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Susie Rushton: Beauty Queen

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:00:43 GMT

Suntans are bad news, aren't they? They're technically unhealthy, make you wrinkly and, on top of that, are morally dubious (now that, according to Which?, eight year old kiddies are sneaking onto the electric beach in order to look bronzed in the playground). Think of Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton, dead-eyed Irish Jenny from The Apprentice...okay, maybe not her. Pale is gorgeous. Tanning is for Posh Spice. Fine. Then, the unthinkable happens. The sun comes out. In Britain! Before you can say malignant melanoma, we're up on the roof, in the park, grilling the gams, blithely taking our chances with the UV rays whenever possible - as evidenced by the spiralling numbers of skin cancers here.

All that glisters: Behind the scenes at V&A's jewellery gallery

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

It is impossible not to gaze at Cartier's diamond-adorned Manchester tiara from 1903, and not want to reach out and stroke its brilliant, garlanded curves and swirls. Under the watchful eye of Richard Edgcumbe, jewellery curator at London's Victorian & Albert museum, who is showing me round their collection, however, this is strictly verboten without wearing sterile gloves. These are a far cry from the silk versions that its original owner, the Duchess of Manchester, might have worn. "No, these aren't very glamorous," Richard agrees, snapping a glove, "but jewellery isn't just about glamour, it's a declaration of love and loss, of faith and hope."

Agyness Deyn: Smells like Deyn spirit

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Talk to people about Agyness Deyn, learned people, people who know about these things, and they will tell you that she is not like other models. She is kookier, funkier, funnier. They have a point. There are few cheekbones, after all, that can grace both the cover of Time and Grazia, which is why, though she has only been publicly recognisable for a year, a year and a half tops, she is already being talked about in terms of her iconic-ness.

Pixel perfect: Why you shouldn't believe your eyes when it comes to those glossy images

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

If Oscar Wilde were alive today, he would doubtless still be basking in the glory of his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Never has society's pursuit of youth and beauty been so voracious, after all. And never has technological intervention - from plastic surgery to anti-ageing cosmetics - been available to so many so early in their lives.

Suit you, sir: The art of male attire

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

The bow-ties are suspended, symbolically, in a glass case like butterflies. One is white and fluffy like a kitten; one is made of fake pearls; one is in a kind of delicate pink and white tartan. The most startling is deep turquoise and edged with fur. Do people - men - wear such things? Yes, apparently they do.

Susannah Frankel: Ready To Wear

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Ladies, ladies. You've read the warnings. You've seen the end results. But still, the minute the sun comes out, the British female (and male) population transforms, overnight, into an army of lobsters. An army of boiled lobsters. Time was, sunscreens were an inferior product. Anyway, we all thought, a couple of days looking and feeling as if we'd been exposed to nuclear fallout would seem like nothing once the burn disappeared and turned into a deep, mahogany brown...

All-American dreamers: this season designers have gone west for inspiration

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Backstage at the Chanel spring/summer 2008 show, the designer Karl Lagerfeld is explaining the American Dream theme behind his latest collection for the label: "It was the inspiration of this famous couple, the Murphys, in Europe, Villa America, the house in the South of France," he says. "It was when Americans and Europeans were very inspired by each other, the days of Fitzgerald and Hemingway and all that. I think that was the best time ever."

Lights, cameras, fashion: Designers reveal their cinematic inspiration

Sat, 10 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Cinema has always helped to define notions of glamour and style. From Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy (Breakfast at Tiffany's) to Catherine Deneuve in YSL (Belle de Jour), some of the medium's most memorable moments are revered as much for the costumes as for the acting.

Strike a pose: China's street style

Fri, 09 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

As the finishing touches are made to the Olympic venues, across Beijing another temple to sport is rising from the ground. Or rather, a temple to sportswear in the form of a colossal Nike shop. International shops and malls are springing up in the city faster than a 100m sprinter.

Picture Post: Red-carpet superheroes... and villains

Tue, 06 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

It's the Oscars of the fashion industry, but if the looks on parade at Monday's Costume Institute gala in New York were anything to go by, that industry is in a sorry state of disarray.

Wear with flare: Prada sets the tone with brilliant bell-bottoms and sculpted sandals

Sun, 04 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Moody, n'est-ce pas? And well it might be. This, after all, is a straight-off-the-catwalk look courtesy of Miuccia Prada. Here's what she had to say backstage after her show in Milan last September, with regard to a fashion moment that is rather darker than might be expected, given that this is the summer season, traditionally a time of high spirits and blithe prints and colours to match: "This is the first time I've gone soft. There is nothing straight in this collection - like there is nothing straight in nature."

Alexander Brenninkmeijer: C&A man strikes back

Sat, 03 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

It was perhaps inevitable that Alexander Brenninkmeijer would make a name for himself in fashion, although the minimalist aesthetic of his chic brand, Clemens en August, was probably not what his relatives might have expected. Brenninkmeijer's family was behind the German textiles and fashion retail giant C&A, which throughout the 1970s and 1980s pioneered cheerful fashion at everyman prices before Topshop got in on the act (and before C&A unexpectedly closed all its UK stores in 2001, after running up huge debts).

