New reports have emerged following the fraud charges against Nigeria’s former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Officials say she was nabbed with £13 billion (N3.9 trillion) in a huge real estate transaction.

According to THE Sun UK, Diezani was apparently nabbed while she was looking at buying a massively expensive apartment at one Hyde park, with 13 billion pounds, an equivalent of over 3 trillion Naira.
Meanwhile, Diezani appeared before London’s Westminster Magistrate Court on Monday, October 5, at about 10 am over charges of corruption and money laundering.
Sam Piranty, a reporter with the BBC, confirmed her appearance via his twitter handle.
Initially there were doubts that the former petroleum minister will show up in court, however, the tweet by the reporter on ground cleared all doubts.
Diezani was arrested alongside four other Nigerians by the International Corruption Unit (ICU) of the UK’s National Crimes Agency. She
Meanwhile, fresh investigations by Sahara Reporters have revealed the way in which Diezani squandered funds belonging to the Nigerian people.

The reports details fraudulent transactions allegedly carried out by the embattled minister,
The saga of Alison-Madueke started long ago. A video from the archieves (2013) shows how an activist of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders reads some of her ‘crimes’ and then submits a petition to the Nigeria’s Economic Financial Crimes Commission:

Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary...

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Ex-Oil Minister Diezani Nabbed In London With N3.9 Trillion

Soonest Nathaniel Yesterday 220947
New reports have emerged following the fraud charges against Nigeria’s former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Officials say she was nabbed with £13 billion (N3.9 trillion) in a huge real estate transaction.

According to THE Sun UK, Diezani was apparently nabbed while she was looking at buying a massively expensive apartment at one Hyde park, with 13 billion pounds, an equivalent of over 3 trillion Naira.
READ ALSO:
Meanwhile, Diezani appeared before London’s Westminster Magistrate Court on Monday, October 5, at about 10 am over charges of corruption and money laundering.
Sam Piranty, a reporter with the BBC, confirmed her appearance via his twitter handle.
Initially there were doubts that the former petroleum minister will show up in court, however, the tweet by the reporter on ground cleared all doubts.
Diezani was arrested alongside four other Nigerians by the International Corruption Unit (ICU) of the UK’s National Crimes Agency. She
Meanwhile, fresh investigations by Sahara Reporters have revealed the way in which Diezani squandered funds belonging to the Nigerian people.
READ ALSO:
The reports details fraudulent transactions allegedly carried out by the embattled minister,
The saga of Alison-Madueke started long ago. A video from the archieves (2013) shows how an activist of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders reads some of her ‘crimes’ and then submits a petition to the Nigeria’s Economic Financial Crimes Commission:


Dress: Morodan; Shoes: Smiling Shoes; Clutch: Boite des Merveilles; Earrings: Happiness Boutique
C
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Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary...

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Dress: Morodan; Shoes: Smiling Shoes; Clutch: Boite des Merveilles; Earrings: Happiness Boutique
Credits: Silhouettes
Vorbeam cu o prietena (mai toate postarile mele incep asa, dar chiar vorbim mult ☺) si-mi zicea ca sunt tare norocoasa ca am gasit un barbat care ma face sa rad. Si, desi nu neg ca e foarte important -  ba chiar tin minte ca intr-unul din tag-urile vechi de pe blog am zis ca asta e  si apreciate. 

P.S.: Pozele mele de astazi au fost facute de un cuplu tare, tare dragut si le multumesc mult pentru ajutor. Neaparat sa intrati si pe pagina lor de facebook, o sa va inspire ☺. 
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A 36-year-old woman, Precious Osas, has been apprehended and charged before Isolo Magistrates’ court for biting off a man’s ear.
PM News reports that the incident happened at a popular hotel in Okota, Lagos state, where Presious and a 25-year-old Chikwado Omokwa lodged for a night’s romp.
According to the police source, the woman, who is a commercial sex worker, allegedly collected N3,500 from Omokwa for an all-night sex romp. However, she failed to fulfill her own part of the bargain.
Precious allowed Omokwa only one round of sex and told him that she was not ready for the second one until he paid her more money.
After exchange of words, sex partners started beating each other. During the fight, Precious allegedly grabbed Omokwa’s right ear and bit off part of it.
 
The man raised the alarm, which attracted the attention of the hotel workers, who called the police. The sex partners were handed over to the police at Ikota division.
Speaking with the police officers, Omokwa complained that Precious allowed him to have one round of sex, while he paid her for all-night sex romp.
On her part, Precious confirmed that she received money and allowed him to have sex with her as agreed.The woman added that Omokwa had high libido because he was drunk and was vomiting in the room.
During the trial, Precious, who was charged with conducting herself in a disorderly manner by inflicting grievous harm, pleaded not guilty.
The presiding Magistrate, Mrs O. A. Adebayo granted her bail in the sum of N50,000.
The matter has been adjourned till 19 October, 2015.
Three Boko Haram militants have become shaheeds prematurely due to incorrect handling of explosives.
Three Boko Haram militants blew up themselves luckily no one else was harmed
Three Boko Haram members blew up themselves on Tuesday near town of Diffa in Niger when an explosive device they were transporting unexpectedly detonated in their car’s trunk. Luckily nobody else was hurt in the incident.
The explosive device detonated on their way to the town of Bosso where they presumably were going to carry out an attack.

