AUDI

On final approach to Malaga, Spain, the view from the 737's porthole is of countryside lately rained on. Getting closer to the ground, roads can be discerned as half-dry with damp patches. A 518-hp, mid-engined Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro supercar awaits outside the terminal building. Now normally, the prospect of piloting such a machine in these conditions would cause more apprehension than anticipation.
Not with this Audi though. The R8 has always been such a delightfully trustworthy machine -- an inanimate object that displays the animate characteristic of appearing to be on your side. So it seems reasonable today to put faith in it once again, even as its power scales more breathtaking heights than ever.
In the cause of the extra combustion, the "sideblades" in the V-10 flare outward at the air intakes, channeling to bigger side-mounted radiators. That's probably the main recognition point over the V-8, though the list also runs to bigger, 19-inch Y-pattern rims. They're gorgeous-looking, too. The front grilles are also restyled, there are all-LED headlamps, and more pronounced sills and diffusers.
And trust us, this is a car you'd want to use daily. The power deficit is almost entirely down to intake and exhaust differences.
The new R10 accelerates, its maker says, from 0-to-62 mph in 3.9 seconds, and if you keep going flat out it'll knock on the double-century mph door.

Chanel Spring Couture Collection '09

PARIS, January 27, 2009

By Sarah Mower

The room was all white, with every pillar deeply garlanded in giant paper flowers, tables covered with laser-cut paper cloths, and the staircase laden with yet more cutout roses and camellias. As the girls started to descend in pristine, precision-cut silhouettes, heads decorated with exquisite paper-flower tiara constructions, it was clear this was going to be a Chanel moment to treasure.

In splendid defiance of the darkness of the time, Karl Lagerfeld said he'd cleared everything away and "started with a clean sheet of paper." An all-white collection sounds like an exercise in clinical minimalism, but it wasn't. It was rather like an uplifting rite of spring, perfectly pitched between graphic modernism, ravishing romance, and astonishingly innovative detail.

From a distance, the collection was disciplined into simple planes, the silhouettes cut in an A-line tapering upward to meet cropped jackets with flat, squared-off shoulders and standaway collars. Close up, though, the minutiae became mind-spinning. The classic Chanel braid was minimized to millimeters of handwoven fluff and the embroidered flowers modernized in weightless 3-D montages of organza and cellophane. The paillettes were microdots of matte plastic, and the lace shivered with tiny crystalline beads.

Key to the show's success was the involvement of Kamo, a Japanese hairdresser and Lagerfeld discovery whose team scored and scissored out—while sitting on the floor of a Chanel backroom—the incredible constructs of paper roses, camellias, leaf fronds, and feathers that adorned each girl. Photos of elaborate eighteenth-century white porcelain figures pinned to the studio wall were another source of inspiration. But research can only take you so far: The real genius is in the transformation that takes place in the making, a result of the Chanel workers' ability to push their craft to points of innovation never quite seen before. That, and Lagerfeld's deft tempering of extravagance with a sense of freshness and restraint, made this fragile collection one of the strongest arguments for the value of haute couture in the whole of Paris.

PARIS, December 3, 2008

By Sarah Mower

Ruby red lacquered bags like Fabergé eggs swinging from gilded chains, heels sculpted like upturned onion domes, hair-and-pearl-adorned tiaras like those of Byzantine empresses—oh, and strict black Soviet "uniform" suits. Yes, this was Karl Lagerfeld setting off on another of his light but learned excursions into Coco Chanel's exotic history with men: in this case, the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and the Russian inspirations—the Ballets Russes, Constructivism, Byzantine jewelry, and Slavic folklore—triggered by their relationship.

"Paris-Moscou" was Lagerfeld's theme for the semiannual collection designed to show off the skills of the French embroiderers, milliners, goldsmiths, and shoemakers the house supports. And it was also the subject of his directorial debut. As the audience—which included Princess Caroline of Monaco, Diane Kruger, Emmanuelle Béart, and Clémence Poésy—took its seats in the plush velvet and mahogany Théâtre le Ranelagh, the show opened with a silent black-and-white cine-skit on Coco's flirtation with Russian-Parisian émigré society in the 1910's and 1920's, featuring a cast of Lagerfeld's friends. (The short film is now playing on www.chanel.com.)

