Models wearing weapons on helmets and contrasting colourful prints strutted down the runway as Brazilian designer Ronaldo Fraga presented his collection on Friday (April 26) at Sao Paulo fashion week. Fraga was influenced by the painting "War and Peace" by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari.

Designer at Sao Paulo Fashion Week references oppression with creations

PM Modi: I have a small bag with which I travel. Till I became the CM I used to wash my own clothes. Then I realised that carrying shorter kurtas help in saving space.

Akshay: You have a unique fashion statement: beard, half-sleeved kurta

The third and last day of The Pakistan Fashion Design Council's (PFDC) gala ended on a high note in Lahore on Saturday (13 APRIL) .

Pakistan's Spring Summer 2019 gala ends on a high note

Donning a hat she made out of beach chair fabric and a necklace from disposable Chinese soup spoons, artist Debra Rapoport struts down a West Village sidewalk with purpose, in search of treasure, hidden in a dumpster and piles of garbage.

NY artist Debra Rapoport turns garbage into high-end fashion

The West Asia Post: Lebanon fashion label goes green !

Fashion forecasting Oscar's red carpet

Lakme Fashion Week 2019: Yami Gautam, Karan Johar, Tabu and others walk the ramp

Italy's Giorgio Armani played off bright reds against dazzling blue tones in his Haute Couture fashion collection in Paris on Tuesday, in an Art Deco-inspired feast of feathers, sequins, patent leather, and crystals.

Italy's Giorgio Armani played off bright reds against dazzling blue tones in his Haute Couture fashion collection in Paris on Tuesday, in an Art Deco-inspired feast of feathers, sequins, patent leather, and crystals. View this post on Instagram Mr Armani with his models at the #GiorgioArmaniPrivé Spring Summer 2019 fashion show held in Paris tonight at the Hôtel d’Evreux #pfw Credits: @sgpitalia @stefanoguindani A post shared by Armani (@armani) on Jan 22, 2019 at 1:10pm PST × The designer's gowns have long been red carpet favourites, and the catwalk show drew Hollywood actresses Uma Thurman and Dakota Fanning to the front row, along with Canadian singer Celine Dion. Beaded caps sported by some models gave outfits a 1920s-era flapper twist, as swaying, fringed skirts succeeded slinkier numbers and intricately textured jackets which caught the light at certain angles. View this post on Instagram Small hats with stiff veils crown body skimming silhouette aglow with delicate embroideries #GiorgioArmaniPrivé #pfw Credits: @schohaja A post shared by Armani (@armani) on Jan 22, 2019 at 12:07pm PST × Clunky earrings and patterned gowns recalled the geometry of Art Deco architecture, and models walked to the sultry soundtrack of Bernardo Bertolucci`s 1970 film The Conformist. Some outfits in the label`s high-end Armani Prive range had an oriental air, in the rounded necklines of some dresses, flowing silk styles, or a kimono-style cloak. View this post on Instagram The joyful element of the #GiorgioArmaniPrivé SS19 is expressed in the ruffles and embitters details #pfw Credits: @schohaja A post shared by Armani (@armani) on Jan 22, 2019 at 12:58pm PST × The brand said it had also drawn on Chinese lacquer as an inspiration and to enhance some looks. Haute Couture Fashion Week, which runs until Jan. 24, celebrates an elite club of designers turning out elaborate, one-of-a-kind looks.

Armani's glittering Art Deco fashion draws stars in Paris

<p>It rarely sees the light of day but the upscale bra is the most tested, sweated over and highly engineered piece of clothing of all.</p>

<p>AFP went behind the scenes at some of the most famous French lingerie houses to draw back the veil on the almost exclusively feminine world of bra making.</p>

<p>No other item of clothing provokes such fierce emotions.</p>

<p>Some swear by traditional bras, others prefer the structural minimalism of modern bralets and crop tops, while a growing feminist minority entirely reject what they see as a symbol of female oppression.</p>

<p>Designed these days using 3D modelling, bras made by most big French brands are sewn to the millimetre and samples are worn by testers before going on sale.</p>

<p>It takes up to two years from the first preparatory sketches for a new model to end up in the shops, according to their makers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Prototypes are on average remade and altered around 40 times. The width of a pencil mark can often be the difference between two cup sizes, they say.</p>

<p>In the high-end family-owned Simone Perele lingerie house, new products are road tested by 80 of the bra makers themselves, said Stephanie Perele, the grand-daughter of the label's founder.</p>

<p>They wear them for three days, washing them every night to see how the materials hold up before making up to 10 adjustments in the lead up to the final test.</p>

<p>These multiple dry runs on real women explain why there is no such thing in Paris as a male "corsetier" working on commercial women's bras.</p>

<p><strong>A women-only world</strong><br />
And it is also why even the most sensitive male fashion designers have their work cut out reimaging a piece of notoriously intricate apparel that has between 20 and 30 parts.</p>

<p>The managing director of Aubade, Martina Brown, said that for its latest collaboration it asked the Dutch haute couture house Viktor &amp; Rolf to come up with 12 shades of its trademark fuchsia colour for a new range.</p>

<p>In the end Aubade went for their 13th suggestion, she told AFP.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"They had limitless ideas, some of which unfortunately weren't doable. We had to drop the frills and the bows on the bonnet -- but we did manage to get them into the embroidery. We also had to say no to their neoprene fabric, which was very cute but which scratches," German-born Brown added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Comfort is what it is all about now," said Alain de Rodellec, head of the French lingerie industry body, Promincor. It has organised a huge "Lingerie Rocks" show Sunday to mark the halfway point of Paris fashion fortnight.</p>

<p>"The bra is the first thing many women put on in the morning, and it is against the skin all day long," he noted.</p>

<p>Seduction is not a priority for most women. "Push-up bras are losing ground in favour of a more natural hold," Rodellec said.</p>

<p>More and more innovative bras are been made without underwiring, which can be a challenge for the "corsetieres" particularly when dealing with more ample bosoms.</p>

<p>However, only one in four women in France take a D cup or bigger, while more than half fit into a C.</p>

<p><strong>A genius girl and girdles</strong><br />
The world-famous French lingerie industry was launched in the 1820s. The corset soon became commonly worn by pretty much all women, regardless of their class.</p>

<p>But by the end of the 19th century, as more women took up sport and other leisure activities, their needs changed.</p>

<p>Francois Auguste Gamichon made the first big technological breakthrough with an elastic meshed bra made with a mix of materials including vulcanised rubber.</p>

<p>He and his nephew Paul-Maurice Kretz, who brought into his firm, Chantelle, in 1898, won gold medals for their patents at the world fairs in Paris, Milan and London.</p>

<p>But it was a woman, Herminie Cadolle, who in 1889 came up with the key idea of supporting the chest from above with shoulder straps.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Her company, Cadolle, is still a leading brand.</p>

<p>By the start of the 1930s, when dresses became thinner and more body-hugging, bras began to reflect women's natural proportions.</p>

<p>The golden age of French bra making followed World War II, with the dawn of Christian Dior's "New Look" in 1947.</p>

<p>New brands multiplied including Empreinte, Simone Perele, Lise Charmel and Aubade in 1958.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Competition was intense to invent models that neither compressed or nipped the breasts but gave women a dramatic profile.</p>

<p>The real revolution came when the US chemical giant DuPont invented Lycra the same year. This elastic fibre could be stretched to seven times its size before regaining its original form, and gave unmatched comfort.&nbsp;</p>

<p>With the feminist revolution of the late 1960s some women burned their bras in protest at the all-powerful patriarchy at the Miss America beauty pageant.</p>

<p>A new "no bra" movement took up the torch last year in the wake of the #MeToo revelations, although the vast majority of women would still rather not live without what for them is a functional fashion item.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


It rarely sees the light of day but the upscale bra is the most tested, sweated over and highly engineered piece of clothing of all. AFP went behind the scenes at some of the most famous French lingerie houses to draw back the veil on the almost exclusively feminine world of bra making.

