Can't wait for Summer Bikinis!

Here is some fun photos of bikinis I found while anxiously waiting for the snow to melt...

Designer Swimwear in the Winter???

CANADA/FASHION - If you live in Canada or some equally northern country the idea of going swimming in the Winter may sound really ridiculous. ie. Check out our older post about Bikini Skiers.

But lets pretend for a moment that you belong to a gym with a pool... or you have a YMCA membership, who also have pools. Well then, suddenly the idea of wearing designer swimwear in the Winter does not sound so bad... especially if there a cute swim instructor or life guard.

Or maybe you like going to spas where you can luxuriate, or even Women's Retreats in Mexico... Regardless of how and why, its always possible you will be on the lookout for quality swimwear, even though its cold and wintry outside.

Or maybe its BECAUSE its cold outside that you go looking for designer swimwear and a warm place to wear it. ie. Cuba is always nice.

Or maybe you are a supermodel like Devon Owens (see photo on the right) or Adriana Lima. I mention Devon Owens because I like her nose. Its bizarrely cute.

After all its not like the rest of us wear bikinis socially... unless of course we are going to beauty pageants all the time, or perhaps attending beauty school. Note: People often misinterpret what beauty schools actually teach. They do not actually teach people how to be beautiful. What they really teach is cosmetology, the use of cosmetic make-up, hair styling, skin treatments, manicures/pedicures, etc. Its really the safe non-hazardous alternative to liposuction and breast implants.

Anywho, my point is that it is NOT a fashion crime to wear a bikini or other forms of swimwear of the winter. ie. A person could go skiing in their bikini if they were quite daring and then hop in the hot tub soon after.

There are lots of other fashion crimes out there that people can break. Wearing swimwear in the winter is not one of them. Now if you were an ERP software developer and a bit clueless when it comes to fashion maybe you would not even care... you know, the type of person who can watch Big Bang Theory and gets every one of the jokes. Or worse, maybe if you were the type of person who plays Dungeons and Dragons... and therefore is so completely beyond hope.

Although I must admit fantasy artists do include quite a few chainmail bikinis in the artwork... but you realize, that stuff cannot be making very good armour.

(I am not certain what the point of the graphic on the right is about, I just thought it was interesting. Apparently it has something to do with avalanches and windchill effects. The colder and windier it is the less likely there will be avalanches.)

Just like bikinis are not very good at keeping you warm. I recommend wearing a hat, a scarf and some gloves while wearing a bikini outside.

Oh oh oh! I just thought of another way someone might wear a bikini in the winter. Figure skating. Seriously. Those girls must be freezing their assets off.

Oh... and I should mention Winter is actually the best time of year to do two things: #1. Exercise, because you use more energy in the winter as your body tries to stay warm. #2. Go shopping for bikinis. Its the off season so you can get some nice prices.

Karolina Kurkova's missing belly button

SUPERMODELS - The mystery behind Karolina Kurkova's missing belly button has been revealed. Because I know y'all having been on the edge of your seats just wondering. The Czech supermodel set tongues wagging (again) last week after she appeared on the catwalk at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show showing off her vanishing belly button. Now her rep has come forward to explain things.

"She had an operation when she was an infant. It's a fact and just thank God she's healthy," the rep said.

"Karolina's body is amazing, but her belly button is unusual," a fashion insider told Page Six magazine. "It disappears in photos, so we keep a collection of belly button shots in different positions, and Photoshop them on to her whenever she's doing a bikini picture."

How clever! Although this, together with those ridiculous fat taunts from earlier this year, means it is definitely time to lay off the poor girl.

Indonesia Allows Bikinis

FASHION/POLITICS - After months of discussions, Indonesian lawmakers have agreed that bikinis are acceptable attire for beaches in the world's most populous Muslim country. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, with Muslims making up some 86.1 percent of the 235 million population.

"Tourists will be able to wear bikinis in special tourist areas, such as in Bali, so Indonesia's tourism industry won't be hurt by this legislation," Democrat Party lawmaker Husein Abdul Azis told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday, October 17.

"We are listening to the protests of stakeholders and people at large," he added, referring to fears the tourism industry would suffer if bikinis were criminalized.

