Doutzen Kroes models my favourite FW12 pieces for Vogue Paris
TFS, Style.com

I received the August issue of Vogue Paris this weekend and even though I've been drooling over the Marion Cotillard cover for the most part I have also managed to take a look inside. I always really enjoy the August issues because there's just enough new season content to digest. The September issues are amazing to go through but they take several goes to process. Vogue Paris always does a long new season editorial story for August. This year's is called 'Paris mon amour' and is shot entirely by Mario Sorrenti (like 90% of the issue) and styled by Emmanuelle Alt, Joe McKenna and Marie Chaix. There are some incredible shots in it and I love how each stylist brings their different view to the story. My favourite, though, are the Doutzen Kroes pictures styled by Emmanuelle.
I've been infatuated with Doutzen ever since I saw her at the Giles show last season and I'm glad that Vogue Paris has got behind her. She even got her own cover in April. In the new editorial she models some of my favourite pieces from the FW12 collections. From the black croc Tom Ford number that Rihanna already rocked at the Met Ball, to the Miu Miu winter prints that will be all over the covers in a few months. The sexy emerald leopard Gucci dress Natasha Poly wore in Cannes and the stunning Burberry Prorsum quilted velvet coat that closed the FW12 show.

TFS, Style.com

Tom Ford face-off: Gwyneth Paltrow vs. Daphne Guiness
JustJared, Style.com

Daphne Guiness was one of the attendee's of a private dinner Tom Ford hosted last Friday to celebrate the kick off of London Collections: Men and to be master of ceremonies, which I imagine is one of his favourite things.
Daphne obviously wore one of Tom Ford's designs for the occasion. But I was surprised to see it was exactly the same model Gwyneth Paltrow wore earlier this year for the Oscars. It would have been fine had Gwyneth not been crowned best dressed by everyone – why would you want to compete with that?
The truth is Guiness looked more like a dark queen (a crow on her shoulder would have been a good accessory) while Paltrow was more like the queen of light. I think Daphne fell short with this look even though I liked her touch of the golden chocker. What are your thoughts?

Best Dressed at the 2012 Academy Awards
Getty

This year's red carpet seemed to be a lot more subtle than last year's, which is exactly what I said a year ago. We saw little drama but a lot of elegance, so I am happy.

My three absolute winners are Rooney Mara in Givenchy Couture, Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton and Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford. All three dresses were stunning, unique and very simple. It was all about the details – the slickness of white, the layers of chiffon, the play with textures. They are three of my all-time favourites so I was thrilled so see them look so beautiful, especially Gwyneth who wasn't even nominated!

My two big surprises of the night were Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen and Tina Fey in Carolina Herrera. The first because I felt like she hadn't quite found her style until now (and I loved the hair) and the second because she had 'it' but hasn't been too successful showing it in the past – Fey was the epitome of elegance last night.

Natalie Portman and Sandra Bullock were a bit hit and miss for me because even though they looked really pretty, they failed to have that something that makes a look Oscar-worthy. In the case of Natalie's vintage Dior I think it was the overly simple silhouette and informal pattern, and in Bullock's case it was the odd fit of her Marchesa that didn't feel age appropriate.

Getty

Best Dressed of the Weekend: New Year's Edition
JustJared, Celebrity-Gossip

Happy New Year everyone!

Things have been so slow in the celebrity spotting department but it's nice to take a break from work and blogging so I guess it's suited me. I am slowly going back to business –flying back to London tomorrow– so I wanted to start the new year with my Best Dressed of the Weekend post.

I did not have a lot of choice but I did really want to make this post, if only for Rihanna. I absolutely loved the black see-through Tom Ford number she wore on New Year's Eve –a kind of leopard print lace dress with long sleeves and a velvet belt. What makes me love this look is the fact that even though it's totally see-through (you can see Riri's bazooms) she actually looks super classy with a touch of cool. I also love the shoes and the make up. Perhaps only the hair could have been a little better. I am not too keen on having all the curls forward.

It's also Rihanna, this time in Alexander Wang, that has second place this week. I seriously can't get enough of her luxurious take on sportswear. It's just genius –and very SS12.

And last it's Lady Gaga channeling a bit of Marilyn Monroe in Stéphane Rolland Couture on New Year's Eve. I love a bit of crazy Gaga fashion but it's also nice to see her wearing something a bit more normal (in her book anyway) for a change.