Fashion-wise, the then-now parallels were embodied by the Russian models, led out by Sasha Pivovarova. The clothes—extravagantly embellished with sequins and pearls, tufted layers of chiffon, and sparkling feather fringe—were accessorized with a winter fantasia of military fur hats, gold Cossack boots, and pseudo-revolutionary badges, as well as a smattering of very 2008 leather leggings. If today's oligarchettes are still in the market for super-spending, there'll be plenty here to keep the rubles flowing. And for anyone with a yearning to buy in a different way, here's another thought: The goody bag guests took away contained Cuir de Russie (the classic scent Chanel devised with Ernest Beaux, the czar's perfumer, in 1927) and the new Chanel nail color release—the deep blue, iridescent Nuit de Russie.

PARIS, October 3, 2008

By Sarah Mower

Since it's not exactly feasible to invite people to view a Chanel collection in-house, as it used to be done, Karl Lagerfeld instead decided to bring the Rue Cambon to the thousand or so people who crowded into the Grand Palais. A life-size facade of the storied Chanel building at number 31—complete with a street runway—had been dropped into the space. The doors opened, "Our House" by Madness struck up on the sound system, and a line of Chanel-clad pedestrians streamed out.

It was a charming, expensive shot of celebratory fun rolled out with supreme confidence. Lagerfeld said the theme was inspired by a grayish portrait by Marie Laurencin, who painted Coco Chanel in the twenties, but really, it was yet another of his long, allusive, sometimes mischievous excursions around the house set pieces. The fact that there's an untainted core to this label—the tweeds, bows, camellias, and ineffably pretty cocktailwear—means Lagerfeld can take full license to nod to all sides of the road. So, within a relatively tight palette of black, white, and gray, he made free with current references to graphic checks (done in a painterly way on sleeveless suits), metallics and sheerness (in tissue-fine silvery pink lamé and crunchy, sparkly paillette embroideries), and lingerie notes (a bit of boudoir styling in marabou-heeled shoes and frilled negligee sleeves).

This, however, is far from an adequate précis of the multifaceted Chanel action on the runway. It encompassed jumpsuits and Empire gowns, flamenco-cum-western ruffled skirts, black ciré swimwear, and, in the middle of it all, a kitsch skit on the Chanel carrier bag: little shopping bags in pink leather. In the end, though, it was the delicious eveningwear that carried the show to a lovely conclusion: long, narrow skirtsuits with cropped boleros, a pink vertically pleated dress, and, yes, even a gray-tinted cloudy georgette flowing dress that could have sat for Marie Laurencin.

PARIS, July 1, 2008

By Sarah Mower

When showing in the Grand Palais—a soaring dome of a space capable of dwarfing an enormous audience and miniaturizing any runway—Karl Lagerfeld needs to exaggerate to make his theme carry. Thus, a 50-foot set is craned in to announce the season's keynote: in this case, a vast multilevel stack of steel-gray tubes, suggesting organ pipes.

What proceeded, inevitably enough, was a virtuoso fugue in tubular cutting, played up, down, and across every possible scale in Chanel's suiting, embroideries, chiffon, and eveningwear. From the beginning, the clothes took on curvilinear volumes, starting with gray-flecked, cocoonlike car coats over short skirts and trompe l'oeil tweed "suits" with belled skirts, which on closer inspection were actually one-piece coat-dresses. Lagerfeld's irrepressible facility for quick-fire free association in design ideas led to dozens of three-dimensional devices thereafter: huge bunchy cap sleeves, cartridge rolls of material encircling waists or hobbling hemlines, deep scrolls of fabric standing out from skirts, and spaghettilike fringing flying from shoulders.

The general impression was of a collection that had changed key from last season's girlishness to something tuned more to a winter-weight, grown-up frequency. Still, the delight was all in the more light-fingered treatments: delicate fronds of ostrich fringe on a micro-beaded suit, or silvery zigzag embroidery on an intensely sequined belted dress. Couture at this supreme level only gets more incredible the closer you get to it. The frustration is that, paraded at such a distance, the astonishing skill involved in creating these effects is incapable of being picked up by the naked eye. There is, of course, a sense of occasion and anticipation in being invited to sit in the Chanel grandstand, but the genius of Karl Lagerfeld and the unique ateliers of the Rue Cambon might be far better appreciated in close-up.

