Business Attire

T-shirts and jeans are the mainstay of Rihanna when off stage.  A point of interest is that she has now joined forces with Emporio Armani to help create and promote a collection of casual outfits, in other words, skinny jeans, biker jackets and T-shirts.

For those of us who have not got the super slim legs intended for skinny jeans then there are plenty of alternatives in which to feel comfortable in, for instance with a 2-way stretch.  The stretch is accomplished with a blend of wool and crepe.  The trousers are tapered so the wearer feels she is not only being pampered in sumptuous fabrics, but beautiful tailoring too.  Extremely flattering pairs of trousers are those that are artfully made to keep unwanted curves under control.

For the on-coming party season, trousers are quite acceptable, especially with a luxurious jacket, perhaps of sheepskin.  Sheepskin is very light in weight to wear; there is nothing burdensome or heavy about it.  The ‘hippie’ image of sheepskin is outmoded because the jackets of today have a shapely waist and are beautifully tailored.  Darker colours, such as chocolate brown look ravishing when worn with luxurious gold earrings.

If a more elegant look is required for a party, any soft tailored jacket such as a jacquard will perfectly complement any trousers.

Glamorous tops with elegantly tapered trousers of today were also considered highly fashionable in the 1950’s but with one crucial difference - high, narrow stiletto heels were never worn to complete the outfit as this was deemed vulgar.  This seems regrettable because stilettos and heeled mules looked absolutely fabulous in this era, worn with a couture sheath dress, renowned for its small waist and tight skirt. This is also a great look for the modern office.

Another style of ladies’ trousers, pedal pushers, was popular with teenagers in the 1950’s but it was   the close fitting tapered trousers with short tops & a matching bra that had a universal appeal.  The trousers could be full length, mid-calf or just below the knee.  It became a cool, sophisticated style, capitalised on by the likes of model and film star Grace Kelly.

The eminent fashion house of Christian Dior was more interested in ultra-feminine styles which he called his ‘New Look’.  A wool coat with sloping shoulders for example, revealing full billowing skirts falling to mid-calf length was this look.  His feminine hour-glass figure was complete with a pair of stiletto heeled shoes.

This ‘New Look’ was condemned by thrifty post-war dignitaries who thought it frivolous and wasteful in a time of austerity measures.  This is a fair point because one wartime dress required three metres of fabric, whilst Dior’s dresses needed much more.

Plus size fashion is in vogue at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week is turning out to be a “friendly” showcase of not only the latest fashion trends but of women of practically every color, shape and size! Brunettes, blondes, red heads and auburn lovelies were not the only ones spotted at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. Even the tall, lanky and yes, plus size, were there and they all emphasized one common trait - self confidence!

Plus sized models took to the runway and showcased plus size fashion pieces. The plus size models showed that bigger is not just beautiful but something that needs to be embraced and celebrated.

“This should not be about plus-size, this is the average size now,” said Jo Newman, the general manager of retail operations for fashion label TS14+. Newman says that the average-size Australian woman is a size 16.

“We should be celebrating this every day so that all women feel like they can look good and feel good and celebrate their curves. We absolutely think there should be a lot more of it,” Newman said.

The Melbourne Spring Fashion Week kicked off Monday. Apart from plus size fashion pieces, there will also be collections for pregnant mothers-to-be and even for kids. The organizers of the said event accordingly wanted to boost retail sales by selling various pieces that appealed to different demographics.

The fashion designer behind the outrageous yet very appreciated outfits of talented and award-winning artist Lady Gaga launches his very first collection as creative director for French label Thierry Mugler.
Aside from helping the pop artist from her outfits, Nicola Formichetti is also behind Lady Gaga’s outrageous hairstyles. Just recently, they both grabbed headlines after the MTV Awards after Lady Gaga wore the controversial meat dress.
The trend in the transitioning of stylists to fashion designers has gotten stronger the past few years, thanks to the celebrities who give credit to their stylists for having created their unique and dazzling looks.
This is a highly anticipated debut of Formichetti’s line will take place very soon. She replaced Rosemary Rodriguez for the job. Rodriguez was credited to have re-ignited the interest on the label three years ago.
Formichetti is still the fashion director of the magazine Vogue Hommes Japan.

An alumnus of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) school is currently making waves in the fashion industry.

Fashion designer Kevan Hall has dressed some of the most popular celebrities in Hollywood in some very glamorous and professional outfits. This time he has gone another step further, as US First Lady Michelle Obama was seen wearing one of his creations and the photographed was seen in People Magazine.

