Daria Werbowy gives a rare interview to the Times of London, where she endorses champagne as breakfast, shares that she filmed the Prada movie on her 21st birthday, and says "once on the Burberry runway, I walked into a wall."

If that's not enough of a model fix, tear through your March Vogue and find an actual article - not just a photo spread! - on Agyness Deyn, which manages to name check Henry Holland and The MisShapes within the span of two paragraphs.

Q: Why did you resurrect Daria's cover for iD?

A: Because it's one of the hottest photos of Daria I've ever seen, and I thought it would wake you all up

Not content with crashing the Prada show, PETA made another stunt attempt at Valentino today. ELLE's Cheryl Locke writes...

There was a protester naked save anti fur slogans painted on her back. She made a valiant attempt getting very close to the photogs before four security guards tackled her. Props to her for making it closer to the stage than all of us.

Cheryl may have been marooned in the tenth row, but her posts - along with the ones by Kate Lanphear, ELLE's senior fashion editor - are the most insider things we've read all season. If you're like me, you'll quickly become an ELLE blog addict... and if you're not like me, you'll applaud Peta's relentless protest gags.

The real question is - how did this girl get through Valentino security? We thought buck naked chicks in body paint were only common backstage at Alexander McQueen...

The strangest sight of last night might have been this:

Kanye West nestled in a room full of girls.

He was there to support his fiance, designer Alexis Phifer, as she joined designers from Tibi, Alice + Olivia, and Milly to discuss the demise of little black dresses, and the rise - of course - of their own, as modeled by a handful of adorable tall girls and narrated by Full Frontal Fashion's Christina Ha.

Among the night's highlights:

"I didn't know you were pregnant. I just thought you were on trend!" - Tibi's Amy Smilovic to Christina Ha, who wore a sack dress from her line.

"I don't think a dress can ever be too short, as long as you have tights underneath." - Stacey Bendet of Alice + Olivia

"There is a wrong way to wear my clothes. I'm sorry, but there is!" - Milly's Michele Smith

"My favorite dress is probably my wedding dress, which I finally just found. I can't describe for you right now because my fiance is here, and he's not allowed to know." - Alexis

It's rare that America gets something cool before TopShop, but today's British Vogue gives us an exception: the Brazilian line Totem launches a capsule collection next month, transferring their bold runway prints onto UK hemlines around the country.

The catch?

The real thing is already in America, in the same TopShop price point: Go to Anthropologie and buy this dress straight off their runway for $178 - much cheaper than the Oscar de la Renta dresses of the season which also riff off Marimekko's prints, and much easier than waiting for your TopShop frock to zip through customs.

Spotted at Jeremy Scott's Paris show, and party at Le Baron:

Coco Rocha dressed like a juke box

Agyness Deyn wearing Henry Holland's t-shirt

Kelly Cutrone and Robyn Berkley from People's Revolution, with musician Jimmy Boyle

Katie Shillingford from Dazed and Confused with light blue hair, again

Le Big Macs being eaten by Le Models.

Check out the whole crazy scene, and show, on The Cobra Snake.

Abandoning denim is a little bit like swearing off carbs: it works for a few days, maybe a few weeks, but eventually, you come crawling back. And so, instead of denying the twelve (yes, twelve) pairs of jeans in our closet, we’re simply going to highlight the brands that we see on Kate Moss and not on Lauren Conrad.

Enter Chloe Lonsdale and Made in Heaven, a British brand that began in the ‘70s and recently got resurrected in London. Ms. Moss has surfaced in their jeans, but so has this idea: that denim trends will soon shift territory from California to Britain, and with it, a big chunk of street style inspiration.

Which means that Chloe could be the start of something big…

After launching their street style book last year, Nylon has a new guide to getting chased by trend spotters while you walk: Pretty, The Nylon Book of Beauty, a cosmetic-induced photo book.

Inside you'll find a list of the greatest beauty products ever, a run down of celebrity beauty icons, and a section devoted to the cult fans of Nylon's beauty illustrations, those insane pop art renderings of lipstick and mascara that you hung on your walls with scotch tape in college.

