• Designer Sophie Théallet has won the $200,000 Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund Award. "Thank you for making my American dreams come true," said she. [Style.com]
• Skating at an outdoor rink in London, Lily Cole knocked over a small child. [Daily Mail]

• Adriana Lima and Marko Jaric have announced the birth of their baby daughter, Valentina. With Heidi Klum's and Karolina Kurkova's babies, that makes three Victoria's Secret newborns, so far. (Gisele Bundchen is due in December — like Jourdan Dunn, who isn't a Victoria's Secret girl but is a damn awesome model.) So, in about 15 years, maybe we should expect an invasion of new models with perfect pedigrees. [People]
• Here are the first pictures of Comme des Garçons' Beatles collaboration line. We are still not sure why this exists. [Racked]
• Says Rihanna: "In the past few months I've done a lot of research in the fashion world because I wanted to work with a bunch of designers that are kinda underground, people who aren't the obvious...My style is very edgy, very daring. I like to take risks — I hate to do the obvious." [Grazia]
• Pascal Mouawad, who yesterday Lindsay Lohan claimed to be working with on a jewelry line, is today unequivocal: "This is not happening." Sorry, LiLo. [WWD]
• Kate Moss's fourth fragrance, Vintage, is not, we repeat not, coming to the United States. [People]
• Chanel Iman says her one-day "internship" at Teen Vogue "wasn't really planned. I was going in for my fitting for the Teen Vogue cover. I just started helping around the office, organizing the closet. It led from one hour to the next, then it was my fitting and that stopped and I started interning again. I'm a girl that loves to keep busy no matter what it is, being paid or not." Real interns tend to do more than just fill the downtime between fittings — and they also tend to prefer getting paid to not. [NYDN]
• Gemma Ward, in an e-mail to an Australian newspaper, clarified that she has not quit modeling, and that she expects to return to modeling and acting next year. Her mother, meanwhile, says the Aussie supermodel is considering studying drama at Yale. [SB]
• Marc Jacobs, on the differences between Paris and New York: "I'm most at home in New York. I have so many friends and such a large creative community that I feel I'm a part of here. So my work in New York is very influenced by my personal relationships and what I'm doing, and what the people on my team are doing, while Paris is a bit of a bubble, a fantasy. It's almost like I'm pretending to be a designer in Paris. I just think, ‘What would a French designer do?'" [WWD]
• Vivienne Westwood held her spring Anglomania show in a carpark outside a Selfridges in London. [Telegraph]
• Didn't spikes and studs on footwear reach saturation point sometime last winter? Our tolerance is certainly pricked. [The Cut]
• Adidas has announced that in conjunction with Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, it will manufacture shoes for the developing world in Bangladesh. The target price for the final product, which Adidas is making without profit? €1, or about $1.50 at current exchange rates. [Telegraph]
• In our mixed-up, topsy-turvy modern world, why not buy spring clothes in November? Phoebe Philo's debut collection for Céline is already on sale, in a customized space at Dover Street Market. [Independent]
• Donna Karan would not approve. She thinks shopping for clothes during the season they are intended to be worn makes a certain kind of sense, because otherwise those clothes go on sale during the season they are intended to be worn, which from her perspective is much worse. "We're not talking to the consumer, we're talking to ourselves," says the designer. "When it's cold out, let's warm the customer. When it's hot out, let's be able to the cool the customer. This isn't nuclear science. Don't deliver fall clothes until back-to-school — do you remember that old logo, back-to-school? — [in] September, when the leaves start to change. Now the leaves are changing, but our seasons are changing because we're already shipping resort." [WWD]
• Prada's book party was probably the most fashionable book party, ever. [People]
• Miuccia Prada: "When people think of fashion, they prefer to see the crazy side, the clichéd side, and actually I think that is wrong. Fashion is an important part of a woman's life. It's a question of aesthetics and that is in no way stupid or superficial." Also: those black nylon bags Prada became famous for in the 90s cost more than comparable leather ones because it took her three years to "learn how to work with" nylon, OK? [Independent]
• Stella McCartney says she has felt uncomfortable with the notion of working in fashion, too. "I was a bit embarrassed by the word ‘fashion,'" she said at a summit on luxury hosted by Women's Wear Daily; McCartney calls herself "an infiltrator" of the industry. Working without animal products has caused its own set of problems: when Tom Ford, then at Gucci, initially approached McCartney about her becoming part of the company, he said her working without fur would be no problem, but when she replied that she also works without leather, "his face just went white and his jaw dropped to the ground." And then there's the expense: "t costs us up to 70 percent more to make a pair of shoes than any other brand - we take that on the chin; we don't mark it up for the customer. Coming into the States, we have nearly a 30 percent import duty for nonleather goods, which I think of as kind of medieval." Fifty million animals are killed for leather production every year. [WWD]
• Nintendo DS has a game called Style Savvy, in which you play a store manager helping customers find outfits that suit their style and their budgets. (Nintendo: now preparing children for retail drudgery!) Charlotte Ronson's fall 2009 collection is included as an optional download. [SB]
• Renaud Dutreil, the chairman of LVMH's U.S. arm, bicycles to work every day. [WWD]
• The Gap has come under fire from a Christian group that accuses it of failing to use the word "Christmas" in its holiday advertising and mailings. The Los Angeles Times points out the many layers of hypocrisy present in this argument — and the fact that the Gap, in addition to selling Christmas-themed merchandise, does mention Christmas in its holiday TV spot. [LATimes]
• So Oakley has some top-secret cadre of sunglass engineers who are encouraged to come up with the most technologically advanced sunglasses you have never imagined, with cost no object. This is why $4,000 carbon-fiber sunglasses exist. (Unfortunately, they are still ugly.) [BW]
• Evidently Vanity Fair needs some pageviews. So they went to the drawing board and came back with...sexy pictures of supermodels. That'll work. [VF]
• Burberry reported a 24% decline in its profits for the six months to September 30, compared with the same period last year. This was better than expected. [WSJ]
• Meanwhile, Saks enjoyed a profit during the third quarter. Surprise profits must be the best kind of profits. [TS]
• The "Kardashian KCollection," which the sisters K put together for Virgins, Saints and Angels, is reportedly "inspired by their Armenian heritage." Their forebears seem to have liked spikes. A lot. [Racked]

Sure, she's playing a vampire in New Moon, but just like any other 15-year-old, she says:

"I read all four Twilight books in one week. It's such a phenomenon, and I wanted to be able to say that I was a part of it."

Unlike some other Hollywood kids, Dakota isn't home schooled or tutored. She goes to high school, where she's a varsity cheerleader:

"I started there in the ninth grade, and they were pretty receptive to me right away. I really wanted a home base, because I feel like no matter how old people are, they remember homecoming. They remember their senior prom. And I really wanted that."

Plus, even though she plays wild child Cherie Currie in The Runaways — and sings a few tracks — she doesn't feel the need to act out:

"I get my rebellion out through my movies. I'm boring in that way. I enjoy having a normal life."

Sure, the onetime Marc Jacobs model first posed for Teen Vogue when she was 12. And after the photo shoot, she took a pair of custom-made kid-size Marc Jacobs combat boots:

"I still have them! I've had to have them stretched, but I will do anything it takes to squeeze into those shoes."

But even that is totally normal (boring!) teenage behavior.

