Australian Sheep | Source: Zegna Facebook PageFresh from a trip down under, where he was schooled in the age-old process of wool production, Colin McDowell shares his experience of the over-the-top Australian extravaganza to celebrate the fiftieth edition of the Ermenegildo Zegna Wool Trophy.
Paris in the 1920s with Kiki de Montparnasse | Source: AssoulineIn his latest column, Colin McDowell reviews Paris Haute Couture, Paris In The 1920s with Kiki de Montparnasse and The Big Book of Chic.
Diane von Furstenberg, Donatella Versace, Franca Sozzani and Victoria Beckham at the International Woolmark Prize | Photo: Dave BenettOn the occasion of the 2013 International Woolmark Prize, Colin McDowell says it’s time to evolve international talent searches to eliminate disadvantages for non-English speakers.
PARIS, France — The weather was vile, the taxi shortage extreme. The gutters ran with filthy water from melting snow. We slid and slithered in ankle deep slush. In short, Paris was not at its best. But this was Couture Week (well, three days, which is symptomatic of how fashion ‘weeks’ have shrunk, but old habits — and titles — die hard in fashion circles) and we felt privileged to be there. But is everything shown in Paris during
Christian Dior Couture S/S 2013 | Photo: BoFPARIS, France — Couture! This magic word was all but forgotten 30-odd years ago, except in the most exalted and privileged of social circles. Since its high point in the late 1940s and 1950s, couture clients had shrivelled away just as the lifestyles the couturiers once clothed had withered as well. Fashion had taken its lead from the arts, generally, and jumped on the democratic bus called youth and freedom. Even Yves Saint
