• Rachel McAdams — with a mop of, dare we say it, could that be Kate G.-inspired hair — graces the January cover of Vogue. McAdams went to a couple fashion shows with Anna Wintour in September. [JustJared]

• John Galliano is getting into the men's wear business. Not satisfied with Christian Dior, Dior Haute Couture, John Galliano, and Galliano, the British designer will present his first men's collection at men's wear week in Milan next month. There will be knitwear, leather, shirts, jackets, and jeans, and the pieces be available for sale in the fall. [FWD]
• Sienna Miller was asked whether she was a fan of the January issue of V, which will feature plus-size models. "I suppose that's something you'd have to say — I couldn't sit here and say, 'No, I'm not,'" said the actress, who modeled briefly before switching codes. "But I sincerely believe that that's more beautiful than someone who is poker-thin. I really do. I would love to have boobs to go with my hips, but I don't — that's just not the way the cookie crumbled." [The Cut]
• An LVMH executive tweeted today that Marc Jacobs and Victoria Beckham were talking together about a line with fur. [Fashionologie]
• Britney Spears' upcoming Candie's campaign was shot this week by none other than Annie Leibovitz. That woman must be a total spendthrift to be bankrupt. [ONTD]
• Alberta Ferretti, who normally shows her Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti collection at New York Fashion Week, is downsizing, probably to a presentation, for this February. Ferretti herself may not even make the trip from Milan. [FWD]
• In case any of you were wondering: Those new Louis Vuitton ads that look kind of like low-rent Vermeers, and feature models doing leather work by hand with waxed linen thread? They are as fake as the pebble-finish coated canvas on a monogram bag. Louis Vuitton products are mass manufactured out of machine-cut pattern pieces by people at industrial sewing machines who do piecework. (Next up we plan to exclusively reveal that some of the cheese you eat may not, in fact, come from happy cows.) [BW]
• Barneys New York's parent company, Dubai World, received a $10 billion loan from Abu Dhabi to solve a cash flow emergency. This is fueling speculation that Barneys may be sold, although insiders say no sale is imminent. [WWD]
• More Michael Jackson memorabilia is hitting the auction circuit. Shoes which Michael Jackson moonwalked in for a concert on September 10, 2001, are being sold off along with a fedora from the same gig. [Mirror]
• After leaving fashion, Georges Marciano of Guess? jeans fame engaged in a kind of epic crack-up. He once dreamed of becoming governor of California, but his own paranoia, and a series of lawsuits, have him poised to lose a $500 million empire. [LATimes]
• Some people with too much time on their hands scoured The Fashion Spot, counting editorial models in the various world editions of Vogue for 2009. 17-year-old Karlie Kloss, reigning favorite of American Vogue and Vogue Italia, won; Carine Roitfeld's model of choice, Lara Stone, came in second. Jourdan Dunn, who spent nine months of this year pregnant, still managed to come in ninth. [Fashin]
• Nylon managed to say some nice things about the Olsen twins' JC Penney line, Olsenboye. Despite the fact that one of the pieces is a direct knock-off of Stephen Sprouse's graffiti pieces for Louis Vuitton. [Nylon]
• Same-store sales at H&M fell 9% on last year this November, marking the seventh straight month of falling comparable sales at the Swedish chain. [WSJ]
• Executives from Kohl's came to New York last week to look for real estate for what would be the company's first Manhattan location. Then New Yorkers could shop Lauren Conrad's collection in person! [WWD]

Ferretti's no enemy of gauzy gauzy femininity any time, but loving the over-the-top Bloomsbury feel of this!


Okay, this openwork gardening apron verges on bizarre, but there were lots of these meta-garments all over the runways.


Absurdly romantic, a touch Laura Ashley - but so pretty.


This juxtaposition of hard and soft feels very Vanessa Bell-at-Charleston.


Made for a garden party - ideally one involving apple trees.


The embroidered detailing is another vintagey nod.


Simple and perfect.


Isadora Duncan could have danced in this gauzy number


The motoring veil almost distracted me from this rather odd, rather mod little mini.

[Images via Getty.]

• Model turned cookbook author Sophie Dahl is getting her own cooking show on BBC 2. Dahl says her show will cover on the "emotional" side of food. "It's cooking with an anecdotal thread, irreverent, unpredictable and not without flaw." [Sun]

