Seeing Red!

Anyone else looking forward to the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum? With 5000 photographs and sketches, over 95 fashion shows; we are in for a treat


Launching on 5th Dec 2011

From Island to High End

Karine Dupouy- Designer for KanKan

When you look at her, Karine Dupouy could be a Model- beautiful features framed by cascading black hair and a great figure but the pretty young woman is instead a talented emerging Fashion Designer I have the privilege of counting as one of my friends.

Born of Mauritian parents and raised in the Seychelles for the most part of her life, Karine went off to study at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. This college formed notable Alumni such as John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Zac Possen, Gareth Pugh , Alexander McQueen and Sara Burton, therefore it could have easily intimidated a young girl coming from small islands in the Indian Ocean. Instead it made her thrive and give her best which led her to a one-year placement in Franck Sorbier's Paris Haute Couture fashion house. She did not stop there, jetting to Italy for a placement with Ratti- a textile manufacturer who provides to Haute Couture fashion houses around the world. Finally the last leg of her apprenticeship gave her the chance to work with London based Brazilian designer Lena Santana where she learned a lot about combining interesting textiles with traditional draping techniques.

With such a resume, one can only expect great things from the young designer who recently presented a new ladies wear collection for her own label Kankan - a creole word meaning 'spread the word'. The label is currently expanding, having started off by making T-Shirts with exquisite prints; a lot of them being pictures of her paintings mixed up with vibrant colours. She has now fully embraced the ladies wear side of designing.


Not one to disappoint, her collection is fresh, elegant and classic.The garments are into two categories, ready to wear and Haute Couture. The ready to wear collection contains summer dresses and tops in subtly printed cotton, silk and lace dresses and a gorgeous embroidered black dress.

Fresh and vibrant, the clothes are perfect for the warm summer season. what is remarkable with the outfits is that there is a strong attention to detail. The beige silk and lace dress above has soft pleats around the bust area which gives it a very feminine and romantic look. The lace is delicate and not over dominant.

Detailing even in the smallest items, like buttons!

The Haute-Couture collection features items in predominantly dark tones, blacks, dark grey, light grey and white. These items set out to overlay time-honored Japanese traditional clothing with refined contemporary french Haute-Couture. The aim was to unify the typical Japanese principle of 'concealment' with the French tendency to 'reveal' and the result is light flowing fabrics combined with layered pleats and ruffles.

Haute Couture outfit

There are also a few pieces in lighter tones, a beautiful white dress strikes out , as well as a full length dress in a beige tone with vibrant aqua and hot pink embroideries. A multi-colored one shoulder dress stands out from the lot, the layers make it seem very comfortable to wear on a warm summer evening. As always the eye catching effect remains in the details with thoroughly worked shoulder straps giving the dress an air of unparalleled sophistication.

Haute Couture Dress

Haute Couture Black Dress

Karine's muse and inspiration for this collection was Eva Mendes; who with her Latin charms was imagined being on holiday. Just like her muse, the collection is sweet and innocent with a hint of provocation. But what makes Karine's clothes so likable is the fact that she tends to design for herself, " I think that it is important to be your own muse; if you design something you will enjoy wearing yourself, it makes it more fun and enjoyable". Her surroundings, the shapes, natural colors as well as the work of other designers also play a big part in the designing process with her feelings being ever present- "I try to convey my emotions through my designs"

Seychelles sceneries shot by Karine Dupouy

Karine Dupouy is a multi talented and passionate woman, her interests list photography, specially editing her photographs on photoshop by playing with artificial colors applied to reality. When feeling in the mood to relax, her favored activity consists of sitting in her room and painting for a straight two days, and the results are fascinating. Cooking up a storm with local produce from the Seychelles, reading fashion blogs and travelling, about which she says she loves ' visiting new places in this beautiful world we live in.' contribute to her versatile list of activities. But most importantly, Karine draws her many strengths from her family which she credits for much of her success 

Photography by Karine Dupouy

Kankan will be available at the departure lounge of the Seychelles International Airport from December. Once that is done, the ambitious young lady's plans include creating her own fashion house in the Seychelles so that all of her clothes will be produced locally instead of outsourcing manufacturers overseas. She is also planning more retail outlets and of course fashion shows in the Seychelles and overseas. All this in the spirit of putting her beloved country on the Fashion map and I am sure she will succeed at it with her incredible talent and hard work.


Kankan has its own page on facebook and the link to it's website is attached to this article.

Trend Spotting- Statement Earrings

Watching the 2011 AMA's today, I noticed Katy Perry's earrings while she performed 'The One That got Away' . This prompted me to research a few pictures of the latest trend we are likely to see more of in 2012 and that's Statement Earrings!

Yes earrings are getting bigger and bolder. They come in block colors, are varied in shapes and definitely change an outfit. Chandelier earrings are now colorful, the dangly earrings are longer than ever and geometric earrings come in unlikely shapes.

So ladies, browse through the pictures below to get some inspiration on how to shine with eye-catching earrings!

Needle Precision- Lace

Lace is one mysterious fabric, so delicate and fragile that it gives any garment an intriguing look. It caught my attention again when i saw Ashley Olsen and twin sister Mary-Kate grace the cover of Vogue’s Best Dressed Special Edition a few days ago. As pictured below, both girls are seen wearing a sort of black lace veil and the effect is very enigmatic in a graceful way.

