From left to right, Jeremy Irvine, Clemence Poesy, Eddie Redmayne, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Mario Testino & Kate Bosworth.

While Marc Jacobs laid claim to Oliver, Christopher Bailey set his sights on Eliza Doolittle. There was something childish about Burberry Prorsum’s fall collection, called Town and Country. Bow belts nipped in the waists of ruffled velvet skirts over t-shirts and sweaters sketched with owls. Floral dresses in fall colors like orange, purple and burgundy had peplums, a silhouette matched by the over-sized pockets on waxed and cordurouy jackets and coat dresses. There was plenty of tweed and houndstooth, but also studded gloves and python bags (many of which were topped off with fox head fasteners) for the brand’s newly signature rock n’ roll edge. After Cara Delevigne made the final exit (no Karlie Kloss in sight), the music stopped and rain poured down on the tent, which sat in the middle of the otherwise sunny Kensington Square Gardens.  Inside, confetti fell, to the delight of the star-heavy front row, and the models marched out with massive umbrellas.  Yes, it was hard to keep one’s eye on the clothes when Eddie Redmayne glowed in the front row, but if anyone can capture an audience, it’s Bailey.

Getty Images

There’s not much we can say that’s already been said about this brooding babe. Last night was the L.A. premiere of Taylor Kitsch’s new movie, John Carter, so clearly he holds ELLEgirl’s title of Crush of the Lifetime Week. The 30-year-old Canadian actor is best known for his role as Tim Riggins, the troubled heartthrob/heart breaker on the highly-praised (though not nearly enough appreciated) high school football drama Friday Night Lights. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll recall that Dillon Panthers Quarterback #33 had little to no lines in the first season (the epitome of the strong, silent type) before evolving into a central character on the show. We welcomed that transition with open arms, just as we welcome Kitsch’s shift from the small screen to the silver screen.




Courtesy of Disney The epic sci-fi tale of John Carter—hitting theaters in 3D March 9th—is based on a character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs 100 years ago. Kitsch plays John Carter, a jaded soldier who’s transported to the middle of a Martian civil war. In filming the action-adventure movie, which also stars Lynn Collins, Kitsch has endured “some groin tears, to high ankle sprains, some good cuts.” Groin tears? Yikes. But in the end, he says of the film: “Visually, it’s going to be incredible.” We won’t argue with that. Kitsch is also appearing in upcoming films Battleship and Savages. (On the rumored FNL movie, Kitsch has “no idea what’s going on” and, sadly to us, admits to Access Hollywood that if he had his way, he wouldn’t reprise his role as Rigs on the big screen.) Before Hollywood fame, Kitsch worked as a personal trainer as well as a model for Diesel and Abercrombie & Fitch—neither of which are surprising. But did you know he’s also certified as a nutritionist? Hot and healthy.

Back to NYC and back to reality! One of the highlights of the trip was meeting the author of Dreaming of Chanel, Charlotte Smith. In her book, she writes about the priceless inheritance of a vintage clothing collection every girl dreams of. From Chanel to Vivienne Westwood and Valentino, she captures the gorgeous dresses and the stories behind the fabulous women that wore them. It was hard not to be in awe of her as we all intently listened to her stories.




Photo: Courtesy of Joanne Hong

Although the show is over, the real work has just begun. I’ve started a list of boutiques that I want to contact here in NYC as well as other surrounding cities. Do you have any favorite boutiques in your area? Read all Joanne’s posts here!

Kate Bosworth in Burberry's fall 2012 collection—before it hit the runway.
Photo: Getty Images

As the fashion pack settles into Milan this morning, we’re left with a few notes from London.

1. We noticed a new trend at the London shows: stars wearing the collection that’s about to debut on the runway.  While the front row’s often dressed in the label they’re watching, their outfit traditionally comes from the last runway show.  This time around, at Burberry, both Kate Bosworth and Eddie Redmayne wore fall 2012.  “That’s my jacket!” Redmayne said to Clemence Poesy as look 47 walked down the runway.  Meanwhile, Bosworth wore an owl-printed sweater with a pencil skirt, a mix of two different runway looks.  At Pringle of Scotland, Rose Byrne wore a red and blue dress from the fall collection and at Mulberry, a host of stars carried next season’s bags.

2. The Internet’s come a long way. Five years ago bloggers were lucky to score a standing ticket to the London shows, now they’re properly seated—and celebrated.  Imran Amed’s The Business of Fashion—a site most wouldn’t hesitate to call the most respected fashion blog on the net—celebrated its fifth birthday with a big bash at Le Baron, attracting style stars like Jefferson Hack, Caroline Issa, Tallulah Harlech, the xx and Giles Deacon.

3. The venues have New York beat.  Even less than stellar collections look great underneath gilded ceilings and extravagant chandeliers.  Giles Deacon, who actually did show a wonderfully haunting collection of burned dresses, strict tuxedoes and fanciful headpieces from Stephen Jones, showed in Stationers Hall, the chapel-like home of England’s newspaper guild while Vivienne Westwood showed off her Red Label collection in a old government building with ceilings painted like a British version of Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People. And with that, it’s on to Gucci!