Obama wore the dress when she gave a speech in an important event in Washington, D.C. in celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month.

Hall has dressed actresses Vanessa Williams, who stars in Ugly Betty, Katherine Heigl, Virginia Madsen and Tina Fey. He also created a dress for California Fist Lady Maria Shriver. At this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, “Glee” star Jenna Ushkowitz wore an original creation by the fashion designer - a beautiful red, off-the-shoulder dress that required the intentive use of a strapless bra.

Hall received a scholarship for FIDM and after graduating, he went to Europe to pursue the career in fashion design.

After hosting one of the biggest sporting events in the world, India plays host to one of the biggest fashion week events in the world as well. The Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week which features Spring/Summer 2010-2011 collection has just started. More than a hundred participating fashion designers are featured in the event which is considered the largest turnout so far in the history of this show. The Spring Summer 2011, collection ranged from breezy and easy going to structured and smartly tailored suits, showing a wide variety of business fashion for the coming year.

The venue is in itself a record breaker since it is the largest ever to host this fashion week. The area measures 11,633 square meters and covers two floors in Pragati Maidan. More than 150 stalls have been erected to accommodate the growing number of retailers and also in anticipation of the huge turnout of customers and potential buyers.

FDCI President Sunil Sethi said that this year’s event is comparable to other top fashion week event that took place in other major cities such as Milan, Paris, New York and London.

High couture brand Prada is reportedly mulling over the possibility of floating its shares via an initial public offering in Hong Kong. This is the Italian family-owned fashion house’s initiative to enter the promising Chinese market in the near future.

The luxury chain has been considering the European or Hong Kong stock markets in terms of the IPO issue.

South China Morning Post, a daily in Hong Kong, quoted Prada’s deputy chairman Carlo Mazzi as saying that if he’s asked for his decision today, he would choose Hong Kong adding that it would likely become the world’s largest stock market in the next decade or so.

Prada is eyeing a massive expansion by placing 28 new stores, including new lingerie stores, in Hong Kong and mainland China in the coming years and expects that its sales in Asia will outperform those in Europe and other continents.

LVMH, the biggest luxury group in the world, reportedly beat forecasts when it reported a 14 percent increase in its third quarter sales. This is due to the strong recovery of its lines of businesses – wines, champagnes and fashion. Expected growth for this period has been placed at 11 percent.

LVMH became the first luxury group in Europe to reveal its third quarter financial reports. Surprisingly, it reported that the significant increase was boosted by its expansion in China as the weaker euro has attracted Asian shoppers to go and by its products.

In 2009, the luxury goods industry suffered a major blow and LVMH was no exception, reported a three percent drop in revenues at the same period.

The retail giant owns popular global brands such as Louis Vuitton and Celine. It also is the biggest champagne maker in the world and owns Moet & Chandon.

Floral prints are back. At the New York Fashion Week which officially took off on Monday, a new line of collections from fashion designer Carlos Miele showed attractive floral prints. Models were seen in the runway wearing clothes with bold colors and bright whites. Curved lines of yellow, orange and red can be seen on the form-fitting dresses which the models successfully strutted down the catwalk. Off the shoulder dresses featured highly, along with single strap dresses which signals the necessity of the strapless bra.

These kind of prints are making a presence these days in recent fashion shows, as is the continuing popularity of maxi dresses. At the recently concluded Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the spring collection of Carolina Herrera also showed strong floral prints on her layered dresses. These kinds of dresses can either be dressed up for more elegance and glamour, or dressed down with a sharp jacket for a more everyday look that could be worn in the office.

Fashion designers Donna Karan, Jenny Packham and Tracy Reese also joined the bandwagon as flowery prints can be seen on their upcoming collections.

More than a hundred thousand stylists, buyers, fashion editors and celebrities are expected to grace this fashion event that’s currently ongoing.

Victoria Beckham’s love for fashion is definitely obvious these days as she’s gathering more supporters by signing up to popular social networking site Twitter. In just a span of few days, the fashion icon managed to get more than a hundred thousand followers.

The news that the former Spice Girl has joined the Twitter bandwagon spread like wildfire after actress Eva Longoria tweeted “Hey everyone, my dear friend Victoria Beckham is finally on twitter! Give her a warm welcome!”

The friends were seen recently dining out in London with Longoria wearing one of Beckham’s newest designs. The wife of football star David Beckham is hard at work in trumpeting her latest designs which will be seen by public for the first time at the New York Fashion Week this month.

Both Beckham and Longoria are featured in the new American advert for LG Fashion Touch phones, adding more glamour to the business fashion world.