No On 8 Lead Is Eroding In Polls [LA Times]

(Click on any image to begin galleries)

Kenley's collection was first. The judges liked the bright color palette and the fact that each piece was unique and different. Michael Kors said it was "full of charm" and had "a lot of personality." Tim Gunn pointed out Kenley's "impeccable construction." Nina Garcia was worried that the floral dress was very Balenciaga and Kenley admitted: "I realized now maybe I need to do some research." Finally: Something got through that hard head! That said, I reluctantly admit that I liked Kenley's the best. It was whimsical and made getting dressed look like fun. Oh. But. At the runway show, when Kenley said, "No one touches my clothes," I was quoting Nell Carter. Gimme a break!

Korto's collection was inspired by nature. Michael Kors declared it "great." Tim Gunn said she "hit a bullseye." Heidi Klum thought some pieces were "overworked." My mom said she was the only one who made clothes women who are not stick figures could wear. I love Korto, but I didn't love this collection. I did feel awful when Korto did not win, and said, "My heart is bleeding."

Leanne, the slinky little Leanimal, was named the winner of Project Runway. Michael Kors said her "workmanship looked divine." Nina Garcia appreciated that her collection had diversity, showing skirts, jackets and long dresses. And honestly? Leanne created stunning, innovative pieces. Congrats, Leanne! And thank you, Project Runway, not only for being entertaining, but for showing the passion, craftsmanship and artisanal skills involved when people really love fashion. Get your shit together and come back in January.

Photography by Alex Wright.

Project Runway Season 5 [Bravo]

Kenley's dress was inspired by purple leaves. Jerell said it looked like "Kenley the dragon slayer" or a "purplezilla costume." Tim Gunn thought the bottom of dress looked like fish scales, which Kenley took as a compliment. I wanted to smack Kenley when she said, "I wasn't going for elegance, Heidi." You do not get snippy with Heidi Klum!

Guest Judge Georgina Chapman (sure, she runs evening gown company Marchesa, but she's also conveniently married to producer Harvey Weinstein!) loved Leanne's gown, which was inspired by a blurry picture of lavender flowers. But Michael Kors thought there was no "joy" in the elaborate ruching.

Michael Kors thought Korto's evening gown contained "every cliché." Nina Garcia seemed angry, and Georgina Chapman looked disappointed.

Jerell was the winner of this challenge, even though his hem was totally unfinished, messy and wonky. Still, his gown inspired by layers of rose petals was one of the better ones on the runway.

So: The "twist" is that all four designers will go home and create collections, even though only 3 will "compete" on the runway at Bryant Park. When I was watching the shows during Fashion Week, I felt sure that the three ladies were the three finalists; now I'm not so sure!

In case you want to see the collections again, find them here:
Project Runway Fashion Show: Jerell
Project Runway Fashion Show: Korto
Project Runway Fashion Show: Leanne
Project Runway Fashion Show: Kenley

Project Runway Season 5 [Bravo]

• Everyone's favorite human being, Tim Gunn, likes Dunkin' Donuts (Grace Mirabella turned him onto it.) And he can't afford to buy an apartment in New York, either! (Stars! They're just like us!) [Time Out New York]
• Simon Doonan, the woman's champion, bemoans that there's "a lot of conformity, a lot of blonde hair ... I often wonder if feminism was just a dream. I can't believe how women feel so scrutinised, and they're still so self-critical - I thought they would have let go of that now but they haven't. There's a very masochistic thing with women now that I didn't used to see. My girl friends in the punk era weren't like that at all." [Guardian]
• How's the fashion set responding to the economic crisis? "Everyone's freaking out. Everyone." [WSJ]
• AOL pulls the plug on Glass-House dwellers Joan and Melissa Rivers' Emmy coverage because of repeated humorous references to the Third Reich, corpulence. [P6]

• Prada denies it's trolling for an investor in Dubai; says it's still going public. The economy says otherwise! [WWD]
• Tom Ford's bringing in the whole Mad Men design team to work on his directorial debut. Which we would totally do, if you changed "directorial debut" to "our apartment." [E!]
• Not shockingly, Woody Harrelson is a big advocate for hemp. [Guardian]
• Of her unisex clown-in-the-asylum collection for H&M, Rei Kawakubo declares, “The collection is constructed around Comme des Garçons’ style. Rather than aiming to make clothes that no one has ever seen before, it is very much Comme des Garçons to its roots. My priority has always been creativity, which was not the least bit compromised with this collection. That was the last thing H&M wanted us to do. Otherwise they wouldn’t have asked us.” [BlackBook]
• Munichers at Oktoberfest are furious - furious! - at the poor quality of cheap, Chinese-made lederhosen. [Business Week]
• Hoping to avoid a similar fate, Scottish kiltmakers hold a summit to protect their industry. [UPI]
• Our greatest minds have come up with Kix by Katie, "a stick-on, lightweight, supportive strip which is applied to the inside back hemline of pants. This useful innovative invention adds just a bit of extra weight to your pants, making them hang down nicely." Thus is eliminated the heel-wedgie, the apparent bane of many a high-heeled dame. [InventorSpot]
• Nike's in trouble. [WSJ]
• PETA harasses Armani customers because he went back on his word about not using fur. No one makes a fool of PETA! They do that themselves! [Daily Express]
• Gillian Anderson, for one, is furious with him. [FirstPost]
• He responds by releasing a chocolate. "Available at Armani/Dolci stores this week through the end of October, the dark chocolate praline sweets are enclosed in a thin coating of white chocolate, conjuring “a tiny ethereal ghost,” the company said." [WWD]
• We apparently don't feel nearly self-conscious enough about our rapidly-aging hands. [NYT]
• Did Anthropolgie rip off their whimsical wall design? [Slog]
• British film on Hijab fashion rubs some the wrong way. [Muslim Media Watch]
• Aw, no one wants Elton John's really expensive brooch! A casualty of the economy? [The Star]
• Some Milan designers apparently in deep economic denial, all about "optimism!" [VogueUK]

