#1713 Panic at Charles de Gaulle

Photo: WeHeartIt

For some daft reason, Katherine and I only allowed ourselves 50 minutes to get to the airport this morning. That's 50 minutes to lug our 20+ kg suitcases down 110 stairs, 800 metres to the subway station, down another three lots of stairs, onto the train to Republique, up the stairs and onto another train to Gare du Nord, then up some more stairs to buy a special ticket to Charles de Gaulle and back down another set of stairs to catch the train, which, quite UN-serendipitously, wasn't departing the station for another 10 minutes. By the time we got on board it was 10:15am, our check in cut off was 10:45am, and Google did nothing to assuage our panic, answering my question: 'How long does it take to get from Gare du Nord to CDG by train?' with the most unwelcome of responses: 35 minutes.

#1712 The coldest winter I ever spent

Mark Twain once famously quipped that the coldest winter he ever spent was summer in San Francisco. All humour aside, I'm fairly certain that the coldest winter I'll ever experience will be this winter in New York. It's going to be minus nine degrees when we arrive. Freaky. I've been keeping warm in Paris wearing outfits like the one above (I flat-layed it last night), but I'm not quite sure how to deal with New York. They say boots are essential. Do you think high top Chucks count?

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#1711 Aujourd'hui à Paris (which, when said in French, rhymes)

Now that the shows have finished, there's a whole lot of free time to sight-see and run around town and eat street treats (Nutella crepes) and visit museums. So that's what we did today.

#1710 Where have all the bloggers gone?

Photo: Bryan Boy

Bloggers, in their various forms, have been fashion's biggest buzz-makers over the past couple of years. Last season, the numbers seemed to explode. You couldn't turn around without bumping into a living, breathing dot com. This season, besides the regulars (Tommy Ton, Scott Schuman and Bryan Boy), they vanished. Even some of the famous ones were gone – Yvan Rodic, Garance Dore, Jean Paul Paula and Phil Oh were all absent, not to mention the myriad of upstarts who once clamoured to get in the doors.

#1709 The facts of life – Milan and Paris Menswear edition

Photo: Katherine Lowe

1. Corduroy is everywhere over here. You see it on the street, in the chain stores and all over the catwalks. This seems to be one of those rare occasions where the high street informs the high end. I picked up a pair of navy blue cord pants from Douglas Fir in LA, but I'm still desperately seeking a tobacco brown blazer. English professors of the world: help me in my time of need!

#1708 Chinese male model David Chiang: "It's really hard to get work if you're not blonde and blue eyed"

Photo: Katherine Lowe

Every ready-to-wear season, much is made of the monoculturalism present in fashion – specifically, the lack of models of colour versus the omnipresence of their Caucasian counterparts. The men's shows are no different. Of the 20 or so shows that I personally attended in Milan and Paris, only one (Ermenegildo Zegna) included a large number of non-white male models (the collection was inspired by China and approximately 30-40% of the models booked were of Asian heritage). While there were models of colour who walked a lot of shows, the vast majority, like always, were white.

#1707 Justin Wu and Tommy Ton teamed up to make this hilarious video of male models singing and dancing

Fashion filmmaker, photographer, Canadian and all around nice guy Justin Wu has done it again, teaming up with streetstyle sharp shooter (and fellow Canadian) Tommy Ton to create another one of his fantastical all singing, all dancing, behind-the-scenes-at-fashion-week video sensations. Set to the tune of The Dandy Warhols' Bohemian Like You, and featuring just about every male model under the sun – from Mark Cox to Robbie Wadge, Francisco Lachowski to David Gandy and Adrian Bosch to Simon Nessman – I'd advise you to crank up the volume, jump out of your seat and join the festivities. But please be advised: doing so will most likely be NSFW.

