"When I get dressed, I think of it as dress-up time, like the clothes are costume pieces." 

- MK in Fashion, March 2009

One of the Boys

Adriana Lima looks exquisite in Elle's March issue. The spread, entitled "Naked Ambition", shows Lima sporting a wool blazer by Donna Karan, a YSL men's blazer, and even a silk tuxedo jacket. But the whole menswear look is taken up a notch with the chic Church's oxford shoes - a very sexy touch and my favorite part of the spread.

I love women in men's clothing. 

I Feel It In My Fingers

Here are some pages from the debut-issue of LOVE! When I get my own issue, I will be sure to post more - these are just a few of my favorites. Looks amazing!

Also - a letter from the editor…

Dear You, 

In October of last year I did the precise total of no work. Nothing. There was a lot of work to get done; a new magazine to put together, for instance. But I did nothing apart from think. It was time for a reality check. And 'reality' became the first watchword of the month, then of the magazine. What, after all, is more real than love?

In the midst of all the endless media reminders of how tough times are, reality bit. Who would want to look at another collection of images and words on women that represented a perceived (and by now old) idea of perfection at an imperfect moment? Did I want to shoot one of the ten actresses or singers that come judiciously built and stripped of their flaws, just because that is what we have come to expect from them to justify their A-list status? Was I, in fact, not completely bored to tears by the modern idea of perfection? My love affair with the perfect woman was over. 

I began to think not of redrawing or retouching celebrities, not of grooming them out of their personalities, but to celebrate the things that I love about them in the first place. We are so used to the idea of a certain celebrity on the cover of a certain magazine that the impulse to enjoy these people's reality had become a memory to be dusted off, a reminder of another time and place. Everything has been Botoxed, lifted, sucked and dyed out of the women that represent the absolute aspiration of real women. The life that they lead cannot be traced upon their face any longer. It began to make me feel a little sad. Was it perhaps time to redraw the boundaries? To start again, even. 

I remembered meeting and falling a little bit in love with Beth Ditto, as everyone who meets her does. She became a touchstone for all this. There are certain things I love in women and Beth Ditto has them all in droves. She says the wrong things. She looks the wrong way. But she makes you think about what 'the right way' is, anyway. 

…

For a final thought on the first issue of LOVE, I think we should turn to the wisdom of Angelica: 'Nobody ever falls in love with you when you look great. It's a rule. The real ones love you when you are you.'

LOVE, KATIE

PS - All 67,000 copies of LOVE have been distributed and sold in the UK, making the new glossy one of the fastest selling debut magazines ever! 

Can I borrow your…?

Mad-hatter hat?

Furry hat?

(I really want to get one of these hats but am not sure if I can wear it as well as she).

TGIF

Time to have some fun.

Buongiorno

Milan Fashion Week is in full-gear. Will show you my picks at the end of the week!

Desperately Seeking Sunnies

Those sunnies from Marc Jacob's Fall 2009 RTW.

Tres chic. Must have.

Interview

MK is on the March cover of Interview looking icy. She's wearing Calvin Klein and Balenciaga. Click the link to see a quick behind-the-scenes video of the shoot.

Azzedine Alaia

Stephanie Seymour speaks with the designer for the March 2009 issue of Interview. The two old friends recall warm memories in this sweet interview. 

-----

"SS: You famously settled in Rue de Bellechasse, which was extremely small. There were sewing machines everywhere... in the bathroom, in the kitchen. I have such fond memories. 

AA: It made you laugh when you first visited! You were 14 years old. 

SS: Yes, I was. And I had never done a show in my life! I went on 20 go-sees around Paris and you were the only one who hired me. You even called your friends to try to persuade them to use me. Their response was, "Her rear is too round!" And you response was, "I think it's perfect." I was a total disaster in the shows. Your atelier was so small and you had to do three shows each day for seven days, so you just kept me on. That's when we became so close. You really took care of me, Papa."

