Best Dressed of the Weekend: Girls in the Knowles
JustJared

Summer is coming and we are all getting excited so it's been a great weekend of celebrity spottings in their Spring attire.

Beyoncé, who has been looking incredible lately, was caught en route to meetings in New York wearing one of Etro's funky maxi skirts. I love the mix of prints and how the long-sleeve fuchsia top gives it a city vibe. B accessorised it with her favourite black hat, massive hoops and The Row sunglasses we have seen her wear recently.

Rosie H-W is my current queen of airport chic. I am forever amazed with her looks touring the world. This one of black skinny jeans, suede ankle boots, a simple grey tee and a killer camel biker jacket is amongst my favourites. And I'm loving the shades and the pop of colour of the green suede bag.

Solange Knowles' look is probably some of the coolest print mixing I've seen. So subtle and so chic. I just can't think of anything better suited to be worn to a casual cocktail party on a New York spring evening.

Rihanna has been in London for a few days just in time for our week-long spring. She has very well taken advantage of it wearing looks like this bang-on-trend Stella McCartney two-piece. I love the pajama feel, the super chic sandals and the statement sunnies.

Milan Fashion Week: FW12 Highlights
Style.com

Style.com

So far the SS12 season has been great! New York started out a little weak, with the exception of Alex Wang, Prabal and Rag & Bone, but London really picked up the rhythm and Milan is keeping it up.

I was very pleased with Gucci this season because finally Frida Giannini has brought it back to what it used to be –a plethora of luxurious glamour inspired by the golden eras of fashion. We have seen a lot of fringed skirts and drop waist dresses since New York kicked things off but no one has made then as well as Gucci so far. The 20's inspiration is going strong.
Versace, another Italian house who has had a little trouble getting its mojo back, has finally found its place in the current fashion panorama. Donatella is keeping Gianni's essence alive while pushing the brand forward. I love their SS12 collection and its abundance of two-piece tube skirt and top looks –a trend also very well pulled off at Pucci, despite their lose of focus this season.
Two of my favourites, Marni and Jil Sander, never disappoint. The first joined into the 20's silhouettes trend but approached it from its quirky and graphic way, which made it very interesting. Raf Simons, who is not rumoured to become the new creative director at YSL (!), went for more of a late 50's inspiration. He updated the looks by playing with geometric cuts. My favourite were the square necklines that we also saw ar Marni –so chic!

Best dressed of the weekend: Unexpected guests

When I picked the three ladies that would make it into this week's 'Best dressed of the week' I knew that there would be some controversy about two of them. No one will argue how unbelievably chic Kate Moss looked trotting the streets of Paris at the beginning of the weekend. It's hard to find any flaws in her style, especially these days when she's keeping clean, staying out of trouble and getting engaged in Paris. Katie Holmes and Emily Rossum are another story. I choose Holmes' look because, while somewhat conservative, I felt it kind of channeled Jackie O. Which is not surprise considering Katie recently played her for a TV miniseries. I love the combination of the blouse, the light washed jeans and the low cowboy boots. And then, Rossum. I have never liked it as she's always seemed too cheesy for my taste. But she looks charming in that red and burgundy Etro dress very much in line with the 20's orientalism we saw at Louis Vuitton's SS11 show but rather more restrained. Agree?

I'm off.

[Pictures: JustJared.buzznet.com, Celebrity-Gossip.net]

What happens in Milano...

... definitely doesn't stay in Milano. It goes around the world. There are still two days left from Milan Fashion Week but we have already seen a lot of the biggest names turn things around on the catwalk. The SS11 trends have radically changed to opulent minimalism focused on cuts and details rather than flamboyance. It's the traditionally more pompous brands like Versace which are the biggest surprises. The colours were strong but clear and red was king even though Donatella's nudes seemed even more appealing. We also saw a lot of stripes and Versace's famous Greek motifs adding dashes of colour to otherwise monochromatic dresses. I particularly liked the extra long fringe details, the cutout shoes and the just-below-the-knee pencil-skirted dresses.

