Noir Style at the Golden Globes

I love a sexy sheer gown! E! Red carpet host Giuliana Rancic had a stunning gown from Greek designer Celia Kritharioti.  Juliana Marguiles had a beautifully embroidered serpent-like gown from Emilio Pucci. 

Helena Bonham Carter always gets criticized for her choices on the red carpet... I personally loved her eccentric Vivienne Westwood getup in 2012, but I may have been the only one.  Last night, she wore a beautiful black lace Dolce & Gabbana dress with a quirky Lulu Guinness lip purse with matching lipstick.  Hugs.  

Two golden girls looked fierce in Alexander McQueen... Kate Hudson wore a figure flattering dress with dramatic gold embroidery coming from the neck while Nicole Kidman had gold motifs framing her face and sexy sheer lines at her midriff...

What was YOUR favorite look of the night?

Gothic Fashion at Olympics Closing Ceremony

I think it's safe to say that Danny Boyle brought some of the edgiest style to what many dubbed the Rock n' Roll Olympics.  However, creative director Kim Gavin and production designer  Es Devlin have earned the title of the "Fashion Olympics" in bringing out some surprising Goth fashion to the closing ceremonies...

First, my beloved Pet Shop Boys rolled out in bright orange origami-like carts dressed in dramatic Gareth Pugh.   Next, Britain's supermodels strutted out custom gold gowns made by British fashion designers like Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood.  

Finally, Annie Lennox entered the stadium like a vampire queen.  She descended down from a massive black ship into a chorus of dramatically clad dancers.  The dancers were dressed in gorgeous voluminous gowns in period silhouettes.  The heavily shadowed eyes, black lace, corsets, skulls and bustles were distinctively Goth.

Ok Brasil, London has set the bar pretty high...What will you do to follow that?

Photos by Phil Noble (Reuters), Jeff J Mitchell (Getty)

Savage Beauty: Alexander McQueen Exhibit at the Met

Shocking, visionary, artist, a true designer.  Alexander McQueen's death shocked and saddened many of the fashion world, but his creative legacy is eternal.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC launches Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty today.  The extensive exhibit is one of the most elaborate, dramatic tributes to a designer I have ever seen.

The exhibit opens with two mannequins in a darkened foyer.  One dressed in an ombre red feather gown, the other in a sculpted dress made of razor shells.  You then proceed into soaring black walled halls with antiqued gilded mirrors and horror movie sound effects.  The display of impeccably tailored black suits showed of McQueen's Savile Row background, but the rebellious variations of draping and corset finishing was all his vision.  This was the most sedate part of the exhibit.

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The opposite side of the room contained gloriously rich black gowns of Gothic fantasy.  Influences like Tim Burton were named. 

The "Cabinet of Curiosities" room contained displays of hats and accessories made for Alexander McQueen.  A flurry of butterflies from Philip Treacy, Samurai armor inspired headpieces, sculpted shoes in the shape of a mutated spine.  In one corner, was the infamous trapeze-like dress worn by Shalom Harlow for the Spring 1999 show.  She was spun around mechanically on the runway and spray painted with robotic nozzles.

The next rooms contained an elegant tribute to the Scottish Highlands of his ancestry.  Jeweled gowns, billowing velvet capes and gorgeous tartans were on display.  This transitioned into the controversial "Highland Rape" collection of Fall 1995/1996.  There were simpler chiffon dresses in Earth tartans shredded, placed in a distressed wooden set.

The next gallery was an exploration into Romantic Exoticism.  Traditional techniques of layered Chinese and Japanese embroidered were heavily worked into avant-garde interpretations of historical Asian silhouettes.  An exquisite, but tongue-in-cheek expression of traditional Japanese armor was presented in the form of a lotus-printed football helmet.  A dress of large mother of pearl paillettes was a terrific modern take on the pearl embroideries of the past.

The last exhibits were devoted to Naturalism.  Huge, alien-like shoes and shimmering insect chic ensembles came from one of McQueen's last collections in 2010.  These were made famous by Lady Gaga who was a big supporter of the designer.

