VINTAGE FASHION - PHOTO LOVE - JEAN PATOU (10)

While surfing this afternoon on internet I found this lovely vintage photo from Jean Patou, haute couture vintage gown, 1957. Earlier I wrote more blogs about Vintage Fashion, SEE HERE Be Inspired ........  

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Photo via Pinterest/Vintage Fashion

FASHION: GORGEOUS IN RED (01)

Gorgeous in Red ........ Lovely fashion pictures from the Runway and more. This blogpost was earlier published on 18-10-2013. Be Inspired ......

Suzy Parker in a dress by Norman Norell. Life September 8th, 1952. Cover by Milton H. Greene 

Dior Haute Couture S/S 2013 Make up

 

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2013 RTW

Valentino 2013

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Source: Pinterest/Color it Red

Bridalwear: Gorgeous wedding gowns from Antonio Riva

 Be Inspired by these gorgeous wedding gowns from fashion designer Antonio Riva. What a Beauties! Antonio Riva Milano represents the excellence of Italian tailoring and for more than 30 years has been creating couture masterpieces that bring women's dreams to life and make special occasions memorable. I wrote more blogs about wedding dresses, SEE HERE

Antonio Riva - The Creative Director

With the brilliance of a true visionary, Antonio Riva ranges deftly between tradition and innovation, confirming himself as one of the most prestigious couturiers of international bridal fashion. Each of his gowns is designed to go beyond time, from the very first embroidery. Each delicate thread tells a story, a precious memory of one's special day. Antonio Riva turns into reality the dream of every woman who wishes to live a fairytale moment, representing her style and personality in a unique way.

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Sources: Antonio Riva and Pinterest
Photos: courtesy of Antonio Riva

Couture: Ziad Nakad F/W 2026 - Black is Beautiful (02)

 
In love with these stunning black evening gowns by Lebanese fashion designer Ziad Nakad. What a beauty, elegance, femininity and craftsmanship. With his Fall/Winter 2026 offering, Ziad Nakad refines his signature language of opulence through a lens of modern restraint. Presented as a lookbook, the collection explores the balance between couture-level embellishment and the evolving demands of contemporary dressing, where elegance is expressed with clarity rather than excess. Be Inspired ..... Earlier I wrote more blogs about Couture, SEE HERE

More about the fashion designer

Born of a Lebanese descent, Ziad Nakad knew from his very early teens that he was to work in fashion. Since his young years, he was attracted by eccentric fabrics, sheer embroideries and unconventional beadings which married his designs back then especially sketched for his family to wear. Encouraged by this genuine success, the talented young man decided to explore more his passion for fashion and embrace the dressmaking art with studies in the field. In parallel, he mastered the art of couture by working with many famous fashion designers in Beirut. In 1997, he turned his dream into a career when he was invited to take part to the Beirut International Fashion Show for Couture in Beirut and dressed renowned super models like Karen Mudler, NadjaUrman and Jennifer Driver.

His first fashion shows garnered much praise from critics and opened the doors to a whirling series of defiles sparking international interest for the designer. Such exposure led to another milestone to his career with his first international defile in Milano in 2001 followed suite by another one in Cannes in 2003… and that was only the beginning…

Celebrated for his ability to reveal the feminine side of every woman, Ziad Nakad is now a design reference in fashion shows in Lebanon, the Middle East, the Gulf, Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the world.

