Free Republic

Melania Trump is proving to the fashion designers who said they wouldn’t help her that dressing well is the best revenge. The first lady’s trip to Saudi Arabia, the Vatican, Belgium and Sicily — wearing mostly Dolce & Gabbana — was a fashion tour de force that has forced many naysayers in the rag trade to rethink. The list of designers who said they wouldn’t dress Melania is long, led by Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen, Christian Siriano and Sophie Theallet. But Melania has managed to look smashing in dozens of different ensembles, from her white Ralph Lauren jumpsuit...

<p>While a few designers have made news saying they would not dress the future first lady, Carolina Herrera said she’d be honored if Melania Trump wore one of her outfits.</p> <p>The famed designer spoke about Trump on the red carpet before she received an honor of her own Tuesday night from the Women’s Leadership Council at Lincoln Center......</p>

The resort collections have previously been regarded as a luxurious collection created for those who spend Christmas in Buenos Aires or the French Riviera. More and more, the resort and pre-fall collections have become increasingly more important. They act as a bridge for collections from fall to spring, and these collections tend to be less expensive (gasp!) and often more wearable! With the future of runway uncertain in these tough economic times the spotlight is on resort. Below are the top 5 resort/cruise collections. CHANELThe Kaiser Karl always knows how to make an impact and this collection was no exception....

Christian Louboutin, showing not a care in the world about the credit crunch, designed a capsule collection of yellow, pink and blue silk shoes inspired by Marie Antoinette. The collection is limited to approximately 36 pairs, each priced at $6,295.

Harper’s Bazaar put tennis aces Serena and Venus Williams in heels and dressed them in designer clothing for a tennis set. How amazing!

Dear designers, copywriters, developers, business analysts and friends ... for those of you involved in one of these processes you will surely relate to this video (sent to me by a friend at an ad agency) ... let me know what you think.

A model wears a three-piece suit designed by Yves Saint Laurent. France, 1967. He reworked the rules of fashion by putting women into elegant pantsuits that came to define how modern women dressed. By putting a woman in a man’s tuxedo, he changed fashion forever, in a style that was never dated. “Chanel gave liberation of the body to women,” said Pierre Berge, Laurent’s longtime business partner, “and Saint Laurent gave power to women with the men’s clothes.”

Two Saudi women designers — Amina Al-Jasim and Zaki Bin Aboud — are among the participants showcasing their creative skills at a fashion event being held in Beirut later this month. “The fashion industry is in fierce competition, especially from Paris and Rome, so I’m excited and looking forward to showcasing my designs at the upcoming event in the region,” Zaki told a press conference here yesterday. Zaki, who started her career in Jeddah seven years ago initially pursuing fashion designing as a hobby and then as a career, has held several fashion shows in the Kingdom and one in...