• Lauren Conrad is On The Move, Azlan-style. After a prolonged period of alleged laziness, Conrad is promoting her eponymous clothing line all over our fifty states. [Yahoo]
• According to this Sun columnist's "hunch," Kate Moss is pregnant. Take that for what it's worth. [The Sun]
• According to model Niki Taylor — and her husband, doctor and uterus' hunch — she's pregnant too! [People]
• Fashiongate FAQ. [Washington Post]

• More signs of economic apocalypse: the cancellation of Fashion Rocks, CondeNast's annual fashion-rock concert-magazine. [AdAge]
• Here's how to get those undecided swing voters! "On Thursday morning, (Zac) Posen filmed a 15-second video urging people to vote, to vote for Barack Obama, and to dress for the occasion." [WWD]
• L'Oreal keeps its head above water, but cuts forecasts. [WSJ]
• There's hedging your bets, and then there's...this. In case they don't get Runway back, Bravo's introducing Fashion House, Celebrity Sew-Off and The Fashion Show, which sounds suspiciously like a Project Runway where viewers choose the winner. [Yahoo]
• Kate Moss, friend, rumored to be dressing up as Tina Turner, Cher for Halloween, kicks. [Fashionologie]
• "Where would Moss be without her languidly rockish locks?" Um, I don't know. Anyway, her hairdresser is releasing a budget line of hair products. So that we can continue to look nothing like her, on the cheap! [Guardian]
• Ferragamo does all the beautiful, 40s-style shoes for the epic film Australia. [W]
• As an army of Bettys and Joans can tell you tonight, Mad Men has had a serious influence on fashion. [LA Times]
• Charlotte Ronson for J.C. Penney is predictably darling. [Nylon]
• Speaking of cute fast fashion: Old Navy's latest plus-sized line is really pretty. [Fabsugar]
• On the other side of economic divide, Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière ditches his celeb moddles. [New York Magazine]
• And the head of Chanel: “Even in tough times, people want to see beautiful and inspirational things." [Economist]
• Rami Kashou lectures at the Phillips Collection. Quoth the master-draper: "I want to talk about what it takes to keep a dream alive...What it's like to be a 5-year-old and have a dream." [Washington Post]
• Bottega Veneta gets into cruisewear. Believe it or not, more frequent collections is actually a Recession-proofing measure. [WWD]

• Tara Subkoff's short films for Bebe are all set to premiere. Says the designer of her "star," Lydia Hearst: "She truly reminds me of the classic 'Hitchcock blonde' — he would have loved her and she would have been a huge star in his films if we could go back in time." Obviously, like Subkoff, Hitch would have staged lesbian makeout sessions with Aubrey O'Day in front of Bungalow 8 for his art. [WWD]
• Sometimes we wonder whether Karl Rove is behind this seemingly systematic campaign to get everyone in Fashionland behind Obama. "Designer Patricia Field has created an Obama t-shirt that reads "Elegance. Dignity. Obama. Statesman." Naturally, this is written in glitter. [Racked]
• We kind of don't understand why Jeremy Piven was the host of Conde Nast's Fashion Rocks concert last year, but according to Page Six the actor "was a 'nightmare,' insisting on a separate green room and rewriting the script up until the last minute. 'And it wasn't even funny,'said the source." [P6]

