It might not do to make too much of the fact that the Bryant Park shenanigans take place in large tents, but between the vinyl and the stage lights, there is something of a circus about the proceedings. Fashion week throws up strange combinations of people and places: You're as likely to see André Leon Talley taking a breather outside the Salon as you are to spot a young drunk editor throwing champagne over herself in the early afternoon. For a brief moment on Saturday at Band of Outsiders, Grace Coddington, tiny Jason Schwartzman, and the Cobra Snake were all browsing the same collection. No doubt each would have chosen something very different to wear from it.

As the show schedule rolls on through the tents, crowds too disorderly to be called "lines" form, hemmed in by stanchion posts, first to check in with the designer's public relations team, and then to wait in a new crowd, divided by seating assignment. Perversely, having a ticket — even having a ticket and a confirmed RSVP — is no guarantee of entry: I've been turned away from various shows so far, mostly for reasons said to be related to capacity. (But also for some that are not: On Friday, after waiting in line to check in for half an hour, a flack looked at me square in the eye and said, "I know who you are, and you are not on the list." I haven't felt so thoroughly told off since I was 8 years old and left my bunk area a mess at brownie camp.)

But not having a ticket also isn't a bar to entry: There are so many computer issues and intelligence meltdowns behind the average seating list that plenty of shows will just let you into the standing room section — or at least let you into the standing room waiting pen — if you look and sound convinced of your right to be there. That much at least mirrors the fashion world in the broader sense: Success is a special mix of confidence, entitlement, superficial appearance, and access to specialized knowledge. (Of course, these days most everything anyone who wanted to go to fashion week would need to know is available online. Democracy in action.)

This is my first year attending fashion week as a reporter, not a model, and I guess I'm not sure I understand - after you wait, and wait (and wait) behind one of the many stanchions and the many webbing ropes, after being questioned by the occasional security guard and verified by the PRs - what the point of a fashion show is. The tents are a deeply unreal space, a stage-lit environment where it never seems to be day or night, and everyone mobs the open bar after the 10 a.m. show. It feels deadening somehow, and sameish, to watch 15 or 20 models parading 20 or 30 looks in an identical venue to indistinguishable thundering electronic music before a rotating configuration of the same front-row cast, a Real Housewife here, an actor there. Given the energy and the activity that I know exists backstage, it's odd to see fashion as this white-background poker-faced hurry-up-and-wait thing. I never knew the audience saw it all that way.

On Sunday afternoon, I went to a show by a designer who is young and — though Australian — very talented: Toni Maticevski. I went with my friend Sophie Ward, who still models occasionally, and who was supposed to sit in Maticevski's front row as his friend. But because, like 90% of fashion shows, this one was starting late, and because the radiant energy from behind the scenes seemed to have us locked in like a tractor beam, she and I ended up sneaking backstage.


People were running up and down the stairs, against the grain of the taped arrows. Models where everywhere, getting their hair and makeup done and checking their Blackberries. Stylists were rushing around with voluminous dresses, tugging girls from station to station. There was a large catering tray and a strange man in a green shirt guarding it. Several times someone in a headset grabbed at Sophie's or my elbow, trying to corral us into the lineup. There were backstage photographers snapping rapaciously. Maticevski was surrounded, finessing, rearranging, overseeing. The sense of shared purpose was palpable, and deeply touching. Sophie and I sat down in the midst of it all, and let the scene wash over us. (Also we were trying to find a way to get at that catering tray.)

We hardly noticed when the music began. Two more-or-less-ex-models, distracted by sandwiches and our former lives: the show had started! We had to race around the back stairs, and watch the runway from the nosebleed seats.

Only three days to go and it was still the best show I've been to so far.

Earlier: I Am The Anonymous Model

• Posh and Becks are in an underwear ad, together! David seems to be deep in thought, perhaps pondering the wisdom of letting Armani give him hair that belongs on a Lego newscaster. Narrate Victoria's inner monologue in the comments! [Telegraph]