• David Duchovny, 48, has entered rehab for sex addiction. Here's his statement: "I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction. I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family." Duchovy has been married to Tea Leoni since 1997 and they have 2 kids: daughter Madelaine West, 9, and son Kyd, 6. (Um, remember this?) [People]
• Oh, god. There's info floating around that Tea Leoni is secretly dating Billy Bob Thornton. And this old blind item ("What actor, Mr. X, is having an affair? The file on him is that he's screwing his (female) tennis instructor. Yup. His actress wife is going to become a Lion when she finds out!") seems to clearly be about Duchovny and Leon. WTF. [ONTD, Radar, Perez Hilton]
• BREAKING NEWS: Heidi Montag is McCain's Vice President. She says. [Extra]
• Barack Obama's Denver set was constructed by the designers who did Britney Spears' sets. It's Barry, bitch! [Extra]

• Richard Lohan, Lindsay's paternal grandfather, died yesterday after a battle with colon cancer. Michael Lohan says: "My father just, literally, died in my arms. I notified all my kids and my lawyer notified Dina's attorney. Let's see if she has the decency and respect to bring my kids to the wake and funeral. THIS will show her true colors!" [E!]
• Oh, and Michael Lohan is going to do a one-hour TV special that has 101 text messages from Lindsay and 60 tape recordings of Dina. [Perez Hilton]
• Lindsay Lohan has been "begging" Michael Phelps for a date. A source says: "Lindsay has been trying to meet up with him. They're both going to the MTV Video Music Awards next month." [Mirror]
• But wait! Michael Phelps is texting Carrie Underwood! They are "planning a quiet first date" near Carrie's home in Nashville. [ONTD]
• More from Michael Lohan: "Dina took a percentage of Lindsay's money when I NEVER took a red cent! All the while, I only speak out when something is wrong or needs to be made right! Dina is a money-loving, fame-seeking, self-serving deceiver, who comes from roots of the same. Meanwhile they say I seek fame! Ha! I am out there doing charity work, going on mission trips, working with the United Nations and trying to help my daughter while spending sleepless nights with a father dying of cancer…" [Perez Hilton]
• And! Still more from Michael Lohan: "Who's out of control? Whose life is out of control? Give me a break. Going from place to place, being dragged around by Samantha so she can make more money off of Lindsay being there when she spins...She's gone from making $7 million to less than a million a movie. Who's out of control?" [E!]
• Meanwhile: Lindsay's uncle, Paul Sullivan (Dina's bro), was arrested for allegedly stealing 9/11 relief funds. [Extra]
• Christopher Ciccone says Demi Moore once squirted breast milk at him at a party. Viva la leche! [Jossip]
• Jennifer Aniston: Guest starring on 30 Rock! [Star]
• Halle Berry is wearing a ring on THAT finger. [E!]
• Joe Biden has hair plugs. Oh, wow, they have old pix of him when he was bald! [Awful Plastic Surgery]
• Mackenzie Phillips spent the night in jail after her drug bust, but got out yesterday after posting $10,000 bail. First she was visited by half-sister Bijou Phillips and Bijou's boyfriend, Danny Masterson. Apparently when Mackenzie was busted at the airport, a bag of cocaine fell from her pants, she admitted to using heroin that morning and she was found to have "extensive" marks on her arms. A police officer asked if she was diabetic. She said: "No, I am healthy except for my drug problem." [E!]
• Is the new American Idol judge there to cover for Paula Abdul, who was "absent" a lot last season? [MSNBC]
• Charlize Theron went from the DNC to the Venice Film Festival to the Guggenheim Museum for a documentary about Valentino. Multifaceted! [E!]
• Remember how Solange Knowles told off a newscaster and then the video was circulated? She responds! She says she is "disappointed in the level of journalism right now." [TMZ]
• Decathlete Bryan Clay doesn't think Michael Phelps is the best athlete. "When you’re talking about the best athlete in the world, I think it needs to be somebody that’s well rounded, that can do everything well," Bryan tells OK! magazine. "I think that’s me at this point." Clay only has one gold medal, but he's on the Wheaties box. [MSNBC]
• At a screening of Guy Ritchie's new flick, RocknRolla, a scene about Russian immigrants prompted some drunk dude to start shouting, "Yeah all you immigrants get back home, go on, fuck off." He was kicked out, obvs. [Mirror]
• Homer Simpson will get a colonoscopy during the "Stand Up For Cancer" fund-raiser on Sept. 5. Animated polyps? [Page Six]
• DMX is sorta kinda cleaning up his troubled legal life: He needs to pay a court fine in Miami and deal with that skipped court date in Arizona. [E!]
• Danity Kane drama involving Diddy. [Rush & Molloy]
• O.J. Simpson was beat up by his own daughter??? [Extra]
• Vin Diesel's new movie, Babylon A.D., sucks. The director (Amelie hottie) Mathieu Kassovitz calls it a "a bad episode of 24." Diesel was late all the time, Kassovitz allegedly had a nervous breakdown, etc. Box office poison, which opens today, not that you're gonna see it! [Page Six]
• "I'm not supporting Nader for president… I will reluctantly vote for Obama." — Sean Penn. [Page Six]
• "Sometimes I think she has 'desperate character' written on her. The clothes we wear send a message. And I think that’s the message — I don’t think that’s her intention though." — Tim Gunn on Jennifer Aniston. [Just Jared]
• "For years, I tried to get producers to have Vinny sell his Hummer and buy a Prius. Then I realized this show is entertainment. I know that Entourage is often demeaning and crude, but there's also a lot of social commentary." — Adrian Grenier. [Page Six]
• "A friend of mine (a petite blond woman who works for a progressive organization) was wrestled to the ground by six cops/security-people because she had left her credentials in her hotel room. Maybe the cops in Denver should lay off the caffeine/meth/diet-pills/sugar-cereals while they're working the convention?" — Moby, on security at the DNC. [Rush & Molloy, via Blender.com]
• "As much as she does and says outrageous things and isn't the nicest person in town, I think that Blair is what a lot of people wish they could be. She's got really good fashion and she lives in a gorgeous apartment and she's got tons of money and she's very well taken care of, well coiffed, has beautiful boys surrounding her, all this stuff. I think that a lot of women also relate to her because she is imperfect and she has her insecurities. And also, she's quite sexual." —Leighton Meester, on her Gossip Girl character, Blair Waldorf. [Salon]
• "I made the decision to take acting seriously after high school. When I was in my Freshman year at college I took some acting classes and found that I fell in love with it again. I was never challenged when it came to acting as a youngster. I sort of just did whatever was given to me without asking questions. I didn’t really understand why I enjoyed it or why I did it." — Mary-Kate Olsen. [Mirror]
• "I don’t have assistants, bodyguards or even a driver because I try to pretend in my own head that this isn’t happening. I think a lot of actresses live in this cotton-wool world but I’m very free-spirited and I want to be able to live the life I do. I don’t court attention. I don’t go to other people’s premieres. I haven’t been out to a club in London for years." —Sienna Miller. [Daily Express]
• "I'm hoping that it’ll firm it up and shape it up. Everyone is asking if I’m worried it’s going to go away. No, it’s going to tone it up. I can use that" — Kim Kardashian, on what Dancing With The Stars will do to her ass. [People]
• "Today I read on a blog that I went to the doctor and he said I was overweight and I cried and went to Planet Blue (because I was blue) and bought 6 pair of size 0 jeans. Now it is ridiculous to read such nonsense about oneself so I thought I was would address this one...
  1. My doctor says I am right on target with my weight gain
  2. Have not been to Planet Blue in at least two years
  3. Love my maternity jeans ..they have stretchy tops it is awesome!
  4. My closet full of size 0 are being worn by Pete right now and he looks hot in them :)
  So now that I have cleared that up let me tell you...carrying a child is the most inspiring, emotional, amazing experience of my life. My weight and my pant size are the absolute last thing I am concerned about. I am only concerned with having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. People who talk and judge pregnant women's weight need to get a life!!!
  Peace and Love,
  Ashlee"
  [ONTD]