The book is available on Amazon; extra eyeliner for you and your boyfriend is sold separately.

Yesterday, Coco Rocha balanced a light shaft on her head while walking in high heel clogs, thanks to Viktor and Rolf's Fall '07 death match show.

But that's not all - after surviving unscathed (and the same could not be said for V&R's new collection), Coco opened Gaultier's Scottish-inspired show with a traditional highland step dance for the audience! Coco has been a step dancer in her native Canada for over ten years; at sixteen she started choreographing professionally, and now:

Riverdance, the Fashion Show.

Somebody email us when her stepping goes on YouTube; meanwhile, see all of Gaultier at Style.com

Name: Auh20

Hatched: October '06

Where: 84 E. 7th St. (between 1st and 2nd Ave)

Come for... This dress made entirely of metro-cards spotted in the window! We thought it was the most amazing and literal translation of urban wear we had ever seen. "It's about recycling and making art out of garbage!" explained store owner Kate Goldwater who also designed the one of a kind piece.

Stay for... Kate's reworked and reconstructed vintage pieces. Other offerings include a collection of consignment jewelry and metro-card ties and skirts which, unlike the dress, are actually for sale.

Allowance: Shirts for $20 to $50, dresses and skirts from $45 to $150.

And we care because...?: Kate's environmentally and socially conscious designs, like this dress, have to be seen to be believed. Plus you have to love a girl who wrote her senior thesis at NYU on art and clothing for social justice. We suggest you get on her good side by bringing your own eco-friendly shopping bag-- ten bonus points if it's made out of maxed-out credit cards...

-KEVIN KHUONG

Oscar de la Renta was just the beginning.

Paris brings the the cave couture of Vivienne Westwood, who spoke backstage of her cavewoman vision, a girl "who doesn't know she's a human being yet." Vivienne acknowledged the audience's Flintstone connection with denial - "I don't watch television!" Which is unfortunate - if she'd seen Betty and Wilma, she could have turned out this sheath dress in electric blue and pale pink, too.

Meanwhile, the initial thoughts for Rick Owens were "Bigfoot Chic," though once you get past the fur-covered flippers, some of the coats are almost beautiful (maybe really beautiful, with something simple underneath?).

We won't tell you who's eliminated on the first episode of Top Model, but we will tell you this:

Their first photo shoot is based on political viewpoints, with one girl trying to model the "life in prison" look and another doing an inspiring shoot on the death penalty. There's even a pro-choice versus pro-life pose, which is beyond comment.

But the strangest part of the shoot: its set designer seems to be an arts and crafts counselor at camp. How else to explain the painted rainbow hanging above the "gay marriage" models, which looks like something from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat? This could only be the work of Mr. Jay.

(For the record - we cannot wait for the show.)

Gemma. Back. T-shirt?
Ash Wednesday reverse makeup.
Swiped! Military jacket! Marc!
Tribal Fringe. No.
Open Toed Boots. No.
Irina. Yes.
Why.
Why.
Why.
But: the pants are great.

See all the first looks at Getty.

Attention ladies, as now you will be called: there is no room for casual in Dior's new sight.

There is no place for mess or for slack or shredded starlets in baggy balloons. Instead there is beauty and order - a vivid color palette so tight it could come from a Skittles bag. Swirls and ripples constrained like geometry lessons. Lacquered faces and bound hair; signs that say "do not touch" like the neon talons for nails.

Is this a message for girls like Mischa Barton, who sit front row and dictate fashion's descent into hot pink thermals and non-washed jeans? Is this a continuation of Marc's Fall show, where everything got tighter and harder to fake? Or is this just a plea for beauty and order, more political and polite than we've seen?

It feels like Galliano is an older father, instructing his daughter on how to behave at a party. And so, we're already plotting our rebelion: give us that gorgeous gray strapless poof and we'll wear it with tangled hair, smeared eyeliner, and French Sole ballet flats that less us sprint fast.

DSquared may have sent models down the runway in headphones, but it's Balmain sharing their DJ duties with French Vogue today.

