winter hottest fashion trends

What to wear this winter? The bright primary colors of the last year are gone, but this doesn't mean that 2011 winter is going to be dull and boring. The hottest looks of winter demand colorful choices, architectural clothing shapes and bold combination of different pieces. Tomato reds, teal greens, indigo blues, subtle tones of apricot and honey and rich tones of aubergine purple are going to compete with come back of the grays.

Think bold when choosing clothing for winter 2008-2009, especially if you're looking for a coat. The shape of clothing should make a statement. Fashion designers offer pyramid shaped coats, emphasized hour-glass shaped coats and dresses, clothing with emphasized shoulders line, tulip shaped skirts and carrot top pants. Shapes like those are very expressive, so the garments are mono-colored or indistinctly ornamented and contain as less decorative details as possible. If trendy shapes are too daring for you, go for compromise: variations of large collars. Knitted or furry, modern or vintage style - collar must be big and make a contrast to either texture or fabric or color of the clothing. Collars are not for coats only; they adorn jackets, vests and cardigans too.This winter is the right time to become romantic biker. Glossy leather clothing, biker jacket and shiny zippers are the must-haves. But this image is neither heavy nor aggressive; leather clothing is combined with fur, knitwear, see-through fabrics and puffy playful skirts.

Grey used to be the new black on the last winter. This color is very gratifying as it goes well with all the other tones and makes a nice background for bright colors. However, the shades of dark slate grey said good bye a year ago and softer silverfish tones appear to accompany large variety of rose quartz, pale taupe, lavender, lemon chiffon and other beiges. The creamy tones work well all together, but they also compliment rich colors that are trendy 2011 winter.

Fashion week off to an underwhelming start

 Following the success of the first Fashion Pakistan Week held in November 2009, Fashion Pakistan (a Karachi-based fashion council) is holding a five-day-long Fashion Pakistan Week-2 (FPW-2), showcasing works by over 55 designers from all over the country.

The fashion extravaganza hosted its first set of designers on Monday which included the likes of Ali Xeeshan, Ayesha Tahir Khan, Imbias (Imran and Rabia), Kash Hussain, Monia Farooqui, Dubai-based designer Rabia Z, Samar Mehdi, Sana Safinaz, Shakeel ‘Chand’ Saigol (the painter/visual artist who now and then dips his feet into fashion design), Shehla Rehman and debutant designer Zaheer Abbas.

FPW-2’s official charity is represented by the United Nations fight against Aids and guests were handed a small token gift and a booklet containing information about the deadly and contagious virus at the venue. Since the opening day of the fashion week was held on the same day as the grenade and suicide attacks on the US consulate in Peshawar, audience members were asked to observe a moment of silence for those affected by it.

The overall appearance of the venue remained the same minimal black and white, almost every aspect remaining the same except the slight change in décor in the waiting lounge.

Shakeel Saigol opened the week with his mostly monochromatic collection titled ‘East by South East’. It was the designer’s first foray into designing menswear and was an extension of a series of paintings he has been working on. The predominant feature in his collection was his use of the zebra and the zebra head as visual theme in his collections. One aspect that stood out in his menswear was that other than the traditional straight, form-fitting pants, his models wore extremely sleek dhoti shalwars as well as drop-crotch pants that pleated like a chooridar pajama towards the ankles. The models all wore Greek warrior helmets that had been designed by Yousuf Bashir Quraishi (YBQ) who gave the top portion of the helmets a striped appearance.

The debutant designer, Zaheer Abbas, was the second and only other designer whose work clearly stood out as one of the best collections that evening. He showcased a collection titled ‘Lady Un-Veil’. The designer takes his inspiration from Islamic art and geometric structures. His collection consisted of bold, single-toned colours in ink blue, deep green and grey among others. His collection which was predominantly created out of chiffon had a sleek, feminine volume in his design structure complete with a knack for pleating in his garments. He also used traditional, small and metallic pieces to accentuate the design in his creations. His was a most welcome debut.