Bikinis were to be criminalized under a new a pornography bill, being debated by the parliament. But politicians and tourism entrepreneurs have warned that the bill would undermine the country's tourism industry.

Indonesia has declared 2008 "Visit Indonesia Year" and hopes to attract seven million visitors, earning 6.7 billion dollars in foreign exchange revenues.

Proposed in 1999, the bill defines porn as sexual material that includes photographs, cartoons, films, poems, vocalization, conversations and body gestures in the media, or in public shows, exhibits or performances.

It calls for criminalizing those who arouse sexual propensity, desires or longings or contravene community ethics, decency or morality. The bill also imposes fines on women who refuse to cover "sensitive" body parts, such as hair, shoulders, midriffs and legs.

It also slaps a seven-year jail term on people caught kissing in public. The porn bill will treat recreational and leisure areas differently.

No word yet on whether Ms Indonesia will also be banned from wearing a bikini.

Paris Hilton strips to her bikini in fake election bid

POLITICS - Socialite and party-girl Paris Hilton has stripped down to a silver stars-and-stripes inspired bikini as part of her mock election campaign for the United States presidency.

The celebrity heiress, who has released two humourous videos and a music video as part of her campaign, has now posed in a US presidential election-inspired photo shoot. It features Hilton's "Secret Service Dudes," and in it she talks about creating a new department for fashion police, being good at sipping a martini and being the best "Commander in Bikini".

Paris For President Lyrics by Paris Hilton

Paris for president,
At the Palms chillin’ with the martini.

Paris for president,
Your commander in bikini.

When they tell you ’bout my policies
To stop the player-hating on the USA,
Incentivize nuclear non-proliferation and ratify Kyoto today.
You can ride in the motorcade…
in the hybrid, pink Escalade!

Paris for president,
Not another oldie cliche.

Paris for president,
you can get married if you’re straight or if you’re gay.

If you’re gonna put lipstick on a pig, make sure that shit it matches her skin tone.
you can trust me with my finger on the button,
“Nucular” is a vocabulary don’t.
Trading in the cabinet for a walk….in….closet…hey!

Paris for president,
America should put me in charge.

Paris for president,
look at Bush it cant be that hard

Simon Cowell, he might be a little mean,
but when his oldest kicks the bucket
I’ll put him on the court supreme
Then I’ll paint the white house pink
and move Camp David to Maui…

Paris for president,
A proponent of clean energy.

Paris for president,
The real maverick in D.C.

Water boarding is torture and,
global warming is totally not hot.
I’ll make a department called the Fashion Police
and boost the economy with all of the new jobs.
Make over Lady Liberty…in Donna, Tommy, and Calvin Klein.

Paris for president,
Get your cute little butt out there and vote.

Paris for president,
Dispensing beauty tips and hope.

Paris for president, hey!
Paris for president, hey!
Paris for president, hey!

I’m Paris Hilton and I approve this message.

Bust is a top priority when shopping

Swimwear designer offers advice on finding right style to suit you

NEW YORK - For most women, shopping for a bathing suit is not on top of their list of favorite things to do. There are unflattering lights to deal with, flashes of skin left dull and dry by the winter and sizing that seems to make no sense, bringing up all sorts of body image issues.

The least swimsuit manufacturers can do is offer a full range of shapes and styles, upping the odds that eventually shoppers will find the best one, right?

Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss thought so. But as a tween and then a teen, Gruss struggled finding a suit that would fit a frame that was petite everywhere but her bust. When she chose a career in fashion design, she made rethinking bathing suits a priority.

``It didn't make sense that swimsuits were in sets. You wouldn't buy your lingerie in sets,'' she said.

On a recent browsing expedition through the swimwear department at the flagship Bloomingdale's on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Gruss pointed out that many companies now offer bathing suit separates and tops based on bust size, as her line does, instead of dress size.

She's not claiming to be the first designer to do these things but she does think the rapid growth of her swimwear collection since it was introduced in 2001 certainly helped nudge the industry forward.

She began with only a handful of bikini styles and it has grown to include 40 prints each season, tankinis and one-piece suits, which she added after she became a mother in 2005.

Gruss thinks she owes that success to not only understanding her customers but also because she is a customer.

