Rei Kawakubo and H&M team up in Tokyo store
Savvy shoppers in the Harajuku district in Tokyo waited hours to be first inside the fast fashion retailer's new store.

That Dress? Everyone Has an Opinion

Some of the most heated conversations on the morning after election night centered on Michelle Obama's dress. The first lady-elect took to the stage at Grant Park in Chicago on Tuesday night wearing a red-and-black sheath by Narciso Rodriguez. It sparked instant debate among viewers, with some calling it an eye-catching statement and others, an eyesore.

Disney, by design
From couture to jewelry to designer furniture, building a "lifestyle brand" that isn't cartoonish.
- A tussle over Tinker Bell

Phantom clothes, price unknown
What do fashion magazines mean by "price upon request"?

An exhibition full of heart

Tucked away on the first floor of the Chaumet headquarters at the Place Vendôme is a stunning exhibition of jewelry that centers around the world of sentiment and love.

Lilly, 50, hasn't aged a day
Lilly Pulitzer, the brand responsible for inventing a look that would define casual sportswear for rich people for decades to come, celebrates 50 years.

Tartan: A plaid for all seasons
Tartan is once again back in fashion this autumn.

Marco Zanini to bring fashion back to Rochas
In partnership with the Italian company GIBO, a Rochas fashion collection by Zanini will be relaunched in Paris in March.

For Spanish tapestries, a 21st-century makeover
Following a government bailout and takeover by a state-supported foundation, the Real Fábrica de Tapices in Madrid has not only survived but can even be said to thrive today.

Having fun with Moschino: A designer takes a bow
For 25 years, the Moschino brand has harnessed humor in the name of fashion. And its creative director, Rossella Jardini, wouldn't have it any other way.

Zaha Hadid's concepts lead design collaborations
At Home House in London, the conceptual architect Zaha Hadid unveils the design of a bar and lounge as a backdrop for shoes in a collaboration with Lacoste.
- Frieze power: Art shakes up London society
- Marie-Chantal: Where children get to dress like royalty

Upping the color quotient
Color has emerged as a major hook for fashion brands and retailers, with mid-season injections of merchandise translating to a vast array of shades in stores.

Japan's 'inner wear' revolution
Tokyo women have become increasingly attuned to concepts like comfort and eco-friendliness without ignoring their sensuality.

Tattoos gain new visibility
Artists with prominent Chelsea galleries and thriving careers, practicing physicians, funeral directors, fashion models and stylists are turning up with more holes in their faces than nature provided, and all manner of marks on their body.

Hong Kong style, with a bit of sparkle
The moment that the Hong Kong singer Eason Chan Yik-Shun started wearing 1980s-style MC Hammer pants at live performances, it seemed inevitable the look would start appearing on the street and in trendy clubs.

Adding muscle to skinny jeans
Men's wear designers at New York Fashion Week look to the world of sports to muscle up their collections.

Japanese linen, out of the closet and into the mainstream
Up until now, linen had been about summer shirts and suits, but these days the subtext is changing from mere summer fashion to year-round lifestyle.

Tokyo hones its vintage clothing market
Tokyo has now reached a point where it's safe to call it P***t Vintage - with its 400-plus shops scattered over the city.

India to reconsider luxury brand limits
During a visit to Paris on Wednesday, the Indian trade minister, Kamal Nath, said he would think about allowing foreign retailers to own 100 percent of their companies in India, up from 51 percent today.

Weaving a story in Laotian silk
Anou Thammavong, a French designer of Laotian descent, is creating high-end silks that he hopes will crack the upper echelons of the fashion world.

New Parisian boutiques in all shapes and sizes
While the major players are reaching out to their clientele with larger stores and a more targeted offer, small, innovative boutiques are investing in elegant back streets for a highly intimate shopping experience.

Building fashion empires of their own
Although LVMH, PPR and Richemont shifted their acquisition engines down a gear in recent years, it still is obvious that these multi-tentacled corporations wield a mind-boggling power in the fashion business.

Online fashion studies arrive in Italy
Italian fashion companies have come to recognize the potential of online sales and now one of the country's most highly regarded universities is stepping in to train a new breed of managers for that growing industry.

Dubai to finance Villa Moda growth
Majed al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti lifestyle retailer known in the fashion world as the "Sheik of Chic," has teamed up with the government of Dubai to create a global brand development strategy for his Villa Moda enterprise.

Conquering the frontiers for luxury
A seismic shift has begun in how fashion marketers view the world's mature, emerging and frontier markets, with many to focus on countries that were once on the fringes of fashion.
- Risk prerequisite for profit

Handbag heaven
Caroline Calabria, owner of the Vintage Art Gallery, is often one of the first arrivals at a local market to search the jumbled stalls for vintage handbags.

Handbags - big and bigger
Far from the world of the tiny beaded clutch, iconic French bags combine quality and quantity - think the chunky Louis Vuitton Speedy, the spacious YSL Muse or the roomy Hermès Birkin.

Blahnik puts his foot down
Worship at Carrie Bradshaw's feet? Here are your shoes.

HP laptops go high fashion at show in New York
High-tech took on a fashionable twist in New York when the designer Vivienne Tam sent models down the runway clutching slim, red Hewlett-Packard laptops instead of evening bags.
- MTV and HP collaborate on digital art reality show

Magazine or artsy accessory?
Even the purest of messages can be corrupted by the power of a bag.

Fall shoes: Preening pumps and feathered feet
Ornithologists say there are 10,000 species of birds inhabiting the earth. Of course, that doesn't include the feathered and furry, outrageously festooned specimens spotted in the fall footwear collections.

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

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.

Enzo Mari: A rebel with an obsession for form
An exhibition of works by Enzo Mari opened last week at Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Turin and it offers a timely reminder of what a gifted designer he is.

Wanted: Genius designer
As the curtains part, fashion awaits a new hero. Maybe that's the problem.

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."

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.

Watch sales slowing down
The emerging markets miracle will not be enough to prevent 2008 from being the year the Swiss watchmaking industry suffers its first significant slowdown in half a decade.

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.

The Paris-New York rivalry
A new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York studies the relationship between the Big Apple and the City of Light in their competition for status as the world's fashion capital.

A new address in style: Palais Royal
The sleeping beauty of Paris is finally starting to stir thanks to a number of suitors, each with his unique luxury kiss.

Lanvin in talks with Qatar investor
Lanvin is in talks to sell a stake to an unnamed investor in Qatar in a deal that could value the French fashion house at around €150 million.

Identifying fakes by hand
Assuming that you didn't buy the dress in a back alley from some shifty guy in dark glasses, it's often difficult to tell a designer garment from a fake.

Fashion film gets a life of its own
In a digital age, fashion companies are making short films, typically one to five minutes long and produced for the internet.

Dundas to join Pucci
Peter Dundas, the Norwegian designer of colorful, hippie de luxe glamour, will be the new creative director at Emilio Pucci, with an official announcement expected Friday from its parent company, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

A royal stamp of approval still produces sales
The labels that contribute to the iconic style of Queen Elizabeth II are among the more than 850 companies with Royal Warrants, businesses that are allowed to identify themselves as suppliers to the queen, Prince Philip or Prince Charles.

Ready for a closeup
Makeup sellers seeking to make their products stand out on crowded cosmetic counters are expanding into a niche once reserved for people who live under the scrutiny of the camera lens: high-definition makeup.

I'm down here, up to my eyes in cuticles
As fashion brands continue to emphasize luxury handbags and shoes, the perfectly groomed extremity is becoming the ultimate marketing tool.

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.