It’s around this time of the year that the biggest, most glamorous international fashion houses start to release their campaigns for fall and winter. It’s always fun to see what models and photographers they use and then to drool over the clothes, shoes and bags.

Here are my top 6 designer Fall Winter campaigns so far…

Prada by Steven Meisel
Say goodbye to the dancing and singing bright stripes from last season. For Fall Prada has brand new models Kelley Mittendorf, Ondria Hardin, and Antonia Wesseloh ( WHO?) lounging around on velvet couches and sitting on a retro checked carpet. It’s sequins! It’s snakeskin! It’s faux fur! It’s fur stoles, kooky caps, school girl tunics with long socks and shoes! It can only be Prada!

Louis Vuitton shot by Steven Meisel and styled by Karl Templer
This season Marc Jacobs designed the Vuitton collection with a kinky edge and a fetish feel. So why not shoot the (hottest) young models such Daphne Groeneveld, and Anais Pouliot wearing leather chauffeur caps, driving gloves and faux fur lounging in the back of a luxurious old car. Then toss in a few cute dogs. Lots of cute dogs. It’s luxury with a capital L. Woof Woof.

Versace shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and styled by Joe McKenna
Forget about sexy, leggy blondes channeling Donatella. This season Versace has the gorgeous new model Saskia de Brauwl with a dark brown, boyish crop looking fresh in a frou frou white feather dress: Dontatella told WWD, “ when Gianni used girls like Kristen McMenamy and Stella Tennant, everyone was always saying, ‘Wow, this is not a Versace girl, she is not blonde.’ Sometimes you need to renew yourself to work better and to make a little bit of a push.”

Dolce & Gabbana photographed by Steven Klein
It’s girls as boys and girls as sexy Italian women. Dolce & Gabbana’s fall campaign is all about the mad mix of masculine and feminine. A group shot with models Isabeli Fontana, Liu Wen, Maryna Linchuk, Constance Jablonski Jac Jagaciak and Kate King, it looks as if it’s been shot on the back street of Naples. This is classic Dolce & Gabbana where there is always a sinister hint of the Mafia lurking around the corner. Is that a gun in your pocket or…?

Marc Jacobs By Jurgen Teller
He has photographed Vicky Beckham climbing out of a huge shopping bag and actress charlotte Rampling in bed with photographer Jurgen Teller. So why would we be surprised to see the new Marc Jacobs ad with Helena Bonham-Carter dressed as a clown looking ill, holding her stomach with her tongue poking out covered in dots? Measles is the new black. This campaign is pretty sick.

Tom Ford Beauty
So this is not a fashion campaign (you can see that at TOMFORD.com) but you can’t go past Tom Ford’s amazing beauty campaign with Lara Stone. Her mad purple over the top makeup looks very 70’s but so very modern. It’s never retro. Her hair is perfect. She looks beautiful. Oh and Tom just has to sneak in the picture. And pretend he is not gay. Sexy.

Yours fashionably,

FiFi
www.FiFi.com.au

This week it seems everyone in fashion is talking about the CFDA show. It’s the Council of Fashion Designers America annual awards night. You could call it the Academy Awards of Fashion. It’s hugely influential and very prestigious. And with everyone there from Marc Jacobs to Phoebe Philo and Kanye West, it’s really an international evening.

The two big questions of the night? Who were the big winners and most importantly, what was everyone wearing?

Marc Jacobs won the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award and was almost crying in his acceptance speech. Lady Gaga received the Fashion Icon Award wearing a black mesh Thierry Mugler gown with a train, a bright blue wig and staggering12-inch platform boots. Apparently the skirt was detachable and underneath she revealed a spike encrusted G-string. OMG! Celine’s Phoebe Philo accepted the International Award “in three whispered sentences” while model Karolina Kurkova (in a hooded green sequin jumpsuit by Diane Von Furstenberg) was so excited to see Lady Gaga she interrupted her presentation by suddenly belting out a line from the song “PPPPapparazzi.”

The best dressed? Well, the models looked fabulous; that’s their job. Miranda Kerr looked modern and minimal in Michael Kors. Doutzen Kroes, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Karlie Kloss all looked so chic wearing long red very simple gowns.

The award for the funniest line of the night? Lady Gaga’s acceptance speech: “Anna Wintour sent me a text message,” said Gaga. “She text-messages?… and the text message said, ‘I want to tell you that you won the CFDA Fashion Icon Award.’ I thought it was Anna Treblin, who is one of my very close friends (I have a couple of Annas in my phone) and so my reply was, ‘Yes, bitch, we did it.’ Anna Wintour’s reply? ‘How lovely. We will all be waiting to see what you will wear.’” Bless.

See all CFDA winners here.

Yours fashionably,

FiFi
www.FiFi.com.au

*Photos courtesy Style.com