The recent box office smash, The Hunger Games is not only a thrilling roller coaster ride for the senses but also a veritable feast of fashion. Costume designer for the film, Judianna Makovsky, had the extraordinarily daunting task of competing with the imaginations of millions of readers as well as Suzanne Collin’s brilliant sartorial descriptions in displaying exactly how our favorite characters would be dressed. Makovsky was up to the challenge of outfitting the fictitious world of Panem,  after all she has worked  on the wardrobe for films such as Pleasantville, X-Men: The Last Stand, and received an Oscar nomination for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

The Hunger Games is very much about dualities and this idea is reflected in the wardrobe. On the one side, there is the dank and pallid landscape of District 12. Here life is lived day to day and the future is always uncertain, therefore the costume choices were dark, grimy, and dismal. In an interview with Vogue, Makovsky explained that she looked to historical inspirations when finding ideas for the look of District 12: “We looked at a lot of photographs of coal mining districts from the turn of the century to the 1950s, because we wanted it to have a very American feel. We wanted to make a very serious impact, and color was very important—to keep it mostly gray or blue . . . very cold because coal leaves a black dust everywhere. But we didn’t want it so overly stylized that it wasn’t a real place—it is a real place—it could be Appalachia, you know, a hundred or fifty years ago.”

The heroine of the film, Katniss Everdeen, has a strength about her in her practical, earthy fashion. In the beginning of the film, she appears most strong and comfortable in her hunting clothes, which are characterized by a leather jacket, boots, and equestrian-esque trousers. Later in the scene of the reaping, where everyone donned what seemed to be their Sunday best for the sorrowful occasion, her look is quite changed in a plain blue shirtdress. The colors of the clothing in this scene are heavily muted and pale reflecting the lack of emotion of the people of District 12.

By: Sarah Humphries

Harper’s Bazaar—the oldest fashion magazine in the U.S.—has undergone its first major design renovation in a decade, prompted by a 12% decrease in ad sales last year. The new design debuts in the March 2012 issue, which boasts a subscribers’ cover that masks Gwyneth Paltrow’s biggest moneymaker: her face.

On the cover, Paltrow stands statuesque in a revealing floor-length dress by new designer Anthony Vaccarello with her face veiled by long blonde waves.  “It’s a very daring thing to do, where you don’t immediately see her face,” Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, told WWD.

However, the newsstand version will be more familiar to readers with Paltrow pictured head-on, smiling, and surrounded by teaser headlines. The two-different-cover approach was the brainchild of Bailey herself, and one of the many major changes that comes along with the redesign, which was first announced in November.

The new Harper’s Bazaar will be a significantly lengthier and less-cluttered magazine. The redesign issues will be thicker by one inch, boast higher-quality paper, new typography, and a sleeker look thanks to tighter editing and utilizing white space.

One of Harper’s Bazaar’s most popular online features, the “Best Dressed List” curated by Editor-at-Large Derek Blasberg, whose wit and impeccable taste make for an entertaining and eclectic list, will be a monthly column. Beauty-lovers have a lot to look forward to as the beauty section has been increased from four pages to 10 going forward. For globe-trotters, or at least those who hope to be, Bailey has introduced a monthly travel section entitled, “The Escape.” Lastly, there is a promise for more reporting on the latest in art, film and books. One of the most refreshing overall changes will be less of an emphasis on celebrity and popcorn stories.

When the March 2012 issue hits newsstands February 14th, it certainly promises to be celebration-worthy with contributions from the biggest names of A-list fashion set. Longtime contributor, and arguably one of the most in-demand photographers of our time, Terry Richardson shot the Paltrow cover and accompanying spread. The remaining features were shot by Karl Lagerfeld, Dan Jackson, Karim Sadhli, and artist Liu Bolin who literally painted his designer subjects, which included Alber Elbaz and Angela Missioni. Feature stories include a piece on the daughter-in-law of Bernie Madoff, Stephanie Mack, and a look at the controversial lifestyle of French journalist and love interest of Daphne Guiness, Bernard-Henri L�vy.

Beyond the redesign of the print magazine, Bazaar plans to rejuvenate the publication’s digital presence with a larger focus on online coverage and social media. “We’ve started to redesign online and we will see that continue,” explains Bailey to WWD. Towards the latter end of this year, Bazaar will launch an e-commerce which will literally sell the products they feature.

