Australia
Westfield Group 
Moving into it's 11th year, French designer brand Paul & Joe have thrilled it's Australian fans by opening a flagship boutique store in Westfield Bondi Junction.
The boutique was designed by Mardi Doherty who has worked on international projects such as Diesel retail stores throughout Europe and the UK, and Madonna's fantasy bedroom at the London House and Garden Fair. For this new store Doherty has created a beautifully warm, golden inviting interior, focusing on an eclectic mix of art deco, retro and ultra chic furnishing.
Paul & Joe is named after the label's creator Sophie Albou's two sons. Sophie developed her talent by working at both Azzedine Alaia and Le Garage shirts before deciding to create her own brand in the mid 90's.
The label now has thirty boutiques globally in locations such as Paris, London, Seoul, Jarkata, and now of course Sydney, plus is available through department stores in the United States such as Barney's.
Designer Sophie's direction for the clothing (and a recently released Paul & Joe beauty range) is to be as unique, elegant and graceful as possible. There is no doubt that they have achieved this with their new store which is a total treasure trove and an absolute delight to shop at.
Tomorrow, Fashion From Fleece: 200 Years of Australian Wool in Fashion opens at the Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo, Sydney.
The exhibition charts the journey of Australian Merino wool from when the first bale was exported to England to the current day (Australia is presently the world's leading producer of fine Merino wool - generating half a billion kilograms of fleece annually).
To tell the story, samples of work by both Australian and international designers are showcased, along with photography. You will find outfits by Chanel, Christian Dior, Collette Dinnigan, Giorgio Armani, Akira Isogowa and Marc Jacobs, plus historical material ranging from a convict jacket to a 1880's wedding gown of wool and silk satin.
This fascinating exhibition, which coincides with the Sydney Design Festival, will have speakers from the Australian fashion industry - Jane de Teliga, Akira Isogawa and Jayson Brunsdon - give presentations throughout.
For more information go to the Powerhouse Museum site.
Forbes.com has released their list of the highest paid models, with Brazilian beauty 26-year old Gisele Bundchen coming out on top. Gisele is said to have earned US$33 million in the last twelve months, working with brands including Apple, Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli.
Gisele was certainly given the biggest accolade by Christian Dior at their much celebrated 60th anniversary Haute Couture show just over a week ago - she was asked to open the show and did so in a dramatic 40's style black 'Bar' suit.
Number two on the Forbes.com list is Kate Moss, with earnings totalling US$9 million, and Victoria's Secret spokesmodel Heidi Klum came in at number three with US$8 million. As for local talent, Australian model Gemma Ward made it in the top ten with a reported US$3 million in contracts for 06/07. Not bad at all!
The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week: Miami Swim 2008 Collections ran for five days, from 10-14th July, and featured big brands including Badgley Mishka and True Religion.
Held at South Beach in Miami the shows began in true American beach style with The Beach Boys playing live for the opening show of Jacquelyne Love Bella Mar Swim (it is always handy for a designer to be married to the lead singer of a legendary band as Jacquelyne is to Mike Love of the Beach Boys).
Big news was label Badgley Mischka, famed for their beaded red carpet gowns, making their debut into swimwear on the Wednesday night. The Badgley Mischka beachwear didn't disappoint, strutting out on the catwalk with the same glamorous attitude and regal finishings as their evening dresses do.
Brazilian designers Cia.Maritima, Mirla Sabino and Rosa Cha showed their ranges, as did Italian labels DE et DR and Miss Bikiki, but the most popular of all the collections was Australian label Zimmermann who reinforced what many already knew - that nobody understands and makes a bikini as well as an Australian.
The show with the worst reviews? Jessica Simpson's debut into swimwear was found by the international fashion media to be boring and uninspiring. Ouch! Perhaps it's best she stick to singing.
There was much excitement in the air last week when New Line Cinema confirmed that plans to take the loved HBO series 'Sex and the City' to the big screen have finally been given the go-ahead.
Creating a film version of the show was first spoken of back in 2004 when the last of the television series went live to air, but stalled while details of salaries and scripts were being ironed out.
The four main actors - Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall - have all signed up with filming expected to begin in September this year and the film due to be released in 2008.
The series' executive producer, Michael Patrick King, will direct the film that will, without a doubt, be a huge hit - particularly amongst the fashion forward globally.
Alicia Richardson has worked in fashion media for the past 12 years. The first five were spent as part of the editorial team at Australian Elle Magazine, she then moved to New York in 1999. Based in Manhattan for the following five years, she worked on American Elle Magazine and www.elle.com (covering fashion, the New Yorks shows and beauty) and helped to launch the Bloomingdales fashion title, B Magazine, where she remained Beauty Editor until 2004.
Now back in Sydney and Editor of What's What, Alicia is able to immerse herself in both local and international fashion to keep you up-to-the-second with all the news and inspirational trends.
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