``I remember being here with my mom. I looked 29 when I'd put on a bathing suit because the styles that fit me were either too old, too sexy or nothing fit. That was the worst feeling in the world when you're 13,'' she recalled.

Because she was athletic and wanted to be able to move around without worrying about falling out of her bathing suit, she often resorted to a big baggy sweat shirt as a cover-up that rarely came off. Again, not really a look coveted by teens.

Gruss went to the University of California Los Angeles -- bathing-suit country -- and earned degrees in history and art history. Then she went to work at a lingerie factory to learn about fabric, construction and design. Her personal experience as a hard-to-fit figure has influenced everything she's done since launching the Shoshanna label in 1998.

She first produced sundresses because they were easier to market. In 2001, when she introduced swimwear, it was a personally important moment. Then, following the birth of her daughter with husband Josh Gruss, she added children's swimwear under the label of Shoshanna BabyGirl.

Now that she's 31, Gruss is looking for something different from her bathing suits than she did in her sexier single days. She's still trim and petite -- and she's still busty -- but now she needs to be able carry around her daughter, build sand castles and even dive into the water on little Sienna's command. However, she doesn't want to sacrifice style.

Gruss is, after all, part of the socialite set that is photographed regularly, including when she's at play in the Hamptons and elsewhere. For a recent -- and childless -- trip to Jamaica for a wedding, Gruss packed five suits: a pink gingham triangle bikini, two bandeau bikinis, a black eyelet bikini with a halter top and a white eyelet one with a strapless bra top.

``This is to look cool in front of my friends. If my daughter was coming, I'd have a one piece.''

The Bloomingdale's tour starts in her own section. Gruss emphasized that her tops, both for one-piece and two-piece suits, are offered with A-DDD cup sizes in either petite/small or medium/large back widths, similar to bras. (The line is primarily intended for women who wear a dress size of 0-12.)

By using an underwire bra construction with 26 components, including boning on the sides, silicone gripper tape at the top and a classic hook-and-eye closure in the back, Gruss is confident her strapless tops will stay up on women of all bust sizes. They won't flatten a large chest nor slip down on a small one, she said.

When you're in the dressing room, stand up, sit down and move your arms to make sure the suit fits, she said. ``If you think you might fall out in the dressing room, it's definitely not a suit for racing or swimming laps.''

Gruss thinks a teenager might gravitate toward a halter top, perhaps in eyelet or a madras print, because that silhouette offers the most coverage if she chooses to play a little beach volleyball or actually swim.

Conversely, though, the coverage from a halter might also appeal to an older woman who isn't interested in baring as much as she used to.

That doesn't mean this woman isn't sexy, Gruss said. She said a halter-style one piece, especially one with ruching and boning -- both tools to give support and flatter one's figure -- conjures up images of Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s.

A triangle top, especially as part of a string bikini, defines your shape for you, Gruss said, so it works well for a woman who feels her breasts are of unequal size. Also, she said, since it's often adjustable at the neck, it's appealing for someone looking for a little lift.

In general, suits with higher backs have more support, and crisscross straps are sturdier than tank straps.

Gruss pointed out a green one-piece by La Blanca with a shirred bodice, which hides a multitude of flaws, and then a Michael Kors one-piece with a plunging V front that's laced together with a chain.

The Kors suit creates the ``illusion of perfection,'' she said, because who else would dare wear such a risque suit than a perfect woman?

Except that, upon close examination, it's not that racy. Gruss highlighted the high back, built-in cups and full-coverage bottom.

The tankini is a phenomenon that Gruss doesn't quite get. She sees the appeal of a sportier style but it often comes off as a little matronly, she said. If you're going to wear one, make sure the top meets or covers the bottom and try a youthful, trend-right baby-doll style.

Gruss identified other key looks for the summer of 2007: geometric or nautical prints that have a 1970s jet-set vibe; the sweet sexiness of a full-coverage, Brigitte Bardot-style bikini in a gingham or eyelet fabric; or metallics. Gold, she said, is flattering on almost any skin tone.

``Swim is always all over the place but this year is very feminine, very celebratory of the body,'' Gruss said.