Vogue Best Dressed Issue Cover                               

Lace-making is an ancient craft and was not made until the late 15th and early 16th centuries. It is created when a thread is looped, twisted or braided to other threads independently from a backing fabric. It is also made up of detailed techniques, one more fascinating than the other, a few of these techniques are below :

•  Needle Lace which is made using a needle and thread, it is usually considered as the height of making lace but is also the most flexible.
• Cutwork Lace which is constructed by removing threads from a woven background, and the remaining threads wrapped or filled with embroidery.
• Bobbin Lace where he bobbins, hold threads which are woven together and held in place with pins stuck in the pattern on the pillow. With it's most famous type being Chantilly lace
• Tape Lace which is machine made
• Crocheted lace which uses different types of crochet to make

Blake Lively in Marchesa

I always had a soft spot for lace, and find that it gives a garment an air or elegance and charm and is very feminine. Lace is now ever present in the fashion world, with celebrities being its advocate by wearing it on the Red rarpets around the globe. It's fascinating how such an ancient craft has been implemented in our daily fashion and how creatively designers incorporate it in their creations.

Black and White are dominant in terms of lace Dresses, sometimes with the both mixing together to create the most exquisite effects. The biggest trend has been using black lace on the flesh as well as black lace mixed with flesh colored material to create an intriguing illusion of transparency.

Emma Watson in Rafael Lopez

Some celebrities do not hesitate to wear colored lace; Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Alba pictured below are wearing colored lace with confidence and the fabric just blends so well with the colors and other fabrics.

No longer shrouded in mystery, limited to lingerie or used to cover the eyes of a blushing bride; Lace is now a staple in the fashion world and designers around the world use it to give a sense of elegance to their garments. Its flexibility as a fabric allows them to use it creatively and it's needle precision gives any garment a true sense of luxury.

My favorite lace item- One sleeved lace dress in a Salmon Tone

Me- wearing a dress with a crocheted lace collar detail

God's gifts

Vintage Glamour

Below are a few of my favorite Vintage Glamour Pictures....The beauty, elegance and poise of these women is undeniable and very inspiring.


As Yves Saint Laurent said: Fashions fades, style is eternal....

Tips to achieve timeless beauty and elegance  :


For attractive lips, 
Speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, 
Seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, 
Share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, 
Let a child run his fingers through it once a day. 
For poise, 
Walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone...

Oopsy-Daisy!

I recently received the latest Marc Jacobs Perfume- Daisy Eau So Fresh, as a gift.

Knowing this perfume is meant for a younger demographic to which I don't belong (18-25) I was not particularly excited. After the polite smile and thank you I proceeded to open the box to reveal the cutest perfume bottle ever!

The feel of the white rubber Takashi Murakami daisies, and the slightly pinkish bottle go very well together. I instantly fell in love with the bottle and its cap. It was time to try the perfume, and to my surprise it had a very fresh scent. Not the fruity,overpoweringly sweet smell I expected it to have; instead it was a very pleasant and clean smell. It is the kind of perfume you would want to wear on a warm summer day, as it instantly made me think of green spaces, a soft breeze and I was sold.

The nose is said to have a Top of sparkling Raspberry, Grapefruit and Pear; a Mid of Wild Rose, Violet and Apple Blossom plus an elegant Base with notes of Cedar Wood and Musks.

I have to say with the weather in Melbourne warming up, I am glad I have my Daisy Eau So Fresh as it is perfect for a day at work, casual lunch or afternoon drinks with friends and even for a casual evening of dining out as it is not over powering but definitely stays on for long.

The Daisy Eau So Fresh advert

Drink of the Gods

Yesterday was Melbourne Cup Day in Melbourne. A horse racing event which is said to stop the nation, and which also comes with its own public holiday. Living close to the beautiful Flemington racecourse, i decided to run away from all the hustle bustle the race would attract and head inland to the Nagambie Lakes region, which is around 120km north of Melbourne.

My stop was Tahbilk winery, a place i have been wanting to visit for a couple of years. I became familiar with it 2 years ago while i was studying; one of my elective subjects was wine studies, and we once tasted a Marsanne from Tahbilk. This wine is according to me the best Australian white wine i have ever tried, and upon researching the winery felt really attracted to the place and when the chance came to go on a visit i could not refuse.

The Tahbilk winery website gives the following information about it:

• Established in 1860, it is one of Australia's most beautiful and historic wineries.
• Vineyard has some 200 hectares under vine.
• It includes rare French Rhone valley whites like Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier
• As well as Rhone reds like Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre
• It still has some old vine plantings which are producing excellent wines

Upon my visit, we roamed around the old 'Chateau Tahbilk' , the inside was filled with information about the winery, it's history, the wines, the founder- Eric Purbrick's fascinating story and awards they received through out the years. Upon stepping into the dimly lit wooden Chateau one could feel this was a place with a great past as everyone suddenly dropped into a silent mode, barely talking and if doing so in a faint tone. Each of us embarked on a solo roam around reading, looking and feeling the different things scattered around the room.

The visit ended towards the tasting section in the room. Once there all i wanted to taste was the Marsanne, which is 'One of the world's rarest grape varieties with its origins in the Northern Rhone & Hermitage regions of France, it is grown in only 3 other countries - Australia, America & Switzerland; with Tahbilk having the largest, single holding of the variety in the world ' and it is a wine that has a long & distinguished Wine Show pedigree with 11 Trophies, 60 Gold, 76 Silver and 217 Bronze Medals awarded.

First we tasted a 2011 Marsanne , followed by a 2005 one. There was a big difference between the two, the 2011 vintage had lemon, orange blossom aromas, was crisp with a mineral edge finish and perfect for a hot summer day. The 2005 in contrast was darker in color, had a lot of stone fruit, toast and honey fragrances in the aromas, was rounded, balanced and very pleasant on the palate with a lingering slightly oily finish.

The Marsanne is definitely the highlight of Tahbilk and worth a try. It is unique in its aromas and taste and ages really well.

When you roam around the estate and look at the Chateau Tahbilk, the enchanting river banks and the peaceful surroundings it is easy to understand how the place produces such an exquisite elixir. It is a place that charms ones soul and makes you want to come back.