Dakota Fanning: New Moon's New Vamp, Dakota Fanning Teen Vogue Cover Shoot Photos, Dakota Fanning's Fashion Timeline [Teen Vogue]

A tipster with an enviable magazine collection pointed us to this spread, which is still viewable on the American photographer's website. (It's collected with his 2005 editorial work for the magazine.)

In addition to often exploring themes of sexual violence and power in his work, Klein has a certain habit of changing models' skin tones with makeup. In September, 2008, American Vogue printed an editorial that featured the white Brazilian model Caroline Trentini painted the color of burnt Cheetos; earlier this year, in some work for Vogue Paris, Klein had Dutch model Lara Stone posed with male models who were made up alternately in a deep tan, presumably to contrast with her very fair skin, or in matte yellow and red. This month, of course, it is Stone whom Klein photographed in blackface.

Racialicious ran a persuasive post earlier this week that argued that these kinds of images, where white women are made to appear black, actually further white privilege:

"[W]hat is on display in French Vogue...is not beautiful black bodies, but what Nirmal Puwar describes as 'the universal empty point' that white female bodies are able to occupy precisely because their bodies are racially unmarked."

Because as long as white remains the "default" race — the ethnicity that isn't — temporarily portraying them as black doesn't prove we live in a post-racial society: it just demonstrates that white people are permitted to play with racial categories in ways that people of color are generally not.

Also, there remains the issue of real black models, and the continued discrimination they face. Jourdan Dunn recently told Teen Vogue about being turned away from a casting at the last minute because the client had simply opted not to use any black models that season; although since we started counting models of color at New York Fashion Week, the level of overall diversity has improved, it is still very much a concern. The issue of Vogue Paris that featured Klein's blackface editorial with Stone, the so-called "Supermodels" issue, had no models of color.

This issue of Italian Vogue also had zero models of color in its editorial pages. None.

The fashion world's myopia when it comes to diversity — which is the underlying problem here — is also clouding some people's reactions to the Vogue Paris spread.

"I have a hard time reading 'race' into this," says a puzzled Teri Agins, the Wall Street Journal's veteran fashion reporter.

Elizabeth Gates, in an insightful essay, compares the Paris Vogue spread to "a modern minstrel show," but says, as a black woman working in fashion, she is utterly unsurprised by Steven Klein's photography and Carine Roitfeld's editorial choices: "I would be fooling myself if I thought the draftsmen behind fashion's most beautiful things were ever going to be sensitive to race, black women, or how they represent our cultural history. In fact, I'm not exactly sure why this was a shock to anyone." Elle's Anne Slowey admits, "It's an industry filled with people who have no idea about history and politics."

Maybe it's time to start learning.

Steven Klein [Official Website]
Blackface And The Violence Of Revulsion [Racialicious]
Back To Blackface [Daily Beast]
Duh! Of Course Fashion's Racist [Daily Beast]

Earlier: Oh No They Didn't: French Vogue Does Blackface
Self-Reflection: A Bizarre, Macabre Short Story Brought to You By Vogue
February French Vogue: Steven Klein Model Zombies & NSFW Nan Goldin
Fashion Week Runways Were Almost A Total Whitewash
How Did New York Fashion Week's 116 Shows Treat Models Of Color?

The accompanying photograph even depicts Ms. Wintour smiling. The Viscountess of Vogue talks, of course, about why Fashion is Important, saying:

"Fashion reflects the times just as much as a headline in a newspaper does. If you look at the miniskirts of the sixties or the Chanel suits and jewelry of the eighties, you can see that. Vogue informs the reader about what's going on in the world, not only through fashion but also through politics, the arts, philanthropy, and sports. Fashion does not exist in a vacuum."

But Wintour takes a hard line — well, a realistic line — when it comes to young people who are interested in fashion: "Because of reality television and all these celebrities thinking they can be designers, everyone imagines that they can just become a designer, photographer, or model, but that's not the way things work," she says. "People have to go to school, learn their craft, and build a brand-that's the right, healthy way to do things. If you're an overnight sensation, you can be yesterday's news in no time, whereas building something slowly and carefully that has value and quality, that's what's going to have legs. You'd be amazed at how many people come in here, and they make perfectly nice clothes, but they don't understand how to differentiate their brand from another, or they don't have a business plan, or they don't know where to produce things. Don't run before you can crawl."

Still, it seems like she wants potential Vogue staffers to think she's not the Devil Wears Prada ice queen she's made out to be:

Q: Is there a "wrong" thing to wear to an interview with you?
A: A suit, I have to say. But who knows? Maybe next year I'll love suits. And I don't mind jeans. If there's a girl applying to work in the fashion department and she comes in here with a great pair of jeans pulled together with the right top, it's fine.

That's right, Anna Wintour says it's okay to wear jeans. The "right" top, however, is probably the Luz & Patmos sweatshirt seen in the October issue, which has a price tag of $395.

The Teen Vogue Handbook: Anna Wintour [Teen Vogue]

She continues:

"Until recently, we barely even spoke. We went from being superclose in the beginning," she says, "to dead silence if we saw each other backstage at a show." Not even a hello? "If we did say hi, it was hi, and that's it."

Why was there tension between the two ladies?

"It's competition," Jourdan says. "There aren't a lot of us, but instead of sticking together, we're pitted against each other. People will say things in Chanel's ear like, 'Jourdan is taking your spot,' and then they'll say to me, 'Don't trust Chanel.'"

Though Vogue's recent history with models of color has been to (mostly) ignore them, little sister Teen Vogue has been more inclusive: An Asian model appeared in the January 2009 issue; in November 2008, two brown-skinned models had a multi-page fashion spread. (At the time, we called them "black models," but Selina Khan is from the French-speaking Caribbean island Martinique and swears she's not black, but "Indian, mixed with Arabic and Creole, and Vietnamese." As for Austria Alcantara, she's Dominican. The point is: They're models of color and a change from the blonde women who are staples in Vogue publications.)

Even though the ladies on this cover are incredibly successful, they're quick to point out how hard it is to be a black model in the fashion industry. Jourdan says:

"I remember last season I was about to go into a casting, and my agent phoned and said, 'Turn back. They decided they don't want any black models.' I was like, 'They're actually telling you that's the reason? Are you serious?!'"

Part of me wishes she would name the designer, so we'd know who ought to be ashamed of themselves. Since we counted models of color at New York Fashion Week in February, we know it could be any one of several designers: The shows for Alexandre Herchcovitz, Behnaz Sarafpour, Costello Tagliapietra, Erin Fetherston, Halston, Marchesa, Max Azria, Milly, Miss Sixty, Monique Lhuillier, Nicole Miller, Philosophy, Reem Acra, Tibi, TSE, United Bamboo, Vena Cava, VPL and Vivienne Tam had zero black models. Then again, maybe Jourdan was talking about London Fashion Week. Or Paris.

Hopefully, the fact that Teen Vogue has black models on the cover means that diversity is finally becoming a priority for the Vogue brand. After months and months without any black models, Chanel Iman was on the cover of Vogue in May 2007 (under the fold); Liya Kedebe was on the May 2009 cover (but not alone). And Jennifer Hudson, Michelle Obama and LeBron James have landed Vogue covers recently, even if black models have not been so lucky.

