Issey Miyake cast a few minutes of sunshine over a grey Paris sky on Friday with a show brimming with colour. Checkered patterns added to the fun, and it was invigorating to see them on models, who actually smiled as they walked. The show's inspiration, said designer Yoshiyuke Miyamae, "comes from landscape seen from the sky." Optical crisscrosses of varying thickness created great dynamic movements on stretch fabric, as he imagined an aerial view of a dense forest. Not all of the 42 looks worked. Some came across as busy, especially toward the end. But the mastery of tonal color really stole the show. Tops in rich ultramarine, vivid jade and vermilion saw colors blocked together in changing intensities. And discords such as green with bright turquoise made pockets stand out.

Balmain focused on the Far East for its fall-winter collection, using bejewelled couture and Oriental wrapped silks to embellish the Paris house's ready-to-wear display. Waists were cinched to within an inch of life with gold and black belts, and glistening regal amulets. High-waisted harem pants in geometric pattern silk lame defined the aesthetic. The 27-year-old designer Olivier Rousteing has indeed come a long way in stamping the house with his youthful exuberance.

Comic Joan Rivers has come under fire for comments she made about Jews during a segment on her controversial US style show Fashion Police.

Bold bangs are a quick way to a fresh new winter look.

Oscar winner Tilda Swinton has been named the new face of Chanel just days before the company's much-anticipated Paris Fashion Week show next week.

Dries Van Noten thinks fashion is far too serious. That's why the fall-winter 2013-14 show saw the Belgian designer explore his usual menswear-womenswear tailoring via the frivolity of ballroom dancing, feathers and the dancing two-some Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In Van Noten's world, like in Hollywood, there's no man without the woman, no Ginger without Fred.

More young designers are adding price-conscious labels to their stable - we look at the latest lines for winter.

It was the modern bohemian woman on parade. Veronique Branquinho mixed and matched eclectic references, from wooden African bracelets to Obi-style dresses with belts. The soundtrack included Marilyn Monroe's sultry One Silver Dollar from the Western River of No Return, which played as cowboy boots and denim studs peppered the looks. Stetson cowboy hats in Shetland went too far, but overall it was a strong collection for the up-and-coming designer - reined in only by its feminine silhouette proportions and textural contrasts that unified the show. The graceful, slouchy style, now a Branquinho signature, was seen on several of the dropped-waist looks, often in beige and fawn.

The no-holds-barred sex appeal for Anthony Vaccarello is not for the faint-hearted. The third Belgian designer to show on Paris fashion week's first day served up a black-and-white ode to the early '80s in a show that featured micro skirts, chainmail, a lot of skin and lashings of sensual leather. Strong retro shoulders, asymmetrical, diagonally cut skirts, upturned lapels and cowl collars set the fashion time dial firmly back to the era of the New Romantics. This was fused with the innate sexiness of his variations on the Little Black Dress. The best look was a black kimono-style top, which billowed in great contrast to the tight, bright shiny black mini. Subtle this was not, but then, subtle isn't glam-loving Vaccarello's thing.

A handpicked selection of what’s new in fashion, food and beauty right now. See this week’s issue of Viva for more.

With 11 days of fabulous events taking place during a celebration of all things fashionable, there's no excuse not to be involved in the Fashion in the Big Little City festival.

Kiwi fashion designer Karen Walker is venturing into children's wear for the first time through a partnership with a Japanese retail giant that will see the collection sold around the globe.

Architecture, the patterns of painting movement "art brut" and the surrealistic colors of Dutch Master Brueghel were all inspirations behind Cedric Charlier's diverse fall-winter 2013-14 show in Paris. The first pieces, among the collection's best, mixed up sharp geometric panelling alongside oversize coats with fluid, rounded shoulders. Ensembles were made up of several layers, like square navy skirts on top of knee-length leggings with a rectangular bib form hanging down. There were also some great structured sheaths in silky navy and black leather. It's a far cry from the more fluid looks seen in Charlier's last collection.

Check out the dames who've decided to ditch long locks and rock a shorter style.

Would you dare to lop off your hair? We've got pictures and words to inspire you to take a short cut.

Pregnant reality TV star Kim Kardashian has turned up the heat for the cover of a French magazine, stripping off with her boyfriend Kanye West.

As Life & Style Editor I have the heroic task of picking the most smashing red carpet looks, and deciding who was not so visually pleasing. So here you go. For all the red carpet banter check out the blog and tell me what you think of my picks on Twitter.

Stars walk the red carpet at the 2013 Oscar awards.

Thousands of people attended the International Tattoo and Art Expo at the Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton over the weekend. The popular annual event draws some of the best tattoo artists from around the country each year.

Herrera has become almost as synonymous with the Academy Awards as a weepy acceptance speech.

The Salvatore Ferragamo show concentrates on shapes. All in black, white and navy blue, with no prints or bold shades, the clothes have to speak for themselves. Massimiliano Giornetti, designer for the Florentine brand best known for its accessories, gives his winter styles a voice through sculpted silhouettes and carefully chosen fabrics. A few examples: a wide Alpaca jacket is worn with an A-line short skirt in pony leather; an oversized cashmere pullover is paired with a dainty slip with beaded hemline; and a classic overcoat becomes even more classy when worked in shiny silk. Even fur and leather are worked to highlight the artistry of the collection, starting with suede stitched in smocking, or beaver shorn to look like satin. The famous Ferragamo shoe next winter is a knee-high boot with pointed toe and relatively low stiletto heel, cut out at the instep and laced up the barelegged back. The latest Ferragamo bag is a shopper with metal inserts.

Lily Aldridge insists she isn't a sex object, but reveals she isn't bothered by the idea she has male fans lusting after her.

A gift bag is estimated to be worth $45,000 is given to Oscar nominees and includes an array of luxury items.

The Weekend Herald takes a look at the cost of going to the Oscars.

Yolanda Bartram has body painting in her blood. Her mum was a trained theatre artist in the Netherlands, using a young Yolanda as a canvas. Life & Style Editor Nicky Park visited Yolanda's Auckland studio to watch her paint a wolf on to the bare chest of Hannah, a 19-year-old "exhibitionist". “For me it’s normal to paint naked people but I guess a lot of people would find it strange,” Yolanda said. “I like to think I’m a collector of images. I have things in my head that I like to see.” · You can check out Yolanda at work at The International Tattoo and Art Expo, happening this weekend in Hamilton. Visit the website for more info.

Fendi is to fur what Ferrari is to cars. Yet given current concerns about animal rights, the brand has moved from the lavish fur coats that were all the rage in the 1980s to a more discreet way of interpreting fur as fashion. Fendi creative director Silvia Venturini, daughter of one of the company's five founding sisters, opted for wisps of fur used as hair decorations, bracelets, or charms hanging from Fendi bags. Fur also appeared as inserts in a skirt or a dress, or sheered and fashioned into a cozy, but not showy, jacket. Long fur, usually goat, also seen on other runways during Milan's preview showings, was used to make up a skirt or a cape.

Russell Crowe teased Anne Hathaway about her red carpet wardrobe malfunction as he presented her with a prize at the Costume Designer Guild Awards.