Monica Bellucci’s making us fall for Eric Bompard’s soft sweats

Since the sudden change in temperature, we’ve set our sights on finding pieces that’ll keep us warm and stylish in the cold. And if there’s one brand we’re lusting at the moment, it’s chic French label Eric Bompard.

The brand produces expertly crafted, highly luxurious cashmere pieces and has none other than Italian actress, model and all-round sultress Monica Bellucci as an ambassador and muse.

Speaking of her new role as the face of Bompard’s autumn/winter 2011 collection, she says, “cashmere sweaters and stoles are an integral part of my closet and Eric Bompard cashmere successfully combines quality, elegance, modernity and gentleness, all of which made me want to be the face of this luxury brand.”

Recommendation enough? We think so.

The pieces range from outstandingly soft swearers and cardigans to unashamedly decadent dresses and leggings. And, of course, the label’s fantastic range of scarves, hats and gloves means you can wrap up in the most stylish way possible this winter.

We especially love the selection created with Monica specifically in mind (pictured below).

Shawl-collar Cable Jacket, £570.

Extrafine V-neck Pullover with Lace Shoulders, £225.

Check out Eric Bompard’s new collection and behind-the-scenes footage of Monica shooting the latest campaign at Eric-Bompard.com.

First Look: Emily Blunt’s YSL Opium campaign

After months of waiting very patiently, and seemingly endless teasing from Yves Saint Laurent, Emily Blunt’s ad campaign for the Opium fragrance is finally here – and it’s totally worth the wait.

“It is a really exciting experience to embody this legendary fragrance, which has stood the test of time without its allure ever being diminished,” said Emily. “Being a part of this new campaign and being able to tell the story of this very evocative fragrance is a real thrill.”

The actress was photographed by the legendary Patrick Demarchelier, looking effortlessly beautiful reclining on a chair with the perfume close to her heart. In the past, some of the Opium ad campaigns have been slightly controversial, but Emily proves that the advert can be just as (if not more) striking sans scandal.

Now all we have to do is wait for the TV commercial, which if we are to believe rumours and teaser behind-the-scenes videos, should feature fashion’s hottest accessory this season: a cheetah! Keep your eyes peeled for it.

Alexander McQueen Was Inspired By Joey Tribbiani

When you think about Alexander McQueen’s inspirations, various things come to mind: art, nature, history. But ‘90s sitcoms?

In a new interview with iconic Hong Kong specialty store Lane Crawford, McQueen’s creative director, Sarah Burton, says that the late designer was no elitist when it came to sparks of genius.

"I remember him saying to me, ‘I watched “Friends" last night, did you see the shirt that Joey was wearing?’" Burton revealed. "But then, he would get a Van Eyck book out, so it was this kind of mad mix. There’s no snobbery to it. He had this way of making you look at everything for inspiration so you didn’t just go, ‘Ok, we’re doing Seventies.’"

Despite his well-documented struggles with depression and his tragic suicide, Burton says McQueen certainly had a brighter side—what kind of Joey Tribbiani fan wouldn’t?

"He had a hilarious sense of humor, very normal and not fashion-y,” she said. “And he had a really brilliant, dirty wicked laugh that was kind of infectious."

No word on whether Burton watches reruns of Friends, but she certainly follows in McQueen's footsteps in one respect: she does things her way.

"Lee used to always say that you have to know all the rules to be able to break them," she recalled.

Audrey Hepburn's Oscar dress up for auction

The ivory lace gown that Audrey Hepburn wore to collect her Oscar for Best Actress for Roman Holiday is up for auction.

The dress was adapted from a costume that legendary studio designer Edith Head created for Hepburn's character in the film. Considered her breakout role, Hepburn's portrayal of a runaway princess won her her first - and only - Academy Award in 1954.