Since Jourdan Dunn is pregnant (yes, Teen Vogue put a pregnant teenager on the cover) we can't be sure what kind of magazine spreads she'll book right now (although a maternity-wear shoot would be a great idea!) But Chanel Iman seems optimistic about the future:

"I don't want to be known as the black model. I want to be recognized as Chanel Iman, a personality. Five years from now I see myself still working hard to get where I want to be, because I think big. I think the best. Maybe I think too large."

Double Whammy [Teen Vogue]
Chanel Iman And Jourdan Dunn Teen Vogue Cover Shoot Photos [Teen Vogue]

Related: Chanel Iman And Jourdan Dunn's Greatest Runway Hits [Teen Vogue]
Orange You Glad I Met Selina? [Tia Williams]

Earlier:
Vogue's Not Racist; Three Black Models Prove It!
Is Vogue's "LeBron Kong" Cover Offensive?
Analyzing The Absurdist Art In The New Teen Vogue
13 Horrifying Images From The New Teen Vogue
Black Models: Teen Vogue Goes Where Vogue Will Not
How Did New York Fashion Week's 116 Shows Treat Models Of Color?

Aly Michalka was in a band with her sister AJ, creatively called Aly & AJ. She made a valiant effort to toughen up a sweet, floral frock with a studded belt, but the result? Meh.


Due to my sordid past at a teen magazine, I have interviewed iCarly's Miranda Cosgrove — who was also in School Of Rock — and found her absolutely charming. Much like this bow-tiful dress.


Andrea Bowen — Julie on Desperate Housewives — made her Broadway debut in 1996 as Young Cosette in Les Misérables. Unfortunately, her faux-bandage dress with shiny purple shoes should really go to the guillotine.


Friends, this is Amy Astley, editor in chief of Teen Vogue. Surely she has heard the phrase "wear the trend; don't let the trend wear you." And yet.


The Buff Werewolf wears his tuxedo with just the right amount of insouciance. Wait a minute: Is it denim?


We see London, we see France, we see Ashley Tisdale's sexyface. And bra.


Willa Holland was Kaitlin Cooper on The O.C. and Agnes on Gossip Girl. She's experienced in LBD selection, and in choosing this classy number, it shows.


Katie Cassidy has been on Supernatural and Melrose Place. Her dad is '70s pop idol David Cassidy. While the colors — and the fingernails — are fun; she seems to have forgotten her shirt.


My unapologetic love for Kelly Osbourne grows stronger everyday. This little black dress with embellished sleeves looks great.


Seventeen-year-old Selena Gomez plays it safe… in an ensemble that seems like it's for someone twice her age.


Hey, Haley Bennett! You were great as Cora in that mediocre Drew Barrymore/Hugh Grant flick Music And Lyrics, which is one of my guilty pleasures. But I'm not a fan of your long-ass sweater. Sorry!


Raven-Symoné's black nails and black top are okay, but are her black leggings starting to disintegrate? I think I see skin.


Chelsea Staub was was in the Bratz movie, but that can be forgiven, since this polka-dot dress is adorable.


Hayley Hasselhoff's headpiece is a little kooky, but she's 17 and her dad keeps passing out at home so let's give her a pass.


Not only did Sofia Vassilieva play the leading role in My Sister's Keeper alongside Cameron Diaz, she was Eloise in two made-for-TV movies. Her smile — and her little silver dress — are awesome.


90210 2.0's AnnaLynne McCord attempts sleek retro-chic; succeeds.


In a sea of black and grey, Victoria Justice stands out in a shimmery red sheath. Kudos.


90210 2.0 star Jessica Stroup's square-looking midsection is just one of the reasons jumpsuits should fade away.


Danielle Panabaker's dress is business in front…


…Party in the back!


I've been going back and forth on this dress worn by 90210 2.o's Jessica Lowndes. Flirty and fun? Or too prom-y?

[Images via Getty.]

As Eric Wilson writes for The New York Times today, teenagers around the world have become interested in all sorts of careers in fashion as a result of the industry's increasingly outsize place in popular culture.

"Project Runway," the designer competition originally set at Parsons the New School for Design, has alone been credited with causing a spike in applications to fashion schools. At Parsons, applications have gone up 41 percent over the last five years. At Pratt Institute, they have gone up 20 percent.

And then there's fashion week, fashion blogs and The September Issue! Continues Wilson:

For much of America's youth, fashion is where it's at. But this wave of Anna Wintours and Michael Korses in training is coming at a moment when the industry is shrinking; retailers are collapsing; several magazines within Teen Vogue's parent company, Condé Nast, have closed; and jobs, of any sort, are scarce. A report last month from the NPD Group estimated that 12 percent of fashion companies will not survive the recession.

Still, let's say you do get an internship in fashion. Teen Vogue's book warns, "Be prepared to suffer." Karl Lagerfeld says: "Are you ready to accept injustice?" There will be no hobnobbing, lavish lifestyle, reaping rewards. It's all grunt work. And I've been there. Steaming piles of dresses. Filing. Addressing envelopes. Stuffing envelopes. Paperwork. Packing boxes. On a good day? Cataloguing heaps and heaps of shoes. Quickly. On a deadline.

It's not that there's anything wrong with young women wanting to go into fashion — dreaming of being surrounded by pretty things, and models, and the beautiful life. But it is still an industry. A business. Which requires hard work, connections and skill to succeed. You'll make zero money, but be expected to dress well and live in an expensive city. People with better connections and a fancier college on their resume will always be ahead of you. And just because you love shoes or dresses doesn't mean you're cut out to be a designer or editor. And even if you do find a great job, there's still a chance that the business will fail; the magazine will go under. Take it from Teen Vogue's editor in chief, Amy Astley, who started at HG, (Condé Nast's House & Garden). Last week, she told mediabistro.com: "I love interiors still. I'm crazy about decorating and really thought I would be a decorating editor. HG was a wonderful place to start my career. I love interiors. I love flowers. I love decorating. I love food and tabletop. I love clothes, obviously fashion, so it's all of a piece to me… I worked at HG for about four years, until the magazine was closed, in 1993."

Still, if young women are going to spend money on magazines and books about fashion, Teen Vogue might as well get a cut of the cash, right?

Looking for a (Long) Leg Up [NY Times]
So What Do You Do, Amy Astley, Editor-In-Chief, Teen Vogue? [mediabistro.com]

Taylor, who plays werewolf Jacob Black in the Twilight films, explains that there's a specific kind of girl who signs up for "Team Jacob," and it has nothing to do with being too fed up with Robert Pattinson's complaints about the difficulties of being mobbed by teen girls to join "Team Edward." Taylor says:

"If she likes having a really close friendship with a guy... being able to tell him anything, and then having that friendship slowly transform into something more..."

But the fact that Taylor spent hours "hitting the gym, hiring a personal trainer, eating the right foods, and eating a lot of them" to prepare for New Moon probably added quite a few ladies to Team Jacob as well. But he doesn't give himself (or the 30 pounds of muscle he put on for the role) enough credit for his success:

"I think the fans would love anybody who played Jacob," he says mildly, when the reception is mentioned. "I'm just lucky to be the one who got the chance."

Perhaps Taylor is unfazed by fame because he didn't grow up wanting to be a movie star, he was pushed into it by a former blue Power Ranger. As a child he studied Xtreme Martial Arts and became a four-time world champion by age 13. His karate coach, who learned all about the glamorous world of show business during a stint on Power Rangers, suggested Taylor start auditioning for acting roles.

