Selcitra

The medieval look is big for fall 2003, with designers like Fendi and Alexander McQueen drawing inspiration from knightly duels and courtly love. Fendi showcased metallic leather coasts and courtly and tunics worn over tight leggings, while Alexander McQueen turner out a collection of chiffon ribbon- trimmed corsets fit for a princess. Other nods to medieval dressing include over- the- knee boots and structured, armour-style coats.

British tabloids reported that fashion designer Stella McCartney married Alasdhair Willis in a secret ceremony on the lsle of Bute, a remote island off the western coast of Scotland, at the end of August. Visitors spotted on the island for the five-day celebration included Stella’s father, former Beattle Paul McCartney and his wife Heather, Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie, model Kate Moss and actress Liv Tyler. The bride was reported to have worn a Gucci dress inspired by the fawn- coloured dress and yellow coat worn by her late mother Linda when she wed Paul McCartney in 1969.

Until recently, trendy young men on the streets of Tokyo’s fashion hub, Shibuya favored brown-dyed hair, tanned skin and surfer garb or sportswear. many trendy men have now abandoned this casual look for a new slicker style dubbed onii-kei (”elder brother style”). Key onii-kei pieces include white tailored jacket, low-necked tank tops, imported jeans, and pointed leather shoes. Along with belts, waist pouches, watches, sunglasses, and other accessories from world-famous brands, the onii-kei look demands a teased shag haircut known as “wolf hair”.

While the little black dress will never go out of style, this season’s hottest formal wear is bright red. Dior and Elie Saab unveiled red hot, floor-length chiffon stunners, while Micheal Vollbracht at Bill Blass created a head-turning crimson belted V-neck grown for all. Actress Kyra Sedgwick stood out at the Tony Awards in a strapless, balloon-skirted red grown from Emanuel Ungaro. Team your scarlet grown with simple jewelry and red lipstick.

Experts predict that by 2020 China’s middle class could expand to more than 500 million. market growth predictions are tantalizing, with China’s luxury goods market expected to grow by 20 per cent a year till 2008, then slows down to 10 per cent till 2015.

many luxury goods firms look forward to good times. LVMH is expected to add two to four stores a year to its 100 that already operate in China. Giorgio Armani intends to set up 20 to 30 stores by 2008, when Saks Fifth Avenue will also open a store in Shanghai. Siebu, controlled by Dickson Concepts (International) Limited, is opening a five-floor 140,000-sque-foot department store in Chengdu later this year. High-profile tenants will include. Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tod’s and Michael Kors, whose presence in second-tier cities reflects their confidence in the growing Chinese market.