Eclipse Trailer: Twi Harder

By Becca Hutson

11th March | 2 comments | 2 people like this

Kelly Osbourne Has Hairy Moment!

By stylespy

15th February | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Kelly Osbourne has been strutting her stuff on the catwalk at New York Fashion Week.

Showing off her great new size 8 body but not so great facial hair! She was modelling for designer Betsey Johnson, and the show (in typcial Betsey style)  featured a few quirky surprises.

After emerging as the first model, wearing a bandanna mask and playfully toting a toy pistol, Kelly stepped out wearing a fake moustache to showcase one of Betsey’s looks.

Kelly’s new pet pooch- Sid, was also held tightly under her arm.

Tweeting after her runway turn, Kelly – who also took part in the Naomi Campbell’s star-studded Haiti fundraiser – said: “Sid walked the runway with me for my second look. It was so cool. I even got to wear a moustache.”

Agyness Takes A Tumble….

By stylespy

15th February | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

Poor ol’ Agyness Deyn.. falling over once on the catwalk is bad enough,but twice? On the same circuit?

She took a tumble during Naomi Campbell’s Fashion For Relief Haiti Show in New York this weekend. But she did manage to find it all very amusing!  Check out those heels- I don’t think i’d even be able to stay upright!

Rihanna ‘Rude Boy’: Why can’t we be as cool as this?

By Becca Hutson

14th February | 3 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

There are no words. This woman can do no wrong. Watch and admire as Rihanna becomes a dancehall queen! She even does the bogle, people!!!!!!

We were getting bored of seeing her in padded shoulders ‘conceptual’ outfits, so it’s very exciting to see her having fun with a whole new look. And of course, any video which features a stuffed lion, THE BOGLE (have we mentioned that before) and a steel dum kit is good enough for us, so much so that we haven’t really noticed that the lyrics don’t make sense or the zebra cameo…

Rhianna told MTV “A lot of my videos are really dark and edgy and tough. ‘Rude Boy’ is more playing along the lines from my roots. We used a lot of color, but also the costumes were very Jamaican dance-hall-queen type,” the singer said.

We think some people could learn something about ‘dancehall’ inspired music videos from this lady (Wayne Wonder, we’re looking at you).

Tributes to Alexander McQueen: Master of the Fantastic

By Becca Hutson

12th February | 0 comments | 0 votes yet, click here to agree or disagree

With a vision that resonated with fashion lovers across the world - heartfelt tributes to Alexander McQueen have been flooding since the news of his death broke yesterday.

Alexandra Shulman, the editor of British Vogue, praised his ability to combine creativity with technology saying:

“His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs. At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashion shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern-day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over. His death is the hugest loss to anyone who knew him and for very many who didn’t.”

Lorraine Candy, Editor - in - Chief of Elle Magazine wrote a tribute in today’s Daily Mail, and is planning to wear an aquamarine McQueen creation to the forthcoming Elle Style Awards:

To truly understand what McQueen was about you would have to have seen a one of his runway shows up close. Only then would you have been transported to the other worldly place that was his extraordinary fashion imagination. In the damp, cold, unglamorous sports stadium where the Paris Fashion Week show has been held in recent years, he moved us to tears, to joy and occasionally to fury. It was impossible not to have a strong opinion about him.

Victoria Beckham, who has often been spotted in McQueen’s designs - including his tartan pencil skirts and skull motifs - described him as a ‘master of fashion, creative genius and an inspiration. The fashion industry has lost a true great. An icon of all time’. As a nascent fashion designer herself, McQueen’s eye for sharp tailoring and sculpting is often evident in Victoria’s collections.

His peers, including Dame Vivienne Westwood, Katherine Hamnett and Matthew Williamson also made heartfelt tributes, with American designer Jeremy Scott using his Twitter page to say;

 ”I am filled with so much sadness today, I can not stop crying. McQueen had been someone i looked up to in school”

Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw thanked McQueen for raising the profile of British fashion around the world, saying:

“Alexander McQueen made an outstanding contribution to British fashion. His extraordinary talent and creativity mean that his designs are adored not just by followers of haute couture but lovers of great style everywhere. This is a great loss to one of Britain’s most successful industries and to the design world more widely.”

Already, McQueen’s designs have become collectors items, with Elle reporting a spike in sale of McQueen pieces as early as 4pm yesterday, with everything from signature print skull scarves to a £2, 845 reptile pint silk dress from Net-A-Porter.