The unveiling of the March 2012 is shaping up to be a monumental move for Bazaar’s and it’s exciting to see the world’s oldest and most esteemed fashion publication employ a more modern design and embrace the latest technologies.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by LEXUS via Glam Media.�The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of LEXUS.

[View with PicLens]

Who says people in fashion don’t eat? Because we do…sometimes. Well, instead of eating food, Karl Lagerfeld opted to hold a fashion show among an elegant dinner setting for the debut of Chanel’s Pre-Fall 2012 collection. The garments encompassed the fine craftsmanship we love about Chanel coupled with the creativity we love about Lagerfeld. For the season’s looks Lagerfeld drew inspiration from India. Many of the models donned traditional style Indian head pieces, which were blinged out to the max- the collection is named, Métiers d’Art.

Style.com dubbed it, “all the Raj” and went on to report, “The theme “Paris-Bombay” was a reminder that Europe’s fashion industry has increasingly turned to India to produce extravagantly handworked pieces as it has become prohibitively expensive to make them at home. Lagerfeld’s fiendish plan was to flip the equation, so that everything that looked intricately Indian was actually made by Chanel’s ateliers in Paris.” But what’s even more interesting is that Lagerfeld has actually never visited India. ”It’s much more inspiring not to go to places than to go,” he told Style.com. Uhmm…really? Because, we’d like to physically visit a destination to be inspired by it more.

Anyways, on to the show! The collection was obviously a hit with the jeweled accents along with the use of silks and tweed. On the catwalk Lagerfeld walked out alongside mature modeling maven Stella Tennant (above). Mother daughter duo Yasmin Le Bon (42) and Amber Le Bon (22) both walked in the show for a unique bonding experience. Front row, Bollywood starlet Freida Pinto showed her support. A-list models Kasia Struss, Arizona Muse, Crystal Renn, Anja Rubik, and even muse Baptiste Giabiconi got in the fun with a turban on the elegant catwalk.

(via Style, Telegraph, Wireimage)

Imagine having Cindy Crawford’s past 1987 Vogue cover at your fingertips or what about a 1954 Revlon ad? After teasing you about it for months, we’re proud to announce the debut of MyFDB Vintage!

Time travel with us to experience vintage images from fashion publications dating as far back as the 1930s. In this new section of our database you’ll find a unique collection of magazine covers, editorials, and ad campaigns.

MyFDB Vintage is perfect for inspiration, historical reference, or simply to discover incredible images and the people who have contributed to the evolution of fashion. Are you ready? Flashback now!

PS – That’s Janice Dickinson below… (crazy, right?)

Best Covers

The return of the model was welcome with V‘s model issue starring Saskia & Daphne.

Nicki Minaj shed a tear of fashion for W magazine‘s haute cover shot.

The perfect balance of copy and and cover star could be found on Harper’s Bazaar UK‘s cover with Kate Winslet.

Vogue Russia paired real life couple Adam Levine & Anne Vyalitsyna in the buff for photog Alix Malka.

Another black & red themed shot and another Vogue, Rooney Mara stunned on the cover of US Vogue.

Potter princess Emma Watson‘s pixie cut was all the rage for Elle UK.

Worst Covers

Rachel Bilson we like you, but we like you better when you dress yourself. This Nylon cover is a style confusion.

Did Esquire try to turn Rihanna into a fish out of water? We’re really not sure how to feel about this shot.

What do you think about being mooned by Flaunt? Does that fact that it’s James Franco‘s ass make it better?

Talk about awkward, Kristen Stewart‘s arm is merging with her leg for the cover of Glamour.

Kim Kardashian on Lucky magazine. Enough said, we’re more than sick of her.

Twilight‘s Ashley Greene‘s head tilt for Allure comes off as her trying to avoid being covered by headlines and hair.

Like most names in fashion, you never really know what to expect from Daphne Guinness when she arrives at an event. She flocked to the Met Gala in an uber-feathered gown and got ready for by dressing in a window. Now her fashion antics are moving from her outfits to her face. Guinness’ highly anticipated line for MAC Cosmetics has been unveiled, and while we love her outrageousness, we’re thrilled her collection is composed of a color palate that seems wearable by regular people, like us. The pieces are comprised of basic noir, soft blushes, feminine lip glosses, and liners. We’re most excited for the purple hues! Shades of purple allow us to be daring without appearing too over the top. The collection amounts to 21-units all together.  WWD describes the colors as ”shades…made up of rich, seasonal hues.”