On a collective level most of the other collections failed to create a definite impact. To have just two out of a total of 11 collections stand out is disappointing to say the least. This fact was sorely felt as the evening concluded. It was an extremely underwhelming start to a much-anticipated week

Swimsuit trends for summer 2011

Sunny and warm days announce to us that the summer is comming soon. We want to share with you the hottest swimwear trends. Let's greet the summer while being stylish and fashionable!

This year swimsuits are made according to the main fashion tendencies of the season. They include bright and lively colors, emphasis on one - shoulder, cut - away pieces, sheer fabrics and a large amount of jewerly. You are invited to choose monokinis as well as bikinis.

• One - shoulder swimsuits. This type of swimwear is especially popular this year. One - shoulder bikini or monokini will make you look originally and elegantically. You can find examples of such swimsuits in the collections of Herve Leger, Victoria's Secret, Max Azria, Gottex and Gucci.

• Cut - away pieces. Cut pieces in various shapes and size will make your swimsuit playful and sexy. This type of swimsuits is presented by Amanda Wakely, Carmen Marc, Dsquared, Herve Leger by Max Azria. Besides, a lot of famous designers such as Gottex, Victoria's Secret, Marios Schwab, Max Azria suggest that you may choose a swimsuit that combines several stylish styles. For example, this summer will also be fashionable swimwear that contain the motives of one - shoulder and cut - out pieces at the same time.

• Bright colors. Rocha Cha, Gottex, Beach Bunny and others invite to choose bright and vivid colors in bikinis or monokinis. One or more bright colors may dominate there. Red, pink, violet, yellow, blue or emerald - all these colors will look splendidly this season!

• This summer it is also important not only the stylish type of a swimsuit but also variations of wearing it. When you do not plan to swim in the sea or lake, put a sheer fabric dress or tunic on your swimsuit. This magnificient combination will emphasize your tan and make you look really fashionable! In his collection Max Azria offers light and nude tones of share fabric in clothes. Milly by Michelle Smith, converesly, invites to dress in colorful and decorated with flower prints sheer clothes.

• Famous fashion designers also suggest to wear massive jewelry together with swimsuits. The other stylish details include sunglasses, handbags, panama hats or belts. Moreover, do not be afraid to put a leather or silk jacket on your swimwear. One more important accent for your image is high - heeled sandal shoes. Thus, let your imagination flow and pick the most lovely and fashionable items for you. With them you will look modern and stylish this year!

Next to the tendencies mentioned above, there are and other fashionable trends for swimwear. They include various geometrical ornaments or leopard prints, details of jeans, fishnet, not ordinary and unexpected color combinations.

We hope that these trends will be helpful for you to choose the most siutable and fashionable swimsuit this summer!

Teen fashion trends

There are many articles dedicated to fashion trends: trends for men or women, trends for kids and even for dogs. What about teens? Try to do a web search and you will see that finding nice guidelines about teen fashion trends is not as easy as it may seem. Why is it this way? The reason for this lack of information is teen fashion being more complicated than any other. Teenagers are fighting against society; they put a lot of effort to be different, but they also invent new trends and fashion styles.

The latest trend is EMO (emotional) style. EMO style is definitely for those who adore bright colors. Green, pink, red, yellow matched with black will undoubtedly make you noticeable. If you are into this style, you must have an appropriate hairdo: Zelda hairdo for girls and jet black mop top for boys. Pencil or at least cigarette-shaped jeans with studded belt is also a must-have. Rules for top are not that strict, you may choose anything you want, just be sure it's close-fitting and bright colored. You must wear large amounts jewelry and it's even better if you pierce your face (small lip ring would do perfectly). EMO style is perfect for those who wear glasses - it's a great accent and EMOs love nerdy ones.
What fashion designers have come up to this season is gothic youth. Although this fashion has existed for a number of years and has been discussed in various ways, it is the first time it is fashionable. Dressing all-black, coloring your hair black, using only black makeup means or even whitening your face to make everything else look even blacker is a hot trend. Choose big shoes with chunky heels; go for metal details all over your clothing and accessories and you're a perfect goth. No matter if you are wearing a short or a long skirt, a close fitting top or a loose one - it's ok as long as it's black.