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India is a long way off from being recognised as a fashion power although its designers are showcasing their lines at top global ramp shows, says the head of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI).

Over the years, India has witnessed a slow but steady surge in the number of designers who have taken their clothes to the high-end fashion streets of London, Milan, Paris, Milan and Rome.

This year Manish Arora's 'Fish Fry' will swish down the Paris catwalks and Neeta Lulla and Pria Kataria Puri will flaunt their Autumn/Winter line at the Rome Fashion Week. India's flamboyant outfits have also dazzled the ramps in the Middle East and South Africa in recent years.

'The Indian fashion fraternity is definitely making headway in placing Indian designs on global runways,' FDCI director general Rathi Vijay Jha said, adding: 'But India still needs to go a long way to be recognised as a fashion power in the international arena.'

With FDCI focusing on serving as a platform for boosting the business of fashion rather than the pomp and glamour element, Jha said, there was a need to provide designers with technical skills and know-how about global market trends.

'There is a need to build capacity to support designers in terms of constant upgrades of technical skills, and global and specific market trends. While a few designers have large established businesses to ensure consistency and larger scales of production that the market requires, we need to support the younger professionals to make their mark,' she maintained.

Indian prints, needle and patchwork and traditional embellishments on skirts, jackets and other Western outfits have a huge demand globally.

Designers like Rohit Bal, Ranna Gill, Ritu Kumar and J.J. Valaya now have dedicated spaces in international fashion stores like Saks Fifth Avenue Dubai, if not at Bond Street or Sloane Square.

The industry has matured over the years to produce outfits incorporating the Indian spirit. Innovations with cuts and silhouettes have also crept in slowly as the trendsetters have stopped copying Western elements and aspire to take their clothes to the top fashion shows.

Jha felt participation of the designers in international fashion shows had helped them make a mark for themselves globally and establish a wider clientele base.

'Indian designers are making a foray at the international fashion weeks and are taking India beyond its borders,' she said. 'Showcasing their collections overseas helps Indian fashion, style and skills cross over to the global market place.

'Although the demand of fashion wear is very high amongst domestic buyers, yet participation at international shows plays an important role in widening the clientele base,' she added.

Fifteen models were kicked out of a Rome fashion show overnight for being too thin, sparking new debate on anorexia in the fashion industry.

"I asked that girls with abnormal measurements shouldn't work ... [and] had to fire 15 who were under [French] size 36 [US size eight]," Raffaella Curiel told reporters.

"One girl fainted during the trials," he said. "I had to give her a ham sandwich."

Curiel says his fashion house wants to respect rules developed in December to combat anorexia among fashion models.

"It's not our fault if [agencies] send us girls who are too skinny."

Under the new rules, girls under 16 cannot take to the catwalk, and models must produce a certificate proving that they have no eating disorders.

Panel findings

Meanwhile, a panel of fashion and health experts in the UK says girls aged under 16 should be banned from catwalk modelling to protect them from eating disorders and sexual exploitation.

Older teenagers also need more protection, including chaperones at shows, says the Model Health Inquiry - a group investigating models' health.

The panel says there is a trend for the industry to use younger models, who are more vulnerable to eating disorders such as anorexia.

"There was also strongly expressed concern that it is profoundly inappropriate that girls under 16 ... should be portrayed as adult women," said Baroness Kingsmill, chair of the the panel.

"The risk of sexualising these children was high and designers could risk charges of sexual exploitation."

The inquiry was set up by the British Fashion Council, which runs London Fashion Week, in the wake of a long-running controversy over super thin, size zero models.

Health

The panel has rejected the idea of weighing models and banning those under a certain weight.

It received mixed evidence on whether models should have tests to assess their body mass index, a measure of fat.

Many models told the inquiry that they feared losing work because they were not thin enough.

As well as eating disorders, the panel highlighted health risks from stress, substance abuse and poor working conditions.

"We have grave concerns about other health areas, such as drug and alcohol abuse and the stress caused by working conditions for model," the panel's interim report said.

"We are also concerned that modelling is very much a hidden profession with very little transparency about the working conditions that many models have to endure."

