http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/?service=Rss http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/future-shock-alexander-mcqueens-second-line-mcq-combines-high-drama-with-street-style-1823682.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/future-shock-alexander-mcqueens-second-line-mcq-combines-high-drama-with-street-style-1823682.html <p>If there is one name in fashion that can at once summon both the glory of the avant garde and the cachet of commercial success, then it is Alexander McQueen. Known as a modern visionary, he is one of few current designers able to straddle the boundaries of high conceptualism and highly sought-after style.</p> Features Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/carola-long-beautys-in-the-eye-of-the-researcher-1822433.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/carola-long-beautys-in-the-eye-of-the-researcher-1822433.html <p>All the single ladies (as Beyoncé might say), are you looking to meet Mr Right, or Mr Right Now, or any other partially correct males who have stepped out of the pages of a dating manual? Then forget about sparkling wit or wearing something chic, because pseudo-science has come to your rescue once again, like a knight in a shining lab coat.</p> Commentators Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/new-kids-on-the-blog-1821228.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/new-kids-on-the-blog-1821228.html ]]> <p> It used to be a dream realised by only the privileged and ambitious few: going to fashion shows and writing them up for Harpers or Vogue, before swanning around the international style circuit with the rest of le beau monde. After all, the fashion industry is hardly known for its inclusive approach. </p> Features Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:54 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/frankel/ready-to-wear-celine-is-synonymous-with-a-rigorous-metropolitan-aesthetic-1821225.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/frankel/ready-to-wear-celine-is-synonymous-with-a-rigorous-metropolitan-aesthetic-1821225.html <p> When Tom Ford parted company with the Gucci Group back in 2004, fashion pundits predicted the end of an era for the "superstar designer". Henceforth, it was argued, anonymous teams would be the order of the day, the types who did most of the work anyway – at least so the story went at the time. </p> Frankel Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:49 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/fashion-audit-161109-1821230.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/fashion-audit-161109-1821230.html <p> <b>We love... Clemency London</b> </p> <p></p> <p> This new super-luxe label launched for autumn/winter and has impressed with its range of chic and cool reworked classics. There are silky party dresses with appliqué chiffon detailing to die for, as well as some excellent modern and edgy tailoring. Available from Selfridges. Clemencylondon.com </p> Features Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:28 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-ten-best-mens-bags-1820318.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-ten-best-mens-bags-1820318.html ]]> Features Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:07 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dress-code-kelly-rowland-1821229.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dress-code-kelly-rowland-1821229.html Features Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/on-the-agenda-were-off-to-the-shops-at-st-martins-lane-hotel-then-on-to-a-wainwright-christmas-1818795.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/on-the-agenda-were-off-to-the-shops-at-st-martins-lane-hotel-then-on-to-a-wainwright-christmas-1818795.html ]]> Features Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/one-step-ahead-an-exclusive-behindthescenes-look-at-what-makes-prada-the-worlds-most-influential-fashion-label-1818812.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/one-step-ahead-an-exclusive-behindthescenes-look-at-what-makes-prada-the-worlds-most-influential-fashion-label-1818812.html <p> Careful observation of and curiosity about the world, society and culture are the core of Prada's creativity and modernity," states the foreword to the first major book dedicated to this monolithic designer name. "This pursuit has pushed Prada beyond the physical limitations of boutiques and showrooms, provoked an interaction with different and seemingly distant worlds, and introduced a new way to create a natural, almost fashionless fashion." More than any other globally recognised luxury-goods company, Prada has sought to experiment and innovate, to push at the boundaries of fashion and anything else it touches – from fragrance to yachts – taking any interested party way beyond what might be expected from the comparatively straightforward appeal of designer clothes and accessories, however arresting these may be. </p> Features Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/carola-long-the-skinny-jeanbased-silhouette-has-now-reached-perfection-ndash-provided-you-get-it-right-1818757.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/carola-long-the-skinny-jeanbased-silhouette-has-now-reached-perfection-ndash-provided-you-get-it-right-1818757.html <p>"I get a bit sick of this skinny black uniform," announced Luella Bartley after her candy-coloured spring/summer show in September. She's referring, of course, to the Balmain-meets- Alexander-Wang-meets-French-Vogue editor-look which nine out of 10 fashion lovers prefer: ankle boots, spray-on jeans, boyish T-shirt, long thin cardigan and a leather jacket. It may not be original, and you may look like a bit of a fashion-bot, but some of us aren't at all sick of it because it's so damn easy. That is, those of us who have never quite recovered from the convenience of a school uniform. What some people call a rut, I call a capsule wardrobe.</p> Features Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dressing-table-the-best-makeup-tools-1818759.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dressing-table-the-best-makeup-tools-1818759.html ]]> Features Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-ten-best-childrens-coats-1817662.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-ten-best-childrens-coats-1817662.html ]]> Features Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:09 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/couture-karachistyle-1817733.