Pregnant beer babes in Bikinis

Brazilian beer company, Nova Schin, introduced a non-alcoholic beer, and their management actually approved of an ad campaign featuring pregnant women, dressed in bikinis and daisy dukes. More pics here.

Supposedly, all these ads are photoshopped pregnancies because 1.you'd have to seriously have no shame whatsoever to pose for this if you were really pregnant, and 2. how do you go about casting for pregnant hotties for a beer ad without looking like complete scum.

In the season opener of CSI:NY, one of the "suspects" in the death of a businessman was a pregnant stripper. I am kidding you not. On stage with her pole was the bump-and-grind belly. Below is the video clip.

Another mention, here's a pic of a family sports car ad with a pregnant mom in a couture one-piece swim suit and heels looking like a hood ornament.

This stuff honestly makes me want to vomit, and then go and pummel some ass-anine executive who actually gave a thumbs up on this stuff. Yes, I'm all for showing that pregnant women can still be sexy during their pregnancy but this ABSOLUTELY not the way to do it. This stuff is highly exploitive. For CSI:NY, they didn't have to show us the pregnant stripper actually on stage. They could have just visited her backstage in the dressing room. We would have gotten the point.

Am I the only one who is nauseated by seeing pregnant beer babes and strippers?

Will posing in an online "Hottie Girl" contest hurt a college girl's future?

If you're a college Coed and are thinking about entering a "Hottie Girl" type online contest for the potential to win cash prizes to pay off your student loans, you might want to think twice. In the SFGate, there is a story asking if photos of online beauty contests can hurt a college woman's future.

For example, the site College Humor has this popular hottie contest called, "America's Hottest College Girl 2007" where girls are matched up against each other each day, and the voting public gets to vote who climbs the ladder until we get a winner. For each girl there are even profile details where they ask things like, "What are the beat and worst pick up lines? and Have you ever made a guy cry?" Yeah, it's deep stuff.

Most, not all, of the girls are dressed in a bikini, swimsuit, or some kind of tightly clingy ensemble showing loads of skin. No nudity is allowed but you can pose in your best Maxim or FHM pose which mind you is locker pinup material. Because this contest is online, these pictures will stay around forevah!

Will the fact that you entered or participated in a hottie or beauty contest hurt your future? I say it depends on what kind of contest it is, what kind of pictures you are posing in, and what do you want to do in your future? If you want to be a Paris Hilton or Jenna Jameson when you grow up, that is one thing, but if you want to be a in a future position that requires the utmost level of respectability and honor like being a Chief Justice, school teacher, or even a potential Miss USA, then I would seriously, seriously sit down and think about what kind of risk you're willing to bear for the sake of having some fun and popularity in some skin baring hottness tournament.

* Are you going to be proud of being in this contest and having your parents, future husband and children see you nearly naked posing seductively for millions of oogling hormonal males?

* Picture yourself 10 years from now, jockeying for a Vice-President or Partner position at the Firm, and they throw on the desk the pictures of you in that wet t-shirt contest you entered when you were a college sophomore. Will you be prepared to handle the jokes and the taunting from co-workers who are trying to bring you down because people get really mean when competing at work?

* Think of two people you highly respect and regard, and picture yourself telling them about this contest you want to enter and show them the pictures you want to submit. Will they support your decision or not?

The lessons in being young is doing stupid crazy things we think we can. But now, we live in a digital age where pictures, videos, and voice recordings can live on forever, and are accessible to anyone once it hits the Internet. I'm not saying you can't go do wild and crazy things. Just take a moment to think. If you think that you don't care, really, you just might later on.

Itsy Bitty, Teeny Weeny Solar-Powered Bikini

It's curious that people are still squeamish about the cost of going solar (seriously people, it pays for itself!), but when it comes to tiny swimsuits with solar panels, we're all in.

The awkward-looking solar bikini created by Andrew Schneider (seen at right) hit the gadget world earlier this year and received all kinds of praise for its ability to charge your gadgets while you soak up some rays. Now, swimming champion Gemma Mengual was photographed walking down the runway in a solar powered one-piece by Triumph, leading me to believe we will be seeing more of these bad boys.

I won't deny the chicness of solar power, but I will deny any requests to wear a swimsuit with any extra gadget holsters, mini solar panels or wires. I can charge my phone or iPod on my solar powered portable charger without getting hot, sweaty and looking painfully uncomfortable. Thank you very much.

