On most of us: a hippie curtain. On Natalia Vodianova? Sophisticated perfection.


Not sure if Amber Le Bon is channeling her mother...or Duran-Duran's "Rio" period.


Dancer Kristina Rihanoff channels the pompom, which is either always - or never - perfectly appropriate.


It's like 100% of the time, Jerry Hall's wearing an awesome neon sign proclaiming, "you can take the girl our of Texas..."


Throw in a little London, and apparently you get Georgia May Hall!


Here's the question: are Eva Herzigova ...


...and Daisy Lowe wearing very similar dresses? Okay, only sort of.


Do we love Claudia Schiffer's vaguely festive psychedelia? No. Can we admit she looks amazing it it? Yes.


It's really hard to look at Jonathan Rhys Meyers the same way after seeing The Tudors, so let's focus on Reena Hammer's "Flaming June" instead.


Pixie Geldof , or Morticia Sedgwick?


There we go! Myleene Klass is like the only one working the sequins trend - at the only time of year when it's actually festive!


Why didn't Twiggy whip out this bitch face - or these White Snake leggings - during ANTM?!


Ben Grimes sports the controversial Double Purse.


I'll admit to loving anyone who played Fanny so well in Love in a Cold Climate, but come on: Rosamund Pike's hon boho on a bender is pretty bewitching!


How much do you love Victoria Beckham's Nancy-Reagan-goes-ice-skating/goes-to-a-benefit?


The craziest thing? You know this entire ensemble will sell out at Top Shop in like five minutes. And no one is going to look remotely as crazy-cool.

• Daul Kim's boyfriend was the first to find the body of the 20-year-old Korean model, artist, and writer, who died by asphyxiation. Police believe Kim's death was a suicide. Her agency has confirmed that her mother is en route to Paris. [AP]

• Don't want to wait until December 1 to watch the whole Victoria's Secret show? USAToday has video highlights, including Marisa Miller anxiously awaiting post-show cupcakes backstage, and Miranda Kerr doing a little dance on the runway to the Black Eyed Peas. [USAToday]
• Women's Wear Daily says it was "pandemonium" outside. [WWD]
• Eva Mendes has signed on to do more ads for Calvin Klein. When was the last time she was in a movie, anyway? [Elle UK]
• Valentino: The Last Emperor has been short-listed for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. [SB]
• Karl Lagerfeld, on Lily Allen: "I love Lily's humor, her cheekiness, her talent, her little upturned nose, and her perfect décolletage." [Elle]
• Rumor has it that Ungaro's two top executives, Asim Abdullah and Mounir Moufarrige (who once said of bringing Lindsay Lohan aboard, "It might work") are fighting over whether the actress should be fired or not. Her first collection for the brand was poorly received by buyers, the press, and the peanut gallery of the Internet; even Emanuel Ungaro himself called it a "disaster." [Elle UK]
• Claudia, Eva, and Helena share the new cover of i-D, like it's 1992 or something. [FWD]
• Shanna Moakler just launched a cosmetics collection. Called Smoak. [People]
• Moncler and Pharrell Williams are doing a line of clothing. It'll incorporate fabrics from Bionic, the eco-fabric company Williams invested in earlier. [WWD]
• Yves Saint Laurent's pots and pans sold for 15,000 Euros (just over $22,000) at the ongoing auction of the designer's household effects. [AFP]
• Sarah Ferguson will not be doing an apparel line with QVC. Pity. [WWD]
• Hand model Christina Ambers fell in love with Angel Rotger, one of the doormen at her Upper East Side building. Their romance and subsequent marriage cost Rotger his job, and led to them both being treated as pariahs by the other building staff, the two now allege in a $10 million lawsuit. Allegedly, the superintendent's wife got drunk and hit Rotger in the groin hard enough to cause a contusion. [NYDN]
• Here's an odd choice of knight in shining armor: supermarket magnate and modelizer Ron Burkle. Burkle has, through his company, invested millions of dollars in buying some of Barneys New York's debt from Citibank, for a reported 60 cents on the dollar. Barneys took on around $500 million in debt in 2007, when it was sold to current owners Istithmar. [WSJ]
• 100 new stores by March 31 is quite a clip, but Tommy Hilfiger thinks it can do it. [WWD]
• Gap's profits rose 25%, to $307 million, for the quarter ended October 31. It made $246 million during the same period last year. [WSJ]

[Milan, September 26. Image via Bauer-Griffin.]

