Christian Lacroix's beetle juice
With embroidery crawling up a stockinged ankle, a carapace of encrusted wool and a chiffon dress in the iridescent blue-green of beetle wings, Lacroix created his fantasy world outside the salon and in a garden of creepy-crawly delights.

Armani Prive: Giving women what they want
Armani has balked in previous seasons at concentrating his couture on his claim to fame: softening the androgyny of the pantsuit and bringing peace to fashion's gender warfare. But that was the spirit of this Privé show, with its artfully mismatched tailoring, the fabrics veering from male to female.
- Russian revival at Irfe

Anne Valerie Hash: Cultivating a look
It was a fertile moment at the Anne Valérie Hash show and not just because the inspiration for the collection was the erotic orchid.

Has Carla Bruni's spirit saved couture?
In the shadow of the death of Yves Saint Laurent but in the sunshine of a stylish first lady, the Paris couture season opened on Monday. And a vision of veiled flesh seen through silhouettes from couture's golden age was a triumph of light-handed seduction at Dior.

Volume and graphics bring nonchalance to menswear
As Paul Smith and Dior Homme closed the menswear season, accessories and sharp tailoring had come to the fore.

No (fashion) country for old men -- Raf Simons, Givenchy, Lanvin
A scattering of old men - like an elegiac reference to an aging baby boom generation - have been appearing throughout the long weekend of Paris menswear shows. But for all the nobility of these elder statesmen (usually of the arty kind), the focus of the 2009 season has been on virility and red-blooded masculinity that inevitably fades with age.
- Martin Margiela, Rick Owens, Adam Kimmel, Viktor & Rolf and more

Comme des Garcons partners with Louis Vuitton
The French luxury brand and the rebel design house will collaborate on a Tokyo popup store. In addition to the Comme and LV shows: Yves Saint Laurent, Junya Watanabe, Dries Van Noten, Jean Paul Gaultier and Number (N)ine

Yohji Yamamoto: Playing with size
Size was the starting point of the Yohji Yamamoto menswear collection, according to the smiling designer, but he wasn't just referring to his choice in models (who came in all shapes, sizes, colors and ages) but to the clothes as well.
- Véronique Branquinho, Kris Van Assche, Thierry Mugler

Giorgio Armani: From reality to dream
At Giorgio Armani, it started with a scarf - a silken shawl flung across the shoulders of a smart jacket. It ended with shantung pants in hot pinks and purples. And shades of the Indian subcontinent also were seen at Ermenegildo Zegna.

At D&G, a bit of homage
Could those square glasses, polka dot bow ties and slender tailoring have been a tribute to the late Yves Saint Laurent from Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana?
- DSquared2 offers a wash with a bit of style
- Loro Piana's baby love

Trussardi's new home in Milan
The leather is soft and sensual, and that is just on the floor of the new Trussardi store in Milan.
- Napapijri opens a new "gallery" store

Calvin Klein: Color refreshes clean lines
"Graphic, masculine - and more American," said Italo Zucchelli, the Calvin Klein designer, whose icy white sportswear and sudden rush of fluorescent color cut through the jazz blues on the soundtrack and woke up a jaded audience.
- Brioni's tuxedo deluxe

Moschino offers ladybugs, lobsters - and clothes too
What does it say about a label when they fill the hotly fought over front row of a fashion show with quirky stuffed animals?
- Krizia: Keeping it cool
- Alessandro Dell'Acqua: A bit of worn elegance
- Fashion times 18 at Gianfranco Ferré
- Vivienne Westwood: Gypsy on the road

Tom Ford returns to Milan, his fashion heartland
Ford calls the brand's first store in Europe "modern and sharp."
- Tom Ford brand says it beat sales budget

Adding more luxury to casual sportswear
Sports brands are merging technical expertise with luxury and style to put casual gear on a par with high fashion.

Portrait of a man - and his war chest
Men's fashion seems to be backing away from the endless gender jousting, with a genuine attempt to bring equilibrium to the male image. And the focus is on the chest itself, especially the upper part.