It rarely sees the light of day but the upscale bra is the most tested, sweated over and highly engineered piece of clothing of all. AFP went behind the scenes at some of the most famous French lingerie houses to draw back the veil on the almost exclusively feminine world of bra making. No other item of clothing provokes such fierce emotions. Some swear by traditional bras, others prefer the structural minimalism of modern bralets and crop tops, while a growing feminist minority entirely reject what they see as a symbol of female oppression. Designed these days using 3D modelling, bras made by most big French brands are sewn to the millimetre and samples are worn by testers before going on sale. It takes up to two years from the first preparatory sketches for a new model to end up in the shops, according to their makers. Prototypes are on average remade and altered around 40 times. The width of a pencil mark can often be the difference between two cup sizes, they say. In the high-end family-owned Simone Perele lingerie house, new products are road tested by 80 of the bra makers themselves, said Stephanie Perele, the grand-daughter of the label's founder. They wear them for three days, washing them every night to see how the materials hold up before making up to 10 adjustments in the lead up to the final test. These multiple dry runs on real women explain why there is no such thing in Paris as a male "corsetier" working on commercial women's bras. A women-only world And it is also why even the most sensitive male fashion designers have their work cut out reimaging a piece of notoriously intricate apparel that has between 20 and 30 parts. The managing director of Aubade, Martina Brown, said that for its latest collaboration it asked the Dutch haute couture house Viktor & Rolf to come up with 12 shades of its trademark fuchsia colour for a new range. In the end Aubade went for their 13th suggestion, she told AFP. "They had limitless ideas, some of which unfortunately weren't doable. We had to drop the frills and the bows on the bonnet -- but we did manage to get them into the embroidery. We also had to say no to their neoprene fabric, which was very cute but which scratches," German-born Brown added. "Comfort is what it is all about now," said Alain de Rodellec, head of the French lingerie industry body, Promincor. It has organised a huge "Lingerie Rocks" show Sunday to mark the halfway point of Paris fashion fortnight. "The bra is the first thing many women put on in the morning, and it is against the skin all day long," he noted. Seduction is not a priority for most women. "Push-up bras are losing ground in favour of a more natural hold," Rodellec said. More and more innovative bras are been made without underwiring, which can be a challenge for the "corsetieres" particularly when dealing with more ample bosoms. However, only one in four women in France take a D cup or bigger, while more than half fit into a C. A genius girl and girdles The world-famous French lingerie industry was launched in the 1820s. The corset soon became commonly worn by pretty much all women, regardless of their class. But by the end of the 19th century, as more women took up sport and other leisure activities, their needs changed. Francois Auguste Gamichon made the first big technological breakthrough with an elastic meshed bra made with a mix of materials including vulcanised rubber. He and his nephew Paul-Maurice Kretz, who brought into his firm, Chantelle, in 1898, won gold medals for their patents at the world fairs in Paris, Milan and London. But it was a woman, Herminie Cadolle, who in 1889 came up with the key idea of supporting the chest from above with shoulder straps. Her company, Cadolle, is still a leading brand. By the start of the 1930s, when dresses became thinner and more body-hugging, bras began to reflect women's natural proportions. The golden age of French bra making followed World War II, with the dawn of Christian Dior's "New Look" in 1947. New brands multiplied including Empreinte, Simone Perele, Lise Charmel and Aubade in 1958. Competition was intense to invent models that neither compressed or nipped the breasts but gave women a dramatic profile. The real revolution came when the US chemical giant DuPont invented Lycra the same year. This elastic fibre could be stretched to seven times its size before regaining its original form, and gave unmatched comfort. With the feminist revolution of the late 1960s some women burned their bras in protest at the all-powerful patriarchy at the Miss America beauty pageant. A new "no bra" movement took up the torch last year in the wake of the #MeToo revelations, although the vast majority of women would still rather not live without what for them is a functional fashion item.

The inside story of the bra

<p>As 2017 was the year of Hadid sisters, mostly Gigi Hadid who created trends by walking out in almost any attire, 2018 seems to have taken a liking to a new face -- Kaia Gerber.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and model-turned-businessman Rande Gerber, Kaia Gerber is an actress and model.&nbsp;</p>

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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kaiagerber/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Kaia</a> (@kaiagerber) on <time datetime="2018-01-16T23:59:13+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Jan 16, 2018 at 3:59pm PST</time></p>
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<p>Apart from modelling assignments and acting in films, the 16-year-old has now landed herself a position of a designer at the famed label owned by Karl Lagerfeld. She has joined the mega designer to design a capsule collection which is set to launch in Fall 2018.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a press release,&nbsp;Pier Paolo Righi, CEO of Karl Lagerfeld stated:&nbsp;&quot;When Karl first told us his idea to collaborate with Kaia, we were all excited by the incredible potential and power of bringing their two worlds together. We have been working intensely over the last months with Kaia in L.A. and at our studio in Paris. It was exciting to see her clear vision, passion, and engagement, and the collection will definitely inspire many young women.&quot;</p>

<p>The Karl Lagerfeld x Kaia collection is expected to feature footwear, ready-to-wear, sunglasses and jewellery. The brand hasn&#39;t released any previews of the designs. The collection is expected to hit stores in September 2018.</p>

<p>The sweet-faced model also made her runway debut recently last year when she walked the ramp for 18 brands,&nbsp;including Calvin Klein, Prada, Saint Laurent and Versace.</p>

<p>Kaia got her first modelling gig with Versace&#39;s junior line called Young Versace when she was just 10-years-old. She made her first acting debut at the age of fifteen in &quot;Sister Cities&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

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<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BcvoYcihbRz/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">me and my hair for @versace_official by #stevenmeisel! beyond honored to be a part of this ❤️</a></p>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kaiagerber/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Kaia</a> (@kaiagerber) on <time datetime="2017-12-16T01:12:27+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Dec 15, 2017 at 5:12pm PST</time></p>
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<p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BcYVDw_hjLr/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">always a pleasure @chanelofficial #CHANELinHamburg</a></p>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kaiagerber/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Kaia</a> (@kaiagerber) on <time datetime="2017-12-07T00:01:04+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Dec 6, 2017 at 4:01pm PST</time></p>
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She turned into a designer with a new Karl Lagerfeld collection

As 2017 was the year of Hadid sisters, mostly Gigi Hadid who created trends by walking out in almost any attire, 2018 seems to have taken a liking to a new face -- Kaia Gerber. Daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and model-turned-businessman Rande Gerber, Kaia Gerber is an actress and model. back to paris A post shared by Kaia (@kaiagerber) on Jan 16, 2018 at 3:59pm PST × rise and shine A post shared by Kaia (@kaiagerber) on Dec 28, 2017 at 9:52am PST × howdy A post shared by Kaia (@kaiagerber) on Dec 14, 2017 at 2:44pm PST × @penshoppe A post shared by Kaia (@kaiagerber) on Nov 14, 2017 at 4:16pm PST × Apart from modelling assignments and acting in films, the 16-year-old has now landed herself a position of a designer at the famed label owned by Karl Lagerfeld. She has joined the mega designer to design a capsule collection which is set to launch in Fall 2018. In a press release, Pier Paolo Righi, CEO of Karl Lagerfeld stated: "When Karl first told us his idea to collaborate with Kaia, we were all excited by the incredible potential and power of bringing their two worlds together. We have been working intensely over the last months with Kaia in L.A. and at our studio in Paris. It was exciting to see her clear vision, passion, and engagement, and the collection will definitely inspire many young women." The Karl Lagerfeld x Kaia collection is expected to feature footwear, ready-to-wear, sunglasses and jewellery. The brand hasn't released any previews of the designs. The collection is expected to hit stores in September 2018. The sweet-faced model also made her runway debut recently last year when she walked the ramp for 18 brands, including Calvin Klein, Prada, Saint Laurent and Versace. Kaia got her first modelling gig with Versace's junior line called Young Versace when she was just 10-years-old. She made her first acting debut at the age of fifteen in "Sister Cities". me and my hair for @versace_official by #stevenmeisel! beyond honored to be a part of this ❤️ A post shared by Kaia (@kaiagerber) on Dec 15, 2017 at 5:12pm PST × always a pleasure @chanelofficial #CHANELinHamburg A post shared by Kaia (@kaiagerber) on Dec 6, 2017 at 4:01pm PST ×

Meet 16-year-old model-actress Kaia Gerber, the new 'it' face of fashion

<p>We all know that Kylie Jenner&#39;s fashion choices fuel trends in the industry.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a new teaser of her show <em>Life</em><em> of Kylie</em>, it is revealed that the picture we saw of Kylie Jenner wearing a shimmering see-through dress made of beads and crystals on Met Gala, 2017 event could have been completely different.&nbsp;</p>

<p>How? Well, she was supposed to be wearing something else but ended up with this one:</p>

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<p>Kylie Jenner at Met Gala, 2017 (Pinterest)</p>
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<p>Instead of the Versace gown, Kylie was supposed to wear a &quot;Mermaid Cage Dress&quot;. In the trailer, it is revealed that the dress took&nbsp;350 hours to make.</p>

<p>The gown was inspired by Comme des Garcons&#39;s iconic mix of structure and technique, but with its flirty lingerie and cage detail, it still feels very Versace.&nbsp;Kylie FaceTimed her friend and hairstylist Tokyo Stylez for his opinion, and he shared it was &quot;really sexy.&quot;</p>

<h2>Watch the trailer:</h2>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M3k-SagUyq0" width="970"></iframe></p>

<p>Despite the dress getting a stamp of approval from Tokyo and Kylie&#39;s assistant Victoria,&nbsp;Kylie felt that the dress was not the one. She then went on to try the second Versace gown which she eventually wore to the Gala.</p>

<p>Although Kylie liked the dress, it still didn&#39;t fit her the way she would like. She can be quoted saying:&nbsp;&ldquo;This is really loose. It needs to be like this,&rdquo; she added, grabbing her waist, &ldquo;Where my body looks crazy. I need to kind of suffocate.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Well, you look gorgeous in everything you wear Kylie!</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