• For the September issue of Harper's Bazaar, the magazine interviewed Karl Lagerfeld, speaking as Coco Chanel. In character, the Grand Teuton shared such idiotic reflections as: "I was never a feminist because I was never ugly enough for that." [FWD]

• A very painterly, Frenchified image of 90s supe Linda Evangelista made the grade as John Galliano's fall campaign. [SassyBella]
• On Sunday, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., hosted an exhibition of the Indonesian batik textiles collected by President Obama's mother, Anne Dunham, during her years in the country. There were traditional Indonesian dance and music performances, and fashion shows from two Indonesian designers. [WWD]
• Victoria Beckham has decided not to renew her contract with Emporio Armani, apparently because she wants to concentrate on her dress line. [UK Vogue]
• Spice Girls svengali Simon Fuller has acquired a 51% stake in Storm, the London model agency that represents such top names as Kate Moss, Jourdan Dunn, Eva Herzigova, and Lily Cole. [Telegraph]
• This fall is going to be an exciting time for designer fast-fashion lines. Unrolling next season at a chain near you: Jimmy Choo for H&M, Stella McCartney for Gap Kids, Anna Sui for Target, Christopher Kane for TopShop, Adam Lippes for Mango, and, uh, Lauren Conrad for Kohl's. [TS]
• Add to that list Jil Sander's hotly anticipated +J line for Uniqlo, which will begin hitting stores in October. The 140-piece collection is believed to start at around $25. [Fashionologie]
• Stars like Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson, Emeril Lagasse, and Martha Stewart are promoting Macy's "Come Together" program, a special night of dinner parties intended to inspire charitable giving. Americans are asked to host a special dinner in their homes, and solicit donations to Feeding America, in lieu of any gifts for the host. Macy's will match those donations until enough money has been raised to serve 10 million meals to poor families this fall and winter. You can register a dinner party or get new information at Come Together. [People]
• Are you a man? Are you really, really ridiculously good-looking? Have you ever dreamed of becoming a Calvin Klein underwear model? Do you live in one of nine European countries? In that case, you might be in luck: to launch a new underwear line, Calvin Klein is holding a model search. Jamie Dornan will be one of the judges. [WWD]
• "She's like, 'What about Maximilian? Bruno? Sebastian? Hector? Guido?' I always tell her I'll put it on my list." Karolina Kurkova's Slovak mother sure does have interesting taste in baby boy names. [USAToday]
• Donald Fisher, the Gap founder, and his wife Doris spent the last 50 years collecting art by such eminent figures as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Alexander Calder. But San Francisco preservationists have nixed the Fishers' plans to build a museum in the Presidio, a historic military base inside the city. The Fishers would prefer to keep the priceless collection in San Francisco, perhaps at the De Young or at the SFMOMA, but after the rejection of their standalone museum idea, other art museums are actively wooing the couple. [LATimes]
• Australian Merino lambs are routinely mulesed — that is, they have the skin around their buttocks cut off, often without anaesthetic, to prevent a disease called flystrike, which occurs when flies lay maggots in the folds of the lambs' skin, and those maggots then commence eating the animals' flesh. Although flystrike is horrifying, many animal rights activists are even more aghast at the mulesing, and with Australian farmers now announcing that they will fail to meet an agreed-upon 2010 deadline for ending the practice, some top fashion chains are discussing a ban on Australian merino wool. In which case, might I suggest New Zealand merino as an alternative? New Zealand is already phasing out mulesing. [Guardian]
• Heidi Klum had to close her five-year-old jewelry line because of a trademark infringement lawsuit from Van Cleef & Arpels, who objected to her use of its signature clover design. "We stopped because we had a lawsuit with Van Cleef & Arpels — they wanted to have the clover, even though our designs had never matched," said the supermodel. "I think when you're a small company, which we are, we're not a Van Cleef — they have a thousand lawyers. I'm a small fry next to that." [LATimes]
• Imagine the delicate hell of being a parts model: "Most people can walk away from work when they're done with a job, but parts models can't, because [our parts] have to be flawless. I moisturize 20 to 30 times a day, and wear gloves 90 percent of the time," says hand model Ashley Covington. [CNN]
• Coach C.E.O. Lew Frankfort, who has been with the company for 30 years, extended his contract until 2013. [Crain's]
• Paula Dorf cosmetics is bankrupt. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, owing more than 50 creditors a total of $3.9 million. [Crain's]
• K Swiss lost $11.5 million in the second quarter of this year. Last year, they made a $26.4 million profit in the same period. [WWD]
• Astoundingly, high-end children's clothing is also suffering in this economy. A Connecticut store that sold $995 Peter Som girls' dresses close its doors this summer, and companies are dialing back their kids lines. [WSJ]
• A new strategy in the open question of how, and whom, to sue over the online trade in counterfeit luxury goods: after the failure to get auction sites like eBay held accountable — L'Oréal lost its multi-million-dollar suit, and Steve Madden had to drop its lawsuit just last week — Gucci has hit upon suing the credit card processing companies. The lawsuit accuses the companies of facilitating the sale of fake purses, and names the companies "full partners in those counterfeiting activities." Gucci has already wrangled a $5.2 million settlement from the Laurette Company, which runs the website TheBagAddiction.com, where counterfeit bags were often sold, and the credit card processing companies are those companies which worked closely with Laurette. [Reuters]