• Wait, what? Luxury brand LVMH acquires yacht company. [WWD]
• After months of speculation, minimalist label Jil Sander sold to Japan's Onward Holdings Co. [WSJ]
• Gryphon designer Amy Cho meets fashion halfway with a "Responsible Fur" initiative, which encourages the use of "recycled" vintage furs and extra-soft fakes. Methinks we love her. [Style.com]
• Baggy jeans are back. Not Katie-Holmes sloppy, either: these Bottega Veneat guys are more early-90s harem. [The Life Files]
• Buckingham Palace guardsmen may switch from real bearskin hats to Stella McCartney fauxs after animal rights activists meet with Ministry of Defense. [Daily Mail]
• Following in the footsteps of Vera Wang, various penniless freelancers, Oscar de la Renta will be a guest-blogger on Brides.com. "He'll be writing about wedding choices on dresses, jewelry and destinations. " [WWD]
• In a desperate bid to lure back-to-schoolers, mid-price retailers pull out all the stops. "Kohl's launched six lines of clothing this summer with a star-studded advertising campaign featuring celebrities from including Lenny Kravitz and Hayden Panettiere. JCPenney introduced another half-a-dozen labels, the department store's biggest crop of new brands, with looks ranging from urban rock to all-American. And Dillard's is chasing soccer moms with a line designed by Sheryl Crow that hit stores last month." Wait...Lenny Kravitz? [LAT]
• Style.com is branching out. "On Sept. 2, the site will debut Shop Now, where designer advertisers can pay to have their brands featured." Or, to have them considered: the editors will decide which of the submissions to feature. [MediaWeek]
• To celebrate its centennial, venerable makeup brand Max Factor has treated itself to Gisele Bundchen. For a campaign, I mean. [ElleUK]
• The relatively youthful British Harper's Bazaar is thriving. [Independent]
• Wait, isn't this what the internets do? The new magazine Distill "will present a digested read of the style and fashion press from all over the world, offering a shorthand guide to what and who are in fashion, and how those trends are being captured and covered." [Independent]
• Guess legendary photog Patrick Demarchelier likes his work. "I love all women. Women are sublime beings. I love all of it: their eyes, their noses, their bodies." [Telegraph]
• You know there's a problem when models are complaining that they're too thin: says Karen Elson, "Fashion is obsessed with finding young, beautiful and vulnerable girls, bringing them into the fashion world, praising them, worshipping them but suddenly dropping them like a stone when they hit puberty and grow boobs and hips. It's so dangerous and can potentially harm the girls mentally and physically." [Guardian]
• Shockingly, real designers don't want to dress Heidi Montag. "They don’t want their stuff on Heidi, even despite the fact that she is very media-friendly and is photographed a lot," the rep said. "It’s just not the caliber of celebrity most clients go for." [The Superficial]
• Sadie Frost arranges celeb auction for breast cancer. The haul? "Here are the black peep-toe size 38 Christian Louboutins which “Kate” has signed and covered with graffiti love hearts, a dress belonging to Amy Winehouse, a suit Jude Law wore on the set of Alfie, a guitar donated by Kasabian guitarist Jay Mehler, a Jake Chapman picture." [This Is London]
• Tamara Mellon's ex, Matthew, is hoping second time's the charm: "Mellon has joined forces with his new bride-to-be, designer Nicole Hanley, to introduce Hanley-Mellon, a clothing line that will launch for spring 2009. “It’s a mix of Chloé, YSL and bohemian chic,' Mellon told WWD." [WWD]

• Okay, it's slightly less random than it seems: Dempsey's wife, Jillian, has been Avon’s global creative color director since July 2006. Not that this really excuses it. Or why WWD refers to "Unscripted", ominously, as the actor's "first scent." And about that name: does he really want to take credit for ad-libbing the Grey's dialogue? [WWD]
• Meanwhile, in other fragrance news, Josh Hartnett is fronting "Emporio Armani: Diamonds for Men," [ET]
• ...while Eva Mendes is the, um, face of both Calvin Klein's new Secret Obsession perfume and its "Seductive Comfort" underwear line. Quoth the loyal pitchwoman, ""I wear [Calvin Klein] G-strings all of the time on the red carpet and when shooting for a film because you don't see the [panty] lines." [WWD]
• Christian Siriano: "I am honored to be a part of this amazing group of talent!” Siriano said. “It is a dream to work with legends such as [director] Charles Shyer, Uma Thurman and [costume designer] Milena Canonero on a wonderful story filled with creative inspirations." The project? Eloise in Paris. [E!]