London store Liberty will unveiling a McQueen window and ground-floor installation, while the Bond Street store has removed its window displays and replaced them with black curtains. Hand written notes, candles and flowers are gathering at the door, while the store flies its flag at half-mast. In New York, the McQueen Chelsea stores was closed for business, with Naomi Campbell making a visit to the store with friends, wearing a skull print scarf.

Alexander McQueen: An Icon is lost

By Becca Hutson

12th February | 1 comments | 1 person likes this

The news of Alexander McQueen’s death has cast a dark shadow over the fashion industry, as they mourn the loss of one of fashion’s most iconic, innovative and commercially successful stars.

His apparent suicide came on the eve of his beloved mother’s funeral, who had died earlier this month. It was no secret how close they were, with Alexander announcing her death on his Twitter page:

 “I’m letting my followers know that my mother passed away yesterday if it she had not had me nor would you RIP mumxx.”

As the youngest of six children, it was Joyce who was always there for him, at every show, and in a 2004 Guardian interview, Alexander told her that his most terrifying fear was ‘dying before you’ and that it was his mother who made him ‘most proud’.

Alice Smith, a fashion consultant, who had known McQueen since his first collection, told the Times: “I saw him a few months ago and he seemed a bit . . . but I thought he was fine. I knew his mum as well. They had a very close relationship. He used to like to go back to his mum’s and have tea and biscuits on the sofa.”

And of course, Joyce had good reason to be incredibly proud of her son. Alexander is credited with looking beyond fashion to create his clothes and his shows, which included collections inspired by Hitchcock’s The Birds, a show being held at the Conciergerie in Paris ( a chill dungeon where Marie Antoinette was held before her execution) and a floating hologram of Kate Moss.  A true visionary, Alexander was often regarded as the ‘enfant terrible’ of fashion, with his anarchic ‘bumster’ trousers, the rumoured chalking of ‘I am a ****’ inside a jacket for Prince Charles and his reported ‘gruff’ manner, even with dear friends like Isabella Blow (who he marched to a cash point every week to pay for his first collection which she ordered, but couldn’t afford).

But beyond the controversy, beyond the shows designed to thrill and provoke, Alexander’s designers were breathtakingly beautiful. With his precise tailoring learnt from Savile Row, eye for great prints and sculptured dresses - his designs were not only adored by fashion editors, but by celebrities and fashion lovers all over the world. Everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker to Victoria Beckham, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Emma Watson and Cheryl Cole have all worn his designs - from his gem encrusted armadillo shoes, to tartan print pencil skirts or sleek black jump suits with strings of pearls. He really was a designer for all seasons.

He managed the often difficult task of negotiating commercial successful alongside creative integrity, and in 1996 was appointed chief designer at Givency, and in 2001 he sold 51% of his own name label to Givenchy’s rival, Gucci. Alexander McQueen stores opened in New York, London and Milan, and in 2006 he launched a ‘ready to wear line’ along with a series of fragrances. In 2003 he was awarded a CBE, and for all his ‘anti established’ rhetoric he took Joyce to the ceremony with him, and in the same year was named International Fashion Designer of the Year, by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

And of course, behind the brand was a person, a fiercely loyal and protective person - whether it was wearing a ‘We Love You Kate’ T shirt in the midst of the ‘Cocaine Kate’ controversy of 2005, or dedicating his first show after the death of Isabella Blow in October 2007 to her,  Alexander was a person Daphne Guiness described as ‘generous without noise’.

A true individual, a designer who bought outrage, shock and beauty in equal measures, the world of fashion has suddenly become a slightly duller place.

Shock as Alexander McQueen commits suicide

By Becca Hutson

11th February | 2 comments | 2 people like this

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen has been found dead. Reports have confirmed that the pioneering designer was found hanged in Central London.

McQueen, who dressed the likes of Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell was one of Britain’s most talented and innovative designers, and made suits for Prince Charles and was named British Designer of the Year four times between 1996 and 2003.

He went on to be awarded a CBE, and was named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards.

Renowned for taking risks with fashion - McQueen’s collections always caused a stir - from his ‘Highland Rape’ collection to his use of models painted as blow-up dolls. His shows in Paris were always one of the most sought after tickets - with celebrities and fashion insiders a like desperate to see what he would do next - whether it was a spray painting models, creating holograms of Kate Moss or filming Rachel Zimmerman morph into a lizard.

