The best of 2016 Halloween costumes; Alessandra Ambrosio, Kylie Jenner and Katy Perry
Happy Halloween! Yes folks, it's that time of year again, when the hideously fantastic outfits come out and the make up is slapped on for full effect. Halloween is for most of us, just a great opportunity to dress up and get very drunk at a scary party somewhere. However, celebrities take these spooky proceedings very seriously. I'm talking major costumes, massive parties, professional make up and even in the case of Katy Perry and Heidi Klum, heavy prosthetics. From Miley Cyrus' copycat Lil Kim costume which received a big backlash on social media, to Kim Kardashian's sexy Halloween costumes that never fail to disappoint, I've put together a selection of some of the most memorable costumes over the years.
I have to say this year was pretty epic. I loved Kylie Jenner's homage to Christina Aguilera's iconic 'dirrty' video, which was so good Xtina herself commented on Twitter, applauding Kylie's efforts. Leonardo DiCaprio rocked up in a werewolf mask for Kate Hudson's Halloween party, while Orlando bloom donned a Donald trump costume and Katy Perry pulled off a very believable Hilary Clinton. Kourtney Kardashian stepped out as a bloodied bride, Alessandra Ambrosio went for Jessica Rabbit at Cindy Crawford's party and Nicole Sherzinger went hell for leather on the X Factor.
See all the best Halloween costumes below, and if you are out trick or treating tonight, have an amazing time!
Heidi Klum unrecognisable as Jessica Rabbit, Fergie and Gigi Hadid as Sandy from Grease
Lil Kim vs Miley Cyrus
Kate Upton vs Iggy Azelea who looks amazing as Cruella DeVille, dalmation included.
Kim Kardashian's Halloween costumes over the years - from Princess Jasmine to a little mermaid.
More Kim K looks, including a sexy cat woman and superhero outfit.
Beyonce and a little disgruntled Blue Ivy as Michelle Jackson
Queen Bey slays as Frida Kahlo, with Jay Z and Blue Ivy in tow.
Kourtney Kardashian and Steph Shep as a scary bride and groom - 2016
Whether she's walking the Golden Globe red carpet in Dior Couture, or showing off a Chopard necklace at Cannes, Marion Cotillard always looks the part of the classic, Hollywood actress. Very rarely can someone pull off every colour of the rainbow, but Marion seems to just suit practically every shade out there. From the canary column dress she wore to the BAFTA's in 2013 which she paired with a dash of red lipstick, to the acid green Jean Paul Gaultier gown she wore to AmfAR, Cinema Against AIDS Gala in 2015, Marion Cotillard seems to just light up the red carpet wherever she goes. So let's take a look at some of her best red carpet moments of all time. As the face of Christian Dior, Marion tends to wear Dior a lot on the red carpet, and I do mean a lot. She is the poster girl for Dior and has been so for many years. Red is a good colour for Marion, which she wore at the 2013 Golden Globes, bravely opting for a shorter hem line when most actresses go for sweeping, floor length dresses. At the Cannes Film Festival she regularly donnes a Dior frock with splashes of colour, an a-symmetric detail somewhere and a pair of pointy stiletto heels. I really loved the nude, empire dress she wore at the Met Gala a few years back, with a simple clutch bag and her hair pinned back. Again, that was a Dior look. The actress is a perfect fit for Dior, chiefly because she carries their clothes very well and always looks nothing short of perfect. Marion Cotillard, 41, has starred in some of the biggest movies over the past 10 years. From 'Inception', 'Midnight in Paris' and 'Nine' to, 'The Dark Knight', 'Rust and Bone' and 'Public Enemies,' she certainly has had her fair share of box office movies. But it is her upcoming movie with Brad Pitt which has caused the biggest stir, following the actor's split from Angelina Jolie. 'Allied' which will be released later this year, had the world talking about whether the two actors had an affair while filming, a statement which Cotillard has strongly denied. I do think the way Marion was dragged into the reason for Brangelia's divorce was unnecessary and damaging for her reputation but it's good promotion for the movie though.
Anyway, back to Marion's red carpet fashion. Her style is never boring, but is very French in that she looks like she's not even trying with her wardrobe choices, managing to look elegant and classy every time. She likes her couture too, with Giambattista Valli and Dior Haute Couture as go to designers, with luxury jewellery and immaculate hair an added bonus. She is rarely without her diamond necklace or earrings on the red carpet.