Kylie is known for her quirky fashion statement ranging from hugging bodysuits to nude dresses

We all know that Kylie Jenner's fashion choices fuel trends in the industry. In a new teaser of her show Life of Kylie, it is revealed that the picture we saw of Kylie Jenner wearing a shimmering see-through dress made of beads and crystals on Met Gala, 2017 event could have been completely different. How? Well, she was supposed to be wearing something else but ended up with this one: Kylie Jenner at Met Gala, 2017 (Pinterest) × Instead of the Versace gown, Kylie was supposed to wear a "Mermaid Cage Dress". In the trailer, it is revealed that the dress took 350 hours to make. The gown was inspired by Comme des Garcons's iconic mix of structure and technique, but with its flirty lingerie and cage detail, it still feels very Versace. Kylie FaceTimed her friend and hairstylist Tokyo Stylez for his opinion, and he shared it was "really sexy." Watch the trailer: Despite the dress getting a stamp of approval from Tokyo and Kylie's assistant Victoria, Kylie felt that the dress was not the one. She then went on to try the second Versace gown which she eventually wore to the Gala. Although Kylie liked the dress, it still didn't fit her the way she would like. She can be quoted saying: “This is really loose. It needs to be like this,” she added, grabbing her waist, “Where my body looks crazy. I need to kind of suffocate.” Well, you look gorgeous in everything you wear Kylie! (WION)

Kylie Jenner would have worn this nude suit instead of the one she wore at Met Gala, 2017

<p>Flowers are one of the most overrated yet appreciated token of all times. Remember the first time you got a flower or gifted one, or a memory of your favourite flowers on display at a florist? Do you recollect the times when keeping a gifted flower, already wilted&nbsp;in between the pages of a book was quite a thing?<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Now, imagine if there was a possibility of getting that one memory sewn to a piece of cloth that adorns your body. Cara Marie Piazza from New York does just that.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
A natural dyer and textile designer living and producing her work in New York City, Cara works with decaying flowers to make natural dye for her apparel line on fabrics that are &ldquo;sourced ethically and sustainably, using only organic cottons and fibers as well as Ahimsa and Peace grade silks&rdquo;.</p>

<p><strong>Beauty in Decay</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
Cara finds beauty in decaying flowers and is inspired by nature.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
She says, &ldquo;I&#39;m not sure where my morbid fascination with decaying nature and atrophy started but the impermanence of life has always been very moving to me. There&rsquo;s a delicacy to decay and time, which feels like a primordial reminder that we&rsquo;re connected to something else.&rdquo;</p>

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<p>Designer Cara Marie Piazza works with natural dye extracted from flowers (Photo: Laura Cervini) (Others)</p>
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<p>A nature lover, Cara is &ldquo;committed to sustainable and ethical production wherein she creates one-of-a-kind textile using only natural dye from botanicals, plant matter, minerals and non-toxic metals and food wastes. She treats her fabrics through alchemical dye sessions, ancient shibori techniques and bundle dyeing to create a product that has its own story to tell.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Her brand Calyx is home to handmade products that go beyond what meets the eye. The prints and style are dictated by nature&rsquo;s seasons and can be draped in classic cuts or can have customised fittings. Care describes Calyx as &ldquo;your amulet, your personal armor and your secret strength. The first thing you put on and the last to be taken off&rdquo;.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
The venture has currently gained immense popularity in the United States where everyday wastage of food and clothes is a looming issue.</p>

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<p><strong>Ethical Consumption to avoid Wastage</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
In this context, Sanjay Garg, founder of Raw Mango in India who is known for his penchant for handwoven Indian fabrics talks about &ldquo;ethical world consumption&rdquo; as a means to end this problem of wastage. Known for his brand of contemporary Indian handwoven textiles, Sanjay says, &ldquo;As a designer I am asking different questions altogether--do we really need so many clothes? Do we need so many designs?<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Sanjay talks about a developing trend of organic or sustainable fashion. He says, &ldquo;It&#39;s trendy to now work towards eco-fashion but this is not the solution. You can&#39;t look at it from a fashion perspective--look at it from a larger picture. Sustainability has become a joke today. This problem needs to be addressed from a bird&#39;s eye view with a realistic approach.&rdquo;</p>

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<h5>It&#39;s trendy to now work towards eco-fashion but this is not the solution. You can&#39;t look at it from a fashion perspective--look at it from a larger picture</h5>
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<p>He adds, &ldquo; Frankly this is all about creating a luxury product. If you say that you are changing the elite consumption then it&rsquo;s a different thing but if you say that it will change the fashion scenario of the entire world where everybody can afford eco-fashion, then it&#39;s an abstract idea. It can never see the light of the day.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Sanjay also adds that we are looking at an ideal world that can never exist in reality. He says, &ldquo;In a world where everyone earns almost equally, eco-fashion can become affordable for all. Till then, we are pleasing a certain section of elite and not doing any benefit to the society and we must admit it.&rdquo;</p>

<p>As a matter of fact, Sanjay adds, &ldquo;Take the case of Indigo dye--you need farms to produce those plants. But do we have enough lands for growing food in India, enough wheat or vegetables to feed everyone&rsquo;s stomach. The idea of growing vegetable dye in this context isn&rsquo;t realistic. It&rsquo;s great that a designer is using decaying flowers that would otherwise end up in trash cans but what happens when she gets a bigger production order? Does she then promote those opulent weddings where food and flowers are wasted?&rdquo;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Designer Sanjay Garg (left) with a bridal couture piece from his label (Photo: Raw Mango) (Others)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>What started as a small venture is growing in momentum for Cara. The New York based designer is more pumped than before to bring a change, however miniscule in nature. She intends to make a statement by &ldquo;starting a dialogue about sustainable consumption&rdquo;. She says, &ldquo;I am aware that this is an oxymoron but I believe in the power of story, and believe that when you own a garment imbued with intention, you&rsquo;re not likely to throw it away.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want you to buy copious amounts of my pieces, I want you to buy one, or a few that you feel like you can have forever. The pieces will morph and change over time, just like you, which is the inherent beauty of the natural dye craft, the impermanence and variation makes them beautiful&rdquo;, she adds.</p>

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<h5>The pieces will morph and change over time, just like you, which is the inherent beauty of the natural dye craft, the impermanence and variation makes them beautiful</h5>
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<p>Cara is happy that more number of designers are innovating. She adds, &ldquo;More and more designers here (New York) are embracing sustainable practices in their work. I feel blessed to have grown up here, and to have found a network of designers that are all thinking and working within these parameters. There of course is still fast fashion but more of us are embracing the small, ethical and local.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Eco-fashion is no more an alien concept. Fashion designers and individual contributors from around the world are aiming to shift people&rsquo;s attention from machine-produced mass goods to aesthetically-sound hand spun clothes that have lesser carbon footprint.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Sanjay with his brand has been striving to achieve this. He says, &ldquo;I want to change the meaning of luxury fashion in India but not make eco-fashion a trending word. I want people to understand the story behind it. Handloom should be so beautifully made that machine cannot make it. That&#39;s when we can achieve the target of making luxury synonymous with handloom. If handloom cannot do it, we should not go ahead with this.&rdquo;</p>

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<p>A weaver at work (Photo: Raw Mango) (Others)</p>
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<p><strong>Sustainable Fashion only for the Elite?</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
While Sanjay falls under the category of mainstream fashion designers who takes his clothes and style to&nbsp;different fashion weeks around the world, there is another hand weave connoisseur who offers a novel perspective on the issue. Sally Holkar, founder of Women Weave and The Handloom School talks about breaking stereotypes with handloom and doing what others are not.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Women Weave employs hundreds of women weavers who are not traditional weavers but have an understanding of the same. Sally&nbsp;trains these women to help make the art of weaving handloom a lucrative job opportunity for local people. She says, &ldquo;I feel that handloom has to move way upmarket to survive. Handloom has to do things that aren&#39;t necessarily very ethnic looking or even recognisable as handloom. We need to do something that can only be done affordably, in short runs by hand--by people living in low cost areas of India.&rdquo;</p>

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<p>A handloom creation at work (Photo: Raw Mango) (Others)</p>
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<p>Sanjay has a concern regarding this. He says, &ldquo;Handloom cannot be made affordable to all. The cost of making handloom is such, that the end product still remains within reach of the elite class only. Even if we reduce the prices by bringing down several costs, it does not break from the class. All this if we are paying the weavers a fair wage.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
According to distinctive designers, sustainable eco-fashion still remains an elitist market but there is hope for a change. Sally adds, &ldquo;There is something very positive about this generation. Many find us on our website, and those who approach us and want to work with us are eco-friendly aware, sustainability aware, truth-in-advertising aware. Today people are particularly interested in three things: natural dye fibers, natural dyes and women. This sentiment is shared by people across the globe.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Cara, also is hopeful for the future but understands the interplay of demand and supply of fast fashion. She says, &ldquo;The customer is still used to buying cheap and quick, it&rsquo;s a slow moving conversation but more and more consumers are opening up to it.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Leaving an impact on the industry, Cara admits to her products being placed at a luxury price point. She along with other designers from the world who deal with handmade clothes know that they are &ldquo;artisanal and take a very long time to produce thus making it unaffordable for a large section of the populace&rdquo;.</p>

