retrospective

We don't know anyone who didn't spend part of the '80s singing Whitney Houston songs (for me, "How Will I Know" got me through my first 8-year-old crush). The only artist with seven consecutive multiplatinum albums, Whitney had one of the most unforgettable voices in music and was incredibly beautiful to boot. Whitney passed away Saturday, just before the Grammy Awards, in an unexpected death that came far too early. Her passing is a tragedy, but we'll be eternally grateful for the music — really, the soundtrack to so many parts of our lives. That said, we're honoring Whitney the best way we know how: with a look at some of her most gorgeous moments on and off the red carpet. Note: one image is NSFW.

Balenciaga, born in 1918 when Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his namesake boutique in San Sebastian, Spain, became one of the greatest fashion houses of the early 20th century. It invented popular silhouettes, which today are known as the baby doll, the bubble skirt, and the bracelet sleeve — along with its signature sculptural design aesthetic. Fast-forward to 1997, when a young Nicolas Ghesquière took over design for the house. Ghesquière's fashion-forward aesthetic has consistently wowed us with his use of asymmetry, high-tech textiles, trademark structured silhouettes, and space-age-printing techniques. The designer has helmed the brand for over 10 years and shows no signs of slowing down, making Balenciaga a covetable luxury brand for every fashion-loving woman. Click through to see our awesome runway retrospective.

About 15 years ago, Gwyneth Paltrow rocketed to Hollywood stardom with lead roles in Emma and an Oscar-winning turn in Shakespeare In Love; simultaneously, Gwyneth's upward trajectory to style icon status was solidified by her red carpet looks that wowed. Who can forget the young actress in a soft pink Ralph Lauren princess gown at the 1999 Oscars, or the way she could transform a simple Calvin Klein tank dress into something dramatic, or her gothic turn in Alexander McQueen? Since making her mark as an actress, Gwyneth has gone on to add mom, singer, cookbook author, and yes, style icon to her resume, and her classic, less-is-more style has become a source of inspiration for many. Today marks Gwyneth's 39th birthday, so we thought it only fitting to pay the all-around wonder woman a proper tribute with a look back at her most memorable looks. Here are 40 of her best looks so far — Gwyneth, may you give us at least 40 more.

The woman who gave us innumerable dance songs, who epitomized the pop-punk vibe of the '80s, who shocked us with her provocative take on sexuality and sex, and impressed us with her Teflon ability to reinvent herself turns 53 today. Today Madonna is a mother of three who has launched a clothing line with her eldest daughter, Lola, and favors '40s silhouettes from lines like Miu Miu. In the beginning, Madonna was a pop princess, embracing big shoulders and punky layering of the '80s. Over the course of her impressive, still-chugging career, Madonna has sported — or started — every trend from punk, to menswear, to bombshell, to bohemian, to geisha. We will always love Madonna for her fearlessness in fashion on stage and off. We also can't thank her enough for giving us "Like a Prayer," else we might never have tried karaoke. In honor of her 53 years, we've highlighted 53 of her most memorable looks.

Elizabeth Taylor passed away today at the age of 79. She became a success at the age of 12 when she starred in National Velvet, going on to star in films like Cleopatra, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Taylor's beauty and offscreen exploits helped build her into a Hollywood legend, the kind whose stories of romance and excess could fill a year's worth of Vanity Fair issues. In honor of her talent, beauty, and style on screen and off, we've put together a slideshow dedicated to Elizabeth Taylor.

Fab readers, what's your favorite Elizabeth Taylor moment? We want to hear!

In celebration of their 125th anniversary, Bulgari's first ever retrospective will open next week at at the prestigious Il Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. The exhibition, titled "Between History and Eternity: 1884-2009" will cover the company's historical achievements and design evolution. Over five hundred works of jewelry, watchmaking and objets d’art will be displayed including photographs of celebrities who have worn Bulgari over the years. Check out a few of those photos, courtesy of Bulgari, in the gallery below. 

Coutorture correspondent and all-around great gal, Brigitte Nicole, catches the last weeks of the Martin Margiela Retrospective in Antwerp. Her report and photos for our viewing pleasure...

Forever keeping a hidden identity, Martin Margiela has been compared to likes of literary recluse JD Salinger and faceless graffiti artist Banksy. His design house dissolves the notion of one celebritized designer to a team who simply refer to themselves as “we”.  These democratic workings are esteemed to further conceptual levels by combining them with a breaking of systemized rules--sale associates in white lab coats, long blonde locks transformed into shoulder-heavy jackets, erratic numbering to designate different collections, and unusual materials reworked with Savile-Row quality tailoring.

Founded in 1988, a time where the fashion world was ruled by celebrities and super models, Margiela kept his scope limited to fashion and fashion alone. Emerging out of Antwerp, where he attended fashion design at Royal Academy of Arts, he moved to Paris, working as Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant until he created a house to carry his name. This past October marked 20 years, and to celebrate, a retrospective depicting 23 dominant themes at the house were displayed at Antwerp's MoMu. The exhibition still stands through February, but for those who do not have extra air miles to Antwerp...