• Tilda Swinton will be the Spring 2010 face of Pringle of Scotland. Ryan McGinley, who's also behind the current Levi's 501s campaign, will shoot the ads, and a short film featuring the actress. [WWD]
• Target reps denied that Anna Sui's upcoming collection for the retailer was in trouble for its Gossip Girl theme. (Rumors had circulated earlier this week that Sui's clothes were set to be worn by extras in a scene for an upcoming episode, but that executives at the chain were made uncomfortable by the teen soap's debauchery.) The Sui collection hits stores on September 14. [Stylelist]
• And nor, apparently, is it true that Kate Moss is going to be a part of Sir Philip Green and Simon Cowell's new global entertainment company. [WWD]
• Forever 21 is expanding into homewares and beauty. [WWD]
• Three armed men robbed a Cartier store in Cannes and got away — so far — with $20.9 million worth of jewels. [WWD]
• Two biographies of the late editor/muse Isabella Blow, who committed suicide in 2007 after failing several earlier attempts, are slated for release next year. Detmar Blow, her widower, is co-writing one with Tom Sykes, brother of the mostly intolerable Vogue scribe Plum. Fashion writer Lauren Goldstein Crowe is working on another. [NYObs]
• Frederic Bourke, the co-founder of Dooney & Bourke, remains the company chairman even after his conviction on conspiracy charges for his role in an investment group that bribed Azerbaijani officials with hundreds of millions of dollars. The investment group was seeking preferential consideration for its bid for the Azeri state-owned oil company, and although he beat money-laundering charges, Bourke now faces up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. "This is indeed an unfortunate situation," said Dooney & Bourke's lawyer, Thomas McAndrew. "It's tragic for Mr. Bourke. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family." [WWD]
• Everyone loves falling models. You've probably seen most of these — but there is one nasty spill from a Gharani Strok show we hadn't witnessed before. [Modelinia]
• The Project Runway model spin-off show that the producers have been threatening for ages now is a reality. Called Models of the Runway, the hour-long reality show will air after every episode of Project Runway's sixth season. [SassyBella]
• Amber Rose, who's now with Ford's celebrity division, has two Polaroids on Confessions Of A Casting Director. No word yet on the kinds of bookings she's attracting. [COACD]
• Karlie Kloss, on bagging the campaign for Marc Jacobs' fragrance Lola: "I didn't believe it, to be honest. I was shocked. I was like, 'No, you're kidding me. Me? Marc Jacobs knows my name?!' I was convinced that they accidentally drew my name out of hat or something." [W]
• Doutzen Kroes likes to read the New York Times. And Dutch papers: "I always try to keep up with what's going on in my own country too," said the model. "You have to!" [StyleFile]
• Times Critical Shopper Cintra Wilson, on Marni: "What I like best about Marni is that it gives a fashionable girl a creative direction if men finally dismay her past the point of no return. It provides a high-fashion shelter for those too badly scorched and shell-shocked by the battle of the sexes to return to the field. When you've really had it up to your push-up bra with the unfair sex, there may come a day when you stop waxing your legs and start hand-painting your car, brewing your own tattoo inks and converting your dining room into an abandoned-pet shelter — and Marni will be there for you." [NYTimes]
• Guiseppe Zanotti might be entering the mens footwear market. [WWD]
• Of course Alberta Ferretti has a sickeningly beautiful Italian country home. [FWD]
• Bebe is phasing out all Bebe Sport merchandise and stores. The replacement brand, targeting "value-oriented consumer spending," will be called PH8. [WWD]
• UK retail behemoth Asda's George line is offering deals on school uniforms that start at just £4.50. (Competitor Tesco's uniforms start at £3.75.) Asda's come with a money back guarantee against holes, rips, or untreatable stains — that occur within the first 100 days of purchase. Fast fashion really is a race to the bottom. [ToL]
• Supposedly, Jon Gosselin and Hailey Glassman's children's clothing line for Ed Hardy is back on. Christian Audigier, who earlier denied the project, told E! that it "should be" happening. [E!]
• Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler even took on the task of finding advertisers when they agreed to curate an issue of the Belgian title A Magazine. "They don't really have a staff when they hand you over the magazine," said Hernandez, "They're just like, ‘Here you go, now do it!'" At the launch party, cover star Chloë Sevigny turned up in a black leather Proenza Schouler jumpsuit. "I feel a bit like a super-slut superhero," she said. [NYObs]
• Simon Doonan: "I think the future of fashion lies in the hands of the consumer. All the press, art direction, hype and red-carpet celebs do not amount to anything at the end of the day if the customer is not on board. When Anna Wintour announced "Fashion's Night Out," I let out a loud cheer. Ms. Wintour is smart enough to understand it's time to swing the spotlight away from the front-row celebs and back into the fitting room. The customer is king…or queen." In the same interview, the Barney's creative director called not having a C.E.O. " a colossal drag." [WWD]
• An auction for bankrupt company Eddie Bauer's assets is taking place this Thursday, and VF Corp has announced its intention to bid. VF owns outdoorsy brands like The North Face, Eastpak, JanSport, and Eagle Creek. The successful bidder is expected to keep the 89-year-old retailer Eddie Bauer in operation. [WWD]
• Levi's lost money during its second quarter because of 3% drop in sales — but it still intends to keep opening new stores. [WSJ]
• In fact, everyone's opening boutiques like it's going out of style. Miu Miu just cut the ribbons on its first footholds in China and Turkey. [WWD]
• And Versace just opened its largest Middle Eastern store, a 6,480-sq. ft. shop in a Dubai mall. [WWD]
• Adjusted for exchange rate fluctuation, Burberry revenues sank 4% on last year during the second quarter. The company has already cut about 15% of its workforce. [Reuters]
• H&M;s June same-store sales fell a larger-than-expected 5%. [WWD]
• Wholesale prices on U.S.-made apparel fell 0.2% from May to June, but this June's prices were still 1.3% higher on last year's. [WWD]

