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• According to survey results

  Par honghearts dans Accueil le 5 Avril 2010 à 04:26

  According to survey results, the majority of the teachers indicated that they supported the arts but were unsure how they could use them to improve student learn- ing. According to the survey, all 25 of the teachers saw the arts as an important form of communication and would be willing to give the related arts teachers a copy of their long-range plans so as to coordinate their lessons to complement learning in the classroom. Ninety-six percent agreed that children learn better in integrated curricula and authentic settings. Ninety- two discount tiffany accessories could see how integrating the arts may help students develop as readers and writers. Eighty-eight percent would have invited an arts specialist into their classroom for special projects. Eighty-four percent would be willing to team-teach a lesson with an arts specialist. Seventy-six percent had used the arts as a learning tool in their classrooms. This same percentage of teachers felt that sometimes it was neces- sary to take a student out of related arts for make-up work, tutoring, or testing. While an underlying belief that the arts offered possibilities to better students' language and literacy development existed, more than half of the teachers (52%) were not sure how to use the arts and stated that it was difficult to offer arts-based learning to students because of time limits and behavior problems.

  In analyzing this small, local survey of teachers, we found results similar to the national survey of the general population done through Americans for the Arts (Davidson & Michener, 2001). Both local and national surveys reinforced our belief and experience that many U.S. teachers don't have extensive experience applying the arts to facilitate learning and development. However, because many participants indicated that they were willing to do something if they only knew what to do, we devised a study involving a multi-arts discount tiffany bracelets to use in Ms. James' lst-grade art room.

  The curriculum of the school district in which Ms. James worked mandated a set of 12 specific paintings and artists for study. Each year, from kindergarten through 5th grade, the students learned about two pieces from the repertoire collection. In our study, we show that using multiple arts disciplines embedded into the regular art curriculum helped students retain information about the visuals and reflect this information in their own artworks, resulting in higher quality, more creative student pieces. Addressing the belief that authentic learning does not translate into high scores in formal assessments, we decided to employ authentic learning and a formal measure of assessment- a criterion-referenced test that assesses whether or not the student has learned the material (met criterion). Criterion-referenced tests assess "what test takers can do and what they know, not how they compare to others" (Anastasi, 1988, p. 102), and whether they exceeded, met, or did not meet a pre-determined performance level.

  We knew that if the study showed an improvement in retention of information (assessed through a criterion-referenced test) and application (assessed through performance-based assessment as shown by quality of student work), not only would the students benefit immediately, there also would be concrete data to share with the teachers at Intercity Elementary School, presenting the possibility of promoting change in the school's overall approach to learning by using the arts as a vehicle for learning across the curriculum.

  Ms. James created a five-lesson painting unit for her lst-graders based on the art discount tiffany pendants Henri Matisse. Twenty students in Class A were taught using visual art and some language arts pedagogy. Activities for all five lessons included large-group time with a read-aloud, three visuals, and discussions. Ms. James demonstrated the painting techniques and discussed ideas with the students. The majority of the time was spent on painting 18" ? 24" compositions. A large-group critique (sharing time) took place during the fifth session. Students who completed the paintings early were allowed to paint a smaller project of their choice. During the fourth session, large-group time was eliminated. The students' first table activity was to take a written quiz read aloud by Ms. James and the remaining 40 minutes were used for painting. Students who needed extra time used the fifth lesson to complete the painting. At the end of the fifth lesson, Ms. James and her students gathered back in a large group for a critique during which students displayed and discussed their paintings.

  Class B was taught with a multi-arts approach that also included some language arts pedagogy. Classes A and B had 20 students each. Class B also had five lessons, beginning with large-group time including read-alouds, three visuals, and discussions. Shared reading of teacher-made big books, sing-alongs with the Purple Robe CD (James, 2006), and dress-up were components added to large-group time. During the fourth session, with large-group time eliminated, the students' first table activity was to take a written quiz read aloud by the for sale tiffany. The remaining 40 minutes were used for painting. Students who needed extra time used the fifth lesson to complete 18" ? 24" compositions. As students finished, they were invited to join others in making paper bag puppets independently at the craft supply table or to work with Ms. James in a small group co-constructing poems and skits. The elective activities at the end of the lesson helped reinforce the content as well as focus the learning on literacy. For the last 15 minutes of the last session, teacher and students gathered back in a large group for a critique (sharing time), when students showed their paintings, read their poems, and presented their puppets.