Size zero vs size 18

'Size zero' has become one of today's most contentious phrases. To some women it's the Holy Grail, to be attained whatever the cost to their long-term health and even fertility. To others, it's the terrifying obsession of an influential few which will lead impressionable young girls to develop eating disorders. Here, two women - one size 0, the other size 18 - pose for these dramatic pictures and defiantly defend their very different body shapes.

Sasha Larner, 29, is a model and mother of two boys, Crawford, six, and Presley, three. She lives in Kent with her partner Matthew, 36, a carpenter. She has been a size zero (UK size four) for the past two years. Sasha says:

A few weeks ago, I went out for the evening wearing my favourite figure-hugging orange dress. Although it covers up my figure at the front, the dress is cut up to my thigh on one side, showing off my long legs, and the back has lots of little straps, revealing patches of flesh.

Walking into the bar with Matthew, I felt sexy and womanly and revelled in the admiring glances. My job involves people looking at me all day and I admit it's enjoyable to be appreciated by the opposite sex.

But - and I have no doubt about it - there were probably a few women looking at me not with admiration but disgust at what they perceive to be my "too-skinny" figure. I hear it from women all the time: "Do you actually eat? You're far too thin."

Well, I admit it, I am a size zero. But I like it, I'm healthy and I refuse to apologise. As far as I'm concerned, I look good, eat three healthy meals a day, exercise moderately and lead an active life looking after my two children, a house and working as often as I can. My weight - 7st 8lb - is not the result of any crazy crash diet but the result of my lifestyle as a hectic working mother.

When these women criticise me for my shape, I just ask them back: "Would you say to a large woman, 'Did you eat all the pies?." I find it offensive and insulting, and it makes me angry.

However, there was a time, I admit, when it wasn't always this way. As a teenager I was quite body-conscious, like many other young girls. Although I was a slim size 10, I still worried whether I looked good enough, especially as I harboured dreams of becoming a model.

When I was 16, I went to London to audition for a modelling school. The interviewer asked me various, quite normal, questions - what I hoped to achieve, what I was studying at school - and then suddenly asked me to strip down to my underwear and jump on some scales.

When my weight came up - 9st 3lb - the interviewer looked me up and down and shook her head: "You're a little bit big, aren't you? If you are serious about modelling, you have to lose weight." Outside, I collapsed in tears. I'd always been happy with my figure, but now I started to doubt myself.

That evening, I ran up to my room, put on my bikini and stood in front of the mirror examining my body. However hard I looked, I just couldn't see what the woman was talking about.

A few weeks later they offered me a place - which half surprised me because of the interview. But after my experience with the scales, I decided against it.

For a couple of years I trained as a make-up artist and my weight remained a steady 9st. I'd learned to be happy again and I actually enjoyed the curves that my size ten figure afforded me - particularly my C-cup breasts.

Then, at the age of 23, I fell pregnant with Crawford. It was in the months following his birth that I dropped to a size eight. I didn't eat any less, but I put it down to the stresses of being a new mother - feeding, changing nappies, being woken up in the night.

It wasn't until Crawford was six months old and I finally had a bit of time to concentrate on myself that I noticed my clothes were a bit too big. It was something of a novelty.

I'd never put any pressure on myself to lose weight, but I did get a kick out of slipping into a size eight. Also, when I tried the clothes on, I noticed how nicely they hung off my new shape.

For the next few years I remained that size, but after the birth of my second son, Presley, my weight dropped again - this time to 7st 8lb and a UK size four (U.S. size zero).

Again, I put this down to rushing around after two young children. At no point did I change my diet or decrease my calorie intake.

A couple of friends remarked that my face was looking a bit gaunt and my cheekbones were protruding, but although I took on board their comments (for a short time I had dropped to 7st and did make an effort to eat a little bit extra to get back up to 7st 8lb), I didn't think there was anything wrong with the way I looked.

In fact, I was quite proud of my 32-22-32 measurements, which are even less than the standard size zero measurements of 31 1/2-23-34.

