Our Favourites at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards

It's award season y'all! The moment when we start to see if some of our favourite red carpet looks from last year have been appreciated by the celebrity stylists of the world. Even more exciting, we love to see which of your fav celebrities are daring enough to wear pieces from emerging designers. We start with one of the big ones - the Golden Globes, and we cannot think of a better way to start off the year. So let the fashion appreciation begin!

Three words! Nicole! Nicole! Nicole! Truth be told, we've had a crush on the fashion star for yonks - even when she was a fashion disaster! So it is hardy surprising that we mention her on here. The starlet who we consider a friend in our heads showed up on the red carpet in a stunning long sleeved, pale blue, embellished Naeem Khan Spring 2013 dress. We loveeee Naeem Khan and think that this is a definite good look on Nicole. 

Next up, we have Django Unchained actress, Kerry Washington, in a sheer Miu Miu dress. How pretty does Kerry look with her fringed hair do! Love!

Speaking of sheer, check out bombshell Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Murad Spring 2013! When we spotted Jennifer, our tongues literally fell out of our mouths. My goodness! Has this woman really popped out TWINS???!!! Unbelieveable. 

Moving onto a constant favourite on the red carpet. The always impeccably dressed, Julianne Hough turned up in a Monique Lhuillier gold embellished Pre-Fall 2013 dress. As much as we think wearing a Monique Lhuillier dress on the red carpet is pretty much a predictable and sly way of guaranteeing a presense on best dressed lists, we must still give props where props are due. 

We are fans of Mary in Downton Abbey, and lovedddd to see her at the Golden Globes. We are so chuffed that everyone is just as obsessed with Downton Abbey as we are. Actress Michelle Dockery (yes, now you know her real name) showed up in a beautifulllllllll Alexandre Vauthier Fall 2012 couture gown. 

Who else do we have?? Let's see... there's actress Kate Hudson, who showed up at the awards to present the best supporting actor award, in a black, bejewelled Alexander McQueen dress. We are usually not fans of black on the red carpet at major awards; we prefer to see pops of colour. We however loveeeeee this dress on Kate. StunninG!

There you have it! Can't wait to see what the Oscars bring.

Photos by Pr Photos

Our Favourites at the American Music Awards 2012

The Annual American Music Awards took place at the Nokia Theatre in LA yesterday. The red carpet brought a tonne of excitement with it; the stars certainly did not disappoint! We tried to pick an ultimate favourite, had some trouble, and so decided to show you our top looks (in no particular order) instead. First and foremost, actress Kerry Washington showed up to the event in a citrus lace fringe Stella McCartney Resort 2013 dress. We love that this dress is so unique - we probably wouldn't buy it if we saw it on the racks, but on the Scandal actress, it works. The dress is slightly different from the look on the runway, and we honestly would not have picked this as one of our favs from the Resort 2013 collection but how beautiful does it look on Ms Olivia Pope! Secondly, actress, Ginnifer Goodwin, showed up in a cute Oscar De La Renta Resort 2013 dress. How cute does she look in this pixie crop - it simply perfects the look. The Hollywood starlets favourite red carpet designer of the moment, Zuhair Murad, was on show again yesterday evening. This time, on singer (and AMA winner), Taylor Swift. We are so glad to finally see Taylor looking age-appropriate. The young country star, looked stunning in a Pre-Fall 2012 mini-dress from the Lebanese designer. Fourthly, we have former Destiny's child, Kelly Rowland in a sweet Naeem Khan Fall 2012 dress. The star, proved that even a simple dress can look oh-so-stunning on the red carpet. Sometimes (we can't believe we are going to admit this) less is more. Last, but certainly not the least favourite, is  Stacy Keibler in a Collette Dinnigan Fall 2012 embellished mini-dress. We actually prefer this dress on Stacy than on the runway. All in all, we can certainly say that besides Kerry, the AMA 2012 red carpet was allllllll about the mini-dress for us. As usual, see these looks below. 

Photos by Pr Photos
Runway Images: Style.com

LOVE Vika!