The frock has been valued at £40,000 - £60,000 and will go under the hammer on November 29 by Kerry Taylor Auctions . Its last sale of Hepburn's dresses in 2009 raised over £270,000. The auction house also oversaw the sale of the sheer dress, which the Duchess of Cambridge wore to her university fashion show, for £78,000 in April.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy trades Dior for stretch-pants

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy lamented that the most pants thing about being pregnant was the not-smoking, not-boozing caveat. "Frankly, I cannot stand it," she whined to French magazine Le Parisien . "I have to stay sitting or lying most of the time, [and] cannot smoke or drink wine. I cannot wait for it to end." End it did on October 20, when she gave birth to baby Giulia, and promptly lit 20 fags, ordered a crate of Bordeaux, and celebrated in her hospital room with a fumed-filled, Bacchanalian orgy. Maybe.

Anyway, there was no mention of wanting to get back into her pre-pregnancy Dior-heavy wardrobe. Lies, we thought, the high maintenance Bruni-Sarkozy has been planning her post-baby outfit - something that boasts "Can you believe I had 6lbs of baby in this skinny body everybody?", Victoria Beckham-style - for The Comeback Photo since the first trimester. But no.

Upsetting the protocol of said Comeback Photo, she was pictured wearing, shock of shocks, stretch-pants, a grey zip-up cardigan and flat shoes, rather than the six-inch heels and body-con dress that tradition dictates, on a jaunt with Nicolas Sarkozy and Giulia in Versailles's La Lanterne Park yesterday. This landmark moment, where a celebrity has finally worked out that joggers are acceptable, nay comfortable, post-pregnancy sartorial fodder, like normal mums, deserves applause. So, clap-clap to Bruni-Sarkozy for saying "sod it" to the try-hard approach of Beckham et al , and focussing on being a new mum, rather than whether she passes muster in the style stakes. No, really.

Michelle Williams: ‘Straight men across the board are not into this hair’

Adorable actress Michelle Williams is Elle magazine's December cover star and the subject of a fashion spread and rare interview to promote her starring role in upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic 'My Week With Marilyn'.

In it, the two-time Oscar nominee speaks about her hopes and fears for the film, 'I've never been so hanging on a cliff waiting to hear what people think of a movie'; and the agonising responsibility of portraying such an idol. 'I think after the second day, I told them they had to take away my passport because I was a flight risk'.

But the most poignant part of the interview comes long after the movie talk when the fiercely private star - whose personal life was made so public following the sudden death of her ex-partner, and father of her six-year-old daughter Matilda, Heath Ledger in 2008 - talks about her signature cropped hairstyle:

'What Matilda would love is for her mum to grow out the cropped hair, though that's unlikely to happen any time soon.

'I've really grown into it - I feel like myself with short hair. And it's been a really long time since I had long hair, five years,' she explains.

'Of course, the only people who like it are gay men and my girlfriends. Straight men across the board are not into this hair!'

'I cut it for the one straight man who has ever liked short hair and I wear it in memorial of somebody who really loved it.'

Not just a great haircut, but hands down the best reason we've ever heard for one.

My Week With Marilyn hits cinemas on November 25. Read the full interview in the December issue of Elle, on sale Nov 2.

Amy Childs is the face of Tesco’s Bra Queen range

Leaving The Only Way is Essex has only enhanced Amy Childs‘ career, as she has just become the face, bust and body of Ultimo’s new underwear range for Tesco. The new range is entitled Bra Queen and was designed by Ultimo founder Michelle Mone, to give customers Ultimo quality at more affordable prices. What do you think of Amy’s efforts as an underwear model? 

“I actually feel like a queen wearing Michelle Mone’s new Bra Queen collection and I’m so excited to be the face of the campaign for Tesco,” said Amy. “There’s a style to suit whatever mood you’re in and it’s affordable so you can have a different one for every day of the week. I love wearing great lingerie as it makes you feel amazing underneath and in Bra Queen I feel like royalty.”

The collection is available in sized B to DD, with prices starting from just £7 – just a fraction of what regular Ultimo pieces cost. The bras are also made for all body shapes, with styles for comfort, cleavage-enhancement, lift and whatever else you can think of.