Models wore feathers on their eyelashes in a presentation that almost resembled an extravagant masked ball.

When Naomi closed the show wearing “Chocolate Dhalia,” the name Piccioliâ€s atelier staff gave to her organdy and organza dress, the rapturous crowd reaction indicated that at that moment, few people were mulling, “But is it modern?” Extreme beauty shuts down the argument.

The brand has long been go-to for Hollywood movie stars, with creations by its now retired founder Valentino Garavani, whose magenta red gowns became a signature trait, featuring heavily during awards season.

Current creative chief Pierpaolo Piccioliâ€s bouffant dresses, and oversized designs in sumptuous taffeta and vibrant colours have earned him plaudits from a fashion forward crowd and a clutch of awards.

It has been more than three years and six shows since Vaccarello has assumed the creative director role at Saint Laurent. In general, the designer has polished his firm view of the glam rocker women rather than finding a new voice for the house within the framework of the YSL heritage. This time he seemed to have taken more risks in both assessing the heritage as well as how to adapt the strong fashion footprint to create a new silhouette and products. The first three looks of the show – a broad shoulder grey felt wool long coat with black satin pants and black satin blouse, or a camel felt wool military with a short black wool dress – set the stage for a collection themes with broad shoulder silhouettes throughout the show that moved the collection forward beyond the familiar glam of past seasons.

This emphasis on tailoring, one of the legacies of Yves Saint Laurent since the legendary designer first to put women in pantsuits as liberation from male patriarchy, gave the show that spark of sophistication that was missing. This exemplified in a white pantsuit with large spread lapel and a black cumber bund around the waist. But for those customers accustomed to the very short dresses, have no fear. There are still a sum of super sexy micro dresses as well as some bloomer shorts looks to choose from. Red floral embroidered dress with puffy trims, black sparkling laminated long sleeve short dress or a simple black short sheath dress with silk polka dots bow show the likes of these looks. Just as there were still a good amount of hot pants shorts or even diaper shorts with furry blousons, pants made a come back in cigarette pleat pants paired with silk lame blouse.

The menswear section of the show was the weak link, as the menâ€s clothes remained static with little evolution– namely the black slim fitted jeans still anchored the leather jackets, the coat, and the occasional beaded velvet blouson – garments that spelled success at retail over the past years but seemed to have outlived their fashion cycle. It was unfortunate that the menswear did not get the ‘shoulder treatment†to bring the clothes on par with the womenâ€s offerings.

At the end, an entire segment of the show was done under black lights with models walking behind a glass partition so that only certain reflective parts of their clothes and their shoes were visible to the audience. It gave the show a push of edge into the night sky.

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Bag Features from Spotted Fashion

The bag is a versatile piece that can be worn as a clutch, messenger and also a shoulder bag. The bag has double top handles with studs and a hanging ID tag. It includes a removable and adjustable shoulder strap. The interior has a fabric lining with open pockets and has a center zip compartment. The elongated zipper appears with different materials such as croc and the exterior of the purse also comes in calf hair.

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Initial reaction:

Warrior men. If Balmainâ€s creative director Olivier Rousteing creates womenswear for fearless, strong women, his menswear is infused with a similar fighting spirit. For SS15, he presented incredibly detailed beaded jackets, combining them with fitted sportswear to create a modern street armour.

Maximalist menswear:

Nothing less than decadence should be expected from the self confessed ‘maximalist†Rousteing. Last year, when trying on clothes in the Balmain showroom, campaign girl Rihanna tweeted: “This shit is art, like you don’t even wanna touch it!!!” The same could be said of his offerings for this seasonâ€s menswear, especially the jackets – which combined elements of the African weaving that inspired AW14 with intricate beading. The shoes, open toed sandal/walking boot hybrids, looked like something Hermes, the messenger of Greek myth, would trade his winged gladiators for were he incarnated in 2014.

Hip-hop and 70s sportsmen:

“This season, it was all about being sporty and effortless,” Rousteing revealed, drawing his inspiration from the World Cup, 70s athletes and the intersection between hip-hop culture and sportswear. Before the presentation, the prolific hashtagger posted a sneak peek of the collection to his 360,000 Instagram followers: a mash-up of lookbook images and pictures of French ski champ Jean-Claude Killy, whose influence can be seen in the collectionâ€s vivid, tailored sportswear. Rousteing is a designer that works very much according to his own tastes, and his casting of model Dudley Oâ€Shaughnessy – who could pass for his brother – for the lookbook indicates that this is true now more than ever. “I still love past generations,” he said, “but I need to push mine now.”

