Ooh la la. LOVING Nicolas Ghesquiere’s spring collection for Balenciaga. He dug deep into the house’s archives — how much fun must that be!? — pulling inspiration not only from the namesake’s fashion collections, but also designs for film and ballets he contributed to.

The resulting thoroughly modern update on Flamenco is brilliant. Sexy, feminine and edgy. In a word, Balenciaga.

Prada’s Spring 2013 presentation in Milan yesterday was all about dreams. Said the designer: ”Dream is forbidden, nostalgia is forbidden, to be too sweet is not good. Everything we used to feel historically, now you can’t enjoy. The clothes are the expression of this impossible dream.” If we’re understanding this message to mean use your wardrobe to express what you may not be able to otherwise, we’re totally for it! 

Nearly all of the looks were decorated with flower blossoms, but not the typical spring fashion variety. With a hint of Harajuku and a Pop Art reference or two, there’s no mistaking that these blossoms bloomed in Miuccia’s garden. 

Chanel, 2011

Following this year’s cerebral Costume Institute exhibition, Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, today, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced its plans for next Spring’s show: Punk: Chaos to Couture. Apparently the concept, which highlights the origins of the punk movement and draws direct connections to haute couture and ready-to-wear creations that it has inspired for the past three decades, is one that the Institute’s chief curator, Andrew Bolton, was mulling over for years. And for good reason!

Sid Vicious, 1977

A peek at some of the images to be included in the exhibition—not to mention that insane list of designers who will be featured: Haider Ackermann, Miguel Adrover, Azzedine Alaïa, Boudicca, Ann Demeulemeester, Dolce & Gabbana, Andrew Groves, Marc Jacobs, Rei Kawakubo, Alexander McQueen, Rodarte, Alexander Wang—has already inspired us to slash some t’s and pin our jeans.

Rodarte, 2008

It’ll be curious to see what the crowds will turn out in for this show. And just think of the possibilities at the annual Met Gala, which inaugurates the show on May 6. The co-chair lineup has us guessing already: Rooney Mara, Riccardo Tisci, Lauren Santo Domingo and Anna Wintour.

Zhandra Rhodes, 1977

A photo by Guy Bourdin for Vogue France, February 1979 of Chloé looks. 

Some fashion houses remain fresh and modern, no matter how many decades of brilliant style they have produced. It may come as a surprise that Chloé is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, but a major retrospective of the brand opening September 29 will remind us of the many iconic looks and moments the French house has celebrated over the last 60 years.

A watercolor by famed illustrator Antonio Lopez for Karl Lagerfeld’s S/S 1983 collection for Chloé.

Curated by  Judith Clark and staged in the newly refurbished galleries of Le Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Chloé Attitudes is the very first exhibition dedicated to Chloé, a celebration of the Maison’s 60-year contribution to fashion culture. This spectacular and groundbreaking exhibition offers a playful interpretation of the Chloé spirit, featuring signature pieces from each of Chloé’s nine key designers—from the Maison’s progressive founder Gaby Aghion, to its present creative director Clare Waight Keller.

An illustration by Sandra Suy from Clare Waight Keller’s first collection, Spring/Summer 2012

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel, directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland (granddaughter-in-law of her subject), Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, and Frederic Tcheng premiered over the weekend in New York, following its debut at the Venice Film Festival last year. Vreeland remains one of the most celebrated and influential figures in fashion media. She was a columnist for Harper’s Bazaar for 25 years from 1937 and then moved on to Vogue, which she headed for 9 years, before curating exhibitions at the Met.

Vreeland was one of the first people to treat fashion as an art form, and for that, we’re forever grateful. 

With NY Fashion Week well underway, we’ve been glued to our screens taking in as much runway as possible. Dizzy with the anticipation of Spring (mind you, we’ve barely made a dent in our Fall wardrobe purchases), we thought we could attempt to focus our attention on one single look we’d like to acquire.

Simple as this Jenni Kayne shift dress may be, you couldn’t come up with a more effective pop of color than this brilliant shade of magenta. This is definitely a piece that will save you in a pinch when you had to be out the door 10 minutes ago, are feeling a little run down and could use a boost or simply when the mood strikes to be flirty and demure at the same time. 

I recently picked up a Klein tool tote at my local hardware store and it has become by favorite bag. Klein makes a few different bags: some are canvas/leather combo or others, like this one, is the “5115” made of sturdy leather with thick white stitching. Its the perfect size and is the kind of piece that I know will only get better with each scratch, making it the perfect bag to schlep around all the things I’ve convinced myself I cannot do without. 

Moncler’s puffy jackets are an almost ubiquitous status statement these days. Whether or not you’re a fan of the jackets, there’s no denying the charm of Moncler’s ad campaigns—which for the last five years have been shot by Bruce Weber—and have depicted everything from Weber’s own pups in jackets to sassy kids in oversized outerwear to this season’s faux glaciers, replete with polar bear.

And while many a visual may come to mind when thinking of the brand, the label’s cartoonish mascot, MonDuck, which first appeared in the 70s, may not be the first. To celebrate the brand’s 60th anniversary, Moncler is releasing a series of comics featuring MonDuck, the brand’s iconic duck character that appears on the label’s tags, starting on Tuesday. Each episode will be dedicated to a decade, with the last 10 years concluding the project on Nov. 12.

If you’re feeling Fall’s pursuit of all things purple, you’ll want to pick up this head-to-toe look from The Archive. Layer it over purple tights (hopefully you snagged a pair from the Missoni x Target collab, because that would be SO perfect. If not, lots of great options abound. Go for a true head-to-toe ensemb with a pair of purple suede wedges and we can just about guarantee you’ll be stopped in your violet tracks by many an admirer.