KONKO FASHION

Ulyana Sergeenko Spring 2014 Couture

In every couture collection, Ulyana Sergeenko tells a story. This time, it was a reimagining of a ride on the Orient Express. 

Sergeenko's new heroine not only crossed borders (the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), but also, in a manner of speaking, cross-dressed, borrowing clothes from the men she met on her travels and mixing them with her own more feminine attire. "She could be a movie star," Sergeenko said, "but she’s definitely a femme fatale."

With Raf Simons ensconced at Dior and Karl Lagerfeld putting sneakers on the Chanel catwalk, couture has taken on a more modern tone, and Sergeenko's destination-oriented approach starts to look old-fashioned. That said, she's worked hard to lighten up her constructions since her debut four seasons ago. She's still at the beginning of her couture journey.

See more pieces from the collection below.

SHE STOLE MY LOOK?

Thank God its Friday guys but I'm stuck and can't decide what's more beautiful, this Torn by Ronny Robo white turtleneck dress or the women wearing it.

Jordan Sparks completed her look with white solitaire pumps, dropping earrings and a pony tail hair do, while Maria Menounos let the dress take center stage by donning same white pump shoe, tiny earrings and a big bun up hair do.

Who do you guys think wore it better?

KONKO FASHION

Atelier Versace Spring 2014 COUTURE

Picture Grace Jones in one of her iconic hoods. That's what Donatella Versace did as she was designing her new Atelier Versace collection. 

"She left a sign as a strong, powerful woman, a power goddess," Versace said of Jones before the show. "I wanted to embody that." Versace set about her glam salute by combining the body-con silhouettes that are essential to the house DNA with more fluid draping. As it happens, Azzedine Alaïa, the man who first put Jones in a hooded dress, was watching in the audience tonight. 

Donatella is the adding wow factor to all her collections! 

What do you guys think about the collection?

LIFESTYLE

Lily Allen Makes Her Return In ELLE UK’s Biggest Fashion Issue Of The Year

In the publication’s biggest fashion issue of the year so far, David Vasiljevic shoots Lily in brand spanking new season looks by Miu Miu, Michael van der Ham and Roland Mouret. 

While the interview is sure to be a good one, all we have for now are these few tidbits from Lily’s interview.

On the pressure to be perfect: 

“Of course I’d rather look like Kate Moss than look like myself,” she admits. “I wish I didn’t feel like that, and I think the reason we feel like that is because of the imagery we’re fed all the time. Women are still expected, in some weird way, to kind of… sit there and look pretty. And not talk.”

On fame: 

“I don’t want to be a famous person. But [with] the nature of the industry, when I have an album to promote, I do want to be famous. I want people to buy it! And I want them to go to my shows. That’s how it works. I think of myself as a product in that sense. But I don’t want that frenzy. I think it’s weird for children to grow up around that.”

On coming back to music after her threats to retire from the music industry:

“By the end, I was physically and mentally exhausted and really pissed off,” she said. “This was pre-phone hacking scandal, so those lines hadn’t been drawn. People just didn’t give a shit, and there weren’t any barriers. I did feel at that time that I wanted to leave and never come back. But I’m not the sort of person who can sit at home and look after [children] all day… there was a void. I’m a creative person, I like to speak my mind. Making music is the perfect vehicle for that.”

KONKO FASHION

Valentino Spring 2014 Courture

The same dress Katy Perry wore to the Grammys

The Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli were after something new for Couture this season, and they found it in the age-old tradition of opera. The show opened with a nod to La Traviata; Giuseppe Verdi's score was embroidered in black on the long, full skirt of a parchment-colored tulle dress. After that, Chiuri explained, "we wanted to describe the character of each [opera's] protagonist in a primordial way.

See more pictures from the collection below.

KONKO FASHION

Giles Spring 2014 Ready-To-Wear

Giles Deacon's collection could be seen as one of the mopiest of the lot. "After last season, I was satisfied with the direction we were going in, and I decided I wanted to do a non-flowery summer collection," he explained. "I wanted a melancholy to it and none of that summer fun fun." That's not to say that moping around can't be quite enjoyable at times, too—especially when it comes to a remembrance of the early to mid-nineties, in Deacon's case. He is from a generation that was fundamentally shaped by that period in pop culture and fashion. The era is seen as a golden age for London, when style magazines ruled, personal style was all, and both mainly formed fashion.

See more images from the collection below.

LIFESTYLE

Ashley Benson Covers Cosmo Magazine, Talks Nudity, Drug Use & Love

This Pretty Little Liar is on her high road to the top, and there are sure to be a trail of sexy magazine covers along the way. Ashley Benson is the cover girl of the latest issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine, and she’s baring it PLL-style.

The cover image features Ashley in an oversized deep V sweater with nothing but a bra on underneath and that sultry look reserved just for covers like these. In the corresponding interview, the actress talks about everything from nudity on camera, to her relationship with Justin Bieber’s former stylist.

Check out some excerpts from the interview below

On the wardrobe from Pretty Little Liars:

“The thing I always make fun of is the wardrobe. Really, do you think anyone would actually wear full hair and makeup and 6-inch heels to school? I was 13 when I was last in school, and I never wore makeup. I wasn’t allowed. Now [girls are] all wearing heels and makeup and getting their hair done, so I’m not sure it’s us influencing girls or that’s just the way it is now. If I had gone to high school, I would have rolled out of bed and showed up in sweats.”

On dealing with nudity on camera:

“I never want to do nudity that’s gratuitous. Girls look so much better in lingerie or a t-shirt and leave the rest up to the imagination. I make it clear that I have a line. Everyone tries to push you, and it’s easy to get talked into doing those things. I’ll just walk off-set. But not everyone realizes they can do that"

On steering clear of drugs while growing up in Hollywood:

“There are drugs and alcohol in my family on both sides, so I've seen lives ruined, going to jail and all that. Once you start with any drug, it can be an addiction – that’s why I never want to start and am not even tempted, because that chain is relentless. And if it runs in your family, you see how unglamorous it is. I would never want to be out of control with my body.”

On her on-and-off-again boyfriend Ryan Good:

“Ryan is one of the strongest people I've met, so grounded and such a positive influence on people. We took a break because it was so hard. I work 20 hour days, so I’m always gone. So a lot of your relationship is on the phone and iChatting and trying to catch up.”