My modelling work was going through the roof, too. Having shrunk a couple of sizes I was suddenly in much greater demand. I had a few catwalk jobs, even though I'm a little on the short side for their 5ft 8in requirement. I also found myself getting a lot more work in adverts and a huge amount of catalogue opportunities.

I think it really helps that, since getting to a size zero, my face is much more structured in terms of having defined cheekbones and so on - which is just what's needed for fashion photography. My earnings in the past two years have trebled.

Some of the other models can be a little envious. Sometimes, at the catwalk shows, they say: "I wish I had a waist like yours."

But I tell them they shouldn't starve themselves - because I certainly don't.

People are meant to be a certain way, and I think it's terrible if young girls force themselves to be something they're not. I'm not naive. As a mother, it does worry me that young girls see pictures of celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Nicole Richie - who are both painfully thin - and think they have to be that way.

When I look at Nicole Richie, who is even tinier than me, I do wonder how she could naturally be so small. She can't be eating enough.

At least I have a shape: I'm not just skin and bones. Not all overweight people are overeaters, just like not all size zero women starve themselves.

Mikyla Dodd, 29, played Chloe Bruce in Channel 4's Hollyoaks. The actress, who is single and lives in London, is 6ft, size 18 and weighs 15st 7lb. When she joined ITV's Celebrity Fit Club in January last year, she weighed 19st 2lb but lost 44lb through healthy eating and exercise. Mikyla says:

Despite appearing on Hollyoaks, this is the first time I have ever been asked to take my clothes off for a glamorous photoshoot.

Are you incredulous at my audacity in believing the British public may want to see someone of my generous proportions naked? Or are you relieved that amid the size zero hype we are spoon-fed as a misguided interpretation of attractiveness, there's an image of a larger woman looking - if I do say so myself - pretty foxy?

I hope you conclude the latter, and that my pictures are the beginning of the womanly woman's fightback.

Why are we bombarded with airbrushed images of unobtainable female bodies - and made to feel inadequate if we don't match up? The trend for women to be ever-more skinny is frightening.

So Posh has the waist of a seven-year-old. Am I to go on a crash diet and develop an eating disorder in order to be in vogue? No, I'm not. I'm a real woman, with real curves - and more than a few wobbly bits thrown in. So what?

I am perfectly content with my lot. If I never lose another pound, I will be happy. I am a desirable woman. I've got great boobs and my last boyfriend said I had a nice bum. I've certainly got no inhibitions when it comes to the bedroom. I know for a fact that you don't have to be slim to be sexy.

I was a big child. I was also greedy and loved food. I gained weight quickly because, if I was hungry, I would eat at home then visit other people and say I hadn't eaten.

However, I do wonder whether I would have been so happy if I was a child in today's society. Things are so different now. I watched the TV footage about that poor 14st eight-year old who was in the newspapers the other week and thought it was a tragedy. I don't know how his mother can look at herself in the mirror.

My weight began to seriously rocket when I was 17 and started to prepare my own food. I was eating five or six meals a day and, at my heaviest when I was 21, I weighed nearly 25st and was a size 28. It wasn't a happy time and the only thing that alleviated my depression was food.

I was in complete denial about how big I was getting. I was working in the plus-size High Street shop Evans, so I always managed to buy clothes that would fit, allowing me to sink further into denial. I was permanently exhausted. But I still wouldn't accept how big I had got.

I feel much better now that I've lost some weight - but I'd never want to be a size zero. Pictures of people like Nicole Richie in her swimwear are so worrying. They are all skin and bone, and look as though they might snap.

The size zero craze is going to leave countless young women with eating disorders. I really fear for them.

I no longer feel I should be ashamed of being a bigger woman and I've got a much more relaxed view about my appearance. Men do not want to snuggle up to waifs. They want boobs and a bum.

I hope my pictures strike a chord. I may not have the best body in the world, but it's the only one I've got - so I love it, wobbly bits and all.

Armani Junior Ad Too Controversial?

A Giorgio Armani Junior advertisement may be the next fashion ad to spark a heated debate. The ad, which features a little girl in a bikini top and shorts, has caught the attention of the Spanish authorities who are questioning whether the picture depicts the child in a sexually inappropriate way.

