'You know, I think as you get older, the snake is more chic than the leopard.' [carine roitfeld de PARIS VOGUE on prints and aging in the guardian this week] i was reminded, on reading the interview, of the incredible balmain fall08 gown she wore at cannes last year: a dangerously slit skirt, fabric smeared across the torso like a butcher's bloody apron, all pinned together into a mirrored, silvery dagger point at the waist...now in her mid-50s, her legendary balmain outing exemplified the cross-generational appeal of the leopard (the dress is actually modelled here by her son's girlf). she might not still be repping for the spotted print, having moved on to the snake-scales (according to jess cartner-morley's tête à tête) but i'm thankful as ever for the inspiration: merci beaucoup Carine.