Speaking of Versace…

Lady Gaga brought the house down in Versace at the Much Music Awards in Toronto on June 19. She opted for four different outfits: one for each of her performances and one for each time she accepted an award. In fact the entire stage was covered with baroque Versace prints  with even the dancers clad in Vintage Versace silk print shirts.

WARNING: Do NOT try recreating this look at home for fear of looking like Versace threw up on you. You were NOT born this way. (Also applies to other printastic brands like Pucci, Fendi & Dior.)

Custom made Atelier Versace jumpsuit entirely encrusted with black Swarovski crystals, broad shoulders and gold Medusa details

Vintage Versace top entirely encrusted with colourful Swarovski crystals combined with a printed trench coat and beaded Vintage Versace pants

Vintage Versace bright blue and black suit combined with body hugging printed pants and the January Jones sunglasses in gold edition with gold lenses

For some retro flair we’re loving the January J capsule collection of Versace glasses consisting of 2 styles of sunglasses and 1 optical.

If only they didn’t have the medusa heads staring at us.

Go Visit: Ayyam Gallery

The Ayyam Gallery has established itself as one of the leading contemporary art spaces of the Middle East with locations in Dubai, Damascus and Beirut. Focusing on supporting regional talent, this summer they bring us the “Ayyam Editions” exhibition featuring limited edition archival prints by photographer Ammar Al Beik, and painters Khaled Takreti and Safwan Dahoul.

Location: Ayyam Gallery, Dubai DIFC

Dates: June 20 – July 31

Ammar Al Beik 'The Soldier's Wife's Ride'

Khaled Takreti 'Le Foulard Rouge'

Safwan Dahoul 'Dream 32'

Go quickly though, they’re limited editions.

H&M x Versace

We’re thrilled to announce the latest collaboration by H&M will be with Versace. The Autumn 2011 collection will consist of women’s, men’s and a selected home range that will be hitting 300 stores worldwide and online on November 17th. A Pre-Spring collection will be available exclusively in countries with H&M online sales on January 19th 2012.

Creative Director Donatella Versace promises glamour, flamboyance and exuberance in the form of colour, print and leather all deriving from the brand’s vibrant heritage. Expect nothing less.

Versace is the latest house to collaborate with H&M on an exclusive designer collection, following the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Comme des Garçons, Jimmy Choo and, most recently, Lanvin. ForH&M, Donatella Versace has looked back to the archives to reinterpret some classic Versace designs. The womenswear collection will be dominated by dresses that fit right in with the spirit of the season, featuring studded leather and colourful prints, with accessories including high heels and costume jewellery. The men’s collection will focus on sharp tailoring, including the perfect tuxedo, as well as belts and jewellery for men too. For the first time in a designer collaboration at H&M the collection will consist of some homeware pieces, including cushions and a bedspread.

If our H&M x Lanvin experience is anything to go by, we’d keep those boxing mitts ready to hand along with your bartering skills.

Source: http://www.hm.com

See you in the fitting room Nov 17th xo

Trend: To Dip-Dye For

Jessica Alba has done it, Leighton Meester has done it, Julia Roberts has done it, Alexa Chung has done it, Drew Barrymore has been rocking it for some time now and Lady Gaga‘s done neon versions of it. But it wasn’t until our very own Kate Hazell, Senior Fashion & Beauty Editor at Harpers Bazaar Arabia, did it that we really paid attention.

Dip-dyeing (or the Ombré colour technique if you wish) is the latest trend in hair colour that’s taken over celebville and it’s perfect for enhancing those sunkissed locks. Darker at the roots and graduating to lighter lengths with sharper streaks for added attitude optional. With a spectrum of colours and varying levels of intensity, dip-dyed hair can be suited to all.

How far will you go?

Some of our faves:

Jessica Alba

Leighton Meester

Alexa Chung

Drew Barrymore

Gisele Bundchen

Julia Roberts

 Our personal fave:

Kate Hazell

Kate’s hair was done by Jenny at Maria Dowling 04 345 4225 (if it’s your first visit, be patient with getting an appointment). We did ours with Kelly at Salon Ink 04 344 4002 (if it’s your first visit, be patient trying to find it). Both come highly recommended.

Few things to note:

* use a trusted hairdresser otherwise you’ll just come out looking like you’ve got terrible roots (the goal is to have 2-3 tones seamlessly merged)

* the procedure looks scarier than the results so sit tight till you see the end results

* if you don’t want a drastic change right away, ask the hairdresser to put lots of toner in so the colour will gradually emerge with each wash

* to complete the rock-chic look, have your hair blow dried and finish with a conical curling wand (just discovered this – it’s great for that brushed out curl effect)

PS. Beware – you’ll suddenly realise almost every celeb has some version of dip-dyed hair and wonder why you waited this long to do it. So go forth and Ombrify.

Send us pics of your finished looks xo

PPS. Here’s how not to do it:

Nicole Roberts

Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth

We’ve recently discovered Rick Stein’s French Odyssey (maybe only a *slight* inclination towards the name) on BBC Lifestyle which has proven to be perfect entertainment for those lazy Fri morns when it’s just too hot to venture outdoors.

Stein embarks on a gastronomic journey along the French coast on an ancient barge where he stops off in various towns to explore the local delicacies. Idyllic waterways, gorgeous scenery and Stein’s undeniable enthusiasm for the simplest of ingredients convinced us that the ambitious recipes just had to be tried..

