che·ru·bic: Fashion Allure

Fashion has never been this wearable. On the latest runway show of French fashion house - Christian Dior, its chief designer - John Galliano – started out by showing much masculine elements like vests and well tailored jackets. To contrast the masculinity, Galliano’s choice of softer fabric for the dresses such as chiffons and charmeuse, flatter the female body and show off the curves. I personally find this season’s designs are so soft and pretty yet have a class of luxury to it. Like a rich tai-tai closet of dresses for high tea. I like!

Vogue said: "I want to love first and live incidentally" – isn't that just the perfect Dior?

I can imagine Charlize Theron walking down the red carpet in this.

Dior Runway makeup. I wanna recreate this look.

And I have fallen in love with another fantastic designer house – Gucci – whose current designer is Frida Giannini. This lady who used to be in Tom Ford's team while he was still with Gucci, had big shoes to fill when she was offered this position. Gucci, an Italian fashion house who suffered much turbulence over the past years, have finally caught my eye when I saw this breathtaking Spring/Summer 08 collection.

Frida Giannini

As I won't be able put the collection in words as good as Vogue, here's an excerpt:

"It's no mistake that Giannini has replaced the modern logo with a swirling, more retro version – for she is slowing making us forget the sex mad, morally indiscriminate Gucci girl of the last Nineties and introducing us to one we'd never regret taking home to meet our parents – though we might still have misgivings about letting our husband near her, such is her allure. If we're talking trends, the new season's biggest were confirmed tonight: black and white, loud checks, yellow, pink, bomber jackets, full skirted party dresses and belts, belts, belts – with everything, if not around the waist then holding up a swirling evening gown over one shoulder. Beyond ticking those boxes, Gucci gave us the life of a good time girl – collarless leather pink blouses belted over full monochrome printed skirts were for modern day Pink Ladies. Flowers remain one of the new season's essentials too – by Gucci they were transformed into glittering Perspex and uses as corsages or appeared on the back of KER-CHING black, yellow and white biker jackets. There was a definite rock element, with a touch of Luella Bartley style girly punk, but Gucci is also increasingly displaying a knack for fluid drapery and fabric origami that continues to impress – a strapless cocktail dress in pink had pockets as a result of its full back being pulled into a fitted front (the black version was one of the prettiest LBDs ever). Proving that swimsuits don't have to show off more than they hide to be sexy, here they were low cut in diagonal bands of yellow, white and black, while tiny rolled up shorts and skinny tailored black trousers proved that the Gucci woman is still nothing if not a head-turner. Taking on a more inclusive attitude to our wardrobes has clearly been fun for Giannini: three-quarter length coats of pink or black and white check had wearability written all over them, while dirndl skirts featured stripes of PVC proved that it's more demure but it's never going to get boring. A finale of billowing full length dresses - Carmen Kass in yellow, followed by black and white versions – meant that some day soon, a Gucci wedding dress may not be unthinkable – even in church. "