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Source: ZIAD NAKAD
Photos: Courtesy of Ziad Nakad

Fashion Books: Dior Couture by Patrick Demarchelier

 
Dior is one of the most revered names in fashion, the archetype of the Parisian couture house. Famous for launching the “New Look,” Christian Diors landmark first collection that marked a sea change in womens dress after the Second World War, Dior is known today for its exquisite couture line of dramatic dresses. This book comprises a portfolio of portraits of over one hundred incredible gowns from the entire era of Christian Dior haute couture, including dresses designed by Dior himself. All of the images were shot by Patrick Demarchelier, known for his exquisite fashion portraits that grace the pages of Vogue, Elle, Harpers Bazaar, Glamour, and many other magazines. Be Inspired ...... Earlier I wrote more blogs about DIOR, SEE HERE

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Sources: DIOR, Demarchelier and Amazon

Haute Couture: Ziad Nakad S/S 2026 - Stunning Evening Gowns

I am completely in love with the stunning evening gowns from the Lebanese fashion designer Ziad Nakad. I published this evening my first blog about Ziad. However, I could not resist to share this fantastic You Tube video too with couture designs from his season S/S 2026. What a beauty, elegance, femininity and craftsmanship. Ziad is a real master in Haute Couture! Be Inspired ........ 

More about the fashion designer
Born of a Lebanese descent, Ziad Nakad knew from his very early teens that he was to work in fashion. Since his young years, he was attracted by eccentric fabrics, sheer embroideries and unconventional beadings which married his designs back then especially sketched for his family to wear. Encouraged by this genuine success, the talented young man decided to explore more his passion for fashion and embrace the dressmaking art with studies in the field. In parallel, he mastered the art of couture by working with many famous fashion designers in Beirut. In 1997, he turned his dream into a career when he was invited to take part to the Beirut International Fashion Show for Couture in Beirut and dressed renowned super models like Karen Mudler, NadjaUrman and Jennifer Driver.

His first fashion shows garnered much praise from critics and opened the doors to a whirling series of defiles sparking international interest for the designer. Such exposure led to another milestone to his career with his first international defile in Milano in 2001 followed suite by another one in Cannes in 2003 … and that was only the beginning …

Celebrated for his ability to reveal the feminine side of every woman, Ziad Nakad is now a design reference in fashion shows in Lebanon, the Middle East, the Gulf, Europe, Asia, the Americas and the world.

Thank you for reading this blogpost.

Source: ZIAD NAKAD
Photos: Courtesy of Ziad Nakad
Video via his You Tube channel ZIAD NAKAD

Couture: Ziad Nakad F/W 2026 - Black is Beautiful (01)

 

In love with these stunning black evening gowns by Lebanese fashion designer Ziad Nakad. What a beauty, elegance, femininity and craftsmanship. With his Fall/Winter 2026 offering, Ziad Nakad refines his signature language of opulence through a lens of modern restraint. Presented as a lookbook, the collection explores the balance between couture-level embellishment and the evolving demands of contemporary dressing, where elegance is expressed with clarity rather than excess. Be Inspired .... Earlier I wrote more blogs about Couture, SEE HERE 

More about the fashion designer

Born of a Lebanese descent, Ziad Nakad knew from his very early teens that he was to work in fashion. Since his young years, he was attracted by eccentric fabrics, sheer embroideries and unconventional beadings which married his designs back then especially sketched for his family to wear. Encouraged by this genuine success, the talented young man decided to explore more his passion for fashion and embrace the dressmaking art with studies in the field. In parallel, he mastered the art of couture by working with many famous fashion designers in Beirut. In 1997, he turned his dream into a career when he was invited to take part to the Beirut International Fashion Show for Couture in Beirut and dressed renowned super models like Karen Mudler, NadjaUrman and Jennifer Driver.

His first fashion shows garnered much praise from critics and opened the doors to a whirling series of defiles sparking international interest for the designer. Such exposure led to another milestone to his career with his first international defile in Milano in 2001 followed suite by another one in Cannes in 2003… and that was only the beginning…

Celebrated for his ability to reveal the feminine side of every woman, Ziad Nakad is now a design reference in fashion shows in Lebanon, the Middle East, the Gulf, Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the world.

Thank you for reading this blogpost.