The label had "fashion DJ" Frederic Sanchez choose their music - he's helped Marc, Narciso, and Calvin Klein in the past - now his tune selection for Balmain is available on Vogue.fr

For maximum results, open another window on your computer, then click through the Balmain show while listening to the tracks, which are heavy on The Cure. Also, try not to dwell too long on the pictures of Daria, who's finally back on the runway and might upstage all of her outfits...

Andre Leon Talley got plenty of Oscar exposure this weekend, but his fame isn't just for the red carpet crowd. Recently, art school student Dana Veraldi made her own Andre homage on a limited edition shirt, dedicated to the Style Faxer and bearing his image on American Apparel cotton.

The shirt is seen modeled by scenester Jordan, and available on the art website Deer Dana until it runs out. Unlike the actual Andre, it comes without leopard print lining, crocodile casting, or kidskin fingerless gloves, but it does carry a measure of devotion and detail that even Mr. Talley could agree is something like luxury. And also, something equally valuable, spoof.

You may buy it here.

Some fashion rumors are true - and some are more faux than Miuccia's new fur. Do you know what we know?

Most reports on the Gap's new campaign center on Jessica Stam's enlistment or the fact that nothing can help the clothes.

We're slightly cheered by some of spring's slouchy jackets (Chloe runway ripoffs indeed), and we've also fallen hard for one of their other ad stars: Nadja Auermann, the '90s supermodel who used to dominate Vogue with her iced eyes and papercut shoulder blades.

Almost 35 years old (!) and in some cotton khakis, Nadja actually looks relaxed and cool. We love her new vibe and we hope, we hope, we hope she'll continue her streak in some more campaigns - especially since it seems designers are starting to realize, many women don't want to look 18 anymore...

Yesterday we asked H&M to follow Barneys and TopShop with some organic fashion. Today, H&M tells us not to worry - starting this week, they're introducing a line made from organic cotton, with a color palette "inspired by vegetable dyes." This isn't the same as using actual veggie dye, but it's a start.

The adult collection runs from $19.90 - $49.90 and includes jeans and dresses; there's also a children's line and a baby line.

As for the actual look, it's a cute hybrid between Kibbutz Chick and Baby Doll Chick, and brings us to the next question: do all organic clothes need to reference Joni Mitchell? Stella McCartney, aidez-nous!

Vogue's bid for digital attention gets stronger this season, when the magazine launches a series of podcasts. Available on iTunes, the bite size style segments include an interview with Alexander McQueen, a montage of "Grunge Glamour" outfits, and an Aerin Lauder profile, complete with several makeup plugs.

Are you really so surprised, then, that the podcasts can be accessed primarily at ShopVogue.com? That's the companion site to the magazine, where many of the clothes in the fashion spreads are up for sale (in normal and model sizes).

From a marketing standpoint, the idea is pretty genius. From a fashion fan view, the podcasts are cool, but a little icy. Maybe they need a narrator to bring a face to the brand?

This is SO a job for Plum Sykes.

Suzy Menkes reports a dream come true this morning:

Marc Jacobs does not see the super-high/super-low idea as a one-off to entice customers. He and his partner, Robert Duffy, are mulling the idea of following... Marc by Marc Jacobs with a third category. And they are not the only ones to believe that to face-off fast fashion, designers could create a new category at an even lower selling point.

Translation? Marc might launch another line, even cheaper than the Marc by Marc collections, in order to compete with mass market brands (and knockoffs). Mark tells Suzy he thinks a third-tier line "can have the integrity of what we do." Which isn't to say it can have the cashmere knits and the creamy leather, but still - possibilities.

Flip Side: At a dinner party this summer, Ruffian's Claude Morais asked the table if mass clothing was "the death of American fashion." Are younger designers crushed when they can't (or won't) produce a cheaper line? Or will Marc 3 continue the trend of erasing "must have" items in favor of personal style?

Name: Stuart & Wright

Hatched: September '06

Where: 85 Lafayette St., Brooklyn

Come for... A tidy pile of indie fashion favorites: A.P.C. sundresses, Cheap Monday jeans, and Loeffler Randall shoes to match. Plus, the vintage Eiffel Tower sign in front is a Brooklyn Landmark that's been there for 40 years.