Photography Marie-Amélie Tondu

PARIS — “It is all those years of work — and when I look at it, I see the continuity; there is no season that pushes another out of date,” said Azzedine Alaïa, standing beside one of a handful of dresses displayed in all their graphic, body-conscious glory in front of Matisseâ€s “Nymph” murals.

But this display at the Musée de lâ€Art Moderne is only a taster of the 74 dresses on show across a verdant private park at the Palais Galliera, Parisâ€s fashion museum, newly refurbished with oxblood walls and a restored mosaic floor, the better to show the wonders of the greatest modern couturier who never bore that name.

“Alaïa,” which is to open Saturday and end Jan. 26, is an exhibition as noble as it is joyous, with its elegant, impeccably cut dresses, the striking intervention of zippers snaking around the body curves and with the funky Africa outfits, as seen on a young Naomi Campbell. They are an echo of memory from the designerâ€s childhood in Tunisia.

“Sometimes, when I am making a wedding dress, I think of those nuns, in their white habits with those wimple hats,” says Mr. Alaïa, 73, explaining the purity of tiny stitched eyelets on white cotton.

Read The Full Article: The New York Times

Here are the 10 bra mistakes you’re most likely making:

1. Choosing a bra by cup size.

So we shouldn’t be choosing bras based on cup size? Nope, says Smith — instead, start with the numerical band size. “Cup sizes are directly related to a band size,” she told us. “So for somebody to say, ‘Oh, I’m a D cup’ is irrelevant unless you know what band size it’s correlated with.” Cup sizes are not standard, meaning you may be a D with one band size but a E with another size band. A 32D bra is a cup size smaller than a 34D, for example. Letting go of whatever cup size you think you are will allow you to explore and find the best-fitting bra for you. Which leads us to…

2. Wearing a bra that’s too small.

Many women’s identities are tied up in their cup sizes, Bobbie says, making them resistant to go up a cup size in order to go down a band size. But you may be wearing a 36C when your ribcage measurement is a 32… which would require you to buy a bra that’s a 32E. “A lot of women I fit, I bring them down to a smaller back band size and and suddenly their cup sounds huge,” says Bobbie, “and they think that it’s a character flaw.” Own that larger cup size — it means your bra will actually fit you better.

3. Fastening your bra on the tightest hooks.

When measuring your band size, you should go according to the outermost set of hooks, not the innermost. “A bra is going to stretch about three inches in its lifetime,” says Bobbie, and when it does, “that’s when you go to the next set of hooks.” Buy a bra that fits snugly on the last set of hooks, and only later should you need to use the tighter ones.

4. Letting the band ride up on your back.

“The back band should never be higher than the underwire,” says Bobbie. If it does, it doesn’t fit you properly.

5. Insisting on a contour-style bra instead of a softer seamed, lined bra.

Contour bras are the molded ones, the kind that keep their shape even when they’re in your drawer (and that you usually find at Victoria’s Secret). Seamed bras are the soft ones with floppy fabric cups that mold to the shape of your breast. Which one is right for you, says Bobbie, depends on the texture of your boobs. “If your breasts are firm and they sit up high on their own,” Bobbie recommends, “then you can get away with the push-up bras and the contour style.” But if, like most women, your breasts are softer and not naturally perky, “they’re going to settle at the bottom of the contour cup and you’ll going to have space at the top of the strap.”

Why does this happen? “A breast is naturally cone-shaped, not round,” Bobbie explains, “so when you wear a contour with its own shape, you’re trying to fit soft tissue into that shape.” That’s when you get spillage or “quadra-boob.” The seams of a seamed bra, on the other hand, function like the support beams of a house, giving structure and shape to the breast. They work with your breasts to mold to them, instead of your breasts having to fit into a pre-determined shape.

6. Thinking you can wear one bra with every type of outfit.

Yeah, you just can’t. Certain dresses are going to require a more perky shape, while some shirts might look better if your breasts sit lower and flatter. Try different bras for each item of clothing you have to ensure you’re pairing your outfit with the best bra possible.

