Milan AW10 | Day Three

You want a trench, you go to Burberry, you want a woolen coat, Max Mara is for you. And that's just what they executed so brilliantly. Right on trend with long skirts and a slight equestrian feel, this collection is on the money and they're winning.
Gucci was very toned down with what felt like a reserved collection, even counting all the feathered and bejeweled lace confections towards the end of the show. It's nice to see the long painterly prints rather than the bold colour contrasts designer Frida Giannini has presented previously. This opens the door to a whole new wardrobe of options for the loyal Gucci fan.
What's black, white and red all over, with just a tinge of moss green? Giorgio Armani kept things incredibly luxurious and starting the theme with his Emporio collection the day before, he ran it through his mainline for the more prestigious wearer. Mop hair though? No matter how talented this one man fashion machine is, that hair just will not fly.
Pucci prints got new bangs at Emilio Pucci, fringing ran rife and if that wasn't the case, carved lace and sequins exposed torso's making for a very graphic collection.
Bottega Veneta on the other hand was very black and felt dated in my opinion. There were a couple of their signature looks for good measure, but it wasn't a collection that seemed to have captured the mood of the season unfortunately. Better luck neck time, it's still a brand on the favourites list.

Alberta Ferretti AW10

So enchanting was the Autumn Winter 2010 presentation by Alberta Ferretti, pure simplicity and elegance was brought to life with tucks of silk and jewelled coats, fur trimmed collars and cuffs, and draped beads and pearls over very delicate shoulders. The dusty blue / purple gown exudes all that's subtly glamorous within Ferretti's collections season after season, and with such intricate surface application over skirts and dresses, she's taking her soft colour palette and giving it just the right amount of texture it deserves.

Milan AW10 | Day Two

Falling for Luisa Beccaria's dove gray and shades of blue collection, she put her stamp on a new palette of elegant texture. Then lipstick red put an explanation mark at the end of her show in truly show stopping style. With winter wrapped up in these jackets and dresses, there will never be a dull moment.
Jil Sander, Jil Sander, Jil Sander. What can I say. Raf Simons took the basics back to basics and the checks were something new. The Spring Summer 10 collection was admittedly a hard one to follow, and anyone who can pull off the onesie is a force to be reconned with.
Giorgio Armani was all about the 80's for his Emporio Armani line, and no one did the 80's like Armani so hats off. He could pull it into this decade with aplomb, and voila, the decade many would like to forget is once again relevant.
The Versace show was full of leather clad, thigh high split wearing models who stormed the runway ready for business. There was nothing soft about this collection, and when thoughts turn to Versace, there shouldn't be any pre-conception of the garments other than packing powerful punches.
Blumarine approached the Autumn Winter season with all the subtlety of Versace. If you want tight animal print, you got it.
There's something about Milan, and it's fashion at its very entertaining best.

Tavi's Tops

For those of you who are not familiar with Tavi Gevinson, let me introduce you. She's now 14 years old, but established herself at 13. She loves fashion, blogs about fashion and therefore gets to attend front row seats to major fashion shows internationally. Mind blowing. Her blog is called Style Rookie and you can follow it for yourself if you like.
Gevinson told UK VOGUE in a matter of fact kind of way that Y3 was her favourite show in New York, and that she also couldn't go past Marc Jacobs. Here's what she had to say about him, taken from the interview. "It is quite amazing we are at a show of a luxury label and we're standing in a giant cardboard box," the blogger laughed. "The juxtaposition is interesting. He cast girls from the street in his show. I think Marc's secret power is that modesty - and his connection with the street."
With such a talented vision, this young writer is already a keeper. I just hope she lives it fully; there's a little too much that reminds me of ill fated Isabella Blow or Alexander McQueen about her. She could, however, and I wouldn't put it past her, be the next Anna Piaggi of Italian Vogue bless her. Creativity please don't eat her up.
Tavi, it's nice to meet you.

Milan AW10 | Day One

Fendi's perfect alliteration for fun and the 50's was captured momentously in this shadow of black, navy, mustard, pistacio and cream collection. Karl Lagerfeld sent out an incredibly wearable collection and a bevy of velvet and wool to make dressing for winter effortless.
The design approach at Prada also conjures images of the 50's with full skirts and knee high socks with pumps. Mad Men's wives would be proud to call this all their own. I'm loving the fact that Doutzen Kroes made an appearance on the Prada catwalk, and a Victoria's Angels theme followed with Australia's own Miranda Kerr taking a turn. It was a surprise to see absent fellow Australian Catherine McNeil, she's been M.I.A all season.
D&G, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana's diffusion line to their namesake label still kept the snow bunny expedition alive. Body suits are still on trend for autumn winter, of the knit variety. And although there may have been snow flakes into the pattern, there wasn't a daggy Christmas thought in sight. There was just enough chiffon and tailored jackets to keep this collection from crossing to the naff side, but Chewbacca called and he wants his feet back. That's all I'll say.

Witchery AW10 | Womenswear | Menswear

It's exciting times at Witchery at the moment, with new womenswear and menswear collections available in store and online. Looks like all the major high street stores including Country Road have taken inspiration from European winters, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Witchery hasn't stopped performing well for quite a few seasons now, and the significance is that Australians are able to gain access to a well made brand with a focus on quality without breaking the budget. Happy shopping.