• John Malkovich has a clothing line. Who knew? His collection, branded Technobohemian, is actually the actor's second foray into fashion, he launched a line called Uncle Kimono in 2002. We hope his Milan show models all wear Malkovich masks. [WWD]

• Milan menswear week overall is on somewhat shaky ground. Although it's only three days long, there are 93 collections being presented — some 15% more than in January. Some organizers are talking like they've seen the bottom of the market, but on the totality of the evidence, that view seems premature. [Reuters]
• Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Anna Wintour's event planner extraordinaire and the woman behind the annual Met Costume Institute Gala is leaving her position. She actually says it's to spend more time with her family. [P6]
• British designer Paul Smith designed some rather innovative trash cans for London's Covent Garden and Holland Park. Shaped like 5' bunnies holding out big plastic bags, the rabbits' ears light up when people throw in their litter. It's a little Donnie Darko but cool. [UnBeige]
• A new Dolce & Gabbana ad has Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova, Naomi Campbell, Noah Mills, Fernando Fernandes, and Tyson Ballou all completely naked. And yet the mood of the picture isn't all Calvin Klein tawdry. [FWD]
• Those boots from Emma Hemming's W shoot with Bruce Willis, in case anyone was wondering, were Nina Ricci Fall 2009. We were, of course, already familiar. [W]
• Alexa Chung's wardrobe from It's On With Alexa Chung is viewable, purchasable, and fully archived via the MTV website. In case one should want to buy anything the host wears. [WWD]
• Coach is said to be developing a signature line for its creative director, Reed Krakoff. The company has recently trademarked "Reed," "Reed Krakoff," and "RK." Krakoff has led the company since 1996. [FWD]
• Karl Lagerfeld's costume for Elena Glurdjidze, of the English National Ballet, was not the toast of the dance critics on opening night. The Telegraph called it an "awful outfit that put Elena Glurdjidze's Dying Swan in a feathered neck brace, which did nothing to aid her performance of Anna Pavlova's favourite party piece" and the Guardian said the tutu was "conceived with cavalier disregard for the ballerina's working body - the line of the neck broken by an egregious, fluffy ruff, the waistline broken by a too-high skirt." [FP]
• There are some behind-the-scenes shots of Pirelli's notable nudie calendar in the making. Fashionologie has the best gallery; these are by Terry Richardson, so you should consider them unsafe for work (and life?) [Fashionologie]
• Escada is said to be on the verge of bankruptcy, and needs to raise cash now to survive. [Reuters]
• Mulberry's profits are up, on the back of same-store sales that grew 21% in the 10 weeks to June 9. [FT]

• File under matches made in heaven: Karl Lagerfeld has designed couture costumes for England's National Ballet. [Telegraph]