7. Wearing a bra two days in a row.

You may have that one bra you love, but bras shouldn’t be worn two days in a row. “Letting a bra rest at least one day in between wear will help the elastic regain its strength,” Bobbie tell us. “When youâ€re wearing it two days in a row, it’s like pulling on a muscle — it’s going to strain it and it won’t be able to snap back.” One thing that helps keep that elastic fresh? “Washing it in cold water helps it, because the cold water shocks it.” Oh, and while you’re at it…

8. Washing your bras with Woolite.

Your mother might have given you that first bottle of Woolite for your delicates, but Bobbie revealed to us that Woolite is actually terrible for bras: “It was actually designed to soften wool, so you shouldn’t use that on elastic, because you want the elastic to stay firm.” That actually makes a lot of sense.

9. Keeping a bra for too long.

“When worn correctly and taken care of correctly, a bra is going to last you about eight months,” Bobbie broke it to us. “After that, the band is stretched out, so itâ€s not going to support you anymore.” Thatâ€s why you should have six to seven bras in your wardrobe so you can rotate them, making them last longer.

10. Settling for a bra that doesn’t fit.

“Women just accept the fact that bras just aren’t going to fit,” lamented Bobbie. Guilty as charged — we get aggravated and tired of bra shopping and simply settle for a a bra that kinda, sorta fits instead of a bra that fits perfectly.

But now that we know exactly what we’re doing wrong, we can get reacquainted with the measuring tape and get back out on the bra buying circuit. For a peek into what a custom bra fitting experience is like, read our own tale here.

Stylist of the photoshoot is Caroline Newell, hairstyle by Tina Outen, make-up by Lotten Holmqvist, manicure by Liza Smith. In the interview Victoria shows her feminine and warm side. She talks about her husband, children and her everyday life.

I have never been a fan of Victoria, but I must take my hat off to her. She has managed to get very far with extremely little natural talent. From remaining very relevant, to producing a respected clothing design line, and somehow succeeding in a celebrity marriage that is still going strong to one of the hottest and most sucessful athletes on Earth as her husband, she seems to have a knack for getting what she wants.

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Here Is The Problem…

Cher’s video, “A Woman’s World” has a great girl power themed message that anyone can get into, I am in love with the song and Cher’s incredible voice. What I couldn’t understand was why someone of Cher’s legendary status and access would grab inspiration with a similar look , style and direction of another groups video, that is in somewhat of the same genre of dance/club music.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery – Charles Caleb Colton…

The Ones

It wasn’t like this was their hit “Flawless” that came out in 2001 and enough time had passed to respectfully try to make a similar styled video 12 years after the fact. The One’s released their video “Face & Body” early this very year, so it’s hard to make sense of how this could be just a harmless coincidence.

In my eyes, the video is just too eerily similar and I am slightly disappointed that someone with such heavy celebrity influence, funding, and  creative access like Cher could not have produced something more original to present to her fans after a long 12 year hiatus form the music scene.

Naturally IsabellaGucci.com contacted both camps to get a official response on the online buzz that has been generating on social media in particular about the similarities between Face & Body and A Woman’s World. Most people are crying foul over the duplication in addition to confusion over Cher’s ridiculous newspaper wig she sports in the beginning of her video. As to be expected I never received a response from Cher’s camp but I was lucky enough to speak to band member Nashom Wooden who is a vocalist in The One’s, his response was total respect and admiration.

“I am very honored that a legendary artist like Cher and her team was inspired by our work! Its a great compliment when another artist that you have respected and admired for years likes your work enough to attempt to make it their own. Seriously, Cher is a legend and can do what ever she wants as far as I’m concerned! We once appeared on the same episode of Top of The Pops on the BBC back in 2001. We did not have the chance to meet that time but we are very happy to have yet another connection with her Majesty Queen Cher!” -Nashom Wooden, Vocalist, The Ones

Decide For Yourself

If you have never seen Cher’s video A Woman’s World or Face & Body, here is your chance to see if you can pick up on what most are starting to notice. Watch both videos and decide on your own. In the end, I personally believe that this could only help The Ones and Cher. The great thing is that as long as no one’s feelings are hurt, everyone wins.

Watch The Ones, Face & Body

Watch Cher’s A Woman’s World

We love to hear your thoughts on both videos and comment below.

Cher’s Official Website
The Ones on Facebook