So off we went to Waitrose to source the finest of imported ingredients in Dubai.

The Menu:

*Vetou’s Magret de Canard (duck breast with red wine sauce and prunes)

*Sauteed Potatoes

*Tarte Tatin

As enjoyable as the experience was, we think it’s safe to say we will NOT be repeating these recipes.

No offense Rick, we love the show and won’t stop watching. We’ve even just ordered the accompanying cookbook from Amazon. But it’s probably a case of “when in Rome..” (or more likely the fact that our culinary skills have much to be desired for).

If you’re a foodie/buff in the kitchen and feel up to the challenge we’d love you to try the recipes and send us pics and comments of your finished products.

For the recipes and pics click HERE.

But if you need us we’ll be satisfying our craving for French food at La Petite Maison.

Musical Moment

In anticipation of the upcoming concert by Moby at the World Trade Centre on July 4th.

And to lift you up for the weekend.

Have you bought your tix yet? Click HERE if not.

What are you waiting for? GO.

See you there xo

Goodbye Goodman

A moment of silence please as we bid adieu to beloved shoe brand Georgina Goodman who was put into administration last week after ten years in the business. Goodman was once cited as “the future of footwear” by the shoe couturier himself – Manolo Blahnik. Confused much? We are.

But ok we’re done. Now let’s focus on the massive discount sale (well.. 40% off) being held at the flagship store on 44 Old Bond Street.

Some of our iconic faves:

 

 

The Final Kiss:

Sale Date
Monday – Saturday, 10:00am – 6:00pm Each Day

Location
44 Old Bond Street
London
W1S 4GB
United Kingdom

Sale Information
Georgina Goodman Store Contact Number, +44 (0) 207 493 7673

Prabal Gurung Resort ’12

Another innovator in the world of fashion, Prabal Gurung, shakes things up by presenting his latest collection by way of a music vid. Genius.

If only he chose someone a little more appealing than Rye Rye..

Wedding Belles

We’ve been quiet again, we know. It seems the newly anointed Duke & Duchess of Cambridge (William & Catherine) really kicked off the wedding season with a bang since we’ve collectively just returned from 4 weddings. 1 in Norway, 1 in Rome, 1 in Istanbul and 1 here in Dubai (we did say collectively.) With another wedding looming over us next weekend (yes, wedding no. 5 within a month) on Yas Island, we’re trying to muster up every morsel of energy left in us to attend the 3 day Indian wedding bonanza. Note to our single friends: if you’re planning to get married anytime soon could you please give us at least 6 months to cleanse our livers, get rid of the wedding cake figure we’ve developed and most importantly restock our wedding wardrobe!

In case you were wondering we wore Ayesha Depala Couture, Temperley, Armaan Couture and Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla respectively.

One wedding we are looking forward to however (not that we’re on the guest list mind you) is Kate Moss & Jamie Hince‘s (ok secretly two if you count Bella & Edward’s in Breaking Dawn – she’ll be wearing Carolina Herrera fyi, the lucky girl gets wrapped up in Edward AND Carolina and we bet she still won’t crack a smile). Though Mossy was wearing a poncho from high street bargain store Primark to her hen (read bender) weekend with 30 girlies at the Isle of Wight Music Festival, we’ve got her short list of wedding dress designers down to her pal Stella McC, late pal Alex McQ, Dior or Versace… Who are your bets on?

Kate Moss

Mossy’s poncho is 18 quid so happy shopping (if you’re in the UK).

Cannes Hair Trends

Bored of the over-styled voluminous bouffants sported by the ladies of Dubai? We are. Why is it such a common misconception that if you don’t have the entire contents of a can of hairspray or if you have your hair tied up you look underdressed?

We decided to take a look at the 64th Cannes Film Festival Red Carpet in the hope of inspiring some fresh ideas. Slicked-back-chic seems to be the favoured celeb choice so far, here are some of our faves:

Cheryl Cole

The X Factor Sweetheart in a sleek ponytail.

CC in Stephane Rolland S/S 11 Couture

Seriously seductive.

Sarah Jessica Parker in Elie Saab

 SJP with a messy side chignon – très chic.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Elie Saab

The Bollywood Belle looked ravishing with her hair up and we love the dark nails too.

ARB

Simply gorgeous. Wonder if Mickey Contractor for MAC did her make up.

Uma Thurman

Effortlessly cool with her hair scraped back

UT

LOVE her Versace gown, and ooh those Chopard jewels…

But our absolute, ultimate, unequivocal fave is…

Diane Kruger

Utterly divine with a side swept fishtail braid and twisted tendrils hanging loose.

DK

Heart. Die.

DK in Calvin Klein

Are you in love yet?

DK

Heartthrob Joshua Jackson aka Pacey of Dawson’s Creek wearing Lanvin (not sure we’re supporting the choice of shoes though). Are those teenage memories awakened?

Diane Kruger & Joshua Jackson

Awww.. a happy ending. We can almost hear it – *I don’t wanna wait.. For our lives to be o-ver..* (Don’t pretend you didn’t watch it)

Now go forth and experiment with your tresses. If you need help visit Huda Beauty for some fantastic video tutorials. Let us know how you get on.