• Helena Christensen is one of the many hailing British Vogue's Alexandra Shulman. "Obviously I am of the same belief," said the supermodel photographer. "Aren't we in a business that is supposed to explore all kinds of shapes and silhouettes?" [WWD]

• H&M is famous for its sought-after designer collaborations. Matthew Williamson's of this summer being just the latest in a long, mostly successful, line. But the Swedish fast-fashion giant has never brought a high-profile shoe maker on board — until now. Behold: Jimmy Choo for H&M. Jimmy Choo accessories collections for women and men will be in 200 stores November 14. [Reuters]
• Designer Malcolm Harris, of the label Mal Sirrah, hung up on Angelina Jolie when she rang to inquire about one of his dresses. Twice. Harris thought it was a prank; Jolie still bought three of them for $225 apiece. [P6]
• So how did designer Zac Posen get ready for the CFDAs? "I was on Perez Hilton all day." [The Cut]
• Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy are getting hitched, and, no surprises here, Danes is choosing her favorite designer (and CFDA date) Narciso Rodriguez to make her wedding dress. The actress says the process is "intimate" and often makes her "weepy." [People]
• Rodriguez even whipped out a needle and thread to repair the train of Danes' dress at the CFDAs after a fellow guest stepped on it and it ripped. [NYDN]
• Kanye West went on a $5,000 spending spree at a Chicago store called Deliciously Vintage. With no lady in sight while he shopped, speculation is rife as to who'll get the haul. Amber Rose? Kanye himself in the privacy of his own multi-million dollar home? Rife, we say. [TMZ]
• Vera Wang was unwilling to confirm that she would be on the next season of Dancing With The Stars at the CFDAs. "They approach a lot of people, not just me," said the designer. As for going on the show, "We haven't decided. They haven't and I haven't." [The Cut]
• Esteban Cortazar, the young Colombian designer who has helmed the troubled house of Ungaro since 2007, says he is still at the company. Despite rumors of an acrimonious split, and a lawsuit on the part of Cortazar, at the CFDAs he told journalists "I am still there," but admitted, "We are trying to work things out. We have had some differences but hopefully things will work out for the best, whether I am there or not." [WWD]
• Agyness Deyn, says an anonymous friend, is considering quitting modelling and moving back to London to pursue roles in British indie films. [Mirror]
• Karl Lagerfeld made his transition into film — assuming we're not counting the excellent doc Lagerfeld Confidential — by providing the voice for an animated kid's movie villain. The designer apparently worked hard through take and re-take, bringing his famous perfectionism to bear on the character of a bitter ex-model who kidnaps people in order to "fabulous" them, or turn them into his own image. "He was very serious about it and very open to criticism," said his spokesperson. [WWD]
• Super-stylist Nicola Formichetti: "I hate the whole idea of celebrity in America. It's so boring — all fake smiles and big business. It seems like you can sell crap if you put a famous name on it. America's crazy, you know?" [The Cut]
• Eddie Van Halen's held a copyright on the famous red, black and white striped pattern of his Frankenstein guitar since 2001. So how did it end up adorning the soles of a bunch of Nikes? The rocker's lawyers sure wanna find out. [WWD]
• Sales are so bad at the Gap that the company might use a different advertising agency for its holiday campaign, after a seven-year unbroken streak with the same house. [AdAge]
• Also agency shopping: Zappos. [BrandWeek]
• Check out the new Isabel Toledo exhibit at the Museum at FIT on video. Ms. Toledo and her husband are on hand to talk about their history in fashion, and that dress that Michelle Obama wore that one time on the Mall. [The Cut]
• Aeropostale, one of the mall chains whose business isn't hanging by a thread during the recession, plans to launch P.S., a new line for 7-12-year-olds. [WWD]
• MTV VJ Alexa Chung once said of her retirement, "Modelling gave me a distorted body image. As soon as I stopped, I realised how ridiculous it all was. I went on about it because I was really fed up with modelling –- it's like I was saying negative things to reinforce in my mind that I had to get out. I never say or think those things now. I've used up all that neurosis –- there's none left. It's just really boring. I'd rather have a bigger brain than smaller bones." Apparently, Chung still models — when the project suits her. She's turned up in the look book for quirky L.A. label Wren. [Fashionista]
• A worker at London's Oxford St. Topshop flagship has a confirmed case of the H1N1 swine flu virus. The store reportedly sees over 200,000 visitors a week. Topshop has no plans to close it. [Racked]
• Giorgio Armani is set to unveil his latest scent, Idole d'Armani, next month. Polish actress Kasia Smutniak will be the face of the brand. [Reuters]
• Calvin Klein designers Italo Zucchelli and Francisco Costa defend their racy billboard against the pearl-clutchers of SoHo. (Or something.) Said Costa, "There was no intention of making that controversial. Just make beautiful ads. And they're beautiful ads. And I think, you know, we're such a forward society, but we tend to be a little prudish sometimes. It's New York City! It's the 21st century! Honey, we have to move on!" Zucchelli called the ad "In the best tradition of Calvin Klein," and said, "It's my favorite campaign ever! ...Everyone needs to be scandalized and screaming. That is what we want." [The Cut]
• The economy goes one way, shoplifting statistics go another. [WWD]
• Sophia Kokosalaki is moving to helm Diesel's Black Gold line. [WWD]
• After the hash-up of a bankruptcy auction, eventual owners of the Filene's Basement chain, Syms and Vornado Realty, say they want to proceed with their purchase as quickly as possible. [WWD]

