A cyber slink up classy catwalks

KATE FOREMAN prowls into fashion's future but finds it all going backwards.

If you had a crystal ball would you really want to see what the future held in store?

That was my dilemma when I used the internet to see what we will be wearing this spring. I entered cyberspace with an open mind, but when I checked into www.style.com and saw that one of the buzzwords for next season was the Eighties, my spirits sank.

Without wanting to sound too Pythonesque, what did the Eighties do for us? Remember power dressing, puffball skirts and spiral perms?

But mercifully, none of these was in evidence at style.com, which features slideshows from the spring collections of designers such as Dior and Louis Vuitton.

If this site whets your appetite for glitz and glamour, go to www.vogue.com, which is as out of touch with common woman as ever.

Vogue will take you on a tour of Europe's catwalks and expose you to upcoming trends such as "draping and gathering" and "neo-punk." Lucky us.

In Britain, the cheekily named www.fuk.co.uk is a streetwise site that, while profiling top British designers, also checks out what people are wearing on the streets in various cities. In London, see photos of vacuous Sloane Square socialites in expensive trash, then head north to York to suss out what single mums and factory workers are spending their money on.

Seeing the price tag in pounds sterling on some of the most basic items should remind us how lucky we are to have access to reasonably priced clothing.

A lovely, latte-sipping international site is www.fashionguide.com, which includes general entertainment news (or gossip), fashion features from major British and US papers and, best of all, bitchy titbits from the modelling world.

This page is quite serious looking and is great for pretending to be working at the office.

Girly girls might like sites such as www.dailyfashion.com, which invites you to send in your own tips, disasters and fashion finds, while www.fashion-icon.com features a fashion detective whose mission is to bring you undercover reports from around the globe. Go girl.

Women's magazines are usually a good place to discover what the more affluent of us will buy, and here the military look is another key theme for spring.

For example, www.cosmo.women.com features the best of spring's military-influenced black shirts, with prices ranging from affordable to extortionate. The site also has a great overview of the spring collections from Europe and an entertaining quiz that has nothing to do with fashion.

At www.ellemag.com you will find a site that is an absolute delight to navigate and features a wonderful street style section. Choose from a long list that includes urban combat, leather and fashion frenzy.

Unfortunately some parts of the site are still under construction and the ads that pop up at every mouse click are very annoying.

For a fabulous site that is just one big droolfest go to www.fashion.at/, which oozes style from every pixel. It's a breeze to navigate and has photos that capture the flavour of each collection.

The spring selection from Bill Blass is stunning, with a strong black and white focus and an intriguing use of flesh-coloured fabric to create a "nude" look, of which him indoors greatly approves.

Australia offers a rather disappointing range of fashion-related sites but I did stumble upon www.rivers.com.au, which provides links to many Australian designers and shops. Great if you know exactly what you want but it suffers from a lack of seasonal buying information.

For more advice take a look at www.lifestyle.ninemsn.com.au/cleo for Cleo magazine's spin on trends - and see if you can resist checking out the Bachelor of the Year.

This site also boasts a good range of clothing to order online, but if you are tempted then note that prices are quoted in Australian dollars.

The only other site worth mentioning is www.afw.com.au, which is an online guide to the upcoming Australian Fashion Week this month.

This appears to be a rag trade media site and users are required to enter a company name when registering. Don't let that put you off, as this should prove to be a valuable resource for a taste of things to come.

If you are really serious about looking good, then you ought to be on the weekly mailing list of www.fashionz.co.nz - one of the best sites I hit. You can access the sites of local designers: World, Karen Walker, NomD and others.

This well put together site offers valuable style guides and runs fantastic competitions to win anything from NZ-designed children's clothes to exquisite lingerie. Look out for the latest news for spring/summer fashion from July 1.

Now that I've done my research I feel suitably inspired to create my very own spring look incorporating all the buzzwords that are being bandied about. So if you see a retro-Eighties-glam-disco-punk-babe meets nude combat-fatigued badge-laden groover, you'll know it's me.

At least black is the new black.

Essential guide to world of fashion


* www.fashionz.co.nz. A comprehensive guide to New Zealand fashion, seasonal trends and great competitions.

* www.fuk.co.uk. Excellent for seeing what's being worn on British streets. Good for price comparisons.

* www.vogue.com. See how the other half live. Vogue gives a great guide to the European fashion shows and is as glitzy as the magazine.

* www.style.com. Slideshows from the big names in design. It has extensive coverage of accessory trends for scarves, bags and belts.

* www.ellemag.com. A great site that unfortunately is still under construction in places. Very easy to navigate and features an excellent street style selection.

* www.fashion.at/. The best-looking fashion site on the web. Gorgeous images and concise commentary make this a pleasure to visit.

* www.fashionguide.com. Fabulous for news and gossip from the entertainment world. Serious reports from some of the leading names in fashion journalism are also worth a read.

Links:


Style.com

Vogue.com

fuk.co.uk

Daily Fashion.com

Fashion icon

Cosmo women

Elle

Fashion.at

Rivers

Cleo

Australian Fashion Week

Fashionz

Fashion guide