• Meanwhile, fellow PR winner Jay McCarroll is shilling his wares on QVC. [Blogging Project Runway]
• I think we can all agree that there's no such thing as too many Karl Lagerfeld documentaries. [WWD]
• German Elle celebrated its big 2-0 in Berlin. Yes, Lagerfeld was there. [WWD]
• In one handy reference: the Ethical Fashion Directory. [The Guardian]
• Bravissimo offers "full-figured" nightwear; PJs that actually support. 'Rather than the 'one size fits all' approach, Bravissimo's designs are based on a standard sized back, shoulders and waist but, within each dress size, offer different sizes to account for the fullness of the bust.' [The Star]
• Model Lily Cole in French Playboy, which is allegedly more 'artistic' than the Yank version. Hm. [Fashionista]
• Long-awaited Prada flagship opens in San Francisco. [WWD]
• CondeNast'sFashion Rocks, the worst fashion and music magazine in the history of the universe, will come out in September, and the accompanying concert features Rihanna, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Fergie, Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Lil Wayne. It'll air on CBS. [E!]
• Yup, the death watch is on for Mervyn's, all right. We feel bad for the chain's founder. [Los Angeles Times]
• That Visa London clothing swap LiLo fronted? Listen to this undemocratic twist: "Participants dropped off unwanted items at collection points over the last six weeks, receiving points on a swipe card. The more exclusive the outfit, the more points they received, which they could spend yesterday on other donated items." Wait, who determined "exclusivity"? [The Observer]
• Russian public schools ban "emo and goth" clothing. [Fashionista]
• "But fashion is also theatre, a world of make believe, and there is nothing more theatrical than revealing the layers of artifice that construct an image, especially when it is done within the image itself. It is like the conjurer's reveal." The intricate dance that is Fashion Photography. [The Guardian]
• Alexander Calder's jewelry, which he mostly made for family and friends, is on display at the Philly Art Museum. And it's amazing. '"He's not a jeweler,"a curator said. "There are no welds. He's working on an anvil and a bench, but he's not doing what jewelers do, not making links or soldering things. He's taking wire and doing stuff with it that no one else was doing. With basic wire."' [NPR]
• New York's Clock Tower Building, a century-old Madison Avenue landmark, is getting a makeover. By Versace. The quietly tasteful fashion house is decorating 55 apartments and a spa. presumably gold, cheetah, tanning beds will figure prominently. [Reuters]
• Betsy Johnson is awesome, has a "man-lover." [WWD]
• Parishoners at St. James United Church of Christ have modified 150 pairs of boxer shorts for wounded veterans, replacing the shorts' side seams with fasteners so they are easier to fit over bulky prosthetics and braces. Good work and probably something that people don't often consider. But the fact that they're bringing the undies to the altar to be blessed on Sunday is just peculiar. [USA Today]
• "Jacques Kaplan, 83, Bold Furrier, Dies." [IHT]
• Designers Kate&Kass name their designs after famous women. They have an Ingrid Newkirk. Also a Benazir Bhutto minidress. [Fabsugar]
• In spite of economic challenges, textile fairs thrive. [WWD]
• Seattle Jezzies: donate gently used prom duds for low-income teens. [,a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/371628_tf222.html?source=rss">Seattlepi]
• Bravo's Runway replacement? UK import Fashion House , which "replicates the workings of the fashion business through a fashion house." Teams of designers will live together and work to create an entire line — rather than just individual pieces — that has the potential to be purchased by commercial buyers.' We want to believe! [New York Magazine]
• British denim brand Lee Copper celebrated its centennial with various one-off collabs: "From the gothic-inspired denim dress complete with Swarovski crucifix designed by Giles, to the vintage denim jacket emblazoned with signature gold lips by Jade Jagger, each and every piece is set to shoot straight to the top of every fashion fan's wishlist." Well, let's not get carried away, here. [ElleUK]

The only losers this year were teen titles, which almost universally lost ad revenue. The number of pages in Cosmogirl declined by 6.8%, while an Alpha Kitty-less Seventeen lost over 4%. Teen Vogue barely gained, posting a 0.9% increase from last year. Come on, Lauren and Heidi of The Hills, one of you clearly needs to get a D.U.I to give Teen Vogue a boost. Take one for the team!

Bigger And Bigger [WWD, sub. required]

• Poor Valentino! After watching various private equity firms duke it out for control of the fashion house he founded; telling the media over and over again that he is totally 100% absolutely not retiring; announcing his retirement; and then naming his successor, the guy finally manages to score the lifetime achievement award at the Fashion Rocks event in London last week... only to lose the statuette. (And then find it!) [I wonder if he prayed to St. Anthony, the patron saint of ignoring me. -Moe] [NY Post]
  
• LOLNaomi! Mlle. Campbell is to lecture to students at the Trinity College Philosophical Society in Dublin. Perhaps she will explain the finer points of resorting to physical violence to the world's oldest debate society? [Sassybella]
  
• Requisite retarded Karl Lagerfeld design du jour: a Chanel bicycle, complete with Chanel's signature quilting. [Vogue UK]

• Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell on designer Elie Tahari: "I have recently been exposed to Elie Tahari. His stuff is really classic, but at the same time he has gotten hipper." Spoken like a fashion critic! [WWD, 1st item]
• Model Watch update! Jessica Stam, Coco Rochas, and Kasia Struss will co-star in the Dior spring 2008 campaign together, combining the power of their incredibly well-remunerated faces to try and justify the cost of even more expensive shit. [WWD, 1st item]
• We are sorry to inform you that Dallas Fashion Week has been canceled. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Shoe designer Christian Louboutin, who would actually know what he's talking about, on Mary Kate & Ashley's new clothing line: "When I started my line, I did it little by little. But [Elizabeth and James is] very, very well-managed. More than anything else, it's very good." Go figure. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Kate Bosworth is the new face of Coach in China. [Fashion Week Daily]

[London, England; October 18. All images via Getty.]