The investigation into the ad began days after Dolce and Gabbana were forced to withdraw their racy "fantasy rape" ad from circulation. The chief of Madrid's regional government child protection said he will be asking the advertising industry self-regulator to decide if the image should be pulled.

Reportedly, the ad, which can be viewed on the Armani website, has compelled several parents to complain. Arturo Canalda, head of child interests in Madrid said, "It's an advert where little girls aren't portrayed in the attitude of little girls...They are wearing make- up and they are about six or seven."

In response to the controversy, Armani's camp issued this email statement: "The matter will be reviewed once complete information has been received concerning the specific complaint."

In the midst of such controversy, and enforced censorship, where is the line drawn; who decides what's art and what's inappropriate?

Dolce & Gabbana Cancel Controversial Ad Campaign

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the duo behind the popular design label D&G, are withdrawing their ad from circulation after protests erupted in Italy and Spain.

The ad, which women's rights groups call a "fantasy rape," features a lone woman in a prone position being held down by a shirt-less man while a group of men looks on. While D&G is known for their racy ad campaigns, many women's groups think this photo has gone too far and that it promotes violence against women.

In the U.S, the ad ran in the March issue of Esquire and it promted this response from Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization for Women: "...the idea that even a stylized image of rape appeals to a broad readership of men is disturbing."

Dolce & Gabbana insist that the ad was never meant to be controversial and that it represented an erotic dream; a sexual game.

The timing for the ad's release couldn't have been worse; Spain was in the midst of dealing with a large wave of crimes against women at the time of publication, and public outrage over the image was high.

Earlier this week, after demands from the Spanish government and Italian senators, Dolce and Gabbana decided to withdraw the ads from all publications.

The debate rages over whether or not this image represents an artistic interpretation of a sexual fantasy, or if it just glorifies rape. As the fashion industry continues to push the envelope and strives to remain cutting edge the line between risque and offensive continues to blur.

So, just how far is too far?

Brave Kylie models swimwear

Kylie Minogue has posed in a bikini in one of her first photo-shoots since battling breast cancer and breaking up with boyfriend Olivier Martinez.

The petite singer, 38, looked happy and healthy as she modelled for high street fashion chain H&M on a beach in Mexico, The Sun reports.

A spokesman for Kylie, who is still getting over her split from French actor actor Olivier, told the paper: "This photo shoot means a lot to her.

"It is incredibly brave of her to pose in swimwear."

Kylie underwent a partial mastectomy and chemotherapy after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005.

Last month she completed her comeback tour and broke up with Olivier.

H&M said they had chosen Kylie to model the special "H&M loves Kylie" swimwear range as a tribute to her courage.

The range, which includes 15 styles, will go on sale in shops from May.

Alicia Mayer wears a lettuce bikini for PETA

The FHM cover model agrees to be covered in lettuce for the pro-vegetarian ad of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).



Sexily clad in a bikini made of only a few lettuce leaves, actress and FHM cover model Alicia Mayer posed for a brand-new ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific.

Alicia urges people to embrace a healthy, humane, and delicious meatless diet. The star of Lagot Ka, Isusumbong Kita posed provocatively while holding a placard that says "Let Vegetarianism Grow On You!"

"I'm asking people to turn over a new leaf and go vegetarian," she says in a statement. "With so many delicious alternatives now available, it's easier than ever to enjoy great food without causing animal suffering."

Alicia follows the likes of Diether Ocampo, Ornussa Cadness, and Borgy Manotoc in stripping off to highlight the pro-animal campaigns of PETA.

Last November 2006, Diether made a bold statement for the animal-rights group when he posed with a placard placed strategically on his private parts that says "Naked Truth: Animals Don't Belong in Zoos."

The two models—and real-life sweethearts—Borgy and Ornussa agreed to be covered in tiger body paint last September for PETA's ad advocating the tagline: "Even the wildest animals don't belong in zoos."

According to PETA campaigns manager Rochelle Regodon, the stars who pose for PETA agree to do so without receiving any payment in return for their advocacy. Ace photographer Raymund Isaac volunteered to shoot Alicia's pro-vegetarian ad for PETA.

Anyone who wants to help PETA out can call 8175292, 8183668. Or reach these animal-rights activists through telefax 8183556.