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/couture-karachistyle-1817733.html ]]> <p>The designers were Pakistani, as were the models. Even the cotton from which some of the eye-catching couture was created was homegrown. And as Pakistan's first ever fashion week drew to a close, the message from the beautiful people gathered in Karachi was that this glamorous scene was as much a part of the country as headlines about bombs and terrorism.</p> Asia Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-ten-best-gloves-1817557.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-ten-best-gloves-1817557.html ]]> Features Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:51:53 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/ready-to-wear-bootcut-jeans-are-nothing-more-than-a-lazy-middleoftheroad-look-1817172.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/ready-to-wear-bootcut-jeans-are-nothing-more-than-a-lazy-middleoftheroad-look-1817172.html <p> Ubiquity could arguably be fashion's ultimate goal. At its most banal the industry's purpose is to sell clothes, after all. More loftily, changing our perceptions of dress, particularly on a grand scale, is the sartorial Holy Grail. </p> Features Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:49 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/beyond-the-little-black-dress-1817173.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/beyond-the-little-black-dress-1817173.html ]]> <p> The party season divides people into two camps: those can't pour themselves quickly enough into something sequinned and clingy, and those who see it as a burden, pressuring them to part with their jeans. </p> Features Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:21 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/on-the-agenda-harry-brown-radley-manchesters-royal-exchange-theatre-masterchef-ctrlaltshift-1814730.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/on-the-agenda-harry-brown-radley-manchesters-royal-exchange-theatre-masterchef-ctrlaltshift-1814730.html ]]> Features Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/first-person-i-can-identify-1000-different-scents-1814674.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/first-person-i-can-identify-1000-different-scents-1814674.html ]]> <p>I am a professional perfumer for Miller Harris. Like many in my field, I can honestly say the foundations of my craft were laid down in childhood. One of my pivotal influences was my grandparents, whose house in Scotland I used to stay in from time to time. They really instilled in me an appreciation for life's interesting smells. They were into organic food, and grew everything themselves. They had a flower garden, too. My grandmother made her own jam and bread; my grandfather was a carpenter. It was all so pure. I yearned for that kind of lifestyle. That's how my journey began. I worked in my school holidays in a fragrance shop in my home town, Halifax; it was one of those beautiful places where all these grand old ladies would come in and sample some of the fragrances. It's very different today – now you can buy these things anywhere. </p> Features Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/poetry-in-motion-the-guerrilla-wordsmiths-bringing-a-literary-touch-to-vintage-chic-1814680.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/poetry-in-motion-the-guerrilla-wordsmiths-bringing-a-literary-touch-to-vintage-chic-1814680.html ]]> <p> "Words have a magical power," says Kate Daudy, sitting in her kitchen, surrounded by the multicoloured swirls of poems that she has appliquéd across the walls. "If I walk down [west London's] Harrow Road and there's a great big poem by Lorca written down my back, the person on the bus who sees me might have a happy afternoon." </p> Features Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-fashion-audit--021109-1813125.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-fashion-audit--021109-1813125.html ]]> <p> What we love, we're not sure about, we're buying and we can't wait for... </p> Features Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:46 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/edun-fashion-hope-and-charity-1813063.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/edun-fashion-hope-and-charity-1813063.html ]]> <p> For someone who runs her own fashion label, throws herself into promoting charitable causes, is married to the world's most prominent rock-star-turned-campaigner and has four children, Ali Hewson is very calm. </p> Features Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:40 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-bold-shoulder-at-balmain-1813061.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-bold-shoulder-at-balmain-1813061.html <p>The fashion crowd are used to being ahead of the curve, but when in September last year Balmain's Christophe Decarnin sent models down the catwalk in frogged, shoulder-padded jackets, to a soundtrack of <I>Thriller</I>, no one could have guessed how perfectly – and poignantly – the designer would nail the upcoming zeitgeist of spring/summer 2009.</p> Features Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/ready-to-wear-houndstooth-is-fierce-and-signifies-power-over-and-above-prettiness-1813062.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/ready-to-wear-houndstooth-is-fierce-and-signifies-power-over-and-above-prettiness-1813062.html <p>Houndstooth check is very fashionable just now and if ever there was a signifier of fashion aimed squarely at those with womanly – as opposed to girlish – tastes, then this must surely be it.</p> Features Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dress-code-pearl-lowe-designer-1813064.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dress-code-pearl-lowe-designer-1813064.html <p> <b>What are you wearing right now?</b> </p> <p> <i>Because I live in the country, it isn't that easy to buy clothes anymore, so I get them made up instead. Right now, I'm wearing a black crepe dress from my autumn/winter 2010 range, with lace tights and some great lace-up high heels by Vivienne Westwood. </i> </p> Features Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dressing-table-makeup-for-a-ghouls-night-out-1810971.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dressing-table-makeup-for-a-ghouls-night-out-1810971.html ]]> Features Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/carola-long-deepred-lips-are-not-an-easy-look-to-pull-off-ndash-the-wrong-shade-can-leave-one-looking-like-an-anaemic-vampire-1810977.