Words cannot express how much we love Russian designer Vika Gazinskaya! So instead of rambling on like we usually do, we will skip the banter and show you this mouth-watering bronze, fitted, brocade dress from the designers Fall/Winter 2012 collection. We have styled this with a brown, wooden spring/summer 2012 clutch from Italian accessories designer Laura Bortolami, and silver metal, cutout, wedge heels from Giuseppe Zanotti. This gorgeous dress is available here. Fantastique!

Runway Image: vogue.ru

LOOK OF THE DAY - Kristen Stewart in Zuhair Murad Fall 12/13

It is quite clear that actress Kristen Stewart (or her stylist) is a fan of Lebanese designer, Zuhair Murad. We certainly do not blame her! The Beirut-based designer is one of those we class as an "Oscar dress" designer. His pieces are grand, bold, stunning and  bound to draw the necessary media attention that is required. Kristen wore this Fall 2012/2013 nude, lace and chiffon panelled, strapless gown with a corseted bodice to the world premiere of the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - part 2, held at the Nokia Theatre in LA yesterday. Kristen's people definitely know that the best way to get the media talking about something other than you and your boyfriend/ex-boyfriend/co-star's topsy-turvy love life, is to dress up in a show-stopping Zuhair Murad dress. 

Photo (Kristen) by Pr Photos
Image: Zuhair Murad Facebook Page

LOOK OF THE DAY - Rihanna in Miu Miu Spring 2013

Sexy songstress Rihanna, showed up on the pink carpet of the Victoria's Secret Fashion show in New York wearing a cute black cropped top and white skirt from Miu Miu Spring 2013. This look did not catch our attention on the runway however on Rihanna it looks oh-so-right! Rihanna looks bad-ass as usual and sexy at the same time. And we just adoreeeee her haircut!

Photo (Rihanna) by Pr Photos/Runway Image: Style.com

Sao Paolo Fashion Week Winter 2013 RTW - GLORIA COELHO

We are beginning to get frustrated now LOL. Anyone who comes across our blog for the first time would most likely assume that we cover each and every show from fashion weeks all over the world. After all, the entire first page of our blog is now totally covered with our favourite looks from the Sao Paolo Fashion Week. If you are new here, do note that we only cover our favourite unique/edgy looks however there is certainly something about fashion in Brazil. Believe us, we too are just as shocked to find so many beautifully cut, fashion forward, slightly unorthodox (which we love) looks in one region, and in one week! At this rate, our store will be filled with clothes from Brazilian designers. Now we are totally confused about what to stock and in what quantities. There is just wayyyy too much beauty here! Check out these pieces from well-respected designer, Gloria Coelho's Winter 2013 collection. The collection starts off with geometric pieces - shapely, neutral colour-block, sheer dresses, and then leads on to edgy coats and structured jackets, cropped mini jackets, moving on to darker (mainly black) almost gothic pieces. Peep our favs below. That last piece featured.... Soooo Dubai right??!

Images: FFW

Sao Paolo Fashion Week Winter 2013 RTW - ALEXANDRE HERCHCOVITCH

And now on to a more familiar name, Brazilian designer, Alexandre Herchcovitch is well known for his avant-garde designs, and for the Winter 2013 season, the designer does not disappoint. This collection is so up-our-street and beyond beautiful, so much that we struggled in settling for four favourites. After a brief battle (lol - seriously) we finally agreed on these looks below. 

Images: FFW

Sao Paolo Fashion Week Winter 2013 RTW - VITORINO FIELDS

At this point, we feel that it is time to book a direct flight to Brazil. Seriously, we don't think we found this much beauty in September's big four fashion weeks put together (New York, London, Italy, Paris). We are so excited by the prospect of this much potential and truly cannot wait to work with some of these brands. These fabulous pieces below come from 24 year old designer Vitorino Fields. This young emerging designer is clearly one to watch. Love!

Images: FFW

Sao Paolo Fashion Week Winter 2013 RTW - R.ROSNER

Okay we are posting these two fav pieces from Hungarian descent, Rodrigo Rosner's Winter 2013 collection for one main reason - the WONDERFUL BLEND OF FABRIC! This collection featured a unique blend of satin and organza silk, zibeline, suede wool, silk mousseline DeVore, lace, chiffon silk laminate, and synthetic fur. We are particularly blown away by this first piece featured. Oh and take a look at those shoessss! We want! BADLY!! 