True Love for True Blood

This is such marvelous news! True Blood stars Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer have admitted that they are dating! The couple, who play Sookie and her vampire boyfriend Bill, intentionally dodged relationship rumors in the past. Moyer says, "We didn't want to take anything away from the show. The show is the star, not the two people having a relationship."

True Blood is my favorite show of all-time. This is not an exaggeration. This is the truth. I am obsessed. It is the best show on television. In fact, Paquin just won a Golden Globe for her role as a telepathic waitress named Sookie. If you don't watch it, then there is a serious void in your life. I suggest you fill it, and immediately. After all, you need to catch up - season two debuts in August.

In Honour of London Fashion Week…

Here are some fantastic behind-the-scenes pics from Time Out London's latest cover story featuring British designer Gareth Pugh and fashion icon/girl-about-town Daphne Guinness. Gareth is the UK's latest fashion darling, and it's easy to see why. Daphne, heiress to the beer-brewing fortune, is one of my chief style icons and has a to-die-for couture habit. A bad one. 

Below find an excerpt from the wonderful cover story. 

"Today, roughing it elegantly with her feet perched up on a portable electric heater, Guinness is wearing her usual uniform: metallic leggings, skinny black cashmere over a crisp white shirt (one she designed for Dover Street Market), a smattering of enormous heirloom diamond rings and mighty Christian Louboutin platforms (he custom-makes them especially for her). 

Pugh, the 27-year-old designer is equally enchanting. Responsible for recapturing the spirit of British fashion - in the same way that John Galliano and Alexander McQueen did before him - with his bold, stark, futuristic vision of clothing, he is also leading a new troupe of talented London-based designers. Pugh's been a regular visitor to Time Out since we heralded his first show in 2005 celebrating his 'pure vision, macabre clothes and sense of adventure' and he recently starred as one of last September's 40 heroes in Time Out's fortieth-anniversary issue. 

Like Guinness, Pugh has a thing for a lean silhouette, shiny trousers, exotic furs and leather. His monochromatic palette and uncompromising geometric cuts seem to work perfectly on Guinness's birdlike frame. And so it was only a matter of time before the Honourable Daphne Guinness became Pugh's unlikely muse. 

'Daphne is on of those people who really knows what she wants,' he says. 'She's an iconic, fashion-forward, thinking kind of person and she's interested and excited about different things.' Pugh met Guinness properly just a few months ago when she went for a fitting with him. She has, somewhat unwittingly, filled the void on the London fashion scene that the late hat-wearing Isabella Blow left when she committed suicide nearly two years ago. Guinness, a distant relative and great friend of Blow's, champions young British talent with equal relish, and her fashion sense is similarly eccentric. Forget Kate Moss, Ms. Guinness is the latest thoroughbred clotheshorse every hip young designer hopes might wear their clothes these days. 

'She's a very big supporter of creativity, which I have great admiration for,' says Pugh. 'It's kind of like a hobby for her - acquiring amazing things - and that's a good thing, especially today as people want something to kind of dream about and wish for.'

When Guinness came across Pugh's designs, it was love at first sight. 'I saw the clothes at Bergdorf and then I just started researching online,' she says, as her skunk striped hair is sculpted into an impressive bouffant. 'I'd never seen anyone doing architectural pieces the way he does them - they were easy yet so complicated - not like clothes. You think they are going to be incredibly difficult to put on and then you just put them on and it's like being in a space movie. The construction is incredible. I ended up buying stuff wherever I could find it.'"

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Emily Blunt! She is 26 years-old today. Most well-known for her brilliant role in The Devil Wears Prada, where she played a bitchy first assistant. It was Oscar-worthy, really. Emily is on the March cover for UK Harper's - looking lovely as always. 

The Best of NYFW

Here are my favorites from Fall 2009 RTW.

Alexander Wang

It's so black - I love it.

Anna Sui

The tights are fantastic. Her color theory is brilliant.