Sigrid Olsen's forced retirement
The demise of Sigrid Olsen's label is a sign of how fashion forsakes mature customers.

When action figures come out to play
The bodies of athletes in the Beijing Olympics are proof of how the shape of human perfection continues to evolve.

Putting a new spin on a world of natural fibers
Teasing out fanciful threads from unexpected fibers has become a thriving industry near the northern Italian city of Brescia.

Where the fashionistas go for a quick fix
Unlike their newsstand competitors, Webzines exist exclusively online, updating weekly or even daily, and offering a sense of community that conventional monthlies cannot replicate.

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.

It's no Boo-Boo: Bandages as fashion accessories
Since the adhesive strip has been upgraded by designers or studded with Swarovski crystals, some adults have begun to view it as any other accessory.

Shoppers, on your marks ...
The designers of the store Opening Ceremony, are attempting to set a record by keeping their store in New York open for a 72-hour Olympics shopping marathon.
- Brands in competition to create Olympics clothes

In Japan, dressing up from toe to toe

One of the first things the foreign visitor notices in Japan is the immense importance attached to socks - and the vast range of foot coverings available in every shape and form.

What a chic new bag. And X-ray friendly, too.
The first X-ray-friendly laptop bags have hit the market.
- Airport-security-friendly laptop bags from Mobile Edge

New Yorkers envy free-spending foreign tourists
The Manolos are on the other foot as Manhattanites see how the weak dollar affects their ability to keep up with visitors from abroad.

Glamorous swimwear for the beach
This summer fashion houses and designer swimwear brands have reinvented the asymmetrical swimsuit in hopes of enticing women to try something new in a fashion field with inherently limited possibilities.

Shorts crack the code
Shorts are no longer an office 'don't.' These days they are downright respectable.

Behind the Madness: Costume Designer Janie Bryant
Forget all the hoopla surrounding "Mad Men" and its 16 Emmy nominations. The real show-stopper of everyone's favorite series about '60s ad men in old-timey New York is the wardrobe.

From the erotic domain, an aerobic trend in China
A growing number of Chinese women are experimenting with the country's new, and most controversial, fitness activity: pole dancing.

It's Botox for you, dear bridesmaids
Brides are unblushingly decreeing group cosmetic procedures in preparation for their big day.

At Victoria and Albert, jewels go high tech
The new jewelry gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum is one of the must-do visits of the summer.

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.

Burberry first quarter beats forecasts
Fashion brand Burberry beat forecasts with a 26 percent rise in first-quarter revenues, helped by strong sales accessories and early receipts from its Autumn/Winter ranges, but said trading conditions were tough.

Britons shunning the shops
Fewer Britons visited retail outlets in June, the fifth drop in six months, as soaring fuel prices deterred shoppers from driving to stores, the research company Experian Group said.

U.S. teens skipping $50 jeans
The financial pressures of adults are finally catching up with American teenagers. Since summer jobs dried up, gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon and parents ran out of spare cash, teens have had to cool it on spending for clothes.

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.

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.

Creating solutions to a water crisis
"1% Water and our Future," an exhibition at Z33 gallery in the Belgian city of Hasselt, explores our relationship to water, and how design can help us to use it more responsibly and productively.

Philippe Starck is tilting toward windmills
Starck is battling on a new front - developing cheap, attractive, energy-saving products to "introduce everybody to ecology."

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.

Givenchy's Tisci to design for Madonna's new tour
Givenchy will help dress Madonna for her upcoming "Sticky & Sweet" world tour, a spokeswoman for the French fashion house said.

Dogs have their day on Web
A crossbreed between MySpace and YouTube, Doggyspace allows dog owners from all over the world to come together, create profiles, and share photos and videos of their pups.

No plastic bags in LA stores beginning July 2010
Los Angeles shoppers soon won't hear the question, "Paper or plastic?" at the checkout line.

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

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.

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.

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.