Zara is becoming one of our favourite high-street stores - not only because they never fail to offer easy-chic yet luxurious pieces at affordable prices, but also because of their ability to recreate catwalk looks at a drop of a hat. The Spanish label has struck again, this time with its Autumn/Winter '09 collection, which sees the brand pay homage to the likes of Chloe (with their slouchy, louche trousers), Louis Vuitton (with their feather-covered skirt) and of course Balmain (with, well, pretty much everything else). The collection sees the return of the tuxedo jacket, complete with the exaggerated shoulders, which Balmain has become famed for more than the past year, teamed with luxe skirts and trousers, too.

The stand-out piece in this particular collection would however, have to be the Balmain-inspired chainmail and zip detail sandals. As part of the limited edition "Zara Numbered Edition," the shoes come with their very own serial number on the sole and a specially designed bespoke shoe box, and will only be sold in 45 Zara boutiques. With only 1,000 of the sandals available, the price tag of $229 seems perfectly acceptable, given that only 999 other fashionistas in the world will be able to own these beauties.

For those of you who fancy treating yourself to a pre-New Year's Eve pair of dancing shoes, head to Flat Iron Zara (New York), which can be found on 101 Fifth Avenue and 17th Street.

Designers are known for drawing inspiration from one and other from time to time, but once in awhile a label can go too far, with the end result resembling an almost exact copy of another designer's creation. That's Danner Footwear's current source of contention. The brand, established in 1932, has been producing combat-style boots since then.

Rag & Bone, whose designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville established the brand in 2002 with the aim of 'making clothes that they and their friends would love to wear everyday,' have seemed to have found their niche with clothes and accessories until now. The label has been accused of copying Danner Footwear's combat boot and are now facing a copyright infringement lawsuit as a result. The boots, which share a striking resemblance to those of Danner's, had previously been sold in stores and online at Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York, but have since been removed following the mention of the lawsuit.

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If you're already feeling a little despondent realising that the festive season will soon be over for another year, you can cheer yourself by perusing the first of the Spring 2010 ad campaigns.

First up is Chloe, who with the help of blonder-looking Raquel Zimmermann offers up some all-American images that see Raquel dressed in a fitted blue shirt and jodhpur trousers and sporting a tan tote to complete the look.

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When supermodel and ex Victoria's Secret angel Tyra Banks launched her talk show, 'The Tyra Banks Show', five years ago, her main aim was "to give young women the 'girlfriend' they want to hang out with and the role model they need". At the time, it had been created to replace the 'Ricki Lake Show' and was intended to offer a daytime talk show for younger women. The show has gone from strength to strength since its inception, so much so that Ms Banks even bagged another Daytime Emmy Award earlier this year for Outstanding Talk Show - pipping the likes of Dr Phil to the post.

Despite the success of the show, Banks has decided that the time has come to bid farewell in order to focus on other projects. She explained: "This will be the last season of the The Tyra Show...I've been loving having fun coming into your living rooms, bedrooms, hair salons for the past five years." Already busy with the America's Next Top Model franchise, Banks has now decided to turn her hand to film production and has recently set up Bankable Studios, her New-York based production company. It would seem that Ms Banks already has a celebrity following in the form of filmmaker Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, who are both said to have supported the move.

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Model: Natalia Vodianova

Photographer: Inez & Vinoodh

Photo courtesy of fashionologie.com

Proving many speculations correct, Jeffrey Monteiro has been announced as the new design director at Bill Blass. After being selected from more than 100 applicants, Monteiro - who has has stints at Jane Mayle and Derek Lam, as well as an eponymous label - will start in January with the aim of bringing Bill Blass back with a high-end collection for Winter 2010.

Bill Blass Group President Scott Patti explained that Monteiro, who is the fifth designer to take over the label since Bill Blass retired in 1999, was chosen for his likeness to the founder. "He's very low key and realistic," Patti said. "Bill Blass designed real clothes, and that's what Jeffrey does as well." Meanwhile, Monteiro told the New York Times of his anticipation to get started on the brand, saying that "the challenge is to take something that has such weight and nostalgia and make it modern and fresh."

Photo courtesy of 6126

It seems there is no stopping Lindsay Lohan on her quest for respect on the fashion scene. Even after humiliating criticism following the SS10 Ungaro collection this September, the Hollywood starlet keeps fighting back - this time by expanding her 6126 range of leggings into a full collection. "I need MORE followers i am so sad about this, how can i tell everyone about my 6126 full collection COMING OUT! all clothing", Lindsay posted on Twitter on Sunday, though it is not known which stores will carry the collection yet.

The existing range has been doing surprisingly well considering its rather steep price tag, with the padded knee 'Mr President' style - retailing at $132 - proving most popular. Let's hope that the full collection steers clear of any resemblance to Lohan's attempt at designing for Ungaro, which featured some rather promiscuous nipple pasties.

Models: Sasha Pivovarova & Viktoriya Sasonkina

Photographer: to be confirmed