I am finding this out the hard way: Venice is a late-night city. So late, in fact, that I’m having a hard time keeping up. (I’m blaming jet lag, but—heaven forbid—I hope this doesn’t mean I’m getting old.) Take Thursday night, for example: After François Pinault’s museum opening, an Interview magazine cocktail party on the [...]

Antonio Berardi makes dresses so sensational—remember Gwyneth Paltrow’s corseted black and white number?—it stands to reason that the weekend bag he designed for Peroni Nastro Azzurro would be sexy, too. “Peroni is one of Italy’s premium beers; they’re very geared to craftsmanship,” says Berardi. “We asked ourselves, ‘How can we translate that into our philosophy?’ [...]

The shoes stole the show at Nina Ricci, where Olivier Theyskens put on what will most likely be his swan song. The towering platforms with itty-bitty heels protruding from behind to help the models keep their balance as they teetered down the long runway made some of the girls look so tall and narrow they [...]

Nirvana, for sunglasses fanatics, is to be found in a converted schoolhouse in the Clerkenwell area of London. That’s where the Linda Farrow archives are housed—a few filing cabinets’ worth of specs dating from the origins of the Linda Farrow brand in the late 1960’s. Aviators of all shapes and sizes and superbly wacky ’80’s [...]

Last Thursday, we featured this white Antonio Berardi dress with black lace paneling in a story about skeletons, X-rays, and the like inspiring designers’ Spring looks. Less than a week later Gwyneth Paltrow wore it to the premiere of Two Lovers in Paris. Coincidence or something more?

Wednesday, October 1
8 a.m.
I’m not so great with early starts, but during Paris fashion week I need to break all my rules. I’m sure I’ll perk up once I see the extraordinary dresses at Balmain, which is my first appointment. I’m thinking I need to wear a nice dress today—I’m tired of looking like a [...]