Backstage vs. Front Row

Check out these amazing photos from V Magazine's backstage photographer, Schohaja. I never really thought about finding backstage pictures of the runway, but these are awesome! I feel so much more connected to the artistry of it all, probably because you get a much better view of the details, but also because Schohaja has a very mysterious, ethereal style that draws you in. It adds a complete other level of appreciation of fashion as art. 

Armani Prive

A Classier Rebel Yell

Mario Testino shot Freja Beha Erichsen, Sasha Pivovarova, Carmen Kass and Anna Selezneva in an editorial for one of my favorite magazines -V Magazine. Titled "Uptown & Down," Carmen and Sasha play the role of uptown ladies (with a salacious twist), while Freja and Anna are cast as the effervescent spirits of downtown. Testino captures that yearning that's settling into many of us in this increasingly complicated world: a psuedo-punk desire to break with tradition, change the rules, and put our own playful spin on the world.

Sheer Elegance: Valentino Spring 2011 Couture

This Spring has heralded something new in the world of fashion: not only a vast array of exciting, inspiring couture shows, but also the first Valentino show I have honestly been blown away by since the Emperor himself stepped down.

Exploring the limits of "ladylike" couture, this season's show flirted between clean, almost sharp prettiness and hypnotic, Rococo-esque eroticism. Although some of the first pieces were uniformly seventies inspired, the show gradually became more whimsical, the fabrics dissolving into gossamer wisps of frothy starlight. For me, these last pieces conjured up something like a Fragonard painting, starring Twiggy in a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Image via Google

Image via Istituto Italiano di Cultura

Chanel Beauty

Image via Style.com

Image via Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris

After watching Karl Lagerfeld’s Spring 2011 Couture Collection, I was surprised to find out that this season’s inspiration for him was Marie Laurencin’s portrait of Gabrielle Chanel, a painting that Coco was not exactly fond of. The portrait managed to inspire Karl and he masterfully got the best from this seemingly melancholy and rather poignant portrait and created one of the most romantic and convivial couture collections I have ever seen...