“A realist, in Venice,” Arthur Symons once remarked, “would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him.” And that romanticism has captured the hearts and imaginations of many poets and artists throughout history. We might well add photographers to that list, too. For the photographer, Venice is a subject that needs no makeup, no styling or fancy lighting tricks to enhance…

As the camera pans over 1920s New York in the opening of the newly released Great Gatsby trailer, you might expect a soundtrack of brassy, hip-shimmying jazz. But this is Baz Luhrmann, the man who had Shakespeare’s brave Mercutio dressed in drag and belting out Young Hearts Run Free. The man who gave Paris circa 1900 a soudtrack of Smells Like Teen Spirit and Like…

On the street in Paris a chic look can be something as simple as a black tuxedo-style jacket, a slim cigarette, and a thick blunt fringe. The latter hairstyle is perfectly suited to this wearer’s face shape and works particularly well with the nonchalant androgyny of the outfit.

There’s a problem facing autumn / fall and 2013′s fashions, at least there is to my mind. Take a look at the closing collections of this year and the opening collections of the next one and you’ll see one theme dominate: androgynous fashion. While you can follow that link for further insight, what’s ahead is not the sapphic and questionable-gender androgyny of year’s past, but…

Clashing bold colours with pitch black, ladylike silhouettes with vampish perforated leather, modern flair with a vintage mood…. there’s barely an outfit amoung Jitrois’ spring 2012 collection look book that doesn’t captivate visually. Jitrois’ designer Jean Claude Jitrois has a fascination with leather, which shows in the look book. Skin – with its textures and scars and imperfections – is equal to a biography, he…

Eclectic. It’s an overused word, but one that’s so synonymous with Paul Smith it’s hard to find any other that suits so well. The new Paul Smith Melbourne store is no exception. Its walls are lined with everything from Ken Russell photographs to antiquated objects – think rusted horseshoes and old bone china – that have been mounted and framed. Glass cabinets offer up hardcover…

This weekend’s link round-up of five worthy reads, including an interview with Paolo Roversi, a Brian Duffy retrospective, and the question of what would happen if you tracked down your ‘cooler you’. Find them after the break.

Not many designers at this year’s Australian fashion week (MBFWA) could be said to be riffing on political themes. In fact it was probably just one: Harrison Wong. That fact alone set his collection apart from the masses, though it was also unique in style to the other menswear that the week bore witness to. Wong’s collection was a contemporary play on the Chinese Red…

Groomed and polished on one end of the spectrum, careless and dishevelled on the other. The reality is that both can be attractive on a man, but that the ultimate goal for most men right now is to find that place in the middle where the two meet, and hover there looking like he’s never too close to either end. A scarf or cravat around…

If there was one element of Bec & Bridge’s Australian fashion week (MBFWA) show that really pulled it over the line into being stand-out, it was the wet look chignons and oiled skin. With those, girls were given a look that emulated a post-workout glow (only sexy), raising up even the simplest of outfits to a height of effortless sporty chicness.