Dione Deshawn Moody was beginning to make his mark. Photographers and models were seeking out this young, aggressive fashion stylist who had a natural knack for clothes and color. He also had a strong streak of generosity, according to his mother, who can't understand why someone shot him to death this week in an apparent robbery.

"All (the killer) had to do was ask for what he wanted and he would have (given) it to him," Veronica Moody said, crying. "He didn't have much money to give, but he was always there."Moody's keys were still in the lock of an outer vestibule at his apartment building in the 2000 block of East 68th Street when a gunman approached from behind and shot him in the head at about 5:40 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

Moody, 31, appeared to have just returned from shopping when he was shot, according to police and his mother. By the time police arrived, Moody's shopping bags were missing. Detectives suspect the motive was robbery, but haven't located any witnesses, police said.

Chicago photographer Dave Ouano described Moody, who styled two recent high-fashion photo shoots for him, as an aggressive young go-getter with seemingly a million goals and an exceptional talent at networking. Moody — who worked under his middle name Deshawn — had a boyish charm and wide bright smile and worked easily with models and designers, recalled Ouano, who photographs models for several city agencies.

"He had a vision for styling and he did a really good job. I was impressed with his work," said Ouano, who said he stepped back and let Moody express his vision for the models and the wardrobe. "I was like: 'I trust you. You know what you're doing, you have style, you know what you're doing (and) you know what we want for the shoot,'" Ouano said. "It was a really good shoot."

Moody wrote about his zeal for fashion on several websites and publications, including urbansocialite.com, where he served as the online editor-in-chief. He was also a familiar face at fashion industry parties, rubbing elbows with insiders and reality TV stars. A snappy dresser, Moody ran in those circles, through his fashion work and a side job managing young singers, Ouano said.

Despite his rising star, Moody was happy to be a part of the team, Ouano said. "He was very passionate about what he was doing, very ambitious ... strong-willed. When he knows what he wants to do, he just goes after it."

Moody grew up on the West Side and graduated from Phillips High School in the Bronzeville neighborhood. His career path didn't surprise his mother, who said Moody — the oldest of 10 siblings — even as a boy had an eye for clothing and color.

"He just started getting on his feet and happy doing (what) he was doing, and it's just a tragedy that somebody would take his life like that," his mother said, her voice shaking. "I just want my son back. I just want him back."

Veronica Moody, who has moved to Milwaukee, said she spoke with her son the morning he died, hoping to surprise him with a visit. He had recently bought Christmas presents for his siblings and his mother planned to drive to Chicago to pick them up, she said.

The gifts would have been a chance for Moody — who took his role as an older brother seriously — to once again provide for his family, his mother said. Moody's longtime partner, Keon Nickie, was devastated by the slaying, with Moody's family rarely leaving his side, Veronica Moody said.

As Veronica Moody began arranging her son's funeral, she said she remained hopeful his killer would have a change of heart and surrender. "I hope that they turn (themselves) in," she said, "because my son didn't deserve to die like this."

FROM the fashion houses of Milan to the Paris catwalks, Kate Moss has worked with the planet’s top designers... Now, she’s teamed-up with a nine-year-old to launch a fashion range for Debenhams.

And the youngster in question? None other than her daughter Lila Grace. Yep, the Croydon-born supermodel has signed an estimated £400,000 contract with the high street retailer to do a clothing range of “funky tweenage” designs, due to hit the shops in summer 2012.

Kate, 37, has told pals she will help Lila put pen to paper over Christmas, working on an “English rose-inspired” collection suitable for pre-teens and fashion conscious youngsters. My source tells me: “Lila has always loved trying on Kate’s clothes and make-up and is already really into fashion. “It was mainly Lila’s idea and mum Kate will obviously help out as much as possible, using her contacts to land a deal.”

And it appears that Lila knows exactly what she wants. My insider says: “Lila is adamant the range will be very traditional and English rose-esque – a world away from TOWIE. Lila doesn’t want to produce chavvy clothes.”Pals also say Lila is keen to incorporate “trendy ballet wear” after taking up dancing. The mother-daughter collaboration was actually inspired by Kate’s designer mates, Jemima French and Sadie Frost.

