Drone Zone
Supers took a back seat to hi-tech at Dolce & Gabbana’s latest show in Milan with the Italian duo sending handbags down the runway carried by drones!
Guests were instructed to turn off Wi-Fi on their phones to avoid disrupting the devices’ control systems for a show that left fashionistas stunned.
The Cut even declared “Being human is so last season”.
Regular models later took to the catwalk to show a collection the designers call “Fashion Devotion” drawing heavily of traditional Catholic garb with lots of black lace and veils. Check out the video and let us know what you think of this latest development at womanthismonth.com.
Riyadh Goes Runway
The Dubai-based Arab Fashion Council has announced that Saudi Arabia will host its first Arab Fashion Week this month. Due to take place at Riyadh’s, Zaha Hadid-designed Apex Centre (pictured), the show will run from March 26 to 31, with a second edition already scheduled for October.
The line-up for the event has not yet been revealed and it remains to be seen whether it will feature purely modest fashions. However, commentators have been quick to point out that fashion-conscious Gulf women, with cash to spend, are some of the couture world’s biggest supporters.
The Arab Fashion Council is starting to lay the foundations for the development of a sustainable infrastructure across the Arab world, with a strategic partnership with the British Fashion Council (BFC).
“The history and trajectory of the BFC goes hand in hand with what we are trying to achieve: nurturing young talent and adopting an international vision,” says Princess Noura bint Faisal Al Saud, the organisation’s honorary president.
Bizarre Looks
Always one to watch, this year’s London Fashion Week show by students from Central Saint Martins was more bonkers than usual with models dressed as plastic dummies, mattresses and even a giant paddling pool. Household utensils were also out in force with outfits adorned with plates, vases and more.
Vogue apparently gave its seal of approval, noting that the designs catch the eye more so than classics such as a well-cut dress – well, they say no publicity is bad publicity. Our climate might well lend itself to donning a paddling pool, you could just take it off and fill it up when the weather gets too hot!
Papal Fashions!
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is no stranger to controversy, but its latest costume institute exhibition may prove one of the most ambitious yet. Curator Andrew Bolton revealed that “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” will feature around 40 ecclesiastical pieces loaned by the Vatican, including a papal tiara comprising 18,000 diamonds and items worn by Pope Benedict 14th in the 1600s.
These pieces, some of which have never left the Vatican’s sacristy before, will be shown along with 140 pieces from fashion houses including Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Chanel and Valentino, many of whom displayed Catholic and religious imagery and influence in their recent collection launches.
The challenge is for Bolton to create a display in which the religious pieces can sit comfortably alongside some of the more extreme and potentially clashing design works.
Rita Roars
Singer and actress Rita Ora is almost as well known for her fashion style as her musical abilities. She’s modelled for some of the world’s biggest brands and is now taking the plunge to launch her own fashion line. Due to hit the shelves at the beginning of the month, the pieces have a street vibe and take inspiration from the London of the 1990s.
The singer told the Daily Mail: “I am so passionate about fashion so it’s such a pleasure and honour for me to be able to express that through my very own collection. It is meant to inspire you to be your best self, your own hero!”
Called Roara Republic, we’re hoping Rita will be sporting some of the pieces when she performs in the Kingdom on March 8.
Disability No Barrier
If you don’t yet know the names Heroda and Hermon Berhane, trust us, you soon will. The twin models from Eritrea, are taking the fashion world by storm in their mission to break down the barriers that discourage people with disabilities from getting into the industry.
The pair moved to the UK as children planning to seek their fortune as fashion models but were repeatedly rejected by agencies because they are both deaf.
But the fashion bloggers, who became deaf suddenly at the age of seven, persevered and are now gracing shoots around the world.
They told CNN: “We want to tell people around the world that you should embrace disability, not hide from it.”