NEW YORK, May 16, 2008

By Laird Borrelli-Persson

After taking to the skies for the flight-themed Resort collection he presented in Los Angeles a year ago, Karl Lagerfeld made a splashy landing with the new Chanel Cruise show. His models literally walked on water on a curvilinear runway built over the famously sinuous pool at the Raleigh Hotel in South Beach, Miami. If Zoë Kravitz was nervous that they might misstep and fall in, Sasha Pivovarova—who opened and closed the show—said resolutely that she never entertained the thought.

"Everyone associates Miami with the Raleigh's kind of [Deco] glamour," Diane Kruger (in a navy satin minidress and straw hat worn tilted back on her head) said after the show. And the closing performance, featuring the United States synchronized-swimming team, would have made Esther Williams (who once swam in this pool) proud. The clothes themselves, though, nodded to an entirely different era. The 74-look collection mixed rock 'n' roll with seventies swing and high glamour, all rendered with Lagerfeld's forward-minded attitude.

Models with Brian Jones-inspired hair looked as smart in smokings as they did in seventies-style full-legged light-wash jeans, tie-dyed logo tees, and haute hippie headbands. These are sure to be in high demand among the easy-living types who make the rounds of tony beachside resorts, but it wasn't all just sun and fun. A series of elaborately beaded dresses with clear or smoky plastic insets were examples of pure urban sophistication, just as the few goddess dresses were exemplars of restraint. The pistol-heeled shoes—paging Charlie's Angels—were a different story. Lagerfeld's own wardrobe might have influenced the hard-edged looks (silver sequined blazers and black jeans) that the models rocked near the close of a show that was a spectacular in every way. "This kind of production speaks to the importance of the [Resort] market and signals how commercially viable it is," said Saks' Ron Frasch. Perhaps only Lagerfeld, though, can make the whole enterprise seem like so much fun.

Fashion trends for Women

Flights of Fancy: the feathered headband trend

I love feathers. It's their natural beauty; the compendium of a multitude of hues brought together in vibrant patterns governed by nature... all for attracting a mate. Just think about the grace and style of the peacock and you will see what I mean. Well, the feather trend has been creeping up on catwalks since A/W 08-09, and I think its about time we all took a flight of fancy!

One of the easiest ways to wear the feather trend is as part of headwear. With a choice between a cute array on dainty slides or skinny alice bands with shoots of feathers coming off, it doesn't take a lot of daring to pull it off. Then there's the next step, for the truly fashion obsessed: the headband.

[ Click here to read 'Flights of Fancy: the feathered headband trend' ]

Shoes in 2009: Shoe Trends for Spring/Summer 2009

Forget about different toe shapes and heel heights; in Spring/Summer 2009 shoe trends all come down to the details.

From fringing to laces to buckles and straps; exotic to fetish to architectural; these are the elements that define the trends.

And one thing is for certain: boring just doesn't cut it.

Read on to discover this year's shoe trends, check out the inspiration picture gallery down the bottom, and don't forget that if you want to keep up with current fashion trends to sign up for our free fashion newsletter.

You can also read up on Winter 2009 shoe trends by following that link.

[ Click here to read 'Shoes in 2009: Shoe Trends for Spring/Summer 2009' ]

One-Shoulder Fashion Trend: 2009 Update

Need a sexy dress update for your wardrobe this Spring? Look no further than bearing a flash of cheeky shoulder with a beautiful one-shoulder creation. Shoulders are sexy. More mysterious than cleavage and more elegant than legs; shoulders remind us of the delicacy and vulnerability of the neck.

One-shoulder pieces at Balmain, Balenciaga, Lanvin and Sophia Kokosalaki, S/S09

Huge in 2008, one-shouldered pieces are again a major part of 2009's fashion trends.

