BlackBook

Without skipping a beat, fashion in 2011 is already off to the digital start we anticipated -- and the latest venture to emerge is near and dear to us. Former BlackBook Fashioneer blogger Alisa Gould-Simon has launched Pose, a mobile-based platform that's set to change the concept of in-store shopping as we know it.

Launching today is a new virtual boutique called Founders & Followers, which will house not only independent designers but artwork from fashion illustrators as well. Peruse dresses from Brooklyn's Bodkin, scope the latest oxfords from Dieppa Restrepo, and find luxurious leathers from the likes of Gar-de and Surface to Air. Other familiar names on the roster: Forget Me Not, Shipley & Halmos, and Faux-Real. But there's plenty of room for discovery, too. "Founders & Followers will be the only fashion e-commerce site to offer their customers an opportunity to own a piece of art from established and renowned fashion illustrators including: Sophie Toulouse, Stephane Manel, Marie Molterer, and Esra Roise," says its press release.

In recent months a slew of magazines have featured less idealized images of beauty, running editorials or entire issues dedicated to non-retouched models and/or plus-size mannequins. V did it and so did Glamour. More than one non-American mag has gone the no-retouching route, including Australian rag Dolly, which debuted a retouch-free issue last June, and French Elle', with a makeup and photoshop-free installation in May of 2009. Harper's Bazaar did a hefty shoot last year that featured supes like Cindy Crawford sans digital enhancement too. Now it's France's turn.

The party is just getting started in Austin and will go on long after St. Patrick's Day. The swarms of geeks in town for SXSW Interactive have exited the building, while a mass influx of hipsters from all corners of the countries has converged here, in Austin, for all the free booze and music their skinny bodies can stomach. With too many showcases to count, SXSW feels a bit like Iron Man for music nerds. So what's the best approach should one hope of coming out the other end relatively unscathed? We caught up with Abbey Braden -- the lens behind Punk Photo, and an editor at 'Sup Magazine -- to get a seasoned SXSW-goer's guide for the hottest party and which newbie acts can't be missed.

More kindling for the skinnorexic firestorm plaguing the fashion industry. In an addition to endless banter surrounding the prospective role of plus-size models, two major mannequins are speaking out about their own figures. First off is Kim Noorda, a model who has walked for everyone from Prada and Chanel to Burberry. She recently kept a diary for Vogue UK, published in the magazine's April issue, that includes quite a few candid musings on pressure she suffered to lose weight. "Kim had been identified by her agent at DNA as a young woman on the precipice of an eating disorder, and therefore a worthy candidate for an intervention underwritten by the CFDA Health Initiative," Vogue UK says in its introduction. Noorda's year-long account, which is surprisingly intimate, goes on to reveal that "people in the fashion industry see every gram of fat."

There was no shortage of sparkle at the Oscars last night. Seemingly every major actress got the same memo: bling is back. That, or mimic the red carpet and don floor length scarlet frocks. From Carrie Mulligan's over-sized diamond earrings and sparkly black Prada number, to Zoe Saldana's crystal-encrusted bodice (which topped off an abundance of pouf) and Sandy Bullock's sheer and crystal combo, there was nary a non-sparkly dress in the joint. Some of the shine was brought on by way of borderline too much metallic (ahem, Julianne Moore). Even the nameless gowned ladies handing over Oscars followed suit.

“It’s sort of like writing a hit song—there really is no recipe for success,” says streetstyle photographer Hanneli Mustaparta, describing her criteria when choosing the high-fashion-in-everyday places that surfaces on her eponymous blog. “Some people think the more accessories on an outfit the better, but real style is so far from that. It’s all about being confident and knowing how to choose good things for the proportions of your body.”

“A reversible tank top. Why does no one do that?” wondered Mandy Coon. So she made one. “It’s something that I had been really wanting.” This sort of innovation characterizes the 33-year-old designer’s edgy, structural, self-named line, which launched during last season’s New York Fashion Week. Coon began as a DJ with friends in high places. In February of 2008, when she was better known in New York as one half of 2 Mandy DJs, her dramatic black bowl cut inspired YSL to send a parade of ravenbobbed models down its runway. (“It was actually very weird,” says Coon, who was at the show.)

Who What Wear Daily makes note of the move away from the mini today. Citing trendsetters from models Erin Wasson and Kate Moss to designer Rachel Roy, WWWD says we may be in store for a change in hemlines thanks to little relief from the recession (also known as the 'hemline index'). "When the stock market is aloft, short skirts rule, whereas in a tight time, when the stocks are plummeting, so falls the hemlines," says WWWD, and skirts they are a falling. Refinery 29 likewise picked up on the trend specifically with regard to skirts, advising that the only rule to lengthier styles should you not be blessed with a runway-ready figure is to opt for a high-waist and a plain print.

Simon Doonan, the Creative Director of Barney's New York, is a busy man. But never too busy to give a good quote. Having just finished the uptown destination's holiday window displays (this year, the windows are all about SNL), Doonan gave a quippy interview to Luxist at the annual Moth Ball, alongside his significant other, Jonathan Adler.