The images, shot by Brett Lloyd and styled by Nicola Formichetti, feature only underwear by one particular clothing brand, which apparently led Blackbook to refer to the shots as an "ad campaign." (It's not clear what involvement with or oversight of the pictures that the brand had. PonyStep is run by Richard Mortimer, a British hairdresser-turned-party promoter and club owner.)

Whether editorial, campaign or something in between, what is clear is that this is some hardcore imagery. Called "CK Teen Screengrabs," viewing Lloyd and Formichetti's shoot gives the impression of looking over the photographer's shoulder as he edits his day's take. Only this photographer has titled his JPGs things like "XXXWHEN_DO_I_GET_PAIDXXX" and "XXXTOO_HOTXXX" and "CKS_GOING_DOWN."

The models, Luke Stevens, Josh Blount, James Cooper, Pete Bolton, and Michael Walsh, are all over 18. (Though Blount is only barely so.) Still, seeing men who look to be barely more than boys in subjugated, vulnerable poses, with titles that comment on their sexual availability, is a little disturbing.

Homoeroticism in fashion photography is nothing new. And nor is sexist imagery. It's impossible to look at a shoot like this without wondering if the intent is to prompt the viewer into reconsidering sex stereotypes, or to parody the shock-and-titillate M.O. of so many brands, or to bring the homoeroticism that simmers behind iconic pictures of men into sharper relief.

But I have to wonder, if a woman were shown in her underwear, huddled in a corner with her arms behind her back, her crotch thrust towards the camera lens, and the words "Fuck Me" written on her thighs, would there not be something of an outcry, at least from certain observers? (I don't think many people would call it "fun.") How do we feel about it when it's a young man?

I wonder what went on at this shoot. The credited makeup artist is a woman, so she probably wrote the various phrases (and the occasional phone number) on these guys' bodies. One of Formichetti's two assistants was also a woman; everyone else on set was male. I'm hesitant to speculate as to these models' sexual orientations, or the work atmosphere on the set — sometimes the filthiest, most charged imagery can arise from totally antiseptic professional situations. And there is room for ambiguity in these images. But I've known male models who've complained about stylists who wouldn't give me a second look finding excuses to perv at them while they change, or touchy-feely makeup artists; the fact that male models are, at every level of the industry, less well-paid and more exchangeably anonymous than their female counterparts, mustn't leave one feeling empowered to speak up about any sexual harassment one might encounter.

I'm reminded of a scene in a 1980 Frederick Wiseman documentary about the industry, called Model, where a gay photographer interacts with a male model. You can't quite tell if the photographer is actually hitting on the model, or just being friendly, and you also can't tell if the model's slightly cagey responses are the result of the fact that he's working, and therefore can't converse freely even as the photographer peppers him with banter, or whether it's because he's straight and trying to avoid being seen as somehow leading the photographer on. Nobody's rude, exactly, but the gender politics of it all is very complex in ways that make you occasionally suck in your breath — the photographer leans in at one point to push the model's hair out of his face, and the model stiffens at this near-caress — and it's suffused with this incredible discomfort.

And regardless of the power dynamics on the set, which are only speculation, anyway, the power dynamics as they are shown in the pictures are troubling. What does it mean to be objectified, anyway? Is this equality? Is this sexy? Tongue-in-cheek? Offensive? All I know is the whole thing makes me very uncomfortable. But then, I do believe fashion photography can be an art form, and I would never argue that the purpose of art is to make anyone comfortable.

Related: CK TEEN SCREENGRABS [PonyStep]
Sex Continues To Sell At CK Teen [Blackbook]