Stay for... The easy laid back vibe of owner Celeste Wright, who left her job as a Steven Alan buyer last year to curate her very own boutique with partner Alec Stuart (No, they are not married. Yes, they finish each other's sentences.)

Allowance: Jeans for $65, dresses for $150 - $200, flats for $90 and heels for $150 - $250.

And we care because...?: It's rare a store has an equally great selection for both men and women - besides Opening Ceremony, this is the boutique that gets it right. Plus, sometimes you want a little adventure with your fashion, and the store is nestled in Brooklyn's Fort Greene, which might be our new favorite neighborhood (so many juice places! so close to Target!).

The Daily has a lip-smacking revenge story of sorts today: PETA apologized to Miuccia Prada for invading her show! They realized her runway fur was faux, and their catwalk storm of her show wasn't just self righteous, it was actually wrong.

To atone, they sent Miuccia two dozen roses and a note of congratulations on her collection.

But wait.

Don't roses have rights, too?

Did they deserve to be uprooted from their tender branches just to create a display of beauty for fashion?

And so it goes.

Meanwhile, Peta won't be all smiles for long - the French shows have started, and texts are trickling in that several mini dresses on the runway are made of mink and fox fur.

Uggs have finally started fading, replaced by motorcycle stompers, horse riding boots, and Wellies lined with extra socks. But in their place comes another vision of slouch: flannel pajama pants in plaids and prints, flapping in the streets.

We've seen the pants in Starbucks, at the Angelika Cinema, outside Chanel in Soho, uptown by the Met, and yesterday, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The fashion transgressors wearing them are young (15 - 30), accessorized (a faux Louis, a real Stam, a boy with a Prada duffel), and usually paired with a cropped jacket and huge sunglasses. One blown-out blonde wore hers in Dean & Deluca with a Michael Kors cable knit tunic and - despite the weather - London Sole ballet flats.

The upside: the pants do compliment the Alaskan hunting vibe everyone's got with their trapper hats.

TopShop's latest line isn't by a supermodel or a designer - instead it's made in collaboration with People Tree, a British label that uses organic cotton and Fair Trade practices with all of their factories and artisans.

The six-piece line has a tunic, a bubble dress, and a geometric print top, all available on the TopShop website starting on February 26.

Meanwhile, Barneys announced today that it plans to feature eco-friendly products in every one of its departments, with Julie Gilhart telling WWD, "This isn't a trend - a trend is something that dies. This is a movement."

It starts this month with a new Loomstate for Barneys collection and continues all the way through Christmas, when Simon Doonan stuffs the windows with recycled materials and as much "green" product as Barney's can allow (plus some organic inspired characters, like Rudolph the Recycled Reindeer, at left).

Our one complaint is similar to our Whole Foods issue: Loomstate clothes are expensive (the cheapest at Barneys will be $120), and not everyone can balance the green in their wallets with the green on the planet. Only when the eco movement becomes affordable will everyone embrace it, so challenge to H&M: Where's your Free Trade line?

Past seasons of MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen have all been super cheesy, especially on the fashion front - remember the Connecticut boy who called himself a "Divo" and insisted on a "fashion show" at his party? Not okay.

This season, it seems the network - and the kids - have stepped up their game. Last November in Queens, 16-year-old rocker Teyana had a bash where she was clad in custom Heatherette. The designers themselves packaged Teyana for her party's grand entrance - in a giant plastic doll box - and reworked their 2005 Living Dolls Fashion Show to star the birthday girl instead of Amanda Lepore.

Also on hand? Pharell Williams, who presented the birthday girl on stage and - rumor has it - gave her several pairs of his Louis Vuitton sunglasses as a gift.

Get an eyewitness account of the party at Gurj's pink explosion, and tune in tonight for the spoiled rotten fun, and click below for some behind-the-scenes photos of the Heatherette team.

Q: Why the Polaroid graphic?
A: It's Mary Kate Olsen in Heatherette! I flipped when I saw it, and I thought you might, too.