The panel wants better training for designers and agents to help them spot models with eating disorders.

There should be a clampdown on drugs and smoking backstage and models should have access to healthy food, it says.

- AFP/Reuters

Fifteen models were kicked out of a Rome fashion show late Tuesday for being too thin, sparking new debate on anorexia in the fashion industry.

"I asked that girls with abnormal measurements shouldn't work ... (and) had to fire 15 who were under (French) size 36 (US size eight)," Raffaella Curiel told reporters.

"One girl fainted during the trials," he said, adding, "I had to give her a ham sandwich."

Curiel said his fashion house wanted to respect rules developed in December to combat anorexia among fashion models, but added: "It's not our fault if (agencies) send us girls who are too skinny."

Under the new rules, girls under 16 cannot take to the catwalk, and models must produce a certificate proving that they have no eating disorders.

Australia’s main fashion industry body has supported restrictions on models younger than 16 working at big fashion shows.

Australian Fashion Council manager Zoe Edquist said that events such as Australian Fashion Week and the Melbourne Fashion Festival were an “adult environment” and younger teenage models should be chaperoned.

Ms Edquist was responding to a report released this week by the British fashion industry panel’s Model Health Inquiry, which recommended banning models aged less than 16 for London Fashion Week.

Ms Edquist, whose organisation represents more than 200 fashion businesses, including top designers, said a ban was too drastic, but it was “incredibly sensible” to introduce rules to protect young girls.

She said younger teenagers were ill-equipped to face issues like sexualisation, alcohol and rejection. Measures could include not booking them too late at night, having parents or adults present on jobs and monitoring alcohol consumption.

“I don’t think it’s particularly contentious to say that girls under 16 probably emotionally aren’t really ready to be working in that very adult fashion area,” Ms Edquist said.

“I can speak from personal experience because I was a model when I was 16 and my experience was not particularly good ... I didn’t really know how to handle myself very well in that sort of environment.”

The British report called for a scientific study into the prevalence of eating disorders among fashion models and an investigation into whether a minimum bodymass index requirement of 18.5 should be introduced for London Fashion Week models.

The latter measure has been adopted by Madrid Fashion Week.

Giant aquatic creatures from the deep, snaking robots made from watches and one man submarines were among many other things never before seen on the catwalk, that stunned the audience in Florence, Italy last week as Diesel presented their show for the Spring Summer 2008 collection. The ‘liquid space’ concept for the collection was radically brought to life during the 17 minute show, which is the first time that holograms have been projected along a traditional catwalk, being visible from both sides, and the first to combine both real and holographic models in a fashion show. Alexander McQueen used a holographic effect Kate Moss last year at the end of the show, but here the show was entirely built around the holograms and certainly seems to have taken the concept of the fashion show to a new level. Check out the part where a shoal of fish tranforms itself into a model - this got one of the biggest reactions from the crowd! I found this link with more images, and you can watch the YouTube video below.

Celebrities frequently turn to certain styles of dresses because they know they'll look great.

For example, a strapless style of gown is a wonderful way to show off luxe jewelry. And satin reflects the light in a lush way.

This is your big night: you want the dress, the date, the accessories and the hair to be memorable.

Formal, Casual, Cocktail or Something Else?
Usually the event invitation will clue you into the formality of the event, whether it's casual or black tie.

In general, the later in the day the event (after 6 p.m.), the dressier. Long dresses are usually reserved only for formal (black tie) occasions.

A low, loose ponytail gives formal dresses a casual chic twist.
This look is best when paired with more natural-looking makeup and minimal jewelry.

Sleek and chic rimless sunglasses are the hottest look right now in shades. These oversized designer sunglasses feature a glamoro

A bit of puff sleeve gives any top or dress a girly edge. Try the trend in moderation with fitted shapes, like this Gap shirt.

Ease up for spring with wider leg pants. Don't confuse wide-leg with sloppy: these softly shaped pants come in crisp work-ready fabrics like khaki, like these from Halogen.

