TREND I-SPY

"Documentary photographer Nan Goldin, known for her exploration of gender politics and producing intimate and often autobiographical images incorporating themes of love, friendship and sexuality, recently shot her first-ever ad campaign, for Bottega Veneta.  Creative director Tomas Maier has followed Goldin’s work and asked her to partner with the brand. “Nan’s work is intensely personal, with a sincere and unusual focus on the individual,” said Maier. Goldin shot the campaign in Staten Island, N.Y., and it will break in February fashion titles" Amy Wicks for WWD, January 12 2010 I have long been a great fan of the photographer Nan Goldin. Full disclosure: my career began with an internship at the Village Voice back when that newspaper was known for cool and edgy reporting. It included a monthly fashion magazine called View whose editors liked working with the sort of photographers who dance to the beat of a different drum.  Nan Goldin was one of them. Shot in the Ea...

Versace Pre-Fall 2010 To paraphrase Heidi K, in fashion, one day it's Spring and the next day it's already Pre-Fall. Versace's collection showed that trends continuing from this year will include lingerie-inspired dresses and corsets, a fuller-on-top, skinny-on-the-bottom silhouette, peaked shoulders, leggings (again!!) and fun fur gilets. So if you decide to only buy one thing for Pre-Fall next year, make it a really great belt because they go over EVERYTHING.

As I mentioned recently, the current fascination amongst certain runway designers and celebrities with racy lingerie looks often brings to mind Helmut Newton 's style of photography. If only he were still alive, what a moment he'd be having. Unfortunately he died in a macabre accident when his car hit a wall in the driveway of Chateau Marmont which had for several years served as his L.A. residence. It has been speculated that Newton suffered a heart attack in the moments before the collision. Newton favorite Nadja Auermann appeared in many of his portraits including these photos taken for American Vogue in 1994. Newton was born in Berlin in 1920. The 1972 movie Cabaret based on a novel written by British author Christopher Isherwood, Goodbye to Berlin evokes the air of danger and desperation prevalent during the years of the Weimar Republic as Hitler rose to power and Jews were increasingly discriminated against. Seemingly the spirit of smoke-filled, pre-WW2 German night-clu...

Leighton Meester in GQ Nov 09 Leighton Meester wore the iconic YSL black leather corset in a photo shoot for GQ this month demonstrating why she's the magazine's Obsession of the Year .

Ysl F09 Corsetry of the sort Helmut Newton used to favor in his photography, was featured on several Paris runways for Fall 09 and is in stores now. Stefano Pilati showed a strong collection that fully utilized the air of sophisticated eroticism only supple black leather can engender. This included a zippered body suit first shown alone and then styled with a sober pinstripe pencil-skirted suit. To me it looks even sexier peaking out from underneath the jacket than it does when fully revealed. Here is the inimitable Kate Moss wearing a similar outfit in an ad for YSL fragrance Parisienne. Karl Lagerfeld shot a fashion editorial story for Harpers Bazaar this month featuring a similarly styled outfit from his collection for Fendi. Ooh, la la! Harpers Bazaar, November 09 Lady GaGa in January 2010

If you want to get the look without showing too much skin, try this Proenza Schouler t-shirt bustier dress from Net-a-Porter .

While Lady GaGa pushes each trend to the extreme, Gwen Stefani can often be relied upon to bring it into reality. Both celebrities were out Saturday night at a party to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Gwen rocked the red carpet in one of the corsets from Dolce & Gabbana's S10 collection. Instead of the lacy ra-ra skirt shown on the runway, Gwen contrasted the elaborate piece with sober-yet-sophisticated pants and strappy sandals.

American Vogue January 2010 Dolce & Gabbana S2010 As you might have guessed, I'm more than a little obsessed by intimate apparel at the moment. Luckily, many r-t-w designers feel the same way for Spring 2010 so there's lots of fashion to discuss. Great show from Dolce & Gabbana who celebrated the female form with many lingerie-inspired styles including shapely corseted looks that work to create a curvy hourglass figure. Just imagine that Vivienne Westwood was designing the precursor to that look over 20 years ago! While many of the other well-known designers had jumped onto the band-wagon of the Grunge movement (flannel shirts! flowery vintage dresses!) on models with super-skinny boyish bodies (the waifs) Vivienne was showing a modernized version of the hourglass silhouette with a variety of structured corsets in luxury materials like velvet and lace, often with gold metallic decoration or even romantic portraits. Red Velvet Corset 1987, Corset with photographic print...

More gorgeous lingerie looks from Dior, this time from Galliano's Spring 2010 Collection

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...

Proving that innerwear-as-outerwear is no new concept to Marc Jacobs, a young Naomi Campbell wears a bra-bustier from his eponymous collection in a May 1987 issue of iconic New York fashion magazine, Taxi. What goes around, comes around!

JPG Suit and Bustier 1990, Blonde Ambition Tour 1990 Sketches of Suit and Bustier by Jean Paul Gaultier 1990 There's a chance that Marc Jacob's Spring 2010 show is also a nod to fashions of the late '80s/early '90s and to Jean Paul Gaultier's iconic cone-cupped bustier. Custom-made for Madonna, she wore it with a pinstriped men's tailored suit during her Blond Ambition tour of 1990. Gaultier himself resurrected the look in HIS 2010 show. There's a striking juxtaposition between the retro-looking satin corsetry and sharply tailored sportswear. He also created a denim version. Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2010

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.

Galliano turns things inside out at Dior , Couture F09 I hate pantyhose, even the name is a turn-off so instead of spending the winter wearing jeans and trousers I'm considering the option of stockings and garters . The Couture collection for Fall 09 from Dior provided lots of inspiration. John Galliano underscored the growing importance in fashion of alluring foundation garments with half-dressed models wearing girdles, garters and other sexy lingerie pieces meant to emphasize womanly curves. When I watch Mad Men's Joan Holloway undulate around around the office I always think that her sex appeal is based more on imagining what lies beneath the body-con dresses and tight-fit sweater sets. Now the challenge is to find '50s/60s-inspired undergarments at less-than Agent Provocateur prices. Try www.orchardcorset.com for authentic corsetry. Also, Fantasy World at 192 7th Ave South has a vast range of stockings amongst the more fetishistic garb. Even the sandals at Dior gave...