Christian Dior opened its first Australasian flagship boutique in Sydney last week, reflecting continued demand for luxury fashion despite the tough economic climate.

Raf Simons confidently evolved the angular portions of previous seasons' work into softer, more saleable silhouettes. The new Bar jacket, looser and in trendy wool denim, seemed to point to a man who's finally settled in to his role. This season was the supplest fusion so far of his minimalism and the house's ultra-femininity and curves. Fall-winter saw a parade of "memory dresses," some 48 looks that delved into the iconic houndstooth, peplums, and the original '40s designs of Monsieur Dior himself. They hit the catwalk reimagined, sometimes asymmetrically, alongside enormous mirror ball decor. Overall, the show was a success; one step further on in Dior's mission statement for the designer, to "propel its iconic style into the 21st century."

Clothes as body armour was the concept behind Jean Paul Gaultier's rather dizzying Paris show. A play on voluminous layers of leather, fur, silks, chiffon and even knits - both hanging and enveloping the body - constructed a protective silhouette over models. It all made for a varied collection with some great looks, but one that was frustratingly hard to pin down. Graphic 80s elements, such as Polaroid-type prints, followed a long sheer chiffon dress in eggplant with '70s pleats. Long stripy scarves accompanied a tartan dress. And studded leather bustier tops with '50s peplums could easily have come from another collection altogether. Gaultier explained backstage: "It was also the idea of patchwork."

I hope Isaac Sinclair doesn’t think I’m too forward, when, minutes after meeting him for the first time, I thrust my wrist under his nose.

Check out the latest hot dog menswear model.

Nicole Kidman has regained movement in her face after turning to Botox to stave off aging.

Bridesmaids star Rebel Wilson has designed a range of T-shirts for plus-sized fans.

Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr has sold her New York apartment just months after she was forced to move out in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Diaries at the ready! From fashion to film, music to must-reads - there’s much that’s exciting us about the year ahead.

An Otago fashion designer has finally received the $12,500 prize money she won in an Australasian fashion competition, more than two months after being crowned the winner.

Ashleigh Good closed the Chanel Haute Couture show last week, in what we believe is a first for a New Zealand model.

In the lull between the Golden Globes and the Oscars, Hollywood's hottest step out for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Life & Style Editor Nicky Park has sifted through the red carpet snaps to find her loves, loathes and those in limbo.

The parents of girls as young as 10 are paying $700 each to enter their daughters in a junior Miss World beauty pageant.

From the high of winning an Australasian fashion competition, an Otago designer is fighting to receive her $12,500 prize money.

Supermodel Kate Upton's saucy Super Bowl advertisement has been criticised by a parenting group for "selling sexual objectification".

Delicacy, nature, architecture and timeless, effortless beauty. Those words describe one of the most sumptuous displays seen this season - courtesy of Valentino. Designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, and their indefatigable Italian seamstresses, surpassed even themselves perfecting the delicate Valentino silhouette by subtly softening it and exposing more of the neck. The designers said they were inspired by a garden.

Jean-Paul Gaultier makes us travel to Rajasthan through his latest haute couture collection.

Elie Saab has accustomed us to his rich embroidery, his threads of silk, his sequins, stones and crystals, but this time, he excelled in the delicacy, lightness and transparency.

French singer Vanessa Paradis has signed up to front fashion house H&M's new environmentally friendly line.

Only a few living designers can execute a couture show where almost every look glistens as much with classic timelessness as it does with innovation. Fashion legend Giorgio Armani, 78, is one of them. Proof was Armani Prive's spring-summer 2013 show on Tuesday: a finely balanced affair contrasting the classic with the exotic.

Viva joins designer Stella McCartney in Miami for a sneak peek at her new sports collection.

A routine of yoga, siestas, massages and seriously healthy eating leaves our editor and her partner blissfully re-energised.