Gucci's tropical tour
The inspiration was apparently a Brooklyn-based indie band. And the aim was, fairly and squarely, a focus on product.
- Fashion times 18 at Gianfranco Ferré
- Vivienne Westwood: Gypsy on the road

Brands in competition to create Olympics clothes
Fashion and the Olympics are not as unlikely bedfellows as one might think. As the August opening of the Beijing Games nears, the two are pairing up for an even more intimate relationship than ever before.

Hedging their bets: Pajamas prevail
In the first set of fashion collections since the Western economies began to wobble, men's fashion in Milan is reflecting precisely the economic mood. Clothes are still steeped in luxury, yet designers are hedging their bets with a casual/formal look that focuses on silk pajamas.

Weak dollar puts America outside luxury's "Golden Triangle"
While American buyers are keeping an uncharacteristically low profile, with a beady eye on the miserable dollar exchange rate, other parts of the world are rejoicing in burgeoning markets and have no thought of recession.

The Scarf
The scarf -- long and draped, or short and tucked at the neckline -- is fast becoming the leitmotif of the summer 2009 season.

Roberto Cavalli: Bohemian safari
Plenty to like in the summer 2009 menswear show by Roberto Cavalli.

At D&G, a bit of homage
Could those square glasses, polka dot bow ties and slender tailoring have been a tribute to the late Yves Saint Laurent from Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana?

Diane Von Furstenberg takes a summer cruise

Behind the stone statue, the sun was setting, as a posse of pretty young ladies walked through the hidden Florentine garden. They could have been on the Grand Tour, skirts bouncing on their pristine dresses, stiffened with geometric stripes or occasionally softened with flowers.

Florence returns to its female fashion roots
Pitti Immagine, with a powerful roster of trade shows, has added another string to its bow, by inviting Diane von Furstenberg to show her resort line during its men's fair and by creating Pitti W - for women.

African spirit at the palazzo
It was a credit to the designer Andrea Cannelloni that his summer 2009 collection of women's and men's sportswear for Hugo Boss Orange reflected an African spirit with subtlety and grace.

Viktor & Rolf build a doll house
"The House of Viktor & Rolf" is an exhibition by the Dutch design duo dominated by a large doll house filled with miniature versions of 15 years of fashion. It is also a fashion moment of pure enchantment.

Style on the ice: Hockey player interns at Vogue
A New York ice hockey player interns at Vogue magazine.

Pope doesn't wear Prada
The devil may wear Prada - but the pope does not.

Fashion all part of the game at Wimbledon
It felt more like a day on the catwalk than the opening of the world's most famous tennis tournament -- but fashion has always been an integral part of Wimbledon with its strictly enforced "predominantly white" dress code for players.

Online fashion retailer Asos reports steep rise in profits
Nick Robertson, ASOS chief executive, said the company was seeing no sign of the slowdown being experienced by store groups and was expected to overtake Next to become Britain's biggest online clothes retailer in its current financial year.

Clarins family to buy out minority investors
The family that owns the French skin cream company wants to pull it out of public trading.

Ferre to design for Dubai group

BC-FERRE-DUBAI-VENTURE

Tommy Hilfiger rises on growth in Europe
Tommy Hilfiger Corp., the fashion brand owned by Apax Partners Worldwide LLP, said annual profit rose 24 percent as the company sold more clothes in Europe.

The Birkin and Hermès
What would you do for a Birkin bag?

The clutch, in the light of day
Thanks to a whole slew of designers - from Yves Saint Laurent to Sonia Rykiel and Michael Teperson to Belen Echandia - the clutch purse is moving from an evening standard to seeing the light of day.

Jelly brand molds Brazil's footwear style
Cheap, cheerful and totally disposable, the plastic jelly shoe is about as ubiquitous as footwear gets. And in Brazil, it's Melissa that dominates the market.

David vs. "David": The battle below the belt in men's underwear
The David vs. "David" standoff marks the moment that underwear has come out of the drawers and off the shelves to become, to men's fashion, the female equivalent of the handbag. It is an accessory - and even a necessity - that can be turned into big bucks.