  A criterion-referenced test was given to students in Class A and in Class B. The teacher read the content-based questions orally, asking for characteristics of Matisse's paintings, names of pictures, and interpretations of the themes and techniques explored by Matisse in his paintings. Students wrote or circled the answers directly on the quiz. The word bank displaying all the printed words necessary for the correct answers remained on the classroom wall by the big books. Both classes had talked about these words during large-group time. While students in Class A largely failed to meet the criteria (answering 70% or less of the questions correctly; overall test scores ranging from 30 to 80%), 90% of students in Class B met or exceeded the criteria (answering more than 70% of questions correctly; overall test scores ranging between 60 and 100%).

  Looking at the students' paintings on the chart below, three samples from each class are for sale tiffany key rings. An analytical rubric helped us look for evidence of learning. Art quality raters were graduate students from a public university's art department (see Figure 3).

  The higher average score of Class B indicates that the children developed literacy skills and retained more knowledge through the multiple-arts experiences. Beyond knowing more facts, Class B could also adapt and apply the concepts learned to their own paintings. More new knowledge was applied to the artworks of Class B, producing more reflective and aesthetically pleasing paintings. Class A failed to meet or exceed expectations (mean average was 60%), and Class A students' application of Matissean concepts to their own works of art were not as strong as those displayed by the works of art of students in Class B.

  
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• THE 'ABAYA-AS-FASHION

  Par honghearts dans Accueil le 2 Avril 2010 à 04:17

  THE 'ABAYA-AS-FASHION

  A show by the fashion label Al-Motahajiba held in Doha in 2003 featured a procession of 'abayas that appeared uniform in style, as the models veiled and de-veiled themselves on stage to entertain the audience. The de-veiling act in this context was an ironic gesture with reference to the fashion brand's display of its products, since "Al-Motahajiba" translates as "the veiled woman." The fashion show depicted the models continuously performing this act, and all 'abayas on display were black and long, their only variation being the fabric. This performance can arguably be seen as a sartorial strategy, whereby the 'abaya is brought into play on stage as if to relieve the monotonous procession of clothes for the most part similar in design.

  The 'abaya-and veiling practices generally-may appear to preclude the prospect of hierarchy, since, as this fashion show illustrates, uniformity is heightened among the wearers. There is, however, a paradox between this assumption and the rendition of the veil-as-fashion. Drawing on Gunter Gebauer and Christoph Wulf's notion of "social mimesis," which "designates the process in which rivalries arise between individuals and groups sharing the same goal of action," Ossman explains how this notion "brings to mind the strategies tiffany rings for sale some muhajibat [veiled women] who claim that their dress, like school uniforms, eliminates competition among women" (2002, 57). In the case of the 'abayaas- fashion, however, the notion of social mimesis is further honed, since the "approximation of individuals to each other, their becoming similar" (57) operates within a specific ideological framework: the notion of "equivalence" relates not only to wearing the 'abaya but furthermore to the color black. Th us, in this instance, competition is founded on a complicity within veiling practices, as well as on the way the wearer of the 'abaya distinguishes herself in relation to others "on a single plane" (57), namely those who wear the same color.

  An interesting case in light of this latter contention is the Sweet Lady fashion show held in Dubai in 2003. The first model appears wearing a head veil and an 'abaya, the front of which is dominated by an elaborate floral sequined design, while the rest remains black. Further, the 'abaya is streamlined and slightly tiffany earrings for sale around the waist (Figure 2). Another design shows a cut that gathers at the waist and flares into a full hem (Figure 3). Here, the model does not wear a head veil but rather carries a fan which, like the design around the hem and lower-center of the 'abaya, is made up of peacock feathers. Moreover, the sleeves are puffed and full-bodied, unlike the streamlined sleeves shown in Figure 2. While these 'abayas are considerably extravagant, the colors nonetheless remain subdued, consistent with the black ground.