On Sunday ten people, including five civilians, one soldiers and four Boko Haram suicide bombers were killed near a mosque and a military camp in two separate suicide bombings in Diffa.
 
A few days before that two Nigerien troops were shot dead in an ambush by Boko Haram militants in the region of Diffa.
Meanwhile, Boko Haram militants  
Yesterday a famous Abuja-based prophet Victor Ajibishe has said that Boko Haram will strike the Federal Capital Territory again.
Prophet Victor Ajibishe predicted that

The Senate on Tuesday, October 6, commenced the reading of persons in the ministerial list submitted to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.  
Nigerian lawmakers of the upper chamber at the Senate plenary session on Tuesday, October 6

 

Those listed to form President Buhari’s cabinet include:
1.Chris Ngige – Anambra
2. Kayode Fayemi- Ekiti
3. Rotimi Amaechi – Rivers
4. Babatunde Fashola-Lagos
5. Abdulrahman Danbazau – Kano
6. Aisha Alhassan – Taraba
7. Ogbonaya Onu- Abia
8.Kemi Adeosun -Ogun
9. Abubakar Malami (SAN) -Kebbi
10. Sen Hadi Sirika –Katsina
11. Barr. Adebayo Shittu -Oyo
12. Suleiman Adam -Jigawa
13. Solomon Dalong -Plateau
14.Ibe Kachikwu-Delta
15. Osagie Ehanire -Edo
 
17.Audu Ogbeh – Benue
18. Lai Mohammed -Kwara
19. Ahmed Isa Ibeto -Niger
20.Amina Mohammed – Kaduna
The names of the nominees were contained in a letter sent by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate.
The Senate president, Bukola Saraki, has said that the screening of the ministerial nominees will commence on Tuesday, October 13.
See more photos below:
Members of the Senate observing a minute silence for Gamiliel Onosode, a former presidential adviser to Shehu Shagari who died on Tuesday, September 29
Nigerian lawmakers of the upper chamber at the Senate plenary session on Tuesday, October 6
The Senate president, Bukola Saraki arriving for the plenary session
The Senate president reading out the names of the ministerial nominees

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Good evening, and welcome to The Hotel Cortez. We're pleased to have you with us, and offer you some advice well worth taking: Don't get too comfortable, and we recommend against an open door policy. The new season of Ryan Murphy's thrill and chill fest is upon us, taking place at the mysterious Hotel Cortez in Los Angeles and spanning four decades. Many things are best when they've got a bit of an edge to them, and that certainly includes fashion. While you're watching all the dirty deeds go down, take sartorial notes: It's best to pair misbehavior with a fabulous wardrobe inspired by looks from the 1930's, '70s, '90s and today. We teamed up with American Horror Story: Hotel to bring you looks that take their cue from the thrillingly dark plot twists and dips you'll experience this season. Tune in for the premier of American Horror Story: Hotel Wednesday, October 7th at 10pm on FX.

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Always pair a defiant gaze with a luxurious fur collar and some lace, and add a deconstructed hat veil with it's own story to tell for good measure. 

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It can look pretty good to be bad. Case in point: This slicked-back, well-coiffed gentleman with the upright starched collar and jaunty bow tie. 

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Grab your best swingin' wide lapeled pantsuit, lose the bra, and practice your most defiant pose. For accessories, try a revolver. See more of the season's killer looks here.

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It's always best to keep men in the palm of your hands. It's no surprise we're drinking the '90s kool-aid again when it comes to style-- the IDGAF vibe paired with a head scarf and a dark lip always does the trick. 

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When you need to look unsettling at the drop of a body, pair pantyhose with elaborate and colorful makeup and nail it every time. Nothing to see here.

On the auspicious eve of the super blood moon, Grace Jones took to the Hollywood Bowl stage, decked in an elaborate gold skull headpiece and slathered in black-and-white body paint. The landmark show, which featured several costume changes and also moments where she performed nearly nude, found Grace performing for an audience of aging club kids, pop art adherents and a younger generation of new fans, all dying to catch a rare glimpse of the larger-than-life personality that's been the figurehead for American outsider culture for the past four-plus decades. It's safe to say they got an eyeful.

"I didn't make it stand up hard intentionally!" she guffaws on the phone, describing the tribal-pattern strap-on she wore the night before, continuing to giggle as she insists it wasn't a controversial publicity stunt at all. "It just was like, 'No! Go to sleep, dildo dick,'" prefacing this all with the innocent assertion that, "I'm [just trying to] play the role of a naked guy in an Ibo tribe, Keith Haring body paint." And while it's hard to think of anyone's grandmother (especially in what Jones believes is our current "sexually repressed" society) partaking in the sort of outlandish sex toy-slinging she seems to delight in, one must remember that Jones is hardly anyone's idea of a typical human, let alone a typical sexagenarian -- a fact that's made abundantly clear in her new memoir, I'll Never Write My Memoirs.

As recounted in Memoirs, Jones is a legendary triple-threat, one who successfully straddled the underground and mainstream. Known for her gender-bending look and willingness to challenge racial and sexual norms at the height of '70s/'80s New York, she started as a model and gradually emerged as one of new wave's wildest outsiders with chart-toppers like "Slave to the Rhythm" (1985) and "La Vie En Rose" (1977). Jones eventually took her radical look to the silver screen, where she progressed from campy horror flicks to huge commercial releases à la Conan the Destroyer (1984) and the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985). For the past few years, though, Jones has maintained a relatively low profile, spending more time with her family as a grandmother while still playing the occasional show as she works on another album.