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#1706 Quelle surprise! Inside Colette's €20 pick'n'mix bags

Against all better judgement – but really because Kate Moss was in the store at the same time as me and I wanted to look like one of the cool kids who actually buys something from Colette instead of just wandering around touching things – this afternoon, I purchased one of Colette's €20 ($35.70 NZD) Surprise bags. Not so surprising, however, was the discovery that it was filled with things I probably wouldn't have bought had they not come from Colette and had Kate Moss not been in the store. I don't know what it is about that shop, but it really does have the power to make you feel better about yourself if you drop some money on anything they've deemed cool. On a side note, I also had the exceptionally clever idea to blog the big reveal, thus making the purchase a potentially tax-deductible expense. (Are you there IRD? It's me Isaac!)

#1705 Thom Browne's dinner party for 19th century gents

Photos: Katherine Lowe

There's a risk a designer takes when he selects one of the final slots of the week on the show schedule. Attending presentations and glamorous soirees might sound like a lot of swanning around, but by the end of it all, the audience can start to feel (and look) like they've hit a brick wall. It's a risk that Thom Browne has taken twice – first last season, when he showed his fantastical 1950s astronauts in the former Communist party headquarters of Paris, and again last night at the grand ballroom inside the Westin Hotel on Place Vendome.

#1704 Fun times (and free donuts) at Paul Smith

Photos: Katherine Lowe

I always enjoy a Paul Smith show. There's something to be said about a guy who books real, rough looking men alongside the typical smooth-skinned teenage waifs – and then dances down the runway with them, laughing as they throw up bunny ears behind his head. It's a good time. Add mountaineers' polarised glasses, leather rucksacks, duffel coats and mustard yellow cardigans like we saw today, and I'm sold. Plus there were free donuts outside!

#1703 "I love it" – Dayne Johnston on Margiela Fall 2011

Photo: The Fashionisto

"This was one of the strongest menswear collections from the house that I've seen in many seasons. I was told there's a designer who has returned to work on the collection who used to work with Martin at the very beginning, many years ago. The clothes are very Margiela and there is a return to an old school artisanal approach and I love it. I especially loved the pieces from the 0 line, the coat patchworked together with military blankets was my favourite."

- Dayne Johnston of Zambesi Man.

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#1702 Lanvin's hybrid man

Photos: Katherine Lowe

If there was one thing that other designers could learn from the house of Lanvin, it'd be that nothing keeps a roomful of jaded show-goers happy like hot coffee and sweet treats. It sounds simple, but a little goes a long way. Couple that with soft, carpeted floors, smiling waiters in giant bow ties and Burt Bacharach hits piping gently from the speakers, and Messieurs Elbaz and Ossendrijver just won themselves the best hosts of the week award.

#1701 Raf Simons proves his worth

Photos: Katherine Lowe

You know you've got yourself a hot ticket show when invited guests are being turned away at the door. So it was at Raf Simons tonight, amidst reports that the designer's namesake company has cut ties with its licensee Futurenet, and cancelled all buying appointments in Paris. (According to sources, the collection is now being wholesaled out of Milan, though nobody has come forward to say how it will be financed, should it be put into production.) With rumours flying that this could be Simons' final show, the pressure to perform must have been huge. And boy oh boy did he deliver.

#1700 Dior Homme goes West – Wild Wild West

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Can Kris Van Assche convince the Dior-wearing man to don Oxford bags? Or, even more pressing, Oxford bags with matching-coloured turtle neck sweaters? So many questions! So little time! Held in the Paris Tennis Stadium miles away from the city, the Dior Homme catwalk was a parquet-floored hotel ballroom; fires ablaze in the far wall, crystal chandeliers twinkling from above.

#1699 The top three things about the Ann Demeulemeester show today

Photos: Katherine Lowe

1. Patti Smith was there! And I'm pretty sure she gave Ann Demeulemeester a standing ovation at the end. That is all kinds of awesome.

#1698 Dial K for Kenzo

Photos: Katherine Lowe

In the classic whodunnit scenario, a precisely selected group of individuals from vastly different backgrounds is thrown together in a pressure-cooker environment that gets really dicey when a crime is committed (usually murder). A typical story might include a wealthy city banker, a farmer, a playboy aristocrat, a conservative Scotsman, and, to keep everybody fed and watered, a butler. All of the above were present at Kenzo this morning, which opened, as any good murder mystery should, with a piercing scream.