• Gwyneth Paltrow has tired of the cosmetics contract gravy train; no longer shall the actress concentrate on embodying the qualities of the Estée Lauder brand. Instead, she'll be the new, white Oprah! [Daily Mail]

• Nanette Lepore has added her voice to the save the garment center chorus. [HuffPo]
• According to Jesus Luz's Brazilian agent, Sergio Mattos, Luz was paid $100 for the two-day Steven Klein shoot with Madonna that ended up in W. Let me say this one more time: that kind of pay is entirely standard for an editorial shoot, no matter one's modeling experience or industry status. [NY Post]
• Christina Aguilera looks, um, Photoshopped to high hell in the new Stephen Webster jewelry campaign. [Sun]
• Jerry Hall got a $750,000 advance from HarperCollins to write a memoir that would include full details on her life with Mick Jagger. But the manuscript Hall rendered proved too tame and cagey on the subject of Jagger for the publisher's taste; the supermodel has agreed to return the advance. (Side note: how many times do you get to read a word like "priapic" in the Daily Mail?) [Daily Mail]
• Terry Richardson just shot next year's Pirelli calendar in Trancoso, Bahia, Brazil. Georgina Stojiljkovic, Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw, and Daisy Lowe are purported to be featured, along with actual Brazilians Gracie Carvalho and Ana Beatriz Barros. Glamurama got a NSFW snap of Richardson in action, shooting a topless McNeil on a white horse. [Glamurama via Fashionologie]
• Supposedly, Zac Posen is in the early stages of producing a scripted series for the CW network about the equestrian world. Might be a wise move to diversify, as we keep hearing wild rumors that his label is in trouble. [The Cut]
• Erin Fetherston is also shooting a short film this week, starring Juliette Lewis, and her fall collection. Music is by Damon Dash. Her husband also confirmed that the designer will launch a line for home-shopping giant QVC this fall, probably during fashion week. [WWD]
• Stacey Bendet Eisner — yes, last year she married the son of that Eisner — is the designer behind Alice + Olivia. And she says there are exciting things to come for the brand, including an expanded line of embellished t-shirts, a jewelry line with Erickson Beamon coming out this November, and a possible cosmetics deal. [Blackbook]
• Macy's says not to expect deep markdowns this season — but it does want a lower-priced outlet store bearing its name, since Saks and Nordstrom both have them. [WWD]
• Douglas Reker, one of the bracingly new designers I'm personally most excited about, has just been picked up for fall by Barneys Coop. [Crain's]
• Now that Lakshmi Menon — two-time Indian Vogue covergirl — has had her only-girl editorial debut in American Vogue, industry commentators wonder aloud: Why has it taken so long for a South Asian supermodel to emerge? Sarah Doukas of London mega-agency Storm says it's because Indians are culturally conservative and don't want their daughters modeling; Menon says agencies don't have scouting networks on the subcontinent, and if you don't look for something, of course you won't find it. [Independent]
• England's National Trust is in talks to buy the home of the late designer Laura Ashley. [Telegraph]
• Leigh Lezark, who is a member of this preposterous thing called the MisShapes, but who nonetheless finds time in her busy schedule to "model", might be Matthew Williamson's new muse. Because a perpetually black-clad stony-stared New Yorker would be the perfect match for his exuberant tastes. [Fashionista]
• Rosa Chá, which is just about the best-looking and best-fitting swimwear out there, barring perhaps Norma Kamali, and therefore heartbreaking for its extravagant price, is losing its founding designer, Amir Slama. Slama, who launched Rosa Chá over two decades ago, is going to start a namesake swim collection. Brazilian Alexandre Herchcovitz will take over at Rosa Chá. [WWD]
• Diego Della Valle, the head of Italian leather goods brand Tod's, has doubled his investment stake in Saks Fifth Avenue, to 5.9%. [WWD]
• Alberta Ferretti, Moschino, and Pollini are all lowering their prices. Their parent company, Italy's Aeffe SpA, experienced steep losses in the first quarter of this year, and has thus formulated a cost-cutting plan that is intended to save $13.6 million over the course of 2010. In addition to lowering prices, Aeffe is shrinking its collections and planning layoffs. [WWD]

• Says totally important designer Alaïa, whose designs Nuclear Wintour snubbed in the Met exhibit, "she behaves like a dictator and everyone is terrified of her...but I'm not scared of her or anyone." BURN! [WWD]