Source: ZIAD NAKAD
Photos: Courtesy of Ziad Nakad

Christian Dior's 1947 masterpiece, the Bar jacket, illustrated by Mats Gustafson

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Sources: Dior, Vogue and Pinterest/Dior

Inspiring fashion photography by Gladys Ng (01)

Be inspired by this beautiful fashion photo from photographer Gladys Ng. She is a fashion, advertising and commercial photographer based in Singapore. Love her beautiful work, a combination of beauty, art & photography. This blogpost was earlier published on 14-07-2014. 

More about Gladys Ng:
Experimental is the word to describe photographer Gladys Ng and her works. Fascinated by beautiful things since young, fashion photography is doubtlessly her calling. Since she started fashion photography in 2010, her works have been published in numerous fashion magazines and also international platforms. She won many awards both in her own country and internationally.

Never one to bow to monotony and constantly aims to transcend boundaries, she loves to capture beauty through her art. As Alexander McQueen says, beauty can come from the strangest of places. To her, every shoot is like creating a new piece of art that is exclusive. It is not about just taking photographs but creating fairytales. For more information about her background and stunning work, see the enclosed links below. 

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Sources: Gladys NG and FMD

Art Deco: The Red Lady by Georges Barbier

While surfing on internet this morning I found this beautiful art deco artwork: 'The Red Lady' by Georges Barbier. In love with this painting, so refined and colorful. Be Inspired .......

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Source: FINE ART AMERICA

PFW: Iris van Herpen S/S 2021 Couture - Roots of Rebirth

 

Such an outstanding collection again from Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen for her Spring/Summer 2021 couture collection from Paris Fashion Week. She is a true visionary and such a fascinating artist! This collection is beyond. Elegant, innovative and mystical. Bravo, Iris! What a craftsmanship, creativity and originality. So beautiful to see. Below you will find her Couture collection for S/S 2021. At the end I also added the You Tube movie. I found the video completely mesmerizing, from start to finish. Get Inspired ...... This blogpost is a repost of my blog from 01-02-2021. 

Sevdaliza embodies the 'Apotheosis' gown.

More about this haute couture collection S/S 2021

Iris van Herpen explores a symbiosis of high technology and the artisanal craftsmanship of couture, through a collection that references the intricacy of fungi and the entanglement of life that breathes beneath our feet.

Iris showed her latest collection ‘Roots of Rebirth’ during Paris Haute Couture Week on January 25th 2021. The work of Iris van Herpen is often described as ethereal and transcendental; a chimeric exposition, radiating shapes that reference the relationship between the human body and the natural world. This season, the Dutch designer explores the rich, yet deeply fragile interconnectedness of an unfamiliar world, the enigmatic fungi empire and the life-bearing fine threads of mycelium. The collection details the extraordinary existence of this winding ‘fabric of life,’ the marvelling world of undergrowth tapestry. In reference to the book penned by scientist Merlin Sheldrake, ‘Entangled Life’ notes that ‘fungi is the ecological connective tissue, the living seam by which much of the world is stitched into relation.’

“Thinking about fungi makes the world look different. These astonishing organisms challenge our animal imaginations and make questions of many of our well-worn concepts, from individuality to intelligence.” - Merlin Sheldrake

‘Roots of Rebirth’ extends its own branch, an invitation to a sequence of 21 looks inspired by roots and spores. During the show, the models seem to magnetise a living lace of spores with each stride, the entanglement of each garment resembles roots of regeneration. Two looks embody the 'henosis' technique, in which multiple translucent layers of duchess fabric were dyed in pastel hues, forming a 'mantodea' motif. An off-white lasercut venation formed by a myriad of hovering fins sprout outwards, radiating each motion into a delicate lacy array of invisible interconnectedness. In other creations, hand-embroidered roots surge and symmetrically entwine the body in transformative tones, from liquid copper to deep shades of burnt umber. Hand-pleated mahogany silk were draped to fan out into hemispheric blooms.

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Sources: IRIS VAN HERPEN, VOGUE (01) and VOGUE (02)

Photos courtesy of Iris van Herpen.

Photography by Myrthe Giesbers