#1697 A list of 11 Peculiarities at Comme des Garcons

1. Teased and permed strawberry blonde wigs, with no attempt whatsoever to disguise the fact that they were, in fact, fake hair.

#1696 Raf Simons' Fall 2011 collection may not go into production

Photo: SlamXHype

Potentially devastating news for Raf Simons: as of today, the designer's namesake company and its global master licensee, Futurepresent, have suspended business relations. In an email sent out this afternoon to all Raf Simons clients, Futurepresent CEO Stefano Martinetto announced that the business relationship will be suspended for the Fall/Winter 2011-2012 collection, and that all buying appointments were therefore cancelled.

#1695 Kris Van Assche's jedi mind tricks

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Kris Van Assche's shows follow a very specific formula: they start with black; hint at a crisp white shirt; morph into charcoal suits and outerwear; splash out in a check or tartan and end in a subdued colour – sometimes navy, this time tanel (a tawny mix of tan and camel). Held inside Palais de Tokyo, and with The Pixies blaring from the speakers, Kris Van Assche opened in signature form with a series of black on black looks, white shirt collars barely peeking out at the neck.

#1694 The perils of taking public transport to Fashion Week

Photo: Katherine Lowe

There's a reason that high powered editors are rarely late to the shows: town cars. Low powered bloggers invariably sprint red-faced into the venue just as the lights are dimming, hoping to find a standing position without too many tall people blocking their view. I'm the worst. If there's a bus to be missed or an incorrect subway line to be caught, I'll be the guy on it freaking out about missing the next show. Thanks to my being joined by hundreds of other late attendees, you'd be amazed by how often the shows are running 45 minutes over schedule. At Dries Van Noten last night, I arrived ridiculously late after getting hopelessly lost, but my impending doom was quelled by a prominent New York-based critic who hadn't yet shown up. They were holding the show for her, despite the fact that every other person in the room had taken their seats. Gotta love a small miracle. Speaking of which, I need to run. The next show starts in 20 minutes and it's a good 45 minute trip. Wish me luck.

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#1693 A juxtaposition of sorts at Dries Van Noten

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Dries Van Noten has a knack for choosing the best venue of the season. Last June, during the summer shows, he took over a stretch of dirt beneath a dock on the Seine, where pedestrians and afternoon joggers could freely rubber-neck as they went about their mid-summer jaunts. Tonight, he commandeered the Musee Bourdelle; the catwalk ran through a sculpture gallery featuring the enormous works of Antoine Bourdelle – an assistant of Rodin's who left behind a fair few sizable bodies after he passed.

#1692 Gaultier, Jean Paul Gaultier: licensed to thrill

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Themes at a Jean Paul Gaultier show are taken very seriously, and extremely literally. Titled James Blonde, the designer's offering for Fall 2011 was a campy, tongue in cheek and feminine take on the world's favourite superspy.

#1691 Louis Vuitton breaks all the rules and still wins

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Besides the clothes, the most exciting thing about going to a Louis Vuitton show is the celebrity spotting. The Louis Vuitton Don, Kanye West, always makes an appearance, and he's often accompanied by fellow hip hop all-star Pharrell Williams. Sadly, today there was no sign of either, but when Marc Jacobs took his bow (dressed in a kilt no less), the diamond earring he wore glittered magnificently in the spotlight. It was the closest thing we saw to a star all day.

#1690 Juun J goes classic European and techno-futuristic – all at the same time

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Slinging an overcoat over the shoulders is a simple way for gentlemen to gain a few extra style points. The Europeans have been doing it for centuries. Today at Juun J, the designer took it one step further, adding an extra pair of shoulders, sleeves and stormflaps to jackets to give that nonchalant, multi-layered look.