• Keira Knightley is still the face of Coco Mademoiselle. She gives great sexyface in the new ad. [Sassybella]
• Two designers you have never heard of are looking forward to seeing Brüno when it opens on July 10. [AP]
• Kanye's Louis Vuitton's sneakers — which came into stores very suddenly yesterday, with no pre-announced release date to build the excitement — have already sold out. How come? Sneakerheads, Louis Vuitton nerds, and Kanye fans have been on a waiting list for the kicks since January. If you want some of the $840-$1,140 shoes, the Louis Vuitton store will put your name on a "wish list" in case more become available. But don't hold your breath. [The Cut]
• Diane von Furstenberg is accused of polluting the Meatpacking District with her signature scent. Allegedly, the perfume emanating from her W. 14th St. headquarters' ventilation system is overpowering; one passerby called the perfume "putrid, awful . . . something you'd find on a 60-year-old matron." And a receptionist at a nearby eye clinic said patients had complained. [P6]
• Real Housewife Kelly Bensimon has a jewelry line, produced with Mouawad, the same company that does Nicole Richie's House of Harlow 1960. Of her character on her popular reality show, she says, "I think that because I'm so down-to-earth they're like, 'Okay we have to pump her up a little bit because otherwise people are not going to believe'...If they want me to be some kind of crazy socialite, I'm not a socialite. I'm a working girl, a single mom." As for the jewelry, which is priced at $32-$336 and is based on pavé geometric designs, Bensimon explains her inspiration thus: "I love Navajo and I love the idea of taking Pocahontas out of the kayak and putting her into the disco." Also, there are snakes in the form of bracelets and rings, which may or may not have something to do with Milton. [W]
• Los Angeles designers really, really wish their fashion week — limping on since the departure of sponsors IMG, Mercedes-Benz, and Smashbox Studios — could join the Big Four. But all the best L.A. designers — Band of Outsiders, Rodarte, Trina Turk, Monique Lhuillier — seem to show in New York. [WSJ]
• Ending the tide of good news for London Fashion week is the withdrawal of Aquascutum. The iconic English label has been put up for sale by its parent company, Japan-based Renown, after a buy-out bid by Aquascutum management was rejected. [WWD]
• Donatella Versace attended an event at the Whitney where children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses drew pictures for her. The sketches chosen by Versace will be featured on limited-edition Versace tote bags, to be sold for $200-$250 via Gilt Groupe this fall. No word on how much the kids will make from their intellectual property. [Style.com]
• This is just too weird. Ed Hardy CEO Hubert Guez owns Michael Jackson's Holmby Hills house and grounds. Jackson was renting the 7-bedroom, 13-bathroom French chateau-style manse for $100,000 a month. Now, maker of tacky Ed Hardy t-shirts Christian Audigier is moving in. [TMZ]
• Now that it has a designer in London-based (but New York-relocating) Marios Schwab, Halston can do things like sign multi-million-dollar distribution deals for its wares. [WWD]
• Meanwhile, Kate Gosselin's clothing project with Healthtex is on hold. [Radaronline]
• Uniqlo's same-store sales rose 6.4% in June. [WWD]
• Polo Ralph Lauren has extended its deal to dress the U.S. Olympic team through the winter games next year and the summer games of 2012. [WSJ]
• To mark its 120th anniversary, the house of Lanvin is releasing a line of limited-edition commemorative items, including hand-painted porcelain figurines of its mother-daughter logo. There'll also be notebooks, music boxes, paper weights, and embroidered t-shirts. No word on prices yet. [WWD]
• LVMH bought a large stake in the organic, sustainably-produced clothing company Edun, so PPR is sponsoring — to the tune of 10 million Euros — a film about the environment. [WSJ]
• A pink wireless mouse with gold accents, made by Juicy Couture, costs $55 at Neiman Marcus. Is it terrible that we would have expected it to be more of a rip-off? [FWD]
• Just released is a new issue of WWWWD, the fashion periodical that feels so real it's got to be fake. This edition is all about men, so expect jokes on bromance, Kris Van Assche, Ed Westwick, and a nice rip on Olivier Zahm for good measure. [WWWWD]

• Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy scooped up the Women's Wear award at last night's CFDAs. In another surprise, the menswear prize was a tie between Calvin Klein's Italo Zucchelli and Band of Outsiders' Scott Sternberg. [WWD]