• The Costume Institute curator, Harold Koda, says it's just a misunderstanding: "We would have loved to have had his pieces in the show, but there was a lot of miscommunication...Maybe it was oversensitivity on my part in broaching it informally rather than with a formal letter. Nobody is to blame. My understanding was that he didn't want his work in the show, so I honored it." [WWD]
• Speaking of Alaïa: Michelle Obama was not wearing him at Tuesday's Time 100 Gala. Contrary to what the White House reported, it was Michael Kors. Quoth the perma-bronzed Mikey's spoeksguy, "I've been digging out of the Alaïa hole all day." [WWD]
• And if you covet the square-necked stunner, it can be yours - for a price. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Speaking of the First Lady, Jason Wu still hasn't met her. But he'd like to! []
• Anna Wintour is also angry with Jack Bauer. For that whole head-butting unpleasantness. "Anna is furious that the Met Gala got upstaged by Kiefer doing something stupid at an after-party that wasn't even part of her event. Now that's all anyone is talking about, not her party. And she is so genuinely fond of Jack, she has supported him and Lazaro for years, she really feels they are part of the future of American fashion. So she's doubly annoyed." [StyleList via New York]
• Marc Jacobs is introducing another scent, Lola. And we're really hoping "Whatever Lola Wants" is integrated into the campaign. [WWD]
• Rival agencies Ford Models and Next Management are fighting over model Kendra Spears. In the meantime, Spears is walkin' for Next. Poached model on toast! [NY Post]
• Quoth the cuckolded Ford, "Kendra Spears is one of the shining stars of the Ford development system. Signed as a prospect while still a teenager in braces, for more than a year, Ford has painstakingly cultivated Spears - literally, taught her how to be an international fashion model." Literally, people! [New York Daily News]
• Oh, in case you were feeling good about yourself? Yeah, when moddles have babies, it makes them really, really skinny. Says Natalia Vodianova, "My agency thought that I might never do shows, because I was a bit shorter and not skinny enough, but what happened was; when I gave birth to my first son I was 19, so I lost a lot of weight. I guess the stress on the body was extreme and I suddenly just turned into this stick - just the way designers love models - and after Lucas was born that's when my career took off. I opened a lot of shows on the runway and that's where stars are made in my industry." [VogueUK]
• Thank God. Karl Lagerfeld has addressed the severe shortage of tweed motorcycle helmets with embedded iPod. [FashionWeekDaily]
• Says C.H.I.P.S. honoree Alberta Ferretti, in L.A., "It's wonderful to see both actresses and real women in my clothes." Real women, fake women - that's democracy in action, people. [WWD]
• The ugly family battle over the L'Oreal fortune escalates, as 86-year-old Liliane Bettencourt's children demand their mother get a psychiatric evaluation; they claim she's senile and in the clutches of a shameless gigolo. As one does. [Guardian]
• Stella McCartney's controversial Met Ball lace onesie was an improvisation. Quoth fellow rock-scion Liv Tyler, "Stella and Kate [Hudson] and I all got ready in Stella's suite at the Carlyle, which was like a four-hour process, and when I arrived at two o'clock they were literally cutting a piece of lace fabric with scissors, which later became Stella's outfit. They made it in two or three hours...It was coming apart at the seams at times and they were literally making it till the last second we left, but we had a ball." Her ladies-in-waiting also had to help her use the bathroom. Il faut souffrir, etc. [New York]
• The Crocs bubble has officially burst. [The Street]
• Dolce and Gabbana take the responsibility of designing a Tour de France jersey seriously! Quoth the pair,"An institutional symbol such as the Pink Jersey shall be respected. It cannot and shall not be distorted. And this is the reason why we customized it with certain historical details of the Dolce & Gabbana style, such as the tricolor bands and the effect of the superimposed jerseys, leaving untouched the base which is well-known all around the world." [Fashion Week Daily]
• Green is still the new black: YSL, Sergio Rossi and Banana Republic are all rolling out eco-chic. Only select pieces, of course. [ElleUK]
• More good news: Armani's up. [WWD]
• Talking about their Really!-It's-nothing-like-Project-Runway-we-swear! Bravo offeringThe Fashion Show, co-host Kelly Rowland says, "I think what makes The Fashion Show so unique is that it's the people's decision, and not only that but it's a real show for real people. This is coming from the consumer's point of view - what they like, how it fits, how creative it is." [TV Watch]
• Cupcake Alert! Rebecca Taylor is teaming up with New York's Billy's Bakery to do a line of Mother's Day sweets. "The Vanilla Twinkle cupcake - made of yellow cake with blue vanilla butter cream and a sprinkle of white crystal sugar and silver candy dots - is inspired by a blue dot chiffon dress from the designer's spring 2009 runway. The Mocha Meow cupcake - a chocolate cupcake with mocha-flavored butter cream topped with chocolate sprinkles - resembles the leopard-print pieces in the collection." [WWD]
• Here's some video of Victoria Beckham filming her nearly-nude Armani ad. Quoth Posh, "Creatively I have a lot of input into the shoot. I like the hair. it's really different for me, but I like to change it up, try different looks, a radical new image." [Grazia Daily]
• Ailing designer Pierre Cardin is on the mend, and heading home to the chateau after a stint in hospital. [WWD]
• Model Liya Kebede has a timely essay on global maternal health in the HuffPo. Sing it! [Huffington Post]
• FYI: a Jason Evans Associates hooded jacket has been recalled due to a strangulation hazard. But...aren't all drawstring hoods kind of strangulation hazards? [UPI]