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<h5>The cost of making handloom is such, that the end product still remains within reach of the elite class only</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;<strong>Be the Change you want to See</strong><br />
&nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
Cara is positive about a bright future and says, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s just one source of change but it feels as though there is a universal consciousness shift. With more number of people getting sick and suffering with anxiety, they are looking for healthy and non-toxic alternatives to their lifestyles. It&rsquo;s a global reaction to our polluted world.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Sanjay however feels that we are late to realise this. When I ask him about fashion designing schools in India introducing a mandatory paper on eco-fashion, Sanjay responds, &ldquo;Everything in life should be eco-aware, I am sorry if they opened their eyes so late. I don&#39;t know why it is still new to us. It should be a part of our lives. It&rsquo;s too late to be implementing this. How do I treat waste on an everyday basis? What did I do with my old car? It&rsquo;s about how you deal with your life...what are you doing with filled notebooks that you studied in school life, paper that you have used. Fashion is a very narrow subject to look at.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Sanjay presses for an ideology of minimalism. He advises all to use fewer resources to sustain themselves. &ldquo;Surviving on less, taking the least possible space to live&rdquo;.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Cara Marie also believes in giving back to nature what we take from it. She says, &ldquo;We owe everything to nature--everything. We own essentially nothing. I fully subscribe to the theory that we&rsquo;re all a part of a cycle; what you take, you must give back. For example, while harvesting herbs you must give the ground a present! &nbsp;A poem, some of your hair, a compliment, thanks. It&rsquo;s all about replacing what you took to keep the cycle going. That&rsquo;s another reason for why I teach, it&rsquo;s selfish really--the gifts I receive back when sharing what I&rsquo;ve learnt are ten fold.&rdquo;</p>

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<p>Designer wear by Cara Marie Piazza (Photo: Cara Marie Piazza) (Others)</p>
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<p>She narrates an interesting tale of a customer interaction: &ldquo;A lovely woman from Michigan once told me that her daughter thought I was a superhero. Her daughter suffers from eczema, and didn&rsquo;t know you could dye your clothes with Calendula. The whole exchange was so moving, and humbling. I&rsquo;m definitely not a superhero, but it broke my heart that there aren&rsquo;t more options out there.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
She adds, &ldquo;Everything in life is of a piece to me, we&rsquo;re all completely interconnected. Everything has it&rsquo;s own lifecycle and ecosystem and to run harmoniously I believe you have to look at the whole picture. I think we&rsquo;ve forgotten that with our clothing, with our color. This knowledge isn&rsquo;t something new, there was a time where humans lived more harmoniously with nature, and I&rsquo;m hopeful there&rsquo;s a shift towards this lifestyle again.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Cara feels that the fashion industry worldwide is suffering because it is highly unregulated. There are no checks and balances. She says, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s actually extremely hard to monitor the amount of pollution and waste it produces on a global scale.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
However, she now wants to start a movement where she teaches her technique to clients who maybe can&#39;t afford her clothes but would want to learn the art. She says, &ldquo;This knowledge doesn&rsquo;t have an owner, my hand is different from the next person&rsquo;s, so I try to help in empowering people to try naturally dyeing for themselves.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Cara does not know how to separate work from personal life but you can find her enjoying dinner with loved ones, cosying with a book, seeing a show and catching up on her sleep when she&rsquo;s not staining her hands with flowers.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
(WION)&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The most important challenge facing eco-fashion today is to create products which ends the problem of wastage at affordable prices

Flowers are one of the most overrated yet appreciated token of all times. Remember the first time you got a flower or gifted one, or a memory of your favourite flowers on display at a florist? Do you recollect the times when keeping a gifted flower, already wilted in between the pages of a book was quite a thing? Now, imagine if there was a possibility of getting that one memory sewn to a piece of cloth that adorns your body. Cara Marie Piazza from New York does just that. A natural dyer and textile designer living and producing her work in New York City, Cara works with decaying flowers to make natural dye for her apparel line on fabrics that are “sourced ethically and sustainably, using only organic cottons and fibers as well as Ahimsa and Peace grade silks”. Beauty in Decay Cara finds beauty in decaying flowers and is inspired by nature. She says, “I'm not sure where my morbid fascination with decaying nature and atrophy started but the impermanence of life has always been very moving to me. There’s a delicacy to decay and time, which feels like a primordial reminder that we’re connected to something else.” Designer Cara Marie Piazza works with natural dye extracted from flowers (Photo: Laura Cervini) (Others) × A nature lover, Cara is “committed to sustainable and ethical production wherein she creates one-of-a-kind textile using only natural dye from botanicals, plant matter, minerals and non-toxic metals and food wastes. She treats her fabrics through alchemical dye sessions, ancient shibori techniques and bundle dyeing to create a product that has its own story to tell.” Her brand Calyx is home to handmade products that go beyond what meets the eye. The prints and style are dictated by nature’s seasons and can be draped in classic cuts or can have customised fittings. Care describes Calyx as “your amulet, your personal armor and your secret strength. The first thing you put on and the last to be taken off”. The venture has currently gained immense popularity in the United States where everyday wastage of food and clothes is a looming issue. There’s a delicacy to decay and time, which feels like a primordial reminder that we’re connected to something else × Ethical Consumption to avoid Wastage In this context, Sanjay Garg, founder of Raw Mango in India who is known for his penchant for handwoven Indian fabrics talks about “ethical world consumption” as a means to end this problem of wastage. Known for his brand of contemporary Indian handwoven textiles, Sanjay says, “As a designer I am asking different questions altogether--do we really need so many clothes? Do we need so many designs? Sanjay talks about a developing trend of organic or sustainable fashion. He says, “It's trendy to now work towards eco-fashion but this is not the solution. You can't look at it from a fashion perspective--look at it from a larger picture. Sustainability has become a joke today. This problem needs to be addressed from a bird's eye view with a realistic approach.” It's trendy to now work towards eco-fashion but this is not the solution. You can't look at it from a fashion perspective--look at it from a larger picture × He adds, “ Frankly this is all about creating a luxury product. If you say that you are changing the elite consumption then it’s a different thing but if you say that it will change the fashion scenario of the entire world where everybody can afford eco-fashion, then it's an abstract idea. It can never see the light of the day.” Sanjay also adds that we are looking at an ideal world that can never exist in reality. He says, “In a world where everyone earns almost equally, eco-fashion can become affordable for all. Till then, we are pleasing a certain section of elite and not doing any benefit to the society and we must admit it.” As a matter of fact, Sanjay adds, “Take the case of Indigo dye--you need farms to produce those plants. But do we have enough lands for growing food in India, enough wheat or vegetables to feed everyone’s stomach. The idea of growing vegetable dye in this context isn’t realistic. It’s great that a designer is using decaying flowers that would otherwise end up in trash cans but what happens when she gets a bigger production order? Does she then promote those opulent weddings where food and flowers are wasted?” Designer Sanjay Garg (left) with a bridal couture piece from his label (Photo: Raw Mango) (Others) × What started as a small venture is growing in momentum for Cara. The New York based designer is more pumped than before to bring a change, however miniscule in nature. She intends to make a statement by “starting a dialogue about sustainable consumption”. She says, “I am aware that this is an oxymoron but I believe in the power of story, and believe that when you own a garment imbued with intention, you’re not likely to throw it away.” “I don’t want you to buy copious amounts of my pieces, I want you to buy one, or a few that you feel like you can have forever. The pieces will morph and change over time, just like you, which is the inherent beauty of the natural dye craft, the impermanence and variation makes them beautiful”, she adds. The pieces will morph and change over time, just like you, which is the inherent beauty of the natural dye craft, the impermanence and variation makes them beautiful × Cara is happy that more number of designers are innovating. She adds, “More and more designers here (New York) are embracing sustainable practices in their work. I feel blessed to have grown up here, and to have found a network of designers that are all thinking and working within these parameters. There of course is still fast fashion but more of us are embracing the small, ethical and local.” Eco-fashion is no more an alien concept. Fashion designers and individual contributors from around the world are aiming to shift people’s attention from machine-produced mass goods to aesthetically-sound hand spun clothes that have lesser carbon footprint. Sanjay with his brand has been striving to achieve this. He says, “I want to change the meaning of luxury fashion in India but not make eco-fashion a trending word. I want people to understand the story behind it. Handloom should be so beautifully made that machine cannot make it. That's when we can achieve the target of making luxury synonymous with handloom. If handloom cannot do it, we should not go ahead with this.” A weaver at work (Photo: Raw Mango) (Others) × Sustainable Fashion only for the Elite? While Sanjay falls under the category of mainstream fashion designers who takes his clothes and style to different fashion weeks around the world, there is another hand weave connoisseur who offers a novel perspective on the issue. Sally Holkar, founder of Women Weave and The Handloom School talks about breaking stereotypes with handloom and doing what others are not. Women Weave employs hundreds of women weavers who are not traditional weavers but have an understanding of the same. Sally trains these women to help make the art of weaving handloom a lucrative job opportunity for local people. She says, “I feel that handloom has to move way upmarket to survive. Handloom has to do things that aren't necessarily very ethnic looking or even recognisable as handloom. We need to do something that can only be done affordably, in short runs by hand--by people living in low cost areas of India.” A handloom creation at work (Photo: Raw Mango) (Others) × Sanjay has a concern regarding this. He says, “Handloom cannot be made affordable to all. The cost of making handloom is such, that the end product still remains within reach of the elite class only. Even if we reduce the prices by bringing down several costs, it does not break from the class. All this if we are paying the weavers a fair wage.” According to distinctive designers, sustainable eco-fashion still remains an elitist market but there is hope for a change. Sally adds, “There is something very positive about this generation. Many find us on our website, and those who approach us and want to work with us are eco-friendly aware, sustainability aware, truth-in-advertising aware. Today people are particularly interested in three things: natural dye fibers, natural dyes and women. This sentiment is shared by people across the globe.” Cara, also is hopeful for the future but understands the interplay of demand and supply of fast fashion. She says, “The customer is still used to buying cheap and quick, it’s a slow moving conversation but more and more consumers are opening up to it. Leaving an impact on the industry, Cara admits to her products being placed at a luxury price point. She along with other designers from the world who deal with handmade clothes know that they are “artisanal and take a very long time to produce thus making it unaffordable for a large section of the populace”. The cost of making handloom is such, that the end product still remains within reach of the elite class only × Be the Change you want to See Cara is positive about a bright future and says, “I don’t think there’s just one source of change but it feels as though there is a universal consciousness shift. With more number of people getting sick and suffering with anxiety, they are looking for healthy and non-toxic alternatives to their lifestyles. It’s a global reaction to our polluted world.” Sanjay however feels that we are late to realise this. When I ask him about fashion designing schools in India introducing a mandatory paper on eco-fashion, Sanjay responds, “Everything in life should be eco-aware, I am sorry if they opened their eyes so late. I don't know why it is still new to us. It should be a part of our lives. It’s too late to be implementing this. How do I treat waste on an everyday basis? What did I do with my old car? It’s about how you deal with your life...what are you doing with filled notebooks that you studied in school life, paper that you have used. Fashion is a very narrow subject to look at.” Sanjay presses for an ideology of minimalism. He advises all to use fewer resources to sustain themselves. “Surviving on less, taking the least possible space to live”. Cara Marie also believes in giving back to nature what we take from it. She says, “We owe everything to nature--everything. We own essentially nothing. I fully subscribe to the theory that we’re all a part of a cycle; what you take, you must give back. For example, while harvesting herbs you must give the ground a present! A poem, some of your hair, a compliment, thanks. It’s all about replacing what you took to keep the cycle going. That’s another reason for why I teach, it’s selfish really--the gifts I receive back when sharing what I’ve learnt are ten fold.” Designer wear by Cara Marie Piazza (Photo: Cara Marie Piazza) (Others) × She narrates an interesting tale of a customer interaction: “A lovely woman from Michigan once told me that her daughter thought I was a superhero. Her daughter suffers from eczema, and didn’t know you could dye your clothes with Calendula. The whole exchange was so moving, and humbling. I’m definitely not a superhero, but it broke my heart that there aren’t more options out there. She adds, “Everything in life is of a piece to me, we’re all completely interconnected. Everything has it’s own lifecycle and ecosystem and to run harmoniously I believe you have to look at the whole picture. I think we’ve forgotten that with our clothing, with our color. This knowledge isn’t something new, there was a time where humans lived more harmoniously with nature, and I’m hopeful there’s a shift towards this lifestyle again.” Cara feels that the fashion industry worldwide is suffering because it is highly unregulated. There are no checks and balances. She says, “It’s actually extremely hard to monitor the amount of pollution and waste it produces on a global scale.” However, she now wants to start a movement where she teaches her technique to clients who maybe can't afford her clothes but would want to learn the art. She says, “This knowledge doesn’t have an owner, my hand is different from the next person’s, so I try to help in empowering people to try naturally dyeing for themselves.” Cara does not know how to separate work from personal life but you can find her enjoying dinner with loved ones, cosying with a book, seeing a show and catching up on her sleep when she’s not staining her hands with flowers. (WION)

