• Heidi Klum is not Superwoman, okay? She's not walking in the Victoria's Secret runway show a mere month after giving birth to her fourth child. She's just going to host it. Sheesh. Some people have such unrealistic expectations. [E!]

• Meanwhile, this year's angels have been named: Candice Swanepoel, Chanel Iman, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Emanuela de Paula, and Lindsay Ellingson have all been welcomed into the fold. [SB]
• In other important lingerie news, some people who sell bras in London say that 1950s-style pointy bras are gaining popularity. However, none of the equipment pictured looks that pointy. [Daily Mail]
• Tom Ford says he struggled with depression after leaving Gucci, in 2004. "I started to sink emotionally, spiritually. I became a little bit lost. Leaving Gucci, it intensified because I had been able to cling to my job and to my work and to my identity as a successful fashion designer, and all of a sudden that was gone. It forced me to really think, Well, what am I, who am I, what am I about? It took me a bit of time to figure that out. I think this happens to most people in their life if they're insightful enough to indulge it and to get through to the other side." [W]
• This week's episode of Project Runway was shot partly at the Getty Center, and the challenge for the contestants is to create outfits that somehow reflect the museum and its architecture. There's a free screening at 7 tonight at the museum. [LATimes]
• Lady Gaga is now backtracking from her earlier claims, to Flare magazine, in which she said she would do a clothing line "at some point." The singer told the Accessories Council awards gala that she and her styling team aren't into that: "We will never do a line; we are not an economy." Then Toms founder Blake Mycoskie reminded the audience, gathered to celebrate, in Diane Von Furstenberg's words "friends you can carry with you and they make you feel better," that "Shoes, for 40 percent of the world, are not an accessory. They're a necessity." [Style.com]
• 50 Cent's torso appears in all its smoothly airbrushed glory for his new fragrance campaign, which he revealed to People. [People]
• Stephanie Winston-Wolkoff, who, until this July, worked at Vogue and essentially ran the annual Met Costume Institute Gala, has just been confirmed as the new director of fashion week at Lincoln Center. [FWD]
• There's news about Isaac Mizrahi's QVC collection, which goes on sale December 4, but we know what we all really are curious about is the cheesecake that will be sold. It's made by Junior's, the top looks to be printed with tartan in edible inks, and the crust is chocolate-flavored cookies. It'll be $40. Also for sale will be an Isaac Mizrahi banana nut loaf and chocolate-chip cookies. Yum. [WWD]
• Sociology major and current Prada face Kendra Spears, on embarrassing moments: "Well, during a hurried interview backstage an investigatory journalist asked me what I liked to do when I was at home and I said, 'nothing too commotious.' Afterwards, I realized commotious isn't even a word." And on jobs she held, pre-modeling: "I worked part time as an assistant to the owner of a company called LiftPort which was (and may still be) in the forefront of technologies, mostly carbon nanotubes, to build an elevator into space." [W]
• Because of the weak economy, more parents are trying to get agency representation for modeling and talent work for their children. Also because of the weak economy, there are fewer jobs to go around, and those jobs are still offered are less well-paying. [WSJ]
• Rumor has it that John Galliano is designing and decorating this year's Christmas tree for London's Claridge's hotel. [Style.com]
• Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders of Absolutely Fabulous are in the Marks & Spencer holiday ads. [Mirror]
• Designer Adam Lippes, who staffs his office with around 20 interns at any one time, says of them: "[I]t's rare to find an intern — especially one from a fashion school — that has good style. Because they try sooo hard, and it never works! You know?" Having been once dressed by an Adam Lippes intern who was wearing a kind of 1980s Medusa costume, with a corset, we are tempted to agree, but for chrissakes, Lippes, they work for you for free. (Also: look who's talking.) [The Cut]
• Photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino is against France's proposed retouching laws, which would require digitally altered images to bear labels stating that they have been, well, digitally altered. He tells Libération Next, "The photos of old Hollywood? Retouched! The iconic image of Che Guevara? Retouched! All the photos taken by Richard Avedon of Marilyn Monroe? Retouched! And all of this before today's software existed, of course. Legs were lengthened using a wide angle; skins were smoothed through overexposure." Because using a wide-angle lens is exactly the same as scissoring one head onto another body and placing the Frankenstein creation into a separately shot background and then liquifying the nose a little and changing the light source and strength and whittling down the waist. [WWD]
• Christian Siriano's holiday collection for Payless has turned up online. Are these even supposed to bear any resemblance to what he shows with his runway collection anymore? [Payless]
• Jodi Arnold, starting with her resort collection, is changing the name of her line from MINT Jodi Arnold, to Jodi Arnold NYC. The designer, who has a new job working on a collaboration with The Limited, also just opened her first store, a pop-up in Greenwich village. [WWD]
• The son of the founder of Escada is one of the bidders — in a consortium with the former head of Gucci and the department store owners Borletti Group — for the bankrupt German house. They are offering $118.2 million. [Reuters]
• Steve Madden is not only not bankrupt, it's feeling pretty acquisitory. C.E.O. Edward Rosenfeld says the company is on the lookout for brands worth $30-$40 million, but could splurge on something worth up to $100 million. [TS]
• Valentino head Stefano Sassi, says everything at the house is just great!!! Nothing to see here!!! Doth the C.E.O. protest too much? [Reuters]
• Liz Claiborne's third quarter losses were even bigger than expected. This is the company's eighth consecutive quarter of losing money. [WSJ]