If you want to be wowed by one of the most prolific designers of our time, get over to the Metropolitan Museum from May 4–July 31, 2011.

Can't make it to the exhibit?  The museum has published a gorgeous hardcover catalog of the show on order online.  

Photos courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Macabre Fashion: Alexander McQueen's Final Show Fall 2010 RTW

In a gilded salon in Paris this week, Alexander McQueen's final collection was shown. 

The four-time winner of British Designer of the Year had started his career as a tailor’s apprentice on Savile Row, worked for Romeo Gigli in Milan, and was made the head of Givenchy in 1996. His own theatrical collections shocked and awed the glamour world with his dramatic runway shows over the years. He lost is mentor and creative muse Isabella Blow three years ago, and had lost his mother a week before his tragic suicide.
This collection was a beautiful and sad presentation of ornate looks that showed his genius.  Elaborate embroideries, brocades and draped satins had a Byzantine influence.  Eerie motifs of angels and skulls touched many guests, many of whom were in tears.
The simple statement from the show notes said it best, “Each piece is unique, as was he.”

Harper Bazaar's Magical Tim Burton Fashion Spread

In honor of Tim Burton's retrospective at the Modern Museum of Art in NYC, Harper's Bazaar's October issue featured a drool-worthy fashion spread of Tim Walker photography. The gorgeous pages featured elaborate gowns from almost every great couturier. Prepare to indulge in looks from Yves Saint-Laurent, Atelier Versace, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nina Ricci, Giorgio Armani, Balmain just to name a few.
The photographs feature some very interesting plays on scale, nightmarish distortion and cameos by Tim in a clown and Santa Clause costume. Incredibly well dressed versions of favorite characters like Beetlejuice's Lydia and Edward Scissorhands also make an appearance.

Brothers Grim Fashion Editorial by Matthew Brooks

Hello Darlings! I apologize for the sporadic posts of late. The Courtesan here has been busy at NY Fashion Week to peruse the lovely styles of the glitterati. Of course, most of the clothing on the runways are directed at the ladies.

Dapper gentleman are often unfairly overlooked. That is such a shame... Fall 2009 offers a stylish man plenty of dark, delicious wardrobe options. In this week's NY Times Men's fashion supplement, photographer Matthew Brooks produced a gorgeous editorial called "The Brothers Grim".

Look for a moody photo spread saturated in dramatic black and white. Salivate over luxurious capes by Givenchy, fur jackets by Ann Demeulemeester, a crocodile jacket by Louis Vuitton and plenty of goodies by Alexander McQueen. Click here to browse the entire magazine online.

Gothic Couture - Kambriel Made to Order

There are plenty of mainstream designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen who catch press when they send a vampy collection down the runway. However, few designers of Gothic fashion have what it takes to make a name and respectable reputation on the genre alone.

Kambriel on the other hand, has been a featured designer at the FIT Museum, chosen as Gothic Beauty Magazine's designer of the year, and hired to create outfits for celebrities like Margaret Cho, the Dresden Dolls and Amanda Palmer. Each piece is exquisitely tailored and inspired by historic and cultural influences like Edward Gorey. Mistresses and gentlemen will find deliciously detailed garments ranging from vests to kimonos, gowns to frock coats. Many are one of a kind, and you will have a wonderful time exploring all the scrumptious photos on her website.

Paris Couture: Alexander McQueen Fall 09

Fashion's bad-boy and genius, Alexander McQueen produced another beautiful spectacle this season on the runway. His dark and twisted sense of humor and Gothic references are mingled with subtle digs at his fellow designers and the current economic climate. Edward Gorey parasol hats and "Brazil" movie-inspired makeup accessorized the models. Escher prints adorned a few dresses, a Poiret cocoon silhouette, snakelike coils, tubes and exaggerated Dior-like shapes rounded out this cheeky macabre collection. A heap of darkened props of runways past sat in the middle of the stage like the corpses of excess past.