Liza Minnelli cuts a tiny figure curled into an oversized chair in her riverside hotel suite. The fathomless black eyes are the only sign of animation in a face the colour of parchment.

She’s wearing silver, high-heeled pixie boots, black velvet trousers and a black hoodie with white skull-and-cross-bones appliquéd up each sleeve, the last thing, apparently, in current New York chic.

If she will forgive the observation, she looks like death warmed up. She smiles that crooked smile. ‘Listen honey, I’m not jet-lagged,’ she says, pulling on an ever-present Marlboro Lite. ‘I’m jet-thumped. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.’

Ten days ago, she left New York with her lifelong friend Rock (son of Yul) Brynner for Vladivostok where he was tracing his lineage. ‘We’ve known each other since we were five. He’s the first boy I ever kissed.’

She then flew to London (via Korea) to perform at the White Rose Ball this Sunday in aid of the Holocaust Centre in Nottingham. ‘The more we educate young people about the terrible things that happened,’ says Liza, ‘the less likely they could ever happen again.’

At 65, the woman is unstoppable. Four marriages, two hip replacements, one new knee, a near-fatal bout of viral encephalitis, Liza has survived them all. ‘I’ve been down,’ she says, at one point, ‘but I’ve never been out.’

Unlike her mother Judy Garland, who died in London in 1969, awash with booze and pills, aged 47 — and about whom she is ‘bored, bored, bored’ of talking.

But while we’re — briefly — on the subject, she does let slip a sweet, rather revealing tale about Judy.

As a child, she’d wait in the wings at Garland’s concerts, a trembling cup of tea in her hand to deliver to her mother when the final curtain fell.

‘One day, I said to her: “Mama, why are you always so sad when you sing Over The Rainbow?” She looked at me. “It’s what they want,” she said. “Now let’s go get a hamburger.” Forget anything you’ve read. That’s how I remember her. That’s my reality.’

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LeAnn Rimes knows that public scrutiny comes with the territory of her chosen profession. She just wishes all the fodder about her, whether good or bad, was actually about her profession! "Time to move on," the Grammy winner laments to The Boot, referring to the much-publicized drama surrounding the demise of her first marriage and start of her relationship with new husband, Eddie Cibrian. The 29-year-old songbird isn't avoiding blame for the controversial timing of her romance with the actor, she's just ready for her music to be more publicly prominent than her personal life.

'Lady and Gentlemen' may accomplish just that. That's the title of LeAnn's brand-new album, out today (Sept. 27), mostly comprised of tunes originally recorded by men -- some of the greatest men in country music history, including George Jones, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson -- to whom she has looked up throughout her own 15-year career. The cover songs span from the 1946 classic, 'Sixteen Tons,' to 1989's 'When I Call Your Name,' by the project's co-producer, Vince Gill. LeAnn also reflects her own personality with two very different original tracks: the sassy, clever 'Crazy Women,' and the thought-provoking 'Give.'

The Boot chats with LeAnn about finding courage to put her own spin on some of the most beloved country songs of all time. The svelte star also gets very candid with us about her annoyance with the tabloids shifting from her philandering to her physique. And we get to the bottom of all those 'Playboy' rumors.

Lindsay Lohan was not welcome at Marc Jacobs' fashion show after party last week, but that didn't mean she actually stayed home and forgot about it. Lohan arrived at the Dream Hotel Downtown on Thursday evening, and door staff told her she wasn't getting it. Unhappy with their answer, LiLo called up her friend and owner of the hotel, Vikram Chatwal, who came and personally escorted her into the party.

But not long after sitting down in a booth near Dakota Fanning, security came and escorted Ms. Lohan right back on out of the party.

Lohan eventually walked over to the Electric Room, another bar in the hotel, and kept to herself. Also present at the Electric Room that evening were Rachel Zoe, Mick Jagger, and Vladimir Doronin.