After all the mystery and fuss built up around Tom Ford's first collection for women I expected something else from his first advertorial campaign. I haven't been able to find much else other than this huge billboard in LA but it seems to go in line with his perfume ads. Once again, he has both shot and modelled for the campaign alongside Abbey Lee, one of my favourite models of the moment (how amazing does she look on the Versace campaign?). I like about the image that is has that kind of 60's/70's glamour that Tom is famous for portraying. I love the pose because it's a lot more dynamic than the boring straight-up ones we usually see everywhere else and I think the choice of dress is perfect for advertising because it sums up the feel of the collection. However, I am still confused about designers starring in their own campaigns (Mar Jacobs, hello?), especially when there isn't an artistic or commercial reason for it. I much preferred shots like the first ones we saw of the collection in the December 2010 issue of American Vogue. They read very well on print and I loved that it was Steven Meisel that captured them with his eye for detail and close attention to styling. So I almost wished the campaign was exactly like the picture below. The palm trees and the quintessential LA street would've made a good point of modern day glamour, no?

I'm off.

[Picture: Models.com]

Golden Globes 2011 Apendix

I promised I'd be back with more. This second post has a bit of really good fashion and another bit of quite horrific catastrophes. But let's start with the good. Annette Bening has been the first celebrity (to my knowledge) to wear Tom Ford to an event. I don't understand why no one is talking about this and why it was so hard to find a good picture of a beautiful and elegant woman only because she's older. She absolutely rocked the velvet-dotted sheer dress and I loved the crazy messy hair and the geek-chic glasses. I was also glad she wore Tom because that meant Julianne (in a Lanvin I'm not too keen on) wouldn't, which can only mean she is wearing Tom to the Oscar's. Hurrah! Angelina knows green is her ally. It really compliments her hair and it brings out her eyes. Her Atelier Versace was a stunning piece of understated glamour, which, sadly, wasn't matched by the hair. She was going for a natural effortless kind of look and I would have almost bought it if I hadn't seen her putting lip gloss on all through the show. And lastly, a woman who I should have put as number one because not only she is incredibly attractive but she also makes a bold choice after the other. Tilda Swinton slipped into one of Jil Sander's SS11 quasi-Couture numbers and she literally got me off my seat.

Before I start on the bad I want you to notice how I have included among them a face whose style I usually praise. I have because, sadly, it's where she belongs this time but also to prove that I am an objective person. Michelle Williams chose Valentino (yet again) but she was wrong —it's not a safe choice ever since Garavani stopped signing sketches. The fabric of her Pre-Fall 2011 dress would make beautiful pillows for your back yard's furniture but as a dress it makes Spring feel like in the middle of December. Christina Aguilera in Zuhair Murad. She's halfway in (or out) of it and the nude lining did not help. She should know a woman must cover her shoulders when she's got more than a fold between her arm and her, ahem, bust. I will use this over and over again (because I think it's witty). It was grotesque. And then we have JLo from the seas channeling some Ariel in another Zuhair Murad (go figure). Her invite said fancy dress so she called Mariah Carey for advice and opted for a glittery take on a jellyfish costume accompanied by some very original eye make up, which I can only describe as silver-incrusted sleep.

I'm off.

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

Keeping things at home

There was no way I could avoid posting about this. In fact, there was no way I wouldn't want to post it. Julia Restoin-Roitfeld has worn some of Tom Ford's SS11 incredible clothes for a shoot (accompanied by an interview) for the January issue of V magazine. I personally love the pictures because, even though they clearly haven't been shot by JJR herself, they have that very natural coolness and nouveau-French-chicness she's so famous for and which put her as the face of Tom Ford's black orchid ads in the first place. The interview, on the other hand, is very dry and empty. I will be disappointed if I pick up the actual issue of V and don't find that the good questions have been saved for the paper edition. After all, anyone could ask and respond things like these, right?

JRR What do you think fashion needs more of right now?

TF Spontaneity. Fashion needs to be more fun.

JRR What is your favorite piece from the collection?

TF I love every piece. That is like asking someone which one of their children is their favorite.

JRR Outside fashion, what are you looking forward to this spring?

TF I have to say more fashion. I love what I am doing right now and can’t wait to start the next collection.

Photography Julia Restoin Roitfeld

Styling Tom Van Dorpe

I'm off.