• Having lost the women's wear prize to the Mulleavy sisters, and the accessories award to Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, Marc Jacobs won only the International Award, which had been pre-announced. The consolation of already having a bunch of CFDAs to his name must have nipped any sour grapes in the bud. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world," he said during an emotional acceptance speech. "I have two amazing jobs and I work with the greatest people." Fellow special award winner Michelle Obama, accepted hers via a pre-taped video. [Style.com]
• Michelle Obama's husband, the President, is now considered by other men to be the most stylish man in the world. [Reuters]
• Jacobs, of course, still has a wedding to look forward to. The designer plans to wed his Brazilian fiancé in Provincetown, Massachusetts, but the date is a closely guarded secret. Some Provincetowners were sure the wedding even happened last weekend. [WWD]
• Stop the presses: Dolce & Gabbana are lowering their prices by 10-20%, without hurting quality, simply by eliminating waste from their production chain. This leaves Versace and who else clinging to pre-recession pricing? [WWD]
• Katy Perry, born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, has long maintained she wants to start a clothing label. So she's doing her due diligence by having her lawyers threaten an Australian designer named Katie Perry, born Katie Perry. Perry, who has been in business two years and trades under her own name, says lawyers for the pop star, "asked me to give up the trademark, withdraw sale of my clothes, withdraw any advertising and any websites, and sign that I will not in the future use a similar trademark to Katy Perry. I pretty much burst into tears." Smooth move, Hudson. [News.com.au]
• The 25th anniversary of London Fashion Week this September might just be a big enough event that Anna Wintour will have to squeeze it into her schedule. In addition to Matthew Williamson and Burberry confirming plans to show in London for the first time in years, the 17 winners of TopShop's sponsorship for the NewGen line-up have just been confirmed. And they include a raft of exciting up-and-coming names — Mark Fast, Mary Katrantzou, Peter Pilotto — and, uh, Henry Holland. Is Agyness's BFF taking a spot from those who might warrant it, or is Holland honestly so hard up he still can't show under his own steam? [Telegraph]
• The graduate fashion shows in London last weekend were apparently awash with talent. Says the Independent's writer, "Anatomical imagery was another trope used to the same effect, both unnervingly and with a sense of humour. Central St. Martin's graduate Kye showed a sweet knitted jumper decorated with a to-scale representation of the model's digestive system." Funny, where have we seen that before? [Independent]
• Crombie, the moderately priced British suit label, might save Aquascutum from bankruptcy, after all. [WWD]
• The Victoria & Albert museum is having a hard time sourcing clothes for its planned John Galliano retrospective because so many of the garments desired have been worn past the point of museum display quality. That's got to make Galliano feel pretty good. [Fashionista]
• In further evidence of British fashion supremacy, Stephen Jones has made Jasmine Guinness an absolutely superb, breathtaking hat. It looks like two sundials fighting, beautifully. [Telegraph]
• Gisele's May cover of Vanity Fair was the mag's worst-selling issue on the newsstand in almost two years. The Brazilian supermodel's April cover of Harper's Bazaar was its worst-seller since Drew Barrymore made the cover last November. While I personally don't want to read about Gisele in Vanity Fair any more than I do Paris Hilton, this isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of model covers for fashion magazines. [NY Observer]
• Jessica Simpson's swimwear, hitting stores this December, will retail at $15.50-$25 for tops and bottoms, and up to $58 for cover-ups. [WWD]
• Animal-rights activism has hurt the fur trade significantly in the U.S. and Western Europe — but emerging markets, like China and Russia, have picked up the slack in sales. The industry as a whole still had revenues of nearly $12 billion in 2004. 85% of the world's fur currently comes from farms, not wild trapping, which might be considered progress, depending on your position. [SciAm]
• Executive Vice President of Prada Carlo Mazzi confirmed the Financial Times' anonymously sourced story that the company was in negotiations to restructure its debt. "It is true. It's the normal activity of the company, the normal rescheduling of finance," said Mazzi. Prada has a total debt of around 1.1 billion Euros, but the amount under discussion is $483.9 million owed by the holding company to two main banks, and set to mature this summer. Prada would like an extra year or two with the money. [Reuters]
• The re-opened auction for the bankrupt Filene's Basement chain was won by a joint bid from Syms, the New Jersey-based discount chain, and Vornado Realty, the landlord of Filene's flagship in Boston Crossing. Syms/Vornado's $62.4 million offer was accepted even though opponents Crown realty and the Men's Wearhouse bid $64.9 million, because Syms/Vornado's bid included more Filene's stores. [WWD]
• New Balance is planning a marketing campaign touting its domestic manufacturing. A quarter of its shoes are either made or assembled in the U.S. [AdAge]

• Behold actress Rene Russo, doing moderately fetishistic things with designer Brian Atwood's shoes and a hunky model, for a limited-release book, which sounds suspiciously like a fancy lookbook. [NY Mag]