1. Karen Elson closing the show at Zac Posen, Fall/Winter '08/'09

The culprits in this case were British supe Karen Elson's insane heels. Hers is practically the platonic form of a runway fall — she sinks to the ground inside her giant pouf of crinoline with all the tragic drama of Holly Hunter in that scene in The Piano. Bonus points to Caroline Trentini, who helps her up, and to front row guest P. Diddy, who breaks rank to offer a hand. Elson's smile shows she handled the fall with charm.


2. Jessica Stam at Chloé, Spring/Sumer '06

Canadian Jessica Stam took a tumble at Chloé in her chunky-heeled platforms. Her palms-down faceplant looks super painful, but she gets up, shrugs, and shakes her head a little, smiling ear to ear. Which is about the classiest thing one could do.


3. Everyone at Prada, Spring/Summer '09

This show deserves a special mention for the sheer number of runway pileups it caused. Prada's shoes for the season included little black knitted sockettes that were attached inside the shoe — but as any woman who's ever tried to wear heels with socks or tights before knows, if the sock starts sliding around on the slick leather of the shoe's interior, you're as good as sunk. (One tip for increased traction: gel insoles seem to grip the bottoms of socks better than most.) The models in this show proceeded under the conditions with all the elegance of puppies walking on marbles; some fell more than once.


4. Kamila W. at Vivienne Spring/Summer '07 and 5. Naomi Campbell at Vivienne Westwood Spring/Summer '94

Vivienne Westwood, who wastes no opportunity to style her show looks with 9" bondage fetish platform heels, has caused a few pros to fall over the seasons — most theatrically, Naomi Campbell and poor Kamila W. The British supermodel discusses her 1994 fall in an interview with David Letterman the following year; Dave is righteously indignant that nobody from the front row stopped to help her up, even though she was obviously in pain. I'm amazed she wasn't more badly hurt, and say what you will of Campbell, her professionalism in standing right back up and smiling is impressive.

These guys, on the other hand, from the NBC local affiliate? They can eat shit and die. Kamila was trying her best to negotiate fashion's highest heels — and a watering can filled with water (you can see it sloshing out onto the runway as she trips). Go to hell, snickering anchormen.


6. Milana Bogolepova at Dior Cruise '07

No list of runway misadventures could be complete without including my own icon, Milana Bogolepova! This gorgeous Russian's unfortunate stumble atop teetering heels at Dior Cruise has adorned my posts ever since Moe chose it out of some Google ImageSearch for "model slip" a year ago now. People say she had been drinking backstage. My kind of girl.


7. Tiiu Kuik at Oscar de la Renta Fall/Winter '04/'05

Tiiu goes too wide on the turn, and nicks the inside of her pants leg with her opposite foot as she overcorrects. Cue trip. It's just like that time you caught your shoe inside your super wide-legged pants and skinned both your palms outside the lunchroom in high school (or maybe that was just me?)


8. Monika Jagaciak at Hervé Leger Fall/Winter '09/'10

In case you missed it yesterday: this 15-year-old Pole has already mastered the runway fall. Righting herself with a smile — and protecting her dignity with a strategically crossed knee — is the essence of charming cool.


9. Iekeliene Stange opening at Marc Jacobs, Spring/Summer '07

Why, don't models ever think to remove their troublesome and dignity-endangering footwear onstage, you ask? When they have the presence of mind of Dutch supe Ikeliene Stange, they do indeed. Walking Marc Jacob's long, shiny-painted, downward-tilting, snaking Manhattan-shaped runway, Stange found the unworn soles of her flat sandals slipping on the paint and twisting off her feet. She tries first to right the shoes, then shrugs as if to say, Not my fault, Marc, and kicks them off as though there were nothing to it.