Terri's outfit: Inspired by Stella?

Stella's outfit: Inspired by a Ramones tea party? It was funny when Michael Kors said, "This does look a little random," and Stella said, "Thank you."

Special guest judge and rumored gelfling Rachel Zoe (again: product placement HELL! She has a new show on Bravo) really really wanted Korto's elegant seat belt coat. How come Korto always looks so depressed on the runway?

Kenley's handmade zebra print kept her safe, despite the fact that her model dropped out at the last minute (this is a replacement model, heh).

The judges really loved Jerrell's bustier, which was made from car seats turned inside out to the suede side and dashboard panels. It reminded me of the Thierry Mugler motorcycle bustier seen in George Michael's 1992 video "Too Funky". Which is to say: I liked it.

There was a moment in this episode when Suede said, "I have blisters from sewing rubber." He totally forgot to call himself Suede! Therefore I can admit that I love this flashy little party dress. Perfect for New Year's Eve!

Joe's motocross mini: Meh.

Despite making an ill-fitting dress embellished by a broken mirror that Heidi Klum swears will give him "seven years no sex," Blayne lives to licious another day. Sigh.

Leanne was the winner of the challenge with this Balenciaga-esque frock. Rachel Zoe thought Leanne could take the dress "straight to Paris."

Is Keith The Gay Mormon frustrated because he's gay and Mormon? Because he can't get out of Utah? His crying jag at the end of the ep was truly painful. But clearly he's got issues. Did you hear him talk to his model? "Did you sit down? Did you sit down? I knew you were gonna sit down." Keith was auf'd for this hideosity, which was much, much worse from the back. But he was probably also eliminated because he's so frustrated. Good luck, Keith.

Project Runway Season 5 [Bravo]

• Michael Phelps will host the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Um, swimming skits? Will you watch if he's not bare-chested? Just asking. [Yahoo News]
• Lindsay Lohan responds to the stuff her dad's been saying: "He’s out of control. I want him to stop hurting and talking to the media about the people I love." [Perez Hilton]
• Sam Ronson responds to LL's dad too: "i really don't want to say anything because i feel like he wins- he, being the man who is so desperate for attention that he goes to the media whenever possible… i am not the reason that he has no contact with his daughter… i feel no need to publicly defend my role in lindsay's life… i'm just sorry that she likes me more than him… i'm not the one that is so lost that i need to use my relationship with lindsay to earn a living…" There's more! [Perez Hilton]
• Hilary Duff's dad was sentenced to 10 days in jail for contempt of court for violating a court order that prohibited him from selling off assets without the consent of his estranged wife, Susan. Susan was requesting $25,000 to celebrate Hilary's 21st birthday (9/28), and pretty much calling Bob Duff a deadbeat dad for not paying up. On one hand, surely Hilary has her own cash? On the other hand, a father has to do what a father is legally obligated to do. He was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs… [Yahoo News]

