Brazil style goes to Tokyo

Brazilian fashion and style came to Tokyo this week as Brazilian designers showed off their work for a full house of Asian buyers.

A model dislpays creation by Brazilian fashion brand “Drosofila” in Tokyo on March 26, 2008. Brazilian fashion brands were introduced to Japanese customers at the Brazilian Week in Tokyo.

Brazilian brand Juliana Jabour shown in Tokyo by models

Maria Bonita Extra from Brazil shown in Tokyo Brazilian Fashion week

A model dislpays creation by Brazilian fashion brand Gloria Coelho in Tokyo on March 26, 2008. Brazilian fashion brands were introduced to Japanese customers at the Brazilian Week in Tokyo.

More from Brazilian fashion designers

Fashion week in China :: asian style

A model parades the latest fashion by young Chinese designers at the opening ceremony of the China Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2008-2009, in Beijing on March 25, 2008. The world’s biggest fashion names are opening up outlets not only in major metropolises such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, but also wealthy secondary cities such as Hangzhou and Suzhou, to lure a new generation of brand-mad spenders from the Chinese mainland.

Here are more runway models parading the exotic Chinese duds.

I love this dress from the Chinese fashion show this week, its Hawt.

Some more interesting high fashion walking down the runway in China

a touch of tradition can be seen here

Ukrainian Fashion week?

Yep, Ukrainian has a fashion week, who would have thunk it.

Ukrainia just does not hit me as being one of the worlds fashion meccas, but they do seem to put some emphasis on fashion these days. It seems for the last decade they have been trying to put the Ukraine on the worlds fashion map and this 9 day show hopefully may get them a blip.

As nine days of models, runways and high heels were brought to an end, the air was electric with anticipation. Ukrainian fashion had just taken another step forward, adding to the momentum that has been building over the past decade. With continued hard work, diligence, dedication and proper investment, the fashion industry in Ukraine might someday become a true competitor on the international scene. For now, we will have to wait until next season to find out what this nation’s talented team of designers have in store for us next.

Here is a rundown of top events and designers in the Ukraine

What’s hot for the Fall/Winter 2008 Season

For women – platform heels, low cut boots, elbow length leather gloves were especially fashionable. Chiffon and silk long sleeve blouses paired with longer skirts were popular as designers opted out of shorter summer wear in favour of knee-length apparel. Layers of varying rich materials consistently appeared throughout collections, again, showing a penchant for a warmer look.

For men, skinny belts, pointed dress shoes, tapered pants and coats with waist belts were prominent. The general theme centered on sophistication and finesse, whilst retaining a sense of masculinity and sensibility.

Fur trim and oversized handbags were popular for both men’s and women’s collections

As for colours of the season, blacks, browns, greys and whites stood out along with shades of champagne, gold and cream. Contrast, especially using bold reds, blues and greens was also popular.

Designer: Olga Gromova

What you’ll find: Kimono-inspired gowns, flared sleeves and post-modern evening wear. The Gromova Design collection is only available by personal invitation from the designer herself, or through a recommendation of a current client.

Designer: Oleksiy Zalevskiy

What you’ll find: Fur, leather and denim from edgy to elegant with a canine trim. Look for his collections at Sunny and Mikhaella (43 Saksahanskoho, Modniy Kvartal, Bolshevik Shopping Centre (6 Hetmana); Modniy Kvartal, Alta-Centre Shopping Centre, 2nd floor, (11A Moskovskiy Prospect).

Designer: Oksana Karavanska

What you’ll find: Haute couture, pret-a-porter and everything in between, not to mention her line of inventive handbags. Look for her collection at Boutique Oksana Karavanska (29/1 Khreschatyk).

Designer: Liliya Poustovit

What you’ll find: A chic, modern look for modern women everywhere. Find her collection at Atelier 1 located in Hotel Vozdvizhenskiy (60 Vozdvizhenska).

Designer: Zemskova and Vorozhbyt

What you’ll find: Classic chic for the new businesswomen – at work, at home and out on the town.Look for their collection at West Mont (48Chervonoarmiyska) and Nashe, Olimpiyskiy Mall, 3rd floor (72 Chervonoarmiyska).

Designer: Anna Sosnovskaya

What you’ll find: A men’s line that screams masculinity with undertones suggesting delicate strength. Look for her collection online at www.anns.com.ua or visit her studio for a custom design located on 18-5 Harmatna.

Designer: Alexandr Gapchuk

What you’ll find: Smart suits and even smarter coats – for the modern man who is looking to update his look. Look for his collection at 21 Beloruska or shop online at www.gapchuk.com.

Designer: Serhiy Smolin for TM IDoL

What you’ll find: Confident clothing intended for the man who feels comfortable in his own skin. Look for his collection at his studio located on (75 Artema, office No.1.; www.fashionweek.com.ua)

for more of Ukraine’s fashion week

Search for the perfect prom dress

With school ending and summer just around the corner… we head into prom season and the teenage girls mad dash to Macy’s in search of the perfect prom dress.