While the new collections that will dictate next summer's trends keep coming down the catwalks of the world's fashion capitals, its attendees, the fashion elite, unconsciously set another handful of trends that the rest of the industry's adepts will follow later as well. The best example of this is the cropped trousers and stilettos combo that the team of Net-a-Porter have already tweeted about. A few months ago people couldn't believe that the infamous chunky heels and wedges would be kicked out of the spotlight by their skinnier sisters but everyone from our favourite style icons to Vogue's popular editors are embracing the stiletto. Good news for Prada and Marant!

I have always been and will stay a faithful Etro fan. It is one of those houses that strongly holds on to their spirit season after season yet never fails to provide contemporary takes on their staples. However, their latest line felt incredibly restrained. We did see plenty of ethnic prints and fringes but their SS11 collection had a much more sophisticated city vibe. The prints were versatile and so were the maxi dresses. It was as if veronica Etro had envisioned her bohemian muse paying a visit to the big city. Very refreshing.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, Net-a-Porter.com, Zimbio.com, SaksFifthAvenue.com]

Milan highlights

Whether is was entirely due to Anna Wintour's preferences or not, Milan fashion week occurred way too fast. We almost didn't have enough time to savour every collection the way they deserved. As it happened in London, the Italians proved that they know the direction they're going and that they haven't lost that savoire faire that first made them so popular. For the first time, I have organised the collections in order of my liking (excluding, of course, Marni and No. 21 which deserved special mention). Dolce & Gabbana pleasantly surprised me this season rooting back to their great basics and putting special emphasis in power dressing. Gucci, who in past seasons seemed unfocused, came back better than ever with an ode to Tom Ford times. While Donatella is still trying to find something that deserves having his brother's name on the tag, Christopher Kane's intervention at Versus succeeded in bringing the brand back into fashion from obsoleteness. —What's your favourite?

[Pictures: Style.com]

I'm off.

what happened in Milan

Milan Fashion Week was only the first half of all the good things to come for menswear. However, it has been a very exciting few days thanks to the live streaming of the fashion shows and all the twittering going on. I am overall very pleased with what I have seen. Designers have restrained themselves and have hence found new ways to let go of their prodigality via textures and colours. My biggest joy? —Gucci and the return of the turtle neck and blazer combo. Which collection was your favourite?

[Pictures credit: GQ.com]

I'm off.

"The way of the future"

Once again I couldn't help myself. Something of the like happened the last time I watched Out of Africa, the film sucks me in and I cannot stop thinking about it until I put together something like this. This time the film is The Aviator. Funnily enough both of them were movies I had seen several times before but it seems as if once never suffices. I was surprised by how contemporary and fashionable the styling looks in the film.

Howard Hughes and Katharine Hepburn mix tailoring and knitwear like pros adding round sunglasses and fedora hats as finishing touches.

Above: Jenny Jayne F/W09, DiCaprio and Blanchett in their alter ego's ensembles, and Ralph Lauren F/W09

Hepburn epitomised the boyish look. Suits and shirts à la homme far from body-con yet extremely sensual.

F/W09 - Hutson, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Dolce & Gabbana

F/W09 - Etro and Dries Van Noten

DiCaprio walks around in his leather Belstaff jacket that was made into a special edition. A look from which Hermès and Richard Chai draw inspiration for next season.

Ava Gardner could easily be a fashionable woman of today. In contrast with Hepburn's style, Gardner was more pompous and exhuberant. Striking colours and cuts mixed with big accessories.

From left: Gianfranco Ferré and Louis Vuitton

Now, these I have been trying to track down on the Internet. They are my most desired item of the season. Sadly, Proenza Schouler did not commercialize their metallic version from the runway.

From left: Michael Kors S/S09, DiCaprio wearing my desired shades, and 3.1 Philip Lim

[Picture credits: Style.com, Imdb.com]

I'm off.

the Milan chapter

Men's Paris Fashion Week kicked off yesterday and new of my reviews for 212 Dressing Room will be coming up. Look out for Dior Homme sometime tomorrow and for Givenchy later on. In the meantime, have a look at Milan's highlights from my favourite shows.

There were plenty of massive knit scarves and jumpers, quite a lot of red and amazingly made suit pieces. Most designers have chosen simpler garments for this time of crisis and so clothes focus more on detail, craftsmanship and original silhouettes resulting in pieces any fashionista will name essentials for his wardrobe.

[Pictures credit: Men.Style.com]

I'm off.