In London, a rocking celebration of jewels
London Jewellery Week was kicked off with spectacular celebrations and included works by Zaha Hadid and Prince Dimitri, while Nadja Swarovski was bringing on the bling at Runway Rocks.

Fulco di Verdura: The elegant beguiler of stars
A friend of Cole Porter, discovered by Coco Chanel, the Palermo aristocrat Verdura was the favorite jeweler in a gilded circle that included Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn and the Duchess of Windsor.

Will diamonds lose their sparkle?
With the specter of recession haunting the global economy, is the market for luxury gemstones feeling the pinch?

Padua's goldsmiths: modern masters of form
Over six decades, a school of goldsmiths in northern Italy has created original and important pieces of jewelry works based on Renaissance principles of geometry.

Li Edelkoort: Assessing the impact of a design icon
As Li Edelkoort announces her resignation from the Design Academy Eindhoven, her former students and colleagues contemplate her influence in the school and the world of design.

Can Fuller be rehabilitated as a 21st century design hero?
Hailed as a visionary by the hippie movement and dismissed by some as an eccentric, R. Buckminster Fuller is the subject of an exhibition opening Thursday at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Martí Guixé: Snacking on wit, feasting on radical concepts
Guixé uses his design skills not simply to create objects and spaces, but to shape the way they are consumed and perceived.

Whatever 'design-art' is, it's thriving
"Design-art" is a commercial phenomenon, not a cultural one. It's a label adopted by auction houses in the hope of flogging limited-edition furniture for higher prices than it would muster if relegated to the unfashionable category of "decorative arts." And it has been very effective.

In the world of watches, the line between the sexes is blurring fast
Once upon a time, timepieces with complications were for men only, but the limited edition Diane from Harry Winston seeks to change that.

"Star Trek"-styled watches flash digitally coded time
Tokyoflash Japan creates watches that are meant to be watched, not just looked at. Started in 2000, the company says it is trying to make objects that revolutionize the way time is perceived.

Applying color with steely abandon
Taking inspiration from the traditional cloisonné technique of enameling used to decorate watch dials, watch designer Alain Silberstein has developed a unique method of coloring his steel watchcases, which are proving popular with Russian and Japanese collectors.

Richard Mille breaks fresh ground with new high-technology timepieces
Coinciding with the Salon International de Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, Mille is introducing a glittering homage to Boucheron, in honor of the Parisian jeweler's 150th anniversary, and a modern interpretation of a classic pocket watch.

Urwerk's 'most complicated' watch to be unveiled in Geneva
The youthful principals of Urwerk, Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei, will present their new watch, a combination of futuristic and artisanal features called the UR-202, on the fringes of the Geneva Watch salon next week.

101 secrets (and 9 lives) of a magazine star
After years of raising the profiles and circulations of magazines like Us Weekly and Star by emphasizing celebrity news and gossip, Bonnie Fuller is going out on her own.

Versace to design a new Lamborghini
Versace has agreed to design the interior of a limited edition Lamborghini car and its accompanying accessories like gloves and bags in the latest collaboration between the two luxury brands.

Fashion designers honor their own
The CFDA awards, marking their 26th year, have come to be an intersection of celebrities and fashion insiders.

Hello Kitty gets high fashion Vogue makeover
She may be cute, but the latest top model to make her debut in Vogue is also podgy with short legs and whiskers.

Garden is a seedbed for Dr. Hauschka cosmetics line
Dr. Hauschka cosmetics born in a German garden

Americans pull back from expensive plastic surgery
Plastic surgeons are increasingly competing with other specialists, and even non-specialists, for a finite pool of beauty clients.

Never too young for that first pedicure
Cosmetic companies and retailers increasingly aim their sophisticated products and service packages squarely at 6- to 9-year-olds, who are being transformed into savvy beauty consumers before they're out of elementary school.

Bringing a sense of soul back to Estée Lauder
Aerin Lauder brings family sensibility to the beauty company founded by her grandmother.