• Did Eva Herzigova drink a lot of champagne at the opening of the Michael Kors store in London, and then walk out the door with a bracelet, watch, and sunglasses? Security guards reportedly looked like they were going to stop the supermodel, until the paparazzi started taking her picture. Kors claimed the next day that Herzigova was "being cheeky" — but that the items were a gift. [Daily Mail]
• Get ready to see a lot more of Jessica Biel: The actress has been named the newest face of Revlon. [WWD]
• Filene's Basement has filed for bankruptcy protection. Apparently, now that other stores have been forced to cut their prices, Filene's discounts are less impressive in the retail lineup. [Reuters]
• The Olivier Theyskens/Halston rumors are back. With the added complicator of Anna Wintour's involvement. [WWD]
• Holding the annual costume institute gala at the Met might distract from the Renoirs, sniffs writer Michael Gross. [NY Post]
• Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista will all skip the event. Turlington is out of the country, filming a (doubtless very important) "documentary on maternal health." Steven Meisel will also sit the party out — but that's no surprise since the man is rarely glimpsed in public. [P6]
• Patti Smith doesn't require fashion. "I can wear rags," says the musician. "But they have to be cool rags." [The Cut]
• Mischa Barton, however, pretty much requires headbands. Or at least requires you to buy hers, since she doesn't have a career anymore, other than waiting to see if her pilot is getting picked up. [People]
• England apparently has has a Dress of the Year award since 1963. And this year it went to Kate Moss, for one of her Topshop designs. [Independent]
• Meanwhile Topshop, ever the good neighbor, has apparently knocked off Alexander Wang's "naked" dress — the one with the floating embroidery on mesh. [Racked]
• Wang's jacket for the Gap looks like a a biker jacket that swallowed a trench coat. [Racked]
• Is Azzedine Alaïa looking to launch a lingerie line? If so, why wont the famously body-conscious women's wear designer design it himself? [Elle]
• Speaking of lingerie, you should read this entertaining profile of Joe Corré, son of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, and co-founder of Agent Provocateur. "I don't buy into all this brand-identity bollocks — the Gucci lifestyle, the Prada lifestyle," says Corré. "What does that mean? That you're a rich, bored idiot with no soul? It's just emperor's new clothes bullshit. We're against all that. Agent Provocateur is about an attitude, about empowerment." [Guardian]
• Hogan's fall campaign will reportedly star Nate Lowman, an artist who dates Mary-Kate Olsen. [Fashionista]
• Bar Refaeli, the Israeli supermodel, has designed "the perfect little black bikini." It looks exactly like every other string bikini you've ever seen, but it costs $120. [People]
• Ben Sherman is quitting the footwear business by the end of this year. [WWD]
• On the other foot: Skechers, which is now back in the black. [WWD]
• Lily Cole, the British model, has not one but three movies coming out. And a new Rimmel ad. And, oh yeah, she's a full-time student at Cabridge. [The Cut]
• Thom Browne, whose business was rumored to be in dire straits recently, had his CEO and CFO depart on Friday. [WWD]

V made the impossible possible by picking random crops of pictures from the Mario Testino editorial inside to use as the cover shots. After the figures were very approximately shorn of their actual backgrounds.

Which rather explains how Daria looks like she was traced with an x-acto and stuck on that lurid backdrop with paste. Is this a conceptual gesture? About how people cut pictures out of magazines and pin them on their walls? A nod to Henry Darger and collage? Is this intentional? Or just terrible, terrible Photoshop?

Naomi's cover, to my eye, is actually the best — her baseline level of camp seems just about right for the proceedings.

Kate on the other hand, looks awkward.

Look, I liked this picture much better when it was on the cover of Purple Fashion two months ago.

Half of these poses — Daria's, Naomi's — are poking fun at the cheesecake factor inherent in most swimsuit spreads. And the rest — Claudia's, Kate's — are high-fashion awkward. So what were the criteria for culling the cover shots from the editorial?

Eva Herzigova: channeling Lindsay Lohan channeling Marilyn Monroe.

Seriously, V: what happened? The issue is out next Wednesday, May 6th. I can't say I'm exactly waiting with bated breath.

Fierce Kate Moss Leads Revival Of The Supermodels As They Stalk Back Into The Spotlight [Daily Mail]
Viva Gisele [IMG Blog]

[London, April 27. Image via WENN]

• The Gossip played an hour-long set at the Paris Fendi party. Beth Ditto stripped off the five-piece stage costume Lagerfeld made her until she was performing in a sequined bra and thong. [Telegraph]