• For its 140th anniversary issue, Harper's Bazaar styles little kids to look like mini-versions of our favorite (and not) fashion designers. And oh my god, is it awesome. (Please note mini-Olivier Theyskens, at left.) This is 10 times better than that Simpsons fashion spread, which was itself pretty freaking inspired, and may force us to reevaluate our position on the whole magazine, which is a lot to handle right now. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Last night's "Fashion Rocks" event in London featured: Uma Thurman screaming at Johnny Borrell for smoking during Razorlight's set for Burberry, The Gossip's Beth Ditto throwing her shoes into the audience, Lily Allen being introduced as model Lily Cole, Stella McCartney's models playing musical chairs, and Iggy Pop. Pictures later! [Vogue UK]
  
• Karl Lagerfeld has created a limited edition carrying case for Dom Perignon. It holds 6 bottles. At $140,000 it is the most expensive item in the Harrods Christmas catalog. And to all of this we say: Of course he did; of course it does. [Vogue UK]

• Pervert and D-list designer Anand Jon has been slapped with another lawsuit, by one of the 19 women named in the indictment against him for charges of rape, battery, and committing lewd sexual acts on a child. Natalie Pack says she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her rape by Jon. We hope he is once again found guilty. [Yahoo]
• Moe's complaints have been heard! The second go-round of Simply Vera Vera Wang for Kohl's clothes will be offered in smaller sizes than the premiere collection. It seems during the debut retailing they expected, er, bigger girls to be buying the Wang garb. Turns out the skinnies like the cheap shit too. [WWD, final item]
• Um, how did we never know before that Nestle (as in makers of the deliciously-heinous chocolate beverage) owns close to 30% of L'Oreal? Yeah, but they're thinking of selling their shares. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Okay, WWD, good move. The headline on their story about Stella McCartney launching an exclusive "green" collection at everyone's favorite Simon Doonan creative-directed department store: "Stella McCartney Comes To Barneys, Naturally." [WWD, sub req'd]
• Rock & Republic CEO Michael Ball is being sued for libel by fashion photographer Markus Klinko. Ugh. [TMZ]
• Check out Hollywould for Target here. [Coutorture]
• i-D magazine has seen a 56% increase in newsstand sales with its November. Why, you might ask? Because it has Kate Moss on its cover with her new bangs. No, seriously. [Sassybella]

We sat in Row ZZ, which is the front section of the orchestra, like 15 rows from the stage. Anna Wintour was the first person we saw walking up the aisle. She sat in one of the first few rows. She was in a bright colored patterned dress, with an exposed back. Anna must have been cold cause she was clutching herself shivering. The show was hosted by the Jeremy "The Pivert" Piven and was kicked off by Aerosmith. Then Anna walked off just as they sang "Dude Looks Like A Lady." So awesome! Then Fergie came out with "Glamorous." Really good performance.

After that Avril came on. She sang it with very little enthusiasm. Nobody even cared when she left, but she could have at least taken a bow. Tyra Banks looked like shit in some ill-fitting back dress and those elf shoes that everyone was wearing at one point. She also had this awful piece of hair sticking out from behind her updo! I couldn't stop staring at it She presented with LL Cool J. I think she introduced Usher who performed with Mary J. Blige. He came down one set of stairs singing that song "This is a mans world!..." and then she came out after. It was a really good performance.

Adam Levine walked by our seats. He was taken away by some handler to get ready to perform. He looked HOT, some sleeveless shirt and vest that showed his hot cutup arms and tats. Yum. He did two songs on stage. His new single and then some doowop song from the sixties and with that song they changed the stage completely to look all retro with the soda shop feel and they did a small runway show with a bunch of different fashion designers. I think Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Max Azria etc... Was cute.

Also saw hottie Michelle Trachtenberg she was walking up with an entourage of little girls then she stopped to talk to this two muscle gays (I assume of course) but while she was talking to them I was staring at her. Very striking, pale as a ghost with one of those pompadour hair styles. Oversized sparkly white shirt/dress, 60s inspired. We made eye contact! I think she liked me. She looked at me twice.

I got locked out when J. Lo came on to perform. I went to the bathroom and they wouldn't let us back to the seats until she was done, so we watched from the sidelines. She sang something from the new album. Then she did "Waiting For Tonight." It ended with her getting sucked up this giant green tube. She looked good but it didn't sound like she was really singing with all the dancing she was doing.

Then we saw Nicole Richie walking up the aisle. She looked AMAZING in this white and black little dress that complemented her growing bump! We had to pick up our jaws when we saw her leaving. She was with some dude that looked like a bodyguard/handler. No Joel in sight. The best part of the whole night was Alicia Keys. She sang solo, with piano. Then she closed the night with Santana which was just insane. Ashlee Simpson introduced someone with Max Azaria.

Overall, it was really good — the only thing lacking was the fashion. Jennifer Hudson did some old classic song (she screamed most of it which wasn't so good, she has this short hair do now. Not very flattering and they have begun sucking the fat out of her... I was shocked how skinny she is now.) Okay, that's all I think.