My source says: “Their FrostFrench ‘Iris and Edie’ sleepwear range came into being after their daughters got involved. Kate and Lila will get cracking on designs over Christmas at their Cotswolds’ pad.”It is understood the collaboration will work in a similar way to Madonna and her daughter Lourdes’ Material Girl project.

Both Lila and Kate’s signatures will feature on the range’s labels. This is not the first time that Kate has worked with a high street chain. Her hit partnership with Sir Philip Green pulled in a reported £3million for Topshop over three years, during which she designed 14 collections.

Bollywood songs such as Oh re piya, Raat ka nasha and Dhage tod lao added a sensual feel to the Pakistan Fashion Design Council L'Oreal Paris Bridal Week ramp here even as lesser experimentation with silhouettes and cuts and more bling were the highlights of the first day of the extravaganza. The inaugural edition of Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) L'Oreal Paris Bridal Week that kickstarted late Sunday evening had a mix of two clothes designers, a jewellery designer, a fashion stylist and a makeup artist.

Karachi-based stylist and image consultant Nabila opened the show with an interesting theme of  Gold to Bold. The idea was to show the shift in the clothes and makeup of brides over the years. While Nabila styled the models, Zaheer Abbas designed clothes for the show. A model first sashayed down the ramp in elegant, heavy bridal wear with sophisticated hairdo and makeup. But within a minute, she changed into contemporary bridal wear with a carefree hairdo, signifying the changing bride.

The colour palette had hues of magenta; purple, beige and the use of jamawar dominated the clothes. The instrumental version of hit Bollywood number Sasural genda phool complemented the theme well.

The following show was by designer Hassan Shehryar Yasin (HSY), who opened his show with an engrossing audio-visual that focused on the theme of power, money and polo. His collection, "Game of Kings", was inspired by Polo, a popular sport in Lahore.

As one would expect, models walked on high-boots worn with leather pants and polo caps. However, the show turned out to be more pret than bridal, the theme of the four-day fashion event. For the women, Yasin draped saris and tunics over leather pants, boots and polo hats. But his experimentation failed completely. The heavily embroidered ghagras, saris, long anarkalis, saris and lehengas in the colours of black and beige had no definition and lacked focus.

On the flipside, his menswear line was more sophisticated and chic. Fine detailing, leather piping and patches at the right places; smart over-sized bags and interesting waistcoats turned out to be a winner for the designer. But, definitely a no-no for a bridal wear.

Known for creating regal and out-of-the-box pieces, jewellery designer Kiran matched up to the expectations of the audience. Her line, 'Sceptres of Beauty', was inspired by a woman's need to conceal, protect and provoke. She showcased pieces like necklaces, earrings, pendants, rings and 'maang tikas' using metals like gold, silver and stones - lapis, coral and malachite together with red and green sapphires.

The last show of the day by designer Sonia Azhar was supposed to be a revival of ancient artwork. Unfortunately too much bling blinded the eyes. The show lacked focus considering that it was themed as Enlightenment. A bid Buddha statue was placed on one side of the stage and big earthen pots on the other side.

One expected a revival of handicrafts but as the models started trickling in, one could only see long kurtas teamed with palazzos, lehengas and saris in pink, purple, beige and maroon. The clothes lacked structure and too much crystals, sequins, zari and dabka work took away the beauty.

The intricate hand embroidery did impress, but the collection on the whole, was definitely too overwhelming for the eyes. The only saving grace was the soulful Bollywood songs that kept the audience enthused.

Sitting in her showroom on the day she has agreed to will her extensive archives to Melbourne's RMIT university, 87-year-old fashion merchandising legend Mary Lipshut is feeling wistful. "There's a lot of nostalgia here," she says, gesturing to the walls covered in photographs of old friends like Gianni Versace, Tai Missoni and Frank Sinatra. Versace was a friend from the early 1970s right up until his murder in 1997.