Yesterday in the International Herald Tribune, Suzy Menkes fretted over fashion brands invading museum halls:

"There is a general feeling that museums across the world are buckling under the pressure of hugely rich designers offering clothes, cash and marketing expertise... Maybe it is time to go back to the historical approach and dare to be didactic, so that museum fashion is less of a designer love fest and more of a learning curve."

But it also seems that art is seeping far into the style world: there was the Gagosian dinner in LA last week, where Zac Posen and Hedi Slimane crashed into artist Bryce Marden (and Kirsten, and Naomi, and Tory Burch). Art Basel is now a haze of cross promotion and champagne, with Miami boutiques hosting new work in their windows (or their ceilings and floors, depending). And the Citizens Band, a performance art collective helmed by Deitch Gallery, is now muse to Erin Fetherston, Zaldy, Edun, Zac... yeah.

The partnership between fashion and art is nothing new (just ask John Singer Sargeant, whose paintings often set off a dress craze from the rivals of his painting subjects). What might be new is the sponsorship aspect - How much would Campbells have paid Warhol if he'd been working today? - and the shredding lines between what's beautiful and what's bought.

The fun part: Suzy wrote another article that ran yesterday in the Trib. It's called, "Kylie — The Exhibition Draws a Young Crowd to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London."

URL: Jackson Pollock by Miltos Manetas

SEE: your own Jackson Pollock painting come to life.

GET: a shared experience with artist Miltos Manetas, the Athens-born artist whose projects fuse art and technology together.

LOVE: the way when you click the mouse, you can change paint colors - our favorites are lavender, dark gray, and navy blue, which remind us of the Marni show!

GO!: http://www.jacksonpollock.org

As requested, pieces of the Erin Fetherston spread in March's Paper Magazine.

The story is called "Urban Flowers," and features Erin's gang of style icons styled by Leith Clark posing in front of various graffiti murals in the city.

It stars Karen Elson, Zooey Deschanel, Sarah Sophie Flicker, and new additions to the Fetherston posse, Victoria and Vanessa Traina, who love to jump on a stylish bandwagon (especially one that comes with daisy chain headbands). The photography is by Ellen Von Unwerth.

Heads up to the London Set: Henry Holland's limited edition sneakers are at Dover Street Market this week.

Rumor has it there's only one pair per size, so you'd better hurry, even if it means sprinting from Shoreditch all the way down the city - if you wear out your shoes, you can always replace them with these once you get there...

One more note: the shoes are designated for men or for women, though if you have a shoe size anywhere in the middle, you could take two sizes up (for boys) or down (for girls) and get whatever color you like - a trick I often use when buying Vans and Converse.

The Times finally prints the explanation for scoff-faced models (like Caroline Trentini, right), and it's this:

"Smaller guys have to make nice to survive... and high-status women apparently don’t feel the need to smile as much [as low-status women]... The non-smiling faces of the higher status brands are not trying to make the consumer feel bad; they are simply attempting to display the signals associated with higher status... Most folks admire higher status individuals and want to be around them. Thus, the irony is that higher status brands are creating a positive image -– high status—by using a negative signal (lack of a smile).�

Note how the scientists don't discuss a lack of food in the equation, though no doubt, you all still will...

It was easy and sexy and a little bit Kim Basinger from the '90s.

We were especially struck by Milana Bogolepova, the Russian blonde who looks like a dream version of Donatella.

Casting herself as one of the collection's muses was probably wise - can anyone under 25 afford a career sheath from Versace? Would anyone under 25 wear one? They're so severe, but gorgeous.

Next up: Paris.

Reese Witherspoon's dress by Olivier Theyskens might top the style charts, but Zac Posen's gown for Gwyneth still wins a contest of sorts. Here's a raw, unedited, unresearched, slightly mad scorecard for designers, dresses, and the Oscars. Zac, it seems, gets a Mr. Popularity award for two major dresses of the night...