The Daily Mail have drawn parallels with the death of his close friend, Isabella Blow three years ago, who is credited with discovering him as a designer. Isabella killed herself after taking an overdose of weed-killer having been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

McQueen was forced to deny rumours of an argument between the pair at the time of her death, with him saying “They don’t know me. They don’t know my relationship with Isabella”.

A source at McQueen’s office confirmed his death saying: “It is a tragic loss. We are not making a comment at this time out of respect for the McQueen family”.

The Price is Right: What Katie did next…

By Becca Hutson

3rd February | 5 comments | 2 people like this

Oh, what kind of a world do we live in when the ultimate declaration of love is no longer a pair of purple upholstered maching thrones or a melodious reworking of a Disney classic, but the noted omission of a celebrity magazine from a wedding guest list.

Yes, Katie Price and Alex Reid - the ‘cross dressing cage fighting victor of Celebrity Big Brother’ have tied the knot in an INTIMATE ceremony in Las Vegas. Yes, a TV crew were present - but what do you expect? We don’t want this moment in the history love to disappear into the mists of obscurity!

After a twenty two minute ceremony, in which the pair recited verses of Ginsberg to one another (we always knew they were beatniks), they made a brief statement to the press, saying, ’we are very much in love and look forward to the future together. We can’t wait to get back and celebrate our marriage with our friends and family who we know fully support our wishes.’

And who can we hold responsible for this chance union of starcrossed lovers? Afterall, Jordan watchers would be forgiven for thinking the whole thing seems rather rushed - afterall, she did dump AReid rather publicly after leaving the ‘jungle’ and has emerged from a messy breakup with boy soprano Peter Andre. But it seems that it was the dubiously titled ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ which bought Katie to her senses - after seeing Alex parade around as a farmyard animal, resist a conversion to hardline Christianity and pretend he was an ‘old person’ - she could resist the pulsing beat and magnetic animal attraction between them no more.

Andre is yet to comment via Twitter, but we’re sure he will pen his feelings to an inoffensive r’n'b backing track and act out his heartbreak/shock/happiness in a black and white arty music video.

As ardent supporters of the KP crusade to reappropriate the tools of male opression by the female cause, we couldn’t be happier that she has found love in the arms of the inimitable Alex Reid. And, we also KINDA hope that there are photos/interviews/feature length specials on the way.

Congratulations to the Pricey Reids!

Photo courtesy of Big Pictures.

Oscar Nominations: The Hurt Locker, Avatar and the ones that got away…

By Becca Hutson

2nd February | 6 comments | 2 people like this

Don your gown, charter your car and call the paps - it’s Oscar time.

Yes, the nominations have been announced and so we now have until March 6th to bemoan that absence of The Road, Star Trek and The Prophet from the Best Picture Category, to make snide remarks about Meryl being up for yet another statue and to get all hot and bothered about the prospect of  Clooney V Firth stand off in the Best Actor category.

Which does all sound like a rather delicious way to spend the next month. Now, not that The Sharpener is one to broadcast it’s unsolicited opinions to all and sundry, but we really do think that if there is any justice in the world, if we can hold in faith in the future of the film industry and if there IS a God out there looking after us in this foresaken world…than The Hurtlocker really does need to win Best Picture…and Best Director… and Best Original Screenplay…

Why? No, not just because Kathryn Bigelow floats amidst a dearth of female directors in the industry, but because she has  also directed and overseen one of the most successful films about Iraq in the history of the conflict. Whilst most films walked the Bush/Blair line of patriotism and liberation - Bigelow took a more ‘ground level’ approach to the story of US Bomb Disposal Units in Baghdad, and treated her subject matter and it’s consequences with the profound responsibility it deserves. Not to mention the fact she is going up against her ex-husband, James Cameron, for his blue, 3D effort, Avatar.

We’re probably backing Gabourey Sidibe from Precious for Best Actress, but we’re pleased that Sandra is getting the recognition she deserves…and we remain undecided for Best Actor. You might see a pattern developing that Mo’Nique is our favourite for Actress in a Supporting role, her depiction of Precious’ abusive, neglectful and vulnerable mother was just another of the astounding performances in the film. We think it would be a victory for more than just Mo’Nique as an individual if she was to be recognised by the Academy.

It’s interesting to see Disney’s most recent animation The Princess and the Frog in the Best Animated Film category, as technically it really doesn’t compete with the likes of Up, but perhaps the much overdue story of a black Disney princess does mark quite a substantial milestone for the industry and the aspirations of millions of girls across the world.