"At first," [Taylor] recalls, "I wasn't interested, but he said I could stay at his house for a few weeks, meet with some agents, go on auditions. " By the end of that month, Taylor says, "I liked it. Taking on roles that were the opposite of what I could be in real life? That's still my favorite thing."

Now he lives an hour outside of Los Angeles with his family, which makes it easier to avoid the throngs of teen girls, but not the paparazzi:

"There are twelve cars that camp outside my house," he marvels. "You can't ever really get used to it, because it's not normal to have people snapping pictures of everything you do. You just have to try not to let it affect you."

It seems he has a healthier attitude toward unwanted public attention than Robert Pattinson, who was reportedly so stressed out by stalkery fans that the crew of Remember Me had to literally put him in a box to keep the ladies away.

Teen Vogue doesn't manage to get any details out of Taylor on his co-star's love life. He says or the torrid love affair between Pattinson and Kristen Stewart "It's crazy... but the fans help. They're a big part of the motivation," so clearly he hasn't seen the blurry pictures of them supposedly making out. As for his own alleged romance with Selena Gomez, he just says, "She's a great girl."

The article is accompanied by a series of flattering (yet clothed) photos of Taylor, and a behind-the-scenes video in which he reveals that Denzel Washington is his favorite actor. For a guy being stalked by rabid fans Taylor seems surprisingly grounded, so if we must pick one Twilight boy to creepily watch us while we sleep, we're going to have to go with him.

Team Jacob [Teen Vogue]
Taylor Lautner's Teen Vogue Cover Shoot Photos [Teen Vogue]
Video: Taylor Lautner's Teen Vogue Cover Shoot [Teen Vogue]

Earlier: Battle Of The Creepy Twilight Merchandise

• The details of Fashion's Night Out — aka Anna Wintour's Plan To Save Retail — have been announced. Over 700 stores in all five boroughs will be participating in events that range from sewing circles to cook-ins to rock shows:

• Celebs and designers who will be in attendance at the various festivities include Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Francisco Costa, Manolo Blahnik, Isaac Mizrahi, Kate Mulleavy, Diane von Furstenberg, Liev Schreiber, Stephanie Seymour, and Anna Wintour herself. Although all the tee shirt customization and free music will be enough to drag us around to at least a few stores come September 10, we're also tremendously excited by the idea of taking salsa lessons taught by Juan Carlos Obando. [WWD]
• As is to be expected, Vogue is apparently attracting a lot of attention from cost-cutting consultants McKinsey. Dare we hope that McKinsey will shake things up at the tired mag, and shake them hard? In other Condé Nast news, Teen Vogue's very stylish accessories editor, Taylor Tomasi Hill, is leaving to take a position at Marie Claire. There are no plans to replace her. [Fashionista]
• Agent Provocateur is launching a new line of super-expensive lingerie it's calling couture. Agent Provocateur Soirée will launch with an in-season show at New York Fashion Week on September 9, and hit stores in November. Prices top £2450. [Elle UK]
• The second issue of Love is out, and it turns out the preview image that surfaced online last month actually is one of the covers — editor Katie Grand chose Alex Hartley, and 18-year-old bass player she found on the Internet, for one cover, and Sting spawn Coco Summer for the other. [Fashionologie]
• Katie Grand had 35 guests at her recent wedding. Thirty-five guests who finished 28 bottles of vodka. Our kid of woman. [ToL]
• Dasha Zhukova, the 28-year-old heiress, art gallerist, and Grand's replacement editor at Pop, is rumored to be pregnant by her 42-year-old boyfriend, Roman Abramovich. [P6]
• An image of Scarlett Johansson which might be part of the ad campaign for a Dolce & Gabbana perfume launching later this year has leaked. The perfume is called Rose The One, and the picture is very soft and rosy looking, plus Johansson is already confirmed to be the face of the scent, both of which are signs that point to yes. [SassyBella]
• Tori Spelling has launched a children's clothing range. Little Maven will cost $26-$88, and is designed for kids up to 4 years of age. [Daily Mail]
• Naomi Campbell and Queen Rania of Jordan were introduced while holidaying in the south of France. There's no word on what they discussed upon meeting. [Daily Mail]
• The mayor of Kennesaw, Georgia, which is male model Sean O'Pry's hometown, is today giving the 20-year-old an official proclamation, because O'Pry speaks highly of Kennesaw in the interviews he does between gigs for Armani and Calvin Klein. [P6]
• Comme des Garçons and Converse are giving their collaboration wider distribution this fall. Four styles of the Comme des Garçons-designed sneakers will go on sale in select cities at the end of this month, and worldwide in October, for $100 a pop. [WWD]
• When asked about the person who irrevocably changed the way she looked at fashion, Heidi Klum generously named Karl Lagerfeld, despite the designer's stated dislike of her. [Newsweek]
• Everybody is wearing Lolita glasses. And by everybody, we mean Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Katy Perry, Nicole Richie, Kelly Osbourne, and Kim Kardashian. Clearly we ought to be wearing them, too. Or something. [NYDN]
• If you are a man who wants to buy Levi's jeans that are "re-created using the original techniques from 1873" for $395, you can do so, at J. Crew's downtown men's stores. [WWD]
• Riam Dean, the young woman who was asked to work in the stockroom by Abercrombie & Fitch because of her prosthetic arm, has sold the full, terrible story of her experience of discrimination to the Daily Mail. Dean says the £9,000 she won from the company in damages hasn't covered her legal fees. [Daily Mail]
• Hats are back, again. This story gets re-written every six months. [WSJ]
• The alligator "harvest" begins later on this month in Florida, but wildlife experts expect the number of the creatures that will end up as purses this year to be drastically reduced: while revenue from alligator skins topped $71 million in Florida in 2007, a mere $10 million is this year's industry estimate. What doesn't make sense about all these stories about exotic skins, whether alligator, crocodile, or python, losing their marketplace appeal, is the fact that among luxury categories, the bridge products — wallets, keychains, and other "aspirational" branded baubles — are the ones that are experiencing the steepest decline in sales. Brands from Hermès to Louis Vuitton have reported that their most expensive offerings, like exotic skinned bags, are still experiencing strong sales — if not actually leading sales across the whole brand. So what gives? Are the pythons and gators going to be left to their own devices in the Everglades this season, or not? [MSNBC]
• H&M's same-store sales fell 3% on last year during the month of July; analysts had expected a more modest 1% drop, since the fast fashion chain has been performing relatively well in the recession so far. [Reuters]
• Following another disastrous quarterly result, Abercrombie has announced it plans to further cut its prices. [WSJ]
• Escada USA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York, one day after the German parent company opened bankruptcy proceedings there. [WWD]

• Change! Stately old American Vogue is apparently seeking to revamp itself. Says Wayne Sterling, the mag wants "a new circle of models, an influx of fresh, young photographers and a desire for 'unpredictability' in the stories." Unpredictability. In Vogue. [TI]