• No Britney at the MTV Awards? "Contrary to media reports, Britney was never slated to perform on this year's VMAs," Brit's manager, Larry Rudolph, says. "She's in the middle of recording her next album, which is going amazingly well, and her focus remains on the studio." So why was she in the commercials with Russell Brand and an elephant? Is this an elaborate ruse? [AP]
• Ladies, listen up: Gerard Butler likes women to make the first move. "I am for equal opportunities. Why should it be the guy's job to kiss? If a woman wants to kiss she should totally do that. I think it is awesome when women take the lead. I love that idea." Oh and click the link to see a very nice (and by nice I mean shirtless) pic. [ONTD]
• Woody Allen had dinner with Jennifer Aniston. Could she replace Scarlett Johansson as his new film muse? [Yahoo News]
• Solange Knowles: "I have to say, that was not a very professional introduction before. Please don’t tie me into family and my brother-in-law’s establishment." News anchor: "That wasn't live, Solange. That wasn't on live TV." Yes, there is video. [Just Jared]
• Kate Moss naked in Interview magazine. [The.Life Files]
• Britney may not be at the MTV awards, but Katy Perry will be. And MTV producers are looking for a lady she can kiss while she sings, "I Kissed A Girl." They want Lindsay Lohan. Think it's gonna happen? [E!]
• Salma Hayek's ex-fiancé and baby daddy, billionaire heir François-Henri Pinault, has a new ladyfriend, equestrian Virginie Couperie. Here are pictures of them enjoying a "saucy holiday romp in Tuscany." The ONTD commenters have proclaimed Virginie a "downgrade." [Rush & Molloy]
• Naomi Campbell's beau, Russian billionaire Vladimir Doronin dropped $18.5 million on a penthouse apartment for Naomi in Sao Paolo. She's thinking of settling down in Brazil. [Page Six]
• So you know how there's a transgender contestant this cycle on America's Next Top Model? Janice Dickinson says: "I did it on my show first with Claudia (Charriez). But you know what? There’s not going to be a moment where Tyra’s not going to knock me off, so I’m not bothered by her." [MSNBC]
• Bonnie Hunt says her new show will be "full of humor and definitely accessibility, curiosity and spontaneity." She also says: "It's not so much celebrating other people's bad moments in daytime television, which has been a trend for a long time, but almost celebrating what really makes us laugh, what makes us feel very human and normal at the top of who we are, not necessarily at the bottom of who we are." [Reuters]
• Ben Affleck's been texting buddy/new dad Matt Damon from the DNC and Matt and his wife are "thrilled" about their new daughter, FYI. [People]
• Some dude has rammed his car into the gates of the Playboy Mansion twice in the last two weeks, according to the LAPD. Think he's trying to get to the grotto? [LA Times]
• Suge Knight was arrested and charged with assault after punching his girlfriend and pulling a knife on her. Death Row, indeed. [Reuters]
• Tori Spelling may not be appearing on the new 90210, but what about 42-year-old Luke Perry? The new ladies in the cast say: "Oh. My. God. I love Dylan McKay" and "Are you kidding me? He's an amazing-looking man. Sexy!" Oh, and in unrelated news, new 9er AnnaLynne McCord, who played Eden on Nip/Tuck likes guns. "My birthday is next week and I'm getting the 380 Ruger and a .38 revolver." [Yahoo News]
• Oh, and the new 90210 might be pretty racy. Shannen Doherty says: "All I know is there's a girl giving a guy a blow job in the first episode." Doherty and Jennie Garth both dish in this interview. [EW, ONTD]
• A retired sheriff allegedly broke into Chris Cornell's home, wandered from room to room and urinated in a corner. He was hired by Cornell's ex-wife as a process server. Talk about pissed off. [TMZ]
• Relations between Madonna and Elton John have been frosty since he accused her of lip-syncing four years ago. But! He went to her concert in Nice last night and they totes made up and are homies again, though Elton cracked, "I'll be found dead of uranium poisoning in three days." [Mirror]
• Russell Simmons told his yoga teacher her classes had gotten too easy and were for "pussies," so she amped it up; he was seen collapsing into the fetal position. [Page Six]
• Kate Moss's neighbors are in a spot of bother about a large crack that has appeared in the wall bordering her back garden. The wall could collapse, etc. Also, the paper just wanted to make "Kate Moss Crack Problem" jokes. [Mirror]
• Jerry Seinfeld's lawyers read papers in court yesterday claiming that Jerry did not slander the woman who accused his wife of ripping off her cookbook. He was just trying to get laughs, mocking frivolous lawsuits. His lawyers are trying to get the defamation suit against him tossed out; Jerry called author Missy Chase Lapine a "wacko" and "mentally unhinged celebrity stalker." [NY Post]
• Paul McCartney will perform in Israel for the first time, more than 40 years after the Beatles were blocked from giving a concert in the country. [Reuters]
• Steve Foley, who played drums with the Replacements, has died. He was 49. He accidentally overdosed on prescription medication. [Reuters]
• Neil Diamond performed earlier this week and his voice was raspy, so he's offering the audience at the Ohio concert a refund. Build me up, buttercup! [Reuters]
• A toxicology test has been ordered in the death of Dr. Dre's son. [People]
• "I haven't had this much fun since my ex-mother-in-law fell in a well" — Janice Dickinson, as she danced with models, celebrating the new season of her show. [Page Six]
• "I'm no Meryl Streep." — Kim Kardashian. [USA Today]
• "Just be polite. Listen to them and give them anything they want. You can't go wrong." Pete Doherty on picking up chicks. [Mirror]
• "[Miley Cyrus] is just a little too tarty, forgive me. I don’t want her to look like she’s going into a convent school, but it’s just a little too much for a 15-year-old. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she was 25." — Tim Gunn. [MNSBC]
• "I couldn't do what Brad and Angie are doing. I wouldn't have the patience or dedication you need to take care of a family. I admire those qualities in other people but it's not for me. I'm doing exactly what I want to. I hang out with the same friends, I spend time in Italy, and then I go back to work. I try not to worry about anything else." — George Clooney. [Mirror]

Korto's jumpsuit was okay, not very innovative, though.
I thought Kelli's was leaning toward ugly. But not cool ugly like jolielaid, just regular ugly.
Stella does what Stella does. Remember when she said, "What a gay little grommet"?
Keith The Gay Mormon had a cool concept, but the execution was meh.
Suede thinks Suede is awesome.
Joe's dress was an extremely literal translation of a hanging globe light fixture, but it worked.
Jerell's dress is the color of a deep-cleaning face masque.
Didn't you think Jennifer was going to get auf'd? Her "clock dress" was a disaster.
Daniel's Zac Posen-esque dress.
Blayne's technicolor yawn.
Sandra Bernhard loved Terri's ensemble. It was ballsy to show a dress with pants in such a dress-centric competition.
I was shocked. SHOCKED. That Leanne did not win this challenge. This skirt is PR gold.
Kenley was the winner of this challenge. Couldn't you see someone on Gossip Girl wearing this confection? Behold Emily's swan song. Someone wore a version of this dress to the junior prom in 1986 but with pink Converse high-tops with white ribbons for laces, I'm fairly sure about that. Michael Kors exclaimed, "The placement of the ruffles was so insane." Nina Garcia said: "No comment." Ooh, burn! Michael was amazed at Nina's silence, saying,"The worst review is no review."