In her absence, a younger, boundary-averse generation discovered her and held her up as an early icon of popular modern social movements like gender-fluid fashion and intersectional feminism. Tumblr kids can't reblog her photo collaborations with former creative and romantic partner Jean-Paul Goude enough. It makes sense that she would be the face of Warhol-era New York to the younger set; if there's one thing she became known for, it was being unapologetically outspoken in her otherworldly beliefs.

GraceJonesPaper2.jpgLibertango, painted photo, New York, 1981. © Jean-Paul Goude

Jones is a creature of her own making, one that lives in a forward-looking world of her very own creation; one that transcends time, space and, of course, social constraints. When talking with her, it quickly becomes evident that she's left our Earth in favor of her fantasy world. She's completely unplugged from the very modern, web-bred social movements and cultural touchstones that she had a huge hand in creating -- from the popularization
of androgyny and agender style to our collective embrace of the black alternative female pop star.

Though, who can blame her? It's not like Grace Jones needs the Internet, something she says she deliberately "unlearned a long time ago" because she didn't appreciate the blurring of boundaries and the not "knowing what's real. I just find that it's a lot of shit to sort [through], and I don't have time," she demurs dismissively. "So I just don't indulge in it at all."

However, it is surprising that she's unplugged to the point that she has no idea about viral web-based movements à la Black Lives Matter or Say Her Name, something that's reaffirmed by the fact that I spend several minutes insisting they're real things, all while explaining what exactly a "hashtag" is. "I'll have to look it up!" she laughs good-naturedly. Race is something she attempts to brush aside in conversation in favor of optimistic "universal love" rhetoric, seeing as how "we're all human beings and that's it, so I don't even go there."

It may be disappointing to the young, mostly progressive fan base drawn to her outlandish, construct-defying legacy, but her stance makes sense for someone occupying the sort of inward-looking, self-imposed isolation she seems most comfortable in. In her mind, as a citizen of outer space, she transcends racial boundaries; she is a powerful being that is bigger than any classification skin color could bestow on her. Instead, it's all about universal themes like maintaining a positive mindset and speaking your own truth at all times -- things far beyond petty social constructs.

"I think [political correctness] is the worst term ever. I never liked it," she says, likening it to fascism in the sense that she believes it staunches free speech. "I'm pretty radical about this politically correct bullshit, because it's the complete opposite of freedom." Everything she says makes her seem like a removed observer of humanity in all of our self-imposed war, disaster and pain, a position she seems to intentionally attempt to enforce as a self-proclaimed "alien."
It's something that differentiates her from the carefully constructed personas of modern pop stars like Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus, who she directly addresses toward the end of her memoir for "already being like me," asking them, "Have you become someone else, without really knowing it? Do you always have to stay in character for people to like you? Do you know that you are in character?"

As such, it's not surprising she also has a problem with the man who embodies the idea of the ultimate music star turned mogul -- Kanye West.

"Kanye has been ripping off stuff from me and Jean-Paul Goude for a long time, so it was no surprise to me," she says. "I believe they would've done it anyway, and I believe Jean-Paul when he said he'd rather rip himself off than have someone else rip him off."

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After all, according to Jones, Kanye is responsible for paying homage to several of their iconic ("I hate that word") images, using his then-girlfriend model and activist Amber Rose in renditions of Jones' Island Life album art and images from Goude's Jungle Fever book for Complex magazine in 2009.

"It's so like, 'I can't beat him, [so I guess I'll try to] understand him,'" she says, slightly exasperated. "But he did it with somebody else and really badly."  Though when we circle back to the topic of racism and the backlash our Kim Kardashian cover caused (which Goude also shot and which referenced a 1976 image of African American model Carolina Beaumont shooting champagne over her head), Jones scoffs -- caught off-guard by the fact that people are still interpreting Goude's work that way. Though Jones wasn't the inspiration for Goude's Kardashian cover, much of the discussion surrounding that image and its perceived exploitation of the black female form was focused on Goude's photos of Jones over the years -- including a picture of her in a cage on the cover of Jungle Fever.

"The work [Jean-Paul and I] did together, people were calling it racist," she says. "It wasn't racist at all. It was him basically putting me on a pedestal, really," explaining that no matter what the intention, there would be someone eager to point fingers and deem something "problematic" -- even if she can only see the positive intent, staunchly defending his work.

"There's a lot of humor in that picture in that original, (with) the champagne popping off," she says, audibly shrugging it all off once more as she allows her rich laugh to engulf the tail end of our conversation. "As an artist, you know, he probably just wanted to have an ass like that."


After last week's cameo-filled Empire season premiere, it was hard to think of a way that the second episode could come close for sheer insanity (I mean, Don Lemon? Al Sharpton?). Instead, this episode focuses primarily on snappy turns of phrase, insults, and introducing totally insane premises to the world that surrounds the Lyon family. Let's run through a few of the best bits.


5. "Snitch Bitch"
That's right, the song Lucious records in prison and gets out to the world to be the hottest thing on the radio -- featuring Petey Pablo and a dude who looks like Jason Sudeikis -- is the fifth craziest thing that happened on the show last night.