• Nordstrom is recalling about 31,000 pairs of girls' shoes sold under their store brand. The shoes, which were made in China, do not meet new federal standards for lead levels. Girls shoes affected by the recall were sold between September, 2006, and February, 2009, and can be returned to any Nordstrom store for a full refund. [WWD]
• And in more news of the increasing weirdness of lookbooks — seriously, a couple years ago these were just collections of snapshots intended to document the coming season's line for buyers, not even everybody bothered doing them, and now they're as ubiquitous and heralded as campaigns and as lavishly shot as editorials — Band of Outsiders picked Sarah Silverman to model their offerings for their other label, Boy. [The Moment]
• In a blast right from 1997, Liam Gallagher is launching a fashion line. "I'm doing it cuz [sic] there's a lack of stuff out there of the things I would wear," said the ever-articulate rock star. [Telegraph]
• Writer Rowan Pelling held a panel discussion at the Victoria and Albert museum in London to discuss the greening of fashion. After talking with such luminaries as Dame Vivienne Westwood ("don't wash your clothes, thus saving water and reducing the flow of harmful chemicals into our rivers"), Pelling remained unconvinced that the fashion industry could ever do any real good for the environment. Perhaps someone who admits to sending really special clothes to "expert" drycleaners in Florence, Italy, wasn't the best choice for an environmental consciousness-raising? [Telegraph]
• Bold words from Council of Fashion Designers of America president Diane von Furstenberg at the party celebrating this year's nominees. "We will surf the tsunami and do very well," announced the designer. Executive director Steve Kolb explained the CFDA's decision to give Michelle Obama a special award in June, saying that the First Lady was eligible for nominations almost across the board for categories like Style Icon. But, "the board wanted to give her a serious award. As part of the award, we will establish a grant in her name to support young talent, because she has really epitomized that." No word yet on whether the Obamas will attend; I'm sure the CFDA can only hope. [WWD]
• A reporter for The Cut witnessed the taping of Valentino's Martha Stewart appearance — and says that the audience was more interested in Martha's demonstration of lemon cleaning copper than in anything Vava had to say. It airs Friday, so, uh, mark your calendars. [NY Mag]
• Women's Wear Daily reports that Valentino also used the opportunity to shoot down the rumors that he had a designing hand in the collection that just walked in Paris. All while referring to the new designers, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, as his "assistants." [WWD]
• Jil Sander is just settling in to her new position overseeing men's and women's wear at Uniqlo. And she has some grand ideas for the brand. [WWD]
• An 18th Century masterpiece by the German-born British painter Johann Zoffany — a royal portraitist and a favorite of Geoge III — has been withdrawn from the auction of items from Gianni Versace's Lake Como villa. The portrait of Major General Maule was described as the centerpiece of the art sale, but descendants of the army officer featured say that the painting was stolen 30 years ago. Versace, who is believed not to have known the work's value, bought it 15 years ago. The painting had been estimated to fetch £40,000-£60,000 at auction. [Independent]
• Also selling cast-offs is Rachel Zoe. 50-100 pieces of costume jewelry will go on sale to a crowd of invited guests at L.A. vintage institution Decades Two next Thursday. However, any unsold items will be put on eBay, so you can overpay for gold-toned owl necklaces and chunky beads from your own home. Some of the proceeds will go to charity, and the in-store melee will be filmed for, what else, Bravo's The Rachel Zoe Project. [Fashionista]
• Katy Perry, on being a fashion 'Don't' for her outrageous(ly unfortunate) style: "I like experimenting and I'm totally OK with ending up in the ‘worst dressed.'...I have my own look, which I call ‘Lolita meets old Hollywood Glam.' " So is she in on the joke, or not? [People]
• British ex-model and television presenter Alexa Chung: gets invited to Paris to see the Louis Vuitton show ("I was presented with a pair of severe skyscraper heels for the event which I smugly paraded about atop of until the cobbled streets outside of the Louvre betrayed me") and DJ the Fendi party ("almost like a scene from Zoolander.") Then she runs into Beth Ditto and shares a nervous laugh about the whole scene. [Independent]
• Tattoo artist Scott Campbell is responsible for most of Marc Jacobs' torso. He's a sucker for romantic declarations in permanent ink — he should know, he has four women's names on his body already. [Observer]
• Amber le Bon, daughter of Simon and Yasmin le Bon, is the new, er, face of Myla lingerie. [Sun]
• Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo has designed a series of makeup bags for this fall — which Fashionista says could easily double as clutches. Everyone likes a bargain! Unfortunately, the Jimmy Choo/Hunter croc-embossed rubber rainboots pictured cost $395. Which is ridiculous. (There's already a waiting list.) [Fashionista]
• Pretty boy Zac Efron got down and dirty in a sandbox with Lithuanian model Edita Vileviciute for Interview. Edita didn't know who he was. [E! Online]
• L'Wren Scott, the towering ex-model/stylist/designer/Mick Jagger consort, says her line is all about timeless pieces — and power. "Women of every age and size really just want to look sexy, while retaining their power and dignity," she says, noting that her line is produced in sizes up to an Italian 48 (approximately a US 14). Which ain't great, but I've met designers who wrinkle their noses at the thought of making a size 8 dress, so at least it's not just lip service. Perhaps the 6'4" Scott has a more intrinsic grasp of the frustrations of having a body that is unnecessarily hard to fit in conventional stores' offerings? [Daily Beast]
• Following the announcement of a 45% fall in net profits for 2008, Alberto Nathansohn, the CFO of Bulgari has unexpectedly resigned. Flavia Spena, who has been with the company for 20 years and currently holds the position of head of human resources, will take over Nathansohn's duties. Shares fell 5.27% in the remainder of the day's trading in Milan as many analysts downgraded their ratings to "sell." [FT]
• French Connection, owner of the brand FCUK, has posted a £17.4 million annual loss for the year to January 31. [Telegraph]
• Guess? Inc. is doing comparatively fine. Fourth quarter global revenues increased by 9%, and 18% in Europe. However, same-store sales for the quarter in North America decreased 6.5%, and 1% for the year. [Breitbart]
• Susan Kellogg has resigned her position as chief executive at Tahari. [WWD]
• Azzedine Alaïa's 9-month-old St. Bernard puppy and his four cats all sleep together in one big pile. Nomnomnomnomnommmmm. [Paper]