Wow, I am glad I am past that, but for thousands of American girls, the fashion fun is just beginning.

I must say, I have to wonder how many prom dresses the typical girl tries on before she says “this is it!”. 5…10..100?

So whats hot this prom season? I hear …

This season’s biggest trends include:

• Silky and slinky gowns

• Bold color — orange, yellow, pink

• Goddess-style draping

• Ruching

• Black-and-white combos

• Low-cut backs

• Subtle sequins — too much bling is a bad thing

• Subtle ruffles

• Halter-style tops

The fashion police could use an internal affairs unit

Snarky amateur critics have taken the civility out of style watching

Nathalie Atkinson, National Post
Published: Thursday, March 27, 2008

It seems that anyone with a digital camera is now a street photographer and self-anointed style expert. At fashion events in particular, where these amateur Bill Cunning-hams stand around interviewing and snapping each other and themselves, it’s catty chasing its own tail. “Is there a ‘don’t’ column,” I overhear one hipster stylist hiss sotto voce for the benefit of his laughing friends at L’Oreal Fashion Week. He’s singling out a plump young woman walking past them, tottering barelegged in the cold in a pair of spindly, strappy sandals. She looks pretty, and proud of her outfit, no doubt meticulously planned. I hope she didn’t hear them. True, pointed critiques like Vice’s fashion faux-pas pages can be entertaining, but this guy’s callousness made me shiver. The girl isn’t a celebrity: She’s a regular person (not that celebs aren’t people too, but that’s another story), and I was dismayed at his complete lack of manners. Gossipy fashion malice for its own sake seems so passe and, whatever the season, cruelty is always unbecoming.

read more 

Paris Hilton on David Letterman show

Here is Paris Hilton on the David Letterman show again, long hair now… Paris still looks cute, even wearing a nightgown of a dress.

Supermodel VS Supercreep

TYRA BANKS ‘STALKER’ GETS FREE PASS
BUSTED, QUICKLY RELEASED
By BRAD HAMILTON, ANGELA MONTEFINISE and SUSANNAH CAHALAN

SUPERMODEL vs. SUPER ‘CREEP’: The site in Chelsea where Tyra Banks tapes her talk show was visited by obsessed fan Brady Green (inset), who was arrested in a nearby restaurant.

March 23, 2008 –

Talk-show host Tyra Banks is living in fear of a hulking stalker who’s been terrorizing her for months and was set free by a judge last week.

Cops finally busted the burly ex-con drifter Tuesday for allegedly stalking Banks from coast to coast, but he was released without bail – an act that has added to her anxiety.

Brady Green, 37, has hounded Banks with multiple letters and phone calls since early January, cops and prosecutors said.

He then started sending her flowers and showing up in person at her Los Angeles TV studio, they said.

The Dublin, Ga., native then took a bus to New York with the idea of visiting the studio where “The Tyra Banks Show” is taped. He arrived in the lobby at 4:23 p.m. on Tuesday, asking to speak to the former supermodel, the authorities said.

Green was carrying a large duffel bag stuffed with magazine write-ups about Banks and notes to himself about his various attempts to reach her, they said.

Cops were called to the scene, where Banks said she feared for her safety. Green was cleared from the premises.

But at 7:22 p.m., Green was back – sitting across the street in a window seat at a McDonald’s, drinking coffee and flipping through one of his magazines, said witness Jesus Nuñez.

Nuñez described the 6-foot-2 Green as “huge, strong with a lot of muscles.”

Green told police he was homeless, although he appeared clean and dressed in neat, casual clothing, they said. Cops arrested him in the restaurant and charged him with stalking, harassment and criminal trespass.

Read the rest of the Tyra Banks story Supermodel VS supercreep 

Interview with Photographer Paul Hartnett

Photographer Paul Hartnett has been documenting the club scene since before many of our readers were even old enough to sneak out at night. In advance of his upcoming show in February, he kindly granted BigShinyThing an exclusive interview

From the early London punk scene, through Leigh Bowery and the clubs kids, to street culture in Japan and the Asian mainland, Hartnett has been there to capture the look while it’s still fresh and raw. We were keen to ask a few questions of the man who’s seen it all.

BST: You’ve been documenting youth and street culture for over 30 years now. What is it about those worlds that keeps you excited?

PAUL HARTNETT: I started documenting street and club culture at the age of eighteen as a means of social lubrication. I wanted to get close to the key punk players such as Soo Catwoman and Sid Vicious, who lived in the next road to me in West London back then. I wanted to go beyond the visual. A camera seemed a perfect excuse to talk, exchange ideas, develop a rapport. Sometimes there’d be very little beyond the hair spray and eye-liner, sometimes there were all kinds of viewpoints, the most brilliant perspectives.

Louis Vuitton : Women Fashion Show Spring Summer 2007

Some very pricey Louis Vuitton handbags walking down the catwalk

Kim Kardashian Fashion Show

Check out this clip of a Fashion show that Kim Kardashian is involved in