Armani - 2 - Cate Blanchett (four stars - intergalactic); Beyonce (four stars - when your mom stops making your clothes...)
Balenciaga - 1 - Nicole Kidman (three stars - rouge encore)
Calvin Klein - 1 - Emily Blunt (four stars - is she a new Sienna?)
Carmen Marc Valvo - 1 - Queen Latifah (three stars - she looks better than the gown)
Carolina Herrera - 1 - Jada Pinkett Smith (three stars - great dress, weird on Jada)
Chanel Couture - Kirsten Dunst - (two stars - the hemline...)
Christian Lacroix - 1 - Helen Mirren (four stars - regal)
Escada - 1 - Naomi Watts (three stars - flouncy)
Lily Et Cie - 1 - Celine Dion (four stars - it looked like Versace...)
Marchesa - 1 - Jennifer Lopez (four stars - they do have some talent!)
Nina Ricci - 1 - Reese Witherspoon (five stars - runway worthy)
Oscar de la Renta - 2 - Jennifer Hudson (one star - takes "vamp" too literally); Jessica Biel (four stars - young, hot, and tasteful)
Prada - 1 - Meryl Streep (three stars - yeah, we get it)
Proenza Schouler - 1 - Maggie Gyllenhaal (four stars - well East Coast girls are hip...)
Valentino - 2 - Kate Winslet (four stars - smart, easy); Anne Hathaway (three stars - the big bow...)
Vera Wang - 1 - Rachel Weisz (three stars, eh)
Versace - 1 - Penelope Cruz (four stars, and yes, it's the same dress that Carrie Bradshaw wore in France, in a different color)
Zac Posen - 2 - Gwyneth (four stars - structure paradise), Portia Dei Rossi (four stars, first lady)

First thoughts while camped out on the red carpet (our red carpet, in the living room, from Marimekko) watching The Oscars...

Metallics Rule (questionable results)

Jennifer Hudson = Disco Vampire.

Cate Blanchett Armani = Everyone Else Balenciaga

Emily Blunt. Beautiful. Skinny. Too.

GWYNETH WINS! THANK YOU ZAC!

Kirsten, Karl, no excuse.

Nicole looks like lipstick.

Andre from Vogue. Lauren from Lucky. Conde Nast buys The Oscars?

Abigail Breslin, appropriate. Dakota, pissed.

Penelope Cruz in that dress and Carrie Bradshaw on the bed in Paris falling asleep. Right?

Okay. Back to Gwyneth...

(more, obviously, tomorrow).

A major fashion publicist told me an interesting story.

"My child is applying for all the high maintenance private schools, and it's a pain in the ass. They interview her, they interview me, it's like, really, this isn't NASA.

In my interview, the first question that the admissions woman asked me was, 'How do you feel about TV?' Well, I watch TV all the time. I'm a publicist so partly, it's my job to see what other people are seeing, but besides that, I'm sorry, I love TV - I know it's not fashionable, but it's fascinating. I love it. What I don't love are these snotty school moms.

So I said, 'I love TV. I think it's so important for children to absorb images and storytelling, and also to understand the difference between real and make believe. I think all children should watch some TV."

The child was accepted to the school, and we went home that night to a marathon of My Gym Teacher is a Monkey. Then we looked at some clothes...

The Tyler Brûlé confection called Monocle hit our desk today.

Inside the comic section - yes, it has a comic section - we noticed the prominent placement of a Prada Cell Phone.

We plan to color the drawing with Crayola crayons and hope next time, they feature a Goyard.

Merci, Tyler!

PS - we know we're obsessed with Fashion Cell Phones lately, and we apologize - if you need something new to be obsessed with while we post another entry, go play at Colette for a few minutes.

To: Faran@Fashionista.com
From: Heather_Catania@condenast.com

Subject: JANE CASTING CALL

I'm casting 50 pairs of breasts for JANE's "Guide to Boobs". I am looking for 50 girls who are down to get topless. All colors, shapes, and sizes please! Here are your opportunities:

Shoot dates: March 2, 3, 4 (fri, sat, sun) NYC

You MUST agree to have your naked breasts photographed. You will be shot from the neck down and will not be identified. Some categories I'm really on the hunt for are:

small around, large breasts
small around, small breasts
medium
large around, large breasts
small around, large breasts

Be photographed topless and with your bra on (we’re not sure which we’ll run yet) and tell us in one sentence something about your boobs (why you love them, why you hate them, etc.) Your first name and age will be used. All participants will receive $50.