• Chanel's show at the Grand Palais in Paris was an appropriately star-studded affair, with Freida Pinto, Kate Moss, Olga Kurylenko and current Karl-favorite Claudia Schiffer in the front row. The models — basically a supermodel round-up, including several of the designer's former muses, like Karen Elson and Angela Lindvall — walked through a maze-like set that Lagerfeld designed himself. (Lindvall said they rehearsed the choreography three times.) Asked how it was that he got into the maze himself for the finale, the Kaiser said, "That I don't know and it's a strange thing. It happens to me often early in the mornings. I get into the middle of mazes and come out of completely nowhere!" [FWD]
• Alexander McQueen has heard your talk of recession-friendly safe fashion, and he bites his thumb at you. "I think it's dangerous to play it safe because you will just get lost in the midst of cashmere twin sets," said the designer, whose show was a vicious-minded mash-up of iconic fashions, played out on a set whose centerpiece was a crumbling, blackened heap of his own old set props. "People don't want to see clothes. They want to see something that fuels the imagination." [NY Times]
• This is the kind of gross original concept with a high potential for backfire: when launching a new cologne, how about not throw a crowded party and only allow guests into a backroom, one by one, to smell the scent — on a live male model? "It's really starting to smell in there," muttered someone who would have preferred, oh, I don't know, tester bottles. [WWD]
• Page Six is reporting that Anna Wintour shook hands with PETA vice-president Dan Matthews at the Stella McCartney show in Paris. Sees unlikely, given PETA's extra-vocal protests this season — French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld's Balenciaga dress had its sleeve ripped off by PETA operatives, who presumably were trying to target her goat coat — and the animal-rights organization's own history with Wintour. (Once, PETA dumped an animal carcass on the editor's plate in a restaurant. Wintour calmly placed her napkin over it and asked to see the dessert menu.) But, strange things happen in fashion, so... [P6]
• The 80s are definitely back. Leighton Meester's first Reebok ad is out — and she's posing next to a boom box that looks like it takes about 19 D batteries. [Sassybella]
• Liskula Cohen, the former Vogue model suing Google in an attempt to force the company's Blogger service to reveal the identity of a user who posts scathing content about her, broke down in court when some of the offending posts were read into the record. The blog Skanks in NYC is entirely dedicated to smearing Cohen, alleging she has no soul, and calling her "desperate," a "ho," and a "skank" many times, and Cohen's aim is to pursue a defamation suit against the author, should he or she be revealed. The lawyer representing the anonymous site called the posts "youthful, jocular, slangy comments." [NYDN]
• That's Shalom Harlow, Eva Herzigova, and Vincent Gallo (yeah, wtf?) in the spring H&M ads. [Fabsugar]
• Katie Holmes told Glamour that she is currently in talks to start a children's clothing line with her friend and stylist Jeanne Yang. [Hollyscoop]
• Meanwhile, the Jonas brothers want the tween clothing market. [WWD]
• And is Heidi Klum thinking that grown women will buy Barbie-inspired duds? [The Cut]
• Christian-owned knockoff emporium Forever 21 sold an unauthorized t-shirt with the logo of punk band Minor Threat screen printed into a thicket of generic 80s imagery. Dischord Records, Minor Threat's label, objected — and in a surprise twist ending, the shirts have actually been pulled from store shelves. [Pitchfork]
• An Indonesian company that produces around 500,000 pairs of Adidas shoes every month has been sued by its main local creditors, the Bank of Negara Indonesia and a leather wholesaler, after an ongoing dispute over the shoe factory's unpaid bills. [UPI]
• After profits declined 45.1% in 2008, luxury Italian jeweler and perfumer Bulgari will cut jobs, close stores, and eliminate unprofitable product lines. [WWD]
• Eric Gaskins, a New York-based couturier whose wares have been worn by Salma Hayek and Tina Fey, among others, has been forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after 22 years in business. Gaskins is one of the most prominent high-end African-American designers in the US. [Crain's]
• Net profits at Swatch fell 17.4% in 2008. [WWD]

• So, why was Lithuanian-born model Auguste Abeliunate crying on the Jil Sander runway? Was it Raf Simons' severe, Germanic threads? Sander's in denial: "No model was crying on the runway!" says a rep. [WSJ]