#1689 Drama at Mugler

Photos: Katherine Lowe

If you're a fan of young men whose torsos, arms, hands, faces and scalps are entirely covered in tattoos; models dripping with crude oil; bum freezer jackets or the colours blue, black and orange, then Nicola Formichetti and Romain Kremer's first show for Mugler was for you. As the man responsible for creating Lady Gaga's legendary style, Formichetti knows a thing or two about visual drama. He did it tonight with the casting – inked or greased up boys, the ethereal veils that floated as they walked past, and the thumping music, curated by Ms Gaga herself (though sadly, she didn't make a personal appearance).

#1688 Christopher Bailey doesn't have to ask permission to make it rain on the catwalk

Unlike children, and most adults, when Burberry designer Christopher Bailey wants to do something crazy and spectacular like recreate a storm shower on the catwalk like he did last Saturday, or rain leaves like he did for Fall 2008, Burberry ponies up, no questions asked. When I asked Bailey after his show if he has to duke it out with the finance department in order to push a big, expensive concept through, he laughed (but in a kindly manner). "No, you have to follow your heart and I'm very lucky that Angela Ahrendts and I, our CEO, have the most incredible relationship... and you can only have that relationship if you have that mutual admiration for each other. So yeah, it's not about asking permission (laughs). We're not children."

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#1687 More cool kids at Milan Menswear

Photos: Katherine Lowe

1. Editor in Chief of Engine, Masafumi Suzuki. When asked how things are going in Japan right now, he replied, "Very bad." Somehow I just can't believe that.

#1686 The top six things you didn't know about a Giorgio Armani show

Photo: The Fashionisto

1. The crowd erupts into spontaneous applause at entirely random intervals throughout the show. Why? I can't for the life of me figure it out, but it could just be that their appreciation for a charcoal suit is extraordinarily high.

#1685 More power to the working man at Z Zegna

Photo: Katherine Lowe

Workwear, in its many incarnations, is the basis of every male wardrobe: A suit and shirt for the white collar worker; sturdy outerwear for the blue collar guy; and a daily uniform for the military man or public servant. Z Zegna's Fall 2011 offering celebrated workwear with a classic exaggerated twist. After all, why settle for minimalism when you can have more?

#1684 Mark McNairy just launched a new collection for Woolrich Woolen Mills

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Mark McNairy is the undisputed heavyweight king of the menswear blogosphere. The guy is so hot right now, he could take a pair of Crocs, add a Vibram sole and sell it to those in the knowest of the know as a viable alternative to their Red Wings. Today in Milan saw the launch of the designer's first collection for Woolrich Woolen Mills. Held in an airy space behind a courtyard off Via Buenos Aires, the set included a rustic canvas tent complete with trestle tables and buffet (the Woolrich 'Low Carbon Canteen'), and walls adorned with text spelling out exactly what sparked McNairy's love affair with clothes. Spoiler: it had a lot to do with Heartland rock, punk rock and whine rock; and never wanting to work in sales again.

#1683 Gucci's Globetrotters

Photos: The Fashionisto

Gucci's interlocking double G logo was created in the 1960s and swiftly became a status symbol as celebrities were photographed at airports toting luggage bearing the mark. It was no coincidence then that the logo reappeared today in Milan, printed on the show venue's carpet and walls: The globetrotting jetsetters to which it alludes were well-referenced in the collection on display. In 45 looks spanning suits and coats, loungewear and leather, one thing was certain – Gucci designer Frida Gianni's ideal man won't be wearing skinny pants come Fall.

#1682 The cool kids at Milan Menswear

Photos: Katherine Lowe

1. Nick Wooster, snapped before Costume National. So intimidatingly well-dressed! But such a nice guy!

#1681 Prada's Jockey Wiseguys

Photos: The Fashionisto

Miuccia Prada is one heck of a variable designer. She'll show spikes and studs on charcoal suits one season, bold colours and double denim the next. Just when you think you might have an inkling as to where she's going, she'll smack you in the face with a collection so leftfield that you'll be more than a little bemused as you attempt to unravel the mysteries within. Welcome to my world.