• It's official: Thierry Mugler will be costuming Beyonce's tour. "In addition to serving as 'creative adviser,' with input on everything from set lighting to choreography, Mugler will direct three segments of the show, called 'Dangerously in Love,' 'Ave Maria' and the finale. He’ll also costume the production — from the star herself, who will wear approximately 58 Mugler creations, to the band, back-up dancers and singers." [WWD]
• Michelle Obama is fashion's new favorite doll! "The American fashion industry hasn’t had a catch this big since, well, since another icon of Democratic chic took up residency on Pennsylvania Avenue in 1961." [WWD]
• And don't forget playing virtual dress-up with Sasha and Malia! [WWD]
• Naomi Campbell on her Miami retrospective: “It’s an honor to have your timeline in your career mapped out, and to be asked to be part of such a prestigious week is quite overwhelming." [New York Times]

• Fashion Week may be seriously subdued: think "presentations" instead of runway shows. [WWD]
• As rumors swirl over Anna Wintour's possible retirement, the knives are out! "She's had to put up with an unbelievable amount of nastiness, mainly from female journalists because of jealousy," claims one defender. [Independent]
• Yes! Iconic Aussie drag queen Dame Edna is MAC's new muse! [Independent]
• The new line of "Lanvin dolls" is, disappointingly, more like porcelain statuettes, "a hark back to Jeanne Lanvin's partaking in the post-war Theâtre de la Mode show which saw French couturiers showcasing their designs through miniature dolls, due to the lack of fabric." The outfits are still cool, though. [Dazed Digital]
• Speaking of playing dress-up: Alberta Ferretti enters the virtual world of Stardoll. "Without question, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti’s Stardoll suite is the game’s classiest — and of course, most expensive — shopping destination. In the Philosophy boutique, you can you scope out, try on, and “buy” select pieces from the label’s Fall 2008 collection. Before you dress your avatar in the Goth Lolita-tinged finery, take note of the ensembles conveniently “modeled” by virtual showroom rep Zelda Williams (yes, Robin’s teenaged daughter)." [Sassybella]
• A new Brooklyn plus-sized vintage boutique is the first of its kind. [Racked]
• Donatella Versace "travels everywhere with her inner circle of bodyguard, hairstylist, make-up artist and a handsome French pony-tailed assistant called Bruce," even to do earthquake relief in China. [TimesOnline]
• "If Virginia Woolf were alive today, one fashion critic observed, she would wear Nicole Farhi." Or not. [Telegraph]
• Zac Posen is doing a diffusion line! We don't know with whom! [Fashionista]
• Earnest Sewn's so-called "recession-proof" store is all under $50! [Style.com]
• Hop can "beauty hospitals" no longer exist? [Peculiar Beauty]
• The Pussycat Dolls' lingerie — outerwear? — hits Bebe. “I designed this line specifically for women to feel empowered, strong, feminine, sexy and a little naughty if they’re feeling it,” said (visionary) Robin Antin. [WWD]
• Calvin Klein's futuristic take on menswear classics are...like futuristic versions of clothes. [Esquire]
• Jack of all trades Karl Lagerfeld gets behind the lens, shooting Eva Herzigova for a calendar. “It’s about how one girl can be every woman. It’s an idea I love,” quoth the Kaiser. [WWD]

• Frances Bean Cobain is rumored to be the next face of Chanel. That's hot. And also crazy. Oh, Karl. [Vogue UK]
  
• Louis Vuitton has postponed indefinitely its "China Run" car rally, which was originally scheduled to take place in late May with a route from Chengdu and Kunming. Reason? Um, it's not exactly cool to be supporting China's blatant disregard for human rights right now and France is all pissed re: the Olympics etc etc. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Also, Yohji Yamamoto wants to teach China about Peace and improve relations though the country and his native Japan through his new Yohji Yamamoto Fund For Peace. This will mainly involve fashion shows. Of course. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Also China's on the warning list for counterfeiting shit. Oh, China. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Tommy Hilfiger, ambiguously racist? Says the designer, "[W]e feel that with our European-influenced approach, the sophisticated and higher level of quality and fashion somehow reaches the type of people who represent the brand very well... Ten years ago it was positioned with a lot of red, white and blue and a lot of logos and you would look at these street kids wearing the clothes as billboards." [FT]