• Marc Jacobs has added two pro-marriage equality t-shirts to his Marc by Marc line. One shows a line drawing of a lesbian couple with a child, and the other shows an American flag and a dollar sign; both have the tag line "I pay my taxes, I want my rights." The tees cost $24 and are available now. Jacobs is of course looking forward to his own gay marriage, in Massachusetts, later this summer. [PerezHilton]
• Jacobs, along with Patti Smith and David Rockwell, has been named one of the Pratt Institute's Legends of 2009. [WWD]
• Madonna wears diamond dust on her eyes. For that extra sparkly something. [People]
• Patrick Demarchelier shot Gossip Girl's Taylor Momsen in Central Park for the September cover of Teen Vogue. [TFS]
• The Kaiser's Chanel accessories ads featuring Lily Allen, who recently launched her own jewelry line, are also out. She wears a tiara in one; in another, she looks like she's hiding behind a carry-all. [FWD]
• Amanda Hearst, the model/heiress, is rumored to have been offered a job sinecure at Hearst-owned Marie Claire. [P6]
• More details are emerging about the only bid for the house of Lacroix that the bankrupt company's administrator has yet deemed "serious": Italian department store company Borletti had bid jointly with Christian Lacroix himself. Borletti bought the Printemps department store chain from Pinault-Printemps-Redoute in 2006, and owns the Italian department store La Rinescente jointly with Deutsche Bank. French turnaround firm Bernard Krief Consulting made a bid that the administrator described as "insufficient" for the fashion house, and which it has promised to revise upwards. No dollar values for these bids has been revealed. [Reuters]
• Maybe one way Christian Lacroix could make a little cash would be licensing his name to an unaffiliated uniforms division, since that's exactly what Nicolas Ghesquière of Balenciaga did. Air Tahiti Nui sent out a very happy press release yesterday announcing the introduction of its brand-spanking-new Balenciaga uniforms — but further investigation has revealed that the gear was made under license by a uniform company using the Balenciaga name. Our visions of flying with space-age Ghesquière creations were crushed. [The Moment]
• The rumors were true: Coach is launching — and fully funding — a signature line for its creative director, Reed Krakoff. The designer's eponymous accessories collection will launch for Fall '10. [WWD]
• This is despite the fact that Coach suffered a 32% decline in quarterly profits for the period ended June 27. Net income fell from $213.5 million last year to $145.8 million. [WWD]
• Rachel Roy and Estelle are working together on a jewelry line. Roy announced this via Twitter. [WWD]
• Zappos earned $10.7 million from total sales of $635 million worth of sales last year, according to new owner Amazon's SEC filing. [TBI]
• New York City charity HousingWorks, which sells used clothing and furniture and donates its profits to fund AIDS and homelessness, has been doing great business in the recession — understandable, considering so many of their offerings are designer. Susan Sarandon, Bill Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Chloé Sevigny, as well as, one presumes, a whole slew of regular well-dressed folk, all recently donated clothes and goods. [NYObs]
• Bravo, still reeling from the loss of Project Runway, is launching another fashion-themed reality show: Launch My Line. The concept pairs new designers with established industry lights in order to develop the youngsters' businesses — the best mentee gets his or her line launched, and the best mentor gets $50,000. It all unfolds under the watchful eye of hosts Dean and Dan Caten, of DSquared2, and judges Stefani Greenfield, formerly of retail chain Scoop, and Lisa Kline. [FabSugar]
• Profits at the multinational luxury company LVMH, which owns everything from Louis Vuitton to Dior to Sephora, dropped 23% in the first six months of this year, to 687 million euros, or $934.3 million, from 891 million euros, or $1.39 billion, a year earlier. Sales during the same period rose 0.2% on a year earlier. The top performing brands was Sephora, and Louis Vuitton handbag sales remained strong. [WWD]
• Maybe, just maybe, one reason profits are down is the fact that Louis Vuitton is trying to sell a $450 USB key? Hermès, in any case, is jumping on the lux-tech bandwagon with a bluetooth device "made of super lightweight carbon fiber, aluminum and supple leather ... [with a] custom-built silicon earring." [Racked]
• Men's control underwear is still being talked about as if it's a new idea. It isn't. [Telegraph]

• Like many 66-year-olds we know, Betsey Johnson is eyeing retirement. "I should be retired. I'm basically screwing up because I'm not retired. I'd like to go in four days a month, something like that," says the designer.

• Johnson is planning to hand over the reins to her second-in-command, Eric Sartori, after her show this September. But she'll stay involved. "I'll be a mega-consultant. I'll go in. I want to be like Ralph [Lauren]. Like, I always imagined the perfect life is like Ralph, where he goes in, and his wonderful expert crews show him work, and he goes, 'Love it, love it, love it, um, we'll just put that aside for the moment, love it, love it, hmmm.' You know what I mean? And be that — be the inspiration, the light at the end of the tunnel, the fairy godmother that comes down." [The Cut]
• Two images from Karl Lagerfeld's Fall 2009 Chanel campaign, which he shot himself on his Vermont farm, have hit the Internet. The ads star Freja Beha Erichsen and Heidi Mount, and have a nice, old-fashioned, rural feel. Mount and Erichsen sort of look like stylish, Stepford Mennonites. [Fashionologie]
• There's more solarized Madonna psychedelia at the other end of this link, if you are curious to just what extent the pop star has been airbrushed into doll-like plasticity by Pascal Dangin for the Fall 2009 Louis Vuitton campaign. [Design Scene]
• Artist Marilyn Minter contributed a video of models sucking on multi-colored sparkly goo, titled "Green Pink Caviar," to Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour. (You can watch part of it here if you're not actually going to see Madonna.) "She actually paid me a bunch of money," says Minter. [WWD]
• Sasha Fierce for Deréon Back-To-School collection: It's happening. In any color you want, so long as it's black. [WWD]
• A battery-powered, bugle-beaded light-up glove worn by Michael Jackson on tour in 1984 will go under the hammer on October 1. [Reuters]
• On July 17, clothes from Giles Deacon's back catalog will be presented in four free catwalk shows at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. [Telegraph]
• As J.Lo begat Glow, so Glow begat Glow After Dark, which begat Sunkissed Glow, which begat Miami Glow, which begat Still. Still begat in its turn Love At First Glow By J.Lo. Love At First Glow begat Deseo, which begat Live By Jennifer Lopez. Live begat Live Luxe. And this fall, Live Luxe shall beget My Glow By Jennifer Lopez. So there are ten generations of Jennifer Lopez Perfume, ten generations of perfume in her decade of Fame. The People saw and said it was Good. [People]
• Naturally, pictures have emerged from Chanel Iman's "internship" at Teen Vogue. Turns out the model poked her head into the styling closet, like any fashion magpie, after a mid-afternoon go-see. And then she stayed and helped the other interns organize it for the whole rest of the day. She must have spent 1.5-2 hours there, stacking shoes! And she didn't even share any decent gossip. [TeenVogue]
• Far more successful is Coco Rocha's E! Canada special on fashion week. The model buttonholed Heidi Klum for some television hosting advice. Heidi says: Eye contact, don't prepare or rehearse too much, and wear something short. [FWD]
• Juergen Teller: "Everything is how you dress. Everything. I would never do some sort of stupid picture where everything is dark and you can't see the fabric or whatever, or crop something badly so you don't get the right impression of a garment. I did have my problems with fashion before, maybe. As a heterosexual man, I was always a bit embarrassed of being a fashion photographer and didn't have the confidence to describe myself that way. Now I do have the confidence. It's a weird thing to do, I know, but I just kind of got into it and I think I do it very well." [Independent]
• Racked has photos of Leanne Marshall's Bluefly line. The tops and dresses were snapped right off the rack during the e-tailer's photo shoot, so it's a little hard to see exactly how boring they are. [Racked]
• Not content with extending her jewelry line into an "equestrian"-inspired clothing range and a line of shoes and bags, Nicole Richie is also tackling maternity wear, for A Pea In The Pod. "It's her Bohemian style," said a spokesperson for the retailer's parent company. [WWD]
• British fashion icon Zandra Rhodes has crashed her station wagon through the window of a hardware store in Texas. One person inside the store was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries; it's unclear whether any charges will be filed. [Telegraph]
• Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala unveiled the William Rast label they co-founded at Selfridges in London — and gave interviews that made no mention of the extremely talented designers, Johan and Marcella Lindeberg, who have made the line such a success. [UK Vogue]
• American Apparel has been cited by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for allegedly employing an estimated 1,600 illegal workers. ICE believes that up to one third of the California-based clothier's workforce is in the country illegally. [WSJ]
• H&M, Louis Vuitton, and Wal-Mart topped a survey of consumer brand valuation. Which means we love cheap stuff that looks expensive, expensive stuff that looks cheap, and cheap stuff that looks cheap? [WWD]
• Crabtree & Evelyn has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. The company has 126 stores, and around 950 employees. Its stated hope is to close some of its stores and renegotiate its leases, but any business that loses $13.3 million in fiscal 2009 can't have a great outlook. [ToL]