Project Runway Season 5 [Bravo]

• Lagerfeld on Bruni: "She’s imaginative, clever, educated. She knows how to behave. She speaks many languages. It must be an embarrassment for the wives of other heads of state to see this beautiful creature who can wear anything and speak like that. They are hunters who met—predators. It’s a good thing. He had seduced many women, and she was a kind of seductress. When two like this meet, it can be good.” [NY Observer]
• The Kaiser's mug is on this Urban Outfitters tee, part of a line called "Beautiful Ones Superstar Raglan." [BlackBook]
• So, NBC is totes suing the Weinsteins for how they handled the whole Project Runway decamping to Lifetime thing, but here's the really touching thing that came out on the stand: apparently Tim Gunn, the dearest fashion queen on cable TV, did the first season for free. Awww. [Rush & Molloy]
• Fergie's shoe collection: "I have always loved fashion because it's a great way to express your mood. And I'm definitely a shoe lover. The right pair of shoes can change the feel of an outfit, and even change how a woman feels about herself. A woman can wear confidence on her feet with a high stiletto, or slip into weekend comfort with a soft ballet flat." [FabSugar]
• Shocker: Naomi Campbell, terrible journalist. Her question to the Argentine president? "How did you feel when you saw Madonna playing Evita on the screen?" [The First Post]

• Marc Jacobs' marital status still ambiguous. [The Cut]
• Self-described "dirty fairy" and Gwen Stefani sorta-stepdaughter Diasy Lowe to model for Brit designer Karen Millen. "'She looks incredible in the clothes," gushed one fashionista, "and she's the ideal Karen Millen woman - young, eclectic, unique and an international style icon in the making." ' [Page Six]
• California institution Mervyn's files for bankruptcy. [Los Angeles Times]
• The south of France is seeing a high incidence of clothed breasts this summer. '"It looks like going topless has gone out of fashion," our girl on the Cote d'Azur tells us. "Men are whining everywhere you turn that there are no more bare boobs on the beach." ' [Page Six]
• Tory Burch seeks investor. [WWD]
• Is Kanye gonna buy Jil Sander? [Fashion Week Daily]
• Vanity Fair's 'up and coming designers' foldout cover is already generating controversy. And I mean, Zac Posen? Really? [Fashion Week Daily]
• Macy's categorically denies having used that sweatshop in Queens that got busted last week. [New York Times]
• With Vogue numbers slipping (and, come on, it's a recession) is the Nuclear Wintour's job safe? [Fashionologie]
• Kate Spade expands her (presumably preppy, perky, pricey) clothing line. [FabSugar]
• Feeding into our supposed hunger for inane fashion-driver rom coms, "'Fashionistas' traces the career of a young designer working at a design firm who plots to take down her ruthless boss by inventing a fictitious must-have designer." [Hollywood Reporter]
• The Mirror on Agyness's new do: "It's an unfortunate cross between Mr Spock, Sarah Harding and a suet pudding basin... The awful fringe, weird pointy sideburns, bouffant back and uneven sides are all reminiscent of the haircuts our mums used to give us. When we were three." [The Mirror]
• More on the Karan/Klein jungle jaunt: "Ms. Karan has been telling friends that the trip is part pleasure and part quest for inspiration for her new store and collection Urban Zen, which sells high-end organic clothes, furniture and knickknacks." [The Observer]
• You can't keep a good luxury brand down! LVMH sees profits. [WWD]
• Lots more shops planned for JFK Airport. [New York Times]
• Michelle Obama's harstylist: "The foundation of any hairstyle is the cut. That’s one thing we focus on doing very well here at Fekkai. With that, I am able to switch the hair into like maybe two, three different looks. We try not to give her too many different variations. People want to see her with the same style, especially when it comes to politics; there’s a lot of scrutiny when you’re in that arena." [Bellasugar]

Blayne, the self-admitted tanning addict, who drops the world "girlicious" like a Pussycat Doll with Tourette syndrome, has got to be the most annoying. Though he's followed closely by Suede, who has a blue-tinged mohawk and talks about himself in the third person. Joe, the 41-year-old dad from Detroit, is intriguing because he's a 41-year-old dad from Detroit. On a fashion reality show! Kelli, who draws inspiration from Vivienne Westwood and Betsey Johnson, is sure to produce some fun frocks; as is Korto, the Liberian living in Little Rock. Also keep your eye on Leanne, the "silent fashion assassin," as she seems like she'll be the first to burst into tears. Someone texted me to say that Stella looks like Johnny Thunders, but clearly her eyelashes are classic Raggedy Ann. Anyway, it was Jerry, responsible for an American Psycho-esque raincoat paired with yellow dishwashing gloves and white rain boots, who was the first to go.

Related: Project Runway Season 5 Official Site

• Poor Posh. After the embarrassingly poor sales of her denim line and ensuing abandonment by retailers, we hear that her men's dVb line has been pushed back "until next year" by L.A. boutique Kitson. Plucky Posh is undaunted, having spoken of her desire to launch a couture line and show at New York's fashion week. dVb denies the line is floundering, claiming that "it is currently being manufactured but is likely to reach stores later than anticipated." [This Is London]
• A man has confessed to the murder of Canadian model Diana O'Brien, whose body was found last week in Shanghai, where the 20-year-old was on a 3-month modeling contract. 18-year-old Chen Jun was arrested Friday morning in Anhui province; he apparently killed the model during an armed robbery of her apartment. [CNN]
• Gwyneth Paltrow is really slacking in her obligations to Estee Lauder's new "Sensous" perfume, refusing to show for any of the hundred ridiculous promos the company's set up (opening the stock market, anyone?) and leaving the burden on the slender shoulders of co-pitchwomen Hilary Rhoda, Carolyn Murphy, and Elizabeth Hurley. Recriminations all around. [New York Magazine]