Images: FFW

Sao Paolo Fashion Week Winter 2013 RTW - FORUM

Just as we were about to conclude that we are sick and tired of the sheer trend, we come across this cute sheer, white and orange mini dress from Brazilian fashion brand, Forum. Seriously at this point, the Sao Paolo Fashion Week is serious killing us. We feel like our brains cannot take anymore of this gorgeousnesss! We want allllll these pieces featured on our blog and will do anything (yes, anything) to have them. 

Images: FFW

Sao Paolo Fashion Week Winter 2013 RTW - ANIMALE

Ohhhhh this collection reminds us of the reasons we are so drawn to fall/winter collections! We feel like the seriousness, the sophistication, the pure class, comes with this season. Spring/Summer collections can sometimes feel rather silly and we are all about looking well put together but in a totally unique and edgy way. Peep this trouser suit from Brazilian fashion brand, Animale, featured below! The first two pieces make us want to give up this fashion dream and head back to our 9 to 5 investment banking lives! Maybe just for one day; all so that we get to see the looks of admiration on our ex bosses, colleagues and clients faces when we step into the office late - but in one of these amazing creations. 

Images: FFW

Sao Paolo Fashion Week Winter 2013 RTW - REINALDO LOURENÇO

We too cannot believe that we have waited this long to discuss our views and favs from the Sao Paolo Fashion Week held from the 29th till the 31st of October (yes, its been a week). After all, we are most excited about the Brazilian fashion treasures that we find here. We love that many of the designers, even though popular in their homeland, are not household names and cannot believe some of the stuff we find here. We love the colours, the edgy pieces, the cut, the lightness. We predict that a lot of our buying will take place in this region. So, we dedicate the next couple of posts to the Sao Paolo Fashion Week and cannot wait to share our loves of the Winter 2013 season.

First things first, Brazilian veteran designer, Reinaldo Lourenco! We loved this collection - the mix of fabric (leather, wool, lace, jacquard...), the colours (black, white, red, sand, fuscia), the impeccable tailoring. We loved that the designer went from sophisticated looks featuring work jackets, coats and pants, to edgy cropped jackets, to party girl risqué tops and classy cocktail dresses to futuristic/out-there/slightly bizarre looks - and all soooo wearable! We felt like this collection simply had something for everyone to oooh and ahhh about. 

As usual, check out our favs below. We wish we could pick these pieces up right now!!

Images: FFW

Kristen Stewart in Balenciaga Spring 2013

We envy celebrities for one MAJOR reason! They get to wear looks from the runway wayyy before we can even begin to dream about having them in our wardrobes. Case in point: Kristen Stewart this weekend at the AFI (American Film Institute) Gala Screening of her movie 'On The Road'. Kristen showed up in this daring bra top and high-waisted pants from the Balenciaga Spring 2013 collection, by highly sought-after fashion designer (and Balenciaga creative director), Nicolas Ghesquière. See Kristen's look below and the Balenciaga look on the runway. We loved this collection tres much and cannot help but share our favourite pieces below.

Photo by Pr Photos (Kristen Stewart)
Runway Images: Style.com

LOOK OF THE DAY

Black Dresses
Sunglasses

Update on Friday, October 26, 2012 by April & Black

To create today's look, we have chosen this black, Victoria, Victoria Beckham dress, styled with an embellished clutch bag from Rafe, and black sunglasses from Linda Farrow luxe. To complete this classic look, we have chosen these fresh on the market Bellatrix, black patent leather pumps with zipper detail from Charlotte Olympia's shoe collaboration with Agent Provocateur. 