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4. Ludacris the Prison Guard
Terence Howard continues getting all the good guest stars, as Ludacris replaces Chris Rock as "famous dude named Chris who antagonizes Lucious in prison." This time, Ludacris plays a prison guard who does his best to stop Lucious from dropping fire new Empire tracks from prison, because he's a dick or something. If you're going to get someone to play an annoying, kinda cliche prison guard, you might as well get the best (or, at least, the most noteworthy, since Ludacris is not a very good actor).

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3. Thurston the Thirsty Lawyer
Played by The Wire's Andre Royo, Lucious' new lawyer looks like a great addition to the Empire supporting cast. He's got hustle, appeals to certain parts of Lucious' nature, and has that great, Andre Royo charm. Also, his name is Thurston, a.k.a. Thirsty, a.k.a. Thirsty the Lawyer, because God loves us.

dynasty x empire.jpg2. "Dynasty... that's a dope name."
When Cookie tries to find a name for the new label she's starting with Hakeem (and Andre, for a hot second), she -- naturally -- uses the name of the show that Empire is not-so-subtly based on/influenced by. It's exactly the kind of winking boldness/insanity that often makes the show so much fun. But that's not even the craziest, most groan-slash-laugh-slash-clap moment from last night's episode, because...

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1. Spilling the Tea
GUYS. GUYS. There's literally a talk show in the world of Empire called Spilling the Tea, because why wouldn't you do that? The only thing that stops this from being perfect is the fact that the Muppets belong to ABC, so there's no way Kermit could make his rightful cameo.

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What happened to you, Avril Lavigne? 

Once the postergirl for mall-rat rebels everywhere, Avril was a verifiable superstar in the early-aughts with seminal sing-a-longs à la "Sk8r Boi" and "Complicated" -- however her star has fallen in recent years after a slew of terrible, kawaii-appropriation stunts, a foray into the world of sugar-rush EDM and, uh, Chad Kroger.

Well, according to a Noisey deep dive, some Avril fans in Brazil (specifically the "Avril Is Dead" Blogspot) have apparently come up with an explanation, because the real Avril Lavigne died immediately after the release of her debut album and was replaced by a doppelganger named Melissa Vandella.

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As the conspiracy goes, after the immense success of 2002's pop-punk gem Let Go, Avril fell into a deep depression (spurred by the death of her grandfather and the pressure of fame), and was found dead at home -- with everyone in the know keeping hush-hush about the situation. And the proof? Well the absence and appearance of various moles and blemishes, duh. 

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Not convinced? One of the theorists created this video featuring footage of "fake Avril" "flubbing" an interview about being a clone. Translated title? "Proves that Avril lied in the interview - This is a look-alike of the original Avril." Case closed, y'all. R.I.P. Avril.
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Fresh off her appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” Hillary Clinton returned to the serious issues facing her presidential campaign on Monday, telling the “Today” show’s Savannah Guthrie that the congressional committee on Benghazi should’ve been shut down by now.
“This committee was set up, as they have admitted, for the purpose of making a partisan political issue out of the deaths of four Americans,” an angry Clinton said during the town hall-style interview in New Hampshire. “I would never have done that, and if I were president and there were Republicans or Democrats thinking about that, I would have done everything to shut it down.”
Last week, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested that the select committee investigating Benghazi was summoned to derail the former secretary of state’s 2016 presidential bid.
“Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?” McCarthy said on Fox News. “But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers Friday? What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened had we not fought.”
“Look at the situation they chose to exploit, to go after me for political reasons” Clinton said on “Today.” “The deaths of four Americans in Benghazi.”
Later in the interview, the Democratic frontrunner discussed her newly released gun control proposal that calls for universal background checks and closure of the so-called gun show loophole.
“I really do want to push hard to get more sensible restraints on gun ownership in the wrong hands and then to try to keep track of people who shouldn’t have guns,” Clinton said. “We need universal background checks. We know that they will work.”
The former secretary also said lawmakers need to close “the Charleston loophole,” which allowed Dylann Roof, the suspected shooter in the South Carolina church massacre, to purchase a gun despite having a criminal record because of a delay in completing his background check.
“I will try every way I can to get those guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them,” she said. “We need to prevent these kinds of terrible crimes that are happening.”
At a separate town hall in Manchester, N.H., Clinton said the “thoughts and prayers” offered after tragedies like the one last week in Roseburg, Ore., are not enough.
“Between 88 and 92 people are killed a day by guns in America,” she said. “How many people have to die before we actually act?”
Clinton criticized the responses offered to the Oregon school shooting by Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
“Gov. Bush said, ‘Stuff happens,’” Clinton said. “No. That’s an admission of defeat and surrender.”
A teary-eyed Clinton then introduced Nicole Hockley, the mother of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Dylan Hockley, one of 20 first-graders killed in the 2013 massacre in Newtown, Conn.
Clinton also lamented the power the National Rifle Association has over Congress.
“Ideally, what I would like to see is gun owners, responsible gun owners, form a new organization,” she said. “And take back the Second Amendment!”
During a lighter moment on “Today,” Clinton fielded a question from a Facebook user who asked if the former first lady and New York senator had ever been fired from a job.
“Oh, that’s a question!” Clinton replied, before recalling her experience in an Alaskan fish cannery:
Actually, I did get fired from a job. I went to Alaska after I graduated from college and I was with some friends. We worked our way, we washed dishes, and then we ended up in Valdez, Alaska, and we got a job in what was called a cannery, a fishery, where the fishermen were bringing in salmon and then they were being packed to be sent [to], um, in this case it was Japan. So I showed up and my first job, I was given a spoon and some boots, and I was told to clean out the insides of the salmon. So I did that for awhile, but Japanese workers who were taking out the caviar thought I was too slow, and were telling me in Japanese, which of course I couldn’t understand, to go faster.
So they literally kicked me out of that job and put me on this little conveyor belt where you had to pack the salmon — head to tail, head to tail. And I noticed — and I know nothing about salmon, obviously, other than eat it, which I love, but the way they looked, I didn’t know. But they were green and black. They looked horrible. And so I went to the guy running the operation and I said, “Are you sure these are OK?” And he said, “Just do the job. Don’t ask any questions.” And I said, “Well, they just don’t look very good. And they don’t smell very good.” And he just yelled at me. And then when I left, I came back the next day, the whole operation was gone. So I think that’s the equivalent of being fired.