"Gianni always appreciated the fact that I bought his things before he was known. His first collection for Callaghan was brilliant."Now, pieces from that collection are available for purchase from Lipshut's new online store, ML Vintage. The store showcases her collection of unsold stock from the 60s, 70s and 80s, when she was a pioneering fashion buyer for Myer and Georges.

Lipshut was the first to bring labels like Callaghan, Pucci, Missoni and Courreges into Australia, but she didn't always get a warm reception from department stores. "[They] were too frightened to buy ... they didn't want to take a risk. "I was forced to open my own boutiques because the first collection I ever bought from Missoni, you know what they said to me? 'Mary, you really don't know what you're doing, dear. You can never put emerald and lime together. They don't go.'

"That garment is now in the National Gallery of Victoria."Other pieces from Lipshut's collection have been purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Smithsonian. The collection began when one of Lipshut's consignments for Myer was redirected to her warehouse after a disagreement with Myer's merchandising director. Another shipment, from Courreges in Paris, was pronounced unsellable on arrival when the French began testing nuclear bombs in the Pacific and Australia slapped a ban on all French imports.

Add a few uncollected laybys from her pioneering boutiques Tempo and Sportempo, and some advice from Italian Vogue commentator Anna Piaggi to preserve her growing inventory for when the world began clamouring for true vintage fashion, and ML Vintage was born. The collection of 4000 garments and accessories is now thought to be worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars, and potentially the only one of its kind in the world. A trip around the showroom – and the website – is a journey through several fashion cycles, and proof that everything old is always new again, eventually. Courreges was clearly a master of colour blocking, and Missoni's original maxi dresses and iconic stripes are just as popular today as they ever were.

70s chic ... Pucci skirt set, $4500, from ML Vintage. With one-shoulder Versace swimsuits listed at $500 a pop, and Pucci skirt sets selling for thousands, it's not for the faint of wallet. Lipshut has outfitted Dannii Minogue, Megan Gale and fashion insiders like stylist Polly Kerdel, and is excited to see her new online venture go live. "We're launching www.mlvintage.com to see Mary's life work find their rightful homes," says grandson and business partner Mark Lipshut.

"When the last piece sells, the lights go off and we go home!"As for RMIT, they'll be the recipients of a cache of newspaper clippings, hand-written stock orders, vintage colour charts, diary notes, and drawings by some of the 20th century's most successful designers. It's an archive that represents a fashion life well lived. "I never had time to throw anything out," says Lipshut. "It was the most elegant era ... I've really had this most wonderful life."

It combines our national obsession with the weather and the government’s need to bring in more money: introducing the Met Office fashion range. In collaboration with an eco-clothing company, the national weather forecaster has developed a range of T-shirts emblazoned with its famous weather symbols. Designs include their cloud symbol with a bolt of lightning signifying stormy weather, and a fashionable adaptation of a the rainy weather symbol featuring a cloud with rain drops in the shape of cats and dogs. Another design includes a cloud transformed into an ice cream cone with a lightning rod as the “flake” to “celebrate English summertime”. The £20 T-shirts are made from organic cotton, manufactured in a wind powered factory on the Isle of Wight by the company Rapanui.

Luke Green of the Met Office, said: “Weather fascinates everybody and our new clothing is a fun way to tell new audiences about the work the Met Office does.”“We are delighted to be working with Rapanui to design and produce this collection which is the first step in developing new collaborations to promote our brand.”Mart Drake-Knight, the co-founder and designer for Rapanui, said: “The Met Office is the international authority on climate change research. Our brand is about making eco-fashion cool and accessible. “As well as being a nod to the Met Office’s heritage and expertise, we managed to add a bit of “Britishness” and humour to capture the spirit of the weather as a subject.”The Met Office, which is owned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, is the latest official body to try to make money from its image. The RAF also has a fashion range, while the Houses of Parliament offer branded souvenirs including whisky and paperweights.