  In contrast, a third design incorporates vibrant colors, with long bright fuchsia tiffany necklaces on sale and a large pink flower attached to the model's chest (Figure 4, left ). Similarly, a pattern of bright red flowers presents a contrast to the black ground, while the head veil displays a related pattern across the whole fabric as opposed to only on its borders (Figure 4, right). Instances of patterned fabric or images superimposed on the black fabric itself are also manifest, as is the case with the image of a shark in Figure 5.

  These designs refer primarily to ways in which each 'abaya can be distinguished from the others, thereby suggesting endless possible variations on the black 'abaya. However, the extravagance of the designs belies a contradictory notion of the limitations inherent in renewing the 'abaya. The 'abayas in Figures 2 and 3 refer to a formal style of dress, as they are constructed with wide hemlines and, in one case, puffed sleeves. Here, designers exploit the 'abaya's inherent similarity to formal dress-its length and black color. Deviation cheap tiffany accessories the 'abaya is thus ultimately minimal. The designs in Figures 4 and 5 at first appear to present the contrary, since they suggest how images on clothing are obscured by the necessity to wear an 'abaya on top. The shark in Figure 5, for example, transports onto the 'abaya itself a bold and centralized design reminiscent of those more commonly seen on T-shirts. But while such patterns and images are visually prominent, they are nonetheless manifested within certain boundaries, such that their contribution to the fabric never constitutes a complete deviation from the color black. At the same time, however, these examples also reveal how "stylistic deviance" (Gaines 1990, 206) is engendered as a result of having continuously to renew the 'abaya in light of its restrictions.

  IMMODERATE EXCESS AND THE PERPETUAL RESTORATION OF THE 'ABAYA

  In order to examine the antagonism between piety and fashion as far as veiling is concerned, I now turn to a discussion of the relationship between the 'abaya-as-fashion and ideological constructions of femininity as defined by two prominent clerics within Sunni religious popular thought.4 Critical to this discussion is the Islamic concept of tabarruj (immoderate excess), which Al-Mawrid defines as a woman choosing

  to adorn herself, groom herself, bedeck herself, preen herself, primp, toilet, dress up, smarten up, spruce up, doll up, to make up, paint and powder, use or apply cosmetics, put on make-up, to display her charms. (Baalbaki 1992, 268)

  In a lecture concerning "The Legitimacy of the Veil" (Mashru'iya al-hijab), the Saudi religious cleric 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Baaz, also known as Bin Baz, contends that zina (adornment), which he labels "prohibited," is defined as "everything which is loved by a man or a woman and which draws attention tiffany for sale it is natural or acquired."5 Following this, he advocates that women should veil their heads, bodies, and faces, "except that which is apparent," as expressed in the Qur'anic verse in Sura al-Nur (24:31), which he interprets as referring to "outer clothing."6

  The religious cleric Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawy offers a different argument, contending that "Islam has set its codes for the woman... [to] guard her femininity and acknowledge its needs so as not to repress it." He provides "a rough summation of Islam's attitude to femininity," which states:

  Islam protects femininity to keep the stream of tenderness and beauty running. For this reason some of the things that men are forbidden to do are permissible for women. So the woman can wear gold and pure silk; hence the Hadith [the reported sayings and deeds of the Prophet], "These two (substances) are prohibited for the men of my nation and allowed for its women." [...] The permission to use things that suit women is supported by forbidding them from handling things that go against their femininity, such as men's wear, movement and behaviour in general. A woman is not to wear a man's garment; a man is not to wear a woman's garment. The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) says: "Allah condemns the man who dresses like a woman and the woman who dresses like a man." (al-Qaradawy 1993)

  Al-Qaradawy further argues that "Allah's Religion protects [woman's] morals and decency, guards her reputation and dignity, and defends her chastity against evil thoughts." He adds that, "in order to achieve these noble objectives, Islam makes it incumbent on the woman to lower the eyes and preserve chastity and purity." In this context, he asserts that a woman needs to "preserve a decent, unrevealing manner of dress and ornamentation, all without being oppressive towards her," and he too refers to the Qur'anic verse (24:31) that requires women "not to show off their adornment except that which is apparent." He continues,

