Was Blanca Blanco the Oscars’ biggest fashion disaster or an intentional eyeful?

Wardrobe malfunction? Not likely.
There is a reason actress Blanca Blanco "didn’t seem fazed" by baring her lady bits on the red carpet at the 89th annual Academy Awards. It was intentional.
She didn’t have "an almighty wardrobe malfunction in her extreme thigh split dress", as London’s Daily Mirror reported earlier today.
Nor did she suffer, as news.com.au put it, "what will probably go down as the night’s biggest red carpet disaster".
Blanco meant to give photographers an eyeful. And she’s been happily retweeting remarks about her "overexposure" ever since.
If you want to make a statement, ditch the duds. That seems to the Hollywood mantra.

Sharon Stone might have been one of the first -- flashback to the "accidental" less-crossing scene in the 1992 flick Basic Instinct -- but plenty have followed, from Britney to Beyonce, Rihanna to J-Lo.
Going commando is not only de rigeur in celebrity circles.
It’s big in not-so-beige suburbia.
What began with the unforgivable Visible Panty Line faux pas has morphed into some bizarre notion of what it means to feel sexy, free and liberated.
It’s about getting away with something considered risqué -- until a gust of wind blows and your privates are public.
Women my age who do it tell me it makes exercising (which I assume includes horizontal folk dancing) easier.
They save money on expensive knickers and there’s less laundry to do.
Oh, and men love it. Of course they do.
Red carpet gallery
In a society that objectifies women, is this any surprise?
Well, as unfashionable as modesty might be, I’m all for it.
Women are more than the sum of their lady parts. They also have brains and talent, which makes me wonder if those who deliberately bare all are compensating for a lack of either or both.

Meet the women turning rags into $250 dresses at New York Fashion Week

Getting trashed at Fashion Week is high on the list for these celebrities — this season it’s all about donning designs made entirely from “garbage.”

The frocks — part of a “zero-waste” capsule collection — are created by stylist Claudine DeSola and fashion designer Tabitha St. Bernard and will be made in front of customers’ eyes during New York Fashion Week. The brand already includes actresses like Emma Kenney of “Shameless” and “Orange is the New Black” star Danielle Brooks as fans.
           

She isn’t the first designer to turn waste into a fashion statement. For instance, Viktor & Rolf used leftovers from past collections for their recent spring couture collection.

But St. Bernard may be the first to make eco-friendly clothing on the spot. Inspired by designers like Tom Ford and Burberry BRBY, -1.58% who let customers purchase clothes immediately after a fashion show, she decided to make her zero-waste clothes while consumers watched. And for two days only — on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 — shoppers can head over to St. Bernard’s dimly-lit pop-up atelier tucked away in the Gregory Hotel bar in New York where seamstresses will craft the garment on-the-spot, in about 90 minutes. Consumers can opt for a long, flirty number; an origami-inspired dress with a shorter hemline; and a vest that St. Bernard recommends pairing with a mini-skirt. Each costs $250 and comes in a variety of recycled fabrics. (St. Bernard’s already-made clothes retail online under her Tabii Just label.)

“Fast fashion is so prevalent nowadays, but behind the scenes there may be a child working in a sweatshop,” says St. Bernard. “This won’t happen if you shop local.”

Style resolutions for 2017

I will dress weather appropriately
Full disclosure: my style resolution isn’t exactly bleeding-edge fashion stuff. It’s more a way to make my day just that little bit better. I have a long history of dressing in a way that mismatches the weather in a spectacular way. If winter is about to turn into spring I will invariably be found in wooly tights. If it’s raining, there will definitely be some sort of suede pump on my feet. And as anyone who has spent any time with me knows, I have an aversion to proper winter coats. Not to mention umbrellas. But 2017 is going to be different. I will become one of those people who looks at the weather app before I get dressed and I have already invested in a coat – well, a jacket, anyway – that I actually like wearing and that keeps me warm. Revolutionary, I know. Let’s see how long it lasts.

I will stop buying going out clothes
Elle MacPherson once told me that her secret to keeping in shape was that you should never eat more than you can fit in your two hands cupped together. This has haunted me ever since, because that’s not a meal, Elle! That’s a snack!

Anyway, the point is, I have never been much good at doing anything in moderation. Which is why my wardrobes are packed tighter than a pair of size 25 jeans in January. Specifically, I have approximately 567 party dresses. Which is at least one for every actual party I will realistically attend in the next decade. Which means that the ones that are out of fashion now will be back on trend by the time I get round to them, if I play my cards right. Jess Cartner-Morley

I have spent most of my career as a fashion writer wanging on about tracksuits, which is handy because tracksuits have also been in fashion. EastEnders’ Nancy, Caitlin Price, Adidas and their various collaborations. So next year I have plans to perform a volte-face by dressing more like a girl. A girl in the historical, archaically-defined sense of the word, which isn’t as unsisterly as it sounds, but rather a reminder that I have legs. Hell has always been tight clothing and suggestive hemlines but I have huge plans to try short skirts, dresses, tights and entry-level heels. I may even wear over-the-knee boots, which I accidentally did for a shoot earlier this year. While I’m here, I’m also planning to phase out white trainers and wear in my Doctor Martens (this may take a long weekend) and stop carrying such a huge bag around in case something unexpected happens. Essentially adopting a YOLO approach to my everyday. Morwenna Ferrier

I was 'allergic' to heels and dresses

Suki Waterhouse was "allergic" to heels and dresses growing up.
           

