What We Like: The Britain by Burberry

Why We Like It: Biased we’re not, but we do love all things Burberry, and The Britain does in no way disappoint. All things British, this line is an amalgamation of rich heritage packaged with a modern twist. The Burberry trench coat palette looms on, and we’re certainly not complaining. The rounded octagonal dial adds style minus the bulk, and the alligator straps and stainless steel bracelet alternates provide diverse looks to suit different personalities.

With a price range approximating between Rs 42,000-4,20,000, the collection is currently only available at all 5 Burberry stores in India, but will be shortly released for sale in multi-brand stores as well. The Burberry Britain is sure to wind you up, automatically or manually, you decide. 

Two thumbs up for Chanel’s Spring-Summer 2013 showing at Paris Fashion Week, and a perfect 10 for following it up with an online web campaign that sophisticatedly unravels all that is Chanel. Divided into two parts, one labeled Timeline, the other No5, insidechanel.com takes you on a journey through time.

While the Timeline employs an interesting mix of visuals and past advertising campaign videos to relive the brand’s story, what works is that it’s a comprehensive yet lively method that documents Chanel’s extensive history, all the way from 1883 to 2012.

However the Timeline charm quickly wears off… well at least once you’ve viewed the No5 video. Kicking of strong with Coco Chanel’s search for the perfect scent that is in sync with a woman’s perfume, the video leads you to perfumer Ernest Beaux, the man responsible for the iconic fragrance. Soon you begin to understand what lends an eternal preference to Chanel No5 and how the fragrance achieved its iconic status over the years.

From Marilyn Monroe in 1952 to Brad Pitt in 2012, the much endorsed No5 enjoys an ever expanding fan base, one that has multiplied 10-fold over the years. The video leaves you feeling compelled to go out and buy Chanel No5, not just to claim some everlasting goodness, but also to show some loyalty to the brand.

For the complete videos, go to insidechanel.com

Cover Image Courtesy: Reuters

A shoe worthy of a modern day Cinderella has been sold for almost $500,000, making it one of the most expensive pieces of footwear in New Zealand.

Auckland footwear queen Kathryn Wilson teamed up with Sarah Hutchings of Orsini Fine Jewellery to create the diamond encrusted high-heel, reported Stuff.co.nz.

Hutchings painstakingly placed more than half a million dollars worth of white diamonds on to a single classic court-heeled shoe to create a one-off work of art.

The process involved hours of surgeon-like precision using tweezers and a special adhesive.

The shoe was sold at an auction organized by Wilson to raise money and awareness for Ronald McDonald House.

Source: ANI

Pictures used for representational purposes only. Images Courtesy: © Thinkstockphotos/Getty images

Image Courtesy: Reuters

Whether it’s Blue Ivy’s Swarovski-studded Ruthie Davis booties or Suri Cruise’s miniature Ferragamo handbags, celebrity kids are under the scanner for their expensive gear and extravagant lifestyles.

Surely parents dictate these choices, so when Jennifer Lopez decides to sit pretty in a white lace Chanel dress at the designer’s Spring-Summer 2013 showing, how far would the apple fall from the tree? Indeed Emme Anthony, daughter of Marc Anthony and J.Lo, dazzled in some Chanel accessories herself.

Presumably oblivious of her designer gear, Emme sported a glittery Chanel brooch priced at $310, and believe it if you will, a $2,300 Chanel butterfly bag.

The $2,410 worth of Chanel covered only the accessories sported by the star kid. These were teamed with a pretty pink dress, a white cardigan, pink mary-janes and white frill ankle socks.

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What We Like: Fall/Winter 2012-13 Eyewear Collection by Valentino

Why We Like It: Valentino's Fall/Winter 2012-13 eyewear collection line comes with a rather retro-romantic touch. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Picciolo, designers for Valentino, blend the famous fifties look with hard, metallic inserts that create iconic details.

The women's collection perfectly captures a delicate and romantic atmosphere with a dark hint. The Valentino man expresses masculinity that is evocative but not nostalgic.

Available at lifestyle and optical retail stores across the country; price: Rs 10,000 onwards

Bottega Veneta, most famous for its richly woven handbags, has published its first book with Rizzoli international publications. This fancy BV book is the result of a collaborative effort between the Italian brand's creative head Tomas Maier, book designer Sam Shahid and many fashion journalists.

Each chapter reflects different categories of luxury goods. In the introduction, Maier writes of his admiration for Bottega Veneta's craftspeople who are his inspiration.

Containing luxuriously illustrated surveys of craftsmanship, design, and extraordinary materials that have taken the Italian label to the epitome of luxury goods, this book will takes the reader into the evolution of BV.