Remember at the 2008 Academy Awards when Marion turned heads in a mermaid like Jean Paul Gaultier gown, complete with matching sparkly eye shadow? That was the year she won the award of Best Actress for her stunning performance in 'Le vie en Rose.' Or perhaps the time at the Oscars when she donned her white, spotty Dior gown, which really shouldn't have worked but did. In 2009 again she wore Dior, but this time a dramatic black and blue tulle gown, in that classic 1950s 'New Look' Dior shape. Tres magnifique!
It's fair to say Marion Cotillard is a red carpet favourite and one of the most stylish women in the world. Here are a few of her best red carpet moments over the years...
The actress always looks amazing in Christian Dior
Marion can rock every colour under the sun, particularly yellow
What do you get when you put Steven Meisel and old Hollywood together? A beautifully shot, romantic story between Karen Elson, who captivates as a modern day Ginger Rogers and Christopher Niquet, who stands in for a suave Fred Astaire. This particularly wonderful editorial, titled 'An Undiscovered Musical' was featured in Vogue Italia's April 2015 issue (where else for Meisel?), and styled by the legandary Karl Templer.
For anyone who knows me well or reads this blog will know, I absolutely love the glamour and sophistication of the golden era of Hollywood and came across this shoot entirely by chance while looking for images for my university dissertation. From the dramatic monochrome effect and the dance movements which show off the clothes wonderfully to the authentic 1940's hair and make up by none other than Pat McGrath and Guido, everything about this shoot is enchanting, taking you to an era long ago when musicals and stars were a thing of beauty. I love the choice of clothes, especially Karen's dresses which mirror so well those worn by Ginger Rogers in movies such as 'Top Hot' and 'Too Hot to Handle.' But also the way Meisel captures the essence of Fred and Ginger so well, almost 100 years after their movies came to the silver screen. It truly is shoots like this which make me love fashion even more than I do already.
Take a look at this beautiful editorial and take a trip down memory lane with Fred and Ginger, as portrayed by Karen and Christopher...
And the real deal, the legendary Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers...
Now that the mayhem surrounding Fashion Weeks, celeb parties, Kim Kardashian getting robbed etc has died down, I can write about the American Vogue documentary I saw last week. The First Monday in May is truly an inspiring and informative documentary film, which charts the build up to the 2015 Metropolitan Gala, staged at the renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In cooperation with American Vogue, the Gala is the biggest fashion event on the calendar, and has been widely refereed to simply as "Anna Wintour's party". If you're lucky enough to be invited (we're talking mainly celebrities here) then you can expect a grand red carpet entrance, a private view around the current exhibition and a sit down dinner with some of the most influential people in the world. This documentary shows you how it all unfolds.
A lot of emphasis in the documentary was on Andrew Bolton, chief curator at the museum. From meetings with Anna Wintour, planning the exhibition and traveling the world to meet key players in the art world to delving through archives in Paris and trying to organise an 11 room display; you see Bolton navigate it all, keeping a cool head the whole time. I found watching his way of working so inspiring, as someone who studied Fine Art, and the way in which he is not phased by Wintour at all, but regards her simply as another person he comes across at work. I wouldn't want to be a curator after watching this film though! Stress, stress and more stress.
But Bolton is fantastic at what he does, and manages to create a simply stunning exhibition, China: Through the Looking Glass. I especially loved when he spoke to John Galliano about his use of Chinese culture in his designs and when he visited the Yves Saint Laurent archives in Paris, with so much knowledge about the clothes. And he's British which makes him even better!
Anna Wintour comes across excellently too. Straight to the point, honest, hard working and so passionate about what shes doing with the museum, I saw a different side to her compared to 'The September Issue.' In meetings she makes decisions in a flash, is able to literally put everyone in their places all the while Vogue make the move from their old offices to their swanky new premises at 1World Trade Centre. When Michelle Obama makes a moving speech about Wintour at the museum before opening a Costume Centre in her name, she was visibly moved and I swear I saw tears in her eyes. The ice lady has a heart. Anna Wintour has raised millions for the museum and after seeing how much she does for them, I admire her even more.