[Pictures: vmagazine.com]

Tom Ford SS11

I hope everyone is enjoying the New Year! As I'm getting back to normal mode and start thinking of posting again and as Giulia finishes turning Milan upside down and teaching them how one dresses during the holidays I thought soVIPzone's first post of the year had to be the video of Tom Ford's SS11 super secret show. We (or I, at least) have enjoyed the numerous previews in the shape of editorials, sneak peeks and guest-edited magazines but this is the real deal. Enjoy it, we'll be back before you can say Francesco Scognamiglio.

I'm off.

PS. How amazing does Julia Restoin-Roitfeld?!
PS2. What did everyone wear for NYE? Send in your pics to sovipzone@hotmail.com and the best dressed will be featured this week!

To the Tom Tom Tom

I'm usually not too keen on having a look at my favourite magazine's features before they hit the newsstand because I like the excitement that I feel as I turn every page and discover something new. However, there are occasions when I can hardly help myself. Tom Ford guest-editing the latest issue of Vogue Paris is most definitely one of those times. I hope what I've seen so far is only the beginning of what I'll get to se inside the magazine once it comes out on the 30th. From what I've seen so far, Ford has done a lot of the photography himself, which is very much a treat. I am not only a fan of his photography because it's Tom but because he worked with Steven Klein so closely and for so long that the influences are evident. And Klein is one of my favourite photographers. I am particularly interested on his "La panthère ose" ("The daring panther", a title already used by the magazine for their December 2007 issue) editorial as it reminds me so much of one of my favourite shoots, "Makeover Madness", by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia. Ford's version seems like the aftermath of Meisel's work. Hopefully, it will live up to it's predecessor's standard.

I'm off.

[Pictures: TFS]

The excitement continues

I feel over indulged with two Tom Ford updates on the same week! It has now been announced that Mr. Ford has guest edited the December/January issue of Vogue Paris. He has been photographed by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggot next to Daphne Groeneveld in a very innovative cover composition. It makes me ever so happy that they're keeping the writing on the covers to a minimum and that the font is red as if they wanted to make a glamourous Christmassy front. It works extremely well! The magazine will be on sale on November 30th and inside we'll be able to enjoy some of Ford's SS11 pieces on iconic women like Lauren Hutton photographed by the designer after his New York show as well as some personal shots of Ford at his New Mexico ranch by Terry Richardson. I can't think of a better way of getting into a fashionable Christmas mood!

I'm off.

[Pictures: TFS, WWD.com]

First look: Tom Ford SS11

It's not easy for me to accurately talk about Tom Ford without being borderline cheesy. And this is because the 10-year bracket during which he forever imprinted his signature in Gucci and YSL was also the period of my life when I heartily got into fashion. He was, together with Giorgio Armani, the designer who could never cease to awe me season after season. Little did I know then that Ford was resurrecting the Italian and French icons while building on his influences for the future.
It has now been another 10 years since Tom Ford officially announced the creation of his namesake brand in 2005. We have been enjoying his superbly refined menswear since 2007, which coincided with the opening of his first flagship store in New York, and his acclaimed directorial debut with 'A Single Man'. Nonetheless, the most exciting of his ventures (I daresay) is his first womenswear collection presented during the last New York Fashion Week.
And Ford was not joining back in by the rules. He showcased his collection at a 100-guest cocktail party where attendees were banned from taking pictures. There were no Style.com pictures, no online streaming, the clothes would't appear on editorials until January and celebrities wouldn't sport any of the looks until December. A rebellious Fordian twist going against the current rushed pace of the industry, which worked as well as a genius PR campaign.

Before we get to see the full collection on Vogue Paris' January 2011 issue we can calm our thirst for Tom-Ford-ness with the December issue of American Vogue. Steven Meisel was in charge of capturing the first public look at Ford's SS11 collection for women, beautifully styled by Camilla Nickerson. There is an incredibly contemporary feel to the dominating 20's vibe of the collection. The long-sleeved night gowns share the limelight with tailored pieces reminiscent of YSL's Le Tuxedo and yet strongly influenced by Ford's mens suiting. I don't want to speak to soon but judging but what we can see so far Ford's womenswear positions itself at the top of the market, joining places with Chanel, Lanvin and Givenchy and all the other quasi-Couture prêt-à-porter.

After seeing this, I simply can't wait to see what Vogue Paris does with the whole collection. I can picture Carine in the leopard and white suits walking across Les Tuilleries. Not to mention Tom's list of celebrity friends, who will work the red carpet in his designs. Do notice that the collection will hit stores in February —in perfect time for the early March Academy Awards! In the meantime, I will rejoice every second of my life with this image below as my laptop wallpaper.