It is available worldwide in stores now, it comes in English, Italian, French and German editions. There is also a luxury edition slipcased in intrecciato leather, which will be sold exclusively in Bottega Veneta boutiques.

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Diamond-Studded Ferrari Book

Siddhartha Mallya, budding entrepreneur and industrialist 

You probably need sunglasses to tackle the blinding whiteness of Malya Jr's suit. Once you get past that and the pout, you realise with its black lapels and welt detailing on the jacket and the side strip on the pants, the suit does him no favours. Reminds you of the 'after' in a detergent ad, and not in a good way.

3/10

Rahul Khanna, Bollywood actor 

Now this is how you do a white (Gucci) suit. A subtle shade of white, beautifully cut, fine fabric and accessorised discreetly in black with a bow tie, pocket square and patent leather shoes shined to a sparkle, the suit sits perfectly on Rahul. Much like.

10/10

Narendra Kumar, Designer 

It takes a brave man (or one with plenty of personality) to attempt a paisley printed dinner jacket, and if anyone can, Nari can. On anyone else it may have looked ridiculous, but Nari makes the jacket his own by teaming it with black jeans.

9/10

Neil Nitin Mukesh, Bollywood actor 

Yet another risky suit in terms of how lustrous the fabric looks. While it may not be to everyone’s taste, to be fair, the color does agree with Neil, not to mention how well the suit is tailored. We’d say, all in all, the boy looks sharp.

8/10

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bollywood actor 

It’s a classic suit worn with a contrast-color shirt. He looks good in it even though it’s too business-like for an evening soiree. Even so, wish he'd opted for a narrower tie and a different color. The grey seems to have an aging effect.

6/10

Images Courtesy: Viral Bhayani

What's Hot: Liz Hurley in VersaceWow Factor: We always agree with the adage "less is more" and Liz Hurley kept it simple in this iconic black Versace safety pin dress. What we really admire is that she let the dress do the talking, and decided to cut down on accessories. She went nude with her make up too. Very well done Liz!

What's Not: Lady GagaOuch Factor: We have a lot of issues with Gaga's appearance in this safety pin dress. We just think she should've skipped those stripper shoes and the long witchy nails. She took out the oomph from the dress and made it look like strips of material held together by pins. Tsk tsk, it takes more to be ladylike.

Image via Facebook

Have you ever fancied shopping with guidelines offered by personal stylists? It's time to live it up with SBJ House of Luxury, which has introduced a Dial-a-Suit service targeting corporate clients.

"We have always thought of shopping at home as something what royals would indulge in. With a brand like ours, whose USP lies in customized tailoring, this was the next best step, raising the service bar for the client," Mannoj Mehrra, the man behind the brand, told IANS.

"The whole idea behind launching the concept is to serve a corporate client, who is short on time but wants best of suits for himself," he added.

Dial-a-Suit, a one-of-its-kind concept in India, offers a whole team, including customer relationship management (CRM) representative and fashion consultant, who visit your house with plethora of options in fabrics and styles, and that too at affordable prices. 

How Dial-a-Suit Works

The entire process of selection, measurements, trials and delivery takes place at home. 

SBJ houses high-end designer labels from Milan and London including Daniele Alessandrini, Massimo Rebecchi, Sartorio Napoli, PT01 Pantaloni Torino and 40 Savile Row apart from their much coveted in-house Study By Janak men's and women's couture line. 

"The USP of this concept is that it will be delivered to the client within 24 working hours," said Mehrra.

One can enjoy the benefits of the concept at prices starting from Rs 9,900 with no delivery charge involved.

Source: IANS

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Image courtesy: © Thinkstockphotos/Getty images

Image Courtesy: nikeinc.com

Any news from Missoni or Converse is sure to catch eyeballs, so is it any doubt the brands have successfully pulled a double whammy with their recent collaboration?

Italian and American fashion find common ground with The Converse x Missoni Archive project.

A stunning collection of one-of-a-kind sneakers, the design houses have fused together classic styles and some retro rebellion in their latest offering.

The 20-pair limited editions, made available to the public at Colette in Paris, showcases finished designer sneakers that have been fashioned by Converse, using old out-of-stock, zigzag patterned fabrics by Missoni.

At Rs 27,200 a pair, the exhibit is already grabbing some major eyeballs, credit to the fascinating installation provided by London illustrator Gary Card.

Gary’s installation employs a tall construction that features limited edition Converse x Missoni shoes, cleverly showcased on a knitted tower.