• Michelle Obama's Michael Kors White House portrait LBD marks the biggest American designer name the first lady has chosen so far. [WWD]
• The mystery man who bid $40 million for two Qing dynasty bronzes from the YSL collection is now refusing to honor the winning bid, as the 18th century pieces were looted in 1860. [NYT]
• Notorious designer/rapist Anand Jon is requesting a new trial. [Times of India]
• Speaking of legal troubles! The perennially ludicrous Roberto Cavalli is being sued by Ittierre Spa's administrators for his comments regarding the Just Cavalli license. [WWD]
• He, characteristically, seems unruffled: "I have 11 million fans [on Facebook], I saw that only Madonna has more than me. It's lovely. It's not for the money–believe me, I don't care. It's vibrations. I hate drugs, I've never used them in my life–never smoked a marijuana cigarette. But my drug is the adrenaline, the vibrations. That's what makes me love life!" [Fashion Week Daily]
• H&M, struggling with fast fashion, gets into fast home textiles. [WSJ]
• Art world macher Dasha Zhukova has been appointed as editor in chief of POP magazine. [WWD]
• We're all for "feisty females" inspiring designers - and we dig the Pam Anderson-Westwood collab - but Pixie Geldof? Srsly? "Spoiled children" wasn't really what we had in mind. [Independent]
• Not, mind you, that actress/model/writers havn't suffered in their long lives. Writes Peaches: "As early as age 9, I preferred to wear garish, ill fitting ‘80s prom dresses over jeans – usually to disastrous results. I did envy the more put-together girls who had armoires full of perfectly ironed, timeless pieces; they looked effortless in their black or white silk staple skirts and trousers dressed up with a statement bag or Chanel jacket. But at heart, I was a magpie, always rooting through bargain bins at charity shops for, say, a sequined cape, which for some reason I just had to own." [Nylon]
• $7 grand for a heel? A bargain! The Louboutin "Marie Antoinette" is "an open-toe platform high heel in satin, embroidered with colorful beads by the house of Jean-Francois Lesage, edged with a ruffling of chiffon and velvet." Oh, and even better: it's grotesquely ugly! [LA Times]
• ScarJo, Dolce, Gabbana, some Italian department store. For unclear reasons, this drew a crowd of a thousand. Quoth the Waits enthusiast, "Who doesn't want to look like the femme fatales from the Forties and Fifties?" [WWD]
• Nicole Farhi's psyched to be a grandma, but within reason: "One thing I won't be doing, though, is a range of Farhi clothes for children. I love kids, but I'm not making kids' clothes!" [Telegraph]
• Stacy London is on a quest to end "mom jeans'" bad rep. "Moms are superheroes. 'Mom jeans' should be a super cool . . . pair of jeans," says the What Not to Wear maven. [LAT]
• Victoria Beckham's dress line has singlehandedly boosted the business of one British fabric mill. [Telegraph]
• "Do you want to smell like Halle Berry?" Well, that really depends on what she smells like. Presumably, like the new perfume she's seen advertising here in a series of diaphanous cover-ups. [The Life Files]
• In case you were wondering, model Eva Herzigova is "a 35-year-old woman, mother to a 21-month-old son - beautiful, powerful and in total control." [TimesUK]
• Oh, and homeless style enthusiast/model Erin Wasson? "It's humbling...I still can't get over the fact that these people want to come out to see little old me." Us, neither. [Style.com]
• Speaking of genuine modesty, we love Tim Gunn: "I'm grateful every day that I still have a job at Liz Claiborne. I make no assumptions about me...I'm confident that Liz Claiborne, Inc. will pull out of this, because we're operating so thoughtfully and so strategically ... But it is a challenging time."[New York]
• Even Obama fave J. Crew is feeling the pinch: they've eliminated 95 positions. [WWD]
• Steve Madden, at least, is up! [WWD]
• A "model" who fell through a hole in a "runway" in 2007 is suing the companies involved in the fashion show. [The Life Files]
• Crocs is confident that a new CEO will turn the company around. Hey, we couldn't have predicted their initial success...[WWD]

• 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]

The Good: Waris Ahluwalia and Chriara Clemente are one fierce duo. Linda Evangelista: Oh yes. Selita Ebanks is the shit. I want to put Takashi Murakami in my pocket and bring him home with me.

The Bad: Eva Herzigova was one of my favorite supermodels; why must she pain me by wearing this heinous fur? Jennifer Creel is stiff; perhaps she could use a stiff one? I pray to Pat Field and whomever else might be able to salvage Kristin Davis from the wardrobe of Charlotte York. This MR. guy scares me. Same goes for Terrence Koh. And Tinsley Mortimer.

The Ugly: Oh no, Chiho Ashima. Oh. No.

• Georgio Armani is co-chairing a dinner to celebrate a Vogue-sponsored Costume Institute exhibit called "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy." Which is why he gave a press conference during which he professed to be "indifferent" to Anna Wintour while standing next to her. We assume he'll be too dead to make it to dinner. [NY Mag]
  
• Then again: the shocking new garment industry tell-all Gomorrah says Italian fashion is really just the Mafia so maybe Georgio knows what he's doing. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Model Gemma Ward's film debut The Black Balloon takes top prize at he Berlin Festival. [Sassybella]

