TREND I-SPY

Prada S09 For her S09 Collection , Miucca Prada used a disheveled styling device to create a sexual frisson. Below is an excerpt from Sarah Mower's review of the show for Style.com "There is no one who can turn up the thermostat of subversive sexual provocation quite as high as Mrs(sic)Prada. Her girls, their skin glistening as if on a fevered summer's night, might have been passing through on their way to or from lovers' assignations, their clothes disarranged in various states of falling-off or looking as if they might do so at any moment..... There was something fabulously Italian about all this shameless reveling in femininity. The fifties overtones, with the high chignons, the ruched bras, and swishing rear action in the below-knee pencil skirts, managed to channel the heyday of Cinecittà without cliché. Best of all, this is a collection destined to look even better on a woman with a real body than it does on a teen model. And that, Mrs. Prada surely knows, really...

American Vogue October 09 According to The UK's Daily Mail pointy bras are making a come-back. Now we've established that designers like Dior, Prada, Marc Jacobs and Jean-Paul Gaultier are all looking back to previous "pointy bra" decades such as the '80s and '50s it makes sense doesn't it? Blogger Joanna Douglas points out (oops, sorry, couldn't help it) that Katy Perry, Lady GaGa and Mad Men have all helped to drive this trend. Shown here, from American Vogue's October 09 issue, Karlie Kloss photographed by Arthur Elgort at The Ritz in Paris. She is wearing a pointy satin bra and silk-tulle skirt embroidered with rhinestones from the Dior F09 Couture Collection. Creative director, Grace Coddington styled the ensemble in the same state of chic déshabillé designer John Galliano used for the show. Another designer who showed an interest in the pointy bra made popular in the '50s was Louise Goldin who incorporated the design into a modern sil...

Marc Jacobs S10 Marc Jacobs is another designer with a fascination for emphasizing classic women's underthings. He styled his models with old-fashioned, satiny underwear over the clothes in Spring 08, a theme he repeated with gusto for Spring 10. Marc Jacobs S08 Unless your name is Lady GaGa (who sported the look at the Ace Awards this month) you're probably not planning on wearing this look but let's revel in the fact that there is a current celebrity who does. Marc Jacobs S10, Lady GaGa November 09 Runway shows aim to create a mood for the season and send messages about a designer's influences and future direction. Visible panty lines allude to freedom of expression, power and strength (Superman anybody?), and applaudable eccentricity (can't you just see the ladies of Grey Gardens prancing around the house with knickers on their heads?). Vivienne Westwood 1982 It's not the first time a designer has shown this "...

Italian Vogue July 2008 Love her or not, there's no escaping the fact that Naomi Campbell is as gorgeous in her late 30s as she was at 21. This shot by Steven Meisel was for Italian Vogue's historic black edition. I love the vintage inspired high-waisted panties.