Editor's Note: $50 is enough to buy a very nice new bra...

British fans of ELLE can soon buy their own cell phone inspired by the magazine.

The phone comes in sparkly silver, with the magazine's logo tattooed in purple or gray rubber casing at the top. It can save or send images, email, and texts to all the other fashion addicts on your network.

Presumably, if Vogue ever launches a similar mobile, it'll be thinner and more sophisticated - but maybe not as fun, because Anne Slowey won't text you with a food diary and E. Jean Carroll can't ring you up with advice...

Paper's March issue stars Milla Jovovich and Carmen Hawk, with a story called "How to Succeed in Fashion - While Really Trying." The piece has seven gorgeous photographs of the girls in their own clothes, plus an explanation of how the Jovovich Hawk line came into the loght - when Milla was offered an Emporio Armani modeling gig, her contract came with an option to "guest design." That never panned out, but a new desire to make clothes did.

Meanwhile, author Mickey Boardman plainly reveals that the team had some work to do:

"Both girls were armed with lots of fabulousness and cute taste, but neither had much design experience. (To that, Milla says to Carmen, "Well, you took a class at Parsons." Carmen responds, laughing: "In printmaking!")

Compare this article to yesterday's Times piece on Marchesa questioning whether the label's success is due to talent or to Harvey Weinstein - the boyfriend of Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman.

And also, there's this: during Fashion Week, we remember running to the Jovovich-Hawk for Mango presentation. Directly ahead of us was a harried English journalist. "Hello," she said to the PR girls at the front, "I'm here to see Marchesa... I mean Jovovich Hawke... I'm sorry, which is it?"

Milla's electric shadow at the back of the room let her know.

Even if Patricia Field doesn't win the Oscar on Sunday, she'll still have her hands full with new projects - British Vogue reports that the Sex and the City movie is actually going to happen.

Whether Carrie Bradshaw can still be a style icon remains to be seen - her show ended in 2004, before the rise of Mary Kate, the return of actual Kate, and the influx of suburban women who just had to have Manolos and a Cosmo and a completely inappropriate boyfriend.

Regardless, if the rumor is true, it means a coveted wardrobe trailer is probably in the works - maybe including some dresses from British designer Jenny Packham, whose first Milan catwalk show was styled by Ms. Field.

Totally amused by this Page Six story today:

"For a mere $80, common Web surfers got prime seats for the high-profile Max Azria show during Fashion Week. One source claims he bought tickets to the Feb. 5 show on Craigslist from someone claiming to be "from the show's set production." This online salesman then met his buyers "in the front of the tent." Our source continues, "He took us backstage and took the money from us and let us hang out where all the models were getting ready." Eventually the online shoppers were seated just four rows back, "directly behind Anna Wintour and her two assistants." The tent-crasher also claims the Craigslist hawker "did the same for eight other people." Reps for IMG, who put on the shows at Bryant Park, told Page Six, "This story sounds far-fetched. The access given to any crew person at Fashion Week doesn't allow them to walk any other person into or around the complex."

Fashionista called a handful of PR directors, all of whom confessed they'd sneaked at least one person backstage at a show - one source even claimed, "a few years ago, I took five of my friends backstage at [insert huge, glitter-engorged show here] - it was so crazy, nobody even noticed."

"Yes, I have done it," admitted another source whose job routinely sends her backstage at fashion shows, "and it is not hard - just don't give them good seats once they come to the front of house!"

Prada's plastic strips were echoed with Fendi's own shiny, shimmying fringe on the runway - and a theory, explained to us by a mass brand designer, on why.

"Those strips are hard to produce cheaply," she explained, "so it's an upmarket trend - we probably won't be able to copy it and neither will anyone like us. If you've got it, everyone will know it's because you went down to Soho with an AmEx Black Card."

We still have faith in H&M.

The Paris couture season might be many things, but hurried isn't one of them. Designers spend weeks on single gowns; models sit in the same makeup chair backstage for hours; shows themselves stretch into the night or the morning.

