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