• Elle still hasn't confirmed that fashion director Nina Garcia was fired, but Nina's assistants, Jade Frampton and Malina Joseph, just got big promotions, with Frampton taking the title of market editor and Joseph that of bookings editor. Senior style editor Kate Lanphear has been promoted to style director and rumors abound that she might be up for the fashion director gig herself. Can someone tell us the difference between a style director and a fashion director? The real difference, that is? That's what we thought. [WWD, 4th item]
• Um, but these promotions seem to be a result of the fact that bookings editor Claudine Ingeniri and market editor Helane Crowell have left the magazine. Associate art director Florence Sicard has also left. [WWD, 4th item]
• Anna Wintour's new assistant is named Claiborne Swanson. She comes from the Swanson-as-in-chicken-breasts family. Also, she must be a masochist to have taken this job. [NYMag]
• Okay, so here's what the rumor mill is reporting regarding who will come with whom at next Monday's Costume Institute Gala, hosted by George Clooney, Julie Roberts, and Anna Wintour: Giorgio Armani with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Jennifer Lopez with Alberta Ferretti, Kate Bosworth with Chanel, and Eva Mendes, Rachel Bilson and Fergie with Calvin Klein. Mariah Carey, Renée Zellweger, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Moss, Mary J. Blige, Claire Danes, Mischa Barton, LeBron James, Valentino, Tom Ford, Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana and Donatella Versace will all be there too. [WWD, 1st item]
• The Wall Street Journal names Proenza Schouler, Peter Som, Zac Posen, Rodarte, Derek Lam, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Tuleh as the seven young designers to watch because they're thisclose to breaking mainstream. Um, they already have. Way to be up on the times, WSJ. [WSJ]
• Deep thoughts with Entourage's Emmanuelle Chirqui, "Why not wear something fabulous and save the environment at the same time?" [WWD, 2nd item]
• Rami Kashou: You can buy it online! [Sassybella
• Glasses are hot, Lasik eye surgery be damned. [WSJ]
• Men: Wearing jewelry. [LATimes]
• High-heeled Crocs: Oh. God. [Crocs]

• How did Christina Ricci respond when someone from Interview magazine asked how she likes being the face of Louis Vuitton? "Well, I'm not anymore. I was one of four actresses that they used in a campaign once and it was really fun. I liked it. I would like to be the face of Louis Vuitton. I am not, however. You know who is? Scarlett Johansson is the face of Louis Vuitton. Wrong interview." Awkward. [WWD, 4th item]
  
• Back in 2007, Harvey Weinstein said of NBC Universal top dog Jeff Zucker (who is, you know, now suing Weinstein for taking Project Runway from Bravo to Lifetime), "You can only have in your life five true friends, and I consider you one of my five friends." All together now, once more, with feeling: Awkward. [Page Six]
  
• We're guessing that Nina Garcia is turning down that editor-at-large gig at Elle since she was seen eating lunch yesterday at Bergdorf Goodman. Working fashion editors don't eat. [Page Six]
  
• How surprising: Prada isn't going public come June, as previously announced. (Actually, no one's surprised about this at all.) [NYT]

• Simon Doonan on why he loves Amy Winehouse: "I strongly disagree with her drug taking — I mean it's insane — but when I was that age I was a mess, too. I think she's triggering a whole movement of eccentricity where people don't want to look like everyone else. She says it's groovy to look completely different and insane; she pulled that beehive out of no where and has her own look. She should be applauded. Because everyone was getting the Kelly Clarkson makeover, everyone ended up looking like pop princesses. What's that about?" [FabSugar]
• The blueprints have been revealed at last for the new Prada art museum in Milan. Miuccia+Rem 4Eva. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Aw, Vicky Beckham: "I'm still a mom and a wife and I must be up at seven in the morning to get my boys ready for school!" [Fashion Week Daily]
• "It's got to be English — we're not going to give it an American twist," says Sir Philip Green of the soon-to-open first-ever American branch of Topshop. Does this mean they'll be taking pounds instead of dollars? [WWD, 7th item]
• I'm obsessed with Ginnifer Goodwin on Big Love so I'm happy enough, I guess, to hear that she's being honored with MaxMara's Women in Film Face of the Future award. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Chanel: Wants you to wear gold makeup for fall. Dear Chanel: how about you just give us some gold instead? [WWD, sub req'd]
• Stella McCartney: Now doing sunglasses. [Vogue UK]
• Balenciaga: Opening its first e-commerce site on May 15. A new place to impulse-buy expensive shit from the comfort of your own home while drunk! [WWD, 1st item]
• Oh! Gucci and Giorgio Armani are also upping their web presences. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Hubert de Givenchy, Roberto Cavalli, Giorgio Armani, Gianfranco Ferré, Alberta Ferretti, Antonio Marras, Emilio Pucci and Sonia Rykiel have all donated items from their personal closets for a charity auction to benefit children with leprosy in India. It's just. So. Fashion. [WWD, 4th item]
• The shareholders at Escada think the new CEO is being paid way too much. Yawn. [WWD, sub req'd]]

