2008 Fall London Fashion Week

2008 spawned a tremendous flurry of fabulous Fashion Week shows. Let's see, there were New York Fall and Spring shows, Milan Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, and LA Fashion Week. Oh, and don't forget all of the ravishing Resort and Pre-Fall collections. Some of my faves were Proenza Schouler's Fall line, Alexander Wang's Spring offerings, and Balmain's Spring collection in Paris. All different, all divine. Which were your favorites? Jog your memory, and check out all of our 2008 Fashion Week coverage.

• 2008 Fall New York Fashion Week Coverage
• 2008 Fall Paris Fashion Week Coverage
• 2008 Fall Milan Fashion Week Coverage
• 2008 Fall London Fashion Week Coverage
• 2009 Fall LA Fashion Week Coverage

To see the rest of our Fashion Week coverage, read more

At London Fashion Week, I noticed a couple of outlandish beauty trends such as crimped hair and modern cornrow braids. But what I remember most vividly from my backstage access was the look of goth lips.

Designers like Julian MacConald, Nathan Jenden, Ossie Clark and Inbar Spector all chose a midnight lip to reflect a chic and distinguishable edge. I'm not a big fan of morbid makeup, but it definitely has shock value on the runway. Would you ever wear blood-colored lipstick?

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I never thought I'd use the words London Fashion Week and wildlife in the same sentence, but that day has come my Fabbies. Wildlife Works, a company created in 1997 to protect wilderness habitats, made its fashion debut at last week's London Fashion Week, and there's no tree-hugging styles here . . .

"We're serious business people. This is not a mission-led proposition. It's all about the fashion taking off. We are a fashion brand that responds to the consumer in the developed market. We want to sell into Selfridges and Harvey Nichols and upmarket boutiques, and we want to develop that fashion imagery," said chief executive Andrew Smith. Check out their selection and make PetSugar proud!

My final stop at London Fashion Week was the Inbar Spector show, where the hair, makeup, and clothing had a completely different feel than any of the other "pretty" looks I've seen in the past. This was pure creativity rearing its head in the overall theme of "rebellious Gothic."

Stylists crimped hair all around, then swept it into a tight bun on top of the head. Two tightly braided tendrils were left on either side.

The makeup was just as intricate. Inbar hired makeup artist Lan Nguyen because of her avant-garde style and her bold use of color. If rebellious and goth is what Inbar wanted, that's just what she got. Lips and nails were black, skin was pale yet sculpted, and the eyebrows were all-out punk.

For a breakdown of the MAC products used to create this look, plus application tips, read more

Yesterday afternoon, I checked out the Armand Basi fashion show at the historic Banqueting House in London. Just like the grand landmark setting, the behind-the-scenes area was really something to admire. This was by far the most organized and spacious backstage space I have yet to encounter this week.

The models had a private changing area away from peeping photographers and media, and hair and makeup each had their own fully-equipped workstations. I spoke with lead hair stylist Paul Hanlon who collaborated with Armand to come up with big hair to complement the voluminous clothing. The look they went for was, as he put it, "young, fresh, teased, and fluffy — not lady-like."

For a step-by-step guide on how to create this stylish ponytail at home, read more