These high-end meets high-street collaborations drive people into frenzy and madness whenever they are round the corner.

The purpose of these collaborations basically is to allow luxury brands to partner with lower-priced brands to create affordable lines to the masses and the consumer with the budget to own a high-end design at a fraction of its price.

Just how low can the prices go was my first reaction to such collaborations.

The history of such fashion collaborations includes:

1. Missoni for Target (Target is an chain of departmental stores in America)
2. Derek Lam for Ebay
3. Karl Lagerfeld for Macy
4. Karl Lagerfeld for H&M (in 2004)
5. Versace for H&M (in 2011)
6. Lanvin for H&M (you can check out my Lanvin for H&M blog post here :-)
   
7. Marni for H&M (in 2012)

Ever since I knew fashion and luxury brands, luxury products are synonymous with craftsmanship, quality and hefty price tags. To keep their branding strong, they have kept their prices high. High-street brands are go-to brands for affordable designer-inspired clothing, or in other words, imitations.

Therefore, I feel that such marriages between brands of two worlds cannot be long-term.

High-street brands should continue offering clothing at great, affordable prices and luxury brands should stay true to themselves and their longstanding history of prestige and exclusivity. Such collaborations after too many would just die down the hype and people would start rolling their eyes, 'Not another one.'

I still remember Donatella Versace once proclaimed that she would never do a diffusion line. (A diffusion line is a secondary line of merchandise created by a high-end designer that retails at more moderate prices.)

I believe that her main concern when she said those words was that it would cheapen the luxury brand's image. Therefore, it was pretty hypocritical when she inked the deal with H&M.

But I love reading such news which can be quite baffling.

Some headliners include people becoming overnighters, spending the night outside the store just to be first in line the next morning and that last week's Marni for H&M collection was sold-out within 20 minutes.

It jeopardizes life, in my opinion. In fact, they don't exactly mass-produce such collaborations lines so each store has only a limited quantity of each product. They have to resort to limiting the number of pieces each shopper can buy. And imagine having to walk away disappointed if it sells out...

I will keep my love for luxury fashion and high-street fashion separately. :-)

-The End-

Thanks for reading.

We have all heard of massively popular brands such as Céline, Chloé and Lanvin. But how much do you know about the people who design and create the products you so covet?

Phoebe Philo who? Alber Elbaz who? Most of us wouldn't know.

They ARE THE PEOPLE who, work day and night conscientiously, to present the collections to the world, every season.

As much as they are incredibly talented individuals, they are incredibly publicity-shy.

Top to bottom:

1). Phoebe Philo, Celine, creative director

2). Alber Elbaz, Lanvin, creative director

3). Raf Simons, rumoured to take over disgraced designer John Galliano's place at Dior

4). Sarah Burton, Alexander McQueen, took over the deceased McQueen as creative director

5). Riccardo Tisci, Givenchy, creative director

Some designers are unwilling to appear under the spotlight and scrutiny of the fashion press, choosing to reveal themselves for like 2 seconds after the closing of the shows and quickly slip back in after giving a brief wave and shy smile.

After John Galliano was ousted and laid off from his position as Creative Director of Dior for spewing vulgarities and racist comments in public, his right-hand man Bill Gaytten took over. However, his designs were criticised for lacking the flamboyancy and liveliness of Galliano's.

Raf Simons, former Creative Director of Jil Sander, stepped down from the label recently to allow founder Jil Sander to return to the label as creative head, sending Milan fashion week into a frenzy of speculation.

With succession theories abuzz, Raf Simons is tipped as likely successor to John Galliano at Christian Dior after designers Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang were also rumoured likely to be taking over. Whether these rumors are true, the storm is not set to blow over anytime soon.

-The End-

Thanks for reading. :-)

Hi guys! I'm so excited to be able to continue blogging frequently as before because I'm having a super long break from school and job-hunting at the same time.

Before I find a job, I'll be updating The F-word, Fashion with posts on celebrity style, fashion trends and much more! :-)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was inspired to write this blog post after my purchase of Style: magazine March issue. I was immediately attracted to the androgynous yet petite model on the cover. She was dressed in sportswear-inspired Louis Vuitton knitted top and matching boyshorts.

This spells SPRING & PASTEL COLOURS (through the soft pink on the design and cream-coloured outfit on the model) and SWEET GIRLISHNESS (through the model's young and innocent look) which is evident in the Louis Vuitton Spring 2012 collection where Marc Jacobs sent models down the runway in ultra feminine dresses in beautiful pastels.

On top of that, Style: added their own take with DEFIANCE by giving her an androgynous boyish cropped hair look.

A good magazine cover not only captures the reader's attention but also communicate to the reader what the theme of it is.

Most magazines pretty much have the same fashion coverage to me. And I realize I always buy Style: for its differentiated cover looks.

I guess the BEST magazine cover I have seen yet is Rihanna's VOGUE magazine April 2011 issue cover look. It was heart-stopping.

The ultra-sheer Chanel Pre-Fall 2011 piece hugs her curves in all the right places, artfully covering her modesty. Her flamed-hued hair was the perfect torch to the look.

For the 10th annual shape issue, Rihanna was definitely the best cover girl with a great & enviable body like that. I just can't stop staring at her because she looked ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS.

-THE END-

Thanks for reading. :-)

How do you organise your accessories?

I used to keep all of them in a large jewellery box. But I had to rummage through them whenever I want to find a certain accessory piece.

And then I decided to spruce up my accessories collection!