President Barack Obama likes to paint Republicans as warmongers and portray himself as the diplomat-in-chief who ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, even though those conflicts continue and seem certain to outlast his time in office.
In a little-noticed White House video released last month, Obama insisted that he even knows exactly how many wars the United States would be in if he had listened to his hawkish GOP critics.
“Right now, if I was taking the advice of some of the members of Congress who holler all the time, we’d be in, like, seven wars right now,” he told a small group of veterans and Gold Star mothers of slain U.S. military personnel.
“I’m not exaggerating. I’ve been counting. We’d be in military actions in seven places around the world,” he emphasized.
The Sept. 10 meeting occurred behind closed doors in the White House Roosevelt Room, but the president’s comments were made public in a White House-produced video shared via social media.
Asked by Yahoo News to substantiate Obama’s remarks, a National Security Council spokesman first listed seven places to which the president has sent combat forces on a range of missions: Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan and Yemen.
Indeed, part of Obama’s Iran nuclear deal sales pitch hinged on his willingness to use deadly force overseas, intervening around the world far more aggressively than his critics say he’s willing to.
But that was plainly not what the president was talking about last month when he insisted that he was not exaggerating and had been counting how many additional conflicts Republicans wanted the U.S. to be engaged in.
“The point is that some of our critics think massive ground forces are the answer to any security challenge anywhere in the world for undefined ends,” NSC spokesman Ned Price told Yahoo News. “Our response has been to deploy boots on the ground for discrete missions when necessary for pre-defined and narrow purposes.”
He did not share Obama’s list of supposed GOP-sought conflicts.
That’s not to say that key Republicans are less hawkish than the president. Far from it: They’ve called for U.S. ground troops to carry out combat missions in Iraq, for more aggressive military action in Syria, for Washington to provide lethal aid to Ukraine’s military as it clashes with Russian-backed separatists and for Obama to send warships to the South China Sea as a counter to Beijing’s expansive territorial claims.
Nor is Obama alone in escalating the partisan rhetoric in Washington, D.C., and being dismissive of opponents. The verbal battle over the nuclear agreement between six world powers and Iran included GOP portrayals of Obama as the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism, or as an accomplice to a new Holocaust.
Still, Obama’s comments suggest that the president — who has never hesitated to clash verbally with his critics — is planning to stay in “rhymes-with-bucket list” mode, as he has described himself, for his last year and a half in the White House.
PARIS (AP) — Summer was in the air in Paris menswear collections with white roses and lashings of colors. Meanwhile, fashion-conscious NBA player Amar'e Stoudemire spoke to The Associated Press on the trend to fuse sportswear in ready-to-wear. Here are the highlights from Dior Homme, Kenzo and Balmain's debut menswear show.
Kris Jenner, right, and her boyfriend Corey Gamble arrive at Balmain men's Spring/Summer 2016 collection, in Paris, France, Saturday, June 27, 2015.

FLOWER

FILLED WALK
It was a walk among the flowers for Dior Homme, who unveiled its new collection in a labyrinth filled with several thousand white roses.
The garden theme was appropriate enough setting for a spring-summer show, and brought home the house identity: Monsieur Christian Dior famously loved blooms.
Guests, including actors Boyd Holbrook and James Franco's actor brother, Dave Franco, stared out in delight — and normally-retrained fashion editors were seen stooping down to get the best photo of the scented spectacle — reflected back with huge mirrored panels.
But the flowers were also a metaphor for the collection.
It started out safe with bread-and-butter dark slim suit styles, which, as the collection progressed, germinated into camouflage print on lozenge tank tops and on shirts, where it was contrasted with abstract squiggles on a shirt.
And then the collection bloomed.
A vivid red car coat appeared, bright white jeans, and a statement dazzling yellow coat with large collar in crocodile leather.
The touches of color were bright, bold and perfect for the metrosexual summer man.

AMAR'E STOUDEMIRE TALKS SPORTS IN FASHION

All 6'10" (2.08 meters) of Stoudemire have stood out quite prominently in Paris fashion week this season — with the NBA player attending numerous shows including Balmain Saturday.
Stoudemire, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, is no stranger to the fashion scene and has attended Paris menswear weeks twice before — as well as having collaborated on his own fashion line.
He said it's great that more and more sportswear is being seen on the ready-to-wear catwalk, like in Givenchy's use of basketball top silhouettes or Balmain's use of baseball caps.
"I love fashion. And it's a sign of creativity that brands are mixing sports in their designs, like Givenchy," he said, at the Balmain show.
"I think in the last five or six years, collaborations with sports and fashion have really taken off — like my sporty collaboration with (designer) Rachel Roy in womenswear," he said.
Stoudemire sat next to fellow NBA star Serge Ibaka, who plays for Oklahoma City Thunder.