Susie Rushton: Beauty queen

Fri, 02 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Crème de la Mer started it all, early in the decade. Then, we wanted Eve Lom, La Prairie, Natura Bissé. Anti-ageing serums boasting ingredients including caviar, crushed diamonds, even exotic snake venom. Next came the pseudo-scientific "cosmeceuticals". While boom times have seen men buy ludicrously outsized LCD tellies, so the gender stereotype goes, cash-flush women have been splashing out on ever-more expensive skincare.

Kiss me Kate: Agent Provocateur's new campaign

Fri, 02 May 2008 23:00:01 GMT

"Let them eat Kate" screams the tag line to the final image in the latest Agent Provocateur campaign, in which the Kate in question - that'll be Moss - is photographed in crimson underwear holding great slices of wedding cake in her clenched fists while scantily clad bridesmaids frolic all around. In the background, the artists Jake and Dinos Chapman, cast as a pair of screaming popes, lie defeated and deflated - literally trampled underfoot by the most famous model in fashion history.

Susannah Frankel: Ready to Wear

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

George at Asda are dumping Coleen McLoughlin in favour of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. And this is clearly not a cheap publicity stunt cashing in on the latter's ruthless occupation of this country last month throughout which she brought the entire British media, salivating, to its knees.

e-male order: Buying clothes on the net is no longer just for girls

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Internet shopping might always have suited the reluctant male shopper - he could stay seated, beer in one hand, keyboard at the other, and shop from the comfort of his armchair at any time of day or night. However, it is only recently that men have outpaced women in their use of online shopping.

Susannah Frankel: Ready o Wear

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Wizard of Oz: The fashion world is cottoning on quick to Josh Groot's bold, flowing knits

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Simplicity is the key to Josh Goot's clothes. Like Calvin Klein, Helmut Lang and Raf Simons, his is an elegant minimalism: all pared-down designs, blocks of colour and body-skimming shapes. In his summer 2008 collection, for example, there are simple vest dresses with flashes of contrasting colour down the side and sorbet-meets- sunset-hued, splash-print separates. Even though most of the pieces are made from soft, stretchy cotton jersey (something of a signature), Goot is a master at using a block of contrast colour to lend an outfit drama or create the illusion of structure - which is no doubt why his collection has been snapped up here by first Browns Focus and then Brix Start-Smith for her trendy Start boutique in London's Shoreditch.

The 5-minute Interview: Sara Berman, Fashion designer

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

On leaving Central St Martins, Berman, 31, began training with Maria Grachvogel. In 2000, she launched her own line. Since then she has collaborated with ASOS and launched numerous diffusions.

Susie Rushton: Beauty Queen

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Paula Begoun's quest to uncover the truth about skincare began with a bad case of teenage acne. "I visited countless dermatologists, tried hundreds of products in all price ranges, and I still had acne. How could that be?" asks the pundit known by viewers of American primetime television as The Cosmetics Cop. Fast forward 25 years, and, following a career as a make-up artist, Begoun now has a legion of fans that log on to her website beautypedia.com and buy her handbook, an indispensible guide to almost every cream and lotion on the (American) market.

The smart set: Michael Howells for Galliano

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

"The idea behind the glitter is to leave a trail of stardust wherever you go," explains the set designer Michael Howells, backstage at the Dior couture show. He might be referring to the tiny, shiny flecks that are currently being strewn across the floor of a marquee in the grounds of the Polo de Paris by his two assistants, but it could just as easily be a description of his role in the fashion world. Technically he is a production designer and art director, who has worked on everything from films such as Bright Young Things, to parties for Kate Moss and the V&A Museum, to catwalk shows such as this, but a more romantic description of his métier would be that he brings the dreams and figments of the most creative imaginations to life.

High fashion, low budget: Why hard times needn’t mean a fashion crisis

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Swap till you drop
By Susie Rushton

The POW!! factor: Comic-book superheroes can also be style icons

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Fashion might move faster than a speeding bullet, but that's not the only thing it has in common with Superman. The interplay of comic-book costumes and fashion is explored in a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, entitled Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. According to curator Andrew Bolton: "Fashion, like the superhero, celebrates metamorphosis, providing unlimited opportunities to remake and reshape the flesh and the self. It offers entrance into another world... the freedom to fantasise, to escape the banal."

That 'je ne sais quoi': How French actresses trounce everyone in the style stakes

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

When the French actress Marion Cotillard swiped the Bafta for Best Actress from under the noses of Keira Knightley and Julie Christie, she not only trounced them on the big screen, but also on the red carpet. The star of the Edith Piaf biopic La Vie en Rose, Cotillard looked radiant in short, sequined Chanel, making everyone else seem stuffy, including a rigid, pouting, Dior-clad Knightley.

Susannah Frankel: Ready To Wear

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Big trousers. They were big last season, even bigger this season and remain impressively on the large side for next autumn/winter also. FYI: big trousers should not be too big - as in too big for you, although men often think that a pair of trousers deliberately cut on the roomy size should be worn a size smaller. This is just one instance where a woman's prizing of the space between her skin and her clothing - a precious and profoundly intimate relationship if ever there was one - is lost on the average man. Although it is always pleasing to find one's trousers are slipping off - a sign of weight loss, hopefully, rather than ropey fabric that has stretched beyond repair - that is not the type of trousers that we are looking at here.