#1680 Copping an eyeful at Vivienne Westwood

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Think what you may about the clothes (the word outlandish often comes to mind), but attending a Vivienne Westwood show is an experience that should never be passed up. You're greeted at the door by a team of PR agents in various states of costume: There's a small man in a madras check suit with pants tucked into socks, a camp man in a tiny white tee shirt emblazoned with the word 'METROSEXUAL' and a Chinese man in a suit with a billowing oversized tee shirt covering the blazer.

#1679 Salvatore Ferragamo goes glam for Fall 2011

Photos: The Fashionisto

Besides Lady Gaga and perhaps Kanye West, there are few modern-day performers whose on-the-street outfits pack as much punch as their on-the-stage ensembles. But just a few decades ago, to be a rockstar meant to have a look; one that shocked, thrilled and seduced. Such was the feeling at Salvatore Ferragamo today, in a collection that exuded luxury and rogue insouciance with brazen abandon.

#1678 Razorlight's Johnny Borrell was flown to Milan to watch the Burberry show in between song writing duties

Photo: Katherine Lowe

It pays to be young, good looking and successful with a string of hit records under your belt. Such is life for Razorlight's Johnny Borrell, one of a select group of Londonites flown to Milan for the Burberry show as special guests of the brand. He arrived today, was given a new-season outfit to wear, sat front row, and will fly back to London tomorrow. While having his photo taken before the show, he mentioned that he is currently hard at work on a new album. I told him how much I love his song Up All Night, and asked how the songwriting process was going. "I love Up All Night too," he said, "I'm working on trying to write something as good as that again. Sometimes I look back and go how did I do that? How did I produce something as good as that? And I don't mean that in an arrogant way. I want to do that song again."

#1677 Benoni Loos is the modern face of male modelling

Blessed with a flawless complexion, long, thin limbs and a patrician profile, Benoni Loos is the modern face of male modelling. Check out his impressive repertoire below, shot by Katherine Lowe backstage before the Burberry show.

#1676 Burberry makes it rain

In quintessentially English style, Burberry opened with rain. Pouring, pelting, drenching rain, projected onto the back wall with a noise that quite literally drowned out all other sounds. The weather, it would seem, had been on Christopher Bailey's mind. Looking through the company's archives, Bailey discovered a series of early 60s campaign images that depicted men in the elements – rain, wind and snow. And thus in quintessentially Burberry style, the Fall 2011 collection was a celebration of coats.

#1675 Costume National rebels

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Rebellious tailoring was the inspiration behind Ennio Capasa's Costume National show today, in a collection that combined technically advanced fabrics with a dash of fragility. So what makes a menswear rebel? Eliminating shirts from one's wardrobe, according to Capasa. His substitute for the male staple came in the form of ultralight knitwear – striped and colour-blocked turtlenecks, v-necks and crewnecks in super-fine mohair and shetland wool.

#1674 East meets West at Ermenegildo Zegna

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Fashion is typically the last industry on earth to embrace new technologies, but today at Ermenegildo Zegna, we saw the models virtually before they appeared in the flesh. Each boy was projected cinematic green-screen style onto the back wall to a live streaming background of The Great Wall of China. Created by one of the clever chaps behind Avatar, it was very fancy; as were the clothes. Dedicated to soon-to-be-the-most-powerful-economy-in-the-world China, the show celebrated those men who live "between two worlds, carrying in themselves a blend of West and East just as perfectly balanced as Yin and Yang."

#1673 WATCH THE BURBERRY SHOW LIVE!

#1672 Glad tidings on the eve of Milan Menswear

I'm not going to lie, sneaking into Milan Menswear shows in the freezing cold is fairly high on my 'wish I didn't have to do it' list right now. Luckily – and to my complete and utter relief and joy – there were a bunch of invitations waiting for me at my hotel's reception when I checked in this evening. As you'll see above, it contains all my regular Milan must-sees: Gucci, Ermenegildo Zegna, Giorgio and Emporio Armani, Burberry, Costume National, Church's, Vivienne Westwood, plus one other: I GOT PRADA!!! HOLLA!!! Now all I need is for a miracle to occur in which a Jil Sander invite manifests before my eyes. I'm not holding my breath, but it ain't over till it's over (and it's over at approximately 3:30pm tomorrow). Either which way, I've got a feeling this is going to be my favourite Milan Menswear week yet.

