Authorities in Brazil have opened a probe into suspected racism at the Sao Paulo Fashion Week underway after reports that non-white models were badly underrepresented on the catwalk.
Christian Lacroix pulled off an exuberant tour de force with his summer haute couture collection on Tuesday January 22nd, which was a riot of colour and brimming with gowns in which to get noticed.
John Galliano's haute couture collection for Dior for next summer was a seductive invitation to the ball in the romantic setting of the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris.
That male staple, the suit, but hotted up and dandyfied, made a catwalk comeback during Paris's four-day menswear collections that ended Sunday January 20th with a daringly different vision of next winter's masculine silhouette, courtesy of Dior.
The bad boy factor fashioned men's silhouettes on Paris catwalks this weekend as designers threw the seamy side of life into anything from suits to underwear. At the up-market house of Ungaro, French designer Franck Boclet wowed a packed crowd that included former soccer international Christian Karembeu with an extravganza of elegance for next winter that paired convention with daring.
New star-designer on the block Kris Van Assche pulled the curtain on his autumn-winter collection at the Paris men's shows with a crowd-pleaser Friday January 18th -- the models bowed out stripped down to their underwear.
Amsterdam's world famous red-light district transformed into a catwalk Saturday, January 19th with designers parading their creations in what were once brothels, as the city tries to clean out crime from the quarter.
Colour bounced off the catwalks as Paris' menswear shows kicked off Thursday 17th January with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Yamamoto and Yves Saint Laurent predicting a bright autumn-winter 2008-2009.
Veteran Italian designer Valentino's final farewell to fashion will be the emotional high point of the haute couture shows for next spring-summer which begin on Monday 21st January.
After the furs, tartans and velvets wheeled out for Milan's men's fashion shows this week, Paris from Thursday 17th January delivers its own vision of menswear for next autumn and winter over four days of catwalk shows.
Fur will be de rigueur for next winter's well-turned-out male, whether he is refined or goes for the bad-boy look, some of Italy's top designers decreed at Milan's catwalk presentations this week.
It may not be on par with Paris or New York, but Brazil's metropolis of Sao Paulo will stake out an ever-stronger claim as a fashion capital when it presents its Fashion Week from Wednesday, January 16th.
Last year's classic suits shifted into lower gear as the menswear collections for next winter hit the catwalks of Milan with decidedly deconstructed touches.
Animal rights campaigners brought a fur seminar at Hong Kong Fashion Week to a sudden halt Monday, January 14th after they hijacked the event, shouting slogans and waving banners.
Fashion house Chanel on Thursday, December 7th paid homage to artisans and craftspeople who make feathers, pearls and silk flower accessories by staging a fashion show in London.