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week China: Wang Peiyi SS13

Day 1 of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in China and our fashion eyes are already beginning to pop out in disbelief! We cannot help but share these breathtaking looks from Chinese couture designer, Alex Wang Peiyi. A well-known brand in the Chinese fashion industry, and popular as the red-carpet go-to designer for the rich and famous women in the region, the Beijing-based designer started his couture-studio in 2004. Preferring to maintain a sense of exclusivity amongst his clients, the designer has attracted the likes of Chinese actress and model, Zhang Ziyi, and we believe that with pieces like the ones showcased below, the rest of Hollywood would soon follow suit. After all, a true fashionista is one who sets herself as a trailblazer. Why dress like everyone else, when you can be a fashion pioneer! We hear that Wang Peiyi also makes wedding dresses? Oh, how we wish we could go back a couple of years!! These days, brides seem to be choosing two dresses for their special day. We would sooo go with this pink and white piece shown below as our dress for the reception! BEYOND STUNNING!!!

 Images: Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week

Skyfall - Royal World Premiere

The world premiere of the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, was held at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London, yesterday. The James Bond franchise, now in its 50th year,  will be released in London cinemas this Friday. The movie which stars Daniel Craig (his third movie as James Bond), Academy Award winners, Javier Bardem and Judi Dench, and Academy Award nominee, Ralph Fiennes attracted members of the Royal family to its world premiere, with Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in attendance. We are looking forward to seeing the new bond movie especially as we are still a little indifferent about the choice of Daniel Craig as James Bond. We think the actor has the tough look required for the role but somewhat lacks the swag seen in actor Pierce Brosnan (who played the role from 1995-2002). Perhaps Craig's performance in Skyfall will be convincing enough for us. Keeping our fingers crossed. ON TO THE FASHION! Daniel Craig looked quite dapper in a tailored suit however it was his Bond girl, Eve aka British actress Naomie Harris who stood out for us, in a ravishing black sheer gown with a sequined bodice by London-based fashion designer, Marios Schwab (Spring 2012 collection), Jessica McCormack earrings and Nicholas Kirkwood heels (yay our fav). We also spotted supermodel Naomi Campbell in a black Alexander McQueen suit, posing on the red carpet and looking very much like Barbie with her Ken, billionaire Vladislav Doronin. We told you how much we loved this suit when we saw it in the resort 2013 collection; we like it on Naomi but think it looked better on ELITE model, Margita Zuchova at the McQueen showcase.  All in all, the most stylish for us at the event was British TV presenter, Tess Daly, who looked amazing in a black and white, optical illusion, figure-hugging, 3.1 Philliip Lim Fall 2012 dress (no its not Stella McCartney folks). So simple yet So stunning. Love!

Photos by Pr Photos
Runway Photos: Style.com

LOOK OF THE DAY

Day Dresses
Boots

Update on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 by April & Black

Look fabulous this fall in this multicoloured, Stella McCartney Fall 2012 dress spotted on singer/songwriter/actress Brandy Norwood at the Wendy Williams show. The star stopped by the show to discuss her new album, Two Eleven. She also performed her newest single "Wildest Dreams",and spoke about her last moments with Whitney Houston. We love that she rocked these Stella McCartney croc-effect faux leather ankle boots with the paneled dress. Brandy is quickly becoming a style-star - we seriously want to know who her stylist is! To finish off this look we have chosen this navy cube clutch from Paris-born designer, Pierre Hardy.

Image: zimbio

We LOVE Vika Gazinskaya Spring/Summer 2013

How exciting is Moscow based emerging designer Vika Gazinskaya's spring 2013 collection! We love that the pieces showcased are totally out-there, exaggerated and bold, yet still wearable. We cannot stress how much we adore these pieces. Truly unique and one of a kind. Definitely one to watch!

Images: Style.com

LOOK OF THE DAY

Day Dresses
Sandals

Update on Sunday, October 21, 2012 by April & Black

We spotted this Fall 2012 jacquard knitted dress from Danish designer Stine Ladefoged, and have styled with a minaudiere from Sao Paolo based handbag designer, Serpui Marie. To glam up the look, we have gone with Jimmy Choo sequined cutout suede sandals. 

LOOK OF THE DAY

Day Dresses
Clutches

Update on Friday, October 19, 2012 by April & Black

Look fabulous on a night out this fall season in this collage bib dress from London based designer Duro Olowu's Fall 2012 collection. We have styled this with a black sequin jacket from By Malene Birger, Matthew Williamson embellished suede clutch and Christian Louboutin pumps. See the Fall 2012 look below.

Image: Style.com