KENZO'S AMERICAN SPACE WORKSTATION

Was the dusty, bolder-filled decor of Kenzo's show evoking a rocky U.S. landscape, or a planet in outer space?
The spring-summer collection's funky designs — which took American factory worker styles and gave them a space age spin — pointed to both.
A buttermilk yellow jumpsuit with hoops, drawstrings on high-waisted workers' pants — mixed with a prickly 3-D sweater and assorted pants in ochre that looked like an extra from Star Trek. It had a fantastic texture, and was one of the show's best looks.
Tassles and drawstrings on slim ochre jackets added the necessary utilitarian details for the ever-cool designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon.
But the collection was also a display of Kenzo's talents as colorists, with a beautiful series of patchwork collage garments, like an enviable striped coat and jacket that was worn tucked — of course — inside the pants.

BALMAIN'S MENSWEAR DEBUT

Balmain's menswear debut was all about discovery.
First, was a journey of inspiration for 29-year-old designer Olivier Rousteing on how to translate his designs — which have garnered great attention in womenswear — for a male clientele.
And, second, Rousteing's starting point on this creative journey was — rather literally — voyages.
"This guy is exactly how I am. Someone discovering the world as an adventurer, trying to find new treasures," he said.
Safari-infused colors of ochre began the show in a stylish leather jacket, warm khaki army shorts, and a cap — that looked part safari, part baseball.
And the colors of the earth that proceeded — brown leathers, stone, ochre yellows and ochre browns — continued evoking this impression of a man walking the land. Accessories like backpackers' bags, and high sandals — were almost fit for a desert trek. Multiple layered looks — with satchels, belts, lapels, and pockets — also felt like the Balmain man would be well-protected to weather the elements.
Rousteing is lauded for his exuberant female designs and fastidious embellishments. This menswear debut captured this, but perhaps could have benefited with the designer bringing the detailing down one notch for the more sober male audience.
That said, the best look in the show, a voluminous stone jacket, belt, boots and cotton sweatpants drove the perfect line between exuberant and masculine.

WOMENSWEAR AND MENSWEAR

Since the days of Coco Chanel, and then Yves Saint Laurent, fashion has been about blurring the lines between male and female.
One of the new trends in Paris Fashion Week is to have female models walk the catwalk in menswear shows, alongside the male models.
This phenomenon started as a regular fixture when Riccardo Tisci took over as designer at Givenchy seven years ago — successfully highlighting the androgyny in the Italian's designs.
And now it pops up all over the place, including in Saturday's Balmain show, where 12 female models were spotted, sporting couture-like gowns with baroque detailing.
PARIS (AP) — Celebrity is in the air at Paris Fashion Week as Rihanna — in a baggy black hoody, shades and sandals — arrived low-key at Charles de Gaulle airport but triggered a paparazzi scrum nonetheless. Meanwhile, Kendall Jenner stole the show at Balmain with actress Jada Pinkett Smith and singer Joe Jonas looking on.
Models wear creations during Carven's spring-summer 2016 ready-to-wear fashion collection presented during the Paris Fashion Week, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015 in Paris, France.
Here are the highlights of Thursday's ready-to-wear spring-summer shows:

RICK OWENS GETS SAUCY (AGAIN)

Fashion master Rick Owens continued to add to his reputation as one of the more provocative designers in Paris — with his bawdy collection that at several instances saw a real model's crotch strapped around another model's face or neck.
With the aid of black and gray banding, the upside down surrogate model was thus attached to her evening host.
The audience gasped and chuckled.
Owens' was making a statement about how we put clothes on without thinking, and what might happen if the clothes put the body on (although the sexual innuendo perhaps drowned this meaning out for some).
Aside from this message, there was some interesting looks that demonstrated the American designer's flair, such as a sweeping black graphic sleeveless jacket, or voluminously draped swirls of gray, muted pink and taupe fabric that created abstract forms on the torso.

KENDALL JENNER

Kim Kardashian was the talk of Balmain last season sporting a new blond hairstyle — and this time it was her half-sister Jenner's turn to rock the crowds from the runway.
Modeling for two looks — a space-age '60s jumpsuit and a geometric lattice dress — Kendall had all eyes on her. Pinkett Smith, meanwhile, stunned with slick-back hair in a cinched waist olive green Balmain sweater and ultra mini.

BALMAIN'S AGGRESSIVE FEMININITY

Balmain's Olivier Rousteing showcased the sexual power of the strong, independent woman in his no-holds-barred styles at the Thursday afternoon show.
Using the colors of the pigments of ancient civilizations — malachite green, golden sienna, Egyptian blue, and white— as well as suedes and jewels, Balmain's 29-year-old showman channeled a warrior.
Strapped, cinched waists and square belt buckles followed diagonal bands across the torso and huge metal neck-plates evoked a war princess. Slits and meshes, meanwhile, exposed sections of delicate skin. It was a nice contrast.
Then there were the ruffles. Huge, billowing, tiered ruffles peppered the show like on one caramel column dress, or a black leather skirt. It put the clock to the '70s and shows that unapologetic Rousteing certainly doesn't do things by half.