• I grow increasingly obsessed with Victoria Beckham and Marc Jacobs as each new ad starring Posh as the face of MJ's Spring 2008 collection is revealed. Vicks as a naughty dark angel? Love. [Chic Report]
• Project Runway bitch slap! Chris Marc says Christian Siriano is going to be designing for K-Mart soon enough. [AdAge]
• Eva Herzigova: Doesn't need a swimwear line now that she has a son. "[The line] was my little baby. But since I have my own now, it's really hard to follow... Unless I get a license deal, I don't think I'll do it." See ladies, if your career is as pointless/lucrative as modeling and celebrity guest design, you don't have to feel any guilt about giving it up to have babies! [WWD, 3rd item]
• Hayden Panettierre is the new face of Candie's footwear. [Sassybella]
• Ooh la la! Former Dior Homme designer Hedi Slimane is going to be shooting the haute couture collections for French Vogue. [WWD, 4th item]
• 15-year old Russian designer Kira Plastinina on who she hopes to see in her designs, "I like Paris, I like Vanessa Hudgens, I like the High School Musical girls, and Rihanna. I love Rihanna." [Chic Report]
• Yves Saint Laurent is once again pretending that advertising is political activism. [Vogue UK]
• A line of body shapers called Yummie Tummie. [WWD, sub req'd]
• The British fashion industry is blaming its second-tier status in the fashion world on the absence of enough factories to produce its wares. Uh...because Jakarta and Dhaka are totally the new fashion capitals. [Reuters] [WWD, sub req'd]

• "With so many magazine images that are so completely retouched, we've gone in the opposite direction, showing the soul of a woman." That's artist Francois-Marie Banier, on this Diane von Furstenberg ad starring Natalia Vodianova. Which makes us wonder, if that is the "opposite direction" of the retouching trend, we sort of wonder what that trend would look like "taken to its hyperbolic extreme." [Vogue UK]
  
• And in other DVF news, Diane is suing Target over a wrapdress. Wait, you're telling us Target didn't invent the wrapdress? [Reuters]
  
• Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell are appearing on the February cover of French Vogue together — with Naomi appearing sans hair extensions. What would Tyra say? [Fashion Week Daily]

• Fashion PR guru Kelly Cutrone on her blog on Fashion Week Daily: "I woke up this morning and thought, 'I wonder if, when you die, is there a fashion section in heaven?' I also wondered if you had spent a great portion of your life working in fashion if you would be mandated there. Next I asked, 'Is there anyway I could avoid going to the fashion section of heaven?'" Oh Kelly, don't worry, you're all going to hell anyway! [Fashion Week Daily]
• Stella McCartney for LeSportsac! [Sassybella]
• Stella McCartney lingerie! [Nylon]
• Quote of the day, from WWD: "SAGGING ECONOMY BE DAMNED. Plenty of women are spending the equivalent of nearly two barrels of oil — or more — to slather themselves in luxury body creams." [WWD]
• Famous recluse/corset-maker Mr. Pearl on his wares: "To me, a corseted body, with the shape of the indentation at the waist, is beauty in extreme; it represents absolute femininity....Breathing does become a problem, but it does not affect digestion....It would be interesting if people would consider [corsets], since I believe liposuction and plastic surgery are quite ugly acts by comparison, and the results are not quite as becoming. What a corset lace can do is much more attractive." Spoken like a true man. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Prada made some animated sort film inspired by wallpaper called Trembled Blossoms, and it's showing at Fashion Week. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Rachel Roy is designing a capsule collection for Manolo Blahnik. Moe can tell you that Roy is Damon Dash's wife, but you're going to have to google the meaning of "capsule collection" yourself. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Former supermodel Eva Herzigova on Valentino: "Do you remember how we would always have to be in full hair and makeup before Valentino would even look at us?" Yeah, we'll miss him. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Still not quite ready to say goodbye to Valentino? Here's how to get the makeup look from his couture show. [BellaSugar]
• The new Versace shoes have red soles. We're assuming Mr. Louboutin is going to be less than thrilled. [Ugh. Because, you know, manufacturing red soles is practically MAPPING THE HUMAN GENOME in the fashion industry. -Moe] [Chic Report]
• English designer Christopher Kane is doing a limited edition lip gloss for Lancome. The packaging is extra-pretty. [Nylon]

The Good:
At Givenchy, Natalia Vodianova looks perfectly put-together in a one-shoulder black dress and the hottest shoes we've seen in ages.
Charlotte Rampling, also at Givenchy, reminds us that when we grow up, we want to be middle-aged Englishwomen who pretend to be French.
Dita von Teese showed up at Jean-Paul Gauliter making plaid posh, not punk.