[ Click here to read 'One-Shoulder Fashion Trend: 2009 Update' ]

Bondage / Fetish Clothing Trend Spring/Summer 2009

The line between the office shoe and the fetish heel has become increasingly blurred; while the popularity of the ubiquitous Herve Leger bandage dress has simultaneously become widespread, meaning the super-short and super-tight is more commonplace than ever. The taboo, in many ways, is not so taboo anymore. Fashion has pushed the envelope and perusing the Spring/Summer 2009 runways, it's not hard to spot the bondage and fetish inspirations behind many of the clothes; making this yet another of 2009's fashion trends.

The bondage trend at Rodarte, Thakoon, Herve Leger, Narciso Rodriguez, and Givenchy.

[ Click here to read 'Bondage / Fetish Clothing Trend Spring/Summer 2009' ]

Cutaway clothes: women's S/S 2009 trend

When it comes to 2009 fashion trends the sheer clothing trend may be the ultimate proof that throughout the year less will be more. But it's not the year's only trend doing just that.

Introducing the cutaway fashion trend where intricate missing elements of fabric work to show off glimpses of the female figure in a sexual and sensual fashion typical of women's Spring/Summer 2009 fashion.

Laddered stockings / ripped tights trend 2008-2009

The most defining trend of the 1990s was undoubtedly grunge. And since the 80s revival has reached its peak and is on the steady decline, it's the 90s that are next in turn - grunge naturally included. This neo-grunge takes the ripped denim trend firmly in its stride; and along with it comes another 2009 trend: laddered stockings.

Alexander Wang Autumn (Fall)/Winter 2008

[ Click here to read 'Laddered stockings / ripped tights trend 2008-2009' ]

Fairy-tale Romance: Spring/Summer 2009 Trend

Flouncing ruffles, rosette clusters, and delicate capelets. Moving away from the sleek and sexy, some designers topped off their Spring/Summer 2009 runway shows with the ultimate in romantic gowns; making the fairy-tale dress somewhat of a 2009 fashion trend.

Fairytale dresses by Roberto Cavalli, Chanel, Nina Ricci, and Dolce & Gabbana, Spring/Summer 2009.

[ Click here to read 'Fairy-tale Romance: Spring/Summer 2009 Trend' ]

Grecian Goddess Draping: Spring/Summer 2009 Trend

It's a logical flow-on from the one-shoulder fashion trend; a new breed of draping Grecian Goddess dresses. A notable runway trend for 2009, anything with a Grecian or Romanesque inspiration is a sure hit for the Spring/Summer 2009 season.

Runway looks from Chadwick Bell, James Coviello, Elie Saab, Valentino, and Kenzo.

[ Click here to read 'Grecian Goddess Draping: Spring/Summer 2009 Trend' ]

Oversized Bows: Spring/Summer 2009 Trend

They were on the Fall/Winter 2009 runways if you looked hard enough; but it was with the Spring/Summer collections that bows really reached trend status for 2009.

Bows on the runways of Chanel, Moschino, Lela Rose, United Bamboo, and Marchesa.

[ Click here to read 'Oversized Bows: Spring/Summer 2009 Trend' ]

The scarf trend: Keep warm in style this winter

By Isa Tousignant

Imaxtree / DKNY

The sky’s the limit with scarf lengths these days, thanks to this cozy trend.

Reach new heights—or should we say lengths?—with your winter wear (and spring wear) this year. This hot long scarf trend has been seen on celebs like LiLo and Nicole Ritchie. Today’s It scarves — as seen in the latest collections by DKNY, Emporio Armani, Just Cavalli, Lacoste and Miss Sixty - are chunky, loosely knit, ultra-light silk, cotton or wool blends. All the better to keep you warm without compromising your inner fashionista’s desire to be on trend! The knit texture also adds great bulk that contrasts perfectly with a tank top or hot vintage rock’n’roll t-shirt. The best news? There’s no need to stick your neck out for fashion these days.

Gadgets Galore in 2009!!

If you get given one of these, you will never have the chance to be late again, so be warned!

Design

What makes the
Air so thin?

MacBook Air is nearly as thin as your index finger. Yet it has a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display, a full-size keyboard, and a large Multi-Touch trackpad. It’s incomparably portable — without the ultraportable screen and keyboard compromis

es.

Graphics

Advanced NVIDIA integrated graphics.