SINGER CAROLINE VREELAND PERFORMS AT SWAROVSKI BIRTHDAY

Rising music star Caroline Vreeland performed to cheers at the glitziest party of Paris Fashion Week so far: Swarovksi's 120th birthday.
The VIP-filled soiree on Wednesday night also celebrated the release of a new book "Swarovski: Celebrating a History of Collaborations in Fashion, Jewelry, Performance and Design."
Though blond beauty Vreeland — who's also a model — might not be a household name, she's already fashion royalty, being the great-granddaughter of powerful Harper's Bazaar editor Diana Vreeland, who reigned across the magazine world from 1936 to 1962.

CHLOE'S SUMMER

Summer was in the air at Clare Waight Keller's Thursday show at Paris' Grand Palais.
The British Chloe designer this season mixed up sportswear, hippy styles and lashings of color to produce a saleable collection, frothing with loose silk silhouettes.
There was more than a whiff of Seventies' flower power.
The 44-strong show opening with billowing hippy flares with small retro print — contrasted nicely with a jogging top that might be seen on a girl running around the Tuileries Gardens. Relaxed yet chic was its statement.
Later, floppy bows at the neck, flared sleeves, billowing harem pants, and dangling tassels further evoked the boho era.
But this collection was all about color: the indigo, beige, pale yellow, vermilion red and burgundy — that all came to a climax in a cascading rainbow gown that would certainly not be for the color-shy.

CARVEN'S SANITIZED CHIC

A large PVC greenhouse with white tube lights had fashionistas curious ahead of Carven's spring-summer show, only the second so far for new designers Adrien Caillaudaud and Alexis Martial at the age-old Parisian house.
Pared-down and slightly sanitized was the style — carefully aligned with the decor. This infused the 41-piece collection with the tight, crisp silhouettes and mini-skirts of the Sixties.
Thus, delicately flared pants in dove gray mixed with colored silk shirts, and one white striped sporty-looking top with neat colored lines.
The best of the Sixties musing came with a cut-out disc motif on a burnt orange or white mini, and a crisp white mini dress that looked almost like a nurse's uniform — stylishly evoking the sanitized feel
The collection loosened up toward the end with some layered skirts and a frothy white dress with criss-cross fabric panels.

LANVIN

In a varied show at Paris' Left Bank Ecole des Beaux Arts, Alber Elbaz started his exploration of form in a series of deconstructed daywear skirt suit looks, with billowing undergarments in the skirt, which were purposefully off-kilter and frayed.
The real fun began when the bread-and-butter Lanvin cocktail gowns began.
A stylish series of draped silk dresses — gathered at the waist in red, teal, earth green and soft blue — were a contemporary take on old-school couture. They evoked the era of the late, great Jeanne Lanvin who founded the house at the turn of the 20th century.
PARIS (AP) — Actress Michelle Rodriguez and model Naomi Campbell joined celebrity attendees Sunday at the start of Paris' fall-winter 2015-16 haute couture week — that headlined with Versace. Here are the highlights, including Adeline Andre and Ulyana Sergeenko:
Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace walks the runway at the end of the Versace show, part of the fall-winter 2015/2016 Haute Couture fashion collection presented in Paris, France, Sunday, July 5, 2015
VERSACE HITS HIGH POINT Donatella Versace delivered her strongest show yet for her couture line since its 2012 relaunch, in a fun and frothy collection that mirrored the exuberance of the late '70s and the architecture of Art Nouveau.
The models, who wore turn-of-the-century flower crowns, sported voluminous flared silk sleeves alongside floaty skirts with long proportions. Wrought-iron bodices, meanwhile, added a touch of aggression to the feminine designs and harked back to the days of late 19th century decorative arts, as seen in the architecture of Paris' metro and its many garden gates.
Colors were subtle and feminine — dove gray, soft apple green, fuchsia, pinks, and flashes of tangerine. This collection felt like a mature Donatella — who's found her feet. And one confident enough to go back to codes more associated with her late brother, Gianni, like one fabulous black strapped, figure-hugging lace gown that perfectly hit the heydays of the '90s.

ULYANA SERGEENKO'S GOES HOME FOR ON

CALENDAR DEBUT
For Russian designer Ulyana Sergeenko's on-calendar couture debut in Paris, she did away with the design exuberance for which the socialite-cum-designer is reputed.
In its place was a subtler show that channeled the clothes — she said — that might be found in an eclectic "Soviet Communal Apartment" apartment following the 1917 revolution.
It was a moment, so said the program notes, when spacious housing was taken away from wealthy citizens, forcing them to co-habit with other families and individuals from all walks of life.
The translation into clothes meant decorative details, pleated sections in the skirts that looked like mini-curtains, a square lamp-shaped gown, and Christmas decor and confetti used as appliques on loosely-fitting dresses.
Though the designs, at times, felt contrived — there was some beautiful play in proportion, like a long textured coat with exaggerated rolled-up sleeves.

NATALIA VODIANOVA TALKS UP HER FELLOW RUSSIAN FRIEND

Russian ubermodel Natalia Vodianova is good friends with Sergeenko, and used her front row position at the couture show, which overlooked the Eiffel Tower — for vocal support.
"It's a brand that has an incredible potential. ... I actually have a big passion for craftsmanship and I think that Ulyana is an incredible force behind Russian craftsmanship," she said.
"She's gathering young and old women from all over Russia in her atelier in Moscow. She now has over 100 full-time people employed in embroidering, carving and doing beading and all kinds of work that goes into her collection," Vodianova said, adding that "Ulyana is the reason that all women in Moscow dress like princesses."

