The red carpet looks at last night's Oscars was mixed. Angelina Jolie looked incredible in an Atelier Versace black gown with thigh high slit, just about everyone wearing Elie Saab Couture looked incredible and Emma Stone stole the show in a red halter neck Giambattista Valli Couture gown.
Unsurprisingly, Jessica Chastain chose an Alexander McQueen gown and Rooney Mara chose Givenchy as we expected but unfortunately did not make the statement that we were all hoping for. The most interesting look of the night came from Gwyneth Paltrow who, like last year with that Calvin Klein dress, managed to pull off a difficult Tom Ford dress.
New York Fashion Week started with a bang last night as the annual amfAR New York gala event took place to kick off this season's festivities. The gala, which raises money for HIV/AIDS research, always see the best of fashion and entertainment come under one roof and as you would expect, the red carpet outfits were strong. Models were particularly on form last night. Joan Smalls looking incredible in a black Givenchy gown, Anja Rubik sported that much loved black and gold Gucci flapper dress and Liya Kebede broke the penchant for gowns by opting for this season's two tone trousers teamed with a white blouse.
Clockwise from large image: Emma Stone in Alexander McQueen; Ashlee Simpson in Jenny Packham; Natalie Portman in Giambattista Valli; Lea Michele in Versace; Sofia Vegara in Marchesa; Rose Byrne in Elie Saab and Tilda Swinton in Lanvin
Back in May we reported that the ANDAM prize fund finalists had been announced by Anna Wintour and the rest of the jury - Mark Fast, Turkish designer Hakaan Yildirim, former Mugler designer Alexandre Vauthier,Francesco Scognamiglio, former Christian Lacroix and Balenciaga designer Bouchra Jarrar, and Calla Haynes, who worked for Oliver Theyskens for five years at Rocha, as well as Nina Ricci.
Fighting off the tough competition to claim the prize of €220,000 was Hakaan Yildirim, who when asked to comment from Istanbul replied with his collaborator and good friend Mert Alas, "This is so magical. We are honoured." Hakaan's first show in London took place only last February, and caused quite an unexpected stir on the fashion scene, bringing Carine Roitfeld, Kate Moss and Emmanuelle Alt to the front row, whilst Natalia Vodianova, Lara Stone, Maricarla Boscono and Natasha Poly walked.
As London Fashion Week gets into full swing, there's one designer we expect will be reveling in his newfound success: HakaanYildirim. The Turkish native showed for the first time at London Fashion Week this season and seemed to wow the crowd. And judging by the nod Carine Roitfeld gave Lara Stone's outfit as she sashayed down the runway, it was clear that a new star designer had been born.
Despite being somewhat unknown until now, Hakaan is already building a celebrity client base. First, actress Rose Byrne sported one of his designs - a feathered, structured mini dress - to the premier of the third season of her hit show, 'Damages'. Then, Kate Moss popped up front-row at his show on Friday. It looks like Hakaan's feathered, fur and leather designs are here to stay, and we look forward to seeing what he has to offer in the future.
At times, it's easy to see the direction Christian Cota's life took him before he launched his own fashion line in February 2007. The Mexican-born designer graduated from the Parsons School of Design with a fine-arts degree in 2005, and in carefully placed pops of colour on day dresses or relaxed jackets with every hue from a painter's palette, Cota's other interests show through.
Cota met quick recognition after breaking into the design business, with accolades from Style.com and recognition at Fashion Group International's Women's Ready-to-Wear Rising Star. After gaining a following with celebrities including Blake Lively, Leighton Meester and Rose Byrne, Cota expanded into resort wear with a collection called Agua Cota.
This week, the designer takes a break from his schedule to show The Fash Pack what it's like inside his workspace.
Tonight's MTV Video Music Awards, held at New York's Radio City Music Hall, provided quite the range of dress codes. From Lady Gaga's usual follow-her-own-drummer wear to Taylor Swift's mega-formal gown, the stars came out in, well, whatever they felt like.
Some of our favourites for the night were Whitney Port, Amerie and Nicky Hilton. What do you think?