#1671 Beards, beanies and beat up blue jeans at Pitti Uomo

Photos: Tommy Ton for GQ and style.com

Pitti Uomo (the seasonal menswear trade show held in Florence that sets the tone for what cool men will actually be wearing next season), is on right now. And while the collections themselves are nothing to gloss over, it's the gentlemen that attend the event who really force the menswear community to sit up and take notice. What I'm trying to say is that it's one of the few times every year that guys can stare at photos of other guys with a deep, deep yearning and not feel weird about it. The master of detail, Tommy Ton, is on hand to capture said men, and thus far the leading trends seem to be a mixture of contrasting textures, patterns and colours; beat up blue jeans; beanies and beards. Check it all out below.

#1670 The facts of life

Photos: Hedi Slimane

1. We're used to seeing Hedi Slimane shoot young, skinny, edgy and typically half-naked boys for his photo diary, but his latest subject can only be described as quite the opposite of all those things – it's 67 year old Robert De Niro. The captivating series of portraits currently sits at the top of Slimane's homepage, and serves to remind us of two very important things: 1. Botox bad, aging naturally good; and 2. Turtlenecks rule.

#1669 One last day in LA

It's been fun here in Los Angeles, but all those hours spent in the car do get a bit frustrating, so we've decided to switch the freeway for the subway and tomorrow we fly to London. Highlights from the visit include: drinks at the Roosevelt Hotel where the ice cubes are as big as your fist; the navy duffel coats on sale at A.P.C. – $850 in Auckland, $302.50 here; Katherine falling asleep at 24/7, the restaurant at The Standard hotel in Hollywood (they weren't so hospitable as to offer her a room); and celebrity spotting on Santa Monica Boulevard. But the ultimate LA moment and possibly the most exciting four minutes and 47 seconds of my life came in the form of a phone call from Alexi Wasser aka imboycrazy.com – she is exactly the same in conversation as she is in her Dude of the Day videos. SO GOOD! It just goes to show – bombarding someone with 34 emails in two days can only end in success.

#1668 The photo we all wished had made it into Vogue's September Issue is alive and well and living on the internet

Photo: Facebook (click to enlarge)

It was a sad day for Grace Coddington, five supermodels, one small dog and the collective audience of RJ Cutler's The September Issue when Anna Wintour chose to nix this photo from the pages of Vogue. Luckily for the aforementioned and now the world, it has finally appeared online thanks to Coco Rocha (pictured above, second from the right). If somebody had been clever, they could have made a small fortune hawking prints in cinema lobbies to punters grieving the cruel machinations of fashion. Shot by Steven Meisel, styled by Grace Coddington and also featuring Sasha Pivovarova, Natalia Vodianova and Agyness Deyn, it is filed on Rocha's Tumblr under the tag 'Outtakes'. And that's evidence of one of life's little certainties: Grace Coddington's efforts that don't make it past the cutting room floor will still look better than the best of ours.

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#1667 A chilly day in LA

God bless America: land of the free. And I mean that quite literally – doesn't anybody work in this country? Yes it's Saturday, but every time I come to the States, it seems as if everybody just wanders around looking like movie stars. Miley Cyrus wasn't lying. After a quick 12 hour flight on Air New Zealand, we landed in Los Angeles, where the temperature was just 14 degrees. We set our sights on two areas: West Hollywood and Third Street.

Here's how it went down.

#1666 GOODBYE PORPOISE SPIT!!!

Photo: Katherine Lowe (click to enlarge)

45 days, five cities, four Fashion Weeks, one terrified-of-flying travel companion (Katherine Lowe), 19 kilograms of luggage including: two coats, three blazers, six sweaters, four pairs of pants, seven shirts and two pairs of shoes. Auckland - Los Angeles - London - Milan - Paris - London - Los Angeles - New York - Los Angeles - Auckland. Leaving in 15 minutes. Hold onto your hat!

