Prada has announced that they have signed a deal to developed an iconic 'Prada' mobile phone. The legendary design house is teaming with Korean LG Electronics to create what is sure to be the ultimate accessory for inside ones handbag.

All aspects of the phone will be overseen by Prada, from the obvious physical design and packaging, to the more obscure elements such as music. Set to be available in Europe in early 2007 it has not yet been announced when, or if, it will be available locally in Australia. One things for sure - Naomi Campbell will be chasing after one. It's well known that she goes through her phones pretty quickly.

On the business side of things The Prada Group has regained full control of fashion house Church's, a label that retails in forty countries, including twenty-six directly operated stores. Just another notch to Prada's belt - the group also controls sister label Miu Miu, Car Shoe and Azzedine Alaia.

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Just last week supermodel Tyra Banks was enraptured with the quality (not to mention quantity) of stores in the Westfield Bondi Junction centre, in particular Arthur Galan AG. In fact Tyra was spotted buying up from the Arthur Galan AG's latest beautiful collection in a big way.

Also recently seen - on separate occasions - getting some retail therapy were Cate Blanchett and family, yummy-mummy-to-be Jessica Rowe and Kimberley Davies with her two little ones. Westfield centre or star central?

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After watching her fashion brand, L.A.M.B., take off globally Gwen Stefani thought it was about time she gave us a fragrance with attitude too.

It seems that you have really made it when you've got a scent of your very own. So the pop-punk princess Gwen Stefani, is proving how much of a impression she's made on the world by being approached by Coty Inc. to develop a fragrance.

The perfume will be released as part of her fashion label, L.A.M.B, and Stefani will be involved on every level - from the ingredients to the packaging. 

Scheduled to be launched around mid-2007 and there is no doubt it will be a huge hit.

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Perhaps after  loaning her voice to Gloria the penguin in George Miller's animated film 'Happy Feet' Brittany Murphy has been drawn to putting on a 'penguin look' too.

They call a tuxedo a 'penguin suit' but Brittany Murphy has shown us some versions of a 'penguin dress' at the launch events for film 'Happy Feet'.

Murphy came down the red carpet at both the Los Angeles and Sydney premiere's Happy Feet' in glamorous dresses with distinguishable markings of the cute creatures - the vertical lines created by the colours of the fabrics giving her a 'penguin' like front in both cases. That's not to say she wasn't a pretty penguin. The question is: was this deliberate or just an amusing coincidence?

The film is set to be a huge hit in Australia when it opens on December 26th, 2006. It has already taken the lead at the box office in the United States, keeping the latest James Bond movie, Casino Royale, sitting at number two. The sweet story of the tap dancing penguin has stuck at number one for the past three weeks and grossed over $125 million dollars.

Other stars whose voices can be heard on the film include Nicole Kidman, Robin Williams and Elijah Wood. We'll just have to wait and see if their wardrobes start reflecting these arctic creatures too.

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Hepburns’s character, Holly Gollightly, wears the now iconic LBD in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's as she emerges from a taxi on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. She is then shown staring longingly at diamonds displayed in the windows of Tiffany & Co., all the while eating her breakfast from a brown paper bag. Additionally the promotional image for the film shows Hepburn wearing the dress with long black gloves and pearls.

Designed by Hubert de Givenchy the dress has now set a record for film memorabilia. It was rumoured that one of the bidders was going to be Victoria Beckham, who cites Hepburn as her heroine, though the winning bid came in over the phone and the identity of the purchaser has not been made public.

With Hepburn devoting much of her life to humanitarian causes it seems only appropriate that the proceeds of the sale are to go to City of Joy Aid, a charity which helps underprivileged people in India.

The big question? Where does one wear a million dollar dress? We'll keep you posted.

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The phenomenon of big name, upmarket fashion designers designing ranges for big name, downmarket retailers is nothing new. What's What has chronicled many of these high-low deals over the last few months, both international examples and local versions such as the Designers for Target concept. It’s been one of the biggest fashion stories of the last year.

Another one has been the talk about what Phoebe Philo would do after walking away from the head design role at Chloe just when the label seemed to be hitting it’s stride. Well now the What's What can report that Philo is acting as a consultant for the US mass market retailer Gap. Women’s Wear Daily said last week hat Philo had been hired to join the firm’s London-based design team. No word on what she has designed for the brand yet, or what her role in the future would be - just that she’s there.

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When you consider that the shoe which has been in production since 1939 still retails for $29.99 it’s easy to see why. In fact the white canvas shoes with the blue, green or pink (a new innovation) detailing are enjoying such a renaissance that sales have increased 50 per cent in the last year.

The original Volley was developed for the Australian tennis legend Adrain Quist and was produced with a black sole – the white sole was added in the 1950s. Today, however, they even come in a very cool all black design. The OC, by the way, stands for orthopedically correct. Where to find your very own pair of Volley's? Check out Target, K-Mart, Big W, Rebel and Payless stores.

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