Dsquared² has teamed up with Britney Spears to design the costumes for her latest world tour. There is a lot of talk about how over the top her new show is going to be and for me personally I could care less about the dance moves. A show isn’t a show unless you could put it on mute and still enjoy it for the fashion entertainment value alone. I’m a huge fan of  Dsquared² and judging from the sketches they did not disappoint. Working with a circus theme, the boys kicked it up a notch with a futuristic vibe as well as bondage like touches. Dean and Dan Caten, the siblings behind the genius of Dsquared² had this to say;   “We wanted to create something much more provoking and indecent…something animalistic and primal,We are confident that this tour partnership, an autobiographical tribute for one who has always been in the spotlight: scrutinized, watched, imitated, photographed, criticized and loved, will be an enormous success.” -DSQUARED²  Looks like they nailed it to me.

More after the jump.

The Fader Magazine, releases its 60th issue, steamrolling into Spring 2009 with an exploration of the give and take between music and style through the most vibrant and relevant musicians, designers, scenes and looks.

The ‘Spring Style Spectacular’ celebrates its cover stars, Bat For Lashes and Beirut, as two of the industry’s most innovative and visionary artists. Also inside is The Fader’s first style editorial: a profile of menswear designer Patrik Ervell; a fashion spread shot in the Dominican Republic, where contributing style editor Mobolaji Dawodu and award-winning photojournalist Peter Van Agtmael plucked locals off the street to model the latest fashions; and a photo essay featuring Banda Jimenez, the Oaxacan ensemble backing Beirut’s latest EP, March of the Zapotec.

Available on Newsstands and i-tunes.

I just randomly remembered that song by Maxwell :  Ascension (Dont ever wonder)  A totally sexy classic…

Happy Friday!

Another look at our beloved MIA, who added a great dose of fun and  playfulness to the otherwise almost boring red carpet, which is looking too much like the Oscars. What happened to the days when you looked forward to seeing how cool/funky/daring  your favorite bands and singers would be?

More of the very cute and pregnant MIA and Benjamin Brewer, who apparently did not leave her side.

Images Wire

Last night  just in case you missed the Grammys, MIA performed while she was expected to give birth! The woman rocked with the boys Kanye West, TI, Jay Z, and Lil’ Wayne with a sheer polka dot piece and her faithful Reebok Freestyles !

Full look oin the next page  of MIA and Benjamin Brewer!

Images Wire

JC Report has an excellent article today on the fashion choices being made by Rihanna and Beyonce. Clearly RihRih has given the intensely-competetive Beyonce a good kick in the ass. Here’s an excerpt:

Even with this ongoing creative collaboration, some industry insiders point to [Beyonce's] rivalry with fellow chart-topper Rihanna and other emerging singers. “We have to wonder if perhaps [Beyoncé] chose the dress to combat a certain popular singer who’s mentored by Jay-Z and who easily pulls off lesser-known designers,” notes New York magazine’s The Cut. And indeed many are whispering that Beyoncé’s newfound edge has to do with the need to keep up with other daring starlets’ growing fashion cred and directional picks.

We know Beyonce is smart enough to hire the best stylists in all the land who can do a very capable job of updating her look, but will it be a believable transformation?

I was just reading Decida and she mentioned the fashion crime committed on this new artist Teiarra Mari . New music is not  my  forte at the moment  so I cannot say that I know who she is, but fashion-wise, anyway I looked at it–even in a very avant garde way it just does not work. Maybe if she had a futuristic headgear on or something? 

And of course the fashion image encyclopedia that I  can be saw the resemblance of the look with Cameo’s Larry Blackmon codpiece. Understand this critique is  not meant to be mean spirited at all. In music marketing should you not know  more about  what has been done?

Close up on the next page.

Little Miss Sunshine performed at the Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Concert this past weekend.  Clearly she’s still in her S&M “Road Warrior” phase.  Check out her manicure here–all black with one, multi-colored nail. UPDATE: Samia says her pinkie nail features an image of Obama. I thought it was, but I was like, nah. Wrong!!

All images are from Ultimate Rihanna. And according to that site, Rihanna will be featured in February’s Vibe. Supposedly its Vibe’s very first style issue. Could that be true? The first? Anyway, Keyshia Cole is going to be the cover girl (that link is to the actual cover, which also features her Mom–ugh). We love Keyshia, but if we’re talking style, Rihanna really deserves that spot. No doubt some public-relations-related b.s. that caused that to go down.  

The image on the other side features RihRih’s boots. When you see them, you’ll understand why “Road Warrior” lept to mind.

I couldn’t helped but be completely transfixed by this photo (via Jak&Jil) of Jethro Cave, who was modeling during men’s fashion week in Paris.  Some of our readers no doubt remember the days when Jethro’s daddy, Nick, was just about as “it” a rocker as you could get, with his super sexy song “Deanna.” And while there’s nothing like the original, I’d say Jethro is not bad for up-and-coming rock royalty (though he mostly gets slammed in the comments section under image!).

I

All photo props due to the wickedly excellent Jak&Jil

Vans has done a boatload of collabos this year, but I think I like this one the best so far. Not just cuz the Bad Brains were an amazing band that never got its due propers, but also cuz they’re a good fit with Vans. Makes sense somehow.

Other side: more tees and three pairs of shoes, including those Chukkas!