I'm off.

[Picures: Bryanboy, TFS]

(3 reasons to make) Mad Men

Sometimes I don't know if I'm deranged or if maybe I just have a very different taste from everyone else. I seem to be finding more and more pictures of the lovely January Jones in my daily celebrity e-stops but I don't see many bloggers paying much attention to her and the reason for it absolutely escapes me. Leaving her astonishing beauty aside, the woman has an exquisite sense of style that is evident even in jeans and a tank top. It's as if Grace Kelly had come back to life with Audrey Hepburn's chicness and Caroline Grimaldi's flair.
And so, to bring January to everyone's attention, I have selected the three reasons why I am so in love with her:

She is her own person.   January follows no trends and wears no it bags. I specially love how attached to her Prada bag she is and how it is a beautiful season-less bag. She is also quite minimalistic but in a very elegant and slick way. Black is always boss but she uses it with great skill.

She sticks to the best weapons.   It is rare to see her wearing anything other than Tom Ford's version of the Way-Farers or having a bag hair day. She understands there are things that always have to be perfect no matter what you are wearing or where you're wearing it to.

She is not afraid of trying new things.   Contrary to the rest of Hollywood's women, January will wear anything from cocktail dresses to night gowns, flare pants, loose silk trousers and skinny jeans. The best example was her YSL look for the 2010 Met Ball. It was a bold choice of dress, make-up and accessories and, no matter what anyone says, she looked stunning. It's all 'extreme glamour' with her.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Zimbio.com, Style.com, JustJared.buzznet.com, Barneys.com, FarFetch.com]

When the gods descend

Right, so this is where I eat my words. I have spoken too much too soon regarding Cannes. Yes, Cate Blanchett looked alluring in McQueen; yes, Michelle Williams looked fantastic with in her silver mini-dress. But I didn't see this coming. Last Thursday, Tom Ford, Carine Roitfeld and her two very stylish offsprings (and with Giovanna Battaglia clinging to Vladimir's arm) made THE appearance at the amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS 2010 benefit gala in Cannes. I honestly have no words to describe this. Seeing Carine in Alaïa and posing next to Tom gives me goose pumps and her stare from behind her locks makes my knees shake. Julia totally rocked the event with a Mark Fast that proved she's very much learnt how to be fashion-forward from mummy while Vladimir and Giovanna, more classic but über-cool, both donned Armani.

Do you die or what?

I'm off.

[Pictures: Zimbio.com]

PS. Look out for Giulia's SS10 must-haves in a couple of hours!

Jude's awesome luggage and CFDA nominations

Things seem to move at a glacial pace after fashion week. The never-ending excitement of weeks of displaying collections takes a while to wear off and, in the meantime, we try and find as much new information as possible. Regurgitating FW10 trends doesn't seem enough. That's why rather trivial things like Jude Law's amazing set of leather luggage (I'd personally love to see what's in them) comes hand in hand with the nominations for this year's CFDA awards.

It came as no surprise that the CFDA's Board of Directors Special Tribute was awarded to McQueen, I hope the first of the many tributes to come. Tom Ford's nomination for best menswear designer did put a smile on my face, I hope he gets back on his game and wins mens and womenswear in the near future. Otherwise, I only feel I have to express my irritation for Marc Jacob's eternal and rather undeserved nominations (best accessory designer, hello?) and my content for Christopher Bailey's best international designer award for his work at Burberry and Altuzarra's nomination for the Swarovski Award for Womenswear. Here are the rest of nominees, make your bets.

Womenswear Designer of the Year:
Donna Karan
Marc Jacobs
Alexander Wang
Menswear Designer of the Year:
Michael Bastian
Tom Ford
David Neville & Marcus Wainwright for Rag & Bone
Accessory Designer of the Year:
Alexis Bittar
Lazaro Hernandez & Jack McCollough for Proenza Schouler
Marc Jacobs
Swarovski Award for Womenswear:
Joseph Altuzarra
Jason Wu
Prabal Gurung
Swarovski Award for Menswear:
Richard Chai
Simon Spurr
Patrik Ervell
Swarovski Award for Accessories:
Alexander Wang
Dana Lorenz
Eddie Borgo
The Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award:
Michael Kors
The International Award:
Christopher Bailey for Burberry
Fashion Icon Award:
Iman
The Eugenia Sheppard Award:
Kim Hastreiter (Paper Magazine)
Eleanor Lambert Award:
Tonne Goodman (Vogue)
Board of Directors Special Tribute:
Alexander McQueen