KENZO PREMIERES MOVIE

Fashion film is a growing genre — and in the last few years directors and fashion houses have started to team up regularly to co-produce slick and highly stylized shorts.
Kenzo is on the bandwagon now, and premiered a new film "Here Now" by director Gregg Araki for the July 4 weekend — that was based on the universe of his acclaimed 1997 feature "Nowhere."
The 10-minute work is set in a California diner — and tells the enigmatic story of two couples, who have contrasting relationships.
The actors — Grace Victoria Cox, Avan Jogia, and Jacob Arist — are clad in Kenzo's fall-winter 2015 designs, and the film is mainly a showcase for the fashion house.

ADELINE ANDRE PARES IT DOWN

Classical simplicity was showcased at the small-but-beautifully-formed fall-winter show from Parisian couturier Adeline Andre.
Long column silhouettes in pure fabrics hung from the shoulders — with unstructured, feminine fluidity.
Flashes of burnt sienna and yellow added the zest to a menu of sanitized, monochrome color — such as a black hooded coat on a model with ruby red lips and a whitened face that conjured up an image of a rich, soulful widow.
But the main point of this show was its experimentation with form. The best look was a perfectly cut black trapeze silhouette coat, with curved angular sleeves that was at once voluminous and complimentary to the model's slender form
PARIS (AP) — Forget the celebrity guests; it's all about the models at this season's Paris Fashion Week. Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid dominated the Elie Saab catwalk, while icy blonds Doutzen Kroes and Lily Donaldson — both in black — caused a stir at Mugler.
A model wears a creation for Mugler's Spring-Summer 2016 ready-to-wear fashion collection presented during the Paris Fashion Week, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015 in Paris, France.
Here are the highlights of Saturday's spring-summer 2016 shows: ELIE SAAB'S LACE, STRIPES AND FLOWERS It was a three-course fashion feast for Elie Saab, whose ultra-feminine looks fused lace and stripes and, aptly enough, flowers in the Tuileries' Gardens show.
The Lebanese designer normally holds his needle steadily in his hand and rarely strays from his bread-and-butter va-va-voom looks in pastel colors. Saturday's ready-to-wear show was an exception to this rule, and saw Saab experiment.
Silhouettes short and mini or long and sweeping were delivered in romantic frills of lace — or "imitation lace" which was in fact laser-perforated leather on top models such as Kendall Jenner. Vivid colors such as rose hibiscus, lawn green and azure — as well as black — fused with '70s silk neck ribbons for a feminine flair.
But, overall, the varied 47-piece collection was hard to pin down, and not all the looks gelled. Saab got top marks for some experimentation in stripes — such as one silk gown; mini at the front with a train at the back. Its lines in red, pale pink and black transformed from horizontal to vertical as the train swept back with movement.

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD'S PLAYS ON SIZE

American actress and singer Zendaya led the front row at fashion icon Vivienne Westwood's mad-as-a-hatter journey through Renaissance Venice that played on size and proportion.
An oversize floral coat and a ruffle-rich draped dress perfectly captured the romanticism of painters' flourishes on a model with tight ringlets.
Elsewhere in the spring-summer collection, the pure hues of the Renaissance could be seen in a comically gargantuan coat in Saxe blue that was suspended over the head of a model thanks to an inner structure on her shoulders.
The audience delighted.
Lozenge patterns of a harlequin, two-tone shoes and stripy legs peppered the show alongside bizarre hats from yesteryear — and highlighted Westwood's fascination with the sartorial elements of historical clothes making.
But where would the 74-year-old designer — who came of age creatively in the punk era — be without her retro references?
Two-tone hair, '80s-style oversize Al Capone suits, a striped drape coat — and even an oversize veil gave proceedings a New Romantics feel.

BON ANNIVERSAIRE VOGUE PARIS!

Images of French Vogue editor Emanuelle Alt's good friend, model Kate Moss, have been plastered on posters around Paris for days in anticipation of one of the biggest events on the Paris Fashion Week calendar: Vogue Paris' 95th birthday.
The Saturday night event — hosted by Conde Nast France in an exclusive hotel particulier in Paris' posh 16th district — will draw in fashion week's glitterati and a swathe of celebrities in town for the ready-to-wear shows.
The magazine, founded in 1920 and based largely on the US version, has had a rich history in championing talented photographers such as Erwin Blumenfeld, Guy Bourdin and Robert Doisneau.

MUGLER'S MECHANICAL FLOWER

A huge mechanical flower, (or perhaps a turbine), with a CD in the middle towered over the runway at David Koma's Mugler show.
It portended the theme of the interesting collection — the stylish woman as an aggressive, militaristic machine.
It began with variations on black and white looks. A jumpsuit and several mini-dresses — which hugged the body with diagonal movement in exaggerated lapels with contrasting black and white buttons.
The aggression built up nicely as the collection progressed. A chainmail disco-dress gave way to a tight leather military mini-dress, with epaulettes and a tight no-nonsense belt, and then a stylish leather coat-dress with epaulettes in toffee.
By the end, the woman turned into a fembot in a series of sexy futuristic looking mini-dresses with interlocking square panels.
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