  The visible or apparent ornament that the verse refers to has been interpreted to be inclusive of kohl, the finger ring, the face, the two hands and, some exegetes and jurisprudents establish, the two feet. (al-Qaradawy 1993)

  As evinced by the clerical arguments above, the stipulation, "except that which is apparent," and the concept of adornment (zina) as forbidden continue to be disputed and multiply interpreted, with definitions of "the apparent" ranging extensively from kohl to outer clothing. The clerical arguments also reveal, however, that the phenomenon of the 'abaya-as-fashion stands in uneasy relation to the ideological construction of femininity as defined by the Islamic patriarchal hegemonic order, most significantly in relation to the censure of female display.

   

  
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• SUNY Fashion Institute

  Par honghearts dans Accueil le 1 Avril 2010 à 11:26

   

  SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology issued the following news release:

  Arbiters of Style: Women at the Forefront of Fashion, the first tiffany money clip survey focusing on the female creators, promoters, and clients who have shaped fashion's course for more than 250 years, will be on display in the Fashion and Textile History Gallery at The Museum at FIT from May 21 through November 8, 2008. Arbiters of Style will feature approximately 70 looks, from the work of female designers to clothing and accessories worn by female department store executives, influential clients, magazine editors, muses, and models. Emphasis will be on the role of women in the history of fashion and how they have influenced the fashion system and continue to be a driving force as tastemakers and industry leaders. Although male designers will be tiffany pendant in the exhibition, they will only be viewed in terms of their important female clients and muses.

  The exhibition begins with objects that illustrate how women were active as designers, stylists and promoters of fashionable trends as early as the eighteenth century. Included will be a gown circa 1770, made from a sumptuous Spitalfields textile designed by Anna Maria Garthwaite. Historic trendsetters such as tiffany earring Josephine and Eugénie will be represented by dresses that reflect their influence on the fashions worn by women in Europe and America.

  A gown designed by leading Parisian couturiere Jeanne Paquin and donated by Mrs. William Rockefeller exemplifies the increasing influence of female designers in the early twentieth century. The exhibition also will feature a suit by the English couturiere Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, known professionally as Lucile, and will introduce the Oregon-based dressmakers May and Ann Shogren, who brought elements of Paris couture to their American clientele.

  Female designers, such as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin and Elsa tiffany keyring, dominated fashion between the two world wars. A Chanel suit worn by legendary fashion photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe will be shown alongside several of her original photographs from the Museum's collection. Dresses from museum donor and Vogue editor Despina Messinesi exemplify the role of the industry woman as an international style setter.

  By the mid-twentieth century, female American designers and department store executives played increasingly prominent roles in the fashion industry. Designer Claire McCardell, retail pioneer Hattie Carnegie, and fashion executive Rose Marie Bravo will be featured, as will a dress by Irene of Bullocks Wilshire, a designer favored by the Hollywood elite.

  Donations from Diana Vreeland, Isabel Eberstadt, and Lauren Bacall highlight their roles as tiffany necklace leaders, while designs by trendsetters such as Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo emphasize the continued importance of female designers.

  Arbiters of Style: Women at the Forefront of Fashion is organized by Molly Sorkin and Colleen Hill, along with Fred Dennis, Clare Sauro, Harumi Hotta, and Lynn Weidner.

  The Museum at FIT is located on the southwest corner of Seventh Avenue at 27th Street. Exhibition hours are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sundays, Mondays and legal holidays. Admission is free. For museum information call (212) 217-4558 or go to www.fitnyc.edu/museum. For further press information, contact the Office of Communications and External Relations at (212) 217-4700 or press@fitnyc.edu. Visuals are available upon request via mail or e-mail.Contact: Cheri Fein, 212/217-4700.

  Cheri Fein, 212/217-4700.