Eco-fashion: Creating memory out of wilted flowers

<p>With Paris men&#39;s fashion week coming to an end Sunday night, we pick out five of the big trends in the autumn-winter collections:</p>

<p><strong>The young ones</strong></p>

<p>Youth may be wasted on the young, as Oscar Wilde once quipped, but style isn&#39;t, insisted the Paris shows, which went all-out to capture the hearts of millennials.</p>

<p>Rarely have the catwalks been so focused on teens and twenty-somethings.</p>

<p>The hoodie conquered all and skate kid chic was everywhere, with Japanese brand Facetasm going so far as to send its models out with what appeared to be fake acne.</p>

<p>The slogans that ran through The Etudes, Lanvin and Chinese brand Sankuanz shows were pure teen spirit, &quot;Never mind&quot;, &quot;Nothing&quot; and &quot;Destroy&quot;.</p>

<p>Dior&#39;s Kris Van Assche, whose show was a rallying call for a &quot;new tailoring&quot; aimed at the young, summed up the adolescent fascination.</p>

<p>&quot;I have always been drawn to the moment when boys become men and they are still clinging onto to dreams, desires and freedoms and haven&#39;t yet slipped into the straitjacket,&quot; he told AFP.</p>

<p><strong>Logos</strong></p>

<p>Not since the 1980s heydey of bling branding has fashion had such a fascination with logos.</p>

<p>Dior, Loewe, Balenciaga, Andrea Crews, Louis Vuitton, Icosae and even tastemaker in chief Dries Van Noten went logo a go-go.</p>

<p>Like much else these days you can blame/credit Georgian trendsetter Demna Gvasalia and his Vetements collective, who name-checked no less than 54 big brands in its last show.</p>

<p>Gvasalia was up to his old logo banditry tricks in his show for Balenciaga, appropriating Bernie Sander&#39;s campaign logo, much to the US Democratic Party senator&#39;s amusement.</p>

<p>There was less to smile about at Vuitton, where its collaboration with the super hip US street label Supreme had decidedly mixed reviews, with the New York Times calling it &quot;the fashion version of a murder-suicide&quot;.</p>

<p><strong>Women everywhere</strong></p>

<p>This was supposed to be men&#39;s fashion week, but with so many women also on the catwalk you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mixed and gender-fluid shows have been a thing for a while, but now it has almost become the rule to have a few women models in men&#39;s shows, much to the chagrin of some like Dior&#39;s Van Assche who claims men&#39;s clothes are losing definition.</p>

<p>Once he builds that wall, maybe President Donald Trump could come over and help restore some male pride. He does after all have his own Trump men&#39;s clothing line.</p>

<p><strong>Vive the Establishment!&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>The establishment may be a dirty word politically right now yet fashion can&#39;t get enough of its stuffy symbolism.</p>

<p>The colours of burnt gold, rust brown and red are nothing if not upper class, and aristocratic Prince of Wales overcheck tartan turned up in all sorts of unlikely places.</p>

<p>You would think you were at a grouse shoot looking at some of the fabric Paul Smith, Agnes b, Officine Generale, Alexandre Mattiussi, Kolor, Loewe, Berluti and Haider Ackermann put out.</p>

<p>Upper crust dandies abounded, most memorably at Ann Demeulemeester, with pinstripes also figuring strongly even among such cutting edge labels as Christian Dada and Henrik Vibskov.</p>

<p><strong>Trainers with everything</strong></p>

<p>Overall, however, informality was king -- Paris being far too cool to be casual about anything. There was almost no formal wear at all apart from a handful of red-carpet two pieces at Agnes b and the odd outfit that might do at a stretch at Berluti, Ann Demeulemeester and Wooyoungmi.</p>

<p>Dress suits and evening wear appear to be over, trodden into the ground by the onward march of trainers, which were matched with everything from the couture heights of Dior to Balenciaga&#39;s Frankenstein office suits to Vuitton, no longer a synonym for well-heeled where footwear is concerned anyway.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(AFP)</p>


The catwalks were focused on teens and twenty somethings. The hoodie conquered all and skate kid chic was everywhere