[Credits: JustJared, NbcNewYork]

I'm off.

capital words

I finally found Vogue Paris yesterday. It seems astonishing to me how even London has to wait for weeks until we get the French edition of the bible sent over. But it was worthwhile. Ignoring the fact that Daria looks dazzling in SS10 Prada, the most significant feature in the magazine is, by far, that about Tom Ford. Not only the article sounds beautiful in French, but Ford's thoughts on the life of an artist really had an impact on me. But while I wait for Tom's call to meet him for a chat at Claridge's, my three favourite things about A Single man and the film's creator.

[Pictures credit: TheFirstPost.co.uk, Idmb,LBC.co.uk]

"I think most intelligent people are depressed. It is very difficult to be intelligent and not question the point of life, not being aware of death, wander why one suffers, what we're doing on earth"

- Tom Ford on Vogue Paris (February 2010)

I'm off.

PS. Congratulations to Colin Firth for his nomination to the Oscars!

soVIP decade

A certain Welsh source whose name I can't reveal recently brought to my attention that this December wasn't only the end of 2009 but the end of the first decade of this new century. With this in mind, I started looking back both at soVIPzone's archive at at my immense iPhoto collection. I selected my celebrity fashion highlights of "noughties".

She has been flawlessly elegant for ten whole years thanks to an endless number of Armani gowns and her recent, more fashion-forward choices.

She got high. Then she got clean. Then she dumped Pete. Then she had a sandwich. Now she's just stunning.

Ash and MK became an iconic fashion duo and launched their diverse brands. But they also became individuals. Ashley recruited the slick dressers of the world while Mary-Kate took a more bohemian, yet chic, tangent.

Rachel Zoe went from creating style-clones of herself (see below) to being the first stylist celebrity and creating a clothing line, publishing a book and getting her own reality TV show.

In The O.C. you couldn't help but love Marissa and all the Chanel she wore to high school. And Mischa never disappointed red carpet-wise either, until Ms. Zoe was fired, that is. We enjoyed it while it lasted.

Fortunately, Nicole managed to collect or her Zoe wisdom and reinterpret it into a new style. One that successfully worked. She also parted ways with Paris and had a couple of offsprings that made her put on the few pounds she needed to make the most of her beauty.

Skinny, chubby, orange, white, knickers, drugs, biker jacket, leggings. They all work in many combinations when talking about Lindsay. She too, had her moment of fashion stardom courtesy of Rachel Zoe. But that moment was even shorter than Mischa's.

Both Summer and Rachel took longer than Marissa and Mischa to get interesting fashionably speaking but it was worth the wait. Rachel Bilson slowly turned into a ridiculously cute chic woman that didn't go off the rails.

Tom left the Gucci group. And the past ten years are history.

Anna and Carine went from signatures on the first page of Vogue to iconic fashion celebrities, filling the party section of Style.com and Scott Schuman's shots.

Victoria kept everyone talking about her diverse range of highly calculated everyday outfits. Whether we liked them or not, it was good entertainment.

She also kept us amused with her extravagant travelling ensembles. Let's make special mention of the hats and the black leather in its multiple shapes that are Beckham staples by now.

Katie had a cut and a beautiful mini-me. Contrary to popular annoyance soVIPzone was awestruck.

Kanye was cool for about 10 minutes. Then he opened his mouth.

Brad and Angelina made it official and turned the Jolie-Pitt family household into a United Nations orphanage. Plus, Brad wore a lot of Tom Ford.

Yves passed away and we lost one of the fashion geniuses of the century. Oh, and Stefano looked sharp at his funeral.

We got hooked to the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite. An addiction that is destined to outlive the decade.

Chuck Bass. Girls want him, guys want to be him.

Lauren Conrad took the hoodie off and ditched Laguna for LA. It was all amusing cute blonde locks and manis but the bad scripts and annoyance of the Heidi/Spencer combo made it too much.

We saw a new era of supermodels being born. Claudia and Linda were substituted by Daria and Anja. (And I didn't complain).

It all started with that dress on the left. It was all dashing smiles and spot-on fashion choices from then on.

Rihanna changed her umbrella for some YSL and ended up as a musical cross between a dominatrix and housewive with a quiff.

[Picture credtis: JustJared, Celebrity Gossip, Style.com]

I'm off.