  
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• As the 'Italian season' draws to a close

  Par honghearts dans Accueil le 31 Mars 2010 à 04:14

  As the 'Italian season' draws to a close, the designers let their clothes do the talking

  An odd situation at the beginning of the Dolce & Gabbana show on Sunday: there were multiple screens in the foyer of the Metropole, the theatre where the brand now shows, as well as multiple screens inside the theatre itself, all streaming live video of goings-on backstage (models laughing; models being made up; models being touched up), not to mention live video of audience members as they arrived. So it was possible to walk in, see yourself walking in, watch yourself as you sat down, and then do the same thing with all the celebrity choose tiffany bangles across the runway, such as Peaches Geldof - in the flesh and on screen - and listen to the photographers shrieking at Italian actress Martina Stella while also viewing them doing the shrieking over your head, and so on. As a moment, it was very digital age.

  It was also going out live over the internet, as designers Domenico Dolce and choose tiffany bracelets Gabbana decided to seize control of their virtual future. "The designers wanted to open up the process to their customers, so even if someone who loves the brand can't be at the show, they will know what is going on," a spokesperson said. Messrs Dolce and Gabbana wanted, it transpired, complete and utter transparency with the consumers - and as in the process, so in the clothes.

  Out on the runway and into cyberspace strode girls in white and black lace dresses and skirt suits all poured over the visible corsetry underpinnings that first made the duo famous. These contrasted with toreador-neat black trousers and cropped jackets, which later gave way to bouncing party frocks featuring red roses on a black background, or red and black leopard prints, all of which were built on the same lingerie linings, as if to expose both the creative roots and the brand's raison d'etre : what you see is what you get.

  In this, Dolce & Gabbana crystallised what was choose tiffany earrings to be an overriding trend of the Milanese collections. Indeed, on the final day of the "Italian season", a kind of critical mass was reached that can be described in one word: sheer. Sheer clothes. Sheer effort. Occasionally, sheer loveliness. Sometimes, sheer silliness.

  And though it would be too simplistic to trace the trend to the financial sector and the public demand for information, there is unquestionably a sense that the fashion industry, which many people see as an opaque and manipulative world, feels a need to react. Hence the decision, on the part of many designers, to let the clothes do the talking. Put another way, they were not telling, they were showing.

  At Marni the usual jumble of colours and prints was toned down to layers of silk and chiffon, and a peach shirt might top black cropped trousers that themselves were layered over black and beige striped leggings, all of them so thin that in spite of the number of garments there was no bulk involved. There were the usual florals, but in black and white abstracts on brown or grey backgrounds, or felted over barely-there tulle, and it all culminated in sheer (that word again) ecru chiffon tunics and minidresses embroidered with silver sequins, worn over brown knit shorts and under suede coats of delicate filigree.

  Likewise, at Fendi, ready-to-wear designer Karl Lagerfeld and accessories choose tiffany pendants Silvia Fendi had what chief executive Michael Burke called "a meeting of the planets", bonding over the desire to inject lightness and femininity into the collection. In clothing terms, this meant openwork tulle dresses layered over 1940s-esque lingerie, cotton "shredded" to mimic embroidery, and lingerie rompers.

  In bags, it meant Perspex evening clutches and soft purses complete with "jackets" that could be buttoned on the outside and then unbuttoned and changed at will.

  In both cases, it was always clear what was inside.

  Meanwhile, both Missoni and Salvatore Ferragamo offered their own, similar-but-different, take on the trend, interpreting transparency as a veiled body stocking: the first successfully mimicking its famous knitwear in the thinnest stretch garment on which designer Angela Missoni layered bandeau tops in sand-coloured crochet and stretch silver, sarong shapes, gold-and-silver beaded tank dresses and long, openwork coats to suggest future nomads; the second creating slightly odd striped polo necks to go either under strapless dresses or tuxedo vests over exaggerated jodhpurs.

  Etro concentrated on lighter-than-air versions of its famous paisley and discount tiffany prints, here worked into hippie deluxe dresses complete with gypsy frills at the neck, palazzo pants and even shorts. Aquilano.Rimondi led off a parade of seriously heavy, gold-flower-encrusted military coats and cocktail dresses with a sheer chiffon shirt just masking a brocade skirt, as if to break the audience in for the extreme gussied-upness of what was to come.

