Alexander McQueen Resort 2011

It's almost sad to say this, but if one didn't know that McQueen had tragically died some months ago, they wouldn't have known by just looking at the collections his line has produced since then. In his passing away, Sarah Burton has stepped in, effortlessly updating his design codes without losing any of the late designer's penchant drama.

I can't stress enough how excellent these clothes are. The tailoring is definitely in keeping with McQueen's aesthetic, so too the Victorian elegance and the brooding romanticism.

The tension between hardness and fragility that characterized McQueen's work was successfully sustained in defined shoulders and tailoring. Burton continued to hybridize fabrics with lace being transformed into chiffon in one cocktail dress.

One aspect of the collection that definitely stood out for me was how minimalistic, despite all the details and such going on, the pieces were. Anyone who can make McQueen minimalistic deserves high praises in my books.

Prada Resort 2011

Miuccia Prada seems to still be enticed by the idea of role-playing- for her Resort collection, models posed in front of different backgrounds, in a style reminiscent of flipping through an old family album. But gimmickry aside, the strength of the collection is only attributable to the obvious and many options presented, especially with some excellent accesories.

With Prada-emblazoned totes, multi-coloured bangles, chunky-heeled sandals, mink stoles, fox fur, the collection, which had more in common with the Miu Miu line than anything, was light-hearted and perverse like only Prada could be.

Akris Resort 2011

Multi-functional, teetering between female chic and boyish dress-down-ness, Akris presented a Resort collection that was anything but restrained. Colours included coral, aloe green, and a gorgeous azure blue, while accessories included huge totes.

Dazed & Confused, July 2010

Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2010 Campaign

In one of the more controversial campaigns this season, the ad campaign for Dolce & Gabbana's Fall/Winter RTW 2010 collection stars Madonna in what many deem to be an airbrushed mess.

Madge is supposedly channeling actress Anna Magnani, and it's really not hard to see that the whole thing is paying homage to classic Italian film.

Shot by the legendary Steven Klein, with Mary Howard as set designer, the whole thing really does play like movie stills. Madonna looks gorgeous, the perfect embodiment of the Italian matriarch. My only drawback is everything is so damn well shot, i'm almost not paying attention to the clothes themselves. Almost.