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#1665 Watch The Sartorialist roam the streets, shoot subjects and get a haircut in this new short film

Always wanted to see just how Scott Schuman aka The Sartorialist goes about selecting the well-dressed men and women who make their way onto his blog? Now you can, thanks to this Intel-sponsored short film. According to Schuman, who spends four or five hours each day roaming the streets of Manhattan, Paris, Milan or whichever other city he finds himself in, it's all about attraction. "You never know what it is, what that thing is that draws you to that person, but you just let it happen. It seems odd but it's almost like going out there and letting yourself fall in love a little bit every day, letting yourself be seduced a little bit every day." Who says fashion's not romantic? Watch above as Schuman strolls around New York City, shoots a construction worker plus three traditionally stylish people (who have all appeared on The Sartorialist in the past 10 days), and gets a haircut at a traditional barbershop – which, judging by the length of his hair, might just be a daily occurrence. You can't fault the man's commitment to style.

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#1664 Jessica Clarke is all smiles in the new D&G campaign

Photo: tfs

Hats off to Kiwi supermod-in-the-making Jessica Clarke, whose Mario Testino lensed D&G campaign (her first major), has just appeared online. Looking every bit the all-American hippie in a floral print smock and matching head-band, Clarke is pictured strolling away from a WASPy picnic alongside half-Australian model Keke Lindgard. I've always thought Jessica Clarke wouldn't have looked out of place as a folk-singing Woodstock attendee, and this D&G campaign rests my case. GO THE KIWIS!

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#1663 Kanye West's Monster video features lots of dead models and a Kiwi

Kanye West's NSFW Monster video has leaked online and includes all the trappings of a hip hop clip, like scantily clad models, diamond grills, big booty and a fat man smoking a cigar. But Monster is slightly different from normal, in that all the models are dead, or flesh eating carnivores. If they're not hanging from chains, they're about to engage in a necrophiliac menage a trois, or feasting on the internal organs of a deceased young man. To make things even more exciting, one of the threesome victims is none other than Kiwi model Bella Barber. Now I've made no attempt at hiding my undying love for Kanye West, but that love is not blind, and thus the following must be said: surely there are better ways to garner attention than resorting to shock tactics which include misogyny, implied sexual violence and the prettification of suicide. Surely..?

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#1662 The facts of life

Photo: WeHeartIt

1. Women the world over swear by Sex and the City. I swear by Entourage. But being the open minded young man that I am, I decided to give SATC a go. Two seasons in, I have reached a conclusion: Carrie Bradshaw makes me want to stab out my own eyeballs!

#1661 What's next after skinny jeans?

Photo: The Sartorialist

If there was one fashion trend that exemplified the decade just gone, it was skinny jeans. Back in 2004, taking cues from Hedi Slimane's offerings for Dior Homme, my friends and I used to buy the slimmest jeans available and deliver them straight to our friendly neighbourhood tailors to get them tapered on the drive home. Wearing them was a struggle (it was near impossible to get them past the ankles or over the knees), and could be dangerous – you'd be amazed by how many jocks were eager to pick a fight with us 'Emo faggots!' over our choice of pants. But here in 2011, they're no longer looking quite so attractive. The nail in the coffin for me was finding myself in Hamilton last week and noticing all those hecklers of yesteryear roaming around in their very own tapered jeans. So the question begs to be asked: what's next?

#1660 It's a new dawn, it's a new day

Photos: Katherine Lowe

Welcome to 2011! Exciting isn't it. The start of a new year is a magical time, filled with the promise of change and the panic that comes with attempting to realise those resolutions that seemed so achievable on paper but which aren't so simple in practice. When I was working as a booker in 2007/2008, the start of the year was always the time when models would switch agencies in the hopes of breathing new life into their fledgling, booming or declining careers. The change didn't generally make much of a difference in the grand scheme, but it seemed to do wonders for their perspectives. My resolutions for 2011 are simple: blog better, travel further and read less crap online. But most importantly, to keep moving forward. Thanks for reading everybody, happy new year!