  All of which is conceptually fine but practically difficult: no woman, really, wants her underwear on display any more than she wants to reveal her motivations. Anyone in doubt had simply to see the looks of horror on the faces around one middle-aged ticket-holder at the Missoni show who was wearing purple chiffon that clearly revealed her satin bra, knickers and all "too solid flesh": what an act of self-sabotage. (Even if it did bring Hamlet to mind.) Happily, in fashion terms the issue will be alleviated in-store by the reappearance of linings, see-through garments being, the lady above excepted, generally a runway conceit; a message about direction and intention more than actual wardrobes. Still, it does point out the truth that, as much as people like to talk about transparency, it is not always really what they want.

  Case in point: France, where the fashion flock lands next for the final leg of the women's wear shows, and where President Nicolas Sarkozy has been attempting to render bankers' bonuses visible. How many people really want such exposure? I'll let you know when I get there.

  Ferragamo Veiled body stocking as a strapless dress, thrown over exaggerated jodhpurs Marni The usual jumble of colours and prints toned down to layers of silk and chiffon D&G Toreador-neat black trousers and cropped jackets Missoni Sarong shapes and gold-and-silver beaded tank dresses suggest future nomads

  
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• From New York to Paris to Tokyo

  Par honghearts dans Accueil le 30 Mars 2010 à 04:30

  From New York to Paris to Tokyo, this art professional and globe-trotter maintains a look that's clever, chic--and fuss-free.
  When she's home, which is roughly half the year, Louise Neri can often be seen speeding around downtown Manhattan on her bicycle, a lovely dress by Saint Laurent or Marni billowing around her, a helmet invariably on her head, Newton sneakers on her feet, heels tucked into her bag, and, as often as not, a couple of totes of fresh produce balanced on her handlebars. (Neri is an accomplished cook who frequently entertains friends and colleagues in her twenty-second-floor Greenwich Village apartment.)
  Beyond the two-wheel commute to the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea, where she is a director, Neri has traveled far and continues to do so. Born in New Zealand to English and Indian parents and raised in Australia, she left Melbourne in her mid-20s to take up a curatorial fellowship in buy tiffany accessories, and has lived between Europe and New York ever since. Not to mention that the rabid internationalism of the contemporary-art world requires heavy rotation on airplanes. In the past two months alone, Neri has been in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Paris, Tokyo, Gwangiu (Korea), Venice, and Moscow. Next month she will attend the Miami Art Basel fair before flying home to see family, taking in another visit to Japan en route.
  Considering all this, it is not surprising that Neri, who always looks fresh and beautifully dressed in a style that combines Australian ease with the refined aesthetic of European designers, is a genius at packing. "I pack like I cook," she says. "I plan it all in my head. And then it takes me half an hour."
  Practicality is one of her mantras, though she never sacrifices style. "I like buy tiffany necklaces that are easy to wear," she says. "I pride myself on being able to get dressed in five minutes." The resort collections offer an excellent cruising ground for wearable, glamorous pieces flexible enough to adapt to her needs. "I sometimes travel for a weekend," she says. "But the last few times I've been traveling for three weeks or more, with very different requirements and seasonal differences--sometimes even going from summer to winter."
  "I'm drawn to structure, line, cut, beautiful fabrics, and innovative twists"
  We start our resort review with one of Neri's current passions: Yves Saint Laurent. "He always makes great dresses," she says of Stefano Pilati's designs. "They just work really beautifully. They don't need any accessorizing. They're very respectful. They're elegant, but they're not stuffy. And what's also very nice about them is that people like them but they don't know what they are--one thing I really resist is being worn by clothes." She picks out the bustier suiting dresses and pantsuits with shirts underneath, a dress in blue shirting--"I think shirtdresses are the best invention in the world. People should make more of them, and experiment with them"--and another in beige with diagonal gatherings. "It's quite sculptural and very easy--you could wear it during the cheap tiffany and dress it up with heels at night." All perfect for the art trail.