I really wanted to have a little corner where I can put all them after getting inspired from youtubers. And I wanted a boutique feel to it, hehe.

That was when I did a little hunting online and found this perfect item to hang my necklaces. A T-bar.

Isn't it perfect?? Just like how you would see necklaces in a boutique!

You can buy this T-bar on Ebay from greatstuffromus for US$8.95.

It is made of velvet material and stands at 12-inch, suitable for displaying necklaces.

This is the full view of my little accessories corner. It takes up a small space in my bedroom and makes me feel happy just looking at it. :-)

I also have a glass bowl for my bracelets atm because I am still looking for ways to store them.

The Anna Sui-esque earrings stand was bought in a store. Ebay has a wide selection of accessory display stands, you will be spoiled for choices. :-)

Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year!

Sometimes I feel that life is like a melodrama.

A person comes into your life... And it is no longer the same.

And when our lives are too happening, we just hope to have simpler days to look forward to. But when otherwise, we constantly look for ways to add drama to our mundane lives.

Happy 2012!

Outfit: Zara top, H&M pants, Zara shawl, Kara Ross ring, New Look ear studs

PHOTO CREDITS: HEIDI KOH

Thank you girl! <3 :-)

During one of my usual daily doses of FashionTV, photographs of gorgeous beauty loomed onto the TV screen.

They were by a photographer named Emily Soto.

I was captivated and amazed at how beautiful her work is, fully capturing the beauty and facets of nature and the model.

Each shot tries to tell me something. One of it is that you don't need someone with a smokin' hot body or towering height to make the picture turn out good.

Nature is the most beautiful thing on the planet.

She showcases her masterpieces through her personal blog fully dedicated to her expertise at http://www.emilysotoblog.com/

While she enjoys shooting magazaine editorals with her Canon 7D, she is passionate about photography, art and fashion and loves combining them into one phenomenal piece.

And the result is artwork that evokes dedication and passion.

Outfit: red Mango V-neck jumper, white collared shirt, bib necklace, Chanel frames, Miu Miu bracelet, navy blue H&M pants, brown oxfords

I am currently OBSESSED with: White Tees

I felt really inspired to dress my new school term in the minimalist top. It is casual, fuss-free, and can't go wrong.

One can make a plain white t-shirt more dressy by accessorizing with statement jewellery or pairing with a classic and structured tote like how Victoria's Secret Angel, Miranda Kerr pulls it off impeccably here.

Her outfit consists of a simple white tee, black leather shorts, a Miu Miu top-handle bag and burgundy heels. She topped off her effortless chic look with a red lipstick colour.

Alternatively, you can team with clothing pieces such as a simple blazer over the white tee on days you don't feel like dressing up but you still want to look like you made an effort. Kate Moss paired her casual top with a blazer, red Dolce & Gabbana "Miss Sicily" satchel, Isabel Marant striped jeans and black ballerina flats while Olivia Palermo (my No.1 streetstyle celebrity) did the same thing but accessorized with gold jewellery and her signature red nail colour.

The rest of her look consists of khaki J Brand jeans and a tan Hermès Birkin bag.

Kate Moss and Olivia Palermo are classic ambassadors of sidewalk style.

-END-

Are you surprised to see the name? You are not alone. :-)

I was mildly surprised when singer Kanye West unveiled his debut collection at Paris Fashion Week Spring 2012.

However, thinking back, he has always been a front-row regular so I'm guessing that all this while, he has been taking leaves out of designers' lookbooks.

Would it be another repetition of Lindsay Lohan's disgraced fall from the disastrous collaboration with Emanuel Ungaro?

But after clicking through his designs, frankly speaking, I don't hate them at all. :-)

For a first-time singer-turned-designer, it was a rather mean feat. Guess those invitations to fashion shows have done him well.

Best of all, he had top models to walk in his designs. KARLIE KLOSS, CHANEL IMAN, ETC.

The collection featured bandage dresses, leather and fur stoles that were quite heavy for Spring but the light colour palette of ivory, blush and white toned things down.

Gold-zippered trousers and dresses, bold cut-outs, plunging necklines, beaded pieces were present throughout the collection.

Strappy footwear that wrapped the feet, ankles and up were designed by shoe maven Guiseppe Zanotti. 2 unique shoe designs were presented in the collection. Models walk down the aisle with thin-strapped heels in the colours black, nude and turquoise blue and ivory beaded heels which looked absolutely horrible from afar. Tribalish? (Refer to picture below) I can't put a finger to it.

To me, it was Balmain meets Alexander Wang meets futuristic.

This marks Kanye West's first foray into women's fashion but I'm not exactly looking forward to his next collection.

BANDAGE DRESSES. LEATHER. FUR

ZIPPERS. SEXY CUT-OUTS

FUTURISTIC WHITE.

FOOTWEAR.

-END-

Following my very first, amateur "fashion shoot" titled In A Back Alley of New York, I wanted my second experience to be a more memorable one. One of the considerations was a distinctly cultural location as the backdrop. Among the few locations shortlisted, Clarke Quay is a favourite spot for nightlife yet sits on a rich history of tradition and Chinatown is a historically, traditionally famous place of interest for the Chinese. Both are popular attractions for tourists and the local Singaporeans. As I wanted something close to the heart and that also leaves a vivid impression, I chose Chinatown as it strikes a deep cord in me as a Singapore-born and bred Chinese. I have a friend who has been learning the ropes of photography and just a year ago, he asked if I wanted to do something like this.

After talking so much, I have barely 10 photos for you. But here is my amateur take on fashion photography.

Photo credits: CS Han