• Seems the Nuclear Wintour has thawed for Obama: the fashionista was on the newly-published list of "major donors" to the Dem's campaign, indicating that she's raised fifty grand or more. [Neew York Times]
• Wait, fashion, and bloggers...petty? Hard to believe, but it would seem that style sites Fashion Indie and Coutorture are engaged in the most ridiculous war of words (and pictures) ever. Says The Pipeline, "in our years of reading and writing for fashion blogs, this is as mad a skirmish as we've ever seen." [Pipeline]
• The CEO of Overstock.com, that online retailer with all the insinuating "Big O" commercials, has decided not to sell fur through his sites. “You don’t have to think about it very much before you realize … you’re completely objectifying an animal when you say I’m going to wear it as a decorative object. That’s over the line for anyone who gives it any thought, I would think,' said Patrick Byrne, who's made waves in the past for his "battles against hedge funds." [Reuters]
• Are low necklines responsible for Marks and Spencer's market slump? Some suggest that the chain's base of older folks has been alienated by attempts to appeal to a more youthful demographic. "The clothes are not suitable for our age group,' says one older lady. "The dresses are too low on top and they don't have sleeves. They just show too much cleavage and at our age we can't wear that sort of style."' [Independent]
• Charity "Clothes Off Our Backs" latest fundraiser is selling off Rodo shoes. The twist/catch? Celebs like Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett, Sheryl Crow, Kirsten Dunst, Zooey Deschanel and America Ferrera have each decorated a pair "as they chose." Apparently not everyone finds these words ominous: Pink's pair has already racked up $400 in bids; the heels Kristin Davis decorated have scored a more modest $170. [EOnline]
• Next up for Target GO!: Purses by Monica Botkier, coming up next week, and a jewelry line by Dean Harris on 8/17. We've not had great luck with the designer accessories lines in the past, but hope springs eternal in the breast of Recessionistas. [The Budget Fashionista]
• "Black is best when you're in court/The judge will be impressed!" That's Singin' In The Rain. This isThe Daily News on Christie Brinkley's courtroom choices :"The media-savvy former model - who's tried hard on the stand to argue she has been a perfect wife and mother - has picked crisp button-down shirts smoothed into sharp pencil skirts for her divorce trial against estranged husband Cook. Call it the Serious Woman's Uniform - and a smart wardrobe choice when you're up for a fight. "It's not threatening, that's the bottom line," says fashion commentator Mary Alice Stephenson. "The pencil skirt is a piece of clothing that all women respond to."" [Daily News]
• New York consumer confidence at all-time low. [Crain's]
• Super-scrawny menswear designer Hedi Slimane will be the cover model for the debut of Vogue Homme Japan. Said Kazuhiro Saito, editor in chief of Vogue Nippon and the new men's spin-off of Slimane's aesthetic, '"There were those very skinny, boyish male models. That works for Japanese guys."' [WWD]
• The public asks Tim Gunn ten really asinine questions like, "What movie or TV cast has had the biggest impact on fashion?" He makes it work. [Time]

• Project Runway's silver fox considers the difficult task of making John McCain work: "That’s a challenge," Tim Gunn says. "Give him some color. I'd give him better-fitting suits — Hugo Boss, John Varvatos. I mean, I will say, he's a man of a certain age, so at least he's cleaned up and polished." In other news, he hates L.A.'s car culture - though, as we all know, he enjoys tooling around the Cloisters in his Saturn Sky Roadster. [New York Magazine]
• "The Ass Crack is the go-to fashion ad allurement these days." —The Copyranter, on Joe's Jeans and American Apparel's latest NYC billboards. Isn't low-waist passé? The ass crack is a fickle mistress! [Fashionista]
• As mentioned earlier, serenity-challenged Naomi Campbell has pleaded guilty to assaulting British police officers in an incident her spokesman calls "regrettable." [MSNBC]
• Uh oh. War of words between fiery-haired doyennes Pat Field and Vivienne Westwood? "I thought Sex And The City was supposed to be about cutting-edge fashion and there was nothing remotely memorable or interesting about what I saw. I went to the premiere and left after ten minutes." — Vivienne Westwood, to WENN, via IMDB. [Fashionista]

• Avon's teen-targeted Mark brand partners with Lauren Conrad to launch their "Girls m.powerment Campaign," which is designed to help prevent dating abuse and partner violence. That's great, but "In addition to her role as campaign spokeswoman, Conrad will serve as first honorary co-chair of the m.powerment Expert Advisory Board together with (global Mark president) Poccia." [WWD]
• In a possible attempt to irritate Anna Wintour, Harper's Bazaar has hired "I-am-more-influential-than-Anna-Wintour" stylist to the slim Rachel Zoe to style an upcoming shoot. [Fashionista]
• Uptown bohemian juggernaut Tory Burch hires six new execs. [WWD]
• More Kate Spade, anyone? Deborah Lloyd's first collection. [Fabsugar]
• Recessionistas, sit up and take notice: Comme des Garcons at H&M!!!! [Fashionista]
• Luxury bag line Mulberry dips under the weight of recession. [WWD]
• Buy our sunglasses! We'll plant a tree! Anything! [Fashionista]
• Has Sharon Stone done enough penance? Tha karmically-inclined actress might be the face of Italian jewelry co. Damiani. [New York Magazine]
• In ongoing search for "perfect" Walgreens goes high(er) end with "The Face Shop." Sounds kinda Return to Oz. [WWD]
• Vidal Sassoon has a longer attention span than many: he returns to New Orleans to help still-suffering Katrina victim with his charity Hairdressers Unlocking Hope, a campaign benefiting Habitat for Humanity. [WWD]
• Kimora Lee Simmons + Juniors Line. You do the math. “Young teen girls are fabulous and my new collection will further build their confidence as they head back-to-school. Fabulosity is all about celebrating who you are and your individual greatness - living your dream and being whatever you want to be. This is a great message for young teens." [New York Magazine]
• That new Italian Vogue = awesome. [Fabsugar]