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/carola-long-deepred-lips-are-not-an-easy-look-to-pull-off-ndash-the-wrong-shade-can-leave-one-looking-like-an-anaemic-vampire-1810977.html <p>There's a general consensus that opting for a sexy Halloween outfit is bad form. Dressing up as a Playboy cat or a 'Witches of Eastwick'-type sorceress rather than your more traditional green-faced cackling version is cheating. If you want respect, get gluing those Rice Krispie warts on now, or for the more artistic out there, try the ghoulish looks demonstrated by Mac on YouTube.</p> Features Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-fabulous-world-of-nick-knight-1809790.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-fabulous-world-of-nick-knight-1809790.html ]]> Features Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:52 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-fashion-audit--261009-1809406.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/the-fashion-audit--261009-1809406.html ]]> <p> What we love, we're not sure about, we're buying and we can't wait for... </p> Features Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:33 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/coat-check-the-best-high-street-coverups-1809345.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/coat-check-the-best-high-street-coverups-1809345.html ]]> <p>Every winter, shopping for your new cover-up gets a little harder, as designers introduce further trends and variables to the mix. Looking for a long-line coat, but don't want it too princessy? Try the resurrected Crombie. Perhaps you're after a looser cape, but don't like the idea of the breeze blowing up the back? Look out for belted cocoons that have similar volume but none of the vents.</p> Features Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:28 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/alexander-wang-too-cool-for-school-1809343.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/alexander-wang-too-cool-for-school-1809343.html ]]> <p>While some designers look to the past or future, Alexander Wang is as right here, right now as it gets. The American designer is zeitgeisty, he's of the moment and in fashion-speak he's also having a moment; quite an extended one to judge by his growing popularity.</p> Features Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/ready-to-wear-everything-from-vintage-dresses-to-fine-furnishing-fabric-is-dissected-1809344.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/ready-to-wear-everything-from-vintage-dresses-to-fine-furnishing-fabric-is-dissected-1809344.html <p> It's all the things that mean something to me, things that I love," says the former journalist/stylist/photographer and suitably impressive fashion Renaissance man, Iain R Webb, about his latest venture. </p> Features Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/on-the-agenda-hammer-time-no-not-parachute-pants-but-a-series-of-scary-movies-for-halloween-1807380.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/on-the-agenda-hammer-time-no-not-parachute-pants-but-a-series-of-scary-movies-for-halloween-1807380.html ]]> Features Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/best-beauty-products-pretty-in-pink-1807475.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/best-beauty-products-pretty-in-pink-1807475.html ]]> Features Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:28 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/best-beauty-products-groomed-to-perfection-1807474.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/best-beauty-products-groomed-to-perfection-1807474.html ]]> Features Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:17 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/best-beauty-products-lad-about-town-1807471.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/best-beauty-products-lad-about-town-1807471.html ]]> Features Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:03 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/power-dressing-essentials-1807344.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/power-dressing-essentials-1807344.html ]]> <p> Before you come over all Working Girl 2, a word of warning: this season's power dressing is not simply to be confused with the Eighties revival. </p> Features Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dont-call-me-gordon-gekko-power-dressing-for-the-boys-is-all-about-subtle-stylish-touches-1807345.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/dont-call-me-gordon-gekko-power-dressing-for-the-boys-is-all-about-subtle-stylish-touches-1807345.html ]]> <p> Pinstripe double-breasted suit, £1,447, shirt, £303, and tie, £163, all by Raf Simons, Liberty, Regent's Street, London W1, 020-7734 1234 </p> Features Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/best-beauty-products-the-powder-room-1807346.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/best-beauty-products-the-powder-room-1807346.html ]]> Features Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/what-is-power-dressing-1807353.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/what-is-power-dressing-1807353.html ]]> <p> Power dressing. For anyone old enough to remember the 1980s in all its Dynasty/Duran Duran-inspired glory, this entails shoulder pads that are the envy of an American football team, colour so brash it necessitates the wearing of sunglasses and viscose-knit dresses so eye-wateringly tight they come with their very own knickers attached. But while all these elements of the Decade That Subtlety Forgot have been re-visited for autumn/winter 2009, the notion of projecting power through dress today is, of course, a little more complicated than that. </p> Features Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/claudia-schiffer-its-only-on-a-shoot-that-i-become-sexy-1807355.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/claudia-schiffer-its-only-on-a-shoot-that-i-become-sexy-1807355.html ]]> <p>in an age where airbrushing rules supreme, we no longer expect celebrities to actually look like their magazine or screen images. It comes as a strangely reassuring sort of surprise then, when Claudia Schiffer looks, well, just like Claudia Schiffer. For a start, she is so tall that tilting my head to look upwards at her face feels like staring up at one of her billboards. Then there is her skin: taut, unlined, and as creamy and pale as a panna cotta. Her cheekbones are arched and cat-like, her eyes a bright ice-blue. Her long, thick blonde hair is straight out of a Timotei advert – it's the kind of thick, shiny mane that men want to tousle, and schoolgirls want to plait.</p> Profiles Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:01 +0100