Because a couture piece is made by hand, it takes some labor time - at least, we thought it did until this weekend, when Texas socialite (and hardcore couture junkie) Becca Cason Thrash showed up at her Dallas party wearing a bejeweled swing jacket from Christian Lacroix's most recent show.

Days lapsed between the Lacroix runway and the party? Twenty nine - less than a month! Fortunately, Mr. Lacroix didn't need to Supersize his freshly ordered outfit - Becca looks petite enough (and the jacket looks so boxy), she could steal the sample from the runway and wear it as her own.

Wait a minute...

also, Giles in Texas - what do you think?

It doesn't seem like a coincidence that Gisele's major runway gigs are Victoria's Secret and Dolce - both productions are heavy on the boudoir feel that vamps girls up with hairspray, cinched waists, and stompy satin pumps.

But the sex appeal on the Vikki's Secret runway is juicy, flirty, and flounced; Dolce girls flaunt their sex instead, storming their bodies with leather bodices, eyewear poised between S&M blindfolds and satin sleep masks, rounded hips swathed in lace, rounded breasts shielded with fur. Dolce also clung fast and hard to their leopard print from last season, which is - at least according to Andre Leon Talley, who told us one afternoon in Bergdorf Goodman - their current bestseller.

The show was fun, but we didn't learn anything new about fashion except this - Gisele still works damn well on a "normal" runway, even if the leopard prints she's wearing sort of don't...

(see the whole show on ELLE.com)

Those of you still marooned in the office can watch Ridley Scott's flick for Prada, which now lives on their website. The movie is based on a poem found by Ridley's daughter, Jordan, and stars Daria Werbowy in a revolving spread of roles (and outfits, many excavated from the Prada archive just for the project).

For maximum enjoyment, you might want to pull a Baz-Luhrmann-Romeo-and-Juliet maneuver and turn off the sound before watching - the movie is really better as moving art, though it is kind of cool to hear Daria talking instead of just, you know...

Catherine, ad agency creative director.

Got Her: Walking with a friend on Mott St.

Stalked Her: Because the coat reminded us that winter grayness isn't forever - and neither are the grimy jackets specking streets around the city.

Shot Her: Because the purple tights reminded us of yesterday's Marni show, and the smile made us psyched.

She Says: "The coat is from Eley Kishimoto. Colorful coats, you just have to watch your shoes. And the bag is from London... I can't really tell you where!"

We Say: Purple haze, youre makin me blow my mind...

Today Disney announced a new initiative: princess bride dresses. Inspired by the Disney heroines who inevitably marry (all of them except Pocahontas, I think...), the gowns are for grown-up women approaching their wedding day. Designer Kirstie Kelly shared her sketches for the line with the Wall Street Journal, and here's where it gets interesting:

"As Ms. Kelly sees it, Cinderella is "classic glamour" -- the dresses in her line come in high-shine satin with ball-gown skirts and make generous use of silver embroidery and crystals. Snow White has a slightly more conservative look dubbed "sweet elegance." Ariel and Jasmine models are considerably racier. Ariel, who played the title role in "The Little Mermaid," has a "sultry allure" and is "comfortable showing her body." Jasmine, from "Aladdin," is "bohemian chic," and her various dresses are big on sheath and lace."

Isn't it funny that now, we're given permission to see Ariel and Jasmine as sexy? Cinderella too - Annie Leibowitz recently shot her, in the form of Scarlett Johansson, for an upcoming Disney campaign...

Once I got into the office, I rang TopShop to investigate the Kate Moss Waiting List.

"There's no such thing," replied the TopShop manager. "If you want to buy the Kate Moss line, you'll need to come to the store when it launches on March 1. It will be a regular business day here, as far as I know, and you could try checking for it online as well."

Then, a pause.

"Oh wait, I'm sorry, I've given you the wrong information!"

Aha! There was a wait list, a secret website, something.

"The line doesn't launch on March 1," she said. "It's actually on May 1."

Well then.

Meanwhile, Preen's new line just hit their website, and it's great, but my new crush is this cute navy swing coat at right. It's about $80 and as far away from Kate's throwaway style as you can get, which a girl needs, sometimes.