With only a few years under its belt, the night is fast becoming a time to show off girlfriends, flashy designs, and of course, revealing outfits.

Last night was no exception with a plethora of interesting and head turning moments on the red carpet.

In comparison to last year when Mitchell Johnson’s partner Jessica Bratich showed up with a highly talked about colorful dress, last night she chose a more conservative look to guard against the possibility of another wardrobe malfunction.

The West Australian WAG hit the red carpet tonight wearing another Ruth Tarvydas creation, but this time it was neither slutty nor revealing, and definitely earned the respect of the fashion critics there on the night.

This year, it was the wife of Nathan Bracken who turned heads with her entirely see-through gown with strategically placed floral embroidery.

The dress Bracken wore also boasted a massive train, crazy floral print, multiple colours and shining embellishments and it definitely got her the attention she wanted.

As expected, glamour girl Lara Bingle turned heads with her fiancé Michael Clarke, and chose a sexy yet simplistic white gown that showed off her figure and tan beautifully.

Under the hot summer sun, models took to the black carpet catwalk, showing off next season’s hottest fashion trends.

The who’s who of the cities fashion world turned up to the launch event, and so too did Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, who was impressed with what he saw.

”We are a chic, we are a cool city,” he said.

Once again, he took the opportunity to promote his new vision for the state, saying fashion would play an important role in the recreation of Swanston Street.

Mr. Doyle was also joined by Deputy Premier Rob Hulls, who has been attending the festival every year for the past decade.

”I have a very close association with the fashion festival,” he said.

A stack of international designers will make their way to our shores over the next month, including Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa and former Hermes chairman and chief executive Christian Blanckaert.

As usual, Australian biggest fashion industry icons and emerging designers will also be there.

The good news for the punters is that all of the festival events at Federation Square, including catwalk parades, will be free.

Emerging talent, established designers and chain stores catering for every budget will showcase new collections in parades at Federation Square, Central Pier at Docklands and Malvern Town Hall.

The festival runs from March 14 to 21, with tickets through Ticketmaster.

Regarded as one of Asia’s largest fashion trade events, the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week will be hosted jointly by the Fashion Design Council of India in 2010.

Wannabe models who walked the catwalk displaying what they had to offer were judged accordingly by a tough, and often cruel, judging panel, who weighed up the models’ overall personality, gait, presentation traits and ramp mannerisms, before giving a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Aspiring model Meghna Kaushik said the addition of overseas models made it tough for the locals to get through, but was also happy to have a high level of competition.

“We do get a platform to sort of come up and present fresh faces but definitely the competition is really tough since we got now foreign faces also here. But we always hope for the best and give our best shots,” she said..

President of FDCI, Sunil Sethi, said that the event offers an opportunity for new faces to create a niche for themselves in the industry.

“We need a lot of new talents. Our industry is there to help people in every field. So here also we want to have a lot of new faces, which have not got the opportunity and FDCI has so many fashions, you know gala (events)… where almost 50 models take part each time and sometimes even more depending on the pool. So this gives an opportunity to the young girls as well who have not had this opportunity,” he said.

The Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week will be held at the National Small Industries Corporation in New Delhi between March 24 and 28.

Beginning in 2007, the tradition has continued to bring success to the German capital despite the fears of the Global Financial Crisis crippling the industry.

33 designers will take their ranges to the catwalk this year, up from the 29 we had last year.

The mix includes old veterans in the industry, young daring designers and the interesting one such as Strenesse Blue, who has adopted an online theme to his catwalk in 2010.

The event organizer, Zach Eichman, said the so-called recession has not really affected the fashion week.

“We’ve not seen some horrible crater of a lack of interest in the event both on the sponsor or the designer site. But it certainly has led people in general to ask more questions how they are spending their money,” he said.

“There is a little bit more room in Berlin right now for designers like Custo Barcelona, Hugo Boss or Joop!, Rena Lange, Strenesse or Schumacher to present collections and have everyone’s attention rather than compete for attention. And that’s what has helped the event over the past couple of years.”

Many upcoming and local designers use the fashion week to promote their new designs, and hopefully create a cult following which will launch their new careers.

One of these were German luxury, ready-to-wear label, Rena Lange, who used the fashion week this year to stage its first catwalk show.

It will be an interesting week in Berlin, with much of the fashion world keeping an eye on the city.

While it has changed the way many industries operate, including journalism, public relations, web design and marketing, very few ever thought the fashion world would be embracing the new social trend.

That is until now…..

Social blogging on fashion events, new launches and general news in the industry are all now documented live onto the internet for fashion lovers to access more information, faster.

In a recent fashion launch by big players Dole and Gabbana, the front row seats were reserved for journalists or photographers, but for bloggers.

One of these was Scott Schuman of TheSartorialist.com, who summed up what the move means for the fashion industry.

“It was very nice Dolce & Gabbana put me, Garance and Bryan Boy and Tommy in the front row of their last show but they put these computers in front of us and made a big deal about it, like we were an athlete or something,” Schuman said.

“And so even though I think it was very nice I totally think it was just a media ploy for them to try and say, `we believe in blogs now’.

“But you know what, I will believe it if they still have three or four independent bloggers in the front row for the next three or four seasons.

“Then I will say, ‘Okay, they really are into it and they really believe it’, but if it’s just one season and they are not there next season it was totally just a marketing ploy.”

Organizers of the highly popular music festival have now implemented a new “shirts on” policy that will be strongly enforced as the event makes its way around Australia in the month of December.

Punters will be asked to cover up at the gates before being allowed into the festival, and if found inside without a shirt on, they’ll be made to leave.