As the list continues and gets more ‘techy’. The Sharpener will happily fly the flag of ignorance and will disclaim that it’s views from here on are pretty much unfounded…but, based on the reviews of A Prophet, it seems like a minor civil war might break out if it isn’t recognised for it’s painstaking depiction of prison life.

What are your thoughts? Who are you backing?

And the nominees are…

Actress in a supporting role
Mo’Nique in Precious
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart

Actor in a supporting role
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Matt Damon in Invictus
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger

Actress in a leading role
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Carey Mulligan in An Education

Actor in a leading role
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

Animated feature film
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
The Princess and the Frog (Ron Clements and John Musker)
Coraline (Henry Selick)
Fantastic Mr Fox (Wes Anderson)
The Secret of Kells (Tomm Moore)

Foreign language film
Ajami (Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, Israel)
A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, France)
The Secret of Her Eyes (Juan Jose Campanella, Argentina)
The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, Germany)
The Milk of Sorrow (Claudia Llosa, Peru)

Directing
Avatar (James Cameron)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)
Precious (Lee Daniels)

Writing (adapted screenplay)
District 9 (Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)
An Education (Nick Hornby)
Precious (Geoffrey Fletcher)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner)
In the Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche)

Writing (original screenplay)
The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen)
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Petersen)
The Messenger (Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman)

Best picture
Avatar (James Cameron and Jon Landau, producers)
District 9 (Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, producers)
An Education (Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, producers)
The Hurt Locker (nominees to be determined)
Inglourious Basterds (Lawrence Bender, producer)
Precious (Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, producers)
A Serious Man (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, producers)
Up in the Air (Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, producers)
The Blind Side (nominees to be determined)
Up (Jonas Rivera, producer)

Art direction
Avatar (art direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; set decoration: Kim Sinclair)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (art direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; set decoration: Caroline Smith)
Nine (art direction: John Myhre; set decoration: Gordon Sim)
Sherlock Holmes (art direction: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer)
The Young Victoria (art direction: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Maggie Gray)

Cinematography
Avatar (Mauro Fiore)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Bruno Delbonnel)
The Hurt Locker (Barry Ackroyd)
Inglourious Basterds (Robert Richardson)
The White Ribbon (Christian Berger)

Costume design
Bright Star (Janet Patterson)
Coco Before Chanel (Catherine Leterrier)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Monique Prudhomme)
Nine (Colleen Atwood)
The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell)

Documentary (feature)
Burma VJ (Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller)
The Cove (nominees to be determined)
Food, Inc (Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith)
Which Way Home (Rebecca Cammisa)

Documentary (short subject)
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill)
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher)
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert)
Music by Prudence (Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett)
Rabbit à la Berlin (Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra)

Film editing
Avatar (Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron)
District 9 (Julian Clarke)
The Hurt Locker (Bob Murawski and Chris Innis)
Inglourious Basterds (Sally Menke)
Precious (Joe Klotz)

Makeup
Il Divo (Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano)
The Young Victoria (Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore)
Star Trek (Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow)

Music (original score)
Avatar (James Horner)
Fantastic Mr Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
Up (Michael Giacchino)
The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders)
Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)

Music (original song)
Almost There, from The Princess and the Frog by Randy Newman
Down in New Orleans, from The Princess and the Frog by Randy Newman
Loin de Paname, from Paris 36 by Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas
Take it All, from Nine by Maury Yeston
The Weary Kind, from Crazy Heart by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Short film (animated)
French Roast (Fabrice O Joubert)
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty (Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell)
Logoramam (Nicolas Schmerkin)
The Lady and the Reaper (Javier Recio Gracia)
A Matter of Loaf and Death (Nick Park)

Short film (live action)
The Door (Juanita Wilson and James Flynn)
Instead of Abracadabra (Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström)
Kavi (Gregg Helvey)
Miracle Fish (Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey)
The New Tenants (Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson)

Sound editing
Avatar (Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle)
The Hurt Locker (Paul NJ Ottosson)
Inglourious Basterds (Wylie Stateman)
Star Trek (Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin)
Up (Michael Silvers and Tom Myers)

Sound mixing
Avatar (Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson)
The Hurt Locker (Paul NJ Ottosson and Ray Beckett)
Inglourious Basterds (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano)
Star Trek (Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J Devlin)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Greg P Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson)

Visual effects
Avatar (Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R Jones)
District 9 (Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken)
Star Trek (Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton)

Photograph: Courtesy of Summit Entertainment/PR