• Michelle Obama may have skipped the CFDAs, but she'll celebrate the National Design Awards at the White House on July 24. The winners, chosen by the Smithsonian and including Francisco Costa, will participate in events around Washington. [WWD]

• The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Chicago apparel manufacturer American Needle and the National Football League. American Needle contends that the league ran afoul of antitrust laws when its 32 teams canceled their individual apparel licenses to manufacture exclusively with Reebok in 2001; the NHL says that it is, in fact, a single entity entitled to do business with whomever it likes. [Breitbart]
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection had a banner week, seizing $10 million worth of counterfeit goods. Six different intercepted shipments included fake Nike sneakers, fake Coach bags, fake Gucci shoes, and fake Louis Vuitton purses. [WWD]
• Victoria Beckham is bringing in an all-new team to design and produce her dVb denim line ahead of its relaunch, expected for next year. "Victoria makes out she's hands-on, but she doesn't sit there cutting patterns," explains an anonymous friend. Not that there was much misunderstanding on that count. [Daily Mail]
• Ed Westwick — from that show about high schoolers with credit cards — posed for K Swiss shoes, and boy does he talk about the experience as one itching to be re-hired! "They know who they are," the actor said of the company, before casually mentioning that he'd just love to do another campaign. [WWD]
• Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy talked to New York about his Spring 09 couture collection, and his just-presented Resort 09 collection. Tisci, who ascended to his position five years ago, at the age of 28, calls himself the youngest couturier in history, despite the fact that both Yves Saint Laurent, who took the reins at Christian Dior at the age of 21, and Hubert de Givenchy himself, who founded his namesake line at 25 back in 1952, were younger. [The Cut]
• Model Chanel Iman's inability to distinguish between "their" and "there" has not hampered her ability to snag an internship at Teen Vogue. In a sweet touch of near-authenticity, the Condé Nasties had her clean out the styling closet. [Twitter]
• Urban Outfitters now sells its clothes via mobile phone, for those occasions when you yearn to smell of Vincent Gallo's ballsweat and early 90s desperation, but can't find your way to a store or a computer. [WWD]
• Of course American Apparel would market its new bedding with a bunch of "Oh hai Dov, this your bed? Tee hee!" shots. [AmApp]
• In other news of products that signal the apocalypse, you can now buy an Oscar de la Renta dress for your three-year-old. [W]
• These fashion-show-throwing Manhattan middle schoolers, on the other hand, seem self-sufficient enough to never be heard wailing, "But Mommy I want an Oscar noooooooow!" [Reuters]
• Valentino's owner, the U.K. private-equity firm Permira, is in talks with the fashion house's primary creditors to relax the terms of its €2.5 billion debt. Permira bought Valentino for €5.3 billion in 2007, when such buy-outs — and the easy credit they were financed with — were common. Head designer Valentino Garavani retired within months of the deal, and the house has struggled to express a coherent creative vision since his departure. [ToL]
• Madonna's wholesale transformation of her boy-toy, Jesus Luz, into a real runway model is proceeding apace. After his exclusive appearance on the Dolce & Gabbana runway for Milan's men's wear week, he headed to Paris — unburdened by any exclusive deal — and promptly racked up a spot in Givenchy's lineup. His outfit included studded gladiator sandals, harem pants, and a very busy floral/plaid shirt. [The Cut]
• Esteban Cortazar and Mounir Moufarrige, the C.E.O. of the house of Ungaro, continue to do the will-they-won't-they dance around rumors of designer Cortazar's departure. Cortazar was at the Ungaro men's wear show in Paris and, when asked about his differences with management, said "For now I am here." Moufarrige, for his part, when asked if he would be retaining Cortazar's services into the future, said, "He's here," and pointed at the runway. [WWD]
• The rumor that Pierre Cardin's Chinese shoe and leather goods licensee was in talks to take over the French brand outright has been denied by both Pierre Cardin and the shoemaker. [Reuters]
• American retailers just can't catch a break. If it's not the recession, the rising unemployment rate, or the precipitous drop in consumer spending, it's the risk of tornadoes and unseasonal torrential rain keeping the customers from their stores. [WWD]
• Versace saw a 13.4% decline in revenue during the first quarter of this year, but its sales results were stronger during the months of May and June, company chairman Santo Versace reported. [Reuters]
• Maybe part of the reason that Aéropostale is outperforming competitors like Abercrombie & Fitch to such a large degree is due to the fact that the company spends 80% of its marketing budget online, online being where most of its customers are? [WWD]

Writer Lauren Waterman notes that Watson wears "impossibly high heels, wild patterned leggings, and a poufy mini, with her hair piled precariously atop her head and fastened with brightly colored netting." (Why make it seem so weird? These were your magazine's choices!) But the actress tries to insist that she's down to earth, saying: "I live, really, in jeans from Topshop, blazers from Ralph Lauren or Reiss, and ballet flats."
Yet, this is a magazine, and so Watson is made up, coiffed and dressed in elaborate clothes, for a decidedly atypical 19-year-old look. Still, she longs to do what those her age do: She plans on attending college to study English Literature and art. Watson won't say where — rumor has it Brown or Yale — because she is hounded by paparazzi in the UK. And she wants to live with a roommate in the freshman dorms. She explains:

"I probably sound like a paranoid nut, but I'm doing this because I want to be normal. I really want anonymity. I want to do it properly, like everyone else. As long as I don't walk in and see, like, Harry Potter posters everywhere, I'll be fine."

But let's be honest: When she says she wants to be "normal," what exactly does she mean? Life without decadent photo shoots? Or just without the unwanted attention from fans and paparazzi?

Emma Enchanted [Teen Vogue]
Related: Cover Shoot Photos, Adorable Cover Shoot Video

There is a fashion feature called "Wave Riders" which is less about fun styles for teenagers and more a journey of offbeat, mismatched cultural references designed to make old people like me cry. Or maybe it's just the crotch of those pants that's making me tear up and question life itself.