  Her job--among other projects, she is currently putting together shows with Yayoi Kusama, the octogenarian Japanese legend who shot to fame in the sixties for her installations with polka dots, and the young Japanese architect Junya Ishigami, known for designing the new Yohji Yamamoto boutique in New York--calls for good presentation but no major formality. In her 20-plus years in the art world, Neri has seen a big upsurge in how people dress, but the rules are loose. "There's a certain decorum that's required," she says, "but a lot of it can be very casual." For galas, which happen daily in certain seasons, "you can sort of wear anything you want to--a long dress or something really fun." (Recent favorites include a floor-length black silk Margiela shirtdress and Dries van Noten's explosively colored, mismatched prints.)
  Other activities demand different looks. "When you're working with an artist in their studio," she explains, "it's not terribly appropriate to be dressed up." (She opts for pants and sweaters, such as those from Balenciaga's capsule collection.) But mostly she wears dresses. "I wear them much more than I choose tiffany to," she remarks, "and heels. It's not a requirement, but I like them. I'm a grown-up, not a kid." Marni is one of her staples. "They always make really good dresses for day that are generally very unfussy and easy to move in. And they last. I have dresses that I've worn for ten years, and people always follow me around and ask where I got them."
  A brief stop at Nina Ricci yields an intricate, A-line denim skirt that combines interest with informality, which she pairs with the label's fine silk knits. Tall and slender, Neri nonetheless deems her frame too athletic for most of Olivier Theyskens's ethereal silhouettes. At Lanvin, another line she buys mainly for day and appreciates for its simplicity--"Lanvin dresses are the most comfortable things in the world"--she raves about the resort jewelry, the jacket-like cardigans, and the relaxed evening dresses, singling out in particular another of her beloved chemises, floor-length and midnight blue. "I like to wear long dresses sometimes in place of a mid-calf dress," she says. "They just give that extra bit of glamour."
  Neri has always loved clothes, which she considers with the same scrutiny and appreciation she applies to an artwork, a furniture design or a fabulous dish. "I'm drawn to structure, line, cut, beautiful fabrics, and innovative twists," she says. "I detest bling and fuss. I've always enjoyed looking at what's coming up and, according to my needs at the time, bought the clothes I liked." She remembers her excitement in her early 20s, when she ran a small arts complex, at the opening of Mr. Figgins, a store in a Victorian building that she describes as "a very brave attempt to bring the best of everything offered in Paris right into the center of Melbourne." Here she bought her first Azzedine Alaia pieces, including a suede hunting jacket with a knit waist she still wears. "At the time, it was the most expensive thing I'd ever bought. I gazed at it for weeks. Then I figured out I could buy it on layaway. There were only about ten made, and I remember Grace Jones had one." Later, in Paris, she came to know the designer. "I wore it once, and Azzedine was so shocked to see it.
  "I'm not much of an impulse buyer," she continues. "I take note of all the seasonal looks in the previews, but I never preorder. It isn't until I actually try something on that I make my decisions, and always carefully. These days clothes are so expensive that I feel you really have to think before you buy."
  "These days clothes are so expensive that you really have to think before you buy"
  At Balenciaga, Neri lights up at the extensive resort collection, which could happily fill her wardrobe for a full year. "It's really wearable, clever, appealing," she says, finding numerous separates and a handful of dresses, including a vintage-looking black viscose piece with ruffles, and a long fuchsia silk wrap dress. She loves the strappy heels and geometric knits, but most of all, she is drawn to a black draped evening top patterned with multicolored square paillettes. "It's fantastic," she exclaims. "It looks like a cityscape at night. I choose tiffany accessories wear it to a dinner or a museum event or a party."
  After her first trip to the Venice Biennale many years ago, where she found herself feeling "inept and unprofessional" toting heavy bags around the city's cobbled streets, Neri made a point of streamlining her baggage and traveling light. Until now, that is . . . helped by the example of a fashion PR friend with offices in several countries, she discovered German Rimowa luggage, and it changed her life. "Don't ask me why, but I used to have an aversion to wheelie bags. These are incredibly light. You can push them with one finger." The result? An enormous suitcase she checks in, taking Saint Laurent's patent leather Downtown bag for the cabin as she hunkers down in her Qantas pajamas under a hooded Marni minidress worn as a cover-up on those endless flights.
  The Rimowa will clearly be welcoming some great new additions for the winter season.

  
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