London AW10 | Day Four

Burberry's creative director couldn't have created a more captivating performance if he tried. Paris, New York and Tokyo hosted live streams of the 3D show in special viewing arenas and the real show in London played host to a down right fabulous show. Give me every single jacket from the middle of the show, those clean lines and interesting zips have me in awe already. Old lace in mustard and brown didn't really captivate, but the silhouette with bulk versus tailored did, then the pink and finally cream colour palettes towards the end of the collection made sure there was something for everyone. Call me biased but this was memorable for all the right reasons and the name Prorsum says it all, Burberry is going forward like no other luxury brand has done so far.
Jonathan Saunders kept things casual as he sent out fresh, clean looks in all shades of gray. Then crept in the beige and red combination getting a work out of late, and the sporty trend soon followed.
There was nothing quite so natural at Issa though, including the hair. High enough to land its own postcode this collection did a good job of defying all gravity. There was PVC and leather sidling up next to wool, there were twists and little knots but nothing a that the Issa wearer can't handle, she needs to have attitude.

London AW10 | Day Three

With a hit of mustard to make the sandwich between relaxed pea-coats and draped kilt inspired skirts all that more successful, Pringle of Scotland is onto a winner. Gray and black dominated until a burst of that very same fabric making a comeback in a big way brought mustard velvet to the party again.
I've made no secret of my adoration for Paul Smith, particularly his menswear. But now for Paul Smith Women, he's raided little granny's wardrobes the world over with those old crochet licorice all sorts blankets and twee suits all fit for a queen in Balmoral. Of course he gives the allowance for it to appear utterly modern, blazers closing like a coil on a leather bound book and skirts full enough to make Mad Men go crazy.
Nicole Fahri brings that certain French elegance from her heritage to a very street ready collection. Sorbet's and caramel fall into easy step with bright red and black for a hit Autumn Winter offering.
The coats and skirts are fabulous at Jaeger London, but it's the slacks that really take the cake. There are lengths of every kind to flatter every shape, and there's that old tartan that's been current throughout the collections in London so far as well.
Christopher Kane, however, has picked up on the fact that leather jackets and floaty florals are a good recipe for success this season, and trust this very talented young man to take it one step further. He's embroidered pretty little florals into pretty little leather dresses, clever non?
Day three was like a well iced cake, something for everyone was covered.

Marios Schwab AW10

If Marios Schwab could have executed this collection with any more precision, I'd be lost for words. It is precisely of the moment, reading the mood that's more prim this season than seasons past. He's taken a subdued colour palette and turned it into a rich and lustrous enchanting story that's more modern than any fairytale. And to pull it all back together, the humble white shirt takes a starring role.
With hemlines raised and only a few coats on offer, Autumn Winter doesn't exactly spring to mind. However the fabrics he's chosen and the fact than many of the arms are covered takes care of the practicality police's questions for this collection.
Enchente.

Kumera Pyramid

As promised, here's a tried and tested, albeit completely improvised salad made with inspiration from a recipe in this months delicious magazine. I took the basic elements from the recipe, and combined it with other ingredients that were on hand at the fruit market.
1) Preheat the oven to 180C.
2) Wash 3 small sweet potatoes or 2 large sweet potatoes, and cut into roughly 3cm chunks.
3) Combine sweet potato with a generous sprinkle of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes and about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
4) Place on a lined baking tray and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
5) In the meantime, was 3 handfuls of baby spinach and pat dry before placing in a salad bowl.
6) Roughly chop 3 tomatoes and 1 cucumber and add to the bowl.
7) With 10 minutes before taking the potato out of the oven, sprinkle 3 tablespoons sesame seeds on the same tray and roast for a further 10 minutes.
8) Once sweet potato is roasted, squish with the tongs and add to the prepared salad. If you like balsamic vinegar, splash some over and serve.
Dinner as you like it.

London AW10 Standouts

The beautifully serene collection by Aquascatum conjured all the elegance and simplicity of references to the English aristocracy of years past. The long lines reigned in at the waist couldn't give a more streamlined silhouette and the nice touch with silver flats kept the collection grounded. It was incredibly wearable and didn't get too far ahead of itself, there was nothing too over the top and quite literally, felt like a breath of fresh air with so much potential. This would have to be my favourite show from all the collections we've seen over the last week. Big call.
And the great Vivienne Westwood led her legendary draped corsets in tartan prints down the straight and narrow, this collection was one of the safest from her, and one of the least politically vocal for a couple of seasons now. She just did what she does well, and showed great focus for her signature looks.
However all eyes are on Central Saint Martins mind-blowingly talented students. They've created true fashion legends in John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Hussein Chalayan and although these looks aren't quite as memorable as some of these mentioned designers proved to be when they graduated, there is definitely potential there, see for yourself. A great result in London today, there's promise from every angle.

Richard Nicoll AW10

Hold it together. And hold it together he did. Bull dog clip at the ready, Richard Nicoll took the idea of deconstructed style and gave it his own touch effortlessly. Reading the relaxed tailoring that fashion consumers are devouring at the moment gives this collection a whole new reason for succeeding, and without giving us a blazer that can be scrunched up to the elbows, he gave us other elements in the wardrobe that can otherwise reserve the right to generate excitement and took essential parts of them away. There was a comfortable mood surrounding this collection from the gray backdrop to the runway, to the red and blue use of velvet pulled out in references to red lips on applied t-shirt prints of women. Nothing sharp was there to interrupt the balance and so movement and grace took us right through the looks that will easily brighten up any work place scenario. Whether it was Nicoll's intention to keep his garments off the street, his reference to work wear is perhaps an expression of peeling away layers to depict other facets of people's personalities that traditional work wear generally inhibits at the best of times. Held in place.