Perhaps you saw the seminal film The Lost Boys? It seems that this shoot, which aims to pair "surfer staples" like wet suits and day glo with "tribal chic" like war paint and feathers and "exotic extras" like an $1100 Tracy Feith surfboard, was possibly inspired by the fashions in the movie. And the styles in the movie were probably inspired by what punky beach bums were wearing in real life: Part Valley Girl, part Adam Ant. So maybe Teen Vogue is just still stuck in the '80s. Or maybe someone on staff watched a few episodes of apocalyptic teen series The Tribe? In any case, perhaps the brightly colored jacket signifies that she is taking off for new horizons; while the "ethnic" board means she is kept afloat by her ties to her ancestors.

It's honestly tough to hate on this because it is so mesmerizing. Where is she going that this is appropriate? And with so much purpose? Her ensemble could be an interesting comment on the cataclysmic collapse of capitalism and disintegration of consumer culture with a dash of Mad Max, end-of-civilization, do-the-best-with-what's-left vibe if the scarf were not $370.

This, friends, is the photograph that broke my brain. She is wearing a wetsuit and carrying a surfboard while sporting six inch heels and a beret. In her purse is a shell. How do we read this image? Has the tide gone out on the American teen? Do the flies represent us buzzing around the moral decay in our society? Does the shell stand in for the emptiness of teenage lives in a Bratz-doll world? Will someone please explain?!?!?


Earlier: 13 Horrifying Images From The New Teen Vogue
Teen Vogue: Be A "Gender Bender" With A Blazer & Cornrows
Black Models: Teen Vogue Goes Where Vogue Will Not
What Recession? Teen Vogue Readers Need An Allowance
Teen Vogue Makes Gossip Girl's Patch-Wearing Little J Pretend To Exercise

Now that she's reached the ripe old age of 16, it's time for Miley to start making the transition into adult stardom and this issue of Glamour marks the fist time she's appearing on the cover of a women's magazine.

Glamour Editor-In-Chief Cindi Leive tries to make the case for why a minor is on the cover the mag. She writes in the editor's letter:

At 16, Miley Cyrus carries a billion-dollar franchise on her back. Her responsibilities are more adult than those of most adults I know.

That's why, even as a teen, she makes sense as a Glamour cover girl. And she's in good company: Brooke Shields and supermodel Niki Taylor both graced our cover at 15. Looking at those old issues, you wonder, Is she a child? An adult? Believe it or not, Britney Spears had some wise words on the subject when she was a Glamour teen cover star in 2001. "I'm in-between," she said. "I'd consider myself a girl-woman."

Leive goes on to explain that "America holds girl-women to pretty exacting standards," which is probably why in both photo shoots Miley doesn't show much skin. At the Teen Vogue cover shoot she sports natural makeup, a flower wreath, and a sundress while riding a white horse. For the Glamour photo shoot her eye makeup is heavier and darker. She wears a black evening gown as she smashes her guitar and a sparkly mini-dress while clutching a mic. Even though she looks like a woman in her 20s, there's no hint of adolescent sexuality that people freaked out about in the Vanity Fair photo shoot.

But, the way the mags handle the fact that Miley is dating the 20-year-old Justin Gaston is very different. In the Teen Vogue cover story, Gaston's is called her boyfriend, but his age is never mentioned. The magazine then weirdly brings up that she may not be that into him anyway:

Whether Miley herself is in love at this moment is still up in the air. "I believe in love at first sight," she says. "It just hasn't happened to me." The first time she saw Justin, "I walked right by him. Love doesn't come from attraction, but from somewhere deeper. [Justin] is my best friend." They're inseparable and lately have been writing and producing music together in her home studio.

In the Glamour cover story Miley isn't so coy, saying:

"The best thing that's happened to me in a long, long time has been meeting Justin [Gaston], because he's the most respectful and selfless person I've ever known."
GLAMOUR: Do you worry that your boyfriend is so much older?
MC: I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong, and I'm ready for people to accept it. My fans already accept it — they just want me to be happy. And I haven't been that happy in a few years ... working so hard, moving to L.A. from Nashville, going through a bad breakup [with Nick Jonas]. I'm finally happy again, and I think that is a reflected in my music and my work. So honestly, I don't feel like there's anything to hide. And I love him so much I don't really care.

But in Glamour, Miley is quick to point out that she isn't a bad girl, like former squeaky-clean Disney stars Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. She explains that she won't turn out like them because:

"I feel like the rules are the rules, you know? If you're not 21, you don't get into a bar. You don't go to clubs. In this business you see so many people who are told yes all the time, and if someone says no, they get all upset. They look to their publicist, manager or agent for approval, rather than their parents."

In Teen Vogue, Miley is a bit more rebellious:

The way she tells it, it seems Miley is more comfortable with the opposite sex. In fact, in the dating department, she's often happy to make the first move. "It doesn't bother me," she says. "I want to know who made up the rules, because the rules are lame." For a sixteen year old, that kind of confidence is rare-and inspiring.

She also tells Teen Vogue about watching Alice in Wonderland with Justin, which she is says is, "such a perverted movie," explaining, "It's all about Ecstacy. I swear! Look it up online." Lest the kids start thinking Miley has sampled these drugs herself, the mag has a disclaimer:

Actually, some associate the movie with trippy psychedelics, not Ecstasy, but Miley's claim is just proof of her refreshing naïveté — her biggest vices seem to be caffeine and sushi. And for the record: Miley has never taken Ecstasy. I asked. "Me? No," she answers. But that doesn't mean she's not wild. "I'm a crazy chiquita," she freely admits. "I'm nuts."

The one thing that both articles emphasize is that though she's only a teen, show business has made her into an adult already. From Teen Vogue:

There's her memoir, Miles to Go, released in the spring. "People are like, 'You're sixteen, why would you write your life story?" Miley says. "But in the business I'm in, I have lived a life that some people who are in their sixties haven't lived. I've gone through a lot and seen a lot. But I still have a lot to learn."

And in Glamour, Miley gives some insight into what it's like for "America's Most Famous Girl" to grow up:

"I was talking with my mom one day, and I said that I would not change the way I grew up for anything. But, yes, I am really overwhelmed. I went to the Oscars for the first time when I was 13. Then I had my first real relationship; it was hard-core and lasted two years [with Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers]. That's a life-changing experience most people don't have until they're 19 or 20. So my life has been on high speed. [My career] is a huge responsibility."