Overall, the whole documentary was touching, intriguing, fascinating and not once boring. My eyes were glued to the screen the whole time and I would happily go and see it again. So if you haven't seen The First Monday in May yet, I suggest you book a ticket and watch the show. It's a real treat.
Welcome to the Chanel data centre. Here you will find what the future of
fashion will look like, in the mind of Karl Lagerfeld. Expect tweed,
but with an urban twist complete with baseball cap, lingerie as your go
to item for day wear and plenty of prints, colours and fabrics
contrasting against each other. It's fair to say that the Chanel
Spring/Summer 2017 collection was extremely modern, up to date in this
madly obsessed digital age in which we live in.
Set in the famed Grand Palais as usual, the Chanel set was transformed
into a data centre with wires, switches and coded messages surrounding
the catwalk. The show opened with 2 models, their identity is still
unknown, wearing cyborg outfits. Yes, there really were white helmets,
plastic gloves and shiny shin pads, worn with contrasting classic
monochrome Chanel suits. If anything they looked more like stylish storm
troopers who had escaped from Star Wars, than cyborgs. Arizona Muse
followed this weird spectacle, in a blue and white tweed jacket worn
over a light pink slip dress. All the models wore little white, lace up
shoes as though they had stepped out of a space centre, but the clothes
were anything but futuristic. Lagerfeld featured tweeds prominently,
more so than we've seen in past collections. The fabric was everywhere
in an array of different colours, but mainly consisted of jackets
varying in length.
Towards the middle of the show, loud prints were used on floaty silk
dresses and matching top/short combos, but it was the more refined
pastel pink and nude tones which I really liked at the end of the
collection. The classic Chanel costume jewellery was layered over slips
and silk skirts, with longer robes worn on top. The all white outfit
Lindsey Wixon wore was a particular favourite. Of all the 80 something
looks, there were so many wearable pieces compared to last spring/summer
2016 which made you wonder how anyone could possibly look good in what
Lagerfeld sent down the catwalk ie. A pink, moth holed pair of trousers.
The whole thing made you contemplate the future of fashion and what
will be the norm in years to come. Will the Chanel suit still exist? And what will the word 'timeless' mean when describing fashion piece? What will we be wearing in the year 3016? If King Karl has any say in this,
we'll all be wearing tweed.
It's
crazy to think that only a few hours after attending the Givenchy show, Kim
Kardashian was the theft, which reportedly lost her £8.5 million worth of jewellery.
Very scary.
Anyway,
this story doesn't have much relevance to the latest Ricardo Tisci collection
for Givenchy. With Kim, Courtney Love, Natalia Vodianova, Gigi Hadid and Zayn
Malik all sitting front row, there certainly wasn't any shortage of
celebrities. As for the collection itself, it was darkly glamorous, with a
strong emphasis on crystallised rocks - you'll need to see the photos to
understand. I loved the way models walked with their hair slicked in a side
parting across the forehead with a steady glare at the throng of cameras at the
end of the catwalk. Black was paired with hot pinks, soft beiges and even
flashes of yellow. Huge necklaces with rocks hanging from them looked amazing
with form fitting dresses which came stripy and slightly robbed at gun point at
her Paris house. The reality tv star escaped unharmed but badly shaken from a
symmetric. Another fantastic show from Ricardo Tisci who just can't stop
getting better.
HERMES
Beige and green seemed to be Hermes' colours for next season, with a minimal, simplistic collection...
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
Sarah Burton has shown us
once again how much she loves historical costumes, particularly the Tudor
period. She sent out tough, all black leather looks alongside romantic basque
style dresses in layers of chiffon and floral patterns. Her model line up as
well as the hair/make up continued to tie into the gender neutral themes that
have been such a talking point this year. A strong yet beautiful show.
GIAMBATTISTA VALLI
Black and white, floral dresses, skinny black trousers and a penchant for sheer materials; for spring/summer 2017 Giambattista Valli was stylish but with a sexy edge. Gigi Hadid strode down the catwalk in little more than a black bra and high waist shorts, while bralets were worn over silk dresses or underneath little jackets, bearing the midriff.
STELLA MCCARTNEY
I'm not a huge fan of Stella McCartney, but there were pieces in this collection which I rather liked. Take the khaki dress with balloon sleeves or the beige tops and trousers which were paired with pristine white. Shapes were slouchy but showed off the waist while trousers came gathered and loose.
