Say hello to Jennifer Lawrence's cover of British Vogue's November issue. If you're anything like me, on first look, you might be slightly disappointed. Admittedly, the cover is a lot less glitzy than some of the actresses most recent ones but it's this reason that it's really grown on me.
It might sound really basic but the charm of this cover is that she actually looks liker her. Not following me? Just take a look at her face. At a time where retouchers are being overzealous with Photoshop, having a cover star look this natural is becoming increasingly rare. The dress, from the Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2012 collection, is intricate enough for it to warrant being on the cover but doesn't detract from her beauty.
I'm slightly crazy about it but what do you think?
On the whole, Nicole Kidman is a good cover star. Her one for Vogue Australia's May issue is still one of my favourites from her, so much so that I'm willing to put the monstrosity that was her V magazine cover to one side. That aside, she really did need to pull it out of the bag for her latest one and thankfully she did.
The actress appears on the November cover of US Harper's Bazaar glowing in a gold dress alongside cover lines that ironically say, 'Sexy & Age Appropriate' and 'The Daring Issue.' Even more ironic is the fact that the cover was shot by Terry Richardson. Considering how revealing her Mario Testino-shot V cover was, you would have thought that was more Richardson's bag but credit where credit's due, he's actually done a good job with it.
British designers continue to go from strength to strength on the other side of the pond. Mary Katrantzou and Peter Pilotto are increasingly popping up on the red carpet in Hollywood but Antonio Berardi is definitely leading the pack when it comes to dressing celebrities. Nicole Richie wears his designs and so does Elizabeth Banks but over the weekend it was Ashley Greene's turn.
The actress sported one of the fitted white bandage style dresses from Berardi's resort 2013 collection to attend the third annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic event and the outfit suits her and works for the occasion. To finish the look off, she teamed the dress with a pair of nude Giuseppe Zanotti pumps, which don't work particularly well but aren't too bad considering the off-white panels on the dress.
It's all systems go at Saint Laurent at the moment. It was only a week ago that Hedi Slimane showed his first women's wear collection at the house and already, images of Anja Rubik wearing the collection have been uploaded onto the label's recently revamped website.
The images are good and were no doubt shot by Slimane in their headquarters, leading many to believe that the images will form the brand's S/S13 campaign but I'm not convinced. On the whole, the PR team has been pretty tight lipped about the brand's plans moving forward, besides, of course, the new name change, so I can't imagine that they would release the campaigns so soon.
Emily Blunt always nails her covers but that rings particularly true of her latest one for Harper's Bazaar Australia. The actress, who is currently promoting her latest movie 'Looper' appears on the magazine's November issue styled in a printed halter neck dress and that YSL artsy ring that none of seem to be able to get enough of.
Blunt has had quite a few strong covers in the past but this is definitely my favourite. The dress works perfectly on her and the lighter hair works suits her too.
When you think of Anthony Vaccarello, what springs to mind? Anja Rubik and her exposed right hip in that dress that he designed for her to wear to this year's Met Gala, no? That exposure was both a good and a bad thing. Good, because it definitely put his name out there in the consciousness of the mainstream but bad because it, to a large extent, pigeonholed him into designing sexy evening wear.
For that reason it was a smart choice, then, that he opened the show with Rubik completely covered up wearing a simple but desirable white blazer and black trouser combo. The move was deliberate. He was making a point to the world that, while he will continue to deliver those dresses that get the photographers snapping, there's more to him that a hot dress. And this season that he transpired on the series of deconstructed jackets, white over the knee shorts and easy throw on tops that are just what we all need for summer, and will no doubt prove to be a smart business move.
Sex was still there and so were short hemlines. The dresses clung closely to the body to replicate how your clothes would look if you had walked out of the ocean wearing them. I can't lie, the dresses did look extremely hot on Cara Delevigne and Jourdan Dunn but that's partly where the problem is. As has been the case for the past few seasons, I'm just not convinced that these looks will translate on us mere mortals.
With Raf Simons showing his first ready-to-wear womens collection for Dior and Hedi Slimane doing the same at the newly revamped Saint Laurent Paris, the Balenciaga show this week was a compartively quiet affair. For Nicholas Ghesquière, though, it was business as usual. Over the years he's mastered the ability to tap into Balenciaga signatures without becoming a slave to its archive and this season he continued to move things forward while taking a considered look back.
The collection was more sexual than we've ever seen from him. Inspired by a dress designed by Cristobel Balanciaga in 1968, ruffles appears on asymmetric skirts that came short at the front and long at the back with enough thigh on show to make both Anja Rubik and Angelina Jolie happy. But as you would expect, it wasn't straight up sexy in a Pucci kind of way. The sensuality was offset with boxy cropped tops and oversized coats and masculine tailored waistcoats that had K-Stew's name all over them. The moral of the story? It's not just a two man race in Paris.
There's a reason why KarlieKloss is one of the most in demand models of the moment. Aside from the obvious, she manages to straddle the line between youth and sex appeal with ease. It was only a month or so ago that she was dressed like a teenager in floral prints for the latest Juicy Couture campaign but her latest shoot for Numéro is far from PG.
The model, who recently marked coming of age by striping down for Vogue Italia's December issue and becoming a Victoria's Secret's Angel, donned latex and well, not much else for the December issue of the magazine shot by Greg Kadel. Her body is on a full show, which is perhaps a deliberate move giving the finger to the critics that slammed her for representing an unhealthy body image for young girls.
Penelope Cruz knows how to make a statement on the red carpet. Usually the actress is all about drama but to attend the 60th San Seabstian Film Festival she was appropriately understated.
The silk red vintage Gianni Versace strapless gown looks chic and classic and not fussy and the pleat details helps add that little bit extra. To finish off the look, Cruz teamed the dress with a pair of red satin Salvatore Ferragamo sandals, which could easily have caused to her to blend into the red carpet, but strangely works.