10. Abbey Lee's fall and Karlie Kloss's train at Rodarte, Fall/Winter '08/'09

Last September, before there was Prada, it looked like Rodarte had had the worst imaginable season for model mishaps in New York. Australian model Abbey Lee teetered a little in her shoes as she came down the runway, and as she was exiting, she fell flat on her face. Then, in the show's finale, Jourdan Dunn, Karlie Kloss, and Kasia Struss were all supposed to pose in their long chiffon gowns through a series of lighting changes, before the rest of the models would walk in a line through them to parade the show's looks again. Kloss hits her mark and stops, not realizing her train is trailing right across the runway where the other girls are going to have to walk. Struss just sort of stares at her, while Dunn, posed behind Kloss, inches closer across the runway, trying at first furtively, and then with real urgency, to kick the offending train out of the way. Finally, Sasha Pivovarova leads the line of other models out from the wings, and when she hits Karlie's dress she leans down, picks it up, and tosses it quickly out of the way. Problem solved.

Earlier: Fashion Week: Living The Nightmare In 6-Inch Platform Heels

• Literary sensations Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen premiere their first book, Influence. '"Ashley and Mary-Kate take readers on a journey through their celebrated young lives, pausing to reflect on what has helped shape them into who they are today," the book's publisher said in a statement. "They interviewed 20 people and wrote brief essays about each other." Those interviewed include fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenburg, John Galliano and Christian Louboutin. "We interviewed the people who have inspired us, with the hope that they will inspire and teach others," Mary-Kate said. "We want to explain culturally how ideas evolve."' [People]
• The first "Cavalli Club" will open in Dubai this Fall. Says Roberto, '“living against monotony, with the enjoyment of music, of good food, of pleasant company” is the club’s philosophy. In his goal to offer “multiple culinary and sensorial experiences,” Cavalli plans an Italian restaurant flanked by a sushi bar and a wine bar on the top floor.' We can only assume this will be convenient to Lagerfeld's "Fashion Island." [WWD]
• A new investor allows Sadie Frost's company to live another day. Said a rep of the Jude Law ex and her design partner Jemima French, "Sadie and Jemima relish the opportunity to be fully hands-on again and being able to return to the creative and business helm of a fashion label. Both designers are currently working on their next collection" [Independent]

• The new Calvin Klein "Secret Obsession" campaign, starring Eva Mendes, was deemed too provocative for U.S. air waves - so it's to preview on the 'net. "TV networks will simply not allow Steven Meisel's commercial to be aired - it's too raunchy and risque, featuring Eva enjoying a private, intimate moment, set to a seductive sound track, wearing very little." [ElleUK]
• Lipstick Queen Poppy King should stick to cosmetics: "To be in fashion right now means to understand the difference between feminine and female and to get the balance right: too feminine and we are back in the submission of the '50s, too confrontational and it becomes '80s power woman. But in between these two is that wonderful space that it just 100 percent female—neither overly hostile nor apologetic. Perhaps if Hillary Clinton had got this sense of female right it may have turned out differently for her." [JC Report]
• Ashton Kutcher to return as face of Pepe Jeans London. [VogueUK]
• Cartier apparently thinks it's 2005, teams up with MySpace. [Guardian]
• Denim line Rock & Republic launches makeup line for unclear reasons. [Cosmetics News]
• Hockey player and novelty Vogue intern Sean Avery now dating Calvin Klein's ex-wife, Kelly. Well, they said Wintour was crushing on him, too...[Page Six]
• Modeling agency sues other modeling agency for model poaching. [UPI]
• Jewelry designers haggle over intellectual property. [Fashionista]
• Good old J. Crew weathers economic storm through "honesty and communication." [AdAge]
• Vidal Sassoon on his "rags to riches" story of hairstyling to the stars. [KQED]
• LVMH, Sony settle over musicians playing fast and loose with their trademarks. Kanye West, "Louis Vuitton Don," we're looking at you. [WWD]
• "Supergirl" line a fashion dream team: "Warner Bros. is moving full-steam ahead with a long-term, global Supergirl branded contemporary sportswear line, ready for resort selling. The line is designed by the trio of Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Alice Roi and Laura Poretzky." [WWD]
• Weak global economy means less direct sourcing from India. [Business Week]
• Despite Blane's desperate attempts to force a catch-phrase, "boring contestants" and an earlier time slot have Project Runway off to a slow start, ratings-wise. [Portfolio]
• Canadian con man convicted of selling fake Gucci stock options. [WWD]

Apparently Ciara and Ashlee's sis were both in attendance at this show; as was Ashlee, but we spent our time stalking Katja, a kindergarten student and Jersey City resident who was one of Fashion Week's few attendees electing to partake in the free Krispy Kreme donuts — and wait a minute, did Krispy Kreme rise out of liquidation or whatever just to taunt the ketosis fanatics? — until she allowed us to ask her, "What dress was prettiest?"There was some deliberation. Then Katja, the daughter of a stylist, said:

I liked the blonde ones the best

[Photos by Briana E. Heard]