The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M brings amazing

, high-speed graphics to MacBook Air. With up to a 4x graphics performance boost, graphics-intensive applications now run faster. Movie and video playback is now richer. Even Cover Flow flips more smoothly. It’s a quantum leap for MacBook

Air graphics.

Storage

More room. So you can take it all with you.

The MacBook Air hard drive is now larger

at 120GB. So now there’s plenty of storage space for your photos, movies, documents — basically everything you want and need to take with you. Or upgrade to a 128GB solid-state drive, which has no moving parts, for enhanced dura

bility.

Wireless

Built for the
wireless world.

MacBook Air takes full advantage of the w

ireless wo

rld. A world in which 802.11n Wi-Fi is so fast and s

o available, you can truly live untethere

d — buying and renting movies online, printing wirelessly, and sharing and storing files on the web.

Phone, iPod, Internet, and more.

Introducing iPhone 3G. With fast 3G wireles

s technology, GPS mapping, support for enterprise features like Microsoft Exchange, and the new App Store, iPhone 3G puts even more features at your fingertips. And like the original iPhone, it combines three products in one — a revolutionary phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet devi

ce with rich HTML email and a desktop-class web browser. iPhone 3G. It redefines what a mobile phone can do — again.

Sleek new design.

With a stunningly thin, contoured stainless steel design, iPod touch feels even better in your hand. And the new volume buttons and built-in speaker give you more to love.

Get your mobile game on.

Groundbreaking technologies built into iPod

touch — such as the Multi-Touch display, accelerometer, and 3D graphics — immerse you in the action.

Music just got smarter.

The new Genius feature turns iPod touch into a highly intelligent, personal DJ. With a few taps, it creates a playlist by finding songs in your library that go great together.

Snow White Apple keyboard

Here are just what Design Snobs and Apple purists: The snow-white Apple keyboard! Well, the people of the Blind type is not powerful can not of course be necessary to follow suggested, but apparently, the maker (graphic stylish Steve Essell, link the continuance) of the keyboard for Harte is not only a terrific reluctance. Against the current trend Apple, gadget such as the new Mac Book again two-tone design, but also best keyboard skill.

Allegedly, he has only four to five thin layer of spray paint strive to attain this result, but I doubt a little of this statement. Would not the gap between the board and keyboard key stick? True Pedanten would most likely build everything apart, spray and then put back together - and then hopefully not find that it contain the necessary writing skill just blind but not enough nerdig extent hold.

Hair styles in 2009...

Since ever human being, hairstyles have been a part of individuality. Each epoche, each culture spent time for various hair style art. The last century showed up a lot of different Hairstyles. For example the bob cut, which initial came up around 1920 and brought a lot of different short hairstyles for women. The perm wave which was first created by Karl Nessler (1906) existed as a prototype with only five curls connected with an energy generator. The first introduction in england was a real hit. Back in germany Karl Nessler tried to introduce his new concept to various hair dressers without any special attention. A few years later Karl Nessler went to the United States of America, introduced his perm wave concept and from this time his patent got famous with various types of new curly hairstyles. Since the celebration and famous perm wave attention started in USA, a lot of american hairdressers believe the perm wave was initial created in their country, which is not true. The quiff hair style came up around 1950 and was a famous men hairstyle, the long hair at the front got styled with a lot of fat to keep its style and shiny. The ponytail exist nowadays in various types: long, round and short pony. Some hairsalons love to finish their pony with a special undercut. Using this haircut method you can take away a lot of unwanted volume from the hairstyle. Bob cuts and it various styles are today famous because stars like Victoria Beckham are wearing it.

footwear in '09..!!

Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps or thongs passing over the instep and around the ankle. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometimes be blurry (as in the case of huaraches—the woven leather footwear seen in Mexico), the common understanding is that a sandal leave most or all of the foot exposed. People may choose to wear sandals for several reasons, among them economy (sandals tend to require less material than shoes), comfort in warm weather, and as a fashion choice.

Usually, sandals are worn in warmer climates or during warmer parts of the year, because feet stay cool and dry. The chances of developing athlete's foot is lower than with enclosed shoes, and wearing sandals may be part of the treatment for such an infection.