• The latest on the Nina Garcia saga: If she takes the editor-at-large gig she'll only be there til mid-October, when ELLE's contract with Project Runway ends and then she'll be let go for reals. (Dear Nina: You can do better than that.) Meanwhile, no one at ELLE or its publisher Hachette Filipacchi Media has issued a single comment on the entire situation. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Meanwhile, everyone at ELLE is pissed that the taping of its reality show Fashionista is ruining everyone's lives. [NY Daily News]
  
• Audrey Tatou is rumored to be the newest face of Chanel No. 5. Does this mean that Nicole Kidman got the boot? Maybe she and Nina can start a sort of ex-wives club together. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• "I think the luxury is not only what we give to ourselves, but what we can give to others. Obviously, we can get more of this and this, but the true luxury is being able to give back. When one has been blessed with the ability to have made it...it's our social responsibility." Nice try, Donna Karan. But...no. [WWD, sub req'd]

• "You can sort of tell the designers by the pieces," says Gap designer Patrick Robinson on the retailer's white shirt sdesigned by Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian and Threeasfour. Um, wouldn't it be troublesome if you couldn't? Isn't this sort of a given when it comes to design? [WWD, sub req'd]
• Victoria Beckham is not above groveling to get L.A. boutique Kitson to not drop her denim line from its stores. [PopSugar]
• Women need to learn to "shop like a man"? My ass! Don't know about you, but the ladies I know think a lot more about where they put their dollars then the fellas in my life. [Telegraph]
• Margaret Thatcher: Style icon? Sure, and Hillary's yellow pantsuits are going to be the next big thing for spring! [Telegraph]
• Kenneth Cole has poached Liz Claiborne executive vice president Jill Granoff to make her the company's new CEO. Smells like another failure of the Tim Gunn-Bill McComb regime at Claiborne to me. [WWD, sub req'd]
• LVMH's profits are up by 12%, largely because of the roaring success of the Louis Vuitton label. Marc Jacobs: 1, haters: 0. [WWD, sub req'd]
• How the hell are Burberry's profits up by over 19%? Really: Explain it to me. [WWD, sub req'd]
• And L'Oreal's profits are in the shitter. [Reuters]
• Who's the most accomplished Versace sibling now? Santo Versace, who has just joined Italy's House of Parliament. Can't you just see Donatella busting in there, screaming, "Geeeeeeeet outtttttt!" 'Cause I can. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Gucci has hired David Lynch to direct commercials and James Franco to front its new men's fragrance. [WWD, 3rd item]
• So word on the street is that Sasha Pivovarova is being ousted as the face of Prada for Linda Evangelista. Drama! [Sassybella]
• Designer Roland Mouret on what makes a fashion icon: "Icons last but fashion changes. What I try to do is allow a woman to work with the icon inside herself. The body is an icon, and I create a shell for that body." Just like Invasion of the Body Snatchers! [Vogue UK]
• These shoes scare me. [Chic Report]