• More rumored changes for The Greatest Show On Earth, Project Runway: Season 6 of the show, the first to be broadcast on Lifetime, may feature "More Than A Pretty Face" magazine Marie Claire in lieu of Elle as the affiliated fashion magazine sponsor. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Whoah: Are New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn and Skeletor/stylist Rachel Zoe more similar than we could have ever imagined? Possibly, if it's true that Cathy Horyn was also mysteriously not invited to the dinner and dancing portion of tonight's Costume Institute festivities. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• And what does legendary costume designer Bob Mackie not like about the fashion industry? "Doing a fashion show that's on for 20 minutes and then it's over and everybody runs to the next one. Nobody sings, nobody dances, nobody tells jokes. I found it quite unsatisfying." I second that emotion. [WWD, sub req'd]

• It's so hard to be Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley: "I wear a lot of Burberry at events and the brand's been really supportive of me since the beginning. On the show, we wear H&M suits." [Fashion Week Daily]
• Sex and the City costume designer/fun drunk lesbian Pat Field: Now designing Diet Coke bottles. [FabSugar]
• More pearls of wisdom from Tim Gunn: "Always keep your tux jacket closed in photos." [Page Six]
• Starring in the latest Gap ads are actors Ginnifer Goodwin, Liv Tyler, Hugh Dancy, Fabcon Clemence Poesy, Catalina Moreno, Edgar Ramirez, photographers Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist) and Ryan McGinley, and also Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, model Chanel Iman, Visioniare's Cecilia Dean, and Princess Coldstare herself, Leigh Lezark. [FabSugar]
• Leona Lewis: The latest celeb to believe she can be a fashion designer. A vegan fashion designer, that is. Watch your back, Portman and McCartney. [Fashionista]
• Lord & Taylor is launching a new "reality" advertising campaign, with TV and radio spots featuring real customers "ambushed' in their stores by "celebrity stylist" Robert Verdi and quizzed on their shopping experiences. Oh Lord. [WWD, sub req'd]
• WWD asks: "Tax Rebate Checks: Will They Spend Or Will They Save?" [WWD, sub req'd]
• More stars coming to tonight's Vogue and Armani-sponsored Costume Institute gala: Kate Bosworth, Thandie Newton, Audrey Tatou, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jourdan Dunn, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, and Roberto Bolle will all be there. In other words: Lots of good photos for us to dish on tomorrow. [WWD, 1st item]
• Also: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady, Scarlett Johansson, Iman and David Bowie, Sofia Coppola, Karen Elson and Helena Christensen. [Vogue UK]
• Mary Alice Stephenson (formerly the fashion director at Harper's Bazaar and the co-host of America's Most Smartest Model on Vh1) is shooting a special for E! on tonight's festivities, set to air May 8th for the viewing pleasure of us plebs. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Elle editors might have put Kelly Clarkson on the cover of the mag, but that doesn't mean they think she's very fashionable. [Page Six]
• Marc Jacobs: Now in Moscow. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Former model Josie Maran may have fake breasts tits. [Awful Plastic Surgery]
• The fashion on Gossip Girl? Kinda crazy. But that's why we love it so. [EW]
• The rock stars today? The just don't dress like they used to. [LATimes]

• The latest on the Nina Garcia saga: If she takes the editor-at-large gig she'll only be there til mid-October, when ELLE's contract with Project Runway ends and then she'll be let go for reals. (Dear Nina: You can do better than that.) Meanwhile, no one at ELLE or its publisher Hachette Filipacchi Media has issued a single comment on the entire situation. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Meanwhile, everyone at ELLE is pissed that the taping of its reality show Fashionista is ruining everyone's lives. [NY Daily News]
  
• Audrey Tatou is rumored to be the newest face of Chanel No. 5. Does this mean that Nicole Kidman got the boot? Maybe she and Nina can start a sort of ex-wives club together. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• "I think the luxury is not only what we give to ourselves, but what we can give to others. Obviously, we can get more of this and this, but the true luxury is being able to give back. When one has been blessed with the ability to have made it...it's our social responsibility." Nice try, Donna Karan. But...no. [WWD, sub req'd]

• "You can sort of tell the designers by the pieces," says Gap designer Patrick Robinson on the retailer's white shirt sdesigned by Phillip Lim, Band of Outsiders, Michael Bastian and Threeasfour. Um, wouldn't it be troublesome if you couldn't? Isn't this sort of a given when it comes to design? [WWD, sub req'd]
• Victoria Beckham is not above groveling to get L.A. boutique Kitson to not drop her denim line from its stores. [PopSugar]
• Women need to learn to "shop like a man"? My ass! Don't know about you, but the ladies I know think a lot more about where they put their dollars then the fellas in my life. [Telegraph]
• Margaret Thatcher: Style icon? Sure, and Hillary's yellow pantsuits are going to be the next big thing for spring! [Telegraph]
• Kenneth Cole has poached Liz Claiborne executive vice president Jill Granoff to make her the company's new CEO. Smells like another failure of the Tim Gunn-Bill McComb regime at Claiborne to me. [WWD, sub req'd]
• LVMH's profits are up by 12%, largely because of the roaring success of the Louis Vuitton label. Marc Jacobs: 1, haters: 0. [WWD, sub req'd]
• How the hell are Burberry's profits up by over 19%? Really: Explain it to me. [WWD, sub req'd]
• And L'Oreal's profits are in the shitter. [Reuters]
• Who's the most accomplished Versace sibling now? Santo Versace, who has just joined Italy's House of Parliament. Can't you just see Donatella busting in there, screaming, "Geeeeeeeet outtttttt!" 'Cause I can. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Gucci has hired David Lynch to direct commercials and James Franco to front its new men's fragrance. [WWD, 3rd item]
• So word on the street is that Sasha Pivovarova is being ousted as the face of Prada for Linda Evangelista. Drama! [Sassybella]
• Designer Roland Mouret on what makes a fashion icon: "Icons last but fashion changes. What I try to do is allow a woman to work with the icon inside herself. The body is an icon, and I create a shell for that body." Just like Invasion of the Body Snatchers! [Vogue UK]
• These shoes scare me. [Chic Report]

Let me put it this way: "Television For Women" does not equal "Television For The Gays And The Folks Who Love The Gays And Folks Who Are Actually Just Inherently Interested In Design." Bravo has ingeniously marketed itself as the home of the thinking (wo)man's pop culture. It isn't just good bad TV, but plain ol' good TV. I challenge anyone to say the same about anything on Lifetime, without even the slightest hint of irony. Clearly, there is some audience for the saccharine froth being served up by the television equivalent of light FM, but it is not the Project Runway audience.