The Australian first will be very closely followed by the media world with a lot of interest over whether or not it will serve its purpose or not.

The policy was introduced after fears by organizers the general public felt intimidated and scared off by the many muscle men with their tops off.

John Curtin from the Onelove Music Group, said they were constantly trying to find ways of making the event safer and more user friendly.

“We will continue to make Stereosonic a friendly and safe environment and after extensive market research feel that having a ‘tops on’ policy was a move in the positive direction. It’s caused a lot of discussion but,” he said.

“We want our patrons to feel comfortable in their surroundings and enjoy the day.”

Many media partners have already jumped on board of the PR stunt, with radio station NOVA 100 offering free bikini tops to guys entering the festival.

There are many things you expect to hear from runway models, but then there are always a few surprises that pop up along the way.

Last Friday was no exception to this rule, with many of the most bodacious beauties at Victoria’s Secret revealing things from their exercise regimes, to their own personal preparation for each runway. 

Here is a sneak peak into what was revealed on the pre-catwalk runway:

Marisa Miller:

“I’m getting pretty good at baking. I love making pumpkin pies, apple pies. My dad really loves berry cobbler; I’m responsible for the baking during Thanksgiving.”

Izabel Goulart:

“The kind of body I like is more muscles. I don’t like really skinny girls. Today, all the girls are really skinny, no boobs, no butt, nothing! This is not a girl! I really like girls with boobs, butt, everything.”

Chanel Iman:

“I can ride a skateboard. I skateboard all the time. People don’t know that. I can do a couple tricks; I can ride the board and lift it up and put it back down. I don’t know the names of the tricks, but if you ever ride with me, I’ll show you!”

Selita Ebanks:

“Well, you know what they say. Once you go white, your credit goes right.”

Within the carnival is a separate fashion festival, the Melbourne Cup Carnival, a week-long festival at Flemington racetrack.

In the past decade, Australia, and in particular Melbourne has shown an increasing interest in celebrities and their taste in racing fashion.

Every weekend we flick to the back pages of the daily newspapers to see what new trends our big names are starting, and what’s ‘in’ and ‘out’ for the current carnival.

Names such as Paris and Nicky Hilton, Eva Longoria, Luciano Pavarotti, Kate Bosworth, Chris Isaak, Rachel Hunter, Diana Ross, Snoop Dogg, Carson Kressley, Clive Owen and singer Rihanna, have ventured down under to showcase their class to us.

This year, we have been mesmerized with Miranda Kerr and her elegant style, and most viewers have been quick to note the fashion statements made by the stunning brunette.

As always, there will be hits and misses this racing carnival, and to ensure you look your bets, homework is essential.

Following the hot items and new trends are essential, as to is getting in early to ensure you have time on your side.

The atmosphere created by the Spring Carnival is electrifying, and a large part of that is due to the fashion standards set by the city of Melbourne.

When the sun comes out and the blend of colours, style and class ignites the track, the Racing Spring Carnival is without a doubt one of the best fashion festivals in the country.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE-xYSLunwY

For most woman a pair of killer 6inch heels is a lust after item but a nightmare to walk in – complain no more, because imagine having to walk in the latest Alexander McQueen ankle boots.

 They may be the height of chic, but it’s unlikely that British designer Alexander McQueen tried out his own creations ahead of their unveiling in Paris last night. Instead he left it to his models to bravely (although all looked very cool and were taking it in their very tall stride) make their way along the catwalk in crystal-studded shoe-boots with 12-inch elevations.

The platform shoes were part of a collection inspired by Charles Darwin’s The Origin Of The Species. Models with their hair teased into devil-like horns, strutted the catwalk in mini-dresses decorated with all manner of colourful, elaborate skins.
Ruffled hemlines were frilled to resemble feathers, and vibrant fabrics were printed to resemble amphibian-like breastplates.

The high-tech show set then morphed into a prehistoric underwater scene, lending something of an otherworldly feel. The weird and wonderful mood was heightened by the models’ shaved eyebrows and gills painted on their temples.

Shimmering stud and crystal-embellished designs played on the models’ glossy skin, while elliptical, serpentine jackets made for a graphic contrast to the detailed prints.
The exclusive invite-only catwalk show was intended to be streamed live to an audience of six million last night, but the Showstudio.com website, on which it was due to be shown, crashed thanks to none other than Lady GaGa.

The eccentrically-dressed pop princess, who provided the music for McQueen’s show, had tweeted that her new single, Bad Romance, would be premiered at the show, citing the website as a source from which to hear it.

Slumdog Millionaire stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto looked slightly bemused in the explosion of flashbulbs. Also Jasmine Guinness, Liv Tyler, Alexa Chung, Agyness Deyn hiding under her new shaggy black hairdo and over-the-knee socks (some have slammed her fashion decision, some have praised her), and more fashion royalty – Carine Roitfeld, photographer Bruce Weber, stylist Joe McKenna and US Harper’s Bazaar’s creative director Stephen Gan and editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey. Matthew Williamson looked on from the front row as did Mary-Kate Olsen, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Testino.

It seems the fashion pack will turn out in full force for Christopher Bailey wherever he decides to show.

After the show, the fashion pack walked several blocks (a long way to teeter in heels) to the party at Burberry’s grand and swanky new HQ at Horseferry House, basking in lasers and lights. On the menu: mini Stilton cheese and onion tarts, tiny burgers in buns, and other microscopic fashion fodder.

As London gets over its Champagne hangover, the fashionistas are ready to do it all again, this time in Milan.