article: a healthy-weight model looks too real. Looking at the half-naked size 14 model feel a bit like walking on someone naked in a changing room: it's intrusive.

Well, it's true that if all the models on advertising boards were a "normal" size, we would be living in a nudist city! But no one really gives a childlike model a second thought - because she isn't sexualized. That's probably why Lily Cole pausing nude caused uproar: it looks wrong.

I still don't believe models should be an "average" size. (Careful, you might not want to listen to me here, I might be brainwashed by my size-ist mind!) However for celebrities it's a different thing: actresses look more believable if they are a range of sizes we are used to. Maybe a tiny bit smaller and more toned for the glamour. But it's all about representing reality.

Or maybe it would help to see celebrities outside of the glossies - would we still think they look so fab without Photoshop?

Have fashion models all gone naked?!

You would think the Playboy bunny look is a woman (preferably blond) with large breasts, generous hips and tiny waist. Do I have anyone in mind?

No, no I don't stick to stereotypes, I'm sure Playboy is more than just Pamela Anderson, as french Playboy's fashion director ALex Aikiu said. According to him it doesn't matter "about how big your boobs are - it's about being sweet and innocent".

The innocent look indeed... on the cover she pauses stark naked, in white socks with pig tales, hugging a teddy bear. It might be a male fantasy, but photographing a girl with the physique of a fourteen year old pausing as a child is a little odd, in a Lewis Caroll kind of way.

I think it's bad enough to have to battle with the "size zero" debate in our everyday life. If even sexy models are skin and bones now, what is going to be the next "ideal" physique promoted by the media?

The shot is beautiful nonetheless. Is everyone sure it isn't an advertisement for M&S's new teddy range? Oops sorry... my wrong!

Kate Moss or Aphrodite?

It might be the new Mona Lisa. It might be that after 300 magazine covers Kate Moss had to be depicted in a new way. Or it might be the prospect of a 1.5 million British Pound bidding.

Whatever the reason, Marc Quinn has not wasted his gold. Kate Moss is once more on the front covers, but this time in a strange (and rather unattractive) yoga-like pause which she feels "lifts her into a mythic level" Quinn told the press.

I am not sure I see the mythical side of the whole thing. And the various comparisons to Aphrodite are a bit of an overstatement in my opinion.

Celebrities do tend to be adulated like Gods. Whether this adulation overshadows their real talent is debatable...

I do concede Kate Moss promoted a new fashion "waif" look in the 1990s. And she did some very good campaigns for Calvin Klein. She certainly has a knowledge of the industry.

However... Aphrodite? For some reason I cannot assimilate the icon of heroine chic with the Greek Goddess of love, lust, beauty, prostitution and sexual reproduction.

Beauty? Fashion models represent 8% of the population, so chances are they are not chosen for their striking beauty representative of current society. They are spotted because they have the required body type and possibly a striking characteristic. Basically models are scouted if they smell like money. They are meant to last in the industry and sell well.

Love and sexual reproduction? I am not sure Kate Moss is famed for these either. One just needs to think of Pete Doherty...

But who am I to question Marc Quinn's interpretation of our civilization's aesthetic ideal? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A place where fashion kills

There is a pair of Chanel wedges I would kill for. But I would not wear them at the risk of being killed.

In some countries of the Middle East women are killed for less than a fancy pair of heel shoes. Showing a bare ankle is sometimes enough.

I was shocked to read in a brilliant article by Rachel Cook that in Yemen women have to think twice before raising their veil to eat breakfast in a restaurant. Even though most restaurants have separate rooms for women diners.

The debate is a difficult one. A lot of Islamic women wear the veil out of choice. But it is difficult to choose when the weight of tradition is against you. Free will is a questionable concept: in Afghanistan, now the chadri is no longer required it is less frequently worn. When it is, it's often a matter of personal safety.

Is that free will?

The Qur'an stresses the importance of modesty. As far as I am aware, having a moral conscience isn't about a piece of cloth - however long or whatever the colour. It is about being comfortable and respecting yourself and others.

To me, fearing imprisonment because I have not lowered my head at the right moment; or worrying constantly whether my wrists are covered properly by fear of a beating is not respecting myself.

Fashion is not the most moral industry. But clothes have no conscience in themselves. They are a second skin and make us who we are.

Fashion should never kill.

Horror dance shows

Anyone fancy wearing nylon tights to cover your face?

Designers don't seem to be very hot for traditional catwalks this season with a monster show from Maison Martin Margiela (who likes to hide his models like he hides from the public); and today Jean Paul Gaultier has a frenzy dance show followed by feather boas and dramatic bodysuits.

The clothes are striking and picturesque, slightly disturbing but what is most innovative - following the likes of Viktor and Rolf - is the introduction of performance onto the Paris catwalk.

It's nice to see the mood is for challenge, even if ready to wear is not so readily wearable anymore. If it ever was.