With Paris men's fashion week coming to an end Sunday night, we pick out five of the big trends in the autumn-winter collections: The young ones Youth may be wasted on the young, as Oscar Wilde once quipped, but style isn't, insisted the Paris shows, which went all-out to capture the hearts of millennials. Rarely have the catwalks been so focused on teens and twenty-somethings. The hoodie conquered all and skate kid chic was everywhere, with Japanese brand Facetasm going so far as to send its models out with what appeared to be fake acne. The slogans that ran through The Etudes, Lanvin and Chinese brand Sankuanz shows were pure teen spirit, "Never mind", "Nothing" and "Destroy". Dior's Kris Van Assche, whose show was a rallying call for a "new tailoring" aimed at the young, summed up the adolescent fascination. "I have always been drawn to the moment when boys become men and they are still clinging onto to dreams, desires and freedoms and haven't yet slipped into the straitjacket," he told AFP. Logos Not since the 1980s heydey of bling branding has fashion had such a fascination with logos. Dior, Loewe, Balenciaga, Andrea Crews, Louis Vuitton, Icosae and even tastemaker in chief Dries Van Noten went logo a go-go. Like much else these days you can blame/credit Georgian trendsetter Demna Gvasalia and his Vetements collective, who name-checked no less than 54 big brands in its last show. Gvasalia was up to his old logo banditry tricks in his show for Balenciaga, appropriating Bernie Sander's campaign logo, much to the US Democratic Party senator's amusement. There was less to smile about at Vuitton, where its collaboration with the super hip US street label Supreme had decidedly mixed reviews, with the New York Times calling it "the fashion version of a murder-suicide". Women everywhere This was supposed to be men's fashion week, but with so many women also on the catwalk you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Mixed and gender-fluid shows have been a thing for a while, but now it has almost become the rule to have a few women models in men's shows, much to the chagrin of some like Dior's Van Assche who claims men's clothes are losing definition. Once he builds that wall, maybe President Donald Trump could come over and help restore some male pride. He does after all have his own Trump men's clothing line. Vive the Establishment! The establishment may be a dirty word politically right now yet fashion can't get enough of its stuffy symbolism. The colours of burnt gold, rust brown and red are nothing if not upper class, and aristocratic Prince of Wales overcheck tartan turned up in all sorts of unlikely places. You would think you were at a grouse shoot looking at some of the fabric Paul Smith, Agnes b, Officine Generale, Alexandre Mattiussi, Kolor, Loewe, Berluti and Haider Ackermann put out. Upper crust dandies abounded, most memorably at Ann Demeulemeester, with pinstripes also figuring strongly even among such cutting edge labels as Christian Dada and Henrik Vibskov. Trainers with everything Overall, however, informality was king -- Paris being far too cool to be casual about anything. There was almost no formal wear at all apart from a handful of red-carpet two pieces at Agnes b and the odd outfit that might do at a stretch at Berluti, Ann Demeulemeester and Wooyoungmi. Dress suits and evening wear appear to be over, trodden into the ground by the onward march of trainers, which were matched with everything from the couture heights of Dior to Balenciaga's Frankenstein office suits to Vuitton, no longer a synonym for well-heeled where footwear is concerned anyway. (AFP)

Five top trends at Paris men's fashion week

<p>Sporty, couture and 1980s-inspired looks dominated the catwalks at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, with a wide selection of designers offering creations for women&#39;s winter wardrobes.</p>

<p>The Tuesday-to-Friday event may not be as high profile as the fashion weeks in Milan, Paris, London and New York but draws plenty of fashionistas for its variety of brands.</p>

<p>On Tuesday night, Marc Cain creative director Karin Veit sent models down the runway in ribbed jumpers, sporty jackets, patterned trouser suits and tutu skirts, at times worn with leg warmers. There were also animal prints on coats and trousers.</p>

<p>Austrian designer Lena Hoschek took inspiration from a T-shirt her mother once wore for her &quot;Dollhouse&quot; collection of pastel-coloured and sparkly tops, dresses, skirts and trousers and designs adorned with cartoon characters.</p>

<p>&quot;It rarely happens that one piece of clothing gives me the inspiration for a whole collection but this time it was an old T-shirt of my mum&#39;s from the 1980s,&quot; Hoschek said.</p>

<p>&quot;She wore it when she was pregnant with me. That T-shirt is my absolute favourite piece of clothing. It is turquoise, light blue, pinkish, typical candy colours, typical &#39;80s.&quot;</p>

<p>Dorothee Schumacher presented a pattern-rich line of long-sleeved dresses, tops and trousers, cinched at the waist with belts. Her colour palette including a black-and-white mix as well as warmer orange tones, green and mustard.</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


The event is not as high profile as the fashion weeks in Milan or Paris, but draws plenty of fashionistas for its variety of brands

Sporty, couture and 1980s-inspired looks dominated the catwalks at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, with a wide selection of designers offering creations for women's winter wardrobes. The Tuesday-to-Friday event may not be as high profile as the fashion weeks in Milan, Paris, London and New York but draws plenty of fashionistas for its variety of brands. On Tuesday night, Marc Cain creative director Karin Veit sent models down the runway in ribbed jumpers, sporty jackets, patterned trouser suits and tutu skirts, at times worn with leg warmers. There were also animal prints on coats and trousers. Austrian designer Lena Hoschek took inspiration from a T-shirt her mother once wore for her "Dollhouse" collection of pastel-coloured and sparkly tops, dresses, skirts and trousers and designs adorned with cartoon characters. "It rarely happens that one piece of clothing gives me the inspiration for a whole collection but this time it was an old T-shirt of my mum's from the 1980s," Hoschek said. "She wore it when she was pregnant with me. That T-shirt is my absolute favourite piece of clothing. It is turquoise, light blue, pinkish, typical candy colours, typical '80s." Dorothee Schumacher presented a pattern-rich line of long-sleeved dresses, tops and trousers, cinched at the waist with belts. Her colour palette including a black-and-white mix as well as warmer orange tones, green and mustard. (Reuters)

Sporty, couture and 1980s-inspired fashion dominate Berlin catwalks

French fashion brand Dior today named Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri as its new creative director, making her the first woman to lead the company in its 70 years of history.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The 52-year-old left the Italian label Valentino on Thursday, paving the way for her appointment.<br />
<br />
She will present her first show in Paris on September 30, the company said, following in the steps of legendary founder Christian Dior and such designers as Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferre, and John Galliano.<br />
<br />
Dior has been without a leader since the shock departure of Belgian Raf Simons last October, which sparked soul-searching in the industry about the pressure creators were now under.<br />
<br />
Valentino will now be in the sole charge of Chiuri&#39;s longtime creative partner Pierpaolo Piccioli.<br />
<br />
Together, Chiuri and Piccioli were credited with giving Valentino back its fizz, making it one of the most profitable designer brands in Europe.<br />
<br />
(AFP)

The iconic French fashion house has been without a leader since the shock departure of Belgian Simons

French fashion brand Dior today named Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri as its new creative director, making her the first woman to lead the company in its 70 years of history. The 52-year-old left the Italian label Valentino on Thursday, paving the way for her appointment. She will present her first show in Paris on September 30, the company said, following in the steps of legendary founder Christian Dior and such designers as Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferre, and John Galliano. Dior has been without a leader since the shock departure of Belgian Raf Simons last October, which sparked soul-searching in the industry about the pressure creators were now under. Valentino will now be in the sole charge of Chiuri's longtime creative partner Pierpaolo Piccioli. Together, Chiuri and Piccioli were credited with giving Valentino back its fizz, making it one of the most profitable designer brands in Europe. (AFP)