Miley Cyrus: Dream Girl [Teen Vogue]
Photos From Miley's Cover Shoot [Teen Vogue]
Miley Cyrus Cover-Shoot Photo Gallery [Glamour]
Miley Cyrus: America's Most Famous Girl Grows Up [Glamour]

Earlier: Miley Cyrus Is Not The Innocent Victim That Disney Makes Her Out To Be
Miley Cyrus: 15 & Topless In Vanity Fair

• Packing for tedious summits as a political wife must be that much harder knowing that Michelle Obama will be there, ready to rock some gorgeous outfit at the drop of a discussion paper. [Telegraph]

• Pamela Anderson is going to do an eco-friendly vegan line with Heatherette co-creator Richie Rich. Something tells me Pamela Anderson and Richie Rich will find a way to extract the air of dull virtuousness that still clings to eco-conscious clothing, and replace it with a little sex appeal. And a lot of sparkly gold lamé. [Hollyscoop]
• "The spot is a subtle tribute to the genius of Serge Gainsbourg and to the sensuality of Brigitte Bardot." Says. The. Director. Of the. Lindsay. Lohan. Fornarina. Ad. Well. He. Would. Say that. Wouldn't. He. Question mark. [WWD]
• Topshop is really truly absolutely finally opening its doors in New York's SoHo. As rumored, Kate Moss will do the ribbon-cutting on Thursday morning, before a huddled mass of 3,356,890,765 fashionistas yearning to be free/awaiting the slightest provocation to stampede. [WWD]
• Guardian writer Emily Rotberg has crucial suggestions for anyone planning to brave the Topshop melee on opening morning. Bring disinterested friends, Rotberg writes, to act as your runners and placeholders in various in-store queues, like the line for the fitting rooms, and don't bother asking the sales staff for help. "They are present to demonstrate how to wear a £10 shoelace as a headband," says Rotberg. Not to offer anyone assistance. Happy (Top)shopping! [Guardian]
• Valentino dropped into terrible Meatpacking district club 1OAK (which stands for "1 Of A Kind," a factoid I can't seem to scrub from my brain because of the very absurdity of a preposterous club in a neighborhood filled with identical preposterous clubs claiming some kind of singularity) for its gay-themed night. Then the designer left. Which might mean he was unimpressed with the level of talent available, or or that his 76-year-old ears were unwilling to weather 1OAK's musical onslaught. [P6]
• Marks & Spencer, the biggest British department store chain, reported a smaller-than-expected drop in same-store sales for the fourth quarter. After experiencing sales declines of 7.1% over the holiday quarter, analysts expected a similar slump in the numbers for the three months ended March 28 — but the company's comps only fell by 4.2%. [WSJ]
• Seven For All Mankind is going to do a 30-style footwear range for fall. Price range: $235-$550. [WWD]
• Pierre Cardin told Fantastic Man magazine that he's ready to sell his empire of licenses. For about $1.3 billion dollars. [P6]
• Lord & Taylor is instituting a company-wide salary freeze this year. [WSJ]
• In news that may shock and surprise you, the Italian luxury industry trade group, Altagamma, says it expects the $230 billion global fashion and luxury goods market to decline this year. I know. [WWD]
• A girl interned at Teen Vogue for a week, and spent a lot of time eating cupcakes, organizing accessories, and looking at pictures of models on the internet. You can tell from the accompanying pictures that she chose her outfits very carefully. Wise move. [Teen Vogue]

Last year, the Cinderella Project, which works out of a youth center in South Central Los Angeles, outfitted more than 300 young women from the area for proms they may otherwise have been unable to attend for lack of appropriate dress. The youth center, A Place Called Home, has already had to lay off five of its 40 staff members after its annual budget was cut from $3.1 million to $2.3 million; concurrently, the center has seen demand for its services double. Attendance at the Cinderella Project is expected to rise by 20% on last year, but donors have not been entirely forthcoming.

Although you can also donate to the center online, funds for A Place Called Home itself largely come from philanthropic foundations, whose giving is a function of their stock portfolios' performances — which, sadly, means that in leaner times charities can be less able to fund good works in the community than when the economy is faring better. The Cinderella Project, however, largely receives its donations in the form of unsold clothing and footwear from retailers — something there's plenty of right now, in the wake of last fall's disastrous retail season and the continued softening of consumer spending. But many department stores and apparel companies are so short for cash that they would rather sell their extra stock to discounters like Loehmann's and Filene's Basement, and see at least some return, even if it's only pennies on the dollar, than give to the Cinderella Project or any of the dozens of other prom-related charities like it.

Payless has promised 60 pairs of shoes for the Project, and Jimmy Choo has just offered to make an undisclosed donation.

Zappos.com, whose revenue topped $1 billion in 2008, will not be giving to the Cinderella Project. "How should I justify giving you $1,000 and not giving the next $1,000? It's really tough," says Aaron Magness, the company's director of business development. Zappos is still doing other giving — but only to national organizations.

Offering needy young women a new dress and a pair of heels might not seem like the most practical solution to poverty on the block — after all, it's just one night — but nobody should underestimate the importance of the school prom in the eyes of a 16-year-old. Even a Teen Vogue editor gets it: "One night like this can literally change the way a girl sees herself socially," says fashion director Gloria Baume. Like it or not, we live in a society where all manner of social hierarchies and relationships are subtly reinforced through dress — and giving a young woman the means to be seen differently in the eyes of others can, more importantly, transform how she sees herself. But only if there are enough donations.

Cinderella Dream Gets Squeezed [WSJ]
A Place Called Home — Donate [APCH]
List Of Prom Charity Programs By State [Glass Slipper Project]

Photo of last year's Cinderella Project event via Wall Street Journal

This Guess ad is terrifying, because what is with the tatas and the big hair? And aren't they at odds with the Teen Vogue aesthetic?

Don't mind Gisele, she's just fingering herself.

I saw some "lifecaster" who shall remain nameless dancing to the Aerosmith song "Pink," and I was like, does she know that "pink" means vagina? And what about people who wear that Victoria's Secret stuff with "pink" emblazoned on the ass? People! It is slang for cooch. Cut it out.

Flying Fart Jeans: The hot new thing.

Friends, there are eight pages of jumping pictures in this issue. More proof that Ladymags love leaping layouts.

"Worlds collide when an African-inspired tee is paired with shredded jeans." Shredded jeans + Africa = Worlds collide? Can anyone explain what this means? I'm trying to decide if I should be mildly outraged or merely amused.

I'm all for fun teen mag layouts, but this chick is wearing pajamas to walk her damn serval on a chain. WTF.

The cat is all, "I can has chauffeur?"

No. This is not a good idea.

OMG WHY ARE WE SCREAMING?

LOL I DUNNO OMG!

Ooh, this one isn't terrifying, this one is good. Hi Chuck Bass!

Three words:

Neon is back.

Teen Vogue [Official Site]
Earlier: What Recession? Teen Vogue Readers Need An Allowance
Teen Vogue: Be A "Gender Bender" With A Blazer & Cornrows
Black Models: Teen Vogue Goes Where Vogue Will Not
Shun Your Friends & Learn A Cool New Eating Disorder In Teen Vogue!

It costs a fortune to look like a neglectarino urchin from the (stylish) streets. For instance: Check out the shredded, distressed and holey jeans on the far right. They're $325.

Poor thing spent so much on her $428 dress and $321 t-shirt that she can't afford to pay someone to iron her ensemble for her. Hard times!

This young lady's blazer is Marc Jacobs, of course. Mommy and Daddy will have to pay $388 for that. The ruffled top is $218; the shorts, with strings hanging from them, that certain parents would be loathe to allow a well-bred daughter to wear in public, cost $168.

"Upgrade your bookbag," the cover suggests. The first proposal? This canvas tote by Coach, at $348.

The coach bag too plain? Try this bright and happy cotton bag at the bargain-basement price of $263.

Finally, something (almost) affordable: This Harajuku Lovers canvas tote only looks like a quilted Chanel bag, therefore costs $98. Maybe you can work overtime at the DQ?

Teen Vogue [Official Site]