FASHION

What do Claudia Schiffer, Jackie Kennedy and Gwyneth Paltrow have in common? They've all been dressed and befriended by couturier Valentino, who this summer celebrates the 45th anniversary of his label. To mark the event, a series of events will take place in Rome, kicking off with the opening of a Valentino retrospective at the Ara Pacis Museum, followed by a couture show (his first in the city for 17 years) to which 1,000 glamourous guests have been invited. A book published by Taschen, titled 'A Great Italian Story', will also go on sale. At a press conference given in Rome last week, Valentino said, 'Celebrating such an important achievement in the only city in which I genuinely feel at home makes me very happy. Here in Rome I opened my first atelier, here...were my first successes.' Valentino is retiring later this year.

Every show by John Galliano feels like a celebration - and, on the tenth anniversary of his appointment as creative director at the house of Christian Dior, which also coincides with the 60th anniversary of the house itself, the bar was certainly high as A-list fans including Juliette Binoche, Monica Bellucci, Sophia Coppola, Marisa Berenson and Kate Hudson flocked to the Versailles Orangerie to see just how so many momentous moments would be translated onto the Couture catwalk. Galliano does not do disappointment. His collection was not, as expected, an homage to Dior's groundbreaking New Look of 1947, but rather referenced the legendary designer's art-world influences. Guests were treated to a visual onslaught of the most lavish creations, modelled by names only a designer of Galliano's stature can command - Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Gisele, Amber Valetta, Stella Tennant and Karen Mulder amongst them - as Caravaggio, El Greco, Monet, Renoir and Cocteau were reimagined in bustles, silks, embroidery, feathers and devastatingly elegant black velvet. The show, which was dedicated to Galliano's right-hand man, Steven Robinson, who died earlier this year, has certainly raised the stakes in Paris as Chanel, Christian Lacroix and Givenchy prepare to take to the runways today - the front row no doubt recuperating quietly after last night's blow-out black tie Dior party.

Clearly it's not just us Brits who like a bit of celebrity-as-fashion-designer action. Last week, Sarah Jessica Parker unveiled her hotly-anticipated clothing collaboration with US high-street brand Bitten. But then Sarah Jessica Parker isn't just any old celebrity. Like Kate Moss did for Topshop, SJP has used her fashion-icon status to foist her style know-how upon an eagerly fawning public. The recently launched, hilariously irreverent online fashion magazine Jezebel, wrote the following about the the launch in New York, at which SJP signed autographs. 'The woman is impossible to hate, and in turn, so is her clothing line. Also, $8 for a bathing suit?

GUCCI's cult Jackie bag - created by Jackie Kennedy in the Fifties and the Holy Grail for collectors of vintage - is just one of the pieces YOOX.COM is selling this month in an exclusive online tribute to the house. The incredible collection includes handbags, scarves and dresses from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies - meaning cyber-savvy fashionistas can tap into this summer's retro trend in rare and original pieces. Among the treasures on sale is a pure silk "foulard" scarf in Gucci's famed Flora print, which was designed by Rodolpho Gucci and Italian artist Accornero especially for Grace Kelly, signed by Accornero himself. Yoox worked in collaboration with Cavalli and Nastri, two renowned Milanese vintage stores, as well as private collectors to collate the tribute.

Born in 1969, Bowie Wong was intrigued by fashion from a very young age. As the son of a Chinese Opera singer, his fascination developed from the elaborate costumes by which he was surrounded. The visual feast of the operatic world fed his hunger for fashion. Bowie still treasures two of his mother's costumes, within his personal collections from which he gathers inspiration. Ironically however, it was the intensity of opera that led Bowie to leave home at the tender age of 11-years-old. “I was a difficult child, perhaps because I was so curious. My parents were always busy with the opera, so they decided that it would be best for all if I lived with my cousin. It was then that I became exposed to popular music and western culture.” Having developed his creative mind and experienced modern culture, Bowie decided to pursue his passions further a field and fled to Japan to study a degree in ‘Pure Art and Design’, aged 17. By 1989 Bowie returned to his roots, studying degrees in ‘Theatre and Drama’ and then ‘Stage & Costume Design’ in Canada. Passionate and now educated, the next few years saw Bowie’s life become pure theatrics. Bowie worked on ‘Phantom of the Opera’ in Canada, for Paul McCartney on his world tour, and for Madonna on her European ‘Girlie show’. “Watching her work from such close proximity was intriguing. The relentless desire for perfection and the need to reinvent herself time and again was a great lesson for me.” The hype continued with Bowie returning to his native Hong Kong, in a multitude of creative roles that were increasingly fashion influenced. Bowie worked as a TV producer on HKTVB, image designer for Joyce boutique and creative enhancer for HKTDC fashion show, for the likes of Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Trussardi and Calvin Klein. “At this point I felt destined to work in fashion. I was creating shows for these great designers and I was more and more drawn into the world of fashion.” The lure proved too much for the self-confessed fashion fiend. Keen to adapt his skills Bowie moved to Australia, where he enrolled to study fashion design at East Sydney TAFE. Whilst the project was intended to direct and broaden his talent, Bowie found the course stifling and restrictive. Bowie therefore immersed himself into the fashion industry, where his hands on experience combined with his extensive knowledge of design (gained whilst obtaining three degrees), proved to better training than any course or teaching could provide. The result is the increasingly innovative and original label of Bowie Wong. Bowie Wong the label, not the person was launched in 1999 and represented Australia in 2000 at Hong Kong Fashion Week. The Wong was dropped with Bowie Women and Bowie Men launched later on in 2004.

Penelope Cruz, the Oscar-nominated star of Volver, has teamed up with Spanish high-street brand Mango for a special Autumn / Winter 2007 collaboration. The limited-edition collection, due to be launched worldwide this autumn, will include eveningwear, knits and denim pieces. As well being the face of the range, Penelope will also contribute to the design, and has asked her sister, the equally stunning Mуnica Cruz, a TV actress in their native Spain, to help. Penelope, who is currently working on a film with Woody Allen, is the latest in a long line of female celebrities to put their names to high street brands. Others include Kate Moss for Topshop, Madonna for H&M, and Scarlett Johansson for Reebok.

New York - Though Carolina Herrera remains America's pre-eminently classy designer, she's inspiration for her latest collection was Edvard Munch's painting of a bohemian anarchist. Yet the contradiction, far from confusing designer led to one of the finest collections we've seen so far in the New York season.
Munch's painting of the radical Hans Jæger, whose neighborhood in Oslo, Christiania, was a funky and alternative quarter, may have been a bizarre source of stimulation but the net result was couture quality coolness. Ideal clothes for the very opposite sort of people the super-well-heeled women from the Upper East Side who sat front row.
Remarkably sleek tunic dresses finished with glass bauble trim reminiscent of the modernist functionality of Art Deco or brilliantly wrought robes with erratic geometric appliqué patterns echoed Munch's imagery and obsession with Jaeger.
Yet Herrera's collection for fall 2007 oozed haute sophistication, from the remarkable jacquard coats to the stockings finished with jade.
Munch's friendship with the freaky bohemians led by Jæger deeply marked his life and was source of almost permanent inner conflict. Ironically, designer's connection to Munch's art made for remarkably balanced fashion, clothes that flattered, had poise and looked great. Uncanny, surprising and unexpected, but true.

There’s nothing like good underwear, is there? Comfortable, nice-fitting undergarments can make the whole day go better. The problem is that what’s comfortable isn’t always the most attractive choice for feeling sexy. And sometimes, what our partners want us to wear can put more than our comfort at risk. Barely-there undies can have real repercussions on our sexual health.

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