Dior appoints first female creative director in its 70 year-history

Rebel brand Vetements sent fashion into a spin on Sunday with an haute couture show that broke all the rules, appropriating clothes and shoes from 17 other brands and recutting them in its own irreverent neo-Soviet street style.<br />
<br />
The most talked about brand in fashion had been invited to the show as a guest in the elite, uniquely Parisian events, seen as the pinnacle of exclusive made-to-measure clothing.<br />
<br />
But instead of bowing to couture&#39;s near century-long tradition of handmade artistry, Vetements called in brands as diverse as Levi&#39;s, Mackintosh and Brioni to supply them with their trademark garments which they then remade.<br />
<br />
The result was an attention-hogging show that left few indifferent.<br />
<br />
Social media was abuzz afterwards with the red velour tracksuits with &quot;Juicy&quot; picked out in crystals across the bum, gigantic dungaree-aprons and hoodies with shrunken hoods.<br />
<br />
The show began with the oversized jackets that have become Vetements calling card, replete with their overlong &quot;gorilla sleeves&quot;.<br />
<br />
Then designer Demna Gvasalia rolled out a series of jarring, eye-catching new tropes, pulling up his perennial thigh-high boots so they sometimes reached to the waist and beyond.<br />
<br />
He even seemed to be trying to create a previously uncharted erogenous zone halfway between the navel and the sternum by pulling diamond-shaped peep holes in his Comme des Garcons shirts.<br />
<br />
Also striking was how Georgian-born Gvasalia - who fans hail for defying the &quot;system&quot; - set out to blur the difference between high and low end brands with Dr Martens boots and Manolo Blahnik stilettos sharing the same runway.<br />
<br />
&quot;The idea was to work with brands and their specialised suppliers,&quot; he told reporters backstage after the show.<br />
<br />
&quot;Vetements unsubscribes to the difficult production cycle that has been forced upon many designers,&quot; the label said in a statement, referring to the punishing turnaround times creators increasingly must adhere to.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
&quot;Trailblazing brands - trendsetters of their time - are still relevant today. Not only because of their acclaimed designs, but also because of years of perfecting material and production methods,&quot; it added.<br />
<br />
While many questioned whether Vetements&#39; spring men and women&#39;s show was really haute couture, few doubted that it was a shock to the increasingly frenetic fashion system which has seen many designers complain of burnout.<br />
<br />
Unlike most of their peers who produce several collections, Vetements, founded by 35-year-old Gvasalia and his younger brother Guram only two years ago, make only two a year so their clothes can spend longer in the shops.<br />
<br />
But in one crucial respect the Gvasalias did bow to pressure. Having been pilloried for the lack of black faces in their previous shows, this one was more diverse, prompting Elle magazine&#39;s Kenya Hunt to tweet, &quot;Nice to finally see some people of colour on the Vetements runway&quot;.<br />
<br />
Another post-Soviet creator also impressed on Sunday, with the Kazakh designer Ulyana Sergeenko using suspender belts worn over clothes to symbolise &quot;Khrushchev&#39;s thaw&quot; in the 1960s.<br />
<br />
In the two other highlights of the opening day, Donatella Versace unveiled an un-typically demure 1950s influenced collection of shimmering gowns that still managed to show off the legs.<br />
<br />
And Yuima Nakazato, best known for his creations for the singer Lady Gaga, became the first Japanese designer to show in haute couture for more than a decade.<br />
<br />
His futuristic feathery ensembles used coloured layers of PVC cut by machine and then &quot;treated as origami&quot;.<br />
<br />
&quot;Combining technology with craftmanship could be the future of couture,&quot; he said afterwards.<br />
<br />
(AFP)

Brand takes burnout message to the catwalk, with their usual shock-and-awe treatment

Rebel brand Vetements sent fashion into a spin on Sunday with an haute couture show that broke all the rules, appropriating clothes and shoes from 17 other brands and recutting them in its own irreverent neo-Soviet street style. The most talked about brand in fashion had been invited to the show as a guest in the elite, uniquely Parisian events, seen as the pinnacle of exclusive made-to-measure clothing. But instead of bowing to couture's near century-long tradition of handmade artistry, Vetements called in brands as diverse as Levi's, Mackintosh and Brioni to supply them with their trademark garments which they then remade. The result was an attention-hogging show that left few indifferent. Social media was abuzz afterwards with the red velour tracksuits with "Juicy" picked out in crystals across the bum, gigantic dungaree-aprons and hoodies with shrunken hoods. The show began with the oversized jackets that have become Vetements calling card, replete with their overlong "gorilla sleeves". Then designer Demna Gvasalia rolled out a series of jarring, eye-catching new tropes, pulling up his perennial thigh-high boots so they sometimes reached to the waist and beyond. He even seemed to be trying to create a previously uncharted erogenous zone halfway between the navel and the sternum by pulling diamond-shaped peep holes in his Comme des Garcons shirts. Also striking was how Georgian-born Gvasalia - who fans hail for defying the "system" - set out to blur the difference between high and low end brands with Dr Martens boots and Manolo Blahnik stilettos sharing the same runway. "The idea was to work with brands and their specialised suppliers," he told reporters backstage after the show. "Vetements unsubscribes to the difficult production cycle that has been forced upon many designers," the label said in a statement, referring to the punishing turnaround times creators increasingly must adhere to. "Trailblazing brands - trendsetters of their time - are still relevant today. Not only because of their acclaimed designs, but also because of years of perfecting material and production methods," it added. While many questioned whether Vetements' spring men and women's show was really haute couture, few doubted that it was a shock to the increasingly frenetic fashion system which has seen many designers complain of burnout. Unlike most of their peers who produce several collections, Vetements, founded by 35-year-old Gvasalia and his younger brother Guram only two years ago, make only two a year so their clothes can spend longer in the shops. But in one crucial respect the Gvasalias did bow to pressure. Having been pilloried for the lack of black faces in their previous shows, this one was more diverse, prompting Elle magazine's Kenya Hunt to tweet, "Nice to finally see some people of colour on the Vetements runway". Another post-Soviet creator also impressed on Sunday, with the Kazakh designer Ulyana Sergeenko using suspender belts worn over clothes to symbolise "Khrushchev's thaw" in the 1960s. In the two other highlights of the opening day, Donatella Versace unveiled an un-typically demure 1950s influenced collection of shimmering gowns that still managed to show off the legs. And Yuima Nakazato, best known for his creations for the singer Lady Gaga, became the first Japanese designer to show in haute couture for more than a decade. His futuristic feathery ensembles used coloured layers of PVC cut by machine and then "treated as origami". "Combining technology with craftmanship could be the future of couture," he said afterwards. (AFP)

Fashion rebels Vetements stitch up haute couture

Miguel Caballero&#39;s designs are not just chic, they could save your life.<br />
<br />
But his creations come at a price. A bulletproof men&#39;s suit can cost between $6,000 and $8,000 and a blazer up to $3,500.<br />
<br />
The Colombian fashion designer, who makes lightweight, bulletproof clothing for dignitaries including the King of Jordan, says he has a &quot;survivors club&quot; of 20 customers who owe their lives to wearing his garments.<br />
<br />
&quot;My greatest satisfaction is not earning business, it&#39;s saving lives,&quot; Caballero, who founded the company bearing his name 21 years ago, told Reuters following a fashion show on Friday with models strutting down the runway as at any other.<br />
<br />
Caballero counts prime ministers and presidents in Latin America and further afield among his clients and typically makes his clothing, for both men and women, to order.<br />
<br />
He can even offer his clients bulletproof underwear.<br />
<br />
&quot;It&#39;s amazing, it is discrete, it is lightweight, the innovation is beautiful, you don&#39;t even know that anyone is wearing it,&quot; said Rasheda Walker, who sells Caballero&#39;s clothing in Nigeria and Kenya.<br />
<br />
Caballero, who exports to 23 countries, also makes less glamorous garments, including de-mining suits and bulletproof vests for military and police forces.<br />
<br />
(Reuters)

Miguel Caballero's designs are lightweight, bulletproof and chic, protecting the backs of dignitaries including the King of Jordan

Miguel Caballero's designs are not just chic, they could save your life. But his creations come at a price. A bulletproof men's suit can cost between $6,000 and $8,000 and a blazer up to $3,500. The Colombian fashion designer, who makes lightweight, bulletproof clothing for dignitaries including the King of Jordan, says he has a "survivors club" of 20 customers who owe their lives to wearing his garments. "My greatest satisfaction is not earning business, it's saving lives," Caballero, who founded the company bearing his name 21 years ago, told Reuters following a fashion show on Friday with models strutting down the runway as at any other. Caballero counts prime ministers and presidents in Latin America and further afield among his clients and typically makes his clothing, for both men and women, to order. He can even offer his clients bulletproof underwear. "It's amazing, it is discrete, it is lightweight, the innovation is beautiful, you don't even know that anyone is wearing it," said Rasheda Walker, who sells Caballero's clothing in Nigeria and Kenya. Caballero, who exports to 23 countries, also makes less glamorous garments, including de-mining suits and bulletproof vests for military and police forces. (Reuters)

Colombian designer creates bulletproof fashion

<div>Ralph Lauren is cutting about 1,000 jobs and closing 50 stores as part of a sweeping plan to lower costs and revive sales growth at the luxury&nbsp;fashion&nbsp;brand.</div>

<div>Shares of Ralph Lauren, which also forecast declines in full-year and first-quarter revenue, fell as much as 10.4 per cent to $86.32 in early trading on Tuesday.<br />
<br />
&quot;It&#39;s been a long time coming. Ralph Lauren is a behemoth, it&#39;s a very successful brand. It&#39;s an iconic brand. However, it need changes to adjust to the times,&quot; said&nbsp;Mary Epner, a retail analyst.</div>

<div>The jobs being eliminated represent about 8 per cent of the company&#39;s full-time jobs, spokesman Ryan Lally told Reuters.<br />
<br />
Ralph Lauren, like some other luxury brands, has been struggling amid sluggish spending on luxury apparel and accessories. The company&#39;s margins have taken a knock as department stores discount heavily to get rid of excess inventory. Moreover, the company&#39;s lower-end Polo and Lauren brands are facing competition from retailers such as H&amp;M and Inditex&#39;s Zara, which are known for their shorter production times.</div>

