What Women Want

IT seems female designers are designing with a practical woman in mind this season, and making them feel good is just as important as making them look good. The Donna Karan Collection would have you looked up in form-fitting, elegant, tweed suits, stripy cardigans and pencil skirts next winter, Diane von Furstenberg would rather to see you in layers and layers of clashing patterns and fabrics and Carolina Herrera, unsurprisingly, prefers a more reserved take on her lavish designs, telling VogueTV that while her collection was reflective of the times, women "still want to look good".
Both von Furstenberg and Donna Karan are more or less on the same page when it comes to describing their collections for autumn/winter 2009-10. Von Furstenberg describes her Nomad collection as: "clothes for the woman who, wherever she goes, she belongs." Similarly, Karan says her show is made up of "pieces that make me feel good." She further explains her creative vision by saying: "I think there is the responsibility to find the feel good clothes and combine them with the reality of what one actually has to do".

Mount Azzaro

TODAY sees another designer name officially open its doors on what is fast becoming the city's chicest shopping address, Mount Street. French luxury brand Azzaro will open a pop-up store on the street which will trade until March 15.
Founded by Loris Azzaro in 1968, the label has undergone a renaissance under the creative direction of Vanessa Seward, formerly of Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. Azzaro once famously dressed Jane Birkin and Raquel Welsh and since Seward took the helm in 2004 it has won famous fans including Claudia Schiffer, Diane Lane and Kate Beckinsale.
Over the past year brands including Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga and Christian Louboutin have opened on the street and earlier this month Carolina Herrera announced it was to join the Mount Street ranks too

Oscar Style Winners

THE year's biggest red carpet event went down at Los Angeles' Kodak Theatre 22.02.2009 with Hollywood's most popular celebs coming out to reward excellence in their field at the 81st Annual Academy Awards. After much discussions about what the Best Actress would wear for their long walk down the paparazzi-lined red carpet, Kate Winslet - who won the gong for her performance in The Reader - wore Atelier Yves Saint Laurent, Meryl Streep (nominated for Doubt) opted for Alberta Ferretti, Anne Hathaway (nominated for Rachel Getting Married) shone in Armani Privé and Angelina Jolie (nominated for The Changeling) wore Elie Saab. Louis Vuitton-wearing Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire was the night's biggest winner, scooping two of the top prizes - Best Film and Best Director - and, while its stars didn't collect any awards, Dev Patel's visit to Burberry's head office for a tuxedo and Freida Pinto's stunning blue John Galliano gown, made them winners in the style stakes. As for the gentlemen, Tom Ford was the outfitter of choice, with both Brad Pitt (nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and
Daniel Craig wearing tuxedos by the Texan designer, while Best Actor winner - Sean Penn for Milk - wore Armani.