• Carrie Bradshaw in Burberry in Sex and the City movie ads: Potentially even more damaging to the brand than the chavs? [Vogue UK]
  
• Quick turnaround! Halston redux will be available on-line on Net-a-Porter the day after its runway show next week? Says Net-a-Porter chairman Natalie Massenet:"I am sure this will be a shock to the brands that specialize in knocking off some of the talent in the fashion industry. They had their cake and have been eating it for a while." [Vogue UK]
  
• All employees in the Tod's group were just given a $2,000 bonus by Group head Diego Della Valle as an "I'm-Sorry-The-Italian-Economy-Is-Bad-Right-Now" gesture. Um, are you reading this, Mr. Denton? [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Cynthia Rowley: Now designing for Target. [WWD, 4th item]
  
• ThreeAsFour: Now designing for the Gap. [Fashionista]

• Louis Vuitton, not content to merely assault us with logos in magazines, on billboards and plastered across half the luggage in LAX's baggage carousels, is producing television commercials now too. [WWD]
• Since the stars have no awards shows to go to it looks like many will be coming out to New York for next week's fashion shows instead. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Alberta Ferretti has inked a fragrance licensing deal with Elizabeth Arden; the label's premiere scent is set to launch in spring 2009, with a skin care line to follow. [WWD, 1st item]
• Ralph Lauren just opened a new endoscopy wing at the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in Harlem. We never knew that Ralph was all into helping cancer patients in Harlem! [WWD]
• The Spring 2008 Nordstrom campaign is all artsy and highbrow, with paintings done by Ruven Afandor. Paintings done by Ruven Afandor on models, that is. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Marie Claire editor-in-chief Joanna Coles on the reasoning behind the pre-Fashion Week dinner she threw: "The designers needed help and the models needed feeding." [Fashion Week Daily]
• More from PR pro Kelly Cutrone on preparing for Fashion Week: "Mara Hoffman...refus[ed] to show before 2:21 p.m. on February 2 as the moon would be void, off course (of course)...Araks will show first, immediately followed (after 2:21 p.m.) by Mara. I call Mara and ask, "What is happening astrologically?" She replies, "Mercury is in retrograde." [Chic Report]
• No shocker here: More and more people are buying clothes from Amazon.com. [Times of London]
• How bad is the economy? So bad that lipstick isn't even selling. And lipstick sales are supposed to go up during a recession. [AdAge]

• Jennifer Lopez is expected to file suit against former Sweetface design partner Andy Hilfiger, ostensibly because, uh, the line really sucks. Hilfiger, meanwhile, is expected to countersue because Lopez' hubby Marc Anthony is a psychotic asshole. [NY Daily News]
  
• In a strange twist of fate, PETA's new phone number was previously "owned" by designer Zac Posen's mother, Susan Posen. Now, when people call the number looking for Susan, PETA officials kindly inform them that her son is murdering animals for his designs. [NY Daily News]
  
• Kim Cattrall: Future PETA target? It appears her wardrobe is awfully croc-skin heavy in the upcoming Sex and the City movie. [WWD, 6th item]
  
• Karl Lagerfeld won a raffle? That seems wrong, somehow. [WWD, 3rd item]

• "I have a soft spot for Galliano; Alexander McQueen, however, that's a different story for another day." —Manolo Blahnik [Fashion Week Daily]
• The entire Elle fashion department (including Joe Zee, Anne Slowey, and Project Runway star Nina Garcia) were eating dinner at NYC restaurant Indochine at the very same time that French Vogue's Carine Roitfeld was at the restaurant for her son's birthday. [Fashion Week Daily]
• LOL of course Madonna is co-hosting Gucci's upcoming February fundraising event "A Night to Benefit Raising Malawi and UNICEF." [WWD, 1st item]
• Louis Vuitton and the Burlington Coat Factory have reached a settlement over that whole manufacturing and selling of fake bags things. [Sassybella]
• Boutique perfume label Bond No. 9's top nose Laurice Rahme has launched the first-ever known perfume bottle recycling initiative. Under Rahme's direction, all Bond No. 9 stores and counters will accept empty perfume bottles of any brand and ensure the glass is recycled. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Natalia Vodianova is the face of the upcoming Diane von Furstenberg spring 2008 advertising campaign, the first ad campaign DVF has had in decades. We never realized that Diane didn't advertise, which gives us weird, newfound respect for the wrap dress. [Vogue UK]
• For Vogue's Lauren Davis' upcoming nuptials, each of her socialite bridesmaids has been paired with a different designer who will create a different gown for each woman. (Participating designers are Derek Lam, Proenza Schouler, Vera Wang, Giambattista Valli, and Alberta Ferretti.) This is why we hate socialites. [Fashion Week Daily]
• For the gay geek in your life: A Chloe iPhone! [Portfolio]