What's to come for The Greatest Show On Earth? Will there be competitions like "Design an outfit for a nice-girl-in-bad-circumstances using food stamps to purchase your supplies"? Or "Whip up an ensemble for a mother whose child has been kidnapped from her by her ex-husband and now has to take a covert flight to an unnamed Middle Eastern country to save her daughter" ? Will the Lifetimeization of Project Runway mean Heidi hosts while pregnant, except she will actually look bloated and matronly, thus tapping into the hearts of "real" women everywhere? Will Michael Kors cut back on the sass, exchanging his signature bitchy evaluations for crocodile tears? Will Nina stop giving verbal evaluations and saunter right over to the runway to hug the contestants? Can one be bitchy on Lifetime? Who knows, maybe the new network will allow for some cross-promotion: Can't you just see To ELLE And Back: The Nina Garcia Story as the next Lifetime Original Movie?

In Bed With 'Runway': A Lifetime Story [NYT]

Just this past February, the company's stock fell 18% in a day, proving that Gunn's name was not enough to translate into action at the cash register. Even Gunn's attempts to up the company's fame factor — Isaac Mizrahi was hired to be creative director of the Claiborne womenswear line and John Bartlett hired to oversee menswear soon afterwards — haven't helped. (Sure, the day Mizrahi's new role at the company was announced the company's stock was up 25%, but "much of that evaporated within a few weeks.") It remains unclear on how this acquisition, helmed by Gunn, has done anything to get Claiborne out of the red and into the realm wildly popular. Says Gunn: "I honestly think that in the not-too-distant future, this company will establish new paradigms of operations, the likes of which I don't think this industry has ever seen. I think we're going to be a Harvard Business School case study." Sorry, Tim: I'm a major fan, and I know that your new starpower designers' stuff won't be seen until next spring, but I remain unsold on your products and verbiage, both.

Project Rehab [Fast Money]

Earlier: How Tim Gunn Is Connected To J. Edgar Hoover, And Other Surprises About Project Runway's Favorite Father-Hen

The Good:
Nom nom Mariska!
Dear Malan Breton, I love you, your maniacal laugh, and your insane suit. Xo.
Can't help it: Love that shade of blue on Tala Ashe's dress.
Tim Gunn: Then, now, always.

The Bad:
Pocket gay Alec Mapa is clearly not afraid of wearing white (or cream, whatevs) after Labor Day.
Um, yeah: Same goes for TV host Graham Norton.
Did someone forget to remind Loretta Devine that she's an icon?! Why is she dressed so shabby?!

The Ugly:
I don't care how out, loud and proud he is: Alan Cumming should know better than to dress like the Unabomber.

[Images via FilmMagic.]

• Gisele appears on the cover of the April Vogue with...Lebron James. This is may seem like an historic event on par with, say, a black president, but that would belie how far we've come as a nation, revealed by the dead-first comment reacting to the news on our brother blog Deadspin: "That cover would have been much more fantastic if he had been dressed a la Andre french vogue. Oh Anna, Anna, Anna." Our take: Lebron probably exercises more influence over footwear and apparel sales than Anna Wintour and Gisele and Karl Lagerfeld combined. If Vogue really wanted to think outside the (heh) box, they'd make over Lebron's mom. [Deadspin]
  
• Christian Siriano update: found backers for his clothing line, had a fit meeting with Victoria Beckham yesterday, taping Leno tonight, and is slated for an Ugly Betty cameo. Surely nothing like this could end in anticlimax and obscurity? [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Karl Lagerfeld on the just-opened Chanel Mobile Art pavillion: "It's a building, but also an object at the same time. It's like a sculpture you can walk in." [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Reese Witherspoon is the face of the new U by Ungaro fragrance, being licensed by Avon. Do you care? You so care, don't you. [WWD, sub req'd]

• Whitney is such a follower! Ms. Port, of The Hills fame, is starting her own clothing line, Eve & A, which will show party and cocktail wear. Her daddy is producing it, natch. Who's her daddy? You know, some rich guy. Why burden yourself with the data? [WWD, sub req'd]
• Liz Claiborne is still tanking despite the best efforts (and we can only imagine laserlike focus!) of Tim Gunn. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Pacific Sunwear is also suffering. [WSJ]
• Designer Alice Temperley is preg! [Vogue UK]
• Fashion illustrator (and husband of designer Isabel) Ruben Toledo on how he started his career: "All I knew is that I wanted to paint and draw and do art and be with Isabel—she is my leading inspiration and muse. And I knew that fashion was absurd." But hey, so's the universe, right? [Fashion Week Daily]
• I wanna Paul Smith ping-pong table. [Chic Report]
• And a 10,000-square foot billboard of Djimon Hounsou in his skivvies, oh yes. [Chic Report]
• Model May Anderson is the latest not-designer to play at design: She's started a denim line called Chicks with Guns. [FabSugar]
• How to rip hair off your body using common kitchen ingredients! [BellaSugar]
• Seeing a woman say "May my new curls make her feel choked with jealousy" and "Make him dump her tonight and come home with me" does not make me want to buy hair products. [Sassybella]
• Indian designer Prashant Verma based his entire fall collection on James Dean movies. [Yahoo]
• Yeah, we're skeptical that a pair of bike shorts has the power to ensure faster muscle recovery. [Business Week]