<div>Ralph Lauren said on Tuesday it would try to reduce the time taken to get new products to shelves to nine months from fifteen. The company brought in Stefan Larsson as chief executive late last year in the hope that he would replicate his success of reviving sales at Gap Old Navy, where he cut down production times and focused on offering trendy clothes at low prices.</div>

<div>&quot;I believe that he (Larsson)&nbsp;can be a positive influence. I&#39;ve hear great things about him. He is making fast changes, which is really impressive in a company like Ralph Lauren. And, listen, he knows how to do this. They need changes in their infrastructure. They need changes in their supply chain, and lead times, and delivery times. And he knows how to do this very quickly,&quot; Epner said.</div>

<div>Larsson has also worked with H&amp;M for about 15 years, where he helped grow the company&#39;s sales to $17 billion from $3 billion and introduced partnerships with luxury brands such as Versace and Karl Lagerfeld.</div>

<div>The company will focus on its luxury Ralph Lauren line and the lower-end Polo and Lauren brands, Larsson said in the company&#39;s first investor day call on Tuesday. The company&#39;s sales have fallen in every quarter in fiscal 2016, leading to a full-year sales decline of nearly three per cent. Ralph Lauren said it expects net revenue for the current fiscal year to fall in the low-double digit percentage range, hurt partly by store closures, pullback in inventory receipts and weak traffic.</div>

<div>The company said it expects to record restructuring charges of up to $400 million and an inventory reduction-related charge of up to $150 million, mostly in the current fiscal year. The restructuring measures are expected to result in annualized savings of about $180 to&nbsp;$220 million.</div>

<div>The company had about 493 directly operated retail stores and employed about 26,000 people, roughly 15,000 of who work full time as of April 2. Shares of the retailer had recouped losses and were trading down 4.8 pct at $91.96. Up to Monday&#39;s close of $96.33, the stock had fallen nearly 14 per cent this year.</div>


In an attempt to lower costs, about 8 per cent of the company's full-time jobs are being eliminated

Ralph Lauren is cutting about 1,000 jobs and closing 50 stores as part of a sweeping plan to lower costs and revive sales growth at the luxury fashion brand. Shares of Ralph Lauren, which also forecast declines in full-year and first-quarter revenue, fell as much as 10.4 per cent to $86.32 in early trading on Tuesday. "It's been a long time coming. Ralph Lauren is a behemoth, it's a very successful brand. It's an iconic brand. However, it need changes to adjust to the times," said Mary Epner, a retail analyst. The jobs being eliminated represent about 8 per cent of the company's full-time jobs, spokesman Ryan Lally told Reuters. Ralph Lauren, like some other luxury brands, has been struggling amid sluggish spending on luxury apparel and accessories. The company's margins have taken a knock as department stores discount heavily to get rid of excess inventory. Moreover, the company's lower-end Polo and Lauren brands are facing competition from retailers such as H&M and Inditex's Zara, which are known for their shorter production times. Ralph Lauren said on Tuesday it would try to reduce the time taken to get new products to shelves to nine months from fifteen. The company brought in Stefan Larsson as chief executive late last year in the hope that he would replicate his success of reviving sales at Gap Old Navy, where he cut down production times and focused on offering trendy clothes at low prices. "I believe that he (Larsson) can be a positive influence. I've hear great things about him. He is making fast changes, which is really impressive in a company like Ralph Lauren. And, listen, he knows how to do this. They need changes in their infrastructure. They need changes in their supply chain, and lead times, and delivery times. And he knows how to do this very quickly," Epner said. Larsson has also worked with H&M for about 15 years, where he helped grow the company's sales to $17 billion from $3 billion and introduced partnerships with luxury brands such as Versace and Karl Lagerfeld. The company will focus on its luxury Ralph Lauren line and the lower-end Polo and Lauren brands, Larsson said in the company's first investor day call on Tuesday. The company's sales have fallen in every quarter in fiscal 2016, leading to a full-year sales decline of nearly three per cent. Ralph Lauren said it expects net revenue for the current fiscal year to fall in the low-double digit percentage range, hurt partly by store closures, pullback in inventory receipts and weak traffic. The company said it expects to record restructuring charges of up to $400 million and an inventory reduction-related charge of up to $150 million, mostly in the current fiscal year. The restructuring measures are expected to result in annualized savings of about $180 to $220 million. The company had about 493 directly operated retail stores and employed about 26,000 people, roughly 15,000 of who work full time as of April 2. Shares of the retailer had recouped losses and were trading down 4.8 pct at $91.96. Up to Monday's close of $96.33, the stock had fallen nearly 14 per cent this year.

Ralph Lauren to cut about 1,000 jobs and shut shops

Appointing a new Dior creative director is a &quot;work in progress&quot;, the French fashion house`s chief executive said on Tuesday, with the luxury label still to name a head designer some six months after Raf Simons left to set up his own brand.<br />
<br />
Dior, one of the world`s most famous designer houses, announced Simons` surprise departure in October after some three years at the helm. An in-house creative team has been working on collections since.<br />
<br />
&quot;(It is a) work in progress, work in progress and we`re giving it a little bit of time,&quot; Chief Executive Sidney Toledano told Reuters. &quot;It`s an important position.&quot;<br />
<br />
Toledano was speaking at a preview for Dior`s new London boutique opening this week, a four-floor store selling clothes, accessories, children`s wear as well as a home collection.<br />
<br />
&quot;The UK market in London business for us is doing very well, we still have double digit growth,&quot; he said, adding however that last year`s Islamist militant attacks in Paris had hurt tourism and sales in France.<br />
<br />
&quot;...What happened in November had a real impact on the first quarter but still we will continue developing our presence in Paris. We have a five-year plan and in September we`ll open a new fine jewellery boutique.&quot;<br />
<br />
Dior also presented its cruise collection on Tuesday at Blenheim Palace near Oxford, Winston Churchill`s birthplace and where the label hosted fashion shows in 1954 and 1958.<br />
<br />
Cruise collections, originally designed for wealthy fashionistas holidaying on yachts or cruises during the winter months, are outfits produced by stylists on top of seasonal lines.<br />
<br />
Lucie Meier and Serge Ruffieux, who are leading Dior`s creative team, took inspiration from &quot;not only the post-war high society`s wardrobes but also the restlessness and wanderlust (that) characterized the period&quot;, according to show notes.<br />
<br />
Models, such as new Dior makeup ambassador Bella Hadid, strutted down the catwalk in tops, dresses and skirts adorned in floral as well as Asian and African prints and embroidery.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Sleeves were voluminous and up to the elbow, worn with trousers flared and cut above the ankle or slim skirts.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Dior`s signature Bar jacket, usually cinched at the waist, was slightly longer and covering hips, while its well-known bows were loosened to resemble scarves. Several outfits were layered, such as skirts over trousers.&nbsp;

Appointing a new Dior creative director is a "work in progress", the French fashion house`s chief executive said on Tuesday, with the luxury label still to name a head designer some six months after Raf Simons left to set up his own brand. Dior, one of the world`s most famous designer houses, announced Simons` surprise departure in October after some three years at the helm

Appointing a new Dior creative director is a "work in progress", the French fashion house`s chief executive said on Tuesday, with the luxury label still to name a head designer some six months after Raf Simons left to set up his own brand. Dior, one of the world`s most famous designer houses, announced Simons` surprise departure in October after some three years at the helm. An in-house creative team has been working on collections since. "(It is a) work in progress, work in progress and we`re giving it a little bit of time," Chief Executive Sidney Toledano told Reuters. "It`s an important position." Toledano was speaking at a preview for Dior`s new London boutique opening this week, a four-floor store selling clothes, accessories, children`s wear as well as a home collection. "The UK market in London business for us is doing very well, we still have double digit growth," he said, adding however that last year`s Islamist militant attacks in Paris had hurt tourism and sales in France. "...What happened in November had a real impact on the first quarter but still we will continue developing our presence in Paris. We have a five-year plan and in September we`ll open a new fine jewellery boutique." Dior also presented its cruise collection on Tuesday at Blenheim Palace near Oxford, Winston Churchill`s birthplace and where the label hosted fashion shows in 1954 and 1958. Cruise collections, originally designed for wealthy fashionistas holidaying on yachts or cruises during the winter months, are outfits produced by stylists on top of seasonal lines. Lucie Meier and Serge Ruffieux, who are leading Dior`s creative team, took inspiration from "not only the post-war high society`s wardrobes but also the restlessness and wanderlust (that) characterized the period", according to show notes. Models, such as new Dior makeup ambassador Bella Hadid, strutted down the catwalk in tops, dresses and skirts adorned in floral as well as Asian and African prints and embroidery. Sleeves were voluminous and up to the elbow, worn with trousers flared and cut above the ankle or slim skirts. Dior`s signature Bar jacket, usually cinched at the waist, was slightly longer and covering hips, while its well-known bows were loosened to resemble scarves. Several outfits were layered, such as skirts over trousers.

Dior says new designer ''work in progress''

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