• Gisele's agent on that whole "anything but dollars" scandal: "She is based in America, pays her bills in America. She, like anyone else who lives in America, doesn't feel the fluctuation of the dollar until she goes shopping in Paris. She is pretty much here all the time and doesn't feel the difference." Well, now we're convinced. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Cavalli for H&M goes in-stores today, and you can be prepared for a full report if we do not get trampled. [Vogue UK]
  
• Marc Jacobs did not have a sex change operation. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• British Harper's Bazaar has released their list of best-dressed women of 2007. The top 10: 1. Natalia Vodianova (model), 2. Thandie Newton (actress), 3. Agyness Deyn (model), 4. Helen Mirren (actress), 5. Lily Allen (singer), 6. Emily Blunt (actress), 7. J. K. Rowling (author), 8. Anouck Lepere (model), 9. Irina Lazareanu (model), 10. Kate Moss (model). Um, really? [FabSugar]

• Our love for Isaac Mizrahi continues to grow: He is set to narrate a new production of Peter and the Wolf being performed at the Guggenheim Museum next month in a collaboration between the New York City Opera and Juilliard. And the show is going to be open to the public. And the tickets only cost $35. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Polo expects to do sucky during the next fiscal quarter. They blame the economy. We blame the fact that they haven't really had a new idea in 20 years. [You mean making your logo the size of a HAND doesn't count as design innovation?? -Moe] [WWD, sub req'd]
• Alberta Ferretti, the designer behind the hyper-femme label Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, is now going to design an activewear line! And she's naming it PHILO-sophy. Which sounds not active but pretty damn lazy to us. [WWD, sub req'd]
• BlackBook magazine is normally pretty retarded. But their idea to style female models as Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Viktor & Rolf, Vivienne Westwood, Anna Piaggi and our idol Carine Roitfeld is just so awesome. We're suckers for shit like this. Especially when it pays homage to Karl and Carine, all at the same time! [WWD, 5th item]
• Oh, goody, Anya "I am not Dating A Fag" Hindmarch is "expanding her brand." We wish her all the success of Von Dutch, Uggs and Crocs in proving she is so much more than her one ludicrously popular item! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Menswear designer Paul Smith is the only retailer you can turn to if you want to purchase the exclusive, limited edition book by Geoff MacCormack My Travels with Bowie, about his, well, you get the point. We heart Bowie. And so Paul Smith just earned some major street cred in our book. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Sister-of-Jackie-Kennedy-Onassis Lee Radizwell was the Director of Special Events for Armani back inher day. Who knew? [Sassybella]
• Louis Vuitton got all progressive and used a model in its Resort advertising campaign. Oh no! However will Scarlett Johansson survive? [Sassybella]

• Angelina and St. John calling off their collaboration? The word on the street is that the rich folk knitwear company is going to be ending the Mother Teresa Of Hollywood's contract as the face of their design house after this year. Which invariably means there going to take a turn towards old and frumpy again, image-wise. Fun! [PopSugar]
  
• Marie Claire's Joanna Coles is now officially on our shitlist. The editor-in-chief was overheard saying to a security guard at the Gucci show in Milan, "You need to let me in. You need to let us all in. I'm from Marie Claire in the U.S. Do you know how many credits we give Gucci every year? This is unacceptable!". [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Jil Sander is going to write a tell-all/memoir about her career in the fashion industry. Gonna be hot. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Rihanna is the latest celebrity to think she's a model (walked for D-Squared) and, worse yet, the latest celebrity to think she's a fashion designer. Oh yeah sure she hasn't exactly found a company to attach her name too, so, uh, possible partners gp ahead and line-up to back her "something edgy" line. [WWD, 2nd item]

• Why did nary a single celebrity attend the Fendi show in Milan? Because they're all coming for the 2nd showing next month on the Great Wall of China Obviously. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Martha Stewart wears Simply Vera Vera Wang for Kohls? Like, whoah! [WWD, 2nd item]
• "Alberta is such a sweetheart, I just want to hug her and never let her go!" says Marisa Tomei of designer Alberta Ferretti. [Fashion Week Daily]
• A fashion show without models? Oooh. We like. [Fashion Week Daily]

• Those logo-heavy (and often tacky) Coach wallets and bags you see everywhere have made this man very, very rich, and very, very smug. [NYTimes]
• Fake hair fight! QVC is launching its own line of hair extensions to compete with Jessica Simpson and Ken Paves' HSN clip-ons. [WWD, last item]
• Alberta Ferretti is designing a children's line for girls ages 4-12. Ferretti thinks young girls dressed as women are "vulgar" but is totally okay with teaching them to be spoiled, materialistic little brats. [WWD]
• More goodies for well-tailored, materialistic moms: Seven For All Mankind is launching a sportswear collection for children that will offer "smaller versions of this season's hottest styles." That means skinny pants, people! Better get your toddler on a diet now! [WWD]