This shirtdress gets a dose of sweet attitude from O Oscar.
* Cotton/spandex; Lining: cotton
* Hand wash
* Imported
* Straight collar
* Short sleeves
* Button closures
* Removable grosgrain-ribbon belt at waist, no buckle as shown in picture
* Eyelet trim at hem
* Lined
* Knee length; approximate length from center back neckline: 40-1/2 inches.

Girls love options, and the newest convertible handbags give them to us. Carry the bag by the short straps as a satchel by your hands, or hang it in the crook of your elbow; or wear the long straps as a shoulder bag. It's a great way to get the most bang for your designer bag buck. Marc Jacobs Collection Bal Harbour Bag.

Open-toe pumps and flats give you a hint of toe, but still look polished. Try patent or quilted looks for even more updated style; this Steve Madden shoe combines all three trends together.

WESTFIELD stylist Fiona Milne (Fifi) has these tips on how to make the winter 2007 sales work in your favour:

Just because it's half price doesn't mean you will be half the weight when you get it home. Make sure it fits you right now.
Think about what you already love in your wardrobe and stick to what suits. If yellow didn't work for you when it was full price, it won't at half price.
Think trans-seasonally. Can you wear it in summer and winter and in Australia's mild climate? Choose lightweight wool, chiffons and cottons and then layer up.
Just because it's on sale doesn't mean that it looks fabulous. Buy cheap, buy twice. Buy better quality and buy it once.
Think about next season's trends and investment dressing. Avoid one-hit wonders that will wallow in the bottom of the drawer.
Dresses, dresses and more dresses. It's the key piece for next summer and into next winter. Look for the short, trapeze shape and the '80s style Alaia silhouette that is short, skin-tight and sexy.
Stock up on capes or ponchos. It's another huge trend that will hit its peak next season.
Never go shopping or try anything on without a back mirror. Use a make-up mirror if you have to. There is nothing worse than bulging back fat and a visible panty line.
Remember friends lie, so take your sister or your mother for honest feedback.
Buy anything under $40. Who cares? If you love it, wear it, thrash it and then never wear it again. Just don't buy 10. That $400 is half a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes.

Only three days into the menswear shows in Milan and already two rather improbable trends are emerging: gold and see-through clothes. The International Herald Tribune tried to justify this yesterday by claiming that they reflect the rise of hedge fund managers, whose byword, apparently, is transparency, and only those with six-figure bonuses could possibly afford all the gilded garments.

Valentino has always taken a far more literal approach to referencing wealth, preferring to embody it in his famous yacht-and-villa lifestyle than making oblique references to it through transparent clothes. This is a man who has a house in most big capitals because he doesn't like to stay in a hotel, who insists that his napkins are ironed on his yachts and who makes Gwyneth Paltrow feel nervous about her physical appearance. Only if she has had her hair professionally blow-dried beforehand, she claims in an interview in US Harpers Bazaar this month, is she permitted to wear jeans in front of him.

While some designers hypocritically claim they are aiming for the trendy youth market, yet still knock out clothes with price tags that suggest the only youths able to afford their wares are ones with Hilton as a surname, Valentino's clothes look exactly as they are: expensive. Yesterday's menswear show included slim suits, neckerchiefs, cashmere polo necks and a colour scheme the press release described as "colonial" - perfect for any minor European royalty out there.

One thing that was different was that instead of a traditional show Valentino staged a presentation, a surprisingly democratic format for the designer. Instead of being seated in tiered rows, which operates as a quasi caste system in the fashion world, the audience milled around in an aimless group. Unfortunately, this didn't quite work, with no one really able to see the clothes and the crowd becoming downright indignant when they realised they could not sit down, after having been kept waiting for 45 minutes in the 35C (95F) heat. Democracy, it seems, just doesn't work in the Valentino world.

A view of the newly renovated Hall of Mirrors at the Chateau de Versailles, near Paris, Monday, June 25, 2007, in this photo made with slow shutter speed causing blur as person walks in foreground. After 4-years of work, the renovated Chateau de Versailles' Hall of Mirrors is re-opened to the public on Monday. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)