• Kate Moss's fifth collection for Topshop launches today. It's inspired by "travel." Oh, bite me. [Vogue UK]
  
• Spanx bras — to flatten your back fat, of course — in stores now! [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• You will be so proud of Eva Mendes! She overcame that whole nasty rehab debacle to be chosen as the face of Calvin Klein underwear. Yay Eva! And yay Calvin Klein for taking a chance on a star who is trying to overcome adversity. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin has extended her evil empire to include a lingerie line (entitled, sickeningly, "Pussycat Dolls...shhh") and a costume jewelry line. [WWD, 3rd item]
  
• Nicole Richie doing a maternity line? Why, God, why? [LATimes]

• Marc Jacobs and his histrionic boyfriend Jason Preston are fighting again. [Page Six]
• "I feel like Beyoncé is a very good image for what I do. She's the woman that I present. I adore women with curves," says designer Elie Saab. We remain skeptical. [Fashion Week Daily]
• I know I'll sleep better tonight knowing that Lord & Taylor has achieved its life-long dream of stocking Juicy Couture. [IHT]
• Also, knowing Victoria Beckham owns ten different Hermes Birkin bags, all in different colors. [Sunday Mirror]
• Evangeline Lilly is the face of Davidoff Cool Water Women. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Bindi Irwin's children's clothing line on sale everywhere... well, in Australia. [News.com.au]
• Paris Hilton: Inspiration to Indian fashion designers. [Reuters]
• Gap has once again commissioned supercool designers to design limited-edition white shirts for the chain. 3.1 Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian, Philip Crangi and Threeasfour have all signed on for the project, sponsored by Vogue and the CFDA. It seems like only yesterday they were doing this for the very first time! I have only written approximately 3.1 x 10²⁹ words on this site since then. [WWD, sub req'd]
• No, light-up packaging scares me. [BellaSugar]
• Our favorite model-blogger Erin O'Connor is now preparing to make a documentary about the fashion industry. $10 says everyone comes off looking ethical and well-groomed. [Daily Mail]

• Marc Jacobs wants a reality show, and Project Runway's Tim Gunn wants it for him. "The whole thing's sort of egotistical, I suppose, but I do find myself entertaining," says Jacobs. And says Gunn, "God knows Marc has a fascinating life, and he looks great. I'd watch." Well, if it has Tim's vote... [NY Mag]
  
• Marc Jacobs' kidswear line Little Marc is opening up a little store. [WWD, 5th item]
  
• Sex and the City wardrobe spoiler. Says Patricia Field: "Without giving too much away, there is a shoe from Dior that Carrie wears all the time that I am sure will be on fire... My intention in the movie was to approach it realizing that four or five years have passed... there are little twists on Carrie that will be an opposite approach from the image we have of her, like a heavier shoe or studs." [WWD, 2nd item]

• Jason Schwartzman is the new face of indie fashion label Band of Outsiders. Is that name sort of self-awareness wrapped in irony wrapped in self-awareness wrapped in sincerity? Or is Jason Schwartzman just a bad fit? [WWD, 2nd item]
• Fila has launched a contest on its website, asking brand-devotees to submit photos of themselves that answer the question "How do you Fila?" Not that it's an invitation for teenage boys to submit photos of themselves "fila"-ing up girls who are "fila"-ing horny or anything. [MediaPost]
• Kohl's, meanwhile, answers this question and says, "With us!" A new Fila for Kohl's line will be in stores next fall. [WSJ]
• Giorgio Armani visited Australia this weekend so he could, um, bond with the beneficiaries of the "biggest single financial donation to an Australian theatrical institution," his declaration of "patronage" to the Sydney Theatre Company, helmed by Cate Blanchett. [WWD, sub req'd]
• And in other self-congratulatory Armani-speak, Giorgio also says, "Cary Grant is still the man. He managed to look good in a suit even while running across a field being chased by a plane. My friend George Clooney has that quality too - he looks effortlessly smart whatever he is wearing. I'm flattered that he chooses to wear my designs." [Vogue UK]
• Valentino: Also humble! "People say, 'Oh, Mr. Valentino, fashion without you is very sad.'" [Fashion Week Daily]
• Damon Dash-better half Rachel Roy just got an undisclosed amount of funding from TSM, a firm that also just purchased 22% of English label Matthew Williamson. Not sure why she needs the money, but, ha ha, just kidding. [Vogue UK]
• Bebe: No longer designing with fur! PETA likes this! Bebe: Still selling fur! PETA does not like this. [PETA]