Baby-Doll Dresses Rise to the Occasion
Hedi Slimane sent out dresses that called to mind the “kinderwhore” fashion pioneered by Courtney Love and company during grunge’s nascent years. But the Saint Laurent designer wasn’t the only one who embraced baby dolls for Fall. At Valentino, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli updated the youthful silhouette with couture-level craftsmanship, while Emilio Pucci’s Peter Dundas and Undercover’s Jun Takahashi showed wispy lingerie-inspired takes on the trend. For proof that the abbreviated shape has legs off the catwalk, look no further than Alexa Chung, who can rock a mini like no other—those pins! Sky Ferreira, meanwhile, could’ve passed for Love’s sophisticated little sis in the sparkly Saint Laurent number she wore to the Met Gala.
Here, a collection of our favorite baby dolls.
Fashion Features on Forbes‘ Most Powerful Women List
Forbes released its 2013 list of the world’s most powerful women earlier today, and on it were social and political movers and shakers: Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Oprah Winfrey; megawatt stars: Beyoncé, Angelina Jolie, and Gisele Bündchen; and one or two surprises (Shakira at number 52, for example). But fashion’s power players held their own against heads of state (Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel came in at number one), businesswomen, and celebrities alike. Miuccia Prada (58), Diane von Furstenberg (74), newly crowned billionaire Tory Burch (69), Anna Wintour (41), and Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts (52) all earned much-deserved spots on the list. Hats off to the industry’s—and the world’s—leading ladies.
Stella McCartney Makes Her Mark in Asia
An English pub isn’t the first thing one might expect to see in the middle of a luxury mall in Beijing. But leave it to Stella McCartney to bring a taste of the UK to the Chinese megalopolis. Tuesday night, the designer opened her first Beijing store and invited guests to toast the milestone with pints of Guinness and Pimm’s Cups. Partygoers noshed on chips and tapped their toes to nineties Brit pop while perusing the airy two-story boutique. Fittingly, the eco-conscious McCartney chose a green location for the new space. Replete with sustainable oak parquet floors and recyclable aluminum tiles, the shop is set inside the recently opened Parkview Green mall—the first LEED-certified commercial development in China.
McCartney wasn’t long for Beijing, though, as the opening was just one leg of a whirlwind Asian tour. Earlier in the week, McCartney traveled to Tokyo to open her second store in the city, and Wednesday night she hosted a black-tie dinner at the Astor House Hotel in Shanghai. In true McCartney style, the event, which drew local celebrities, as well as catwalkers such as Du Juan and Emma Pei, boasted everything from contortionist acts to live jazz to a presentation of evening looks from the designer’s Fall ’13 collection.

