Retail therapy

Art nouveau

Here's more proof Madonna is a work of art. She's updated Thomas Gainsborough's celebrated painting The Blue Boy by substituting the blue silk knickerbockers and jacket with a purple velvet pair teamed with a fur-lined jacket. At least she stopped short of the white tights. It may be she was so busy with her ambitious blonde phase that she never made the knickerbocker faux pas we all made in the 80s.

Struggling strutters

In L.A. even the models don't know how to walk. Fashion designers in the city of drivers where no one walks, are struggling to recruit models with a decent catwalk strut. It is one of the toughest challenges for Los Angeles Fashion Week. Many LA models are also actresses and too busy angling for screen roles to practise their walks. The city also lacks the "gait coaches" who whip models' walks into elegant shape. New York designer Kevin Johnn described the models in Los Angeles as "slim pickings". And denim label J & Company said finding good walkers was so hard it asked friends to stand in. But the models complain about the demands of designers who want different walks for specific shows. They say switching between the traditional haughty catwalk, the "horse trot", and "the glide" can be exhausting and confusing. 

On your bike

Lycra cycling shorts are not exactly fashion but that hasn't stopped Olympic medal-winning cyclist Sarah Ulmer from having a go at launching her own line. Called SUBwear (Sarah Ulmer Brand), the gear specially designed for women includes shorts, tops, jackets, vests and leg and arm-warmers. It's been designed to be "functional, fit well and look awesome" says Ulmer, who has also designed a range of bikes called SUBbikes for women. The range is available from Avanti.

Robots rule

Cool designer Mala Brajkovic's muse for winter was more robot than human. For Cyborgs rule, ok! Brajkovic set the collection in a retro-futuristic vision of a world where androids rule. Combined with photographer Helmut Newton's strong, sexy women, Brajkovic came up with baby-blue, mustard and grey high-waisted gathered skirts, bra-cup details, quilted PVC coats, oversize plastic zips, combined with neon prints and techno fabrics. It's essential wear for any self-respecting cyborg.