TREND I-SPY

There's been a tendency recently in ready-to-wear to both reveal and conceal: cold-shoulders on a long-sleeved high-necked dress for instance. Or think about Angelina Jolie at the recent Oscars wearing a sober black gown with a provocative split-up-to-there slit.  It has also spawned a fascination with net-like fabrics from several of the designers. Some have given it an athletic spin, while others favor something more attuned to the Helmut Newton-esque dominatrix that seemingly lurks inside so many of us. Here are a few examples. It all began a year ago with the Jil Sander hat with a  facial net.  I love it because it manages to be a sporty beanie AND a vintage 1940s lady-like creation all in one.  In this Vogue.com photograph, model Hanne Gaby Odiele successfully negotiates eating an ice cream cone whilst wearing it. Here is the marvelously iconic Anna Dello Russo in a pale blue version of the same hat. From Dolce & Gabbana SS12 Fo...

Giambattista Valli                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ...

Having shot the Fall 2011 ads for Alexander McQueen on Raquel Zimmermann,  David Sims follows up with the Spring 12 campaign featuring Zuzanna Bijoch. Breathtaking...

Happy New Year 2012! A strong trend is emerging in both fashion and interior design as once again Asia acts as inspiration, specifically chinoiserie prints, silk materials and kimono shapes. Several designers, including Zac Posen , have shown Asian-themed prints and materials for Pre-Fall 2012. 

According to Vanity Fair , Elizabeth Taylor took her first and only trip to Iran in 1976 with the photographer Firooz Zahedi in tow. The trip resulted in a series of captivating, exotically colorful pictures. In the photograph above, Taylor donned an ensemble that Zahedi says is typical of those worn by tribal women. the actress added coordinating hot-pink lipstick.  Elizabeth Taylor takes a tourist’s snapshot in Persepolis. The actress beams upward at the sunlight in the city of Shiraz at the tomb of Hafez, the controversial 14th-century poet.  Taylor appears covered outside the Shah Chirag Shrine in Shiraz, top left, in this assemblage of four black-and-white photos.  A close-up outside the Shah Chirag Shrine. “Note that there is a man and a woman entering the mosque together,” Zahedi says of the photo. “[That is] no longer possible under the Islamic regime—women have to enter through a separate door and sit in a separate s...