Kate Moss at Stella McCartney's party in London over the weekend.
Photo: Getty Images

When Kate Moss attended a black-tie London Fashion Week dinner party held by Stella McCartney on Saturday, all seemed well. But she has reportedly been suffering from a nerve disorder that left her arm temporarily paralyzed. The issue apparently first turned up a couple of weeks ago, when Moss woke up at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, unable to move her right arm and hand. She reportedly went to see the hotel’s doctor, and then got a second opinion upon returning to London, where she was diagnosed with ulnar nerve entrapment. However, it sounds like her modeling career shouldn’t be affected. A source “close to the supermodel” tells the Daily Mail: “Her hand is not paralyzed or injured in any permanent way.”

One of the puffers at Peter Pilotto.
Photo: Getty Images

Peter Pilotto’s already won over the fashion critics—and they’re the hardest to please. So now, as designers Pilotto and Christopher De Vos Origin try to grow their brand, they’re using collaborations to gain exposure. For spring, they collaborated with Lisa Marie Fernandez on a line of printed swimsuits and yesterday, at their fall runway show, they debuted their new outerwear. The Brits teamed up with Schneiders, the Austrian outerwear brand renowned for its wool coats and Olympic uniforms, to produce a collection of puffy quilted down jackets. They came cropped—and in vest form—in the same Asian inspired prints (the collection’s colors and prints were inspired by Japanese light trucks and Chinese opera mask makeup) as the cut-out dresses and slim pants, but they’re made out of metallic laminated wool. Look for them in stores next fall, but if you like your puffy jackets to be less colorful, don’t worry—they’ve been everywhere.  Burberry threw cropped down jackets over men’s suits and full skirts, J.W. Anderson offered puffy pinstriped suit-like jackets and vests and even Tom Ford showed a fur-covered puffer.  Here’s hoping, for their sake, that it’s a bit colder next winter. Click here to see all of the fall shows!

Victoria Beckham at Harvey Nichols on Friday. Photo: Getty Images “When I had to walk the red carpet for War Horse, I had a rail of dresses to choose from, and I knew right away that the Victoria Beckham was the one was for me,” said 15-year-old budding starlet Celine Buckens.  The actress was just one of many fans who showed up to Harvey Nichols on Friday night to celebrate the retailer’s collaboration with “Victoria by Victoria Beckham.” Beckham had much to celebrate thanks to her successful showing at New York Fashion Week.   Both of her collections were well received, winning praise from even the most cynical fashion editors—not to mention the buyers.  The latter from both Harvey Nichols and Net-a-porter tell us that the Victoria line is selling at a fast clip. Celebrating with her at the cozy dinner were Roland Mouret, Anya Rubik, Irina Lazeneau, Gordon Ramsay, Charlotte Dellal, and Olivia Palermo, as well as the designers’ parents, sister and niece.  (David, unfortunately, must have been at home with the kids.)  Tables buzzed about the astonishing success of the secondary line, one that despite aiming in a different direction is quickly becoming a red carpet favorite. “The Victoria line speaks to my younger customer,” Beckham said.  She added that it’s also “something that would appeal to those buying the ready-to-wear. It has allowed me to experiment with silhouettes, colors and prints and I am enjoying the opportunity to spread my wings a bit.” As for what comes next, it sounds like the designer could use a break.  “I have been completely focused on this for so much time now it felt there was a lot at stake when we showed in New York,” she said.  “So it is such a relief to see how well it has all been received.”

One of the many playful prints at Moschino.
Photo: Getty Images

“I love London! I love the Queen!” said Rossella Jardini before yesterday’s Moschino Cheap & Chic show. The Creative Director of the Italian brand was offering her reasons for debuting the fall collection in London, a first for the Italian brand. Had she refused to answer, it wouldn’t have been hard to see why.  The fall collection featured more pink than most spring clothes, with colorful prints of lips, eyes, and makeup splashed across skirts and dresses all linked together with glittered pink lips, big hair and heavy dose of whimsy.  “There is a link between the Cheap and Chic world and the British culture,” said designer Francesca Rubino.  “The sense of humor basically. And irony! We love irony.” So ladylike skirts and dresses came paired with crocheted sweaters and multi-colored fur coats.  “A respect of tradition and yet their fashion’s a bit transgressive—this, we love,” said Rubino.  The designer said the organza dresses were her favorite, but we’d bet on seeing quite a bit of those printed silk skirts next September. Click here to see all of the fall shows!

Alice + Olivia fall 2012, Imaxtree Alice + Olivia met Alice in Wonderland at this week’s fall 2012 presentation, one of quirkiest of New York Fashion Week. Models embraced each corner of the playful studio with looks that left attendees—including Kevin Jonas and his wife Danielle Jonas, Gossip Girl’s Kelly Rutherford, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Kristin Chenoweth, and Smash’s Megan Hilty—in a whimsical mood. Glasses of champagne, Magnum ice cream bars, and custom A+O “Nolita” cocktails danced their way around the floor as guests mingled and captured close-ups of the doll-faced models. Designer Stacey Bendet created a line that had something for every Alice + Olivia girl. From body-con sequin gowns that bellowed down to the floor for the glamorous A+O girl to the lace-loving Parisian and of course the tulle-devoted princess.