The Bad::
At Valentino, Blake Lively wears a gorgeous yellow coat. That looks about eight sizes too big. This is probably the worst we've ever seen Lively look.
Eva La Rue's sleeves probably needed a row of their own at the Valentino farewell show.
And if someone can tell us what that pink thing slung around Lucy Liu, also at Valentino is, we'll buy you a pony. (OK, actually we won't.)


The Ugly:
At Valentino, Uma Thurman breaks one of our iron-clad fashion rules: Just say no to lace turtlenecks.

[Images via INF and Bauer-Griffin.]

• Tim Gunn is taking some conflict-of-interest heat regarding a recent column he wrote OK! magazine. (Tim writes for OK!? How declasse!) When advising a reader about what jeans are best to fit most bodies, he steered the reader towards Liz Claiborne and Lucky Brand. Funny thing is, Gunn just happens to be the Chief Creative Officer of Liz Claiborne. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• The ads of David Beckham in his Emporio Armani undies don't hit the UK 'til March, but sales for white men's briefs have already gone up 50% since the announcement was made that Beckham's face (and balls) would be tied to the brand. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Marc Jacobs on his camel toe costume: "I love being the unexpected, even if that means not moving for the entire night. You just kind of slide in from the front and hang out here. And the fur is all artificial of course, but there is simply too much of it!" Why are we not surprised that Jacobs would be anti-bush? [Fashion Week Daily]

• "I wear a piece of Jenni every day," says Skeletor/celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, referring to newly notable designer Jenni Kayne. [Fashion Week Daily]
• When we do spring cleaning, we end up hauling truckloads of old magazines and empty Kombucha bottles to the curb. When Karl Lagerfeld does spring cleaning, the items are curated and then put up for auction. [Vogue UK]
• Reverend Run's daughters have a clothing line. It is called Pastry. It is ugly. [FabSugar]
• Say what you will about Marc Jacobs, but at least he's using models (and good ones!) for the Louis Vuitton spring advertising campaign. Stephanie Seymour, Eva Herzigova, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Angela Lindvall and Natalia Vodianova are all set to star in the Richard Prince-inspired ads. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Uh oh: Why is Elle International Creative Director Gilles Bensimon sending out cryptic, vaguely suicidal-sounding e-mail "postcards" to his friends? [Fashion Week Daily]
• Stella McCartney has designed a pleather patent camera bag. It is actually pretty cute. But it's currently on sale for $400 (down from $1,235 originally), which seems like a fuckload of money for a bit of plastic. [GeekSugar]
• Kate Moss is the face of the spring Longchamp campaign. She looks hot. Yawn. [Sassybella]
• Martha Stewart's infamous former stockbroker/walker Peter Bacanovic is moving on past insider trading and into bling: He has just accepted the title of CEO of Fred Leighton jewelers. [WWD, 1st item]
• Krazy Karl: Thinking Russian for next year's Chanel metiers d'art collection. What would Lenin say? [WWD, 3rd item]
• John Galliano: Now doing jewelry. We really hope it's pirate-themed. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Anyone else find it interesting that not-seaweed yogawear line Lululemon's biggest competitors are Victoria's Secret, American Eagle, and Nike? [The Economist]

• Karl Lagerfeld has commissioned 15 contemporary artists to create works inspired by his iconic quilted Chanel bag for a two-year touring exhibit. Kind of interesting how iconic handbags are like the Virgin Mary of now. Maybe in twenty years people will be seeing Hermes Birkin bags in their grilled cheese sandwiches and selling them on eBay. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• The dress will remain the dominant fashion trend through Spring 2008, according to the owner of luxury retailer Louis Boston, who makes some weird reference to American global hegemony. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Dooney & Bourke releases a line of bags named for Emma Roberts (Julia's niece and current star of "Nancy Drew"), with prices ranging from $210 to $235. Remember how when you were reading Nancy Drew, you thought $215 was like, enough to buy a house? Ah, kids today! [WWD, 1st item]
  
• It's a boy for supermodel Eva Herzigova and her Italian businessman common law husband. Remember how she did all those Wonderbra ads, haha? Lactation jokes never get old! [Vogue UK]
  
• Fashion muse Isabella Blow's widower Detmar hopes to create a museum to house his late wife's extensive clothing collection, is "hoping all the people she helped in her life will cough up some money to get this up and running." Ooh, subtle! [Vogue UK]
  
• Why should European luxury brands expand in China and India when there are still soooo many [brace yourselves! Fave word alert!] aspirational middle Americans stuck with Coach? [Fashion Inc.]