The 24-year-old model hated wearing anything that wasn't baggy when she was a young girl but enjoys being able to "experiment" with fashion now.

She said: "When I started modelling I remember a casting director telling me I better start dressing like a girl.

"I was allergic to heels or dresses or anything that wasn't really baggy. I enjoy all the extremes of fashion now and experimenting for different moments."

And the blonde beauty is really inspired by 60s fashion and looks up to Sienna Miller as a style role model.

She added to Refinery29: "Well, I love '60s influences like Brigitte Bardot but more modern icons would be women like Sienna Miller. Just always so chic.

"My favourite brands range from smaller ones like Rixo London - I love their dresses - to brands I utterly lust after like Gucci and Miu Miu. I admire Erdem and Christopher Kane for their consistently amazing collections I wish I could wear the whole time!"

Meanwhile, Suki previously admitted she loves "ugly fashion" and thinks people should dress "weirder".

She shared: "I've always liked the play on girly and sweet where you can also add in a sense of randomness. It was dorky in the 60s, and sexy but not overtly so.

"People are too 'put together' these days, there's not enough 'weird' going on. Sometimes if I put an outfit on Instagram some people will comment going 'Ooh the bag and dress doesn't go' - well maybe I didn't care that they didn't. I almost like the 'ugly' fashion. If you think you're a cool girl then you're probably not cool. You might look cool, but that doesn't mean you are."

Pixie Lott dresses to impress in a figure-hugging gold gown

She's had to head back to work after a whirlwind couple of days celebrating her engagement.
               

But Pixie Lott turned work into a party on Wednesday night as she turned heads at the Hard Rock Cafe Paris' 25th anniversary bash.
The starlet dressed to impress in a stunning gold gown, but while she sparkled for the cameras there was still no sign of her new engagement ring.

The star showed off her trim figure in the tight-fitting gown which glittered under the red carpet lights.
The dress also featured a daringly low neckline, with Pixie's ample assets on display thanks to the plunging design.

Her blonde locks were styled into a sleek bob and swept back off her face to highlight her flawless makeup.
While Pixie wore a ring on one finger, there was no sign of her new piece of bling - a dazzling diamond ring from her model fiance Oliver Cheshire, who popped the question in London on Sunday.
The couple headed to a London jewellers on Monday where Pixie vacated the shop without her eye-popping engagement ring.

The 25-year-old Cry Me Out hitmaker was grinning from ear-to-ear as she left the store in Hatton Garden, the home of the best jewellers in the capital.
Inside the shop she was seen poring over the rings - perhaps preparing to resize or exchange the eye-popping diamond which she left the shop without.
The couple have been enjoying a blissfully happy romance over the past six years and Oliver finally popped the question, proposing to his girlfriend in the heart of London.

Gang rape victim Mukhtar Mai walks runway at Pakistan's fashion week

Gang-raped and paraded naked in public 14 years ago, Mukhtar Mai has walked the fashion runway during Pakistan's fashion week.
                 

A red-carpet reception in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, attended by the country's fashion elite, served as the forum for Mai's symbolic fashion debut - something she said she's doing as a model of courage and hope for other Pakistani women.

"If one step I take, if that helps even one woman, I would be very happy to do that," Mai said.

In 2002, Mai was sentenced by a local council of tribal elders to be gang raped and publicly humiliated as punishment for her brother's perceived insult to a rival family.

Fourteen men - the alleged rapists and the tribal council members - were put on trial, and six were handed the death sentence. But all of them were eventually released on appeal.

Afterward she moved around freely through the crowds, chatting with well-wishers and allowing a steady stream of admirers to take selfies with her.

The annual fashion showcase was started in 2009 in defiance to religious fundamentalists in Pakistan who sought to enforce strict dress codes and behavioural restrictions on Pakistani women.

On the runway with fashion’s future talent

Audacious, fearless and blissfully unbound by commercial constraints, the talented students of Future Runway dazzled a sellout crowd at Telstra Perth Fashion Festival tonight.

            

One of the most exciting and original events on the program, Future Runway celebrates the next wave of designers.

TPFF industry liaison and Future Runway judge Marcia Ball said the nurturing event was vital for the survival of the WA fashion industry. “They could be the future of the industry,” she said.

Among the stand-out designs were Curtin University and Polytechnic West graduate Nicola Yeung’s wild, white architectural piece, which took out the costume award. So impressed were the judges, the 25-year-old has also been invited to take part in Sunday’s closing-night show, The Art of Fashion, along with fellow Future Runway entrant Henrietta Jennings.

Ms Ball said she and her co-judges, designer Katherine Dunmill and Pauline Locker from boutique Ricarda, looked not only for unique pieces but also good construction.

Previous Future Runway alumnae include Natalie Rolt, who showed her all-white range as part of the WA Designer Showcase, and Natalie Donovan from cult local label Wild Horses.

Other designs in the show featured digital prints and hand dyeing. And in what might go down as the ultimate fashionista-hipster runway moment, a daring young designer showed a skirt made using trendy fermented drink kombucha.