People magazine has released its list of 10 Best Dressed, with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge the only non-American to make the list.

Gossip Girl star Blake Lively topped the list of women chosen for "taking fashion up a notch this year".

Also deemed worthy for their fashion sense were movie stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Alba, Mila Kunis and singer Jennifer Lopez.

While Catherine, formerly Kate Middleton, has been touted as a fashion star by many since her marriage to Prince William earlier this year, some of that shine may be wearing off.

In recent weeks many fashion luminaries have questioned Catherine's status as a trendsetter, calling her instead a "trend-follower".

Gregg Andrews, a fashion director at leading US department store chain Nordstrom said she wouldn't be looked at twice if she wasn't a royal.

"She is stylish, but she's not setting trends, she's following trends," Andrews told the Daily Mail.

"If you take Kate out of the royal family, put her on a street in New York, you wouldn't look at her twice. She's a beautiful woman, but she blends into a crowd."

Nevertheless her elegant style does appeal to some designers wanting to cater to a more conservative consumer mindset, with her "classically patrician look".

What we love about Leighton Meester is her ability to turn her fashion hand to styling the latest trends.

The Gossip Girl was snapped at The Oranges premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival at the weekend wearing this gorgeous white Broiderie Anglaise shirt and skirt from Alexander McQueen’s resort 2012 collection.

And did she stop there with the McQueen? Hell no. The actress rocked the label head-to-toe with a Cigar belt, Bone & Cigar skull clutch and Ocelot print curved heels (so of the moment).

Overall, we think this sophisticated, Mad Men-esque look works well for Leighton; we love the small-volume Sixties ‘do and subtle brown smoky eye (though we are finding the colour palette a little too matchy).

But we want to know what you think: is Leighton Sixties-sophis or simply too straight?

To give credit where it is due, the local fashion scene was quite pre-emptive with Feeha Jamshed trying to bring the gharara back into main stream fashion with her cotton printed variant of this regal classic and a few futuristic spacey pieces last year at the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2. And if one considers space fashion as a hallmark of the 60s, then Adnan Pardesy’s Guggenheim collection was it, while Ammar Belal’s Corporate Resort wear for women with pencil and miniskirts, dresses, high-waist pants and skinny ties were a more obvious interpretation.

The international fashion gurus soon followed — inspired by January Jones and the rest of “Mad Men’s” uber-stylish cast — when Miuccia Prada launched the Autumn Winter 2010 collection hailing the era of bouffant hair and pill-box hats (heavily patronised and gracefully adorned by the uber-chic Jackie Kennedy). The Prada collection had a trickle down effect which was observed recently at the London and Milan fashion weeks with labels like Jean Paul Gautier, Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, Versace, and Victoria Beckham getting into the 60s grove.

The 60s is an era of interesting juxtaposition and contradiction: fitted miniskirts coexist with sack-like shift dresses and full skirts, and this was perhaps the only period where fashion hadn’t courted seriously in a while. What’s more, the mass retail brand Banana Republic called shot gun on the trend and recently launched a capsule collection of 65 pieces with the “Mad Men” logo. When a look transcends from the screen to the ramp to retail, you know it’s made its way into popular culture and will soon scurry its way into your closet as well. The Banana Republic collection has been designed for both genders under the creative guidance of “Mad Men” costume designer Janie Bryant.

With the fashion season kicking off next month (when the country witnesses a swing of fashion weeks launched from every city, counsel and media body), would the 60s, a period considered to be one of immense prosperity and progressive thought in Pakistan make its presence on the ramps? A brand like Republic, already a strong and dependable label for the style-savvy male, is sure to benefit. But let’s see who successfully picks up on the trend in a more eastern aesthetic. Designer Zahra Shahjahan, who pleasantly surprised us all by showcasing an entire collection of shift dresses-cum-kameezes in phulkari with churidars when the entire industry obsessed over longer lengths, may just offer something new this season.



Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2011.