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan's wedding is the most talked about event right now. First there was much speculation about the date - it's apparently on October 16, even though Kareena has been resolutely mum on the issue - and then the venue. Places like Casablanca and the Maldives were mentioned before venues like Pataudi Palace. Now it's time to figure out what the bride will wear.

The nawab and begum of Pataudi in Costumes & Textiles Of Royal India

Kareena Kapoor's wedding outfit is a recreation of mother-in-law Sharmila Tagore's wedding joda and has been designed by Ritu Kumar.

What Kareena Will Wear

The designer tells us she has updated the traditional Farshi pajama-kurta, presented to Sharmila by her own mother-in-law, Begum Sajida Sultan of Bhopal, who wore it for her wedding in 1939, to fit Kareena.

"We had to redo the Farshi pajama, because the ones created earlier were actually a cross between a gown and a pajama and came with a trail that the bride had to carry, or have someone carry. Also, they were designed around the one size fits concept, so the new design has been tailored to fit Kareena better," says Kumar, who researched Indian royal style and even photographed the Pataudi women for her book Costumes & Textiles Of Royal India.

She says she sourced the fabric - a peachy pink that is as similar to the original as possible - from weavers in Benares. The weave was created in-house at Kumar's studio and then woven by local artisans. Then, it took a little more than four months for two families of master craftsmen to finish the zardozi work. "About 100 years ago, great emphasis was placed on stitches and their use on three dimensional surfaces. There was no bling in those days.  So it was quite a challenge to recreate the outfit, contemporizing it, and yet making sure it stays true to the aesthetic of the family history."

A rust and gold tissue dupatta with an avocado gote at the hem - the original was simply repaired - completes the look.

Kumar adds that Kareena knew that she was going to be wearing a heritage piece and hopes that she will pass her own wedding outfit down to the next generation.

Soha Ali Khan in shots from Ritu Kumar's Costumes & Textiles Of Royal India

Kumar is also dressing Saif's sisters Soha and Sabah. While Soha will wear a peach woven lehnga and odhni to one event, she will also wear a red Farshi pajama that had been designed for Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children; Sabah will wear a gold and white Farshi pajama from Kumar's Falaknuma collection.

ALSO SEE: Ritu Kumar Weaves Her Magic in Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children

Ritu Kumar Presents a Photo Exhibit of the Indian Woman

The 1000 sq ft store will showcase the latest Hackett Autumn Winter 12 collection ranging from Hackett Mayfair, Aston Martin Racing to unique and distinctive formal wear. Look who we spotted revelling in the brands celebrations

We're fans of Manish Arora's designs and his taking Indian style to the Parisian ramp has us loving him even more. Arora took us by the bejewelled hand down a goldmine of revamped traditional Indian dress.

It was evident in the Angrakha styled jackets, the kurtas and tunics.

Gold! It was everywhere in his collection, from the shoes, to the ornaments that covered the face, almost garish-looking.

We can't stop admiring the fab embellished belts and bags we spotted on the ramp.

The colour palette was soft with blues pinks and gold.

Image courtesy: AP

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 Image Courtesy: Reuters. AP

Celebrated designer Ruthie Davis has created a custom-made pair of booties for Jay-Z and Beyonce’s eight-month-old-daughter Blue Ivy. 

The toddler’s mother has already built up quite the collection of designer shoes and clothes for her baby daughter. Her shoes, or should we say booties collection already boasts of Jeremy Scott x Adidas J wings and Marc Jacobs mouse ballet flats.

 Image Courtesy: Ruthie Davis

This latest addition called Baby Ruthies 1, are tiny sneakers that have been bedazzled with almost $800 worth of amethyst Swarovski crystals, reported the Daily Mail.

The designer posted an Instagramed shot of the tiny sneakers to her Facebook page, along with a note that read: "Take a look at the Baby Ruthies I made especially for Beyonce and Jay-Z's daughter Blue Ivy... So sweet, right?" 

Source: ANI

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Much to the delight of Dior loyalists, the second episode of Lady Dior’s web documentary titled ‘Up and Up’ has finally surfaced.

While Episode 1 was a muted prelude that showcased a feminine, poised side of the French actress, Episode 2 decides to shift gears and banks on Marion Cotillard’s playful charm and candidness.

What makes the webisode interesting is that it intersperses very contrasting visuals. The first is an extension of episode one, where Marion and the makers at Dior continue treading down memory lane, discussing the make, finish, structure and pattern of dress-making.

And then blink and you have a surprising burst of visuals that feature the French actress at her candid best—mischievous and endearing at the same time.

While the retro background music and shots of Marion unabashedly dancing are sure to make you smile, Marion humming Beirut’s hit single Nantes at the close of the video, is what will really stay with you.