The MAC collection will be available December 26th, which is strange because you’d think MAC would what to release it before the Christmas holiday, not after. But, come January the entire collection will rollout internationally.

For more Daphne Guinness, you can visit her portfolio on MyFDB.

Just because a woman is topless doesn’t mean she has to illicit some trashy pornographic pose. Photographer duo Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott tastefully capture Anja Rubik and Sasha Pivovarova in the buff for this dangerously sexy and stylish editorial in Vogue Paris called, “Fatale“. The shoot is a mix of black & white images and high contrast colored photography. The girls aren’t naked the entire time either, but there is a sizable amount of boob-age, it is Vogue Paris after all, where nudity is nothing to flinch at. Maybe one day Vogue US will catch up to the artistic ways of their European offspring.

Until then, see the full “Fatale” editorial on MyFDB.

Professional Credits:

Bradley Cooper is one of the sexiest men alive. And our thoughts have been confirmed by People magazine, who recently crowned 36-year-old Cooper the coveted title of “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2011. What does this get him? Along with a People cover, he’ll have even more hoards of women swooning after his good looks. We’re not sure how he beat out Ryan Gosling, but we’re happy for him. Gosling, who just turned 31 also made the list, but we’re thinking give him a year or two and he’ll easily earn the noteworthy title.

Cooper, who we adore seeing in editorials, was also named “International Man of The Year” by GQ British. And, he made a totally lovable Dad in “KayLien” (the short directed by Zoe Saldana). Looks like the actor is having quite the year!

Along with Cooper and Gosling, Liam Hemsworth (Hunger Games), Idris Elba (The Wire, Thor), Justin Theroux (screenwriter, Jennifer Aniston‘s man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Tim McGraw (country singer), Josh Charles, Joel McHale (Community), Jason Momoa, Alec Baldwin, and Dylan McDermott also made the cut.

[via People]

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is like a lingerie party on steroids. It’s laid out like a typical fashion show, but goes wild with a glittered catwalk, models wearing next to nothing, and extreme winged creations. Celebrities, rock stars, editors, and bloggers all flock to the fantasy world VS creates. This year proved to be even more over the top than ever!

Even though the show doesn’t air until November 29th, we found ourselves entranced by all the dramatic and colorful lingerie. For a fashion show, there’s not much clothing, but there’s a TON of creativity and model crushes. We’re so proud of darling Karlie Kloss (bottom right), who walked in her first show. Meanwhile, Miranda Kerr (bottom left) is no stranger to the glitz and was given the coveted position of sporting a $2.5 million bra. Yowza! The sexy Doutzen Kroes wow’d the crowd after giving birth just a mere nine months ago. Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio (top) of course show’d all the girls how its done! And everyone let out an “aww” when singer Adam Levine (below) escorted his real life love, Anne Vyalitsyna down the catwalk as he sang. He wasn’t the only one behind the mic, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West (with a surprise appearance by Jay-Z) all had their turn. Of course, in true Victoria’s Secret fashion it was the models who came out on top and celebrated with a confetti-filled finale on the catwalk.

The lingerie themes for this year’s show included superhero styled designs, dramatic dark pieces, and under the sea, and ended with a disco PINK party! Experience the fun before the air date by browsing our image gallery below.

[View with PicLens]

12►

(images via HuffPo, Fashionista)

Versace for H&M is like the coolest party you weren’t invited to. It’s okay, neither were we; but we did scour the internet to find awesome shots of last night’s fashion fete. Celebrities including Jessica Alba, Chace Crawford, Uma Thurman, Blake Lively, Selma Blair (where has she been?), Zachary Quinto, Coco Rocha, Mark Ronson (in pink), and more were on hand to watch the runway presentation. Along with these big names Prince and Nicki Minaj were both front row, this turned out to be foreshadowing for events later in the evening when each performer took the stage and wow’d the crowd with their lyrical skills. The fashion for the evening was clearly Versace, Versace, and more Versace (all for H&M, of course).

Live vicariously along with us with the red carpet video below. We personally love any opportunity to see Donatella speak, she’s like a plastic surgery fascinating creature of the night and we love when she comes out to play.

[View with PicLens]

[images via Racked]